Party Politics

The next morning I greeted Lilian at breakfast with extra friendliness, which she returned with an icy stare. It must have been obvious because even Kyle noticed, while sitting on the other side of the campfire.

“Woah, what did y’all get up to last night?” he asked with a distinct drawl.

“Nothing! We just talked when she came to relieve me,” I said, blushing.

“Mhmm,” said Kyle, screwing a toothpick in between his teeth.

“Are you southern?” asked Paelyn excitedly.

“Born and bred in Texas, darling,” he said with a wink.

“Oh my gosh that’s so cool! Did you like–ride horses to school and stuff?”

Leo, Lilian, and I cringed in unison.

“Nope,” said Kyle good-naturedly. “Can’t say that I did.”

The place where we had spent the night had a strange look about it. Endless low hills rose and fell in every direction like waves, interrupted only by sparse trees and these uniform gray rocks which stuck out of the grass everywhere you looked. 

The trees seemed to like the low spots between the hills best, and the more we walked the thicker the little clumps of them became. Where they grew thickest, there grew also a kind of bulb flower like a tulip with a striking star-shaped appearance.

“Let’s take a few of those,” said Lilian. “You never know when some NPC a hundred miles from here will try to make us bring him some.”

“You’ve played your fair share of games it sounds like,” I said.

“Nope, my Dad used to play them. I always thought they were stupid,” said Lilian.

“Oh,” I said.

Suddenly I heard a voice. “Hey Sebastian, have you got a minute?”

I turned around and saw Pasqual walking down the hill towards me. He smiled at Lilian.

“I’ll leave you to it,” she said, as we locked eyes.

“You gonna tell me what this is all about?” I asked.

Pasqual sighed. “I made a mistake, alright? And I took two days off after the fair–my first time off since we started our adventure.”

“Don’t complain to me about your work/life balance. And you expect me to believe you sent us both to random places by accident?”

"Yes, I meant to split you up, but I really did make a mistake. I mixed you up and sent you to the wrong parties.”

“Who did you mean to send me to?” I asked fearfully. “Is Ori okay?”

“She’s fine. It’s not like there’s anything wrong with them, they’re just like you–deadbeats.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“I talked to Ori and she’s happy, so I’m just going to leave things as they are,” said Pasqual with a smile that rather rubbed me the wrong way. 

“You aren't bring gonna us back together?”

“I could…” said Pasqual hesitantly, “but she seems pretty content. She even joined a new party.”

“What do you mean she joined a new party?” I demanded.

“Look for yourself,” said Pasqual, generating an apple. He took a bite and smiled, “Mmm, Honeycrisp.”

I opened the menu. Pasqual was right, my party tab was empty.

“It doesn’t really sound like you came here meaning to fix anything,” I said angrily.

“Not really, I mostly just wanted to acknowledge the screw up. I saw you had a run in with the manticore."

“How’d you know that? Is everything recorded?”

“No, not if you mean a fully rendered recording. That would be terabytes of data per second and we frankly don't have the processing power or storage space to do that, but we have asked the system to record certain data of interest for us. Think of it more like a telephone statement, where we know who placed a call to whom and how long it lasted, but don’t have an actual recording of what was said. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this. Add that to the list of things on your gag order.”

“Oh,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I guess I ought to tell you. I kinda let it slip to Lilian that you told me the Panacea wouldn’t work on me.”

Pasqual groaned. “I told you that in confidence. Do you not know what ‘confidence’ means? Listen, you might not like me, but I’m basically a god in here, so do what I say.”

“I know. I’m sorry. She was just really giving me hell about not trying my hardest to win. I felt like I needed to tell her.”

Pasqual sighed. “I get it, but you better not tell anyone else–I mean it–or things are gonna get ugly.”

“Understood,” I said.

“Oh, and I’m gonna be working on a patch for you that I think you’re gonna like. Consider it my apology.” He set his apple core down on my barrel and left.

“What was that about?” asked Leo, coming over.

“Oh, he was just catching me up,” I answered awkwardly.

“Does that happen a lot?”

“Uh, it’s not the first time.”

“Wow, Pasqual’s playing favorites,” said Kyle.

“I don’t know if I’d say that,” I said with a chuckle.

“He talk about the mix up?”

“Yeah, apparently he’s only just getting back to me because he took the weekend off.”

“Does that mean you’re getting outta here?”

“Doesn’t sound like it,” I said. “So I hope you’ll let me hang around a bit longer.” I laughed nervously.

“Of course,” said Leo. “You can follow us as long as you want.”

“Hey, break’s over, let’s move on!” yelled Lilian.

“So I guess it’s a Monday, then,” said Kyle. “That must explain why my head hurts.”

“It’s funny being in a high-tech simulation but not having a clock or calendar,” I said.

“It is sort of ironic,” agreed Leo with a laugh.

“Speaking of technology–On your maps, is there a white dot?” I asked.

 “Not unless you mean the one where we are.”

