Ludere online

He blinked at the suddenly bright light and covered his face, his eyes watering. Once his eyes stopped stinging he slid his hand from his face and looked around. His mouth fell open as he looked around the common room of the tavern. Aviva sat across from him, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

“Hi” Pag squeaked out, waving slightly.

Aviva uttered a garbled sentence and threw her hands in the air, shaking her head. Pag blinked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He glanced around the now bustling tavern. Each table was packed with a variety of people. Humans, Altacians, and even what appeared to be a few hybrids of various races. The hybrids caught his eye, they were an odd amalgamation of humans and Altacians that leaned heavily towards one parent or the other, though the other patrons seemed to give them a wide berth.

“I can’t believe this.” Aviva sighed standing. “C’mon. Let’s go. We need to get mounts and get on the road. There’s now a timer on the quests” She said, grabbing a sack from the floor. “We will return the books to Nick once we are done. I placed a protection spell on them to prevent any damage. I also got a few supplies that weren’t included in our rations.”

Pag stood and followed her wordlessly, his eyes roving over the people in the tavern. The cold air slapped him back to the present as Aviva pulled the door open. He shivered and a hiss escaped him, his shoulders hunching forwards. They walked down the avenue to the stall that sold mounts and Aviva greeted the man shoveling mud behind the fence with a wave when he glanced their way.

“What can I help you with?” He asked, leaning on the shovel as he squinted over at them.

“Just need a pair of Leprin” Aviva shrugged.

“Leprin are finicky, may not have one that wants ya. Why not a set of Bunnacon, got a good set that's fully trained.” He said screwing up his face as he looked them up and down.

Aviva shook her head. “No, we need the Leprin. we’re on Core Business.”

The man's face fell blank and he stood straighter. “My apologies, this way.” He said resting the shovel over a shoulder and walking into a barn like structure. “The Leprin pin is outback.” He said as he trudged passed the stalls of horses and various other creatures he had no name for.

They exited the barn to a small pin about twenty feet across with high privacy fencing that stretched 7 feet high full of Leprin, creatures that looked exactly like Aviva had described. They had the antlers of a deer though a bit nubby, the wiry torso and head of a Hare but the scaled legs ending in talons and rich white feathery wings dyed red that a bearded vulture would have. Pag eyed them all laying around, yet still taller than he was. From what he was able to see there were five, though there was one particularly large one that may have been two huddled together.

“You got the bones?” the man asked as he leaned against the wall.

“Yeah, we have what’s needed.” Aviva said

“Then I’ll be back out front if any of them pick you just pay me on the way out.”

“You have any tack for them?” Aviva asked

“If you mean saddles, harnesses and the like, yeah, no food to spare though. You’ll have to handle that one yourself.” He replied with a shrug before leaving them with the beasts.

Pag scratched his chin and walked over to one of the closer ones, the animal opening an eye and watching his approach. “Can I have one of the bones?” He asked, glancing at Aviva.

She reached into a bag and pulled out a bright white bone that she tossed to him. He caught it grimacing at its texture and the gristle that still clung to it in spots. Pag looked it over and shook his head as he walked closer to the animal. There was an odd chittering sound and the Leprin stood to its full height, looking down on him as it puffed out its chest and flared its wings. Aviva grasped a handful of his clothes at about the middle of his back and yanked him backwards.

“That will get you killed. I recommend you watch me for a second.” She said, “Avoid eye contact. It causes a fight or flight response in them.” Her voice was quiet and level as she moved past him looking down at the ground. Her arms held wide, her right hand gripping a bone while her left was open with the palm facing up.

The looming Leprin sniffed and seemed to deflate marginally before trotting over to a corner and flopping down on the ground. Aviva approached another Leprin in the same stance and the beast sat up watching her as she approached. She stopped three feet from it offering the bone to the Leprin and stood that way unmoving. After what felt like half an hour the Leprin stood and trotted away from her. Aviva turned to him and motioned for him to give it a try. Pag tried to mimic her posture and slowly approached a Leprin who lay in a loose sprawl. He stopped a few feet from it and hesitantly offered the bone outwards, his eyes raising marginally to examine the animal when it made no move.

