The rest of my weekend became a bit of a blur after that. I healed a bunch of people, stockpiled food for the dogs and my captive, and wondered if it was getting close to retirement time for Friday the 13th. Two of my prior characters had caught up with me. There’d be stragglers from the other forces as well, though based on what happened with my last character there shouldn’t be many people left that cared.

I hoped the priests were alright. The warriors from the northern tribe had been a dull but hardworking group. They’d loved my carvings and even smiled sometimes.

I’d managed a few peaceful weekends on this character and almost felt attached. Being a [Druid] was kind of fun. It came with solitude when I wanted it. Companions in dogs who’s only concerns were chasing [Coo-Coo Rill]s and the next meal. Nem was nice to look at and Rose liked stabbing monsters. I didn’t even have to struggle in a life and death manner against monsters.

That was what I wanted, when I needed it. Being valued because I could heal people. I loved that. It made me feel like logging in every weekend had more value than simply drowning out the day job and whichever person was bleeding out when I arrived on the scene. None of those people looked at me with a happy expression. They were in real life pain and demanded I solve it, and I could only dole out what the machinery deemed necessary based on readings.

Keeping that feeling of being valuable, while not dealing with the drama might be hard. I survived work for the week and got ready to log back in the following Friday. It was time to deal with Dari. Or at least see if he could be redeemed.

“Why now?” Johnny asked.

We’d met at the edge of the forest. The trees were taller than I remembered and the shady areas were a bit darker than before. Either sunlight had a harder time piercing through, or Dari’s presence in the grove came with side effects.

“Why now, what?” I responded slowly.

The changes bothered me.

“Why turn around and give a shit now? You’ve made it almost a religion to drop characters as soon as anything from the prior Friday shows up.”

“Explanations are ten gold,” I said dryly.

Johnny didn’t take me up on my offer. Were he truly prying he would have mentioned how he brought the cage, disarmed traps, and helped take care of the pack of monstrous puppies in my absence. Johnny didn’t. He let me stand there outside a cave someone had found in contemplative silence. Sometimes I couldn’t tell if his money grubbing was a game or serious because he’d always given me space.

I liked that. It gave me time to think. Or at least, gave me time to take in the true breadth of what had happened during my absence.

My grove’s trees weren’t the only item that changed during the week. This hallow of sorts house Dari in his metal cage. It was almost a cave that had large mushrooms and moss stringing across the partially dug out ceiling. Only a small haze of sunlight poked through, making me wonder where this cave had been hiding the entire time. It certainly hadn’t been here last weekend.

It wasn’t the same as the burrow that the dog’s used. Theirs was stockier, fortified, and lined with furs that someone had brought in. Thankfully either Nemesis or the dogs somehow prevented the place from becoming infested with flees. It might have been the grove’s magic, which hadn’t gotten any weaker according to my popup messages.

If anything, with the addition of Dari’s barrow, it had gained ranks. There were text popups about the balance of nature and everything having two sides. It all went over my head and I’d shoved the boxes aside. Being a druid was confusing as heck. If I gave in and read all the boxes, the stupid game would probably start preaching at me and dealing with [Nature Versus Nurture] was annoying enough.

Then there was the mud alter. It sat in the heart of the [Druid Grove] and had to be the least impressive part of the entire place. From road to river there were tall inspiring trees that had seemingly sprouted overnight. Enough scenic locations to fill a guide book. Then my lumpy little alter. The only improvement to my original drunken art were vines with large leaves and purple flowers woven across the top.

Without an inspection skill I didn’t know what it meant. Sure the game gave me all sorts of messages about my own spells and abilities, or increases to skill, but figuring out what actual items did was harder without the ability.

“I need an inspection ability,” I said suddenly.

Johnny threw his hands up. The shadows from his movement sent shadow’s dancing along the barely illuminated wall. “How do you play without one?”

“Badly?”

“You’re insane.”

Not disagreeing, I nodded then stepped into Dari’s prison.

Twenty feet into the rear of the dugout sat Dari’s cage. He huddled into a ball with his knees pressed tight to his chest. The wings were frayed at the edges. They looked a bit worse than they had last week. Dull sour air overpowered everything else. I understood now, why the dogs had refused to come with me. Even Sarge chose to sit in his den with the other four and mope.

I got the feeling they were still recovering or weren’t sure what to make of Dari. [Animal Understanding] didn’t make it exactly clear, but it might have been a sort of jealousy. Like somehow my former companion showing up might cause them to be treated worse, or at least cost them food.

