“Kagask! Come forward!” Jace announced in the deepest voice he could muster.
There was a hissing and saurians parted to allow Kagask to come forward. The lizard man stepped in front of Jace and knelt, which he assumed was part of the ceremony. Reaching his fingers into the blood, Jace smeared the blood on Kagask’s face, mirroring the war paint that was already there.
The glowing blood lingered on the saurian’s scales for a moment before being absorbed by Kagask's skin. Before his eyes, the already sizable lizard man seemed to grow several inches in height. The saurian’s muscles also seemed to grow, making him look like a bodybuilder version of a lizard man.
Kagask stood and faced the crowd, now a good hand span above the others.
“We have a chief!” cried the elder, and the assembled saurians hissed loudly. Ejoklixl leaned close to Jace and hissed. “You must drink the rest of the blood so no others can be anointed chief.”
Jace stared at the elder in disbelief. Did they really expect him to drink blood? He knew it wasn’t real blood, just virtual blood, but the idea still appalled him. Noticing it had gotten quiet, Jace turned and saw that everyone was staring at him, expectantly.
Darn it. Given their somber mood, there was no way he was getting out of this. Well, didn’t the British eat blood pudding? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Before he did, he dipped his fingers in the blood and tucked them into his fist. Forcing a smile, Jace brought the pan to his lips.
Taking a deeper breath, he began to drink. The warm, thick liquid had a distinct, coppery taste and Jace wished he could cut it with some peppermint schnapps. He nearly retched it back up but forced himself to keep drinking until he had consumed it all.
The saurians hissed again as he finished the last of it. Jace forced a smile and concentrated on not losing the contents of his stomach while the crowd hissed. Then he felt a tingling in his stomach that quickly spread around his body. It was a very odd feeling, but not entirely unpleasant. His skin glowed for a moment and then disappeared.
You gain 2 mana.
Excitedly, Jace pulled up his HUD to read the system message. He checked his mana level and saw that his maximum mana was 2 points higher! Before he could even close down his HUD, new system messages appeared.
You have completed the quest, “Speak to the Elder”
You gain 400 experience. Experience to next level 200.
You gain +25 faction with Willow March Clan
You gain +50 faction with Kagask
You have completed the quest, “Anoint the Chief”
You gain 1000 experience. Experience to next level 200.
You gain +200 faction with Willow March Clan
You gain +50 faction with Ejoklixl
You have gained a level.
You are now level 2 in Fighter.
He had reached 2nd level in Fighter and was now only 200 experience away from 3rd level. Plus, Jace had permanently gained 2 points of mana, which was almost unheard of in the game. He felt his stomach lurch. Drinking the blood might have been worth it.
Kagask stepped toward him and put a large, clawed hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for doing the will of the Swamp Mother. We honor you as magic man. You will always be welcome in our tribe.”
You are now a member of the Willow March Clan.
The new chief looked to Charlena standing next to him. “And this is your female?”
Jace wasn’t sure exactly what to say, but he thought the safer answer was to tell them yes so they didn’t cook her up in a celebration dinner. “Yes, she is my female.”
“Then she will be a part of our tribe as well,” Kagask pronounced. “Let there be feasting!”
The mood of the saurians had changed completely. They were no longer forlorn but seemed happy and festive as food and drink was brought forth and somewhere some of them began to hammer out a tune on drums.
With the saurians’ attention elsewhere, Jace reached down and petted Luna, smearing her face with the blood. She shook her head and her fur glowed briefly but nothing else seemed to happen. Maybe it didn’t work on familiars? He was about to ask Luna if anything felt different when someone got his attention.
“So, I’m you’re female am I?” came Charlena’s voice from behind him.
Spinning around, he crushed her in a hug. “You’re back!”
She returned the hug and kissed him. “Sorry I couldn’t log in, I kinda...got… arrested.”
Jace stepped back. “You were arrested!? For what?”
“Trespassing,” she said sheepishly. “I took the train up to Philadelphia to check out a few of the hospitals and tried to get into their coma ward.”
“And you were caught?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
“I was caught,” she confirmed. “I got arrested but the hospital decided not to press charges.”
“You’re lucky,” Jace told her.
“Yes,” she responded. “I had to spend a couple nights in jail. I think they let me sit in there to scare me. It worked.”
“What were you thinking?” Jace demanded.
Charlena put her hands on her hips. “I was thinking that I was trying to find your body but since I’m not a relative, they weren’t forthcoming with any information.”
“I know you were helping,” Jace said, making his voice more neutral. He realized he’d put her on the defensive and needed to back peddle. After all, she wasn’t his girlfriend. She was a girl who was helping him out. At least, for now. “But you could have gotten into real trouble and I can’t help you from in here. I didn’t even know what happened to you.”
“I know,” Charlena said sympathetically. “I kept thinking about you and wishing there was some way I could contact you and let you know.”
“At least you’re okay,” Jace said, and he hugged her again.
Charlena’s eyes went glassy for a moment and then she gave him a wary look. “You’re a Fighter now? And a 2nd level one to boot? What happened?” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And why are we in a village of Sleestaks?”
