Hero

by W Borne

  “Welcome back, gentlemen. I am glad to see you are both ok.”

  Toxotis shot a quick grin towards Jaxx, then replied, “Good to see you too, Hylonome, but I think you are happier to see Jaxx than you are me.”

  As she spluttered a reply, Jaxx shot Toxotis a look. “What are you doing?” he hissed in a low voice. “Just trying to help” whispered back Toxotis before he strode to the bar and sat down on a stool.

  “Two ales for us, and then I think we could both use a hot bath!” Toxotis announced.

  Hylonome filled two wooden mugs and pushed them to each of them. “That can be arranged,” she replied while looking everywhere but at Jaxx. A slight flush colored her face at Toxotis’ earlier comment.

  Jaxx picked up his mug and took a drink of the honeyed ale. The sweet, hoppy flavor cooled his throat and tasted great. It had been a long few days of rough living and drinking boiled water. It kept you alive but the flat taste definitely left a lot to be desired.

  Before he knew it, he had drained the mug. As he set it down, he looked up to see Hylonome glancing at him in amusement. “Thirsty?” she asked.

  Jaxx chuckled. “I guess so.” Hylonome was wearing a blue tunic that accentuated her figure on her human upper half. The neck was lower cut than the last time he had seen her, and the swell of her large breasts made an intriguing canyon that Jaxx had a hard time avoiding with his eyes. Pushing his mug towards her, he took another look and then glanced up to see her amusement. “She caught me looking,” Jaxx thought. It was hard to avoid, as he had been without any female contact for a long time, even out of the game. In the real world, he was a slightly overweight salesman in his 40s with thinning hair. Needless to say, not a chick magnet.

  Here in Olympus he was a 6’7” barbarian, with large developed muscles and a 6 pack. He had noticed some admiring glances from various female NPCs as he walked around the villages, but had not really thought about pursuing any of them, even for casual fun. Partly because he was still aware that this was, in fact, a video game, but mostly because he had been so laser-focused on his quests and improving his character. That coupled with the absolutely intriguing story and the mystery of the Gods’ interest in him had kept it in his pants, so to speak. Not that he was unwilling to explore that side of the game, nor did he have some kind of hang up about computer generated partners. I mean, everyone had tried out VirPorn…

  Toxotis, ever quick, noticed the by play. He grinned again and nudged Jaxx. Jaxx shot him a warning glance, not in the mood for more jesting.

  Noticing and displaying amazing restraint for him, Toxotis then said to Hylonome, “How about that hot bath? I’ll eat afterwards.” Despite the obviousness of his intention to leave Hylonome and Jaxx alone, Jaxx was grateful for the reprieve.

  Hylonome smiled and said, “I’ll have the bath drawn up in the bathing chamber. Just let me know when you would like your dinner.” Turning to Jaxx, “Would you be eating now?”

  Jaxx nodded. “Yes, I’ll eat and then bathe after Toxotis is finished.”

  Toxotis clapped him on the back and rose, grabbing his bag and bow and arrows and headed up stairs to dump his gear. Suddenly alone with Hylonome, Jaxx cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak.

  Just then he felt/heard some footsteps behind him, and then a presence settled behind him. A rather large presence, from the sound/feel of them.

  He craned his head around and up…and up….and up some more. A very large centaur male was standing behind him, arms crossed over a massive chest. Shirtless, but wearing a leather apron big enough to make a tent for Jaxx, he was brown with patches of white and tan throughout his coat. His hooves were massive, and he had black ‘socks’ of color on his legs that came up about halfway. His human side was the light brown that Jaxx recognized from Hylonome’s skin, and he had two very big arms. His face was long, and the centerpiece of his face was his large, proud nose. Black hair with small streaks of gray was pulled straight back into a ponytail, which hung down his back.

  But it was his eyes that caught Jaxx. Steely gray, almost stormy, and looking at Jaxx like he was a piece of dung that he had just scraped off his hoof.

  “Hylonome,” a voice like gravel growled, “Who is your friend?”

  “Father, this is Jaxx. He is our guest and an Avatar who is adventuring with Toxotis. Jaxx, this is my father, Chiron.”

  Jaxx stood up, and still had to look up. At 6’7” currently, he was not short, but Chiron towered over him, his head at least 8 feet above the floor. Looking down at Jaxx, he snorted. It was impressive.

