by Kieron Uchee
I looked down at the red hair and perfect figure of Reona, breathing in her scent and feeling the warmth of her body. Grabbing her shoulders I tilted her head towards me and kissed her, this time feeling the two sharp teeth in her mouth. Pulling away I stared at her and then spoke “If that is important to some people good for them. The important thing to me is you.”
Hearing me she looked into my eyes and then with a squeeze she clutched at me softly saying “Thank you Tor, thank you.” “Hey, you are welcome, I need to be the one thanking you, and last night I am not sure I would have made it without you helping.” Nodding her head she glanced at my arms and said: "you were in a bad way."
You kept saying “Fleurs du Mal. What does that mean?” “Fleurs du Mal” trying to recall my rather limited French from school I thought for a minute. “I believe that it is translated as Flowers of Evil. I was saying it?” “Yes you were, and you were topless, nothing on above the waist. Pretty damn cute, except, well, you had all these swirling black marks on your body.”
My memories, they were beginning to return back to me. The mirror and the transfer, with a sudden rush it all came back, looking down at me chest I could see faint black markings that looked like old tattoos but very faint. Except on my arms, both arms had the flowers and vines wrapped around the two swords. The markings were not faded and hard to see but clearly visible. They were also slowly moving, the flowers on the arm wrapped around Reona were slowly opening much like a flower would open to the first strong light of day.
This was weird, even for Ingame. In fact, I had seen no tattoos on any other players, I was not sure if players could get tattoos. I would have Twink scan for information on this, maybe I could make some gold by opening up an Ink shop Ingame. Clearly my mind was wandering again. On a more serious note, “Well fuck me.” Hearing me, Reona smiled and was clearly about to make a comment on my choice of words. Knowing where that would go, I asked: “can you read any of these glyphs on my body?”
Reona smiled and shook her head, but then she spoke. “I cannot make out the language but I can tell you these are not glyphs. These are runic symbols.” Not trying to display my ignorance, but feeling no choice in the matter I asked, “What is the difference?” Staring at my chest with her fingernails slowly tracing out the shapes that were now a permanent part of my body she began to speak. “Glyphs are a form of magical writing, transcribed once and then done. Like a scroll of teleportation, they can be used once and then the magic is done.”
I see, I stated, “How are these tattoos different then?” Her face was close to my chest as she stared at the markings while her hand dropped to my lap. Breathing in and then softly breathing on me she spoke, “runic markings are very rare, they form spells that do not fade, and they are permanent.” Looking at me she smiled and then said, "It would appear that you are now a living spell book." Swallowing I sharply exhaled, I was not sure if my reaction was to her information or to what her hand was doing down in my lap.
Chapter nineteen: News
As I began to dress I smiled at myself and wondered at my good fortune. Being with Reona had changed me on some level. Sex was sex but I think what had happened had to do more with intimacy at an emotional level. I had not realized how lonely I was until I was not alone. This thought gave me pause to look at my life. I had been alone for years both at the orphanage and at school. Sure I had friends, even girlfriends, but honestly, they were just people I would associate with or look for someplace private to get physical with. There was never any emotional attachment.
Not sure what it said about my psyche but I was beginning to realize I was undergoing more emotional bonding with an NPC than I ever had with real life girl. It will be what it will be I thought as I walked out the door. Going down the hallway I realized that I was at the Inn, on the third floor. I had not realized that Reona had a room at the Inn. Making my way down to my room I silently entered but seeing Twink asleep on the bed I slowly retreated quietly closing the door.
Going down the stairs to the common area I snagged a chair at an empty table. Looking up I saw Reona coming towards me. Stopping she quickly bent down and gave me a kiss, and then with a wink, she said “I bet you worked up an appetite, heard you were busy last night. I will bring you some breakfast and hot kavaa." Looking at her she walked back to the kitchen I wondered if it had all been a dream, but her kiss a moment ago assured me it had all happened.
