A Road Paved With Sidequests
It had been three hours since we left the library. The sun was starting to set and all of us were gathered up in the same town plaza where everything had begun.
By this time of day, players were either coming back from the forest, heading out, or bunking down for the night. Aside from a few stray groups like us, and some NPCs on their routines, we had the place to ourselves.
The others stood ahead of me with Joey looking confused and Rachelle reading the long message I sent her. Since she wasn’t going to understand our meeting, I sent her every detail I could think of ahead of time. Thankfully, messages were automatically translated to your chosen language.
Finally, there was our newest...I’m not sure if friend was the right word so let’s say ally. Our ally, Gwen, was leaning against a wall looking like she got clocked in the gut.
“240 Bits...” She muttered in a hollow tone. “I spent 240 Bits for that rip-off hotel. And that was the cheap end. That’s about a fifth of my money...”
I rolled my eyes. “Quit crying ya big baby. We’re about to earn it back anyways.”
“It’s still expensive.” She glared. “And if you say we need a third night in those beds, that’s another 120 Bits.”
“Uh. Alex?” Joey raised his hoof like we were in school.
“Yes?”
“Why are we here?”
“Good question,” I told him, moving on from Gwen’s sad crisis. “Now that we have rooms for the night, we’re going to track down some quests. Gwen says the quest we found were first-come, first-serve. Not to mention, on top of possibly being full quest lines, they might give us some good drops.”
“Drops?” Joey blinked.
“We’re gonna get strong stuff out of them,” I broke it down for him. “My weapon shop quest will hopefully get us better equipped. Meanwhile, your food stall might give us some unique, stat-boosting items.”
“But that’s not enough,” Gwen cut in. “The dungeon has a boss floating around it. It’s probably not as strong as whatever that iguana-god monster has guarding the Elements, but there’s been rumors. We'll need more.”
“Which is why we’re out here,” I told them. “Rachelle’s made our grocery runs and talked to the NPC’s. And Gwen trades or accepts gifts from different players thanks to her info scheme.”
“Business,” Gwen corrected. “I have clients and meetings. It’s a business.”
“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes. “Point is, the girls have higher Persuasion skills than Joey or I do. Even if we don’t have the prerequisites, they might still trigger it.”
“Pre-what?” Joey frowned.
“Ah,” Gwen hummed, quickly connecting the dots. “But you need us to play the field to push it out of them,” Gwen summarized, catching on to my plan.
“Play the field?” Joey was so lost.
“We pretend like they’re actual people,” Gwen explained. “We butter them up or pretend to care and they’ll give us work.”
“Oh!” Joey snapped at attention. “You mean acting?”
“Exactly.” Gwen nodded. “If we track down any quests we don’t want, I can turn that around for a profit and sell it to the players. Which means more money for better gear.”
Rachelle giggled when she saw the devious grin on Gwen’s face.
“It’ll be 5 PM soon,” I told them, pulling up my menu to point it out. “Shops close at seven and business will be slow. No lines or problem players to get in the way.”
“Works for me.” Gwen shrugged. “Less people to figure out what we’re doing too. If we can hit dozens of shops, we’re bound to get something. And if he's in his usual spot, I know someone who'll want in on this. He won't tell anyone either.”
“I don’t know.” Joey slumped a little. “It sounds kind of like a lot.”
“It’s okay Joey. The girls got this,” I told him. “We’ll just be there to look cool.”
“Speaking of, we’ll need to split up for this. We have too many shops to cover.” Gwen took a moment to study each of us. “I’m thinking Joey with me and you with Rachelle.”
“I was thinking the same. Actually.” I said, feeling a little awkward as Joey turned to me.
“I’m not going with you?” Joey questioned.
“Only if that’s okay with you Joey.” I gave him my full attention as I said it with a simple smile. “You going with Gwen makes it easier for her. But only if you’re comfortable with it.”
“...And I can’t go with Rachelle?” Joey tried.
Gwen gave a mocking pout. “That’s a hit to my ego,” she muttered jokingly.
“I’m the only one that knows some French. If Rachelle needs to ask something I should be nearby.”
Joey turned the idea over in his head for a little bit and we were fine with letting him decide how this would go. And I kept up a patient smile.
