Chapter 14

I felt like such a big deal when making, well, the deal. But the old man was a little more resourceful than I had expected. He was too hasty to make the deal so that he could ensure our alliance and I was too excited to have our price named to be specific. So we did get a crash course about the way this world worked, kinda. But nothing more regarding the plot, the goal or anything remotely useful. And first, we had had to actually swear that we would follow the teachings and rules of the Keepers in a green book of all things. I was starting to get tired of all the green. I didn't know how binding the oath would be in terms of the game, for the Keeper Leader guy, this was all true life. But who was to say I would have to abide by what I swore? He looked confident enough of it to give me pause, however. What if there was an in-game god that made sure to strike you down if you broke the oath? What if I sprouted leaves and branches from inside out spontaneously?

I shivered and stopped shoveling soil.

"Thanks, noob. I always wanted to be vowed into a weird tree cult and spend my precious time planting flowers and learning gardening" Why did he always end up sitting the closest to me than anyone else? I let go of the soil I had been digging my hands in to mold it into something softer and ready for the seeds we were about to plant. I contemplated not replying. And then I contemplated some more and thought that bursting from the tension wasn't a pleasant solution so I was going to go with my second option.

"Are you in love with me?" I tried to do it in the same charming and dramatic voice that Lancelot used. I literally heard him do a spit take and the thump of his crude hoe falling to the ground as he lost his grip.

"Wha-...eh...AHHH?!" I thought making him shut up would have been the sweetest silence. Turns out these sounds were even sweeter.

"I mean, you always stick to me like gum and seem to look for reasons to whisper stuff at me. You know, the whole bullying your crush because bad attention is better than no attention isn't really my thing. So passé." I rested my cheek on my dirty hand and then my elbow on my bended knee before looking at him and intensely and wiggling my eyebrows. I heard trickling laughter and looked up to see our  determined instructor and the others try to look away as if they hadn't been listening to us. I smiled goodnaturedly before continuing. "You know, nobody makes you stay here and do these things. They freed us. You can walk away at any moment"

I got up, tired of getting infected by his bad mood and attitude and stood closer to our instructor to see what she was doing and possibly learn a thing or two more. For some reason, useless as it seemed, I felt that some of those things could have their uses in a survival game. And seeing as we were stuck doing this for the foreseeable future, I decided to take as much as I could from it. They wouldn't offer any other info and even after we vowed and got the locked gate icon on our avatars to show our allegiance, they didn't trust us enough to show their camp or wherever they lived. I think we would have to gain their trust first to do that. And there was no better way to do that than socialize. Only one drawback: I was awkward as fuck.

"Soooo, I didn't catch your name" Yeah, I know. Cheesy line. Thing was, when I couldn't find what to say, I drew from my data bank from various shows and books. And that didn't always end well. She side-eyed me without looking up from the plants she had been showing us and naming their titles and some of their attributes.

"That's because I didn't drop it" I heard the smile in her voice and was just glad to have the conversation going. Even though I had no clue on what to do now. People usually gave you their names when you gave them yours right? It was proper etiquette.

"I'm Artiel" Very articulate and verbose, I know. She looked up finally and looked at me amusedly. 

"I know. I was there for the oath if you recall" Yes she was. As a witness or because of her relationship with the leader I'm not sure but she had been there and silently laughing during our stumbling through the ridiculous vows about a flowery life and never angering or harming our Mother Nature. About how all of us were now brothers and sisters, okay Cerf might be a bit right for the whole tree cult thing. 

Still, now I had no more lines and still hadn't acquired her name. So I opened my mouth, gaped and then closed it again. She kept looking at me as if waiting for what I would do next. I think I might have disappointed the both of us when I just got up and went to check on Lancelot and Adriana. 

"Are you kids learning about your veggies?" I joked. They looked up at me in half exasperation and half humour. They were a little mad at me for the oath too, I could tell. But I had saved our skins, right after endangering them multiple times but still. 

"Did she say to mix the frut root with the apl seed or the other way around? If I do it in reverse, do I get a poisonous plant instead of a medicinal one?" Don't comment on the plants names. It was times like this I was convinced we were still in my dream. Names were never my forte. I think you noticed by now. Lancelot seemed intrigued and focused. It was a little comical to see this very big dude try to handle these very thin and small roots and seeds with his huge hands. Something has definitely gone wrong already from what the soil in front of him looked like.

"You're popular, huh?" Adriana teased me and I turned to see her looking at me with a sparkle in her eye. I cocked my head all confused.

"Sorry?"

"I mean, first Cerf and now the girl. You have quite the fan club" She winked and I flushed. I played with my hands nervously and tried to reply something other than vowel noises. "You do know she's an NPC though" I frowned.

"What does that have to do with anything?" My question surprised her and made her look at me with pity that stuck on my skin like dirty oil. I wanted to scratch it off.

"She's not a real person. She doesn't have emotions. Her whole personality and words are programmed in her code" I looked up at the girl. She looked so beautiful and real underneath the sunlight and she was so diligent with her work. I hadn't caught even half of what she said because there had been so much info but she had sincerely tried to teach us. Just like Erlong. And she hadn't given me her name, she had teased me playfully. 

"She seems real to me" I replied with finality and walked away from them to get back beside the girl in hopes of getting her name this time. Adriana seemed flustered. I didn't really care. I had thought my main problem had been with Cerf but turns out he was just the only bold enough to phraze what they were all thinking. I wasn't going to abandon them when I was the one who got us into this mess but I wasn't going to try and fit in with the image of their group anymore either. Their company wasn't that tempting anymore. 

"Leafy" I said when I stood behind the girl and she flinched surprised by my sudden appearance. She kept working while doing an obvious effort to not look back at me in question.

"Are you having a stroke?" She asked me at last.

"Greeny?" I went on unperturbed. She nodded as if understanding my nonsense.

"I have heard legend of the Sprout fumes driving some people insane but had never seen it before up close. Your bulky friend over there seems to be doing great with medicine. Go ask him for help." She motioned at Lance. I didn't want to talk about the others.

"I'm guessing your name since you don't seem inclined to give it to me. Keepers seem to have a...nature pattern. Leafy and Greeny seemed like the choices to go with" I shrugged before bending my knees and sitting on air beside her.

"Hmmm, makes sense." She said thoughtfully before reaching for her pouch of seeds. "Thing is, you never actually did ask for it, did you?" She turned towards me just a little bit and cocked an eyebrow. I was officially an idiot. 

"So...what's your name?" I asked hopefully.

"Flowery" And for some moments, I couldn't tell if she was joking or not.