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After:Life A slice of life Lit RPG adventure
Chapter 59: So close but so far

Chapter 59: So close but so far

Hugh had been right, as they were pulling out of town the congestion started to build, many of the wagons that were setting out towards the dungeons nearby caused enough traffic to send a cold shiver of memory down Davin's spine… Not missing his daily commute to work or any time that they tried to travel on the holidays. One thing that he was mildly grateful for in this new life was, that he didn’t seem to get motion sick anymore, that was a problem that plagued him almost his whole life when he was younger he would just sleep them off, but as a married adult, he needed to either be the driver, or the co-pilot, feeding his wife snacks as they talked about the mundane things that they loved in their life, listening to a book or podcast. That was something that he was starting to miss in his time here in the afterlife, music, and other pieces of entertainment that were literally at his fingertips.

"Hey, Cadence!" Davin called to their Orator of Faith. "I know that singing isn't your thing, but do you know of anything that would let us carry around recorded music? So that we could play it whenever we wanted?"

Cadence held a look of confusion on their face for a moment as they were thinking. "Not directly, that I am aware of, but there is no way to know if anyone has made such an item. Why?"

"Just kind of wish we had some road music, something to break up the long stretches of silence, you know?" Davin sighed, feeling like he was out of place.

"THAT IS BRILLIANT!" Hugh yelled as he pulled out Leaf to jot down another one of the random things that Davin had said. "Were these devices common?"

Hugh started to fire a rapid stream of questions as Davin did his best to answer them over the next few hours. Davin wasn't the most knowledgeable when it came to the creation of recorders and players, but with having a rough idea of what they could do, Hugh was fascinated all the same.

"I am sure that the Scribes would love to start experimenting with these ideas, I don’t doubt that someone out there has some idea of what we could use." Hugh was smiling like a madman by the time he was done bombarding Davin with questions.

"I don't know what you've got in mind, but I have to say I'm excited by the prospect." Davin felt himself smile.

When they took their break around the middle of the day, they had specifically made sure that they went off the road, making their way towards their dungeon so that they could show Cadence. When they had approached, the glow that was once a rip in the air had calmed down, and the doors that had erected themselves after they had finished it were now surrounded by walls, making the dungeon entrance seems as though it was an elevator that was sticking out of the ground, waiting to take its victims down into the depths.

"That’s not ominous at all…" The sarcastic tone that dripped from Davin's words were almost visible.

"It is a little… foreboding," Cadence said as they looked over the small building that sat on the surface.

"And it's not fully stable yet either, I think we have another week till it's runnable. This also will set its seasonal reset for when it opens too, so that’s good to know, I think that we could come back next week and see about a fresh run if you want?" Hugh said as he made notes with his equipment out, jotting down measurements.

"I think that could be fun, I would love to see if we could get a second cup, but I think popcorn would be a fantastic money maker for us in the long run." Davin rocked his head from side to side.

"I would like to see how I do against this 'troll' that you had said that you faced," Cadence stated as they puffed out their chest in a challenge.

"Sounds good to me, the candy that we got from there was very lucrative." Hugh smiled widely his eyes seeming to glow the color of an onyx token as he did.

"Okay, let's hit the road, we should hit Edges Rest by nightfall if we push it some," Davin said cheerfully after plucking a few of the film leaves that surrounded the doorway.

"On it!" Hugh said as he closed Leaf with a flourish, as he started to pick up and stash his equipment.

Cadence helped Hugh and Davin load all of the odds and ends that Hugh had pulled out, getting back on the road in a matter of minutes. The last few hours of travel went quickly, up until the final approach to Edges Rest, carts were lined up for what had to be miles. Davin wondered how they got out as cleanly as they did the last time, and then he remembered the wedding, that event must have shut down everything. With how late in the day as it was Davin was surprised, but it made a sick sense that rush hour wasn't exclusive to his world, the line up of carts of goods and adventurers returning to The Bastion. Accepting that this was how their day was going to end, they rode along the slow-moving traffic, making small talk with some of the others that they were grouped near.