“You sure about this?” Johnny asked. “That’s what you want to do right, fix him?”

“Maybe. At the least I should try to undo the damage. We spent weeks together and Dari helped me out when he didn’t need to. We even stole that stupid stone and escaped. If I’d stayed behind and let him get ahead, then all it would have cost me was a death or some other event. I could have started over.”

“Oh. That makes sense.” Johnny’s blissful smile and twiddling thumbs told me I didn’t make a lick of sense.

“It’s a game to us, but we come back. I didn’t have that in my brain then. It’s why I almost let myself die to get the dogs away last weekend.”

The tiny figure in the cage moved. He stood up, grabbing the bars with hands that couldn’t even reach around the metal. Tired black and blue eyes

“Friday?” The voice was light and scratchy. Dry throat. Weak muscles. Barely breathing. I turned off the part of my brain figuring out which healing spell would be best to cure all those items to listen to focus on his next words. “Listen to you talk about self-sacrifice like some priestly ponce. You’ve changed. You’re different.”

“Technically I am a priest. Became one after we were together. And a few other things,” I said with a faint smile. “But you, you’re almost the same. Your wings look worse, and that scratchiness, is that a side effect of the possession being halted?”

He laughed weakly then frowned. His frown turned to a scowl as a shadow passed over his face. The faeries wings shook violently, rattling against the metal bars. I stared, and realized it wasn’t the wings that had made that noise. They were too tiny and broken to reach the back end of the cave. Shadows danced like giant wings behind him.

“Yes. Cold iron was a good idea. It mutes them, a little. You’re not as stupid as before.”

“Nah. I’m still a worthless idiot. I just happened take time to reflect on our adventures. Plus monsters tried to kill my other incarnations since then.”

Incarnations was the easiest word for Locals to understand my restarting characters.

Dari’s former enslavers were lords of that dark forest. They didn’t have bodies of their own and possessed other creatures. Those they took over would double or triple in size, get angry and black veins everywhere. They’d murder anything nearby. Luckily, they were also stupid and tended to attack each other, if there was more than one.

“They’ll kill you, you know that right?”

I nodded. Since I’d stolen that river rock, the one used to make my [Vile Dram], they’d never stop chasing my characters. I’d believed having a druid grove somehow protected me but that might not be true. One day I’d have to sit down and iron out all these stupid game notices and see if I actually stood a chance.

“They claw and tear at me even now.”

“We’re half a planet away and their power fades with distance. You told me that yourself.” That was part of why I picked this town as a starter location when it came up. That and players were nicer when it came to cranking out drinks.

“Weak minds are everywhere, Friday.”

Dari smiled. His cheeks stretched until his face cracked at the middle. He laughed at flames danced down his tiny throat. My head swam. Both feet dug in and the small room spun. All that existed was Dari and his unnatural grin. Johnny stumbled toward the cage, hands stretched out.

“Shiny,” he mumbled.

I swallowed a lump, reminded myself this was a stupid game no matter how much I wanted to help Dari, and grabbed at Johnny’s collar before he could open the cage.

The short man slipped away. Something on his neck made it impossible to get a firm grip. He didn’t run but continued to stumble toward Dari’s cage with his hands out, reaching.

“Johnny, no.”

“So much gold. All the gold I’d ever need.”

He sounded so happy about his imaginary riches. I held off on zapping him with a lightning bolt.

“Johnny. No. Bad Johnny.”

He didn’t listen. I pulled out my staff to bonk him on the head. Johnny crumpled and jerked the weapon out of my hands. I cursed, blaming the slipperiness that had greased my fingers.

Johnny hheld upt he weapon and insepected the jeweled end. “Hey, this is worth a fortune. If you give it to me, I can invest it and make us two fortunes. No risk involved.”

I blinked slowly. Dari’s enticement wasn’t pulling at him anymore. Johnny had gone to autopilot.

My hands fluttered. “Quick! There’s even more gold outside! And if you give me my staff, it’ll open up a secret pit near the river full of treasure.”

“Really?”

“Really,” I lied slightly unhappy. Not at lying to the autopilot. That part didn’t bother me, so much as him vanishing suddenly. There were only a few reasons Johnny would ever drop offline in the middle of an event.

I’d have to talk to him about it later. Johnny gave me my staff and hustled out of the grotto.

That left me to deal with Dari, alone.

I stared at the tiny creature and frowned. Dari’s eyes still glowed, a mixture between blue and milky white. “Ah. His soul has fled like the coward he is. Pathetic.”

