PrimeVerse: Dose of Chaos: A GameLit / LitRPG Adventure

by R K Billiau

  We walked the short distance to the village square. The fountain was a good size, large and round with a very basic vase like statue that spouted a significant spray of water a good ten feet in the air. The sound it made was relaxing, and a constant background noise to the village. Then something struck me.

  “Hey,” I asked Anya, “how do you guys have a fountain, anyway? Doesn’t that require running water?”

  She smiled hugely. “Video game magic.”

  “Huh?” I said.

  “Video game magic. The village gets little features as it levels. The fountain and the shop signs,” she pointed back to the signs, “are some of our newest features. They just… appear.”

  “Huh, cool,” I said, impressed.

  “The best part about the fountain,” she said gesturing to it, “is when you’re near it, your expendables regenerate much faster.”

  I walked up to the fountain and my buff bar exploded with four green arrows overlaying the icon for each expendable: Stamina, Mana, Zeal, and Spirit. Super cool!

  I noticed Caden, the blacksmith, was there off to the side.

  “Hey Caden,” I said, walking up to him while Madison bee-lined to the kids.

  “Hi Hudson,” he said. “Did you get stuck with Anya there?” He smiled, and I could tell he was joking, but was thankful Anya was out of earshot, anyway.

  “She’s been very nice,” I answered. “Everyone has, really.”

  “It’s a good group of people,” he agreed. “We got lucky.”

  “How did you get here?” I asked.

  “Actually, all of us were volunteers. Most of us were running from something. Pretty much death, really.”

  “What? Really?” I asked, surprised.

  “Oh yeah. I had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I was a walking corpse. It was eternal game life or eternal grave. I chose game.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, man.”

  “It’s a bit of a bitter pill, but that’s life, right? It’s been pretty good here. A struggle at times, but I like the slow and simple. And the air is fresh, the food is good. I don’t have a lot of complaints.”

  “So, was everyone here… dying… before they came?” I hoped I didn’t sound as rude as I felt asking.

  “Most everyone was just… really old. Sounds bad, but true. Pretty lively crew for a bunch of geriatrics!” He laughed at his own joke, making me more comfortable about the strange topic.

  “She seems like a sweet girl you got there,” he said, nodding to Madison. “And pretty, too.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, she’s something else,” I agreed. “But we’re not together. Not really, anyway.”

  “You’d better tie up those loose ends, man! When you know, you know, and there aren’t many options out here.”

  “If it were up to me, they’d be tied and double knotted. I’m just waiting for her to be ready.”

  “Ah, be patient, I guess.”

  “Trying to be,” I said.

  We watched Madison interacting with the kids. She was squatting down on their level, giggling and chatting. They seemed quite interested in her and I couldn’t help but smile. She really was in her element.

  “Well hey, why don’t you and the not-quite-missus come over for dinner tonight? Shara and I would love to have you.”

  “That is super nice, thanks, man. I’ll ask Madison, but I’m sure she’ll be game.”

  I used this as my exit and walked over to her. She grinned when she saw me.

  “Hudson! Aren’t they the sweetest?” She splashed at one of the boys in the fountain who exploded in a fit of giggles, splashing her back. I jumped back to avoid the water, Madison taking it in the face. She laughed and wiped the drips off.

  “That’s Samuel,” she said, beaming.

  “Yeah, I’m 4,” he said, holding up 4 stubby little fingers.

  “Hi, Samuel,” I said, moving closer to him. “I’m Hudson and I’m 22. Or 18… I don’t really know.” The boy exploded in another fit of giggles and splashed at me.

  “Hey, I have something I think you’ll like.” This grabbed the attention of a few kids that were close enough to hear, and they came over with a chorus of ‘what is it?’

  “Watch this,” I said, and got out a flunky core. I held it and it lit up in my hand. Their eyes got wide watching the stone and wider yet when a flunky appeared next to me. They stared at it in awe. I held out my hand and it climbed up my arm and onto my shoulder.

  “Woah, hang on,” Caden said, jogging over to me. “Is that thing safe?”

