by Rick Scott
I see figures moving in and out through the gap in the collapsed wall—Rembrandt’s guys hauling stacks of logs. I then spot Val Helena and Maxis hauling a large tree trunk on their shoulders with Becky walking beside them.
“Guys, we’re done,” I say to them through the party chat. “How much wood did you get?”
Maxis and Val Helena drop the log which disappears into the snow.
“Heck if I know,” Maxis says. “But we chopped down four trees.”
“I hope that’ll be enough,” Gilly says as she opens up her HUD.
I hope so as well.
“Let’s get to building,” I say as I access my admin screen. “We need to get out of this storm.”
Chapter 27: Building
We gather around the worm hole, watching as Rembrandt’s army of duplicates haul the last of the iron out of the depths and drop it into a pile atop the snow. On my HUD the resource values for the keep adjust as the ingots hit the ground one by one.
I check the total.
Resources:
Gold: 0 units
Food: 0 units
Wood: 1073 units
Stone: 220 units
Iron: 100 units
“Should be good to go now,” Rembrandt says. He dismisses his minions and the clones crumble into nano-dust. “Let’s build this thing and get out of this bloody cold!”
I couldn’t agree more. The wind is whipping and we huddle closely for warmth as the snow continues to fall at a rapid pace.
Maxis scrunches up his face next to me. “What the heck is that smell?”
Gilly laughs. “Ask your brother.”
“Huh?”
I blush a little, but I guess it can’t be helped.
“It’s the smell of hard work,” I say. “Trust me, you guys got off easy chopping down trees.”
“I can attest to that mate,” Rembrandt adds with a grin. “Was not a pleasant job that one.”
Gilly then goes on to tell them the details of my ordeal down in the worm hole which gets a combination of laughs and mock barfs from Val Helena, Maxis and Becky. I chuckle as I shake my head. I have to agree with my brother, though. I do stink. Despite the strong wind blowing, and reproducing my clothes, I can still smell that awful stuff on me.
“I’m starting on the walls and the door,” Gilly says. “Can you do the other stuff, Reece?”
“Okay,” I say and begin scrolling through the build options on my HUD.
I check the keep’s nano reserves.
1000/1000 Nano-Fragments
We each dumped a bit of nano earlier and the keep has reached its max. The process vaguely reminds me of Gilly’s dad back home and I wonder if he’s watching the city’s nano reserves the same way I’m watching the keeps. We need to focus on that next. Our new mission now. Once we get some shelter built, I’ll make a point to bring it up for discussion: getting the nano back home.
That and the monsters.
Gilly queues the walls for repairs and 100 units of stone get subtracted from the total along with 200 Nano-Fragments. It’s hard to see in the snowfall, but the corner portion of the keep begins to rise vertically, just like how we were printed. It’s an amazing sight to see and I have to remind myself I’m actually in the real physical world for a moment as I watch it grow like something out of a cartoon.
I understand now how that Braxus could have built Stormwall up so fast. The stuff is pure magic, but it also makes me worried about what he might have built back in the caldera in only a day’s time. And we need to get past it.
“Working nicely, Gilly!” Val Helena says. “Becky and I will design the kitchen.”
On my HUD a schematic of the galley floats across a grid that represents the inside of the keep. We have a quick discussion on building placement and how to optimize it. We decide it would be best to build a central structure around the worm hole, both to allow us easy access and to keep it out of sight in case Braxus sends in spies. From there we place the barracks. I take control of the structure customization and place partitions within it, creating four rooms with two beds each. More than what we need, but it’ll allow more options for sleeping arrangements.
I add a fireplace and chimney for 10 stone and the total comes to just under 200 units of wood to build. It’s a lot of resources considering what we have, but the thought of being able to curl up in a warm bed next to Gilly has me daydreaming already.
