Legends of Tarthirious: The Complete Collection

by Zachariah Dracoulis

  It felt weird leaving half-finished stuff in Tarthirious, especially when I hadn’t made any gold to speak of, but enough was enough and I really needed a shower.

  The hospital smell clung to me like a wet tissue, and it got to the point where I figured that it was either just my mind or that it was in my nose and it was all I would smell ever again.

  I was being slightly overdramatic, but can you blame me?

  After I was all scrubbed up and my hair was nice and soft, I got into my most comfortable pyjamas, a set of long-sleeved red flannelette ones I’d picked up for three quid, and no, they weren’t on sale.

  I put the kettle on and got ready for the deliciousness that Gerald was bringing.

  Ten minutes.

  Twenty minutes.

  Thirty minutes.

  It got to an hour and I started to grow concerned, how long could it take to get one pizza?

  I grabbed my bag, stuffed my phone, wallet, and keys into it and made a run for the door, only to reach it with three loud, somewhat awkward, knocks.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and put my bag down, before going to open the door and unleash a playful tirade of insults upon Gerald.

  Yeah, it wasn’t Gerald.

  “Detective Will!” I shouted just a little too happily, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  The man was balancing flowers, a box of chocolates, and what appeared to be a CD in one hand, and a beautiful box that I instantly recognised as one that carried my favourite type of scotch.

  Probably shouldn’t have taken me so long to realise it, but it came to me eventually, “Oh! Yes! Sorry, come in, come in.” I said, clearing the way for Will as he came bustling through the door.

  “Cheers, just thought I’d drop by,” he said, dumping the flowers, chocolates, and CD on my kitchen bench, “give you some of the stuff the folks down at the station got you. This is from me.” he said proudly, putting the box of scotch out in front of him like he was a boy with a finger-painting.

  It was once I’d accepted the box with a polite nod that I started to notice little things. His hair was cut neater, he was wearing the same clothes but cleaner versions of them, and he smelled of cologne and gum, not soot and poo.

  “Thank you. You um… you’ve…”

  “Cleaned up?” he laughed, “Yeah, looks like I might be up for a promotion, figured it’d be best if I looked a bit less like warmed up death. How’re you feeling?”

  “Fit as a fiddle actually,” I said as I made room for my new drink in the tea cabinet, “other than some clicky fingers I’m doing better than before in most regards.”

  “Most regards? Are you receiving threats?”

  “What? No! Heavens no, I’ve just been a bit less sociable as of late.”

  Will made a knowing face and nodded, “Yeah, I was the same when I came out of hospital… all those times, aha. You get used to people pree quickly though.”

  “Yeah? How long did it take you?”

  “I’ll let you know as soon as it happens!” he laughed louder than the first time.

  “Heh, yes, quite… I’m sorry, but I get the feeling that this isn’t a simple social call. Has something happened? Have you found Bishop?”

  Will shook his head and smiled, “Really am just checkin’ up, promise.”

  ‘Odd,’ I thought to myself, ‘in all the movies that always gets the person to admit something.’

  I pushed past my brief mental inquiry and went back to being an acceptable host, “Well, thank you. I’m glad to have you here. Tea?”

  He nodded and went to take a seat on the couch, “That’d be great, black, thanks.” he said, pre-empting my sugar or milk question.

  To my great disappointment I discovered the kettle had cooled down significantly, meaning I had the grand pleasure of standing around while I waited for it to boil again. I always found that awkward, hovering around in the kitchen waiting for something to cook or boil.

  Normally I try to space things out a bit, grab out the cup first, then the teabag, really just drag the whole process out until the kettle’s boiled. But not on that night. No, apparently some part of me decided it’d be best to get everything done and ready in under five seconds, leaving me plenty of time to lean against the bench and try my best not to look lazy.

  The kettle clicked and I started pouring right as there was another knock at the door, which Will instinctively went to get before realising he wasn’t in his own house and sat back down, leaving the responsibility to me.