  “The only redeeming thing you just said was that he was a paying guest. The rest means less than the dump I just took in the stable.”

  Jaxx was confused. Why was this man…. centaur so hostile? Jaxx could understand if he was harassing Hylonome, but he hadn’t even said anything! Just then he noticed Hylonome glaring at her father, and the twinkle in Chiron’s eye, like a sunbeam breaking through the storm clouds.

  “Daddy! Stop joking around and scaring the customers!” she scolded. Despite her tone, she had a smile on her face.

  “But I wasn’t sca- “Chiron interrupted Jaxx. “Just messing with you, friend!” he boomed. He unlimbered his arms and held one out to shake hands. Grasping his hand, Jaxx felt an anvil-hard fist start to crush, and then Chiron’s other arm pulled him close for a whisper as loud as a gunshot, “Nice to meet you, and if you mess with my daughter I’ll pull your arms off and beat you with them.”

  Okay. No more bullshit. Jaxx was scared.

  “I assure you; I have the utmost respect for your daughter and for you and your establishment.”

  “Good, good! I am happy to see you as my guest, and while Toxotis is a good man, he brings trouble sometimes. But no matter. Have you eaten?”

  “No,” Jaxx said, “I was just about to when- “

  “Good! I will bring you my special stew!” With that, Chiron trotted into the back room behind the bar, floor shuddering in his wake.

  Hylonome smiled again. “Sorry about that. He gets protective sometimes. Don’t worry about him, he’s all talk.”

  Jaxx wasn’t so sure, but smiled and said, “Ok, no problem.”

  She lowered her voice a bit, “So earlier you were going to say something before my father made his appearance. What was it?”

  “Um…. honestly, I can’t remember right now,” Jaxx laughed softly. “I’m too busy picturing getting beat to death with my own arms.”

  Hylonome laughed. Her voice was high and sweet, like a bell ringing. “I told you, he’s all talk. He wouldn’t hurt my friends.”

  “I’ll take your word for it,” Jaxx said. “So, I was going to ask you what was for dinner, but your father kind of answered that for me. So, I guess what I wanted to know after that was if you would mind having dinner with me?”

  She blinked, obviously surprised. “Dinner, with you? Like a date?”

  Jaxx nodded. He was incredibly nervous, he discovered, just like if he was asking a real woman out. It had been a long time since he had had the balls to do that. In the real world, his self confidence wasn’t the greatest. But here in Olympus, he felt different.

  “Well, ok, I think I can do that.” Her face was more serious than a few moments ago, and her large eyes studied Jaxx’s face, looking for something. Not finding it, she smiled. “I would be happy to, actually.”

  “Great! Thanks!” Jaxx said. He frowned. “Will your father mind?”

  “Will I mind what?” boomed Chiron. He had just come out from the back with a large bowl of steaming stew and a half-loaf of bread. He set the food on the bar in front of Jaxx, eyebrow cocked questioningly.

  “I asked Hylonome if she would eat dinner with me and talk,” Jaxx explained nervously. His newfound self-confidence was definitely lower around the massive centaur. Chiron just oozed casual, bone crushing violence without even trying.

  “Dinner? With my daughter?” Chiron looked at Jaxx, then looked at Hylonome, his eyes questioning. At her subtl
e nod, he turned back to Jaxx. “Well, I guess it depends on your intentions. Dinner and talk, fine. Dinner, talk, and then try to take advantage – I guess I would mind that.”

  “Daddy!” Hylonome slapped him on the shoulder.

  Jaxx laughed and strangely, relaxed. “Just dinner and talk, I promise. I would never do such a thing.”

  Chiron studied Jaxx. “Earlier Hylonome said you were an Avatar – what does that mean?”

  “Daddy, you know very well what an Avatar- “Chiron interrupted. “Let him tell me.”

  Jaxx said, “I am what you call an Avatar. My body here is not my body in the world I come from – the Gods have brought my mind here for a time.”

  “Why did they bring you here? For what purpose?” Chiron wanted to know.

  “I have been given quests by several Gods since I have been here, all tasks designed to help keep people safe from threats. Due to my unique status, I cannot truly die here. If this body is killed, it will come back to life after a short time. I have also been attacked by a Priestess of Nyx, who seemed to know who I was and wanted to capture me for a reason I do not know.”

