《Ætla Verǫld》 [Main Characters List] By request, this is a list of the primary characters in ?tla Ver?ld. These are listed in order of introduction in Chapter 1. There are very minor spoilers in this list, and it is not required to read this in order to enjoy the story. I''m including this as a recap for readers who are coming back after a long break and want to get back into the story more easily. Thanks for reading! ??
Character Weapons Misc
Liquin (Human) Shortsword (left) Curved dagger (right) Real name: Lily Quinn Famous name in an esport, Riposte. Younger sister of Melchagar
Melchagar Rauch (Elf) Crystal-tipped quarterstaff Real name: Michael Quinn Content director at Multiverse Games (MVG), original creator of Avo
Avalynn Sylvela (Elf) Wakizashi, throwing daggers Hardcore roleplayer, member of the Elven assassin group Masnas
Ketra Zutis This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.(Elf) Bow and arrows Close friend of Larali, member of Masnas, outranking Avalynn
Larali Dahlquist (Human) Two-handed broadsword Boisterous, huge fighter with a love for drinking and having a good time
Manifold (Human) Dirk Real name: Harry Strauser Coder at MVG, working directly under Michael
Phoenixia Fireheart (Elf) Paired daggers, bow and arrow Exuberant member of the party with a love for magic and for exploring the world
Requiant Volavus (Human) Longsword, shield Lore-obsessed superfan of the game, dresses in all black
Shirogane Kei (Human) Iron-lined quarterstaff, dagger Real name: Simon Miller Family friend of Michael and Lily, oldest in the group
Susanoo Umehara (Elf) Rapier Real name: Kevin Umehara Lily''s biggest rival in Conquest. Abused a known bug to win their biggest tournament. The two formerly dated.
Chapter 1 — The Cliffs Edge She danced on the edge of the cliff overlooking the ravine, a hair''s breadth away from the gleaming blade that desired her death. The hulk of a man drew back, sword close to his chest, his tattered shirt split clean in half. He didn''t dare approach the cliff where she waited. Her own blades shook in her hands, mismatched hilts slick with sweat. The last slice had been too close to striking true¡ªfor both of them. She''d felt the cold steel brush her skin, just along the top of her arm. Any closer and he''d have drawn blood. Lily Quinn had never felt more alive. "Lily, I need help!" came a shout from down the path. "Kinda busy!" Lily set her feet, waiting for the man to make a move. If she charged in again like that, he''d probably cut her down. She lifted up her sword, a old ornamented thing with notches all along the blade, and readied it to parry. Her right hand stayed low, waiting patiently for its moment. She just had to hope the guy was as dumb as he looked. Who wants to look like that? Jeez. At least he looked better now that she''d cut off half of his shirt. Lily had to hand it to them; the guy was still really attractive outside of the face area. Not an exaggerated action-movie hero, but a real human being. Pushed to the limits, she assumed, but they''d put some pretty sane limits on how far you could get. Oh, crap. He was moving. Lily had been distracted by the outline of his chest. He cut across with his sword to her right side, trying to slice at her off-hand, where he assumed she was weak. He was right handed, like most people, and took the advantage where he saw it. Gotcha. Lily didn''t even try to block. She danced away again, straight out of his clumsy slash. Momentum carried him forward, and her dagger was ready. Unlike the sword, it was sharp and clean, if a bit plain and unassuming. She didn''t care, just so long as it cut things¡ªand oh man, did it cut things. The man grunted in pain. Lily was rewarded with a bright line of blood. Her dagger sliced straight through his skin. As she pulled back even further, withdrawing her blade and letting him swing wide, the huge man stumbled. His foot caught on an exposed rock. An angry howl was the last Lily heard of the huge man as he tumbled over the cliff''s edge, dozens of meters between him and the floor of the huge ravine. Even the river couldn''t save him, thanks to the rocky slopes on each side. Lily held up her dagger to her forehead in a salute to the falling man, smirking. "Lily!" Oh, crap! She bolted down the beaten dirt path, as fast as she could run. The trees grew thick and massive as she hurtled away from the cliff, toward the sounds of battle in the clearing ahead. She emerged into the wide open space, and immediately had to duck a huge bolt of energy¡ªwhite tinged in sparkling purple¡ªthat shot over her skull and smacked into the face of another bandit with a sickening thud. He spun off his feet and tumbled to the ground. Lily didn''t hesitate for a second. She fell atop him, and her dagger sliced straight into his exposed neck, just below the scarf covering his face. The bandit quivered for a few moments, then lay still. Lily got up, weapons at the ready. Another two bandits remained, both advancing on her brother. Michael looked like he might trip over his robe as he backed away. He held a wooden staff cross-ways in front of him, a glowing purple crystal set into the top. It''s just two guys? Come on, Michael. You know this place way better than I do. He glanced over at her. "Lily?" "You got this," she said, grinning. She leaned against a tree, flipping her dagger over in her palm and sheathing it in one smooth motion. Michael shook his head in consternation. "Come on." "Oh, all right." She started forward, though she still left the dagger sheathed in its little scabbard. "What are you doing?" "I wanna try something." The bandits had finally cornered Michael at the trees. "Give us your silver," one growled. "I don''t have any," said Michael. "Then you die." "Not the best at conversation, are they?" asked Lily, walking straight up behind the two of them. They didn''t react in the slightest. "And even dumber than the last guy!" "This is cutting edge interaction A.I," said Michael, raising his staff again. "It''s just bugged or something." "Uh huh." Lily leaned forward and tapped one of the bandits on the shoulder. He didn''t even notice. "Stick to what you''re good at, bro." "Could you just get them off¡ª" Michael cut off as one of the bandits swung for his hip. He threw himself out of the way of the oncoming blade, and as she''d expected, tripped on the hem of his robe. A small cloud of dust kicked up as he slipped and fell. Lily rolled her eyes. "I dunno, they seem like really nice guys." "Lily!" "Fine!" Lily drew her dagger, and without another word, slid her sword and her dagger each into the back of a bandit. They spun around, but with blades sticking out of their chests, they were already done for. Lily just stood back and waited, as they gurgled and fell to the ground. It took them minutes to expire, and¡ªshe had to admit¡ªtheir death rattles were really unsettling. "Ugh," she said, holding out a hand to her brother. "What?" "That sounds awful." Michael shrugged, brushing dust off his robes. "We got really good feedback on it. They said it sounded realistic." "Who wants to hear realistic death sounds?" she asked, grimacing. "Our best customers." Michael glanced down at her. "Huh." "...What?" she asked, in much the same tone as he had. "I dunno, I just expected you to change more than that." "What''s wrong with how I look? Should I have turned into an elf like you?" He shook his head. "Nothing. But, I mean, when you can look like anything¡ª" "I look like me." Lily rolled her eyes. So she hadn''t really changed anything about her appearance. What did it matter? "You look silly with blond hair, by the way. And what''s up with your eyes? They''re like¡­ four colors." In fact, while Michael''s natural hazel was still visible around the edges of the iris, the center was a mix of purple and sickly green, with an eerie center of a far deeper black than normal. "Corruption," he replied. "Magic users have to handle corruption as a consequence. Too much and they get overwhelmed. Too little and magic isn''t very strong. It''s for balance." "Ooh." Now Lily was interested. Choices and payoffs, that''s what really made things exciting. "So is there like a perfect ratio, or do you gotta max one direction or the other?" Michael glanced around at the trees. He seemed to be a bit lost. "Shouldn''t you learn how to actually play first, before we get into that?" "I think I caught on pretty quick," she pointed out, with a thumb over her shoulder at the bandits strewn about the clearing. "It gets harder." He glanced back at the bodies. "You should probably grab their gold before they get reclaimed." "Before they get what now?" "Reclaimed by Selaverreth, Mother of the World." Michael nodded at the corpses. "After we leave, or as soon as the zone unloads, they''ll get swallowed up by the ground." "Oookay then." Lily hurried over and started digging through their pockets. She found a few embossed pieces of silver and some food, plus a nice-looking grey ring with an entwined design that turned into the branches of a tree. She slipped it onto her finger, where it instantly moulded to the size of her finger. "Not bad." Without warning, twisting white letters appeared in mid-air in front of her, billowing into existence like smoke from a snuffed-out candle.
Melchagar has invited you to travel with him. Accept Ignore Decline
"...Is that like a party system or something?" Michael nodded. "Yeah. Makes it easier to target some spells and other things like that." "How do I accept?" Lily put her hand through the word ''Accept'', but the smoke simply curled around her fingers without disappearing. "Squeeze your thumb between your index and middle finger. Each gap picks a menu option. The first gap means ''yes'', the middle brings up the menu or goes back, and the last one means ''no''." "That''s not a whole lot of buttons," she said dubiously. "We don''t have a whole lot of menus." Lily shrugged, and pressed her thumb underneath her index finger. Nothing happened. She tried harder, practically cutting off circulation to her thumb, and still nothing. "Uhh, bro? It''s not working." He glanced over. Lily held up her hand and squeezed a few times, as hard as she could. "Your right hand." "...Oh come on. Your own sister''s a lefty and you didn''t think to set that up?" "We use the left hand for the other three options." "Typical," Lily teased. She shook his head in exaggerated dismay, but accepted the invite. Nothing seemed particularly different ¡ª but then again, she had no idea how this game worked yet. It could be important. She began to ask, but Michael had already started to walk away. "Come on, we gotta meet the others at the Spring." "I''m coming." She glanced over her shoulder as they left the clearing, and sure enough, the bodies of the bandits crumbled into dust as they walked away. Not a scrap remained. "That''s a really cool looking effect." "Thanks. I actually did that one myself." He grinned. "Who says garbage collection can''t be sexy?" "That''s the garbage collection?" "Well, I''d love to just keep every single body on the server forever, but we had to make some sacrifices for the sake of lag." He sighed. "Especially after this year." "...Yeah," she said. "But this is gonna bring people back, right?" "Well, you tell me." They emerged back onto the cliff where Lily had fought the first bandit. Behind her sat a small cave, where she''d woken up under a tattered blanket with just the clothes on her back and the weapons she''d picked out. In front of them, sprawling out in every direction, was a massive ravine. A waterfall roared out from the far end, spilling into the river. Water thick with foam crashed through the gorge, fish leaping out, and a bear ambling through the woods to catch a meal. An eagle soared overhead, barely visible against the shining midday moon, reflecting the sun at the opposite end of the sky. "...Yeah, okay, this can probably sell." Lily smirked. "Just make the enemies smarter." "They''re not even supposed to be here at all," Michael shot back. "We only added them because we didn''t have enough players hanging around the early game areas. We didn''t want the world to feel so empty. It threw off the economy a bit, but it''s better than nothing." "So who is supposed to be here?" "People," said Michael, his eyes shining with excitement. Man, this engine is something else¡­ He might as well be real. "It''s all about people. Everything, from the economy to the endgame, is by real people building a world together. We''re offering something nobody else can, the chance to really have an effect on the whole world, because you are the world. You can do whatever you want, and for once, that phrase actually means something." "''Cause you don''t gotta write it," she added, elbowing him in the side. Michael pushed her away, disgruntled, and she laughed. "I get it, Michael. Seriously. But you''ve been selling that pitch for years, and you''re still losing players, right?" "This changes everything," he said, gazing out over the huge expanse. Past the gorge on the opposite cliff, they could just barely see the first signs of civilization rising up from the plains. "Nobody else can do this." "What, make a cool world?" "Be in a cool world." Lily frowned. "Nobody?" "We invented this, Lily. This is so cutting edge nobody''s even started working on an interface like this, as far as I know. Everybody''s still hung up on headsets and treadmills. Full body suits. All that bulky equipment." "And I''m lying in some weird pod thing, yeah," said Lily, shrugging. "I admit it, this is really cool." She took a deep breath through her nose. "It even smells like a forest. How do you do that?"You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "I don''t. Your brain does." "Come again?" "That was our big breakthrough. Harry and I realized that we don''t have to tell the brain anything. You already know what all of this is supposed to be like, and your imagination fills in the gaps. If we wanted to program this ourselves, we''d have needed an army of designers. This is all a shortcut. One brilliant, perfect shortcut." Michael looked positively giddy. Lily wasn''t used to seeing this sort of exuberance from her brother. He was eight years older than her, after all, and by the time she graduated high school, he''d already founded his own gaming company and launched a flagship product¡ªthe one she was currently standing inside. Michael Quinn had done it all through dogged persistence, a vision he shared with his mentor, the old man who''d provided their startup capital. Her brother was a genius, beyond a doubt. Lily, by comparison, felt like an idiot stumbling around in the dark. She didn''t want to tell Michael how impressed she was by the living, breathing world around her that she could feel and smell and even taste. What were a bunch of titles and trophies compared to this? "Come on," she said, before the silence dragged out too long. "We should go meet up with the others." *** Lily admired the world as she walked. She''d never been huge on nature or anything, but this strange virtual world? Where everything was just a little bit heightened, a little more vivid and exciting? Plus, no worrying about getting dirty or infected or anything¡ªor so she assumed. "Hey Michael?" "Yeah?" he said, glancing over he shoulder. "So¡­ how realistic is this place, exactly?" "Uhh¡­ really, really close to real. Except for the obvious things." He lifted his staff a bit higher on his next step, and the crystal mounted at the top glowed as if in response. "But like¡­ can we get infected? And what about pain? How painful is a sword?" "There''s a safe limit on everything," he said. "I''ve never felt too uncomfortable in all the test runs." "But what about other people?" He hesitated. "Well¡­" Lily stepped in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Spill it." "You guys are the other people," he said, wincing a little at her harsh tone. "...I''m a guinea pig?" Lily snapped. "I told you that we were testing it!" "Are you kidding me, Michael? What if my brain gets fried or something?" "Lily, relax," Michael said, holding up his hands. "I''ve been in and out a dozen times. The transfer system is totally safe. Your brain''s not gonna get fried." Lily frowned. "You sure?" "A hundred percent positive." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I''d never let anything happen to my baby sister." She shook his hand off. "Uh huh. This is because I beat you in Conquest last week, isn''t it?" "Yup." He grinned. "Had get my revenge somehow, right?" A shout from down the path made them both jump. "Are you two just gonna stand around all day?" Down the ragged dirt path, eight people waited in a loose gathering. A young woman who looked about the same age as Lily waved a huge rusty broadsword in the air like a flag, well-muscled arms wrapped with cords that matched her thick leather armor. Beside her stood a shorter hooded woman with a sharp, angular face barely visible from the distance, armed with bow and arrow. The two stood very close together compared to the spread of the others, as if they were all total strangers. As Michael and Lily approached, she started to make out the rest of the group. A few more elves, but the rest chose human just like her. No stranger choices, to her surprise. She''d seen six or seven options when making her character, but just let the system decide for her¡ªwith a few extra touches. Michael had said everything actually mattered, so Lily had scaled up her muscles and scaled down a few other areas. Everything to help her be able to move fast, strike hard and get away without a scratch. "We disabled every other option for this test," Michael explained, after she asked why no one had picked a less humanoid option. "I don''t know if you noticed, but your brain''s filling in for everything. Your whole body, every single sensation. Nothing''s left out." She hadn''t, but now that he mentioned it¡­ "...Okay, that''s kind of creepy." "It''s all in your head, with a few adjustments on what we send to you. Don''t worry." "If you say so," she muttered. "So that''s why you didn''t include bird people or the weird spider things?" "Keldrid and the Vktrel," Michael said. "And yeah. We wanted to start with just the most simple options. Closest to normal humans. No weird variables yet." "It''s about time," said the woman who''d shouted at them as they finally walked up. "So you''re the guy in charge, right?" "Yes, I''m Melchagar," Michael replied. "The content director¡­" breathed a guy standing off to the side, sword and shield in hand. He wore all black, from his loose shirt to his drawstring pants. Lily couldn''t help but laugh at how ridiculous he looked, even down to his exaggerated face with arched eyebrows and hooked nose. "What?" "You look like a B-movie villain," said the broadsword woman, not unkindly. "It''s a little overdone, sorry." "I made this character when I was fifteen!" he said indignantly. "So why are you as dirt poor as the rest of us?" asked Lily. "New clients for everybody," said another older man, stepping forward to join Michael up front. "We wanted a clean testbed to account for any variables." "Hey, Harry." Michael clapped his partner on the back. The other man winced. "Looks like everybody''s here?" "They should be." The man shrugged, his bushy white beard wagging as he did. "Do you want to call roll or something?" "Sure, why not? Good way for everybody to learn names." Michael clenched his thumb between his middle and ring fingers, and suddenly a pale white light shone from his eyes. It wasn''t strong, but Lily could just barely make out letters reflected in his pupils. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously. "He''s in the menu," said Harry. "Just getting my notes," said Michael. "Your menu isn''t just floating around like mine?" "It''s a perk of magic," he grinned. "All right." The light dimmed a bit, but didn''t disappear entirely. "This is just alphabetical, before anyone thinks I''m picking favorites or something." He cleared his throat. "Avalynn Sylvela?" Far off to the side of the group, seated in front of a tree with a forest-green cloak wrapped around her shoulders, a elf girl raised her hand. She had a curved blade at her hip and several daggers clutched in her belt, but she too seemed to have aimed more for flexibility and movement than exaggerated features like Lily might have expected. Her long brown hair was accentuated with braids to keep it manageable and out of her face. Some real competition? Lily wondered¡­ until she opened her mouth, and spewed a sentence Lily didn''t understand in the slightest. "Thank you," said Michael, nodding slightly. "Uhh, what?" asked Lily. "She''s speaking in Elvish," said the broadsword woman. "There''s a whole language for it, if you''re really hardcore." Avalynn spat on the ground at her words, wiping her mouth and shooting the woman a dark look. She just rolled her eyes and turned away, ignoring her. Okay, so she''s some crazy roleplayer. Got it. I can just ignore her too. "Ketra Zutis," Michael called. "Here," said the cloaked younger woman with the bow. She pulled off her hood, and Lily''s mouth fell open in shock. She was an elf, as expected, but where Avalynn was sharp and cold, Ketra was beautiful. She had dark brown hair that looked perfectly straight without a strand out of place, and eyes of a mesmerizing light purple hue. Her face fell halfway between the elegant angular elf features and the soft rounded human face, the best of both worlds somehow combined without losing either. Ketra clutched her friend''s hand as she revealed herself, though her gaze was anything but fearful. If anything, she looked a little bored. "Larali Dahlquist," said Michael. The broadsword woman waved again. "That''s me." She glanced around at the group, beaming. "Nice to meet you all." Michael paused before calling the next name. He glanced over at Lily. "...Really? Not even a last name?" Lily shrugged. "I didn''t think it mattered." "Yeah, but this is just your professional tag." "I like it, okay?" "...Liquin," Michael said, gesturing to her. Nobody else seemed to care, but out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw Avalynn''s eyebrows creased with irritation. At least, she assumed the other girl was irritated. Who knows with weirdos like that? "All right, then we''ve got Manifold, which you all know is Harry here," Michael went on, nudging his coworker, "and Melchagar Rauch, which is me. After that is Phoenixia Fireheart¡ª" Another elf, a younger girl who couldn''t seem to stop fidgeting with her bow and arrow¡ªbut unlike Ketra or Avalynn, both brown-haired elves, Phoenixia''s hair was as fiery and bright as her namesake. Her face bore thin patterned scars, obviously chosen deliberately. She looked like she was ready to throw down at a moment''s notice, and again unlike Ketra, she had the blades to back it up. Nice. Leaving your options open, going big or going home. If we''re picking teams or something, she''s on mine. "¡ªand Requiant Volavus," Michael continued, apparently speeding up the introductions a bit. Lily was grateful¡ªshe was willing to go through this whole process for her brother, but they didn''t need to stretch out the boring stuff so much. She was eager to actually get into this world he''d built, since she''d never once installed the game since the day he''d launched it, nearly six years ago. Requiant, to no surprise, was the black-clad guy who''d nearly fallen head over heels for Michael at a single word. His hand shot up like he were in a classroom, and Lily suppressed another giggle. He wasn''t bad looking at all, once she got past the wardrobe and the ridiculous eyebrows, but she couldn''t take him seriously. It was almost cute how much of a fanboy he was. As she choked back her laugh, she could see both Larali¡ªand Avalynn, of all people¡ªstruggling to do the same. "Shirogane Kei," said Michael, glancing up. "Good to see you made it, you old lump." Shirogane grinned. "Wouldn''t miss it, kid. You know how hard it was to set up that damn pod in my basement?" "So your wife did all the work?" said Michael. The familiar voice tore her gaze from Requiant, who''d been watching Michael with a face of worship normally reserved for the most esteemed of cult leaders, to spot a face she hadn''t expected¡ªattached to a handsome young male human with messy brown hair and a rugged beard that didn''t match in the slightest. "Simon?" "Hey there, Liliquin," he said, confirming it with her old nickname. His smile doubled in width. "Welcome to our little corner of the world." "I didn''t know you were gonna be here!" She broke the unspoken rule that had separated her from the rest of the group, dashing past a startled Larali and a confused Phoenixia to wrap her arms around the genial giant that was Shirogane. "You missed Thanksgiving, you jerk." "Yeah, yeah. Blame Mrs. Miller," said Shirogane, hugging her back. To Lily''s surprise¡ªand delight¡ªhis embrace felt just as warm and familiar as it always did. "We''ll be ''round for Christmas, don''t you worry." "Okay, last but not least," Michael said, as Lily turned around to face the rest of the group again. Michael needn''t have continued though¡ªshe knew exactly who the last person in the group was. Even if he was wearing a blond-haired elf''s body, with a roguish grin and a rapier belted around his waist, Lily would always recognize the dangerous glint in his charming eyes. He knew her too, of course. As her eyes narrowed, his own widened with a private glee only the two of them really understood. "Susanoo Umehara," said Michael, and Lily''s hands clenched into fists. Of all the people in the world for her brother to invite, of all the players he could have picked out of the lottery entries or invited or whatever the hell kind of process he''d settled on¡­ her brother had managed to invite her worst enemy. Her greatest rival. The only person who''d managed to knock her from the leaderboard and claim her title after she''d won it. They''d fought for years, in tournaments around the globe with millions of dollars on the line. Kevin Umehara, Lily translated in her head as he greeted the rest of the group. How the hell did he get here? "All right," said Michael. "Now that we''re all settled in, how''s the test going so far? Any bugs, any weird problems?" Phoenixia was still fidgeting like mad, and at his words, leapt to her feet. "No, it''s perfect! It''s so perfect!" She darted around the clearing. "This is amazing! Unbelievable! I never want to leave!" Shirogane chuckled. "Well that''s a ringing endorsement if ever I heard one." "Thanks," said Michael, blushing slightly. "But seriously, anybody?" "Yeah," said Lily, annoyed. "We''re still standing around here." The rest of the group seemed to echo her sentiment. Phoenixia obviously wanted to get out and move, and the rest of them weren''t exactly sitting still. The group seemed obsessed with touching everything¡ªfrom their weapons to the blades of grass beneath their fear, from silky elven hair to the simple woven shirts they''d spawned in. Lily, for her part, couldn''t stop running a hand along the skin on her forearms, which was far smoother and softer than her arms had ever been, in a wonderfully pleasant way. Michael nodded. "Cool. Well, I figured we should just try to get to the nearest town if we can. It''s a couple hours from here on foot, which is more than enough for a good demo." "Sounds good to me," said Larali, sheathing her broadsword across her back. "We''re in the Haalfwood, right?" "Right." She glanced up at the moon, which looked very strange across from the sun in the middle of the day. Lily wondered for a moment if that meant gravity and tides were different too, before remembering it was still a game. They hadn''t gone that far¡­ probably. Larali seemed to be working out something in her head, before she finally raised a hand and pointed off in a direction. "That''s west. Skyldr is southeast of the Haalfwood. So we need to go¡­" She rotated around to the opposite direction. "...that way." Larali started off, but Ketra put a hand on her arm to stop her. "It''s that way," she added, turning Larali by a few degrees. "The sunset isn''t directly west, remember?" "...Right," said Larali, blushing a little. "Well, let''s get going already!" "Hang on," said Susanoo, and Lily swore she saw him smirk. "Let''s make this fun. Melchagar, you two still have all your stuff, right?" "Not quite," said Michael. "Just whatever we have on these beta characters." "We''re the first ones on the ground for the new version," Susanoo went on. "Let''s do this like real warriors of Avo. Whoever gets the most loot from here to the city gets a reward. Something to kick start their new account." "We can''t just summon anything," said Harry in an irritated tone. "After the Titwen scandal¡ª" "Nah, I just meant whatever you got on you," said Susanoo. He smirked, and Lily ground her teeth together in silence at the sight. "We''re dirt poor newbies right out of the gate here. Literally anything you have is a huge boost." Michael laughed. "All right, you''re on. We''ll figure out the reward by the time we get to Skyldr. It''ll stay on your character when we launch this interface to the public." He matched Kevin smirk-for-aggravating-smirk. "Assuming you stay alive until then." "Well, come on then," said Lily. She couldn''t stand to see their smug looks for another minute. "Let''s go." She started off in the direction Larali had pointed. The huge woman and her friend hurried to Lily''s side, while the rest of the party followed in a loose column behind. Lily wasn''t about to waste any time. Sure, she hadn''t played Avo more than an hour or two, but these sorts of games just weren''t her thing. She didn''t have anything against them. Lily needed the contest. She loved the thrill of outsmarting and outplaying her opponent, taking all challengers and proving she belonged at the top. Avo didn''t really have anything like that; it was much more focused on roleplaying and social dynamics. The fight system was thrilling and deep, sure, but there wasn''t anything on top of it. Nothing to motivate her. Kevin Umehara had just given her all the motivation she needed. Lily traced her fingers along the sword and dagger at her hips, familiarizing herself with every centimeter. From the way he''d talked and the way he''d dressed, Kevin probably hadn''t played this much either. They were on even footing. Lily knew her brother wouldn''t be any help¡ªMultiverse Games was world-famous for being strictly hands off with their players to a fault, to the many complaints of their customers. I got this. Lily glanced over her shoulder, where Susanoo was already making easy conversation with Requiant and Shirogane. He was already making alliances. So what? She''d make her own if she had to. Kevin, you''re not gonna beat me again. You tricked me last time, but we''re in my brother''s game now. You''re going down. As they crested the hill and the trees gave way to a wide expanse of forest, Michael hurried to the front of the group. He spread his arms out wide, as if handing them the whole world. Lily could see criss-crossing roads scattered through the Haalfwood ahead, dotted villages, a pillar of smoke, and so much more beyond the cliffs to the south. An ancient and shattered coliseum perched on a windswept hill just at the edge of her vision. This world was huge. Suddenly, Lily felt tiny. Even in the real world, she''d never felt so small. They could get lost in here forever if they weren''t careful, and even though it was only a game, that fear made itself all too real to her. Lily took a deep breath, and to her surprise, Larali leaned over and propped her up before she even realized she felt dizzy. "You good?" she whispered. Lily gasped, still getting her feet under her. She didn''t usually get motion sick or vertigo, but something about the sheer breadth of the place had her knees buckling. "It''s¡­" "Yeah." Larali smiled. "Looking at a screen or even in a headset''s nothing compared to this. I feel like I just walked into a dream. Never thought I could be inside my favorite game. I could stay here forever." Michael smiled as the rest of the group joined them, making the hike up to the hill. He gestured again, arms open wide. "Welcome to ?tla Ver?ld," he proclaimed. "Welcome to the Fated World." [Discord] ¡ª [TLS] ¡ª [Rate] ¡ª [Follow] ¡ª [Patreon] Chapter 2 — The Haalfwood I
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Lily strained her ears, trying to figure out the rushing sound that had become steadily louder as they walked. "I think that''s a¡ª" "Waterfall!" shouted Phoenixia. She rushed forward and almost immediately tripped over a tree root. Larali managed to catch her before she fell, setting her upright again. "Calm down, kid," she added, patting the girl on the shoulder. "No need to rush." Phoenixia shook her head, hair flying everywhere. "I want to see it!" Larali flashed Lily a bemused smile as she let herself get pulled forward in a mad rush. Lily just laughed, waving to the two of them as they vanished through the ferns toward the crashing sound of the waterfall. She was still trying to figure out exactly where they were. Since descending from the starting plateau, the forest had been too thick to get a good sense of direction. I wonder if I can climb up a tree... Lily glanced over at her brother, talking to his coworker toward the back of the group. He seemed preoccupied. The others were milling about, looking at the scenery. Everyone was still in awe from the sheer detail and fidelity of the simulation around them. Lily usually didn''t care much about graphics, but even she had to admit how cool it was. If she didn''t know better, she''d be totally convinced that they''d just gone to a whole other world. Except, it was a game, and that meant she needed to figure out how to win. Lily thumbed open her menu, eager to explore the system¡ªand find as many ways to exploit her brother''s design as she could get her hands on. She was going to win this little contest and rub it in Kevin''s face for weeks. Maybe she''d even join the game for real once the new version launched, if she was going to get a head-start. It''s gonna be huge, and I''m already having some fun. Let''s see what else it has to offer.
Liquin
Status Settings
Party Close Menu
Guild Logout
Huh¡­ Not a whole lot to work with here. Lily started pressing through the different options to see what they did. The Party screen just showed her and her brother, along with a few extra words she didn''t understand yet, while the Guild option simply shifted to red smoke whenever she pressed that finger. Lily shrugged it off and tried the Status screen.
Liquin
Human Peasant Pure
Healthy Back to Menu
Able Warm
"That screen''s mostly pointless now," said Michael over her shoulder. Lily wasn''t surprised in the slightest; her brother wasn''t exactly the stealthiest guy around. "You can feel how warm or cold you are, and it''ll be pretty obvious if you get hurt. Having a neural link makes all that unnecessary." "So there''s no numbers?" she asked. That''s gonna make this a bit harder than I expected¡­ "No stats or anything?" "Nope." Michael grinned. "The whole point was to make a fully immersive game, where you are your character. No tricks, no abstractions. There''s numbers running the whole show under the hood, obviously, but nothing for the player." Lily shook her head. "What kind of RPG is this?" "It''s more like a survival sim, I guess," he answered, shrugging. "Just, you know, with magic." "Can''t I get a little more info?" she grumbled. "Hold down on any of the options and you''ll get a tooltip." She tried it on the ''Pure'' status first. When pressed, the smokey text lit up a little brighter, and another line of smoke appeared above it with an explanation. ''Pure'' apparently meant that her ''soul was free from corruption''... so it must be linked to the magic system. More importantly, that stat was listed on the Party screen, and her brother had a different value. As expected, the rest of the Status messages were pretty self-explanatory. There''s gotta be something I can use¡­ She closed the status screen and hopped over to the Settings menu while Michael wandered away to talk to someone else in the group. A few more had gone ahead to join Larali and Phoenixia at the waterfall, but Lily was still stubbornly looking for an advantage in the game system and stayed in the clearing.
