A Caged Bird - Chasing Normal, Arc 5

Scene 29: Exploring the Virtual World

Travis followed Gloria and Rose's characters around the virtual world, continually being reminded to call them Elenaria and Aurabella in the game's chat system. They showed her the home their characters shared and then showed her the workshop system. While characters could purchase the tools and supplies they needed, her hosts preferred to develop their skills by making the things they needed. They even made a few things to get her started in her home and her class, and then made her character some light armor to wear under her normal garb.

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of playing a martial artist?" Travis asked, trying to refuse the armor.

But the girls were insistent, so Travis took it. When she tried to equip it to see how it looked, an alert popped up warning her she could only wear the armor until she was third level. She managed to swallow her laugh before it escaped, choking herself in the process.

"Are you all right?" Gloria set her tablet on her lap.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just -," she grabbed her glass off the table, "needed a drink. Got something caught in my throat."

Gloria didn't look so sure, but she picked up her tablet again. "Let's see if we can find your guild hall."

"What's a guild hall?" This is like traveling to a foreign country. I'm having to learn a whole new language.

"It's where you can hang out with other people in your class," Gloria offered.

"And it's where you'll complete most of your training quests. You can also sometimes pick up some really awesome side quests by hanging out in your guild hall." Rose sipped her drink, eyes fixed on her screen.

"That sounds cool."

They spent most of the afternoon wandering around trying to find the hall, but it was clearly run by ninjas. Travis kept scanning the screen for other martial artists, but she didn't see anyone else in similar clothing. Maybe I picked the wrong class. Can you lose at the virtual world?

==

She made it her own personal quest to find her guild's hall, if for no other reason than to prove she wasn't the only martial artist in the game. When she had free time at home, she would open the game and search for a few minutes. Those minutes quickly grew into an hour.

As she wandered, she met other players and discovered she really liked not introducing herself as Travis Ando. Nobody knew who she was beyond Drea the first level martial artist. No one knew who her parents were. For the first time in her life, Travis had some anonymity. This is the coolest feeling ever.

Most people were friendly, welcoming her to the game. A few tried to attack her, only to be taken down by a character or three who didn't approve of hunting new characters. No one knew where her guild hall was. The martial artist guild had elected to reflect history and remain mysterious.

That wasn't good enough for Travis. She pulled her tablet out during lunch and continued her search in between bites.

"Are you really playing that here?" Noel asked.

"I just want to find my guild hall. Why is this so difficult?" Travis scrolled the screen.

"Most guilds have secret bases. They think it will keep out the riffraff. I think the only ones who are open about their location are the warrior classes, the mage guild, and the technomage guild. Don't worry. You'll find them." He reached over and took the tablet from her. "But not at work." He powered it off and handed it back to her.

Travis took it back and shoved it in her bag, and then just stared at her salad.

At home, she pulled out the tablet, powered it on, and let the game load while she changed out of her work clothes. She hummed along with the login screen music as she pulled her hair back and secured it with a rubber band, and then plopped down on her bed and started searching again. She'd nearly caught up to a group of characters who looked like they might be martial artists when her tablet's battery died.

Drat! She plugged in the tablet to charge and threw herself down on her bed. Now what do I do?