HOUSE OF PAYNE INTERNATIONAL: Archive
Virtual Blacksmith
by John David Payne
@ 8,280 words
Carolus M: "Ah! Noble traveler, I welcome thee to my humble blacksmith shop. I am Carolus Magnus, at thy service. I perceive that thou art new to our realm. How art thou called?"
Mo lasses: what?
Carolus M: "What is thy name, traveler?"
Mo lasses: Mo lasses
Mo lasses: Mighty Mo
Mo lasses: killer of dragons, eater of pies
Carolus M: "Very good, Mo lasses. How may I assist thee?"
Mo lasses: i need a new sword. my old ones busted
Carolus M: "What type of sword do ye seek?"
Mo lasses: any kind
Mo lasses: bigger the better
Carolus M: "Well, thy gods smile upon thee today, noble traveler, because we have every kind of spade imaginable - all shapes, sizes, and styles."
Mo lasses: two hanedd
Mo lasses: ?
Carolus M: "Certainly. Cast thine eyes upon this rack here to my left. Art any to thy liking?"
Mo lasses: Any magic ones?
Carolus M: "To be sure. If thou art wont to purchase a magicked blade, thou hast come to the right place. Any of the blades thou seest here can be enchanted within the hour - for a small fee, of course."
Mo lasses: sort a low on gold right now
Carolus M: "Wouldst thou like to hear about our special payment options?"
Mo lasses: sure
Carolus M: "Hast thou visited our website, www.cybersmith.com? There, if thy money purse be empty, ye can convert dollars (also pounds, yen, euros, and more!) into Quintillian gold crowns or the silver marks of Ildiko."
Mo lasses: do i have tolog out?
Carolus M: "Nay, ye need not log out. Simply open a new browser window to visit our site. And fear not - Mo lasses shall come to no harm here while thy attentions are elsewhere."
Mo lasses: Sweet. back in a sec
The first time Chuckie Vargas ever saw a video game was at his friend Ismael's eighth birthday party. Ismael's father had happened to be in town that year for his son's birthday. Sober and feeling penitent for being so neglectful all these years, he had spared no expense for the party. Ismael must have got a dozen presents from his father alone, but the one that caught Chuckie's eye was a primitive video game console which had been hooked up to the TV. The graphics were of course abysmal-- big, chunky blocks of colored light to represent tanks and jet fighters-- but Chuckie was hooked instantly. He spent the rest of the party parked in front of the TV with one of the two controller pads in his hand, endlessly dueling. He didn't even try the cake.
Upon returning home, Chuckie had begged his parents to get him a video system, but it was a luxury Carlos and María Vargas would never be able to afford. Back then, they were in the country illegally, and work was hard to come by. They told him that when he grew up and got a job, he could buy his own. Then when he told them that he would do exactly that, they yelled at him for wanting to waste his money on such things when children starve to death every day all over the world for lack of a dollar to buy food. That made Chuckie feel guilty for a while, and he said a few prayers for those poor hungry kids, but after a while, he figured that if he were one of those starving kids, he wouldn't get mad at another kid for having fun. Maybe there was even a kid somewhere praying for all the poor kids who didn't have video game systems. Besides, if he had one, he would share.
He spent a lot of time at Ismael's house. Ismael had action figures, board games, and a remote control car, but none of these held Chuckie's interest for long. He always came back to the video games. After a while, Ismael didn't want to play with him, because Chuckie always won. His tanks and planes sped across the screen, firing off a rain of death that his opponents seemed unable to avoid. Ismael stopped letting Chuckie use the system, so he would spend the night and get up and play after his friend had fallen asleep. When Ismael caught on to this scheme, he told Chuckie to stop coming over. So Chuckie made other friends, all of whom had computer game systems. It was an addiction.
END OF EXCERPT. TO READ MORE, PLEASE CONTACT ME.
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