Trapped in a Game Pt. 08

"Maybe..."

Isn't that also what you're doing with me?

There was a forlorn expression on Serra's face, and I felt badly, because I knew that I was a huge part of the reason that she felt like that right now... and there were no words that I could say to fix it.

I let out a sigh, and Serra suddenly shot me a worried look.

"What was that?" she asked, and I tilted my head at her.

"What was what?"

"That sigh... are you worried about something?"

I chuckled at the question.

"Uh, yeah. You, dummy," I replied, as if it should be clearly obvious.

She frowned.

"I'm fine, Josh. You don't need to worry about me. I'm just feeling a little fatigued by how long I've been trapped in this game."

"Is that all?" I asked, somewhat dubiously, and she quickly nodded.

"Yeah. Seriously. Now fuck off with that worrying shit," she replied, and I shook my head, as she headed off.

"Marital spat?" Dana asked, and I shook my head worriedly.

"I dunno... every time I think I have things figured out..." I began, and Dana chuckled a little.

"Ima let you in on a little secret; no one ever has it figured out," she explained, and I sighed. "Well, you can worry about it some other time. We're ready to head out."

I nodded, as she headed back down to the main chamber, and I took another wistful look at the waterfall, chancing a glance at the bottom of its depths, before taking another deep breath, and following Dana back to the main hall.

When I got there, however, I suddenly noted that Kelly and Serra seemed to be talking; worried expressions plastered on both of their faces, and as soon as Kelly spotted me, she broke into an awkward, barely convincing smile, and Serra quickly wandered off.

Just what the fuck is going on? I wondered to myself.

I started making my way over to Kelly, then I stopped myself.

Why bother?

Whatever this was, Kelly and Serra seemed pretty intent on keeping it from me, didn't they?

I took a deep breath in, and Kelly shot me a questioning look as I turned and headed over to join Dana, who I now noted was also furrowing her brow, as she busily interacted with her character interface.

"Hey. Is everything alright?" I asked, and she frowned, as she dismissed her character interface, and studied me.

"It's Pete. He hasn't responded to my messages for a full day now..."

"Is that normal?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"He decided to take some time off, since we had much more hands to help around here, with recruitment taking off an all... but I've been in contact with him every single day. He's never taken this long to reply to my messages, though."

"What was the last thing you heard from him?" I asked, and she bit her lip.

"I don't think I should tell you," she said, and I frowned.

"Why? Something personal?" I asked.

"Don't look at me like that. I've got higher standards than messing around with Pete," she replied, a bit harshly, and I raised an eyebrow.

"That's not what I was suggesting," I replied, and she blushed.

"Ugh. He's been hitting on this barmaid NPC from Ravenloft," she finally admitted, and I snickered.

"I see... well, maybe he got lucky?" I suggested, and she shook her head.

"Wow. You clearly don't know Pete. I've seen basic coded AI turn their heads away from him with disgust. Short of a love potion, I'm not sure Pete would have a chance, to be honest."

I snickered at the response.

Was Pete really that bad?

I knew he was a bit clumsy, and a little dense... but he didn't seem to be badly intentioned, at the very least.

"Well, maybe let him know what we're up to, and he can decide what he wants to do when he's done fooling around with his virtual wench," I suggested, and she frowned.

"I'm... actually worried. Maybe something happened to him?"

"Wouldn't he have said something if he was going off to do something potentially dangerous?" I asked, and Dana nodded.

"Well, I dunno. Do you wanna go check on him? We're taking a pretty big team on this mission. I'm sure David and the others won't mind letting you stay behind if they know it's for something important."

She bit her lip, as she glanced between me and the group, and I noted, with some interest that her eyes narrowed on Kelly, before she let out a little sigh.

"You're right... I'm just chasing dreams anyway," she said.

I was about to ask what that meant, when David came over, and she left with him, presumably to discuss staying behind.

Why is everyone being so weird today? I thought to myself.

As I scanned the room, suddenly, I noticed that Caliban was perched up on the wall, at the opening where Tsun had tunneled into the lair, and I quickly scanned about for Serra, who I spotted, with a mopey expression on her face, sitting on a stone chair.

"Did you settle things with Caliban," I asked, and she nodded.

