by Edward Brody
And with Keysia beside me, I felt happy for me.
Damn, I couldn’t believe she was a NPC.
I closed my eyes and quickly fell back into a deep slumber.
If that day had been one of the best days I had in Eden’s Gate, that moment easily sent it over the edge to being the best day I had Eden’s Gate.
Thus far.
I couldn’t wait to top it.
Chapter Fifteen
1/27/0001
When I woke up the next morning, I found myself in my bed alone. Ozzy, Rina, Jax, and Keysia were all up and out of the building somewhere.
I was glad to discover that I was clear-headed and had no lingering side-effects from the joojak we smoked the night before. In fact, I felt like I had the best sleep of my life.
I sat up from my bed, scratched my head, and wondered if Keysia coming into my bed had been a drug-induced dream. It seemed real, but there were doubts. I really needed to stop being the late sleeper of the guild.
I equipped my gear and stepped outside the building to see Aaron crafting something at the leather station and Rina watching him from behind. Ozzy was crouching in the sparring area alone, swinging his hammer deliberately at the air as if he was some sort of strange, blunt weapons ninja.
Aaron turned his head when the door opened and immediately stopped what he was doing. He said something to Rina, set down the leather in his hands, and hurried over to me. “So, I heard you fucked Keysia last night,” he said brashly.
“What the—?” I put a finger up to my lips. “Shhhh.”
“What?” he said a little lower. “How was it, Gunnar? Is she a trap or not?”
“Dude. I didn’t fuck Keysia.”
“Yeah, you did,” he accused. “Ozzy told me you were in bed together when he woke up, and apparently Jax and Rina were sleeping together too. How come no one invited Sizzler to the group orgy? I’m not good enough or what?”
I chuckled. “You’re a total dumbass, Aaron. We just lay together. That’s all. Nothing happened.”
“Yeah right,” Aaron groaned. “You’re telling me you were in bed with that hot elven piece, and you didn’t try to get it in?”
I waved a dismissive hand at him. “Believe whatever you want, man. But I’m telling you that nothing happened.”
“Okay. I won’t ask for the fine details, but just tell me if she’s a trap or not.”
“I think I would’ve noticed if she was a trap, but that doesn’t mean anything happened. We just went to sleep.”
“Okay, so then you’re gay?” Aaron asked. “I mean, that’s cool. I get it.”
I shook my head. “I’m not gay.”
“Then what’s wrong with you, Gunnar?”
I took a deep breath and put a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “She’s a guild mate, dude. Things could get awkward.”
Aaron pursed his lips and looked down. “Yeah, I guess I see your point….” He suddenly perked up and rattled his head. “But to be totally honest, I’d still hit that, guild member or not.”
I shook my head a little. “Don’t.”
“Ohhh…” Aaron cooed. He held his hand up to his ear and fluttered his eyelids. “Did you just say ‘don’t’ to me. Does that mean… Our beloved guildmaster has feelings for a certain dark elf?”
“I don’t know what—” I stopped mid-sentence and sighed. “Actually, just do what you want, man. I won’t stop you.”
Aaron snapped his fingers and waved his palm over his face. “You’ll regret saying that. You don’t know the power that the Sizzler has over the ladies.”
I rolled my eyes and tried to change the subject. I was pretty sure Keysia wouldn’t entertain the idea of doing anything with Aaron anyway. “Yeah, so what’s your plan today?”
“Right now, I’m working on a sign for the shop—a nice leather bound one. A few elves showed up this morning and went to your room looking to buy stuff, so we can’t put that off any longer. But, pretty much just crafting and overseeing the stable construction.” He pointed to a pile of lumber that was sitting in an open area several meters away from my home. I noticed that the wagon had been moved away from my house and by the new building as well. “The builders should be here to start things pretty soon.”
“Alright.” I patted Aaron on the shoulder a couple times. “I’m going to go check the new shop and move my stuff back into my house.”