Liquin
NVR BETA - Pain: Normal Corruption Effects: Full
NVR BETA - Fatigue: Normal Back to Menu
NVR BETA - Intimacy: Closed NVR BETA - Temperature: Normal
"Uhh¡­" she said aloud. "Need help?" Lily flinched away from the sudden voice at her shoulder. Requiant had managed to get right up next to her without making any sound, despite the bulky shield strapped to his back. He peered at the settings menu, brushing the thin black beard on his chin. "These are all new for the neural VR demo, I guess," Lily prompted, trying to sound like she knew what she was talking about. "Everything except Corruption," he pointed out. "That''s always there." "Oh. Duh." Lily hesitated, but since everyone else was gone by now¡ªmost importantly, Kevin was out of earshot¡ªshe didn''t mind asking for an explanation. "So what does that one do?" "Well, as you get more corrupted, your screen would change colors or get desaturated. Sometimes the interface would get messed up." Requiant shook his head. "I''d never get corrupted though. I always stay pure." "Uh¡­ huh." Lily pressed the setting, and it changed to ''Normal''. She tried it again, but those were apparently the only two options. She started clicking the others experimentally, and got a similar result. Pain switched from Normal to Full, while Temperature and Fatigue did likewise. None of the options could be turned off. "Not a whole lot of options here¡­" "Well, it''s an immersive sim," he said. He actually sounded a little offended, as if it were taboo to even suggest such a thing. "Disabling them would give some people an advantage." Lily rolled her eyes. "Or maybe some people just don''t like pain in their video game?" she pointed out. "Then they shouldn''t be playing Avo." Wow. No need to be a dick about it. Lily clicked the Corruption setting down to Normal to match the others¡ªshe didn''t feel like going on a trip if she ever delved into the magic system. The rest she left as they were. For a moment, she considered asking Requiant what the ''Intimacy'' setting meant, but something about the guy rubbed her the wrong way. She waited until he got bored and wandered off to the rest of the group, then pressed down on the option until a new wave of smoke appeared to explain it. NVR BETA - Intimacy Closed: Automatically reject notifications Allowed: Receive notifications Open: accept notfications Lily stared at it blankly. Seriously, Michael¡­? What kind of game is this? She wondered if he''d even put that into the game. The menu was obviously under-developed with how unclear each description was. There was even a typo in the third option. Someone on the interface team needed a spell-checker. Probably that guy Harry, if Michael''s text rants are anything to go by. "Liquin?" Larali had returned, with Phoenixia at her heels. The younger girl was soaked, dripping water everywhere, but she was practically beaming at them. Lily closed the menu and waved in greeting. "You should come see this. It''s amazing." "I jumped into a waterfall!" Phoenixia shouted. "And you nearly drowned, Nixie," Larali snorted, rolling her eyes. "Nixie?" she asked, glancing up. The swordswoman shrugged. "Just came to me. You like it?" Phoenixia nodded emphatically. She seemed like she might burst into a dance¡ªand then she did, doing a little number around the forest and spraying water everywhere. "This is so amazing!" "Yeah, yeah." Larali looked up at Lily, obviously torn between exasperation and delight. Lily didn''t blame her; Nixie''s attitude was pretty infectious. Lily already felt so much more excited about the game to come, just being around them. "Come on, you two. We shouldn''t fall behind." Lily nodded. "Yeah. Let''s go." She double-checked her belt to make sure her sword and dagger were secure, then hurried into the woods after Larali, Phoenixia close on her heels. *** "Split up?" asked Lily, surprised. "Yeah," said Michael. He''d been waiting at the lake where the waterfall crashed out of the mountains, totally alone. "We''re going to be in two groups of five instead. That way, everybody gets more of a chance to try things out and we''re not so crowded. We''ll meet back up in Skyldr." "Let me guess," she said, glancing around the empty clearing. "Susanoo''s idea?" "...It was." He cocked his head. "How''d you guess?" "Oh, come on, bro," Lily grumbled, dropping her voice a little. Phoenixia was off by the edge of the lack, holding out her palm and doing hand motions, and Larali was with her, so Lily finally had a moment alone with her brother. "You picked out all the beta testers, didn''t you? Why''d you invite him?" Michael shrugged. "Why not?" Lily shook her head. "Are you serious?" "...Yes?" A loud hiss and a shout of glee distracted them both for a moment. Phoenixia was dancing around on the shore of the lake, while Larali clapped her hands in applause. "He''s a big name and he has a huge following. If he endorses the game¡­" "Ugh," she sighed. She knew he was right, even if she hated it. "Okay, fine." "Is it a big deal?" Michael asked, surprised. "I mean, I knew you guys were rivals, but I figured¡ª" "It''s fine." Lily walked away before he could say another word. I''ll just avoid him. Or beat the crap out of him. Hey, I wonder if this game has full PVP. She hurried off to join the other two, eager to see the new weapon Phoenixia had apparently discovered. As she emerged from the trees into the sunlight, she could actually feel it warm her skin, a gentle buzz of heat on her face, arms and legs. As soon as she walked up, Phoenixia shot another little ball of fire out of her palm, gasping a little as she did. "Was that magic?" Lily asked, excited.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "Yup!" She took a breath, looking a little dizzy. Lily looked at her eyes, curious to see if she''d show the same strange coloration as Michael, but Phoenixia''s remained a pure, clear icy-blue. "It''s so much easier to do now." "Really?" asked Larali. "Looked harder to me. That thing with your hand was complicated." "No, you always had to do that," said Phoenixia. "But it''s a lot easier with hands. You know, compared to a hand tracker." She put a hand to her chest, just around her lungs, taking another deep breath. "Kinda hurt though." "It hurt?" asked Lily, raising an eyebrow. "Using magic hurts?" "It felt so cool though," said Phoenixia, seemingly unconcerned. "I really felt like I was shooting fire out of my hand." She held up her palm again at the lake, and started twitching her fingers in a specific order. Lily couldn''t keep up, but a moment later, another fireball burst out¡ªand then another. "Don''t push it!" said Larali in alarm, grabbing the girl''s arm and shoving it down. It wasn''t unwarranted; Phoenixia looked dizzy again, even though her eyes were still lit up like twin bonfires. "That was way faster than normal." "Yeah," said Phoenixia, grinning. "You can go as fast as you want now." "So it''s a balance issue," said a quiet voice behind them. Lily whipped around, startled. Ketra had appeared from nowhere, pulling off her hood and joining them at the water''s edge. She brushed her long hair out of her face before speaking again. "Magicians have to determine how much they can use without hurting themselves." I really gotta step up my game on hearing people sneaking around¡­ "That seems way too harsh," she said. "Nixie''s barely doing anything." "She doesn''t have anything to channel magic yet," said Michael, finally joining them by the lake, standing with the waterfall just behind him. "Right now, she''s just using her own essence, so it takes a lot more. You''re supposed to use an implement, or take your power from the realm." "From the realm?" "Steal it from Selaverreth," said Ketra, her tone full of disdain. "That''s how you corrupt your soul." "So what, there''s three mana systems?" Lily asked. She really wanted to start getting some actual mechanics down, so she could figure out what to plan for. Magic sounds pretty useful, but if I''m gonna get a kick in the chest like that every time¡­ ugh. "But they all power the same spells?" "Yes," said Phoenixia. "Kinda." Michael nodded. "It''s really two. Using a magical implement reduces the effects of both. You can get ones that reduce it by a constant amount, or remove it entirely but only for a set amount of time." "Or both, if you''re really rich," said Phoenixia with a sigh. Larali cleared her throat. "Not to be a drag, but shouldn''t we get moving? They''re gonna beat us to Skyldr." Lily glanced up at the sky. The sun still shone high above them. As far as she could tell, it hadn''t moved that far since they''d all spawned in. "Is there a rush? I didn''t think we had a time limit." Not that I don''t want to beat him, but going fast isn''t always the best way. This is a loot contest. Going off the beaten path might be a better idea. Not that there''s even a path¡­ We''re in the middle of nowhere. "Not really," said Michael. "The neural cradles are rated for months at least. Years, theoretically." "Years?" asked Larali, raising an eyebrow. "Is that safe? Did you get medical studies done on that?" "Yeah. We''re in the clear." Lily could tell when her brother was lying, and to her relief, he didn''t seem to be. As rushed as the prototypes and the demo had been, she trusted Michael to have actually done his due diligence and made sure the whole system was safe. It was uncomfortable as hell¡ªput on a skin-tight suit with sensors all over it, climb into the weird cradle, get needles stuck into her neck¡ªbut it went quick. She''d only felt an instant of pain from the interface before it completely took over her senses. From the roaring waterfall to the scent of the pine trees surrounding them, coupled with the warm sun on her face and the water tickling her bare toes on the sandy beach of the little lake, Lily could agree it was totally worth it so far. "We should get moving before sunset," said Ketra, sounding bored. She pointed up at the sky, where sure enough, the sun was already starting to drop toward the horizon. The moon was at its apex, and as Lily gazed around the sky, she saw another moon beginning its ascent, just above the treeline opposite the sun. "How long is a day here?" Lily asked. "About twenty and a half hours," said Michael. "Twenty hours, thirty-four minutes, eighteen seconds," said Phoenixia, looking back at the group. "Can we go already?" She''d finally pulled her boots back on and was hopping back and forth by the treeline. Lily bent down to do the same, not wanting to fall behind. She missed the feel of the sand between her toes already, but it beat stepping across the rough forest floor barefoot. To no one''s surprise, Phoenixia was the first out of the clearing. She bounded through the trees like an excitable cat¡ªand if she hadn''t stopped every few seconds to examine a fallen tree or scampering squirrel, the girl would undoubtedly be far ahead of them all. Michael stayed close behind, and she peppered him with a never-ending stream of questions that Lily couldn''t make out. "How old d''you think she is?" Larali murmured. "Eighteen at least, right?" said Lily, feeling suddenly uneasy. "My brother wouldn''t have anyone do this who''s underage. I mean, it''s safe, but still¡­" "Yeah," said Larali, though she didn''t sound convinced. "Definitely eighteen." "What about you guys?" Lily asked as she clambered over a particularly large fallen log, which looked like it had been struck by lightning in some long-past era. Ketra sprang across with ease, and waited at the top to give Larali a hand over. "We''re both twenty-five," said Larali as she landed on the opposite side. "I''m guessing you both play this game a lot." "When we can." Larali smiled. "Best way to escape the real world for a bit, you know? What about you?" "I tried it once." Lily shrugged. "It wasn''t really my thing." "Yeah." The large woman nodded, like a mountain dipping its peak. Her huge sword brushed against a low-hanging branch as she did. "Let''s just say I''m not surprised the company''s struggling to stick it out." "They''ll be fine," Lily shot back. She felt a bit defensive for her brother''s sake, even if he wasn''t around to hear it. Larali held up a hand in apology. "Sorry! I didn''t mean anything by it. I think your brother''s a real genius, and I honestly think this could work." She reached up and plucked a leaf from the nearest branch¡ªan individual leaf, and it detached exactly as they all expected. "This is actually insane, you know? Nothing on the market''s anything like this." "It should be impossible," said Ketra quietly. Lily jumped. She''d forgotten the other girl was even with them, trailing a few steps behind at all times, quiet as a whisper. "My brother probably took that as a challenge," Lily smirked. Larali chuckled. "And damn did he meet it!" She spun in a circle as she walked forward, taking in the sights. "Not a menu in sight, just a whole world to explore. It''s incredible." "Well, there''s one menu..." said Lily. "Oh!" Larali stopped in place, whipping around to face them. The familiar smokey menu swirled up in front of her. She pressed into the Party menu and eyed Lily with a friendly look. Something about her smile always seemed pure and genuine¡ªbut a moment later, it twisted into a frown, accompanied by a twisting message written in red smoke. "Hey, you''re already in a group." "Oh, right." Lily shrugged. "My brother added me." "Did he make you the leader? Or at least give you permissions?" "Maybe?" She didn''t remember seeing anything, but based on the rest of the game''s systems, she doubted there''d be a notification for something so inconsequential. "Hang on, let me check."
Liquin
View Party Add Target
Party Settings Back to Menu
Leave Party Remove Target
Lily glanced up at Larali and picked the Add Target option. A faint puff of white smoke flew out from her menu to the woman''s face, straight between her brown eyes, but she didn''t seem to notice. Instead, the menu option changed to blue smoke, shifting around to form the name ''Larali''. Lily pressed it again, and the smoke swirled again to the word ''Pending¡­'' "Okay, cool." Larali nodded as her menu swirled around and reformed into the party prompt. She accepted, and soon after the three of them were on their way again as a newly formed official party. Whatever that does, exactly¡­
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
"So, what does that do?" Lily asked aloud. Now that she actually had somebody who''d played the game¡ªand wasn''t as embarrassing to ask as her brother¡ªshe really wanted to dig in. "Michael said it helped you target stuff?" "Magic, mostly," said Larali, nodding. They skirted around a tall overhang, speeding up a bit to keep Phoenixia''s fiery hair in sight as the girl continued to rush ahead. "It makes people either a default target when it makes sense, or not a target when it doesn''t. Healing spells, area spells, support spells, you get the idea." "It also lets you use Whisper spells more easily," said Ketra. "It''s more difficult if you aren''t in a party or a guild together." "Is that like voice chat?" "Yes. Whisper spells let you communicate within your party, but they''re difficult to use. Message lets you communicate with anyone in the world, but they''re a tightly held secret." Lily rolled her eyes. "Why don''t you just use an app instead?" "You can''t. The game blocks them. You have to give it full permissions on your system to play." "...That''s kind of nuts." And you can still beat that, anyway¡­ just use another machine. Larali grinned. "Anybody playing Avo is kind of nuts. You''ll catch on quick. It''s seriously fun though, if you get the itch. Not everyone does, but once you do, there''s just nothing else like it." "No kidding." Lily snapped off a thin branch nearby and swung it around like a sword. "So you really can just do anything, huh?" "Pretty much." "It sounds like it''d take a lifetime just to get good at the game." "Well, it''s helping you out a lot," Larali pointed out. "You don''t have to exercise or do a lot of the usual routine stuff, and you don''t have to worry about food either." Lily licked her lips pointedly. "But what if I want to worry about the food?" she said, smirking. "Just think: if there''s actual taste in this game, and it doesn''t affect us at all¡­" Larali''s eyes lit up like twin light bulbs flickering on. "We can eat whatever we want!" Ketra rolled her eyes as the two of them burst into laughter. She started walking away, pulling her hood up over her head, and the two followed, listing off all the fantasy foods they wanted to eat, followed by the real world as soon as they ran out of ideas. Lily wasn''t exactly a glutton, but she had to keep herself in good shape for her career, so she tended to avoid a lot of guilty pleasure options. "Yeah, you and me both," said Larali, once she''d explained that. "Really?" Lily glanced over, and promptly got her boot caught in a thicket of brambles around the next tree trunk. Ketra grabbed her arm before she fell into the thorns, hauling her back to her feet. "...Thanks." Ketra nodded. "No problem." "What do you do?" Lily went on quickly, to cover her embarrassment. "In the real world, I mean." "Well," said Larali, hesitating. She suddenly tilted her head up, looking at something neither of them could see. "What the¡ª" Without warning, she hurried off into the woods after Phoenixia and Michael, leaving Lily and Ketra alone. "...What did she see?" Lily asked, craning her neck to get a better look. Even that movement hurt a little. Jeez, this game really covers everything. "I don''t see anything." "She didn''t," said Ketra, rolling her eyes. "That was the weakest exit line I''ve ever heard from her." "Huh?" "Larali doesn''t like talking about her real life." Ketra shrugged, picking up the pace a little. Lily hurried to match her. "She plays Avo to get away from it." "Oh." Lily gulped. "I didn''t mean to¡ª" "Yeah, she knows that. Don''t worry about it." Ketra glanced sidelong at her. Lily felt entranced by her eyes, a light shade of purple like a lavender in bloom. She''s really pretty¡­ if I''d known that kind of option was in the character creator I probably wouldn''t have gone through it so fast. "You''re Lily Quinn, though, right?" "Yeah. Michael''s sister." "Not just that." Ketra shook her head, and her perfect brown hair danced across her face as she did. Okay, Lily, getting a bit too obsessed with how a video game character looks¡­ even if she looks totally real. What''s going on with you right now? Get it together. "You''re Liquin. Top of the charts in Riposte, right? I''m¡­ I''m a really big fan. I think you''re an amazing gamer." "...Thanks," said Lily, trying to hold back her smile, though she felt positively giddy just at being recognized at all. Sure, Lily won plenty of prize money, but she never streamed or did anything social. She didn''t have a big fan base like a lot of the other big professional gamers¡­ especially him. He made a real living through it; she earned her way by winning every single tournament she could without taking a single break. Social activity pretty naturally flew out the window as a result, except for a weekly board game night with her brother. Suddenly, Lily had a fan. An embarrassed fan who was currently role-playing a elf in a virtual RPG made by her brother, but still! A legit, non-creepy fan who just wanted to hang out. Lily felt like she was on top of the world. Ketra turned away a bit, not meeting Lily''s eyes. "You were actually a huge inspiration for me." "Huh?" "Being a girl and winning every game in the whole grand circuit. I bet that wasn''t easy at all, with all the crap everybody gave you for it." Ketra glanced back up and smiled. "I was rooting for you the whole way. I started playing because of that run. I''m almost to grandmaster tier, and I main the same build as you." Lily blushed. It was her turn to get embarrassed, and she clearly wasn''t as good about hiding it as Ketra. Okay, this game even does blushing? This sucks. Except¡­ I have an actual fan for once, not just the usual slog. So that''s really cool. "Almost every game," she pointed out, trying to deflect a bit. "...Yeah." Ketra shrugged. "Well, he''s really good too. You''ll get him next time." "Oh yeah." Lily nodded. "I''ll kick his ass next time." Ketra smiled. She gestured back down the path Larali had carved through the underbrush with her huge footsteps, visible even to Lily in the dirt. "Come on." They hurried to catch up. While Phoenixia was still bounding ahead with Larali only a few steps behind, Michael was taking a more leisurely pace halfway between the two pairs. As Lily caught up, Ketra passed them to join the other two, leaving her alone with her brother for a minute. "Did you have some good girl talk?" he asked, smirking. Lily smacked him on the shoulder. He winced, but the stupid grin didn''t go away. "Yeah, so what?" "Just nice to see you making some friends." "...What''s that supposed to mean?" she asked, indignant. Does he think I don''t have any friends? I mean¡­ I don''t have a lot of friends¡­ Especially not after all the crap that went down between me and Kevin. But come on! I''m not a loner or anything¡­ not by choice. I''m just busy. Riposte takes a lot of practice. "Nothing." He looked so annoyingly smug, she wanted to smack him again. She just settled for rolling her eyes instead. "Whatever, bro. Don''t think I didn''t notice you ended up with all the girls in your half of the group." "Not all," he pointed out. "Avalynn is with Harry. Besides, that was pure chance. You took¡ª" "Shh!" Phoenixia skidded to a halt in the dirt and held up a hand. She''d hissed the warning. The rest of the group stopped on a dime, but Larali¡ªnot watching where she was going at all¡ªnearly bowled the girl over as she plowed into her. They both stumbled forward into the open clearing ahead, with Phoenixia falling flat on her hands into the bright sunlight. A chorus of alarmed men greeted her: six guys with an assortment of cheap swords and armor among them. A few small tents leaned against the trees on the far side. A fox roasted over a small campfire. They''d stumbled right into a bandit camp¡ªand the residents weren''t happy about it. Lily drew her blades, loving the real weight and texture of the leather grips in her palms. She eyed down the nearest bandit, a grin creasing her lips. All right. Let''s do this! [Discord] ¡ª [TLS] ¡ª [Rate] ¡ª [Follow] ¡ª [Patreon] Chapter 3 — The Haalfwood II
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Six bandits versus the five of them. If the last few were anything to go by, Lily didn''t expect this to take long. Michael was standing in the back, still half-hidden by the forest, while Ketra had slipped out to the side. Larali and Phoenixia pulled themselves back to their feet, and they settled into a loose triangle with Lily at the edge of the meadow. Larali slowly moved her hand toward the hilt of her broadsword. "...Do we fight?" she murmured. "You''re the experts," said Lily, casually picking out targets. The guy with the bow in the rear looked like he''d go down easy. Only one of them looked like he might pose any real trouble¡ªwhile most had weapons as crappy and ancient as theirs, the man who''d been turning the fox over the fire had a gleaming steel sword and actual chainmail, compared to the loose shirts and pants on the rest of the group. "Six on five," said Larali. "Six on four," said Michael, to their surprise. Lily glanced over her shoulder at her brother. Michael wore a wide, mischievous grin. "I''m just here to watch." "That fox actually smells kind of good¡­" said Phoenixia. She hadn''t drawn her daggers or her bow, but simply raised her hand into the air in a defensive stance¡ªor at last, what she believed was defensive. Phoenixia didn''t have any kind of balance or stability, based on what Lily knew of fighting. If I shoved her, she''d fall right over. She''s got a lot to learn. Lily sniffed the air, just catching the scent as the wind shifted and blew the campfire smoke their way. "Seriously?" she asked, dumbfounded. I mean, it smells like real meat, but¡­ eww. "I don''t think¡ª" "Hey!" shouted one of the bandits. The party looked up in unison. Lily hadn''t expected the A.I. to actually interrupt them. "Be on your way, strangers! Unless you want to eat steel!" "Oh, someone''s gonna eat something," muttered Larali. Lily didn''t exactly want to attack them straight out¡ªtoo obvious, plus they hadn''t actually made any aggressive moves. Out of the corner of her eye, Ketra was still maneuvering through the thick trees, an arrow notched to the string. Lily decided to throw a line right back at them to stall. "Give us your silver." The man laughed, hand resting on the hilt of a sword tucked into his belt. "You wish to rob us?" Lily shrugged. "Unless you want to eat steel," she mocked. He''d just sounded so ridiculous, she couldn''t help it. "Be on your way, strangers," he said again, in exactly the same cadence as before. Lily sighed. Well, so much for being cutting edge A.I. "Liquin!" shouted Ketra. She whirled around¡ªand as she did, an arrow crossed right in front of her eyes. She could practically count the individual feathers on the haft, messy and sticking out at odd angles. The flint tip clacked against a tree a few meters behind her and fell to the ground. Lily grinned. "Oh yeah. Let''s do this." Another arrow shot across the clearing toward the bandits. Ketra had fired from somewhere off to their right¡ªLily had lost track of her after the first shot. Ketra''s arrow struck true, catching the bandit who''d fired first in the shoulder. He yelped with pain and dropped his weapon. The bandits howled with rage. Four rushed forward into the fight, swords and daggers drawn. Larali roared right back at them, twice as loud. She whipped her broadsword off her back in a huge arc, nearly clipping an over-eager bandit who''d charged her. He twisted away, but Larali was quick on the draw, and her sword was double-edged. Without a second wasted, she stepped forward and swung again. This time, she struck home. A bright line of blood appeared across the man''s midsection, and the bandit tumbled to the ground clutching his chest. Larali gave a whoop of victory, and immediately almost got hit by another arrow. The last bandit had drawn his bow and fired, aiming just high of the huge Larali. Lily couldn''t keep up with them anymore, as she had two bandits of her own to contend with. She was used to one-on-one fights, but neither of them seemed particularly adept themselves. Lily simply took a few steps back as one swung wildly, and his friend did the same. Their swords actually clashed off each other. Lily giggled. "Come on, guys. You can do better than that." To her surprise, they actually seemed to understand her. The bandit on the left growled and charged forward. Lily took another few quick steps back, twirling her dagger to really drive home the taunt. She smirked as he swung again and missed her by nearly half a meter. In fact, she could have already taken him out if she really wanted, but messing with the A.I. (and feeling her brother seething behind her) was just too much fun. Another arrow clacked against a tree. Ketra had taken a shot at the far bandit and missed. Larali put her sword through the chest of her first opponent to finish him off, then charged across the clearing to take out the archers. She crashed through the bandit camp, knocking dishes and bags everywhere as she chased down the fleeing men into the forest. "Help!" Lily glanced away¡ªand nearly took a blade to the shoulder for her distraction. Phoenixia was calling for help, and Lily had been wasting way too much time screwing around with the two bandits in the center. The girl had her hands up, throwing fireballs at the last bandit of the group, but he seemed a bit more aware than the rest. He dodged each one, making steady progress toward her as she backed away into the trees. "Coming, Nixie!" she shouted. The bandit in front of her looked confused by her words, but didn''t lose any ground. He stabbed forward, aiming for her left side, where he probably assumed she was weaker. Jeez, Michael. Even when I clearly have a sword in that hand¡­ Lily rotated the sword around, catching his blade and driving it to the side. His eyes went wide, but his guard was even wider. She plunged forward with the dagger in her right, stabbing right into his unprotected chest. The blade slipped right between his ribs. Lily twisted it once, then tore it back out again. The man groaned in pain and collapsed. Seeing an opening, the other bandit stepped in. He actually learned from the mistake of his companion, and swung for her right. Lily had to do an awkward double-step to the side, ducking just under the slice. As the bandit stumbled, unbalanced from over-committing, Lily slashed her way back in. Her curved dagger caught his awkward second swing, driving his sword out of the way, while her own cut a long red line across his shoulder. He howled, but didn''t go down like the first man. Lily skipped back, dodging his sloppy counter, then stepped back in with both blades. He crumpled. She withdrew, metal tinged with blood in both hands. The volume of liquid flowed down over the hilt onto her hands. Huh. Even feels warm and wet¡­ Kind of gross. "Somebody!" Crap! "Coming!" Lily shouted again. She left the two where they fell and darted through the trees toward the sound of tiny explosions. Phoenixia was skirting around the back of a tree, while a very angry-looking bandit chased her with a gleaming longsword. Part of his chainmail had melted into his skin, and his hair was smoking and singed, but he was relentless. Lily scooped up a small rock from the undergrowth as she ran. Okay, Lily, you''re a terrible aim, but don''t miss this. As soon as she had a clear shot, she chucked it at the bandit. The rock thwacked right into his shoulder. She let out a shout of triumph. The man turned around to face her, sword at the ready. Lily gulped. She lifted her own blades, gripping the hilts so tight her knuckles turned white. "Nixie¡­" He charged forward. Lily danced away, foot-over-foot, twirling out of reach. She just barely dodged his first two swipes. This guy was way better than the other ones she''d faced. His swings didn''t throw him off balance, and he didn''t seem to favor striking either side. Guess I can''t always rely on that trick. Okay then, Michael. Let''s see if your A.I. understands feints. Lily was still stepping backward, trying to find a better footing. She chanced a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure the ground was clear. Tripping over a root would be a really embarrassing way to lose this fight, and Lily hated losing. As the bandit followed her deeper in, Lily saw her opportunity. She hesitated by an ancient old oak with brittle bark, giving the man just enough time to catch up. Once he was in her reach, Lily swung forward with her sword, but just lazily enough to give him an easy out. The bandit took it, and immediately slashed back, fully committed. He''d gone right for her exposed stomach. Bingo. Lily sucked in her gut and fell backward, right into a reverse somersault. The man''s sword passed through empty air, striking right into the tree. Steel skittered along bark, and caught fast in a thick bramble halfway up. The bandit only had a second to realize his plight, as Lily planted her feet, still low to the ground. She pounced forward into him, blades leading the way. His sword fell to the dirt, and his body followed a moment later. Lily landed on top of him, swords planted in his chest. She yanked them out, wincing at the trickle of blood that came along with. "Holy crap," gasped Phoenixia. She glanced up, grinning. The girl was in total awe, icy-blue eyes wide as dinner plates half-hidden under her mane of fiery hair. Lily tried to play cool as possible, twirling her dagger again, but drops of blood flew off in every direction. She sighed. "Got a cloth or something?" "Oh, uhh¡­" She twisted around for the bag strapped over her shoulder. Her face crinkled up in pain as she did, and one hand went straight to her shoulder. Lily stood up, concerned. She hurried over to the girl. "Hey, you okay?" "He kinda got me," she mumbled. Her hand came away from her shoulder bright red. She winced again. "Ow." Uhh¡­ what do I do for something like this? I don''t know how healing works in this game¡­ "Come on, let''s get back to the others," she said. "I bet they''re done now too." "Don''t forget his stuff." Phoenixia nodded down at the bandit she''d just snuffed out. "You got him, you earned it." "Right." Lily bent down and dug through the guy''s pockets. She considered taking his chainmail too, but it felt heavy and awkward. She preferred not to get hit at all, and anything like that would just slow her down. The simple layers of shirts she wore was more than enough for now¡ªthough she would probably prefer something less conspicuous than blue and white if they were going to be in the forest all the time. She did find some more pieces of silver, and the guy''s long blade was actually in pretty good shape. She slapped it on her belt, taking the spot of her shortsword. It was too long for her to use effectively, but Lily figured she could sell it or something when they got to Skyldr. "Do you want anything?" she added, glancing up at Phoenixia. The girl shook her head. "It''s yours. I just ran away." Lily smiled. "Nah, you weakened his armor. See?" She pointed at the spot she''d stabbed him. Sure enough, there was a melted hole right through the chainmail. I mean, I probably could''ve gotten through it anyway¡­ "Help yourself." Phoenixia hesitated, but her eyes lit up a moment later. She bent down and went through his stuff, wincing every so often as she twisted her wounded shoulder in a weird way. If it hurts that much, I''m definitely not getting hit any time soon. As soon as she was done, they set off back to the camp. *** "Ho!" shouted Larali, lifting her sword in greeting. She sat atop a wooden box next to the campfire, grinning wide with a foot on top of one of the expired bandits. To Lily''s shock, she held a stick impaled with¡­ something, and she was actually taking bites out of it. "All dead back there?"If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Yeah," said Lily. She took a closer look at the chunk of meat on Larali''s stick, and her stomach gurgled in an uncomfortable way. "...What is that?" Larali shrugged, twisting it around in her hand. "I dunno. Dead rat, maybe?" She took another bite and hummed in a self-satisfied way. "Tastes great though." "Ugh." Lily put a hand to her mouth and took a pointed step away. Larali laughed. "Gotta take everything you can get when you''re dirt-poor on the road!" "No thanks." Phoenixia took a step forward, but clutched at her shoulder again as a dark look passed over her eyes. "Hey, uhh¡­ Nixie got hurt. What do we do about that?" "You did?" Larali hopped off the crate, sheathing her sword. She rushed over to the girl and helped her sit down. Ketra emerged from inside one of the tents, pocketing something, bow and arrow back over her shoulder. "What''s it like?" What kind of question is that? "Hurts," said Phoenixia. "Swords hurt, I guess." She smiled, which seemed even more incongruous than Larali''s question. "Crazy, right?" "No kidding. Hey, Ketra," said Larali, glancing at her friend. "You got any healing spells? Any uhh¡­ etowhatevers?" "Etovyla," said Ketra. She knelt down next to Phoenixia. "I do, but we should invite her to the party first." Lily tapped herself in the forehead. "Oh, duh." She opened her menu and quickly pressed through to the Party system.