"I'm not just avoiding him, f-y-i. There's actually things that we need done here, and that he's more suited to."

"Oh? So, you're not worried that he'll die either?"

"I am worried. Aren't you?" she asked, and I nodded, pulling a chair and settling down beside her, which seemed to make her suddenly anxious.

"I guess I am. And I do understand your reasoning; I think. Out here, he can easily teleport to safety, but on a ship, that safety net is limited."

"Thank you! Sheesh," she said, but as I smiled at her, she quickly looked away, and I sighed.

"So, we're just never gonna talk about this whole marriage thing then?"

"It wasn't real. It was pretend," she replied, shrugging, and I frowned.

"When you pretend for long enough, like say, ten years, it becomes real whether you want it to or not, doesn't it?"

Serra sighed, then glared at me.

"What do you want from me? To tell you that I miss our messed-up life together, and our non-existent daughter? That I miss spending time with your mom? That I miss spending every day trying to fix your broken ass?" she spat, and I sighed.

"I know that because of my constant memory loss, I only remember one day of that life... but it was a pretty amazing day. Probably the best day I ever had... knowing that it wasn't real made me sad, even though it was in a place where the person I loved the most wasn't there anymore. I'm not trying to provoke you into crying about it... I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with it myself. But maybe we should talk about it... a little?"

Serra scoffed, then rolled her eyes at me.

"We don't need to talk about anything. I did that to bring you back, and I did. You were in there because of me to begin with, remember? It's done, and it's over with. And there's nothing to be said. Got it?"

I bit my lip, but Serra didn't wait for an answer, as she stormed off, and a worried looking Kelly came over, looking after Serra as she stalked away.

"What happened to giving her space?" she asked, and I frowned.

"Couldn't help myself," I said, sighing, but as I studied Kelly, her earlier talk with Serra came back to me. "You know... she seems to have no trouble talking to you about this whole thing."

"I wouldn't say 'no trouble', specifically, but so what?"

"Why can't she talk to me?" I asked. "We were so close before it happened... and we must have gotten much closer in our time there. I mean, I know we did. The way she acted around me... she was so comfortable; at ease."

"That's the problem, dumbass," Kelly said, and I frowned, as she flicked me on the forehead. "She lost that closeness the moment you woke up. The only way she can have that again, is what? If I die? Or if you decide to deny your feelings for me... which I should add, she and I have discussed, by the way."

I shot Kelly a worried look, and she let out a long sigh, before sitting down next to me.

"Look, this sucks. No matter how you look at it. Every time I look at you, or touch you; I remember what Serra did for you... for us. I want her to be a part of our lives as much as you do, but she needs to make that call... and you need to give her some space to decide if she can cope with that or not."

I nodded, as I bit my lip, and Kelly gave my shoulder a little squeeze as she headed off to make sure everything was ready for our departure.

I wasn't really sure what to do, so I just waited around until Dana spotted me, and called me over.

"Hey. Did you get permission for leave?" I joked, and she nodded.

"I didn't really need permission, I just really wanted to make sure they had cover in the healing department."

She took a quick look around, then took my hand, and pulled me with her down one of the corridors that led away from the main hall, and into one of the small rooms there.

It looked like most of the rooms had been converted into sleeping quarters, which very much suited them.

"Hey, I know the mission isn't supposed to be combat heavy, and whatnot... but you seem to always find yourself in trouble anyway," she began, and I studied her, as she suddenly seemed a little nervous. "I just wanted to say... be careful."

"I'm always careful," I countered, and she frowned.

"That's not very reassuring," she said.

She moved to hug me, and as I returned the hug, she gave me a little squeeze, but as she pulled away, and gave me a quick peck on the cheek, she paused, her eyes locked onto mine, and her gaze momentarily flicked to my lips.

She leaned towards me, and as she paused to study me, I gave her a little nod, and she continued the movement forward, until her lips pressed softly against mine.

Her hands quickly snaked their way around my neck, and she momentarily grasped the hair at the back of my head as our lips met; her eyes closed shut, but as we broke apart, she sighed wistfully into my chest.

"Hey... if you ever need someone again; you know. For some no-strings attached sex. Or to get your mind off of things. Keep me in mind?"

