Chapter 16
After tipping the driver some copper Jay took the group to the side of the road. “I'm sorry if what I said was upsetting but I'll explain as soon as we get back. Its not a secret, at least not with you two anyways.”
Aiden shrugged, not upset in the least while M'redith reluctantly nodded. “As long as you're not trying to put it off.” she said making it almost sound like a question.
“Not at all. We can go straight to my room when we get back and I'll tell both of you.” Jay insisted.
M'redith seemed to cheer up slightly at the mention of going to Jay's room whereas Aiden sighed. “You two are a mess.”
“What?” Jay asked indignantly, honestly confused, and still oblivious to M'redith's attention for him. Jay had never been good at knowing when a girl was flirting with him and usually missed it entirely. Today had been no different.
The three went inside the small shop Aiden had pointed out. Wooden wind chimes sounded when they opened the door and a cheerful older woman greeted them, her long blond hair done up in a long braid and curled over her shoulder. She wore a dress that was all yellows, whites, and reds and really drew the eye. On closer inspection Jay could see the red dots were actually tiny red flowers.
“Welcome! What can I do for you?” she asked with a smile.
Jay set his walking stick on the counter. The woman waved a hand over it, which Jay was pretty sure was totally unnecessary, and handed it back to him. “One silver!” she stated happily.
Aiden shrugged, “It sounds about right, a little cheap actually.”
“Oh,” the shopkeeper said, “it's just an uncommon item, wasn't tough to Identify at all.”
“So it isn't some all powerful religious relic or something?” Jay asked hesitantly.
Telescoping Adventurer's Staff - [Uncommon]
The shopkeeper picked the staff back up and peered at it. “No.. its just a telescoping staff. At this level it can collapse down to two feet or so, easy enough to fasten to most backpacks. And...” she drew the word out as she fiddled with the staff. With a 'poof' the staff extended to seven feet, “there. Looks about seven feet. You'll want 5'10 to 5'11 ish for fighting with it though. Too much longer and you'll run in to some difficulties wielding the thing.” No matter what length the staff was set to it appeared solid as if it had always been that length.
She handed the staff to Jay as he handed her a silver coin and focused on shrinking the staff to the size of a walking stick and set out with the others feeling happy about how it had turned out. Jay didn't feel like he wanted to be special. He didn't want to be a savior or a prophet or anything else. He just wanted to be an Adventurer, go on adventures, and have people generally otherwise leave him alone.
Having a simple but somewhat magical staff seemed like a nice thing to have without standing out too much. Plus, a weapon was required for The Guild training, and now he had one.
Aiden grabbed a passing cart and Jay paid for a trip for the three of them to the western gate for The Guild. The ride back was quiet, everyone tired from their day. They hopped out of the cart as it pulled to a stop and Jay waved and thanked the driver.
“I need to take care of a couple of things but then I can meet you guys at Jay's room. B4 right?” M'redith said as she speed walked off towards the female dorms without waiting for a reply.
Jay nodded and watched her go.
Aiden and Jay returned to room B4 where Jay took off his things and set them in the corner, returning to the small entry sitting room where Aiden sat. Jay took the other seat and smiled, “Its good to be back and not walking. My feet hurt.”
Aiden laughed, “I'm surprised your neck isn't hurting from twisting back and forth to watch M'redith.”
Jay looked a bit sheepish. “Nah, she's just being nice. Besides, I'm a Traveler. I'm not from here and there are some things to consider before jumping in to that.”
Aiden nodded slowly, “Look I know Travelers consider themselves different from the rest of us somehow, but if you are stuck here and planning on living your life here then you're more like us than the people where you come from, aren't you?”
Jay flicked some fuzz off of his pants, clearly unconvinced. “It doesn't matter, we're all friends and she was just having fun with me, that's all it was.”
Aiden tilted his head while still looking at Jay, “You're an idiot.”
Jay laughed before he could stop himself, “Oh really?”
“Yup,” Aiden said. “She was practically throwing herself at you. I did everything I could to give you guys space but its like you didn't even know what was going on around you. I mean did you feel ANYTHING during that spinning ride?”
Jay nodded and grinned like a fool. “That was an accident though, I'm sure she didn't mean to do that.”
“Gods Jay.. I don't even know what to say.” Aiden chuckled. “Just wait. You'll see. When you admit I'm right you owe me a snack from the next street vendor.”
Jay could have responded with a crack about him already buying all the snacks but didn't. That would have been in poor taste and brought the mood down. He'd done it willingly and would do so again, whether Jay won or lost. “You've got a deal. But if I win you have to tell M'redith what you thought was going on.”
