Fairy Tales 2

006 - A Fairy Tale: To Quest – No Matter How Hopeless or Far
5/25/05

According to the wise, “The greatest tragedy is not death, but a life without purpose.” It couldn’t be truer in Fairyland.

While the scenery here might be breathtaking and the air quite refreshing, still, I’ve found that running around aimless in this kingdom is just like twirling around on one foot with both arms held high for some minutes -- it’s enough to make you dizzy and faint.

That’s why I couldn’t be more grateful – and thrilled -- when I discovered questing in Fairyland.

Questing is by far the most unique and coolest feature I find in this game. Talk about the Amazing Race, the Survivor, or even Extra Challenge – and somehow you get the picture. We all know why they’re such hit shows around the country, right? There’s nothing like the heart-pumping experience or adrenaline rush you get as you complete -- or watch others complete – one quest after another.

In Gion alone, there are about 24 quests and they vary from the simple, to the sublime, funny, spooky, frustrating, and deadly. I’ve collected quite a few memorable experiences as I went through them.

To note:

The funniest: Finding out what’s troubling Deeca. Who’s Deeca, you say? A bald, two-timing old man. His problem? Shhh -- I’m not supposed to say this out loud—but he’s stumped why he’s losing hair. I almost fell off my chair laughing as I asked his lady loves Agnes and Cloudie about it. I gained 1000 coins for my trouble.

Most fruitful: Making Bern’s lazy granddaughter Goldie see the value of work. Had to learn a work skill myself for this… just so I wouldn’t choke on my words.

Most touching: Helping estranged best friends Stein and Kirk make up.

The strangest: Now, who’s heard of a tree that sighs… and talks! Spooky, isn’t it? But I was curious. And then, excited after learning from Professor Garbon about the old tree’s wish – it wants me to sing! So, in my most diva-esque voice, I belted out the song I paid 500 coins to learn. Not for the glory or fame or anything, mind you – but to help the old tree from being sad.

Most frustrating: Finding the owner of a lost puppy named Bobo. I tried. I really tried. I even got magical Moore to teleport me to Rainbow City for this. But alas, I found out it was Bobo’s owner who needed saving instead-- for about 6 bottles of rare white wine or 80,000 coins. Whoa!

The most romantic and my favorite: Helping Sepp deliver his love letter to Mage Hillary before the Temple of Fire in Southern Grassland. To count, I’ve died about 10 times already for this. Those beasts in Southern Grassland are just terrible, just terrible! But what the heck – who could resist an errand for love? So, I’ll just have to keep on trying and trying and trying…

For me, to complete a quest in Fairyland is actually an act of kindness. And like in real life, it goes a long way. More than the fame, experience, or coins you get in return, these quests give your life some meaning, don’t you think?

If you find yourself nodding to this, then hum with me as we take it from The Man of La Mancha:

"This is my quest -- to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far; to fight for the right, without question or pause… to fight the unbeatable foe; to run where the brave dare not go… to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause.... And, the world will be better for this -- that one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars!" Lalalala…


007 - A Fairy Tale: Series of Unfortunate Events
Unpublished

Psssst… have you heard? New villains have invaded the soils of Fairyland. They’re reputed to be meaner… badder… and more dangerous than any monster for they hide behind a player’s mask… the proverbial wicked wolves in sheep’s clothing.

It was a hot day. My pet and I were lounging by Gion’s tavern, sipping on ice-cold beers, when we heard the buzz.

A small gathering of townspeople made a spectacle on one side of the room. Harry Potter was holding court… his glass of wine long forgotten, all the while tapping a fingertip on the side of his chin as he listened to the cries of despair and tried to determine what magic this time could drive away the black cloud hanging over Fairyland.

Curious, we inched a little closer and shamelessly eavesdropped.

Buzz 1: A level 21 mage was missing for a month now… but his ghost continues to haunt Gion… looking for the golden-haired boy who stole his account, his life…

Buzz 2: A female trader was robbed by a handsome bandit near the bank in Rainbow City. Now, having lost face, the poor trader refuses to come out to the village anymore.

Buzz 3: A novice beastmaster lost a couple of his capsules and his most favored pet to a smooth-talking high-level beastmaster who turned out to be a swindler.

To investigate further, Harry Potter summoned the trader, novice beast master, and friend of the missing mage to the tavern. In a booming voice, he asked them, “Relate to us exactly what happened.”

Hesitantly, the poor trader swallowed and began, “I was lining up at the bank in Rainbow city one morning when I overheard this guy sharing his rags-to-riches story. I was so impressed. I approached him to learn more.

“He asked for my Login ID and password and offered to pilot my character for me if I wanted. He said that with his experience, he could make me even richer than I was. Well, he was so charming. I thought he really wanted to help. But then, when I next logged on, all my stuff was gone.”