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Wounded Able Cloudy Unbound
"Thanks." Ketra put a hand close to Phoenixia''s shoulder, though not quite close enough to touch. She began murmuring something under her breath, which Lily couldn''t quite make out. A moment later, her hand glowed pure white. As they watched, the cut in Phoenixia''s skin knit itself back together, forming pure unblemished skin once again, even repairing up to the sliced-open portion of her shirt. Phoenixia giggled, squirming a bit in her seat. "That tickles." Ketra smiled, but she shook her head. "Hold still, please." Lily stepped away with Larali to give them some space, and found herself face to face with her brother. He smirked, gesturing to the downed bandits scattered around the camp. "Kinda murderous, sestra." Lily rolled her eyes. "They''re just A.I.," she pointed out. "Pretty easy A.I., too." "Not difficult enough?" Michael put a hand to his heart in an exaggerated pose. "I worked hard on this!" "Okay, they''re way better than most," she conceded. "But come on." He grinned. "Nah, we actually toned down a lot of stuff in this area." "You did?" said Larali, raising her eyebrows. "I thought there weren''t any difficulty levels. Wasn''t that the whole point? No compromises and no dumbing down. A real world." Michael shrugged. "We toned down all the possible starting areas a little. Slower reaction times and slower decision processing. Basically, we made it more likely for enemies around here to be really dumb in combat. Just enough to give people a chance to get into the game." After a few seconds, Larali nodded. "Yeah, okay. That makes sense." Michael turned back to his sister. "Don''t worry. As soon as we get out of the Haalfwood, you''ll get some real challenges." "I thought that''s where we were stopping," said Lily. "Wasn''t this just gonna be a short beta test?" "Do you want to stop?" asked Larali, surprised. "I sure as hell don''t." Lily took a second, glancing around the clearing. Phoenixia was back to her usual self, darting about without a single sign of the cut to her shoulder, while Ketra plucked arrows off of the dead archers and gathered up her own shots. Larali grinned at her. "Come on, Liquin. You ain''t seen nothing yet." Oh, what the hell. That fight was really something. I mean, Riposte gets just as intense, but it doesn''t have all of this. The forest, the birds, the waterfall and all that. And the weight! Oh man, it feels so much more satisfying to swing a real sword. Lily smiled, and Larali didn''t even bother to wait for her to answer. "Aww yeah, that''s what I thought. Come on, girl." She wrapped an arm around Lily''s shoulders and marched her back to the other two. "When we get to Skyldr, I''m buying you a drink." "There''s drinking in this?" Lily asked, surprised. "Duh!" Larali laughed. "What, you thought people wouldn''t want to drink around here? What else are you supposed to do in a town?" "Trade," said Ketra. "Eat. Sleep. Find work." "Booooooring," said Larali. "She likes to start tavern fights," Ketra added, glancing at Lily. "I like to win tavern fights," Larali shot back. "Only when I help you." Phoenixia glanced up at them. "Can I help too?" "You want to get into a tavern brawl, Nixie?" asked Larali. "Sure, why not?" Larali laughed. "That''s my girl!" Without warning, she plucked the smaller girl up off the ground and set her up on her shoulders. Phoenixia wasn''t exactly tiny; she was probably about five feet tall, but Larali was over seven and probably double the other girl''s weight in sheer muscle. Ketra shook her head, but followed the two of them into the forest with her hood drawn low again, while Lily and Michael brought up the rear. As they walked, Lily started interrogating her brother. "So, how do you win?" "You don''t?" He shrugged. "It''s more of a make-your-own-endgame type thing." "What do people usually do?" "There''s some really intense stuff out there. Dragons, evil wizard fortresses, so on. But that''s not what most people come for. They''re here for the PVP." "So there is PVP." Lily rubbed her hands together excitedly. The two swords on the side of her belt clacked together as they clambered down a ridge, using an overhanging root to drop down into the pile of leaves on the lower ground. "Awesome." Means I can totally go after Kevin later. "Well yeah. There''s always PVP." "What do you mean?" "You can''t turn it off or anything, and don''t forget, we''re all on the same server. Every single other player is out there right now. Any time you want, you can fight someone, or they can come after you. There''s no restrictions or penalties." "Nothing at all?" she asked, surprised. "Well, I mean, if you try something in a major city, the guards might do something about it. Depends what mood they''re in and who runs the place." "What mood they''re in?" Lily rolled her eyes. "They''re just A.I., aren''t they?" "Nope. Maybe cheap MMOs do that, but not in my game." Michael smiled in a self-satisfied way that really made her want to smack him. He got really smug about Avo sometimes. He''s losing subscribers left and right¡­ Maybe he should stop thinking his design is so great. "Every single city is run by a player guild or nation, and all the guards are players too. The A.I. is just bandits, monsters, small villages and stuff like that." "Seriously?" "Most of the world''s already taken, before you start getting ambitious," he warned, wagging a finger. "You really don''t want to mess with some of the bigger guilds and nations." Lily shrugged. "I bet I can take ''em." "Can you take on a thousand guys who can all cast firestorm?" Michael rolled his eyes. "Or a dozen elf assassins? ''Cause the Thaumaturgical Society of Candir can field that in under an hour when they have to defend their city. They practically own the whole Steppe. Masnas will take a contract for you as long as you''re not an elf¡ªand last I checked¡ª" he added, leaning over to tap her ears. His fingers were surprisingly cold, and Lily flinched away from his touch. "¡ªyou don''t have the pointies." Lily brushed his hand away, annoyed. "Masnas?" she asked. "Maladec sel nara Sylvec, or MSNS, so people just started calling them Masnas for short. It roughly translates to Soldiers of the Forest. They''ll hunt any contract against a non-elf target." She shook her head. "This sounds like a recipe for so much griefing." Michael shrugged. "We don''t get a whole lot, actually. Remember, it''s really hard to find someone in a world this big, unless they''re okay with you finding them. Magic only gets you so far." "Still¡ª" "If we got a report of real harassment that went beyond the bounds of the game, we investigated," Michael said firmly. "There''s always a line to draw, and we''re very clear when we have to be. It''s still a game." Lily nodded. "Sounds good to me." She smiled. "By the way, bro?" "What?" "It''s a really cool game." Before he could look any more pleased with himself, she smacked hard him on the back. She ran off to join the others further up. "That''s for ditching us in the fight!" *** Lily caught up to Ketra and Larali just in time to hear them say the same phrase she''d heard from Michael¡ªthe guild of elvish assassins. "What are you two talking about?" Larali jumped, whipping around to face her. "Nothing!" "...said the worst liar in Avo," muttered Ketra. Lily smirked. "I heard something about Masnas?" Ketra raised an eyebrow. "I thought you''d never played this before." "Nope. Michael just told me about them." She rolled her eyes. "Said I should worry about getting a bounty on my head or something." Ketra frowned. "Probably not. We wouldn''t go after someone like you." Lily''s mouth fell open. "...We?" "Yeah." Ketra shrugged. "I''ve been a member for five years." "Hasn''t this game only been running for six?" "We''re a very old guild." Larali shook her head. "You''re still wasting your time with those losers. I don''t know why you stick around." Ketra shrugged again and didn''t answer. She looked ahead to Phoenixia, who was leading the group once again toward one of the faint columns of smoke twisting up into the sky. "Isn''t it a secret assassin guild?" Lily asked. "Essentially." "But you just told me you were a member." Ketra smiled, and suddenly Lily felt very unsettled. It wasn''t the kindly smile she''d given Phoenixia, nor the embarrassed grin from their conversation before the fight. Ketra was a lot more dangerous than Lily had given her credit for. "I did." She walked away, hurrying up to join Phoenixia again. Larali snickered. "Don''t mind her. She''s just messing with you." The huge woman paused and cocked her head slightly. "I mean¡­ probably." "What about you?" asked Lily, more to change the subject than anything. "What do you usually do in this?" "Whatever I want!" she shouted with joy. She plucked her broadsword off her back and twirled it around. "And girlfriend, now that this place is real, I''m going to be doing so much more. Just you wait." Lily laughed. Larali was a lot of fun just to be around, same as Phoenixia. She still wasn''t quite sure about Ketra¡­ but the other two? This could be a great party. "Maybe you should be the leader, then." "Nah," said Larali. She sheathed her sword again. "I''m no good at it. You saw me back there, I got distracted by one guy. You''re the one that ran off to save Nixie." "She still got hurt," Lily pointed out. Larali shrugged. "It''s a fight. People are gonna get hurt." She frowned. "That girl should probably turn down her pain setting though. I got a cut too after you both disappeared, and it didn''t feel like that at all." "Really? Didn''t hurt?" She smirked. "Nah, hurt like hell. But I could still move and do everything. She looked like she was in serious pain." "So why not just turn pain down for everything?" Lily wondered aloud. "Who wants pain in a video game?" "Without pain, there''s no penalty for screwing up," said Larali thoughtfully. "It makes people take things seriously. Yeah, we''re probably all a bit masochistic for thinking that pain is fun, but come on. What''s a world without a little pain?" Still sounds crazy to me, but it''s their game, not mine. "So you have it on Full?" "Nah," she grinned. "I like running into the middle of a fight. If I let pain hold me back, I''d mess things up for everybody. I''d rather lose some of my immersion than screw over my friends, you know?" "Yeah." Lily nodded. "That''s really cool of you." Larali blushed. "Thanks?" "What about the other settings?" she went on, curious. "What do you do for tho¡ª" "Quiet!" hissed Phoenixia again, much the same as their last romp through the forest. Lily fell to a crouch immediately. After her last warning, she trusted the girl as a scout. Lily crept forward to join them, Larali close on her heels. "What is it? More bandits?" "No," said Ketra from above them. She''d climbed into the tree, peering out through the leaves into the wide open meadow. Huh. Guess you can climb trees. I think I''m gonna have to start thinking about this game in terms of things I can''t do¡­ Ketra shielded her lavender eyes with her hand from the setting sun on the far end of the clearing. "Dead bandits, and three people going through their bodies." "Players?" asked Lily, drawing her blades. A real fight. Awesome. I thought it was gonna take forever to get one at this rate. "Unbound," Ketra replied. "Players are called ''Unbound'' in this world, unless they bind themselves to a guild." "Bind yourself?" "It''s part of the story," said Phoenixia, still crouched low next to the tree gazing out over the wide meadow. Lily could barely see the three players at the far end past the couple farmhouses, and no sign at all of the bandits they were supposedly looting. Maybe elves have better eyesight? "Players are special in this world ''cause their souls aren''t bound to a fate yet. Joining a guild means binding your soul to the fate of the guild." "That sounds¡­ intense." "It''s not really that big a deal," said Larali dismissively. "You can always leave later." "Not without a price," said Ketra. "They''re moving," said Phoenixia. Her hand fell to the dagger at her belt. Ketra drew an arrow from her quiver and notched it. "Coming this way." "How can you see that?" asked Lily. She couldn''t tell at all. Just a couple specks past the rows of crops, and the squat houses after that. "We have better eyes than humans," said Ketra. "Oh. Huh." Right on the money. "We''re also weaker than you guys," added Phoenixia. "It''s all trade-offs, you know?" "What do we do?" Larali asked, glancing up at her friend in the tree. Ketra leaned into one of the branches to steady her arm as she drew back her bowstring. "They''re still coming this way. What do you want to do?" Larali glanced at Lily, and Phoenixia did as well a moment later. Ketra kept her eye on the farm, but it soon became clear she was also waiting for Lily to answer. "They''re coming this way?" Lily asked, just to be sure. "Straight at us?" "Yes." I bet Kevin didn''t come across actual players. This is gonna be way better loot than crappy bandits. Lily smiled. She could actually feel adrenaline starting to pump into her blood, yet another detail of the game that was made astonishingly real. She took a step backward into the trees, brushing against the ferns and leaves as she took cover. "Let''s ambush them." [Discord] ¡ª [TLS] ¡ª [Rate] ¡ª [Follow] ¡ª [Patreon] Chapter 4 — The Haalfwood III
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Cloudy Unbound
The trio of players kept walking, totally unconcerned. They moved in a loose group straight ahead, chatting about something from the real world. Lily could barely hear them from where she lay, underneath a thick bush at the edge of the treeline, but it sounded like they were talking about a school project. It sounded weirdly out of place, now that she was surrounded by Avo. Oh man, I''m turning into one of them already. The bush next to her shuffled around. Larali seemed to be squirming in place underneath it. "Wait," Lily whispered. "I know," Larali groaned. "Sorry. I''m really bad at sitting still." "Nixie''s doing it," Lily pointed out. It was true¡ªto their surprise, Phoenixia had managed to stay totally still up in the tree. She was laying down on a wide forked branch, her arm perched on a thick knot in the wood to steady her aim, palm open and ready to fire. The girl hadn''t budged since she got into place. "Wait for Ketra." The other elf was their trigger. Lily readily conceded starting the ambush to Ketra. I mean, she''s a professional assassin. Kind of. Jeez, now I''m even calling them professionals¡­ As soon as Ketra decided the players were within their trap, she''d loose the first arrow. Leave no chance of a counter-attack, that was Lily''s plan. Full power, right from the start, kill the trio and take their stuff. She wondered vaguely if she was playing the game a bit too violently, but the rest of the group didn''t seem to mind when she proposed the idea. Even though these were players and not just computers, they readily agreed to the attack. Whatever. We''re just testing it out. If she were playing for real, Lily might consider taking things slower, maybe actually carving out her own niche as a sword for hire or something, but this was just a demo. Besides, they just killed those farmers. They can''t be good guys. She''d take them out and enjoy every second of it¡ªand more importantly, she''d get another bundle of stuff to add to her pack, increasing her lead on Kevin. Lily tensed up. They were only a few dozen meters away now. She pressed herself into the dirt, hands planted to launch herself up in an instant. Her blades twitched in each hand, ready to go. Lily could even feel a bead of sweat trickling down the back of her neck. The guys walked up. Just a few meters away now. Three humans, laughing and joking. They were barely armed, and dressed as plainly as her own party. They were brand new to the game¡ªor at least, their characters were. Each of them had a few valuables that might be worth something, but Lily was having sudden second thoughts. I wouldn''t want to get killed just an hour into the game either... "Wait," Lily hissed, praying they wouldn''t hear her. Ketra inclined her head just slightly. She kept following the nearest of the group with the tip of her arrow, twisting in place from her seat up in the tree. If they turned, she''d loose the first shot. They didn''t. They walked right on by. After another few minutes of tense silence, the trio of humans disappeared into the far end of the clearing, completely unaware of how close they''d come to a fight. Lily breathed a sigh of relief. She climbed back to her feet, brushing dirt off her hands and legs. Larali clambered up too. "I thought we were gonna fight them?" she asked, confused¡ªand even a little disappointed. "I..." Lily hesitated. "I figured they deserve a chance to live, you know? Same as us." Ketra dropped out of the tree next to her friend, landing with almost no sound at all. To Lily''s surprise, her lavender eyes shone with quiet approval. Larali looked over her shoulder toward the spot they''d disappeared, still seeming a touch disappointed. "I was so ready to beat the crap out of them." "I''m sure you''ll find another fight," said Ketra. Phoenixia swung around on her branch, hanging upside-down from her legs to look at them, bright orange hair suspended above the mossy green forest floor. "So what are we gonna do now?" she asked, looking between Ketra and Lily. "Well, we should probably go check out that farm, right?" said Lily. Phoenixia nodded, which looked distinctly odd upside-down. She tried to swing herself back upward, but after a couple failed attempts, her hands fell limp. "...Can I get some help?" she mumbled, red-faced. Lily couldn''t tell if it was from blood rushing to her skull or embarrassment. Larali laughed. "How about you stick to being my magic fireball turret?" The swordswoman ducked under the girl and grabbed her with both hands. With a heave, Larali flipped her upright and set Phoenixia back on her shoulders again, patting her on the back for good measure. "We''ll be unstoppable." She giggled. "Only if I get to choose where we go." "You got it. I''ve got no clue where we are anyway." Except she was the first one to figure out we were in the Haalfwood¡­ Lily grinned as Larali started off with the girl still on her shoulders, following her lead across the wide field. She followed at a distance with Ketra, who was unstringing her bow and setting it back across her shoulders. "Why do you do that?" she asked. "A bow gets weaker over time if you leave it strung," said Ketra. She opened a small pack at her waist and carefully placed the bowstring back inside. "You need a proper valafara made from syldvala if you want a bow that will never age or wither." "An elf bow, then?" Lily guessed. Ketra nodded. "Although I know a few human guilds that figured out how to make them, and one particular vktrel colony that started mass-producing them last year. It was an exploit that had to be patched out." "So they lost them?" "Nope." Ahead of them, Larali and Phoenixia had reached the farmhouse. As they approached, the bodies of the farmers crumbled into dust. "Ah, looks like they had nothing left." "So if they don''t have any real loot, it takes them early?" "As a mercy to their souls," said Ketra, nodding. "But no, the vktrel colony didn''t lose their exploited weapons. MVG never rolls back the server. After the Titwen scandal, they don''t even have the ability to take away things from players, or modify them in any way. Anything that happened, happened." "That''s crazy," said Lily. "What if someone totally breaks the game?" "Then they break the game." Ketra shrugged. "It''s never happened yet, and these days, everyone here wants the world to continue. It''s our home. None of us want to put that in jeopardy. We''ll take every advantage we can get, but we''d never destroy our own home." "Can''t blame you," said Lily, glancing around. It''s a hell of a lot better than the real world right now¡­ Ketra smiled. "Don''t forget, we all thought that before we actually got to live in it. There''s a huge difference between a headset with sensor gloves and¡­ this." She brushed a hand through her long hair, pressing it to her face. "I actually get to live like I''ve always wanted." "You wanted to be an elf?" Lily asked, without any sarcasm. She was genuinely curious. "Well, I definitely didn''t want to be who I was." Ketra frowned, glancing up at the farmhouse. "Larali?" she called. "Yeah!" The woman poked her head up in the bare window of the farmhouse. "Find anything?" In response, Larali chucked out a dark brown object. It went high, sailing through Ketra''s outstretched fingers. Lily took a few quick steps and managed to snatch it. A loaf of bread. "Try it!" Larali shouted, leaning out the window with a wide grin. "Seriously!" Lily looked at it dubiously. I mean, at least it''s not roast wild fox¡­ but it''s still a lumpy loaf of bread baked by a computer. She glanced up at Ketra, who simply gave her a cryptic smile. "After you," said Ketra. Lily grimaced, but held up the bread to her mouth, and took a tiny nibble. It didn''t taste bad. In fact, it tasted pretty all right. She took another nibble, and then a huge bite. As she did, Lily could feel a tiny wave of energy waft through her, like a rush of wind across the surface of her skin even underneath her clothes. She gulped down the bread with a smile. "Okay, that''s pretty cool." She tossed the other half of the loaf over to Ketra, who bit into it. Her eyes lit up with surprise. "Hmm." "I didn''t expect it to actually taste good," Lily said, grinning. "Oh, ye of little faith," said Michael, ambling across the clearing. "Thanks for ditching me back there, by the way." "Hey, you said you wanted to stay out of the ambush," Lily pointed out. "I assumed you''d let me know if you changed your mind." Michael rolled his eyes. "Anyway. We did tweak the food a bit to make sure everything is bearable, at least." "You actually programmed all the tastes of food?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. Even for modern technology, that sounded insane. Michael shook his head. "Like I said, it''s all in your brain. All we had to do was trick you enough into thinking it was tasty. It''s all in the appearance. Now, if you find some bread covered in worms or something, it''s probably gonna taste disgusting. I wouldn''t eat that." "Good tip," Lily deadpanned. She walked inside the farmhouse, curious to see what else was in there, and the others followed. Inside, she found Larali and Phoenixia still picking through the farmhouse. Lily glanced around. "Anything else cool in here?" "S-m-ph bl-n-kts," said Larali, turning around. Her mouth was stuffed full of bread. She gave an embarrassed grin as she quickly chewed and swallowed it down. "Sorry. We found some blankets and a bit more silver." "Blankets?" Lily asked. "Are those useful?" "If you don''t want to freeze tonight," said Ketra. Phoenixia leapt off the bed, where she''d been looking at a leatherbound diary. "I can make us a fire!" "How about we just actually get to Skyldr," said Michael uneasily. "I''d rather not sleep out here on the dirt." "What, afraid of roughing it a bit?" Lily teased. Truth be told, she''d much prefer a bed herself, but she relished the opportunity to get back at her brother a bit. "Can''t handle the dark and spooky forest?" "Skyldr has a pretty good inn, and we really should test the sleeping system." Lily giggled, rolling her eyes. "You are so transparent, bro." "What?" Phoenixia tapped the linen sheets underneath her. "There''s a perfectly good bed right here, you know."This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Can''t fit all of us," Lily pointed out. "Sure it can!" Phoenixia curled up into a ball and squeezed into the corner of the bed, right against the wall. "I go here, then you guys can just squish in everywhere else." Before anyone said anything else, Larali had already leapt across the room to land on the bed with a sickening thud. "Ow," she groaned. "Forgot these wouldn''t have springs or anything." She shifted around until she''d found a more comfortable spot, then rolled over and tapped the open space left on the bed. Between the two of them, there wasn''t nearly enough room for even one more person, let alone all three of them. "Come on, snuggle up." "Yeah, I don''t think so," said Lily, rolling her eyes. "What, am I not cuddly enough?" Larali asked, pouting exaggeratedly. "Looks pretty cuddly to me," came a sneer from the doorway. *** Lily whipped around. The trio of players they''d come across earlier was back¡ªand they were much more heavily armed. The one in the back had a staff similar to Michael''s, tipped with a bright yellow crystal. Each of the two up front carried proper swords, sharp and thick, with the practiced ease of experienced fighters. Larali leapt off the bed, grabbing her sword up from where it leaned against the wall. Lily drew her own blades, just in time to block a first slash from one of the two up front. Metal clanged on metal as she deflected it to the side. "Good pull," the guy said with approval. "What do you want?" Lily shot back. "Well, we''re here to rob you." He looked between the the five of them, smiling slightly. His movements were just a little too stiff, giving away that he was operating through the old interface, but it was still more than enough to be dangerous. Larali took a cautious step toward Lily''s side. Ketra began to reach for her bow. Phoenixia was still sitting on the bed, but she had a hand up and was ready to fight. Even Michael looked ready to throw down, staff tilted in a defensive stance. "You guys really want to do this?" said Lily. "Pretty outnumbered." Even though they''ve got us trapped in a tiny house, and I''m only really good when I can dodge out of the way¡­ I hate straight up fistfights. "Nah. So we''ll make it easy on you." He still held the sword aloft, ready to parry if Lily tried anything. "All your silver and we let you go, no problems." "How about you give us all your silver," growled Larali, "and we let you go?" Should''ve just ambushed them¡­ "What my friend with the giant sword said," Lily agreed, jerking her head to the side. "Giant sword?" said Larali. "Yeah, it''s huge." "It''s not small," agreed Ketra, who had somehow managed to slither her bowstring out of her pack without being noticed. Lily couldn''t see how she could string it without setting them off, though, and the elf didn''t have a single other weapon on her. They caught us totally off guard. Gotta remember that next time. Gotta keep stalling until we find an angle, or just scare them off. "What''s up with you, dude?" the other swordsman asked, glancing over at Michael. "Running with a party of total newbs?" Michael shrugged. "Just some friends." "Ohhhhh." The guy smirked. "All-girl party. I get it." Larali groaned. "Liquin, can we stomp these guys already?" "Nixie, shoot him," Lily snapped. Phoenixia, to her credit, didn''t waste a second. A fireball shot across the room before the last syllable passed through Lily''s lips. The flames splashed against the second guy''s chest, splattering across his clothes and singing them bright orange. He flinched backward, but stood his ground. To Lily''s surprise, he didn''t hesitate in the slightest. Instead, he charged forward, as did his friend. Oh, crap. They don''t feel pain, because they''re just playing a video game. We''re at a huge disadvantage. A lightning bolt zapped across the room, striking Lily in the shoulder. She felt it buzz and flicker through her skin, as if she were getting punched by a thousand tiny fists. It hurt, but not nearly enough to stop her. Lily caught the second slash attempt from the guy in the exact same way, sliding it aside with ease. She took a half-step forward with her right foot, and her dagger plunged for his exposed hip. Michael shouted something, and a huge gust of wind blew through the farmhouse. The three men tumbled aside. Lily''s dagger missed its target completely as the guy collapsed into the nearest cabinet. Lily twisted forward with another double-step, letting momentum carry her into a two-blade strike into his stomach. The guy flinched again, in what seemed like exactly the same animation. His arm twisted awkwardly upward, trying to slash at her, but Lily simply danced back away again¡ªstraight into the path of the other swordsman. She tried to move out of the way, but his blade caught her in the right forearm. Lily winced as the steel sliced a line of blood into her arm. It stung like hell, but it was a pretty shallow cut. She pulled back. As soon as the line of fire was clear, a stream of rapid fireballs tore past, each one flushing her face with heat as they hurtled by. The stream of fire slammed into the guy, one after another, each one causing him to flinch backward yet again. Finally, he collapsed to the ground next to the first guy, who''d finally expired after the wicked wound Lily left in his stomach. Two guys down, and Lily had only taken a minor wound for her trouble, which just left¡­ Lily twisted around, only to see the body at Ketra''s feet with two arrows sticking through his neck. She was casually unstringing her bow yet again, calm as could be. Lily gaped at her. Larali laughed from the corner, sheathing her broadsword. "Yeah, she does that." "Nixie, you might want this," said Ketra. She leaned down and scooped up the man''s staff, tossing it over to the girl. Phoenixia caught it, panting from exhaustion after the sheer number of fireballs she''d thrown in such a short span. "Coooooool," she murmured, tracing her fingers all around the crystal at the tip. Lily glanced over at her brother. "Joining the fight now, huh?" Michael shrugged. "Didn''t want you to have to respawn and walk all the way back here." She rolled her eyes. "I totally had them." "Uhh," said Larali. "Not to be a downer, but the second guy totally had you without Melchagar''s spell." "Larali!" Lily groaned, rounding on her. "You aren''t supposed to take my brother''s side." "Hey, I gotta go with whoever''s right." "He had you," agreed Ketra. Lily sighed. "...Okay, yeah, he might have gotten me." She grinned. "Good fight though." "Maybe for you," Larali grumbled. "I didn''t even get to swing my damn sword." "Good thing, too," said Ketra. "It''s too cramped in here." Larali kept grumbling as she left the farmhouse. Lily grabbed up one of the shortswords from the ground. It was much better balanced than the one she''d been carrying, and had a nicer crossguard to boot, with a tiny blue sapphire set in the center that twinkled whenever it caught the light. "Looks good," said Ketra approvingly. "I''d keep that one." She glanced over at Phoenixia. "You know, Nixie, you might consider using arcane or lightning magic instead of fire, now that you''ve got a staff. It should be easier to channel." Phoenixia frowned. "But I like fire." Ketra shrugged. "Whatever you like." She followed her friend out, and Phoenixia quickly followed. Lily stayed behind to grab up the silver from the dead players, pocketing as much as she could carry. Her little money bag was already starting to have real heft on her belt. She was looking forward to reaching Skyldr now, just to see what she could actually spend it on. "Having fun?" asked Michael. "Yeah, yeah, it''s a great game, you''re amazing," said Lily absentmindedly. She rubbed her hand along the line of blood that streaked down her arm. The cut was already starting to seal up, but she still felt the stinging pain from the slash. "Do I gotta worry about getting infected?" "No. No infections from wounds in Avo." "Well, that''s a relief." Lily glanced at him sidelong, smirking. "Kinda throws a wrench into your so-called hardcore survival sim, though, doesn''t it?" "Well, you don''t have to eat to stay alive either," he pointed out. "We tried to keep a good balance between survival and actual fun." Lily nodded. "So what''s next?" "Well, we''re not too far from Skyldr now. We probably won''t run into anything else unless we really go looking for it." Michael scratched the short beard on his chin¡ªa beard he couldn''t ever grow in the real world, no matter how much he wanted to. "It''s getting late though, so we probably shouldn''t mess around." Lily glanced out the window. Sure enough, the sun was barely visible anymore at the far end of the farmland. "Sounds good to me. I could use a chance to actually relax for a bit." Michael nodded. "Skyldr''s usually pretty calm. None of the major guilds ever bother with it, since there''s nothing really valuable out here. That''s why it''s a possible spawn point." "Cool." Lily glanced out the doorway. Ketra sat atop the short wooden fence outlining the crop field, talking to Larali. Phoenixia was standing a little further away, holding out her new staff and causing tiny sparks of lightning to shoot out at odd intervals, each with a fuzzy crackling sound. "I gotta ask, bro, how''d you pick all these people anyway?" "Secret," he grinned. "Oh, come on." She rolled her eyes. "It''s me, remember?" Besides, I really want to know why you decided to invite him, of all the people in the whole world. There''s no way you didn''t know about us¡­ right? "Seriously, everybody signed an anonymity agreement," said Michael. "I will say one of the beta testers spent a lot of money in our cosmetic store for stuff they''ve never actually used, just to support the game. As a stipulation of helping to fund the beta test, everyone was signed to anonymity. I know everybody, but I promised not to reveal identities otherwise. Some of them made that a requirement for their support." "Even though I already know who Kevin is?" she pointed out. Michael shrugged. "Can''t help that. Everybody else was invited because they''ve been a great beta tester for us in the past, were able to sign all the necessary documents and provide proof of medical coverage, set up the cradles themselves, and had proof of an uninterruptible dedicated connection to our servers so we wouldn''t get disconnected." "Wait a second¡­" Lily raised an eyebrow. "They''re playing from home?" "Yup." Michael looked unbearably smug again. "That''s how great our netcode is." "You let them set up that cradle thing all on their own? What if it like¡­ crippled them or something?" "It won''t." Lily rolled her eyes. "You can''t just talk your way out of this one, Michael." "Seriously, it won''t. I''m not saying it''s harmless, but we took every precaution." He sighed, putting a hand to his temple. Lily suddenly realized just how tired he looked, even in game when he hadn''t really done anything strenuous like the rest of them. "We''re running out of money, Lily. Like, really running dry. I had to pull out all the stops for this beta, and we still only made ten cradles. So I went through our pool of the most dedicated fans and players, did a lottery, weeded out the problem candidates, and picked the ones I thought could really sell the game." "And you ended up with these people?" Lily asked, surprised. Not that she didn''t like Larali, Phoenixia and Ketra¡ªif anything, she was overjoyed to finally hang out with some girls who she actually had something in common with. Even so¡­ none of them exactly fit the profile of ''rich gamer with vaults of cash to burn'' that Michael was talking about, as far as she could tell. "Well, it wasn''t a huge pool¡­" Michael shook his head. "We did the best we could." Lily clapped him on the back. "Cheer up, bro. If what I''ve seen so far is anything to go by, you could''ve picked literally anybody." "You really think so?" he asked earnestly. She smiled. "Just don''t tell Mom I was nice to you. I''ve got a reputation to keep." Michael laughed. "Deal." "Come on, let''s get out of here." Lily offered him a hand. Michael pulled himself up with her help, surprisingly light for how tall he was. Probably another elf thing¡­ They hurried out the door and down the hill toward the crop field, just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation between Larali and Ketra. "...it''s basically like that¡­" said Larali slowly. "But¡ª" "This is the weirdest conversation I''ve ever had, okay?" She shrugged. "I don''t mind, just¡­ give me a bit." "Okay." "What''s up?" asked Lily, taking a spot against the fence next to the pair. "Comparing what it''s like to be an elf and a human," said Larali. "She''s trying to explain what having pointy ears feels like." Lily glanced at Ketra. "What does it feel like?" She smiled. "Exactly as it should." Larali groaned. "You see how hard it is to hold a conversation with her?" she grumbled, rolling her eyes. "I did it!" shouted Phoenixia, drawing their attention. She held the staff up into the air, her eyes gleaming. The girl took a deep breath, then thrust the staff straight up and let out a huge shout of exertion. A lightning bolt shot out of the blue, straight down from the first moon in the ever-darkening sky. It struck the yellow crystal atop her staff and shot in every direction. A bolt narrowly missed Lily, sizzling into the fence between her and Larali with a loud crack of energy. A little pillar of smoke billowed out, twirling into the air with the scent of fresh-burned wood. "...Oops," said Phoenixia. "My bad!" Larali laughed it off, rushing over to hug her. "That was badass, Nixie! Do that again!" "Don''t," said Ketra sharply. "Come on," said Lily, before Phoenixia ended up burning down the whole farmhouse. "Let''s get going. It''s getting dark." *** "I thought you said we just needed to go east?" asked Lily. "East-southeast," said Ketra. "...So, like¡­ halfway between the two?" "Yes." "I don''t have a compass," she pointed out. "Nor do I." Lily rolled her eyes. "Why don''t you take the lead?" It was getting actually dark now. The sun had vanished completely, but there was still plenty of light reflecting off of the twin moons still hanging in the sky. The stars were coming out too, far more than Lily had ever seen in her whole life. She supposed it was because there weren''t any city lights to blot them out anymore. If she squinted, she could even see the arm of the galaxy, a cloudy shape just barely visible behind the backdrop of twinkling lights, the only illumination still visible. Unfortunately, the total lack of firelight also meant they still hadn''t found Skyldr. My legs are getting tired¡­ We''ve been walking for hours, and we got into two fights. I need a real break soon. "Can elves see better at night?" "No." Okay, so they''re not totally overpowered. "Still, you''re probably better at this than I am." "If you wish." Ketra plucked an arrow out of her quiver and placed it on her bowstring before setting off, while the rest of the group followed a few pace behind. After only a dozen meters or so, she stopped again. "What?" Lily whispered, coming up next to her. Ketra pointed silently, through the trees ahead. They could hear swords clanging off one another. A bright flash of light illuminated the whole forest for a moment, nearly blinding Lily with the bright green foliage before it faded away again, leaving spots on her eyes. She squinted, trying to make out anything through the trees. "Another battle?" "Looks to be." Lily''s hand went to the sword at her hip instinctively. "Are they coming this way?" We''re not in a condition to fight right now. Nixie''s been doing way too much magic already, even with her new staff, and I''m not at my best either. It''s been a long day. "No." Lily was about to tell them to wait, to just let the fight pass them by. They''d get their bearings, figure out exactly where they were, and make their way to Skyldr. Maybe find a map or something, so she wouldn''t get so lost in the future. She would have, except for the shout that echoed through the forest a second later. "Shiro, flash them again!" Another bright light lit up the forest, bathing them all in its glow for a split second. They''d found the other five of their group¡ªKevin''s half. Lily couldn''t resist. She had to see how they fought, and if possible, rub it in their faces how much better she''d done. She turned back to her own group. "Anybody feel like crashing a party?" [Discord] ¡ª [TLS] ¡ª [Rate] ¡ª [Follow] ¡ª [Patreon] Chapter 5 — The Haalfwood IV
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Fatigued Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Fatigued Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Healthy Fatigued Cloudy Unbound
