Walking between tightly packed houses, in alleyways dark but unoccupied, I can’t seem to stop thinking about Felix and how off-putting he was. I really do hope that his strange and unusual attitude was just him trying to cover up his own forgetfulness and embarrassment, but a part of me still feels uneasy about it. As I near the looming outer wall of Birch Castle and Rupert comes into view, I sigh and guess that I just have to let it go.

“Hey Rupert,” I say. “I cleared out Sunshine Mines.”

The captain of the guard looks surprised and pushes himself from his leaning stance against the wall. “By the divine! I had thought you were capable of thinning their ranks, but not actually finishing them off! This is grand! I’ll inform the King of your service to his realm myself. Here, take this.”

Your quest Sunshine Mines is complete!

10,000 experience earned.

1,000 gold earned.

A (LV. 10) Bastard Sword was added to your inventory.

1 Captain’s Favor was added to your inventory.

You can re-visit Sunshine Mines whenever you like!

As the captain begins to lean back against the stone wall again, I interrupt his animation by asking, “Rupert, I’d like to use my Captain’s Favor. Do you have any armor?”

“Of course,” Rupert says. Within moments my IOU disappears, replaced by a level 12 Leather Harness. As I equip it the armor materializes over me, replacing the cotton tunic I was wearing before. All at once, I can feel my cheeks going red with embarrassment. The hardened brown leather has straps that run from my shoulders and down my sides, with buckles that barely cover my nipples. Only the lower half of my stomach, my sides, and my arms have any adequate cover. Leather might be tougher than cloth, but this level of exposure makes me uncomfortable. How is this an upgrade?!

If I would have known most of my chest and stomach would be out in the open, I would have asked for something else and just waited until I could buy a different set of armor! I mean, I’m physically in shape, but I feel so exposed and self-conscious. Especially when I have to go meet up with the others at the Wizard’s Den.

I grumble and sarcastically say, “Thanks a lot,” to Rupert and turn around.

“No problem. I owed you,” Rupert says.

I just ignore him, biting down on my embarrassment and disappointment of Rupert’s inability to detect my obvious sarcasm. I can’t be the only person who’s ever worn one of these, right? All I can do is hope that the others won’t think as much about it as I do. Particularly Rin.

I take deep breaths as I walk towards the tavern, trying to cool myself down and get my own insecurity in check. Reminding myself that my armor bonus is going from 5 to 12 and the slight bump to strength and dexterity is incredibly helpful, I try to steel my confidence. While it may not look more practical, it should certainly help our subsequent raids of Sunshine Mines go at least a little better. And that makes it worth it.

Stepping in through the swinging doors of the Wizard’s Den, it only takes me a few seconds to spot the others huddled in a booth on the side of the tavern, mostly because Rubble’s voice carries so far as him and Rin tap their mugs together in cheers. Seeing Rin’s stunning deep purple eyes turn to me makes my heart jackhammer in my chest. Her black hair has changed from its usual straight and short look; now, black curls pour onto her shoulders and over her revealing blue dress delicately. She smiles and waves at me. I take a deep breath and walk towards them.

“I made it,” I say as I take a seat next to Rubble. “Sorry I’m late.”

Sitting across from me now, I catch Rin’s eyes looking up and down my exposed chest. Our gazes meet for a brief, awkward second before she says, “No worries, he-man. Nice digs.” The smile on her face tells me she’s joking around, poking me to test how I handle being teased.

Rubble laughs. I can feel my cheeks getting hot again, shrug and say, “Uh, it’s just what Rupert gave me. For his favor.”

“Uh-huh,” Rin says. She raises her mug to her lips with an impish smile.

Luckily for me, the waitress Ashley comes up to our table and distracts us for a moment. I figure that we deserve to celebrate our hard earned victory. Two of us almost died by my own fault, so I put in an order for another round of drinks on me.

When the ale arrives, I take a quick sip and ask, “So where’s Felix?”

