Neophyte

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Chloe awoke on a hard bed with a thumping head, feeling an eerie sense of déjà vu wash over her as she thought back to her life in the city.

“So much for a new outlook on life,” she said, rising from the bed and wobbling on her feet.

“Were you this much of a lightweight in your home realm?” KieraFreya snarked. “Seriously, you could get drunk on spring water.”

Chloe glared at her wrists, imagining a face reflecting back at her from the metal. She had glimpsed KieraFreya once in a vision that had swum in her mind after she made a request of the old Oakston Shaman, but it hadn’t been clear enough to know what the goddess looked like.

Which begged a bigger question: what did gods look like in Obsidian?

“What do you think they look like?” KieraFreya asked. “They’re half-frog and half-elephant, or at least the good ones are. The bad ones are more snake-like, with the wings of a moth.”

“Really?”

“No, you i***t! They look human, for the most part. Big beards. Big boobs. Kind of like a cross between you and Tag, only much, much better looking.”

Chloe snatched her clothes up and put them on. “It’s too early in the morning for your shit.” She glanced outside, where the sun was high in the sky. “And what have I told you about staying out of my thoughts?”

“What have I told you about needing to reunite with the rest of my armor? You don’t seem to be in any hurry to live up to your end of the bargain, so why should I?”

Chloe’s mouth flapped open, then shut. She had a point. Their search in Hobblesville had thus far been fruitless, but the guys had been more than happy to drain the town dry of its free(ish) entertainment in the meantime. Maybe it was time to knuckle down and move on.

“Fine. Fair point. If I agree to get the other guys’ asses in gear, do you agree to leave my thoughts alone?”

KieraFreya thought for a minute. “Sure. Why not?”

“Great.”

Chloe was crossing the room, still nursing her sore head, when she heard, Oh, yeah. Because I’m reeeeeally going to make deals with a blockhead mortal.

“I heard you.”

A pause. “Shit.”

They found Gideon already downstairs, tucked in a corner by himself. They found that foot traffic in the morning was often pretty light, and Chloe wasn’t surprised. If the NPCs of Hobblesville drank half as much each night as they had over the last few, it was no wonder this sleepy town seemed as if it moved in slow motion.

Chloe joined Gideon for a breakfast of broiled meat, toast, and eggs. There was little conversation while they ate, for which Chloe was grateful. With each bite of food and sip of her water, she felt her hangover subsiding. When she’d scraped the last pieces off her plate, she closed her eyes and stretched.

“Another bad one?” Gideon asked.

“Hmm?”

“Your head? Hanging, I guess?”

Chloe gave Gideon a look as if to say, “Are you kidding?”

“Just because you received an update to your game so you apparently no longer feel the effects of hangovers as strongly, it doesn’t mean you can just taunt me, right? Something will come along one day, I’m sure. Just...you’ll have to be a little bit more sensitive around me until that day comes, okay?”

“I was always told that girls were more sensitive than guys,” Gideon said, taking a sip of his water. “I just didn’t think that logic would apply to video games, too.”

Chloe laughed and banged into his shoulder. Gideon’s water slopped over the rim of the glass and stained the crotch of his pants.

“Oops,” Chloe teased. “I didn’t think guys had to worry about wetting themselves in-game, but here we are. Guess we both suffer in some respects.”

Gideon’s cheeks flushed as he tried to dab away the dark stain with a length of linen. After several minutes of trying, Chloe heard movement from the stairs and Ben’s tall form emerged, followed shortly by the barmaid, who coyly went behind the bar and vanished into the back.

Chloe raised her eyebrows.

Ben grinned. “What? It’s not what you think.”

“Really?” Chloe replied. “Because I think you might have got some VR tail last night, as weird as that is to say. Tell me, what was it like? Were her parts all blurry and pixelated? Did you feel anything at all when you screwed a piece of someone’s imagination?”

Although Chloe was clearly trying to push his buttons, the smile didn’t leave Ben’s face. “It was...good. Different, but good.”

Gideon looked up from his pants. “What does that mean?”

