Two Brothers

by Phoenix Grey

  He was a bit confused as to whether or not she was expecting further compensation, but he didn't want to part with what coin he had left, especially since he knew that magic school was going to be expensive.

  "You hurt me," he mentioned dryly.

  "Ya were out of range of my Dirty Move spell. I had ta cast Blinding Winds on ya instead. It's a higher level spell and can't be cast without dealing damage. In that situation, it couldn't be helped," she told him. "It was either that or let ya jump overboard and die." She placed the empty vial back in her bag. Thankfully, some of the anger had dissipated from her voice, probably from the guilt of having to harm Azure to save him.

  "While I did almost die," Azure said, glancing at the floor ruefully, "I am glad I got to experience the sirens. Now my curiosity is satiated."

  "Curiosity killed the cat," Jade reminded him.

  "I didn't even know there were cats here." He certainly hadn't seen any on Crescent Island.

  "There wouldn't be any on the ship." She looked at him like he was daft.

  He had meant in The Realm, of course, but didn't bother correcting himself. She wouldn't understand. But he knew that saying had come straight from his world. It was too coincidental not to.

  "Anyway," Azure rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to hit the hay."

  "The what?" Jade quirked her head back.

  "Two can play the idiom game." He grinned at her before walking away to find a clean spot on the floor to lie down.

  "Idiot," she mumbled before turning around to head back up to the deck.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE REALM – Day 42

  Azure thought he was going to die of boredom before they reached the mainland. He got so bored that he even asked Ruthren what books he had for sale. Pickings were slim. His choices were Arenas of The Realm, Dungeons of Chaos, and The Tale of Enzio Huxley. Apparently, Tales of books were popular in The Realm, mostly being an accounting of history.

  While Azure was most interested in the Arenas book, it carried an unreasonable price tag of two gold coins. Ruthren told him it was because the book was a rare item, but Azure thought that was bullshit. Dungeons of Chaos was six coppers while The Tale of Enzio Huxley was only one copper. Being a cheapskate, Azure went with Enzio Huxley, but regretted it when the merchant handed him what should have been called a pamphlet instead of a book.

  You have received the following item:

  Book: The Tale of Enzio Huxley

  Quantity: 1

  Durability: 1/1

  Item Class: Common

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 0.1 kg

  Uses: Map

  It took him an hour to breeze through the book, which was basically about this guy who had gone in search of all of the Gods in The Realm. There was really no adventure to the journey, or if there was, it had been left out of the book, to Azure's disappointment. What the book mainly contained was a collection of geographic descriptions of each region where the Gods could be found as well as a rough sketch of each God. There was a crude map at the back that marked their general locations. For a while after reading the book, Azure thought about selling it back to Ruthren but then decided on keeping it. While he doubted he'd ever want to travel the entire planet to see all of the Gods, he never knew when the map might come in handy.

  After several hours of doing nothing, Azure considered going back to Ruthren to buy Dungeons of Chaos as well, but he didn't want to have to break a silver to do it. If there was one thing he'd learned, it was that coin was hard to come by in The Realm. The merchant likely wouldn't repurchase the book at the same price either. It just wasn't worth it.

  The rest of his time was spent meandering around the ship, making small talk with the crew and his travel companions, and sleeping. Eating wasn't a fun event, seeming to always make Azure's motion sickness rear up. And he was embarrassed when the captain guffawed at him for puking overboard on the second afternoon. By the time land finally came into sight on the fourth day, Azure decided that he absolutely hated sailing.

  He hadn't been sure what to expect of Squall's End, but as they approached, it quickly became apparent that it was much more than just a pier with a few small buildings. Seeing it get closer and closer made Azure feel like he was finally reaching medieval civilization. This was a town. A real town. Too bad Uden had never gotten to see it, he thought dolefully.

