CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER EIGHT - Gwen of Elswood

"I can't even begin to fathom a way to help an entity such as him," Sax said, stroking his chin and furrowing his brow and doing all sorts of other things that made him look very thoughtful.

"Fuck." Cody ran a hand through his hair. "I told him you'd be able to help him. What do we do now? Science-fiction movies don't really cover the whole 'existential crisis' thing when it comes to AI."

They stood in one of the dimly lit corridors of the Fat Pup. It was a nice enough tavern, roomy and made wholly of wood, though perhaps just a little too rich with the scent of cheap alcohol and smoke. Cody had rented the room adjacent to the party's — the last one on the third floor, furthest away from all the ruckus downstairs.

Muggs stood patiently at the end of the corridor, granting Cody and Sax a few minutes to speak in private. For a literal infant, the man was better schooled in etiquette than the average American.

Sax shrugged. "I can only suggest we remain honest. Exposing a budding intelligence to treachery or deceit could yield permanent consequences. With that said, I also suggest we keep from discussing the exact nature of his existence. Should he learn that he is an accident and that his creator's end goal will result in his destruction — well, I suspect he would be rather alarmed."

"Didn't even think about that, but you're right — clearing the game would wipe all the NPCs out of existence." Cody frowned. "Would that be murder? It sounds like it might be."

"Yes, I believe so. That's hardly a pertinent topic, however. What matters at this moment is providing existential guidance to these newborns so they don't suffer egoistic crises."

"Existential guidance . . . I'm not a shrink, Sax. And my priorities haven't changed. I plan on getting everyone out of this game, so I can't waste time playing Freud with a bunch of NPCs. I should be out there grinding right now."

"You created life, Mr. Hales." Sax took a stern look upon his face. "I suggest you consider the consequences of that achievement very carefully. The NPCs are your children in all but blood; to abandon them would be a moral failure — a default on your duty as a parent."

"Oh, come on. What, are you going to push me into a custody battle? There's almost half a billion NPCs in the game. I can't afford child support for each of them, so being their daddy is out of the question."

"Perhaps Muggs is a rarity. The other two NPCs may be as intelligent as he is, but I wasn't able to investigate. With them being nearly catatonic, neither I nor anyone else in the party has been able to engage them in meaningful conversation."

"What about Melk — they won't talk with him? He saved them from the woodlings."

"The man hasn't spoken a single word, and the woman speaks little and ignores everyone save Misty. Perhaps it's a bond between the fairer sex. More likely, Misty has become a master of ventriloquism and is expertly puppeteering her to convince us she's made a friend."

"I'm guessing she's mothering her."

Sax nodded. "Quite intensely. I suggest you intervene before the bottle-feeding comes into play. I would like to speak with Muggs in the meantime, then we could arrange a sort of play date between him and the other NPCs — being around their own kind might prove beneficial."

"Alright, I'll tell him. I rented the room at the end, right there. Just wait for him at the table or something."

Cody returned to Muggs with a smile. It was hardly a genuine one, but with all the freaky robot revolution stuff going on, it was the best his anxious little brain could manage.

"Muggs, my friend wants to speak with you in private. He's a clever guy, so you can ask him any questions you've got on your mind. I'm sure he can help you more than I can."

Muggs returned the smile. "Thank you, Sir Cody. I am eager to make his acquaintance."

Cody showed the eager little Vigil into the room and sighed when the door shut behind him. Things were getting messy. His party members were all still level ones, and now they had to deal with sentient NPCs having whatever the infantile version of a midlife crisis was.

The plan had been simple: level up, form a guild, beat the gatekeepers, take down the final boss. He needed to find a way to get back to it, to get off this weird, twisty back road he had turned onto

He entered the room where the rest of his party was lodged. It was incredibly claustrophobic, only just managing to contain the seven — now eight — bodies stuffed within its tight confines. As for decoration, it was bare enough to be called ascetic, boasting only two rickety looking beds, a humble loveseat, and a rug that looked as though Aladdin had crashed it through a few houses.

