Feyland: The First Adventure

Scene Nine

 For the next week, Jennet didn’t get a chance to sneak back onto the FullD. Studying for finals squeezed out almost all her free time, thoughts of the game nibbling at her concentration. To distract herself, she watched some vids, took her g-board out in the waning light, and generally tried not to think too much about when she could get back into Feyland.

Still, she finished the year with good grades, despite her distraction. The day after school ended, she slept late and woke up smiling.

Their chef had made scones and left them with a bowl of fresh strawberries, on the dining room table. George, their chauffeur, messaged her tablet to let her know he was available if she wanted to go anywhere, and even Marie, the tight-faced house manager, unbent enough to offer her a cup of tea.

An hour later, Jennet was in the plush quiet of the computer room, belly full, door locked, and the whole day stretched gloriously before her. She flipped the FullD power on and geared up, then settled into the sim chair.

What awaited? Was the Black Knight still stationed outside the ruined tower, sword poised to run her through? If so, she’d be ready.

Adrenaline spiking, she gave the command to enter game. The music sounded a fanfare, but this time there was no dizzying golden light, just a flare of white. Jennet’s avatar materialized in the center of a clearing surrounded by birch trees, a faerie ring of tiny tan mushrooms around her feet. There was no sign of the dark woods, or the ruin—or the Black Knight.

She turned a slow circle to make sure, then let herself relax, tension flowing out of her shoulders. Sunlight dappled the green mosses beneath her feet, and the trees swayed in the slight wind.

A wind she couldn’t feel.

Jennet frowned and dropped to her knees. Putting her face to the ground, she inhaled deeply. Nothing. No scent of herbs and flowers, not even the brown smell of soil. The programmers obviously hadn’t worked the full range of sensory detail into this level of the game. It was a little disappointing.

Jennet stood again, then followed the path winding out the clearing. The trees were richly-detailed, but not as perfectly rendered as the ones in the first level of the game. Still, Feyland was a beautiful, enchanted world—far removed from her mundane life.

The path brought her to another clearing in the woods, larger than the first. The perfectly blue sky arched over a small meadow dotted with golden flowers. On the far side was a granite boulder, the grey stone sparkling with flecks of mica. Atop the stone sat a petite maiden in a yellowish gown, combing out her long dark hair. Her ears were sharply pointed.

A reassuring green glow surrounded the figure. Jennet guessed the aura surrounding the maiden signaled that she was friendly. Not that Jennet was taking any chances. Spells at the ready, she strode forward.

“Greetings,” she said.

The maiden stopped combing her hair. “Greetings, brave adventurer,” she said in a high, sweet voice. “Have you come to aid my people?”

“What aid do they require?” Jennet asked.

This dialogue was much more along the usual lines—a clear script to follow, unlike the weird interactions she’d had with Fynnod.

“Alas, my village has been suffering the attacks of bogles. Will you help defeat them?”

“I will.”

A chime sounded in the air. Quickly, Jennet toggled open her game interface, to see that she had accepted a quest called “Bogle Battle.”

Maybe the programmers hadn’t done a spectacular job with the graphics in this level of the game, but the NPC interaction and storyline was much stronger here. Probably the result of different teams working independently on the various parts of Feyland, then swapping around.