by Pirateaba
As Erin began to hunt for dustrags, buckets of melted snow, and of course a mop and broom, she thought about last night. She’d leveled. So many times! Erin knew Level 20 wasn’t actually that high—almost everyone got to that before they died Selys had told her. But still. Level 21!
And the [Singer] class. Erin was surprised by that, but she had wanted to sing her best on the roof. And what were those skills?
[Perfect Recall] and [Control Pitch]. Did they work? Erin focused.
Yes. They did. Amazingly so, in fact! Erin could remember every lyric, every verse in every song she’d ever sung. And what was more—
“Testing, testing, do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do!”
Her pitch was perfect. Even someone with a autotuner couldn’t have improved her range. It made Erin feel weird; like her voice wasn’t her own anymore. But that feeling soon gave way into a greater desire to sing!
Ryoka had taken away the iPhone right before she fell asleep. But Erin could still sing without the device. Besides, it was still enchanted and would probably blow Erin’s eardrums out if she used it.
Now, what song could she sing? Erin remembered her warmup, and smiled as the lyrics popped into her head.
She bent to pick up a discarded dress, gingerly holding it between two fingers, and looked out to the brightening sky. Erin opened her mouth, and sang.
“Do, a deer; a female deer, re, a drop of golden sun…!”
—-
Ryoka woke up to the sound of music. Because she had a hangover, this was a terrible, horrible experience. Each new verse was a nail being jack-hammered into her skull, and the pillow Ryoka pressed over her head was taking too long to suffocate her.
The heinous singing floated down from below, accompanied by the loud clink of porcelain being stacked together or silver wear being organized.
What Erin had forgotten was that last night, everyone had imbibed quite a lot of alcohol. She’d drunk it too of course; but Erin was immune to alcohol’s effects and so she was the only person waking up this morning without a hangover.
After Erin got to la, Ryoka could bear it no longer. She seized the nearest object she could reach, staggered out her door and hurled it down the stairs. It turned out that she’d hurled her beside dresser, and it crashed into pieces as it hit the ground floor.
Ryoka heard the shocked exclamation from Erin. She grunted something and stomped back to her bed.
“Rude!”
But the singing stopped. Ryoka rolled back into bed and caught far more than forty winks.
When she woke up at last, it was an hour or two later and Ryoka was hungry. She stumbled out her door, and found everyone else was getting up as well. Their synchronization was probably due to the fact that the sun had hit all of their windows at the same time, and Erin still hadn’t bought any curtains for her new inn.
Sleepy faces, and wincing expressions. Ryoka nodded to the others.
“Ryoka.”
“Ceria.”
“Val.”
“Olesm?”
The Drake staggered out of Ceria’s room and paused. He looked around at the other people in the inn. Slowly, he backed into the room and shut the door.
Ryoka stared at Ceria. The half-Elf shrugged. She didn’t quite meet anyone else’s eyes as they walked downstairs.
They found Erin bright and cheerful, and a steaming bowl of scrambled eggs, a plate of greasy bacon, and bread. Ryoka could have hugged Erin, but she was more interested in eating.
“So. How did you all sleep? Um, sorry about the singing.”
“I quite enjoyed it. It was an unusual song.”
Val smiled at Erin around his breakfast. Ryoka grunted. Ceria nodded as she massaged her temples.
“What a night. I can’t believe half of what I remember. And what I do remember—”
She broke off, not looking at Olesm. And he was pointedly not looking at Ceria. Ryoka eyed his twitching tail. Erin didn’t seem to notice either reaction. Instead, she pointed excitedly at the chessboard on the table.
“Guess what, guys? Look at this! The chessboard I got was magical!”
Everyone looked around. Olesm dropped his fork and Val whistled as he saw the ghostly pieces.
“I thought something was off. Well now, that’s not something you see every day.”
Ryoka frowned.
“What is it?”
“Some kind of duplication spell and magically connected board, I would guess. Obviously.”
