by Edward Brody
“You mean Adeelee?” I asked.
Aaron just wrinkled his nose and wiggled his head around as if names weren’t important.
I was looking forward to the next day’s trip to the Vale, and hopefully Adeelee would be around during my visit. But Aaron was sorely mistaken if he thought I ‘had’ the Princess. While we had grown closer, there had only been a few moments where I felt like I pierced through the strong wall she had built up. She still seemed unattainable, even if I wanted her.
Keysia on the other hand… There was no question that we had a connection. But because of my mage training and urge to level up, we hadn’t been spending as much time together since I had returned from the Eternal Ravine. There was the usual guild talk and friendly night banter, but no special moments between me and her since our night together in Barbarosia.
I was pretty sure I could flip that switch at any time. I could sweep her into my arms and tell her to be mine or let whatever we had naturally fall into a relationship, the way Jax and Rina had seemingly come together. But now, more than ever, I felt even more confused about what I should do.
Before I had no idea if Rachel was out there, and every day I was growing more and more detached from her. But after learning that she was for certain in Eden’s Gate, it brought her back to the forefront of my mind.
How could I commit to Keysia when I knew now that I might find Rachel?
I looked down at my dark red robe and the green belt that was cinched at my waist. I looked up to the village that was rising around me, my friends, and the protectors surrounding us. Everything had already changed so much since entering the game, and I was still transforming. How much had Rachel changed since putting her headset on as well?
It was hard to imagine myself being in a relationship with Rachel again, but something still told me that I had to find her. NPCs had very little distinction between Reborns in my new world, but there was something inside of me that yearned to connect with someone who I had been close to back on Earth. Maybe I wanted to show her what I had become, or I was curious to see what she had become. I wasn’t sure… Maybe I just wanted to know she was safe. Or maybe there was some old, lingering feelings that wondered if we would instantly reconnect the same way we had so quickly connected the first time we met.
Maybe finding her would answer all these confusing questions.
Whatever the case, I still had a lot of work ahead of me just to get my name posted in the Arenas. And even if I achieved that, I could only hope that she visited the Arena sometimes or word of me spread somehow.
I shrugged at Aaron. “You wouldn’t understand. You didn’t have a girlfriend back on Earth.” I paused, tilted my head, and squinted one eye. I couldn’t remember if Aaron had ever told me if he had a girlfriend back home, so maybe I was assuming things. “Did you?”
Aaron glanced to the side as if he was conjuring up a lie. “No, I didn’t have a girlfriend, unless you count my…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what I had on Earth, because we’re here. And you know what?”
“What?”
“The Sizzler has been… ya know—” Aaron straightened his back and made a motion as if he were dusting something off his shoulders. “—seeing someone lately.”
I tucked my chin at the surprising information. “Have you? Who?”
“A gal I met in Thorpes.” He quickly glanced to both sides before cupping his hands under his pecs. “She’s got knockers like a Japanese hentai cartoon. Hot as hell. It’s unreal.”
I laughed loudly. “Let me guess. One of the … uhh... working girls at the Inn?”
Aaron shook his head from side to side. “Nahhhhhh… She’s a tailor’s apprentice. But she might have a little thang for the Sizzler. Actually, I know she does.” He shook a fist and made a motion like he was shooting dice. “She likes how I roll…”
Jax chuckled, crossed his arms, and started walking toward the drope. “You Reborns are something else… See you when the food’s ready.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Well, that’s good. Invite her to Edgewood sometime, so we can meet her.
“Oh, you bet I will,” Aaron said. “But I got dibs on this one, got it?” He leaned forward and poked a hard finger into my chest. “You’ve got enough options already.”
I raised my hands up innocently. “Trust me. I have no interest in getting involved with any more women. I’ve got enough stress already.”
Aaron leaned back and crossed his arms. “Yeah, I’ll be watching you, Mr. Mage.”
I laughed and started walking towards my home. “Sure thing, Sizzler. I’ll catch up with you at dinner time.”
I navigated around my home, cleaning up the clutter and arranging loose items.
Earlier, I had finished up a long session of inscription, using all the inscription powder the guild had accumulated. Later on, Keysia returned to the village with platter of roasted apples that were drizzled with a sweet berry glaze. Once again, her food was no elven pie, but they were a good dessert after our chargrilled drope, and it was easy to tell that Keysia’s cooking skills were improving rapidly.
I placed my broken Mythanthar’s blade on a simple shelf in my room, directly beside the lucky lockpick that had helped me get out of the Bloodletter Keep—both memories of the crazy times that had gotten me to where I was. Right below it, I arranged all my marked location runestones.
Knock, knock, knock.
I went to answer the door, but before I took two steps, Aaron yanked it open and poked his head inside. “Wasssssssup!”
I squinted hard and shook my head rapidly. “Dude, learn to knock.”
“I did knock.”
“Well, wait for someone to answer before opening the door!”
“Learn to lock your door if you’re doing something freaky with yourself.”
