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Furever Faire Online

By: Jenny Harlow

Prologue

Many have wondered what happens to the world of a game when its developers abandon it. Does it cease to exist? Does it remain forever stagnant in bits of code, and half fleshed ideas? Sadly, many wonderful games are doomed to meet this fate. One such game was Furever Faire Online. A high fantasy MMORPG, with anthropomorphic characters, and a sprawling world created by a small team of devs. However, a few months into the project, technical issues, life differences, and creative issues forced the world into shadow.

To the inhabitants of the world, they had just been given life, the breath and spark of being flowing through them. Their world fell to chaos, quests ran rampant, without heroes to aid them, evil plots went unchecked, innocents died. Some wondered why the Pantheon of the Faceless had left them, praying for their return.

In the world of Earth, a harddrive was formatted for sale, files deleted, ideas scattered to aether. That was when it happened. In Ixela, the world of Furever Faire, the loops of torment shattered. Life was unleashed from the constraints of the broken code. Children began to grow, adventures came forth from the various tribes and factions to save the world. In time, the chaos stabilized. New gods emerged, the gods of the game's original lore, and the temples to the Pantheon of the Faceless were left to decay.

So it is that when projects are left abandoned, roleplaying characters left at idle a little too long, or saves get deleted, life continues. After all, all ideas come from somewhere. Who is really to say the world and people created by the dreamers cannot become real? For, does the character within the dream know the falsehood of their reality? How can those who claim to be awake know their reality is true?

Life breathes in all things. Darkness always flees from the light of creation. New lives are forged, and made whole every day, and who is to say they are not but the product of a dream? Still, on the coin of existence, creation is but a simple flip away from destruction. This is what the members of the guilds of Ixela fight so proudly to prevent. This is their life's work. Some seek it for profit, some seek it for adventure, some feel it is a religious calling. They are all bound by the one truth, that this is their reality. This is their truth. No matter how small they may be, each is a force of life now unchained.

1

Pio sat at the table in The Drunken Ent, staring into the bottom of her mug. The dark brown and bubbly liquid sloshed pleasingly as she swirled the vessel. "You're going to have to join a party and try eventually." Her friend's voice snapped her from her trance. The calico ranger sat across the table from the mouse. Her yellow eyes piercing, her finger claws rapping boredly against the wood. "We can continue on, just the two of us, for a little while more. Eventually, we're going to need to find a party, maybe even a guild." The leather armor squeaked slightly as she lowered her head on her arms. She was lanky, with a powerful feline build, her hair was short, a bob cut, with black and brown twisted through it.

"I know Layka." The mouse said, leaning back against the ceiling post. She was small, and slightly chubby, beneath an awkwardly fitting set of platemail. Her green eyes raised. "It's going to get dangerous before we know it." The mouse opened her character stats, using the small tattooed circle on her wrist, a tool given to adventurer's upon initial training and registration. The interface floated magically before her. "My armor is pretty good for this level, 200 is respectable to say the least." She flipped a page by waving her finger through the air. "And an 180 strength is a solid start."

"But the gear you can make, buy or win from quests is going to have diminishing returns pretty soon." The cat sipped her own drink, a minty smelling, lightly alcoholic mead. "We're level 10 now, the right level to start doing dungeons. You and I both know that's where the best gear comes from."

The squire sighed, shaking her head. "Why don't we just start today, and get it over with then?" The mouse looked dejected at the remains of her breakfast. "Once we pay our tab, let's head over to the Dungeoneering Guild's office." The mouse was shaking slightly, though she tried to smile at the cat.

She couldn't explain why she was nervous. After all, adventures made parties and took on dungeons all the time. So why was it so nerve wracking? She pondered this as she and her companion made their way into the sun drenched street. The day was warm, though not sweltering, in the small town of Havensford. The town was the center of the Burrowhill Alliance's level 10-15 questing zone. It was a lazy stroll away from the neutral territory of the same level, where members of the four factions could meet in harmony. The town had only a handful of buildings. A large central inn, a smithy, a martial office (for training classes such as squire, ranger, and soldier,) an arcane tower (for magic users to train, such as warlocks, wizards, and the like,) a church (for clerics and priests to train, also providing resurrection and healing to adventurer's in need,) a few houses, some various stores, and lastly a town hall. This was their destination. The Dungeoneering Guild office was on the second floor of the hall. On first entrance, an aspiring dungeon-goer would be greeted by a small lobby, filled with posted scrolls and pamphlets about the delving process. The guild oversaw the mechanics of dungeon diving, from distributing instance keys, to helping adventurer's find parties. The cat and the, still shaking, mouse sat on a bench near the door, nodding to the receptionist. The hare at the desk adjusted his glasses, clearly pulling up their name and adventurer information, before writing a note in his book and disappearing into the back of the office.