  “Harmless,” I said, petting it.

  Caden eyed it, then seemed to relax.

  “I promise it won’t hurt them. They’re pretty gentle anyway, but I control it so it won’t do anything without my saying.”

  I picked the flunky up in my hand, the kids’ eyes wide as saucers. “Do you want to pet her?” I asked, holding it down low.

  The flunky plucked a hat off one of the girls and put it on its own head. Laughter erupted in the group. The flunky ran up my arm again, onto my shoulder, and plopped the way too small hat on my way too big head, to more laughter. It then took the hat and jumped from my shoulder to Madison’s. She let out an ‘ooh!’ in surprise, and more giggling as the hat was then put on her head. I took the flunky from her shoulder and gently set it on the shoulder of one of the older girls, who froze for a second, then giggled as it climbed up and sat on her head.

  She pulled it down, cradling it in her arms, and tickled its chin. It relaxed like a baby in her embrace.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “It’s called a flunky,” I said. “I found her in the forest. With that stone, I can call her out anytime I want.”

  “That is so cool!” she said. “Daddy?” she looked at Caden, “can I please have one?”

  Caden smiled and shook his head. “No pets.”

  “But Daddy! Look at her! She’s so sweet and fuzzy!”

  The flunky was on its back, cradled in her arms, sleeping. I had to admit, it was pretty cute.

  Madison leaned into me and I beamed. I hadn’t done it to impress her, and it was really fun getting to watch the kids’ joy in meeting my little pet, but her being pleased with me was a definite perk.

  “Hey,” I said, looking down at her. “Caden invited us for dinner tonight. Will you join me?”

  “It’s a date,” she said.

  “Like, a date, date?” I asked, excitedly.

  “We’ll see,” she said, and went to pet the flunky that had woken up and was jumping back and forth between kids.

  Chapter 37

  “Ugh, I wish I had something to wear!” Madison shouted, pulling at her chainmail.

  I tried backing away quietly so she could have a moment, but it didn’t work.

  “Hudson! Do I look ridiculous?” She stood in front of me, gesturing to the length of her body. She looked hot. But I was smart enough to say something different.

  “You look great,” I said.

  “Ugh,” she puffed. “You’re just saying that. I look stupid.”

  “Well, this is a video game world, Madison. No one really has a wardrobe, yet anyway.”

  “I know, but it’s just we’re going to dinner and I want to look nice.”

  “Believe me lady, you look nice.” I wolf whistled. She rolled her eyes.

  “Are we ready?” I asked.

  “Not yet. I have to do my hair.” I laughed, to myself of course, I’m not a total idiot, because this felt like such a normal life scene and yet it was chainmail she was concerned about.

  “Okay,” she said, pulling on her boots. “This is as good as it’s gunna get.”

  “And it is good,” I said, taking an exaggerated, long, slow look at her.

  She smiled and took my hand. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait right here,” I said, dropping her hand. I just need a minute.

  Before she could respond, I darted out of the curtain and out of the longhouse. I looked up and down the dirt road, smiling when I sa
w some rogue wildflowers sprouting up along the wall. They weren’t fancy; white flowers with a bright yellow inside and long green stems, but they would do. I had noticed them earlier in the day and knew she’d like the sentiment. I quickly pulled up a handful and ran back to the longhouse.

  I knocked on the wall next to the curtain and a very confused looking Madison pulled the curtain aside. I held the bouquet out to her. “Ready for our date? I smiled.

  She smiled back warmly, taking the flowers and smelling them. She looked at me and shook her head, still smiling, but said nothing. We strolled through the small town, waving at the kids or residents who were out working or playing until we got to our destination.

  We knocked on the door and were welcomed graciously by Shara. “Come in! Come in!” she said, grabbing Madison’s hand and pulling her in the door. I followed, closing the door behind me.

  “Oh I am so glad you came!” she said, bustling about.

  “Thank you for inviting us over,” Madison said. “I wish I had something nicer to wear.”