The sprite had a mean streak. Or maybe the creatures that possessed him did. Despite his vocal attitude, Dari’s action had led me to a different expectation. Maybe I’d have to reevaluate it.

“Are all your friends so flawed?”

“Only the good ones.” My chest heaved with a sigh. It didn’t help me. A drink would have but I needed to figure out Dari’s nonsense before trying to forget the week. It helped that work had been semi-quiet with no one dying on me.

Dari continued to stare with his eyes barely dimmed in their glow. I still frowned. His eyes had been much the same when we first met. Two eyes that peered out at me from the darkness of a cave, much like this one. Dari had been caged there too.

A rustling sound like wings fluttering filled the air. The cave’s walls lit up as green slipped across the walls pushing back the darkness. I turned to marvel at the latest light show, wondering what rank a path needed to be to get those effects.

Nem stepped out of a wall so fast I didn’t have time to panic. I pointed at the wall then at her. She crossed her arms and glared at me.

“It’s about time you showed up. Who the hell is this?” Nemesis asked. “First I get a weird event notice and come down here. Then he lured me over looking sadder than a wet puppy, and spit at me. Spit!”

“This,” I stopped even trying to explain and scratched my head. Obviously, Nemesis would have found him. She’d been here off and, on all week, and there was no possibly way to lock up a faerie in the heart of my grove without her noticing. Plus Rose would have told her.

Dari’s dry wicked laugh filled the small cavern. “I’m one of Friday’s former companions. You should run now, before he ruins you too.” I scowled at his words. “Look at how I turned out. That dimwitted dirt farmer isn’t work it.”

“Fat chance he could make my life worse. Besides, I could always just hang him up by his feet and flick him in the balls.”

Dari’s eyes went wide.

“Wouldn’t be the first woman to do that to me.” Being tied up was foreplay to some girls. It stood to reason that in a video game world, where people could be extra crazy, then warmups would be way more intense.

“You lot are crazy,” Dari said slowly.

“Travelers, right?” I shrugged. “Being tied up by wines is nothing. I once launched myself into space with tin foil and rubber bands.” It’d been extremely complicated and was basically a series of slingshots that slung more slingshots and involved about forty deaths. Also it wasn’t tin foil but it felt the same.

“I’ll bet you missed,” she said with a faint smile.

“Not really. I got into space plenty of times. Though it might not count, since I started on a space station.”

“You’ve traveled far,” Dari whispered.

We looked over. Dari shook in a way that made him seem pitiful. The dark shadows that resembled illusionary wings curled along the back end of his cave. I stared, waiting for a hint of that flame filled gullet of his that had been so enchanting, but he didn’t try it again.

After a pause and Nem’s glare returning my direction, I clarified. “Dari’s from Friday the second.”

“And the space adventure?”

“Uhhh,” my eyes rolled briefly. “Eight? No, nine.”

“That many? Rose said you’d rerolled a lot and told me that tree trying to break in came from one of your past characters.”

“It what?”

The faerie snickered. “Foolish. Did you really think no one else could find you? All of us attuned to your lives will arrive, sooner or later. There’s no escape, in this world or the next!”

“Drat,” I said as her meaning registered. The tree I’d been ignoring at [Widow’s Children] must have tried to migrate over here, to follow me.

“It’s an ugly tree. Like your face is.”

I put both my hands over my heart and pretended to be wounded by the insult. My own face was mostly a mystery to me aside from a hazy water reflection. Now that she’d reminded me, maybe the princess’s curse was how that bounty hunter found me. It might have also been Dari but I assumed the bounty hunter knew to look for a really ugly man.

After that revelation registered, I shrugged at Nem. “Yeah. This face is a leftover curse from the first Friday.” My eyes rolled briefly as it dawned upon me how stupid all these past problems were. “And the tree is from another Friday. I sort of spent a few days in game carving faces into it.”

“Sort of?”

“Kind of? I was having a rough weekend, the game gave me an event about channeling my anger into artwork. I got drunk, figured I’d self destruct or something, and woke up to that tree, carved with lots of faces.”

Nem’s eyebrows lifted, “Faces?”

That tone sounded all too familiar. It was the one women used on me when I’d done something incredibly stupid then tried to explain it away and sounded even dumber. Which wasn’t far from the truth. I looked everywhere but at Nemesis.

“Who are the faces of?”

My response was deliberately inaudible.

