Yeah, working with the brownies is weird. They generally mean well, though they can be a little vengeful if you piss them off. Also, they aren’t going to really consult you on anything. They are pretty sure that they know better, and they actually might. Also, they don’t slow down for anyone. They are extremely fast, can understand how to make or fix just about anything and actually have a pretty good sense of humor. Also, and this is very important, absolutely no cats, not even as a joke.
I slept for fourteen hours and got moving very slowly in the mid-afternoon. My body was still sore, but I earnestly wondered if the stats that the Unified System was presumably reflecting were having an impact on my body or my mind. I really had no frame of reference, but I think that an experience like my first loop with Deldes and Delirien would have likely at least left me requiring hospitalization and struggling with some measure of mental trauma before my awakening.
So why subject myself to this such a brutal experience and pay for the privilege? I was looking to forge my own path. I’d explored the possibility of piecemealing a course of study together with the instructors provided for the tutorial and it wasn’t viable. The instructors weren’t motivated to help me and, although I didn’t doubt that they were reasonably skilled in their own areas, they didn’t really have much to offer me. From our initial conversation it was clear that the peak that I was looking to climb was outside of their experience. I also just plain didn’t trust their motivations.
By a stroke of luck or fate, I had access to the resources necessary to run my own focused and intense “self-study.” I enjoyed reading and I was probably going to do that anyway, so why not focus my energy there to learn as much as I could about what I felt was important in the coming year. Intense practical experiences every other week would give me time to put what I was learning to the test and rapidly push my skills. I’d spend my off weeks working as an informal apprentice at the magic artificer shop and reading in my off hours before heading out again with Deldes and Delirin. It packed a great deal of activity into a short time, but the activities were complimentary enough to allow me to recover from one while doing the other. I planned to live this way for six months before hopefully shifting my modus operandi again.
Galan’s generosity was the other significant factor in my decision to push forward in this way. Based on what I had learned pre-awakening, from video games, D&D and the like, it would have taken me decades to earn enough respect with the wild elves on my own to be able to enter their camp or strike the bargain that I had with Deldes and Delirien. At the time, I didn’t know all that much about Galan or why he had the pull that he did, but he was able to hook everything up for me with the wild elves with a quick conversation and a handshake. I was risking my safety on his reputation and my feeling that he had my best interests in mind, but I did trust him.
Speaking of Galan, I needed to catch up with the brownie elder and his daughter Lierin to talk over the plans for the board game cafe and the guerilla redecorating of my apartment. My bookstore was currently in a pitiful state, but getting the ball rolling there was another of my objectives for this week. I made my way outside and when I covered the short distance to the magic artificer shop seeking Galan, I was surprised to find almost no one about. There was just one member of Galan’s clan manning the place and when I asked him where Galan was he pointed me toward the cafe.
I headed over to the building I had claimed for the board game cafe, but I was shocked for the second time in as many days at what I found. The front facade of the building had been painted in an emerald green color with mint green trim around the doors and windows as well as on the shutters. A covered porch had been added with a neat decking floor and railing defining the space. The porch was covered in tables occupied by brownies and other fae playing all manner of games. I saw battles for world domination, people collecting points with bird based strategies and even one group of people rocking a pop-a-matic bubble.
I didn’t spot anyone that I knew and I began to weave my way past the gamers on the porch to check inside when I was stopped by the smallest fae that I had seen thus far. The pixie hovering before me physically barred my path and said, “Name?”
I was surprised and responded, “Excuse me.”
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The pixie stared at me with a slight edge of contempt, like maybe I was out of my league, and before repeating, “What is your name? You can’t come in if you aren’t on the list.”
More shocked and confused than anything, I pointed to the sign detailing ownership of the building and said, “I’m Harris.”
The pixie’s tone shifted, not really with respect, but with recognition, “Sorry boss. I didn’t recognize you. Lierin is waiting for you in the lounge on the second floor. Head straight up.”
I liked board games. I liked cafes. So why was I suddenly feeling so uncomfortable about this one. For that matter, where did all of these games come from and how was this place already so popular? I had been gone for a week and things had changed some much and diverged so far from my expectations. I still needed to find Galan and Lierin was as good a place to start as any and I definitely needed an explanation from her as well.
The interior of the cafe was packed. The walls were lined with shelves storing board games of all stripes and descriptions. Some were held in finely crafted wooden boxes and others had intricate figurines that in some cases were truly lifelike miniatures. On one table I saw a game where the pieces were actually animated and moved themselves around the board when the dice were rolled. The majority of the floor was covered in tables, all occupied with active gamers, and opposite the door there was a bar where food and drink could be ordered. Presumably there was a full kitchen beyond the wall behind the bar, as the food that I saw being eaten at the tables looked pretty elaborate and, frankly, pretty delicious.
To the right of the bar there was a hallway that led to the stairs to the second floor and presumably to some restrooms and the kitchen as well. Blocking the hallway was another pixie who waved me up. When I gave her a quizzical look, she clarified, “Jhaeros from out front let me know you were coming. Head right up. Lierin is waiting for you.” I had walked no more than 100 feet from the front door to the hallway and I didn’t see anyone pass me. I also didn’t see any means of communication that the pixies could have used between themselves or with Lierin. I actually really wanted to know about the communication abilities and technologies that might be available to an awakened person, but I had bigger fish to fry at this point and I headed upstairs.
The second floor had a completely different feel than the first. The first floor looked very much in danger of being shut down by a fire marshal, if the Emerald Sea even had such an official. The second floor was much less crowded and felt more relaxed with couches, coffee tables and armchairs of various sizes in place of the high tops and long tables on the first floor. A variety of exotic plants were scattered throughout the seating area along with some stylish and elaborate glass shaded lamps, though magically powered of course.
There were some buffets along either side wall of the area with a number of food and beverage options available on top and sliding doors below that revealed shelves with lavish looking board games and even a few puzzles. It was a beautiful and relaxing space that is what I’d like to think I’d design if I had any skill, taste or actual style.
I spotted Lierin and Galan seated together on a low leather sofa with what looked like a game of Mancala between them on a coffee table. They spotted me as I approached, clearly on the lookout due to the warning from the pixies below. They both stood with broad smiles and greeted me before motioning to a hallway that led to a small number of private rooms vaguely reminiscent of karaoke boxes. The room that we entered had a human sized armchair for me with an end table beside it and another small, low couch and coffee table combination for Galan and Lierin. Once we were seated, Leirin beamed at me and said, “Well. What do you think, Harris?”
Truthfully I had no idea what to think, so I went with my gut, literally, and responded cooly, “I’m ecstatic Lierin, but I missed breakfast. I’d love to try one of those giant soft pretzels with cheese dip that I saw downstairs as well. As well as whatever else you’d recommend and something cool to wash it down. Once we’ve had broken bread, or at least pretzel, I’d like to talk about all of the changes and my apprenticeship.”
I could tell Lierin was a little disappointed at not eliciting a more dramatic response by the little pout in her lip as she hit a small gemstone button on a smooth stone tetrahedral object on her coffee table. “Aquilan please send some refreshments to room A and make sure to include a pretzel for Harris,” Lierin said with a wink toward me that was a little more coquettish than I was expecting. I could see Lierin was going to be much more fun and much, much more trouble than I had originally guessed. The technology for communication was also much more sophisticated than I had understood from my studies thus far. This was an exciting day for me, and not just because of the pretzel, with advanced communications came advanced tactics and even if I was working on improving my “combat skills” I suspected that it would take something more than being handy with a magic shotgun to get out of the Emerald Sea in one piece.