Ryoka turned her head, and saw Pisces lurch into the inn. He looked – and smelled – like he’d been sleeping outside. The trash that fell from his robes attested to that fact.
“Pisces.”
“Ceria. I see you are having breakfast. Allow me to join you.”
Pisces inserted himself at Ceria’s table, much to her displeasure. Erin glared at Pisces, but she didn’t oust him from the inn. Instead, she looked back at the chessboard.
“So it’s like a magic chessboard that allows you to play against someone far away? Cool! I had…one just like it back at home!”
Ryoka glared at Erin while Pisces and Val raised their eyebrows. Olesm was busy inspecting the board, murmuring excitedly over the ghostly pieces. They did look quite impressive, especially as it turned out that the ghostly wisps followed the pieces as the Drake tried moving them across the board.
“They’re cold!”
The pieces were indeed cool to the touch, and Ryoka imagined holding solidified air as she touched them. Erin stared at the board, and at the pawn moved on the other side.
“Well, this is an invitation to play if ever I saw one. Sounds like fun!”
Ryoak tried to quickly run through the consequences of playing a game, but she couldn’t think of too many. Besides, whoever had sent the board clearly knew it had arrived.
Erin reached for a piece, but Olesm’s tail twitched and she paused, seeing it. The [Tactician] hesitated, and then looked at Erin pleadingly.
“Can—can I play a game? I wouldn’t want to impose, but I’m curious…after you’ve played a few games, do you think I could try?”
“Well, why not now?”
Erin moved aside and gestured Olesm into the seat. The Drake gaped at Erin and Ryoka smiled in her seat.
“What? But no—I couldn’t do that!”
Olesm protested as Erin pulled back the chair for him. She shook her head at him.
“Oh come on. It’s not like it’s that important who plays first. And besides, the other person has no idea who I am. Go on! I need to clean up anyways.”
“If you’re sure…”
Olesm’s hands were twitching as much as his tail as he sat at the chess board. Hesitantly he peered at the pieces, and then moved a pawn forwards.
While he was waiting—and Ryoka wondered if he’d be waiting for a long time given the time zones that could be involved for the other player, she looked at Ceria. The mage was looking at Olesm, but she turned to Ryoka and also turned red when the human girl nudged her.
“What? Ryoka?”
“I’d like to talk with you about learning magic later. If you’re not too busy?”
Ceria smiled wryly.
“Not at all. I’ve got a few things to do this morning, but would a few hours from now be fine?”
“Sounds good. I’m going to run and then rest some more. I’ll meet you back here.”
“It moved! It moved!”
Olesm’s excited voice caught everyone’s attention. Ryoka glanced over, and saw a piece had indeed moved. Olesm was transfixed, but then he cautiously moved a piece. After a few seconds, the invisible opponent replied.
That was impressive. It hadn’t been what, more than a few seconds? Had the mysterious sender been waiting for someone to make a move? Ryoka liked chess, but she wasn’t nearly as fanatical as Erin and Olesm were.
“I’m going to stay here and clean up while Olesm plays, and then I’ll play. It’ll be a fun day!”
Erin collected plates and cutlery as she a
nnounced that fact to the room. Ceria nodded and gestured at the mage at her side.
“Pisces and I will visit the city. I want to see Yvlon and he’s going to get new robes.”
“I am?”
Pisces looked dubiously at Ceria. He plucked at his much-stained robes.
“My current garments are quite suitable.”
“They are not.”
Everyone agreed with Ceria’s statement. The half-Elf pointed at Pisces.
“You’re disgusting. You’ve still got that gold we paid you for Ryoka’s leg—use some of it!”
He hesitated, and rose to follow her as she walked towards the door.
“Ah. About that. You wouldn’t be able to give me a small loan, would you?”
The door shut behind them. Ryoka and Val left soon afterwards. That left only Erin and Olesm in the inn. Erin kept tidying up, getting rid of stains, forgetting everything in the rhythm of work.
