After tidying up the room as best I could, I plopped down onto the unmade bed with a book I’d discovered in a case under the bed. The case was filled with glass instruments, such as beakers, stirring rods and a glass retort. Along with the case were two books. The first was called Felix’s guide to common plants and herbs which contained information on how to identify and harvest several plants. The second book, A Potioneer’s guide to basic Salves and Tinctures was much more interesting, though I felt disappointed over the lack of more in-depth information.

So, the red Amanita Mushrooms can be infused into alcohol to create a tincture that can heal minor aches and pains. Morning dew combined with cat's tongue will create a tincture with a revitalizing effect, Lungwort for a curative tincture used for minor poisons and disease. But wouldn’t the healing effect from the Red Amanita Mushrooms also heal disease? This salve is for healing burns, and this one is for minor cuts, so that must mean that in this world a single healing potion won’t heal you fully. Brow furrowed, I flipped through the book searching for any further mention of the mushrooms to see if they were used in any of the other recipes.

Thudding footsteps alerted me to Marcus’s return, and I looked up from the book of recipes as my half-brother re-entered the room carrying a bundle of now-clean linens.

“I see you found the alchemy kit and books,” he said in greeting, tossing the linens onto the gigantic bed.

“I didn’t know you were interested in alchemy,” I remarked, it had been a surprise to find him with books, let alone ones on a subject he’d never shown interest in.

“I’m not,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes as he moved to sit beside me on the unmade bed. “Alchemy is really underdeveloped in Kaledon, so it’s one of the hardest professions to learn. This chick in our guild thought she could make some quick gold, but ended up without a coin to her name. I offered to buy them. . . Figured you’d use them if I ever convinced you to visit Kaledon.”

“How much did it cost? I have some gold, so I can pay you back,” I told him, yanking the case closer to where I sat.

With a chuckle, Marcus waved a hand dismissively in the air. “Don’t worry about it, sis. Besides, you won’t have enough. Call it a late birthday gift.”

Gaping, I stared at him, and then down at the case in shock. I don’t have enough? Marcus knew I’d gotten five thousand gold from the platinum plan and said that wasn’t enough?

“How much was it?” I asked.

“Books and shit are expensive. Demand is high, but supply is low, so the world's economy is a bit crazy right now.” Marcus said with a shrug, picking up the common plant's book. “You could afford this book, but that’s about it. This one is roughly three thousand gold, as there are lots of copies floating around. The recipe book goes for around seven to eight thousand, depending on your location. The basic alchemy kit is ten thousand gold, but seeing as this one is missing some vials and the fire stone, she sold it to me for eight thousand. Don’t worry about the stone though, I can hunt some fire drakes to replace it.”

“You spent so much,” I whispered. In the previous world I spent time in, you could buy a cottage in one of the farming towns for the gold he’d spent on these few items.

“Nah, it’s not that much for me. I get a decent bit of gold from selling weapons, and my guild commission. I also had a special encounter, which got me a rare smithing technique only usable by Minotaurs. I am the only blacksmith who can forge rare quality items, even if the chance of an item being rare is only thirty percent.” Marcus bragged, talking about how he’d met an old Minotaur who was a retired smith living in seclusion.

As Marcus continued droning on about the various aspects of smithing, I found my eyes drifting back to the book I’d been reading. I wasn’t interested in knowing how hot a forge needed to be to melt Kalitherium ore. I’d rather learn more about the different ways Kaledon incorporated traditional alchemy techniques into this virtual world.

“Kads, it’s almost dusk so I need to head out if I’m going to confront dad before he leaves for work,” Marcus said as we remade the bed with clean linens.

Kaledon ran in an opposite day/night cycle to the real world. So, the players could enjoy the world without it affecting their daily lives. According to some research, spending a night in the capsule was better than sleeping in a bed, but I’d always found myself mentally fatigued after spending a night in virtual reality, which made it hard to focus on my studies.

I nodded, not wanting to discuss it further. I’d already told Marcus in detail about the letters from the universities and the confrontation with our father.

Sitting on the now made bed, I watched as Marcus walked to the far side of the room where he sat on the floor. Once he’d settled into a comfortable position, his body flopped forward like a puppet whose strings had been cut, before it turned to stone. Walking over, I poked the large Minotaur statue, with interest.

