Eniari IRL Pt. 10 - Gone Fishin'

The Plunge

Pauli was finished with work for the day, and already at home when I finally walked through the door.

"Heya Hooker" he said, "nice job on the new smart switch."

"Hey yerself" I replied, "how was work?"

He launched into a rant about the people he worked with and for, questioning their intelligence and potential familial relationships with barnyard animals. I was laughing my ass of listening to him, and I knew that he needed to get it off his chest before he could relax and enjoy the evening.

We adjourned to the picnic table outside. We cracked open a couple of beers and sat talking about the news, politics, and the continuing improvement of living conditions for the general populace since the Shift had happened.

"...it's like before the 'magic' came back into the world, the monsters were there, but nobody could see them, and nobody knew how to fight them" I said, "now they have to show themselves, and they can be defeated."

"And the craziness in normal humans has tapered off" he agreed, "there hasn't been a mass shooting since the Shift, and even the foreign governments all seem to be getting along."

"Right?" I said, "It's weird, definitely nice, but weird!"

We'd been talking and drinking for a couple of hours, and I could see Pauli counting the empty beer-cans on the picnic table.

"We're gonna hafta make a beer run" he said.

"Oh, that's why you were counting, "I responded, "I thought you were looking to see if my clothes should be falling off yet."

He chuckled, "Maybe I was, but that doesn't change the fact that we're almost out of beer."

"Right" I said, "you wait here!"

I whistled shrilly and my Hippogrif landed smartly on the driveway. I vaulted into the saddle and was airborne before Pauli could even respond. To the liquor store and back with a case of Tecate took me less than five minutes. He was still standing out in the front yard when I landed.

"Dude" he said, "what was that thing?!"

"That's my ride" I responded, "it's a Hippogrif."

"That looked terrifying" he said, "and kinda fun!"

"I'll take you for a ride on my rocket sometime" I flirted, "if you'll return the favor!"

We both laughed, as we took the case of beer into the house and restocked the fridge.

"I went to the diner today" I said, feeling the need to confess, "our Bartender was working."

"Yeah" he said, "she and I have been texting pretty steadily all week."

"She thinks you and I need to fool around" there, I said it. It was out in the open.

He looked at me skeptically, "Did she now?" he said, "And what do you think about that?"

"I think we're friends" I said, "and I think both of us are way more comfortable with her as the center of attention."

"You're not wrong about that" he replied thoughtfully.

"Still, I keep thinking about her offer" I said.

"The DP?" he asked. His face was unreadable.

"Yeah" I said, "that."

"If it happens, it happens" he said, "I don't have any objections to it as long as we can stay friends."

"With Benefits" I said softly.

"You okay there Hooker?" he asked, the genuine concern in his voice was touching.

"Yeah, I'm good" I said, "I think I'm gonna call it early tonight."

"I agree" he said, "I was draggin' ass all day today."

We said our good nights, neither of us really wanting the evening to end, but both of us to tired to stay up any longer. He sprawled out on the couch, and I retired to the bedroom. As I lay in the middle of the bed, I remembered the second night on the islands. Had it really only been six days ago? I thought about the Bartenders curves against my own, and Pauli dozing next to us. The quiet comfort of his presence in the bed while the Bartender and I whispered back and forth. Would that change? Would pursuing the Bartenders offer ruin a friendship of thirty-plus years. I pondered these questions as I drifted off. Eventually my mind stilled and sleep took me.

Friday

My eyes snapped open, something wasn't right. I lay in the bed and listened, gathering information before moving. The pre-dawn light filtered into the room, and I could hear Pauli snoring softly from the couch in the living room. I rolled out of bed, equipping my leathers and weapons with a thought. I slipped into stealth and moved through the residence - there was nothing out of place inside the house. I peeked out the windows into the yard around the house - nothing outside that I could see. Pauli stirred on the couch. Not wanting to alarm him, I equipped my cutoffs and tank top, and moved silently into the kitchen before dropping stealth.

He shuffled into the bathroom as I started the coffee pot. Moments later he joined me in the kitchen as we waited for the coffee to brew.

"Good Morning, Brother" I said.

"G'morning Hooker" he mumbled, "yer up early."

"It's Friday" I said, by way of explanation. I didn't want to tell him of the foreboding feeling that had dragged me from my dreams.