  At the mention of Nyx, both centaurs’ ears perked up, which is a neat trick since they had what appeared to be completely human ears. “Nyx?” rumbled Chiron. “That is worrying – she is a Goddess of Chaos and usually up to nothing good. You say you are known to the Priestess of Artemis here in Delios?”

  “Yes, I have met her and recently completed a quest she gave me. I have yet to see her, as we just returned today and were hoping to get a meal and some sleep, as it has been a long few days.” Jaxx eyed the bowl of stew. His stomach suddenly rumbled loudly, embarrassing him.

  Chiron’s severe expression softened at the sound. “Oy, I keep you talking and asking questions when you clearly are hungry! Go, eat, and I’ll not take it amiss if Hylonome wishes to eat with you at meals.” He shot a meaningful glance at Hylonome, then retreated into the back of the kitchen, leaving Jaxx and her alone.

  Jaxx turned to Hylonome and gestured at the stew. “Care to help me eat that? Bit too much for me alone.”

  She laughed. “Yes, I’ll join you. Go sit down and I’ll be right there.”

  Jaxx carried his stew and bread to one of the tables and sat down. Hylonome appeared a moment later, carrying a large wooden stand which purpose Jaxx couldn’t figure, until she placed it at the table and then, arranging herself in front of it, sank back on it. It allowed her to assume what was basically a sitting position at the table, eyes on an equal level to Jaxx’s.

  “Wow, a centaur chair,” Jaxx said. “Ingenious.”

  “My uncle is a craftsman, and makes us furniture. We are built to stand all day, but on hard wooden floors it makes the hooves ache sometimes and it is nice to get off them.”

  She had brought a second bowl and began transferring half the stew into it. When finished, she pushed the bowl back to Jaxx and dug in. Using a spoon in one hand and a piece of bread in the other, she wasn’t shy about eating.

  Glancing up at Jaxx, who was still staring at her, she said “Well, dig in. You don’t want to eat it cold.”

  Flushing a bit, Jaxx grabbed his spoon and shoved a spoonful of stew into his mouth. He paused, surprised at the flavor. It was hearty, with bits of savory meat in a broth, and bits of vegetables and even some rough noodles. He eagerly began eating, using the bread to sop up the broth and taking bites of it in between spoonfuls.

  He noticed Hylonome smiling as she ate. “What?” he asked around a mouthful of food.

  “You are just…. strange. You sit there staring, then you eat like your starving. You said you want to talk, yet you say nothing. Am I so strange that you are afraid to speak?”

  “No,” said Jaxx. “Well, yes. I mean, no.” Frustrated at his clumsiness, he took a drink of honeyed ale.

  Hylonome reached out her hand and put it on his arm. “Relax, Avatar. It is plain that we are the first centaurs you have met, and it is obvious you have questions. Ask them, I don’t mind.”

  “I honestly don’t know where to begin,” Jaxx said. “Little things keep popping into my mind. Like this stew. It has meat in it.”

  “And?” Hylonome said.

  “Well, in my world, horses don’t eat meat. Please don’t be offended, I don’t mean that I think you are a horse or anything- “

  “It’s alright,” Hylonome said. “I understand. Perhaps a story would help you understand. Do you know how centaurs came to be?” At Jaxx’s head shake, she continued. “Far in the past, there was a wicked king of Thessaly named Ixion. He was invited to dinner at the table of Zeus on Mt Olympus. But he was unable to behave himself, and he took it upon himself to seduce the Goddess Hera.”

  Jaxx nodded. He knew the name of Hera.

  “Zeus was aware of Ixion’s desires, and he tricked him by forming a cloud made in Hera’s image. Ixion made love to the cloud, and out of the cloud was born Centaurus, the founder of our race.”

  “What happened to Ixion?” Jaxx asked.

  “Zeus punished him for his temerity in desiring Hera. He chained Ixion to a wheel of fire, and cast him into the Underworld, where he burns still on that wheel.”

  “But didn’t Zeus set him up?” Jaxx wondered.

  “Zeus offered him a choice to act on his desires, but Ixion is the one who acted on them. That is why Zeus punished him.”