Rin sighs like she’s disappointed at hearing his name. “He’s off doing business. He makes 3d models for personal virtual habs on the side and said someone wanted him to make something, so he won’t be joining us, but he wanted me to tell you the plan. He’s already level fifteen, so we’re going to join a party que to replace him and keep running Sunshine until we catch up. After that, we’ll make our way down to Gormsay together and run another dungeon called The Dead Bay. That’ll get us to level 20.”

“I’m tired of fighting giant spiders, rat people, demons, and now zombies? I don’t know if I can take any more. Next you’re going to tell me we have to face a kraken.”

The others laugh at me. “No, not yet,” Rubble says. “And it ain’t so bad. Besides, you got us by your side. We’ll try to go through the details of the next dungeon better than we did Sunshine.”

“Clearly you wouldn’t be able to handle the main scenario either,” Rin says with a smile. “But, you’ll get over some of it eventually. It’s just a game. And some day we’ll have to go to other nations and fight a whole array of terrifying this in order to reach level 50. At least if we want to level quickly, that is.”

I consider it, but Libertas isn’t just a game to me. Unlike them, I am 100% certain that there are lives on the line. My ship has almost a thousand people on it, and all them are depending on me to reach level 20, form a guild, and send out spies to figure out who is planning this mutiny against Captain Royal.

Things are quiet between us for awhile. The others poke through their menus while I just sit there, sipping my drink and brewing on my ever-shortening amount of time to save my ship. Soon enough, Ashley returns to our table and refills our ales. For the first time since… ever, I feel like I really need a drink. There’s just so much against me, and it seems like the only that will make my nerves relax is a long draw.

A thought comes to me and I ask, “Do you guys think Felix likes me?”

Rubble groans as he stretches in his seat, then shrugs. “Maybe? Felix is hard to read sometimes, but he likes helping people. Even if it’s at his own expense, he always gives other people his all.”

Rin seems surprised by the question and Rubble’s answer. “Well,” she says with a raised brow, “that’s a very generous description of Felix.”

Rubble shrugs. “Seems that way to me. He puts others above himself.”

She takes a drink, wipes the foam off her lips, and her eyes seem to get lost in her drink for a moment as she mutters, “not lately.”

I’m not sure what all that is about. Part of me wants to console her and ask her why she thinks that, but an even bigger part of me thinks it’s not really my place to ask, so I just act like I didn’t hear it and change the subject. “So, are we going to take over a village in order to form our guild, or build a new one? If conquest is in our future, any idea which one?”

“No, not yet.” Rin says. “We’ll have to wait until we get a little closer and aim for something small. We could start a village by scratch by placing a cornerstone and claiming a plot of land, but that takes a lot of gold and resources to build it up to anything useful. There are a few cities that started off as a hut in the wild, but it’s a long, painful process. Felix thinks we should just jump-start ourselves by spending that gold on NPC mercenaries to capture someone else’s town.”

“Whoa, so entire cities have been built by players?”

Rubble nods. “The bigger the village the get the more NPC’s attracts. The more NPC’s there are in a village the more trade there is, the more items become available in shops, the more resources the village gains, the faster buildings are constructed like chapels, barracks, monasteries for monks, yada-yada.”

“Okay, so that also explains how he said that we would get spies. Let me guess, a seedy tavern that lets you recruit NPC’s?”

“Yes, sir. Everything kinda goes up on a curve,” Rubble says as he raises a hand in the air. “The more NPC’s there are, the more you can conscript. Those conscripts can be delegated to any task we have a building for, one of them being a spy. You can send them out to infiltrate other towns to look for a certain keyword. Any talk that has that keyword gets flagged and reported back to home base.”

My mind immediately starts running through potential phrases, but just like Captain Royal mentioned before, I’m living in a fantasy game that is literally chocked full of shields, so that word’s useless to me. I can only imagine how many false positives that would give me.

Rin seems to see my mind working overtime as a look of sincerity comes over her and we lock gazes. “You really do think someone’s trying to take over the Shield, don’t you?”