"Is it always this bad?" Davin asked the very large gray-skinned man that he rode next to.

"This? Eh, this isn't that bad, it's far worse in winter here, since this area has some of the best drops for meat that aren't a dungeon." The large man said as he looked down the line of carts. "We should be in before sunset, but if you are trying to get into The Bastion, you're likely waiting for morning."

Davin felt a little disheartened by that. "Damn, was hoping to sleep in my own bed tonight."

"In The Bastion? I feel you mate, but with that big guy there, you'll likely have to wait till after the supply ruins are finished, and most of those happen at night." A deep shrug rolled over their shoulders.

"Ah, good to know, so does most of the shipping happen at night?" Davin felt that the question was too obvious and he was asking something stupid.

"Only into The Bastion, once the sunsets, its freight only going in." A sad look on his face as he looked over Davin.

"So we can't go in till morning? Davin asked for clarification.

"Not unless you can fly…" The grey-skinned man said a sarcastic smile spreading over his face.

"No, that we cannot," Davin said with a smile.

Hugh let out a sigh. "Drinks? I'm pretty sure Ezeirk will have something new to try…." Shrugging while he looked at Davin and Cadence.

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"I think they owe us a round anyway, so I'm in," Davin said with a smile.

"Ezeirk?" Cadence asked.

"A lizardkin brewer that lives in town, they got us absolutely trashed before we set out," Davin said with a tone of anger in his voice.

"Hey, they were only working the venue, it's not their fault that I'm easily taken advantage of while I'm drinking," Hugh said with a huff.

"And why do you wish to return to them?" Cadence sounded more confused by the moment.

"The beer." Davin and Hugh said together.

Cadence felt that there needed to be more of an explanation of that, but opted to shrug and handed Hugh the reins of Nibbles. "Then you are driving…"

"Fair enough! Their tap room should be opening soon, Davin, go get us some snacks, I don’t want to just eat nuts and berries all night." Hugh called out as he began to steer the cart away from the line that seemed as though it was mostly freight.

"I'm going to take Truck out to the Ranger enclave, I think they'd get a kick out of him. And I figured I'd grab some of the smoked meat that they have there and maybe some baked potatoes." Davin said as he turned in the other direction.

"Perfect! So about an hour?" Hugh asked excitedly.

"Sounds good to me. Should we see about a place to stay?" Davin asked.

"Eh, Ez has couches in her backroom that I know we can use," Hugh stated with mild apprehension.

Davin weaved through town, trying to steer clear of the crowns that were starting to wander, the nightlife of Edges Rest starting to wake up. Making his way to the edge of the town proper before the small green belt that separated Edges Rest from the Ranger enclave, the sweet smells of herbs hitting his nose, knowing that it was the drying herbs that hung on racks that were aimed away from the river. He didn’t make it very far in before he saw someone that he knew.

"Well I'll be damned, look at that beautiful beasty." The gruff voice of Mayberry pulled Davin from his musings.

Davin swiveled his head, looking for the voice of the dwarf. "Found him on the road, He seems to like me."

"With his own saddle and everything, you'd think you'd been gone for ages or something, and you got your ranger class! Congrats." The dwarf walked up from Davin's blind spot, running his hand up the side of Truck. "What's his name?"

"Yup got my class, and this beautiful boy is Truck. Speaking of Truck, can I stable him out here tonight? I think he's a little too big with how crowded town is right now." Davin asked, feeling a little ashamed to be asking.

"Oh yeah you can, we can put him with my boar, I'm sure that they'll get along," Mayberry said with a shrug.

"Boar?" Davin asked quizzically.

"Oh yeah, normally I hunt with a falcon, but recently there have been some annoying critters moving in on the north edge, so I traded up for something a little more robust."

"Ah, fair enough, hey, any chance you want to join us at Ezeirk's? Was also curious if there was anything that I could buy from the smokehouse." Davin asked the cheerful dwarf.