Once Reona returned she sat down beside me and watched me eat, gently resting her head on my shoulder. I asked, “Won’t the Innkeeper say something since you are not working?” “Looking at me with a smile Reona replied, “he better not as I am the owner of the Inn.” I nodded between bites. I really was a breakfast person and not much can dissuade me from enjoying a good meal in the morning.
Sitting back and sipping my kavaa I looked at the beauty resting beside me. “Guess I better call you boss then.” “You can call me anything you want to but calling me boss will only work in the bedroom.” Then with a smile she said, “I bet you have some questions, but can we talk tonight, I am moving you and Twink up to my floor, the bedroom next to mine.” Looking at her I could see her biting her lip and waiting for my approval.
“That sounds great,” I said, “Listen do you know of anywhere in the city I can find some information on the Runic symbols?” Thinking for a minute she replied, “If you go to the temple complex at the top of the city you can ask the monks who care for the temples to show you the library. For a small donation to one of the Gods, they will grant access to it. I am not sure where else you could look.”
Thanking her I departed with a discrete but passionate kiss. Then making my way to the door I stood for a moment staring and thinking. Mainly about Archon who was standing across the road smoking his pipe and waiting. “Hello Tor,” he said with a smile, I have been waiting for you to make an appearance."
“Have you ever peed in a dream,” I asked? “No don’t answer; it is a rhetorical question, just listen, never pee in a dream, trust me.” Looking at me like I was crazy Archon blew a large cloud of smoke up. "Did you have a bad night," he said with a fatherly concern that seemed to be as real as a televangelist actually caring for someone.
“No, I had a great night,” I replied. "Why are you here Archon?” “Last night someone from our house was nearby and, strangely enough, was assaulted.” Looking at Archon I spoke, “That is like my rhetorical question, it does not make sense and I am not sure why you are telling me this. Although my question did end in a word of wisdom I see nothing in what you are telling me that I can derive anything from.”
Calmly blowing smoke from his pipe Archon chuckled and then spoke again, “You know my friend; I think you and I are going to hang out today.” “Could I hang out with Kaie instead; no offense but she looks better, smells better and I do not mind her walking around with me all day.” “All true but you are stuck with me.” Lovely and I had just been thinking that the day was starting out so good.
Right, well off we go then and with a quick look at my interface map, I set out. I noticed that I had several windows shrunk down at the corner of my vision. Only one seemed important and that was the blinking mail icon. Rounding the corner I saw a mailbox on my map about a kilometer farther down the street. Glancing at Archon I saw him looking around as we walked and then with a frown he spoke.
“Tor, you live close to the abandoned area, and the Kradula, why? I would like for you join the guild and then you could become a member of our house in an instant. You could be living two tiers higher in the city. Also, for whatever reason, Kaie is taken with you. Does that make a difference? By the way, what did you do, sneak in some Old Spice aftershave.” Laughing at his wit, he waited for my reply.
“Archon” I began, “first, I like where I am living, second I work there and it is convenient for me. Third while you old bastards may have a lot of goods and wealth, I am not sure that whatever you have planned is going to be good for this world.” Staring me he smiled and then patte
d me on the back. “Damn I wish you would join us, it would be good to have someone not afraid to speak his mind working with us. Also, I get the feeling that Kaie would be much happier especially in the mornings if you were the one to get her up and out of bed.”
Swallowing the smart ass remark I was about to make I just nodded. “Look I am glad you like me, but for now, I am working on this game on my own.” “Fair enough, but listen, my young friend, I have one more thing to tell you.” Nodding at me he spoke, “Do you remember the Jackass, that young punk.” “Yes, I sure do what of him.” Archons face went grim and he spoke once more, “He connected with a bunch of his spoiled friends. They are all Donators, not worthy of being here.” I nodded in agreement, players like that were useless, worthless than a pile of cow crap, at least, that could be used for a fire or in a garden.