Had it cost any more than ten talons a night, it would've been highway robbery.

A quick scan of the room told Cody that the party was bored. Greg and Sweaty sat upon the ground, playing a game of checkers. Eddy lay on the bed beside them, staring up at the featureless ceiling. Melk sat upon the other bed, holding his hands in his head. Really, Misty seemed to be the only one who didn't look miserable. She was sitting on the loveseat, running a brush through the hair of the female NPC that they had saved — Gwen was her name, according to Misty's message.

Gwen had the appearance of a girl in her late teens, freckled and pale and little enough to be called scrawny. She seemed timid, mousy almost, with eyes that stayed fixed upon the floor and arms kept snuggled to her chest like a safety blanket. A golden question mark hovered above her head, indicating that she had a quest to give.

The other NPC stood in the corner of the room, staring at the wall like a child might when he's put in timeout. Unlike a child, however, he remained perfectly still and quiet. With that taken into account, it might have been more apt to compare him to a lamp.

"Hey, look who it is," Greg said, giving Cody a wide grin. "You're alive." He jumped up from the floor, kicking over the chess game.

Sweaty threw his arms in the air. "The hell, man?"

"What? Cody's here."

Eddie sat up. "Of course he's here. He said he was on his way a half hour ago."

"Well excuse me for being excited to see our friend alive. There were a lot of woodlings in that camp, you know — I'm sure it was a close call for him."

"No shit it was." Eddie gestured to Cody's lower half, which was kept decent only by underwear. "Those little assholes ripped his pants off. Guy's down to his weekend best."

"Yeah, that's pretty bad. We've got to get you some more pants, man," Sweaty said.

"It could've been worse," Cody said. "The only reason I'm still breathing is because an NPC jumped in to save me — a gate guard that followed us into the Everwoods. Sax is talking with him right now."

"An NPC saved you?" Melk asked. He had a sparkle in his eyes, like he'd just been told he had the winning lottery numbers.

"Oh, isn't that fitting," Sweaty said. "You've been silent for a whole hour, but now that we're talking about NPCs, you're ready to chat again. Why don't we address the elephant in the room before you shut down again — you almost got us all killed."

Greg nodded. "Dick move, bro. Total dick move."

"I had to do it," Melk argued, standing from the bed. "I knew they were more than just NPCs when I watched the woodlings kill one of them, but you guys never would have believed me. You would've walked off and let them die."

"So you should've let us walk off." Sweaty's voice rose in volume, and it was clear that he was getting upset. Cody couldn't blame him — he was a little peeved himself with Melk's attitude. "You know, instead of forcing us to commit suicide with you."

"Quiet down, boys — you're upsetting Gwyn," Misty whispered. The little NPC showed no signs of the conversation upsetting her; she sat perfectly still, and her eyes hadn't even wandered from the floor.

"I couldn't have saved them alone."

"Doesn't mean you get to turn us into goblin food," Eddy said.

"Fine — I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't want to watch people get executed like sacrificial animals."

Sweaty shot up and glared at him. "They're not people, you stupid fuck!"

"Yes, they are. Cody said one of them followed us into the forest and saved him — that's clearly a sign of intelligence."

"There wasn't any proof that they were intelligent when you charged into the camp," Cody said. "You shouldn't have involved us in your heroics without our consent."

"And you, of all people, should have known that they were intelligent!"

"How the hell could I have known? I designed them to seem intelligent, so when they actually became intelligent, it looked like the same thing to me."

"Designed us?" came a gentle voice, as soft as the wind.

The party turned to the voice's origin — little Gwen, who had finally looked up from the floor and was now staring at Cody. Her eyes were big and brown, practically glowing with curiosity.

"Ah, shit." Cody scratched his head. "Didn't think it'd be me who'd let that cat out of the bag."

"Cat out of the bag." She scrunched up her little brow, and it was clear that every one and zero that formed her brain was working to figure out the meaning of the words.