  Azure felt like a dog waiting for its master to open the door. As soon as the gangway was put out, he practically sprinted across it to get to land. If it wouldn't have caused such a scene, he would have thrown himself onto the ground and kissed the dirt. This was freedom and adventure and everything else he'd missed.

  Lonnell smirked at him as he followed along. “I never thought I'd see someone so happy to get off of a ship.”

  Azure turned and stopped to wait for his friend. “I never thought it was possible to actually die of boredom, but I'm pretty sure it would have happened if I had to stay on that ship one more day.”

  "It's because you don't know how to keep yourself properly entertained." Lonnell tapped his Bag of Holding, and Azure knew he was talking about the giant tome he had brought along.

  "Reading isn't for everyone," he told his friend. "Hell, even the little bit I did while we were on board made me nauseous."

  "Where are you boys headed to now?" Ruthren came up behind them, wanting to say his farewells before they went their separate ways.

  "I suppose we're going to make the journey to Roselake now," Lonnell told him as he stretched and yawned.

  It was early afternoon, but Azure felt exhausted as well. Sitting around doing nothing had somehow drained him of energy.

  "That's a good walk. You boys best get going soon if you want to reach Roselake before nightfall."

  "Five miles, give or take." Lonnell gave a curt wave of his hand.

  "Well, have safe travels. I'll be heading back up towards Noseon. I'm not sure when we'll cross paths again, but I doubt this will be the last we'll see of each other."

  "I certainly hope not," Azure said with a smile. "You have safe travels, too." He clasped wrists with the merchant and then Lonnell did the same.

  "Well," Lonnell turned toward the bustling town and took a deep breath, "I suppose we should get going."

  As they walked through Squall's End, Azure was taken in by the wonder of the place. He had never seen such a variety of people in all his life. Women and men of all shapes, sizes, and skin tones, shorter stocky humanoids with thick plaited beards and muscular bodies that were obviously dwarfs. He even saw a miniature version of a dwarf talking to one of the shopkeepers.

  Azure tapped Lonnell's shoulder, trying not to draw attention as he whispered. “What is that?”

  "Hm." His gaze volleyed around, trying to see what Azure was talking about. "Ah. That is a gnome."

  "A gnome," Azure parroted gleefully. The stout little man stood about two feet tall. He had a thick white beard and a bald head. Covering his eyes were a pair of black goggles with green lenses. Adorning his body was a tight white shirt beneath red suspenders. He looked like a steampunk miniature Santa Claus.

  Lonnell slapped Azure's chest with the back of his hand. “Don't stare. It's rude.”

  "Oh, right." Azure coughed, forcing his eyes away, though he kept the gnome in his peripheral vision.

  Squall's End was awash with sights and smells and sounds. The entire town was surrounded by a wall of stone with lookout towers on the corners. There was only one entrance in and out and a dirt path that seemed to split the town in two until it reached the official buildings in the middle. At least, that's what Azure assumed they were because they were much larger and ornately designed than any of the other buildings. Just beyond the official buildings, the traveling merchants had set up their carts and were announcing their wares and their associated prices. Few of the buildings had any lettering on their signs. Most just had pictures of what they were. Against the walls were the permanent merchant s
hops. Though they didn't explore enough to see it all, Azure could make out a forge, a cobbler, and a bakery.

  There were other buildings without signs. The first time Azure saw someone emptying a chamberpot out of the window of one, he realized they were residences. That would explain the stench of piss and feces that seemed to permeate the place. In all honesty, it mostly smelled horrible. A mix of animals and sewage and the sea.

  This is going to take some getting used to, Azure thought. While he wanted to look around more, he knew he would be coming back here so there would be time for that later. Squall's End was the closest town to Roselake, and it was also next to Hawking's School of Land Magic, which he could hardly wait to visit. But first, he needed to help Lonnell find Bronna and complete the quest he had already committed to. Everything else could wait.