Lily and her band crept forward into the dark underbrush of the forest, toward the sound of clanging steel. She peered through the gaps, straining her eyes to see who was fighting ahead. A torch swung like it was a pendulum, smacking against a broad steel shield. Requiant, dark hair and eyebrows barely visible in the torchlight, blocked a strike from a bandit. He shoved his shield back out at the man with a roar. The bandit stumbled backward, and Requiant didn''t miss his opportunity. He thrust forward with his own sword. The bandit was impaled straight through the stomach. Requiant kicked the bandit off his blade unceremoniously. The bandit fell to the ground, twitching, and Requiant spun around to seek another target. "What do you want to do, Liquin?" asked Ketra, hovering by her shoulder. Lily shook her head. "Let''s just watch. It''s their fight." "I wanna see some more magic," said Phoenixia from above them. Lily glanced up, surprised. "Nixie, how''d you get up there so fast?" From the flickering torch abandoned in the middle of the clearing, Lily could just make out her cheerful grin. "I really like climbing." Lily turned back to the fight. Requiant was now engaged with another bandit, but Lily was far more interested in the elf who''d just sprinted out of the woods behind him, long thin rapier in hand. Three different bandits chased him, each carrying swords and with murder in their eyes. The elf opened his mouth, and Lily heard the voice she''d grown to hate, though he spoke a word she didn''t understand. "Envil!" "Now," whispered Ketra in Lily''s ear. Lily raised an eyebrow. "Is he speaking Elvish?" "Yes." Since when does Kevin know Elvish¡­? In the flickers of torchlight, a small object flew out of the trees and landed at the feet of the bandits. A cloud of thick smoke billowed into existence. Susanoo whipped around, locking his arm straight out. The bandit made almost no sound as he impaled himself on Susanoo''s rapier. He didn''t hesitate, snatching his arm back again. The bandit fell off the blade, clutching his chest, and Susanoo spun around, rushing around to the side of the smoke cloud before the other two emerged. A second cloud appeared, directly in front of him. "Over here!" he called, taunting the bandits. A roar of frustration, and the bandits rushed the noise, only to fall prey to the very same trick. "Nice A.I," Lily muttered, as her brother winced. Michael sighed. "They aren''t really programmed for people who can maneuver this easily." She grinned. As much as she hated to admit it, Kevin had found a good strategy and used it effectively. Lily had to concede him this one point. I bet I still got more loot though. I''m not losing the bet. "Dos ones!" called a female voice Lily didn''t recognize. "One more," murmured Ketra. "That was Avalynn?" Lily guessed. Ketra nodded. "What?" Susanoo yelled, ducking the blade of the final bandit. The man had escaped the smoke clouds without falling victim to his rapier, and Susanoo couldn''t exactly parry his sword with the thin, beaten-up old blade. If any of the bandit''s swings struck true, the blade would almost certainly snap in half. "Dos ones!" Avalynn repeated. Lily tried to figure out where she was, but even with the repeat calls, she couldn''t find the girl anywhere. In the trees, probably¡­ It''s just too dark, that''s all. "I don''t understand!" Lily smirked. "So he doesn''t actually speak Elvish. I knew it." Ketra sighed. "You know, it''s not called Elvish." "Oh. Uhh¡­ sorry." Lily winced. "So what''s it called?" "Duck!" hissed Phoenixia from up in her tree. Lily threw herself flat to the ground, Ketra a millisecond behind her. A pale purple bolt of energy flew out of the trees across the clearing. It pelted across the field, missing the bandit by a centimeter, and straight through where Lily''s head had been. "Thanks, Nixie," she whispered, glancing up at the girl. Phoenixia gave her a thumbs up before turning back to watch the rest of the fight. Shirogane walked out of the trees from where the bolt had appeared, staff raised up high. He fired another arcane bolt¡ªanother clear miss. Lily could just barely hear him muttering under his breath. At first, she assumed he was casting a spell, like Ketra had done, but when she listened more closely, her face got red. Michael chuckled. Lily looked up over her shoulder at him, crouched behind a tree. "You heard him too?" Her brother tapped his elf ears. "Yeah. Simon gets a pretty filthy mouth when he plays." Lily wasn''t exactly a stranger to such language¡ªshe played competitive video games for a living, she''d been called far worse (and called others much the same)¡ªbut to hear her old family friend curse like that was a new experience, for sure. "Avalynn!" Susanoo shouted. He tried a stab at the last bandit, but the man managed to slap the blade aside. Susanoo winced, but the blade held true. "Is he the last one?" "Kav''na do''vei danedas!" Avalynn replied, and Lily could hear her irritation even past the language barrier. "Dou kapar-basal!" "That''s what I said," whispered Ketra. Lily twisted over a little to look at the elf''s face, her chin scraping in the dirt as she did. "...And what was the second part?" Ketra only smiled. "Nothing." Lily rolled her eyes, but the next move Kevin made shocked her. Instead of trying to slip past the bandit''s guard, as Lily would have done, Susanoo stepped back and lowered his rapier. The bandit seemed just as confused. His own blade quivered in place, hesitating for just a second¡ªand that moment of hesitation was all it took. An elf dropped out of the tree directly above the bandit. Her feet landed square on the back of his neck, and her short curved sword sliced it open before either hit the ground. They landed with a loud thump, blood seeping from his open throat into the forest floor, barely visible in the flickering orange torchlight. Susanoo walked forward and offered his hand. Avalynn looked at it as if he were covered in mud. She got to her feet and pulled a small cloth from her bag, wiping away the blood from her blade. As soon as she''d finished, she sheathed it and walked away, muttering something under her breath. Lily had no doubt it was as rude as whatever Ketra had refused to translate. Susanoo shrugged, glancing around. "All good?" he asked Shirogane. The older man nodded. "Took out the other guy back in the woods. I got his stuff, if we want to split it up when we get to town." "Sure." Susanoo raised his voice. "Requiant! You find the dev yet?" "Yeah!" Requiant walked back into the firelight, a very uncomfortable-looking Manifold at his heels. Her brother''s coworker winced at the sight of the corpses scattered around the clearing. Requiant stared at him. "What? They''re just bodies." "I don''t do fights," he muttered. "And¡­ they smell." Lily sniffed the air. She didn''t smell anything besides the forest, but then again, she wasn''t very close to them. "Well," said Requiant. "It''s really hard to protect you if you just run away." "I like crafting, okay?" He shook his head. "You guys can do all the fighting." Susanoo put a hand on his shoulder. "It''s fine, man. You want any of the loot? Plenty to go around." Manifold shook his head. "I don''t want anything." He shrugged. "Suit yourself." Lily was about to get up and reveal herself¡ªif only to taunt Kevin that she''d been there the whole time¡ªbut a cold flat piece of metal fell on the back of her neck. Lily froze. She could feel the edge of the blade on her skin. From the size (and the only person missing from the group), Avalynn had found them. "Onyl atel." The voice, so close to her ear she could feel the girl''s breath, was genuinely terrifying. Lily didn''t dare move an inch. At the sudden sound, Ketra scrambled up next to her, one hand going to the bow on her back. Lily heard a rustling above her, but she couldn''t tell if it was Phoenixia or not. "Onyl atel," Avalynn repeated, more firmly. "What''s she saying?" Lily hissed. "Get up," said Ketra, frozen in place as well. "Well, why didn''t she just say that?" "Because she''s insane?" suggested Larali. Lily rose to her hands and knees, making very sure she didn''t move a hand toward the blades tucked into her belt. Another slow, careful movement, and she was on her feet, with the blade still attached to her throat. "Dov to kaparev tolal onalal suuni?" "Uhh¡­" said Lily, risking a glance at Ketra. Her friend was still frozen in place, watching Avalynn carefully. The blade twitched. Lily grimaced, but it hadn''t dug any closer into her skin. Avalynn had just turned to look at Ketra. "Danenavi sena nara kaparev." "She asked why we were watching them," said Ketra. "We just got here," Lily protested. Ketra shrugged. "Suuna seves onalal sena olem." "Avalynn?" called Susanoo, who''d finally noticed what was going on at the edge of the firelight. His eyes went wide. "...What the hell?" "Could you get her off me?" Lily snapped. The blade pressed a little closer, cold steel threatening to cut into her skin. Susanoo shook his head. "I''ve known her as long as you have, Lily." "You guys just had that sweet combo!" Lily shot back. "Come on!" Don''t you dare hang me out to dry just because of our history, Kevin. "I don''t speak Elvish!" "What, does she not speak English?" How crazy is this girl? Lily tried to look at her brother, as far as she could without turning her head. "Michael, did you vet these people at all?" Ketra winced again. Her hand left her bow in a conciliatory gesture. "Avalynn Sylvela. Pelas dousii volek." "Sena dou, hila sel masasylec?" Avalynn spat. Lily flinched at the actual liquid that landed on the back of her neck. "Are you kidding me?" she groaned. Ketra shook her head. "Osyl, Avalynn. Nal se sed nara polec. Suuni dels della senesteka." Avalynn hesitated. The blade hadn''t moved, still weighing down on her neck. Lily sighed. "Just kill me now, I''ll walk the whole way back." The blade lifted away a moment later. Lily immediately triple-stepped forward, out of Avalynn''s reach. She spun around and drew her blades. Avalynn hadn''t sheathed hers, either. Lily gripped her sword tight, waiting for the elf to make the first move. "All right. Can someone please explain to the crazy girl that this is a game?"A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "She knows," said Michael, walking between them and holding up his hands. "She just plays it differently than you do." "Aren''t we on the same team?" "Dou mysuv vei seves," said Avalynn, smirking. "Daned linguen, Avalynn," said Ketra, standing up tall with a glare so fierce, Lily would have cowered if Ketra weren''t firmly on her side. "Kavasii e akonec." Avalynn looked at her, eyes narrowed. "Dasa¡ª" "Nom dena nara masasylec?" said Ketra. Avalynn reacted as if she''d been slapped. Her sword went straight into its little sheath, and the sheath onto her belt. Ketra''s voice softened. "Desve nara sylajen daned linguen. Dou se evys." Avalynn nodded. Lily sighed, letting herself relax finally. She tucked her sword and dagger back into her belt, waiting for the girl to offer an apology or something. Of course, Avalynn did nothing of the sort. Instead, she turned to Susanoo. "We should go," she said abruptly, the first words of English Lily had ever heard from her. Without waiting for a response, she stormed off. She still moved as gracefully as always, even beyond what Ketra managed, but Lily could tell how pissed off she was. "Okay, what just happened?" asked Lily, looking around at Ketra. Her heart was still pounding from the encounter, and the cold night air suddenly felt far more welcome on her skin. Ketra shrugged. "I reminded her what was important." "...Are you always going to be this cryptic?" "You get used to it," said Larali with a shrug. Ketra smiled, but didn''t reply. *** Their reunion as a full group meant they were finally back on track. Between Avalynn and Ketra (in a conversation that Lily didn''t understand a single word of), they settled on a direction that both sounded fairly confident in. Sure enough, they saw the lights of the village ahead only a few minutes later. Lily was surprised how fast it snuck up on them, in fact¡ªthey''d been so close the whole time, without seeing a single lamp. "We could''ve stumbled around the forest for days and never found it," said Larali, after Lily said it aloud. "The forest claims the unprepared," said Avalynn waspishly. Lily rolled her eyes. "I changed my mind. Can you make her speak Elvish again?" "Anasil, kapar," she said, smirking. Without another word, she hurried up to the front of the group, joining Ketra and Phoenixia. "What a psycho¡­" said Larali. Lily laughed. "Glad I''m not the only one." "You really aren''t," said Michael, catching up to them. "You invited her," Lily reminded him. He shrugged. "I''m sworn to secrecy. But seriously, based on her profile, I really didn''t expect something like that." Larali glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "You know all our profiles, then?" "Well, as much as you put into your account info, plus your shipping address for the cradle." Michael smirked. "Don''t worry. Your secret''s safe with me." "Secret?" asked Lily, glancing at Larali with interest. "You''ve got a secret?" Larali glared at Michael. "No, I don''t." Michael whistled and walked away, grinning in spite of himself, but his casual revelation didn''t sit well with her. Sure, Lily''s life wasn''t a secret to anyone in the whole group (and Kevin knew more than the rest of them combined¡­) but she didn''t begrudge the others in wanting a little privacy. If they really were the type to play Avo, the kind that wanted to live a new life, it was no wonder they''d insist on a confidentiality agreement to join this test. "Sorry for my brother," said Lily quietly. "Huh?" Larali shook her head. "It''s cool. I know he''s just messing around. Michael''s never made even the slightest hint about who I am, and he''s got a lot of incentive to. I''ve seen the financial stuff about MVG. They''re really not doing well, are they?" "Well¡­ yeah," said Lily. "That''s why I''m here." "Me too." Larali smiled. "If this goes well¡ªand right now that''s looking like a solid ''hell yeah''¡ªI''m going to do everything I can to make sure it gets huge. They earned it." "Thanks." "I do, by the way," Larali added, blushing slightly. "Do what?" "Have a secret." She sighed, taking a deep breath. Lily wrapped an arm around Larali''s much larger forearm, linking at the elbows. "No need, right? You''re Larali, and I''m Liquin. We''re just here to have adventures, fight things, and get sweet gear." "Hell yeah," said Larali, grinning. "And drink." "And drink," agreed Lily. "Well¡­ okay, confession time?" "...No¡­" Larali gasped. She unlinked her arm from Lily''s and grabbed her by both shoulders. "You''ve never had a drink before?" she bellowed. The entire party stopped in its tracks. The others turned around, and both Avalynn and Phoenixia had put hands to blades just in case. "...No?" said Lily meekly. Larali shook his head in disgust. "That''s just sad." The others burst into laughter. Avalynn turned back to the path, but Phoenixia bounded back to them, fiery hair bouncing all the way. "Even I''ve gone out drinking," she said, shaking her head in earnest disappointment. "Well, good for you," Lily mumbled. Her cheeks flared up bright red. Thanks again, bro, for making embarrassment a thing in this. Really great stuff. "I¡­ never had anyone to go with." Larali''s disgust turned to compassion so fast, it gave Lily whiplash. She smiled, and threw an arm around Lily''s shoulders, hugging her tight to her side. "Well, girl, we''re about to change that." "Do they even have good drinks in Skyldr?" asked Phoenixia. "Hell no!" said Larali. "But that''s perfect. We start her off at the bottom and she gets to work her way up to the really good stuff." "Like what?" "Nixie, I''ve never done this before either," Larali pointed out, rolling her eyes. "Who knows what the best-tasting alcohol in Avo is?" Lily gulped. "So what you''re saying is¡ª" "I''m saying," said Larali, rubbing her hands together eagerly, "we''re gonna go try ''em all." The two of them cackled in unison. Lily shook her head, amused. She took the opportunity to duck away as they began listing off all the places they wanted to visit first, planning out their whole insane drinking tour of the continent. Lily had noticed that Susanoo was walking alone, off to the side of the group, and wanted the chance to talk to him without anyone else snooping. Her brother was busy talking to Manifold, presumably something technical about the test. Ketra and Avalynn were leading the group, jabbering away in Elvish, while Requiant and Shirogane followed not far behind, arguing about some other game from the real world. Susanoo didn''t have anyone. "Hey," she said, catching up to him. Kevin glanced up, surprised. He''d been examining his rapier from every angle, twirling it experimentally. "Balance is all weird," he commented. She nodded. "Mine too. I guess weighted interface gloves aren''t good enough to match the real thing." Kevin smirked. "Or your brother programmed it wrong." Lily frowned. "I''m sure he didn''t." "Easy, Tiger. I didn''t mean to cast doubt on his miracle worker status." He sheathed the rapier with a smooth motion. Lily''s eyes followed his thick, strong muscles all the way down, lingering on his well-toned chest for a moment. God¡­ If it were anyone else¡­ "Hey Lily?" "Yeah," she said absentmindedly. "I''m up here." She jumped, and once again cursed her brother under her breath as her face lit up. "Look, I¡ª" "What did you want to talk about?" Lily blinked. She scrambled to gather her thoughts. Kevin waited, walking forward next to her without seeming impatient in the slightest. "...You and Avalynn already worked out a combo," she said blandly, for lack of a better topic. He shrugged. "She''s got smoke, I''ve got feints. It wasn''t exactly the hardest thing to work out. What about you?" Lily shook her head. "I''m still trying to figure out how to fight using my whole body." Kevin grinned. "No kidding. This is way different than Riposte." "Speaking of which¡ª" "Oh, you''re not still on that, are you?" Kevin groaned. "Look, it was a bug." Lily glowered at him. "I wasn''t, but since you brought it up¡ª" "I didn''t know!" "As if." She ratcheted her glare up a notch. He knew, and he exploited the hell out of it. "Seriously, that wasn''t what I was going to say." He winced. "...Well, what were you gonna say?" "You''re¡­" Lily glanced around. "You aren''t going to say anything, are you?" "About what?" "You know about what," she snapped. "About¡­" Don''t make me say it, damnit. Ugh. Kevin shrugged. "Who am I gonna tell?" "Anyone." He rolled his eyes. "Why would I tell someone?" A weird look passed over his face. "...Wait¡­ Don''t tell me you''re¡­" Kevin glanced back up at the group. "Is it the huge chick? Seriously, is it her?" Lily stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?" "I mean, she''s pretty hot," he added. "Well, then again, so''s Ketra. Avalynn too, if you''re cool with crazy." Kevin grinned. "Lily, you''re pretty crazy too, you know." "God, you''re gross." Lily shook her head, stomping forward into the forest. "I just remembered why I hate you." "Lily," he called after her. "Lily, come on, I was just joking." She ignored him, but his longer legs let him catch up in no time. "Why?" she asked, as soon as he was in line with her again. "Huh?" "Just¡­ why?" I''ve always wanted to know, and you were always too much of a jerk to ever really explain it. Kevin frowned. "I mean¡­ you know why." "Kev, you moron," she snapped, "if I knew why, would I be asking you?" "But¡ª" Lily rushed away again, too annoyed to hear another word from him. She hurried forward to the two elves at the front, eager to see the town, where she could finally lay down and get some rest. Hopefully they had an inn with actual beds, or at least some comfy chairs. Wait, what the hell am I thinking? I need to log out. Go sleep in my real bed, with real sheets and pillows and everything. I don''t want to sleep in some ratty old medieval inn. "Hi, Liquin," said Ketra, as Lily reached the pair of them. Avalynn shot her a cold glare, but that was practically a friendly wave on the scale of Avalynn-interactions she''d had so far. "How long until we get to Skyldr?" Lily asked, sounding as exhausted as she felt. "Should be just a twenty minute walk from here." Ketra pointed through the trees, where Lily could see the lights of the village growing steadily larger. Lamps set in windows, and lanterns hanging over the streets, covering a mix of thatched and tiled roofs scattered in a loose collection. The town bordered a huge lake, and a couple small piers extending out over the water, which reflected the twin moons chasing each other across the sky. "You okay?" Ketra added, glancing at her. "Huh?" "Suuni peveldas dou kos," said Avalynn. "We heard you two," translated Ketra, shooting her companion a glare of her own. Avalynn flicked her head in a smug way, braids twirling through the air as she did, and turned back toward the trail. "Oh¡­ Right. Elf-ears, yeah?" "Yes." Lily frowned. "Wait, so that means you heard¡ª" "Selnou," said Avalynn. "Dur daned anala e kapavas." "Yeah, we did," said Ketra. "She said he speaks like a fool." "Dou sed tol hosavel atev dur," Avalynn added. "...She said you can do better than him." Ketra frowned. "Does she mean¡ª" "Nothing," Lily interrupted. Ketra glanced at her, but after no further explanation, simply shrugged and turned back to the path. Avalynn shot Lily a knowing smirk, but didn''t say anything else. "I thought you were speaking English now," said Lily pointedly, glaring back at her. "Only when I must," Avalynn shot back, not missing a beat. "Ketra," said Lily, "please tell me most elves aren''t like her." "Not that I''ve met," said Ketra. "Most players don''t get that into it." "Della helves kelsy velsevelev," said Avalynn. She walked ahead into the open field, straight down the wide expanse of meadow between the farm fields toward the outskirts of Skyldr. "That was another insult, wasn''t it?" asked Lily. "...Kind of." Ketra shrugged. "You think she''s crazy, don''t you?" Ketra didn''t answer right away. They walked for another few minutes, following the faint outline of Avalynn through the dark, while the rest of the group emerged from the forest behind them. Finally, Ketra spoke again, her voice very quiet. "I think she''s the only one who really understands what''s possible here." "Huh?" Ketra sighed. "In some ways, yes, I think she''s crazy. But¡­ I''m also jealous of her." Lily didn''t get a chance to ask anything else, as Larali thundered up between the two of them, Phoenixia mounted on her shoulders once again. "Race you guys to the nearest tavern!" she shouted, while Phoenixia giggled like mad. Ketra rolled her eyes, grinning. "I''m jealous of her, too, you know." Lily laughed. "Yeah, so am I." I wish I knew how to have fun like that. "Enjoying the world, sestra?" called Michael, finally catching up to the pair of them. "Sheesh, how slow were we walking?" asked Lily. Ketra shrugged. "I was enjoying it." "Yeah, Michael, you''ve made your point," Lily said, as her brother joined her. Manifold, Requiant and Susanoo passed them by, following Larali into town. Ahead, Lily could see a few other people milling about. Judging by their full movements and lack of stiffness, none of them were players. "What point was that?" "People could live here, it''s not just a game, this is a real world, blah blah blah. Whatever point you want." Lily sighed. "Just let me go get some sleep already, sheesh." Michael grinned. "You know, you aren''t actually sleepy. It''s just the fatigue system, and your brain¡ª" "My brain makes it feel real, yeah," Lily finished. "So if I die, does my brain make that real, too?" she added sarcastically. "No, of course not." Michael frowned. "That''s crazy." "Ever tested it?" "Yeah, lots of times." Michael shuddered. "It''s definitely not pleasant, but that''s the point, right?" "Yes," said Ketra. Lily shook her head. "I still think you guys are all insane." "How have you died?" asked Ketra. Well, that''s a question you don''t expect to hear every day¡­ "Well," said Michael eagerly, "I''ve been stabbed a couple times, crushed by a boulder, fell into a volcano, hit by lightning until I exploded, all sorts of fun things. I got beheaded once by Masnas." "For what?" Ketra asked sharply. "Trying to burn down a forest," he smirked. "I was trying to piss them off." Ketra nodded. "That would do it." "I got eaten by a dragon once too. Hey Lily, want to get eaten by a dragon?" "...Wouldn''t that take forever?" Lily asked, after getting past a brief moment of revulsion. "Nah, we made dragons digest things really quickly. You''re only in the stomach for a minute at most. Very fast." "Like I said," Lily sighed, "you''re all insane." Michael cackled. "Come on, sestra. I want to show you my favorite place in town." "Okay, but after that, I''m logging out for a while." "You are?" asked Ketra. She sounded oddly hurt by the announcement. Lily turned to her, feeling a bit awkward. "Just for a while¡­ I want to take a break, check my messages, get a bite to eat, maybe take a nap. You know, life things." "The cradle handles most of that, you know," said Michael. "I checked yours. You should be just fine. If you aren''t, it''ll log you out automatically when the supplies get low." "What''s it like to sleep here?" asked Ketra, actually eager for once. Her lavender eyes sparkled with excitement. Michael smiled contentedly. "It''s amazing." His smile curled into a smirk. "I mean, after you get past the crappy beds and the cheap inn. If you can get to one of the real cities though, with enchanted beds that always give the perfect night''s sleep?" He sighed. "It''s incredible." Ketra smiled. "I look forward to it." Michael turned back to his sister. "Just try it, okay? Trust me, it''s worth it. No pollution, no city noise, no air filters, no riots, and definitely no neighbors on the next floor banging on the ceiling all night. You''ll love it." Lily rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, fine. I''ll stick around." She hurried past them, entering the town proper. "Come on." "Where are you going?" asked Michael. "If I''m sticking around," said Lily, throwing him a smirk over her shoulder, "and Larali''s at the tavern already¡­ how much damage you wanna bet she''s done already?" Ketra smiled. "Let''s find out." [Discord] ¡ª [TLS] ¡ª [Rate] ¡ª [Follow] ¡ª [Patreon] Chapter 6 — Skyldr I
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Wearied Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Wearied Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Fatigued Pure Unbound
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Healthy Fatigued Cloudy Unbound
Skyldr wasn''t a particularly large village, but it was surprisingly dense. Surrounded by farms in every direction that extended all the way up to the edge of the Haalfwood, the village itself was a loose disorderly connection of huts, cottages, markets, and merchants. At the far east end, a few ramshackle wooden piers extended out over the lake, and small fishing boats bumped up against the docks from the gentle waves drawn out by the twin moons hanging in the sky. To Lily''s surprise, the town seemed wide awake as they trudged through the street. Her legs were really start to give in after such a long day walking, which bothered her more than a little. "Hey, Michael?" "Yeah?" "I wouldn''t be this tired in real life," she grumbled. "Why am I so tired?" He shrugged. "Maybe the system wasn''t tuned very well. I think it did okay though. How much muscle and fat did you select on your character designer?" Lily frowned. "Uhh¡­ no fat at all?" Michael rolled his eyes. "Well, no fat means you''ve got nowhere to store energy." "Well, yeah, but why did you include that?" "Immersion, Lily." She groaned. "What happened to balancing that with fun?" "It''s an incentive to try and get less people to run around in insanely skinny supermodel builds," said Michael. "Some fat and muscle together make for a way better depiction of people. You can still be way more strong and have tons of stamina, if you do it right." "So how do I fix it?" "Make a new character?" He grinned. "Nah, there''s some magic spells that can change your body. Or you can just start eating tons of fatty foods." "Seriously?" Lily frowned. "I thought food didn''t matter." "It''s still got an effect on you. You just don''t need it to survive." As if on cue, they walked by a merchant packing up his little food cart for the night. His cart was packed to the brim with so many delicacies that Lily had never seen before¡ªat least, never outside of TV or movies. She reached out and plucked a juicy-looking green apple from the top of the pile, taking a careful bite. The sheer sensation in her mouth nearly overwhelmed her. "...Holy crap," she moaned. The apple tasted as good as it looked¡ªjust the right mix of sweet and a hint of sour. "You gonna pay for that?" asked the merchant, glaring at her. "Oh!" Lily gulped. She dug into her waist pouch, feeling around for the little coins she''d picked up. She glanced at the sign, which was helpfully written in English. "One silver, right?" The guy nodded. Lily handed over the coin, and his face brightened up immediately. "Thank you so much, kind stranger!" Lily savored every single bite of the apple as they kept walking. Michael couldn''t stop grinning, and Ketra looked a little jealous. Lily hesitated. It''s so good¡­ but she really wants some, and she''s never actually gonna ask, is she? Reluctantly, Lily held out the apple. "Want a bite?" Ketra shook her head. "You paid for it. Keep it." "Oh, come on. Just take a bite. You don''t want to miss this." After a moment''s hesitation, Ketra nodded. As soon as she''d taken a bite, her beautiful face glowed with sheer contentment. "How did you do this?" she asked, glancing at Michael. "Somebody mailed us a crate of apples," he grinned. "Where the hell did they get apples?" asked Lily, shocked. "Nobody gets real apples anymore." "I think they were from Cascadia. Somebody managed to sneak them over the border somehow." "And you didn''t tell me?" Michael shrugged. "We needed them for research." "And to eat," said Ketra, smirking. "...Yeah." Lily shook her head in disgust. Ketra cheered her up a moment later by handing the apple back. They alternated taking bites all the way to the faint sounds of laughter and revelry issuing from a wide wooden structure down near the docks¡ªthe tavern, no doubt. Ketra handed Lily the nearly-spent apple, giving her the last bite. "Thanks," said Lily, practically shivering at the last delicious bite. "Wait, how do you say ''thanks''?" "Vannen," said Ketra. "Though, I''d be very careful about speaking it as a human. If you''re in the wrong company, you may provoke¡­ unwanted attention." She sighed. "Well, isn''t that just great." As they approached the door, Ketra pulled her hood up over her hair and drew her cloak up tight. Lily glanced at her, surprised. "What''s up?" Ketra pulled back the side of her hood, revealing the sharp dagger-point where her ears tapered off at the ends. "These might also provoke unwanted attention." Lily gaped at her. "From who?" "Anyone, unbound or fated¡ªfated meaning the NPCs," she added helpfully. Ketra shrugged. "We aren''t particularly welcome in places like this." "But¡ª" Lily started, but her question was answered before she could even ask, by a hollow growl that echoed through the whole tavern just as Ketra pushed open the doors. "Get out, knife-ear. Your kind ain''t welcome." *** Lily burst into the tavern, pushing past Ketra, who''d stopped in the doorway. Inside, exactly as she''d expected, Phoenixia cowered against the far wall, covering her face with her hands. Larali stood in front of her, fists up and fuming mad. Lily half-expected smoke to start pouring out of her ears. Surrounding them was a small group of humans. None of them had drawn weapons, but all five had swords at their belts. The rest of the tavern fell silent at the pronouncement, from the barman polishing glasses to the maid carrying drinks out to the tables. To Lily''s relief, most of the tavern didn''t seem eager to get involved. Just five guys facing down Larali and Phoenixia. Still¡­ that little girl doesn''t deserve this crap. "Hey!" Lily shouted. The five guys turned around. Turned on their heads, Lily realized. Everything else followed the head movement, and their legs didn''t track. Players, probably. "Leave her alone." "Or what?" snarled the man in the center, the same man who''d first spoken. "Or we beat the crap out of you." "And have fun doing it," added Larali, cracking her knuckles. She was a good half-foot taller than most of them, but even so, they weren''t exactly weak. Ketra was still waiting outside the building, and Michael was nowhere to be found. Nobody had drawn weapons yet, and Lily knew that to pull her own sword was probably a mistake. If this were anything like the real world¡ªand so far, it really was¡ªpulling a weapon would get the whole crowd against them, instead of just five racist assholes. The leader sized Lily up from head to toe. He smirked. "You really want to go five-on-two in a fistfight? You crazy?" "No, she''s crazy," said Lily, nodding at Larali. The woman grinned. "Hell yeah I am!" "And she can probably pound all five of you into the floor." Lily shrugged. "So make up your mind." "Why the hell are you siding with an elf?" asked one of the guy''s sidekicks. "You should be joining us."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "Nixie''s my friend," said Lily. Phoenixia looked up, eyes wide. She looked surprised. "Well, you are," Lily added, rolling her eyes. The girl giggled. "I don''t want no trouble," called the barkeep. Lily glanced over, surprised. NPCs understood all that and figured out when to jump in? Okay, Michael, props. Better than I expected. "Just let ''em eat in peace and leave." "You want to serve a filthy tree-hugger like that?" asked the leader. The barkeep shrugged. "I serve anyone, as long as they got coin." One of the guys dropped a hand on the hilt of his sword. The entire room stiffened and seemed to take a collective breath. A few chairs scooted out, patrons ready to leap into the fight. Even Larali looked surprised¡ªand a little concerned. "You really want to break the tavern truce over this?" Larali asked, as her own hand inched toward the broadsword strapped to her back. The leader shot a glance at his companion. "Cool it, dude." "But¡ª" "Look at their necks," said Ketra, suddenly emerging from the doorway. Again, the room took another breath. Three more of the five clutched at their swords, though none had yet drawn a blade. "At the emblem there." Lily peered close, but couldn''t make it out. She didn''t have to though, as Phoenixia helpfully piped up from the corner. "It''s a red horse. It''s the sigil of the Knights of Felnir." "The same Felnir who signed a non-aggression pact with the Syldarei Kingdom three months ago," Ketra went on. She still wore her hood low, but her lavender eyes flashed in the torchlight. "It would provoke a terrible response if they learned you had assaulted a citizen of their nation unprovoked." "You wouldn''t¡ª" Ketra shrugged. "Felnir''s diplomat is just a simple message away." The room was as tense as a tightrope. Lily let her hand rest on the hilt of her dagger, ready to move in an instant, but she felt like the stalemate wouldn''t break. The quintet of racist assholes was wavering. Even the gung-ho guy on the side looked far less certain. Finally, just as Lily thought they might change their minds, the leader of the group put his hands up, nodding. "Okay, got it. We''ll leave." They trooped out one by one, the whole tavern swivelling to watch them go. Larali looked about to shout after them¡ªgloating, most likely¡ªbut Ketra quickly shook her head, and her friend fell silent. Phoenixia breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Okay, can we eat now?" Larali grabbed her up in a bear hug. "Nixie, you can eat whatever you want." "I want a steak." Larali glanced up at the barkeep, obviously hanging onto every word. "Eighty silver," he said promptly. Phoenixia''s mouth fell open. Lily winced. None of us have that kind of money¡­ "...Okay, how about we just get a few drinks?" said Larali. Phoenixia nodded, crestfallen. "Don''t worry, Nixie," said Michael, finally entering the tavern. He, too, had drawn a hood up over his ears. "The steak here sucks. Save it for a real city that knows how to cook ''em right." "But¡ª" "Around here, fruit''s the best option." Michael reached into his robe and pulled out a whole basket of apples¡ªat least twenty of them. He set it down on an empty table, grinning like mad. Lily raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged. "I went back to the vendor while you guys were fighting." Michael glanced around the tavern. "Or¡­ not fighting, I guess." Larali grabbed up an apple and bit into it. Her reaction was even more exaggerated than Lily''s had been. She let out the heaviest sigh Lily had ever heard¡ªso loud, she could practically feel it in her bones. Lily grinned. "Good, huh?" The woman nodded, but she was too consumed with the apple to say anything else. Phoenixia nervously took a bite out of another one¡ªand her face lit up just as much. Before long, the four of them were munching through the pile, while Michael simply looked on and laughed. After a few minutes, he wandered away to look for the other group, leaving them to finish their feast. "This was fun," Lily sighed, closing her eyes with a smile. She stretched out and rested her feet on a rickety tavern chair. Just being able to sit down at all was doing worlds for her legs and her back. "I can see why you guys like this place so much." Larali burped. Her face lit up red, and she quickly wiped away a bit of apple juice on her chin with a cloth. "Yeah." "So what''s the tavern truce?" she asked, recalling the phrase Larali used first. "Oh." Larali cleared her throat. "There''s a longstanding unspoken agreement. Nobody gets into real fights in taverns. Fists only, no weapons, no serious injury. As far as I know, that''s been true for four years now." "The last person to break it received five years worth of contracts paid in advance," said Ketra. "Contracts¡­ meaning?" asked Lily. Ketra nodded. "They didn''t last long." Lily whistled. "You guys don''t screw around." "Liquin," said Ketra, "where did you learn to fight like that?" Lily shrugged. "Riposte." "Well, yes," said Ketra, "but I''ve still never seen anyone fight like you do. Not in Riposte, and definitely not here." She sighed. "None of us are very good fighters, if you haven''t noticed. I try to stay back. Larali doesn''t have the first idea what tactics are." "Don''t need ''em," said Larali promptly, giving a good-natured elbow to her friend''s side. "What do you mean, though?" she asked. "About her fighting weird?" "It''s weird?" Lily asked, wincing. Ketra shook her head. "There''s no such thing as fighting weird. Either your fighting style works¡­ or it doesn''t." "And hers definitely works," said Phoenixia cheerfully. "Those bandits couldn''t even get close to her." "How does it work?" asked Ketra. Lily shrugged. "It''s just how I learned." She glanced around the nearly-empty tavern. Most of the patrons had gone back to their homes¡ªor wherever else, Lily didn''t actually know¡ªand the place was silent except for the barkeep drying off a few glasses. "I could show you, if you want?" "Yes, please," said Ketra eagerly. Lily got to her feet, and to her relief, she didn''t feel quite so exhausted anymore. She still needed some actual sleep, for sure, but the food had put a bit of energy back into her body. She glanced over at the barkeep. "You don''t mind if we spar a bit, do you?" The man shook his head. "As long as you don''t break anything or hurt anyone." "Can''t promise the second one," Lily grinned. He shrugged again and turned back to his glasses. Lily glanced over the trio. "So who wants to fight?" *** To no one''s surprise, Larali was the first one out of her seat. Ketra pointed out that her bow simply wouldn''t make for a very helpful demonstration, and the quiet elf carried no other weapons. Phoenixia did have her daggers, but she readily passed on the offer. Larali was the only one who hadn''t seen Lily fighting the bandits in the forest, and thus the most obvious choice. Lily left her spare sword and her bag of loot at the table. Ketra and Phoenixia cleared out a space for them in the middle of the tavern, while the barkeep watched with a worried look. Lily''s fingers twiddled above the hilts of her blades, smirking at the suddenly-nervous Larali. "Okay, you''re seriously scary when you do that," Larali muttered. Her own hand gripped her broadsword, but she hadn''t drawn it yet either. "So what''re the rules?" "First blood?" suggested Ketra. "Yeah, but that actually hurts now," Larali pointed out. "We could just do flat-of-the-blade," said Lily. "You know, a point system." "What are the scores?" "I dunno. In Riposte it just decides for us." She grinned. "...If we don''t straight up kill the opponent, that is." "We''ll just let them decide who wins," said Larali, nodding at the spectators. Lily shrugged. "Works for me." "What''s going on in here?" called a new voice. Lily turned around, surprised. Shirogane had just wandered in. "We''re closed," said the irritated barkeep. "I''m not looking to order anything, don''t you worry," said Shirogane. "Just lookin'' for these folks." He rubbed at sleepy eyes, taking in the room. "You two about to duel?" he asked excitedly. Lily nodded. "Wanna watch?" "You know it." Now I can''t lose. I''ve got my good luck charm in the crowd. Lily turned to Larali. "Whenever you''re ready," she said, still smiling. Larali shook her head. "You''re evil, you know that?" Lily didn''t respond, but she drew her blades nonetheless. As fun as an old-west-style quickdraw was, she wasn''t the type to give her opponent such a pointless advantage. Even in a simple practice fight like this, Lily didn''t do stupid for the sake of a handicap. The broadsword twirled in her hands. Larali took a cautious step forward, while Lily simply waited on her half of the improvised arena. She took another step forward, and then another. Almost there¡­ One more and she swings. On cue, Larali took the last step, and she put real weight into it. Her broadsword swung out wide, but Lily judged it perfectly. The huge flat of the blade passed centimeters in front of her, as Lily took a single step back. It didn''t blow as much air as she expected though. She''s going easy on me. She frowned. "You were never gonna hit me with a weak slash like that, you know." Larali''s eyes narrowed. "I''m trying not to kill you here." Lily shrugged. "Go all out. Trust me." "All out, huh?" Larali spun on the spot, and her sword came in surprisingly fast¡ªand surprisingly low. Lily had to jump it, but Larali was ready for her. A fist met Lily in the shoulder, sending her sprawling to the ground. Ow. Her shoulder stung from the punch. Larali was strong. She rushed forward, sword leading the way, but Lily was already on the move. She rolled away, with a back-spring that launched her up to her feet again. As Larali swung, Lily got back into the proper rhythm again. Step back, step back, step-step back and left! Lily dove left, just as Larali made a huge overhead chop. As she did, the dagger in Lily''s right hand slapped the inside of Larali''s thigh. "Point," she called out. Larali roared with frustration. She slashed out in a huge arc, with such an insane reach that Lily could easily have been sliced in half. Luckily, her new body was just as flexible as her real one. She bent full-over-backwards, letting the blade slice right above her head. As soon as the metal had left her sight, Lily was back up again, and the flat of her dagger slapped onto Larali''s over-extended arm. "Point," she said again. "Okay, you''re gonna get it now," Larali growled. Lily grinned, but Larali wasn''t about to make the same mistake twice. She stepped back, keeping her broadsword close. Lily waited, but she didn''t seem to be approaching again. Oh, so it''s my turn. Okay. She took a step forward, and Larali tensed up. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw that both Phoenixia and Ketra were holding their breath, eyes wide and tracing her every movement. Shirogane, no stranger to her fights, looked as smug as could be. He gave her a brief nod, and Lily winked back at him. Let''s be flashy. Lily took a double-step forward, right into the path of Larali''s guard. To her credit, the woman didn''t hold back, taking a slice that should have chopped off her legs¡ªexcept Lily wasn''t there anymore. She twirled around to the side, and her sword tapped the woman not once, but twice as she went by. Larali roared and twisted around, but Lily had already danced away, step-stepping straight behind her and around to the front again as she twisted. She raised her sword to strike again, but Larali had a surprise for her. The broadsword clattered to the floor. Lily''s eyes widened, but she only had a split-second to react as the huge woman pounced on top of her. They crashed to the soot-covered floor of the tavern with a painful thump. Lily''s arms were splayed out flat to the ground, totally helpless. Larali pinned her down, one hand on each arm and her knees pressing into Lily''s stomach. She smirked. "Now what?" Lily coughed, as one knee pressed down a bit too hard. "...You got me." She laughed, a full-belly sound that rumbled through the two of them. Lily squirmed, trying to get away, but Larali had her nice and well-pinned. "Nuh-uh. You''re staying right there for a bit." "Good fight," called Ketra from the sidelines. "It''s a shame you lost, Liquin. I was rooting for you." "Oh, come on!" said Lily. "I got her way more!" "I dunno," said Phoenixia with a giggle. "You look pretty beaten down there." Just to rub it in, Larali shifted a leg and began to tap at Lily''s thigh with the tip of her foot. "Point, point, point, point, point," she added, smirking. "All right now," said Shirogane, clearly holding back his own laugh. Simon, you''re fired as my lucky charm. "Isn''t it time we started headin'' to the inn?" "You guys got us rooms already?" asked Larali. "Dunno, but that''s where they were going." Lily pulled again, and Larali looked back, as if she''d forgotten Lily were there. She scrambled off her, offering a hand. After a moment''s reluctance, Lily took it. Larali pulled her back to her feet, and even brushed off the soot from Lily''s shirt. Ketra stepped in to help, and between the two of them, Lily''s clothes were reasonably cleaned of dirt in just a few moments. "You definitely won," added Larali, without any malice. "If that was a real fight, you already got like eight fatal stabs. Plus you could''ve just poked me to death when I tackled you." "Still," said Ketra thoughtfully, "good thing to keep in mind with an armored foe. You can''t stab through vktrel armor." "What''s a vktrel again?" asked Lily, raising an eyebrow. The four of them looked at her, dumbfounded. She rolled her eyes. "Never played this before, guys. Remember?" Ketra sighed. "...Let''s get some sleep. I''ll give you a crash course on the world tomorrow." [Discord] ¡ª [TLS] ¡ª [Rate] ¡ª [Follow] ¡ª [Patreon] Chapter 7 — Skyldr II
