Two Brothers

by Phoenix Grey

  "That's the silver lining, isn't it," Lonnell replied with a soft smile before rolling up the sheet of paper and sticking it in his Bag of Holding. "For as eager as I was earlier, I don't feel like getting started on this today. It's been a long, stressful day. Broke or not, I need a drink."

  Azure couldn't help but chuckle. He'd never heard Lonnell sound so worn out before. “I suppose we should find the inn then and get settled. I'm sure we're both looking forward to a night of restful sleep where we don't have to watch each other's backs.”

  "You can say that again." Exhaustion rang clear in Lonnell's voice.

  They made their way to the inn and purchased a week's stay, splitting the rent. It was no Marriott, Azure thought as he took in the one cot that they had to share and a bedside table with a lantern. But it was better than possibly getting robbed and losing what little money they had left. Or worse, ending up dead.

  "You can have the bed tonight," Azure offered.

  Lonnell just nodded in agreement, and they headed downstairs to the tavern. At first, Azure had planned on saving his money, but as soon as he saw the beer wench place a pint in front of Lonnell, he couldn't resist. Two coppers poorer, Azure was surprised when an item notification popped up.

  You have received the following item:

  Pint of Beer

  Quantity: 1/1

  Item Class: Common

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 1.0 kg

  Uses: Makes your worries feel less harrowing.

  Effects: Increases strength by 3% for one hour

  Decreases attack of all weapons and magic by 20% for one hour

  Decreases Agility, Dexterity, Charisma, and Luck by 3 points for one hour

  Azure guffawed. Seriously? It was funny to see how dangerous alcohol was in The Realm. It was basically battle ED.

  "I'm guessing these effects stack with each drink?" he asked Lonnell.

  "That's correct." His friend nodded.

  "Well then, it looks like my limit is five before I'm absolutely useless. Such bullshit," Azure grumbled.

  "Less than that depending on how much Agility and Dexterity you have. The other two don't matter as much," Lonnell reminded him.

  "Ah. Yeah. True," Azure replied as he raised the beer to his lips and took a sip.

  Congratulations! New skill learned: Drinking Level 1. Life sucks sometimes and you need a reprieve. Be careful when and where you decide to relax, though, because danger lurks around every corner.

  This made Azure laugh again. He could only assume that the more he drank, the less his decrease of attack would be and the higher his strength would grow. That still made Drinking a useless skill, though.

  "I can't even enjoy a drink without worrying about shit," Azure mumbled, feeling that the text in the notification was contradicting. He turned his attention back to Lonnell. "Did you happen to see that board on the wall that everyone was standing around in The Adventurer's Guild?"

  Lonnell glanced up in thought for a moment. “I can't say that I did.”

  "Well, when you go back next time, have a look at it. It's called the Open Quests board. It's basically a place where hard quests are posted that either no one wants to do or that people have had difficulty completing. I saw a quest on there for some guys called The Bower Boys. Apparently, they've been robbing people along the road to Squall's End. There are seven of them. The reward is big." Azure's eyes widened as he thought about all of that gold.

  "How big?" Lonnell's voice went all serious.

  Azure shook his head. “It doesn't matter. We're too low level to accept the quest.”

  "What if we combined our levels?"

  "What would that matter?" Azure gave him a queer look. "Whoever accepts the quest has to meet the level requirement of it."

  "That might not be true." Lonnell paused to take a quick gulp of his beer. "The receptionist told me that sometimes they'll make exceptions for a party if your party's level adds up to the requirement, but it's judged on a quest by quest basis. Either way, she said it's not smart to accept a quest that's higher than your level. Super risky, but might be worth it if the money is good."

  "Well, the two of us do not a level fifty make. That was the requirement."

  "Yeah." Lonnell seemed to deflate a bit.

  To Azure's surprise, his companion drank three beers. By the time they left the tavern, Lonnell was slurring his words and teetering to the point that Azure had to help him walk. He forced his friend to eat some bread, but that was one thing that didn't work like in the real world. The bread didn't sober Lonnell up at all.