“What was that?” Nem said while blinking slowly.

I hated this game at times. Not the world but the other people in it. They often had skills like [Annoying], [Persistent], or [Nearly Naked and Convincing]. It seemed easier to simply cave in to her questions, answer with the truth and let her walk away like every other woman did. Especially after they found out I didn’t want children, theirs or my own.

“My league of evil exs,” I said flatly.

Dari’s sudden laugh drowned out whatever Nem had been about to respond that.

“Oh, it’s worse than that. That tree personifies the spirits of every women he’s ever wronged.”

“So, I shouldn’t sleep with him,” Nem said while pointing at me.

“What?” I asked.

Dari resumed laughing. His darkness infused shadow solidified upon the wall and chuckled as well. A dark fire inside its mouth served as a signal that those forest lords from Friday the 2nd’s journey were also amused at my confusion.

“No worries on that front. I have zero interest in a digital relationship. I need something a bit more real.”

My mouth hung open but no suitable reply came out. She had a point, and I’d been reminding myself of much the same issue. Relationships in reality were better than whatever this game might throw at me. Though I’d been willing to at least buy her a drink or ten whenever my healing earned me enough to do so.

Come to think of it, real life was often the same. I’d met my last few girlfriends out and about and paid for what I could out of the work wages. Then those went south.

My head shook.

“Well. It’s your grove I guess. I’m just renting space. Do what you want with the little guy, but if you need help, ask, okay? Nothing worse than a guy who bottles all his shit up then goes crazy.” Nem waved a finger as she went back to the wall she’d appeared out of. “And no carving on any trees around here!”

Then she vanished, and the green illumination in the small semi-cave went with her.

That left me and Dari. I couldn’t sort out what to do next. I’d been putting off dealing with the [Tree of Woe] at [Widow’s Children] because it was annoying. That annoyance followed me to my little refuge from reality.

“What do you think, Dari?”

The pixie smiled twice. One with his real mouth, displaying the pit of fire smoldering inside and once again with the shadow upon the wall behind him.

“Do something or run like a coward. Those are always the choices.”

I threw my hands up.

“I don’t want to do something! I want to sit and simply not be. You may not understand, but I go through horrible shit all week. All week! Fuck,” the word escape and I winced, “I was having a good day for once. A good day Dari! Then you and that stupid bounty hunter.”

“Which all stem from your own faults. You chose to abandon me. You chose to bed that lass. You choose to live whatever life you live out in the other world. Blame not me or the others for your poor wits.”

I puckered my lips and fought back a sudden shaking feeling that made my arms hurt.

“See? Even if you’re mind refuses to see the truth, your body knows it and fights you. Coward. Simpleton. Poor piss faced witless monkey, you’ve shirked your responsibilities under the guise of-” whatever he said was lost as I stormed outside.

There I stood, trying not to shake. That might not have been Dari himself speaking. It might have been those stupid creatures trying to possess him. How they had time to track down one player among millions was beyond me. Apparently Continue Online didn’t think that sheer population should slow down any of it’s evil overlords from harassing poor liquor seeking players like myself.

Johnny sat on a rock outside with his hands clasped together. He took slow deep breathes and stared at his hair toes. He hadn’t fared too well in there either.

Nem hadn’t gone too far and stood next to him, talking softly. Johnny nodded quickly then shook his head back and forth. I stepped closer slowly and listened to their conversation.

“Creepy little thing,” Johnny said. “Can’t believe it made me do that. Hate mind control effects. Hate them so much. It was like I couldn’t see anything but his face, then that faded away to become gold. Just nothing but all that money and I thought of all the things I could do with it.”

“That’s how the game works. Rose told me all about how it’s meant to,” she cut off as Johnny’s head snapped in my direction. He put on a fake smile.

“Hey. You made it out.”

My hands were still shaking, and chest felt tight. My breath came in short shallow near gasps. Now they were both watching me, and their eyes were so damn expectant. It felt like being back in work, as someone looked at me like I might have all the damn answers.

“Yeah.” That was it. That was my glorious response.

“He got you riled up, didn’t he? With that talk about having a kid?”

I’d already told her too damn much but felt like it didn’t matter anymore. Hiding stuff took too much work. I’d have to remember who knew what or which person cared about the other topic.

“In game. With a princess. Or so I’m told.”

“Queen,” Johnny corrected for the umpteenth time. He smiled a bit more naturally so I counted it as a win, but still my eyes fluttered.

I flopped down next to Johnny.