  “Oh honey, you look fine! But if you’d like, I have an extra dress you could have. It's very basic and all we have is leather, but it beats having to wear armor all the time.”

  “That would be so nice!” Madison said, excitedly. “But only if it's truly extra.”

  “Come, follow me. I’ll show you,” Shara said, and Madison followed her to the back of the house, disappearing into a hallway.

  The house was very basic. The front was a large, open rectangle with a crude kitchen with a rudimentary wooden table and chairs on one side, and a very basic wooden bench in front of a fireplace on the other. There was a wooden jar with flowers on the table, and a woven rug in the living room, which helped brighten up the place. It was minimal, but it was homey.

  The ladies came back into the room and Caden ushered us to the table. “Please, have a seat.” He passed out four mugs and put a large jug of something on the table. “Would you like some?” he asked, nodding to it.

  “Please,” I said, having no idea what I was agreeing to.

  “What is it?” Madison asked.

  Caden smiled. “It’s good! We call it wine, but it’s not made from grapes. It’s an assortment of fermented fruits. Ryan makes it and has some fermenting skill. But it’s pretty much like wine in terms of strength.”

  “Sounds great!” Madison said. “It feels like forever since I’ve had a drink.”

  He poured a round and we cheersed. “To new friends, safe villages, and successful endeavors.”

  “Short and sweet, I like it,” I said, clinking glasses with Madison then the others.

  We took big swigs and it was good. Thicker than the wine on Earth, but sweet and tart and dry all at the same time.

  The kids joined us, and they were easy to like. They asked good questions and were fun. Piper didn’t understand why she wasn’t old enough for wine, or was just old enough to know how to pester her parents to get what she wanted. It didn’t work in this case. It was strange to look at her, a full-blown person, albeit a small one, and know she was in her mother’s womb 9 months ago. So strange.

  Shara brought over a platter of food that nearly had me drooling just looking at it. A large roasted bird- I assumed turkey- was in the middle, surrounded by golden potatoes and gleaming carrots. She passed around wood plates and piled them high with food.

  “This is amazing!” I said, swallowing my first bite and grabbing another. The bird was moist and tender and maybe the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Every enemy I’d ever have to fight in this world would be worth it just for the food.

  “It’s so delicious,” Madison agreed.

  I tried to pace myself with the food, but I was hungry and it was so good, I scarfed it down. Nathaniel whined about the carrots on his plate, but I didn’t think it was polite to offer to take them.

  “Tell me about the farm!” Madison said between bites, then shoving another bite in her mouth.

  “It’s a lot of work, but it's fun. My parents and grandparents for many generations back were farmers, but this isn’t quite the same. I get a lot of help from the game. Anya shows me where to plant the seeds, and I get boosts to help them grow faster. It’s so much more rewarding to plant something and harvest in only a few days.”

  “Oh, I would love to help someday,” Madison said. “It’s all so fascinating!”

  “You are more than welcome anytime,” Shara said.

  “You can take my chores,” Nathaniel said. “Pulling weeds is boring.” His dad ruffled his hair. “All right kiddos, it’s time for bed. I’ll walk you to the fountain to wash up.” The kids left with minor complaints.

  “He seems like a good dad,” Madison said.

  “He is,” Shara said, blushing slightly. “I am so lucky to have found him.”

  “How did you guys meet?” I asked. “Before you were uploaded or in game?”

  “Right before we were uploaded, actually,” she said, softly. “All of us volunteers were brought into a room together. To be honest, I started panicking. I’m 98 years old, you know, and none of this technology was appealing to me. But the idea of living forever in an untapped world- well, it seemed worth it. I had been alone for decades. My husband died 23 years ago, and we had chosen not to have children. I’m sorry, I’m rambling.”

  “No, please do go on,” Madison said, sitting up tall, fascinated by the story. I, too, was listening intently.

  “Caden, he was nearly half my age. So handsome. But that wasn’t what did it for me. He held my hand the whole time they were hooking us up. I was so nervous my whole body was shaking, I almost quit and walked out. But he held my hand and rubbed my arm and talked to me the whole time. He actually waited to be uploaded until after me so he didn’t have to leave my side.”