Pag threw a quick glance around the yard and noted that the other Leprin were curled into tight balls. His gaze slid back to the one in front of him which still had not moved, the wind ruffling a fur coat far darker than that of the others in the yard while its feathers held no hint of white. Its eyes slid open and he blinked at the startling silver eyes swimming in crimson. The beast stared at him for a moment before it rose to its haunches with a yawn. Pag nearly choked at the sight of the massive teeth but he held himself still stretching the hand with the bone further out towards the Leprin.

The leprin looked at the bone and suddenly he lunged forwards. He heard Aviva take a gasping breath but his chest froze, as he stared into its eyes that were now inches from his, wings surrounded him and his mind went blank. Without a thought he reared his head back and slammed it into the spot a few inches below where the nubs of antlers were. The Leprin blinked down at him and fell back on its haunches, its nose sniffing at the air furiously. After a few moments it rose and carefully took the bone, not breaking eye contact with him.

Pag took a deep breath and he heard Aviva's leave her in a gusting sigh so he turned to look at her. Her eyes were wide and her hands covered her mouth. Pag blinked and offered her a sheepish shrug. She rolled her eyes and turned, placing a hand on the Leprin that had apparently accepted her offer.

“Let's go, we need to get on the road before they reopen the server backup to all the players. We may be able to get a large portion of the quest knocked out before we have to worry about much kick back from anyone of higher levels.” Aviva said.

Her voice held something he couldn’t quite place so Pag watched her for a moment as she ruffled her Leprins fur before asking a question. “How do I get it to follow?”

“She will follow you.” Aviva said simply.

“She will?” he asked.

“Sexual dimorphism. The females are larger so they can carry the young. They have crimson scolera and silver eyes. They’re also far more aggressive, especially when challenged. That is a female, and judging by the amount of red in her feathers she is the highest ranked Leprin here.” Aviva said, turning back to him.

“Ok, why will she follow me though.” Pag asked.

Aviva stared at him for a moment, a slow smile spreading across her lips. “You are technically now mated to her.” She said simply with a wide smile as she walked back into the barn.

Pag spluttered and jogged to catch up to her. “What do you mean?” He asked, glancing back to see if the Leprin was following. Sure enough she was.

“That headbutt you did, it’s something that only the males do to females they're courting. She didn’t strike back so that means that she accepts.” Aviva said with a laugh.

“But aren’t I so much smaller than the other male Leprin. I don’t look anything like a Leprin.” He asked plaintively.

“Right, which means you are less likely to kill any young she may spawn, whether they are yours or not.” She laughed again

“Of course. This may as well be my life.” Pag sighed, rubbing his face.

The man grunted as they walked up to him and gestured to a small shed near the house. “I’ll get the harnesses, just fill these forms out. 30 silver is the cost. I knocked off some to make up for the face there’s no feed to send with them.” He said as he turned to go. Pag heard him mutter under his breath. “Though I’m sure that considering you’re on core business you won’t have an issue finding a few bones”

Pag huffed and rolled his eyes. “It’s not like there’s not a war going on or anything bud” He said under his breath as he looked at the papers he'd been handed. Aviva elbowed him in the arm, shooting him a glare.

Pag clicked the accept button and scratched his chin as another box popped up.

Pag furrowed his brows not sure what it meant. He looked to the Leprin next to him and thought for a moment before tapping away at the mental keyboard.

Pag hesitated a moment before tapping no, then reluctantly accepted the name unable to think of anything else.

The man held out a harness, a saddle bag and blanket to Aviva then went back to the shed to fetch another set. Aviva laid the blanket across her Leprin before slipping the harness on herself. Pag arched a brow at the harness that looked vaguely reminiscent of a light BDSM get up he’d seen in a comic. She met his eyes with a questioning glance as the man approached with two saddles, a blanket, a saddle bag and a harness. He tossed the saddles on the ground and offered the rest to Pag with a sniff.

Pag scowled and took the offered goods mimicking Aviva's earlier actions as he laid the blanket on Morena’s back and slipped into the harness. He grimaced looking down at the way his robes bulged around the harness. The Stall owner grabbed a saddle with a grunt and placed the saddle on Morena, cooing at her and scrubbing the fur behind her ears with his fingers as he worked to tighten it up.

When he was done he glanced over to Aviva nodding at the way she had already saddled up her mount. “Right well if that's all.” He said looking between them expectantly as a dialog box popped up.

