Desert (Gaia's Rebirth Book 2)

by Caiden Walker

  She caught Nika away from the group after they all saved at the fountain and told her of her plans for the night. It didn't surprise her when Nika's response was a frown.

  "Will you be up for the early morning hunt?" she asked. "I was planning to start around three am. Hopefully, we can all level up enough so that when we do our sunup battles we can reach level ten again. We need to get on the trail into the desert."

  "I know, and I promise I won't stand in the way of that." She paused. "Tyler has been a little different ever since we crossed the portal. I just need a little privacy to see what's going on with him. I'll meet you all here at the fountain at three o'clock sharp." Ash dragged her fingers across her chest in a cross my heart gesture.

  Nika laughed. "All right, then. Go have a little fun. It's not like you haven't earned it."

  Ash grinned at her. Oh yeah, she definitely intended to have a bit of fun. Renting rooms at the inn could be costly. Luckily, with Striker providing two horses free of charge, they all had a little gold to spare. Even with having to buy extra provisions for all their little critters, they were ahead.

  When the others started toward the mayor's house and their cozy little cellar, Tyler turned to go to his uncle's. The player's quarters in the towns were not NPC friendly. It was a place where a player could go and not be bothered by the game's programmed characters. Ash could see the reasoning, but it didn't seem quite fair to Tyler and Striker. As luck would have it, they had relatives in every town within the game, so they always had a place to stay.

  Tonight, though, he'd be staying with her. Unless, of course, he had a problem with that. She was betting he wouldn't.

  She quickly caught up to him and put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him. He turned, his expression brightening when he saw it was her.

  "Hey, Ash," he said. "Did you need something?"

  She grinned at him. "Just you," she said. "Do you think your uncle and his family would mind if I stole you for the night?"

  He looked confused. "But your rooms won't allow anyone not registered to your party."

  "No, but the inn does." She felt the blush coming on. She'd never actually propositioned a boy before. Usually, it happened the other way around. "I've actually already booked us a room. I hope that's okay."

  Tyler smiled at her. "Just the two of us?"

  "Yup. No other people in sight for the entire night. Well, until three in the morning when I have to go meet the others for the early hunt."

  He nodded but didn't seem as overjoyed as what she had imagined he would be. "Give me a few minutes to go tell my uncle that I won't be there tonight, and I'll meet you there."

  Ash frowned as she watched him walk away. That didn't quite go as well as she had hoped. Then she shrugged. At least tonight in the privacy of their own room, maybe she could find out what was eating at him.

  The inn was close to the mayor's house. Really, everything in Waterton was close to everything else. Nothing in the entire town was more than a ten-minute walk away at any point. Players wanted access to everything a town should hold, but they generally didn't want to waste their time hunting around for it or walking to and from.

  She went ahead and checked in and got the key from the clerk at the desk, then went up to check out the room.

  For a room inside a game, especially one that cost so much gold, it was pretty bare. There was a big double bed in the center of the room, though, and that was all they needed. However, there wasn't a sofa or chair in sight. The bed and one lonely nightstand were the only two pieces of furniture in the whole room.

  The only nice thing was that it did come with a private bathroom. If they had time, maybe they could use the shower too. The more she thought about, a nice long hot shower sounded really good.

  It wasn't that she was sore. Bodies in the game just didn't feel the wear and tear on them. But the hot water cascading down on her shoulders and back might do something about all the stress she'd been feeling lately. First with the whole being locked in the game thing, then with Blake telling them he didn't think Cora was going to let them live. On top of that, add in the fact that she had a strong feeling Nika was hiding something from them and Tyler starting to act funny, she had almost more stress than one person could bear.

  Smiling, she thought of her plans for the evening. That could help a little too. Oh, who was she kidding? A night with Tyler in that big bed would help a hell of a lot.

  Testing the bed out, she was impressed. The inn might not do much for decoration, but they knew their beds. This was by far the softest bed Ash had ever experienced. Laying down, she sank into the mattress and almost drifted off before the knock on the door alerted her that Tyler had arrived.

  She jumped up to let him in, motioning toward the bed with a flourish. He took in the room's sole contents and immediately turned red.

  "Look, Ash," he stuttered. "I think we need to have a talk before... well, before going to bed."

  That didn't sound good. "Okay," she said slowly. "But unless you want to stand, we'll have to sit on the bed. They don't furnish chairs obviously."

  They propped the pillows up against the headboard to make a comfortable back to lean against. Once they were situated, Tyler turned to Ash.

  "Please don't think that I don't want this to happen." He grimaced. "Hell, I've been dreaming about this ever since I first laid eyes on you."

  "Then what is it?" Ash asked. Please don't let the game have programmed him with super religious values that sex outside marriage was wrong. That would really suck.

  "It's just... well, I haven't quite felt like myself ever since we came over to the desert area." He hesitated. "I always thought I wanted to travel, to see new places, but now that I'm here all I can think of is home." He reached out for her hand. "When I'm not thinking of you, of course. And I still do that a lot."

