by Eden Redd
Entering the dorms, Jessica held the drunken student up as Luis pointed a waving finger in the direction they needed to go. After two flights of stairs and walking down a thin hallway, the two students stood in front of Luis’s dorm room door.
Luis broke away and leaned against the door, trying to pull his senses back into place, “Thank you for seeing me here. I had….(hic)…a great time.”
Jessica bit her lip as she looked at him. Luis could see the storm of thoughts behind her eyes as if she was trying to find the right words to say. He had seen the look before, when someone wanted something. He had seen it with friends and family but for the first time in his life, he saw a stranger looking to him with those same wanting eyes. He didn’t want to invite her in because he felt he was going to be a drunken mess. Not too romantic when you flop on your bed and pass out.
Jessica took a deep breath before she spoke, “Can I….come in?”
Luis shook his head, “I don’t think that would be a good idea…..”
“I just want to make sure you’re okay…before I go.”
Luis stared as concern painted her beautiful face. If the situation was reversed, he would have done the same. Seeing his mother come home drunk too many times to count, he often had to turn her on her stomach so she wouldn’t drown in her own vomit. When a faint memory of one of her close friends accidently died in such a way, Luis relented and fished for his keys.
With the key inserted and a quick twist, the door opened and Luis stepped inside. The dorm room was small. Hands took hold of him, guiding him to the twin sized bed. Luis’s strength gave out and flopped forward onto the bed, his face burying into the pillow. Darkness covered his senses until something tugged at his foot. A shoe came off and soon the next one. Luis brought his arms close to his chest and pushed against the bed. Like lifting a full sized building on his back, he managed to land on his side and look to Jessica as she stood by the edge of the bed.
“Thank…you…” Luis managed, his eyes opening and closing.
Darkness reached out from the sides of Luis’s vision. The haze grew stronger and the room began to spin. The student felt exposed as he lay on his side, Jessica eyeing him with a comforting smile. Flashes of darkness threaten to push him over the edge to dreamy lands when Jessica moved to his small desk and pulled out a marker. She then stepped over to the bed and knelt down, her hand taking his. Luis stared as she scribbled on the back of his hand, her eyes focused on the task. Luis wanted to talk but his mouth was no longer working. When Jessica finished writing, she stood up and tossed the marker on his desk.
Luis tried to thank her but the haze had become all consuming. The image of the beautiful woman in his room faded away and the deep dark abyss yawned before him, smothering his senses as he passed out into sleep’s gentle embrace.
Two
Throbbing pain pulsed through the darkness. A sliver of light appeared and grew wider, brighter with each passing moment. Blinking away the abyss, Luis opened his eyes to a thick shaft of sunlight filling his room. Holding his hand up, he tried to wrangle any shadow he could to dim the bright light. A loud groan filled the small room as Luis turned onto his back and slowly sat up.
The room spun for a moment before reality solidified. Swinging his legs over the side, he sat and took in deep breaths while trying to cut through the pain in his head. The hangover was beyond any one he ever had before. The longer he sat, the more the pain began to subside. Collecting himself, he made an attempt to stand and succeeded.
Glancing down, Luis noticed he was still dressed aside from not wearing his shoes. A quick turn to the bed, it was empty except for a wrinkled blanket and sunken in pillow. Luis rubbed at his temples as he tried to remember what happened last night. Memories kept at bay, preventing him from snaring one. The last thing he remembered was coming to his room. There was a vague thought of Jessica not leaving his side. The earlier part of the evening came rushing back and Luis smiled to himself before it turned sour. He remembered having a great time until the evening took a turn to booze Ville, population Luis.
Thinking back, Luis couldn’t even think why he had become so drunk. He always knew his limits and never went beyond them. Was it because of Jessica? He did lose track of time as they sat and talked. The thought of her sent a warm pulse amid the hurricane of pain in his head.