I nodded, but truthfully, I think I was starting to see some strings.

***

The mountain pass from Karach opened up directly into a road which led to Muziris, making the journey there quite simple and unremarkable.

As we emerged from the mountains, however, and the sprawling port-city came into view below, I found myself momentarily blown away by the sight.

The port itself was built around a C-shaped stretch of coast, that was littered with ships of all kinds and sizes, while the city itself was much bigger than any city I'd been to in the game so far.

Caravans were busily snaking their way through the city's dusty streets, and there were stalls and shops of all kinds concentrated on the eastern side of the town, closer to the docks, while the length of the docks were lined with warehouse after warehouse, which I struggled to imagine could possibly be stocked with goods.

Had trade in this game really gotten this far? I wondered.

"This is something, huh," Kelly asked, as she nudged me, and broke me out of my momentary reverie.

"Yeah. I had no idea places like this existed."

"Figures. Monster hunters like you and Serra hardly get involved with the market side of things," she said.

"Hey. That's why people like me have a job," Mackenzie cut in, smiling. "This place though... it's kind of turned into the central hub of this server's 'silk road'. Not many people anticipated that this would have happened, to be honest."

"Then those people are dumb," Serra said, as she moved to join us.

"Oh? And I guess you saw it coming?" I teased.

"Obviously~," she sang in reply, smirking as she moved to the front of the group. "There are three towns that make up the Eastern Reach; Hanamachi, Muziris, and Sufra, further east from here. Now who can tell me what Sufra is known for?"

"The shifting dunes," Kelly answered, and Serra clicked her tongue at her.

"Exactly. The most expansive mid-tier hunting zone on this server. Now couple that with the low-level hunting zones south of here which supply most of the materials used to make healing potions, antivenoms and status removers; this ends up being the place that connects the whole operation."

As Serra finished speaking, I cast a glance back at the pass to Karach.

It was a useful route to Muziris, but that usefulness was diminished by the high tier monsters that plagued the roads to Karach from the other side of the mountains.

But we could control that road now... couldn't we?

"What're you thinking about?" Kelly asked, and I bit my lip.

"If we opened up the route between Ravenloft and here, and cleared the path to Karach from the other side of the mountain, we could stake our own claim on a serious trade route," I said.

"That might not be a bad idea," Serra said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "The biggest problem is the misty forest and the endless stream of magical beasts that come wandering out from there."

"You know... faerie dust is in prime demand for making s-class narcotics," Mackenzie noted, and Serra snickered in response.

"Are you suggesting that we deploy high-tiers to harvest ingredients for making drugs?" she asked, her tone teasing, and Mackenzie shrugged.

"I'm just saying... our high tiers are a few levels short of where they should be. We could make up that difference with just two days' worth of hunting."

"If Sharada and Alessandria are still trying to locate Penelope by the time we're done with this mission, then we might have the time to do it, too," Kelly noted. "And, we might need those levels if it comes down to a fight against two mega gods, won't we?"

I sighed.

"Did I really come into this game to turn into a glorified drug lord?" I asked, and Kelly poked me.

"Oh, come on. We don't know that the faerie dust is definitely going to be used to make drugs... I mean, they use them to make advanced ability enhancers too," she reasoned, and I nodded as she continued:

"It's a high tier zone that no-one really clears anyway. There's a ton more stuff that we could loot from it with high resale value; and if we can secure a safe route between Karach and Ravenloft, then we'd be doing everyone on the server a major service anyway."

"Fine, fine," I said, waving my hand dismissively, and as Kelly giggled at me, I caught Serra momentarily getting in on the fun, before she caught my gaze on her, and she turned away.

"Well then," she said, letting out a sigh. "Let's see what our ship looks like."

As we made our way through the town, I found myself seriously regretting that I didn't have the time to fully experience everything it had to offer.

The market place alone was a veritable treasure trove, and I felt my inner adventurous spirit longing for the time to really take it all in, instead of beelining straight for the docks.

Kelly, however, caught my longing gazes, and she linked our arms together as we walked.

"Maybe we can take some time off, and check the place out? When we get back from this trip, I mean," she offered, and I smiled.