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Wearied Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Drained Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Wearied Pure Unbound
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Healthy Wearied Cloudy Unbound
Skyldr was actually empty as they left the bar. Shirogane lead them through the streets to the inn¡ªor paths, really, since none of them had even the slightest hint of development. The residents had gone to sleep, and the moons hung high in the sky among the stars, the only light to see by as the lamps and torches had all been extinguished. "So, where''d you learn to fight again?" asked Ketra as they walked. "Like I said," Lily said with a shrug, "I didn''t really study martial arts or anything like that. I just made it up as I went along." "Studied dancing, though," said Shirogane over his shoulder, up in front with Phoenixia. "She''s a hell of a dancer." "Simon!" Lily snapped. "Why''d you tell her that?" Ketra looked curious, which just made Lily even more uncomfortable. "Dancing? What kind?" Lily blushed, glancing away pointedly. "A few different things." Phoenixia clapped her hands together. "That''s so cool! Can you do a dance for us?" "I dunno¡­" "Oh, pleeeeeease?" "How about we get some sleep," interrupted Larali, with a conciliatory glance at Lily. "She''s not gonna be doing any dancing tonight, that''s for sure." "''cept what she already did in your duel," laughed Shirogane, climbing the short few steps up to the inn door. It was a squat, wide building with several wings and the best roof in the whole village. Phoenixia and Larali followed him in, but Ketra took Lily''s arm, holding her back for a moment. "Sorry¡­" she murmured. "Huh?" "If I made you uncomfortable. I didn''t mean to¡ª" Lily shook her head. "It''s fine. I just¡­ it was a thing, you know?" Ketra nodded. "If it means anything, I think you''re a great dancer." "You haven''t seen me dance though¡­" Lily pointed out. She smiled. "Yes, I have. You fight in a dance." Lily paused, considering it. "I mean, yeah, I guess so. But that''s not really the same thing." "In this world, it may as well be." Ketra pulled her hood back up to cover her ears once again. Lily winced, but didn''t say anything. They hurried inside to join the others. The rest of the group was in what passed for a lobby¡ªa small desk for the innkeep, who stared at them all with a pained look in his eyes, plus a few benches, tables and chairs. Lily took one of the benches, not particularly interested how the inn worked, and Ketra joined her a moment later. Requiant seemed to be arguing with the innkeep about something, causing the delay in getting rooms for the night. "What''s his deal?" she asked, since Ketra could probably hear every word. Ketra waited for a moment, listening in, before she answered. "It seems there''s only three rooms available. Requiant doesn''t want to sleep in the same room as anyone else." "How many beds per room?" Lily asked, suddenly uncomfortable again. "Four. No one has to share." Ketra shrugged. "I''m not quite sure what he''s afraid of." Lily glanced at the front door. "Can you get killed in an inn?" "Oh, absolutely." Well, that''s nice and reassuring¡­ "...So what is safe?" Lily asked, feeling even more unsettled. Even if it was a game, she really didn''t feel like getting killed any time soon. "Just logging out?" "Not even that." Ketra smirked. "Inns are the safest place to exit Avo, though, both the ones built by players and by NPCs. If you log out in the open, your body stays exactly where you left it, so you must always find somewhere safe." "And in an inn?" "If you are in a room, you''ll disappear after a few minutes, whenever the next server tick happens. They''re on a ten minute cycle, so it could be anywhere from ten seconds to ten minutes." Lily frowned. "What about when you log back in? It took a long time for me to get in, and my brother was messing with me the whole time until I actually opened my eyes." "Messing with you how?" Ketra asked, her lip twitching slightly, as if she were trying not to laugh. "...He made my hair all messy, and drew something in the dirt so I''d see it right away." Ketra rolled her eyes. "...Well, when you log back in after exiting from an inn, you get placed in any empty room. The room is totally secure until you open the door." "So no spawn camping." "Not exactly, though if someone were to surround the whole building¡­" Ketra trailed off. Lily sighed. "Well, that would just suck." "Yes. It does." "Has that happened to you before?" "A few times." Ketra shrugged. "After a while, I just gave up and went for a walk, until a friend messaged me to let me know they''d moved on and I was okay to leave." "Okay," Michael announced, drawing their attention. He shot an irritated look at Requiaint before he continued. "We''re getting all three rooms. I''m paying, so don''t worry about the money. Just a part of your reward for beta testing, all right?" "Speaking of which," said Lily, "who won the loot contest?" Michael glanced at Susanoo, who shrugged. "Well, right now, you did Liquin." Lily pumped a fist in the air. "Knew it." "But he said city," Requiant pointed out. "Skyldr isn''t a city." "The hell is a city, anyway?" said Larali. Lily glanced back to her brother, who''d sprouted the worst kind of mischievous smile. "...He''s right, Skyldr isn''t a city." "Oh, come on¡ª" "Whoever''s got the most loot by then gets the reward." Michael glanced at Manifold, who shrugged. "Which¡­ we''ll figure out by morning." "This is a really crappy contest," Lily grumbled. "Anyway," Michael went on. "There''s only four beds to a room. Manifold and I are taking one room, because we''ve gotta go over some things." Manifold nodded, though he seemed very unhappy about the idea. The man looked dead on his feet, even more than the rest of the group. His eyes were red and twitching slightly, and Lily didn''t think she''d ever seen someone more stressed out, even in the real world. Guess those rumors of insane crunch time weren''t totally wrong¡­ "And don''t worry," Michael added. "Rooms are just as secure when you lay down as they always are. Even if somebody burns the whole place down, your room''s safe." He clapped Manifold on the back. "You can thank Harry for that code. He really saved my bacon there." Michael glanced around the room. "So that leaves two rooms with four beds. I figured we''d just split it up by guys and girls, but¡­" "But you can''t count," said Lily, rolling her eyes. "Who''s drawing the short straw?" Phoenixia shook her head vigorously. Ketra glanced at Larali, clearly uneasy, and Avalynn was just as obviously opposed to the idea. Lily, of course, didn''t want to be within a hundred kilometers of Susanoo, much less sleep in the same room as him. Larali was the only one Lily might have expected to be okay with it, but even she wasn''t exactly excited about the idea. "...Draw straws it is, then," said Michael, after a few awkward minutes without a volunteer. He pulled out a handful of short sticks from his bag and snapped one in half. Lily, Avalynn, Ketra and Larali each drew long. Phoenixia drew short. As soon as she drew it, Michael opened his mouth to object, but she shook her head. "It''s fine. Hey, Shiro, you wanna race me to the room?" "In these young bones?" Shirogane laughed. "You''re on, kiddo." They bolted away. Michael shrugged, grinning at Lily, before he dragged his hapless coworker down the hall to their room. Susanoo and Requiant walked away, leaving the four of them alone. "How do you know that guy again?" asked Larali, glancing at Lily. "He''s kinda like my uncle, or maybe a grandpa. I''ve known him since I was born." Lily smiled. "He''s the nicest guy. We have him and his wife over for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year. They couldn''t have kids because of the blackouts, so¡­ you know." Larali nodded. "He seems really sweet." "Masandar esusyl toss fasne dukaparev," muttered Avalynn. She walked away before they could respond, straight to the end of the hall where their room awaited. Lily glanced at Ketra expectantly, but the other elf simply frowned. She looked concerned, and not just in the usual Avalynn-is-crazy way. "Ketra?" "I''m not sure," she said slowly. "You didn''t understand what she said?" "I understood the words," Ketra replied. "But¡­ I''m not sure what she meant, exactly." "Well, tell us that at least," said Larali. "I''d like to ask her first." Ketra stifled a yawn, but it was too late. It passed to Larali, and then infected Lily just as quickly. "After we get some sleep," said Larali, trying to hold back another yawn. Ketra nodded. She glanced at Lily. "So are you sleeping with us tonight? Or logging out?" "...Fine," Lily sighed. "One night won''t kill me." "Her snores might," said Ketra, nodding at Larali. "Nope," Larali shot back. "Made sure of it with Michael when I was building my character. No snoring at all. I''m cured." "It''s a miracle." Laughing, the three of them made their way back to the room. Four beds, one in each corner, with a shuttered window overlooking the fields back up to the north. Lily glanced at it pointedly, but Ketra shook her head. "It can''t be opened from the outside. It gives you another way out, if someone''s trying to block the door." "Cool." Larali walked over to one of the beds, taking off her shoes and her sword. Avalynn was already underneath the fur blanket in the corner bed, her hair barely visible from the dim light of the hallway lamps. She''d hung up her cloak on the little rack, along with¡­ Lily leaned in to Ketra. "...Aren''t those her clothes? Like¡­ all of them?" she whispered. Ketra squinted. "...Yeah," she whispered back. "So she''s¡ª" "Vei se peveld, dou litev," said Avalynn, making them both jump. "She said she can hear us," Ketra translated. "Yeah, I got that one," muttered Lily. "So¡­ why exactly are you sleeping naked?" "Why not?" said Avalynn. "...She''s not wrong," said Larali with a shrug. "If we were really in medieval times, that''s pretty normal. Plus, you know, she''s an elf. They aren''t bothered by cold as much." "Well, lucky them." Lily was already shivering a bit in the cold air, and she couldn''t imagine taking off her clothes even with a thick fur waiting on the bed for her. In fact, the whole idea of sleeping under an animal fur was throwing her a lot. It wasn''t a real animal, but still¡­ weird. "Not that this is realistic medieval times," Larali went on. "Not just the obvious stuff, but even like our clothes and whatnot are chock-full of anachronisms."Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Lily rolled her eyes. "Kinda figured that out when I spawned in wearing an underwire." "Ugh, you too?" Larali groaned. "Is it poking you already? Whatever they made these out of, it already stabbed me." "Not yet." "Well, come on, give it over." "Huh?" Larali gestured at her, waving her forward. "I''ll fix it for you." Lily glanced around the room avoiding her eyes, embarrassed. Larali sighed. "...Sorry. That was too much, wasn''t it? My bad." "It''s okay." Lily walked over to the far bed and sat down, finally taking off her belt and the swords with a relieved breath. They weren''t that heavy, and she was more than strong enough, but it was still cutting into her waist all day. "Give me a second." "Yeah, sure." Larali glanced over at Ketra. "Ketra, you too. Trust me, you aren''t gonna want to deal with that in the middle of a fight, and you don''t really need the support." Ketra looked even more embarrassed than Lily felt, as her beautiful face turned a bright shade of pink. It actually made her feel a lot better, if a girl that pretty was more uncomfortable than her. "I¡­ I''ll be fine." "Is this abou..." Larali trailed off. "...Ketra, seriously. You''re gonna have to get over that hump sooner or later, you know." Lily finally dislodged the bra from under her shirt, and passed it over to Larali. The woman fiddled with it for a minute, even digging out an actual needle and thread from her pack. "Where''d you get those?" "The farmers," said Larali with a shrug. She worked fast, and soon enough, a tiny glint of steel popped into view. "Gotcha." Larali tossed it back to Lily, who caught it easily and set it aside for the morning. Ketra glanced at Lily, face still bright red. "Could you¡ª" Lily didn''t even wait for her to finish speaking. She turned away to face the wall, where the only thing she could see was Avalynn out of the corner of her eye. To her lack of surprise, the elf''s own garment had been tossed into the corner of the room unceremoniously, and Lily doubted she''d be putting it back on in the morning. Probably didn''t want to leave it out in the forest ''cause modern clothes would defile it or something¡­ "Ketra, you''ve got nothing to be embarrassed about," said Larali. "You look perfect." "Would you stop talking, please?" Larali laughed. "Come on, just let me help you." "I don''t¡ª" "Okay, okay, sorry." "...Here," Ketra grunted, and Lily heard a rustle of movement. "Thanks." Another rustle, as Larali presumably got to work. "Wouldn''t be a problem if not for¡­" She trailed off awkwardly. "Damas nara duralav sel Liquin," said Avalynn, finally sitting up in her bed and looking around. "Would you¡ª" said Ketra. "Masal." "What did she say?" asked Lily, still staring at the wall pointedly. "I heard my name." Ketra sighed. "That we should blame your brother." "Yeah, no kidding." Lily shrugged. "Although¡­" "Although what?" "I mean, he didn''t exactly get anything wrong." "Weird, right?" said Larali. "I feel totally normal. Stronger and taller, but normal. Except¡­ well, I''m guessing he left out periods." "Oh, thank god," said Lily. "But, other than that¡­" Larali laughed. "Guess sometimes programmers can get it right, huh?" "Well, MVG has a pretty balanced team," said Lily, feeling a bit defensive again. "I think it''s actually half-and-half." "Thank the stars for the other half," Ketra murmured. She raised her voice. "You can turn around now." Lily finally tore her gaze away from the wall. Ketra was back in her cloak as usual, as if nothing had happened. She sat down on the furs, still red-faced. Larali rolled her eyes and went back to her own bed. "I''m going to sleep. See you all tomorrow." Avalynn watched Ketra from across the room, seated upright in her own bed¡ªand still without a scrap of clothing on. Lily squinted, trying to see more detail in the dim starlight from the open window, but the elf''s hair kept half of her face still in shadow. Lily couldn''t make out her expression. She sighed and gave up, taking off her boots and the rest of her equipment. Down to just a shirt and pants, Lily slipped under the furs, and found them surprisingly warm and soft already. "Okay, this isn''t so bad," she said quietly. Larali sounded like she''d already fallen asleep, if the faint steady breath across the room was anything to go by. "Hey, Liquin?" whispered Ketra. Lily twisted around under the fur to face the bed next to her. Ketra''s pale face peeked out from a thick fur wrapping, snug under the covers with her head against the feather-stuffed pillow. She still looked uncomfortable, despite everything. Lily grinned. "How''s sleeping on elf ears?" Ketra smiled, breaking a lot of the tension on her face. "Kind of weird." "I''m sure you''ll get used to it." Ketra nodded. Her covers slipped off just a little, and she hurriedly pulled them back in place. Lily raised an eyebrow. "You okay?" "Yes. I just¡­" She shrugged. "I''ve never slept in the same room as someone else before." "Well¡­ neither have I." Maybe that''s why Kevin was so pissed off¡­ No, that doesn''t make any sense. That was after. "Really?" Ketra looked astonished. "You seem so much more confident about everything." She shook her head. "What are you talking about? I''m totally clueless here. You''re the one that already knows everything. I can''t even understand Avalynn." Lily paused. "She''s totally listening to everything we''re saying, isn''t she?" "Masal." Lily''s mouth fell open. "...Did she just make a joke?" Ketra smiled. "She''s not that bad¡ª" "¡ªwhen you get to know her? Suuuure." Lily rolled her eyes, and pulled her own furs tighter around her shoulders as a gust of wind blew through the open window. "...You can''t do a spell or something to close that, can you?" "I can." Ketra murmured something quickly under her breath. With an angry creak, the window swung closed, plunging the room into total darkness. The loss of light, coupled with the warmth and the comfortable feeling of safety that began to flood through Lily''s chest, finally set in. She yawned again. "Good night, Ketra." Lily paused. "How do I¡ª" "Enlyn, Liquin," Ketra whispered. With that, Lily pulled the furs up tight again and snuggled in for her first night in Avo. As weird as it felt to be going to sleep in a game, she had to admit it was actually better than her original plan. The bed wasn''t quite as soft, and it definitely wasn''t as warm¡ªbut there wasn''t any city noise, any riots or protests, sirens and helicopters, bangs and thumps and who-knew-what-else. Instead, Lily could hear the faint sound of crickets in the distance, accompanied by a chorus of frogs and other wildlife she couldn''t identify. The inn smelled faintly of burnt wood, and in her room, Lily heard the quiet, steady breathing of three people she''d come to know as friends. Friends. Lily Quinn didn''t really have friends¡ªnot anymore. She used to, but they''d all fallen away as she skyrocketed up the ladder to fame. Nobody wanted to be friends with someone who they never saw, who canceled on every single outing just to play a few more matches. It didn''t matter how successful she became, how much money she had stashed away to eventually retire on. The only social contact she ever had was her brother, and that was that. For the longest time, without realizing it, Lily had been very, very lonely. Coming to Avo, where every concern had been stripped away? Where she could just do whatever she liked, as they kept telling her? Lily had found friends again. That was worth the price of admission, worth all the needles and weird suits and bizarre cradles and whatnot she''d climbed into. I bet he did this on purpose, Lily realized. Michael didn''t exactly need Lily to see the game to give it her support. She would have done it for family without question, and he knew that. He''d invited her for some other reason. Like an ill-advised attempt to get me to make friends. Except it wasn''t ill-advised¡ªas the continued breathing in the room reminded her¡ªsince it actually worked. Three other beds, three new friends. How about that? Okay¡­ two friends. Who knows what the hell Avalynn thinks? Should''ve been Nixie in that bed. Oh well. Lily finally dozed off, the world fading into black as her eyes slid closed. *** Where''s my alarm¡­? Lily jerked upright in bed, slamming her hand onto a non-existent bedside table. The furs fell off her, reminding her immediately where she was. "Oh, right." "You too, huh?" Larali laughed. She was sitting up in her own bed, the morning sun lighting up her face. She had the menu open in front of her, changing something Lily couldn''t read from so far away with bleary eyes. "I was trying to hit my alarm," Lily mumbled. Larali laughed again. "I think I woke up four times trying to find my phone." She shrugged. "We''ll get used to it." "This is when I''d be going for a morning run," said Lily. She got out of bed and began to stretch out, even though she already felt limbered up and ready to go. Larali nodded. "And I''d be doing my workout. We don''t have to anymore though." "Feels weird." Lily glanced around. "Where''s Avalynn?" Larali shrugged. She grinned at the other bed beside Lily. "Our favorite elf''s sleeping like a baby though." Sure enough, Ketra was still quietly dozing away, even with the sunlight streaming through the open window and the birds singing away in the trees. She looked incredibly peaceful, curled up slightly with her hands in front of her chest, as if clutching onto something invisible. "How''s she still asleep?" Lily asked. Larali had been laughing plenty loud to wake them all up, including Lily. Larali shrugged. "Dunno. I figured maybe she just doesn''t wake up to sound. Pretty weird with the whole super-elf-hearing thing, but hey¡ªwe''re not elves." "Try shaking her or something?" She looked surprised. "And wake up our sleeping angel? How could you?" Lily wasn''t quite sure if she was joking or not, but was saved by a knock at the door. "Hello?" Larali called out. Again, Ketra didn''t stir in the slightest. "It''s Michael." His voice, muffled through the solid door, sounded as eager and excited as usual. "I just wanted to let you know we ordered some breakfast. It should be here in a few minutes." "Got it. We''ll be out soon." Larali glanced over at Lily. "Got another perk for you: no need to put on a morning face here. You already look great." Lily shrugged. She barely ever went out; makeup really wasn''t a big thing for her. She touched up for endorsements and the big in-person tournaments, but it wasn''t part of her daily routine. "Should we wake Ketra now?" "Yeah." Larali walked over to her bed and sat down. The instant any weight hit the bed, Ketra''s eyes fluttered open. Lily hadn''t noticed just long long her eyelashes were¡ªnot absurd, but certainly longer than usual. She blinked a few times, twisting under the furs to look up at Larali. The woman grinned down at her friend. "Still in Avo, beautiful." Ketra groaned. "I''d like to go back to sleep now, please." "Nuh uh. We got breakfast." Larali grabbed the furs and ripped them away. Lily started to turn, half-expecting her to be just as immersive as Avalynn¡ªbut to her relief, Ketra wasn''t quite to that level of crazy. She groaned and made a half-hearted effort to pull the furs back up, but finally nodded and pulled herself up with Larali''s help. "What''s for breakfast?" she mumbled, pulling on her cloak and belt. "Dunno." Larali smirked. "Could be anything. Aren''t you excited?" "Thrilled." Ketra glanced over at Lily. "How''d you sleep?" "...Really, really well," said Lily. "You were right, you win. I''m still here, aren''t I?" Ketra smiled. "As you should be." "Can we save the flirting for later?" said Larali. "I''m starving." Lily stopped putting on her blades. She glanced up at Larali, surprised. "...Flirting?" she asked. Larali winced. "Okay, I didn''t mean it like that." Ketra''s face lit up brighter than the sun peeking through the window. "Can we please just go eat now?" she mumbled. "Yeah." Larali opened the door for her, and Ketra hurried out, hood pulled low. Lily started to follow, but Larali held out an arm to stop her. "Look, uhh¡­" Lily shook her head. "It''s cool." "No, really, there''s nothing at all¡ªI mean, as far as I know¡ª" I mean¡­ she''s really beautiful¡­ I''m just not thinking about anything like that right now. And in here, of all places? Lily forced a grin onto her face and shrugged. "Seriously. Already forgot about it. Let''s go eat." *** To Lily''s disappointment, breakfast turned out to be something she was very familiar with¡ªeggs, straight from the chicken coops. Even though these weren''t mass-produced industrial farm eggs, they didn''t taste a whole lot different. On top of that, the inn didn''t exactly have any interesting seasonings. It didn''t even have salt. Thankfully, the whole thing was saved the moment they brought out the drinks. "Mmmmm," sighed Larali contentedly, downing a whole flagon of cider. Lily sipped at hers, but she had to agree, the stuff was delicious. "Liquin, don''t think I missed you not having a real drink last night. We''re still going to fix that before you disappear." Lily shrugged. "So, it''s just as good here?" "Even better!" Larali roared, slamming her flagon onto the table, startling Phoenixia next to her. "Isn''t watered down at all, and I dunno what the hell they''re brewing their beer with, but let''s just say I''d love it even if it weren''t getting me drunk." "Still just hops," said Michael, seated near the middle of the table. "Actually," cut in Requiant from the far end, "most beers in the Northwest are brewed with a combination of hops and syldan syrup, which adds a unique flavor that has been claimed by the Candir Medicinal Association to be hopelessly addictive. Not that anyone can prove it." "Call me an addict, then," said Larali. "What''s syldan syrup?" asked Lily. Avalynn spat into her empty plate. "Osandalv masevakas velae suunis sylvecev." "Something stolen from our forests," said Ketra quietly, sitting across from Lily and Larali at their end of the table. "Oh, get over it," said Requiant. "The Syldareis sold it freely." "Della seves masal." Avalynn stood up and walked away with her plate to the little tray where the innkeep had asked them to leave their dishes. "They were wrong." Ketra sighed. "People like her are the reason the Kingdom disowned us." "Us meaning Masnas?" asked Lily. "Yes." Shirogane stood up with his own cleared plate. He raised his mug in a toast. "Well, boys and girls, it''s been fun. I gotta head out though." Lily got to her feet and hurried over to hug him. "Heading home?" "Sure am. Gotta go kiss the wife and tell her why I wasn''t around last night." He grinned. "Totally worth it though, wasn''t it?" Lily nodded. "You''ll come back though, right?" "Sheesh, Liliquin, you sound like you''re already moving in!" She blushed. "...Well, it''s pretty cool so far." She could practically feel Michael beaming at her behind her back, but refused to turn around and give him the satisfaction. Shirogane smiled. "Yeah, I''ll be back." Larali raised her flagon, and nearly knocked his away with just a tap. "We''ll be here." Shirogane wandered away down the hall toward an empty room. Lily sat back down, wanting to enjoy the last bit of cider before she headed out too. To her surprise, it pained her¡ªbut she just had too many things she needed to get done. There were emails to answer, tournaments to check on, opponents to study, training to catch up on. As fun as this diversion had been, Lily needed to get back to the real world sooner or later. She just had to figure out how to break the news to Larali and Ketra. Of course, she didn''t have to. "Hey, Michael?" Michael glanced up, surprised. The rest of them had gone back to pretty banal conversation. Lily and Larali were getting an extensive rundown of exactly how beer was brewed in Avo by Requiant, and neither of them noticed what was happening. Ketra was the first to realize something was wrong. Ketra stood up, very slowly, looking down the hall towards the rooms. Lily noticed and followed her gaze. Shirogane and Michael were talking very fast. Michael looked worried¡ªand Lily knew her brother. No matter what, he never got worried. Lily stood. Larali glanced up, surprised, but Lily just shook her head as she walked away. Ketra followed her, but the rest of the group stayed at the table, still talking and laughing. "What''s going on?" Lily asked, coming up next to her brother. He spun around, shocked. "Nothing." "...Okay, seriously?" "What''s going on?" Ketra repeated more firmly. Michael frowned. "...He can''t log out." "Huh?" The menu swirled into existence in front of Shirogane, faint white smoke hanging in the middle of the wooden hallway. Shiro pressed his thumb against his right hand, but the option didn''t change in the slightest. "Try the others?" said Lily. He did, and each one worked just fine. "Mike¡­" he said slowly. "If I''m not home soon, my wife''s gonna¡ª" "Give me a second." Michael frowned. He pulled up his own menu, reflected in his irises as before. After a minute, his frowned turned to fear. "...I can''t either. Not even with my override." "What?" asked Ketra. "I don''t know yet," said Michael. "Hang on." Lily pulled up her own menu, just in case.
Liquin
Status Settings
Party Close Menu
Guild Logout
She pressed her right thumb against her pinky. The smoke stubbornly stayed pale white. She opened the other menus again, just in case, and all of them worked. Only the Logout option refused to function. "Michael¡­" said Lily. "I can''t either." "I¡­" Michael frowned. "It''s always worked. Harry and I have done this a hundred times. Nothing changed in that code." "What does this mean?" Ketra asked. "La danenav suuna to movekkas." Avalynn appeared just behind Lily, without any of them noticing her listening in. She didn''t seem concerned in the slightest. As they turned, she simply walked away again, back to the unsuspecting group at the table still finishing their breakfast. "What did she say?" asked Michael. "...She said it means we''re trapped," said Ketra, and a horrible sinking feeling plunged into Lily''s stomach. [Discord] ¡ª [TLS] ¡ª [Rate] ¡ª [Follow] ¡ª [Patreon] Chapter 8 — Skyldr III
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Cloudy Unbound
"We''re trapped?" Lily repeated anxiously. Michael glanced down the hall. His expression wasn''t exactly reassuring. If anything, he seemed as nervous as his sister. "I can''t be trapped in here," she went on. "I''ve got things to do. I need to get back to training. There''s another tournament coming up next week." "Liquin¡­" said Ketra quietly. "Michael, you''re joking, right?" She grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around. His face was pale, his lips pursed tight and his eyes wide. He shook his head, and she shook him. "This is a bad joke, bro." "...Not joking, Lily," he mumbled. Ketra looked oddly calm about the whole situation, but maybe that was an elf thing too. Avalynn certainly hadn''t seemed particularly upset. Then again¡­ Simon and Michael were both playing elves, and they looked to be on the verge of a collective nervous breakdown. Ketra wasn''t doing anything to help, either, standing around silently while they began to panic. Lily took a deep breath, and then another. She focused on her meditation exercise, the same one she used before every single match. Michael''s freaking out, Simon''s freaking out. Get it together Lily. She focused on wiggling her toes inside her boots, one after the other, just to remind herself they were still there. Okay, they''re virtual, but good enough. She let out another deep breath. "...Okay." "Okay what?" asked Shirogane. "Simon, go outside and try it again. Maybe it''s something to do with the inn." As he turned to leave, Michael added, "And don''t tell anyone yet." "Shouldn''t we tell them?" asked Lily, while Shirogane hurried away. "I mean, we''re safe, it''s just a bug¡­ right?" Her brother didn''t answer right away. "Right?" "Yeah," he replied, without a shred of conviction. His eyes were unfocused and dim. Lily shook her head. She took her brother''s hand, trying to snap him out of it. "Michael, it''s me. It''s Lily. Talk to me." Michael shook his head, his blond hair flying around wildly as he did. "It''s a bug, but¡­ there''s no other way to logout." "What about the failsafe?" asked Lily. Keep asking him questions, keep him focused. "If the cradle runs out of stuff, we just get logged out, right?" "All the ones we shipped out were loaded with about three weeks'' worth," said Michael. "You and I have a couple months, at least." He glanced at Ketra, who had taken a spot behind Lily leaning against the wall. "Did you set it up exactly as instructed?" Ketra nodded. "If we assume everybody else did too," Michael went on, "that''s a long three weeks." "And I have to stick it out for a couple months?" Lily snapped. "What the hell, Michael?" "It''s not like I wanted to get stuck here!" he shot back. Ketra stepped between the two of them, raising her hands. "It''s done. We must decide what to do next." Lily closed her eyes and took another deep breath before opening them. "Yeah." Michael sighed. "We''ll need to find someone who can cast Message." He glanced at Ketra, who shook her head. "What about Nixie?" "Doubtful," Ketra replied. "She seemed to have no experience with etola." "Okay." He frowned. "Isn''t there like a GM help button or something?" asked Lily. "Summon the admins?" "No. Nothing from ingame." "So let''s just find a player and get them to do it." Michael shook his head again. He seemed like he was hiding something. Lily recognized the tell from all the board games they''d played. "...Spill it, bro," said Lily. Michael glanced pointedly at Ketra, who''d stepped back to the wall again, but Lily shook her head. "She''s cool, right?" Ketra shrugged. "I figure I already know what he''s about to say. It seemed painfully obvious." She glanced down the hallway before continuing, her voice low. "That agreement was suspiciously lacking in any certifications or approval from the HCA, the TAA, or the Office of Psychological Wellness." She paused. "I also noticed you signed it with the name of an attorney you haven''t employed for several months." "...This is what I get for inviting a lawyer," said Michael with a weak smile. "Wait," said Lily, glancing ar Ketra. "You''re a lawyer?" "Yes," said Ketra, shrugging again. "I have to pay the bills somehow." She looked back to Michael expectantly. "I''m breaking a ton of laws with this test," he admitted, "but I had to. There was no way we could afford the fees or the delays." Ketra nodded. "But you did test it, right?" "More thoroughly than anything I''ve ever written." He glanced at Lily. "If I''m going to let my own sister into this thing, you think I wouldn''t make sure it was absolutely safe?" Lily rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks for letting me into a crazy death trap, Michael." Though¡­ that is actually kinda nice of him to care that much. "Okay, back on topic," she added, just as Shirogane returned, shaking his head in dismay. "If we seriously can''t logout, and we''re stuck here until we figure something out¡­ what do we do?" "Get to a city and hire someone to cast Message," said Michael. "Or figure out how to do it ourselves." "Nobody in Skyldr can?" "Nobody I can trust." He frowned. "Come to think of it, there''s not a whole lot of people I can trust in a random city either." Lily rolled her eyes. "What are they gonna do? You''re just calling a GM to log us out, right?" Michael shook his head. "I''m calling a coworker to come meet us and help figure this out. GMs can''t log people out. Right now, I don''t have a clue how to get out." "So let''s get calling!" Michael grabbed Lily by the wrist, much harder than he''d probably intended. He looked seriously terrified. "Lily, I could go to jail. For a long time." Ketra stepped forward again. She placed her hand on Michael''s, forcing him to release his grip on Lily. "If we can reach any of the cities bordering Atevusylvec, we can use a Masnas operative." "You trust them?" asked Michael. "I trust a few with my life, both inside Avo and out." Ketra let go of his hand, and Michael began to rub his wrist, as if it were sore. How tight did she grab him¡­? Jeez. "You just need to get in touch with one person and tell them what''s going on, yes?" "Yeah." Michael nodded. "I''ll call Lucy, get her to the lab, and have her drain my cradle down to dry. That should log me out, and then I can come get the rest of you." "And in the meantime?" asked Lily. "In the meantime¡­" Michael shrugged. "Just enjoy Avo, I guess." *** Lily and Ketra trailed the rest of the group as they wandered through the streets of an awake and lively Skyldr. The town was a bustling little place during the day, and Lily saw plenty to be interested in¡ªif she weren''t so preoccupied with their current predicament. "How am I supposed to enjoy this now?" she grumbled aloud. Ketra sighed. "Is it really so bad?" Lily winced. She glanced over at Ketra, who seemed genuinely hurt by her whining. "...Sorry." "I can''t blame you for wanting to get back to your career." "...Don''t you have things you need to get back to?" She shrugged. "Yes, but I''m not in any hurry." Ahead of them, Shirogane argued with Michael and Manifold, presumably about the very same thing. Susanoo had vanished at some point during breakfast, as had Avalynn¡ªand worse, the unpredictable elf knew what was going on. Lily still wasn''t entirely sure they should be keeping it a secret, but she went along with her brother''s decision for the moment. Further up, Larali and Phoenixia were cruising through town without a care in the world. The duo had an infectious excitement that even managed to infect Lily way at the back. She chuckled as they bolted between vendors, trying everything they could get their hands on. As Lily glanced back, though, she saw a few merchants who seemed particularly pissed off by their passing.