“I have no idea if it’s really my kid. It’s a kid in the game so that’s even weirder. I swore of any relationships with Local’s after that because it’s just bizarre they’d even get pregnant to begin with. I mean, how does that work?”

“Badly,” Johnny said.

Nem’s lips quivered. My eyes narrowed. She burst out laughing. “Nah. It’s not possible to have kids with the Locals. I’ve checked. She’s lying to you. That pixie creature probably knows too and is using it to mess with you. That’s how the game works, or that’s what I was about to tell Johnny. Everything here pushes your buttons.”

My heartbeat skipped. The game had done exactly that again and again, and now Nemesis was confirming it. “What do you mean it can’t be my kid?” I’d been operating under that assumption for multiple lives and if that princess, or queen, was a liar than I simply needed to prove it.

“Ask Rose. Can’t be done. Travelers don’t get kids. You were right, there’d be so much drama involved. Can you imagine raising a your child in a world like that, that will grow old and die before you? What a mess,” she laughed softly while waving. “Anyway, my shift’s over. Rose will be on soon and I’ve got to watch my grandson.”

My jaw dropped from utter confusion as Nem’s form faded to a slightly washed out version of her normal green luster. The autopilot winked at me, then sprinted off into the woods.

Johnny’s head slowly moved back and forth between me, where Nem vanished, and Dari’s little temporary jail.

“That’s fucked up,” Johnny said for me.

I nodded slowly while feeling utterly confused.

“What’s that mean?”

“Dunno, but for ten gold I’ll go find out. Or maybe we can sell it to a bounty hunter and see if they turn the kingdom upside down. Wouldn’t that be a riot. Do you think we could get lots of money if we turn the kingdom upside down?”

“There’s always a profit in war,” I said dryly.

Johnny soured at that statement. Apparently the queen had outted me as the father. If what Nem said was also true, I wasn’t the dad and she was using me as a scape goat for the real one. Which made my skin crawl.

I sighed heavily. After some time to breathe, I realized Dari had been right. It was time to do something about the entire mess. One hand went out toward Johnny in grabbing gesture.

“Give me whatever rings you’ve picked up. Then I can take them to the butler or widow or whatever and see if that does something.”

Johnny pulled out of his bag from player inventory, which always threw me off since he was essentially pulling a bottomless bag out of an invisible bag.

“What about that tree of woe? Or the bounty hunters? There’ll be more now. There’s always more.”

I shrugged.

“One thing at a time. If I go out there, then they won’t come here. The dogs can help me in spirit rather than risk their real bodies. Maybe the others can come too, Rose seems down to stab stuff.”

“She’s a nice kid,” Johnny said. Out came dozens of rings. He put them into my cupped hands.

My head bobbed as Johnny piled another handful onto the first.

“Lots of these things. Not sure which ones are which, might be some fakes. I haven’t figured it all out yet. They don’t respond to any of my skills and seem to be pretty dull.”

I made him stop piling on the rings and put them away. Most of my player inventory had been taken up by the [Staff of Thaddeus], [Vile Dram], and a few dozen [Promise Ring]s. Johnny gave me more until I had to put some in my actual pockets instead of storing them safely away.

“I think I’m going to take a break for today. My heart’s not in it.”

After his earlier panic attack, Johnny probably needed some time in reality.

“Thanks for the rings.”

He shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

Johnny faded to autopilot. Then that character smiled dumbly at me then waved, heading off toward town.

I pulled out one of the rings and tried to remember the last time I’d even see or used a promise ring. It’d been ages ago, back in high school. Maybe junior high. They were an antiquated idea, being a poor man’s version of the engagement ring.

“Huh.” Rose or StoneMason might have used them at one point. They were closer to that age than I, by a mile.

That brought me back around to what Nemsis had said earlier. This game pressed my buttons in a way little else did, despite my desire to drink away any serious thinking.

My brain had been hung up on one person. Not just Nemesis being a dryad or whatever race she played as while being a [Gardener] or [Eco Warrior] or [Dog Herder], not that those last ones were her actual class since I didn’t know, but StoneMason’s path I knew. What were the chances that I’d run into a decently high rank female dryad player? Much less her daughter first?

Those chances were slim enough but possible once I factored in the game’s desire to make everyone fit together. StoneMason just happened to be a friendly giant, brought to me by Johnny with Rose and thusly her mother, and his class also grew from using natural resources.

I needed to get heavily drunk then go see what had become of my [Tree of Woe] and [Widow’s Children].