I headed for our newest shophouse, and when I stepped inside, I was impressed. Gerard had arranged everything meticulously, and it looked twice as good as when the shop had been set up in my home. The counter had been moved into the new building, and potions lined shelves on the walls. Armor and weapons were leaning or hanging on the wall, and resources were stacked in crates. There was virtually no clutter and there was plenty of room to grow. If we wanted to push the limits of the building, there might’ve even been enough room to add a second counter and second merchant in the same room.
After checking out the shop, I fetched my crate from in front of the bunk where I had been sleeping and carried it over to my home. On the way over, I noticed Keysia walking into the village clearing, coming from somewhere deeper in the forest. We made eye contact, and she threw me a warm smile.
I immediately had a bit of a tingling sensation in my loins as I remembered the sight of her with without armor on. I had a great night’s sleep with her lying by my side.
When I opened the door to my home, I saw that Gerard had removed everything but the bed, so I just set my crate inside and started rummaging through it for my treasure map and compass.
I took one more quick look at the treasure map before placing the items in my bag and headed for the door.
“Gunnar!” Keysia was standing right in the front of the door when I exited, a large smile beaming across her face.
“Hey. What’s up?”.
“Nothing,” she said. “I just wanted to say ‘good morning’. I just finished a quick check on the guards. Should we hire more?”
“Well, good morning,” I said as I turned to lock the door. I was surprised that nothing seemed awkward between me and Keysia after the night before. Things definitely felt a little different in a way that I couldn’t explain, but we just sort of fell back into our guild routines without anything being weird. “Let’s hold off for now. I think we still have enough security, and with all the building we have planned, we should try to save the gold. But put anyone who wants in, on a waiting list if they ask.”
Keysia nodded. “I will.”
“We haven’t really adventured together in a while. If you want to join me on my journey to Nestle Rock today, I’d love to have you.”
Keysia’s eyes opened wide. “Really? I’d love to go with you.”
“Of course,” I said. I turned in the direction of Ozzy, who was still doing a ninja thing with his hammer. “Yo, Ozzy! You wanna go with us to Nestle Rock?”
Ozzy turned and stood straight up. “I’m going to join the Fighter’s Guild today, remember? If I get a chance, I’m going to fight in the Arena again too.”
I gave him a nod and a thumbs up before turning back to Keysia.
“You don’t want to go with me alone?” Keysia asked.
I snickered. “I wouldn’t mind, but who knows what’s out there. I think it’s safer to go as a group on this one.”
Keysia bit the inside of her lip and nodded lightly.
I yelled for Rina and invited her to join us. She was willing and excited to explore this side of the Serpent Sea, and we all waited a good five or so minutes for Jax to return. He had been hunting, and came back to the village with a couple of pelts and a sack full of wild berries.
“Nestle Rock is no joke,” Jax said as he tossed berries into his mouth. “Let’s just make sure everyone has potions and bandages at the very least.” He turned to Rina. “And if Rina’s going, just make sure we keep her alive.” He smiled, and I could see the slightest bit of blush forming in both Rina’s and Jax’s cheeks.
I wasn’t sure if h
e said to keep Rina alive because she would be our healer or because he liked her, but I had never seen Jax in such a good mood.
We all made a quick pit stop at the shop to drop off any useless items we couldn’t use and picked up a few potions and bandages before saying a quick goodbye to Aaron, Gerard, and Ozzy.
“It’s all you, Sizzler!” I yelled one last time towards Aaron.
He turned around from the shop sign he was still working on. “Edgewood Village has never been in better hands.”
I turned to Jax. “You ready?”
Jax nodded.
We both closed our eyes and pressed our hands together before kneeling down and slamming our hands onto the ground.
“Fenris!”
“Sora!”
Within seconds, both Fenris and Sora came racing through the trees to join us in the clearing. Fenris practically knocked Jax down as he jumped up to him, but Sora was a bit calmer with her affection. She rushed up to me and immediately started rubbing the back of her neck against my legs.