Aiden didn't even for a moment look worried. “Oh I'm sure she already knows. She's out of your league you know – her flirting abilities are much better than yours.”
The sudden knock on the door turned out to be M'redith but when Jay opened the door he almost didn't recognize her. She had changed in to a pair of clean and wrinkle free jeans and a bright neon orange tank top which fit her perfectly. She smelled vaguely of fresh soap and sandalwood as she sat on the arm of Jay's chair while placing an arm behind him on the chair to support herself. She had obviously taken a quick bath and her hair appeared to have been magically dried and was up in some sort of complicated braided bun combination. He breathed in her scent and smiled without even meaning to.
Jay in contrast hadn't even thought of taking a bath. Jay felt vaguely uneasy, the way a person feels when they show up at a birthday party but forget to bring a gift. “Oh gods I AM bad at this,” Jay mumbled in shock under his breath.
“Out with it.” M'redith said, poking him in the shoulder. Jay got up and offered her his seat which she took. Jay had been giving this some thought the last couple of days and launched directly in to his explanation.
“So your world is different from the one I come from. My world has no magic, but we do have technology which allows us to do things similar to magic. Using that technology some of the people in my old world, Earth, were able to create worlds, universes, for others to enjoy and explore. It takes a lot of them to create those worlds, thousands. They do that with the help of what you call gods. Your world is one such creation.” Jay said while leaving a pause at the end for questions.
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No one asked questions as everything so far wasn't too hard to understand even if the knowledge itself was amazing. It didn't differ too much from some of the creation stories they had heard from various religions in the past.
Jay tried to think of how to describe a digital computerized universe and how it differed from reality on Earth.
“The creators are humans, much like you, but our bodies are made up of different stuff than the stuff that makes up everything on Eden. The body I have here on Eden is not made of the same stuff as my body back on Earth is – but they are functionally identical for the most part.”
“As above, so below – your world mirrors Earth in so many ways but Eden has so much more to offer. You are not missing out on anything I assure you. So I don't even use my Earth body here, its not compatible with Eden's reality – I use a body that Gaia had a hand in helping to create. Her and the others did an amazing job and for the most part Eden feels as real if not more real than Earth ever did to me.” Jay paused trying to get his thoughts straight which was difficult as he was now working through things emotionally as he spoke.
“The only thing from Earth I have remaining while in Eden is my mind, my personality, and my memories.” Jay said slowly as he worked out the implications. “My body here was created on Eden so I could interact with Eden.”
“I had a really bad accident trying to do the right thing. I can't even remember what I did due to my injuries. I was given a choice. Live as the residents live in a created universe or die from my injuries. I come from the race of your creators, but am now forever trapped in one of those very creations - Eden. I have no other of my race here to talk to. It is just me, and there may never be more of me. Or, they could follow me eventually in the thousands. It isn't clear what will happen in the future.” Jay said as he paced back and forth while he spoke.
“I wouldn't survive back in my world due to my injuries. This world is the only hope I had – in a very real way Eden is helping keep me alive. So I'm here now. Yes I'm a Traveler but I'm here for good. I will live out my entire life here.” Jay finished.
The three were quiet for a time before M'redith finally spoke. Tucking her feet up underneath her on the chair she asked “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but who gave you your choice?”
“My lawyer and a person I believe may have been Gaia herself.” Jay answered without hesitation.
M'redith pursed her lips. She knew about lawyers as well as Gaia but it was still spooky to hear from someone who may have spoken to a goddess. “Is there anything else you haven't told us?”
Jay sighed. “So you're not going to believe this, but I asked if she could help me and I think she took advantage of that request and used it as an opportunity to use me. Or link us somehow. I just have no idea why or what for.”
M'redith and Aiden both looked confused. “When you say she are you talking about the Goddess, creator of Eden, mother of all who live? That one?” M'redith said a bit snappily.
Jay nodded slowly. “So please don't freak out or anything.” Jay said as he took off his gloves and showed each hand to Aiden and M'redith. Jay turned his Prophet title on for a moment long enough for them to see before turning it off again. Jay put his gloves back on.
“What the..” Aiden began before M'redith interrupted him.
“So Gaia made you a PROPHET?! Why??”M'redith asked incredulously. “What did she tell you to do once you got here!”
Jay shrugged, “That's the thing. Nothing. Not a word. Well, almost nothing. She did tell me to find this one specific upgrade stone that only I can use. But I didn't ask for this.”
Aiden laughed, “I don't think that's how becoming a Prophet works. Normally its god's or goddess's choice. Also, if you asked for her help and didn't clarify what help you wanted then you DID ask for this.”