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "Are they paying for any of that¡­?" she asked aloud. Ketra frowned. "No. That could be a problem." "How so?" "Well, if they cross the wrong merchant, and his employer finds out¡­" "His employer?" Ketra nodded. "Most merchants are employed by a player to some capacity. They either act as middlemen, selling player loot from dungeons and quests, or they vend goods from player-owned lands. The Haalfwood can''t be owned by anyone and Skyldr isn''t worth conquering, but a few of the merchants might still be employed by Unbound." "And if they find out¡­" Lily trailed off, with a burst of paranoia. She glanced around, suddenly fearful of the shadows leering behind every building, hiding potential threats within the overgrown alleys covered in grass, weeds and vines. "We might be leaving Skyldr in a hurry," finished Ketra. "...What does happen to you when you die?" asked Lily. "In game mechanics, I mean," she added quickly, seeing Ketra smirk slightly. "You enter the void," Ketra replied. "Do you remember the character creation menu?" "Yeah." Lily frowned. "So you just get booted back to that black screen? That''s not so bad." "Except that you''re forced to wait there for at least thirty minutes. After that, you have to create a new character. You don''t keep anything." "That''s harsh." Lily shook her head. "How can you guys ever get anything done if you lose it all just by dying once?" "Through cooperation." Ketra smiled. "Like I said, there are a few here in Avo that I trust with my life. If I die here, they''ll make sure that I''m taken care of. When I make it back, my friends will have what I lost." "You don''t lose everything," added Michael, who''d apparently been listening to the whole conversation. He dropped back to join them. "Knowledge is far more important than loot." "Both are pretty damn useful," said Shirogane, falling back as well. Manifold trudged along behind them, looking as stressed and upset as he always did. "What do you mean by knowledge?" asked Lily. "I didn''t see a stat or anything." "Actual knowledge, Liliquin," said Shirogane, not unkindly. He ruffled her hair with a grin. She rolled her eyes, pushing his hand away, and he went on. "To cast a spell, besides ingredients and energy and the usual crap, you also gotta know actually know it. You can pay people to teach it to you, or if you''re a cheapskate, you can look it up online, but that''s one bit that carries over between characters." "...And none of you know something as useful as messaging?" asked Lily, dumbfounded. "Come on." "It''s crazy-valuable." Shirogane shrugged. "Everyone who''s got it charges a ton of cash just to cast it even once." "There''s a whole network of them," added Michael. "The Avo Mail Service." "...Nice name," said Lily, smirking. "Yeah, I don''t think the founder was very creative." He shrugged. "They''re totally neutral though. A few of the biggest guilds in the game sponsor them, and because those guilds hate each other, the AMS doesn''t get pulled too hard in either direction." "We won''t be using them though," said Ketra. "Masnas employs its own messengers." "Right." Michael nodded. "We just need to get¡­ halfway across the continent," he muttered, wiping his forehead with his hand. "Hang on," said Lily. "If dying will just make us respawn¡­ couldn''t we just keep dying until we pop up somewhere closer?" "One of the spawn points is near Atevusylvec," said Shirogane, glancing at Michael. "Why not?" Michael shook his head. "I rigged it so we''d all spawn here, remember? If we die, we''re gonna have to start all the way over¡ªand that''s assuming we can even find each other again." "Great," muttered Lily. "You thought of everything." "Look," said Michael, his voice rising. He was getting upset, and Lily right along with him. "I didn''t want this to happen. I''m doing my be¡ª" "Larali!" Ketra shouted, interrupting them. "Above you!" Lily glanced up, not sure what to expect¡ªand a moment later, she''d drawn her blades. A couple dozen meters ahead, Larali and Phoenixia had been looking through a selection of cheap-looking jewelry. Larali spoke loud and fast to distract the merchant, while Phoenixia snuck away pieces, one or two at a time. It was working pretty well for them, and they''d actually pulled in a small haul without the merchant noticing a thing¡ªbut his guard had. Larali looked straight up at Ketra''s call. She stopped dead. Sitting on the edge of the rooftop above the merchant''s little stall, a lightly armored soldier dangled his legs over the lip of the roof¡ªand aimed a crossbow right at Phoenixia''s little head. "Easy now, fire maiden," he drawled. "An old west accent?" Lily hissed, while she and Ketra started to move forward very slowly. The rest of the village seemed to have frozen at the confrontation. If they moved any faster, they''d draw more attention to themselves. Both Michael and Shirogane were holding up their quarterstaffs, preparing whatever spells they might think useful. Manifold had ducked into an alleyway, cowering. Typical¡­ Ketra shrugged. "It gets the point across." "But¡­ immersion," she said mockingly. "Real old English accents sound much stranger than that." Ketra ducked behind a short stairwell coming out of a smokehouse. "You have to make some adjustments to get the right feeling across. Better to make the right impression than to be strictly accurate to reality." Ketra shrugged, smiling slightly. "Besides, it''s not the real world. Who says Avo doesn''t have old west accents?" Lily rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever." She nodded up at the crossbowman, who was saying something to the merchant she couldn''t quite hear. "What are we gonna do about him?" "Depends on what Larali does next. She could just pay him off, or¡ª" Ketra cut off, as Larali broke into a sprint down the road. Phoenixia followed a split-second later, as a crossbow bolt whistled through the space where her head had occupied a moment earlier. It landed in the dirt with a dull thud. "Huh," said Lily, standing up straight. "I guess that works." She started to sheathe her blades. Something slammed into Lily from the side, knocking the wind out of her. Out of nowhere, Ketra had thrown herself at Lily, sending them both tumbling into the dirt. Lily opened her mouth, confused, but her unspoken question was answered by another crossbow bolt flying overhead. Ketra got to her feet, grabbing Lily by the hand and pulling her into the nearest alley. The man on the roof reloaded¡ªand out of the corner of her eye, Lily spotted another man with a crossbow lining up for a shot further down the road. "What did I do?" she asked breathlessly, leaning against the nearest wall while Ketra peered around the corner of the structure. She ducked back in as another crossbow bolt whistled down the way, embedding into the wood behind them. "We''re all in the same party," Ketra replied, in between calm, controlled breaths. "The Fated assume we were part of the theft, since we were so close by." "That''s some crappy A.I.," Lily grumbled. "Doesn''t matter now." Ketra took her hand and pulled her further into the dark alleyway. "Just run!" *** They bolted down the twisting alley and into the next street. Lily was right on Ketra''s heels, but they could hear a chorus of stomping boots just behind them, and they were getting louder. "We''re gonna have to fight," said Lily. "We can make it," said Ketra, darting through a tight gap between two buildings. Lily followed, but her sword got caught on one of the walls. She had to back out and try again, holding it perpendicular to squeeze through. Ketra pushed out the other side, breathing hard. "Just need to get out to¡ª" Another crossbow bolt plinked off the stone wall in front of them. Ketra skidded to a halt. Lily had just emerged from the gap in the wall and nearly ran into her friend. She looked up, and the guard from the rooftop was staring down at them¡ªmore specifically at Ketra, whose hood had come off in the chase. Ahead of them, three more enforcers waited: two with clubs, one with a cheap sword. "Looks like we got ourselves a knife-ear!" cackled the crossbowman. He loaded another bolt and began to squeeze back the crank, preparing to fire again. Lily groaned. She drew her blades. "Why play as an elf if everybody''s gonna be racist?" she muttered. "Why play as a girl if everyone''s going to be sexist?" said Ketra, unslinging her bow from across her back. ''Cause anyone worth hanging out with isn''t¡­? Oh. Duh. "...Okay, fair point." The men on the ground didn''t seem too eager to approach, and she had more than enough time before the crossbowman managed to reload. Ketra plucked an arrow from her quiver and took aim. "Let us go," she called back to the man on the roof, who seemed to be in charge. "No can do. Y''all stole from the boss, y''all gotta pay the fine." "Or we beat ya''s," added one of the guys on the ground. Lily raised an eyebrow, lifting her sword up pointedly. "Come and try it." Apparently, that was enough to set them off. All three of the guys on the ground moved forward at the same time. The crossbowman twitched, readjusting his aim, and Ketra loosed her arrow. It sunk into the man''s neck. He crumpled, dropping his weapon and clutching at the spurting wound. The crossbow clattered to the rooftop, useless. He collapsed a couple seconds later. Not wasting a moment, Ketra grabbed another arrow, strung it and loosed again. Her next shot wasn''t as well-aimed, but it caught one of the charging men in the shoulder. He shouted in pain and fell back, leaving Lily with only two to handle. "Thanks!" said Lily. My turn. Just two guys? Let''s show off a bit. Lily took a step forward, right into their path. The guys, either too stupid or too committed, didn''t change course in the slightest. They both swung their clubs for her head. If Lily got hit, her skull probably would have been crushed. She ducked. The clubs bounced off each other, and Lily darted forward with both blades extended. She sliced into the left guy''s side, then twirled back around and stabbed the other man in the back. He crumpled, but the first man wasn''t done. Despite bleeding heavily from the cut she''d put into him, his club came in, hard. Crap. The club slammed Lily in the chest, tossing her into the wall. The guy was strong. Lily felt the impact in her bones, as she crashed heavily into the stone structure behind her. Pain shot up through her back, while the impact left her lungs gasping for air. "No!" Ketra stepped in, an arrow in one hand and her bow in the other. The man whirled around to face her, charging yet again. Ketra sidestepped him easily. She reached down and tripped the man as he went by with the tip of her bow. As he fell, she dropped on top of him¡ªin a move eerily similar to Avalynn''s from the night before¡ªand plunged the arrow into the back of his neck. He struggled, but Ketra held him down until he laid still. Lily got back to her feet, still winded. She limped over to the writhing final man of the group, the one Ketra had taken out with her first arrow, and put her sword to his throat. "You guys done chasing us?" she grunted. "Mercy!" he cried. "Mercy, milady!" "Huh." Lily shrugged, and instantly regretted it as another small burst of pain rolled up through her back. "I''ve never been called milady before." "I was just followin'' orders!" Lily glanced over at her friend, now cleaning blood off her hands. "What do you think, Ketra?" "Up to you," said Ketra, unnervingly calm for what she''d just done with her bare hands. "Any reason not to?" "Well, does he deserve to die?" What''s that supposed to mean? It''s a game. Lily frowned. "...He''s just an NPC, isn''t he?" "Does it matter?" "...Huh?" Ketra walked over and plucked her arrow out of the man''s shoulder, cleaning it off and replacing it in her quiver. "If this were just a game, then no: there''s no reason not to. We''re in this alleyway, totally alone, and your only witness is a friend. You''re probably justified in it, too. They attacked us, after all. There''s no game mechanic that will punish you." "So¡­ kill him." Ketra shook her head. "Except he begged you for mercy." "I did, milady!" said the man, nodding his head eagerly. He looked like he was on the verge of tears, and his hand was clutching the wound in his shoulder Ketra''s arrow had so recently vacated. "I just want to go in peace." "This is the difference between a game and a world," said Ketra. "If it''s a game, who cares? But if this is a world¡­ even if you''re alone, with nobody around to see¡ªare you the sort of person who kills simply out of convenience?" "...Aren''t you an assassin?" asked Lily, glancing up at her. Ketra shrugged. "In a manner of speaking." "What''s that supposed to mean?" "It means that if you want to kill him, I wouldn''t think any less of you. In fact, I''d probably already have killed him, were I in your shoes." "Gee, thanks." Lily rolled her eyes. "You made this a whole lot less complicated." She looked back down at the guy, her sword still pressed against his throat. A little more pressure and she could cut it clean open¡­ but did she want to? Like Ketra said, if this were a game, she wouldn''t have hesitated for a second. Except they really want it to be something more than that. It''s the whole thing Michael''s trying to sell. It''s what they all fell in love with. If I just kill him, I''m just playing some really cool game, not trying to live a new life as¡­ "No wonder he thought Liquin was a dumb name," she mumbled aloud. Ketra shook her head. A faint smile creased her lips. "It sounds like water, and you fight like a flowing river. It works." "It''s literally just my first and last names mashed together!" Lily protested. Ketra shrugged. "Shirogane''s is straight from an old anime. Avalynn took her last name from the novel series that the game''s based on. Susanoo is the Japanese trickster god." She smirked, lavender eyes flashing with mirth. "Don''t even get me started on ''Requiant Volavus'' and ''Phoenixia Fireheart''." "What''s your point?" "None of us are very creative." She shrugged. "But that doesn''t matter, because we came here to get away from those uncreative people we used to be. We came here to live out a different life, one we choose for ourselves." "...And I don''t really want to be the kind of person who just murders people for no reason," concluded Lily. She lifted the sword off of the man''s throat, and took a deep breath to clear her thoughts. "I got it." "Thankee, milady!" The man started blubbering, tears streaming down his stubbled face. He clambered to his feet and stumbled away, sword abandoned, hand still clutched to his shoulder. Lily tucked her blades back into her belt. She glanced over at Ketra, who was donning her hood once more. "Thanks for saving me back there." "I''m the kind of person who never abandons her friends in their time of need," said Ketra with a smile. "It''s a far sight better than helping companies find legal loopholes." "Oh, so you are a horrible person," said Lily, grinning. Ketra sighed, but Lily caught her hiding a smile. "Come on. We should head south." "What''s south?" "The rest of the world." Ketra draped her bow across her back and started down the road. "More importantly, that''s where Michael told us to meet him." "He did?" "Yes." Ketra smirked. "Elf ears, remember?" Lily shook her head, torn between exasperation and delight. She double-checked her belt to make sure it was secure, then followed her friend away and out of the town of Skyldr¡ªheading south. [Discord] ¡ª [TLS] ¡ª [Rate] ¡ª [Follow] ¡ª [Patreon] Chapter 9 — South of Skyldr I
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Wounded Able Pure Unbound
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Cloudy Unbound
The second moon drifted across the clear blue sky as they walked, slowly dropping toward the horizon as the sun approached its peak. The fields south of Skyldr were wide, gentle rolling hills that lead straight to the edge of of the cliffs. Lily took a deep breath, realizing for the first time how thin the air was. She hadn''t noticed it deep in the woods, but as they rose up over the hills and left the thick forests behind, it was pretty obvious. "We''re pretty high up, aren''t we?" she asked. Ketra nodded. She was walking beside Lily, as they traveled together down lonely dirt paths between overgrown farms that towered over either side. "Skyldr and the Haalfwood sit on a plateau. When we take the path down, we''ll be near sea-level again." "That''s a huge drop," said Lily. "We''ve gotta be at least a kilometer up." "That sounds about right." Ketra glanced at her, surprised. "How did you know that?" "If I''m going to a tournament in person, I have a thing that helps me acclimate to the altitude ahead of time." Lily climbed up on a rotted fence post, trying to see over the crops. "Where are they?" Ketra shrugged. "He just said to meet south of town. Maybe he meant all the way to the cliffs. I don''t know of any other landmarks around here." "Hang on¡­" Lily thumbed open her menu. The smoke billowed up through the reeds to float in front of her. She pressed through to the party screen. "That won''t tell you anything," said Ketra. Lily''s eyes narrowed. She looked back up her friend. "...Except it just told me you''re wounded?" Ketra shook her head, looking embarrassed again. "It''s nothing." "The game''s telling me you''re wounded." Lily hopped back down and walked over to Ketra. "What happened?" "One of the bolts hit me," she said, still quite calm. Lily glanced over her, and she winced away. "Please, it''s nothing." Like hell it is¡­ Lily grabbed the folds of her cloak and flung it wide. Ketra winced again, but didn''t move. "Ketra, your sleeve is dripping!" Ketra shied away, but she couldn''t really hide it. More importantly, Lily saw a faint trail of red behind them, leading all the way back to Skyldr. She took Ketra''s other hand, and the girl let herself be walked back to the fence post. After a few more moments of wincing and obvious pain, Ketra finally shrugged off her cloak. "...That''s deep," said Lily, as her stomach churned from the sight. She didn''t normally have a problem with that sort of thing, but something about seeing such a cut on Ketra made her throat seize up. "I barely felt it at the time." Ketra shrugged. "Adrenaline, I guess." "Why haven''t you just healed yourself yet?" She shook her head. With a sigh, Ketra rested her arm straight out on the fence crossbeam, blinking a few times as she stared up into the sky. "Using healing magic on yourself''s counterproductive. You''re burning your own life energy to try and stave off a wound. If it''s really bad, then it can stabilize you long enough to get help, but this isn''t life-threatening." There were two ways to do magic though¡­ "But can''t you also use¡ª" "No." Ketra spoke so firmly that Lily''s mouth clamped shut of its own accord. "We have another option." "Huh?" "You can heal me." Lily blinked. "...Uhh¡­ how, exactly?" "I''m going to teach you." With her other hand, Ketra brushed her hair back over her ears, clearing her view. She reached for the pack on her side, but winced again. "Can you¡ª" Lily leaned forward and stuck her hand into the pouch strapped to her belt. She could feel all sorts of objects in it that she couldn''t identify. Her hair smells really nice¡­ Focus, Lily. Your friend''s bleeding all over the grass here. "What am I looking for?" "A little pendant shaped like a leaf." Lily dug around until she found something that felt about right. She pulled it out¡ªa pale gray pendant with a veiny leaf, hung on a plain leather cord. As soon as Lily touched it, she could feel it humming with some kind of energy, vibrating slightly as if it were playing music she couldn''t hear. She held it up, and Ketra nodded. "That''s the one." "So what do I do next?" "You can feel it, right?" Lily nodded. "That''s a flow of magic¡ªan etolendei. There''s a very simple healing spell contained in that stone." Ketra winced as she tried to point at it with her injured arm again. "Look at it and press your interact button." "My wh¡ª" "Your right hand, top gap." Oh, okay. So there are more buttons. Lily looked at the stone and pressed as instructed. The stone lit up with a faint white glow. "Can you see that?" she asked. Ketra nodded. "Press it again and you''ll learn the spell." Lily did. "So how does this¡ª" Her brain exploded. Lily felt like she''d just been thrown off her feet, though her body hadn''t moved an centimeter. She was struck with an overwhelming sense of vertigo, cast a thousand meters into the air before she slammed back into the ground again, safe in her own body. Her mind reeled from the impact, and she took a few shallow, harsh breaths before she could speak again. "...Holy crap," she muttered. Ketra smiled. "Pretty insane, isn''t it?" "I think Michael overdid it on the effects¡­" Lily glared at the stone, still feeling shook up by the experience. "I don''t think it wor¡­ whoah." As soon as she''d begun to doubt, Lily suddenly realized she knew exactly how to cast the healing spell¡ªthe gesture to use, the words to speak, everything. She knew it could repair basic surface-level wounds and the clothing on top, and she instinctively knew that to cast it in one way would use her own life essence, while the other would attract corruption into her body. "And now you just have to use it on me," said Ketra. She shifted in her seat on the fencepost, clenching and unclenching her fist with a grimace. "Go on." "Nixie said it didn''t hurt," Lily reminded her. "Nixie''s also crazy," Ketra murmured. She closed her eyes as Lily crouched down next to her and took a deep breath. "I''m ready." I really don''t think this is that big of a deal¡­ but whatever. Lily shrugged. She put her hand over top of Ketra''s and began to murmur the spell. Her fingers twitched and curled in the pattern she''d learned¡ªand as she did, Lily could feel a pinching sensation in her chest. It was like some massive hand had grabbed hold of her and begun to squeeze, slowly pushing air from her lungs. She could feel every heartbeat, every pulse of life pushing blood through her body. At the same time, Ketra''s arm began to knit itself back together, just as Nixie''s had done. Lily felt like there was a little candle flame tickling her palm as she kept the spell going, a flickering warmth that moved along the bright red line in Ketra''s arm. The wound sewed itself shut little by little, until it may as well have never existed, and Ketra''s shirt sleeve followed suit. Within a few minutes, she was like new. It went precisely as expected¡ªexcept for the giggling. She''s so¡­ so cute! Didn''t see that coming from the badass quiet assassin of the group. I just want to hug her! Lily smirked as Ketra tried desperately to hold it in, but the spell was obviously getting to her. A tiny peep, and she shut her eyes even tighter, but it kept going. Finally, just as the last part of her arm was closing up, Ketra let out a full squeal and twisted in place, though she''d wedged her arm into the fence in a way that it didn''t move. As Lily released the spell¡ªto the gratitude of her lungs¡ªKetra hurriedly pulled her cloak back on and fastened it tight. Lily could practically feel the heat radiating from her face. "Thank you," she mumbled. "Anytime," said Lily, now desperately holding back a chuckle. She didn''t want to make her friend feel bad¡ªbut at the same time, it was incredibly difficult not to. "You good to move?" "Yes." They set off again, but it was only a few minutes later when Ketra suddenly whipped around, staring Lily directly in the face. She spoke with a tone so dead-serious, Lily would have assumed they were discussing a funeral. "I''m ticklish." This was the straw that broke her; Lily burst out laughing. For a second, Ketra seemed outright offended¡ªbut soon enough, her indignation melted into mirth. Lily threw an arm around her shoulders, just as Larali so often did. Together, they walked down the path to the south, toward the cliffs. *** Lily gasped, gazing out over the edge of the cliff. The world stretched out before them, utterly dwarfing what she''d seen from the hills within the Haalfwood. "How big is this game?" she asked, glancing at Ketra, who''d taken a seat on a flat-topped rock and was relaxing on her back, her hood actually removed for once. Pale dagger-tip ears twitched in the breeze, and her face glowed in the warm light of the sun. "Big enough that I''ve never visited more than half of it," Ketra replied. She sighed contentedly. "Now that I''m really here, I have to visit all my favorite places again." "And do what?" "Be there." Ketra cracked one eye open, glancing at Lily. "Do I need another reason?" Lily shrugged. "I don''t really travel much. Only for tournaments." "You get to visit a lot of exotic places though." "I get to visit their hotels," Lily corrected. "Then I fly right back home." Ketra sighed. "That''s a shame." Lily took another long look out into the world¡ªmore specifically at the road ahead. A path curled around the cliffs near the lake, where a wide valley actually looked fairly passable, next to a huge waterfall that crashed down to form the river that was the centerpiece of the whole huge expanse. Down the river sat a bridge, and across that bridge¡­ "Is that a castle?" Lily asked, squinting. Ketra sat up, looking around. "Hardly. I''d call that a fort, at best." "...Okay, but still. Is that somewhere we want to go?" "Maybe. It depends." Ketra laid back down again, stretching out like a cat on the sun-baked rock. "Michael needs someone he can trust to send the message to his coworker. We don''t know who''s in that list." Lily slapped a hand to her forehead. She''d just thought up a trick and was eager to try it out. "If I can see updates on the party screen¡­" she muttered aloud. "Maybe I can get something on my broth¡ª" "It won''t work," said Ketra, now irritatingly serene. "Why not?" said Lily, closing the menu with a forlorn sigh. "It told me you were wounded." "Because you were standing right next to me. It only updates if you''re nearby." "...So if my brother''s dead, I wouldn''t have any clue." Lily groaned. "What if they all died and had to start over?" "Then we could be here a while." Lily frowned. Well, okay then miss pessimist, if that''s how we''re gonna do things¡­ She hopped up onto the rock next to Ketra.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "What are you¡ª" Lily plopped down next to her, laying back and closing her eyes as well. "Wow," she sighed. "...What?" She shifted slightly on the rock, adjusting her shirt so she could feel the hot stone directly on her back. It was still a bit sore from getting slammed back in Skyldr, and the sun-heated rock felt heavenly. "I was just going to mess with you, but this feels amazing." Ketra tilted her head around to look at Lily. The rock wasn''t particularly large, so they were only laying just a half-meter away from each other. "...Mess with me how?" "Hadn''t thought that far ahead." Lily glanced up at the sun. It stung her eyes just like usual, but¡­ "Hey, I bet there''s no sunburns in this." "Probably not." "Mmmm¡­" Lily sighed again. "Okay¡­ they can take a while if they want. I''m good here for now." Ketra opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. After a few moments, she closed it again. They laid on the rock for a while, eyes closed, listening to the breeze flow over the cliffs, the birds chirping in the distance. At one point, Lily could have sworn she heard an eagle cry. She was fully aware how vulnerable they were, laying in the open, but she trusted Ketra to hear anyone approaching. "Hey," she asked, after they''d been relaxing for a good thirty minutes or so in comfortable silence. "Yes?" Lily''s gamer brain had been ticking away, despite every attempt to relax and enjoy the moment. She couldn''t help it; she was wired to try and win at all costs, with every tool she had at her disposal. That''s how games work. The only rules are what the game allows you to do. She had to break the moment, as too many questions weighed on her mind. "So if you can just remember spells and such after dying, doesn''t that give a huge advantage to long-time players?" "I guess so." Ketra popped one eye open, her serene smile fading slightly. "I don''t really think of it in terms of advantages." "Because it''s not a game," Lily filled in. Ketra nodded. "But don''t you still want everyone to start off fair?" "Technically, we did." Ketra closed her eyes again. "Everybody started out with nothing. We just figured some things out over time, and got to keep those things." She opened her eyes and pointed up into the sky. Lily followed her gaze, and there circled a hawk, far above them. "Do you believe in a soul?" Well, this got personal really quick¡­ For the first time she could remember, though, Lily didn''t mind. Maybe it was because she wasn''t in her real body, or because she was talking to someone whose real name she didn''t know, but Lily suddenly felt so much more open about herself than she ever had before. "Do you mean like¡­ in real life?" "Yeah." "I mean¡­ I guess so." Lily cleared her throat. "I always figured that we didn''t get to where we are now just from random evolution. But I don''t really know anything besides that. It''s never bothered me much." Ketra let her hand fall back to the surface again. She hesitated before answering her own question. "I think, just like here in Avo, that we come back again and again. Every time, with a little more experience under our belt." "So like¡­ reincarnation, right?" Lily glanced up at the hawk again. "And if you do good things, you come back as a hawk?" "No, nothing like that." Ketra shrugged. "I think it''s as random as anything else in the universe. Sometimes you come back as what you were meant to be, and sometimes¡­ you don''t." "And sometimes you come back as an elf with a cute laugh?" said Lily, nudging Ketra in the side with a smirk. She blushed¡ªbut to Lily''s surprise, she didn''t move away. Instead, Ketra twisted over to lay on her side, facing Lily. "Lily, I¡ª" She cut herself off, and blushed even harder. Huh¡­ she''s never called me by my real name before¡­ how did I get here? I''ve never even¡­ I mean, not except for him. But¡­ well yeah, I do like her. Maybe¡­ but this is a game. It''s not to her. Lily threw caution to the winds. She leaned forward, her heart beating faster with every millimeter. Ketra''s eyes widened, as she realized what was happening. She didn''t move at all, and Lily slid just a little bit closer, until¡ª A white haze appeared between the two of them. Lily found herself suddenly unable to move any closer. She could only barely see Ketra through the other side, facing her own hazy screen of smoke that barred them. She felt like a window pane had shattered, letting a cold burst of air flood between them. Lily moved back again, and the haze disappeared. "...What was that?" she murmured. Ketra looked utterly mortified. She pulled her hood back up, and Lily felt her heart sink. "Ketra, I¡ª" "It''s okay." She shook her head. "I''m¡­" Ketra stood up, glancing around. "I''m gonna take a walk." She looked hurt¡ªreally hurt. Lily couldn''t let her walk away. "Ketra, wait!" Screw it. Lily leapt to her feet. Before Ketra could take two steps, Lily grabbed her by the hand. She could feel her heart pounding right into her throat as she opened her mouth, but couldn''t stop herself from speaking. "You wanted¡­ me to kiss you¡­ right?" Ketra''s eyes went wide. She glanced around nervously, though of course, there wasn''t a single person in sight. "I¡­" Lily smiled nervously. "Let''s¡­ let''s try that again, okay?" "Wait." Ketra shook her head. Some color besides bright red finally returned to her face, along with an emotion other than sheer confusion. She looked serious, and her eyes were darting back toward the path they''d come in on. "Something''s coming." "...Not someone?" Lily asked. She scrambled back to the rock, picking up her blades from where they leaned against the side. Ketra drew her bow, picking up her quiver and notching an arrow. "Not someone," she confirmed. *** Lily crouched low behind the rock, while Ketra waited a few paces behind. They didn''t have much cover available beyond that, and Lily didn''t want to risk getting caught even more in the open. At least their little sunbathing rock was tall enough to duck behind. The wind¡ªwhich had been so pleasant only minutes earlier¡ªnow seemed their enemy, shifting around the tall grass and reeds in a swaying mass of movement. "...See anything?" she whispered. "No." "Sure you heard something?" Ketra hesitated. "I¡­ I thought so, but¡­" Lily glanced over her shoulder. Ketra looked embarrassed, and not in the fun way like when Lily had been teasing her. Now she''s doubting herself and feeling bad¡­ this sucks. Did she make it up as a distraction? No, that doesn''t sound like Ketra at all. Even though I''ve only known her for a day... "Hey¡­" Lily started. A horrible clicking noise cut her off. Lily whipped around, and her eyes went wide as dinner plates. It barrelled out of the fields. Eight legs pumped wildly in coordinated fashion, and a pair of pincers at the front glistened in the sun. Lily shuddered¡ªshe hated bugs, of all shapes and sizes. This wasn''t any ordinary bug though; this was some freakish half-spider, half-man-spider, with a full humanoid torso growing right out of the center and sitting upright. If Lily had hoped the thing would at least have a human body, she was sadly mistaken. The monster was no centaur¡ªthe upper half was covered in chitinous fibers, like a suit of natural black body armor. Its head was similarly pincered as its torso, with a mandible where a mouth would be. The only thing remotely human-like in its face were its beady eyes, but it had strange curved irises instead of round. Worst of all, the spider-thing had a wickedly curved axe in its hands, and it was charging right at Lily. "Vktrel?'' Lily asked, leaping to her feet. No point in trying to be stealthy when the thing''s charging right at me. "Yes!" Ketra loosed an arrow, but the vktrel knocked it aside out of midair. That was insane. I don''t think I can react that fast. Except¡­ she had to, if she didn''t want that axe stuck in her skull. One more second¡­ now! Lily took a long step to the side, just as the vktrel was about to collide with her. It rumbled straight past¡ªbut if Lily was hoping it would just dive right off the cliff, she was sadly mistaken. The vktrel whipped around, barely losing any momentum. Eight legs skittering, it charged right for her again, axe raised high. "C''m''here!" it shouted¡ªin a voice that was distinctly male, if distorted and alien. "...That thing can talk?" Lily asked, even as she twirled out of the way from his next charging attack. The spider monster learned quickly though. It slowed down just as Lily moved away, and took a swing with its axe. Lily caught it with her sword. Heavy axe-head clanged with steel blade as she deflected it away. Lily tried to push it out wide, but the vktrel had her in raw arm strength, and the curved axe had her sword hooked tight. The axe started to slide back inward, and she didn''t feel like she had enough balance to try and stab him with her dagger. Okay, can''t trick him into jumping off a cliff, can''t break his guard with my sword. What do I¡ª wait, where''s Ketra? Lily couldn''t go backward, or she''d lose the contest and the axe would find her side. She couldn''t move into it, and she certainly couldn''t move away from it. The only option left was to drop to the ground and give up the advantage¡­ or go forward, inside his guard. Larali, if this doesn''t work, I blame you. She went for it. The vktrel''s eyes widened¡ªif that were even possible; they hardly seemed expressive compared to human or elf eyes¡ªas Lily dove right at him, abandoning her sword entirely. He awkwardly tried to dart away, but Lily''s left hand was already at his neck, sharp dagger blade pressed to his throat. "Drop it," she growled. Man, I sure hope vktrel care about their necks as much as we do¡­ He froze. His legs stopped trying to skitter away. The axe fell with a soft thump onto the grass. "Ketra?" Lily called, not daring to take her eyes off the thing for a moment. "All good. I took out his friend." Ketra appeared in the corner of her vision, once again cleaning off an arrow. Lily grinned. "How good are you with that bow?" "I get by." Lily turned back to the vktrel. "All right, spill it. Who are you and why''d you attack us?" The guy shook his head, beady eyes refocusing rapidly with a strange eyelid that shrunk in from all directions, like a camera lens. "He''s not going to say anything," said Ketra. She walked up next to Lily and put her hand right on Lily''s dagger wrist. "You can probably let him go." "You sure?" "Hey," said Ketra, turning to the guy. "You going to do anything stupid if we let you go?" He shrugged, which was a very strange humanizing gesture to see on such an off-putting monstrosity. "I''m not going to¡ª" A wet thunk. The vktrel twitched. It stumbled forward. Lily reacted just in time, pushing Ketra out of the way and dodging to the side herself as the thing collapsed to the ground. She twisted around to see a throwing dagger embedded in the back of the thing''s skull¡ªor whatever it was called. "What the hell?" Ketra glanced around. "...Avalynn." She pointed¡ªand sure enough, the missing elf was standing just at the edge of the tall grass. As soon as they spotted her, she walked forward to join them. "Why did you do that?" asked Lily. "He''d surrendered." "Ala dou esusylas dur?" Avalynn smirked. She glanced at Ketra. "Eva dou halna sheves ta nal sekapar?" Lily leaned down and snatched up her sword. She took a step toward Avalynn. "I swear I''m gonna stab something if you don''t start speaking English." "Avalynn," said Ketra sharply. She placed a hand on Lily''s arm, stopping her approach. "Eva seves nara vktrelev tala?" Avalynn shook her head. "Vei toldeka litev." She glanced over toward the cliffs. "Nylavec?" "Nal letevus?" Ketra frowned. "Kavasii deka valensyl." "Okay," said Lily, rounding on Ketra. "Would you please tell me what''s going on?" Ketra gestured down at the vktrel corpse at their feet. "These are both players. Vktrel guilds don''t get along with most of the other guilds, especially the northern alliances. To see any this far south is¡­ not good." "And what did she say?" asked Lily, jerking her head at Avalynn, who was now picking through the body of the other vktrel. "That she didn''t know why they were here either, but that she thinks they might be scouts." "Scouts for what?" "Invasion," said Avalynn, glancing back up. She had plucked an insignia from the pocket of the other vktrel, and held it out. Lily, of course, didn''t have a clue what it meant, but Ketra nodded in an unsettlingly grim way. "So¡­ on top of being trapped in this game, we''re gonna be in the middle of a war?" Lily shook her head. "What does a war even look like in this?" "Not very pretty." Ketra turned back to Avalynn. "Have you seen the others?" Avalynn nodded. "Dellasii rav nara ralaev." "They''re going to the dale," said Ketra, gesturing toward the valley that marked the path down from the Skyldr plateau. "We should probably join them." "Hang on," said Lily. "Avalynn, let me add you to the party." The elf glanced at her, surprised. Avalynn''s violet eyes¡ªmuch harsher than Ketra''s and without the soft glow that seemed to accompany her everywhere¡ªnarrowed, as if expecting a trick of some kind. "Why?" "Because we need to work together," said Lily. Time to be nice, Lily. Persuade her she''s gotta work with us. It''ll make things easier in the long run, and it''ll mean less trouble for Michael in the end¡­ even if she''s as nutty as a squirrel''s nest. "You''re an amazing fighter, and we need you if we''re going to get out of this any time soon." Avalynn hesitated, actually considering her words. For a moment, Lily thought she might have actually gotten through to the girl¡ªright up until her eyes flicked over to Ketra. "Dena nal evv akonec?" Ketra nodded. "Selnou." Avalynn sighed, then turned to Lily and gave a single nod. Lily popped open her menu and scrolled through to the Party menu again. No sooner had the name shifted to Avalynn than it shifted back again. Avalynn turned and started to walk away, following the cliff''s edge toward the dale.