Father… Sora whispered into my head.
I kneeled down and rubbed her soft fur. I’m glad you’re well, Sora.
Well and refreshed. I sense you need me?
A ride south, I projected back.
Always a ride. I do rather miss when I was too small to be ridden. You’d often summon me just to play.
I frowned and I felt a little bad about her words. It was true… Since she had grown, most of the time I had been summoning her just to ride. I’m sorry, girl. Maybe this time we’ll find some time to play.
Sora perked up and started purring, then started rubbing her head against me so hard that I thought I’d fall.
“Whoa,” I said aloud, pressing down on her a little bit to ease up.
“She’s beautiful,” Keysia said as she strolled over to Sora and rubbed her side. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I once had a great cat like her.”
“You did?” I asked. “What happened?”
“I was riding her to a nearby town to sell some goods when a group of humans hunting for ears... They…” She paused, looked down, and it looked like she was about to cry. “She sacrificed her life so I could live.”
“Wow. I’m sorry,” I said. I looked down at Sora and my heart sank at the idea that I’d ever lose her. I had only known Sora for a short time, so I could only imagine how Keysia felt.
“It’s okay,” Keysia said. “She will never be forgotten.”
I wanted to know more about her pet, but I wasn’t going to press her for any more details. It was clearly a sensitive subject for her, and I didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was.
“I know buddy,” Jax said as Fenris licked his face. “Yes, I will leave you on this side more often as soon as I get my own home.”
Fenris reared his head back and chomped.
“I miss Addenfall too, but Edgewood is nice.” Jax rubbed Fenris hard behind the ears as he stood up. “Relax, we’ll have fun today.”
“Ready to head out?” I asked Jax.
Jax nodded. “I guess you’ll ride with Keysia?”
I glanced at Keysia and smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”
Sensing our intentions, Fenris and Sora lowered themselves to the ground. I hopped on Sora and offered my hand to Keysia as she hopped on the back behind me. As soon as she was on, she wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her chest firmly against my back.
It was nice… if not somewhat distracting.
When Jax and Rina were on Fenris, we all started off south towards Nestle Rock.
Chapter Sixteen
1/27/0001
Traveling through the Freelands with Keysia at my back and Jax riding beside me with Rina on at his back was a blast. In a strange sort of a way, it felt like we were on a double date. Jax was with his girl and I with mine, even though Keysia was far from being my girl. I still hadn’t clarified the status of Jax and Rina, but I was pretty sure they hadn’t committed to anything serious either.
Every time I traveled through the Freelands, I was impressed by the green rolling hills and the soft, unobstructed wind. It was notably colder that day, and the faster we moved, the faster the metal of my armor chilled and stung my body. If Keysia wasn’t keeping me warm, I probably would’ve felt a bit uncomfortable.
I noticed several places in the plains on our way to Nestle Rock. There were stone structures, small temples, and even something that looked like a tomb with a thick stone door guarding its entrance. They were all places I wanted to try to visit at some point; there seemed to be an endless number of things to do in Eden’s Gate.
We eventually reached the Crystal River, and I could see the towering trees of Addenfall on the other side.
“West,” Jax said. “If we follow the river, there should be a bridge up ahead.”
“You’ve been there before?” I asked as we turned our mounts to head west.
“No, but I’ve seen the bridge,” Jax replied. “Mother didn’t like me to cross the Crystal River, but she specifically warned me not to cross into Nestle Rock. Nothing but danger there, she’d tell me. Never had a reason to go once I got older.”
“Sounds like a great place,” I joked.
We continued down the river for another twenty minutes, and across the river, the large trees ended abruptly, and the landscape became nothing but flat, nearly-barren land. Small, leafless trees grew up from the tan colored ground, and small patches of brown grass and rocks were patchworked in between. A mountain arrangement could be seen in the horizon.