I then reconsider the partitions. If we want to keep the whole room warm, then those partitions won’t help. And they cost an extra 50 wood as well. Best to keep the place open plan. Plus, we’ve all slept together in a common room before anyway and it’s not like we’re planning to stay here too long.
I hope.
The new total comes to 150 wood and 10 stone. I queue it while Val Helena and Becky bicker over the internal layout of the galley and dining area. We’ve got the basics but I wonder if there is one more structure we could afford.
I rummage through the build list and after a few seconds I find it. It’s a bit of a splurge but after the earlier comments I think everyone would appreciate it, especially me.
Hot Stone Baths: +150 Morale
Labor: 50
Wood: 20
Iron: 10
Stone: 20
I select two baths, one for the guys and one for the girls, and hit the force build option for 100 Nano-Shards and add it to the queue.
* * *
It takes an agonizing thirty minutes for everything to finish printing. I’m practically begging to get inside and out of the freezing cold by the time the construction bar reaches 99%.
Nearly there…
I shouldn’t be complaining, though. If this wasn’t a nano-based world, with the keep essentially being a giant nano-processor, we’d all be dead from cold trying to pitch even a tent in this blizzard, much less trying to build the complex structure rising before us like bread in an oven. It forms just like the wall did, slowly growing vertically, building the thick timber walls from nothing.
The meter dings at 100% and we rush for the cabin door.
Val Helena leads the charge and swings it open for us to enter. I step inside to the semi-darkness within. I didn’t think to make windows, but we didn’t have any materials for glass either. And besides, in this storm we’d probably be better off not having them. We all get inside and Val Helena closes the door behind us, sealing out the blistering wind but also the light.
Gilly casts a couple of light spells, however, and fills the area with a soft glow. Just like on my schematic, there are eight beds waiting to be occupied and my weary bones are craving rest already.
“I’ll get a fire going,” Becky says and wanders ahead to the fireplace.
“I’ll help.” Rembrandt goes with.
More lumber depletes from the reserves and within minutes, the smell of wood smoke fills the cabin along with a flickering fire. Becky and Rembrandt then get a fire going in the kitchen and finally the place I need the most: the stone baths.
“Reece gets first dibs!” Gilly announces with a laugh.
I don’t argue and neither does anyone else. I leave everyone chatting and warming themselves in the common hall while I make my way to the baths. They are located adjacent to the sleeping quarters, just down a short corridor and have two doors side by side for privacy. I open the first one and take a look inside. It’s not quite the luxurious pool-sized spa that we experienced in Braxus’ palace, but right now, the small 4-by-4 tub is looking like a slice of heaven.
“Mind if I join you?”
I jump at the sound of Aiko’s voice. I glance behind me to see the elf leering at me with one of her sexy smiles, already dressed down to her lingerie. My heartbeat quickens. A sweat breaks out on my skin and I inadvertently look for where Gilly might be. Finally, Aiko steps across me with a laugh, tapping me playfully on the nose.
“You’re so easy to troll,” she says with a wink and then opens the door to the second bath stall next to mine. “Awfully c
ute though.”
I feel like an idiot, but a bit relieved at the same time. “You’ve really got to stop messing with me like that, Aiko.”
“Not a chance,” she says with another grin and then slips into the stall, closing the door behind her. “It’s too much fun.”
I roll my eyes. That Aiko…
I step inside my own bathing area and close the door as well. There’s a wall between the two baths but I can hear Aiko through it just fine. Water splashes and she lets out a moan that sounds way too erotic for my imagination to handle.
“Oh this feels soooo good.”
I clear my head of the thoughts taking hold. After stripping down I slip into the bubbly water myself. I’ve got to agree with her, though. The warm water feels like magic and I scrub myself clean of the stink with a bar of soap that has printed along with the bath.
“Great idea making these, Reece,” Aiko says from behind the wall. “This is just what I needed.”
“Me too,” I say.
“I’m so relieved to have all that over with,” she says. “The labyrinth. Finding Becky. Feels like a nightmare ending.”
