Virtual Reality: Dragon Quest II

I groaned and rolled over to the edge of the bed, getting up on wobbling knees. Gwen stared up at me with a satisfied smile, and the afterglow of her orgasms shining in her face. I leaned down and kissed her, and then walked around the bed to collect my shorts, afterward. I kissed the droopy-eyed Gwen once more, picked up my sword, and stumbled back to my own room, where I collapsed into the bed, asleep before I landed.

@===||>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The storm blew itself out just before dawn, and the skies were clear when I awakened. Pulling on my clothes, whistling Only the Lonely Boy, I walked outside my room and downstairs when I finished dressing. Despite the fact I'd only slept about six hours, I was feeling pretty good -- for obvious reasons.

Lars and Thakkor were already up, finishing their breakfast. Thakkor waved me over, while Lars turned away to request more coffee from a serving woman. I walked over, still whistling, and sat down. "Morning," I greeted them, with a wide smile.

"You must have slept better than we did," Thakkor chuckled. "That damn storm kept me up most of the night."

"I'm feeling good," I chuckled. "What's cooking?"

"Ham and eggs," Thakkor replied, and then looked up, nodding in the direction of the stairs.

I turned around to see Gwen skipping down the stairs. She crossed the room quickly, pulled a chair closer to me, and sat down with a cheery, "Good morning."

Thakkor raised an eyebrow, while Lars' brow furrowed. Lars' expression remained dark, but the edges of a smile touched Thakkor's lips a moment or two later.

When the serving woman returned with Lars' coffee, I requested a plate for Gwen and me, and two cups of coffee as well. I noticed that Lars kept his eyes averted from Gwen, and me, but didn't really pay it much mind. Lars was a bit stuck up, in my opinion. What should I have really expected from a guy who wore a fur coat as his most powerful armor?

Lars chugged down his coffee, finishing it while Gwen and I were barely started with our breakfast. "I'm going to go ahead to the ship," he announced, rising without further comment, and walking back up to his room.

I glanced at him as he left, wondering what the curt tone was about, but shrugged and returned to my meal.

"Don't mind him. He's a bear any time he doesn't get enough sleep, or drinks. We have the best of both this morning. He's a little over-protective too." A knowing smile spread across Thakkor's lips as he said the last. His chuckle a moment later prompted me to look where he was looking, to see Gwen blushing.

Still chuckling, Thakkor stood up and said, "I'm going to head back to the ship, too. Even though the monsters here aren't dangerous, we really shouldn't travel alone, and it's a bit of a walk to the ship. You two come along whenever you finish eating." He clapped me on the shoulder as he passed, and tickled Gwen's arm before heading for the stairs.

Gwen was still blushing, and asked, "Are we that obvious?"

"I guess so," I responded. "We'd better eat and get ready. If we miss the tide, Lars will have a cow."

Gwen's eyes narrowed in confusion, and I laughed in response. "Another local phrase. He'll have a fit if we miss the tide."

"You're funny," Gwen laughed.

"And you're beautiful," I said with a wink.

"And sweet," she came back, leaning over to give me a kiss on the cheek.

First Lars, and then Thakkor came back downstairs, pausing at our table before heading back outside to set out for the ship. Gwen and I were nearly done with our breakfast, and Gwen told them we'd be along shortly.

We finished eating, and I left a generous tip for the servers before we went back upstairs to get our things. I finished getting ready first, and walked over to knock on Gwen's door.

"Come in, Matt," she answered from the other side of the portal.

When I walked inside, she said, "I'm ready," hefting her bag over her shoulder. She smiled at me, and walked across the room to kiss me hungrily. "I wish we had one more night here. It will be so crowded on the ship."

"There's always Beran," I said, offering her a wink.

Gwen moaned, kissed me again, and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the room. We saw a few odd Kaskos Hoppers, and other monsters, on our way to the ship, but they all kept their distance. Like I'd told the cousins, the monsters weren't stupid, and they could tell we were dangerous. We reached the ship without incident, and we were underway with the tide.

@===||>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thanks to Lars' repel spell, the two-day trip was uneventful. His spell seemed to work on him too, because we barely saw him during the voyage. I got a pleasant middle of the night wake up during the trip, when Gwen crawled into my bunk with me on the ship. The creaking of the bed mingled with the groaning of wood and ropes, but Gwen had to stuff a pillow in her mouth to muffle the sharply contrasting sounds of her pleasure. When we reached Beran, we headed directly for the weapon shop. I presented my Golden Card, much to the dismay of the merchant, and we left a short time later with a discounted Shield of Strength for Gwen.