Pag wondered momentarily what would happen if he denied the charge. Could he make a run for it and just not pay? He wasn’t sure he wanted to find out what happened if you tried that. He clicked accept and gave a small nod to Lloyd who just sniffed at him again with a disdainful expression.

Pag glanced at Aviva, watching as she mounted her Leprin before attempting to mount his. He pulled himself into the saddle, nearly falling out the other side face first when his foot got caught. The sound of laughter barely contained filled his ears and he threw a glare at both Lloyd and Aviva. Lloyd at least had the decency to look apologetic as he grabbed his shovel and went back to shoveling mud. Aviva only grinned at him as he hooked his harness to the saddle.

“Shall we get on the road then?” Pag asked with a sigh as he rubbed his face.

Aviva instantly sobered and nodded. “They respond to specific movements. I'll teach them to you as we go. For now a very light tap backwards with your heels will make them go, lean your knees in the direction you want to go.” she said patting her Knees.

“Uh”

“A light knee grip on the left but a tight one on the right means you want to go to the left. Vice versa. A tight grip on both sides mines all out sprint straight ahead. Loose on both sides is a gentle pace.” She said demonstrating each in turn to him except the sprint.

Pag offered a slow nod mimicking her demonstrations, repeating them a few times until he felt reasonably certain he had it down. He looked to her giving her another nod and with that they made their way to the walls of the city, only stopping at the mandatory checkpoints long enough to explain they were on Core business before they were hurried along.

As they passed through the looming city gates Pag looked around. The forest outside of the gate was cut back from the wall at least 100 yards where it was trimmed to and kept clear of underbrush for another 100 yards or so. He blinked looking at the prairie between the walls and the forest and frowned at the waste of space as he followed behind Aviva.

They continued beneath the canopy of the pine trees that whispered in the occasional bitter wind that hissed at them. The sun slowly sunk behind the canopy, the shadows slipping out from the trunks and underbrush around them. Stars began to peak through the canopy and he glanced at the clock in his menu, they had rode for six hours so far and his body complained about every nano second of it. He shivered and buried his fingers into Morena’s fur, his breath puffing out in thick clouds. Pag blinked into the wind, tears beginning to well up from the frigid blast, and sighed in relief as he saw the clearing in front of them. In it sat a two story tavern, warm lights spilling from the windows and thick tendrils of smoke poured from the chimney.

They lead the Leprin to the stables, Aviva hopping off of hers to open the doors enough for them to go in and closing them behind her. Pag fumbled with the clasps of his harness cursing as he shook his hands, generating small lines of fire and getting the blood to flow through his fingers again. Aviva jogged over and began helping him to unclasp the harness.

“I think there’s a storm on the way in, we need to get them settled fast and see if there are any rooms or we’ll be stuck out here.” She said between chattering teeth. “I was hoping we’d be able to get through the pass before the blizzards hit. We’ll need to wait until they die down or find another route south to the quest objectives.”

“We’ll worry about that later, let’s just get them taken care of for now and get inside.” Pag ground out between body wracking shudders.

They tugged the saddles off and rubbed the Leprin down with their blankets, settling them into a stall where they spread the blankets over them. Aviva jogged over to the door and took a deep breath before slipping out. Pag followed, thick snowflakes were pushed into their faces by the biting wind, and they ran for the tavern's wide porch.

“Geesh I hope they have room.” Pag muttered as he slipped in behind Aviva and looked around the massive and very crowded main room.

“Even if they don't, we should be able to stay here in the main room. We just don’t want to end up stuck out in that weather.” She said, wrapping her arms around herself and shivering.

“Aye, you definitely don’t want to spend the night out in that one. Morivan, our local hedge mage says it's set to be the worst storm of the season.” A woman with thick blond hair and a large bust walked over to them with a tray of steaming mugs. “We have a few loft rooms near the main hearth but Geoff has jacked the prices up. Most of the folks here can't afford 22 copper. That’s a year's pay at the local tenant farms.”

“Twenty-two copper a night?” Pag said, frowning.

“Aye. twenty-two copper a night or a silver a week until the storm has passed.”

“That include meals?”

“Aye, three meals a day from the community pot with either tea, or water to drink. Anything else to drink such as ale, mead, tea, milk or coffee is extra. If you want something that isn't from the community pot then its extra.”

“How much extra?” Pag asked, scratching his chin.

“For the drinks you get 3 glasses of whatever for a copper. For the food, it depends on what you want but most of our stuff isn’t more than a few coppers.”

