Legendary Rule

by Bruce Sentar

  Missy snorted. “Do you really think I need a man to support me? I do well enough on my own. But that you’d react that way shows me that you’re worth our affection. What’s my name when we are alone?”

  How could Ajax ever forget “Rose.” He spoke softly into her ear.

  “By any other name would be just as sweet. That’s why I liked it. We are all fake in LR. This world has fewer consequences than outside. I like to think we are more real here. I look different outside the game. Would you still let me snuggle up like this if I was different outside.” She said more of as a statement than a question.

  She wasn’t waiting on an answer, but it made him think. Was she trying to tell him about Sky? Sky had been upset since Missy and his date. Women were a mystery Ajax guessed that Missy’s advice would probably be better than his own.

  “Get to know who she is. Judge her based on that. Oh and tell her that. We women like to be more than a name and a face.” With that, Missy snuggled deeper like a contented kitten. He guessed the ‘help Ajax score another girl’ session was over. The change that had overcome her since last night was baffling.

  However, a few questions tickled the back of his mind. Why was she so focused how he’d treat them outside the game? And she was not only allowing for him to date another girl but was encouraging it?

  Ajax didn’t have any time to think about that. Sky came out with her tight green workout gear in hand, extending them to him to enchant. Once he was done, Missy finally let him go with a peck on the cheek. She shooed him to follow after Sky who was already moving ahead.

  “Sky, I’m sorry,” Ajax said catching up to her.

  She twirled around. “What for?” a hint of the challenge touching her tone. He wanted to say the right thing, solve it with a few words. But knowing him, he’d somehow make it worse. So instead they walked in silence the rest of the way to the copse of trees.

  Ajax followed her as she made a circle around the copse and then settled on a spot off to the side, where they could see camp and anything approaching in the night. She still hadn’t spoken to him as they settled into a post for the watch. She kept her eyes out away from camp while Ajax watched for something coming around the other side of the trees. The awkward silence was growing thicker by the moment, and Ajax knew he needed to break it before it became something too thick to penetrate tonight.

  “Look, I’ll admit I’m not sure what I did wrong. Sky, you are an important part of this group and from what I see a good player. See, outside the game I’m in a rough patch. AI’s taking overwork I’m stuck in a shitty dead-end job. I thought maybe just maybe I could go pro in LR. I know it sounds like a pipe dream and there are tons of kids out there thinking they can do it too. I taught one of the current pro players. Oh shit, I sound like a braggart. Look Sky you’re good, and I want you to stick around. I’m sorry if I did something to make you feel uncomfortable… or unwelcome… or whatever this is… but now I’m rambling… say something?” Ajax was a geyser of his rambling thoughts as he tried to solve the tension. He took a breath now that the thoughts that had been stewing in the silence had busted through.

  She turned with a surprised look. “So, you want to make up with me because you want me to keep playing with you?” She didn’t hide the suspicion in her voice.

  “Yes, you’re a good player, and Missy wants us to stay together. And you’re hot, like really hot.” He was trying to project as much hope and positivity as he could towards her.

  “She said you were hopeless with girls, haha.” She started laughing to herself with, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Ajax wasn’t sure if they were from laughing or if there was something more.

  She got close. Her breath was warm and sweet on his cheek. She leaned in and he pulled her close as they shared a long soft kiss. She didn’t start with any tongue, and he didn’t think it was time to try anything. It was a soft longing kiss that told Ajax she had a few problems of her own.

  When she broke the kiss, she rested her head on his chest. Ajax just held her, she felt so small in his arms. “So how was sex with her last night?”

  Apparently, that was a preferred conversation over whatever else was going on in her head. However, it was absolutely not where Ajax thought it would be going. Was it even okay to have this conversation? Ajax stammered not knowing how to respond. Nothing coherent managed to come out so Sky continued the conversation.

  She chuckled “Yeah it would be a terror-inducing question in your position, wouldn’t it? It’s alright. She and I have been together. Like outside the game, that’s why I was so surprised when I saw her.”

  “Wait, yo-you two were together?” Ajax’s mind went straight to an imaginary pink room with both of them naked on a bed. He knocked aside the hopeful dream, focusing on Sky as she was opening up.

  “Yeah boys really screwed me up, so I switched to girls about a year ago. She was great and caring. However she was hung up on a guy. She really only wanted me to satisfy herself because she couldn’t be with him.” She looked up at him, some vulnerability showing through “So, how was the sex?”

  Still holding her, he told her about his night with another woman. It was one of the more awkward things he’d done, but in the end, she seemed to relax. She liked the part about giving her another name but Ajax left out what exactly he had called her during sex. Recounting last night with Sky’s soft body pressed against him, he was starting to get hard.

  “Would you give me a pet name if we were together?” Sky asked a blush forming.

  He felt her hand cup his tenting pants, which was rapidly stiffening. His breath became heavier. He thrust against her hands in reflex to his growing urge.