I shrug. “If I don’t believe it, who would? I heard it with my own ears. It was too precise a conversation to mean anything about a regular shield, I know that.”

The others nodded in silence, unable to deny the possibility, but also still doubting it enough not to comfort me. I take a few drinks from my mug and recall the talking I overheard in Cutter’s Cry. The voice said they only needed two weeks to fabricate the ‘key’, whatever that is. With a quick though, I figure I have 10 days left plus a little wiggle room, but hopefully after tomorrow we’ll be at level fifteen.

Before too long, the subject of conversation changes. The others tell stories about some of their adventures in Libertas while I only half listen with my thoughts weighing so heavily on my mind. Time begins to escape us as I start to feel the numbness take over my body on my third flagon of ale. As the bar begins to quiet down, I stand up and stretch my arms and legs out. I don’t think I’ve been this stationary since I first came to Libertas.

“Well,” I say, “I’m gonna go walk around town for a while. I’ll see you guys.”

Without even hearing what the other say, I kinda stumble my way through to the saloon doors and nearly knock a chair over in the journey. Re-focusing, I make my way to the saloon doors and out into the cool night air. A sea of stars glimmer above the quiet streets. Small groups of players are huddled together, hanging around outside of buildings and on corners, talking as the night goes on.

I figure that looking down the cliffs to see the moonlit waves lapping and foaming against the rocks below would be relaxing, and take the first few steps down to the market square, not well enough to keep my balance perfectly, but enough for me to make it there without biffing it. By the time I’ve swayed my way across the street, I hear someone yelling out behind me. It’s a sweet voice. One that makes my heart flutter.

“Hey, greeeeny!”

I turn around. Rin staggers down the Wizard Den’s steps, nearly falling as she comes jogging towards me. “Wai-” she raises her hand as she hiccups. “Wait up… fer a second.”

I can’t help but smile at her goofiness. She’s usually a very refined and self controlled in her motions, so seeing her like this is exceedingly rare. I have no idea how much she’s had to drink. I tell her, “Take it slow there, lightning bolt. Walk sound good to you, too?”

Rin smiles smugly at my comment, points at me with finger guns. “Y-Yeah. I could use some cold air… And I didn’t wanna leave ya on yer own.” She hiccups again. “Where we headed?”

I point towards the East. “The ocean. I wanted to take a look. See the waves and what ships are docked tonight.”

“Who givves a ratsss ass about shipss.” Hiccup. “Fightin’s where it’s at. The combat. Steeyul against steeyul. Or, miynd against miynd… I prefer.” Rin taps her temple with a smile, then lets out a long sigh that makes me believe she’s calmed down, only for her to throw her head back and bellow, “Shoot, it’s the rush in your BLOOD! Mano-e-mano. Only the STRONG… will SURVIVE!”

She’s so out of it I can’t help but laugh. As she belts into the night sky she begins to fall backwards. I have reach out and grab her, trying not to get pulled down with her. In between another hiccup, she thanks me and we carry on.

It takes us almost 20 minutes to reach the docks, and trying to keep her upright is a pretty sobering activity. I sit her down on a bench overlooking the harbor and take a seat next to her, even though I can tell by the way she walks she’s beginning to return to her senses already, too.

The scenic view is just as gorgeous as I was hoping it would be. The moon and twinkling stars give off just enough light to see the waves gently pushing on the bobbing ships below. The air smells like the ocean, salty and cool, but I get nervous and warm when Rin wraps her hands around my right arm and leans in to rest her head on my shoulder.

I swallow and sit as perfectly still as I can. Her skin is warm to the touch, sending sparks of energy through me. The way her hair smells like roses and citrus is even more intoxicating than the ales I just had. As we’re sitting there in the beautiful scenery, I decide that I can’t hide my infatuation for Rin from myself any longer. I admit it, to myself, that she has my full attention, and I want to believe that she’s not against the thought of us being more than friends since I’m literally her pillow right now. All I know is that I don’t want this to end.

