The lycanthrope said, “This world tried to dumb down the roles so everyone can easily succeed, eh. What do you do for the world, boys and girls?” As he spoke, a red and white can appeared in his hand and he took a sip.
Their country accent was giving Jennifer a headache. She wished they would go back to being creepy, evil creatures of the night. At least that way, they were easier to understand.
“I’m trying to be a student.” Jennifer searched for something better to say, before remembering something important. “Hey, Soup, can you write me a letter of recommendation so I can get into Bishop’s University?”
A thumbs up appeared as an emoji above Soup Bowl’s head.
“In this world, stereotypical roles are easier to get, keep, and understand,” said the vampire. “We were creepy because that’s the role we have as members of this society whether or not this world is real, a simulation, or unreal. Since we’re dealing with you as equals, we can take our masks off and be more ourselves.” The vampire spoke in a lecturer’s tone.
If he was one of her professors, she would happily attend his class.
“When I received the status effect of vampire, I decided to also play the role of an undead count. The role of a vampire is expected to be dark and creepy. So, that’s how I acted, especially when dealing with adventurers and parallels. It’s a little different with you lot because you’re not emo kids coming around and asking us how to be vampires because vampires are cool.”
“This is a lot of words. So, where are we going, and can we set up a trade deal?’ Sarah asked bluntly.
Jennifer was interested in this societal role play, but she too was interested in completing her current task.
“How would you go about speaking with the dead?” the werewolf asked.
“Go to the land of the dead, talk with some vampires, maybe some werewolves, and - just throwing this out there - learn to speak with the dead by speaking with them?”
The vampire and werewolf looked at each other before looking everywhere but at her.
“You have no idea how to teach or learn speak with dead, do you?” Sarah asked
“And now we are in a carriage, with no idea where we are going,” Jennifer added.
Kevin growled.
“Time to fight,” added Soup Bowl.
“Wait, we have an idea,” the vampire nearly shouted. “We’re going to a mana spring. If there was a way to speak with the dead or your ancestors or whatnot, it would be there. We’re willing to help.” The vampire looked over to his werewolf companion. “Besides, if we fought, you’d be at a severe disadvantage considering we’re both much higher level than you.”
Jennifer put up a hand for the team to wait. Thinking aloud, she asked, “How was I to speak to my ancestors?” She tried to reach something in her mind that was just out of reach.
If ideas were clouds, the sky would have gone from clear to dark thunder clouds blocking the sun so completely it may as well have been night. When lighting crashed, Jennifer had a plan.
“I’m going to need stones, animal skins, water, wood, and fire,” said Jennifer.
The carriage stopped as the bewildered werewolf asked, “Are you telling us what to do?”
Jennifer glared at the werewolf.
Giant intimidation failed. You cannot trigger this ability again for 60 seconds.
Her reply was simple and straightforward. “Yes, please.”
The werewolf and the vampire looked at each other. She could not tell which one of them folded as they shrugged simultaneously. If there was going to be a fight, it was now or never. She liked her odds.
Turning back to the group, the vampire answered first. “Okay.” The carriage started moving again.
“We’ll get there soon. Yeah,” said the werewolf.
“So, how about we start talking about those trade opportunities? What is it the land of the dead needs and wants? I will tell you how we can get those things for you.” There was no question in Sarah’s voice. It was clear the land of the dead was not ready for a sharp saleswoman.
The carriage slowed as it neared their destination. The land of the dead was going to be exporting bone bricks, museum pieces, and travel permits to high class vacationers who wanted a calm, out-of-the-way place to go. In return, the land of the dead was going to be receiving some herbs, non-adventuring guests, a sports complex to house new sports teams, and some other stuff that Jennifer had less than zero interest in.
In truth, Jennifer had stopped listening to their trade negotiations and was thinking about her plan. Her mind was still lit up trying to find the missing pieces for what she wanted to do when the carriage stopped.
She stepped out of the carriage into a densely wooded area with a small lake. The light from the sky was still dimmed, this was clearly still the land of the dead. The trees had no leaves. There were trunks and branches so close together it would be hard to navigate. A stream trickled out of the still water near the group. The pond should have been on dozens of postcards with the pale blue glow coming off the water. In the middle of the pond, sat a small island supporting a single tree with glowing leaves.
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Jennifer explored the area with all of her senses, trying to find a good spot to start. The water called to her, not in song or in movement, but in a way that spoke to her being. Any plan she had was lost as she gazed across the still water.
“What is this place?” asked Sarah, her words soaked in bewilderment.
“Tis a mana spring. At the end, many adventurers come to see it before their end. We see many strange things come and go from here. Those who stay -” the werewolf trailed off. On the grounds there stood no huts, tents, or signs of people staying in the area.
“What should I do?” asked Jennifer.
“That’s up to you. We’ll be back tomorrow,” said the werewolf before turning away. “Kevin, there are some fetch quests you can help us with. The ninja can tag along too.” Without ceremony, the parallels in the group followed the werewolf and vampire back into the black coach.
Jennifer looked over the remaining group at Kevin’s goblin, Sarah, and Woozle.
“Kid, I’m not going to - to be able to follow you into that. I’m too system-em.” The lynx-shark stuttered as he spoke, unable to meet Jennifer’s eyes.
With a nod she said, “Well, that means we have someone to watch our stuff while we swim.” She could have placed the whole group’s items into her inventory, but she did not want her familiar to feel bad about not joining them.
