My journey began with an odd party. I left the village of Yew alongside an Ogre, a Cabbit, my daughter who happened to be a dungeon-in-training, and an annoying bard. Bori skipped ahead of us, always careful to stay within ten feet of me. That was her area of influence. Any constructs she made couldn’t get farther away without dropping lifelessly to the ground. While her favorite construct in the dungeon had been a pet dog she called Ruffles, she preferred a humanoid form when she was topside. It not only gave us the appearance of a family out on a walk together, but it also allowed her to talk to the rest of the group. One thing we found out quickly was that I couldn’t invite dungeons to groups, even those that were related to me.
Jericho rubbed his chest. “Pledging a death wish to a goddess is painful.”
“Only if you break your vow,” I replied dryly. The specifics of the vow were secret, at least publicly. We were getting good at having scripted dialog when not using group chat. That was the only way to mislead S.I.M.P Co.
In group chat was another matter.
How much farther?
Jericho shrugged. That depends. The location I released him in isn’t far from here. He could have wandered off for all I know.
Porky, the Porcusaurus I’d befriended while doing a quest, had been monster-napped by Jericho when he betrayed me. He had been an NPC for the company, paid to do things to keep me playing the game. When his actions inadvertently got my girlfriend, Isabelle, killed, he had a change of heart and swore to help me.
It didn’t take long to find Porky. Or I should say, he found us. The sun was just beginning to set when a large rumbling growl came from some bushes ahead of us. While the others reached for their weapons, I understood exactly what the sentient monster said. “Human, you have returned. Did you bring any of that delicious food?”
I laughed, causing the rest of the group to stare at me in disbelief. “Are you sure you’re allowed to eat people food? I hear it’s bad for some animals.”
Porky growled a response. While sounding intimidating, I could feel the humor in it. “You should see some of the things I’m forced to eat. Give me one of those things you call sandwiches.”
I rummaged through my bag as I approached the area the growling came from. “You’ll probably like these better than sandwiches.”
Porky emerged from the thicket sniffing gingerly as I held out a rope of sausage links for him. Part-velociraptor and part-porcupine, he looked intimidating. The rest of the group looked on as I patiently fed the monster. Out of everyone, the only other member of the group to approach the monster was Bori. As a construct, she had nothing to fear if anything were to happen to her. The only way she could take damage was if something got through Cornerstone on my arm to get at her core. It was a pink gemstone embedded in the incredibly dense stone of the SS-ranked item I’d transformed into my prosthetic when I lost my arm in a fight with a dungeon. I still wasn’t sure that Pi hadn’t sacrificed my arm just to make me more efficient in battle.
When Porky finished eating, he stepped into the clearing, bearing his fangs at Jericho. “This one attacked me and dragged me out here against my will. Do you mind if I eat him?”
I looked back at the bard. A part of me was tempted to accept the offer, as I partly blamed Jericho for what happened to Isa. However, if I wanted to bring her back, I had to take all the help I could get, and he was bound by a goddess to do everything in his power to make that happen. I patted Porky on the head and said, “He’s on our team now. For sure this time.”
“Why did you come here?” Porky asked, eyeing my bag for more food.
I pulled out some more sausage links. Helen had stocked me up for a very long time. Additionally, the food was freshly cooked, preserved by my bag only moments after she finished preparing it. “I came to make sure you were alive and doing well. Jericho told me he’d spared you but I didn’t believe him.”
“This place is not a good home,” Porky hissed. “There is no lake nearby for me to catch fish. Do you mind if I travel with you until I find a new place to hunt?”
The first thought that entered my mind was having a Porcusaurus for a pet. Of course, he was too intelligent for that. A thought occurred to me. “Would you like to join our group? We’re on a quest to rescue a friend.”
The dinosaur tilted its head. “Grouping is a Human thing, is it not?”
I shrugged. “I have an Ogre, a Dungeon, and a Cabbit in the group. I’d say it’s more of a non-Human thing if you ask me. You’d fit right in.”
Porky walked past me and sniffed Bori who had been trying to pet him. The others were slowly backing away as the monster made its way into the clearing. Finally, it let out a loud snort. “Very well. Feed me and I’ll travel with you, Human. You must promise to find me a new home when we're through, though.”
“Deal!” I replied.
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The only information we’d been given on rescuing Isa was that we had to find Iris’s sister, Elysiana. The Goddess of Death was the key to recovering her soul from the other side. I was also hoping she could point me in the right direction to remove the Necromantic corruption from her core. Was there a friendly Necromancer out there who wouldn’t mind doing me a solid?
I stared at the map Pi provided me in the corner of my vision as we marched through a mountain pass. Mount Pi was where Iris told me I could find her sister. Bori ran ahead of us. The world was new to her and she had to explore everything. Occasionally, small monsters lurked in the shrubs and bushes we passed. She found all of them and didn’t hesitate to pounce. While she looked like a little girl, her construct was capable of growing long claws that made quick work of the low-level Raquirrels and Barats. The rest of the group couldn’t be bothered with the small non-aggressive monsters. Normally, I’d argue that we shouldn’t kill them if we didn’t intend to eat them, but not only did Bori sustain herself on the mana she got from defeating them but she also used the kills to level up. As her Daddy who she also fed off of, I gained a small amount of experience as well.