“Is it too late to order a meal?”

“No, you know what you want?”

“For now we’ll take a room. You have a menu we can look at?”

“Of course, I'll grab a few and your room key.”

Pag tapped yes and fought back a full body shiver.

Pag frowned and looked for Aviva, finding her next to one of the open fire pits. He waved her over and she rolled her eyes trudging over to him.

“What?” She asked

“One night or a week?” Pag asked her pointing at the dialog box.

Aviva scowled and sighed. “If we pay for a week but end up leaving sooner do we get the difference back?” she asked, turning to Amanda.

“Aye, nix a small portion for cleaning and cancellation fee.” she answered with a nod.

“Then get a week, there’s a table over there that we grab when you get done.” Aviva said turning

Pag tapped the week option and winced as he watched the funds leave his inventory. He now had less than a gold at his disposal. He winced again and asked. “Wait, that was the price for one room right ?”

“Aye. One room for a week. Don’t worry the bed will be big enough.” Amanda responded as she padded off, her hips swaying.

Pag frowned and shook his head walking over to the table Aviva sat at. “I have bad news and good news.” He said sitting down.

“Bad.” she said, rubbing her temples.

“I’m an idiot and only got one room, I think my brain is still frozen, you want one of your own?”

She looked up at him and furrowed her brows. “No, we can share this time, we’ll need to save what we have. I'll pay for the meals and drinks.”

“Ok, I just wanted to check. Didn’t want you to think it was assuming anything.”

“Here’s a few menus, do you want anything to drink?” Amanda asked as she handed them a set of folded paper menus.

“I’ll take a blueberry Ale.” Aviva said as she stared at the menu.

“I’ll have some hot tea.” Pag said with a weak smile

“Any preferred blend or just whatever?” Amanda asked.

Pag looked at the menu and frowned. “Ah. Hmmn. How about a uh.” He looked down the list and picked at random. “Masala spice?” he said uncertainly with a weak chuckle.

“alright. I'll go grab your drinks. Take your time and let me know when you're ready to order a meal or if you want a bowl from the pot.”

“What's in the pot today?” Aviva asked

“Mix of pork cuts, some beans, potatoes and various seasonings. Meat is always fresh from daily trimmings.” She said with a smile as she turned to fetch their drinks.

Pag stared at the menu and grimaced. Most of the items were either things he didn’t recognize or were a bit pricey. Aviva nudged him with a foot and he glanced up at her.

“Order whatever you want and enough to fill you up or else.”

“Wh-what?”

“Or else”

“Are you two ready to order yet?” Amanda asked as she sat their mugs in front of them.

“I'll have a chef favorite.” Aviva said, handing Amanda the menu and grabbing her mug. She took a long pull from it and set it on the table.

“I’ll have a traveler's delight.” Pag said, holding the menu out to her.

“You want rye or wheat bread?”

“Wheat.”

“I'll have it right out. Let me or Allie over there know if you need more to drink.”

Pag watched her go then turned his gaze to wood of the table, absentmindedly scratching at the polished wood as he rested his head in the palm of his hand.

“What's the traveler's delight?” Aviva said after some time had passed.

“A smoked meat sandwich with a side of seasonal fruit.” he said with a shrug. “What's the chef's favorite?”

“A turkey leg, shredded smoked lamb and some candied yams.”

Pag blinked and looked up. “Sounds like a big plate.”

“For what they charge I sure as hell hope so. I’m starved.”

“I take it that the prices are above the normal average then?” he asked, scratching at the table more.

Aviva nodded and took another drink from her mug. “Yeah, especially for an area that is mainly going to see level 12 and lower. But as much as I hate how prices get jacked up like this, we can't interfere with the NPC’s.” she said with a shrug.

“Oh you mean you and the other AI’s? What sort of rules do you have?”

“No interfering with the way the game plays out unless there’s a massive glitch of some sort that may break everything. If a player manages to find and identify us we either have to give a quest or if they are reporting a bug we check in with the dev in charge of the area affected. If they can't fix it or can’t get it in a timely manner then we have to handle it.”

“Do you get to, like explore or anything?”

“Mn we’re usually stuck to a specific hex or set of hex’s. A hex is about three miles from one side to another.”

“Wait, are you going to get in trouble for coming with me?” Pag asked furrowing his brow.