  Relief flooded Ash. He was homesick, plain and simple. That was probably the game's way of keeping the NPCs from traveling too far from their programmed location. It made sense. Very likely, the further they got from the portal, the more miserable Tyler would get. Ash didn't want that. But she still very much wanted tonight.

  "I can understand that, Tyler. I truly can," she said. Then she paused. "Could you make it back to Riser's Creek on your own?" She wasn't sure if the forest creatures would attack an NPC or just let them pass. Ash didn't want anything to happen to him because she had dragged him away from his area, especially as she didn't know if NPCs rebooted or not. At the same time, she knew that Nika would never allow her to take a detour to see him home. There was too much riding on them moving forward, not back.

  He nodded. "Actually, I wouldn't be on my own," he said. "My uncle has hired a few soldiers to see his family through the forest to visit our relatives back there." He smiled. "My parents, actually. So I could travel with them all the way to my front door."

  "Good," Ash said. "Then I think that's what you should do. When do you leave?"

  "They are leaving tomorrow morning. I've been trying to work up the courage to tell you for a while now."

  That explained his being off.

  She caressed the soft bed between them, not meeting his eyes. "Is there any reason you couldn't stay here tonight with me?"

  "Not a one," he said softly. "I just didn't want you to think I was taking advantage of you. I'm not usually in the habit of making love to a woman that I really, really like and then leaving her in the morning. I wanted you to know first."

  Now her eyes did meet his. A sly smile on her lips, she asked, "So you've made love to women you've really, really liked before?"

  He shook his head. "No," he said, his blush deepening. "But even the ones I only kinda sorta liked, I didn't leave them right after. Especially not when it meant I might never see her again." His voice caught on the last few words.

  Now he was the one to look away.

  "Tyler," Ash said softly. "I can't guarantee that we'll find each other again because some things right now are simply beyond my control.
But know this: if I can at all manage it, you'll see me again, and we'll have many more nights just like this one."

  His smoldering gaze met hers. "You'll come back to Riser's Creek for me?"

  She nodded. "Not now, I have to help the others get through the desert and then there are some things back home I need to take care of after that. But soon, very soon, after that I'll come if there is any way possible." Ash was counting on Nika keeping her promise for free access to the game once they got out. If they got out.

  He reached over and took her in his arms. "Then why the hell am I wasting time? Let's make the most of the few hours we have left."

  Ash smiled, entwining her fingers in his silky hair.

  "My feelings exactly," she said. After that, the night went much more as she had expected.

  Sex. Lots and lots of sex.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Moving Forward

  Ash was true to her word and waiting for them at the fountain when they got there. It had taken longer than expected to get Blake moving. It was finally the thought of being a lower level than the rest of them and therefore the most likely to get rebooted in an attack that did the trick and got him out of bed. As it was, they were running a few minutes late.

  The first thing Nika noticed was that Ash was alone. That was odd. She had expected Tyler to be with her.

  "Tyler is going home today," Ash said when they got close enough. She must have seen Nika's notice of his absence.

  The Amazon peered at her closely in the full moonlight. "Are you okay with that?"

  Ash smiled. "I am actually," she said. "Ever since he's been with us I've been worried that he'll get killed. And I was never all that sure that his program would reboot. Now I don't have to worry about him."

  "Well, then that's a good thing," Evan said. "Though I will miss his sword in battle. For an NPC, he is a fierce fighter."

  "Speaking of NPCs," Ash said looking around. "Aren't you missing one as well?"

  Nika laughed. "He was headed to the tavern once he left us at the cellar steps. I'm betting he's sawing logs right now and probably working on the beginnings of a massive hangover."

  "Sounds like Striker all right," Ash agreed.

  They headed out the gate into the little area beyond. The paths this way only led to a couple of quests. There weren't any main roads here. So hopefully that meant no nomad bandits too. Actually, since they were still staying so close to the town, they shouldn't have to worry about any desert creatures. Of the two gates, this one was by far the least dangerous to exit. It just didn't really go anywhere.

  Silence reigned as they headed to where they had captured the new creature the afternoon before. That one had been their first wild plant monster, Desert Rose. Its primary attack was called Thorn Throw. For some reason, it worked well against water creatures. They were hoping the area would yield another new creature as the nighttime critters were out in force now.

  They weren't disappointed.

  Louella was the first to spot it. They might well have all walked straight past it if she hadn't. The rest of the team had been strictly looking on the ground and in the limited grassy areas. This one wasn't on either. It was on a thick branch halfway up a tree.

  As soon as it saw they had spotted it, the thing lifted off, spreading great black wings as it did.

  "A NightBat," Ash whispered. "They are kind of shy and a little hard to catch."

  "Is there any kind of strategy to use to trap it?"

  The girl thought for a minute, looking over to Louella for help. The pixie shrugged. "Aren't they usually found around sweet stuff? For some reason, candy comes to mind as a lure for them."

  "It's been too long since I played," Ash said. "But I think maybe you're right. If we had some candy that would help."

  "Does anyone have any sweets in their packs?" Nika asked.