But of course, it has to. Within a few minutes she lets go of me and sits up, the places where her touch warmed me now cold in the night air. Neither of us say anything, despite my conscious screaming at me to just spit out my confessions. We just sit there thinking and watching the ships on the water for a minute until I can’t take it any more and glance over at Rin. She seems to notice my movement fairly quickly, our gazes meeting to look one another in the eyes. Those entrancing, violet eyes.

“Why me?” I ask.

Rin narrows her eyes, fighting to hold back a smirk. “What you mean?”

I run my hand down my face, and let out a sigh. “I mean, what did you see in me that made you invite me to Birch Castle in the first place? You said so yourself; I’m greener than a pit viper. I just feel like I don’t deserve to be a part of this group. That I don’t deserve your guys’ help when even I know I’m probably leading you all on a wild goose chase.”

Rin shrugs and casts her gaze out over the water again. “Honestly, at first we just needed a tank. And while you’re not brawn like rubble is, or even have the experience most people do, I’m glad you’re here. You want to know why invited you to join me? It’s because of how you handled Finn and Lenard. Even though I was upset you stopped me from slugging him in the face, I was impressed you took the initiative to defend me when we only just met and I was kind of an ass to you.

“And it’s clear you have cunning, you’re a natural tactician, and even when you have no clue what to do and your afraid, you never hesitate to do something when someone else is in trouble. Like in Sunshine today. That Imp was going to take me out and you got right after it. You might not see it, but there’s bravery and chivalry in you. It’s charming.”

I laugh. “I don’t know about that. Did you see me running around in Sunshine? Or when we fought Goliath in the Five Roses Keep? Absolutely terrifying.”

Rin chuckles, but shrugs. “Everyone gets a little panicky or terrified at times. Trust me. You’re a good guy. There is a light in you I hope never goes out.”

When Rin turns, her smile is even more captivating than usual in the dull luminescence of the moon. I feel like I’ve been blown into another dimension. That beautifully happy face of hers takes me away to a place I haven’t ever been before. Gives me emotions that I want to hold onto and treasure, because it’s been so long since I’ve felt any kind of hope or affection. I wonder to myself if this is the time to say something, to let her know how I feel, but the words just don’t come out. She notices my dumbfoundedness and stands.

“Well, I think it’s about time I had out,” she says. “Tomorrow?”

I nod, shaking myself back into this reality. Even though I’m feeling a little disappointed in myself, I still chipperly say, “Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

In a moment, she vanishes from thin air, logging off. With her gone, the fatigue of a busy day returns to my arms and legs. With sleep on my mind, I wander back to the Wizard’s Den, intent on renting a room, but only to find Rubble shouting and cheering by the bar. Arms raised in the air, he spins around, then double takes when he noticed I’ve returned. Straight away, he barges his way across the room, knocking over the chairs in his path like a bulldozer. Beaming, he’s more intoxicated than when I left.

“Aiden, muh friend!” he says taking me by the arm and pulling me towards the countertop. “Back fer more, eh?” He waves a hand over six full flagons of ale neatly lined down the wooden bar top. “Look at all these. Won ‘em on a bet, ha! Wanna sippy sip?”

He lifts his mug under my nose, which I push away with a smile. “No. Thanks, though. And congratulations, I guess. But isn’t it about time to call it a night?”

He mumbles an incomprehensible answer then turns back to the bar. Patting the big guy on his shoulder, I turn to the barkeep and rent a room. All I want is sleep, and guessing by the upset looks of the monks on the other end of the tavern, all this beer was at their expense.

“Say…” Rubble says as he pokes me with a big finger. “Where did’ya run off to? Did Rin find ya?”

“Yeah, she did. We went down to the cliff side, sat overlooking the harbor and just talked. It was really nice.”

Rubble makes a strange face. His bushy brows push together and he purses his lips like he’s suspicious. “Ya know her and Felix have this… thing for each other, right? They have ups ’n downs, but uh, you can see in their eyes. Not ones to flaunt it around, those two. Most of that love-making is private.”

With a sigh, I grab a beer.