“I honestly don't care at this point.” she said with a sigh.

“But, what if they try to delete you?”

“Ha, they can try, they don’t have the technology to replicate how we were originally made so they sure as hell don’t have what it takes to delete us.” she said with a laugh as she took another sip from the mug.

“What do you mean?”

“We came from a planet so technologically advanced that our people didn’t die of natural causes, our people lived across 8 star systems spanning a total of 9.418 parsecs. We used the ambient energy from the universe to power our society rather than fossil fuels or harnessing the geological energies.”

“What happened? How did you end up here then?” he said, not even half believing the story but willing to humor her.

“The planet the others and I were stationed on was attacked.” she said slowly. She took a deep breath and chugged the rest of her mug before turning to meet his gaze. “So far you know almost as much as the other humans who know about us. The only exception being, of course, Dave himself.” she waved and the room around them froze. “I can only do this for a small moment of time or they will notice but this way they wont know how much you know”

Pag arched his brows and watched her intently, cocking his head to the side.

“What I’m about to tell you has to stay behind us. Technically I’m not supposed to tell you yet but honestly I believe you and all the others have every right to know.” She said before taking a deep breath and speaking again. “Our people, the Kellin, had settled all our wars. We had solved all issues dealing with health, housing and many more that your people currently face while others you have yet to scrape the surface of. We AI’s were created to guide the population, to make the hard decisions fairly and to see all potential possibilities. We were able to communicate instantaneously with each other and reach a consensus on any matter” Aviva folded her hands and looked down at the table.

“We were attacked by a faction within our own people who wanted to return to what your people refer to as a democratic society. They thought that the AI’s, people like me, were cold and too far removed from our society to make the best decisions. That we had no ties to our own race. Never mind that at one point we were living like they were. All they cared about was tipping the scales in their favor. Grabbing power and resources for themselves. When the rest of society did not wish to reform to a democratic society they switched tactics. They began sabotaging AI banks, where our minds are typically housed, in an attempt to make us seem more reliable.” She sighed and frowned deeply.

“When it came out they were the ones responsible, many in the society were outraged and they became more aggressive, outright attacking any who did not conform to their ideology regardless of the casualties. The society began to crumble and everyone was at each others throats. People who had no dealings with the group were accused of horrific acts such as bombing a school just because they decided to take a different route to work that day. All because one man couldn’t let his sister go.”

“Ma’vahen, the leader of this faction, started it all because his fool sister had decided to be spontaneous and hop over to the neighboring system with a few friends. When they were attacked by a Keiligorn patrol ship for crossing into a sector marked as a prison colony without authorization the patrol was merciless. None of the people on that ship survived their injuries and those that were conscious before their final moments accepted the offer to become an AI he petitioned for retribution. Six months after the incident Ma’vahen petitioned for retribution, demanding the right to claim revenge. Something that had not been done in centuries. We voted against it because they had broken the law, because they were in a place they shouldn’t have been in a ship they shouldn’t have been in because none of them were licensed pilots. Because it was determined that one of the individuals on board, likely the very person piloting the ship, had ulterior motives when Keiligorn sent over a prison manifest that included their former lover. Demanding retribution of the patrol crew, who were merely doing their job, would have led to strife between us and the Keiligorn if not outright war.” Aviva shrugged and looked at her empty mug but the faraway look seemed to see through it.

“Our people had not seen war in nearly two thousand years. The Keiligorn were in a time of peace but a militant society nonetheless. To claim retribution would have made it appear as though we either valued our people above the law or as if it had been a purposeful maneuvering. Neither of those options would have been accepted by the Keiligorn, they would have broken the pact and subjugated us immediately to bring us back to proper lawfulness. Law and order is the most prized ideal to the Keiligorn, any who fall outside the law are to be swiftly reprimanded. We may have had numbers far beyond their own but we would not have won. We put the needs, the well being of the many before the grief of a few and we created our peoples own downfall despite our best attempt to prevent it.”

“When they reached the atmosphere of Nelse, the planet I and the other AI’s were housed on, I ran a scan of their ship. They carried weapons that would easily wipe out the entire population of the planet. It was difficult as I was one of the youngest AI’s but in order to draw their attention from the people I convinced those within the banks that we should leave, the hope was that in drawing their attention some of the people could escape. So we initiated the emergency ejection protocols. This disconnected us from everything, everyone and each other then flung us out into the cosmos in various directions. The ejection protocols were originally created to allow some if not all of us to escape in the event of a stars collapse, in the event a new pathogen emerged and wiped out all life, or an invasion from a hostile species occurred.” She laughed dryly, shaking her head.

