End Online: Volume 5 Page 5

  “So what about non-mainstream players? Ah, I will have an ale as well!” I say to Mason and the barmaid in turn. I gain two points of infamy from talking to the bar girl directly thanks to my intimidating aura, but I have accumulated enough fame that a few points of infamy won’t hurt.

  “A pint of ale for me! Non-mainstream players are often somewhat capable of combat, but spend most of their attention on secondary skills. Things such as painting, carpentry, construction, sculpting, smithing, wood craft, and many others. I personally have ‘Wood Crafting’, ‘Stone Crafting’, and ‘Fletching’ which allows me to make high quality arrows from the most mundane of items that I can find anywhere.”

  “Three skills just to craft arrows? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?” Verde asks with a wry expression.

  “At first, but once they all get above skill level 20 they will ‘Skill Up’ and merge into the new skill ‘Arrow Craft’. There are innumerable ways that secondary skills can ‘Skill Up’ and merge together, and players are constantly looking for new combinations. Some even contribute to new class skills.”

  “If so many players are doing that, then why isn’t more information on these skills available?” I ask curiously.

  “It is, but you need to pay for it. Surely you have seen the ‘Information Bazaar’ sub section of the End Forums?”

  “I have, but you have to pay to open each sub topic, and I don’t want to know that badly, even if each sub is only a dollar or less. Besides, how do you know people aren’t just posting false information?”

  “This is where these people post their information on skills, class skills, dungeons and the like. It’s enforced by the game system itself so it can automatically sift out all the false ones.”

  Right at that moment, the door to the inn crashes open with a sound resembling the splintering of wood. A scrawny man with a big, toothy grin walks in. He has a bandana tied around his head, several silver and brass ear cuffs on each ear, and a partially developed beard on his face.

  He wears several loose and unkempt layers of clothing under a large black coat. The hilt of a single sword is visible from beneath his coat. If I was to describe him in one word, it would be-

  “Pirate,” Sir Laurence frowns.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t the most useless pirate of them all! Everyone, it’s Gordon!” The entire room breaks into a roaring laughter.

  The man who just entered raises his nose to everybody and calls out, “The name’s CaptainGordon! How many times do I ‘ave to shout that out for y’all pathetic people to remember?!”

  “More like Gordon the snail! The last time I met the great pirate Gordon on the waters, I raised my sails so that at least he would have a chance to catch me!” At this, the crowd laughs even harder, and several people even fall off their stools.

  I don’t blame everyone for laughing at a pirate with such a scrawny build, but it seems a little cruel.

  CaptainGordon stands at the entrance fuming, but still looks for an open seat rather than leaving. Spotting an open seat at a nearby table, he quickly moves over and sits down grumpily, cursing under his breath and muttering about revenge on all the mockers by sinking their ships and such. It just so happens that the table he sits at is ours.

  He is sitting in the only open seat around the table, directly between Fen and Mason. I feel a little nervous as I look at Fen’s reaction, but she either doesn’t notice his presence or simply does not care.

  The pirate looks up at all of us and lowers his eyebrows in a scowl, trying and failing to be intimidating.

  “What are y’all lookin’ at?! There something on me face?” He says with a few extra curses.

  “Go sit elsewhere,” Verde says in an ice cold voice, stunning me.

  CaptainGordon visibly gulps and seems to be trying to think of a retort. The blatant hostility in Verde’s voice makes even me feel a little scared.

  “This ‘ere be an open seat. Y’all don’ like me ‘ere, then deal wit’ it,” he finally barks back.

  I don’t feel much like arguing, and neither do the others, apparently. We all go back to our previous conversation and ignore the extra person at the table who calls out for a honey mead.

  “Like I said, we still need someone to take us to the island in the south. There is bound to be someone who can help. We must just be looking in the wrong spot,” I remind everyone, trying to bring us back on topic.

  “Wait, y’all are lookin’ to explore south based on some rumor?” CaptainGordon asks us curiously.

  Sir Laurence speaks to him this time, “Yes. What is it to you?”