  They stopped to ask someone for directions to Roselake before leaving the town. With a general idea of where they were headed, they passed through the gates and continued on down the dirt road. The land around them had a more country feel to it, devoid of the tropical trees and flora that dotted Crescent Island. A plain gave way to softly rolling hills. It was a comfortingly familiar topography, reminiscent of what Azure had seen in many games before.

  After about a mile, they came to a fork in the road with a signpost. While it gave no direction as to what lay ahead, to the left, it read Hawking's, and to the right it said Roselake. At least now, Azure knew how to get to the magic school, he thought as they took the path to the right.

  There was something incredibly wonderful yet boring about following a path. Back on Crescent Island, Azure had been used to traveling through difficult terrain. More often than not, Lonnell had been in the front hacking away with his machete at the foliage that blocked their way. There had been no human-made paths to Baremire or the goblin settlement.

  Where they were now seemed well-traveled. Azure could see a good ways behind and in front of them, making him less cautious and fearful of being taken unawares. He wasn't naive enough to think that there weren't enemies in this part of The Realm, but he felt relatively safe following the path.

  The forest grew in patches, giving way to fields of tall grass that blew in the breeze. As they continued on, the scenery slowly began to change, and it wasn't long before they found out how Roselake had gotten its name. A southern bend in the path revealed a lake to the west. Bordering its shore were hundreds of rose plants of various colors. It was unlike anything Azure had ever seen before, and he had to take a moment to pause and stare at it in wonder.

  "Beautiful," he whispered.

  Lonnell was less enchanted. He merely glanced at the lake but kept going. The village could be seen not far in the distance. It was clear that he just wanted to get there.

  Roselake was a lot less streamlined than Cragbell had been. There was a path going through it but a wide berth between what few buildings were there. They seemed to dot the village in random places as opposed to being right next to each other, though they all faced the path that cul-de-saced at the end of the village.

  "I'm guessing that's the tavern." Lonnell gestured to a building with a cup on its signage. "Best place to start as any."

  Upon entering, Lonnell walked straight up to the bar to consult the barkeep about Cristopher Prescott. Azure would have liked to have sat down and had a drink―take a load off after all of their traveling, but his friend was a man on a mission.

  The bartender pointed them in the direction of Cristopher's, and they set off again, finally leaving the path to traverse through the fields and forest. About a quarter mile to the southeast they stumbled upon a large wooden fence. Letting themselves in through the gate, they found several cows grazing inside. A small dwelling sat at the back of the property. While there was no arable land, there was a large animal pen to the right of it where about half a dozen pigs rooted through the mud for whatever scraps they could find. Two horses whinnied from a barn to the right, and a whole brood of hens clucked noisily from a hutch next to it.

  Smoke billowed out of the smokestack of the house, carrying with it the scent of burning logs, though it was highly overpowered by the stench of the animals. It might have been a welcoming sight if not for the fact that there was a rooster standing in their path. If roosters were capable of narrowing their eyes, Azure would have been sure it was glaring at them. It took a few steps towards them, scratching at the ground before making a ruckus as it charged.

  Azure knew he shouldn't be afraid―after all, he'd faced far worse than this―but he couldn't help but panic. He held up his hands and immediately started walking backward. “Oh, God. What do we do?” he said only a second before the rooster jumped to attack. Instinctively, he ran from it, causing Lonnell to burst out laughing. “Dude, this isn't fucking funny. Get it off of me.”

  For some reason, the rooster didn't seem to have any interest in Lonnell.

  "Some mighty warrior you are," he continued to laugh.

  "I've never dealt with one of these things before. I don't know what to do. We can't kill it." Was that a question? The rooster Analyzed as blue, but damn was it ever aggressive.

  Lonnell simply shook his head and ignored Azure, continuing on towards the house. The front door began to open, the occupants disturbed by the noise outside. A woman poked her head out before her body followed. She was short at only 4'10, with olive skin and curly brown hair that went all the way down to the small of her back despite being pulled back into a ponytail.