We went through our morning routine, coffee, breakfast, dishes then he got showered and dressed for work.

While he got dressed, I stepped outside and did a circuit around the house, just to make sure there were no nasty surprises waiting to ambush my friend when he left for work. The feeling of anticipation and dread hung on me like a wet blanket, but I could find nothing to cause it.

Pauli had just stepped outside when I completed my patrol of the lot around his place. "You okay, Hooker?" he asked

"Yeah" I replied, "maybe...I dunno."

"Something bothering you?" he asked, "you've been kinda distracted all morning."

Was I that obvious? "Yeah" I said, "I got a feeling, like something's coming...something bad."

"Should I be worried about you?" he asked.

I grinned at him "Brother please! You know I'm not gonna let anything touch me!"

I walked with him to his car though, just to make sure he made it there safely. I wasn't taking any changes.

"Should I be worried about me?" he asked, as I saw him off.

I leaned into the window of his Toyota and kissed his cheek "I'm not gonna let anything touch you either" I said, "now have a good day, and call me if you see anything weird."

When he had driven out of sight, I equipped my leathers and weapons again. I whistled for my Hippogrif and took to the air, flying a circular search pattern with Pauli's house as the center.

As I flew, I got a whisper from Pica:

[From Picadilly] Eniari, are you awake?

[To Picadilly] Yeah Pica, are you feeling it, too?

[From Picadilly] Yes, I think there's a boss spawning.

[To Picadilly] Okay, let's party up, I'll whisper a healer and tank I met the other day.

[From Picadilly] Human couple? I'm already in party with them, sending you an invite now.

We partied up, and suddenly I knew the exact locations of Picadilly the Mage, Ronin the Warrior, and Rachel the Priest on the island. We were all within a five block radius of each other. I knew the status and health of my party members.

[Party] Ronin: Good Morning rogue, ready for a fight?

[Party] Rachel: Good Morning Eniari, this is so exciting!

[Party] Eniari: You guys have done this before?

[Party] Picadilly: Lots of times in game, Eni. R&R are my Guildies. We all live here.

[Party] Rachel: We have one more changeling on the Island that none of us has met though.

[Party] Ronin: Must be a recent arrival. I bet the boss spawns on them.

[Party] Eniari: I'm in the air, and I'm not seeing anything...

At that moment, a flash of red at the edge of my vision caught my attention. Simultaneously, I saw Pica in her 'copter, speeding toward the beach.

[Party] Picadilly: Incoming! It's on the beach down by the marina!

I turned and followed Pica. As we got closer to the water, I could see movement under the waves, and a glimmer of red indicating a hostile mob. I couldn't see another changeling, though.

[Party] Ronin: We're almost there, don't engage until I get aggro.

I dove toward the beach, dismounting and dropping into stealth before my Hippogrif flew off. I made sure that both my blades were coated in poison as the boss lumbered ashore.

It was probably twenty feet tall. Its spiny red-brown carapace shed seawater and kelp as the massive Lobstrocity lumbered onto the sand. Each of its claws were big enough to crush the life out of any mundane human it encountered, and each of its legs left deep holes in the sand, a testament to the mass of this monster.

Pica was flying around the beast, staying out of aggro, and yelling at mundane humans to stay away. The creature hadn't aggroed on any of the normal people at the marina, or any of the beach goers that were moving quickly away from from the waters edge. It felt like it was taking forever for Ronin and Rachel to get on scene, and we still didn't know who or where our fifth changeling was.

I heard Ronin's Battle Shout and suddenly felt better about our chances. He charged into the giant Lobstrok, leading with a shield slam and a thunderclap. I could sense that the boss was entirely focused on this seemingly small armored creature that had dared to challenge it. I felt the fortitude buff hit, and I knew that Rachel was watching over us. I opened with Shadowstrike, and then fell into my well practiced single target rotation, dancing in and out of the Shadows, my blades carving deep gashes in the under-belly of the creature, my poisons stacking damage on the strikes and slowing the creature's movement. I could feel the heat of the fire-balls that Pica was hurling at the monster, but I knew that all the damage would be absorbed by the Lobstrocity.

We were holding our own against the boss, but this was going to be a tough fight without a fifth player. I could sense that both Pica and Rachel were at about 50% Mana. Ronin was tanking the boss like a champ, and it was unlikely that I could steal aggro, but still, I popped Tricks-of-the-Trade to redirect any threat I did get onto Ronin, also increasing his damage per second.