We eventually found the bridge, which basically consisted of a couple shoddy ropes that were tied to posts on each end and several weathered logs that were loosely dangling below. The so-called “bridge” looked more like an invitation to fall into the water.
To make things worse, the river’s current below the bridge was much stronger than then calm areas nearer to Addenfall and the Vale, and it looked a lot deeper as well. I wasn’t sure exactly how deep, but I didn’t want to find out.
“You sure this is safe?” I asked as Jax walked Fenris up to the edge of the bridge.
“It looks like it’ll hold steady,” Jax answered. “But Fenris is a decent swimmer if it doesn’t.”
Can you swim? I asked Sora.
I don’t know, father. I’ve never tried.
That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but I also had to consider that Sora was a panther. If anyone could hold their balance across a shady, swaying bridge, it would be a feline.
I watched anxiously as Fenris carefully placed his paws on each log and slowly crossed the bridge. There were a couple times when the wolf flinched and looked like he might lose balance, but eventually, they made it to the other side unscathed.
I urged Sora onto the bridge, and she was even more deliberate with each step. She would place a paw on one of the logs and touch it lightly a few times before taking another step. She appeared to have even more balance than Fenris, but each time the bridge swayed, she would tense up, causing Keysia and me to squeeze tighter.
It looked like we were home-free when Sora placed her paw on the land on the other side, but as soon as she made contact, the log that was supporting one of her hind legs gave way, causing her rear paw to slip and completely lose balance.
“Gunnar!” Rina shouted.
Sora roared and gripped both the ground and the bridge with her front claws and managed to quickly pull her hind leg back up, but my heart was beating out of my chest. Judging by how hard Keysia had her arms wrapped around my waist, she had been just as startled.
I don’t think that’s a good sign of things to come, Sora projected into my mind.
After crossing the river, I had another look at the rocky arrangement of hills and mountains in the distance, and to the far east, I could see what was either the edge of a cliff or the beginnings of a body of water. I saw no sign of life aside from a small frog that was sitting on a rock that then jumped behind it to hide as we approached.
>
Jax bobbed his head towards the mountains ahead. “That’s Nestle Rock.”
“We should probably group up,” I suggested and started sending invitations to all.
Jax Horn has joined your party!
Rina Teal has joined your party!
Keysia Udessa has joined your party!
I pulled out my treasure map, checked the coordinates, then pulled out my compass.
I urged Sora forward, backward and in a small circle, so I could get a sense of how the numbers changed on the compass as we moved. When I was certain of the exact trajectory we needed to take to reach the map coordinates, I urged her towards the mountains.
As we moved forward, the flat ground below us was dry and dusty, but quickly turned into a smooth, uneven surface with small cracks that formed squares and other shapes as if water had once existed there. There were still the small trees that were failing to thrive scattered all around, and thick, brushy bushes appeared the further in we went, giving us less visibility to our surroundings.
There was a loud squeal that echoed from somewhere in the sky, and Jax held up his hand, stopped, and looked up to the mountains that were ahead of us. “Stay alert.”
Though we had seen no sign of danger, we all hopped off Fenris and Sora, and continued forward on foot, just in case we needed to take any immediate action. Keysia and I walked on either side of Sora, and Rina and Jax walked on either side of Fenris.
Another squeal pierced the sky, so loud and high-pitched that it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. It reminded me of a teacher running her nails down a chalkboard.
The ground below us started to turn soft as we continued, and after a few more minutes of walking, our feet were forming deep footprints in the ground. It was more clay than mud, and I didn’t see any actual water near us, but if was squishy enough that it would make running a bit more difficult if we needed to.
Two tall, dirty, cream-colored birds suddenly ran from a behind a bush, and we all grabbed our weapons and tensed up for an attack. The birds were roughly our height and had skinny necks, long pencil legs, and thin, pointy orange beaks. Their wings were laid flat on their sides, and they were covered with so much dirt that if you didn’t look closely, it appeared that they didn’t have wings at all.