  “I can take y’all if ye want. Well, for a price, of course.”

  His words leave us all momentarily stunned. All day looking for a single sailor to take us on our journey with no luck, yet someone willing appears right in front of us?

  “What’s the price?” I ask, still trying to determine whether he is being honest or not.

  “100 gold, a piece. There is six of ye, so 600 gold total.”

  I am about to laugh at him for asking for such a cheap price, but suddenly realize I have gotten used to the prices in Swordbreak. Normally, the price he is asking is actually considered quite high for mere passage on a ship.

  We all look at each other, confirming each other’s thoughts. Sir Laurence, Verde, Matrix and Mason nod their heads toward me. There is no need to consider Fen’s opinion, who just looks at me nonchalantly.

  “Agreed, 600 gold it is,” I say to CaptainGordon who beams at the sudden income of gold.

  “Excuse me, I am also curious about this southern island. Would I possibly be able to join?” A player at a nearby table comes over and asks.

  The player is wearing a light yellow set of half-plate armor which gives off an incredibly sturdy feeling. One of his arms is covered in thick layers of overlapping armor, jutting up at the shoulder and protecting his neck as well. While the other arm is exposed from the shoulder to his gauntlet, showing off an average sized arm which is covered in dense muscles. On his back, he carries a mid-sized, silver kite shield inlaid with ebony thread and a golden longsword.

  I try to get a look at his face, but he is wearing a full face knight’s helm with only a few holes in the visor to see out of, but prevents anyone from seeing in.

  CaptainGordon also looks up at the new player and enters a state of thought.

  “Aye, I can bring ye on as well! The price be 200 gold,” he finally says.

  The heavily armored player, who at first seemed to be polite, takes half a step forward and leans in on the small pirate and speaks in a low voice, “That’s twice what you asked from them. Don’t try to rip me off.”

  “It’s a bulk discount. Ye be on yer own. 200 gold, or no ship.”

  Just as the situation is about to become hostile, a group of five players walk up and stand next to the person trying to intimidate CaptainGordon. Their leader is an extremely tall woman wearing heavy armor colored similarly to the knight’s, only with much more skin exposed. She has average looks, with brass-colored skin, olive eyes, and slightly bushy eyebrows.

  The woman places a hand on the knight’s shoulder and gives him a cold smile, “How ’bout if us five join you. That will make a full party of six, and we can all get the group discount and venture to this land in the south. What do you say, guildmaster?”

  Even without being able see under his helm, I can see how stunned the knight is.

  “Y-you! W-what are you doing here?!” He exclaims disbelievingly.

  “Surely you didn’t think you could simply leave the guild which was created just for you. What would we do if you were gone?”

  “You followed me all the way here?!”

  “Of course.”

  The knight’s head drops in defeat. I guess these people must be pretty relentless.

  Taking the opportunity, CaptainGordon grins wickedly. “How ’bout it? 600 gold for six of ye?”

  “Fine,” the guildmaster sounds depressed.

  “Great!
So what’re yer names? May as well know who we all be sailin’ with.”

  “My name is Mikhail the Stalwart, and this is-“

  “Moonkite,” the woman cuts the knight off. “The others are JohnSmite, Lockon, Somahealer, and RenegadeRam.”

  “Ye guys speak up too. This be for all of us,” CaptainGordon nods towards our party sitting around the table.

  I follow what the other party leader does and introduce us. “Going around the table, this is Fen, Mason, Matrix, Sir Laurence, Verde, and I am Lost.”

  “What? You be lost?” The skinny pirate looks at me confused.

  “My name. My name is Lost.”

  “Hah, that be a confusing name,” he nods his head, finally understanding.

  “Wait! You’re that Lost?! The one from the tournament?!” Moonkite exclaims in surprise.

  I turn my sight away from the woman, unsure how I am supposed to respond.

  “Oh, I’m sure you must get that everywhere. Pretend I said nothing! Anyway, we will be off now, right guildmaster? Shall we meet tomorrow morning?”

