by Edward Brody
Ozzy held a hand up in front of his face and started turning it from side to side. “Whoa… This is amazing.” He leaned over and handed the roll to Keysia.
Keysia accepted the roll and looked at us all nervously. “This is my first time trying joojak… I’m a little nervous.”
“Oh, Keysia,” Rina said with the corniest, loving smile and glistening eyes on her face. “You’ll be fine, darling.”
Aaron started laughing a bit, but it sounded more like the croaks of a broken machine gun.
Keysia shrugged, puffed on the roll and immediately started coughing as she blew the smoke from her lungs. When she was finished coughing, her eyes went wide and she looked at each of us, one-by-one. “Wow!!” When her eyes stopped on me, she leaned over and thrust the joojak in my direction. “C’mon Gunnar. You have to try.”
I groaned. While I had taken the kroka when I was in a pinch, I still had the taboo of drugs from back on Earth lingering in my mind. Everything was telling me that the roll Keysia was holding out to me was going to eventually kill me or hurt me somehow. That’s what I had always been taught back home.
“C’mon, you little pussy,” Aaron said in a slightly slower speech than normal. “We’re fuckin’ Reborns in here, dude. It can’t kill you or anything.”
I remember him making that point before about kroka, but it was still as good of a point as any. At the very least, I didn’t have to worry about overdosing or dying from the joojak. Worst case was that I’d have a bad side effect or just wouldn’t like it.
“Fine, fine,” I said and took the joojak out of Keysia’s hands.
I put the roll up to my lips and inhaled, expecting the smoke to burn my lungs, but instead it just felt a thick, smooth cloud swell inside me. As I exhaled the smoke, I was overcome with the fruity taste, but felt a slight singeing sensation in my throat that immediately caused me to cough.
But no sooner than I coughed, the discomfort went away, and a sense of elation overcame me. A strange tingle etched up and down my spine, and when I moved my hands, it seemed as if I were moving faster than I actually intended. My eyelids felt heavy and my face felt numb—in a good way, somehow.
An icon appeared below my status bars, and I focused on it to get the details.
You are drug enhanced. Charisma +25, Wisdom +25, Intelligence -5. Movement Speed -20%. Meditation Speed +50%. Duration: 4 hours. Beware of negative side effects!
“Damn…” I said and handed the remaining bit of the roll back over to Aaron.
“How you feeling, Mr. Guildmaster?” Aaron asked as he grabbed the joojak.
“Like a champ…” I said slowly.
Ozzy stuck his finger out at me and croaked, “A grand champion…”
Everyone suddenly burst out into laughter. We must have all laughed for thirty seconds or longer, as each time it seemed like the laughter was about to die, a simple snicker and snort sent us all into laughing again.
The roll was passed around another two times, resetting the time on the effect each time, until the joojak was all burnt to ash.
“Man, Gunnar,” Aaron said. “I love you man. I’m really glad we met.”
Even in my inebriated state, I still felt a little jolted by Aaron’s comment. It was the only time I could remember another man telling me that he ‘loved’ me. Come to think of it, I couldn’t remember any woman who ever told me that they loved me either. Outside of my family—who rarely said the word—love had been a somewhat distant thing in my life.
“Haha,” I said awkwardly and took a moment of pause. “You know what? I love you too, Aaron. You’re a little shit, but I love ya.”
Me saying the word love felt even weirder. But I was certain that I loved him. He was my good buddy, and strangely enough, I loved Jax as well. And maybe to a lesser degree, I loved Ozzy, Rina, Gerard and Keysia. I hadn’t had enough time to get as close to them as I had with Jax and Aaron, but I had one-hundred percent trust in them and knew that they would all put their lives on the line for me, and that meant a lot.
Yeah. I loved them. I couldn’t believe I was admitting it, but I did. Hell, even Rachel and I had never used that word together.
Rachel…
My mind floated away, and I was suddenly lost in my own thoughts. My stomach did a flip-flop as I remembered meeting her for the first time and how incredibly into her I was. I remembered our first kiss. And then I remembered our kiss under the waterfall.
