"What the f…."
My mouth nearly dropped to the floor from the sudden shock and surprise.
Getting a Companion, this soon in the game?
She's a knock out babe, and will follow me around in-game, and will do whatever I tell her so long as her Loyalty and Affection are high enough?
Oh the abuse this system is asking for.
The temptations are strong with this one.
Unsure where to go from here, the two of us headed back to my player home.
I had a lot of questions, after all.
Arriving back at the cabin I elected to start another conversation with my newfound companion as the atmosphere had seemingly become one of depression, "Consider this your home, all of the surrounding territory as well."
She looked a little puzzled at first but then nodded, "You are quite far from civilization…."
I couldn't deny that, "Yeah, but you won't find the area lacking. There is an abundance of food, fresh water, firewood, and the shelter is a sturdy one… if not a bit lacking at the moment."
My new Companion paced around the cabin as it lay, stripped bare of any creature comforts one might have been accustomed to.
There was a wooden bed, but it was uncomfortable and had no furs, sheets, bedding, or comforter. In the corner of the room lay my extra provisions while another corner was occupied by excess gear, but there wasn't much in total.
Besides the three corners being taken the 30'x30' singular room was quite empty.
While she continued to look around as if depressed or let down from what she was expecting, I immediately brought up the in-game browser to search for some answers on my mysterious beauty and the Earl I essentially declared war on.
After some extensive non-literal digging I was able to find some information on a quest from an Earl of Andal, which was quite far from where I currently was… that had players search for his fourth bride-to-be that had fled.
That story sounded awfully familiar.
Looking further, the majority of the users gave up on the quest as they were unable to find her, but one person replied that he had found her tattered clothing near the river where I had saved her.
"Ah, so that's it," I said aloud.
Having misunderstood my intent, she quickly turned around and apologized, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sound disappointed. I… I believe with a little decoration this can be a quite lovely home!"
…I see.
Ignoring her, I decided that she was a quest NPC fated to die to those two wolves, less she was rescued somewhere along her journey.
That's rather lucky of her, and me. And what a rather cruel quest chain too… I wonder if the developer had something against beautiful women.
Maybe it had to do with her personality? Well, it was too soon to tell, she seemed normal so far. At least she knew how to apologize for perceived slights.
I could appreciate that sentiment.
As I started to mull the information over in my head, I eventually realized the gravity of the situation; doesn't this make her a rare companion? She was quite the beauty after all, and it's not every day that some noble's future wife runs off… and if she was a quest for players then saving her was a direct challenge to the script.
I was intrigued and decided it was time to delve further into the depths of the interweb.
Reading through various forum posts, I had found the majority of the information was rather lacking. The game had an ever-evolving quest system that was created spontaneously by the individual AI's governing each NPC and the central AI's governing each town and region.
That was known since the Alpha and Beta phase, but what wasn't known was how Companions worked or where they would or could be found.
In essence, Companions were hard to find.
Companions that excelled at any one thing were even harder to find.
And for the majority of the players, the only way to get Companions was to increase your Reputation to a point where you could request one from a noble as reward for your services or purchase one through an auction of some sort.
Plainly put, I hit two jackpots.
The Ancient Relic, which was like winning the mega jackpot in the lottery, and then two days later the Companion, which was like winning a small sum from the slot machine.
The first jackpot was coincidence that required hard work and perseverance. The second jackpot was truly coincidence… without any real effort required.
Needless to say, I'm excited.
No, I'm thrilled.
Before I could get any more excited though, I was interrupted by the depressed girl now sitting on the bed, "Um, excuse me kind Sir but, I have a favor to ask of you… if you would hear me."
My mind was racing through all the previous dialogue we had had, and then it hit me: it must be related to the Earl.
Peering down at her from where I stood with arms folded and an eyebrow cocked up, I asked, "Yeah? Do go on…."
Chapter 16: A Crowded Cabin for Two
(Saturday, March 6th Game Day / Friday, January 22nd Real Day)
In conversing with the newly found Companion, I discovered that she had a rather peculiar circumstance. As she told it, "I was originally part of a traveling convent led by the Brother Saul along with a few hunters that would provide for us on our travel, which included my friend Selene.
"But roughly three weeks ago, upon nearing Andal we were suddenly attacked by bandits and we hurriedly fled towards the village.
"After running as fast as we could, Selene and I were rescued by the Earl's men and the bandits had dispersed into the forest. We were the only survivors… the Earl had offered us food and shelter for our suffering and promised to protect and avenge our fallen brothers.
"But it was all a lie! We were taken by their words and Selene had decided to go hunting in the forest to help with provisions, so we could be self-reliant.
"Not a day after she had left I noticed that some of the Earl's men looked similar to the bandits! And soon after that the Earl declared to me that he would make me his fourth wife!
"I couldn't believe my ears! He even said that despite my lack of good looks, he would provide for me as he was a benevolent man! My looks he says! The bastard!"
Of course the first thing I took from this conversation was that she seemed more insulted by the Earl's comment on her "lack" of good looks than the fact that the Earl may have ordered the killing of the men from the convent. But it was wise to not really say anything in these types of situations, reaffirming her opinion or denying the other's isn't what she wants to hear, she just wants someone to listen.
But I'm curious, so I'll ask a question anyways to prove I'm at least listening.
I ask her, "You said you would be made the fourth wife? What of the first three?"
She puffed her cheeks as her shoulders rose and I could see the big explosion building, ah what did I just get myself into… "They're still alive! And they are hideous! The first wife is a grotesquely overweight slovenly pig that does nothing but stuff her cheeks like a chipmunk! The second wife is cross-eyed with pig-tails and rabbit teeth! The third… the third, I don't even know what she looks like but who cares!?"
Ah, well.
At first I thought… may haps the man simply has exceptionally high standards, but even so… the woman in front of me should please any man's pallet.
She stands a rough 5'9" with lovely fair skin with the slightest hint of a tan, a slender frame yet athletic nonetheless, long wavy dark brown hair that lies slightly past her shoulders, piercing tri-color eyes that melt your heart, a truly angelic face, and eh-hem, to top it off… more than ample assets… from all angles.
Yes, I've come to the conclusion that this Earl is in bad taste, simply bad taste.