But behind my expression I was getting worried. Joey wasn’t the type to get nervous like this. He was never shy around new people either. I suppose the circumstances were different here.
“...I’ll be okay.” He tried to give me this brave look. “I mean, it’s only two hours, right?”
“Uh-huh. You’ll be fine. Light Chill.” I smiled.
Joey giggled for a moment. A sad smile spreading across his face. “Thanks. Blitz.”
I looked at the full group. “We’ll meet up back at the inn sometime after the shops close. Then we’ll go over what we found and start early tomorrow. Everyone got it?”
Gwen and Joey nodded along and when I asked Rachelle if she was ready, she closed the message and smiled.
Without much else to say, we split off in two directions with Rachelle and I heading towards the high-end shops while Joey and Gwen went to the vendors.
With Light Chill/Gray Matters
Joey’s POV
After reaching the market, Gray had us walk for a few minutes to try and spot some good shops to talk to. After we came up with a few good ideas, Gwen had us practice talking to the shops that we didn’t think would work.
At first it seemed sort of weird talking to the ponies. We would start talking and then just start asking the kinds of questions that people wouldn't just tell you right away. But the ponies didn't seem to mind answering.
After it started to sound a little more normal, Gray had me practice a few times myself. It made me nervous but when none of the ponies seemed to get too upset at anything, it got easier to ask them the same questions Gray had. Some of them even answered like they were telling me secrets. That made it feel like I was like a detective.
But while I was starting to have some fun, Gray was listening really carefully. Whenever I talked to a pony, Gray would stare really intensely at the ponies. Then, whenever it was her turn, her voice sounded completely different. Almost like Mom's voice when she was on the news.
As we walked away from the last shop pony, something popped up in front of me.
Persuasion Rank Up: Rank 3!
I let out a “Huh,” and shut away the message.
“So just talking to them boosts up the skill. Good to know.” Gray started to guide us in a different direction. “I think we’re ready to try for real now.”
“Wait. Before that, what’s with that voice you’re doing?” I asked her bluntly. “If these ponies aren’t really...real, then why talk like that?”
She thought it over for a moment before she spoke. “Well, at first, I thought they’d pick up on our tone,” she told me. “But apparently they’re not that smart. So...Force of habit, I guess?”
“Habit from what?”
She let out this low single chuckle. “Well. They probably fired me for not coming in, so, I guess I should say I was a waitress? It doesn’t really matter. But that's what makes me fall into the customer service voice I always used.”
“That has a name?” I looked up at her. “I thought waiter’s just wanted to be really nice for money.”
She started laughing. “I like you. You’re smart.” She had this genuine smile for a moment. “But yeah, that’s what the voice is for. You go from bum to Harvard student in a switch.”
When she was done laughing, she pointed over towards one of the biggest tents in the market ahead of us. “Okay. So. See that place?” I nodded. “That’s the best shop in town. It’s a clothing store with boots, capes, hoods and all that. Some players have been saving money just to buy the better gear in there.”
“Yeah. I saw a lot of pony players go in there this morning.” Some of them had to wait outside cause it got so full at one point. “But what if someone’s already found the quest?”
“That’s just it. They haven’t,” she told me. “You already know I’m an Info Dealer, right?”
“Yeah. I heard that when you argued with my brother earlier.” I frowned a little.
“Oh. R-Right.” She slumped her shoulders in return. “Well, I’m not the only one. A few beta testers and forum lurkers have been selling what they know to the other players. Some of them have even tried pooling some of us together. Hasn't gone far though.”
“Okay?” Where was she going with this?
“One of the bigger Dealers always meets with players in this tent,” she went on. “If players ever try to scare him, the guards show up because it's a shop. But the whole time he's been here, he's never seen a quest from the store.”
“Wait.” I thought over everything she told me. “Alex talked about testers before. They played the game before everyone else. Couldn’t we just ask him where the quests are and be done?”
“First, Info Dealer,” she reminded me. “He would only tell us if we bought it. Or at least, he would if he knew where the quests were. No one knows how to get the special quests we're hunting for. And the lucky few that have bumped into them, like you and your brother, are the only reason people know they exist.”
I blinked. “I don’t think I was that lucky. The food pony I met today just talked about candy and I talked back to him until he the quest came up.”