Aiden couldn't stop laughing as he found the situation and Jay's anxiety over it too funny to stay quiet over. M'redith took it a bit harder and appeared unsure how she felt about everything, especially the part about her having been attracted to a Prophet.
After a silent pause M'redith looked like she had calmed herself down a little, “I don't know if I mentioned it but I'm not religious.” she said looking at Jay hesitantly, slowly coming to the realization that she was in the presence of the Goddess' Prophet.
Jay waved his hands about, frustrated as he saw the change in attitude come over her, “I'm not religious either! On Earth there was no consensus on gods and goddesses or if they were real or not. A lot of time was spent arguing over that actually. Wars were fought. Many died.”
Jay suddenly appeared even more serious and continued, “I can say with absolute certainty though that in this world the gods and goddesses were real, and possibly continue to be. I'm still not religious.”
M'redith went quiet as she mulled that over. A non-religious and non-cooperative Prophet. She wasn't sure and couldn't remember if Prophets were allowed to date or marry but was too nervous to ask Aiden. She wasn't about to ask Jay.
Jay sat on the edge of M'redith's chair much like she had done earlier. “So I keep my hands and my title hidden. I'd hoped there was a way to remove both but no one has mentioned anything remotely like that so far.” Jay said while leaning with one arm on the back of the chair, towering over M'redith without meaning to. “I don't want to be a Prophet, I just want to live a life of adventure in peace.”
Aiden looked serious until Jay got to the end of his explanation. “I think a lot of Prophets have said something similar about wanting to be left alone. It rarely changes things and I've never heard of a Prophet removing their title.”
“Also,” Aiden added once his laughter gave way to light chuckles, “A life of adventure and peace are mutually exclusive. If you're lucky you get to pick one. If you're not lucky someone else might pick for you.”
The room filled with silence as they each took a few minutes with their own thoughts. “So do you guys want to run away now? I'm a bit of a mess,” Jay said chuckling. “Still trying to get my feet under me it feels like, and I do have something I'm supposed to do, but its non-religious I promise.”
Jay of course was referring to Alice's or Gaia's strong suggestion that Jay unlock the ability to die and return to life in Eden with his body and items intact – what is often referred to in games as a respawn. He didn't explain it at that moment as things were already plenty strange enough for his two new friends.
M'redith was the first to speak. “I'm good. You're weird as hell but I like you.” She blushed and stared a little wide eyed at Jay for a moment before looking away. “As long as you don't start spouting scripture or performing miracles for the masses. You start that crap up I'm out of here,” she said, smiling by the time she finished speaking.
“I've no problem either. You are weird as she said but you seem to be trying to keep a lid on it, which we really appreciate. Hero stories are fun to read but I wouldn't want to get caught up in one.” Aiden said while stretching his arms over his head as he stood up. “Its getting late and I think we could all use a good nights sleep to think on things anyway. This is too much to process in one sitting.”
M'redith stood up too. Aiden shook Jay's hand and they all agreed to meet up the next morning for breakfast before class started. M'redith smiled but didn't hug or shake hands. She stopped and looked Jay in the eyes before she left, “I'm just tired and need to sleep and think. I'll see you in the morning Jay.”
Then Jay was left standing in the open door of his room, the sound of crickets and other insects filling the silence. Closing the door he got ready for bed before fishing around in his backpack for the photos from the flea market earlier that day.
The first group photo came out wonderful and Jay thought it'd look great framed. The second photo looked ridiculous and showed the three friends with various funny looks on their faces. M'redith had made bunny ears with her hand behind Jay's head during the second shot.
The third photo was of Jay and M'redith. Jay sat upright and stared forward at the camera while M'redith curled an arm around his and leaned in towards him, her head tilted slightly, her eyes smiling just as much as her grin. Jay enjoyed the photo even if his feelings were a little confusing still.
The fourth photo was only M'redith. She was clothed just as she had been in the other photos. She hadn't put on makeup changed her hair or altered her appearance in any way but the moment Jay looked at the photo he felt as if the floor had disappeared out from under him. He felt butterflies fly random patterns in his stomach.
M'redith was not just facing the camera but looking with slightly widened eyes directly in to the camera lens making it feel as if she were looking directly in to Jay's eyes. Her smile was breathtakingly beautiful, the kind of smile a woman shows when she is wholly smitten and powerless to hide it. It was the kind of smile a man would count himself blessed to have seen even if he only witnessed it once in his life.
Jay took the photos in to his bedroom and set them up on the side table, the fourth photo given a prominent position. Jay turned off the magical lighting and shut his eyes but had a difficult time sleeping as his thoughts bounced between his old life, his new one, and M'redith.
Finally sleep overcame him and he dreamed of spinning tea cups.