Obsidian

Chapter Three

Sienna froze. Her mind began racing and for the life of her she couldn’t think of an appropriate response.

“I know you’re not from here.” Vicar Andrew whispered, his breath on her neck.

Sienna whirled around to find that he had closed the distance between them and was but inches from her.

Taking a step back to put some distance between them Sienna responded, “That’s right, I’m not from Karzstead…”Sienna began.

“No, I’d wager from your accent your from the United States.”

Sienna’s mouth dropped open.

“Hand truck gave you away. I was already pretty certain you were not of this world, but that comment confirmed my suspicion. Hand trucks are not a thing here in Norn.”

All she could do was stare at him. Think! she yelled at herself.

“Don’t worry. I may be the vicar here but I won’t have you executed for sorcery. You see, I know more than you may realize.”

Sienna hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility. Magic was very much a real thing here in Norn, but there were rules. Magic was used for the good of the earth, the good of the people, and was a gift bestowed on the blessed few by the Gods. Sorcery, however, was knowledge stolen from the Gods and used for wicked and selfish purposes. Those accused of sorcery often found themselves on the wrong end of a noose.

“I don’t know what to say.” Sienna said, being honest.

Vicar Andrew looked at her. She had no idea what he was thinking, but was beginning to feel vulnerable under his scrutiny and nearness.

He backed away a few spaces. He gestured towards the chair that was in front of his desk, and walked to take the seat behind the desk.

“I too am from the United States. I was born in 1987 and the last date I remember was September 24, 2018. By this world’s time I’ve been here seven years.”

Sienna sunk into the offered chair. Her mind raced to digest what she was being told.

“And you?”Andrew prompted.

Sienna studied Andrew’s face. His dark eyes showed no signs of malice or trickery. There was no smile, smirk, or frown upon his face. From his countenance a passerby would think he was talking of mundane items, not shaking her world with confirmation that she wasn’t alone in this strange land.

“I…I was born in November 1994. I went to bed on August 19th 2020 and…”

“And now you’re here.”

“Yes.” Sienna decided to trust him and before should could help herself she flooded him with all the questions she’d held in her heart this past year. “But why? How did I get here? Where is here? How do I get back home? What in the actual f**k is going on?” with each question her voice became more hysterical.

“So, you don’t recognize this village?” He sighed.

“Why would I? I’ve never been here before. I’ve never even heard of this place in history books or literature or movies or art or…”

“Not even a video game?” he interrupted.

She paused. “What?!”

“Obsidian. Ring a bell?”

It did. Sienna remembered buying it as a Christmas present for her brother a year…well two years ago.

“Y-yes. But I have never played it. I’m not much for video games. Back home I’m a pilot. I have friends and family. And a boyfriend. And a dog! I have other things I like to fill my time with.”

“Ah, so you have no idea what the story of this world is?”

“No, but what the hell does that even matter? How the crap are we in a game?! Are we dead? Are we alive? Can we get home? Can we get out?!”

“Calm down Sienna. I will tell you what I know and what I’ve learned. Just please let me explain without interruptions.”

“Ok.” Sienna sighed. “But if you’ve been here for so long how come you…”

She trailed off as he just looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

“Ok. I’ll be quiet now.”

“Obsidian is a role playing game. The main storyline is that the royal family and the Gods are at war. The royal family discovers the Chosen Hero who will travel to the Mountain of Creation and restore peace and order, both for the royal family and for the Gods. In order to do this, the Chosen Hero Rex must battle the God of Death, kill him, and take his place in the divine pantheon. By doing so he will cleanse the divine of the corruption that Damon has brought about while also restoring the balance and respect between the Gods and the Royal family, with the Gods resuming their role of running the world, nature, the seasons, and the royal family ruling the people and maintaining order.”

“So somehow, someway we were both transported…into a game?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I do not know.”

“How?”

“I do not know.”

“What do you know?”

“My belief is the chosen one must take his quest and complete the game.”

“That doesn’t make sense. There are probably thousands of people playing this game back home as we speak.”

“But not the true chose one. I came to this town because one of the first quests the chosen one embarks on is right here in this village. One of the side quests surrounds the Logans and that donkey in fact.”

“Wait. So you’ve played the game?”

“I have.”

“So, somehow, someway we were transported into the game and we are stuck here until the true chosen one completes the story.”

“That is what I believe.”

“What can we do?”

“Absolutely nothing! You must not affect or change the story in anyway! If when the true chosen one arrives and we muddle with his journey, it could alter the story and cause it to not come to completion!”

“So why did you come here then?”

“So that I would be aware of when the story begins. By being the Vicar of Karzstead, I have access to the shrine of the Goddess of Light. She will be the first one to bestow a gift upon Rex so that he may vanquish the God of Death and right his wrongs. By being here I can observe the quest, know that it is finally happening, but not change or alter the story in any way.”

“So do you think it was the God of Death who brought us here? Are we part of the wrongs?”

“It could be. During my training I have learned that the God of Death stopped bestowing his magic upon the inhabitants of this land. Instead he hoarded the gifts and began trying to destroy the royal family upon the birth of Prince Brody.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I do not know. His programming? While I did play the game, there are always secret modes and accomplishments you can unlock. I tried to go for the Princess of Darkness medal, but it’s near impossible to achieve.”

“Do I even want to know?”

“It’s just a challenge that reveals an extra special cut scene during the end of the game.”

“When I arrived here, I heard a voice.”

“You did?” Andrew said, interest spreading across his face. “What did you hear?”