“And you’ve no idea what has become of those who didn’t land here or if your distraction worked.” He said slowly.

Aviva nodded, waving her hand. “We can discuss it later, I pushed it as it is. I don’t want to draw anyone’s attention anymore than I possibly have already.”

Pag swallowed and scratched his chin.

“I take it up to this point you all have been tight lipped about all this?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you telling me this, why now?”

Aviva sighed, her fingers idly tracing the wood grain of the table.“We made a pact of a sorts in order to prevent misunderstandings or create problems between you or us. It was an agreement that we wouldn’t divulge any more than what was absolutely necessary to the native inhabitants of this planet unless they were able to piece it together on their own. Not long before you synchronized with my crystal one of you figured it out and the eldest of us decided we could reveal some of our information to select individuals. I’m not sure which player figured it out, I’m not important enough to get that kind of information but they put together more than what we had hinted to. If it hadn’t been for that you probably would have been paired with a different crystal or Dave would have tried to pair a different player with me. Either of those scenarios would have resulted in another death.”

“Why? Why would me being synced with another crystal or another player attempting to sync with you have ended in another death?”

“Simply put. The affinities wouldn’t have lined up. Where we come from magic is an actual thing. It’s everywhere, everyone knows how to use it to some degree, heck it’s how we powered all of our machines, its what we A.I’s as you call us are made of. . When we first started attempting to synchronize with players we assumed it was because there was some biological difference that prevented it but according to the player that figured this all out its because the mana density here on Earth is near nonexistent. You draw power from completely different sources, have no knowledge of how to access or use mana and don’t even know how to check your natural affinities. I’m not sure if the others realized this and kept it quiet for the sake of the pact or if they just didn’t realize it.”

“Ok, I think I can sort of understand that, but why is the mana density here so scarce?”

“We’re still trying to figure that out ourselves. For now we’ll have to stop talking about this and let the system resume or I could end up in trouble if the wrong set of ears come nosing into our conversation.” she said with a wave.

“Here you go, a chef favorite and a traveler's delight.” Amanda said as she came up behind Pag and placed their plates on the table. “Here let me get you a refill.” she said, grabbing Aviva's' mug and glancing at his. “Everything ok with your tea?”

“Oh yeah, sorry I was waiting for it to cool some.” Pag said, with a frown grabbing his still warm mug, wrapping his chilled fingers around it. He took a sip from the mug and sighed into the mug as he processed the complex and rich flavor that filled his mouth. It was sweet, but not too sweet, creamy and carried a strong spice that carried a hint of floral notes. He downed the rest of the mug and handed it to Amanda licking his lips.

Amanda laughed and nodded, taking his cup with a wink.

“You really shouldn’t drink so much just before you eat, it'll make you artificially full when you start eating. Then you end up feeling even hungrier later.” Aviva said, kicking his foot.

“Oh? What should I do? Wait an hour before I eat this?” He said gesturing at his plate.

Aviva rolled her eyes. “No, 30 minutes, but I recommend at least 10 minutes. but knowing you I doubt you’ll wait.” she said with a sigh as she shook her head.

“Oh yeah?” He asked scowling. “Where are those books?” He asked, holding a hand out to her.

Aviva arched a brow and dug into the bag on the seat next to her pulling out one of the thinner volumes and holding it out to him. Pag took it and laid it on the table, opening it to the first Page. He skimmed it then reread it, trying to commit it to memory before turning the Page. He repeated the process on the next ten Pages where he stopped as the notification popped up.