  For some reason I actually thought it might have been Bishop, just to make my day even more confusing than it already was, but no, it was Gerald with two large pizza boxes balanced in one hand like a proper pizza boy.

  I’d have made some kind of lewd remark about extra sausage or something if Will wasn’t sitting on my couch, so instead I settled for a light peck on the cheek followed up with a whispered “Detective Will’s here, he just kinda showed up with a bunch of presents from the station so I just sorta rolled with it, please don’t hate me. Hi! Come in, come in, you remember Gerald, right Will?”

  “That boyfriend of yours?” Will asked with a smile as he got to his feet, “And I can see why! Big man with the big pizzas. Mind if I have a slice?”

  Before I could say anything about how we were just going to snack then crash out Gerald jumped in with his overly inviting attitude, “Course, more the merrier I always say. Is that tea I smell?”

  A smile played across my lips, smothering my mild irritation, and I nodded, “Course, I’ll go ahead and make you a cuppa. You mind if we eat straight out of the box?”

  Gerald shook his head and went over to our, rather, my guest and started friendly conversation. He’d always been so good at that.

  I don’t know why, I couldn’t really help it, but seeing him there made me feel… complete. Even with all my irrational annoyances, I was glad to see him there with me. I wanted him to be a part of my life, a bigger part than he already was, but I also didn’t want to scare him off.

  “Robot Uprising Seven: Robot Villains and Heroes!?” Will gasped in genuine amazement, “I didn’t even know it was out yet!”

  “Yeah, came out in the States a few months back. You a fan?”

  The two of them continued to gush over the apparently never dying film series while I finished up the tea and grabbed a few coasters, only just managing to stop myself from frisbeeing them at Gerald and instead carried them to the table like an adult, “Wanna set it up?”

  Gerald nodded, “Yeah, built into the telly, yeah?”

  “Mmhm,” I mumbled as I returned with the three cups of tea, severely burning my knuckles but hiding it by biting my lip until I could put them down, “just push the button on the side.”

  I’m gonna go ahead and skip past the description of the movie and just say that Will is a bit of an… exciting force. I’ve never seen someone so enthusiastic during a fight scene, or so sad in a death scene.

  By the time the movie was over the clock had come around to just about midnight and Will finally stopped third wheeling, “That was proper fuckin’ good, wan it?” he said as we walked him to the door.

  His typical accent had returned from the moment he loosened his tie, but I didn’t mind it. If I’m being totally honest, I actually liked the return to normality.

  “Yeah,” I said with an incredibly put-on yawn, “really tired me out.”

  “Not me,” Will said, a huge grin plastered on his face, “I reckon I could go all night. Might hit the pub… We have to do this again some time.”

  “Sounds good,” I lied, “see you around.”

  He nodded as he turned for the stairs and started walking away.

  “Should we have sent him off?” Gerald asked after I’d shut the door, “He sounded pretty sloshed.”

  “Nope, sober as a nun. That’s just him.”

  Now, I don’t know where it came from, whether it was Will’s bubbly energy or just the ‘we’ talk again, but the second I fell on the couch and
Gerald started clearing off the table I asked “Wanna move in?”

  Gerald froze in his tracks, and I didn’t blame him. No conversation, no leading up to it, just a simple, blunt question.

  What can I say? I like to cut to the point.

  “Sorry?” he asked, still hunched over the table holding the pizza boxes.

  “Would you like to move in with me? You can say no.”

  “No!” he shouted, shooting up, “I mean yes, I mean… It’s a bit sudden, innit?”

  I loved the way he said ‘innit’, anyway, off topic.

  “Yeah, is a bit,” I said somewhat nervously, “but I like you, I… I love you, and it might just be the residual effects of the medication, but I really want you here, and it makes financial sense, and you’re here all the time anyway, and I-”

  “Calm down,” Gerald said with a comforting smile as he put down the boxes and sat down next to me, “you’re rattling things off at a million miles an hour, it’s a little hard to keep up. Now, what sparked this?”

