Return to Jorgaldur Volume III: blood warrior

The Oracle (I)

"The first? Return? More will come? Who? When?" asked Gjaki.

The word visitor was familiar to her, it was what the NPCs called the players. She knew nothing about the rest.

"In the past, almost 100 years ago, a threat..." began the Oracle.

"Yes, yes, I already know the story. What I don't understand is all about returning," Gjaki interrupted them, a little impatient.

It had always annoyed her in the game, she disliked listening to a story repeated every time she talked to certain NPCs, the Oracle among them.

"Cough, cough. Not all players were the same. Some souls modeled their avatars more intensely, showing themselves sometimes stronger and seeing the world clearer, making them even able to interact with it and its beings, to gain their interest and be claimed by them. There were even those who earned the right to return when their souls would be freed from the bindings of their own world. One per race at most. Of all of them, you are the first to return. Who and when they will return is something that will only be known when they do."

"So is Diknsa real? Will she remember me? What about my mansion?" asked the vampire, excited.

"What you saw and did in the game, may or may not be real. You will have to find out for yourself," replied the Oracle.

"Oh come on, do you always have to be so mysterious?" she complained.

"I cannot answer what I do not know or what I am not allowed to reveal".

Gjaki sighed. It was just as strenuous for her to talk to the Oracle in-game as it was now. Nonetheless, she needed information.

"Where're the people from the village? Or from the Beginner's Area? I need someone to sell me potions," the blood warrior asked again.

"Those places were created for all of you, to welcome you, although sometimes it was only their reflection what was perceived. When there were no more players to receive, the power that allowed outsiders to enter was nullified, so they were abandoned. They were left standing for those who were to return.

"Can't you stop talking so mysterious?" she complained again.

"I speak as I am, and I am as I speak," replied the Oracle.

She sighed, sat up, and felt somewhat exhausted. Although, suddenly, her eyes sparkled.

"Can I take everything that's here? All metals and fabrics?"

"This village was created to receive vampire players. It is still standing to welcome the last visitor of this breed, in addition to serving as a refuge and protection. Therefore, it could be considered to be yours, with all that it contains," the Oracle assured.

"It was enough to say yes..." Gjaki grumbled in a low voice. "What happens if I die?"

"In the past, you were not fully here, so you could not die fully. Now you are, so your death would be permanent. Your second chance has been to come back here. There is no third.

"I bet you have it recorded to repeat it every time. How difficult is it to say something shorter? Something like 'if you die, you die'?"

The Oracle didn't reply. They didn't even seem to flinch, though their face couldn't be seen behind their mask. The vampire approached them, by climbing to the table and half crawling. Her hand even reached out towards her.

"Does something happen if I take off your mask? I've always wanted to see who's behind it"

"It should not be revealed what is behind the mask as long as my presence is necessary," they replied, without turning away, without flinching, apparently impassive.

Gjaki really wanted to remove that mask, and see what was behind it, but despite that, reluctantly, she didn't. In part, because it reminded her of herself, when some of her classmates at her school wanted to remove her gothic makeup to "see what was behind it", to make fun of her.

"What about skills, spells, inventory, fairies? Why do we start from scratch? Does everyone in this world have it? Does everyone use an interface like in the game?"

"The skills are knowledge, the knowledge is engraved in the soul, and the soul has not changed. The power resides in the body, in the avatar, and it was put to sleep, to wait, something that cannot be done if its power is not drained. What you call inventory is access to a dimension stamped with the imprint of the soul, so a soul will always access the same one. That dimension is no longer shackled by the developer limitations.

"I'm sure he had the answer already prepared," the vampire snarled to herself.

"What you call fairies are part of the blessings of the developers, part of what you have brought with you. The game system, as you call it, is an expression of the reality of the world through the power of the developers, to make it friendly to outsiders."

"You speak quite strange... The truth is that it's difficult to understand you... Sigh... Can those portals be used?" she pointed to the three portals to the different leveling areas.

"The portals are safe. They'll take you to the same protected place as then, from which you can return in the same way. Only former players have access, and some beings like me. Destinations were chosen because they are the right difficulty for you, and still are, although at the time they were watched so there were no intruders. You will have to be careful. There could be some beings that are there to hunt, of higher level and greater danger. Green between 5 and 14. Blue between 15 and 24. Red between 25 and 34.

"You had that prepared too," she accused.

Again, the Oracle didn't say or do anything, as if they were oblivious to complaints or reproaches. Meanwhile, her interlocutor stared at her, as if wanting to discover something, as if wanting to see beyond. Evidently, she didn't discover anything.

"Will you give me missions? Is there a global mission? Any objective?"

"Now you are one more being of this world, a free being. I am only here to fulfill my mission, to serve as a guide, not as an employer. You can listen to me or not, ask me or not. I am nothing more than a sign on the road that you can follow or ignore," revealed the Oracle.

She stared at them. She was convinced once more that they had the answers recorded or written, although not that it mattered much. She was more concerned about other things, which included what she asked them next.

"Do people hate vampires? Are we the bad guys?"