I woke up seemingly where I’d gone to sleep, except there was no one around anymore. I started wondering where Val was when-
“You have 1 unread message from Valkyrie ‘Val’. This notification was delayed due to: Heavy Slumber. To receive notifications while asleep, please change the setting under the ‘Chat Settings’ Subsection.”
Huh. I never slept in the game before so that’s new. Wonder what gives. Either way, reading Val’s message, it seems the people we saved were named Emmy and Trunor and that they were very grateful. Meanwhile, Val’s taking the soldiers to Fellpoint in order to have them tried for the crime of banditry and that’s why they couldn’t wait for me. Damnit Val, leaving me alone. Whelp, guess I’ll have to go to Fellpoint to meet back up with them.
But before I do that, let me FREAK THE FUCK OUT! WHAT? HOW! ANOTHER DEITY?! Why are they fucking all coming out of the woodwork to talk to me? Like, holy fuck, I am just some girl’s ghost, like, chill folks. Like, it’s not like I didn’t enjoy looking at, ahem, I mean talking to Madynox, just, why me? They said I just kinda, ended up there when I passed out but if that’s so then what the fuck is up with my dreams?! I swear this game is getting wilder and wilder by the hour. Like, c’mon, 3 supreme powers rolling dice over the fate of the world or some shit? Fuck me that’s a bad sign. I don’t want to be a chosen one or some shit, and unfortunately, the scariest motherfucker I’ve ever spoken to seems to think that Val is one. And that they’re part divine? Or something???
Okay! Enough stressing myself out! Time to go meet up with Val. Looking down at myself I see that the rents leaking mana are still there, which sucks, but checking my status my mana seems to be full again, and while still fluctuating a bit at the end, it seems to fill a bit faster than it used to. Or maybe it’s diminishing slower? Something like that. It’s not much, but in the long run it’ll make a big difference. Also, the dull ache seems to have gone away, wait, nope, still there just diminished. I hope I can forget about it again, the fucking rents hurt enough on their own without constant death pain on top of it.
I start to float, well, fly, as fast as possible following the road. Val, here I come!
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Entering the settlement of Fellpoint, the air was tense. Word of the attack and the incoming prisoners had spread fast. The theory was further proved by a group of armed men and women who met me at the gate. Among them was a young felinid woman who carried herself with an air of command. After looking for rank insignias and finding none, I approached her.
“Ma’am, are you the commander of these forces?”
“Interesting. Yes, I am. I take it you are Valkyrie?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Alright. Now then, you want me to take in a bunch of prisoners and force me and my peers to oversee their trial in place of the Duke?”
“I. Yes, that is what I desire.”
“If it was up to me, I’d tell you to turn around and go suck eggs.” She let out an exasperated sigh, “But it’s not just up to me. We work on a vote system for major decisions. And executing the Duke’s men, supposed deserters or not, is a major decision. For now, bring them inside, we’ll take them to the holding cells. Why are they riding a log?”
“Um, I cut their heel’s edge during the battle to keep them from further harming Mr. Trunor and his daughter.”
“I- I see. Very well, Worther, Miles, drag them inside. Quill, Xent, guide the others. Don’t let them run amok.”
The guards saluted and guided or dragged the men inside. Meanwhile, the commander turned to me.
“I know your name so it’s right that I give you mine, Chieftess Natasha of the Felinid Tribe.”
“An honor, Chieftess.”
“So tell me, how did one as young as you learn to fight well enough to incapacitate a squadron of Ducal soldiers?”
“I have been trained in the sword from a young age and am blessed with talent beyond my years.”
“Is that right? Well alright then. Valkyrie, you have been invited to stay with Trunor’s family for the evening due to your brave act. I will warn you however, the age of heroes is over: don’t get in over your head kid. I’m sure you have someone waiting for you, don’t keep them waiting for a corpse.”
