Chapter 43

Fey and the temporary hunting party quickly racked up experience points. The hunting was so good that they ended up staying in bladefin territory for the entire day, each player gaining three levels. Only when the sun had truly set did they pack up to leave.

One by one, mermaids said their goodbyes and (reluctantly) swam off. Blade and Requiem received and declined numerous party invitations, all under the gazes of (a coldly wrathful) Sirena and (a bored) Fey. Finally, the original party of four re-formed.

Fey silently relaxed, releasing the small but not insignificant amount of self-control she required to act normal and unremarkable. It had been a good day for training, but the experience points had come at the cost of her relaxation time; she preferred to just be herself in the game. Still, she was satisfied with the day’s results: in addition to her three character levels, she had used her normal warrior’s skills extensively, raising Arc Slash to level 5 and Mana Blade to level 6. The day’s hunting had also yielded a goodly amount of gold and loot in the form of bladefin meat and bladefin fins, which were (improbably) made of high-grade steel.

Getting ready to return to town, Fey looked for her pets. :Looks like they haven’t come back yet.: She sighed and opened her system map to locate her wayward companions. She brightened considerably when she saw nine dots moving towards her location at high speed, saving her the need to actually go collect her pets.

Before long, a small purple glow heralded the arrival of Amethyst (and company). The Feypets swam at maximum speed in their rush to reunite with their owner, slamming into her in a way that would have been quite painful if not for their diminutive sizes. As it was, Fey drifted backwards several metres, plastered in pets from neck to ankles.

:Hi guys. Did you miss me?: she asked jokingly. She rather regretted the joke when the Feypets responded by tightening their respective holds on her; most of them were quite tolerable, but Amethyst had wrapped her bubble-arm into its customary position around Fey’s neck. (*affectionate strangling*)

:Amethyst, save that for the monsters, okay?: Fey’s telepathic voice sounded slightly choked due to the mental state associated with obstructed breathing.

Amethyst loosened her hold and squeaked questioningly. (“Am-Am should hug monsters?”)

:Not hug,: Fey corrected, :strangle.:

Sirena swam in and plucked Ebony off of Fey’s left knee. :Where’s my hello?: she demanded of the bunny-eared-mermaid-shaped gloom. Ebony reacted by going floppy like a doll.

Sirena wrinkled her nose in annoyance. :She acts just like you,: she complained to Fey.

Fey looked up from the process of detaching pets from her body. :Huh?:

Sirena gave the floppy Ebony a small shake to illustrate her point. :Does this look like a proper reaction to being hugged?:

In Fey’s eyes, Ebony’s ‘play dead’ approach to being captured by a predator was a legitimate one. She chose to disagree on another point. :What does that have to do with me?:

:You’re like the most physically unresponsive person ever.:

Fey considered the accusation for a moment, decided it had merit, and silently conceded the point, returning to the process of peeling Inkblot off her left shoulder. It was true that her body language was very often neutral, reflecting her inner confidence and emotional equilibrium. (The only time she would initiate something like a hug with a friend was in the wintertime, in order to leech their body heat.) She had moods when she felt more playful and expressive, but in general, she had the range of gestures and expression of a moderately realistic robot.

Sirena flounced off (with her Feypet captive) while Fey released her pets into the water with a pat of affection.

Greetings complete, they began to disgorge loot. Following Amethyst’s example, the glooms had managed to make pockets out of themselves, carrying items and coins in volumes that equalled their size.

The entire party was stunned at the quantity and variety of items. Shells, fish, plant life, crafting items… “Are those ninja stars?” Blade asked incredulously.

:It appears so,: said Fey after examining one; it appeared to be a five-pointed, sharp-edged star made of a mysterious black metal.

There was far too much loot to carry in Fey’s unenchanted bag, so she made the glooms pick it back up. Looking carefully at each shadow-rabbit-turned-aquatic-creature, she saw that they did not appear to expand enough to match the volume of the items they contained. She shook her head. Laws of physics are just mild suggestions in this game.

:Any other surprises for me?: Fey asked her pets. It was meant to be rhetorical, but the pets were still at the stage in development where they took everything literally.

Amethyst took the opportunity to debut her new pufferfish poison. The Poison Sphere she cast was limited to encompass Fey’s head (proving that she poisoned Blade all those times on purpose).

:Oh boy,: said Fey in a ‘this is rather bad’ voice. She could already feel her lips and fingertips going numb. The damage from the poison would not kill her, but it would leave her with less than 10% of her health bar. Combined with the paralysis, she was as good as dead away from the safety of town.