  I looked away and shrugged, “I dunno, I just sort of… We’ve got about two months left, yeah?”

  Gerald nodded and thought on it a second, “Eight weeks, thereabouts.”

  “Yeah, and lately I’ve been thinking… I don’t know…” for someone who was being so blunt I sure was saying ‘I don’t know’ a lot, huh? “I want life to be good for these last few weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m giving up or anything, I just don’t think I’m counting on doing it anymore.”

  “Doing what?”

  “… Paying off my debt. I don’t know if I’m going to make it. Every time I get anywhere close to getting into a new pattern everything falls apart again, or I get nights like tonight where I do a bunch of nothing quests and have zero to show for it.”

  Gerald’s face fell, but he did his best to keep a little smile for my benefit, “I know the feeling… So, what? Is it a money thing?”

  I laughed and rolled my eyes, “No! I love you, you giant dork, and I want to spend as much time with you as possible.”

  He laughed at that and his real smile returned, “I love you too. Alright, let’s do it. I take it you’d like me to move in here?”

  I wanted to give him the option of staying at his place, but at the same time I really wanted to stay where I was, “If you wouldn’t mind?”

  “God yes,” he said, allowing my lungs to fill up with air again, “I don’t know if my landlord’ll go for it though. My lease doesn’t expire until November, weird, I know, why not just have it so it stopped come the New Year?”

  “Trust me, there’ll be someone who’ll be willing to take the flat off your hands. It’s a cheap place in London, and I’m sure your landlord will be more than happy to put the rent up a little for the new tenant.”

  Neither of us spoke for a little while, me waiting for Gerald to say something so that I didn’t put him off, Gerald clearly worrying about moving, but finally he smiled and nodded, “Alright,” he said boldly, “let’s do it. Let’s move in together.”

  And then we had awkward sex on the couch.

  I know, I’m such a romantic.

  Kylia: Chapter 2

  We went to bed pretty much straight after our love session of cuddles and whatnot, emphasis on the whatnot, and when I woke up it felt like weeks had passed by, which was why it was such a surprise to see Gerald still sleeping beside me.

  Like a right nonce, I woke him up as if it were a big emergency and we ran around getting ready, zipping in and out of the shower and getting dressed only to discover when we got out of my room that it was barely quarter past six.

  “Why were you in such a rush?” Gerald asked as I pulled my bag over my shoulder and started for the door, “You’re not back ‘til Monday, right?”

  He was right, I still had three full days of light resting, but I simply couldn’t wait to get back to work and try to salvage the routine of my life. “Yeah, guess I was just a bit excited, you know? People running around tends to get me hopped up.”

  “Ah, yeah, know the feeling. You’re sure you wanna do breakfast though, you don’t just want to get started on your day here?”

  I nodded, “I’m sure, would do me good to get some more time outside.”

  Gerald chuckled at that as we started down the stairs, “Whatever you say.”

  I understood what he meant by that, it was raining and cold, and the only reason I’d normally go out on a day like that was for work, but I really did want to get out for a little bit.

  We got to the door to my building and a shrill “OMG! You’re back!” came from behind us.

  I hid my annoyed groan and turned around to see my yoga pants wearing neighbour holding a washing basket to her hip, “Hi Lily, how you been?”

  “Me? Are you crazy? You’re the one who just got out of hospital, and from the sound of things last night you’re doing better than ever.” she said with a wink to Gerald which made the both of us very uncomfortable.

  “Heh, yeah, well, I like to fuck.” I said bluntly, silencing the room and effectively killing Lily’s exaggerated smile, “I’ll see you later, yeah? I’m just going out for coffee and brekkie.”

  Lily bit her lip embarrassedly and nodded, her cheeks going an amazing shade of red as she turned and went up the stairs, “See you.”

  “Well…” Gerald trailed off as we stepped out into the lightly drizzling street, “that was a bit rude, wasn’t it?”

  “I know, right? Just talking to me as if I don’t have places to be.” I joked.