The group prepared for the swim, leaving their gear in neat piles on the shore. Jennifer was the first to enter. When her skin touched the cold liquid, she lost connection to her menus. A shiver went through her body. This came with both a loss of something familiar to her as well as the warmth of wholeness as she entered the deeper water.
The goblin swam next to Jennifer, as she was only halfway submerged. When she looked behind her, Sarah had not yet entered the water. Jennifer waved at her to enter the lake. Sarah backed away from the edge of mana infused water. Thinking back, Jennifer had seen Sarah had enjoyed the hot tub, so her hesitation could not have been a fear of water. Sarah had entered the water willingly. Then it dawned on her why her friend was now scared. “You are going to lose access to the system and the illusion. Stop worrying and come as you are. The water is fine.”
“You knew? Then why are you always mad when people call me a, a -” Sarah was unable to say the word herself.
“You present yourself as a strong woman, so to me that’s what you are.” Jennifer spoke while at the same time focused on treading water. She was expelling more energy then she was expecting staying above the water line.
The goblin made a strange noise and started splashing in the water. The small green one was looking directly at Jennifer making distressing sounds. She did not show any distress from swimming, and was using her hand to point at Sarah. Jennifer smiled at the goblin, and nodded, but after a few heartbeats, the rider stopped splashing. She moved her head back and forth from Jennifer to Sarah several times, shrugged and continued her swim to the island.
Time became meaningless as Jennifer reached the deep water and swam. Her body became heavy, then light, followed by heavy again. She heard sounds of the running water and her fellows breathing and splashing, but no sound of birds or beasts. The lack of other noises resonated in a way that created an atmosphere of silence dialed up to eleven.
As she swam, Jennifer looked down but was unable to see far due to the glow. A shadow or a dark spot that moved under the group as they swam to the island. The goblin was the first to set foot on the shore, turning to sit while the others made their way.
Jennifer was next. She wiggled her toes as blades of grass played beneath her feet. She let the glowing moisture fall from her form. As the droplets fell to the grass, the plants instantly grew at least a fingernail length tall.
Sarah moved slowly, dog-paddling from shore to shore, always keeping her head above the water. Of course, she kept the sunglasses on. When she reached the shore, she shook the water off, sending out a fine spray that watered the sprouting grass.
As if by some unspoken agreement, the group faced the other side of the lake and remained silent. Sarah was the first to look away, but Jennifer was not yet ready for the next step of this journey. The shadow that had followed the group from under the water grew darker as it broke the top of the calm pool. The head was not unlike a barracuda attached to a long, slimy neck with dark outlines of scales. In spite of creating a great shadow beneath the waves, the creature was translucent, casting the same blue light as the water it came from. Its eyes were large and spoke of an ancientness that Jennifer could not describe. A light chattering noise came from the creature’s mouth.
When the creature dove back into the depths, Jennifer turned towards the tree. The bark on the tree was such a deep color of brown that she thought it was black from the shoreline. As she got closer, she could see not only the true color, but the deep and jagged lines of the bark. When she touched the bark with her hand, the spot melted revealing hollow innards. The bark continued to dissolve away, creating a portal large enough for Jennifer to step through. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and stepped into the unknown.
The grass was green, the birds sang, and a tan colored deer looked up from chewing on some grass. She knew without looking that a large house sat behind her, but there was no entrance, exit, path, or road that broke the treeline near the house. A large bear came up and sat next to her.
At this point, the strangeness of sitting there felt normal. The deer was just a deer, the grass was green, and the sun was real. The bear handed Jennifer a cigarette which was a completely normal thing for a bear to do. She was not a smoker, so she gently pushed the cigarette away but smiled at the bear’s thoughtfulness.
She took a deep breath. The place smelled like home. When the bear got up, so did she. After waving goodbye to the house, she followed the bear into the woods.
No words were spoken between them when they reached the river. The bear simply stared into the water for a long time. With a quick swipe of its claws, the bear pulled a fish from the water. The bear motioned Jennifer over to the fishing spot. She dutifully took the spot and looked into the water.
Her arm moved on reflex, and before she knew it, a fish appeared in her hands. She was not hungry and had no use for the fish. Eyeing the bear, she knew it was not hungry either. She put the fish back in the water.
The water was clear, the sun was high, and Jennifer saw her reflection. She did not recognize the reflection at first. She could not remember ever seeing her reflection. There was just a sense of how she looked on the back of the turtle. This was the first time she had seen herself. Her small eyes, dark skin, and long black hair were in the reflection. Small marks were there as well. One scar just under her left eye, less than the width of her Pinky finger nail, the other under the lip around the same size. This was the face she had seen before on the back of the turtle.
She nodded and went back to sit by the bear. She felt the bear looking at her and frowned as she watched him light a cigarette. The bear gave a questioning look but took a puff before putting out the smoke.
She could feel that the bear was wondering why she was there. Without words, she conveyed her story to the bear. The bear nodded and, with one paw, hit the ground.
A small cardinal flew on red wings to land on Jennifer’s outreached finger and looked into her eyes. The bird tried to teach Jennifer something, before flying off scared by a large blue jay.
There was no malice in the blue jay and it just wanted to know what was happening. The bird gave Jennifer a seed before it too flew off.
The sun lowered in the sky, and it grew dark. The moon rose to take its place. Jennifer had learned something. The bear, in the meantime, headed back to the cabin. When Jennifer tried to follow, the bear turned, picked her up, and carried her into the river.
“No need to rush, stubborn bear. So much to do.”