SAVE POINT 81

Loading Dragon's Sea Town Level...100%

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Dormouse

Okay, so, if flying Jagwindo was like flying Southwest or United Airlines, I'd rate it 5/5 stars. Save the lack of peanuts or Pepsi served halfway through flight pattern and my lack of ability to determine if there typically would be any air turbulence at this altitude, it's a very smooth ride. The creature might be awkward, stunted and over-eager on land and in temperament, but, in the air? He's a god.

I'm freaking impressed anyway. I know—not much coming from the nerd kid but two cents is two cents.

A warm breeze ruffles my hair, and I find myself smiling. Smiling?! The guy who just got almost dumped by the girl he likes? ...Well, 'almost' is the clarifier here because you can't be actually dumped if you didn't have a girlfriend to begin with...

I know.

Yep, that's me, smiling. And I must be some kind of fool because I'm, also, the same guy out here on the hopeless mission of finding EmeraldCity_88 and convincing a clearly-out-of-her-mind and out-of-control girl that I'm not completely out-of-my-element in attempting to force her to stop wrecking havoc and come back to the nerd crowd.

Yep. Like I said. Foolish.

Except the feathery, gray clouds around me part like fingers in front of the black leopard's ears. And, through their wispy bits, I see something that makes my grin stay.

A green body of land, outlined with sandy shores—so different than the navy waves I've been watching under me.

And peaked, thatched roofs.

The Sea Dragon's Town. I've found it!

It's crazy how, in the span of a few minutes, your luck can change—swivel.

And propel you in another direction.

I've got the entire situation—my return to camp and the others—already mapped out in my mind a little...err, a lot, if I'm being honest. I can see me there, gliding back down to the nerd crowd with a frowning, but behaved, EmeraldCity in tow. All my friends would cheer—clap me on the back and tell me 'I did it', 'I saved the day', 'I'm a hero'... My face and chest light with warmth at the thought. And Mimi...oh, Mimi. She'll come running to me, nearly bowling me over, and I'll catch her. And she'd apologize and rush to kiss me or... Or like she'll be a little shy about it and tell me she doesn't deserve to be with me since she'd judged me and the whole time I'd been telling the truth and saving the world...

Yeah.

Something like that.

"Down!" I tell Fiasco, the Jagwindo—I think he said that was his name. I feel like a king saying the command, finally commanding something—like a general with the wind rippling through my hair and anticipation gathering in my fingertips—

> I am not a dog.

The beast corrects swiftly in my mind.

> But I can follow the command 'down'. Are we going fishing?

Fishing?

I'll admit it, that trips me up and stops my power trip immediately. What—?!

And I realize with shuttering defeat and flurrying panic that all this ocean wind rushing past my ears is because we're diving.

Straight and literally.

'Down'.

Damnit, maybe the fucking creature's name is correct—

"No, no fishing!" I scream, horror and air flapping my cheeks against my teeth as my heart keeps into my throat with the angle of the decent. My boots scrabble against the animal's sleek sides. The dark waves of the ocean are coming up too fast—

"LAND!" I screech, "They call it 'landing' for a reason find some land—"

Holy fuck we're going to crash. We're going to crash into the waves—sopping, head to toe. I see the water coming up too fast. I slam my eyes closed, preparing for impact—

But...

But it doesn't come.

The breeze lessens.

The Jagwindo's back straightens.

> No fishing.

Fiasco states in my mind. I crack a timid eye open, trying to dare my lungs to breathe again. And there's water rushing by but—

Underneath us and the beast's dangling paws.

Not at our faces anymore. I take a huge breath, both to calm my heart and in excited anticipation because I see it. We're coming up on it. The docks of the port city.

> Did I do good?!

The Jagwindo wants to know, his self-satisfied tail thumping against the wood dock after he places us there.

> I think I did good. Do they have treats in this town? I'm hungry.

He shakes himself, his neck reaching to peer into the dirty window of the nearest hut as he places his huge pays up on the clay windowsill. At the mention, my stomach hits a thunderous note. I hadn't really been thinking about food when I'd left the nerd camp...

"Me too, bud," I admit, rubbing at my middle. "Let's see if anyone's home."

I wander down what looks like a deserted street. The place is littered with debris like one too many storms ravaged this place, and the people got sick of cleaning up. I pick my boots over splintered timbers, having to hop to clear a wall of them. Fiasco barely looks at it, easily clearing the wreckage with a leap.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The path opens, creating what looks like a little village center with canopies over wood doors and thatch dwellings. I'm about to duck into a doorway when I hear jumbled, muttering voices.

"The Code needs repair; the main frame appears to be fried. But Henrose is infected. I won't chance it—"

An elderly man's raspy voice. I take a few, timid steps, craning around the corner to see...

It's two robed men, conversing heatedly. The hooded one is smaller and younger than the gray-bearded man in the royal purple robe.

"Well, we can't very well see who's afflicted without the code patched up," the younger man insists, "It requires a Level 10, and you know he's the only one—"

That's when they see me. Standing there, staring like a deer in headlights. I try an awkward wave which is probably a giant mistake because the young man draws a pipe from his belt, putting it to his lips—

Zing!

Zing!

Damn it! Leader darts! The needle of one thuds into my neck. I hear the second hit Fiasco. The beast moans. I'm more than slightly jealous of the robed man's aim.

The world swims, the men's silhouettes waver, wobbling and darkening as they come closer, peering at me. I see the Jagwindo next to me stumble, then, fall to the ground—his mouth lolling open in sleep.