With that she clapped me on the shoulder, closed the gate, and sat down, presumably waiting for the next group of guards to take her place guarding the gate. She didn’t tell me where Mr. Trunor’s house was, so I suppose I have to ask around. Unfortunately, my goal of arriving at dusk was off the mark by about 4 hours. By my reckoning, it was quite a bit after midnight on this summer night and I was exhausted. I went to the first home’s door that I could find and knocked. There came a muffled curse, as though someone was rudely woken up at an ungodly hour and wanted to bemoan that fact but didn’t want to wake the other people asleep in the house.
After about 5 minutes, the door swung open and a draconid man in night clothes glared down at me and growled at me in a resonant voice.
“What do you want in the middle of the gods-be-damned night kid? People have work to do in the morning!”
“I’m very sorry to disturb your rest sir, but I just arrived and wanted to know where Mr. Trunor lives? I’ve had a long trip and just want to rest my head.”
The man let out a deep, resigned sigh and pointed down a wide avenue.
“Go that way, his is the large home with a yellow door with pink flowers painted near the bottom. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you very much sir, I’ll repay you for the trouble at some point in the near future.”
“Yeah yeah, whatever kid. If you don’t need nothing else, I’m going back to sleep.”
With that he closed the door as quietly as possible and I assume did as he told me he would. I wandered down what a sign told me was “Starlight Avenue” which I think is a pretty name. The houses here are also very pretty and eventually I reached a house matching the man’s description. The flowers on the door are all at the height that a very young child can reach so I imagine that Emmy helped paint them. I knocked on the door and immediately heard a loud snort and the sound of someone falling out of a chair. The door swung open to reveal a devilkin woman’s face.
“You’re here! Finally! We expected you hours ago, Valkyrie! I sent Trunor to rest so he can run the shop tomorrow. Oh, do come in, come in!”
The woman, presumably Trunor’s wife, practically dragged me inside. The fireplace was burning low and near a plush rocking chair a mess of knitting had been dropped carelessly, almost as though someone fell asleep while knitting and then fell out of the chair. Whoops. Near the hearth was a bundle of blankets made up into a bed with a few pillows.
“Sorry that we don’t have an extra bed. Trunor wanted to give up his side of ours but I made sure he kept it due to his back. He’d have such a hard time of it if he slept on the floor that just getting up again would cause no end of grief! We really do appreciate what you’ve done, ya see, but you’re still young and fit so I told him ‘That Valkyrie can sleep on the floor and bounce up in the morning fresher than spring water while you’d lie there fresh as week old fish!’ Oh! But the bed’s made up from some of the best blankets from the shop and the pillows are brand new! Pegasus down! Softest out there! Oh listen to me blabber, I need to get to rest soon. But do you need a cup of water dearie? Maybe a spot of supper? I kept a plate in the oven to keep warm but, well, it would’ve been warm a few hours ago but it’ll taste fine cold or we could heat it up in a jiff at the hearth.”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
As I was recovering from the wall of words that just hit me and trying to parse them, I ended up asking for a cup of water and telling her I’d just eat the plate for breakfast if that was fine with her. It apparently isn’t, as “no child in her house would eat a day old plate of potatoes for breakfast, it simply wouldn’t do.” I received the water and did my best to usher her to bed and then collapsed in the nest of blankets and fell asleep immediately.
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It was already dusk when I woke up, and I was supposedly a few hours away from Fellpoint. Now, I once read something about altitude and its relation to flight distance. Essentially, the higher up you are, the more distance you cover in the same amount of time. Something commercial planes make use of. So I figured, to make my trip faster, I’d fly up into the sky for a while and then go towards Fellpoint. As I go a bit higher, I can see a few lights in the far distance which I assume are Fellpoint, so I start my trajectory over that way. Flying is honestly kinda boring when you can’t feel the exhilaration of the wind moving past. However, the night sky in this world is always breathtaking compared to the real world. No light pollution to speak of, no smog, nothing but the black abyss, a hundred billion stars, and the moon.
