[ WP ] You live in a video game . You are not the main character .

Gareth woke, his heart pumping with excitement. The day he had dreamt of was finally upon him. Today was his first day as a cleric! 
 
 Gareth rose from his bed, and walked over to the lone table in his humble dwelling. Dipping his hands into the clay bowl, he splashed water onto his face. The water was frigid, and with a jolt his body seemed to wake up, his skin now prickling with the same exhilaration that he felt in his chest. It was as if his whole being, body and soul, was pulling him out the door and towards the church where his fellow monks were waiting for him. He donned his brown hooded robe, tied the white cord of his Brotherhood around his waist, and walked out the door. 
 
 “ Gareth! Good morning to you! ” Father Dormund was the head of their Holy Order, the Brotherhood of the Silver Horn. Gareth had always looked up to him, even though he stood a head shorter. As he greeted Father Dormund with the Brotherhoods customary embrace, Gareth barely managed to clasp his hands around the man ’ s plump frame. 
 
 “ Good morning to you, Father Dormund! I am looking forward to working with you and my new Brothers to further spread our message. I can not help but feel that I have been created solely for this purpose! ” 
 
 “ Fantastic! We shall not delay then. Come, a meeting is planned. We have to discuss a very important matter. ” Father Dormund led the way into the small meeting hall off the main sanctuary. 
 
 As Gareth took a seat, he met Brothers Abernathy and Michael. They too were starting out as new clerics today. Abernathy was a man a few years older than Gareth, a short black beard growing on his chin. Michael, compared even to Father Dormund, appeared very old. His long white beard was so long, he could have tucked it into the cords around his waist. 
 
 “ Brothers, may I have your attention, please? ” Father Dormund was standing in front of a map of the countryside surrounding their city, Aginhold. His seemed incredibly sullen compared to the man he had met just moments ago. “ Today is a day of great loss. Our dear Brother Derrick has gone missing. He left yesterday on a secret mission. He was taking our Sacred Silver Horn north, to an old Holy Site. Once a year, the Horn must be taken to this Site to be cleansed of evil. As you know, the Silver Horn is special due to its power to steal evil words and thoughts from us and the surrounding lands. It collects all our evil thoughts and words, and in doing so, helps to prevent crime in our land. The evilness must be cleansed from the Silver Horn once a year, or it will cease to work. Brother Derrick was tasked with cleansing the Horn this year, and was due to arrive back today. As you can see, he is not among you, and the Horn is not hanging in our sanctuary! ” 
 
 “ Father Dormund, ” Gareth couldn ’ t help himself but blurt out, “ What can we do to help? ” 
 
 “ I was getting to that. I need each of you to go out into the city and the countryside. I want you to look for anyone that might be willing to help us. We will need someone who is strong and cunning to track down our lost Brother Derrick and bring back the Silver Horn. Spread out, tell all of our plight, and pray that someone might be willing to help us! ” 
 
 Gareth took up a position at Aginhold ’ s southern gate. He anticipated that this would be a good place to look for wandering adventurers, as there was a large seaport to the south that brought new people in every day. Perhaps among one of these newcomers, someone would come who would be able to help him and his Brotherhood. 
 
 Shortly thereafter, he saw a shape coming up the road. A man clad in Bronze armor from head to toe walked directly towards him. 
 
 “ Hello traveler! ” Brother Gareth began. “ What is your name? ” 
 
 “ Surfsup619. Do you have a Quest for me? ” 
 
 Gareth could barely register the strange name before he found himself responding. “ Yes, Surfsup619! I am a member of the Brotherhood of the Silver Horn. Our Sacred Silver Horn has gone missing, along with a member of our order, Brother Derrick. Would you be willing to search for him and bring back our Sacred Horn, and Brother Derrick if possible? ” 
 
 “ I will accept your Quest. Do you have any clues that I can use to find Brother Derrick? ” 
 
 “ All I know his he left our church and headed north. ” 
 
 “ Not much to go on. I suppose I ’ ll have to use my Tracking skill to follow his path. ” Without another word, Surfsup619 began to walk into Aginhold, toward the church. 
 
 “ Thank you, kind traveler! Good luck! ” Gareth watched the man leave. He pondered the man ’ s name again. Surfsup619? What did Surfsup mean? And why did he assign himself numbers? No sooner did he turn around did he see two more figures advancing up the road towards him. 
 
 “ Hello travelers! What are your names? ” 
 
 The first stated his name was BigDaddy, the second FrisbeeBoy. They were both dressed in cloth, BidDaddy in hard leather armor and FrisbeeBoy in flowing robes. They too asked Gareth for a Quest. As soon as he was done telling them of his predicament, another man followed. This one was called The_Donald. 
 
 Gareth felt odd telling all of these people about the Silver Horn, but he felt almost compelled to, like he didn ’ t have a choice. The whole rest of the afternoon continued in this manner. Gareth met many people, with unique names he did not understand. There was L33tCowKill3r, PK-Master, and a strange man simply named The Doctor. Many more names and numbers were given to him, and somehow, he was able to remember each one. 
 
 As Evening approached, The_Donald came back to him. He had found the Silver Horn! 
 
 “ Oh Blessed Day! ” Gareth exclaimed. “ You have found the Horn! What of Brother Derrick? ” 
 
 “ He is dead. What is my Quest Reward? ” 
 
 Quest reward? Gareth hadn ’ t thought that these people would demand payment for their services! But before he could say anything, Gareth reached into his robes and pulled out a small box. The_Donald opened it and was awarded with 2,500 XP and 5,000 Gold. Gareth stared in disbelief as The_Donald departed. He had never seen 5,000 Gold before in his life! And what, in the name of all that was Holy, was XP? It didn ’ t bother Gareth any longer though, as he now had the Silver Horn. He began to walk back toward his church, determined to return the Horn and put this day behind him. But before he could take five steps, PK-Master ran up to him. He had found the Horn as well! 
 
 “ Oh Blessed Day! ” Gareth began. He proceeded to learn again that Derrick was dead and pulled another box from his robes. 
 
 How could there be two Silver Horns? Surely one had to be a fake. He would take both back to the church. Surely Father Dormund would be able to distinguish between the two. 
 
 Again, he was stopped. Surfsup619 was back, as were BigDaddy and FrisbeeBoy. They all had retrieved the Silver Horn! But how? How could there be so many Silver Horns? How could they all have found Brother Derrick? As the night crept forward, a pile of Silver Horns grew next to Gareth. One for each person with an odd name he had talked to that day. And each person received a box that Gareth withdrew from his robes. 
 
 Gareth could not understand what happening. The Brotherhood ’ s Holy Texts stated that there was only one Silver Horn. It had been originally discovered by the Brotherhoods founder, and the prince of Aginhold, Josiah the Wise. He knew that Aginhold would prosper if evil thoughts were banished from his land. Craftsman and Wizards from distant lands had visited Aginhold to try and replicate the Silver Horn. Through years of research and study, none had been able to duplicate the Horn. Thus, Gareth could not understand how he was now able to hold hundreds of Silver Horns, when there had should be only one! 
 
 After what seemed like ages, Gareth was finally able to leave the south gate. The mound of Silver Horns was so great, he could not carry them without assistance from a man who let him borrow his cart and his ox. Father Dormund was already asleep, so he left the Horns in the middle of the Sanctuary floor and proceeded home. 
 
 The next morning, Gareth awoke. Again his heart was pounding. He splashed his face with water, got dressed, and went to the church. He went to the meeting hall where Father Dormund began to speak. 
 
 “ Today is a day of great loss. Our dear Brother Derrick has gone missing. ”