Finished with my inspection, I grabbed a sheet from the bed and tossed it over the motionless form. I didn’t want to sleep in a room with that ugly thing in the corner. Not that I was planning to sleep, I had books to read after all. Settling back onto the bed, I sat with my chin resting on my knees as I stared at the sheet covered mass on the far side of the room.

Marcus and I hadn’t been close when we were younger, though it wasn’t for lack of trying on his part.

For the longest time I resented him for being the product of my father's betrayal and hated him for coming into my home with that woman who made my life a misery. It wasn’t until we were fifteen that I realized Marcus was also miserable and suffered as much as I did. While I found solace in my books and research, Marcus found it in virtual worlds.

When I’d fallen down the stairs on Marcus’s fifteenth birthday, thanks to Danica pushing past me to hurry upstairs to touch up her makeup, Marcus had carried me to the nearby public transport hub and to the hospital when his mother refused to take me, claiming it would ruin the party she’d planned.

Danica had been furious when she arrived at the hospital two hours later, blaming me for Marcus leaving his party, and berating Marcus for embarrassing her with his absence. I’d been horrified when she’d slapped him, but he didn't even flinch as she continued on with her tirade until our father arrived and she became the demure, gentle woman most people thought her to be.

That day had been a turning point in my relationship with Marcus, and we’d slowly built an amicable relationship over the past three years.

I wonder if he will keep his cool long enough to follow through with his plan to see how they intend to explain what happened.

I closed my eyes against the tears threatening to fall, attempting to push thoughts of what happened out of my mind. I didn’t want to cry anymore; I didn’t want to trap myself in a cycle of what ifs.

Marcus would contact the lawyer in charge of the trust, who I hoped would be able to help.

Davis wasn’t connected to my father, having been my mothers personal lawyer, and the executor of her will. It was Davis who’d secured my mother’s estate and ensured Danica’s attempts to get her claws into my trust failed. The lawyer was someone I trusted, purely based on the fact he was someone my mother trusted.

Soft footsteps in the hall caught my attention, and I listened as the person stopped outside the door, then left without knocking. Frowning, I stared at the door as the footsteps drew further away and was shocked as I realized I could hear the person not only through the door, but also down the hall.

Straining my ears, I found that if I focused, I could also hear the soft murmur of voices from the main hall, though I wasn’t able to make out what was being said.

The next twenty minutes was spent trying to see how much I could hear and investigating the function of my new vulpine ears. From what I could tell, my hearing required me to be focused on the sounds I wished to hear.

An hour later, as I lay reading the books I’d been given, I once more heard the sound of someone approaching the door. This time the person outside knocked, and I briefly considered ignoring them, before putting down the book of recipes with a sigh.

As I stood, I glanced at the still-covered Minotaur statue, before walking to the door.

Were they here to speak to Marcus? I didn’t know when he’d be back, but the least I could do was pass on a message for whoever it was.

“Marcus, er, sorry… I mean, Markion isn’t here right now. But I can let him know you want to see him when he gets back.” I called out, hand hovering over the door's handle.

“Kadia, it’s Darius. I got Markion’s note saying you are here. Can I come in?” A low male voice responded from the other side.

Darius? Pulling the door open, I frowned in confusion as I saw a tall, dark-haired man outside the door.

Peering around him, I searched for the muscular green-skinned guild leader, but didn’t see him anywhere.

“Where is Darius?” I asked, frowning at the dark-haired man.

“I am Darius,” he said, smiling wide to show off a set of sharp upper and lower canines.

“You’re not green,” I said, grimacing at how dumb that sounded, but in my defense, he’d been an Orc the last time I saw him.

“And you’re not tiny, still small, though.” Darius quipped, eyeing me up and down.

I scowled at him in response and considered slamming the door. I’d only been four feet tall when I was playing as a Faerie, and I hadn’t bothered changing my natural height during the character selection.

Five foot four was reasonable for a girl my age. Though, in hindsight, maybe I should have added an extra few inches. Everyone I had seen so far had been on the tall side, except for the goat man.

“Ōkami as well?” He asked.

It was only then that I noticed the pair of black furry ears almost hidden against the messy black hair.

It was strange. On close inspection, he still looked like the rugged and fierce Orc I’d known in Avalon. The only notable changes were that his light green skin was now tanned skin, while his orcish tusks had been replaced by a tail and wolfish ears.