I chuckle. “Well it’s not over yet. We still have an army to deal with.”
“You really think Gilly’s plan is going to work?”
I ponder on that a moment. “If there is anyone I’d trust to pull it off, it’s her. Gilly has an amazing knack for this stuff. Back in the Shards she was always more of a miner and crafter than an adventurer.”
“She sounds like Becky.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, she never really enjoyed the fighting and adventuring all that much, I don’t think. Which is another reason I got so pissed at Val for constantly dragging her into stuff. I knew she didn’t really enjoy it. She mostly did it for Val’s sake.”
I don’t really know what to say to that. I didn’t give thought to how old animosities might creep up now between them. “Hopefully you guys have a better understanding of each other now. I’m sure you’ll work it out.”
She gives a little cackle laugh. “We’ll see.”
I finish my bath and feel like a million credits. No more stink and the tension and stress of the entire labyrinth ordeal seems to have melted away into the bath water. I’m about to replace my Ninja garb, but then think better it. I throw on some of my old noob gear instead, which is crap for stats but fairly comfortable.
I wait in the corridor for Aiko to finish up and catch her with a trade request just as she exits, redressed in her lingerie.
You initiate a trade with Aiko.
You offer:
Dark Shinobi Mask: +30 Shadow Magic +30 TP
(1) Dark Shinobi Gi: +150 HP +30 Shadow Magic+30 AGL+30 Dodge
(1) Warrior’s Tekko: +75 HP +20 AGL +20 DEX +20 STR +20 VIT
(1) Ninja Hakama: +150 HP +30 Dodge +30 AGL
(1) Dark Shinobi Kyahan: +75 HP +30 Shadow Magic +20 Dodge
Aiko pauses, staring at me. “What’s this?”
“Figured it was time I gave this back,” I say. “It served me well, but you earned it, not me. I’ll take my old stuff back.”
Aiko’s violet eyes light up with the glow of the equipment list on her HUD. She studies it a moment and then smirks. “You know what?”
Aiko has cancelled the trade.
“You hang on to it, pretty boy.”
“Huh?”
“I’m going to stick to Thief for a bit. Frankly it’s a lot more fun to simply go all out as a damage dealer again.” And then she adds with a bit of sadness in her voice, “A lot less stressful too.”
I see the vacant, almost shameful, look in her eyes, but I know what she’s getting at. Maybe she still hasn’t fully overcome her phobia of tanking. I take her hand and give it a squeeze.
“Don’t worry,” I say. “I’ve got the job covered.”
She smiles then, my hand still in hers. “You always know just what to say to me, don’t you?”
I blush a little. “I try.”
She stares at me in silence, studying me with her deep violet eyes. She runs her hand through my damp hair. Not ruffling it cutely, or even in a motherly way like Val Helena might do, but in a slow sensual way that causes my heartbeat to quicken.
She leans towards me, tilting her head as her eyes close.
I stiffen and grin back nervously. “Aiko?”
Her eyes flash open with a look of panic, or embarrassment maybe. She pulls away from me quickly. “Sorry.”
“Huh?”
She avoids my stare and lets go of my hand. “Never mind. Like I said. Keep the gear. You earned it.”
I open my mouth to say something else, but she quickly steps away from me, donning her Thief garb as she heads towards the common hall. I’m left there standing alone, wondering exactly what just happened. She tried to kiss me again, I know that—something she’s done before, but this time it was different. It didn’t seem like a joke or a troll.
It felt real.
And maybe not just for her.
Chapter 28: Change
I walk back into the common room feeling ill at ease. I don’t think I did anything wrong just now, but by the way my body reacted to Aiko’s pass, I’m having serious doubts about my moral compass. It makes me sick to my stomach a bit, and even more so when I see Gilly giving me a great big smile from across the room.
She waves and I wave back at her. So sweet and innocent.