Pausing outside the shop, Thakkor said, "Well, are we ready then?"

"Why don't we spend a night in town, and leave in the morning. I know you never sleep well on the ship, Thakkor," Gwen suggested.

He obviously saw through her subterfuge, but a faint smile touched his lips. "I appreciate it, Gwen. We'll stay the night, and then go face Rhone in the morning, well rested."

The innkeeper was no more pleased to see my Golden Card than the weapon merchant had been. He brightened up when I left him a tip equal to the discount. The result was that he actually made more off our stay than he would have otherwise.

Gwen and Lars started toward their rooms, but Thakkor put his hand on my shoulder as I started that way. I turned around to see him smiling. "I know what Gwen is up to. You do understand that she is Royalty..."

I held up my hand and interrupted, "We've been over it. I brought it up, actually. I think she just needs something to contrast her nightmares, and the nightmare to come."

Thakkor nodded, and then smiled, clapping me on the shoulder. "She could do far worse than you, Matusen. You wouldn't happen to be a prince from a foreign land, would you?"

"Foreign land -- yes. Prince -- no," I laughed.

"More the pity. Of course, she's the Queen of Moonbrooke now, so she could change the rules, if she really wanted."

"I don't think it's quite that serious, she said as much herself."

"I would be suspicious of that, were I you," Thakkor laughed. "You may be right, though. Gwen is very devoted to her duty. Come along; let's have one last night of relaxation before we set out for Rhone." He paused for a moment and asked, "You will come with us, won't you? Blood of Erdrick or not, your sword and your knowledge would be of great help to us, I believe."

I hadn't even taken time to consider it, trying just to enjoy myself, since I had no idea how to escape this game world and get back to reality again. The thought of fighting my way through Rhone, Hargon's Castle, and facing the mad wizard did not fit my description of enjoyable. "I wasn't there when you acquired the Charm of Rubiss. I'm not sure I'm included in that protection, and I don't know if anyone will survive without it."

Scratching his chin, Thakkor said, "You may be right. We could return to the island, and see if Rubiss will bless you as well."

"You shouldn't delay any more. You're ready now, and the sooner you take care of Hargon, the sooner things can get back to normal. I'll come with you as far as the Last Refuge. From there, I'll have to make a decision."

"You might want to make that decision before we reach there, and tell Gwen as soon as possible," Thakkor suggested.

"You're probably right. That's why you're Royalty, and I'm just a wanderer," I laughed.

"Say -- Hello!" A voice sang out from behind us. I turned, and I was surprised to see the flute player from the Inn in Leftwyne approaching. "Will you be here tomorrow night? I'll be playing here then."

"Sorry, we're leaving tomorrow," I informed him.

His expression fell, but almost immediately brightened. "What about this evening? I'm playing some sort of tavern on the edge of town. You can't miss it; it has a sign with a rabbit out front."

"I'll give it some thought. You play well, and I wouldn't mind listening again," I told him.

Waving, the man left while saying, "I hope to see you there!"

Thakkor asked, "What was that about?"

I laughed, "I left him a rather large tip. The patrons were being a little stingy, and he does play well."

Thakkor joined in my laughter. "That certainly explains it. Let's go get our things put away."

We all came back down for lunch, sipping cups of wine while we waited for the food to arrive.

Thakkor groaned and slouched in his chair. "I'm going to just relax all day, and turn in early. I'm still exhausted from the lack of sleep in Leftwyne."

Gwen asked, "What about you, Lars?"

Lars was examining his boots with a scowl at the time, and looked up when Gwen spoke. "I'm going to find someone to repair these boots; the scuffs are starting to get scuffs."

Somehow, I managed to avoid rolling my eyes and gagging.

Gwen turned to me then, "What about you, Matt? These two want to be boring, and I'd like to do something to take my mind off what we have to do tomorrow. We should probably turn in early too, but we can at least enjoy ourselves in the meantime."

Taking another sip of my wine, I suggested, "There is a flute player I heard in Leftwyne that's playing on the edge of town tonight. He's pretty good, and I think he'll be disappointed if I don't show up."