"Yeah! Count me in, and we can absolutely grab something, I have a fantastic recipe that I want you to try, and I want your honest opinions on it, I have been experimenting with some new flavors." The excitement rose in his voice as he talked.

Mayberry led Davin to the Enclave's stables, the collected menagerie of animals threw Davin for a loop, seeing critters that he could only imagine in his previous life. Giant birds with glowing feathers, brightly colored lizards that were chirping at one another, and something that very much looked like a wyvern that slept in the corner. The boar that Mayberry had been speaking of seemed as though it was made of pure magic, the glow that seemed to make up its skin shimmered as it rutted around the stall that it was in.

"Is it a ghost?" Davin asked with a touch of incredulity in his voice.

"Ghost? Hmm?" He looked at his boar. "Haha." He laughed loudly, causing some of the animals to stir. "No, he's a summons, he's made of my magic." A wide grin spread over his face.

"Made of magic?" Davin's voice cracked and he coughed.

"Yes…" The dwarf said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Rangers get magic." He crossed his arms in a huff.

A wide smile spread over Davin's lips. "That’s awesome! I didn't know we got magic." Davin said excitedly.

"Wait, you didn't?" The anger that had been in the dwarf's voice fell. "Then you're in for a treat!" Excitement climbed in his voice.

Truck quickly settled in, finding a pile of hay that he dropped onto with a thud, the large beast letting out a sigh.

"I know buddy, it's been a long road, but you get a few days of rest before we head out again. Just make sure you remember to eat before you fall asleep." Davin chuckled as he waved goodbye to Truck as the two made their way to the smokehouses.

"A few days? Going to head out so soon?" The dwarf asked.

"Yeah, I think so, there is far too much to see to spend too much time idle." Davin shrugged, opting to not mention his real reason for wanting to get back out there.

"Just means we got to enjoy it while we can!" Mayberry led the way, and the eventual flooding of sweet smoky aroma filled Davin's nose.

Drool filled Davin's mouth, and a grumble rolled from his stomach, not realizing that he had gotten as hungry as he did. "Why the hell does that smell so good?" Davin asked as he wiped a small amount of drool from his chin.

"Applewood." The dwarf responded confidently. "I knew that there had to be something different about the smokes. So I hunted down a few different trees and kept all the wood separate. And this one has been one of my favorites so far."

"That is one of my favorite smokes for bacon," Davin said as another bead of drool escaped his mouth.

"For bacon you say?" The dwarf asked, his eyes filled with inspiration.

"You'll want to get some sugar or some kind of syrup for it, but yeah, it's amazing."

"Something sweet?" Mayberry asked in confusion.

"Yeah, Do you have molasses?" Davin asked.

"Molasses? Can't say that I've heard of the stuff…" The concern was thick in his voice.

"You can always use honey or maple syrup," Davin said as he went into the finer details that he could remember about the curing of bacon.

They continued to talk as they walked, Mayberry carrying a basket that he held tightly, while Davin found the baked potatoes and had armfuls of them pressed to his chest as they made it to the brewery. They quickly found Hugh and Cadence, as Hugh had called out to them, the two having already been into their cups by the time Davin and Mayberry arrived.

Mayberry set the basket on the table, the group all groaned in unison as the basket was opened, the savory smells filling the room.

"Davin! You glorious bastard!" Hugh cheered as he raised his cup.

"What about me?" Mayberry questioned in mock annoyance.

"You sir, are a champion of men," Hugh said with a slight slur.

"I agree," Cadence said, breathing deeply of the basket.

"So it's unanimous," Davin said with a smile.

The dwarf blushed as he began to pull out plates and tear off hunks of meat and Davin added a potato to each, pulling out a paper-wrapped package and setting it on the table. Cutting each of the potatoes, he opened the paper, and the golden butter was cut and dropped onto the still-steaming potatoes.

"This is a perfect end to this adventure," Davin said as he sat down, taking a deep swig from the beer that Hugh had ordered for him.

"This isn't the end my friend, this is just the beginning," Hugh said with a lopsided smile.