How could I even fathom doing something that could hurt her? Yet what I felt between Aiko and I just now has my mind doing backflips and my stomach curling with self-loathing. I look for Aiko but I don’t see her, which is just as well, since I feel quite awkward about the whole thing now. I’m glad that Gilly didn’t see it either. I don’t think I could explain it away if she did. I push the memory to the corner of my mind and try to pretend it didn’t happen. I’m hoping Aiko does the same and it never comes up again.
The howl of the wind is muffled behind the thick walls of the common hall and with the fire roaring, the room feels as toasty as an oven. I join the rest of the group and get a big hug from Gilly. I feel ashamed at first, but the warmth I feel in my heart reaffirms that what I experienced just now with Aiko was something physical and not emotional. At least not for me.
I hold Gilly for a long time until she finally giggles and says, “Okay, okay I need to breathe too, you know.”
I do so and give her a kiss. “I really missed you, Gilly.”
She smiles. “I missed you too.”
We settle in to some hot chocolate that Becky has whipped up, along with some bread and cheese. It’s not the most extravagant meal, but it hits the spot perfectly and by the time I drain my mug I’m feeling fully satisfied and ready for bed.
“We should all get some rest,” I say.
“True enough, mate,” Rembrandt says, stretching. “I left a couple of my clones outside for lookout, but honestly I doubt anything is making it through this storm. I think we’ll be safe till it breaks.”
With the way my body is feeling right now, that sounds like music to my ears.
“You’ve all been through a lot more than I have,” Becky says, clearing the empty mugs on a tray. “I’ll cook us something more substantial while you all rest.”
“Need any help?” Rembrandt offers.
“No,” she says with a smile. “But I wouldn’t mind the company. Care for some tea?”
Rembrandt grins broadly. “A spot of tea? You really do know the way to a New Londoner’s heart, don’t you love?”
The Halfling chuckles with a blush. “Anyone else?”
We all politely decline, not wanting to intrude and perhaps already stuffed from the hot chocolate. My brother, however, is far more crude about it.
“Nah, tea sucks,” Maxis says, rolling his shoulders. “I’m hitting the sack. Right after I get a nice hot bath.” He then shoots me a stare. “Hope you left some hot water, bro.”
I chuckle at him. “I left some stink in there too. Enjoy!”
<
br /> That gets laughs all around.
“I could use one too,” Val Helena says. “It’d go good to unwind after all that. I hope Aiko’s finished in there.”
“I’m all done,” Aiko says, appearing from the direction of the kitchen and I wonder if that’s where she’s been hiding all this time.
I try to make eye contact with her, but the elf seems to be purposefully avoiding my stare. She chooses one of the beds and without saying anything, climbs in and covers her head under the blankets. Seeing that makes me feel a bit uneasy again. I much preferred it when Aiko was just trolling me and treating me like a little kid. But I’m not sure what this is now.
Val Helena encourages Maxis and Rembrandt to head to the baths next, while she waits her turn with Gilly. In typical guy fashion, they return just a few minutes later and then Val Helena and Gilly get ready to go.
“Push two beds together for us,” Gilly whispers to me with a mischievous grin. “I wanna snuggle tonight.”
“Okay,” I say with a smile and set to doing so while Gilly gets her bath.
When they return, Gilly extinguishes the light spells and we all hunker down in the muted glow of the fire. Gilly curls up next to me and I wrap my arms around her, cherishing the closeness of her body. She nuzzles into my chest and I give a prayer of thanks that we’ve made it this far together. I can’t count the amount of times I could have lost her, but we scraped though and now I get the chance to be with her once again. To protect her.
I won’t be making the same mistakes twice.
“I love you, Gilly,” I whisper to her, but all I get is soft snoring in response.
I chuckle. Good old Gilly. Despite everything she hasn’t changed a bit.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I close my eyes and my mind wonders back to the strange episode with Aiko, filling me with uneasiness again, but before I can even shoo the thoughts from my mind, I fall fast asleep.