"That sounds fun," Gwen responded with a smile.

The food showed up then, and we started eating. The soup was good -- really good. There was just a touch of something, some spice or herb, which seemed to be the source of a pleasant aftertaste.

"This is good," Thakkor remarked. "I know I've had something like this before, but it seems like it was a long time ago."

"I keep getting the same feeling," Lars remarked, bringing another spoonful to his mouth.

"Oh no," Gwen said in a quiet voice, staring at her spoon.

Thakkor looked over and saw some sort of seed floating on top of Gwen's spoon. His eyes went wide and he turned to Lars, standing up quickly. "Perita seed! I'll get her to her room."

Lars dropped his spoon, coughing, and gasped out, "I'll find a bucket." He jumped up from the table as well.

Getting up too, seeing that Gwen's face was turning pale, I asked, "What's wrong?" I grabbed Gwen's other arm, helping Thakkor lead her to her room.

Thakkor explained, "Gwen is allergic to Perita seed. It makes her violently ill. That's why we only vaguely remembered it. Once the family found out she was allergic to it, it was banned from all the Royal kitchens."

Gwen covered her mouth, stifling a burp, and then said, "Hurry," in a weak voice.

The sound of running footsteps emerged behind us, and I glanced back to see Lars coming down the hallway, carrying a large wooden pail. We reached Gwen's door, and Thakkor opened it.

Gwen looked over at me, and then glanced down at the floor. "I don't want you to see me like this. My cousins will take care of me. Please, don't come in."

"It's not going to bother me, Gwen," I told her.

"Please," she pleaded.

"Okay, I won't come in," I agreed.

"Go see the flute player. I'll be... Oh dear..." Gwen covered her mouth and stumbled into the room, quickly followed by Thakkor and Lars. Lars turned and shut the door, just a little harder than I though was necessary, leaving me standing alone in the hall.

@===||>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I walked the streets of town, trying to figure out how I was going to tell Gwen I wouldn't be going with them to Hargon's Castle. Somehow, I knew there was no way I'd be allowed inside anyhow. I wasn't a sprite in a game, and I had no idea how real the danger from all the monsters would be to me.

I really need to figure out how I got in here, and how to get out. The thought was only half-hearted, because I actually felt more alive here than I did in the real world. The prospect of a messy death wasn't all that appealing, but everything else had been a blast.

A voice -- loud and croaking -- erupted from somewhere to my right. "Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Lee. Came from afar, a whole new world to see."

I stopped in my tracks, spinning to look at the old man who was singing. He was bald, bony, and had a crazed look in his eyes. The garment he wore only reached his knobby knees, which he was slapping as he danced and sang.

Not only was he singing to the tune of The Ballad of Jed Clampet, but he'd also used my real name. This weird old man knew of the real world -- and he knew me.

The crazed codger continued, "He met him some nice ladies, the kind you hear in song. But he got a little greedy, and everything went wrong." Stepping up close to me, he waggled a long finger in my face and said his version of the spoken refrain. "Cheatin' that is. Two-timin'. Sleepin' 'round."

I narrowed my eyes, not liking this the least little bit. The old man leapt up into the air, and launched back into the song. "Well the first thing you know, Lee is off once more. An old fella meets him, an' tells the boy the score. He said Alihian is the place you oughta be. So Lee tossed up his wing, the great city to see."

"Who the hell are you?" I questioned him.

Ignoring my question, the old man leaned in close to me, twitching his eyebrows and saying, "Louisa's Place. Find some friends. The key to home."

"Who... are... you," I asked, slowly.

Standing back up straight, the old man raised his hands up over his head, waving them around crazily. "Great Googlie Mooglie!" He screamed, and then ran off cackling into the crowd.

I took off after him, but it seemed like every person in town decided to come out at that exact same moment, and I had to fight my way through the crowd. I came up to a street intersection, and realized I'd lost him.

"Shit," I cursed, throwing my hands up in the air.

@===||>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I went and checked on Gwen after a while, finding her lying in bed, feeling miserable. She shooed me back out of the room again when her stomach started lurching, and I was back to wandering. Thakkor and Lars were taking good care of her, and she obviously didn't want me around while she was being sick, and looking dreadful -- at least as dreadful as a woman that beautiful could look.

