“Ah, I was looking forward to a show,” Drool said, now standing behind me.
I nearly jumped out of my clothes at her words.
“Don’t be afraid.” She chuckled. “In my experience boys enjoy it more without their clothes.”
“It depends on the outfit,” Victoria replied.
“That’s true.”
They both laughed, as I felt like I had been transformed into a slab of steak with two wildcats fighting over me.
“I finished the order,” Drool said.
“Oh. Let me see.”
Leaving me to myself, the girls huddled around Drool’s desk.
I decided to put my new clothing on. Too bad I couldn’t have a bath first. Dragging my leather vest from my character sheet, it disappeared from my shoulders into my inventory. The short-sleeved vest and pants I dragged over the top of my dirt browns and they replaced what I was wearing before my eyes, reminding me this really wasn’t real, but a virtual world.
My curiosity was piqued after I had stood there a few minutes. Inching up behind the girls to see what they worked on, Victoria spun around, her hand to my chest stopping me from getting closer.
“It’s rude for boys to spy on a girl at work. Stay back until we are finished or I will let Drool have her show.”
Her eyes turned in as she grinned like an innocent cat demon.
Chapter 12 – Do You Hear That?
Meat juices gushed into the back of my throat. The Salisbury steak was a perfect medium. Homemade ranch dressing drenched my plate. Our waitress wasn’t shy about letting us help ourselves. Sunk deep into my seat I listened to the conversation of my older group members. Enough work had been done today to allow me to slurp up every bite.
I sat between Oliver and Kline, who both had the same idea. We were mostly quiet, only Oliver was disciplined enough not to submerge in his chair.
Peter and Victoria picked at their food between comments. Harrison and a few of his group members had joined us.
With the lull of a lullaby, a lute and flute sung slow, contemplative tones. It matched the hushed conversations going on in the tavern that night. The earlier attack had sobered most. No one doubted the danger we were in now. We were in full-fledged survival mode.
Moments ago I had rebuked myself for not remembering my followers and why I was here. Checking my fan page had settled any concern I was doing something wrong. 52 million people were following me. Eating myself silly was the least I could do to celebrate. After taking some selfies with my new gear, I didn’t know if it was exhaustion or elation that returned me to a relaxed stupor. It felt as if I was floating about looking through someone else’s eyes.
Wink nipped a bite of steak from my palm, her tail thunking against Kline’s chair. His pup stood on its hind legs begging for food.
“So this mayor of Willingham is willing to sell you the merchant’s home for a fourth of the normal price? I’m assuming there’s a catch.” Harrison said, licking gravy from the whisker at the side of his mouth.
“The real catch is it’s a terrible location. It’s near the wall and far from the gate. I talked him into letting us rent it instead.” Peter replied, his hands intertwined, tapping rhythmically at his bottom lip. “It should at least be safe. There were only 20 full-time guards in Willingham, who are little more than police, but there are at least a couple thousand players. The distance between us and the gate makes it very unlikely any attacks will get to us quickly.”
“It will do for now. We’ll help with rent if we can store goods there as well.”
“That will help. By the end of the week, I hope to get the 30 gold to put a down payment on the building we found. It will be perfect for our plans.”
“Great plan, missy,” Harrison said, still chomping his food and turning to Victoria.
“Thank you, Harry,” she replied, using the name he insisted she call him.
“You get the building, and I’ll make us a safe that would take twenty thousand goblins a week to break into.”
“With that out of the way, the only thing to do is to get some food and go join the defense,” Victoria replied, sitting forward and smoothing her skirt.
Still nervous? Ever since we returned from shopping the weight of whatever was bothering her had settled back on her shoulders.
“Not tonight. We can help man the gate during the day tomorrow. Besides—” Turning back to Harrison, Peter said, “If you are willing, I would like to put together a large group and go find out where these goblins are coming from.”
“I was going to suggest the same if you didn’t. Count us in.”
Those who hadn’t really touched their food took this as their cue. The chewing of food and ringing of silverware was inching me toward sleep.
Peter, Victoria, and Oliver left the table first, heading straight to the house we were renting. It was April’s old house, a cabin with two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen. The size was impressive for one person.
“Just so you know, if you are waiting until I’m not suspecting to steal my food, I’m onto you,” Kline said, staring up at the ceiling, his hands resting on his slowly rising chest.
”I’m too tired to steal food,” I replied, not wanting to get up to leave with the others.
“You’re not going to get me that way. I see through your act.”
“You don’t even have any food on your plate left to steal.”
“You won’t fool me with your fancy arguments. Food thieves are the worst kind. Except for those gear thieves. They should be hunted down.”
“Gear thieves?”
“Yeah. Touch a man’s threads and get turned into mustard! A guy has got to look good.”
“Mustard?!”
Looking from the ceiling, his eyes went wide meeting mine. “That is what I call a defensive maneuver. I distract with my incredible wit so that I can eat my food before it’s taken.”
“What about Lulu. She took plenty of your food.” Lulu was his pup’s name. As best as I could tell he had picked the little wolf to have an eating partner.
“Girls don’t count.”
“That’s sexist.”
A shriek skirted across the floor as Kline’s chair flew back. He stood over me, looking down his nose.
Getting used to his offended act, I cringed sarcastically in fear until my nostrils flared.
“Yes, it is. Just remember, some girls might want you to treat them as equals, but they aren’t equal, they are better than you! My rule is to treat all women with manners, whether they like it or not!” Rolling his shoulder back, he stretched, reaching to the ceiling. He nodded with finality as if what he had just said was the most important thing that had ever been said.
Shaking my head, It’s time. I stood and stretched.
***
Exiting the tavern and wading through the semi-busy inn lobby, we left to catch up with our group. Whether we caught them or not right away wasn’t my concern. We knew where the house was.
A pleasant chill settled on my cheeks as we met the night air. The aroma of grilled meat lessened as we moved on. I almost wanted to go back for another bite that would never fit into my stomach.
We turned from the row of taverns and inns to join the main road leading to the village gate. It was still busy with most traffic leading to the front of the city for tonight’s defense. We headed against traffic. With the front gates now under the player’s control, they would be closed most of the night but opened for players joining the fight.
I was torn between joining the defense and staying with my group. The hunt for the goblin spawn point, whatever that might be, would hopefully be a worthy substitute for my fans tomorrow.
Keeping to a major side road, we turned, heading north to the housing district of the village. There was no real partition between sections of the city. They were fairly blended, but most businesses were mid-city and east toward the gate. South held the hotels and taverns, though some of the biggest taverns were mid-town. West were city businesses, town hall, department of housing, and the village bank. I hadn’t ventured there yet.