Amethyst saw that her owner was less than pleased, and squeaked with trepidation. (“Bad poison?”)

Fey petted the slime, not really able to feel the action with her numb hand. :A little bit troublesome. Maybe wait until I gain a few more levels of Immunity before we practice with it again.:

:Are you dying?: Sirena asked interestedly.

:Kind of. If we can get back to town without being attacked, I’ll probably be fine.:

Blade rolled his eyes. “You could just take an antidote, you know,” he said, pointing out the obvious solution.

Fey blinked. :That had not occurred to me.: Her telepathic speech was still crisp because it did not rely on the movement of her numbing lips. She took the green potion Blade held out, but paused before opening it. :On the other hand… If I survive this poison, I’ll probably gain a lot of experience in Immunity.:

Requiem made a choking sound. :Are you serious? Take the antidote!:

It was clear to Fey that Requiem was concerned for her well-being, so she did not take offence.

Sirena took offence of Fey’s behalf. :She can do whatever she wants. Come on.: Sirena took Fey’s hand and began towing her towards town.

Fey did her best to minimize the burden on her friend, kicking strongly though she could no longer feel her feet. She stuck the antidote in her pouch before it dropped from her numb fingers.

:Blade’s falling behind,: she noted. Requiem could easily keep up with Sirena’s speed, but Blade was not equipped with a tail. Sirena slowed and looked back.

Requiem made an exasperated noise. :I’ll take her ahead.:

Sirena did not like the merman, but she had to concede that he could swim faster than her. :Fine.:

Requiem grasped Fey’s wrist and began swimming strongly towards town. He began singing to enhance his speed from the first stroke of his tail.

Fey gradually lost the ability to kick as numbness travelled up her extremities. The sensation of being paralyzed was rather claustrophobic, but she was able to ignore it fairly well. She drifted in Requiem’s wake, enjoying the music he sang to speed their travel.

Third time really is the charm, she reflected. Here Requiem was, pulling her along by the wrist without her feeling the slightest bit of hostility.

He really is a good singer. As always when she heard music she liked, she felt the urge to join in. She refrained because she did not feel close enough to Requiem to do so.

Requiem glanced back at Fey, cursed internally, and swam faster, never breaking his singing. He had not thought that her moon elf skin could be paler, but as she lost health, it became chalk-white. Her normally self-possessed expression had gone slack, and she drifted along behind him with little more animation than a doll.

They reached Pearlview in forty minutes, a time that rivalled the speed of a taxi-dolphin. Requiem pulled up, chest heaving with exertion (or whatever merfolk did when they were out of breath), and realized that he had somehow fooled himself into thinking that arriving at town would cure the poison. He looked around, not knowing what to do next.

:Let’s just find somewhere out of the way and wait it out,: Fey suggested. Her telepathic voice sounded calm and self-assured as usual, jarringly at odds with her state of paralysis.

Requiem sat Fey against the wall of a random building and began the swimming equivalent of pacing back and forth.

:So have you thought about what you’re going to do for Siren’s Song?: Fey asked.

Requiem gave her an incredulous look.

Fey’s expression did not change, but he could almost hear the raised eyebrow. :This isn’t an emergency, you know. It’s going to wear off in,: she consulted her status screen, : seventeen minutes.:

Still. She was only getting paler. :How can you be so calm?: he demanded.

:I’m almost always calm,: came the (calm) reply. :So, Siren’s Song?:

Requiem shook his head. :No idea.: He had not really considered the challenge, and he was in no state for clear thinking now.

:I was thinking, the easiest way to combine all five overlimits would probably be to mimic a choir performance, or an orchestra, or a piano piece.:

Requiem nodded in distracted agreement. He was not really paying attention, though it did seem like a useful suggestion.

:Calm down.: Now Fey sounded amused. :I really will be fine.:

:You look like you’re dying.:

:The math is clear. Fourteen damage a minute times fifty-seven minutes is seven hundred ninety-eight, and I have eight hundred and sixty-five health. I’ll be fine.:

Fey’s unswervingly analytical mindset made no sense to Requiem. He did not live in a way that could be divorced from emotion. Obviously, he knew he was in virtual reality, but everything still felt real.

Fey chuckled telepathically.

:What?: Requiem demanded.

:It struck me as funny that I’m the one doing the comforting. In multiple ways.:

Requiem did not know quite what to say to that. It was true that he should be the calm one in this situation. :Maybe if you were less calm, I wouldn’t have to do all the worrying,: he retorted.