In other words, the flight is boring but has a great view. So great a view, in fact, that I’m flying looking up at the stars. Man this is amazing, actually. Wait, how far have I gone? Fellpoint wasn’t that far away. Turning back over I see the fire lights of the settlement…a few miles back the way I came. Whoops. Well, guess I’m flying some more, but not looking up this time.
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I woke up to a monotone, affectless voice.
“You have 1 new message from Rose Brubaker.”
Chat with Rose:
Rose: Hey Val! Guess who’s in town? Assuming you made it to Fellpoint already that is! I’ll be waiting near what I assume to be the town hall given its size and location. Hope to see you soon!
I nodded in relief that Rose was awake and seemingly alright, then rolled back over and went back to sleep.
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This time, I wake up to the smell of something delectable. I rise from the nest and look outside the window to see an amazing sunrise, reds and oranges and pinks lighting the clouds gold from below. I could watch that all day but my stomach’s making some distressing noises so I leave the window and head over to the source of the scent, which I find to be the kitchen. There, Emmy and Emmy in 8 years are moving around the kitchen making breakfast. I assume the older girl is Lexy. I must have made some kind of noise, as they both stopped mid action and looked at me. Emmy beamed at me and put down the eggs she was about to crack and hurried over to stand in front of me, looking expectant for something.
“Hi Valkyrie!”
“Hi Emmy, how are you this morning?”
“Helping! I’m making breakfast with Lexy cause Mommy’s tired.”
“Yeah, she was waiting up for me and I got in late. I apologize for the trouble I put you all through.”
“I don’t mind! Though Lexy was saying that ‘that vagabond better be grateful.’”
“Shu-shu-shush Emmy! Hahah, I uh, don’t know where she got that from. I am thankful that you saved my family. We’re making an extra serving for you.”
The elder seemed desperate to cover up Emmy’s mouth but couldn’t leave the pan on the stove unattended. Instead, she’s glaring at her sister who is entirely oblivious. Emmy, meanwhile, seems to have recovered quite a bit from her ordeal and takes after her mother.
“-so then I saw a blue bird flying in front of the wagon for a while and that was really pretty and Daddy said that they meant that someone was thinking of you which I said must be Mommy and Lexy and Daddy agreed and said that maybe even Daisy was thinking about me and that made me happy too and later on Grump and Trump needed to get fed so Daddy let me put the feed bags on and they looked so happy with their food and I was happy and Daddy seemed happy and it was a good trip over all if you don’t count the bad thing but that was scary and I didn’t like it but you came and saved us so I’m glad I got to meet you Valkyrie and-”
I figure that she has to breathe eventually and that that might be the end of it, not that I don’t want to hear about her adventure, just that it’s impossible to have a conversation when she talks so fast. Instead I nod politely and make little noises of affirmation towards Emmy to show her that I’m paying attention but I think she’d keep talking even if I didn’t. Glancing over at Lexy who’s splitting her attention between the food in the pan and Emmy and I, she seems to be holding in a laugh. After a while, the breath I’ve been waiting for comes and Emmy seems to have run out of steam, looking content in having said her piece.
“Man, that sounds like a much more exciting trip than mine was!”
“I bet it was too! No way anybody has ever had a funner trip than me and Daddy did!”
“I’m sure you’re right there. Lexy, can I ask what it is you’re cooking?”
“Oh! Well, I have some bacon here in the pan and we were going to have some eggs and pancakes to go along but my helper seems to have gotten distracted, so it might be a bit longer. Which might not be the worst as Mom and Dad are still sleeping. Now then, Emmy, you’ve spoken to your friend and they’re hungry so do you want to help me feed them or just keep talking?”
“I’m helping!”
“Oh really? Well then, that’s fine. Again, I need you to crack and whisk the eggs in that bowl.”
“I know Lexy, you already told me!”
“I’m just making sure. Now, get cracking!”
“Kaaaaayyy!”