“Kitsune,” I corrected, stepping back from the doorway to allow the now identified Ōkami guild leader to enter the room.

Entering the room, Darius closed the door and moved to the side table, which he used as a makeshift chair.

“Markion needs some damned chairs in here,” he grumbled, glancing around the room. “I see he finally cleaned up, so that’s something I guess.”

“I cleaned up. Marcus just hid somewhere under the guise of doing laundry until I was done,” I said, while trying to reach behind myself to catch my tail, which was swooshing about behind me in fast motions.

Nodding, Darius glanced around the room, eyes finding the sheet covered lump in the corner and staying there for several moments.

“I’m guessing from the size that’s Markion. Don’t blame you for covering him up, I wouldn’t want to look at that ugly mug while I’m trying to sleep either.”

“I figured covering him up would save me from some pretty scary dreams,” I laughed, shifting to the bed, and pinning my tail beneath me to keep it still by means of entrapment. “It’ll be a while before he gets back. Somehow, I don’t think the talk with his mom and our father will be a short, or pleasant, one.”

“He said in his note they forced you into being digitized,” Darius said, losing his previous light tone as he gave me a concerned look.

“Pretty sure they paid someone to switch our exam scores. As expected, Marcus scored horribly, which meant in the eyes of the government I scored horribly.”

“I’m sorry, Kadia, I know you never wanted to spend your life like this.”

“And yet here I am,” I muttered, fighting to keep my expression composed.

“There isn’t anything I can say that will make what happens to you any less horrible than it is, but what I can say is you will always have a place with the Eternia guild.” Darius ran a hand through his hair. “As an existing member from Avalon, you can skip the entry level ranking of squire and novice.”

“I want to work on alchemy again, I think I’ll enjoy it more than fighting,” I told him, holding up the book of recipes for him to see.

“You will still need to fight to grow stronger, Kadia, but you won’t be required to contribute through raids if you prefer to follow a profession. I think with your personal background, you won't have as much difficulty with the alchemy profession. I’ll have some resources assigned to you and put out a notice for the guild members to bring back any herbs they find on their travels.”

Jumping off the side table, Darius reached into a pouch tied to his belt and pulled out a token which looked almost exactly like the one Marcus had given me. Handing Darius the copper guest token my brother had given me, I inspected the new bronze token, noting it didn’t have a tassel like the guest token did.

“Do I just keep it in my pouch?” I asked, fiddling with the token nervously.

“Press it against your skin, and it will form a tattoo in a location you choose. When you reach journeyman rank, you can use the token as a key to the guild vault. It can also be shown to vendors we have a good reputation with for discounts.”

After a moment's consideration I pressed the token to the inside of my left wrist, watching as it melted into my skin to form the mentioned tattoo. I wasn’t really a fan of tattoos, but at least it was painless compared to getting the real thing.

“Welcome back to Eternia,” Darius said with a smile. I returned it with a smile of my own, despite not feeling any real sense of joy.

Silence filled the room, as I tried to find something to say. I didn’t know Darius very well on a personal level, but he’d always been friendly, and willing to help me with quests when Marcus had been busy, usually acting as a bodyguard while I collected different plants.

“Now that’s settled, how about I get you a room? We have some spare rooms on the third floor,” Darius said, gesturing to the door. “I’m sure you’d rather not stay with Markion, he snores loud enough to wake the dead, and I do mean that literally.”

“Has he?” I prodded with interest, sure there would be an interesting story behind that statement.

As Darius began telling a clearly embellished tale of their group camping near a graveyard, only to be attacked by skeletons that he claimed were woken by Marcus’s snores, I grabbed the books and alchemy kit off the bed, trying to put them in my pouch, but discovered they wouldn’t fit.

Laughing in response to my failed attempts to stuff the items into my pouch, Darius reminded me that only things which could fit inside the pouch's opening could be stored within.

Annoyingly, the pouch only had an opening that was three inches wide.

So, neither the books nor the alchemy kit could fit, and even with the canopy closed, the wagasa was wider than three inches.

After handing the alchemy kit’s case to Darius, I held the wagasa over my shoulder, and gathered the books into my free hand, sparing a quick glance at the sheet-covered Minotaur before leaving the room.