  CaptainGordon clears his throat to get everyone’s attention, “Right, regardless as to who be who, I will meet y’all at sunrise tomorrow morn’, in front of this ‘ere inn. Don’t forget to bring yer gold!”

  Just like that the other group leaves, Moonkite dragging their guildmaster, Mikhail the Stalwart, away. I notice him staring at Fen as we leave and feel a little concerned. Not for Fen, but for him. Nobody has made a move on Fen without getting hurt.

  The pirate’s honeyed mead arrives at the table and he cautiously blows on it to cool it down before taking small sips. Seven of us sit there for several hours, discussing humorous moments we have been through before. The only ones who don’t join in are Sir Laurence maintaining his regimen of silence, and Verde for reasons only obvious to Sir Laurence and I.

  We make sure to add each other as friends before parting ways and heading up to our rooms for the night. This inn is nowhere near as full as the ones in Swordbreak, so we easily rent four rooms between us for the night. Verde in one room, Sir Laurence in the second, Mason and Matrix in the third, and Fen and I in the last one.

  ***************************************************

  I wake up feeling much more clear headed than last night. Thankfully I did not drink too much so I don’t have any residual effects. Alcohol in the game will gradually increase the Strength while decreasing Intelligence, Dexterity, and Agility.

  Despite my clear head, I am incredibly uncomfortable. The air in the room is incredibly hot and humid, even though it’s only sunrise. I have long since kicked the bed sheet off, yet perspiration is still covering my body and causing my clothes to stick to me. To make matters worse, Fen is practically on top of me with her arms wrapped around me in a steel grip.

  I wriggle from side to side and finally manage to make her roll off of me. At some stage of her rolling off, the cord tying her holster dress around her neck comes loose and the already dishevelled dress falls down from her movement. My eyes turn alert as half her breasts are exposed, the skin especially pale and pure. I also feel a tingling on the back of my right hand as her womanly curves are partially exposed less than half an arm’s length away.

  Fen grumbles as she awakens. I hurriedly try to prevent her from moving, but she sits straight up before I can stop her and rubs the sleep from her eyes with one hand. Gravity takes hold on the dress as she does so, and the top of the dress slides down and collects at her hips.

  I stare wide-eyed at her perfect figure from the side. The way the base of her back gently curves. Her waspish waist devoid of the slightest imperfection. The way she props herself up on a single slim arm. The profile of her breast, a small rosy nib on the end suggestive of forbidden fruit. I can’t help but feel lust rising in me as I stare at the figure of a creature that men would wage war over.

  Fen looks down at her body, her face turning as pink as the tips of her forbidden fruits in embarrassment. She then turns to look at me in shock, giving me a frontal view. Her peaks bounce slightly as she quickly wraps her arms around my waist, pulling herself into my chest and hiding her body from my view.

  “Don’t… look,” she mumbles so quietly I nearly miss it.

  “Ah, umm, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to.”

  Her proximity is even more intoxicating, and I gently place one hand on her back, reveling in the softness of her skin. Without thinking, I gently run my fingers down her spine, feeling the small bony ridges under the skin. The girl quivers in response to my touch and her breathing increases slightly.

  “No… don’t!” She cries out suddenly.

  Before I realize it, a miniature ice spear stabs into my shoulder. A shocked moment later I experience the pain of actually getting stabbed and scream in agony. .

  Sound carries through the walls apparently, as Mason and Matrix come rushing from the next room and start banging on the door and asking if I am okay. I try to call out but even moving my jaw causes the pain in my shoulder to increase greatly. Luckily the door is locked, since I don’t know how to explain this situation.

  “Verde, he isn’t responding. Can you pick the lock?” Comes Mason’s voice from behind the door.

  “Umm, I’m not sure. Let me try.” The clearly recognizable voice of our other female companion speaks uncertainly.

  I hear something rattling in the lock and begin to panic. Forcing my body to move through the pain, I grab the small sliver of ice sticking into my shoulder and pull it out, the shard crushing in my hand as I do so. Despite the pain that the ice shard caused me, I did not lose much health.