  Jaxx thought about that. The story was simple, yet the lesson was complex. The Gods offered choices, and even weighed the scales against you, but in the end, they only punished if you chose to act against them. The parallel to this lesson and the discussion Jaxx had had with Toxotis about the nature of Olympus was not lost on him. This game, this world, was full of opportunities, of choices. Players like Jaxx could easily make choices that would be considered evil or unworthy. Was this a message, warning Jaxx about making those choices in the wrong way? Could the Gods punish those who made the wrong choices, even players like Jaxx? It was an intriguing thought. If they could punish him, how would that punishment present itself? What could a game AI do to Jaxx in the real world?

  As these thoughts ran through his mind, Jaxx was brought out of his reverie by Hylonome.

  “Goodness, it was just a story. I didn’t mean to cause you strife.” Her words jolted him.

  “I’m sorry, I was thinking about the message in your story. It could be taken as a warning against offending the Gods.”

  Hylonome laughed. “That particular message is present in virtually every story of the Gods. They are quire jealous of their power and prerogative, and they don’t let us mortals forget it.”

  So, to answer your earlier comment: yes, we centaurs eat meat, same as humans. Our bodies resemble horses, but our minds and appetites are quite different than horses.”

  “That is obvious to me now,” Jaxx said. The longer he sat and talked with Hylonome, the more woman and less centaur she seemed. The way she sat, with her human torso the only thing visible, her mannerisms, the way she smiled and laughed as she ate – Jaxx realized that he was very attracted to her. Not just her body, or her face, although both were gorgeous. He was attracted to her as a person.

  “You are beautiful.” The words just came out before Jaxx realized it. Must be the honeyed ale.

  Hylonome paused in her eating, looking up sharply. The words surprised her, that was obvious.

  “You…. what did you say?”

  Jaxx was committed now. “You are beautiful. I find myself enjoying your company immensely: you are sweet, intelligent, and I find you very attractive.”

  Hylonome avoided his eyes and said nothing.

  “I am sorry, have I offended you?” Jaxx berated himself. What was he thinking? Of course, she wouldn’t be attracted to someone not of her own kind. “I apologize, I will leave you in peace.” He started to get up and was topped by her hand on his arm.

  “Please, wait. You just surprised me, that’s all, and I didn’t know what to say.”

  Jaxx paused, looking her in the ey
es. She was smiling.

  “You are the first human to have spoken to me like this. Most humans barely see us as people, let alone desirable. Some even refer to us as monsters.”

  “You don’t seem very monstrous to me,” Jaxx said lightly.

  She snorted, echoes of her father thundering softly. “You have never seen a centaur fight. And it is true that some of our kind have nothing to do with humans other than to kill them. Like any race, we have our small minds too.”

  “You and your father seem different,” Jaxx said.

  “Yes. We feel that the only way that we will be accepted fully is to live with humans, to show them day in and day out that we are not monsters, but just people. Truthfully, most just avoid us. Enough open minds visit to keep us in business, although we will never get rich from the inn.”

  “So then perhaps I have a chance with you?” asked Jaxx.

  She laughed again. “Perhaps. I must admit that I find you fascinating. You are a fine figure of a man, almost as impressive as a centaur. And I am curious as to exactly what an Avatar’s destiny might be.”

  Jaxx swallowed. She was interested! He felt his heart beating harder, and his throat was tight. It was like he was a teenager again, asking out Polly Perkins to the prom. She had turned him down.

  “So, then, can I ask another question,” he asked?

  “Yes.”

  “Can humans and centaurs…. you know……get together?” Jaxx asked quickly, the words rushing out in embarrassment. Despite the false bravado provided by the alcohol, he still felt his face heating up.

  She laughed again, this time heartily. “Perhaps you will find out.” She placed her hand on his.

  Chapter 16

  The next morning Jaxx and Toxotis were walking through the Village the short distance to the Temple. He had had trouble falling asleep the night before, thoughts of Hylonome filling his head. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing: after all, this was still a video game, albeit an advanced one, and Hylonome was still an NPC, a computer-generated character. Still, he also knew that he would be inside the game for years from his perspective, and he felt that there was no harm in it. Questions about what he would do when his time here was over, or if he truly fell in love, he left for later contemplation.