Jazzy paused, eyeing Kittish before her smile came back. “You are undoubtedly correct, Kittish. Tell my sister hi, and I’ll see you in a few days. All three Devs are going to be there when the event ends. I just have a feeling something big is coming. Have a good one,” she finished before she vanished in another flash of light.
Dumadin frowned, “That was abrupt.”
Kittish nodded, “Yes, it was. We should head back to the gates. The caravan should be here soon.”
They ended up waiting for almost half an hour for the Caravan to reach the gates as the sun was getting low in the sky. “You rejoin us, Heroes,” Bjorn greeted them. “We are going to find a couple of Inns to stay at for the evening before heading back out tomorrow morning.”
“Sounds like a good plan, Bjorn,” Dumadin replied, making way for the wagon. “We’ll follow you,” he said before falling into step with Felton. “What’s been going on, man?”
Felton eyed him before nodding, “The last five days have been peaceful. The first day after the guards showed up the other side got massacred multiple times. They have since given up it seems. How you been?”
Dumadin shrugged, “A week at the most, I think.”
Grimacing, Felton sighed, “Sucks, man. At least you’ll be able to see this to the end.”
“Gods willing. That is my last wish at this point.” Dumadin said shaking his head, “Did G and his wife take a break?”
“Yeah, been off the game for the last three. Said he would be back for the last day to finish the trip. Seems they went to visit family upstate for a few. Me and Emilia are going to take tomorrow off to see my sister now that you’re back.”
“Enjoy, family is a precious thing.” Dumadin squeezed his friend’s shoulder before trailing down the wagon train to greet the townsfolk.
Alvira, upon seeing him, yanked him up onto the bench beside her and hugged him hard. “You are back,” her voice sounded strangled as she held back her emotions. “I was worried that you wouldn’t make it back to me before the end.”
Dumadin hugged her in return before giving her cheek a kiss. “If everything goes right, I’ll be here long enough to see you all to the castle.”
Kittish jumped up on the wagon and sat down on his lap, hugging Alvira as well. “He is too stubborn to not see this through, thank the gods. Tonight we’ll stay with you dear, and the next couple of nights as well.”
Alvira nodded and wiped the few tears that had escaped her eyes away. “Good. I shall give him another reason to keep fighting, then. Between us maybe we can get him to cling a little longer.” She met Kittish’s eyes, seeing the same pain and grief mirrored there.
Kittish kissed Alvira on the cheek, “Together.”
The conversation was cut short as Bjorn called for the non-crafters to use the Inn they were passing. He called for the crafters to use the next inn as their stopping point. A few minutes later each of the wagons was pulled into a courtyard. The large group of all the crafters, along with Dumadin, Kittish, Terets, Lavender and Kristof walked into the inn’s taproom. The proprietor hustled over to Bjorn, who arranged rooms for each of them and a feast in the private dining room.
Once everyone was settled Bjorn lifted his cup, “Toast!” He paused and waited for everyone else to grab their drinks. “To our Heroes, who will undoubtedly become legends soon! Without you who have always stood by our sides and helped our departed friend we would not be here right now!”
The group all drank in response to the toast. As soon as the cups were lowered Kristof spoke up, “Toast! To the Bananas who have helped show the rest of the world how this world is truly alive!” Again everyone drank and lowered their cups.
The food arrived and everyone dug in. Each of the players received a buff from the feast, giving bonus experience gains for six hours, even though they knew they wouldn't get any use out of the buff. Some time later, as people finished eating, Bjorn cleared his throat.
“Friends, while I can't tell you everything right now, I am going to tell you some.” Bjorn said frankly, causing Terets, Amythyst and Kristof to look puzzled. “You have come to the realization that this world is more than it seemed at the start. Some things didn't go as the Messengers planned when the Carnival ended. That being the case, we know all you have done for us over the last year. The quests that hadn't been completed when you left are either done or soon to be done.”
“We know about the deposit by Tabitha into the guild account,” Dumadin supplied.
Bjorn grinned, “Aye, that is part of it. The money you loaned to me that I have now returned.”
Quest Complete: Fund Bjorn’s project
Receive: Your coin has been returned by Bjorn.
Bonus: Reputation maxed with Stonetalon.
Achievement: You are Legend
Max your reputation with a Town or City.
All allied or neighboring towns will view you as Heroes of their settlements.
Kristof blinked, “I just became a Hero of Stonetalon.”
“Aye, you have stood with us and have shown your true self to Camelia. The others have regained their proper status as legends.” Bjorn chuckled and the townsfolk gave a cheer. “The other quest will be taken care of when we reach the castle. When we get there, we would first like to see the memorial you set up for Thallien.”
Dumadin tried to remember if they had told him about that. “We didn't tell you about that,” he said slowly.