  ‘Having a decent strength stat pays off!’ I happily think as the pain quickly fades.

  I hastily grab Fen by her bare shoulders, sitting her upright. She protests at being moved, but neither resists for long nor stabs me with another piece of ice. I hastily pull her dress up and help her tie it up behind her neck before Verde can unlock the door.

  “I’m fine!” I call out in a panicked voice. “There is no need to come in!”

  I don’t know whether they are unable to hear me or are pretending not to, but the noise of the lock rattling doesn’t stop. I get up off the bed in a rush, opening the menu to equip my armor and cloak as I do so, and rush over to the door.

  “Sorry, I don’t think I can. It is a private room in an inn after all. It must be unpickable. Strange, for some reason I thought it was possible to break into a room in an inn,” I hear Verde say behind the door as I reach for the handle.

  I pause momentarily, before calmly opening the door to greet the others outside. I find that it isn’t just Verde, Mason, and Matrix there, but Sir Laurence and even CaptainGordon are also gathered around the door.

  They don’t look directly at me, but poke their heads in and look around the room. Mason and Sir Laurence adopt short, semi-concealed smirks on their faces. Verde and Matrix blush slightly and avert their eyes. CaptainGordon is busy craning his head around the others, trying to get a better view of the room.

  I follow their line of sight behind me, and see Fen blushing extravagantly while seated on the bed, her dress still twisted around her waist and revealing her long, slender legs. I’m not completely thick headed, of course I can tell what they are thinking while looking at this scene.

  “I-it’s not what it looks like!” I stammer as my eyes frantically dart around in search of an escape.

  “Ahem,” Mason clears his throat, his grin deepening, “it’s not like what?”

  “Y-y-you…” I begin, but cannot find the right words to say.

  Sir Laurence’s eyes flash as he stares directly at me, “Forgive us, we heard a cry and thought there was some danger. We immediately rushed over in a panic, but it appears we interrupted you.”

  “N-no, like I said, there was nothing going on!”

  Mason places his hand on his chin, staring at me as his smirk becomes utterly wicked, “But you did tell us not to come in. You also sounded quite flustered.”
<
br />   ‘So you did hear!’ I inwardly curse and staring daggers at them.

  ***************************************************

  Mikhail the Stalwart, Moonkite and their party have been waiting for us in front of the inn since sunrise as we had arranged. Due to the morning commotion, however, the rest of us are slightly late in meeting them. Despite this, they don’t seem to be displeased in the slightest and greet us as if they didn’t even realize.

  “Good morning. Hmm, something seems strange,” Mikhail the Stalwart says from beneath his visor while looking across our party.

  I can’t exactly blame him for thinking the scene is strange. My chagrined expression. Fen standing extremely close to, but not touching, me. Mason and Sir Laurence sporting mischievous expressions. Even a complete stranger could tell something had happened.

  CaptainGordon clears his throat, and holds an upturned palm toward each of our parties. “Now, per the agreement, tha’ be 600 gold each.”

  Moonkite hands over all the gold from her side, while we each pitch in from our side to cover the cost. I pay for Fen as she is my companion as has no gold, and Sir Laurence pays for Verde for some reason.

  “Aye, it be a pleasure doing business with ya. Now, if ye follow me, I will lead ye to me ship.” The pirate waves his hand and motions for us to follow as he begins to walk toward the eastern exit of the town.

  Most of the players here don’t know me, but a few call out to CaptainGordon with mockery and laughter. Apparently, he is quite infamous in this town. I wonder what his story is.

  We leave town and start walking through a thin forest with the trees spaced so far apart that I am unsure whether it even deserves to be called a forest at all. My cloak has the ability to regulate the temperature around my body, but even that can only do so much. I still have light perspiration covering my face from the stifling humidity.

  We slowly veer south and I think I spot a few markings on some of the trees that CaptainGordon is using as a guide. After two straight hours of walking, we reach a rather wide section of a river where a large number of ships are anchored along the shore, each and every one of them bearing a different pirate flag.