Jace laughed and pulled her away from the festivities and explained what had happened since they had left. He related the wolf attacks and his decision to switch to Fighter. He told her about nearly being attacked by the lizard men and the quests he’d received from them.
“You actually got quests from monsters?” she asked.
“And they were good quests,” he told her. “Theoretically, they will guide us to Skystead, around the dragon.”
“Dragon?!” Charlena exclaimed. “Like, an actual dragon - I meant a real virtual… oh, you know what I mean!”
Chuckling, Jace nodded. “Apparently. Not only that, but according to our recent friends, it wiped out the caravan from Sinking Springs. We would have been waiting a VERY long time before another one showed up.”
“Wow,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s crazy. Do dragons usually do that?”
“Sometimes, yes,” he told her. “They’ve even wiped out villages and small towns before players bring them down with a raid.
“I guess we’re lucky we missed it,” she said.
“Definitely,” he agreed.
Charlena yawned. “Sorry, it’s like 3 a.m. here. I just got home and logged in to tell you what happened. I need to get some sleep. It’s Friday so I don’t have many classes, but I need to show up to explain what happened.”
“Will you be on tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.
She gave him a dazzling smile. “Unless I get arrested again.” She flirted forward and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Her avatar went glassy eyed and Jace knew she’d logged out.
He shook his head and turned towards the festivities. Things were in full swing and there was dancing and more drum music. Jace realized he would get no one to lead him to Skystead at the moment. Not until the festivities were over.
All the lizard men seemed to be having an enjoyable time, so Jace joined in where he could. He ate some sort of cooke
d meat. Jace tried not to think about what kind of meat it was as he bit into it but found it tasty. Searching until he found the cook, he managed to procure some of the meat for Luna. After a few sniffs, she ate it.
“Good chicken,” she said and Jace didn’t have the heart to tell her it wasn’t chicken. At least he hadn’t seen any chickens around. Best not to think about what it really was.
He tried some of their beverage and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was mead. The rest of the night was a blur at one point, he tried dancing with the lizard men but it didn’t quite work out with Charlena following him.
As the sun came up, the saurians finally ended their celebration and began retreating to their huts, most of them drunk on mead.
Kagask found him near the elder’s wigwam. “I will sleep now but I will keep my promise. When I awake, I will lead you to the soft skin village to the west. You will be ready?”
“I’ll be ready,” Jace told him.
“Follow me,” the large saurian told him and Jace did as asked. The new chief led him to a larger hut and pointed at it. “This belonged to the old magic man. You and your female may use it. I will come for you when we are ready to leave.”
Not wanting to offend his new friends, Jace thanked Kagask and ducked into the wigwam. Charlena’s body followed him in awkwardly, as did Luna.
Despite being a larger hut, it was still a small area. Jace guessed no one had been in the magic man’s hut in some time - probably since he died. It was rather sparse. Whatever meager possessions the magic man had possessed had probably been on him when he was killed by the dragon.
Despite that, Jace did a cursory look around to see if there was anything useful. When he found nothing more than some cups, bottles and plates made from carved gourds, he gave up.
Instead, he gathered up some stacked firewood and made a fire with his magic to keep them warm while they waited. He hoped he wouldn’t have to wait long before Kagask and the other saurians got up.
Chapter 40
It was a boring wait for Jace in the wigwam. Unlike his reptilian friends, he didn’t need sleep. Even Luna had curled up next to the fire and was quietly sleeping. He reached out and stroked her fur softly and she opened one eye briefly before shutting it again.
Jace still wasn’t sure why he wasn’t sleeping. He had originally assumed he didn’t sleep because he was dead and just a brain backup inserted into the game. But if he were alive, why wouldn’t he be sleeping?
Was it because he was in a coma? Was his constant awake state because of direct brain stimulation? Jace didn’t know. He only knew he hadn’t slept in the week he’d been in the game. He hadn’t even been tired.
After what seemed like half a day, Kagask’s voice came from outside the hut. “It is time magic man.”
Jace left the wigwam to find Kagask and four other saurians. They inclined their heads at him, and he returned the gesture. From the diffused light in the mist, Jace guessed it was after midday.
“As I promised,” the chief said. “We will take you to the path that leads to the human village. It will take one sun to reach the path. Come, we go.”
With no further fanfare, the group left the village. Their odd group walked single file with Kagask leading the way, followed by two of the lizard men, then Jace, Charlena and Luna. The remaining saurians followed behind them.
The saurians knew the terrain well, and they ran into no trouble. Unfortunately, for Jace, once they were outside the village, the insects seemed to return with a vengeance, biting and stinging him all over. He ignored it as best he could, but it wore on his nerves.
A few times, Kagask stopped the procession and then turned down a different path. This continued for two hours before suddenly Charlena stumbled into him.
“Sorry,” she apologized and stepped up next to him. “That’s weird to appear in your avatar while they’re walking.” She looked around. “Where are we?”
“We’re on our way to the path that leads to Skystead,” Jace told her, taking her hand.
“Great!” she said and then looked around in the misty swamp and lowered her voice. “Are we sure they know where they’re going?”