  Azure helped Lonnell up to bed and made sure he was all right. As soon as Lonnell's head hit the pillow, he was snoring loudly. Azure couldn't help but smirk.

  Damn, he must really be stressed out. And who can blame him? If it weren't for the fact that we're on a very fixed budget, I probably would have gotten wasted too. But he hadn't gotten wasted. Having a feeling that he would need what money he still had, Azure kept to only drinking one beer. It admittedly gave him a pretty heavy buzz, far more than one beer would have ever caused him in his world. Somehow, his tolerance had gone to shit.

  With a sigh, Azure bedded down on the floor. For having told himself that he was used to sleeping on hard surfaces, it was particularly uncomfortable. Perhaps he had lied to himself. Then again, he was used to sleeping on hard earth, not on wood. He could have always rolled to find a soft patch of grass or somewhere with fewer rocks. The wood floor was just...stiff. It reminded him of how much he'd hated being on the Shropshire.

  Hopefully, the alcohol would do what it typically did in his own world and help him find sleep faster despite all of his discomforts. For as much as he hoped, though―for as much as he finally felt safe, sleep wouldn't come easily. The noise of the tavern was an unwelcome distraction. Never had Azure thought he would miss Crescent Island, but living in the city kind of sucked. This was worse than his apartment on Earth had been. It wasn't uncommon for him to hear his upstairs neighbors or the occasional party. But here it seemed he'd be listening to a party every night. Music and laughter and voices ascended through the window. He wanted nothing more than to shut them all out, but he knew that wasn't possible. Perhaps he would have gotten a better sleep in the forest, but there was no going back now. At least not for this week. Their money was gone, and it was safer here. Wasn't it?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  THE REALM – Day 45

  To Azure's surprise, Lonnell was already gone when he awoke the next morning. Then again, he may have slept all day if not for the rays of the sun beating on him through the window and filling the room with an uncomfortable heat. Azure groaned as he rolled away from the light, his arm sore from having laid on it all night. He was definitely looking forward to getting the bed tonight.

  Azure smacked his lips, feeling unusually dehydrated and knowing it was because of the beer he'd had the night before. There was the tiniest hint of a headache stabbing at his temples, too. He didn't even want to imagine how Lonnell must feel. Then again, Lonnell had spent a good amount of time at the tavern in Cragbell thanks to Bronna working there, so his tolerance might be higher.

  Just wanting to get the quest over with, Azure immediately set off for Roselake. Traveling the main road to Squall's End alone made him feel somewhat insecure now that he knew the Bower Boys were out there robbing people. Out of fear of having bad luck, Azure had decided to leave half of what coin he had left in the room at the inn, not that it was probably that much safer there. The door didn't have a lock on it, so anyone could wander in at any time. Knowing that beneath the mattress would be the first place that he would look for coin if he were snooping around, Azure decided to hide it behind the bedside table legs instead. Hopefully, that wasn't a mistake. It would piss him off if he returned and found he'd been robbed. The more he thought about it, perhaps he would have been better off keeping all of the coin on him after all. Oh well. He didn't want to waste time going back for it.

  Turning
off on the road to Roselake made Azure feel a little bit safer, though he wasn't sure why. It made more sense for the Bower Boys to be waiting on an offshoot of the main road than to be on it. From what Azure understood, soldiers from Noseon patrolled the main road from time to time. Any smart bandit would avoid it.

  Staying ever vigilant, Azure reached Roselake without incident. Knowing it was the best place to start his search, Azure first went to the tavern to inquire about Enno's whereabouts. While he was there, he went ahead and Analyzed everyone in the bar, wanting to try to level the skill as quickly as possible so that he could see more details about his foes and companions in the future. The barkeep pointed him to a small residence, not surprisingly, next to the lake. Azure had to trudge halfway around the lake before he reached it, and there was no question about the identity of the man who stood on the shoreline with a fishing pole in hand.