“It means a true gentleman never tells. Now I’m going to find some food. Oh, Ronda!”

Chloe watched Ben wolf his food down like a man who had never eaten in his life. A slight wrinkle of disgust impinged on her nose as he leaned over the plate and shoveled the food into his mouth.

“You eat almost as desperately as Tag,” Chloe mumbled.

“Don’t. Care,” Ben told her between mouthfuls. “Speaking of that, where is the little guy?”

“Guess,” Gideon replied, turning toward the fireplace, where a large table was standing with chairs stacked on top. Underneath it, a chest rose and fell with each dozing breath its owner took. At first, Chloe mistook the shape for a dog, until it moved and Tag’s unmistakable beard came into view.

They all laughed together. Chloe was the first to rise and walk over to Tag, and she prodded his form with her boot. “Okay, soldier! Up and at ‘em. Let’s not waste another moment. Move it! Move it! Move it!”

Tag’s eyes snapped open. He jumped up, smacking his head into the table, then scrambling out. He staggered a few paces, then whirled on Chloe.

“That’s not funny!”

“I beg to differ,” she said, unable to hold her laughter in while she pointed at Gid and Ben. Even Ronda sniggered from the far side of the bar.

It took some time to calm Tag down, and Chloe was envious when his hangover subsided in a matter of minutes. They ordered another round of beverages while Tag ate, discussing the previous night’s events and cooing over Ben’s romantic interlude with Ronda.

When Tag had finished, he shoved the plate away. “Well, that certainly filled a hole. Not quite Ronda’s though, eh?” he added, elbowing Ben. “Now, what’s the plan for today? Another round of questing? Some fun and conversation with the other hotties of Hobblesville? Maybe rounding up some cattle?”

“I think we’ve done all we can, here, folks,” Chloe said, playing the voice of reason. “We’ve stocked up on provisions, we’ve spent some cash, and we’ve made some friends, but we’re no closer to learning any more about Tohken. No one here knows who he is, and no one has the faintest memory of anyone who fits the description of the mage coming through. No one here has even heard of Nauriel. We’re screwed.”

Ben and Gideon nodded. Tag remained quiet.

“Look, I’ve spoken to Jacob, the local stableboy, about getting us some transport. With the money we have, he can’t give us much, but he has a couple of steeds that may have seen worse days but would be able to get us to the next town. I propose that as our next step. Get some transport and follow the horizon. There’s nothing more for us here.”

“What about your wisp friend?” Ben asked.

Chloe scanned the tavern. He was right; the ethereal wisp form the shaman had adopted was nowhere in sight.

Chloe waved a hand. “I’m sure he’s around. He’ll turn up when he’s good and ready. Now, who’s with me?”

Tag grumbled a little more about wanting to stay put, but ultimately they all came around to Chloe’s way of thinking, putting their hands in the middle and throwing them into the air to the chorus of “Goooo, Team Kick-ass!”

The name had been Tag’s suggestion. Chloe, who had struggled to think of another at that moment, had let it slide until she could think of something better.

It couldn’t be that hard, could it?

Anything was better than “Team Kick-ass.”

The sun was hotter out in the open than it ever had been in the woods. As they crossed the town, waving at familiar faces, Chloe felt the sweat drip off of her. She wondered about sunburn in this game, hoping she wouldn’t find out the sadistic programmers had thought it would be a good idea on top of all the death and maiming to also expose characters to dehydration and sun-blistered skin.

The stable lay at the edge of the town, comprised of a large lean-to and shelter on the side of a large farmhouse. A young boy with sandy-blond hair stood atop a wooden stepladder, stretching to reach the rest of a beautiful chestnut horse’s mane. The horse looked powerful, muscles and coat gleaming in the sunlight. If this was what the stableboy was offering as a horse that had seen “better days,” they’d be in great shape.

“He’s a little young for you, isn’t he?” Tag whispered.

Chloe popped him one. The boy couldn’t have been more than 8 years old.

He stepped down from his ladder as they approached, a nervous look on his face. Without speaking, he ran to the side door of the house, and they heard his little voice shouting. A moment later, a tall, lean teen came out, the brim of his hat shading his eyes.