  “You know I’m a bit jealous of you, she…”

  Ajax silenced her with a kiss as he crushed her to him. She was so soft in his arms.

  Timidly, they explored each others’ mouths with their tongues twining together.

  The moment broke as Sky started to fight like she was a trapped animal in his embrace. He let go in shock.

  Ajax didn’t even see it coming. He didn’t hear what she was saying as he was stabbed once in the thigh then again in the small of his back. He instantly regretted being at full pain. It was just a game, he repeated to himself trying to push back the throbbing pain of the two wounds. Had she just stabbed him? What?

  “Sorry.” The rest died on his lips as he coughed. He expected to see spite in her eyes. Instead all he saw was shock. Then another sharp pain laced through his neck and everything went black.

  CHAPTER 22

  He opened his eyes to a green field with a shoddy hut off to the side. The massive gateway he had entered only today was empty; the portal to LR had been closed.

  “Ajax, you’ve died. There will be a three-hour lockout before you can return to LR. I have saved a video of your death if you wish to review it.” Even System’s energy was reserved after his death.

  “I don’t need to watch myself die, the first time was enough.” Ajax lay in the grass, arms spread just collecting himself. Sky and Missy huh? He never would have guessed. Then again, he didn’t think Sky would get so jealous she’d stab him in the back right after kissing him, or whatever had caused that.

  If she knew that he had pain back up to full would she have done that? He wasn’t sure. Maybe not after she experienced dying in LR first. It was horrible; LR was so well made, the system so good at mimicking real-life, that Ajax suspected that’s what it would actually feel like to die.

  It hit him then. He just died, like really experienced death. They say death changes people; He didn’t feel changed. He would do a lot more to not go through that again. He also couldn’t trust Sky right now.

  “Ajax, you have a message. Wait. Make that two. Wait. Three. Would you like to see the messages?” They were probably from Missy or Sky. He didn’t really want to read them right now.

  Lifting his head off the ground “No System, don’t read them. The three hours, how does that work with the time scale?�
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  She seemed to perk up at the chance to explain something. “Since you experienced ten ex time in the game I am permitted to hold your personal space at that speed. So it will be three hours within this space.”

  Ajax was surprised his personal space got such an upgrade. “If I exit the PIU?”

  “It will be about seventeen point seven minutes before you can rejoin LR. If you’d like I can set an alarm for you?”

  “You could set an alarm for me outside the game?” Ajax was surprised to hear that.

  “Of course, I am your personal AI. If you give me access to your iLids, I can interact with you when you leave the PIU.” Ajax stopped breathing for a second. He had accepted System as a helper in-game easily enough. However, if she could be used outside the game, that was a wholly different thing. It would be like the personal AI’s that executives used.

  “For now just set an alarm here. I’ll give you access to my iLids though. I’m going to take a nap here.” Ajax settled himself in on the meadow and closed his eyes. Being stabbed in the back was really draining and he was soon out cold.

  ***

  “Ajax, wake up, it is almost time.” A soft voice woke Ajax.

  “How long.” Ajax rolled over in the grass. The wide-open field of his personal space was calming. Going back, he’d need to settle things with Sky. He wasn’t sure what had happened. Had she had a mental break, or was she so jealous of him and Missy?

  Jealous enough to kill him… well in VR it wasn’t permanent so maybe his anger shouldn’t be either. She was a good player and if he was honest he did like her. He’d just need to figure out how to group with her now.

  It did hurt though, in more ways than one. The experience was going to force Ajax to reevaluate PvP. There were probably people out there who would get off on it but dying was no joke. Ajax would need to focus more on his survivability if he was going to join PvP in any sense.

  “How does reviving work System?” Ajax needed to focus on what was ahead, not the death he had just experienced.

  “When the three-hour lockout is up the game portal will open back up. You’ll enter the game where you died as a ghost. You can spawn where you died at full health or you can run for up to a minute from the spot and revive with reduced health based on how far away you are from the original point.” System paused. “I also have a directive to make sure you are okay after your first death in the game. Are you okay?” System sounded concerned, but Ajax didn’t really get sympathy in her tone.

  “I’m fine System, it was sudden and painful. I think there are worse ways to die. Maybe we’ll have a talk after I get burnt at a stake.” Ajax was more concerned with who killed him than the rest of the experience.

  “Also Ajax, fifteen messages are waiting for you.”

  “Who are they from?”

  “You have one external message from Reinhart, one message from a Sarah J, two LR messages from Missy and eleven LR messages from Sky.” System read off the list. It didn’t escape Ajax that she had shortened the girls' names to what he called them instead of their gamer tags. Sarah J, however, was what she was under his phone book, not that he had regularly communicated with any other Sarah for that matter. He smiled, now he would at least have one other girl that might be sending him messages.