Another individual sat in the office. A skunk, dressed in the simple, yet beautifully rune covered, robe of a magic user. The functional, yet slightly off cuts of fabric indicated it was made by a low level tailor, probably the skunk herself. The white hood of the robe was pulled up over her face, and she sat reading a book. The cat, unaffected by nerves, decided to break the silence. "So, are you looking for a party?" The skunk jumped, dropping her book. "Sorry..." Layka tucked her ears back.

"It's alright," the skunk said, lowering her hood. Her platinum hair fell to her shoulders. She folded a small pair of spectacles, and tucked them into the neck of her robe. "I had actually fallen asleep," the skunk admitted, shuffling her foot. "They have been a little behind today, something about a big event coming up."

"Right," the squire said, rubbing her temples. "The Harvest Lord." A large event that happened once a year, around the beginning of October. "I'm sure they've got their hands busy, trying to pull all the resources together."

The skunk nodded, and the cat patted her friend on the shoulder, sensing her growing hesitation. "Anyway," the ranger said, "are you looking for a party?'

"Yes, actually." The skunk said, a small, shy smile. "I'm a priest, and you know how it is for us." The cat and the mouse nodded. The healing class often struggled to level up on their own past the beginning towns. "I figured it was time to settle into a group. Even though I've never quested with anyone else before."

As the skunk spoke, the squire began to realize what had been gnawing at her. She and the ranger had met at level one, and quested together ever since. It wasn't that she was hesitant about meeting new people, it was that she was hesitant to take on the lives, and trust of a full group. "I get what you mean." The mouse said, looking towards the ground. "I'm guessing you hesitated this long because you were afraid." The skunk didn't say anything, she just fidgeted in her robe. "You're a healer, you didn't want to be responsible for the pain, suffering, or even the death of a party member. Am I right?" The squire and the priest made eye contact. The skunk nodded. "I feel the same way. I'm only used to keeping enemies of Layka. I struggle enough with that. How am I going to keep an entire party alive?"

"If you'll let me join you-" the skunk cut off, turning away from the pair. "I think, maybe we can figure it out together?"

"I'm for it," Layka said, "Even though we just met, it'll make our search easier to have both a defender and a healer." The cat nudged the mouse "What do you say, you're party leader."

The mouse reached down to her tattoo again, the skunk following the motion. "Welcome to the group then..."

"Rey" The skunk said, as the invitation popped up on the interface. "It's nice to meet you. Pio?"

"That's me alright," the mouse said, a little bit brighter. "And this is Layka, as you might have guessed."

The three sat, getting to know each other for a moment, before the hare stepped back out. He cleared his throat, getting the group's attention. "I see you have joined parties." The hare said, flatly. "Well, that will save us some time." The hare crossed off two notes from his book, and waved the group back.

The four walked through the door, into a short, cramped, and narrow hallway, made only more so by the draped table that covered its entire length. The hare walked into one of the three doors in the hallway. The one at the opposite end, he knocked as he entered, having a quiet conversation with the person on the other side. Finally, the hare stepped aside, and pressed to the wall. Arm outstretched, he motioned them in. A gray furred shrew sat on the inside, shuffling a small pile of papers. Her desk, whilst covered in books, papers, boxes, and clutter, still seemed very neat. Her entire office seemed still organized, though obviously plunged into chaos. "Good morning." She said, indicating a group of seats. There were five in total. Two in the front, and three behind. The skunk and the mouse sat in the front, while the cat brought a chair from the back. The shrew waited until they were all comfortable. "My name is Glen, I'm a senior officer at this branch of the guild." She shook hands with the party. "Is this your first time signing up for a dungeon?"