“Exactly. And Alex and I think it's not luck.” Gray grinned. “You just need to say the right thing and eventually strike gold. But with a crowd of players buying things the same time as you, how could you talk up the busiest shop in town?”
I took in a breath. “You can't," I realized. "Everyone would just buy stuff and leave.”
Gray hummed approvingly. “You can ask NPCs about gossip. I've tried it. But it always sounded like fluff dialogue and useless gossip to me. Until you try to use that gossip against the NPCs. Use the right gossip and suddenly that fluff dialogue becomes important.”
I nodded along, pretending like I knew what she was talking about. Truthfully, I had no idea what a fluff dialogue was.
“So then. Is that why we're here? Because there's gossip?”
“Rumor has it,” Gray began, sitting down and facing me. “That the owner of this store, with this stupid name, Good Fit, is a mother. Her son, Tight Fit, is a thug who hates working here. They bicker all the time. But recently, Tight Fit’s not working here anymore. I wonder what happened~” Gray ended, reciting the rumor like it was a storybook.
Then she smirked. “I might not know MMOs like your brother, but I know a plot hook. This is gonna be the first one we check out.”
I played the story over in my head. Good Fit. Tight Fit. Doesn't work here. “And that’ll give us a quest?”
She shrugged. “It’s as good a start as any. Do you want to try?”
“Me?” I tensed up. “Alex said you were supposed to talk to them.”
“I am. But if you go first, I can see how she acts and give us a second chance if you can't get it. That okay with you?”
“Uh...” I took in a breath and all of a sudden felt really nervous. Still, after practicing on the other ponies, this didn't sound too different. “O-Okay. I’ll try.”
“Good. I’ll be in the store close by. So you’re not alone...Light Chill,” she said, glancing up at my name for a second.
I tried not to laugh. "Okay, Business Pony.”
Gray let out a huff. "Alright, I deserve that one." She stood up from her place, walking past me and through the tent flaps. From outside I heard a woman’s voice welcome her.
I stood up next. “Okay. Just another shop pony. Let’s do this,” I said, psyching myself up before I trotted into the tent next.
As I did, the warm colored lanterns illuminated the inside of the tent, making it look as if there was a permanent sunset inside. Then, across the space were racks, shelves, hangers and pony mannequins set up with all kinds of different clothes for sale.
As I glanced at the nearby items, small holographic boxes with names and information flashed beside them. The stuff closest to the entrance seemed more expensive than other things.
“Good afternoon sir,” a warm lady’s voice called out.
Not too far was an Earth Pony adjusting a hood on one of the mannequins. She was a bigger pony with an orange mane tied up in a bun and a light brown coat. She wore an apron with measuring tape and other supplies sticking out of the pockets.
“Um. Hello.” I shuffled in place, suddenly having no idea what I was supposed to do. So instead, I looked around the room some more, spotting two other ponies beside Gray and myself.
The first one was a Pegasus with simple metal armor and a deep purple, spiky mane. He sat against the edge of the tent and watched as Gray walked over to him. The name Freethe0ct0pus as well as a player crystal hung above him.
Then on the opposing side of the tent was another player with the name SKYLIGHTMAX_417 swinging back and forth as she was looking between two cloaks. She was a mare with platinum blonde hair and a sky blue coat without armor.
“Hey Oct,” Gray greeted as she reached the guy.
“Hey," he replied. "I got your message. What'd you want to show me?”
“A presentation,” Gray answered, sitting beside him. Then she looked at me and gave me a lazy salute.
“O-Oh. Uh.” I quickly returned it, making her facehoof.
“...Is that a kid?” Octopus asked her.
“Uh-huh. We’re trying something out. You see...” From there on, Gray and Octopus got quieter, both keeping tabs on me.
Okay. That’s kinda weird, I thought, trying to ignore them.
I took one more breath and walked up to the red-maned pony who didn’t have a player crystal. Above her head read the name Good Fit. From Gray's story.
“Uh...Hello? Miss?” I started.
Good Fit turned around and gave me a sweet smile. “How might I help you?”
“Uh...I wanted. To see if you had a job-quest?” I bit my cheek.
She giggled. “That’s very sweet of you honey, but, unfortunately, I don’t have anything exciting going on right now.”