It was almost comic. You could see the crowd’s faces gradually shift from sympathy, to dismay, to scorn. And if you listen hard enough, you could barely hear someone mutter “what sheer stupidity!” Or was it just me saying that out loud? Oops.

The friend of the missing mage piped up, “Well, in the case of my friend, he didn’t actually give out his password to a stranger. He was trying to give it to me. But then, he was careless. He forgot to “whisper” it to me, so as he talked, people within earshot knew about it too... particularly the golden-haired boy who was pretending to be working.”

I looked at Harry Potter. His face was unreadable. He just nodded once then turned to the novice beast master. “What about you?”

The novice beastmaster sobbed, “I thought he was my friend! He was my idol—the greatest beastmaster in the kingdom! I wanted to be like him…b-but… but… waaah!”

“Go on, novice beastmaster,” Harry Potter prompted with a wave of his hand.

“He tricked me!” the novice beastmaster wailed. “He promised to capture the pets for me if I just gave him my capsules. I thought he was being very helpful and I was quite grateful. But then, before I knew it, he logged out a few minutes after and I could no longer find him. Not only did he take my capsules, he stole my Flaming Pegasus, too… waaahh…”

This time, the crowd erupted. Not out of sympathy, mind you, but to take turns scolding the poor fellas for being too careless.

“Don’t you know better than to give your password to anyone?!”
“Never trust strangers!”
“Guard your password! Beware of keyloggers. Even “eye-loggers” especially when you’re playing in a net café. Never show your password to anyone!”

Amid the chaos, I saw Harry Potter shake his head, pick up his glass of wine and slowly walk out.

I couldn’t blame him. It’s up to the people really. If they aren’t too careful, no amount of magic could save them.


008- Fairy Tale: Partying with a Pinkie
6/20/05

Pink. Let the word flash for a moment and what comes to mind? Sweet cotton candy? Strawberry ice cream? Being in love? The fashion color of the year? No, no -- not the lady in red…but Legally Blonde Elle Woods, maybe.

Pink. Such a short word but it evokes a lot of images in the real world. In Fairyland though, I just associate it mainly with three things – snowman, help, and friend.

Just last week, I was having one of those blue days when nothing ever seemed to go right. My pet was sick, I was running out of cash due to too much shopping, and I was feeling frustrated for still not being high-level enough to be able to deliver Sepp’s love letter to Hillary in southern grassland. Grrr.

To cool off, I sat under one of the oversized mushrooms in Gion and surrendered to the view. I watched the sky turn to a silvery blue as the season changed in Fairyland. It was snowing this time. Brrr.

If only I was able to buy the lovely pair of boots and new robe I’d been eyeing for months now -- they’d be perfect for the weather. If only I had a fairy godmother to grant me more powers so I could finally kill the monsters in Southern Grassland and help Sepp. If only I had a friend to help ease the burden of the season and make things more fun somehow. If only … if only…

I must have dozed off for awhile for the next thing I knew, I woke up to a familiar tune blasting through the Fairyland airwaves:

“When you’re down and troubled and you need a helping hand… all you’ve got to do is call… you’ve got a friend...”
Hey, I know this song, I thought excitedly. But before I could sing along (bummer!), it faded to make way for this news flash:

Attention! Attention! There’s a Pink Squad by Gion Fountain… High-level players are currently being transformed into pink snowmen to assist newbies! Newbies may start to party up with them and get the chance to go to places they couldn’t get to yet...

Wow! A wish come true? An answered prayer? A gift from above? Or did I just buy me a fairy godmother? Hmmm… whatever the case, it doesn’t matter. But go, I did.

I hurried to the fountain and spotted one friendly pink snowman. Immediately, I went: click, ctrl + I… then whoosh! Amazingly enough, my body was attached to the pinkie. Three more gals joined us and then, not unlike the contestants in a Ms. Universe pageant, we proceeded to sashay around town. People watched and waved. We waved right back.

But there’s more. Partying with a pinkie does not only put you on the spotlight, more importantly, it helps you power up!

It was amazing how we were able to teleport to different places like Slime Maze and Moonglow where we practiced our fighting skills and crushed new monsters together. While traveling around, we bonded, did some quests and shared a few of the stuff that’s troubling us in Fairyland. Upon request by one of my party mates, we even visited Rainbow City and learned the ABCs of banking. I didn’t know partying this way could be such a blast!

What’s more, as I Cntrl Z’d to check my stats after, it wasn’t too bad either. Not only did I level up quickly, my TNL dropped, my skills improved, and I was back to being solvent! All these and I didn’t even have to do much but just follow my pink leader. Cool, huh?

I was having so much fun that for a time I forgot why I was so blue early that day. Apparently, no bad mood lasts for long in Fairyland. Especially when there’s a pinkie around to save the day!