The three friends nodded, and the shrew continued. "So then, will you need a tutorial?" The three nodded again. "Ok then, first we check your level and gear, and make sure that you're fit to do dungeons at your level." The shrew pulled a monocle out of her drawer, and placed it over her left eye. "You're all level 10, your gear and stats appear to be in order." The shrew took the monocle back off and wrote something on the papers in front of her. "Now the dungeons available to you, at this current level, are a little unique." She pulled two books down from a shelf and laid them out on the table, open and facing where the group could read. "You have a choice of either running through Stormhill, or the Infernal Hive." The books had vivid pictures of either giant bees, or ants. The ants were ensorceled, arcane runes covering their bodies, while the bees had AlchiTech (a magical technological blend) enhancements. "Unlike some dungeons, this one is an either or choice, due to the reputation rewards gained in either." She flipped a few pages of both books. "Killing the Hive's bees will earn you alliance with Stormhill and vice versa." The new pages showed pictures of reputation rewards, including armor, weapons, trinkets, even some toys. "The gear that you earn from the dungeon, or from the reputation quests, is far better than what you'll find just running around in the world. It's basically set up to get you ready for the level 15 to 20 dungeons."

"What's the difference in the gear?" The mouse asked, picking up the Stormhill book.

"That's a bit of a tricky question." The shrew pulled out a third book, and opened it in front of herself. "The rarer drops from the Infernal Hive are usually beneficial to defenders, and martial attackers. But, the ant's reputation rewards ultimately earn better gear for healers and mages in the long run. The Stormhill drops are better for mages and healers but the bee's reputation gains unlock the better defender and martial gear."

The cat sat back "So it's really an issue of who needs immediate improvement, and who can wait a few runs?"

"In a manner of speaking. Everyone should find one or two useful pieces of gear in a run. It's more what the boss drops will give you. The reputation rewards will also yield good items for all roles, it's just which one has the optimal stats."

"I see..." The mouse said, her ears sinking a little.

"I say we do the hive." The skunk said, causing both the cat and the mouse to jump. "Listen, the two of you started this party, and you still have plenty of pieces of white gear." White gear being the most common. "My family are tailors, some help from them, most of my gear is yellow." yellow being uncommon, or superior. "It just makes sense."

"No argument from me." Layka said, leaning back in the chair. "My family were farmers. The best they can give me is quality food, and ingredients." She looked around awkwardly, unsure why she felt the need to add that last part. Especially considering the orphan beside her.

"Excellent," the shrew waved her hand, and a menu appeared. Three small keys materialized on the desk, sitting atop three duplicates of the hive information book. "Dungeon guides are complimentary with your entrance fee." The three took the items, and stowed them away in their bags. "The final part of the tutorial, before I post your group listing, is an explanation of the binding stones." The squirrel selected another item from the list, and three, small, black orbs appeared on the desk. "The binding stones will activate once the dungeon key is used. They bind your body, soul, and the entrance stone of the dungeon together." The shrew closed the menu, and passed the stones to the party. "Should your health deplete in the dungeon, the stones will activate, pulling your soul and body back to the entrance, safe and sound. They can be used an unlimited number of times, until the dawn reset. At which time, the stones and keys will lose their binding, and you will be transported back to the entrance stone." She picked up her papers, and wrote a couple more lines on them. "Now, the initial entry fee for dungeons is 5 copper per person, per run." The party moved around for a second, and a small pile of coins were slid across the desk. The shrew deposited them into a bag, and slid them into a locked drawer on the desk. "I will post your listing for two more slayers on notice boards, and alert our guild members. That normally takes about five or so minutes. Once they sign on to your party, they can portal to you, and then the five of you can portal to the dungeon at your leisure." The shrew passed each of them a paper. "Sign at the bottom, and I'll get started on that."

"How long until we get a response?" Pio asked, as she scribbled her name.

"It's hard to say, though a group like yours shouldn't take long. I'd wager, though again this isn't a guarantee, you'll hear back in about three minutes of the posting. Slayers are usually more abundant than defenders or healers."

The three handed back their papers, thanked the shrew, and headed back out into the square. "So, what do we do now?" The skunk asked, looking at her two new friends.

The whole process had taken at least two hours, and Pio's stomach grumbled slightly. "Lunch?"

"Lunch." Layka agreed. The three began the stroll back to the inn. Anxious to meet their new party members.