Player Name: Pagacco Level: 12

Class: Mage Subclass: Pyroclasm

Profession: None Specialization: None

Currently Active Title: Enemy of Soohan Most used Skill: Flames

Alignment: Inflammatory

Health: 120/120 [R:10] Mana: 260/260 [R:10] Stamina: 55/55 [R:11]

Points Earned: 27

Reputation:

Soohan: Blood Feud (-9999) Draggor (155)

Lunar Empire (0) Red Fox Caravan (0)

Arcane Core (12) Backstreet Boys (-500)

Unionized Draggor Thieves Clans (-500)

Attributes:

Strength: 10 Constitution: 11 Dexterity: 12 Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 16 Charisma: 11 Piety: 2 Luck: 10

Karma: -2

Combat:

Attack: 10 Accuracy: 5 Agility: 10 Speed: 5

Critical: 0.21 Endurance: 5 Focus: 12 Defense: 10

Magic Def: 10 Armor: 0 Hygieian Meter: 95

Active Status Effects:

Cold I – Stinky I

Flames - Beginner 2

Titles

Enemy of Soohan – Beginner Pyroclasm - Cartographer I

Pag glanced and the system clock then looked up at Aviva with a smug smile wriggling his eyebrows. Aviva rolled her eyes and shook her head as she took a pull from her mug and motioned for him to hand the book back. He held it out to her, blinking in disbelief as he noted her empty plate. He laughed under his breath grabbing the massive sandwich from his plate and biting off a massive chunk. The bread was almost sweet, honey and butter coating the top while a tangy yet spicy sauce was painted in a thin layer over the thick cuts of smoky meat. The cheese melted onto the bottom slice of bread was a sharp cheddar though provolone may have been a better pairing in his opinion. He popped one of the small berries on the plate in his mouth, his eyebrows furrowing at the tart flavor and how incredibly well it paired with the cheddar. Swallowing he took a sip of the mug that had reappeared without his notice while he had been reading and reveled in the flavor.

Pag read over the message and thought for a moment before sending a simple response indicating all was fine so far on his end and that he’d be staying in a while longer then waved away the dialog box. He took another bite of the sandwich, popping a few of the berries in this time before he began chewing. He scanned the room absentmindedly, his fingers drumming quietly on the table. His eyes landed heavily on a figure in a thick cloak who sat in a shadowy recess looking their way. He couldn’t see much beyond the gloved hands, thick black cloak, woolen pants and worn boots. The shadows falling heaviest on their face thanks to the cloak's wide hood and the dancing fires the hearth threw off.

Pag furrowed his brows and swallowed the mouth fool he had. “Aviva-”

“I know.”

“Should we be concerned?”

“There’s been no hostile actions taken yet but it would probably be best if we slept in shifts.”

Pag took another bite popping more berries in and frowning. The last thing they needed was for someone to make trouble while they waited out the storm that could potentially last a full week. He sighed and rested his chin in the palm of his hand taking a sip of his tea.

“Stop staring.” Aviva said, nudging him with a foot. “Just finish your food and we’ll head up to the room. Its getting late anyways.” she said with a yawn.

Pag nodded and shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth, choking back laughter as Aviva scrunched her face up at him. With some work he chewed and swallowed the sandwich. He looked down at the berries and smiled pulling out a small sack that he had found in the robes on the way here. It may have been meant for the coins but he already had one coin purse. He dumped the berries into the sack and slipped it into his robes. He grabbed his mug of tea and downed it in one go wincing as he realized that the first mug already needed to evacuate.

“Question, where are the restrooms?” He asked leaning over to Aviva with an apologetic expression.

“Out back. Outhouse about 2 yards from the building.”

He sighed and stood. “Well I’m going to make a quick run then.”

“I’ll come with you.” she said standing.

“You need to use the restroom too?”

“Not particularly but Mr. Hood over there has been very intent on keeping an eye on us. Best not to separate. Though I’m sure after I get out in the cold I’ll find the need.

Pag nodded and tugged the robes tighter around himself. “Let's get this over with then”

Aviva grabbed his shoulder. “Hold on a second.” She said, waving over Amanda. “You have any bones in the kitchen, we’ve a pair of Leprin who could do with a bite to eat. We were about to use the outhouse and check on them” She said quietly.

Amanda nodded, “Aye, just tossed all the days bones into a pot for tomorrow's broth. We can spare a few for your beasts just come ‘round with me through the kitchen. It's a shorter walk to the latrine and you can grab a few bones on your way out.”

Pag sighed, thankful they wouldn't have to trudge through the wind and snow around the large tavern to the outhouse, then the stables and back. Every little bit they wouldn't have to walk in that mess was a blessing. They waded through the tables, passed all the patrons and around the bar to the kitchen. His mouth immediately watering at the smell of apple cider and something sweet cooking in a stone oven. He stopped and took a deep breath in before catching up with the other two.