  "Enno Berkeley?" Azure asked as he walked up.

  The man looked over at him and smiled. “That would be me,” he announced before reeling in his pole and setting it down to clasp wrists with Azure. “And you are?”

  "Azure. Azure Galvan." It felt so strange using his last name. "I was sent by The Adventurer's Guild to read your book."

  "I figured as much." Enno started walking back towards his house, and Azure followed.

  For a fisherman, Enno seemed well-off. He wore a long tan tunic and blue pants with a red bandana tied around his neck and a brimmed hat to keep the sun off of his face. Round spectacles covered his blue eyes, resting just below bushy eyebrows. His hair was cut neatly above his eyes, a natural salt-and-pepper that was mostly pepper. A man in his late forties or early fifties, he seemed fit for his age, no doubt from a life of being active.

  "I was wondering when The Adventurer's Guild would send someone," he said excitedly. "I had half expected that they'd just toss away my request." He set the pole down on a bench before turning to Azure. Enno's house looked different than any Azure had seen in The Realm before. It was small but built more modernly than the other residences. Light blue trimmed the windows and adorned the columns that held up the front awning. The rest of the house was white. This guy definitely had money. It made Azure wonder why his quest didn't come with a monetary payout. "After all, this probably seemed like a quest of vanity to them," Enno continued.

  "I don't mean to be rude," Azure began, "but if you're famous, then why didn't you just have one of your fans read the book?"

  "Well that's simple," Enno said as if Azure were daft. "My fans would have given the book a glowing review. I need an unbiased opinion. Someone who doesn't know me or what I do. You don't...know me, do you?" He eyed Azure suspiciously.

  Azure chuckled. “Sir, I am the most unbiased opinion you're going to find. I have never heard or you, and I've also never been fishing in my entire life.”

  Enno gasped. The shock stayed on his face for half a second before joy took over. “Well, we'll certainly have to change that, my good lad.” He placed a hand on Azure's shoulder, walking him up the steps in front of his house and pausing again before reaching the door. “Now, you stay out here, and I'll go fetch my book.”

  Azure nodded and then simply stood there looking out over the lake while Enno went inside. It was a gorgeous view. Glistening from the rays of the sun, the surface of the water was calm. The roses ringing the lake gave it a rich, ethereal feel. While Azure was certain that this wasn't the height of luxury in The Realm, it did seem like one of the nicer lives that money could buy. Maybe someday, he'd have something similar.

  To Azure's appreciation, Enno didn't dawdle. He was only gone for about five minutes before returning with the book in hand. It had a thick green, hardback cover with golden type on the front.

  You have received the following item:

  Book: Fishing Patheana

  Quantity: 1

  Durability: 1/1

  Item Class: Extremely Rare

  Quality: High

  Weight: 0.7 kg

  Uses: Map

  Azure took the book from him, noting how pristine it was. “I thought you hadn't published this yet.”

  "It's my personal copy," Enno admitted. "I wanted to see what it would look like when it was complete, so I went ahead and had the manuscript bound."

  Money, Azure thought again. This guy obviously has a lot of it to waste. Perhaps he'll tip me after the job is done.

  Looking specifically for a map of the locations that he had to choose from to fish at, Azure flipped open the cover and skimmed through the pages. A smirk crossed his face when he found Roselake. “Well, I suppose I should hurry up and read this so that we can get to fishing.” He closed the book.

  "Oh, you won't be fishing here." Enno shook his head.

  Azure gave him a queer look. “Why not?”

  The man laughed, outstretching his arms. “How are you to learn from the book if you're taking lessons from the master?”

  "Roselake is in this book as one of the locations," Azure pointed out, doing his best not to sound annoyed.

  "Here." Enno motioned for him to hand the book back. Once Azure did, he flipped back to the map and tapped his finger on top of one of the locations. "I want you to fish here at Jade Pond. It's a good starter pond about sixteen miles away. Better for a beginner, like yourself. You won't have to worry about reeling in any monsters."