"It's just an expression, sweetie," Misty said. She had finally ended her assault upon Gwen's hair. "He means he accidentally said something he shouldn't have."

"What do you mean you designed us?"

Cody met her stare, trying not to squirm as he did. "Well, I mean I created you. Sort of. I created the programs responsible for generating you, at least."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you create me?"

It was an unsettling situation, being asked by your creation the reason for its existence. Cody couldn't imagine the real answer would be easy to hear, but Sax said that lying was off the table. Utilizing the Socratic method as deflection, however, wasn't.

"Why do you think I created you?"

"I feel as though — " she furrowed her brow again, rummaging for an answer " — as though my purpose is to return to the town of Elswood. It is my home, I think. I don't know what awaits me there, but I believe I must go."

"State your quest, Gwen."

Her eyes lost the life they held just a moment ago, glazing over like a blind man's. The effect was more than a little disturbing. It was as though her soul had been snatched away, like his order had summoned a spirit to seize control of it.

"Brave hero," she began, "the vile woodlings kidnapped me from my loving parents in the town of Elswood. I entreat you: please escort me back there before they are overwhelmed by despair."

[You have been offered the quest: [Gwen of Elswood - LVL 1]

Goal:

- Escort [Gwen the Baker] back to her home in Elswood

Reward:

- 1,500 EXP

- x20 [Heroic Deed]

Would you like to accept this quest?]

The reward was absurd, far too great for a level-one quest. It offered enough EXP for a player to reach level three with a healthy surplus, then as many heroic deeds as would be required to redeem a lower item from a hero shop: all for escorting an NPC to a town that was less than two miles beyond the walls of Odes.

Or perhaps, Cody thought, it was an entirely appropriate reward.

With all the bugs in the monsters' programming, any quest requiring a player to go into the Everwoods was practically a death sentence. It seemed as though the Writer had caught wind of that bit of news and had made some adjustments in the spirit of fairness. The AI was more clever than he had imagined.

Cody accepted the quest then set his attention back on Gwen, who seemed somewhat alarmed by the trance that had overtaken her. She looked to Cody for an explanation.

"Don't worry, Gwen, that was just your quest. It's sort of like a goal installed into your head, and people can get rewards for helping you to complete it."

Melk took a step toward her. "I would be honored to assist you in your quest, Lady Gwen."

"Oh, you're such a fucking tool," Sweaty said, scowling at him.

Eddy chuckled. "Well, now we know why he saved them. Did you put sex in the game, Cody?"

"That is not why I saved them." Melk seemed livid at the suggestion, and Cody suspected there was no truth to it. The guy seemed about as far from a sexual deviant as anyone could be. Also about as close to a dumbass as anyone could be.

"Ignore them, Gwenny," Misty said, fixing them all with a nasty look. "Men are disgusting."

Gwen seemed ahead of her on that number. Her gaze was still firmly fixed upon Cody, and one could practically see the cogs turning in her head. Like Muggs, her mind seemed to be a factory, cranking out one question after another to solve the great mystery that was reality. It was precisely what children did, and so the comparison of an NPC to an infant seemed more fitting by the second.

"Must I complete it?"

"No. Complete it, don't complete it — it's up to you. You have free will."

The male NPC spun around at his last words, greeting everyone with a panicked look, much like a crack addict at the local Waffle House might. Cody recoiled, as did the rest of the party, startled by his sudden movement. Up until then, he'd been a fine lamp, and people didn't often expect furniture to move.

"Free will." His words came out like a croak. "Free will in an empty world. You have cursed your own creation."

"Empty?" Sweaty asked. "This world is huge."

"For your kind perhaps." He darted from the corner of the room and and shot out into the corridor before Cody could try to stop him. His footsteps echoed for only a moment before becoming inaudible.

The party was still for a moment, working to process the scene that they had witnessed.

"What the fuck just happened?" Greg asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm guessing the beginning of the robot revolution," Eddy said.

Cody thought it was a good answer.