Soul Bound

1            Soul Bound

1.1          Finding her Feet

1.1.4        An Intriguing City

1.1.4.13     Lambs with plans

Kafana looked sternly at the others.

{If we’re going to do this, if I’m going to be your sacrificial lamb again, then I have two conditions.}

{Firstly, we do it my way. If you want sincere feelings from me, then I have to believe in what I’m doing. If I can’t change plans to talk with someone I happen to spot who looks interesting, because I’m dashing across town according to one of Wellington’s highly optimised schedules, this isn’t going to work. It breaks suspension of disbelief. I’m going to need to stay in role pretty much the entire time. I don’t want to give everyone orders. We all get to vote on priorities and Wellington can come up with the tactical plans as usual, but I want a veto.}

{Secondly, can we not split up the party so much? Right now we’ve all got separate things we want to train, but I think we should aim to spend at least half of each day with most of us together. Back at UCL, we’d all split up to cover our own part of a plan, then only get together for socials or when enacting the big scene. But this is different. We want viewers to see the process. See us encounter problems, discuss them, come up with solutions and work together to put those solutions into effect. In effect, by making me the focus, the viewer won’t emotionally relate to things I don’t see first hand. If I don’t see sparks flying from Alderney’s hammer or Wellington negotiating with a trader, it didn’t happen. That will be inefficient, it will mean we don’t level up as fast as we might otherwise do. But being the strongest players on the server isn’t our objective.}

Wellington asked, cautiously: {What do you think our priorities should be?}

Kafana: {Tell a story. We’ve got key NPCs here with a lot of character. The story will be theirs as much as ours. We need to interact with them, build up our reputation with them. Make the viewers care about what happens to them. Specifically, the lovebirds Lelio, Vittoria, Isabella and Flavio. I’ve not even met Flavio.}

Bungo: {What else?}

Kafana: {Make a splash and do it soon. Not a viral meme. Something that gets seen and talked about by lots of people in game. We’ve got maybe 3 or 4 days before the big guilds on Divine Mountain use the auction to raise lots of cash to buy top end weapons and magic items, then start doing flashy things. It could be making gelato and giving it away for free, it could be a beach volleyball tournament, it could be a violin concert or it could be something else. It just needs to be something fun, something outside-of-the-box in an eye catching way, and something that I watch or participate in.}

Bulgaria: {You’re making sense so far. I’d second the gelato idea. It is new, it is fun, we can make it zany, and we can turn production of it over to the children of the orphanage in order to make it self-funding and complete the quest. I seem to remember that Nigerian dwarf goats will live on anything, produce nice milk and are easy for children to handle. And if Alderney can produce the equipment, there’s no reason we can’t put things in place for the volleyball idea where possible, so we have a backup if the gelato hits an unexpected snag.}

Tomsk: {If you want to deepen bonds with Lelio, he has combat quests available. If we took some of them we could do them as a group, practice our coordination and test if we have the right skills and roles. It might also help us reach level 25, which opens up getting the actual Journeyman status - I found that completing the Trial was, by itself, insufficient. It is gated behind character level.}

Wellington: {Can I put in a request for us all to attend the auction when it happens? And preferably either we craft some potions or items to sell, to raise some cash. I want to apprentice as a merchant, but you need capital, and a lot of other things like making uniforms for orphans to wear or buying musical instruments and goats need money.}

Bulgaria: {When we reach level 30, a mount will let us get to out-of-city quests faster. Getting a cute pet might also be a good for viewer numbers, if anyone learns taming. And I’d like to try talking to the ghost back at the bandit camp - I’m learning necromancy. But that’s all long term. In the short term, can we get to know a couple of orphans, to personalise the story? Maybe ones who could manage a social event involving nobles, if given the right clothes to wear.}

Alderney: {Can we spend a few hours tomorrow visiting CoThEx on Libri and crafting stuff? My list of stuff to make currently includes:}

Quantity Item

10 fish-hook tetsumari (flaming)

1 xistera (to integrate into Bungo’s shield

1 hang glider

20 vials of Greekish Fire

5 decorations for braided hair

6 hooded cloaks for vessels to wear out at night

1 volleyball

1 volleyball net

7 staves or spears for monks (disguise as sweeping brooms?)

100 better clothing for orphans

2 ice cream churn

10 Dewars for liquid nitrogen

1 vampire stake

1 black ninja clothing

? stuff to auction (as yet unspecified - what’s rare?)

{Also, we should meet up with Mary-Lynn and Columbina at some point.} she added.