“...Are you sure?” I asked again, trying to be nosy like we practiced. “I heard you did.”
This time, she didn’t answer right away. Instead, she began to blink a few times in the same odd way the weapon shop and food cart ponies did.
When the blinking stopped, her expression tensed but she tried to keep her smile. “Now wherever did you hear that?”
That's when Octopus perked up from the corner of my eye. He turned over to Gray and asked something to which she didn't answer. Instead, she gave me a big grin and a motion to keep going.
“Um. From somepony," I said vaguely. "They said that there was something going on." My brain ran on overdrive for a second before I remembered the story. "W-With your son. Tight Fit."
Again, Good Fit didn't answer. She just started blinking a few more times as she seemed more concerned. "They had talked about him? Do you know where he is?"
"Where he." I paused for a second. "Woah. I-Is he missing?"
A couple more blinks and Good Fit nodded along. "Yes. He hasn't shown up at home or the store for a couple of days. After he went..."
Fit bit her lip, glancing around the store and locking eyes with the other players who were now watching the pony as if it grew a second head.
“...Not. Here,” she whispered. “I’m sorry but...N-Now’s not the right time to talk about this. Not when there’s customers.”
“But Gray said there are always customers,” I said aloud, making Gray flinch slightly.
Another blink. "I know." Good Fit thought for a moment to herself. “This might be sudden, but...could we speak after I close shop? I...I need to tell somepony but...The guards can't know about this.”
“The guards?” Octopus repeated aloud, getting no response. Meanwhile, Gray had this huge grin spreading across her face.
New Quest
A Loose Thread
Reward: N/A (+EXP)
Conditions: Speak to Good Fit between 7:30 PM & 2 AM
-Accept Quest
-Decline Quest
"Yes!"
From the side, Gray almost started to dance in place as Octopus and the other player stared in awe.
I guess I should say yes.
I reached out to the text box and pressed accept, which made it fade away and let me stare up at the pony who was waiting for me to say something. Just like the last quests.
“Yeah, I can talk then,” I told her. “Can I bring my friends? They want to, um. Help too?”
Good Fit had one more blinking fit before calming down and giving me a slight nod. “I think that would be great. The more help the merrier, I suppose. When all of you are ready to talk, please come meet me at my house. I’ll go over everything there.”
Up in the corner of my vision, the words ‘Map Updated’ showed up. I guessed it would show where her house was going to be.
“Okay. We’ll come later then,” I told her.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” She took a few steps back and took a breath before she turned around and started to ease back into just being the shopkeeper again, adjusting the same hood from before.
I took that as a chance to walk over to Gray but not before the Skylight player to her chance to approach Good Fit next.
“Excuse me,” she started, earning Fit’s attention. “Do you have any work for me?”
Fit gave the girl a sweet smile and shook her head. “Sorry miss. I can’t really think of anything.”
The girl looked over to me for a second. “Are you sure? I heard you did.” She copied what I said.
But this time, Good Fit just shrugged without any blinking. “Perhaps it was somepony else dear. My apologies.”
Good Fit turned back to her work as the lady tried to come up with something else to say.
“Might as well give it up,” Octopus told her, standing up from his spot along with Gray. “That was a one-time only quest. Kid got lucky.”
He gave me a wink as the female player groaned and trudged back to the two cloaks.
“So. Oct,” Gray started, walking over next to me. “What do you think? How much would these quests sell for?”
Oct closed his eyes, looking more stoic than his mane and armor suggested. Then, he opened them and smirked. “Not sure yet. I’ll need to see some for myself. I'll come by tonight.”
With that, Octopus hurried out of the tent, leaving us on our own.
“Good job Chill. Now we just gotta hope this is a quest line.”
I smiled back. “So that means we do the job then?”
“Oh yeah.” She nodded. “Even if it’s not armor, this is one of the best shops in town. We’ll get something out of this."
"Good." I let out a breath. "I really hope the Tight Fit kid's okay."
"Huh? Oh, sure." She brushed it off. "Now come on. We need to hit more stores before Oct finds them.”
“Definitely.”
The two of us hurried out of the tent and I followed Gray as we ran after the next rumor.
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Well now what convoluted situation will this lead to, I wonder.