The lad spat on the floor, eyeing them in each turn.

“These the guys you were talking about?” he said, a strange twinge to his voice.

Chloe nodded. “Yes. These are my friends: Tag, Ben, and Gideon. Guys, this is Jacob.” She scanned the stable, unable to see any other horses, just the pretty beast with the shimmering chestnut coat. “You got the other horses inside, or is this the mare you were offering? I have to say, she doesn’t look half as weak as you said she would. Maybe drink loosened your tongue the wrong way?”

Tag scoffed. “They let him drink in the bar? He’s barely old enough to have stopped suckling his mother’s teats.”

Jacob stared at Tag, pulling a cloth from his pocket and twisting the fabric around his hands. Eventually, he said, “You can’t have the horses no more. The offer is off the table.”

Chloe clapped Tag on the arm again and stepped toward Jacob, arms held up in a “come on” gesture. “Please, wait. Is it because of what my friend said? He’s new to this realm and doesn’t know the way of the people. I’m sure he meant you no offense. Isn’t that right?”

Tag opened his mouth, but Chloe cut in before he could answer.

“See? That’s right. Now please, as I told you last night, we need transport to make better haste toward the next town over. We’ve been told it’s 10 days on foot, and we just don’t have the time.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but my hands are tied,” Jacob said. “The horses are gone. I’ve got nothing to give you.”

“You sold them?” Chloe said, failing to hide the annoyance in her voice. “You promised them to us.”

Jacob took a few steps forward, his head c****d and his eyebrows raised. “I’m a man of my word, miss, but I can’t help what can’t be helped. I fully intended to give you those horses, yes I did. In fact, after last night, I decided to be even more reasonable and cut the cost some. But I can’t help fate, and last night I was woken to the sound of dogs barking. I looked out my window to find that someone had stolen my stock.

“See that break in the fence there? Think I’d be dumb enough to do that to myself? No. Only reason old Carey stayed is because I reared her from a foal and she’s loyal to the end.” He jerked a thumb at the chestnut horse, which was now being groomed once more by the small boy.

“I’m sorry,” Chloe said, her anger deflating. “I didn’t mean to offend.”

“Look,” Jacob said, digging into his other pocket and pulling out what looked to be nothing more than a weed. The plant was green with small orange buds. “The thieves left this behind when they went. It’s the only clue I’ve got.

Chloe cast Herb Identification, reading the little notice that appeared above the weed.

“Humblebee pollen? What is that?”

Jacob’s eyes widened. “That goddamn traitorous coward!” he said through gritted teeth, his whole body coiling as if he were a spring being wound.

“Who?” Gideon asked.

“That no-good thieving good-for-nothing Derren McTrewern. He’s the only humblebee keeper for miles around. Takes great pride in bringing his world-famous honey to the towns and selling it. He’s got a bee farm way out by the winding creek on the other side of those there trees.”

Jacob pointed into the distance, where a small group of trees was visible beyond the heat shimmer of the horizon.

“I tell you what,” Jacob continued, eyeing Chloe’s sword. “How’s about we make a deal? You go out to McTrewern’s farm and reclaim my horses, and I’ll let you take your pick of the stock.”

Chloe saw the blinking notification appear in the corner of her vision. She focused her attention on opening the icon, and a new update hovered in her vision.

Quest unlocked: Chasing Nightmares

Someone has stolen the stableboy’s horses. Thanks to the humblebee pollen left behind, he has a sneaking suspicion that Derren McTrewern is behind it all. Track down Derren at his farm and discover the truth behind the lies.

Difficulty: 3/10

Rewards: 1,500 exp, +2 horses

Accept quest: Y/N

Chloe turned to the others, whose eyes were unfocused as they read their own notifications. She laughed and said, “Well? What do we think?”

Gideon blinked out of his. “Oops. I presumed this wouldn’t be a question. I’ve already clicked Y.”

“Me too,” said Tag.

“Me too.” Ben grinned.

Chloe rolled her eyes and selected Y on her display.