  Azure cocked an eyebrow. “You can reel in monsters when you fish?”

  "Yup. That's why I carry my trusty Betty Sue with me." Enno patted a machete at his hip that Azure hadn't noticed before.

  "Hm," Azure hummed in thought. Who woulda thunk.

  "Now, I have a few more things for you before you head off." The fisherman thrust his book into Azure's hands before heading back down the stairs and around the side of the house. Azure wasn't sure if he was supposed to follow or not, but he decided to stay planted.

  When Enno returned, he had a fishing pole in one hand and a small box in the other. Azure just stared at him for a moment, feeling like he was running out of hands.

  "You might want to put the book in your bag." Enno nodded towards Azure's bag, and he did as he was told before taking the two items from the fisherman.

  You have received the following items:

  Starter Pole

  Attack: 3

  Range: 1

  Durability: 10/10

  Item Class: Common

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 1.3 kg

  Box of Basic Bait

  Quantity: 10/10

  Durability: 1/1

  Item Class: Common

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 0 kg

  Uses: Must be used with a pole. Used to catch fish.

  The first thing Azure noticed was that the pole was not historically accurate. It was simple enough, made from bamboo, but it did have a reel that he could use to bring the fish in. If he remembered correctly, medieval fishing poles were merely just a stick with a string and a hook attached. This pole was much more modernized.

  “Should I assume that if I reel in a monster with this pole, I'm supposed to then beat it over the head with it?” he chuckled to himself, thinking of the pole's attack stats.

  Enno gave him a wry look. “You should know better than that.”

  Truthfully, Azure didn't.

  “It does have attack stats,” he pointed out.

  “The attack stats on a pole wear the monster down as you're reeling it in. Nothing more. Once it's onshore, you'll have to fight it in the traditional sense,” Enno explained.

  How dangerous could a fish out of water be? It was no matter. Enno had promised that Azure would encounter no monsters at this new fishing spot.

  “Well, I guess I'll learn it all when I read your book,” Azure told him with a smile. “Thanks for all the stuff. I'll get to it then.”

  “I hope you enjoy my book,” Enno called to Azure as Azure walked away.

  I highly doubt that I will, Azure thought, not looking forward to reading it.

&
nbsp; Once he reached the road heading back to the village of Roselake, Azure paused to figure out his next course of action. Since he was close to the village, it made sense to carry out his reading at the tavern there where he would have a comfortable place to sit and could drink some water. Having made up his mind, Azure diverted to the village, finding a quiet corner in the tavern to sit. He pulled out the book and sighed as he flipped it open to the first page, wondering how much time it would take to get through the entire thing.

  The answer was...over five hours. By the time Azure was done, the sun was beginning to set. This presented a new set of challenges. Should he press on to find the pond and try his luck at night fishing or should he go back to the inn and work on this tomorrow? The book had said that night fishing was a thing. Different fish could be caught at night than in the daytime. If he did choose that route, Azure would still be able to fulfill the requirements of the quest. But while the book had spoken volumes about the types of monsters that you could catch while fishing in Patheana, it said nothing about the monsters that lurked on the land. Considering that Azure hadn't encountered any yet, he wasn't confident that he would out-level any of them. Besides, he didn't have the Small Flame spell that Lonnell had. If he wanted to venture about at night, he'd need a torch, which he would have to buy. It just seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

  With a sigh, Azure pulled himself up from the bench he was sitting on and made the long trek back to Squall's End. Staying in a town afforded him more time for nighttime activities. Azure parted with two copper coins to take a drawn bath at the inn. It seemed like a luxury after having bathed in rivers for so long. For two more copper, he could have had one of the 'women of the night,' as they were called, scrub him down, but that just seemed like a waste of money. The service was obviously designed to coax him into renting a prostitute, and while it was something that he was incredibly curious about, now was not the time to spend his money on excessively frivolous things.