“Hello there travelers!” There was an npc greeting us.

“Ohh hi, nice straw hat!” Bram answered back.

“Thank you young man, are you guys heading into Spriga by any chance?”

“Spriga? Are you talking about the city on top of that huge wooden stump?”

“Yes indeed, would you be a dear and deliver these herbs to the merchant by the entrance?”

“There is probably a lot of shops there, got any name?” Odin asked.

“Ohh, I have become so used to this place that I think everyone else is to….The name is Green Health”

“We will do our best!”

“Thank you, say hi from me” The npc waved at us as we headed downwards to the city.

The sky was so blue and clear, it felt weird smelling the fresh air again and feeling the hot wind

breeze on my face.

“Ahhhhh this is such a great feeling!” Elisa was inhaling heavily as she enjoyed the air and sunlight.

“Can we please chill out in that cabin over there?” Cortez was down to his last sweat drop.

“I agree, it would be really good to relax a little,” Odin agreed with Cortez.

The cabin was along the road, most likely some sort of motel or restaurant, as we got closer we could see other players

and npcs.

“Let’s eat something good, im starving” Cortez headed over to the clerk npc too order some food.

There was almost no one inside; it was an outside restaurant after all.

“What are you guys waiting for? Aren’t you guys hungry?” Cortez summoned us over to him, as he was next in line.

“Coming!” Celia ran over to him, Odin followed her.

“Bram you coming?”

“Way ahead of ya!” Bram started to run as he passed Celia, he be starved.

After we ordered and sat down, we had a nice chat while enjoying the sun.

“You guys seem to have known each other for a while, mind telling me the story?”

“Celia is my sister and we entered Felia almost the same time because of our bunker being sieged”

Odin continued after me.

“The war began in the real world, I fled here with my family”

Then Cortez continued.

“The real world for me was boring and by parents were bad, I lived in an isolated little town in the mountains, literally nothing happened, so I came here for adventures!” Cortez smiled.

The food was delivered to us.

We all said our thanks.

Elisa finished the story.

“The bunker I was in started to get violent, food shortage made people go nuts, I saw things heating up in ways it could

only go one way, so here I am.”

“How about you Bram?” I continued as I was eating a roasted chicken with some brown sauce.

“Once the bombs started dropping on my city I knew there was no hope for me, those close to me died in a flash, I didn’t even have time to grieve then and there, I knew where the facility was, and luckily it was stationed underground”

“Im sorry for you loss”

“Thanks, we have all lost someone right…”

The aura got a bit tense; it got quiet as we just ate and remembered how things used to be, at least that is what I think everyone was thinking.

“Why were they after you Celia?”

Celia was caught off guard as she was eating.

“I used to be a member” she slightly coughed as she swallowed her food.

“Say what now?” Bram was surprised.

“These guys managed to get me out, thankfully.”

“Is that so, it won’t be easy to get them of your tail”

Before she could answer, I interrupted.

“Let them come, that won’t be a problem.”

“We got your back Celia, no matter what!” Odin said.

Celia looked over at Odin and smiled.

“You guys are too kind!” Odin`s face got tomato red as he blushed.

Cortez slightly knocked Odin on his back, Celia is the only one oblivious of Odin’s feelings it seems.

Odin looked over at Cortez, he was smiling as he winked smoothly.

Odin rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

It got a bit silent again as everyone ate their food and looked over at some sort of concert with dancing and music.

I looked over at Celia as she was happily eating the rest of her roasted pork as she enjoyed the show.

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“You have to talk to me sometime….Celia..”

She kept on ignoring me.

“We did what we had to do survive, you know that!”

“There is nothing I or you know! We don’t know what would have happened if we stayed and fought!”

Celia was mad and upset because we left our gang during the firefight.

“We were outmanned 3 to one, there was no chance, they even had and RPG!”

Celia started to sob.

“We are still alive….” I said

“For what?”

“Celia, what do you mean?”

“What purpose do we have to live? What living is just staying alive, look around! Drought, filth, disease, and back in camp at least it was clean, now we will probably rot out here in the wilderness of nothingness.”

I gave her a hug from behind.

“Please don’t say things like that, we still have each other”

Celia started crying as she was desperately rubbing her eyes trying not to show.

“I-i…know, b-but what about……Zane and----and Am—Amon….”

“Shh, Shhh, there is nothing more they would have wanted from us then to survive.”

“B-But still…” She turned around and cried on my chest.

“I know…..Do not let the guilty consume you, we did nothing wrong, ok?”

She was still crying, but she managed to calm down a little.

“People die twice you know, the first time when they pass away and the second time when their name is said for the last time….Lets never forget….”

"Yeah......."

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“Sky?” I was nudged back to reality, or virtual reality.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“We are done eating shall we head over to Spriga?”

Elisa and the others were ready to go.

“Yeah sure, I was just spacing out a little.”

“You doing ok?” Elisa seemed worried.

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“I don’t know, it’s just this world can be so brutal, I just wish we could be more peaceful in doing things.”

“I agree, I don’t want this world to become like the real one, that is why I want to get rid of the Darkblood Brotherhood,

no matter how long it takes, but unforcedly it is not a peaceful path.”

“I will do everything to help you and this world.”

“Glad to have you on my side Elisa!” Elisa blushed a little.

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We got back on the road.

“I wonder what kind of creatures awaits us, Plants? Wolves and bears again?” Cortez was puzzling over this as he had

his arms behind his head stretching and relaxing.

“I hope Tigers” Elisa wished.

“Tigers? This isn’t any jungle!”

“Shut up!” Elisa punched his shoulder.

“Oww, why do you have to be so violent, crazy woman?”

“Say what again?” Elisa got mad!

“Nothing.” Cortez`s voice cracked out of fright as shamelessly looked away.

“humpf”

Odin headed over to Celia, her hair and face was not covered up by any mask or cowl, she was enjoying the air and sun.

“Celia hey!” Smooth approach by Odin.

“Ohh, hi Odin what’s up?”

“I was just wondering if you could tell me a little bit of yourself”

“Sure, what do you want to know?”

“Do you have any favorite foods, what kind of music do you like?”

“I don’t really have any favorite food; I just eat to stay nourished”

“Is that so….”

“Haha, I am joking! My favorite food is fried pork, or any kind of pork! I also love passionate songs, songs that have been worked on with passion from the artist and is clearly heard throughout the song, what about you?

“My father was a musician, if we weren’t fishing together I used to watch him play on his guitar and piano, he made

really nice songs.”

“Did he ever teach you?”

“Yes! I am not good at making my own songs, but I know how to play guitar and piano because of him.”

“Maybe one day you can play for me?”

“S-Sure! That would be fun!” Odin blushed.

“Well played kid, well played” Cortez once again gave him a smooth wink.

We got to the tree stump of Spriga, without meeting any enemies on the way, only other players and friendly npcs.

“Wow, I knew it was huge but this is ridicules” Cortez was mind blown.

As we went through a wooden gate and started heading up in circles around the tree stump to get to Spriga, the npc guard wished us welcome!

“Thank you!”

“Find the Queen of Spriga immediately when you enter the city, she wants to talk personally to all newcomers!”

A Quest popup notification came up on our huds.

“Will do!”

We all accepted the quest.

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