She jumped around a corner, holding up a dead Raquirrel. “Look, Daddy. I caught a big one.”
“That’s nice, Dear,” I replied blandly, not wanting to touch the dead rodent.
“In Cabbit culture, dropping your kill at the feet of your loved one is a sign of affection,” Khi pointed out, prompting Bori to drop the corpse in my path.
I sighed and picked it up, placing it in my bag with the others Bori had given me. Who knew, maybe someday I’d run out of Helen’s cooking and be forced to resort to monster meat. Anything beat the nuts and berries I had been forced to subsist on when I first arrived on Gaia.
It had been several weeks since I’d seen any sign of Cordellia or her carriage. In the aftermath of Isa’s death, I’d been harsh with her. I told her I never wanted to see her again and apparently she’d taken that to heart.
“Don’t worry,” Jericho told me. “You’ll see her again. Unless they reassign her, that is. Then you’ll get a new representative.”
He was speaking out loud because the last thing I wanted was a new rep from the company. While I was still upset, I recognized Isa’s death wasn’t Cordelia’s fault. She’d tried to summon reinforcements. I took a deep breath and said, “I wouldn’t mind seeing her again.”
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That did the trick. Cordelia found me that night. We’d gotten in the habit of setting up camp. That consisted of a two-bedroom house complete with a stable that I crafted from Cornerstone. It took a few days of practice to make it perfect, but I managed to get it just how everyone liked it through repetition. Even though there were currently six people in the group, we only needed two bedrooms because Ceru insisted on sleeping with me and Bori’s core was embedded in my arm. Khi slept where he wanted, which usually found him curled up on my pillow just above my head. The other room went to Jericho, who nobody wanted to sleep with.
He grumbled about it the first night. “Usually, everyone wants to sleep with me.”
“Not us,” Ceru chirped.
“Not us!” Bori echoed. Even though she didn’t need a body to sleep, Bori kept her construct so she could snuggle up to me. I found the attention helped me not think about Isa too much. The thought that I’d failed her weighed heavily on my mind, especially when I tried to sleep.
Cordelia announced her presence with a knock on the door. I’d heard the carriage arriving, so I was already out of bed by the time she got to the door. I also left the group so nobody else could eavesdrop on our conversation. Cordelia looked like she hadn’t been sleeping, with dark lines under her eyes. She refused to make eye contact as she said, “I came as soon as you summoned me.”
I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. She frowned at the closed door but said nothing. I led her back to the carriage which she opened and invited me inside. Once she’d closed the door, she took off her shirt and sat expectantly. I knew it was the ritual she had to perform to make the company cut to commercial. Once I was satisfied we weren’t being spied on, I said, “I don’t blame you for what happened.”
Cordelia broke down in tears. “I’m so sorry she died. I felt helpless to do anything, and I’m supposed to be your person. I know you can never forgive me, but I’ll do anything to make it up to you. Anything.”
The way she leaned forward gave me the distinct impression she wanted to make it up to me in bed. However, she didn’t press the matter like she normally did. Instead of leaning over to kiss me or sit in my lap, she sat back as though she didn’t know what to do. My instinct was to comfort her, but I just couldn’t. Not with her. Not so soon as Isa’s death. It felt like it would disrespect her memory. The thought of Isa watching me from wherever she was made it even more awkward.
“You don’t have to do anything,” I finally replied. “It was a painful lesson that I can’t throw myself in danger and expect the company to bail me out. From now on, I’m going to be smarter about things. I’m going to protect the people I care about. That includes you, by the way.”
She broke down again and this time I moved over to her side of the carriage and wrapped my arm around her. Everything that was happening to these people had been the result of my actions. Once she’d calmed down enough, I asked, “Do you know what I intend to do next?”
It was a loaded question. The real question was, did S.I.M.P. Co. know? She wiped her eyes, a whimper escaping her lips while she nodded feebly. “You’re going to bring her back, aren’t you? The company says that shouldn’t be possible. Of course, everything you’ve done so far wasn’t supposed to be possible.”
I nodded but didn’t say anything. She continued. “How often do you want me to check on you? As I said, I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Weekly is fine,” I replied. “Just treat this as business as usual.”
She finally made eye contact. “What about us? Are we okay?”
I knew what she was asking. She wanted to sleep with me. The truth was, I wanted to ravage her. Only, I worried I’d hurt her in my current state. I was filled with rage which had no outlet.
“We will be,” I replied, stroking her hair. “I still need time to come to grips with what happened. But soon. I promise you, it will be soon.”
She sobbed some more and I held her in the carriage. After a while, she blew her nose and told me she was good.
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I lingered outside for a few minutes in the dark after she left.
Pi, do you think this is going to work?
Pi was cynical as usual.
The odds of successfully resurrecting your girlfriend is 2.31%
Thanks, Pi, I replied, shivering. It’s cold out here.
That statement is accurate.
I went back inside and crawled between the already sleeping girls. Then I was warm.