“Well, it seemed that one of his friends has a parent who worked in the development of the game, and upon the urging of junior the parent made some changes to the patch that came online last night.” "What changes?” I asked. “Players can now form houses without being part of any of the guilds. That means that the guild rules that govern the houses are not going to be in place.” “Crap, I spoke softly, that can open up the door to a lot of abuse towards NPC and other players, especially at the low levels.”
Nodding his head Archon said, “Jackass and, at least, twenty of his friends have made a house, they are calling it the House of Pain and refer to themselves as Player Killer Elites or the PKE. There is one other thing about these guys I think you should know.” “What,” I asked. “They have put a 5k gold reward on you, to anyone who brings you to them; you must be alive of course.” “Shit,” I try not to be a vulgar person but sometimes things escape me.
“Thanks, Archon I owe you one.” “Yes you do and you’re welcome.” We had arrived at the mailbox by this point and stopping as I explained I needed to check my mail. I waved my hand over the box and read the messages as they arrive. The auction had been a success and the Methrill bar had sold for a great deal of gold. The actual auction price was almost double what I had asked. I was now rich or, at least, close enough to fake it Ingame.
I stopped for a moment and collected my thoughts; money was simply a tool to me. I could find enough at night with my Dragon eyes treasure ability. It felt pretty good to have that money in the bank for a rainy day, though. What I needed to do now was to find out what the heck had happened to me last night, and what did the tattoos on my body mean. Also, I needed to work out a training schedule for my new abilities and develop a pathway to level up on. I guess there really is no rest for the wicked.
Chapter twenty: Smokes and rep
So the Jackass and his friends want me, and not to go for coffee. My thoughts rolled around in my head, I knew I was angry but still in control. “When did you hear about the 5k reward Archon?” “It was reported by one of my people last night.” “I see, well a moving target is a hard target so shall we continue?” Striding down the street I began to eye all the alleyways and doorways wondering when and where the PK Elites would make a move.
Archon silently glided beside me; walking in a companionable silence we made our way to the next intersection where a pipe and tobacco shop was located. “I need a few minutes my friend; I need to get something from this shop.” Glancing up at the store front Archon stared at me and then asked, when did you start smoking a pipe?” “I have not” I answered and with that I entered the shop. Having never been in a tobacco shop I was amazed at the rich aromas that hung in the air.
I had thought it would smell of stale tobacco and acrid smoke, not of light spices and sweet aromas. Greeting the shopkeeper I asked for a small bag of tobacco. The dwarf behind the counter looked at me and then pulling his pipe from between his teeth said, “ye will be wanting a light blend I am thinking.” Reaching under the counter he pulled a small gray leather bag out and unknotting the drawstring he lifted it up towards me. “Give it a good smell Human and tell me what ye think?”
Bending over I gave the bag a gentle sniff, I was overcome with the smell of sun dried flowers and honey, with a hint of cinnamon. The smell reminded me of Reona and without hesitation, I bought the bag for one silver and fifty coppers. Once outside I gestured to a small bench located a few meters down the street, “shall we” I said and with a smile began to walk to the bench.
Sitting down at the bench I opened my bag and extracted my cartography supplies. Gently unrolling the thinnest sheet of parchment paper I could find I carefully began to cut it into small rectangles. Once that was done I pulled my Tobacco pouch out and opened it. Archon at this point said “oh my God you’re not, you are, well damn it. I want the first one.” Smiling I handed him my first hand rolled cigarette and then quickly rolled another.
“Light,” I asked and seeing him nod I held my finger to the end of his smoke and with a minor effort caused a small flame to ignite at the tip of my finger.
Lighting both of our smokes I took my first puff. Closing my eyes for a second I held the smoke in and then breathed out. Opening my eyes I became aware that several players were standing on the street, just looking at us. I glanced over at Archon and saw that he had a smile on his face as he began to blow smoke rings.