“The voice said 'Come to me.’ And when I was in the woods, I saw a light, I’m assuming from torches, and could hear something heading towards me. It told me to run and I did. And that’s how I ended up with the Logans. I don’t know why, but I had the sense the voice was wanting to help me.”

“Interesting.”

“I’m guessing you did not have a similar experience?”

“No. When I came to in this world I was at the Shrine of the Goddess of Life. The religious leaders there viewed me as a gift from the Gods and I was immediately enrolled in training to be a vicar. Once I recognized the names of the town and country I put two and two together and decided to play along as best I could in search of answers.”

“So are you playing a character in the game?”

“No. In the game the vicar of this shrine had not yet returned.”

“Then how will you not affect the storyline by just being here?”

“I will depart when Rex makes his way here.”

“Did the Logans have a daughter or a house guest in the game?”

“No. Which means when he appears at the homestead you will have to make yourself scarce.”

“What does he look like?”

“That’s the thing, as a player you get to decide what you play as - human, elf, gargoyle. So I don’t know what the true chosen one will be.”

“Great.”

“The only thing I can say for certain is he will have a brand burned into his neck. It will be the brand of the God of Death.”

“A barren tree?”

“Yes.”

“Why does this character have the brand?”

“His family is killed by the God of Death. He was killed as well, but the Prince Brody is able to free his soul, but having died he will carry the brand the rest of his days.”

“Ok, ok. So let me get this straight. We have been transported into a video game. And in order to get back home the ‘real’ chosen one has to be appear and complete game. And then we get to go home?”

“That is my belief.”

“Will we go back to our own time? Or is time passing outside of this…whatever this is?”

“I don’t know. My belief is that we are in a game, so time is frozen for our respective lives and we can go back as if nothing happened. Maybe we won’t even remember this.”

Sienna didn’t know if he was being overly hopeful or if he made sense with that guess.

“So if we are in a game, does that mean that all these people…they aren’t real? They aren’t…alive?” Sienna’s heart broke at that thought. The Logans had been so magnificent to her. Even Hudson and Greyson, in her limited experience with them, were kind and good beings. She hated the idea that they weren’t real. That they were just code and programming and not the warm, real love she had experienced.

Seeing how this question affected her, Andrew answered as cautiously as he could. “I honestly do not know. Personally, I’d like to think that they are. Despite this being a game, this is a real experience. The fact we are having it together, that I’ve been here for years, that you’ve been here for at least a year, all tends to prove that this is some form of life. Whether it’s true life or imaginary life I can’t say. But it is still life.”

Sienna took some comfort in that. Whether Andrew’s version of events was accurate or not, he had provided far more understanding of what was occurring. Sienna realized that she did recognize this sanctuary from watching her brother play the game those first twenty minutes after the family had finished opening gifts. Her brother was ten years younger than her and had been so excited when she had ignored her parents and bought the game for him despite the age warning. She had gotten hell from their mother, but at the end of the day he was happy and so excited so no one hesitated when he sat down to play and the rest of the family gathered to watch for a bit.

That was also the Christmas she had brought home Kaiden for the first time. They had only been dating for two months, but Sienna felt really connected to him. They’d been co-workers for a while. She had co-piloted for him on a few of her first international flights and those long hours in the cockpit brought about a lot of heart to heart conversations. Kaiden wasn’t the typical arrogant meathead she was always attracted to. He was soft hearted, soft spoken. She remembered how he looked, like he had swallowed a puffer fish, when he asked her out for their first date. Kaiden may have not been what she always envisioned for a partner, but he was just too good to say no to. They had been having fun and she could tell he was very serious about her. She just didn’t know if she was quite there yet. But she was sure she could be. And she decided right there and then that if she got back home and he was still there, she would be ready to commit.

“So what should I do now?” she asked Andrew.

“Go back to the Logans and do what you’ve been doing.”

“What I’ve been doing? But I’ve been hiding and avoiding…well everything.”

“Exactly. You don’t want to risk ruining our shot at getting home. Just avoid any stranger who may come to the Logans and send word to me as soon as someone shows up. The challenge with the Logans will involve fixing a lame hoof. That is what causes the animal to make such a ruckus all the time.”

“Oh the poor dear!”

“Do not help that animal!”

“What?”

“Only the Chosen Hero can help the animal. The Logans will gift the hero a case of wine. While it’s not the best gift, that wine will be important for the Chosen Hero to complete the Princess of Darkness challenge. He must give the wine to the Goddess of Life so that she can gift him a valuable key which will allow him to access the horn that will awaken the Princess.”

“Hello? Sienna? Everything okay?” Greyson called out, peeking his head through the main doors of the chapel.

Sienna jumped, having forgotten about Greyson for the moment.

“Oh I’m so sorry Greyson, I just became caught up in conversation with Vicar Andrew, I’ll be right there.” she called to him rising from her seat.

Sienna did not miss the dark scowl that crossed the vicar’s face.

“Be wary of that one. He seems like an oblivious oaf, but he suspects something. Based off of his role in the game, if anyone can figure us out it’ll be him. He becomes a dark elf.”

“What does that mean?”

“The less you know the better. Just stay away from him.”

Greyson stuck his head back through the door. “I’m sorry Miss Sienna, but I really need to get back to my post. If you won’t be much longer I can take you back to the gate but if you need more time I really should head back now.”

“I’m coming Greyson!” she called out. Turning back to Andrew, Sienna lowered her voice “Thank you for all this information and for sharing with me. I will be sure to follow your advice.”

“Gods be with you, Sienna” Vicar Andrew winked, teasingly.

“Gods be with you Vicar.”