Wait, I thought. That wasn’t Rachel. That was Adeelee. Wasn’t it?
My mind shifted gears.
I missed Adeelee. I missed her stupid pointy ears, her cute voice, and I missed the way her soft tits pressed into me when she gave me a hug goodbye. And damn, I could watch that ass walk away from me all day.
Wait a minute… Was it Adeelee I kissed? Or was it Rachel?
“Yo!” Aaron said loudly, snapping me out of my thoughts. “The first time I met Gunnar, he was such a dick. Do you remember that, Gunnar?”
“I wasn’t a dick,” I refuted.
“Yeah you were, bro,” Aaron insisted. “You basically told me to fuck off when I begged you for help.”
“What did you expect me to do?” I looked out to everyone else and pointed my finger at Aaron. “This guy. This guy,” I repeated. “He was sitting half-naked in an orc camp in a fucking cage.”
Everyone burst out laughing, including Aaron.
“Okay,” Aaron said with a nod. “I gotta admit, that was pretty funny.”
Jax cleared his throat and scooted forward on his log. “First time I saw Gunnar, he was curled up under a tree, sucking his thumb like a little tot. He smelled like goblin’s ass.”
My jaw dropped as everyone burst out cackling. “Hey, I was poisoned and almost dead! I only had like 10 willpower back then!”
Jax grabbed his stomach as he continued chuckling. “And those red shoes I gave you to wear after that. I’ll never forget Adeelee’s face when she first saw you.”
My eyelids shot wide open. “She noticed the shoes?!”
“Oh hey!” Ozzy added between chuckles. “This one time I went to Addenfall with Gunnar. We swam through the Crystal River, and some sort of eel swam down his pants and started shocking his monkey again and again. When he made it to shore, he dropped trow, and the thing was latched on to his ass. I swear it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen!”
Everyone snorted and exploded with laughter, as I jumped to my feet and clumsily whipped out my sword.
I pointed the tip of my blade at Ozzy and clenched my teeth. “I told you not to ever speak about that!”
“Oh shit!” Ozzy said and then started snickering more. He held his hands up and tears were forming in his eyes. “I’m sorry, man. I totally forgot.”
“Yo, chill, Gunnar,” Aaron said. “Nobody cares about the snake in your pants.”
“I hear it’s 12 inches,” Rina added.
The laughter exploded again, and though I was feeling a bit embarrassed, I couldn’t help but smile, which eventually led to a quick chuckle. I sheathed my sword and shot a quick Arcane Missile past Ozzy’s head as I started sitting back down.
Ozzy ducked as the energy passed. “Yo, stop with that magic stuff. Are you trying to kill me?”
I raised my nose mockingly to him. “One day I’ll see you in the Arena, and I’ll really hit you with one of my missiles.”
I was just teasing him. I didn’t really care to fight Ozzy.
“Oh yeah?” he asked and smashed his fist inside his palm, a snarky grin etched across his face. “We’ll see who gets to grand champion first.”
“You Reborns sure are competitive,” Jax said.
When I focused in on Jax and considered the Arena, a thought crossed my mind. “Hey, there’s something I don’t get. When we first went to Linden, you told me to be quiet about my magic—that people didn’t take too kindly to it.”
Jax nodded.
“But people used magic openly in the Arena,” I continued. “And there’s the Mage’s Facti
on running around openly in Highcastle. Magic doesn’t seem to be all that secret.”
“Ahhhhh,” Aaron cooed. “I can answer this one for you, Gunnar. Dr. Winston and I talked a bit about magic back in the design phase.” He scooted forward on the log and rolled his tongue around in his mouth a couple times. “Basically, magic in Eden’s Gate is a bit like sex. Everyone wants sex, but not everyone has it or can get it. So, the people who have sex generally only talk about sex with the people they’re fuckin’, or at least the people they’re close to. Because—” He held his hands out wide. “—some people get jealous if you’re getting ass and they’re not.”
