Bugs and Loopholes: A LitRPG Adventure (Beta Tester Book 3)
Page 24
Jack eyed it dubiously. “I’m supposed to set out to sea on that thing?”
Jordan laughed. “That would be your only comment, wouldn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know…nothing to say about the city, or the hot springs, or the chamber with Acaria’s tear. Just nitpicking over realism.”
Her tone was lighthearted, like it amused rather than bothered her. So he shrugged. “I can’t help it if I like things to be realistic.”
“He says while playing a videogame full of magic and fantasy races.”
He grinned at her. “Speaking of fantasy races…when am I supposed to get Migli and the rest of them back?”
“See? You do miss him.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yeah you do. You didn’t say ‘Ceinwen and Arath.’ You said Migli.”
“Just because I’ve been stuck with him longer doesn’t mean I like him more.”
She smiled. “Sure, Jack. Whatever you say. But, they should return as soon as you get onto the raft, and set out. There’s a boundary…” She squinted at the dim horizon, at the river that seemed to stretch on forever. “Just there.”
He nodded, although he couldn’t tell exactly where she’d been pointing. Another question crowded his thoughts, though; and it seemed a lot more important than his companions. “What about you, and Avery? What if he pulls you?”
“I’m less worried about that now, actually. He kept saying how my tactic – ‘innovative’ though it was – had yielded no results.
“But now it has. So I think, once I tell him we did what Nate couldn’t; once I tell him you’ve got your companions back, he’ll leave me be.”
That brought him back to the companions, and he considered for a long second. “And if we don’t get them back?”
She shrugged. “We’re past that level, anyway. That’s still progress, right?”
She didn’t sound as confident as she had a moment earlier. Jack nodded. “Well…I guess I should get on the raft.”
“Yes. Just so you know, so it’s not a surprise…if they do come back, I’m going to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because the companions tend to freak out if someone just shows up, or disappears in front of them. They’re programmed to react to the world like they were real; like it’s real.”
Jack nodded. He supposed he’d freak out too if, in real life, someone just materialized in front of him out of thin air. Hell, he’d been pretty freaked out when William showed up. For a second, he considered asking about William, and what she thought of his chances of getting out, or even his mental health. But he figured they were back to being recorded. And he’d given his word not to tip Avery off. So he said, “That makes sense.”
They stood there for a long moment, until the silence between them started to feel awkward. “Well,” he said, a little brusquely, “I should get on the raft, and see what happens.”
“Right. I’ll walk with you.”
They walked in silence, and stepped on to the raft together. Shimmerfax whinnied nervously, but got on as well. The raft looked like something out of an old Huckleberry Finn adaptation: a bunch of logs, all tied together with twine. For all that, it was surprisingly well balanced.
Jack figured that was videogame physics at play again. He’d never rode a real log raft, but he guessed they weren’t almost as steady as dry land, which this was. Still, since a log raft it was to be, he would overlook this particular creative liberty.
They untethered the raft, and the current carried it away downriver. Light appeared at the end of the tunnel, and the great, wide sea opened up before them. Jack started to sweat. He didn’t know where, exactly, the delineator lay. Had they already crossed it? Should his team have reappeared if they were going to? Or was the invisible line somewhere ahead of them?
He glanced forward, at the open sea. Then he glanced backward, at the empty raft with Jordan at one end and Shimmerfax between them.
He looked back at the sea. Every second seemed to bring it nearer, nearer.
Then, he heard Karag’s laugh, loud and rolling over the water. He spun around. The giant, and all his companions, had appeared exactly as he’d last seen them on the bridge. Some were mid-step, others were just getting ready to take a step. All of them seemed confused, and a little dazed.
Jordan, meanwhile caught his eye. She flashed him a smile and a thumb’s up. And then she was gone.
“What in tarnation?” Karag said. “Where are we?”
Arath grabbed his bow. “What sorcery is this?”
Migli shivered so loudly his armor clanked. Ceinwen threw an agitated glance around, her eyes resting at last on Jack. Er’c said nothing. He still looked green.
“We…uh…must have stepped through some kind of portal,” he said.
“A portal?”
“Yes. By the bridge. It’s brought us here.”
“Oh.” They nodded, as if accepting this theory.
“Strange magic,” Migli murmured.
“Never trust elves. That’s my advice,” Karag said, with a smirk at Ceinwen.
“Where are we heading, Sir Jack?” Migli said. “Have you any idea where this strange portal has taken us?”
“I do,” Jack said. “I…had a vision. We have to go to the lands of the plains dwellers. It’s a few day’s travel by sea, and Iaxiabor’s fortress is somewhere there.”
“Ah. Very good.”
“Indeed. Although I must say, I’m not looking forward to a trip of such length with companions such as these,” the giant declared, once more looking in Ceinwen’s direction.
Arath grinned at the elf. “I, on the other hand, cannot wait to get to know my fellow travelers better.”
Ceinwen patted the hilt of a dagger that hung at her belt, and said ominously, “Nor I.”
Jack shook his head. “Well, this is going to be fun.”
Thank you for reading!
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