  Gerald rolled his eyes and smiled, “You’re an odd one, aren’t you?”

  “Mmhm, that’s why you love me.” I said as cutely as I could before kissing him on the cheek, “Besides, what can she say about that encounter? I used the word ‘fuck’, we’re not children.”

  “Yes,” Gerald chuckled, “but we’re also not savages.”

  “Same beast, different name.”

  We did the rest of the walk over to the bakery in silence, enjoyed our breakfast together, went to the station, where I gave Gerald another kiss and wished him luck, then waved him off as he boarded and went to work.

  Why was there so little talking, I don’t know, maybe we’d already said everything we needed to for the day and were simply content with being together. What I do know though, is that the second he was out of sight I bolted away, the desire to get back to Tarthirious almost overwhelming as I practically ran the entire way back to my Rig Room and settled in for the day.

  I wasn’t sure what it was, but for some reason I was still excited to play, the lack of success the night before doing nothing to ease my desire.

  Before I knew it I was back in the game, and ready to make some money.

  Armelia: Chapter 7

  It’d only occurred to me once I was up and about that maybe the reason I was facing less credible threats was because Gerry hadn’t really been around. At the same time I was happy to cement myself as an individual as I strode purposefully back to the work area of Gilda the Delicate where she stood happily, waiting for me with her hands loosely cupped over her stomach.

  “Good morrow,” I said with a polite nod as I approached her, “I would like to continue our lessons, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Of course my dear, of course.” she eagerly as she led me over to her spinning wheel and grabbed a large pair of scissors, “Today I will be teaching you the art of simple repair.”

  I watched in horror as she took the scissors to herself and started snipping wildly, cutting massive holes in her robes while I waited to see if she’d critically injure herself.

  A few more tense seconds passed by and she stopped, “Now,” she said, her clothes hanging off of her by a thread, “use the spell Reficere, do you know it?”

  I shook my head and felt only a little shame.

  “Not a problem my dear, I shall teach you.” Gilda said with a smile, moving her hands around the air in front of me and mumbling something under her breath, resulting in a
blue shimmer falling over me.

  Learned Reficere.

  “Normally there isn’t such pageantry,” Gilda laughed, “but I like to do it in the old way. Now, repair my clothes.” she said as she stretched her arms out wide, tearing more of her robes.

  It took me a second to move my hands in the right way, but I eventually got it down pat and cast the spell.

  Cast Reficere.

  There wasn’t a shimmer or anything particularly special, all that happened was one second Gilda looked like a crazy vagrant, and the next she was back to her old self. It was useful, but not as amazing as the enchanting part of my lesson.

  “I’m sure you’re wondering the usefulness of that spell, not many tasks require fixing dresses,” Gilda laughed, “but as you grow wiser you will see that your abilities grow as well.”

  The obvious translation of that was I needed to get to a higher level in order to pull off some of the more intense repairs, but I was confident that at my present level I could handle most of what I had.

  “Thank you Gilda, your teachings have helped me greatly.”

  “You’re most welcome my dear. If you ever need anything be sure to stop in, as you age you discover that it’s not the things you have that matter, those around you are the ones who are most important.”

  Mission Completed: Textiles Class.

  +50 XP.

  Progress: 570/3500.

  I wanted to scratch the Learn magic note from my book, but it’d feel wrong to do so without learning the two other basic sects of magic, destruction and healing.

  As I left Gilda to her spinning wheel, I chose to go with destruction. It wasn’t so much that I felt it was more important or anything, only that I was starting to grow weary of doing the whole ‘wonder of magic’ thing.

  I wanted to burn stuff.

  After some searching I was greatly disappointed to discover that the only way that I could learn in that particular discipline at that time was by going up to Vilor who was waiting like a spectre by my door.

  “Good to see you’re making use of the college’s many teachings,” he said proudly, I swear he was always either scalding hot or freezing cold, “are you acclimatising to the more… structured environment here?”