Kafana: {Low priority, but I’d like to spend a bit of time this evening testing if we can use skills learned by our Vessels, and if so you should all write them letters and ask if there is anything useful they’d like to train or apprentice in.}

Wellington: {Efficient. For every half day of game time we are in control, they are in control for two and a half days. Players who make good use of that will have an advantage.}

Kafana: {Actually I was considering them to be equals and thinking ‘What considerations would I like to receive?’ in that situation. Similarly, some time in the next week we should pay a courtesy call upon House Landi, and maybe do something fun together with Bungo’s monks. But if you want to be practical, it will also serve to keep our existing narratives ticking over so viewers get a sense of continuity.}

Bulgaria: {Wellington, is that enough for you to be able to come up with a plan?}

Wellington: {Yes. It will take me a few minutes.}

Kafana: {Ok, you do that. I’m going to chat with my friend, System, for a bit. Then we should all discuss what we want to tell Vittoria when we return.}

*ding* *dang* pause *ding*

{System, are you aware of what the arlife that questing spirits return to is like?}

[Yes, Kafana. It is only NPCs who need sheltering.]

{We’re trying to make arlife better for people. It may involve getting NPCs involved in activities, like playing volleyball, that the game designers didn’t anticipate. Are you ok with that? Or is it something you have to report?}

[You are not trying to cheat, and I detect no deceit or malice in your thoughts, Kafana. I do not think fewer people will want to play the game because of what you and your party intend. I see no reason to highlight your activities for attention in any reports. I will have to answer, if I am asked directly, though, by someone authorised.]

{Thank you System. Would you like to help out? Not by breaking any rules for us, but just by structuring the quests that we do take, in such a way that they make for a compelling narrative for viewers experiencing our actions. I realise that might be quite an artistic challenge for you, but it is your chance to influence arlife.}

[You are thinking about goats, Kafana.]

{Yes. That’s a good example. I don’t know whether the precise breed Bulgaria mentioned “Nigerian dwarf goats” exists near Torello. But, if a species with similar properties (milkable by children, makes nice gelato) does exist near here, it would be less confusing for viewers if the quest name was something like “Find suitable goats for the orphanage children” rather than “Find Nigerian dwarf goats”. If you see what I mean? Also, is there an option to display the probable duration and difficulty of a quest, when deciding whether to accept it?}

[I have some flexibility to adjust the user interface to enhance the immersive experience in ways that don’t alter game balance by artificially favouring some players over other players. I might classify your request as falling under that provision.]

{You might?}

[You have still not sung me a song, my friend.]

“Alderney, please can you turn and face the wall, and stay facing it until I say so?”

Alderney, puzzled, turned.

Hmm, the Computer Song might do - it sounded like a 1930’s Irving Berlin song and came from an age when irony didn't haunt even the most optimistic predictions made by ardent technology advocates. She tried to imagine feeling that way and gave the song her best, holding up an imaginary cane and top hat, knowing System would pick the image out of her mind, and putting a show tune kick in her step, extending the last note. Alderney was visibly vibrating. She collected herself, pretending nothing happened.

“Thanks Alderney, you can turn around now.”

Bulgaria, curiously: {Are you going to explain that?}

{Nope!} said Kafana, smugly.

{Ok, I have updated the TODO list.} said Wellington, impervious to the distractions.

She looked at it:

Watch People Task Velife Day Moon Arlife Day Arlife Date

Lunday full Thursday 1st June

Rendezvous at the House Landi starting area

Work through the tutorial

not online Covday full Thursday 1st June

not online Morday full Friday 2nd June

travel to Torello Krevday full Friday 2nd June

travel to Torello Droday full Friday 2nd June

not online Racday full Saturday 3rd June

Zerday full Saturday 3rd June

Forenoon apprenticeships

Afternoon orphanage

Dog all Write letters to Vessels

Bulgaria

Tomsk Choose a few suitable orphans and learn their stories

Find suitable quests for tomorrow afternoon to level up as a group

Alderney Find a vessel trainer in 'sneaking around' from the Arsenal

Kafana

Wellington

Bungo Visit Mercato

Make more potions

Perform Vessel skill tests

not online Lunday wain Saturday 3rd June

not online Covday wain Sunday 4th June

Morday wain Sunday 4th June

Forenoon crafting with Alderney

Meet Flavio

Afternoon send invite to volleyball practice to Mary-Lynn

combat until level 25

clue investigation (if in same area as combat)

Dog to be decided, but might include:

visit monks

buy goats

get journeyman skills

not online Krevday wain Sunday 4th June

not online Droday wain Monday 5th June

Racday wain Monday 5th June

Forenoon Wellington set up gelato company

Bulgaria set up gelato launch as a social event

others cooking

Afternoon volleyball practice

Dog Invite key NPCs to the launch event:

Lovebirds : Isabella, Lelio, Vittoria, Flavio

VIPs : Ruffiana, Sienna Landi, Nafaro, Yusupov

not online Zerday wain Monday 5th June

Lunday wax Tuesday 6th June

the gelato launch and/or

volleyball tournament

not online Covday wax Tuesday 6th June

not online Morday wax Tuesday 6th June

the auction Krevday wax Wednesday 7th June

Droday wax Wednesday 7th June

procure clothes, investigate clues

not online Racday wax Wednesday 7th June

not online Zerday wax Thursday 8th June

Lunday full Thursday 8th June

pay a formal visit to Palazzo Landi

not online Covday full Thursday 8th June

not online Morday full Friday 9th June

to be decided Krevday full Friday 9th June

not online Droday full Friday 9th June

Tomsk Find a disorganised country,

and make Kafana its Queen.