The fight was going long, our healer and our mage were going to have to pop mana potions if they had them. I knew that Ronin was doing everything he could to mitigate the damage coming at him from the boss, and so was I. Anything we could do to reduce the need for magical healing meant that Rachel would have more resources if Ronin took a critical hit from the boss.

In this melee heavy fight, one more ranged DPS would have been a welcomed addition to our little party. I was focused on the Boss, so I didn't see it happen, but Pica whispered to me:

[from Picadilly] The cops are here, they're keeping the mundane folks safely away from the fight.

[to Picadilly] Good! This fight is brutal.

Suddenly, the balance of power shifted in our favor. I felt another buff hit me as a blinding pillar of Moonfire blasted through the Boss. Another Player joined our party, a boomkin Druid. Thorny vines grew quickly out of the sand below the Lobstrocity, and bound it in place. The boss' health began to drop much more quickly now as the Druid was pounding the creature with Astral damage. The battle was over moments later. I dodged out of the way as the lifeless corpse of the Lobstrocity toppled to the sand.

I joined my party at the head of the beast. Ronin was covered in the creatures ichor, but looked exhilarated. Both Pica and Rachel looked a little tired, unsurprising as their mana was down to below a quarter of their max. They'd really been flinging a lot of spells to damage the giant Lobstrok and to keep the party safe. Finally I got a look at our fifth Player, a towering, heavy-set Kul Tiran man with a deep scar across his face.

"Hey, thanks for the assist" said Ronin.

"Anytime" said the newcomer, "I'm Lliam, by the way."

We all introduced ourselves. Even though each of us in party knew the others names, it was the polite thing to do.

The sense of dread that had dragged me from my dreams had passed with the downing of the boss. Since Pica was our party leader, she directed the looting of the bosses corpse. Once the creatures stomach was opened up we found a really nice crossbow that didn't really help anyone in our party. We agreed to let Rachel disenchant it so that she could use the materials to place an enchantment on one of our weapons. I mixed up a couple of Mana Potions to replace the ones that Pica and Rachel had consumed during the fight.

While we busied ourselves with post-battle wind-down, our little group was approached by a mundane police officer in full tactical armor.

"It's dead, right?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, it's dead" said Ronin.

The police officer spoke into his radio, and several more cops approached the corpse, dropping traffic cones and stringing up caution tape around the remains. The Seagulls were already beginning to go to work on the carcass.

"Is anybody else here a Skinner?" asked Lliam.

"Not me" I said.

Pica shook her head.

Ronin and Rachel both said "Nope".

Lliam stepped forward and pulled out his skinning knife. For all its size, the Lobstrocity was reduced to a few chitinous plates in mere moments by the skill of our new Kul Tiran friend. The remains of the beast just seemed to melt away into spume when Lliam was done.

"Nice" I said, "always loved the fact that Skinners kept the world clear of corpses."

"Better to skin than to waste" said Lliam, "besides, I'd hate to leave that thing here for the locals to try to clean up.

Pica piped up, "It wouldn't last, the gulls would make quick work of it, but yeah, this is better!"

The cops looked a little confused, but continued to encircle the site with caution tape. I assumed that there would be some kind of investigation.

With the threat neutralized, I equipped my Beach gear and tucked my armor and weapons away into the pocket dimension of my bags. My phone had been in my bags with my beach gear while we had fought the Lobstrocity, and I had a lot of missed calls and messages from Pauli and the Bartender. A quick look around revealed several news vans with field reporters talking about "Breaking News".

"Aw crap" I said, "my friends are worried sick because of this. I'll see y'all around."

We said our farewells and the party dissolved. I immediately texted both Pauli and the Bartender and let them know I was fine, and that I'd meet them and give them the full story after they got off work.

All of this before Noon on a Friday. I stopped in at Lee's and picked up take-out, made my way to a remote beach, and had a picnic by myself just to decompress from the morning's events. I hadn't been afraid during the fight, I trusted my party members to do their jobs. I had been worried about the fight going on too long, though. It brought back memories of the last raid I'd attended in-game. I could remember the desperation and the fear from that fight, knowing that if any one of the twenty-five raid members didn't pull their weight it would mean another painful death and another exhausting night of trying to defeat that boss. The fear of death then had been real, not just an abstract inconvenience for a Player who would have to run back to his Characters corpse, but a real fear of a horrible death at the hands of a sadistic, god-like being. I shuddered, the memory of that fight didn't quite match my lived experience no matter how I looked at it. I was feeling both the Player and the Character side of a singular experience, brought to the surface by a similar experience this morning. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming, and I had to steel myself to put those feelings back into whatever box they'd escaped from.

