#brokenfantasystarter

“It’s a shot in the dark, but maybe you could try with the bulletin board. It’s where NPCs put quests and stuff like that. I’m not sure if players can write on that thing, but it’s pretty public, your friends are bound to look there sooner or later.”

The information from Danathian kept rolling around in Jack's head the rest of the day, going on into the night.  His hands had been full with interacting with the players who had opted to shelter in place at the inns in the starting town.  As the hours stretched on and no hot fix in sight, just when he felt he was about to become overwhelmed, a pair of players who happened to be therapists in real life had come forward.  He was glad to step into the background.  The clusters of people in the intricately coded world around him seemed to suffocate him, and the walls just made him feel trapped.  It only made the uneasy feeling about the fate of his friends just that much worse.  He didn't have an answer as to whether or not they were fine, and that lack of an answer didn't sit well with him.

So, as players broke off to take up rooms, Jack quietly slipped outside.  The crowd that had initially flooded the main area had died out.  Either they had opted to go out adventuring, or they were waiting things out like the folks he had left back at the inn.  At least that was his best guess, anyway.  It made it easier to spy the bulletin board that Danathian had mentioned.  He approached it, giving it a healthy once over.  His focused attention caused a window to pop up in front of him.

1. Read Posts (Newest - Oldest) 2. Make A Post

He reached out, selecting to make a post, then paused for a moment as a blank page came up, with a quill floating beside it.  What the hell to say?  He suddenly found that instead of just a simple message, he wanted to say a whole lot more.  Jones and Emeline were his family, as close (if not closer) than his own parents.  They had been there for him through so much.  Finally, after a bit of reflection, he set his words to paper.

Jones and Emeline, if you're reading this, then I guess we're all in the same boat.  You guys know me best.   You know I won't be taking this thing laying down.  I'm going to do my part, figure out how to play this game, and maybe just maybe be a part of putting a stop to this.  Message me, friend request me, do whatever when you get this.  Let me know you guys are okay.

Burns aka NightJack

He confirmed the message, watched as it joined the others there on the board.

"Bold words, Burns.  Now can you make good on that?"  He started flipping through the posts on the board, finally coming to one of the quest giving ones.  "Collecting snail shells...sounds easy enough..."

With the quest accepted, he headed out.  Beyond the gates, the world seemed to sprawl out wide before him.  While the moon wasn't full, there was enough light filtering down to illuminate the area.  Or maybe that was a werewolf thing.  He wasn't entirely sure on that.