Bjorn nodded, “Gehry mentioned it to the guards before they left. They in turn told me about it, knowing how much I treasured my friends. I am touched beyond words at what you did for him and us.” Bjorn wiped the tear away from his eye before nodding.
“How did you not get reset with the rest of the server?” Amythyst cut in. “That should have been impossible.”
Bjorn looked away and shook his head, “That is not my tale to tell. Please wait a few days. You will have your answers when we reach the castle. We just wanted to let you know, because we respect you and what you have done, that we recall everything.”
The merchants all rose and bowed to the four friends. Kristof blinked, shaking his head slightly, “Is that why you were so easy to approach this time, Camelia?” His eyes were locked onto the stable master.
Camelia nodded, sitting down and taking his hand, “Yes. We started a small relationship before you left for the Carnival. When we reunited during the feast my heart soared knowing that you might choose me again. Which is why I was so distraught when you failed to come back for so long after our night together.” She blushed before meeting his gaze, “It is also why I have clung as tightly as I have dared to you now.”
Kristof leaned forward and kissed her gently, “I will do my best to stay by your side, Camelia. Just know that I am not bound here and the other place we adventurers go sometimes keeps me for days on end. I will always return as soon as I can, though.”
Camelia lunged at him, holding him tightly and kissing him fiercely. Cheers rose up from the others around the table.
“Well it seems at least a few have found love with you then,” Terets chuckled. “Considering Kristof and Camelia, along with these two deviants and Alvira.”
“Us as well, dear,” Amythyst poked him. “We found each other here in this reality as well. If you hadn't saved me from the would-be rapists during that first day, who knows what would have happened to me.”
Terets hugged her, “Best thing I've ever done. I would have shot them both if guns were a thing here.”
“A knight in shining armor. Minus the armor, horse, title and well the list goes on.” Dumadin quipped.
“Oh shut it,” Terets said, tossing a bread roll at his friend. “Go have a good night with your lovers and leave us others alone.”
Dumadin stood up and offered hands to Alvira and Kittish. “Ladies, we have been asked to depart. Shall we?”
They stood, taking his hands, “Yes, we shall.” they said in unison before saying goodbye to the others at the table.
T
he party broke up at that point, each of them retiring to their rooms for the evening. Just before logging out Dumadin lay there, an arm around each beauty beside him. Sadness overtook him as he knew this was all about to end. Life had given him happiness and was now about to take it away for good.
He throttled his emotions down and woke the women on his arms. “We have to go, Alvira. We shall return as soon as we can.” He kissed her gently as her eyes opened slightly. She smiled softly before closing her eyes and went back to sleep.
Kittish sat up rubbing her eyes, “Oh, time already?”
“It's close. We spent a several hours celebrating in here, after all.” Dumadin said as he hugged her before disengaging. “You first, please. I’m sure I’ll need my meds.”
Kittish nodded, getting dressed and headed down to log out in Alvira’s wagon. Dumadin stroked Alvira's hair once, causing her to stir slightly. He gave her another kiss, this time on the cheek, before he too got dressed and went down to Alvira's wagon to log out for the night.
Family Bonds
David came to, his whole body rigid with pain and his muscles seizing up as his brain tried to process the nerve impulses. He felt his heart clench and his breath catching in his throat as his eyes snapped open to find Miriam above him, water in one hand and phone open in the other. He shook his head as he knew it wasn’t as bad as the last one. “Meds… give meds… pain is causing the issue,” he gasped out, able to breathe enough to speak this time.
Miriam dropped her phone onto him and held out the water and pills to him, her eyes full of fear as she did so. David forced his body into a sitting position his breathing still not normal as he felt his heart pumping faster than it should, laboring to keep the oxygen he was getting flowing. Taking the cup in a very shaky hand he popped the pills into his mouth and downed them quickly. He coughed roughly after they went down as his body was still trying to get all the oxygen it could.
He fell back into the pod gasping and shaking as the pain raced through him, but he could feel his breathing starting to even out as he started to adapt to the pain again. “I’m fine, just a small one. The pain seems to cause me to clench all up which triggered the attack.” His eyes were squeezed shut against the pain, but he felt her trembling hand take his with very light pressure.
“You can’t go back in tomorrow then,” Miriam whispered. “The next time you do very well might be the last time. If you want to see the end of the event you’ll need to wait until then to go back in.”
David opened his eyes and he could feel the tears prickling in them. “I might be able to do small trips in, an hour or two. As long as the pain meds are still working it might work.” His words were half hope but also half plea, as if saying them might make them true.
Miriam shifted so he was forced to see her, her own eyes dripping as she shook her head. “The risk is very high love, do you want to chance it?”
He shuddered, knowing that even the digital world was now all but lost to him as well. He wiped his tears away before speaking again, “No. I’ll wait even through it means I won’t get the time I wanted with Alvira or the others.”