My phone pinged from my pocket. A message from Pauli:

[Hey Hooker, meet us at the beach. We're headed there now.]

There was a pinned location attached to the message.

I checked the time, it was only 2:30. They both must have taken off from work early. I packed up my trash and mounted up. Traveling by Hippogrif, I was able to reach the pinned location about the same time that Pauli and the Bartender arrived. As soon as I dismounted, both of them pulled me into a three-way hug.

"We're so glad you're okay, Eni" said the Bartender.

"Yeah Hooker" said Pauli, "don't be scaring us like that!"

"Hey, better yer girl and her Player/Character friends handle that kinda monster, than have it send dozens of civilians and law enforcement home in body-bags." I said.

"Dude, I saw you all on the news" said the Bartender, "That thing was a straight up Lobster Kaiju!"

"I've fought worse" I said, thinking about the more human "monsters" I'd faced in-game. "At least this fight was a simple tank-and-spank."

"You better than you were this morning?" asked Pauli.

"Yeah" I said, "much better, no creeping dread in the back of my head."

"Cool, let's hang out and you can unload on us if you need to" said the Bartender.

We spent a pleasant afternoon down at the beach, talking, playing in the mild surf, and building sand castles. They acted just like I would expect a new couple to act, and I, being the third wheel, caught myself falling into the same old routine I had lived for the last couple of decades.

My buddy noticed.

"Dude" he said quietly, "you okay?"

"Yeah" I replied, "just like I've always been, different enough to be separate from the real world, but still muddling through."

The Bartender looked at me sadly, "Why were you different before?"

I smiled at her and replied, "HPV, I was a chronic bio-hazard until the change."

"Oh" she said and her eyes got wide, "but you're not...y'know..."

"No" I said flatly, "I don't suffer from any human viruses, my biology is different enough that only a very few mundane infections cause me any discomfort."

"Oh good!" She grinned.

I grinned back and stood, "Arright you two, I'm headed into the water again before the sun sets." The last rays of the dying day colored the sky red, and the shadows were growing long when I stepped into the cool water. The beach had grown quiet, most of the tourists already headed out for dinner, and the locals headed home after a day of work. There I was, standing between sea and sand, my faintly glowing eyes on the twinkling stars, and my mind on the couple on the sand behind me. I could hear them talking softly, kissing occasionally. I moved further from the shore. The water was up to my knees now, the waves cresting at mid-thigh. Still I moved forward. The cool salty water was up to my hips, and then my belly as a swell moved toward the beach, breaking a few feet behind me. When the water reached my chest I stopped walking and just bobbed with the swells that rolled past me. My body was supported by the water; my feet only barely felt my weight as they rested lightly on the sand below the waves. All I could hear was the wind and the surf as the sun dropped below the horizon behind me. The water around me glowed faintly with bio-luminescence, almost like the Moonwells of my beloved Teldrassil.

I missed my home, I missed my people, and I knew there was no way I could go back.

I caught myself thinking alien thoughts, but rather than push them away, I relaxed, and encouraged the reverie. My mind was flooded with memories of Darkshore, the cool northern waters of The Sea of Mists, the smells of the forest around the old settlement of Auberdine. I remembered spending what seemed like ages there; hunting game for the settlement, cleansing the corruption that flowed into our beloved forest from Felwood, trying to work with the Furbolgs, even though they were a lost cause. I had never returned to Darkshore after the Cataclysm, I couldn't bear to see it shattered by the wrath of the Earthwarder.

The final rays of the sun disappeared below the horizon, and I felt myself calmed by the memories I only half remembered, and the memories of having played through those experiences. It was a curious dichotomy, feeling both sides of the player/character relationship. My night elven side remembered more detail, while what remained of my humanity remembered the story lines and the friends I had played with. But it was all just me, not like a foreign will imposing itself, not the terrifying voices of the schizophrenic, just a fleshing out of memories I already had.