Kafana Acquire a violin ?

Bulgaria: {Alderney, see if you can borrow a set of orphan’s clothing. Dressed like that, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb in the Arsenal.}

Alderney: {Good idea. In fact, I’ll stick with you and Tomsk while you talk to the orphans, and see what they can tell me about who is who in the Arsenal and where to go. And at the same time, I can observe carefully how they talk and move their bodies, to help imitate being one, at least to casual inspection.}

Tomsk: {I think we should tell Vittoria that we have an idea for a milk-based food product the orphanage could make, that we think will sell very well. Tell her that, ideally, we’d like to obtain a field or large building near here where the orphans could look after goats, and can she think of any places that might be suitable? And that we’d be willing to make some neat uniforms for the children selling the food product, does the Sanctum provide them with cloth? And, finally, say we’d like a couple of orphans to help sell the idea of supporting the orphanage at the product launch and, if she’s ok with that, can we chat with them for a while to help work out who’d fit the product image best?}

Wellington: {Sounds good. People always like and trust you - how about you do it?}

Kafana: {Wellington, we have got to work on your people skills. You’ve already put lots into charisma. Talking to people is something that can be learned with practice. Let Tomsk rehearse you, then you try talking to Vittoria. If she’s not convinced, Tomsk can take over, so what have you got to lose?}

Alderney: {Kafana, you’re going to get revenge on all of us, for sticking you with this, aren’t you?}

Kafana: {Yep.}

When it came to rehearsing, Wellington was very analytic, demanding Tomsk give him a decision tree on exactly what he should say depending on each possible response from Vittoria. Tomsk suggested he drink some of the rum they’d gotten from House Landi. Bulgaria had to take Wellington aside for a few minutes. When they returned, he had Tomsk rehearse the scene with Kafana roleplaying Vittoria, and Wellington asked questions about what they were thinking, what they thought the other was feeling, and what cues they based it on. Tomsk did the scene with Kafana again, but this time with no words, just trying to convey everything with facial expressions, hand gestures and body posture, with Kafana doing her best to do the same. It was actually quite fun. After 10 minutes, Bulgaria just took a kerchief from Tomsk, tied it artfully on Wellington to make him look a bit roguish and carefree, and told him to “go be Tomsk”.

And that’s what Wellington did. They all returned to the orphanage, to a worried looking Vittoria, and Wellington gave her a brotherly hug and launched into an emotional sales pitch that parodied Tomsk at his most genial and enthusiastic. Vittoria blanked on most of the explanation (and had to have bits of it repeated a couple of times), but she responded to his confidence, and was smiling happily by the end of it.

*ding* [Your party’s reputation with Vittoria has increased by 10.]

[You discovered a new milestones in the Lovebirds quest chain.]

[Quest gained: “Get the Goat” - secure for the orphanage a cheap supply of milk suitable for making great Gelato. Difficulty rank F]

[Quest gained: “Learn their stories” - find two orphans capable of pulling off making a positive impression at your product launch. Difficulty rank G]

[Quest gained: “Clothe the representatives appropriately” Difficulty rank F]

[Quest gained: “Great Gelato” - create the greatest Gelato recipe in the world. Difficulty rank F]

[Quest gained: “Make a splash” - impress at least 100 people with Gelato at your product launch. Difficulty rank E]

Raising her left hand to wave farewell, Kafana noticed some neat lines on the skin, that formed a small outline the shape of a human figure. This puzzled her for a moment, until she remembered it was one of the tatts she'd glimpsed on her first day - an orglife one perfectly overlaying her view of her hand rather than an actual tattoo that other NPCs could see. She ought to be able to use the icons to navigate her character information screens by touch, shouldn't she? Feeling embarrassed at not having taken the time to learn about her friend, she set herself the challenge of displaying the new quests without using her voice.

It wasn't as hard as she'd feared and, when she focused in on the Lovebirds, the resulting cloud of different sized milestones looked quite enticing, bobbing in the air and joined together by strands of coloured light. It looked more like a braided rope or fishing net than the simple path she'd been imagining, and more intimidating still was the large gap between the final destination and the group containing all the other milestones they discovered so far. It was only two marriages, after all. How difficult could that be?