Too Broke For Afterlife

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It's done. The skeletons have been defeated.

Now I'm sitting in the grass, tree trunk in my back as Goldres is using a cotton ball to dap a glistening blue tincture onto the wounds. 

He had told me that centaurs are very strongly connected to nature and that he had chosen medicine as his path. 

Thankfully, else I might have lost an arm. I watch as the liquid heals most of the bite marks within seconds. What's left is merely a shallow wound.

"Good. I'll bandage the rest."

"Thank you," I mumble.

"This is so typical!" Aerhorn stomps his feet in front of me like a little child.

"You're too nice! You let the biggest noobs join us! Those skeletons were harmless, that was complete beginner shit, yet this guy almost f*cked it all up."

"Relax, Aero." Goldres looks up at him. "Nothing happened. We won the fight. Let's concentrate on our next steps."

"Well, I vote that our next step is to leave dumb and dumber here and finish the mission with the original group."

I roll my eyes but don't feel like fighting. I know I'd lose. 

"That wouldn't benefit anyone. We are all part of the same guild and so we shall travel as one. I'm sure Parker and Walter will prove to be helpful very soon."

Aerhorn snorts but finally, he gives up.

That's when Fatima arises. A head taller than the hybrid, she looks down at him.

"Back to the mission. I couldn't read the runes on the column as they were Elvish. You speak it, right?"

"I'm half-elf, of course I do."

He uses the chance to get away from us and storms back onto the snuffed out battlefield.

Suddenly, I feel a hand on my knee. It's Walter.

He whispers: "Are you okay?" 

I nod. "Yeah."

"Good. Remember, we can leave anytime. Maybe the others have left a message on the board."

Shaking my head, I look away. "We went to that mountain world just yesterday. There was nothing there. We have to wait some more."

"Okay."

Meanwhile, Aehorn has reached the column. His hawk eyes study the runes. Then he waves us over.

I get up and wipe the moss off my pants. Then I follow the others.

"What does it say?" Goldres asks. His four hooves come to a halt.

"I can translate it but I can't tell you what it means."

Aehorn clears his throat.

"Up the mountain, down the stonern path, a prisoner locked inside a cave. The king holds the key to the dragon's door but he cries, cries, cries."

F*cking hell, now we have to solve riddles?

The others don't seem happy about it either, except for Cordon.

"We'll have to get up the mountains, where the skeletons came from. I know where the caves lie! Let's go!"

And thus, our journey continues.

<<<

The further up we move, the more scraggy and rocky the mountain lies beneath our feet. There is hardly any vegetation and with the exception of a few crows and a thirsty lizard, we haven't encountered any animals.

I have let myself fall behind the group in order to get some peace. At first, Walter was trying to accompany me but now I haven't seen him for a while. 

With the help of Fatima's ball of light, we are able to not break our necks in the dark. Clouds have pushed themselves in front of the moon, light is a rarity. 

"And Parker? How are you enjoying your time in Troll Flower?"

Lost in thoughts. I hadn't even noticed Cordon approaching me but now we are walking next to each other. 

"It's alright, very different from what I've experienced before."

"It's amazing, isn't it? Out of all the fantasy RPG worlds in Heaven, we have the most advanced system. Guilds, missions, storyline…everything!"

I just nod, unable to share the halfling's enthusiasm. 

"What do you think the riddle means?"

"I have no idea," I answer truthfully. But I decide to not add the 'And I don't care either.'

"Same, we have a lot of kings in Troll Flower. One for almost each race. I haven't heard that anyone went missing lately. Maybe because we started the mission the minute they published it. Other guilds who follow later will have more information."

"Who is 'they'? Who publishes the missions?"

Cordon shrugs. "I don't know, those who manage the world, I assume. Not the creator, she left Heaven two years ago."

"A girl made this?"

"A woman."

"Same dif."

Cordon looks at me offended and is ready to protest when the group suddenly stops.

