“Glad you’re all finding joy in Alpha World,” Alburet chuckled. “Keep going. In a couple of days you’ll hit the Orc Village. That can be a bit tricky until you learn how to handle things, which will really depend on who’s with you. I’d suggest waiting until fifteen, the extra abilities can make a huge difference.”
“Yeah,” Greenbeard agreed, “we found that out when we tackled the Goblin Fort after we hit ten.”
“Wait until you get to the gnolls,” Alburet chuckled. “That is a learning curve.”
“They weren’t bad during the beta,” Leggylass commented.
“The gnolls have grown since then, expect new tricks. Have fun, we’re off to check in with others.”
Alburet’s message icon started flashing at him halfway to the next group.
Message from Kim Magiblood:
Just got word from House Theron, hosting dinner for four tonight is a yes. I’ll make sure a carriage is here, the invitation says to show up two hours after sundown.
Alburet sent a message thanking her, then he turned to Stacia who was looking at him quizzically. “Kim got word from House Theron. They’ll meet with us tonight, so dinner is on.”
“Ya think Wilbur be the answer to her quest?”
“I hope so, he fits the criteria she gave me. But it will take both of them agreeing with me for it to move forward. Erin might see the opportunity and make a play to help Wilbur move forward as well.”
“Aye, by getting’ him away from his family, he would be free to pursue her.”
“Exactly, my little fire kitten,” he chuckled as they walked the grasslands unimpeded, since the groups out here hunting pulled each patrol as they appeared. A few minutes later his icon lit up again.
Message from Fluffbalclass="underline"
Me and Karen are about to head out to the gnoll area. Are you free to come along? We were also thinking of hitting the next area tomorrow.
Alburet told her they would be glad to come along, then filled Stacia in on the development.
“Aye, it be good to hunt with our friends,” she said.
They used their Homestones to jump back to the city and headed to the Portal Guild to hit the Gnoll Forest area. He gave Karen and Fluffball both hugs, as did Stacia, in greeting.
“So, gnolls for the last time today, then?” Alburet asked, getting nods in answer. He summoned Tiny first, “Hey, big guy, gnolls again today.”
“As you wish, master,” Tiny rumbled.
Summoning Bob produced the expected results. Bob turned to see who was there and began to bounce happily in place. “Karen and Fluff, woohoo. I love the babe parties, so much fun.”
Karen snickered, “Hello, you over sexed Imp. No hugs today unless you really earn one.”
Bob skipped off towards the tree line, “Let’s not waste time then,” he called back over his shoulder.
Shaking his head, Alburet quickly summoned a Copy of Stacia as he motioned them to follow the over-eager Imp. “After you, ladies.” He turned to Tiny, “Tiny, take the lead so Bob doesn’t get one-shotted.”
“Yes,” Tiny rumbled, breaking into a jog to catch the Imp.
“How have you been today?” Fluff asked as they walked.
“Doing okay. Gerald is handling the nobles. Once he’s done with today’s meeting, we’ll probably hook up with him and Marysue for the rest of the day. Tonight, I have a formal dinner to attend and Gerald has another noble to meet with. What about you two?”
“Marian’s been giving us massages every night before Fluff meets with Lilith. Last night I told a really bawdy joke and Fluff didn’t even turn pink,” Karen said.
Fluffball looked away, “It was still pretty bad.” She groomed an ear absently, looking over at Alburet, “I think Lilith is really helping me. Do you think it’s odd that a Succubus is helping me when a number of psychologists couldn’t?”
“Not really,” Alburet said as he chewed his lip. “This world is much more than just a game, after all. I recall seeing somewhere once that Succubi were also known as dream demons, able to influence a person’s dreams. Is that how she’s helping you?”
“She puts me into a trance then helps me look back at parts of my life. She points out where I’ve blamed myself when I wasn’t at fault. It’s funny now that you mention it that I should even be able to do that here.”
Alburet looked away, his lips pursed, “I’ve been having dreams of things from my past as well. Maybe it’s part of being immersed in the world instead of just using a VR suit.”
“I haven’t had any dreams like that,” Karen added.
“Master,” Stacia said softly. “I be plannin’ to ask me Ma iffin she can teach me some of her tricks. Mayhap I can help ya with ya dreams, then.”
He looked over at Stacia seeing the fear of rejection in her eyes, along with the hope that he would let her help. “Okay, Kitten, go ahead and ask her. I don’t see how it can hurt and maybe it’ll help with whatever is going on.”
“Thank ya, master,” she said, leaning in from either side to kiss his cheeks.
“Patrol,” Tiny rumbled as he caught sight of the Gnoll Wanderer.
An hour later Gerald and Marysue caught up to them just as they finished clearing out a camp. “The nobles here might be even worse than the people I’m used to dealing with,” Gerald said to announce their arrival.
Alburet winced, “Damn, sorry about that.”
Gerald and Marysue accepted the invites to the group. “It is what it is. They’ll settle down soon enough. Once they realize that they can’t get what they want, that is. Though I found it vastly amusing to be offered riches.”
Marysue giggled, “Then he offered to let you marry into the extended family if you would give them what they wanted. You should have seen Sir Renad’s face when he turned that offer down.”
“Piqued, was he?” Karen laughed.
“He was less than pleased that I turned down his niece once removed,” Gerald sighed. “I mean, she was okay and all, she didn’t have buckteeth or anything like that. But seriously, why would that be your trump card?”
Marysue smiled as she took his free arm, “Some people are swayed by such things. Not my Gerald, though, he knows what he wants and will accept nothing less.”
Alburet blinked and exchanged a glance with Karen, who had also caught the possessive. “Well, now that we’re all here, let’s go hit the cave one more time. That should push me to level. It might get Karen and Fluff to twenty, as well.”
Gerald looked at Marysue with unreadable eyes before he nodded. “Yes, killing sounds good right now. Tomorrow, how about we move on from the gnolls, though?”
Everyone agreed that sounded like a plan. Alburet offered his arms to Stacia. “Ladies, shall we away?”
“Aye,” Stacia said, taking his arms on either side.
Karen took Fluff’s arm as well, “Just a quick stroll through gnoll infested woods at noon, what could go wrong?”
Fluff giggled, “A take on the Princess Bride line?”
“It was that, or start rhyming,” Karen chuckled.
“Anybody want a peanut?” Alburet laughed.
The others started chiming in lines from the classic movie, with Stacia paying close attention. When they paused to kill the next patrol, she began asking questions about the lines they’d been quoting. The group started explaining the Princess Bride to Stacia as they started in on the dungeon a few minutes later, even going so far as to act out some scenes.
They had finished explaining it by the time they finished the dungeon. Alburet had hit his next level, as had Karen and Fluff, who could now train their level twenty abilities. They went back to Stormguard a little past noon to train, and Alburet took them to Giardino and Family for lunch. The entree for lunch was a garlic pesto with penne noodles that was perfectly prepared.
“That was really good,” Marysue commented as they left. “The wine was the perfect accompaniment for the pasta. It tempered the garlic just enough for the rest of the sauce to shine.”