“You’ve got it. And if he kills me for saying those things, I’ll send my ghost back here to haunt your butt.”
My food came, and I managed to convince a man sitting next to me to leave off and give Wardahl the stool. We ate and drank in peace for a time, but then a booming voice broke through the clatter of the room.
“Rematch! She’s a damn cheat, that berserker Madi, and I demand a rematch right here!”
I spun around, nervous there’d be a confrontation, but only saw Oliver with a grin on his face. He’d used a deeper voice than usual to throw me off.
I was introduced to his teammates and tried hard not to blush when I shook the Ranger’s hand. She was nearly the most beautiful person I’d ever met, nearly. Only the thought of the willful and solemn girl from LA made me reconsider asking her if she’d like a drink.
Teegan jabbed me in the ribs and reminded me of my purpose in Bridgerun. “Probably never get a better chance at a recruitment speech. Most of these people either hate you or love you. Either way, improves your odds of getting them to fight beside you.”
I nodded, realizing he was right, and swallowed the lump of nerves that had formed in my throat. Then I tossed a glance over to Rodrick to excuse my actions as I climbed up on the bar.
I shouted, “Hey! Attention everyone, I have something to say!” When only half the room went quiet, I tried a different approach. “Shut up, you spineless cabróns!”
That seemed to work better, and I even had the satisfaction of making several of the patrons grimace at me. Well, at least I knew who hated me.
“I’ll be quick. I was given an epic quest by some NPCs in this world, the Doondane rangers and a wizard to boot. I made my way here to see how many adventurers might want to join the fight against a potential world boss. His name is the Rat King, and the bastard is raising armies to take over Mariandor.” I paused for a moment, and everyone just stared at me, not sure if I was serious. I added, “Anyone want to risk everything for the sake of a crapload of loot and XP?”
A cheer rose up at that. “Meet me here in the morning if any of you drunks are serious!” I added, then sat back down.
“Nice speech,” Oliver said, looking to his group. “You’re serious, though? Like, could we all join the quest?”
I nodded and said, “Yeah, should be plenty of bad guys for everyone. Your party is something fierce, so you’d be more than welcome.”
It was late when I finally had to pry myself from the crowd and meet up with Tejón. The beast was snoring loud enough to flutter the curtains, a pile of bones scattered about him.
I tossed my arena prizes into my new abyss bag and removed my armor a piece at a time. Relishing in the weightlessness of being dressed only in my normal clothes, I jumped onto my huge bed and closed my eyes. The room swam around me, exhaustion and prolonged excitement making me feel as if my whole body were vibrating. I laughed at myself, already dropping into sleep before I pulled on the covers.
To quickly amend this problem, I dug my way deeper into the folds of the legendary bed. Then a searing pain made my eyes shoot open and I cried out in pain. Reaching down into my pants pocket, I pulled out the stone that Judas had given me.
The red light it produced filling my room with a haunting glow.
10: “Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light.”
— Scion of the Endless Poem
HANA
More than a few assurances had to be given to Pachi before she would consent to the course of action and calm down. Guilt tugged at me, but there would be more trying situations to come if we were to continue to struggle in Eternal Online together. She needed to get used to it.
I nudged her with logic yet again. Besides, when I do inevitably succeed, I’ll just be that much stronger. Who knows how much experience this beast will give me?
She stopped pacing at last and walked up to face me. Her nose came within a few inches of mine and her golden eyes pierced me. Okay, I will let you go, but you must promise not to die… not for good, at least.
I suppressed my grin. No doubt that would only piss her off. A beast this huge and deadly and silly needed to be treated seriously. Of course. I promise.
At last, I turned to the queen and told her I was ready.
Pachi and I were surrounded by huge dragon-like beasts, their fangs as long as daggers, and their hides as hard as steel. They began serving us refreshments.
The queen explained, “I apologize for the circumstances in which you were brought before me. All sense of courtesy and consideration have bled away from our culture over the years. It is a shame, for we used to walk about, feeling the light of the stars on our scales. I would do so again before I grow too old to climb out of this mountain.”
More of the fish was served, and so was a steak of some pale meat that had me worried. I had no intention of disliking anything these people served us. I found out what it was when the queen’s food was brought, and an entire pig was set beside a dozen of the large fish.
Both of the creatures were unsightly. They had bulbous eyes, white and opaque, and their skin was a grayish white. I took a bite of the fish. And it was good.
Pachi was also given a pig’s head, which she thought was very considerate. Apparently,
