End Online: Volume 5 (6 page)

“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.