There was a long, awkward moment of silence where everyone just looked at Aaron, and he just scanned everyone’s faces, wondering why no one was talking. Then, everyone burst back into laughter.
“I think,” I said, trying to hold back bouts of mirth. “I—I think someone just needs to get laid.”
The laughs grew stronger, and Ozzy almost fell off his log.
Aaron sucked air between his teeth. “Jerk.”
When the laughter slowed down, Keysia leaned forward. “The first time I met Gunnar, he… he seemed like a good guy. He made a real impression on me, and I knew that he was going to change everything for the better. And so far, he has. I’m grateful to be so close to him.”
When she finished talking, it was like the record on the DJ table suddenly ground to a halt. Everyone was calm and smiling, and I had no idea what to say. Keysia looked up to me with wide, glistening eyes, and for the first time, I realized that she felt something for me. I don’t know if was the joojak that made her say what she said, but her facial expression was filled with heartfelt sincerity.
My heart thumped in my chest, and my eyes scanned up and down Keysia’s body. Her dark hair and contrasting, nearly colorless skin was so unusual, yet so erotic at the same time. She had a cute face—beautiful face actually, and I suddenly noticed the way her bottom lip was covered with the thinnest layer of moisture. She leaned forward on the log in a way that revealed ample cleavage, and I couldn’t help but wonder how her naked chest would look in comparison to her thin, athletic waist.
I began to feel uncontrollably aroused at the thought, which was a first since being in Eden’s Gate.
I wondered what color her nip—
“Gunnar!” Gerard shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see him holding a rolled-up pelt with several sword tips sticking out of the side. “Who’s going be moving into the old shop once I have everything transferred over?”
I rattled my head. “Uhh… I dunno. I guess I will, since it was my house to begin with.” I looked up to the others. “Are you guys okay with that?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Alright,” Gerard said. “I’ll give you my key in the morning.” He paused and squinted his eyes at us. “Hey… Have you guys been smoking joojak?”
Ozzy chuckled. “Yeah, man.”
“Damnit,” Gerard cursed. “Next time, count me in! I’m not up for adventuring outside Edgewood, but I wouldn’t mind taking some time off for a—how do they say it these days?—levitation session? I haven’t smoked joojak in years.”
Aaron chuckled and nodded. “We’ll count you in next time, Big Dog. Sorry we left you out.”
Gerard tilted his head and smirked. “Big Dog? I don’t understand. Are you referring to me as an animal?”
Ozzy started snickering uncontrollably.
“Big Homie,” Aaron said, not helping the situation.
“Big Homie?” Gerard asked. “I’m sorry Aaron, but sometimes I just can’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
“Big Homie and Big Dog are the same,” I explained. “He just means ‘good friend’, I suppose. It’s Reborn speak.”
“Oh, okay,” Gerard said. “So it’s like that other one—‘nizzle’ or whatever you and Keysia say.”
“Yeah,” Aaron slurred. He looked like he was getting tired.
“Okay, my homies and… big nizzles,” Gerard added. “Please count me in next time.”
I smiled and did my best to not laugh. “We will, Gerard. Don’t worry.”
We sat around, laughed and shared stories for a couple more hours before the campfire started to burn out and everyone’s eyes looked heavy. That was one side-effect of joojak—the longer you stayed under its effects the sleepier you became.
Aaron retired to his home, and the rest of us made our way to our bunks in the larger house.
It was one of the best nights I’d had in Eden’s Gate, and without a doubt, everyone in the guild felt incredibly closer to each other after that bonding session. It was the kind of night that I needed after the Sands. During that time with my friends, I wasn’t worried about Dryden, or leveling up so I could beat Meijir, or meeting the King.
While I was high on joojak, I didn’t worry about anything at all, really. It was just me and the people I had grown to love, enjoying our time together. When I climbed in my bunk, all I could think of was how lucky I was to have been transported to Eden’s Gate.
Chapter Fourteen
1/26/0001
“Gunnar,” a voice whispered.
I stirred in my bunk, unsure if I were dreaming or not—unsure if I were imagining things.