“I would offer my assistance but I’ve only recently started learning how to cook and fear I would ruin it.”
“Thank you for the offer, but don’t worry, we’ve got it covered. You can take a seat at the table while you wait.”
“Thank you very much. May I ask your full name? I would feel a bit awkward calling you by a nickname this early into our acquaintance.”
“First off, my name’s Lexandra, secondly, thank you for asking, thirdly, can I ask why you speak so formally? You sound like some noble or something.”
Oh shit. I gave myself away so easily? Damnit! Oh god what if she connects me to the Duke?!
“I see that that might be a touchy subject. I won’t pry, but you might want to change how you speak if you want to keep it hidden.”
“Um. Thank you for your advice, I’ll try to take it under advisement.”
“You do that. Also, another personal question, are you a boy or a girl? I can’t really tell.”
“I, um, I. I’m not a boy. I’m not sure beyond that.”
“What do you mean you’re not sure? Either you’re a boy or you’re a girl, no getting around that.”
“I… suppose you’re right, Lexandra.”
“Hmm. I’m not a fan of my full name being said with that posh accent. So, Lexy is what you’ll call me, got it?”
“Yes, Lexy, understood.”
“Great!”
She beamed a wide, bright smile at me and the morning light gilded her blonde hair, her amethyst eyes glittering with flecks of gold. My heart jumped into my throat there for a second and I could only nod in response. What just happened to me? I’ve only ever felt that when Rose smiles at me, what gives?
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Just as breakfast finishes cooking, bacon cooked so that it was still slightly chewy, pancakes fluffy and covered in syrup, and eggs well scrambled, Emmy runs off up the stairs, shouting for her parents. Lexy looks embarrassed and calls after her “Emmy! Let them rest!” but that seems to be an admonishment that came too late. Emmy soon enough comes flying down the stairs, followed by the much more sedate treads of her parents as they enter the kitchen.
Trunor looks terrible, I suppose he’s not a morning person.
“Oh don’t give him such a look as that dearie! My dear Trunor might look like spoilt milk but it’s just his disposition come the morn, soon enough he’ll be right as rain and raring to go! My, but thank you dears for cooking breakfast for us! Such a delight to have you two around to help out as always! Oh! Valkyrie, I never did ask, and I feel a bit ashamed for not being able to tell, but you’re young and pretty so it’s hard to pin it down. Are you a boy or a girl?”
“She’s a girl Mom, gosh. Like, how can you not tell?” Lexy says, giving me a wink across the table.
It’s…weird. It’s not uncomfortable to be called a girl, and a weird feeling is welling up, like when Lexy smiled at me earlier. Was it the wink? I guess that must be it.
“Oh I’m so sorry! You must feel terrible! I’ll tell you, I wasn’t tryin’ to say that you looked like a boy! No, on the contrary, it’s simply your proportions! A girl your age is normally a little rounder.”
“MOM! What do you think you’re saying to the girl that saved Em and Dad?!”
“I wasn’t tryin’ to say nothing! Just that a few good meals that’ll stick to her ribs’d do her good is all! She’ll not grow up healthy if she just stays all sticks!”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine Mom! Besides, she’s probably stronger than all of us! The way Em told it, she took on the entire army by herself! So I’m taking that to mean that there were at least 3 soldiers. None of us are strong enough to take down 3 armed men by ourselves! It’s got to be all muscle! Right, Valkyrie?”
“Um, you can just call me Val, Lexy. And while I am somewhat strong, I wouldn’t call it abnormal.”
“Nonono!” Lexy says, shaking her hands in front of her. “Not abnormal, just that it’s not like you’ve never had a warm meal before!”
“This might be the best meal I’ve ever had, so maybe your mother isn’t entirely wrong.”
“See Lexy! You should trust a mother’s intuition in these things! Don’t worry dear, eat as much as you like!” Lexy’s mother said as she piled my plate higher and higher. Well, I am hungry.