Avalynn Sylvela Sesylf Sylfara
Valensyl Melyn Dektola Maladec sel nara Sylvec
"...Hang on," said Lily slowly. Avalynn stopped. Her foot tapped on the ground impatiently, and Lily knew she was doing it on purpose. "Your interface is in Elvish?" Avalynn glanced over her shoulder at Ketra. The self-satisfied smirk had returned, with even more of an edge than before. "Dou sed onil e hosavel sekapar vacka atev nal dalv." "Se develd, Avalynn," Ketra snapped. Lily could feel the frustration burning off her skin from more than a meter away. "Rav." Avalynn marched away. Ketra took a deep breath, then began to follow, with Lily only a few steps behind. Lily kept quiet for a while, letting Ketra work through whatever feelings she was wrestling with. She didn''t want to interrupt, particularly when she hadn''t exactly worked through her own just yet. So was I just caught up in the moment¡­? I mean, she''s really cool, and she''s really pretty. I could definitely see myself with her. Maybe I''m just crazy and overthinking this. Well, maybe everyone''s crazy. It definitely fits the pattern so far. If I''m not even going to stick around in her world for very long¡­ I wouldn''t want to do that to her. "Hey, Ketra," she murmured. She wanted to stay quiet, so that Avalynn wouldn''t hear¡ªand to her relief, the elf didn''t seem to react. If anything, Avalynn sped up, putting more distance between them along the cliff. "Yeah?" said Ketra, just as quietly. "...So, she was insulting the crap out of me, right?" "Pretty much." Lily grinned. "Anything good?" "No." Ketra smiled. "Thanks." "For what?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "You''re the one she takes orders from." "For¡­ being you." Ketra blushed and turned away. "I''m sorry about before." Lily shook her head, even though Ketra couldn''t see it. The tall, thick grass tickled her legs as a few blades brushed just inside her pant legs. "For what?" "For¡­ you know." "Inviting two giant spider monsters to our nice day out in the sun?" "...Yeah." Ketra glanced back, just in time to see Lily wink. She smiled. "They''re not good company. I should''ve known better." I''ll bring it up another time, Lily decided. After I figure this whole relationships in a virtual world thing out. I don''t want to hurt her. Especially if she''s literally an assassin after all¡ª "Hey, wait a minute." "...What?" asked Ketra, stopping in place. She seemed uncertain, but Lily didn''t pay her any mind. Something else had leapt to the forefront of her brain¡ªsomething off about the menu she''d just seen. "Check your party screen." Ketra did so without question, pulling up her menu. Lily stood next to her, leaning over her shoulder to watch as the menu popped up. Her hair really does smell ni¡ª focus, Lily! As soon as the party list came up, Ketra scrolled down through it, one at a time. Lily stopped her when they reached the end, where Avalynn''s details waited. Lily pointed at the end of it, where the word ''Unbound'' usually sat. She had no idea what the Elvish equivalent would be, but she knew it wasn''t that. Ketra frowned. "She bound herself to Masnas already." "Yeah¡­ how, exactly?" Ketra gasped. She closed the menu and started walking again, hurrying to catch up with Avalynn. "She''d have to get in contact with them, and we don''t have any operatives in this whole area. Which means¡ª" "Which means she can cast Message," Lily concluded. [Discord] ¡ª [TLS] ¡ª [Rate] ¡ª [Follow] ¡ª [Patreon] Chapter 10 — South of Skyldr II Chapter 10 ¡ª South of Skyldr II
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Cloudy Unbound
Avalynn Sylvela Sesylf Sylfara
Valensyl Melyn Dektola Maladec sel nara Sylvec
Ketra picked up the pace, but Lily grabbed her by the hand before she could get too far. A spark of energy jumped between them¡ªlike an electric shock on Lily''s skin. Ketra blinked and turned to look at her. She didn''t let go. "...Don''t say anything yet," said Lily. "What?" "I mean¡­ Okay," said Lily, glancing at the departing forest-green cloak that marked Avalynn. "Tell me if I''m wrong, but you outrank her in Masnas, yeah?" Ketra nodded slowly. "And that''s why she''s been doing everything you tell her to do." "And why she''ll cast Message when I ask," said Ketra. Lily shook her head. "No offense, but she clearly doesn''t like you." Ketra smirked. "I noticed." "Yeah, she''s an idiot. You''re amazing," said Lily, surprising herself. Ketra blushed, but Lily kept talking before it became a thing. "If we''re going to confront the crazy assassin, I''d like to do it with some backup." "She''s not going to fight us," said Ketra doubtfully. "In case you forgot, we''re trapped in here right now¡­" Lily shook her head. "I don''t want to tell her we know, then have her slip away before we can get her to Michael and have him send the message." Ketra hesitated. "...Okay." She seemed hurt, somehow. Lily wasn''t sure what to read into it. "Okay?" "Yes." Ketra turned to start walking again¡ªbut didn''t let go of Lily''s hand. I guess that''s a good sign¡­ What did I say? "We should meet up with the others." The wind whipped at them as they walked, crashing across the cliffs in invisible waves that sent Ketra''s hair fluttering. She pulled on her hood tighter to try and hold it back, but the wind would catch it every so often and blow it off. After the third or fourth failed attempt, Lily couldn''t hold back another laugh. "What?" asked Ketra, glancing over at her. "It''s never going to work," Lily chuckled. "That''s the curse of long hair." "I''ve never had long hair before," she muttered. "It keeps blowing in my face." Lily grinned. "I used to. I''ve got a trick¡ªhere, sit down a sec." She stopped walking, and had Ketra sit down on a small pile of rocks nearby. A shadow passed over the sun, and then another. Ketra glanced up as Lily dug through the little pouch for something she''d spotted in the farmhouse. "Clouds are coming in." "Hmm," said Lily noncommittally. She dug out a small cloth wrap, one she''d found in a drawer near the bed. Good thing I grab up every single thing that seems remotely useful in games. "Gotcha." "...What are you doing, exactly?" said Ketra. Lily smiled. "Don''t complain, this is gonna make your day a whole lot better." She sat up and gestured at Ketra with a finger. "Now turn around." Ketra did, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "What are you doing?" "Giving you a crown." Lily set to work, braiding Ketra''s hair as fast as she could. She''d found a simple style that still looked pretty good even with just five minutes and a single band¡ªinvaluable when she had to get to a sponsorship or a tournament straight from practice. Most of the time, a single elastic band was the best she could do. The cloth she found wasn''t elastic, but it was thin and strong enough to tie up and probably stay in place. "...There." Ketra felt around the back of her head, where Lily had tugged the two braids together. Her hair was still blowing around, but at least it was out of her face. She glanced up at Lily. "How does it look?" "Honestly? Real-me would kill for your hair," said Lily, smiling. Not really¡ªI cut my hair short for a reason¡­ Too much work and too uncomfortable in the Riposte equipment. But if I didn''t have to worry about that¡­ "Now come on." She held out her hand, and Ketra pulled herself back up. A faint rushing sound began to fill their ears as they hurried along the cliff. Avalynn was now just a speck in the distance¡ªalong with a whole group of other specks, seven in all. They were already heading down the slope into the wide valley beyond. Above, thick puffy clouds were rolling in, threatening to overwhelm the pleasant sky Lily had been enjoying all morning. Ketra noticed as well, and picked up the pace. They hurried on in silence, gaining on Avalynn little by little. While the other elf was certainly nimble and undeniably skilled at sneaking around, she wasn''t quite as fast as the rest. By the time they finally reached the rest of the group, Avalynn was only a few steps ahead. Ketra let go of Lily''s hand as they got close¡ªto her mixed surprise and disappointment. Lily did her best to shrug it off, but it stung a little. Of course, Ketra''s huge friend with the broadsword wasn''t about to let that stop her. "Where did you two get off to?" asked Larali, beaming with smugness. Ketra shook her head. "We got split up after you decided to steal half of the goods in Skyldr." "We were hungry!" said Phoenixia indignantly. "And everything there was way overpriced." Larali shrugged. "Worked out okay, didn''t it?" "Well, Ketra got shot," said Lily, rolling her eyes. "You did?" asked Larali. Ketra shrugged. "I got careless." "I don''t see any blood..." said Michael, peering at them curiously. Ketra blushed, but Lily was ready for it. She stepped in, trying to deflect attention. "I healed her. And by the way¡ªwhat the hell was that ''learning spells'' effect? I felt like my head was gonna explode." "Oh," said Michael, wincing. To Lily''s relief, everyone''s attention shifted straight back to him. "Yeah, I forgot how much I turned it up. I kinda got used to it, so I kept pushing the effect up every couple of tests¡­ Too much?" Lily was about to retort when Avalynn cut her off, pointing at the sky. "It will rain soon," she said shortly. "...Ugh," said Shirogane. "Best we get movin''. Don''t wanna get caught." Kevin smirked at him, his hand playing idly with the rapier at his belt. "Afraid to get wet, Shiro?" "You ever been stuck in a rainstorm, kid?" He shrugged. "Wasn''t so bad." Michael shook his head. "Simon, this isn''t like back home. It''s way less humid, and the rain''s a lot more pure. No acid rains either." He smiled. "You could even drink it, if you want." Shirogane frowned. "Whatever, Mike. Let''s just get goin''." *** As Avalynn predicted, it started raining as soon as they reached the bridge across the river, just south of the cliffs. The humans among them¡ªRequiant, Manifold, Larali and Shirogane¡ªpulled on hoods, but all of the elves basked in the rain like it was still bright and sunny out. Lily, seeing Susanoo stare up into the curtain of rain with a wide grin on his face, stubbornly refused to put on her own hood. It wasn''t exactly pleasant, but Lily did feel a bit refreshed by the downpour. After the day she''d had so far, it was nice to have something that filled up every sensation at once, from the cool drops on her skin to the constant rushing sound of the impacts on the grass and the wooden bridge. The river beneath was flowing fast and hard, as it crashed from the waterfall on the cliffs above and took a route south, presumably to the sea. Lily wasn''t sure if there was a sea, but after what she''d seen, she didn''t doubt it. They didn''t slow down their pace, though, as the group crossed over the bridge and started toward the fort Lily had spotted. It stood tall over the small farms and fields surrounding, and she could even see a proper muddy road dug into the opposite side, leading out into the southeast. It looked like proper civilization at last, compared to the thick forests of the Haalfwood or the cramped and haphazard village of Skyldr. To her surprise, though, Avalynn steered them away, into a thick copse of trees that gave them cover from the fort. As they took cover from the thickening deluge, Avalynn took Ketra aside. The others found spots under trees, and Lily took the opportunity to drag her brother aside for some questioning. "What''s up?" he asked, after she''d pulled him out to the edge of the woods and triple-checked with him that nobody could overhear them. "Well, first off," said Lily, "you should know that Avalynn can cast Message. We could use her to get in contact with your coworker." Michael nodded. "Ketra already let me know." "She did?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "...When, exactly? I was right next to her the whole time." "Party whisper," said Michael. "Do what now?" He grinned. "You really gotta keep up, Lily. You''re falling behind here." "Bet I can still kick your ass." Michael winced. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Whisper is another spell like Message. Way more people know that one. It''s still not easy, but it lets you talk privately to one party member. Nobody can hear you." He glanced over his shoulder toward the group. "On that note¡­ we should probably use it." "I don''t know how," said Lily pointedly. "And there''s a few times where that would''ve been really nice, you know." "Oh?" She blushed. "Just teach me the spell already." Michael grinned. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a little leather book¡ªfrayed at the edges with uneven parchment paper stuck into it, but still reasonably intact. He licked a finger and started flipping through it, landing on a page with odd looping writing that flowed between every letter, like cursive but with more apparent individual letters than she remembered. More importantly¡­ she couldn''t read a word. "What do I do now?" "Just try to read it." Michael shrugged. "It should just work." Lily shook her head, but bent in and let her eyes drift across the words anyway. As she did, the same thing happened as before¡ªher mind seemed to fling itself straight out of her head at a million kilometers an hour, before crashing back in again with all the force of a gunshot. She swung back and forth in place a few times, blood pumping wildly through her veins. A few deep breaths and she stabilized, but it was still a huge rush. "Any better?" Michael asked, curious. She raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, no, that''s still way over the top. But at least I know how to cast that stupid spell now." He winced. "I''ll cast it this time, if that makes it any better." Michael made a couple gestures in midair, then made a snatching motion at his lips¡ªas if taking something from his mouth. When he spoke next, his voice had a strange echo to it, like a faint reverb despite the thick forest and crashing rain around them. "Hear me?" "Unfortunately." Michael grinned. "Okay, so what did you want to talk about?" "Well, for starters¡­" Lily trailed off. Avalynn, Ketra, or the supposed invasion that''s coming? Or¡­ man, I''m getting distracted. I need to get back home, that''s what I need. "How does the content director for the game not know how to cast spells in his own game?" He laughed. "Because I never learned them. The spell coding team implemented them, and the lore gurus make sure they fit with existing worldbuilding. I want to live here too, so I play by the same rules as everybody else." "But you already know where everything is, don''t you?" "Doesn''t matter." He shrugged. "Don''t worry, Lily. I''m sure we''ll figure something out." Lily sighed. "I know, I just¡­" "Aren''t you having fun here?" He glanced over his shoulder at the group. "I mean, I can''t blame you if you don''t like everybody." "You invited my ex," Lily snapped, startling herself. Michael''s face fell. He turned back around, eyes wide and softening fast. "...I didn''t know," he muttered.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "You didn''t hear the rumors?" He shook his head. "I thought you guys were just friends or something. I knew you were rivals, but¡­" Lily sighed. "Honest mistake, Michael?" Michael nodded. "Seriously. I''m sorry." He shook his head. "I picked him because I figured having two of the biggest names in esports would help sell this. I would never have invited him if I knew. You want me to make him¡ª" "No," said Lily quickly. "I can handle Kevin. But¡­ just, don''t bring it up, okay? I don''t want anybody to know." "Never," he replied, nodding. "...Can I ask you something, though?" Here it comes¡­ Lily took a seat against the nook of the tree, breathing in the thick pine scent and the petrichor from the rain still pouring down around them. "What?" Michael sat down next to her, concern still thick in his expression. "You okay?" "Huh?" "You just seem really off right now, Lily," he continued. "Is it because of Kevin?" Lily shrugged. "Partly, I guess." She glanced over at the group again. Ketra and Avalynn were watching the fort in silence, while the other six had managed to start a little fire. Phoenixia danced around it with glee while Larali and Shirogane talked, seated on an overturned log. Further away, Susanoo was demonstrating something with his rapier to Requiant and Manifold¡ªno doubt showing off his technique. He can never stop showing off. "How long does this whisper thing last?" "As long as I hold the spell open," said Michael. "Doesn''t that hurt?" "No, but I use the other method." He pointed at his eyes¡ªand sure enough, there were even more tinges of strange coloration flickering through his eyes, like a multi-colored fog within the orb. "I like to keep myself floating around the ''infused'' level, so that some of my spells are more powerful." Lily frowned. "What does that mean, exactly?" "Means the world can shift in and out of view for me, for one." Michael grinned. "It''s really trippy, since I get to see the aetherworld sometimes instead." "The what now?" "Basically, the inverted, corrupt version of Avo. It''s where corrupt souls go to die, lore-wise." He shrugged. "In gameplay terms, it''s just where corruption-based magic gets its energy." "And if you go too far?" Lily asked. "Do you just¡­ die?" "Nah, that''s too easy." Michael smirked. "You start getting serious penalties to other things, especially physical abilities. If you wanted to be a spellsword, for instance, you definitely wouldn''t want to use corrupt magic." A brief vision of herself¡ªsword and dagger in hand, blasting aside enemies with gusts of wind and setting up her moves with magic¡ªflashed through Lily''s mind. "Spellsword sounds fun," she smiled. Plus, that means I can do useful magic like Message and healing stuff, too¡­ Maybe even hear Ketra giggle again. That''s definitely worth it. "Yeah, you''re already on the right path for that," said Michael. "You learned two spells already, and if you want, I can teach you a couple more." He grinned. "You''d be pretty awesome at it." "You think?" Lily said, smirking. Michael laughed. "We should probably get moving soon." "Hang on¡­" said Lily, stopping him before he could get up. I really need to bounce this off somebody before it gets into my head at the wrong moment, and he''s the only person around who I can bear to talk to. "Real talk." His expression hardened. They never used the phrase ''real talk'' unless it was something personal. Michael nodded. "What''s up?" Lily took a deep breath, blinking a few times to clear her eyes from some rainwater that had dripped down onto her face. "...Have you ever heard of people in your game¡­ dating?" Michael raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, a few times. I mean, I don''t really look into it, but I''d guess it happens as often as anything." He frowned. "Why?" "But¡­ like, as characters, or as people?" He shrugged. "I don''t really see the distinction, to be honest." "But¡ª" Lily shook her head. "That''s crazy. Isn''t it basically lying that way, if they''re acting as characters but still going out?" Michael glanced over at her. "This character''s just an extension of you, same as how you present yourself in a date. They''re all just different sides of the real you, one way or another. It''s not like anybody in here assumes you''re being totally honest. They think you''re playing a character, so you are. I say let people do what they want, and hope something good comes out of it." He sighed. "Of course, we get a fair amount of harassment support requests from people trying to get rid of stalking exes, so¡­" She winced. "So it''s a bad idea." Michael shrugged. "I went out with a girl I met through Avo. I didn''t think it was a bad idea." Lily cocked her head to the side. "Seriously? Who?" He grinned nervously. "You remember Hilary?" "Oh man! No wonder she was so weird!" "Hey!" Michael snapped indignantly. "She was cool." Lily laughed. "Yeah, she was. Mom really didn''t agree though." "Mom''s just annoyed she''s probably never getting grandkids," said Michael with another shrug. "I''m already older than she was when she had you, and you made it pretty clear you weren''t interested." She sighed. "Yeah¡­" And she looked so disappointed¡­ ugh. "Back on topic, though," said Michael, glancing back to his sister. A bit of the inquisitive eye was back in his expression. "It''s none of my business, and feel free to tell me to screw off, but¡­ you were talking about somebody else in the group here, right?" "...How''d you know?" Michael rolled his eyes. "Because the only other game you play is a one-on-one fighting game without any characters. Come on, Lily, I''m not that stupid." "Okay, fine." Another wave of heat billowed up into her cheeks, and Lily glanced away again. Unfortunately, her eyes fell right onto Ketra¡ªfar across the clearing, watching the fort with her bow tucked under her arm. Her hair was soaked and shiny, but the little crown braid Lily put together was still firmly in place, and the bare skin of her arms glistened with rainwater. Lily felt her heartbeat double-up as she watched¡ªand Michael didn''t miss it. "...Oh," he said dumbly. "What?" Lily asked, snapping back to her brother as the fire burning inside her skull doubled over in intensity. "I didn''t¡ª" He gulped. "I didn''t know you were¡­" Lily sighed. Well, ten years of keeping that secret and it all gets tossed out by one badly-timed glance at another girl. "Okay, seriously, don''t tell anyone?" "Of course not," said Michael. "But¡­ just to be clear, you are¡ª" "Bisexual. Kind of," Lily finished impatiently. "Can we move on, please?" "I mean, you brought it up¡­" Lily rolled her eyes. "Says the guy who included sex settings in his VR game." Michael smiled cautiously. "We didn''t really mean to make that possible, but¡­" "But the neural thing makes it real and all that, yeah." Lily shook her head. "You know what the press is gonna say when they get ahold of that?" "It''s almost the twenty-second century," said Michael with a shrug. "This shouldn''t be a big deal anymore." "Say that again live online," said Lily. "Think of the children, bro." She frowned. "Speaking of which¡­ Phoenixia¡­" "Is eighteen," said Michael. "Seriously." "But she acts like¡ª" "She''s a special case. Not that kind of special," he added, seeing Lily''s expression. "I''m sworn to secrecy about everybody, but¡­ I promise. Mentally, she''s a one-hundred-percent typical eighteen year old." "...Okay," said Lily. "I believe you." "So¡­" said Michael, after a short pause. "Have you told Ketra?" Lily winced. "...Yeah. Kind-of." "What does ''kind-of'' mean?" She looked away, pointedly in the opposite direction from Ketra this time. "Means that your stupid white fog barrier thing completely ruined the moment." "...Ouch." Lily jerked back around, too indignant to be embarrassed. "Seriously?" Michael smiled. "Relax, sestra." "Relax?" Lily shook her head. "I was having a really great time alone with a really cool girl, then I finally work up the courage to go for a kiss and I got blocked by my brother''s crappy software." "Manifold''s, actually," said Michael, shrugging. "I wanted to let people do whatever they liked, but he made a pretty good point about balancing freedom with just how abusive that could get. He implemented that system." "But¡­" Lily hesitated. "Yeah, okay, that''s a good point, but still¡ª" "Ketra''s smart, Lily," said Michael. "If she likes you anywhere near as much as you''re hot for her," he added with a smirk, "you''ll get another shot." Lily sighed. "I just want to get out of this and go home already." "Working on it," said Michael. "Avalynn said Luciy is offline, so we''ve gotta wait til she''s checked in. She usually logs in around ten A.M., after doing all the morning rounds and handling daily maintenance stuff." "So what happens if the server goes down while we''re logged in?" asked Lily. "It already did." "...Huh?" Michael grinned. "While we were asleep. We do daily maintenance on the main server, usually down for about half an hour. If we were awake, you would have passed out wherever you were standing." "And if I''m in the middle of climbing a cliff or something?" "Don''t climb cliffs before downtime?" Michael shrugged. "It''s right at midnight every night, so roughly every twenty-and-a-half hours. You can tell because Annum is at the peak of its orbit¡ªthe second moon," he explained to Lily''s blank expression. "The first one is Sennum." "...Okay." She frowned. "Why is it twenty-and-a-half, anyway?" "Best amount of time for an MMO day," said Michael. "It still feels like a full day, but it means people logging in after work will get a different time of day every day of the week, and it resets on a seven-day cycle. So Monday''s always the same time, Tuesday is too, and so on. Lets people actually get to see everything, and still be able to schedule things pretty well." "You''re such a nerd," Lily smirked. "Says the girl whose career is playing video games," Michael shot back. "Winning video games," Lily grinned. She got to her feet. "We should get moving then, right? I thought we were still heading to Atevusylvec while we wait." "You learned the name!" Michael grinned. "Corrupting you one step at a time, sestra." Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it''s still a cool game. Just fix the whole death-trap part and maybe I''ll come back one day." "You''ll have to, if you want to spend more time with your girlfriend." She punched him in the arm, hard. Michael cackled with glee. "...Should never have told you," Lily grumbled. "Seriously, though," said Michael, coughing back laughter. "You''re really obvious, Lily. You should probably figure that out soon, if you don''t want everybody to find out on their own." He made another gesture with his hand, and the vague reverb on his voice vanished. "See ya." Lily stayed by the tree, still thinking, with Ketra in the corner of her eye. Maybe I''m just overthinking this. She knows it''s a game, even though she doesn''t treat it like one, and she was just as interested. I should go ask her¡­ no, I need to get us moving. Somebody''s gotta take charge of this group. We''re just wandering around without a leader, getting split up and screwing around. But¡­ if it comes up again¡­ if Ketra and I get another moment alone like that¡­ I''d really like to kiss her this time.
Liquin
NVR BETA - Pain: Normal Corruption Effects: Full
NVR BETA - Fatigue: Normal Back to Menu
NVR BETA - Intimacy: Closed NVR BETA - Temperature: Normal
She stared at the screen, and tapped down on her left pinky. The setting changed from Closed to Allowed. Just in case. *** Lily walked into the center of the copse of trees, right next to the little campfire. Phoenixia looked up from her spot on a pile of leaves, wide-eyed. "Liquin?" "Hey, everybody!" Lily called out. Heads snapped around to look at her. Ketra and Avalynn glanced over from their spot at the edge of the trees, gazing out over the rain-swept fields toward the fort. "Something important to talk about." "Lily¡­" said Michael slowly. "What''s up?" "We gotta tell ''em," said Lily. "Everybody here''s trustworthy, you said so yourself, and they''re gonna find out sooner or later." "Tell us what?" asked Larali, sitting up straight. Her broadsword gleamed ominously from her back. "We can''t logout," said Lily, without preamble. It took a few seconds for it to really register with the others. Manifold''s jaw fell open almost right away, and Phoenixia let out a little gasp of shock. Larali took a little longer, but soon enough she too was gaping at Lily. Susanoo seemed seriously upset. Requiant was unreadable at first, but Lily noticed him clenching and unclenching the hilt of his longsword. He wasn''t particularly happy, either. Well, they might be your hardcore players, but they don''t like getting trapped in here either¡­ Sorry, Michael. Lily went on, before anyone could speak up. Take charge, tell them everything frankly. Trust is how you forge a team, and if we get split up, this is really gonna suck. "We''re going to get in touch with one of MVG''s employees. They''ll be able to figure out what''s going wrong and fix it." "...Not exactly," Manifold interrupted, wiping his brow with his sleeve. "They can''t deploy new code to the server without Michael''s login." "It''ll be a few hours before we can get in touch with them. In the meantime," Lily went on, glaring at him for the unnecessary distraction, "we''re heading to Atevusylvec as somewhere safe, so nobody dies and gets split up. Sound good?" "I wouldn''t exactly call Atevusylvec safe," muttered Larali. "It''s safer than the middle of nowhere," said Michael. Requiant shook his head. "They hate humans. They''ll turn us away." "Bunch of assholes, really," agreed Larali. "Dou essey sev kilsvevas," said Avalynn, flicking her head dismissively. "She said ''you deserve to be hated''," said Ketra, "which is exactly why we''re hated," she added, glaring at her companion. Avalynn ignored her. "They won''t turn away guests in need," said Phoenixia. "If we ask for sanctuary, elves are bound by the stars to grant it." She glanced around at the other two¡ªLily barely considered Kevin an elf, no matter his appearance, and Phoenixia seemed to think the same¡ªfor confirmation. "That''s how we always did it in the East. You two are both Northern elves, right?" Avalynn continued to ignore her, walking back to the edge of the trees. Yeah, I figured that was coming. She''s already in the party though. Ketra nodded. "We observe sanctuary rights too." "Cool," said Lily. "So that''s where we''re heading." She glanced around. "Everybody who''s not in my party, I''m going to add you." "You''re the leader now?" asked Requiant waspishly. "I don''t remember a vote." "Do we need a leader?" said Phoenixia. "I thought we did okay before." "Until this is fixed, I want to stick together," said Lily firmly. "What if you get split up, and we need you for something? This place is huge. It could take years to find you again." "We''ll just respawn back at the Haalfwood, right?" said Shirogane, glancing at Michael. He nodded, but Manifold cut him off. "No. You could appear anywhere," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "The code didn''t get applied to the respawn method, only the initial creation class." He glanced at Michael, embarrassed. "I was going to mention it, but you were already plugged in." Michael frowned. He sounded angry. "You looked at my code?" "I''m sorr¡ª" "If he hadn''t," Kevin interrupted, "we wouldn''t have known that. Lay off, man." We''re getting off track again. Lily took a step forward, nearly standing right on top of the fire by now. "So yeah, we''re sticking together. Leave your party so I can add you." Requiant opened his mouth again, but Kevin¡ªof all people¡ªcut him off, in support of Lily. "Liquin''s right, and she''s the smartest fighter here. Just do as she says." His tone didn''t allow for any argument. Lily was used to hearing that tone against her, not on her side. It was¡­ weirdly comforting. ...Thanks, Kevin. Even if you''re probably gonna stab me in the back later somehow, that was nice.
Manifold Human Artificer
Healthy Able Faded Four Fjords Alliance
Susanoo Umehara Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Requiant Volavus Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Shirogane Kei Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
"Okay, cool," said Lily, turning back toward the fort. I wonder what Artificer means, or Explorer on Michael''s. Maybe mine will be Spellsword eventually. That''d be cool. "So, now we just have to get¡ª" "Trouble," said Avalynn. Of course there is. Lily hurried up to the edge of the trees, Ketra only a few steps behind. They crouched down beside her. "What''s going on?" Lily asked, straining her eyes to see. "The fort belongs to Felnir," said Ketra, "the nearest town. I can''t quite tell, but it looks like a¡­ Avalynn, call it." "Twelve soldiers," murmured Avalynn. "Ones nyvalec?" "No," said Ketra. "They look like a typical patrol, not scouts. The real question is why they''re up here." "Can we get around them?" asked Lily. "There''s no other route to Atevusylvec, unless you want to go all the way south to Hassur." Ketra sighed. "That''d be several days worth of travel, and it''d take us much closer to Felnir." "Felnir has a truce with the elves, right?" "With the Syldarei Kingdom," Ketra corrected. "Which neither of us¡­ well, the Syldareis aren''t exactly fans of our organization." "Dellis se caro," said Avalynn dismissively. "What about stealth?" asked Lily, glancing at Avalynn. "Can you sneak us around them?" "Sed e¡ª" "Avalynn," said Ketra sharply. Avalynn sighed. She turned to Lily, looking exceedingly bored. "Yes. We should go now, while it''s still raining." "Cool." Lily rubbed her hands together in excitement. If I''m really stuck here, I''m at least gonna try to have some fun. "Thanks, Avalynn," she added. "You''re a lot better at it than we are." She turned away without comment. Lily rolled her eyes, but Ketra gave her a tiny nod, mouthing ''good''. Ketra smiled¡ªand it sent a little burst of warmth through Lily''s cold, wet hands. Lily looked over her shoulder to the rest of the group. "Everybody ready?" A chorus of nods and affirmatives. They gripped their weapons tight, though if everything went to plan, they wouldn''t actually get into a fight. Lily grinned. "All right then. Let''s sneak past an army." Chapter 11 — South of Skyldr III Chapter 11 ¡ª South of Skyldr III
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Healthy Invigorated Infused Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Cloudy Unbound
Avalynn Sylvela Sesylf Sylfara
Valensyl Melyn Dektola Maladec sel nara Sylvec
Manifold Human Artificer
Healthy Able Faded Four Fjords Alliance
Susanoo Umehara Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Requiant Volavus Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Shirogane Kei Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
An army was a bit of an exaggeration, Lily realized, as she finally got a glimpse of the soldiers. There were just twelve of them, just like Ketra said. They had matching armor sets and huge emblems for Felnir emblazoned on their shields, but their attitude didn''t exactly evoke the military Ketra had implied. Pretty disappointing, really¡­ Avalynn took the lead, crawling through the rain-slicked grass and mud. The steady rain covered the rustling sounds of their movement well enough, and the grass was so tall that Lily couldn''t see the fort anymore. Every few meters, Lily flinched at an errant sound, thinking they might have been spotted, but nothing ever came. "Ugh," said Ketra, crawling in front of Lily. She had slipped in a particularly bad patch of mud, staining her cloak brown. Lily grinned. "What''s wrong with a little mud?" Ketra shook her head, grimacing. She turned back forward and kept crawling, while Lily smirked. They pressed on, a ragged line of ten, with Avalynn and Ketra in the lead, while Michael and Simon brought up the rear. Lily''s blades clacked against her legs as she crawled, tied up high on her belt as best she could manage. At least weapons are basically waterproof here¡­ Rust was just a gameplay gimmick, not a real concern. Michael assured her that she didn''t need to worry about tetanus¡ªand, while she might be freezing from the constant rain, it wasn''t about to send her off to an early pneumonia-borne grave. Much more of a concern, though, were Lily''s chattering teeth and shaking arms. She might not die or get sick, but she definitely felt diminished by the cold storm drenching her from above. Just a little bit further, she reminded herself. As soon as we get into the forest, we''re good, and Nixie''s gonna light us a nice fire, and I can curl up next to it. Wait, no, as soon as I think that¡ª Lily''s fears were instantly realized. A curious voice spoke up, only a few meters away. "Oi, who''s that there?" Without hesitating, Lily reached forward and tapped the bow clutched in Ketra''s hands. Ketra rose to her knees, just as the curious soldier took a step closer. "You didn''t see anything," said Ketra, arrow already notched to the string and pulled back. She moved so smoothly, so gracefully¡ªLily was surprised she made a single sound as she revealed herself. Only a faint rustle of the grass reminder her that Ketra was still human¡­ so to speak. I can''t move like that. "Return to your patrol." "Who the hell are you people?" he asked. The guy''s hand dropped onto the hilt of his sword, but he didn''t draw it yet. They hadn''t gotten into a real fight. Lily didn''t want this fight, especially not from their disadvantageous position flat on the ground. "Just passing through," Ketra replied. Her hand was steady on the bowstring, in sharp contrast to Lily''s shivering arms and legs. I hate being cold so much¡­ ugh. "We''re no concern of yours." "Huh. So what''s with the stealth mission?" Okay, definitely a player then. Lily got to her knees, looking up at the guy. He''d obviously seen her, if he could see Ketra¡ªand so far, he didn''t seem inclined to call for backup. If they were going to get away without a fight, they needed to persuade this guy to let them go. Simple enough. "We weren''t sure if the whole truce thing was still going," said Lily. "Wanted to play it safe." He frowned. "You aren''t an elf." Lily shrugged. "I''m branching out." The guard didn''t seem too suspicious. He looked bored, if anything¡ªand thanks to the face-tracking built into the headsets normal players used, Lily could actually trust his expression. She relaxed, taking her hand off her sword and smiling at the guy. "All good?" He sighed. "Yeah, sure. Just one thing, though." Oh, come on! Just let us go! Lily fumed¡ªjust before her fear turned to dread as the guard looked up toward Avalynn. "I need those two to join my party for a sec." "...Why?" asked Lily. What''s that gonna do? She didn''t get an answer. Avalynn made a sudden movement with her arm, and a small dark object hit the mud between them. Thick black smoke billowed forth, filling Lily''s lungs in an instant. She coughed hard and fell back, stumbling out of the smoke. As she moved, she heard a rush of light footsteps sloshing through the mud¡­ followed by a sickening slice and a dull thump on the grass. As the smoke blew away in the wind, Lily twisted around to see Avalynn standing on the guard''s fresh corpse, her dagger slick with blood from his freshly-slit throat. "Why?" Lily hissed. Avalynn smirked and turned away, making to flee¡ªonly to be stopped short as an arrow thudded into the tall grass inches away. The elf froze. A roar rose into the air from the direction of the fort. Lily whipped around, springing to her feet and drawing her blades. As she feared, the rest of the soldiers had spotted them¡ªand seen their comrade fall. "Plan B!" shouted Lily. "Yup!" Phoenixia replied. A second later, a bright purple arcane bolt stabbed out into the open field. It stabbed through the rain and struck one of the charging soldiers, causing him to stumble a bit and fall behind. The rest weren''t slowed in the slightest, with a full eight soldiers barreling for Lily and her two companions. The other three raised bows and continued to loose arrows at a withering pace¡ªthough with gratifyingly poor accuracy. Phoenixia got right to work, firing a steady stream of purple bolts at anyone she could see. Lily ducked under one that slammed into the fastest soldier of the group¡ªonly a couple meters away from her. As he stumbled, a ragged gap sprouted open in his weak leather armor. Lily took the opening. She lunged forward, stabbing straight ahead with her sword. The blade slid in easily, opening a red hole in the man''s stomach. He shrugged it off with a player''s ambivalence to pain and took a wide swipe at Lily''s shoulder. She had to pull out and triple-step backward to avoid getting sliced¡ªnearly stumbling over Larali in the process, who''d just begun to stand up behind her. "Sorry!" Lily cried out, quickly moving out of the way. Larali just laughed as she stood up tall¡ªtaller than any of the group. She whipped her broadsword off her back, let out a huge roar, and charged. The guard Lily had already stabbed only had a split-second to react before Larali barreled through him, broadsword leading the way. From the way he fell, Lily doubted he''d draw another breath. An arrow whipping past her shoulder reminded her she wasn''t out of the woods yet. Ketra had landed an arrow in one of the archers with a straight shot, but the guy wasn''t down yet. "Give him another!" Lily shouted, ducking as an arrow came back in return. She tried to slap it out of the air with her dagger, but it was too fast for her. Lily glanced over her shoulder in a panic¡ªonly to see the arrow fly harmlessly off into the distance, missing everyone. In return, Ketra smiled at her, just as her fingers gently let slip her bowstring. Ketra''s return arrow thudded home. One archer down. Lily didn''t have time to celebrate though¡ªtwo soldiers had decided she looked like an easy target and bore down on her. She couldn''t blame them; compared to the laughing, crazed Larali and her gigantic blade, a lithe girl with a shortsword and a dagger would seem easy pickings. Lily let them close in, dancing out of each slice with a simple half-circle twirl. She slapped one blade aside, then another¡ªbut these weren''t just simple A.I. bandits. They knew how to work in a pair, and every time she got an opening on one, the other was ready to step in. Lily needed a new advantage.