“Gunnar,” I heard again.
I pulled my heavy eyelids open and turned my head to see Keysia kneeling beside my bunk. Her armor had been removed, and she was wearing a thin, white camisole that cut off a few inches below her breasts and tiny, thin, cotton shorts. “Keysia?” I asked.
“Hey. Sorry to wake you.”
I blinked a few times and noticed that the icon indicating I was under the influence of joojak was still there, so I wasn’t sure if I was hallucinating. I couldn’t have slept long. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she whispered. “I just…” she blinked a few times and looked down at the floor.
“What is it?” I asked weakly. “You can tell me.”
She paused a long moment before looking back up to me. “Can I stay with you tonight?”
I blinked again and then my eyes went wide, despite their heaviness. At that point, I definitely felt like I was hallucinating. “Stay with me?”
She nodded and the turned her head to the far corner of the room.
I followed her eyes to where she was looking and could see that Jax wasn’t in bed alone. Rina was laying in the bed beside him, and they were both sound asleep with an arm thrown over each other.
Holy shit… I thought.
I don’t know why I felt so surprised—Jax and Rina were perfect for each other—but I had never thought it would actually happen or so soon.
“It’s your last day here before you move back to your own house, and it feels like you just came back to Edgewood. I want to be close to you on your last night here.”
I swallowed hard. “Ugh... You mean here?” I asked shyly, pointing to my bed. “In this bunk?”
“If I’m crossing the line, I understand. I’m sorry.” She dipped her head and started to rise back to her feet, and I got a good look at her perfect, hourglass figure and smooth skin catching the subtle moonlight that shone through the window. It wasn’t the first time I had seen her without her armor on, but generally everyone in the room respected each other’s privacy when we undressed to go to sleep. When the women got undressed for bed, none of the men went out of their way to look.
“No,” I whispered, stopping her in her tracks. “You didn’t cross the line. You can—yeah…You can stay with me if you want.”
“Really?” Keysia smiled, and her eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”
I swallowed again and nodded.
Keysia took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip before starting her climb into the bunk beside me.
I scooted my body over to the inner edge of the bed to give her room to climb in, and she slipped under the blanket that was covering me. I was lying on my back with only my boxer shorts on, so when she turned sideway
s and threw her arm over me, I could feel the silkiness of her skin rubbing against my legs, and the softness of her breasts pressing against my shoulder.
“Thank you, Gunnar,” she said softly in my ear. She nuzzled her nose against the nape of my neck, and tingles rushed all up and down my body.
I was confused, euphoric, still high off joojak. But, most of all I was aroused.
Keysia smelled like fresh flowers and she felt amazing. I couldn’t believe we were lying together with hardly any clothes on. The man inside me wanted to roll her over and rip off what little she had on and enjoy her perfect elven body.
But even on joojak, I knew that it wouldn’t go over too well if the other people in the room woke up to the sound of me plowing Keysia right in front of them.
And something told me not to take Keysia’s dignity—at least not then and there. Although I promised myself I wouldn’t obsess over the Princess anymore, I still had lingering feelings towards Adeelee.
There was also Rachel, who still popped into my head every now and then and who I still wanted to find.
Had Keysia been a random girl I met and had in my bed, the joojak would’ve been enough for me to go ahead and have my fun, but Keysia wasn’t just a random girl—she was a guild member and a great friend—someone I truly cared about. I didn’t want to hurt her or ruin anything that we already had.
As we lay there together, I was beginning to realize just how attracted I was to Keysia, but I needed to take things slowly and figure out what my feelings really were—not let my raging joojak boner make rash decisions for me.
Maybe she only came to me because of joojak anyway, I thought to myself.
I must have laid there another 3 minutes, struggling with my muddled thoughts about Keysia and the situation I was in, until I felt the soft, comforting brush of her breath against the side of my neck. I tilted my head a little and could see that she was sound asleep.
She looked cute. Very cute.
I took one last glance at Jax and Rina holding each other on his bunk. I felt happy for them.