  “We don’t have much time. Can you summarize Reinhart and Sarah’s message?” Ajax wasn’t sure if System could do that, but if she was here to assist him he’d see what she could do.

  “Reinhart says he’ll be home late, he’s going to be at work till well after dark. Sarah is looking to come over this weekend to talk about LR.” That did remind Ajax he should friend her in the game.

  It was odd, usually, she would have been all over him by now. She did take his PIU number down when she was here. He shook his head, bigger fish to fry right now.

  “Thanks, System, could you search for the player Harpy?” Ajax could get used to having an assistant like this.

  “I’m sorry Ajax, there is no player with the name Harpy. If you get her PIU number I can look her up and make a friend request.”

  “Tell Reinhart thanks for letting me know and tell Sarah she’s always welcome and ask for her PIU number. When you get it you can put in the friend request.” Ajax could get used to this personal assistant business, now if only she could do his laundry.

  Before they had more time to talk the stone archway that represented LR began lighting up. Ajax took off towards it as the portal shimmered to life between the stone seconds before the plunged back into LR.

  Coming back dead was strange. The world was in a multitude of grey tones, he could see the sun was just starting to rise in it’s now glowing grey glory. Ajax looked down at his hands, and he was grey as well, but with the transparency that came with being a ghost.

  “System, I’d like to revive here.”

  “Roger, reviving in. Three. Two. One.” The world flashed to life with color. The green grass and the amber tree trunks colored by the rising sun were oddly satisfying after the brief jaunt in the drab world of the dead.

  CHAPTER 23

  Ajax came back to the caravan in a somber mood. What he really needed was Missy. His steps got more energy at the thought. Strange how they had really only met less than a day ago but he would find comfort in embracing her. It felt like they’d known each other much longer.

  However, coming upon the first wagon he noticed burn marks and a few cuts. Were these from the goblin fight?

  Looking past the wagon he saw the camp in disarray, with wounded guards being tended to. One of the wagons was in shambles and several were tipped over. He could taste the smoke in the air; it wasn’t the smoky flavor of campfires, but a more acrid smoke of burning flesh. Listening to the moans of the wounded guards Ajax understood. The caravan had been attacked.

  Ajax rushed to the trio’s tents. Their gear was scattered and the fire strewn across the ground. Standing in the middle of the tents was Sky but no Missy. There was so much chaos, and Ajax wanted to find Missy, he didn’t want to start to think about Sky last night. Though a part of him realized he might have been wrong about what happened.

  “Sky, I’m glad you are okay. Did Missy make it?” Ajax grabbed her shoulder to turn her.

  She sniffed back tears and tried to run away the streaks on her cheeks. “Ajax, it was horrible.”

  He could feel the dam was about to burst anew and stroked her head to calm her down. He pulled her close and shushed her, “It’s fine, they are gone.” Ajax took in the camp again as he embraced Sky.

  It was better to say the camp was in ruins; he could see where multiple campfires had spread to nearby tents and even a wagon. Earth was shifted like it had been moved by magic creating several piles of sharp rocks that hadn’t been there before. He saw about sixty percent of the guard were still on their feet. He wasn’t sure how many of the rest were wounded or dead.

  He knew there was trouble when Remblaar spotted them. He didn’t look happy, not that he really ever did.

  Ajax wasn’t keen on having a fight with him, but he knew his hate for adventurers would somehow put Ajax and Sky at fault for this mess. He was more worried that this would restart Sky’s tears. “Remblaar is beelining this way,” Ajax said giving her a heads up.

  She sniffed a few times and separated rubbing her face clear of any remnants. She looked cute with her puffy eyes and blushed cheeks.

  “You somehow look cute after crying. Uh, not that I’d ever try and get you to cry.” Ajax fumbled.

  It worked though and she smiled with a chuckle. “Thanks, let's deal with the captain first.” She said turning away or rather rounding on Remblaar. Ajax couldn’t see Sky’s face, but Remblaar’s shifted from angry to slightly surprised. Ajax could only guess how pissed Sky looked right now.

  “What now.” Sky said in a harsh tone. Yeah, she was pissed. Be very afraid Remblaar.

  Remblaar stopped a few feet from the two his expression awkward “Do either of you possess medical skills? They are in short
supply right now and we have too many wounded.”

  Ajax looked to Sky and she responded: “We can bandage but that’s about it.”

  Remblaar seemed to have been hoping for more than that. “You have no healing spells? That was about the one thing adventurers were good for.”

  Ajax sighed. “No, we don’t have any spells for healing. The only spells I have are what Darcie has sold me. If the merchants have a spellbook like that I could help.” Ajax would help heal if he could get a healing spell out of it; he wouldn’t keep on to become a healer. But the spell would come in handy.

  Nodding Remblaar turned without accepting their offer of bandaging. Ajax saw that he was heading towards Borris who ever diligent, was cataloging the goods. He wondered what had been stolen.