She chuckled again. :Why don’t you sing something to boost vitality or something?:

He could do that. All he had to do was think of the right song.

He hummed the five-note theme from the Pokemon Centre.

Relieved he had something useful he could do, he repeated the melody until his mana bar was exhausted and Fey had regained her usual rosy complexion.

Fey PM’d Sirena:

:Thank you,: Fey said when Requiem was done his healing. :Also, the Pokemon Centre thing? I approve.:

:Heh.: Requiem rubbed the back of his neck, rather embarrassed that the childish tune was the only one he could think of.

Calmer now that Fey looked healthy. Requiem settled himself next to her against the wall. :Isn’t it uncomfortable?: he asked curiously.

:What is?:

:Not being able to move.:

:A little. I’d probably be freaking out if I were the kind of person who couldn’t stand small spaces or tight collars. Oh.: Just then, Fey lost control over her neck, and her head flopped to the side. :Okay, well, that’s pretty uncomfortable.:

Requiem carefully propped her head against the wall so that it was upright. :I still can’t believe you’re putting yourself through this.:

:It doesn’t really hurt, and it’s only for a little while. I probably wouldn’t do it again unless I could get rid of the paralysis, though. It’s pretty inconvenient.:

:And dangerous.:

If Requiem had been hoping for Fey to say something like ‘Oh but you’re here to protect me,’ he was disappointed. :My pets could probably take down a small whale with the proper motivation,: she said instead. Amethyst squeaked threateningly to emphasize the point.

Requiem glanced around at the small pets with clear doubt about their offensive capabilities.

:I have to confess something,: said Fey. :Amethyst was the one who poisoned you yesterday.:

Requiem gaped at Fey, then the slime on her shoulder.

:I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I really don’t like it when you grab me without permission. I should have probably told you that instead of resorting to poison,: Fey continued. :So, sorry. But yeah, my pets are pretty OP.:

:…I’ll try not to grab you without permission.:

:Um, aren’t you supposed to be mad at me for poisoning you and lying about it?:

:Probably,: Requiem agreed. :It’s hard to get mad at a paralyzed person, though.: Fey still looked quite helpless, even without her previous deathly pallor. Requiem did not add that she had quite the emotional advantage over him because he had a crush on her.

A pause. :What are your plans after this quest?: Fey asked.

Requiem shrugged. :I haven’t really thought about it.:

:We’re planning on leaving the ocean as soon as Sirena hits level 30. If you want to come…:

Requiem smiled broadly. Somehow, he had gotten on Fey’s good side. :Yes.:

Twelve minutes later, Fey regained feeling in her limbs.

She flexed her arms and legs, then got up. :Good as new,: she said cheerfully. :Thanks again.: Speaking to her pets, she said, :No other surprises, right? I think the next one might kill me.:

The Feypets squeaked in unison. (“No. Except…”)

Fey sighed. :Hit me with it.:

With more squeaks, Fey was directed to open her pet menus.

She blinked to make sure her vision was working correctly, then sighed. :Wow. I’m the dead weight in this team. You guys could have conquered the world by now if I weren’t holding you back.: Her pets, which had been at level 20 and 21, were now level 28. It appeared that the only reason they had not grown more was because their levels were capped at whatever hers was.

In addition, they had all made various skill level increases. Amethyst had learned a skill called Engulf, which sounded self-explanatory. Boris had gained an ability called Danger Sense. The glooms’ pocketing of the loot had been turned into an ability called Shadow Space.

Requiem sensed Fey’s attention slipping away. Not wanting to return to being an afterthought, he said the first thing that came to mind. :Wanna go get something to eat?:

:Now that you mention it, I’m starving. Is there anything to eat other than fish?:

He smiled. :I’ll see what I can do.:

***

:Looks like bard dude is joining the party permanently,: Sirena commented to Blade.

“What? Why? I thought you guys didn’t like him.”

:He went and sang himself into a healer.:

“If that’s the only reason, couldn’t you do it, too?”

:You keep making good points today.: Sirena chimed the Pokemon Centre theme like a xylophone, singing chords rather than single notes.

“Really? That’s the tune?”

:I know. And bard dude thought of it, too.: Sirena sighed. :We probably have to keep him.:

“Don’t I get a vote?”

Sirena patted his hand. :Of course you do.: A pause. :Fey and I each get three votes, though.:

“…Are you joking?”

:Blade, Blade, Blade. The thing you need to learn in this party is that we’re always joking. And partly serious.: