> Quiet Mountain Town
>  by Darth Severus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The New Kid
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You just finished setting up the last of your things in your new room. You had just moved to a quiet town called Ash Lake. It seemed like a nice place to live, but still, you were worried you wouldn't be able to make any friends, just like you couldn't make any back in Manehatten.

Your mom knocked on your bedroom door and as she opened it she said, "Honey, are you all done unpacking?" When she sees your room neat and tidy, she smiles, "Ok sweetie, why don't you go out an play? I know you had trouble making friends back in Manehatten, but we're in a much smaller town now, and school's out for the summer break, so I'm sure you'll be able to make some friends."

You sigh and get out of the chair in front of your desk and say, "Ok mom, I'll try."

As you exit the front door, your dad, who was reading the local paper called out, "Just remember to be back by dark scamp!"

You nodded, "Ok dad!" before heading out the door. You looked around, it was certainly quiet here, nothing like Manehatten where you could barely hear yourself think at this time of day. You walked out to the sidewalk and saw two kids in costumes fighting.

One of the kids said, "Help!"

As you run up behind the other kid and punch him, he runs off and you ask the kid who you helped, "Hey, are you ok?"

The kid, who had neon green hair stood up and said, "Yeah, thanks. I didn't realize he had a health potion on him. Oh, you're the one who just moved in, aren't you? My name's Spike, I live right next door to you! What's your name?"

You tell him, "My name's Astral Shadow."

Spike smiled, "Well Astral, do you want to play Dungeons and Dragons with me and my friends?"

You raise an eyebrow, "Isn't that a tabletop game with dice?"

"Well, normally it is, but the kids here in Ash Lake aren't really the kind who just sit and roll dice. We like to play for real, makes things a bit more interesting."

You smile and say, "Sounds fun! Lead the way!" before following Spike to a blue house and heading inside. Spike said to a woman sitting on the couch, "Hi Mrs. Stormtalon! Just passing through to play with Gallus!"

The woman smiled, "Good to see you Spike, there's some snickerdoodles in the kitchen if you get hungry. Oh, and hello there, you must be the child who moved in a few houses down. I hope you have fun with my little Gallus."

You smiled and followed Spike out through the kitchen and into the back yard, grabbing a snickerdoodle as you did. As you walked into the back yard, you saw a large cardboard castle, surrounded by what appeared to be a moat made of red Lego bricks. "What's with the Lego moat?" You ask eating the cookie you grabbed.

Spike told him, "That's lava, you can't cross lava, so it's perfect for a moat."

You smile, "That's pretty cool, but how do we get into the castle?"

Spike walked over to the moat and said, "Pefok hto zkixvo! (Lower the bridge!)"

You raise an eyebrow, but when two kids come out of the castle and lay a piece of plywood over the moat, you ask Spike, "You guys even invented your own language for the game? That's so cool!"

Spike smiled, "You really think so? It was actually my idea, and Gallus took to it like a pig to mud. We call the language Arutini. Learning it will be one of the first things to do if Gallus accepts you into the Kingdom of Eorzea."

As you walk into the cardboard castle after Spike, a boy with dark blue hair wearing clothes that look like that of a king says, in what you assume is Arutini, "Jmiro hto xkuven jpuchok, fte ij htij jhkunvok chea tugo zkeavth he quch yujhpo? (Spike the Dragon Slayer, who is this stranger you have brought to my castle?)"

Spike got down on one knee, and gave a look that told you to do the same and said, "Quch rinv, htij ij ujhkup jtuxef, u nofyequok he hto rinvxequ. To fijtoj he sein hto wivth uvuinjh hto uyyakjox vezpin rinv. (My King, this is Astral Shadow, a newcomer to the kingdom. He wishes to join the fight against the accursed Goblin King.)"

The blue-haired boy spoke in normal English and said, "So Astral Shadow, you wish to join my kingdom. Very well, but first, a test to see if you are worthy. Spike, as you are the one who brought the newcomer here, you will be the one to test him."

Spike nodded, "Of course King Gallus. Follow me." before leading you back out of the castle and to what looked like a small shop, also made out of a cardboard box and said to a young girl, "Hey Gabby, we need to equip the newcomer with a weapon. Oh! That reminds me, what class do you want your character to be, a Warrior, a Mage, a Thief, or a Ranger?"

You think for a moment and say, "I think I'd like to be a thief, it's my favorite class in Final Fantasy."

The girl behind the counter of the fake shop said, "It's a pleasure, here you go." before handing you a plastic dagger. "Since you're new here, I'll give you some health potions, free of charge!" before handing you five bags of potato chips. "Those are the cheapest ones I sell, if you ever want the better ones, you'll have to win coin in battles to buy them from me."

You smile and say, "Thanks Gabby, I think I'll enjoy this game."

You follow Spike to an empty section of Gallus's back yard, and he says, "Now it is time for your test, you must defeat me in combat."

Your eyes widen and you say, "But I don't know anything about battle!"

Spike chuckled, "That's not a big deal, each player gets a turn to attack, and it goes in a circle. You can use one item before an attack and still use an attack or a skill. Those potions may come in handy during this fight, so be sure to use them properly." before drawing his plastic sword. "En garde!"

And so, your initiation into the Kingdom of Eorzea begins. You've already made a friend in Spike, and now you have the chance to make more friends. The game has begun, and you have just joined the fun.
> Initiation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you get your plastic knife out to begin your battle with Spike, he tells you, "Don't worry, I'm only a level five Dragoon, defeating me won't be super hard, but I won't let you win on purpose."

You smile and say, "I wouldn't have it any other way. By the way, what kind of skills do I have as a Thief?"

Spike facepalmed and said, "I knew I was forgetting something! Right now as a level one Thief, your only skill is called Backstab. You get to go behind your opponent and cause a Damage over Time status. It can't be guarded against by shields, so it's a good skill against opponents who are carrying a shield or have strong armor. Once you win more battles and level up, you'll gain more skills. One last thing, we use out phones to keep track of our health and mana. My father created the app for us, so I'll send you a download link. It works automatically, so there's nothing to worry about."

You hear your phone beep and take it out to see that your D&D profile was set up with some simple things, and things you would have to fill out later, as well as your Health and Mana bars, both of which were full right now. "I guess I'll finish setting up my profile later, thanks Spike."

Spike nodded, "Now, come at me!"

You decide to try out your new Backstab skill and run behind Spike and jab him with your plastic knife. His phone beeps and a computerized voice says, "Bleeding, 3 turns of damage over time activated. 15 damage dealt, 45 health remaining.". The same computerized voice on your phone said, "6 mana used, 6 mana remaining."

Your eyes widen as you go back to your place on the battlefield, "Your father must be an amazing coder to have made such a cool app."

Spike smiled, "Thanks, my dad's been coding for a long time. I'll make sure to tell him your impressed. But now it's my turn!" before going towards you with his plastic sword. When you block his sword with your knife, he seems impressed, "You've certainly got guarding down without me needing to explain." before heading back to his place.

As Spike returned to his place, his phone beeped, "5 damage taken from bleeding. 40 health remaining."

As the battle continued, both of your phones beeped, Spike's saying, "Health depleted, KO" and your phone saying, "25 experience gained from victory, level 2 achieved."

Spike smiled, "Not bad, you win. You're a member of the Kingdom of Eorzea now. Let's get back to the castle." before leading you back to the cardboard castle and telling Gallus "Quch rinv, hto nofyequok tuj mujjox tij hkiup, unx ij kouxch wek inihiuhien." (My king, the newcomer has passed his trial, and is ready for initiation.)

Gallus smiled and nodded, "Welcome Astral Shadow, you are now a warrior of Eorzea. Here, this is the badge of our kingdom, it will show you are truly a member of our kingdom. Now for the initiation ceremony." before standing up and walking to you. He said, "Let it be known that on this day, Astral Shadow has gained the favor of our Dragon God Bahamut, and is now a full fledged member of the Kingdom of Eorzea." before placing his fake staff to each of your shoulders.

Spike clapped, along with the other kids who were playing, only for one of them to come in yelling, "Hto vezpin rinv'j wekyoj uko uhhuyrinv! fo'ko eahnaquzokox!" (The Goblin King's forces are attacking! We're outnumbered!)

Gallus's eyes widened, "To battle! Astral Shadow, you're with Spike, don't let those goblins get into the castle!" before running out to fight.

You run out of the castle, and somehow, you manage to say, "Kuijo hto zkixvo! htoch quuch zo vezpinj, zah htoch'ko jhipp neh wikomkeew!" (Raise the bridge! They may be goblins, but they're still not fireproof!) before realizing, "How did I know how to say that? Whatever, now's not the time." as the bridge of plywood being taken off the Lego moat.

As you fight against the kids dressed up as goblins, you see two of them jumping the fence behind the castle, dodging the Lego moat. You yell to the others, "It's a set up! They're jumping the fence!"

Gallus looked over, "That's cheating and you guys know it! Spike, use your Thunder Dragon Strike!"

Spike nodded, "As you say my king!" before throwing yellow Lego bricks at the two goblins jumping the fence. The two fell off the fence, acting as if they had been electrocuted. "Astral, you make sure nobody else tries to cheat like that!"

You nod, "Aye sir!" before heading to the other side of the fence to see a fat kid trying to jump the fence, but he just couldn't gather enough energy to pull himself up and over the fence. You jab him with your plastic dagger and he yelps falling off the fence and face down. As he got back up, the fat kid yelled, "Goblins, retreat! We'll be back!"

As the kids dressed as goblins fled, one of the kids who was still in the castle, "They got in! They stole our piece of the Star Rod!"

Gallus growled, "Darn those dirty cheating goblins! We have to prepare for our counterattack!"

The others nodded, "Yes sir!" before going to get ready for the next battle

And so, you have been initiated into Eorzea, only for the Goblin King's forces to steal Eorzea's piece of something called the Star Rod. What is this Star Rod? You don't know yet, but you know it's important, so you prepare to go and get it back from the goblins.