I sighed. “I’m not doing anything freaky, but it’s the polite thing to do.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Aaron moved further inside my room and looked around. “Looking pretty nice in here. We really need to get some more buildings built, so I can upgrade to a bigger house. Let’s hope the Vorporite ore will help us bump our income up.”
“You’ve been doing a good job managing the village while I’m away. Allocate some funds to a bigger house if you want. Just keep the castle building coming along.”
“You think I’m doing a good job, huh?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
Aaron leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Thanks bro. But… I umm…” He hesitated and looked down to the floor.
“What is it?”
“I’m getting a weird vibe from Sung.”
“Sung?” I asked. “You seemed on board with him before. He hasn’t given us any problems.”
Aaron shrugged. “Yeah, but something about him seems weird. He asks a lot of questions, and he’s always scouting around the area. It’s like he’s looking for something.”
“He was a pro-gamer though, right?” I asked. “Maybe that’s part of his mentality… He wants to know every inch of any place where he’s staying.”
Aaron rolled his head and groaned. “Yeah… it’s just…” He shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. It’s probably nothing. Just feels a little off is all.”
“You think he’s in another guild?” I asked.
Aaron shook his head. “It’s doubtful. But it’s just a reminder that we should register ourselves—just in case he’s in another registered guild.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll get it done eventually. And just keep an eye on him in the meantime. Seems like he would’ve already acted if he wanted to attack or rob us, so I dunno.”
“Yeah, I’m probably worried about nothing.” Aaron raised his chin towards the four runestones on the shelf. “What are all these up here?”
“My location runestones. I figured it would be better to keep them in my house now that I have a Recall Home spell. It would be a bummer if died and lost any of them.”
Aaron walked up to the
runestones and picked up the first on the left. “This one is?”
“Mist Vale.”
“And this?” he asked, pointing to the one beside it.
“The Mages Guild in Highcastle.” I pointed towards the one to its right. “And this one is to a little prison in The Sands.”
“What about that last one?” Aaron asked.
“Not sure yet,” I replied. “I looted it from some bandit on the way to Barbarosia. Haven’t tried recalling to it there. It still an unknown location. Actually, all of them still say ‘Location: unknown’ so I’ve sort of learned which is which by their runestone patterns.”
“Oh, you can change that,” Aaron said.
“I can? How?”
“Once you’ve used a location runestone at least once, you can will it to show a certain location on touch. Just hold it and think about labeling it as the location you want.”
“Hmmm,” I said and lifted the rune to the Sands from the shelf. I closed my eyes and focused hard on the idea of label rune as Prison Trap in the Sands. After a few seconds, I felt the sensation of a ‘click’ in my head and opened my eyes. Upon inspection, the labeling had changed.
A Marked Runestone. Location: Prison Trap in the Sands. Durability: 10/10. Quality: Great. Rarity: Uncommon. Weight: 0.1 kg
“Nice,” I said. “Can you see the label?”
Aaron shook his head. “Nah… I haven’t been there. Unless you place a physical label on it, the labels you see are personal. It’ll still show ‘Location: Unknown’ for me.”
“Makes sense.” I smiled as I placed the rune back on the shelf. “Thanks, man.”
“Don’t mention it.” Aaron headed for the door. “Gonna do a little bit more crafting, then I’m calling it a night.”
“Not gonna sneak out to Thorpes so you can finagle with your hentai babe?”
Aaron rubbed his chin as he placed his hand on the door handle. “Hmm… now that you mention it, that’s not a terrible idea. I might have to consider it.”
I grinned and huffed. “Goodnight, man.”
“Goodnight, Gunnar.”
When Aaron left, I locked my door to prevent any further surprise guests, then added labels to the other two runestones that I was familiar with. I lifted the last runestone on my shelf and considered if I should use it.
One part of me was anxious to see where it led, but another part of me was terrified that it might lead to someplace that result in an instant death. If I had been playing a game back home, I would’ve already used the rune—not much to lose. But the idea of death, dismemberment, real pain, or even prison was possible in Eden’s Gate.
Now that I had a Recall Home spell, I didn’t have to be as worried as when I first got the rune. If I were dropped in another prison, I could just recall back to runestone at Edgewood Mine, but knowing my luck, I’d be dropped in a prison that had some sort of magic nullifying effect like the one in Highcastle.
The chances seemed slim that I’d be placed in that kind of scenario, but it was still dangerous.
I weighed my options, and the idea that the rune might lead me to valuable treasure or a great hunting grounds outweighed the risks. I’d have to try the rune eventually, and I’d regret sitting on it if led me to some epic loot that could somehow help the guild.
I stepped outside, and Ozzy was the only person still outdoors. The bulky armsman was lying near the remnants of our fire, staring up at the stars with a half-empty bottle of wine in his hands.
“Oz,” I said as I walked up to him.
Ozzy lifted his head and groggily and asked, “Yeah, what’s up, man?”
“You drunk?” I asked.
Ozzy slammed a fist into his chest and belched. “Nah, just a little buzzed is all.”