Luis grunted as he pushed everything away and focused on getting his day on track. Moving to his desk, he picked up a bottle of ibuprofen and grabbed a bottle of water from his desk draw. Swallowing two pills and giving himself a water chaser, he put the water bottle down and rubbed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he quickly looked around and took inventory of his room.
Luis had grown up with three nosey sisters and a mother so it had become ingrained that he looked over his room to see if anything was amiss. The dorm room was tiny so it was easy to see that everything seemed in place. Despite meeting Jessica last night, he had heard horror stories of one night stands and things missing the next day. It was one of the many reasons he didn’t partake in them. Looking around, everything seemed alright, but it was difficult to say. His closest door was closed and everything on his desk was where he left it. Luis moved to the closest and opened it. His clothes hung, undisturbed. Below the clothes, his Lewd Saga game console sat on a small shelf with the helmet next to it. The suit hung on a hanger among his clothes. Luis kept it in the closet so if anyone entered his room, they wouldn’t see the console simply sitting out for everyone to see. Not that it mattered, most of the people on the same floor had one of their own.
“Take it easy,” Luis reassured himself with a whisper. “She just dropped you off to make sure you were okay.”
A faint image sank into his mind and Luis looked down at the back of his hand.
“Call me when you have a chance. I would love a second date. Jessica,” the writing in black marker spelled out. It ended with her phone number.
Luis couldn’t fight the faint smile as he gazed down at the message and phone number scrawled on his hand. Moving to his desk, he picked up a pad and wrote down her name and number. He knew he wanted to call her but after making a fool out of himself last night, he thought he’d wait a day or two. With six days left to stay in his dorm room, maybe they would end up back here before he packed up and went home for the summer.
“You don’t have to rush,” Luis said to himself.
The student shook his head as he moved to his closet once again. Changing his clothes, images of last night came back in waves. It felt nearly magical but soon Luis began to question it. Why did it feel so good to meet and talk with someone in real life? Was it because he had spent so much time on his studies and in the game? For months he felt like he had no life except for his game and now he felt lighter. Luis’s smile faded into a frown. Had he been spending too much time in Lukken? Was the temptation of a real life person that enticing?
Thoughts fell back to his virtual life. He knew he couldn’t just walk away. The game was more than a simple simulation now. He had duties and responsibilities to other players and awakened NPC’s. He made a vow to take on the growing darkness threatening to consume the virtual world and deep down, he knew he could never let go of the path he had chosen to walk.
Buttoning up his shirt, Luis looked down at the game console. It was his portal to another world and images of Emma swam in his mind’s eye. Heart beating, he pushed away the maddening doubt.
“I’m not giving up,” Luis said with hard conviction.
The student finished getting dressed and closed his closet door. After running a comb through his dark hair, Luis set it down and stepped toward the doorway. Thoughts of breakfast filled his mind and caused his stomach to growl. A hearty breakfast would cure his hangover blues before making his trip back to Lukken. Stepping into the hallway, he closed the door behind him and started walking, thoughts on food and a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.
***
The sound of hammer on steel rang out again and again. S
parks flashed as muscles worked, bringing a forge hammer down on a band of metal. The sun filled the sky with heavenly light. Birds swooped and dived in the clear blue sky, while others perched on nearby homes and gazed down on the man in white and gold travelling clothes, as he worked the forge.
Thorrin brought the hammer down in quick succession before pulling back and dipping the piece of thin metal into a large bucket of water. Steam rose up and the paladin looked down before bringing his forearm up, wiping his brow. The recent update added some things to the game that brought greater realism and it certainly wasn’t lost on the player. With a mixture of the suit and the impulses from the helmet, Thorrin could feel every bead of sweat, the heat of the sun on his skin and the gentle sigh of the breeze. Looking down, he could still see the heat radiating off the piece of metal. It brought a small smile to his face as he turned the metal band over and began hammering away at it once again.
The town of Faradal was abuzz with activity. Merchants sold their wares while players and NPC’s moved through the main town square. Drunks sang off to the sides while guards moved through the streets, keeping an eye out for trouble.