"Sounds like a deal," I said, and she smiled.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

I jumped, as Serra's voice came quite suddenly, from right behind me.

"What?" I asked, as I spun around to find her glaring at me, her hands on her hips.

"I'm out here trying to make sure neither of you two die, and you just walk around dropping casual death flags like it's nothing?"

I snickered, but Serra hardly seemed amused.

"Look, we've got about an hour before the ship is ready to leave. Go; see the sights. Do... whatever. Just stop making plans for fuck's sake."

For a second, I still thought she was kidding, but she practically pushed us toward the market place, before letting out a long sigh, and heading off to join Mackenzie and the others at the docks.

"She's serious, isn't she?" I asked, unable to hide how shocked I was, and as Kelly chuckled nervously, I suddenly realized she was being weird again.

"Is somebody going to tell me what's going on with you two?" I asked, and she rubbed the back of her head.

"Wrong? It's nothing..." she said, before taking my hand. "Come on, if we don't get a move on, I get the feeling she's gonna come over here and chew us out again."

We took a walk through the stalls, until I came across a little stall which smelled sweetly of perfume.

"Is that lavender?" I asked, as the girl in the stall crushed some purple looking flowers, and she paused, to nod.

She was wearing loose fitting, cotton pants that were a bright pink, and a similarly colored shawl draped over a low-cut crop top that gave off a kind of Arabian vibe.

"If you're here for the massage oils, I won't have another batch prepared until this evening," she said, and I shook my head.

"We're just looking around," I replied.

On her shelf was a small distillation set, and I quickly realized she had all of the ingredients that I'd used to make my special healing ointment.

I decided to purchase them, and the girl studied me curiously.

"Ginseng, Valerian root, and garlic? Do you mind if I ask what you're making?" she asked, and I rubbed my chin gingerly.

"Uh... a sort of healing salve."

"None of those have healing properties," she replied, and I shrugged.

"I'm sorry, that's a bad name for it... I guess it's something more for pain relief... like aches, muscle tension; that sort of thing.

She rubbed her chin, as she thought about it.

"Just those three ingredients? And you make it into a salve, you said?"

I nodded, and Kelly frowned.

"You know, you shouldn't just give out your recipes for free," she whispered, and I chuckled nervously.

"Do you have a sample on you?" the woman asked, and I nodded, retrieving one of my salves from my inventory.

The woman inspected it a bit.

"May I?" she asked, and I nodded, but as she applied a little to her hand, she examined the spot, then frowned. "It feels a little tingly, but I'm not really sure. Is that how you apply it?"

"If he shows you how to use it properly and it works, will you give him a cut of the profits?" Kelly suddenly asked, and the girl turned to study her.

"I guess... but I'm pretty sure that recipe is a dud. None of the ingredients have properties which combine, as far as I know... and making oils and salves is kind of my thing."

"Humor him, then?" Kelly said, and the girl shrugged.

"Fine."

She groaned as she climbed to her feet, stretching a bit as she did, and Kelly studied her.

"Back pain?" she asked, and the girl nodded.

"Dunno who codes things like that into a game, but crouching down over a pot all day has really been doing a number on me recently."

Kelly nudged me, gesturing subtly to the girl, and I sighed.

"Uh, yeah... I guess that kind of thing is mostly what I've been using the salve on anyway," I offered, and the girl studied me.

"You want to put it on my back?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at me questioningly, and I quickly passed the salve to Kelly.

"She can do it, if you'd prefer..." I began, but Kelly quickly raised her hands in surrender.

"Nope. It's his product; wouldn't be the same if I did it, now would it?"

"I guess," the girl said, shooting a glance between me and Kelly, before inviting us into the stall.

We moved to a crowded space at the back of the tent, behind a curtain, and the girl turned around, and gestured for me to proceed.

"You might want to lie down, actually," Kelly said, and I frowned.

Seriously? I thought, but the girl nodded, then complied, and Kelly eagerly moved the girl's shawl out of the way as I dabbed some of the ointment into my hand, and I shot her a curious look as I applied the creamy thing to the bare skin of the woman's back, then began to rub it into the muscles there.

She let out a soft, 'mmh', as I did, and I noted, with interest, that her muscles were rather tight with tension.