It wasn’t easy. But it wasn’t hard either. In truth, only the stains and bits of food particles that got into cracks in the floorboards and under chairs and so on irked Erin. Now, why couldn’t she have gotten [Advanced Cleaning] or something instead? Although her two skills did sound useful. Erin wondered what kind of food she’d be able to make tonight. Hm. What should she make tonight?
After a while, she heard an odd thumping sound coming from Olesm. She looked, and saw his tail as smacking the ground as Olesm stared at the table. There was a helpless look in the Drake’s eyes.
“Olesm? What’s wrong?”
He turned to her. Olesm looked like he was about to cry as he pointed to the chess board. The white chess pieces were covering the board, while only a King and two pawns remained on his side.
“I—I’m sorry. I can’t do anything.”
—-
Ryoka inhaled the fresh, cold air as she stepped outside. Winter. Ah, winter. She wasn’t a fan.
The cold and snow made it impossible for her to run barefoot, and so she hated the winter. That was all there was too it.
Technically, Ryoka could run barefoot in the snow. Some runners could even run through freezing water in the winter; she’d seen Youtube videos. But it was a bad idea to do on a long run, and dangerous. Besides, her parents had freaked out when they learned Ryoka was doing it, so that was that.
Val appeared next to Ryoka and began doing the same sort of stretches she was doing. She glanced at him, and wondered if they were thinking of the same thing.
A morning run. It was the best time for it. Her body was stiff, and her head was still fuzzy and hurting from last night. No help for it but to run it all off. Daily morning runs were a part of Ryoka’s life—if she wasn’t going on a delivery today, she wanted to run for a while.
“Are you going for a run? Want company?”
Val’s offer surprised Ryoka. She stared at him for a few seconds before replying.
“I’d just slow you down. You’re way faster than me.”
It didn’t even hurt to admit. There was such a huge difference between then it would hurt more to deny such an obvious fact. But Val didn’t seem to think so. He scratched at his neck and looked at Ryoka.
“That may be true, but why would that stop us running together? I don’t have to use Skills. In fact, I prefer not to. [Double Step] and [Quick Movement] might be great for long distances, but they make me far too tired to do whenever I feel like it. So, that run?”
“…Sure.”
It was odd. Ryoka wasn’t a social runner. On the track team in high school, she’d been just as antisocial as anywhere else. In fact, she was even more ostracized there because she was the track team’s best runner and she didn’t get along with anybody. A pariah who showed up for events and track meets and nothing else.
That had been her parent’s fault as much as hers. They’d forced the coach to let Ryoka train by herself, since she would anyways after the track team finished. A bad decision. One of many Ryoka hadn’t protested or had made over the years.
She hoped running with Val was a good idea. She let him set the pace, and he led here at a reasonably fast job through the snow. Not too fast; she soon realized he wanted to talk as they ran, which was another unknown concept to her.
“That was one wild night, wasn’t it? I’ve seen celebrations in cities that didn’t reach that level. And the music! Dragons above, I’ve never heard anything like it!”
“It was good, wasn’t it?”
Words didn’t capture that night for Ryoka. It wasn’t magical or anything life-changing, but it was special all the same. It was…slightly magical, okay. It was a good night. A rarity for her.
“And that device Erin was using—was that yours? It makes music?”
“It—plays back music.”
Ryoka fished out the iPhone from her pocket and showed Val. It was off, and he peered at it curiously before picking up the pace.
“I don’t understand it, but I’ve seen objects that record sight and sound. And smell. I assume it’s like that?”
“It’s from where Erin and I come from. You can think of it as magic. It’s close enough.”
Perhaps it had been a mistake to give away that she had the iPhone, but that conversation with the others had illustrated just how borked the idea of keeping their world secret was. Besides, there was a benefit to giving some things away.
“Let me know if you meet someone who has something like this, though, will you? I’d be interested in meeting them.”
“I would too, especially if they’re anything like you and Erin!”