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. She scanned the area with her next half-twirl. Michael, Shirogane, and Manifold were battling another pair of soldiers. Avalynn and Susanoo had lured one away into a trap, with Avalynn acting as bait to pull him into Susanoo''s waiting rapier. As soon as the soldier lost sight of Avalynn, Susanoo emerged with a quick stab, poking another hole before fading away again into the pillars of smoke. The hapless guy looked around, only to find Avalynn again, repeating the whole cycle. Phoenixia was still lobbing arcane bolts across the field at the two archers, but they were dodging them as fast as she threw them. The girl shouted increasingly colorful curses with each failed throw. Ketra was playing support to Larali''s furious rampage through the other four soldiers, an arrow for each as soon as Larali caught them off guard with a surprisingly fast swing of her massive sword. Another slash at Lily''s side, close enough to cut the fabric of her shirt. Holy crap, that''s a sharp blade¡­ She''d gotten lazy, dodging back from their slashes. They''d picked up on a pattern. Lily refocused on her opponents. Step back. The first soldier moved in, and Lily slapped his sword aside. The second was already moving forward, expecting Lily to twirl away again¡ªonly she moved forward. His eyes widened as her dagger cut across his arm, marking a bright red line where he''d opened his guard. Lily wanted to go for something more vital, but the first guy was too close. She had to back away again. They''re too smart, and they cover each other too well. I need backup¡­ but everybody''s busy. Lily tried again. Another step back, another open guard, and another slice to the arm. It worked¡ªbut as she pulled away, the second guard''s sword was suddenly there. Lily side-stepped straight into it, and the cold metal jabbed into her side. Sharp pain shot through her body as the blade opened up a wide cut in her torso. Lily stumbled, panting. Her guard was wide open. She pulled back, but they could have finished her off without any problem. She knew it¡ªand from the satisfied look on the first guy''s face, he knew it too. He stepped in, swinging without a moment''s hesitation. His sword bashed right into Requiant''s shield. The one party member she''d totally forgotten. Requiant dove in front of her, shield raised. He shoved it outward, and the surprised guard stumbled back. Requiaint didn''t hesitate, stabbing forward to catch the guy in mid-fall. His own attack was ungainly and awkward, but it didn''t matter¡ªnobody could miss a stab on somebody that wide open. Requian''t sword stuck straight through his torso, sticking out as the guy fell like a tree suddenly planted in the ground. "Thanks," Lily coughed, the warm metallic taste of blood filling her mouth. She rushed forward nonetheless, as the lone second guard wasn''t any match for her one-on-one. Step, step-step, twirl left. Even with the slash to her side, Lily was still at the height of her abilities thanks to the sheer adrenaline pumping through her blood. She stepped in, stepped out again, and waited for her opening. The guy wasn''t as willing to give up his guard without his partner, but Lily knew she''d find it. Requiant, to his credit, stayed back¡ªhe would have just gotten in the way of a tense duel like hers. Step left, step forward, wait for him to slash¡­ gotcha. The soldier saw an opening¡ªor rather, he thought he saw one. Lily smirked as he overcommitted. She had him. He lunged, but Lily wasn''t there anymore. She stepped right past him in a full twirl, blades extended. Both sword and dagger sliced right through his chest, opening long twin cuts in his side. He stumbled and fell, the game forcing him down from the sheer breadth of damage. I''ve got that on normal players. The game can''t force me down if I don''t want to go down. Lily stepped back around, and plunged her dagger through the back of his neck, ending him. "Liquin!" called Ketra, with a note of panic. Lily whirled around, blood flying off her dagger and mixing with the rain. Larali was hurt, but that wasn''t the real problem. The huge woman seemed just fine, despite the open wounds she sported on both arms. No, the real problem were the two who''d broken off from their melee to chase Ketra¡ªwho had found herself without a single arrow remaining. Lily didn''t hesitate. She charged across the battlefield, ducking another barrage of arrows and arcane bolts arcing overhead, nearly slipping in the mud as she rushed forward. Ketra blocked a weak slash with her bow, but from the way it bent, it was obvious she couldn''t take a full strike without the weapon snapping in half. Requiant was right behind her. Lily sped in, legs pumping. The first guy didn''t have a clue she was there, she''d run so fast. She didn''t bother with finesse when she had the drop on him that hard. Lily simply stabbed him straight in the back with her dagger, plunging it right in and wrenching upward. He struggled for a moment, then fell. Lily''s companion didn''t fare quite so well. Requiant saw her success and tried to emulate it¡ªbut between his slight delay and the other soldier''s reaction to Lily''s headlong rush of an attack, Requiant didn''t pull it off. The soldier dove to the side, landing in a somersault and springing to his feet in a move Lily wished she could pull off so seamlessly in such a wet environment. The soldier stabbed back, catching Requiant off his own guard. He didn''t get hit, but he backed away¡ªcourage apparently spent now that the crazed charge across the field was done. Lily ripped her dagger out and turned to the other soldier, right at the same time that Ketra did. "Sweep him!" said Lily, trusting Ketra would know what she meant. She lunged forward, praying that Ketra would move fast enough¡ªor she''d be diving right into a waiting sword. Ketra didn''t miss her cue. The soldier had to decide between a hard wooden bow slashing at his feet, or a shortsword lunging for his chest. He tried to step away, but the bow caught his foot just as he moved back¡ªand he tripped. Lily grunted in triumph as her sword caught him straight on. He died just as fast as the other two. Lily sighed in relief, before the pain in her side finally caught up to her. "Ugh¡­" she muttered, clutching at the wound. Ketra hurried to her side, hands extended, but Lily shook her head. "We aren''t done yet." Truth be told, though, they were pretty much done. The archers had been knocked down or fled from Phoenixia''s unerring magical assault, and both Michael''s group and Susanoo had taken out their respective soldiers. Only Larali still fought¡ªbut as soon as Lily took a step forward, Larali made an unexpected swing with her broadsword, straight down the middle. One guard tried to manage a feeble block. Larali plowed right through it. One slash, two guards down. Larali threw back her head and roared with glee, halfway between a laugh and a shout. Lily raised an eyebrow, but she couldn''t blame the woman¡ªit was incredibly satisfying. "...Okay, then," said Lily, wincing. She nodded toward the treeline, far out in the field¡ªtheir original goal. "Let''s go." "You''re hurt," said Ketra, way more concerned than Lily ever wanted to hear. Lily smiled. "No worse than you were. Come on, I can make it that far." Ketra sighed, but nodded her assent. Lily glanced back over her shoulder. "Everybody good?" A chorus of affirmatives replied¡ªand stony silence from Avalynn, as usual. The group gathered back up, with no pretense of secrecy anymore. Michael grinned. "Not bad for your first run, lady general." "Lady general?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. "The commander of the Waechaim Legion is called Lord General," said Phoenixia helpfully. "Or for a little bit, when it was a girl, they called her Lady General instead. She never lost a battle while she was in charge." "So why''d she stop?" Phoenixia grinned. "She got assassinated." Why is she smiling at that? Lily glanced around, and saw Ketra looking a little embarrassed. "...What?" asked Lily. Ketra shrugged. "Something for another time." "...You killed her?" "I was paid to, yes." Ketra sighed. "We should get moving." "Yeah," said Michael, "don''t want to¡ª" Thunk. Michael cut off in mid-sentence. His hand shot up to his neck¡­ where an arrow sprouted out like a flower growing in fast-forward. Lily''s heart stopped. Her eyes went wide. Even if she knew it wasn''t real in some small part of the back of her mind, it was so vivid¡ªand the expressions on her brother''s face so familiar¡ªthat Lily couldn''t help but feel like she was watching him die right in front of her. "Michael!" Lily dove forward, but Susanoo tackled her to the ground. Michael collapsed, as another hail of arrows shot overhead. Another stuck into his chest and stayed there, quivering like a flag in the wind. The archers were back, and they''d brought reinforcements. "Move!" Ketra shouted. Larali grabbed up a struggling Lily and pulled her away from her brother. The group sprinted for the trees, while more arrows thudded into the grass behind them. Lily took a deep breath, reminding herself that it wasn''t real¡ªthat it was just a game, nothing to worry about. She tapped Larali on the back, and the huge woman let go so she could run on her own. Just in time, as an arrow slapped into the mud only a meter from them. If they''d continued at their pace, it would have caught Larali in the back of the leg. Lily rushed into the trees, Larali only a few steps behind. They faded in, and soon the fort was out of sight entirely, lost behind the thick wall of the southern edge of Atevusylvec. *** "Are we good?" asked Lily, leaning up against a tree. She was panting and slick with sweat mixed with rainwater, but the tree cover was thick and she didn''t feel like they were being chased anymore. She glanced around at the rest of the group. Everybody seemed as exhausted as she did¡ªthough not nearly as fearful as she was. "They can''t follow us, right?" Ketra nodded. "The truce should hold them from entering the forest." Lily nodded. "Okay. Okay. That''s¡­ that''s good." She winced, as another spike of pain rolled through her side. "Oww¡­" "Come here, let me heal that," said Ketra. Lily shook her head. "Make sure everybody else is okay first." Ketra looked around pointedly. "I don''t think anyone else got hurt." As Lily looked closer, she realized the girl was right. While the rest certainly looked winded and on edge, nobody seemed to be sporting a single cut or even a scrape. Larali was covered in mud, and both Manifold and Shirogane looked a little shaken up, but the rest seemed split between excitement and curiosity¡ªthe latter due to the forest now surrounding them. Unlike the oaks and pines in the Haalfwood surrounding Skyldr, Atevusylvec was a much thicker, deeper forest. As soon as they''d passed the outer layer, Lily found herself hopelessly turned around in an instant. The trees were so dense she couldn''t see the sky at all, and the ground was covered in layers of moss and underbrush so thick she couldn''t see a speck of brown dirt beneath. The world had become a kaleidoscope of green hues, more than Lily had ever seen, and plants more beautiful and varied than she''d ever imagined. "Whoah¡­" she murmured. Ketra smiled. "Come here," she said, taking Lily''s hand and leading her away from the group a short way. "Sit down." Lily did as she was told, taking a seat on the (thankfully dry) log and letting Ketra take a look at the wound. As the warm glow from the spell filled her torso and tickled her skin, Lily managed to hold in her own laughter¡ªmuch to Ketra''s obvious frustration. The slice in her side closed back up, and the shirt above knit itself back together, and finally, Lily felt back to full strength again. In sharp contrast, Ketra seemed suddenly exhausted. As soon as the spell faded away, Ketra fell back against the trunk, breathing heavily. Lily frowned. "...You okay?" she asked. Ketra nodded. "The price¡­ one pays for magic borne of oneself," she replied. Lily smiled. "Well¡­ thanks." "For?" "Healing me, duh." With that thought, Lily glanced back to the group. Susanoo and Avalynn were off to one side, talking in subdued voices, while the rest of the group had gathered together. Lily frowned. "What do we do now?" "Keep going," said Ketra. "But¡­ what about Michael?" "What about him?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn''t we, you know¡­ go back for him? If he''s starting over from the beginning." Ketra shook her head. "We can''t go back now that we''ve alerted the garrison. They''re probably calling more from Felnir as we speak, and they''ll be ready for us this time. We had the element of surprise before." "But¡ª" Ketra took Lily''s hand and grasped it firmly. "He''ll catch up. It''s much easier for one person to sneak by than ten, and they''ll weaken the garrison eventually." Lily nodded. "...Yeah, okay." She shrugged. "Avalynn knows who we have to call anyway. She can handle it." Lily got to her feet. "So¡­ where to, exactly?" Ketra pulled herself up with Lily''s assistance, leaning on her a little for support. "If we head¡­" she turned around a few times, before pointing a seemingly-random direction. "...that way, we should find a suunsyl before too long." "A what now?" "It''s kind of like a village," she replied. "We don''t name them though, and they don''t have very strict boundaries on towns or anything. You''ll know it when you see it." Lily glanced around at the homogenous mass of greenery in every direction, pointedly rolling her eyes. "And how do you know where to go in this?" Ketra smiled. "I can''t tell you everything. That''s no fun." "You forget that we''re trapped here?" Lily frowned. "What if you get hurt?" "I trust you." Lily was caught between rolling her eyes and a sincere smile. She turned away, not sure which was going to come out, and not wanting to hurt Ketra''s feelings. More importantly, the idea had brought back the memory of what had just happened¡ªand a gnawing feeling of guilt hovering just underneath the surface of her mind. "...Didn''t help my brother," she murmured. Ketra squeezed her hand. "It''s not your fault." "Kinda is though," Lily sighed. "It was my idea to try and sneak by, and I''m pretty sure they saw me out there. I couldn''t stop shivering." "Doubtful," said Ketra. "If anything, they saw me. My bow sticks up too high on my back." She glanced at it, sitting propped up against the tree. Her voice grew irritated. "I need a proper syldvala bow." "Why would that help?" asked Lily. "They can fold up." "Oh. Neat." Lily grinned. "Better for assassinating people?" Ketra sighed. "If you''ve got questions, just ask them." "...Like how you started doing that?" She shrugged. "I was good at it, and I got paid a lot to do it. I''m not sure there''s much else to tell, really." "...Uh-huh," said Lily, very unconvinced. "...Hey, wait. That''s why Avalynn attacked, wasn''t it?" "What?" "Because they would''ve seen her guild," said Lily, certain she''d come to the right conclusion. She looked over at Avalynn, still talking to Susanoo far on the opposite side of the small clearing. Makes sense that my new least-favorite person is making nice with my old least-favorite person. This is gonna be great. "Do people around here hate you guys that much?" Ketra nodded. "With good reason." "...Well, okay then." Lily frowned. "So why stick to it?" "I wouldn''t abandon them simply because a few bad actors ruined our reputation in recent years," said Ketra. Lily winced. "Sorry, I didn''t mean to¡ª" "No," said Ketra, smiling. "It was a fair question. I don''t mind." "...Cool." Lily glanced back to the group. "So¡­ should we get goin¡ª" "Toldek onyl," hissed someone who sounded like they were right in Lily''s ear. She made a move for her blades, but an arrow thwacked into the trunk between her and Ketra¡ªperfectly notched right underneath the tip of Ketra''s bow. Lily froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she finally spotted the elf behind the tree, and the others that were now surrounding the whole group. Hands went up as they surrendered, one by one¡ªAvalynn and Susanoo included. Lily sighed, putting her own hands up into the air. Every single time¡­ Chapter 12 — Atevusylvec I Chapter 12 ¡ª Atevusylvec I
Liquin Human Peasant
Healthy Fatigued Pure Unbound
Melchagar Rauch Elf Explorer
Dead Unbound
Larali Dahlquist Human Peasant
Healthy Fatigued Pure Unbound
Ketra Zutis Elf Peasant
Healthy Wearied Pure Unbound
Phoenixia Fireheart Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Faded Unbound
Avalynn Sylvela Sesylf Sylfara
Kelvek Laravo Dektola Maladec sel nara Sylvec
Manifold Human Artificer
Healthy Able Faded Four Fjords Alliance
Susanoo Umehara Elf Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Requiant Volavus Human Peasant
Healthy Able Pure Unbound
Shirogane Kei Human Peasant
Weakened Fatigued Pure Unbound
"Not your friends, then," Lily murmured. Ketra nodded. "Syldarei scouts." "The kingdom that kicked you out." "More or less." "Meaning¡­" "If they find out who we are, they''ll probably kill us." Lily sighed. "Okay, so they can''t find out." She glanced at Avalynn. "If they try the same party trick on her¡­" They were seated against the nearest huge tree trunk, packed together tight on the wet moss. The elves had taken their weapons and left them to stew, taking only Avalynn away. Phoenixia and Larali didn''t seem to mind much, still fascinated by the thick vibrant forest surrounding them. Shirogane, meanwhile, seemed to be in shock from Michael''s sudden virtual demise, along with Manifold. "Why her?" Lily continued. Avalynn was a few dozen paces away, speaking with the apparent leader of the patrol. "Do they know her or something?" "Shh," said Susanoo, glaring at the pair of them. "You trying to get us killed?" Lily rolled her eyes. "If they were gonna kill us, they would have done it already." Or whenever they try to see Avalynn''s guild membership¡­ Still, just to be safe, Lily started a Whisper spell. It tugged at her like she''d just hung a weight on an invisible hook inside her chest, but at least she could be sure of privacy for a minute. "Why even have a guild membership if it''s gonna bite you in the ass like this?" "The other benefits, just like being in a party," said Ketra. "And it''s symbolic." "Symbolic of getting us killed," Lily grumbled. Ketra sighed. "If we die, I agree that it''s entirely her fault." Lily grinned. "Okay, I''m good with that." The apparent leader of the Syldarei elves suddenly turned and began to walk toward them, Avalynn only a step behind. Lily quickly released the Whisper spell. Her hand instinctively went to her belt¡ªbut of course, they''d already surrendered their weapons. "You, come," said the leader, two fingers pointing at Ketra and Lily. Lily raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, dude?" Ketra got to her feet, holding out a hand to help Lily up. Lily took it, but she didn''t let up on the guy. "Look, I get roleplaying and all, but you can speak normal English at least, right?" The elf sighed. "Yeah. Come on." The trio followed him out of the clearing, away from the rest of the group. As soon as they were out of earshot of both the scouts and Lily''s party, the leader turned to the three of them. "Look, I don''t want to get screwed over by Masnas. That''s who you guys work for, right?" Lily''s jaw almost dropped, but Ketra neatly covered up her momentary shock. "We do." The guy nodded. "Your friend here said that if I help you out, I wouldn''t end up with my head on a list." "Precisely," said Ketra. Avalynn smirked. "Didn''t know you were branching out into humans," the elf added, glancing at Lily uneasily. "You guys kicked ''em out," said Lily casually, with a shrug. She was catching up as fast as she could, and figured she''d just build off whatever lie Avalynn had started. "She could take any of us in single combat," added Ketra, with a sidelong smile at Lily, which sent her another tingle of warmth. "What do you think she''d do to you?" The guy winced. Sheesh, what a pushover. "What do you need me to do?" "Take us to the nearest suunsyl," said Ketra, "and clear us for travel inside the forest. I know you can''t give us clearance for the Syldarei sylvec. Just the basics for sanctuary in this forest is fine." The guy nodded. "Okay." "And my weapons back would be nice," added Lily, fidgeting slightly. She felt far more comfortable with the blades tucked on her belt, especially after the couple of days she''d spent so far in Avo. He hurried away, calling orders to his companions in Elvish. Lily grinned at Ketra. "That went well." She didn''t respond. Ketra turned to Avalynn, and her expression had chilled to ice in an instant. "You threatened him." Ketra murmured. Avalynn didn''t respond. "You threatened another elf. A Syldarei elf." She spat on the ground. "Dellis masasylas suuna dosan." "We betrayed them first," Ketra shot back. Avalynn walked away, grabbing up her short sword and daggers from the pile. Ketra shook her head in disgust. "What did you do?" asked Lily. Ketra sighed. "A misunderstanding which led to a lot of killing. Nobody really agrees on whose fault it was. I''m not really sure either, since it all started in private offline chat. Someone brought real world drama into Avo, and it cascaded from there." So much drama. It''s just a game, no matter how much you get into the roleplaying. Lily rolled her eyes. "Everyone here takes this place way too seriously." The dark expression on Ketra''s face made Lily wince. She shook her head quickly, but the damage was done. Ketra''s next sentence was far less warm and comfortable than before. "Come on. We should get going." *** The forest of Atevusylvec blew away every expectation Lily had. Sure, the Haalfwood was impressive¡ªespecially for someone who grew up in the half-flooded disaster zone that was modern Florida¡ªbut it couldn''t hold a branch to the depths of Atevusylvec. For the first time, Lily truly appreciated the difference between a wood and a forest. For long stretches, the canopy was so thick that no sunlight pierced through. Patches every hundred meters or so let light in, but otherwise, the forest was lit by vague ethereal green and white lights. They danced around trunks so thick it would take ten of her to surround them, at least. Grass and moss filled the empty spaces, and the whole world in every direction was full of energy. The thick smell of the forest combined with the petrichor from the recent rainfall, a pleasant sensation on her nose. Wind whistled through the branches in brief gusts. In the distance, Lily could hear a stream, though it sounded strange, echoing in ways she wouldn''t expect. Squirrels darted between the leaves, deer flitted in the distance, butterflies and birds spun around and above them. Lily felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of movement in every direction, the life of the forest. "I''m glad you''re here," murmured Ketra, walking next to Lily at the front of the group. The group of elven scouts had surrounded them, with two on every side at a fair distance. Avalynn was with the leader ahead, while the rest of their ragtag group stuck close together behind Ketra and Lily. "It''s incredible," Lily whispered. "You don''t need to whisper," said Ketra with a smile. "It''s not a library or anything¡ªwait¡­ do you still have libraries?" "Yes, we still have libraries." She rolled her eyes. "I''m in Ohio. It''s still in the North American Union, you know." "I''d heard¡­" Ketra shook her head. "Must have been somewhere else." Lily decided to take a chance, since the topic had been opened. "Where are you from?" It didn''t get the reaction she wanted at all. Ketra got very quiet, and she immediately regretted ever bringing it up. Stupid. We''re in Avo, and she loves this place. Asking stuff about the real world is way over the line. Let her bring it up. "Sorry. Don''t answer that." "Cascadia," said Ketra quietly, not looking at Lily. "...Really?" "Yes." She looked up, smiling. "It was my box of apples." Lily burst out laughing¡ªpartly at the way she said it, but more than anything at just how pleased with herself Ketra seemed to be. "You''re incredible." Her face lit up red. "No." "You really are! I just wish I''d gotten to eat some of the real ones!" Lily cut back her laugh, not wanting Ketra to feel bad. "So where are you from in Avo? Or¡­ uhh, does that question even make sense?" Ketra smiled. "It does, don''t worry. Avalynn and I are Northern elves, as Phoenixia mentioned earlier. I''m not from this forest specifically, but there''s a related forest across the mountains and desert to the east." "What''s that one called?" "Atevusylvec." Ketra smirked. "Atevu is north, and sylvec is forest. Humans assumed that was the name. I assume they''ve given my forest a name as well, but I''ve never heard it." Lily glanced around, gesturing out into the vast forest space. "Is it as beautiful as this one?" "Yes." She smiled. "I''d love for you to come there someday." "It''s a date." Oh no. Lily''s cheeks flared up instantly, and she winced. To her relief, Ketra only smiled, before looking straight forward into the forest. She didn''t say a word, and neither did Lily. They let the thought hang, and for the moment, Lily took it as a win. Better than saying something dumb and making her feel bad again.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Instead, she decided to focus on the elf scouts escorting them. Lily wasn''t quite convinced they weren''t a threat anymore, no matter what sanctuary rights or whatever they might believe in. She''d been given back her equipment, untouched, but there were still eight of them against only the seven in her party¡ªif Lily were being generous. She considered Manifold a net negative for sure, and Requiant wasn''t exactly the best fighter either. If they had to fight, Lily was pretty sure they''d lose. The way every elf moved seemed too practiced and balanced. They''re players, not like us. It''s the game, not their actual stance and balance. I can''t assume my judgment is accurate until I actually see them fight. Except¡­ I also don''t know anything about what they might be able to do besides fight. I need to know more about this world if I''m gonna keep us safe, and what''s at my disposal. "My brother mentioned something about being a spellsword," said Lily aloud, continuing off her thoughts. "Is that something you want to explore?" asked Ketra. "I mean¡­ Magic seems pretty cool. Is there a disadvantage, besides the stuff I already know?" Ketra shrugged. "It depends on what you mean by disadvantage. Raw strength isn''t everything in a world with magic. You''d have to decide what you want to become." "I really like the idea," said Lily, excitement creeping into her voice. "It''s just so cool. Even the healing spell I did, or just the Whisper spell. I want to be able to do things like that." "And mix it with your incredible sword fighting," said Ketra, nodding. Lily blushed. "...Thanks?" "You''ll want to learn more spells, first and foremost. That''ll take etolendei, like the one stored in my healing pendant, or whatever Michael had to learn Whisper from." "Do you just find them?" She shrugged. "Sure. Monster dens, abandoned castles, so on. That''s the adventuring way to learn new magic and get better equipment." "It''s just¡­ lying around?" asked Lily skeptically. Doesn''t sound like my brother¡­ "Of course not," said Ketra with another cryptic smirk. "It''s the leftovers." "The¡­ oh." Lily gulped. "How scary are monsters in this?" Ketra only smiled, which sent a shiver down Lily''s spine. "So what''s the non-adventuring way to learn magic?" "Artificers, magicians, thaumaturges, wizards, witches, and all the other magic-focused professions tend to store their etolendei in objects. It''s convenient, especially if they forget the spell and need to look it up again. Spellbooks are really just a binding for a bunch of etolendei-infused papers." "Costs money, I''m guessing?" Ketra nodded. "Some are quite exorbitant. You can get pretty cheap spells in lesser towns, but the best, most expensive magic comes out of the Thaumaturgical Society of Candir, which is far to the south." "And closer?" "We could try Felnir." Lily raised her eyebrows. "The guys who just tried to kill us?" "They believed we were spies, and we were crossing through their patrol zone. If we simply walk into the city, I doubt we''d have any trouble." Ketra glanced off in a direction seemingly at random to Lily¡ªshe''d never had the best sense of direction. "It''s not far to the south." "Hey," said Kevin, startling them both. He''d come up behind them while they were talking. "What?" snapped Lily, annoyed. I was enjoying talking to her¡­ "Easy, Tigerlily," said Kevin¡ªwhich, of course, set her off even more. She fumed at his casual nickname use¡­ even if she''d always kinda liked that name. "I just think we need a game plan here." "For what?" Lily looked around the forest. As a spectacle, it was amazing, but in terms of active threats¡­ she doubted there was anything for miles at this point. So long as they had their elven escort, Lily was pretty sure they''d be just fine. "We go to the suunsyl, find a quiet spot, Avalynn calls Lucy, we get this fixed and log out. Nice and simple." "Most spots in a suunsyl are quiet," added Ketra. "It shouldn''t be difficult." Kevin frowned. "Yeah, but if you haven''t noticed¡­ Avalynn''s a freak." "You don''t have to be an asshole about it, Kev," said Lily icily. And now I''m defending Avalynn, of all people. "She''s hot, but seriously," said Kevin, "what if she doesn''t want to cast it?" "We make her." Ketra shook her head. "You''d have an easier time persuading a rock to fly to Sennum. I don''t think she''ll be a problem, though." "Uh-huh," said Lily skeptically. "To put it bluntly," said Ketra carefully, "she doesn''t believe you belong in Avo." Lily rolled her eyes. "Okay then." "She''s not wrong, Lils," added Kevin. "Even I can see that. You kinda act like anybody who takes this place seriously is an idiot." "...Huh?" Lily shook her head. "No I don''t. I''m serious about this too." The air around them seemed to be getting warmer. Ketra looked a little uncomfortable and didn''t say another word. Kevin, of course, had no trouble speaking his mind around Lily. "Sure, you''re taking our situation seriously, but the world? All you care about is what''ll help us get out of here." "That''s not true," said Lily hotly. "There''s other things too." Kevin looked about to say something else, but quickly changed his mind. He shook his head. "Whatever, Lils. I''m not getting into it. Looks like we''re almost there, anyway," he added, nodding ahead of the little group. Sure enough, there seemed to be a sudden increase in the lights illuminating the forest¡ªand even more exciting, Lily could hear music stirring the forest. A faint string instrument she couldn''t name, accompanied by a flute, somewhere through the maze of trees they had yet to navigate. It was a beacon drawing them home. As Kevin fell back to rejoin the rest of the group, Lily moved closer to Ketra, who still hadn''t spoken anything. "...You don''t agree with him, do you?" she asked uncomfortably. Ketra was squinting ahead, peering through the trees. Her pointed ears poked through her hair as she leaned to the side, still tied back in the crown Lily had helped her with. "I think you''ve only been here two days." "How long did it take you?" "To do what?" "Take this world seriously." Ketra finally turned to face Lily. Her expression seemed¡­ distant. Lily felt like a barrier had come up between them, not so literal as the white fog from the cliffside, but still separating what had been a budding friendship and possibly more. She spoke with a cautious voice, mixed disappointment with just a hint of hope lurking at the edges. "When you actually understand what you''re asking me, that''s when you''ll know." Ketra didn''t say another word all the way into the suunsyl, but neither did she leave Lily''s side. They walked together in near-silence through the trees, following their elven guides, into a place unlike anything Lily had ever seen. *** The suunsyl could be described as a collection of treehouses, if Lily wanted to oversimplify it¡ªand probably piss off a lot of elves too. Tucked into the thick branches of the trees were structures, some as small as an apartment, others as huge as cathedrals. Each had lights dancing about it, illuminating it amongst the rafters of the forest, and not a single one was within reach of the surface. Weaving around the trees high above, suspended in midair, Lily found her answer to the odd watery sounds¡ªa river flowing in the canopy. It did not sit upon any surface, though it still made a sound of trickling water as it ran around tree trunks and through their branches. She saw neither source nor destination, simply an endless flow of water near which every treehouse had been built. It dove between twisting coils of branches which formed bridges between the various homes and platforms high in the trees, and seemingly every home had a place for water to make its way inside. Were the houses first, or the floating river? Lily wanted to ask Ketra if the treehouses were a stylistic choice, a cultural thing, a strategy against invasion, anything¡­ but she held her tongue, in part because she still felt uncertain about their last conversation, but more importantly, they were now surrounded by elves. It seemed like the whole community had come out to greet them. Lily guessed it at a couple hundred minimum¡ªlikely many more since these were only the ones who were interested in strangers entering the area. They streamed out of their homes and down staircases that wound around the trunks, reaching the forest floor and surrounding the group in short order. Lily tried to pick out a leader among them, but none seemed particularly more dressed or with nicer weapons than any other. She wished she could just ask Ketra, but even a Whisper spell seemed like a huge risk now. Elves had enhanced hearing, and to cast the spell, Lily would have to speak it aloud. She didn''t want to set off an incident if they thought she was trying to conceal something. Finally, one elf walked through the crowd¡ªthe first Lily had seen with any kind of wrinkles on his skin. Still, he dressed in much the same fashion as his community, and except for his age, Lily could not have called him out of a crowd given all the time in the world. "Nom se della?" he asked, looking at the leader of the elven scouts. "Who are they?" whispered Ketra for Lily''s benefit. One of the elves shot her a look, and Ketra fell silent. Lily was left in the dark for the rest of the conversation, though it was thankfully brief, as the scout and the older elf spoke quickly and without hesitation. "Masadalv, fissylf." "To della maldissa?" asked the elder, looking at the group carefully. The scout nodded. "Selnou. Della se volasecev." "Sed suuna esusyl della?" Another glance at the group, from both of them. Lily waited as patiently as she could, though every second felt like another where she might find a dozen arrows sprouting from her chest. I''m glad I wouldn''t really die, but¡­ that slice earlier seriously hurt. I don''t want to find out how much it hurts to die. "Rashes," said the scout. A sigh accompanied an accepting nod from the elder. The scout turned back to us, and to Lily''s utter relief, he spoke English. "We grant you the right of sanctuary in our suunsyl. The guest faldyana is available for you until tomorrow, when we will escort you to whichever side of Atevusylvec you wish." Just one night? wondered Lily. Pretty weak sanctuary. She expected Ketra to say something, but to her surprise, Avalynn was the first to speak. "Vannen, sylfev sel nara atevus. Suuna se tona doues masil." The elder nodded. Without warning, the entire group dispersed¡ªsome back to their homes, some out into the forest, and some simply to the space below the river and the homes. Lily realized it wasn''t quite as empty as she expected¡ªthere were places to sit, small fenced off areas, and what appeared to be a staircase down into an excavated pit of some kind. Their escort was gone too. Suddenly, it was just the seven of them, as if the whole elven community just didn''t care anymore. "So¡­ what just happened?" asked Lily impatiently, glancing at Avalynn. Ketra answered after Avalynn didn''t, simply returning Lily''s question with an irritating smug smile. "The elder asked if we were dangerous, and the scouts said yes. He asked if we could be trusted, and they said ''enough.'' Avalynn thanked them." Ketra glanced at her. "I didn''t expect that to go so smoothly." "That was smooth?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "I was sweating bullets over here." Larali laughed. "You gotta get out more. That was like a group hug in terms of elves greeting non-elves." "Look," said Shirogane impatiently, "can we just go to the house already? I seriously need to get home." "Yeah, yeah." Larali turned and started off, Nixie nipping at her heels like an excited puppy. "Come on, people." Toward the center of the suunysl was a tree which didn''t reach to the canopy, nor did it have any branch-bridges connecting it to other trees. A lone house, slightly bigger than many of the others, hung a few meters below the floating river, and a trickle seemed to be drawn straight down into a chimney-like opening in the top. Larali and Nixie led them up a winding staircase. Lily followed close behind with Ketra, eager to see the inside, while Avalynn came just behind, practically escorted by Kevin¡ªLily had the impression she''d intended to sneak off somehow, but the rest of the group had discouraged the idea. Shirogane, Requiant, and Manifold brought up the rear, chattering about some other element of the game. As they reached the top, Larali was already pulling open the smooth wooden door and heading inside. The guest house wasn''t actually that bad, at least compared to what Lily had expected. It had four bedrooms¡ªtwo with double beds, one with matching singles, and one with four single beds¡ªand a few spaces to lounge around and take a load off. Everything was made of wood and weaved fibers, and while it looked hard and rough, it ended up being quite smooth and comfortable to sit on. More interesting was the small kitchen area. It comprised a section of stone set into the trunk of the tree and supported by the branch root. This was the chimney source, where water flowed into a cistern next to a firepit. Lily''s eyes widened slightly at the fire burning merrily inside. It made the house warm and cozy, sure¡ªbut inside a tree? Ketra shrugged, spotting Lily''s reaction. "It''s not hard to control it. Magic and a never-ending water supply make dousing fires much easier." "Huh." Lily glanced at the fire again, apprehension replaced by excitement. "In that case¡­ do we have anything to eat?" Larali chuckled. "Still got some of that rat meat, if you want it," she said cheerily. She''d taken off her broadsword and laid it against the stone wall before lounging on one of the wide wooden seats. Nixia took a spot on the ground near the fire, rocking back and forth in front of it happily. "Ugh," said Lily. "No, thank you." "Avalynn?" asked Shirogane impatiently, barely inside the door. Requiant and Manifold had both taken off their equipment to sit near the fire, but he was still dressed in full robes with his staff, as if he expected to leave any moment. "Selnou?" "Don''t mess with me right now, girl," he sighed. "Just try her again already, okay?" Avalynn shook her head. "Melchagar stated that Luciana would not be awake yet. I will not exhaust my spell again until after that time." "How long?" asked Kevin. "Ten minutes." A collective sigh around the group¡ªand an incredible mix of feelings. Lily couldn''t possibly process them all, but she paid close attention to Ketra and Kevin alike. Ketra seemed very mixed, which fit Lily''s expectations. No doubt she loved staying in Avo and any mention of departure was a mixed bag, but she also had a career and a life waiting back home. Kevin, if anything, seemed even more conflicted, which did surprise her. While he''d clearly taken to the world in some ways, Lily would have expected him to go home as soon as he could. He had a girlfriend and a family to get back to, not to mention a tournament coming up sooner than she did. Esports made more than it used to, but missing even a single event was still a huge hit to their income. Lily was exhausted by it all¡ªbetween the fights, the long walks and runs, the intensity¡­ she needed a few minutes of peace. Since nobody else seemed to be moving, she took her opportunity to duck into one of the bedrooms. It was a wide double bed with covers in a material similar to the couches, and as Lily sat down, the bed felt pleasantly soft and warm. "Hi," said Ketra. Her eyes shot up to the door. Ketra had followed her inside, and though she left the door open, the rest of the group was talking and muffled enough they likely wouldn''t be overheard. "Hey." Lily took off her belt and weapons, setting them on the bedside table. "Just needed to take a break here." "Oh." Ketra glanced down slightly. "Want me to¡ª" "Come sit here? Yes," said Lily, patting the bed at her side. After a moment''s hesitation, Ketra smiled. She set her bow down against the wall and walked across the room to sit next to Lily. They were still more than a few centimeters apart, but between the weight on the bed and the faint warmth coming from her skin, Lily was very aware of Ketra next to her. "Can you teach me Elvish?" Lily blurted suddenly. "What?" "I¡­ I want to learn it," she added, suddenly sheepish. "It sounds really interesting and cool." Ketra frowned. "I don''t know if I''d be a very good teacher." "But you speak it perfectly, don''t you?" "I guess so." Ketra shrugged. "Maybe. Why do you want to learn it?" "So I can understand¡ª" Lily cut off. She''d been about to say ''you'', but figured Ketra might read way too many things into that word, few of which were what she meant. "¡ªeverybody around here," she finished lamely. "...Where do we start?" Lily shrugged. "I don''t know. I never learned another language." She hesitated slightly, glancing at Ketra sideways. "What does your name mean?" "Nothing, as far as I know. It''s not Elvish." A bird landed on the windowsill nearby¡ªif it could even be called a window. Lily wasn''t sure what qualified something as a window, but this was simply a wide hole in the wall near eye-level. "How''d you come up with it?" "I just did." Ketra winced, her face reddening up again. "Sorry¡­ I wish I had a more interesting answer than that. It just came into my head one day." "I like it," said Lily. "It sounds like you." "Yeah." She nodded. "That''s how I felt too. It''s nothing like my real name, but my real name never felt like me anyway. This just feels¡­ right, you know?" "I guess." Lily shrugged. "I mean, we already went over how dumb my name origin is," she added with a grin. "I''d rather it be something unique and cool like yours." "Do you like your name?" asked Ketra, shifting a little on the bed. Lily kept watching the bird on the windowsill, which had been joined by another, both chirping and picking something off the bark on the branch outside. "I''ve always wondered if other people like their names." "I guess so?" Lily shrugged. "I never really thought about it much. Nicknames though, I definitely have some I like and some I hate." "...Anything I need to avoid?" She laughed. "If they come up, I''ll let you know." They sat in silence for a little while, listening to the murmur of talk out in the common area, watching the birds dance back and forth on the window. Outside, a light spun past their window¡ªand up close, Lily could see a tiny figure inside, barely visible in the bright colorful light. "What was that?" "A faerie. They keep the forest strong." Lily took a chance. She leaned in toward Ketra¡ªand almost immediately, Ketra did the same. They sat close, watching the window, enjoying the moment together. "Hey," murmured Lily. "Yes, Lils?" She giggled. "That sounds so weird." Ketra winced. "I meant just¡ª" said Lily quickly, slapping herself mentally a dozen times. "It''s what my best friend used to call me when we were kids, but she''d never say the word ''yes''. It''s so you." "It''s definitely the nickname I''d pick for you, from the ones I''ve heard." "...Yeah, that''s probably my favorite," agreed Lily. "But you can just call me Lily, if you want. Or whatever you want, I don''t mind." "...I''m sorry," said Ketra quietly. "For what?" "Walking away," she said simply. Before Lily could ask what she meant, though, there was a call from the other room. Instantly, they sprang apart¡ªLily to the head of the bed, Ketra to the wall near her bow. A few seconds later, Phoenixia bounded into their room. "Avalynn got ahold of Luciana," she reported breathlessly. "Shirogane wants you to come talk to her, Liquin." Lily nodded. She got up and grabbed her belt, strapping her weapons back on. Even though they were just getting ahold of her brother''s coworker, it still felt like a confrontation. Beside her, Ketra picked up her bow. Together, they followed Phoenixia back into the common room where the others awaited.