Miriam gently touched his cheek, waiting for his eyes to meet hers, “I’ll pop in for a few minutes tomorrow to tell her. We have two days to wait until we can see the end. What do you want to do?”
David let out a ragged breath, “As much as I was putting it off, I need to say goodbye to my sisters. They would never forgive me if I left without saying it. It was bad enough not telling them about the hospitalization. I’m going to rest here for a bit and let the meds kick in. If you’ll bring my phone to me, I’ll call my sisters and ask them to come over tomorrow. Text Will and let him know what’s happening and see if he can get Bjorn to travel a little slower over the next two days. If he does, that will put them at the base of the path which means in three days they will have a two hour climb to the summit. Then we can have Will and Lavender over the night before for dinner.”
Miriam nodded, her eyes still brimming with sadness but she said nothing as she kissed his cheek and moved to get his phone for him. When she brought it back she kissed him softly before retrieving her phone and moving into the computer room to be out of earshot when she called Will.
David watched her go an emptiness filling him. He bit back his bitterness at the world and dialed his older sister first. The phone rang once before being answered, “Ann, it’s your brother. I would really like you to come over for dinner tomorrow.”
“Is everything okay? Should I tell your niece and nephew?” Ann asked, her voice worried.
“No, just you please. Come around seven, we’ll be having pasta.” He tried to keep his voice calm, as if nothing was wrong.
“Okay, I’ll be there. Brother…” She cut off what she was going to say, he could hear her take a deep breath. “I’ll see you then.” David knew his older sister had figured it out. She was always smarter than she let on.
He ended the call and took another deep breath before calling his younger sister. “Elizabeth, it’s your brother.”
“Are you okay? Is anything wrong? What can I do?” The questions came rapidly, the fear evident in her voice.
“I’m fine, just laying around at the moment. What you can do is come over for dinner tomorrow around seven, we’ll be having the family pasta.” David did his best to keep his voice positive.
There was a pause before his sister replied. “Tomorrow? Your niece and nephew need more time than that to make arrangements to get to town.”
“No, just you and the hubby if he’s in town.”
“No, he went out to Chicago to help his old friend Fred. I’ll be there, can I bring anything?”
“Just yourself. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay Brother, love you.” She hung up, her voice cracking slightly. She would probably figure it out before tomorrow, but she was always the optimist so she might not think the worst.
David placed the phone on his chest and just lay there, thinking about what tomorrow night was going to be like and wincing. His older sister would understand, she had held up well when their parents had passed. His younger sister, not so much. Liz would be hurt and devastated over what he would say tomorrow. He only hoped she would forgive him eventually.
Miriam walked out of the computer room, her face a carefully controlled mask. “Are they coming over?”
“Yes. Please tell me you can do the family pasta for tomorrow?”
“Yes,” She took his hand and just looked down at his face. “She will forgive you eventually, you know that.”
“I hope so. Help me up and to bed, please. I feel tired.” David sat up slowly with her help. “I think the next few days will mostly be spent in bed.”
Miriam kept quiet as she helped him out of the pod and into the bedroom. The night was mostly spent in silence as Miriam fed him and put him to bed before curling up with him. She held him as he fell into slumber before allowing herself to break. Her tears flowed freely as she carefully clutched her longtime friend and lover to her. If she believed in a God she would have been cursing him, her or it for what was happening now. After a while her tears slowed, and eventually she fell into a fitful slumber.
Breakfast was light, a single egg each with toast. David only managed a few bites of his, his appetite all but gone. He took a bath while Miriam started the sauce for dinner, and they spent most of the day cuddling on the sofa, not saying much, each lost in their own heads with their fears and worries. Eventually night came and the crunch of gravel in the driveway told them a guest had arrived.
Miriam put a hand on his chest as she got up, “Just stay there.” She opened the door before Ann could knock. The two exchanged greetings and a hug in the doorway before Ann came inside.
“You’re a little pale brother,” was Ann’s comment as she came over and hugged him.
“I haven’t looked in the mirror recently, so I’ll take your word for it. How is the family?”
“Good, they asked how yo
u were doing. I can fill them in after we talk tonight. I take it you’re near the end now?” Her eyes were dry and piercing as they pinned him to the sofa.
He nodded before meeting her gaze, “Yeah. Heart is going. I doubt I have a week left. I’ll go over it once Liz gets here.”
Ann sucked in a breath and winced, “She’s going to take it badly. You know that. She had a hard enough time with mom and dad.”
Nodding David agreed, “Yeah. But if I don’t tell her, then die, it would be worse. You know that as well as I do.”
“That would be worse. Okay, I’ll do my best to help you. Did you ever even look into treatments?” she asked lightly.
“No. I had no desire to drag this out any longer than it was going to last on its own. The past two weeks have been bad enough as it is.” He stopped talking as another car pulled up. “Hun, she’s here.”
Last Horizon: Live Page 24