But it's just the two of us—the only hope against EmeraldCity—

"Hey uh," I try weakly, stumbling to the side, "you guys need a Level 10? That's me—I'm—I fix code....I—"

Apparently, I'm a lightweight after all. I tumble to the ground in a dead-fall. But I hear boots crunch in the dirt next to my head.

And pain stabs my chest.

My heart pounds.

Ignites.

I gasp, coming to life again.

The younger robed man stands over me with a dart clutched in his fist. A giant needle protrudes from the end.

What the bloody—?!

I scrabble backwards, the sandy dirt scraping at my arms and elbows, "Enough with the stabbing thing already!" My words feel thick and difficult.

"You're a Level 10?" The man wants to know, leaning into my face.

I—? Level 10? My brain feels jumbled and disorganized as I struggle to answer him.

"Yes," I pant, propping myself up to rub the whole of my palm over my sweating face, "I can code. I'm a Game Warden."

The older one narrows his eyes like he might see right into my soul if he tries, "We don't know if he's infected—"

"Well, we can't know until the code is running again," protests the younger one, "We know Henrose has the darkness in him. At least, with this kid, it's a fifty-fifty chance."

I don't like how he says 'kid'—I'm a full-grown man thank you very much, ask Mimi.

"I'm not turning zombie if that's what you mean," I argue, before my mind starts spiraling down a tech thought spiral, "And if The Game code is really fried, you'll need to start by entering the emergency restart response, hacking into one of the side frames and siphoning the energy off—"

But I stop.

Because, by the vacant, glassy stares, it's too easy to tell these guys have never been around a motherboard before.

Why do I always feel like this whenever I talk? Like people look at me like an alien; it can't be normal.

"He speaks nerd. I, for one, believe him," the younger one raises a convinced eyebrow, sending a short nod at the elder who folds his hands under his cloak as though to busy himself.

"Listen," I tell them, trying to shift upwards and failing, "If you want me to work on it, I can but—but I have some demands." My voice shakes on the last word—my tongue clearly unfamiliar with this new backbone I'm apparently forming. Demands?! Really? That's the word I chose? I'm not a bank robber—have I lost my mind?! My scalp and skin are so itchy from this damn sand.

"Demands?!" Elder's eyes roll back into his head as he swipes an I-told-you-so hand at the other one.

"Yeah," I say, running a nervous hand through my hair—will they hear me out? "First, I wanna be able to feel my feet—that'd be great, you know. Second, I need some food—some meat for the animal too—" I gesture at the Jagwindo. "Also, if you could revive him and give us somewhere to stay..." I realize, suddenly, that it's quite a few things I need at the current moment...

The eldest man mumbles something about a laundry list, but the younger one nods, "You will be cared for, Level 10, give the serum a few minutes to kick in and come with me."

Loading...40 Minutes Later...

It took more than a few minutes, that's for sure, and equally long to revive the Jagwindo, but I'm reasonably satisfied with the outcome. Hmm, yes, I can say that again! I think to myself, swinging my feet off the edge of the white-linen-clad, thatch bed.

This place is dope.

And, unlike Dank_Fanboi, I don't say that about very many places.

The hut they've put us up in has a peaked, thatched roof, two cozy, twin beds built into the narrow walls (parallel to each other) and a pretty spacious living room. They'd brought me a cheeseboard full of meats, fruits, berries and fish and a huge, raw steak for Fiasco, which he's happily munching on right now—getting red meat juice all over the white sheets I might add, but he looks happy so I don't feel like correcting him. They even brought me a change of clothes: a lightweight, gray jumpsuit which is exactly as comfy as it looks and this green, hooded robe...

I finger the bright, shamrock fabric which runs, silken, through my fingers. There's even a gold clasp at the neck. I run my fingertips over it—

Crash.

My head snaps up to find Fiasco throwing himself at the wall—breaking the shelving there and spilling decorative books, pots—

"What are you—?" I accuse him.

> Shiny.

The huge cat dives again.

And I realize he's chasing after the light reflection of the golden cape buckle—the orb of light that's zooming around the room as I tilt it, thanks to the sunshine streaming in from the windows. His paws scrabble at the wall. I open my mouth to stop him, but there's a short knock on the door—

"Excuse me for intruding after such a short interlude," a guard I recognize from before ducks through the doorway, his eyes flashing briefly over the mess the Jagwindo has just made, "but we need that code repaired in the timeliest manner possible if you're available."

"I'm available," I tell him, clamping one hand over the buckle to stop the light from reflecting and swiping the other across my mouth to catch any wayward cracker or cheese crumbles. I quickly pull the green cloak over my tiny frame, clicking the buckle shut at my neck like I'd seen the men earlier wear. In the long mirror across the room, I see that the apple-colored folds engulf my thin form, even covering my boots. Time to get down to business.

The guard nods, "Good."

"I can access the code from anywhere, okay if I just do it here?" I ask.

He nods curtly, "Begin, but know that if you pull anything nefarious, we have stringent punishment protocols." His fists tighten at his sides...like his jaw.

"Whoa," I say, holding up what I hope look like two very innocent hands, "You guys just fed me. I'll do what you want. Food's the way to a man's heart, you know?" I try a chuckle that falls face first onto the dirt floor—like my awkward joke. ...And I'm just left shuffling my feet... "Cool," I say, hoping to reconcile with the guard's confused face, "I'll just...start then."

He presses his lips together and nods, "Let me know if you need anything..."

But I don't. I take a deep breath, my fingers hovering in the air as I search for a way into the clearly very dead system.

...And remember how I said I was out of my element before, playing hero and searching for EmeraldCity?

I was with that, and I'll find a time to ask about the green-haired girl later but this? ...Code?

This is my element.

I can do this all day.