  Everyone shook their heads. They had all been more focused on putting actual food in their inventory, and snacks seemed to be pretty limited in the game. Dessert after meals was about the only sweets Nika had noticed in the game. And those didn't pack well into inventories.

  Then Louella's face lit up. "Oh, I do!" she said digging in her inventory and bringing up several cubes of sugar. "Not candy exactly, but I'm betting they will work."

  They did. Of course, Munch and FireStorm helped with the recruitment too. Their tries went pretty quickly, each of them getting a NightBat on their very first try.

  Unfortunately, Louella wasn't so lucky. It took her three tries and three traps to finally catch one. When she finally did, they saw why this one was more difficult to catch. It was a level five. The other critters they had found in the wild, including the two NightBats the others had caught had all been level three. Her's was a full two levels stronger.

  After catching their bats, the hunt didn't offer up any other creatures, new or old. So much for experience grinding. The gate area had been quickly tapped out.

  The good news was it had allowed them all to climb one additional precious level. Nika and Evan were now at level nine, thanks to the afternoon's success plus the early morning points racked up. Granted, they were just barely over the level, but still, it counted. One more level to be back where they were when they came through the portal.

  Ash, Louella, and their team mates were only at level eight. Their counters showed them about a third of the way to nine, with Louella's team just a little higher in experience than Ash's. That bat had given her an edge. Plus, the extra tries to catch it probably helped too.

  With any luck, once they got back to the rooftop battlefield and did their player battles, she and Evan at least would be at ten. Nika was really beginning to regret not waking everyone up that fateful morning to hunt with them. It would have made a difference.

  As much as she wanted everyone to be at ten, she was getting tired of simply grinding for levels. They needed to be on their way. If she had anything to say about it, they would be directly after their battles.

  There simply wasn't any more time to waste. Hopefully, they could level up on the way before they met any big and dangerously bad desert creatures.

  They saved at the fountain as they passed and then went to the market to pick up several potions for their creatures. It would save them having to jog up and down the stairs between battles if they could simply have their critters pop a potion when their health got low.

  Thirty minutes later, Nika and Evan were a hair's breadth away from level ten and Louella had managed to gain her ninth level. Ash and Dean were still stuck at level eight, but the next battle they faced, be it from Trials or Gaia, would put them over and into nine as well.

  It wasn't perfect by any means, but it would have to do. Today they would ride into the desert.

  Dean moaned when she told them.

  "Oh, man," he said. "I was counting on getting another long nap before we headed back out."

  "Tell you what," Nika said in her best compromising voice. "If we get ready and head out now, we can travel in the morning hours before it gets so bloody hot. There should be two oasis points between Waterton and the Outpost. When we hit the first one, we can set up a quick camp and get a nap in there."

  He scrunched his nose up. "It does get pretty hot here in the afternoon, doesn't it?"

  "Actually, here in town, it isn't nearly as bad as it is out there," Nika motioned out toward the main desert as she spoke. "We'll all be ready for a break in some shade by the time we reach it."

  Dean sighed, but nodded. "Okay, I'm on board," he said. "Hey, I just realized that we have six riders and four horses. With Tyler not going with us that means not all of us will have to double up. That's good, right?"

  Nika nodded. Although saving the gold they had spent for the extra horse might have been nice, having the additional mount was good. She'd been a bit worried about over working the mounts in the heat. Now, if the heavier of them rode singly, it wouldn't be nearly as hard on the horses. And neither the pixie nor the dwarf neither weighed all that much.

 
"Hopefully it will help the horses quite a bit," she said. "Plus, just maybe add a bit of speed to our journey."

  With one last trip to the market to pick up more traps and critter potions, they were on their way to the stables and their mounts. That was one nice thing about virtual traveling. As you carried everything in your inventory, and it was always on you, there was no need to pack anything before leaving. And they already had more than enough food in their packs to last them one day and night in the desert.

  Although Nika was surprised to find that in her rush to get started, she had almost made a very crucial mistake. Yes, they had potions, for themselves and the monsters they carried, food, and even snacks for the horses. What they didn't have enough of was water. So as soon as they retrieved their mounts, they made a quick side trip back to the mayor’s house.

  There was no charge for food or water gained there. The supply closet held canteens and each of them grabbed two. One for them and one for their horses. Then they filled them with water and made sure to drink their fill, too, before going back out to the street and getting into their saddles.

  For this morning's ride, Dean and Nika got the singe rides. Louella doubled up with Ash, and they put Striker with Blake. Neither of them was very happy about that situation but the only one Nika truly felt a bit sorry for was Striker. Still, the strategy made sense, and she didn't want to have to stick Louella riding with the jerk. As real as he seemed, at the end of the day Striker was only programming code.

  She was torn between stopping for one last monster collection and heading straight into the desert. If she was right, and the group could make the same time they had on their earlier trip out to meet the nomad bandits, they should be able to reach the first small oasis by late morning, even giving them time for a quick battle or two.

  The problem is that according to the original programming of Gaia's Rebirth, that oasis held a mini-boss battle. She really didn't want to take the risk of getting them all rebooted back to town. Or worse, finding out that was no longer an option.