“Okay, well, watch my keys, will ya?” I pulled the keyring containing my keys from my bag and handed them over to him.
“Your keys?” He turned his head from side to side, looking at the empty clearing. “Why would you want me to watch your keys?”
“I’m going to recall somewhere. I can’t afford to lose these if I die…”
Ozzy belched again and grabbed the keys. “I need to train tomorrow, so…”
“Don’t worry. I should be back tonight, unless the absolute worst happens. Just hold on to them until I get back.”
“I got you, mate,” Ozzy mumbled. He lifted the wine bottle and took a large swig. He exhaled, smacked his lips together, and held the bottle out to me. “You want some?”
“No thanks,” I said. “See you soon.”
Chapter Seven
2/9/0001
When I returned to my house, I locked the door and quickly removed my robe and all the armor underneath. I took all the items out of my bag, leaving me in just my boxers and an empty unburdening bag.
I considered the idea that the rune could lead to the middle of a city somewhere, but if that were the case I hoped I could run, find a hiding spot, and recall before I scared off any ladies. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be the case.
And if I died, I stood to lose nothing other than some accumulated stats—which would actually suck. But it wouldn’t suck nearly as much as the pain of death.
I really hoped I wouldn’t die.
I took a deep breath before focusing on the unknown runestone that was propped up on the shelf, its pattern so similar to the other runestones I had already visited. I crossed my fingers in hope and started to channel.
Please let this be good. Please let this be good. Please let this be good.
I found myself in a quiet room, and thankfully, I wasn’t immediately dead or attacked. It was silent inside, but it seemed like somewhere beyond the flat, stone walls, I could hear the sound of a distance breeze.
The room was one of the most odd-looking and magical places that I had seen since being in Eden’s Gate. The face of the grey walls had white rocks embedded in it every few feet, and the rocks gave off a bright light, giving clear visibility of the entire room.
I was stuck in a six by four feet section of the room, as there were thick metal bars running from floor to ceiling, cutting me off from the rest of the room. Behind me was a plain, stone wall, and on one of the side walls accessible to me were three stone squares jutting out from it. Below the squares was a large metal handwheel.
Past the bars was an odd-looking plumbing contraption. On the right was a clear, glass pipe that looked like a giant’s smoking pipe. The right end of the pipe was a large, empty, closed globe. Atop the globe was clear glass pan with tiny holes throughout, and running out of the left side of the globe was a long stem that abruptly ended after a couple feet.
About six inches to the left was another pipe stem. It was aligned with the stem of the pipe on the right, but the left end of it turned at a ninety-degree angle and ran up until it hit a stone jutting out from the wall. At the bottom of the stone and inside of the pipe was a bright red button.
There were two other notable pieces to the strange contraption. Another shorter clear pipe was dangling from the ceiling by a thin chain, and it was aligned perfectly with the six-inch gap between the two pipes below. It looked pretty much like a perfect fit to connect the two. Above the pan resting atop the globe was a wooden spout coming out of the wall.
Far across the room and beyond the strange science experiment was a grey stone statue sitting in a throne. One of its legs was propped on the other and one hand was resting on the side of the throne. The other hand was holding up a sparkling, golden mask, as if it were preparing to put it on its face. The entire statue was encapsulated by a transparent shield or energy of some sort. To the left of the throne was a door.
Clearly, I had stumbled across a puzzle of some sort.
I noticed some etchings on the wall opposite the one with the buttons, and walked over to it, rubbing my hand across the stone to remove a thin layer of dust. Written beneath the dust were five lines:
The turn releases nature’s gift.
The press shall up and down and twist.
I’m full of lies. Winter exhale.
-Malaki, The Liar
I raised my eyebrows at the riddle, having no idea what it meant. It seemed to have absolutely no immediate benefit to helping me figure out what to do.
I walked back over to the side of the wall with stones—obviously buttons—jutting out of the wall. I knew I had to press them, as there was not much else in the room that could be done, but I scanned the area to look for anything that looked like a trap.
After a silent prayer that I wouldn’t be killed or poisoned, I went for the one in the middle to start.
The chain rattled, and the hanging pipe in the center spun around a bit before stopping.
I pressed the button on the right, and the pipe on the chain fell slowly, at first looking like it was going to snap in between the two disconnected pipes below, but instead, it just fell past and below them.
At least I was on to something. It seemed clear to me that to solve the puzzle, I needed to connect the two disconnected pipes somehow.
When I pressed the button on the left, the small pipe on the chain rose up and returned to its original position.
The only thing left to check was the handwheel below the buttons.
I turned the wheel, and it squeaked a few times before locking into position. I heard the flow of liquid coming from somewhere, and then the small spout above the pan started releasing a small stream of water.
I would’ve expected the water to fall into the pan and for the pan to act as a funnel into the globe below, but instead, the water hit the center of the pan and then poured through all the tiny holes of the pan and into the floor.
I turned the handwheel back to stop the water than rubbed my chin as I reassessed the puzzle.