Thorrin stopped hammering and looked down the main street to the square. For a town south of Journey Road, it was surprising to see it had missed much of the fighting. The war had ground to a halt but skirmishes still took place now and again. Eyeing the guards, he did notice there were a lot of them. The local lord seemed to spare no expense to keep the peace in town and for that, the paladin was grateful. Many places were touched by the war and there was abundance of humanitarian quests, mostly finding lost loved ones, helping rebuild or slaying monsters that came to close to recovering towns. Thorrin did spend some of his time helping where he could until he was summoned to the Cursed Coast. Ever since his fight with the dread lords on the coast, he knew he had to become stronger if he even thought of fighting them again.
Turning his eyes from the street, he looked down to the metal he was working on and lifted his hammer. Before he could bring it down, two shadows moved along the ground, touching the anvil.
Thorrin didn’t hesitate as he brought the forge hammer down. Sparks flew before he raised it and brought it down once again, ignoring the two shadows before him. The sound of metal on metal filled the area as the paladin continued with his work, mind focused on the task. The two figures stood patiently as he worked the metal band into a rounded square shape. The hammer flashed down a few more times before Thorrin lifted it to his eyes for inspection. Past the hot metal, the paladin glanced at the two figures as they stood. One was a tall man with wide shoulders, a metal staff in his hand and wearing white travelling clothes. His jaw was square and hair dirty blonde. Kind green eyes looked to the paladin and a genuine smile bloomed. Beside the tall man stood a short goblin woman in white, her hair was purple and straight. It flowed forward to a point and brushed to the side. Her face was beautiful even with the large ears and oversized almond shaped eyes with purple irises. She stood at just four feet tall and wore an armor set Thorrin had never seen before. It was white and covered her torso, shoulders and arms. Unlike most players in Lewd Saga, the goblin was not wearing anything revealing. The armor seemed to cover up her upper body as she wore white leather leggings and white boots. As Thorrin took in her image, he noticed a bracer on each arm with a blue gem attached to each. The bracers were covered in runes and seemed to connect to her armor along her arms to the shoulders. Unlike her companion, she did not carry a cheery smile. Instead, her eyes were cast down and her stance uncomfortable.
“Working on your smithing skills,” The tall man asked with a smile.
Thorrin continued to hammer away at the piece of metal.
The tall man kept his smile as he continued, “We’re travelling south and wondered if you wanted to join us? We checked the area for players and your name was top of the list.”
Thorrin stopped hammering and looked up with a disinterested gaze, “I’m not looking to group right now.”
The tall man in white eyed the paladin and kept his expression inviting, “Normally we wouldn’t go around asking for players to join us but a quest came up and we are short on friends at the moment. Most players we know are too far away and the quest is time sensitive. We thought a hero like you might be able to help two fellow paladins on a quest?”
Thorrin turned the piece of metal for a moment, inspecting the work before putting it down on the anvil, “Hero?”
The man in white nodded, “Everyone has heard of you and the battle on the Cursed Coast. Some players have been able to access the portals and came back with tales of your battle with the masters and dread lords.”
“There was one master and three dread lords,” Thorrin corrected. “And I hate to break it to you, but I died in battle.”
The tall man nodded, “We all die but you fought through an army of undead. Paladins across Lukken are looking up to you.”
The goblin woman next to the tall man brushed her hand against his to gain his attention, “Jon, let’s leave him alone. I’m sure he’s working on something important.”
The tall man turned his attention to his shorter companion, “Ro, we’re going to a dark place. It couldn’t hurt to ask.”
Thorrin looked to each of them in turn, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. Normally, I would love to help but I have some crafting to finish and a friend to meet with shortly.”
Thorrin looked into Ro’s purple eyes, “I saw two paladins enter the Blue Dragon Inn earlier today. You could try there.”
Ro’s green cheeks turned pink as Thorrin gave her a kind smile.
Jon nodded and clasped a hand on Ro’s shoulder, “We will try the inn. Thank you for your time and good luck on your travels.”