Jace chuckled. “Let’s hope so.”
“Oh,” Charlena changed the subject. “Sorry if I was out of it last night… or this morning or whatever it was. I didn’t sleep at all on the train and not much in jail.”
“Sorry about that,” he told her. He’d never been in jail, and he was glad of it.
“It’s my fault,” she said. “I should have been sneakier. Unfortunately, I’m not this graceful in real life.”
“None of us are,” Jace observed. Unless a person was a top athlete, it was hard to compete with a virtual body that responded to your every thought.
“I found out you’re not in Thomas Jefferson or Cristiania,” she told him. “I’m not sure about the University of Pennsylvania hospital, that’s where I got caught.”
“You really shouldn’t have…”
“I know, I know,” she interrupted irritably. “I get it. It was stupid. But what else was I supposed to do? How else can we find out where your body is?”
Jace had no answer. “I don’t know, but I don’t want you putting yourself at risk for me.”
Charlena stopped and grabbed his arm. “Listen, it’s my choice. Okay?”
Seeing he would not win this argument, Jace just nodded and she released him.
She was quiet for a long time before she spoke again. “We have to find you. You said it yourself. Someone needs to tell the doctors you can’t log yourself out.”
Jace thought for a moment and suddenly an idea hit him. “Do you have access to a public phone at your college?”
“Sure.”
Jace smiled. “Call the hospitals and tell them your Luna Burton and you’re calling to speak to your brother. Tell them someone from the hospital called you and said your brother is there because you’re next of kin.”
Charlena was quiet. She looked down at the cat padding along next to him. “Luna. Like your cat?”
Jace pushed down the painful memories. “My sister, Luna. she died in a car accident with my parents.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It was years ago.”
Charlena put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m still sorry.”
They walked in silence for a time. Finally, Charlena looked over at Jace. “When you come out of your coma. Do you think you’d want to meet in real life?”
Jace couldn’t help the smile that crept on his face. “You’re an optimist.”
She nodded. “I try. So, is that a yes?”
“That’s a yes,” he chuckled. “But if I really was in a nasty accident, I have no idea what shape I’ll be in.”
That thought had tumbled around the back of his head since she had told him he may be alive. What sort of shape was he in? How much damage had been done to his body? Could he walk? What about his hands? Waking up inside a body he couldn’t control was a possibility he’d been contemplating for some time. It wasn’t a pleasant prospect.
“I still want to meet you,” she told Jace. “I don’t care what kind of shape you’re in. You’re still the person mentally.”
Jace forced a smile. He hoped he was the same person. After all, he was in a coma. That meant he must have suffered a head trauma. It was a frightening thought and he pushed it out of his mind.
He stirred the conversation to more pleasant topics, like old vid streams, the things once called movies. Apparently, they both like the retro streams and had watched many of the same ones. They went back and forth for a long while. Finally, Charlena needed to log off but promised to log back in tomorrow morning. She kissed him goodbye.
When they finished their kiss and her body went back to the glassy-eyed state, he noticed the saurians were all staring at him. Jace blushed but raised an eyebrow at them. “Yes?”
“If you want to mate, you must clamp your mouth down on her neck and hold her until she stops st
ruggling to show your dominance!” said one of the lizard men in the rear. The others bobbed their heads.
Jace blushed furiously, but thankfully, the leader signaled them to begin moving again. Jace quickly fell into step and tried to avoid the glances from the saurians.
Shortly after she had logged out, Kagask dropped back to walk alongside Jace. “The sun has fallen. Soft skins usually sleep during the time of the moon. Do you want us to make camp?”
“I can go as long as you can,” Jace told him.
“This is good. We will walk through the night and get you to the path before the sun touches the sky.”
“Thank you,” Jace said sincerely.
The chief moved back to the head of the column and picked up the pace. Jace could keep up, even in swampy terrain, but it was a long night. By the time the swamp thinned out and they reached the road, he was glad to slow the pace.
“I have delivered you to the road,” Kagask told him. “As I promised.”
Jace held out his hand and the large saurian shook it. “Yes, you did. Thank you, Kagask.”
“My tribe owes you a great debt,” Kagask told him and the other saurians bobbed their heads. “Without you, we would be lost.”
Smiling, he released the lizard man’s scaly hand. “Glad I could help.”
“Farewell, Dedrurrurth,” he said.
Jace sighed. “Call me Jace.”
“Jace,” the saurian mouthed, his name sounding strange when hissed by the large lizard man. “Farewell… Jace.”
With no further fanfare, Kagask hissed an order to his hunters and they turned and disappeared back into the swamp.
“No smell bad,” said Luna suddenly, and he looked down at her.
“Was the swamp that bad?” he asked.
“Yes,” she told him. “Smell bad!”
Chuckling, Jace turned to look at the mountains that stood between him. The snow-covered peaks were enormous and reminded him of pictures he had seen of the Rocky Mountains. He wondered how high Skystead was up on the mountain. He had no winter clothes of any sort so things could get very cold if it were near the top. Who knows, maybe he’d get lucky.
Veil Online - Book 1 (a LitRPG MMORPG Adventure Series) Page 26