We are standing at a fork, another path crosses ours. There are signs pointing in different directions as well as a blackboard. 

Aehorn is looking at it as Fatima studies the signs.

He huffs. "This is getting worse every minute."

"What is?" Goldres asks.

"The Mayor and her washed up disciples."

When I hear him mentioning the Mayor, I quickly walk over.

"What are the news?"

"Look."

He points at the page of a tabloid someone had pinned against the blackboard.

The Mayor welcomes her new assistant to the team.

"We are already discussing ways to optimize Heaven. A lot is ahead," she told the reporter.

I skip the rest of the article when I see the image underneath.

It's a photograph of the Mayor and…

"Judy."

"You know her?"

I stare at the image in disbelief. "She is my friend."

Aehorn snorts. "Well, now she is the Mayor's friend. Bye bye Judy."

This can't be real. Judy would never team up with our enemy! She knows that the Mayor is evil, right?

"This woman can manipulate anyone."

"You don't like the Mayor?" I ask.

"Of course not." Fatima joins our conversation. "She isn't truthful. Anyone with a sixth sense knows that."

Goldres sighs. "Sadly, most of us don't have a sixth sense. You're an aasimar afterall. Now, let us continue."

As they resume the hike, I turn around to discuss the news with Walter. But…I can't spot him anywhere.

"Guys?"

They stop again. 

"Where did Walter go?"

"Maybe between the bushes to piss?" Aehorn suggests.

"No," I reply. "We haven't had anything to drink or eat in days.

The last meal was marinated venison and mulled wine at the Bothered Blackbird tavern. If only I could taste.

"Really? That's not good. You have to eat and drink so that you take less damage in battle," Goldres lectures me as he shakes his human head.

"Yeah, fine, whatever. When was the last time you guys saw Walter?"

They think. Cordon is the first to answer.

"At the small creek. I almost fell into the water but he pulled me away."

"That was miles ago!" I yell as I throw my hands over my head. 

"What if he got lost? How will we ever find him?"

"Hey!" Aehorn steps towards me. "He is your friend, you should have looked out for him, not us. We are a guild, not babysitters!"

Goldres tries to calm him down. "Aero-"

"No! These two cause nothing but trouble! F*ck Walter, let him get mauled by bears for all I care. We have better things to do."

"Stop saying that. Nobody gets left behind."

Aehorn stares at the centaur, then he shakes his head and keeps walking.

"Come back," Fatima shouts. "We have to stick together!"

The hybrid doesn't turn around as he flips us off. 

Honestly, I like this guy. He reminds me a lot of myself. If only he wasn't so hostile.

Fatima wants to run after him but Goldres holds her back.

"Let him be. He just needs to cool off. I bet we'll find him sitting at the next crossing. Now, where do we find Walter?"

Almost as if he had heard us, suddenly the raven haired man stumbles out of the bushes next to us.

I stare at him in disbelief.

"Ah, problem solved." Goldres smiles. "Shall we continue then?"

The group starts walking but I hold my friend back.

"Dude," I hiss into his ear. "Where the f were you?"

"Hiker's Dream," he whispers.

"Seriously? But-"

"I wanted to make sure and thank god I did. There was a message from Black Hunter."

My eyes widen.

Black Hunter. That's the codename Nox had chosen.

"Well, what did it say?"

He holds a finger in front of my mouth to tell me to be even quieter.

"The NPCs have face recognition now. If we come across one, we are screwed. We have to change our appearance asap."

Ah. Great. I can already see Aehorn rioting because Walter and I requested a break just to pick out a new skin.

But there is no way around it. I sigh.

"Now listen to what I just found out."

"What?"

I turn to Walter. "Apparently Judy is now the Mayor's assistant."

His mouth drops open. "What?"

"Yes."

I look at the sky. The clouds have grown darker and I feel raindrops on my skin. I pull the hood over my head.

"We are f*cked."