  "Oh Red," she said in a southern drawl that was completely unexpected in comparison to all of the other accents Azure had heard so far, "why don't you leave those boys alone."

  "Evening, ma'am," Lonnell greeted her. "We were wondering if this might be the residence of Cristopher Prescott."

  "It is." She walked over to retrieve the rooster, giving Azure a reprieve from its attacks. He had already worked up a sweat from running from it. "What business do you have with my husband?"

  Lonnell seemed relieved by the news that they were in the right place. “No business with him, ma'am. I came to see Bronna. Her father, Esau, told me that he'd sent her here to live with you. I was...kind of her beau back on Crescent Island.” He scratched the back of his neck nervously as he said it.

  Before the woman even had time to respond, Bronna pushed past her and rushed into Lonnell's arms. He lifted her into the air and spun her around. It was, Azure thought, disgustingly cute how happy they were to see each other. He decided to ignore them, approaching the woman instead, though keeping a safe distance because that bloody rooster was still eying him murderously.

  "Hi, ma'am. My name's Azure. And you are?"

  "Owe," she replied almost absentmindedly, her gaze fixed on the two lovebirds, obviously not sharing in their happiness. If anything, she seemed concerned.

  "Owe?" Azure asked, wondering if she was ignoring him completely.

  "Yes, Owe," she repeated.

  "Are you all right?"

  "Owe is my name," the woman clarified, finally realizing that Azure was confused.

  "Ohhh. Owe," Azure parroted, tasting it as a name instead of a word. It seemed odd.

  Congratulations! Quest: Find Bronna has been completed.

  You traveled over land and sea to help Lonnell track down his lost love. Bronna seems to be in good health and glad that you came. What the lovers do next is up to them. You have earned 90XP.

  Congratulations! You are now Level 7! Your base stats have been boosted. You have earned 3 points to assign to your characteristics. Please note that adding points to some characteristics(Vitality, Intelligence, and Strength) will further boost your base stats. You may also advance any 1 skill of your choosing by 1 level.

  Finally! It felt like forever since Azure had last leveled up. Not that he'd really been doing anything that was too productive. He could hardly wait to assign his characteristic points, but he knew he was about to be dragged into a conversation at any moment, so now wasn't the time.

  "Let's go inside," Owe su
ggested, opening the door wider for them to enter.

  Lonnell slung his arm around Bronna's shoulder. As soon as they were all inside, Owe released the rooster to go back to its apparent duties of protecting the property from strangers. Azure kept his eyes glued on the door, not feeling safe until it was closed behind them.

  The inside of the dwelling was much the same as Manny and Meva's place. There wasn't much in the way of furniture except for a table, a few chairs, and some cots. While there was a fire burning in the hearth, there was no pot bubbling over it. Azure's stomach gurgled in disappointment, wondering when the mealtime would be.

  Lonnell led Bronna to a chair, pulling it out for her to sit down. The second she did, he knelt before her, taking her hands in his. “I know this is sudden, but when I returned to Cragbell and realized you weren't there, I thought about how much I didn't want to live without you. Bronna Prescott, will you marry me?”

  The hobbit-like woman's face lit up with excitement, and she jumped into his arms again, knocking him back onto the floor as she chanted yes over and over again.

  Azure wasn't sure if he should be happy for his friend or uncomfortable at what he was witnessing. Seeing as how Owe was displaying the latter of the two, he decided to side with her. This all seemed way too sudden. I mean, he hadn't even taken the time to tell her that Uden was dead.

  Slowly, a soft smile crossed Owe's lips, and she shook her head.

  Azure's thoughts were elsewhere. He had expected to feel a wave of depression"had thought that he'd be assaulted by all of the fading hopes and dreams he'd had about marrying Sheila someday. But they were just that. Fading. Even if he could have made things right, he'd likely never see her again. Besides, she had replaced him, so what did it matter. They were practically dead to each other. Maybe he even was dead. Whatever the case, it was time to move on. No more dreaming about a life that no longer existed.