I couldn't shake the old man out of my head. He obviously wanted me to go to Alihian, in D.Q. Three's world, and use a Wing of the Wyvern from there to do it.

The question was -- why?

Night was creeping up on me before I realized how long I'd been wandering, contemplating the strange old coot. The smell of something enticing turned my head, and I noticed it was coming from a building with a sign depicting a rabbit out front. The rabbit was standing on its hind legs, posing like a model with one paw on an outthrust hip, and the other cradling its cheek.

Whatever's cooking smells good, I'm starving, and this is where that guy is going to play tonight. May as well get some grub and listen to some tunes.

Decision made, I walked into the building. A few people were moving around the room, performing various tasks. One of them turned to me and said, "We'll be opening up in a few minutes. You can have a seat if you want, but we can't get you anything until we're actually open."

Seeing a stage up front, I spied out a table with a good view, and waved to the guy who had spoken. "Works for me."

He nodded, and went back to pulling chairs down off the table, preparing to open the tavern. Behind the bar, the barkeep washed mugs, and I could tell where the kitchen was from the heavenly scent wafting from it. I took a seat, and several other men came in shortly thereafter, also taking seats near the stage.

The place filled up quickly, and I was glad I'd gotten in early. My table was set a bit apart from the others, center stage, so I wouldn't be in too much of a press. Crowds get to me, and the personal space suited me well.

A gong sounded, and I chuckled when I saw six women dressed in revealing bunny costumes file out of a door near the bar. That explained the sign. It also made me a bit glad Gwen had come down ill. I didn't think she'd have been impressed with the place if she'd come with me. Luck on my side again, I thought.

One of the girls sauntered over to me, "Can I get you anything, handsome?"

"What's cooking back there?"

"Barbeque ribs," she answered.

I sighed with delight. "Bring me a slab of those, and a beer. When does the flute player start?"

She looked at me with a confused expression, answering, "He's up first. He'll be starting in about fifteen minutes."

"Thank you, sweet thang," I said with a wink, holding out a coin to her.

She giggled, dropped the coin into her cleavage, and skipped off to the bar. I shook my head and laughed, once again wondering just how much of this was actually in the game creator's heads when they dreamed it up, but simply didn't make it past the censors to the actual code.

I decided I'd just stay until the flute player finished, buy him a drink or two on top of his tip, and then head out. I just didn't feel in the mood to watch untouchable naked women dancing tonight. Even if I weren't going to Hargon's castle, I'd do well to be rested before the trek across Rhone, since I planned to go at least to the Final Refuge.

The ribs were incredible, and the beer went down like water. I ordered a second beer, tipping the bunny waitress again. I knew that after two gold coins, she'd treat me like royalty for the remainder of my stay. When she got one after every stop at my table, she'd watch the door for my face until her dying day. Odds are the tips would add up to a week's salary, even in the short time I planned to stay tonight. I had piles of coin in my bag, and nothing I needed to spend it on, really.

I'd just finished my ribs when the flute player came out. He started playing, and I tapped my foot, listening eagerly to the songs I didn't know, all similar to the tunes from the soundtrack of the game. When his tip jar came around, I noticed the musician looking at me. I winked in his direction, and let a tumble of coins fall in the jar so he could see them.

He bobbed his head in appreciation, while continuing to play. I waved off the waitress when she came around again after that, the beer already going to my head. She pouted, and I tipped her anyway. That turned her frown upside-down.

A provocatively dressed woman walked up beside me, sitting down in a chair at my table -- just about the time the flutist finished his set, and took a bow. The crowd applauded, and the woman waited until the noise died down before speaking. "Hey, handsome -- want some company?"

I chuckled, realizing my lavish distribution of coins was getting a lot of notice. The woman was obviously a lady of the evening, and saw the potential for a big score in me. "I was getting ready to take off, actually. I just came to hear him play."

She pouted, thrusting her well-displayed, ample breasts out toward me a bit. "I could keep you company somewhere else. It doesn't have to be here."

The flute player walked over to me, and I saw his eyes drawn straight to the woman's breasts. His eyes stayed locked on them as he approached, and he nearly tripped over his own feet. Shaking his head, he looked over at me and said, "I just wanted to thank you for coming, and for your generosity."

I gave him a little tip-o-the-hat gesture, and said, "Not a problem. I told you, you play well."