  “Oh that’s the sweetest love story I’ve ever heard!” Madison said, clapping her hands together and tearing up.

  “He arrived in game, just a few minutes later, and I don’t think we’ve been apart since. It was nice to be the same age. Young and vivacious, even!” she said with a wink.

  Caden and the kids arrived back then, and Piper and Nathaniel kissed their mom and said goodnight.

  “Sleep tight!” Madison said to the kids, though they looked quite grumpy to be going to bed. “It was nice having dinner with you.”

  Caden cleared our plates to the kitchen and sat back down, refilling our glasses with wine from the jug. “What did I miss?”

  “Oh, not much, darling. Though they did Manage to get how we met out of me,” Shara said.

  Caden grabbed her hand. “Feels like forever ago,” he said. “Time is a strange, strange thing here. How did you two wanna be lovebirds meet?”

  Heat shot to my face. But then I heard Madison hiccup out a laugh and looked over to see her sitting much more relaxed than I was used to.

  “Well, you see,” she said, “I had quite the unfortunate start. When I got to the main game, I spawned into a death trap where I died quite a few times before being able to escape. And then, as soon as I finally did escape, a giant spider put me in a cocoon. But this,” she spoke a little more exaggerated than normal, and I watched her carefully as she grabbed my arm with both of her hands, “strapping young gentleman found me and rescued me.” She kissed my cheek. “My hero!”

  What was going on? She took another swig from her mug and hiccupped. A smile spread wide across my face as I realized what was happening: Madison was a lightweight.

  Caden and Shara exchanged glances and laughed.

  “Well that is quite a story,” Shara said. “I’m glad he found you. You two seem cute together.”

  Madison rested her head on my shoulder. “He is pretty cute.”

  What. Was. Happening?

  “Well, guys, thank you so much for having us. It seems I may need to get this one back to her bed,” I said, pointing at Madison who was looking so relaxed laying against me I was afraid she’d fall asleep. “I think the wine may be catching up with her.”
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br />   “Me?” she said, sitting up. “I’m fine. It is good wine, though,” she said and giggled.

  “It’s getting late, we should let these fine folks get to bed,” I said to her and stood.

  They followed us to the door, and Caden ran back to the table, grabbed the jug, and brought it over to me. “A little liquid courage never hurt anyone,” he said, handing me the jug and winking. “Maybe this is what you guys need to figure things out.” I didn’t really know how to react, but took it and thanked him, anyway.

  “Oh!” Shara said. “Don’t forget your dress!” She turned around and came back with a long piece of leather. I took it for Madison and thanked her.

  We walked quietly back toward the longhouse, holding hands. I couldn’t believe how clear the sky was. What seemed like billions of stars dotted the jet-black sky, shining brilliantly. It was truly beautiful.

  “How are you doing there, Madison?” I said, pulling to a stop and looking at her. She looked at me smiling, then broke into a giggle, trying to pull away.

  “Hang on,” I said, holding tightly to her hand. She spun back around, facing me. “Have a little too much wine, did you?” I asked with a smirk. I hoped with everything in me Graham wouldn’t be back in time to see her like this. She was adorably tipsy, but that wasn’t the best state for village protection.

  “Maybe just a little,” she said sheepishly.

  “Hey,” I said more seriously. “You know I didn’t rescue you from that cocoon, right? I’m pretty sure Kai saved you,” I said, setting the record straight.

  “I know,” she said and booped me on the nose. “But I’m really glad you were there too.” She swung our hands, like we were spinning a jump rope. “Race you back to the longhouse?” she said and let go of my hand before I could even respond and ran off. I opened the jug, took a long swig, and ran after her.

  “Madison?” I called as I walked in the door. “Are you in here?”

  “Boo!” she shouted and popped out from the wall directly by the door, wrapping her arms around me. “I won.”

  I smiled down at her, enjoying her body pressed against mine. “You sure did.”