The two players turned and began walking down Main Street. Thorrin watched as they left, his mind touched with curiosity. It quickly faded to the background as he looked back to the band of metal and lifted his hammer.
Twenty minutes later, the paladin wiped his brow and picked up two pieces of banded metal. Checking his skill level, he had enough points to improve his hammer. Unhooking his hammer from his belt, he held the bands to it and activated his skill. The hammer and bands melted together in a flash. A moment later, the paladin held up his hammer with two metal bands running from top to bottom of the hammer head.
Looking over his work one last time, the paladin hooked the improved hammer to his belt and left the forge. Walking down Main Street, he spotted the sign of an enchantment shop and turned his boots toward it.
Stepping inside, the smell of jasmine wafted through the air. A shop keeper looked up from a book for a moment before his eyes returned to the yellowed pages. Thorrin stepped in, taking in the mystical ingredients on shelves. Walking on, he moved to a set of double doors and took hold of a handle. Opening it up, he entered the back room containing arcane table’s. Three people each stood at their own tables, glowing mist and arcane words shifting floating items before them.
Thorrin stepped further in and walked to an empty table. Unhooking his hammer, he placed it on the arcane tables. A 2D screen appeared with his enchanting skill and a list of options. The player spent much of his time grinding his smithing and enchanting skills. After the battle of the Cursed Coast, he knew he needed stronger weapons if he was going to take on the dread lords. Finding the enchantment components took some time and learning the Lightning Enchantment knowledge took some work with a little help from friends, but it was all worth it. He had just enough of everything to improve his hammer.
The player smirked to himself as he began the process. When he first thought of enchanting his hammer, it didn’t take long to think of which enchantment he wanted. He felt it was fitting to create something similar to his hero.
The hammer began to rise, and green mist swirled around it. Thorrin tapped at the ingredients and they appeared for a moment before turning to wisps of energy and snaking around the metal hammer. The bands began to glow and runes appeared, carving their
light into the metal. After the last ingredient was added, the hammer flashed with light.
This was the crucial part and Thorrin held his breath. If the enchantment failed, everything he just used would be gone and he would have to start over again. Tense seconds passed as the hammer glowed, and a moment later there was another flash. Thorrin checked the 2D screen and the enchantment scrolled to the top showing as a short description of the hammer’s new abilities.
Thorrin exhaled in relief as he started to read. The Lightning enchantment had taken hold. The hammer now had the ability to cause shock damage with a 20% chance of stunning an opponent. It had an extra ability of firing three powerful lightning bolts within a 24 hour period. The drawback appeared at the bottom of the screen, indicating that if all three bolts were used, the hammer would not be able to stun until the time period elapsed. Thorrin read on about the timer. The counter wouldn’t start until at least one bolt was fired. Once it started, even if he only fired one bolt and two charges were left, the hammer would reset to three at the end of the 24-hour period.
Thorrin lifted a hand and took hold of the leather wrapped handle. Energy arced around the hammer head a few times before the glow died. Hooking it to his belt, the player felt better knowing he had a weapon that gave him a better chance when he ran into the dread lords again. Turning from the arcane table, the player moved through the doors and quickly stepped back outside again.
Walking through town, the player’s thoughts drifted on clouds of memory. A face appeared in his mind and warmth wrapped around his heart. It had been ages since he had seen his friend and now he found himself picking up the pace. Walking to the edge of town, an inn appeared among a few low buildings. The sun lowered in the afternoon sky and the player stepped to the door and pushed his way in.
The inn was empty as he walked through the main room. Thorrin knew it would fill up come evening time but he was glad it was quiet. The inn keeper stepped out from the back just as Thorrin climbed the stairs and disappeared onto the second floor. Stepping down the small hallway, he moved to a door with a metal “6” on it. Heart pounding in his chest, he lifted a fist and knocked four times. At first he was greeted with silence. Then the door handle turned and opened. Thorrin slipped in and closed the door behind him, turning his head to a blue skinned troll with long, wavy, black hair.