“Well?” I asked after taking another puff. Looking at me Archon sighed and then said: “you realize that you have just changed the game in a fundamental way.” “What are you talking about Archon?” Pointing to the players that were beginning to gather on the road in front of he said, “What are the two types of people who smoke in real life?”
I thought for a minute then nodded, “Teenagers and old folks.” “Now you are getting it, do you really think any of the players really like smoking a pipe? I don’t and I doubt very many do. We all like smoking though and now, gesturing at our smokes he nodded. Now we can, all because you took a moment and thought outside the box.”
At this point, one of the players standing in front of us spoke up, “Hey man can you spare me a smoke?” Looking at him and the others beginning to crowd forward I nodded. “One minute please,” I said as I began to roll and hand out several more cigarettes amongst the forming clouds of smoke. Handing them out I heard one fellow in the back say, “It’s just map making paper and tobacco.” “Shall we,” I asked Archon and pointing up the street I began to walk towards the gate that led to the third tier.
As we passed by a map makers shop Archon stopped and smiling at me he indicated he had to go and purchase some parchment paper. We entered the shop and he made his purchase while I looked around. It was just a shop full of map making supplies and the tools of the trade. On impulse, I asked the shopkeeper if he had any old maps, really old maps of the city.
Archon hearing my request looked over and then waited with a curious look in his eye. The shopkeeper peered up at me and then gave a smile. Ah yes, I do think I might have what you are looking for. Going to one of the dusty corners behind the counter he pulled out a small copper tube, and then gently gave it to me. “Have a look boy and be careful not to tear it.”
Nodding I carefully unfastened the end of the tube and with a gentle touch began to inch the map out of the tube. The paper was ancient and delicate, just waiting for a tear. Hardly breathing I slowly began to remove it from the tube and finally freed it. Carefully I unfurled the paper and watched as the shopkeeper placed small ink pots at all four corners to weigh them down. Once the map was open I began to look it over, noting that there were several changes from the current maps of the city.
The city was only three tiers high and the rest of the mountain was wilderness all the way to the top. It was apparent that the bottom tiers were what the city had developed from. “Twink” I called out in my mind. “Are you awake?” “Poppa you're okay,” the relief in her thoughts was apparent. “Yes I am good, listen; can you scan the map I am looking at right now?” There was silence for a minute then I heard the analytical tone of the AI side of Twink speak. “The document scanning is commencing, database correla
tion adjustment in progress. The process has finished.
Suddenly Twink spoke in her normal voice, “do you need anything else, Poppa? I am really hungry can I go eat?” Thinking that she would probably want to go hunting I quickly decided that she should go downstairs and ask Reona to feed her. Explaining to her what to do only took a few seconds, then with a quick goodbye I ended the conversation and turned back to the shopkeeper.
“Thank you, sir for showing me the map how much does it cost?” The wily old fellow looked at me in my low-level gear and then shrugged. “Lad, it cost probably a bit more than you can afford right now. The price is set at one hundred gold.” Hearing this even Archon gasped, but then looking at me, he raised a brow and said, “If you need a small loan,” leaving the question in the air. I silently shook my head; I already had all the info the map could offer to me thanks to Twink.
Seeing that I would not be making the purchase the shopkeeper slowly and carefully began to put the map away. Once it was gently rolled and placed in the copper tube he turned and began to walk back to the dusty drawer he had retrieved it from. Archon turned and looking at me smiled then spoke,” Hold shopkeeper, I will make the purchase for the one hundred gold.” Turning around the shopkeeper looked at Archon and then said, “That price of one hundred gold was for the young lad, but for you the cost is to be no less than one hundred and fifty gold.”
Archon asked “what” and then began to look at me and at the shopkeeper. “He has through work and respect begun to prove himself to the citizens of the second tier of the city. While you sir are not from this tier, so why would you receive a discount,” said the shopkeeper. I breathed in both proud and pleased; I had a reputation with the NPC of the second tier. Doing dishes was paying off.