“Well, they might be. But I haven’t met anyone else.”
Ryoka felt her legs warming up as they ran through the wet snow. The sun was warm on their skin, and she was feeling better by the second. Nothing beat a good run, and surprisingly, the conversation didn’t hurt either.
“Again, I’ve got to thank you. That charm you had—I want to repay you somehow. It was extremely expensive.”
“Like I said, forget about it. It’s one favor from a Runner to another.”
Ryoka shifted uncomfortably. What Val had said sounded a lot like what she’d heard Fals saying all the time.
“Still. It’s not a small thing. A thousand gold coins—”
This time Valceif made a face and slowed down so he and Ryoka were next to each other. He looked at her seriously.
“Ryoka, we’re Runners. When one of us needs help, other Runners give what they can. If we need someone to help carry a delivery, we ask. Because we are alike, you and I. Today you needed help; tomorrow I might be the one in trouble, or someone else. I’m just paying back favors I received in the past.”
She considered that. Val looked around and sighed.
“Look, I’m not too happy about losing that charm either. But that’s how life works. We lose and we win. The last Runner who helped me out took two arrows pulling me to safety after a [Bandit Lord] jumped me. It’s the least I can do.”
Ryoka nodded. Then she lowered her head.
“Damn it. I’m a fool.”
“What? Why?”
Ryoka tried to explain as best she could. It sounded terrible and confused to her ears—she wasn’t used to talking about…anything with anyone. But Val seemed to get it. He slowed slightly as he thought.
“Hm. I understand what that Fals guy was saying, but that’s not exactly how I view it. It’s a problem with small-time Guilds. Here—”
He changed directions as he jogged through the snow. Ryoka followed him, and noticed they had just avoided a suspiciously flat spot.
“Shield Spider nest?”
“Other Runners warned me they like to hide in the ground during the winter. Good thing they’re the only dangerous monster that lays traps—at least, during this time of year. I’d never come here in the Spring or Summer without preparing a wand or two.”
Val shook his head.
“Still better than Crelers. Dead gods, I can’t stand those things. But where was I? Oh, right. Small Guilds like that are differ
ent than what I’m saying. There it’s ‘follow the rules or get out’. But Couriers don’t answer to our Guilds in the same way. We back each other up if we’re in danger, but no one bosses anyone else around. What that Fals guy and the guild wanted you to do—I’d be on your side as well.”
“You would?”
That surprised Ryoka, although perhaps it shouldn’t. Val clearly wasn’t one of the Runners in a guild, and he’d treated the other Runners like a different kind of people.
“We’re a community, not a cult. And it’s not like I go around tossing charms at everyone I meet. If that pinch-faced girl wanted help for instance, I would have let her get hexed all day long.”
He gestured at Ryoka as they powered up a steep hill.
“You’re different. That Fals guy, the girl I saved—”
“Garia.”
“—Right. Well, they’re only going to become Couriers if they get really lucky and learn a good skill. That doesn’t seem likely to me. But you’re faster than them without levels. And you’ve got the grit to run all night to get here.”
“You think so? But I don’t—I don’t have any levels. I could never run like you do.”
Ryoka admitted that with a lot of regret. She’d always assumed that levels were just a cheap trick, a way to cheat or play someone else’s game. But of all the things in the world, seeing Val run like that had tempted her the most.
“If—if I decided to level up, maybe that would be better. Smarter. More sensible.”
She’d expected Val to agree with her, but instead he seemed wary of the idea.
“I personally don’t think it’s worth it.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for once thing, and please take no offense, but—you’ll never reach my level if you start now. I know [Warriors] and other classes level up faster if they kill stronger enemies and so on, but [Runners] gain levels differently.”
“How so?”
“We level up based on how far we’ve run, and how challenging it is. True, you could do some horribly hard runs, but even then, I doubt you’d hit Level 10 by the end of the year, and it would just get slower from there. No, I’d say you’ve got your own unique style without levels. You should continue as you are.”