“Never mind, I don’t see it anymore,” I said. It must have been Ori–before she left my party.

The rest of that afternoon we traveled intermittently, stopping only to fight monsters. When they fought I would find a hillside to sit on and watch the action. It was nice to have something going on which didn’t concern me much, as I had plenty to think about. Of course, I was hurt that Ori had moved on from me so quickly, but on the other hand that made being apart easier. Wherever she was, it sounded like she was doing fine, and that seemed like the best situation for all parties.

“Sorry about making you wait all the time,” said Leo. “Lilian won’t let us pass up a battle if there’s decent experience to be had.”

“Honestly, this has been the most relaxing afternoon I’ve had since coming to Eutopia. It’s kind of nice just sitting down and watching.”

“I’m impressed by your positive outlook. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, it’s just, with all of the focus put on points and trying to be the one to get out of here–I think it’s really mature how you put emphasis on the present.”

“There can only be one winner, and none of us are promised tomorrow. Just think about how...I'm sorry, I shouldn’t say stuff like that.”

“No, I think it’s wise–”

“Well maybe, but it isn’t really me…” I took a deep breath to recollect myself. “If I seem unworried about the future it’s because I’ve already accepted that I’ve lost the competition, not because I’m some super zen person. If I was a mage or a warrior instead of… this–I promise you I’d be just as obsessed with gaining points as the rest of you.”

“Even if that’s true. It doesn’t make this you some kind of phony.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling. “You can seem pretty wise yourself, sometimes.”

“Eww, yuck! Are you two just giving each other compliments over here?” asked Lilian, who I hadn’t noticed approaching.

“No–we were just–” I could feel my face turning red.

"Man, you’re weird,” said Lilian. “It’s too early to stop for dinner so we’re gonna keep going. Don't fall too far behind.”

“What’s wrong? Is she still picking on you?” Leo asked, when she had gone.

“No it’s nothing like that. She just makes me nervous,” I said, forcing a laugh.

“Alright, guess we’re walking,” he said, standing up with a groan. 

A while later, I was walking alone down in the dell along a clump of trees when I noticed Lilian at my side.

“Where did you come from?” I asked.

“I was just investigating the wood.”

“Let me guess, you found the fairy’s magical fountain.”

“You know, I still don’t care for your jokes,” said Lilian, smiling.

“Yes you do, you just don’t want to admit it.”

“That must be it,” she said, animatedly.

“Hey, there’s actually something I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh?” 

“I was wondering if it would be awkward for me to bring up joining the party, since I’m gonna be traveling with you guys for a while.”

“But you’re already in a party with Ori,” said Lilian.

“Actually, I’m not. She left my party,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Ouch!” 

“What do you think, is it a bad idea to ask everyone at dinner? Should I wait?”

Lilian considered this. “I don’t think it really matters.”

“So…you think it’s a fine time?” I said, trying to understand her meaning.

“If you want to ask them at dinner, I won’t try to dissuade you.”

“Okay, thanks,” I said, not getting quite the reaction I was hoping for.

“Go in there,” she said, gesturing into the thicket.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because it’s your turn to check for fairy fountains,” she said.

I waited a moment to see if she was joking before doing as I was told. Under the trees it seemed more like midnight than early evening. I looked about for a few minutes, before coming to the conclusion that Lilian had merely sent me into the trees as a convenient way to end our tete-a-tete.

By the time I made it to camp, I’d forgotten all about the topic of joining their party. After dinner Paelyn proposed we play a game of charades, which resulted in Paelyn being universally denounced as a terrible charades player, while she protested that she and her girlfriends would have beaten any of them.

It wasn’t until I was lying in the grass that night that I remembered the question I had wanted to ask them.

Now that the group had five people, there was one person on any given night that had no lookout shift and it was finally my turn, and I awoke the next morning feeling no less refreshed for having made my bed in a little depression on the hillside.

As I sat down at the table, Kyle put a plate in front of me on which was a single, raw carrot. “How’s the warren?” he asked.

“Knock it off,” said Lilian, throwing the carrot at Kyle and giving me a real plate of food.

“What, so it’s okay when you do it but when I make a joke it’s crossing the line?”

“Just shut up, would you?” said Lilian, as she went to her tent.

“Someone’s done a full 180 on the new guy,” Kyle grumbled.

We left after breakfast and didn’t encounter many enemies which meant we covered a good distance. Eventually we came to a stream, which we followed until it brought us to a little village situated on the shore of a lake.

“Alright, let’s do the rounds,” said Leo. “Lilian and Paelyn, you take the buildings on that side. Baylor and I will hit the ones over here. Bastian, you can take the pier.”

“Who is Baylor?” I asked, stupidly.

“It’s what my friends back home call me,” said Kyle. “I asked him to use it.”

“Oh,” I said, trying not to sound offended while wondering who else he’d asked to use the name.

As we split up, I set off down to the pier where a few NPCs were milling about or apparently engaging in a never-ending battle to unmoor a fishing boat.

“Hello fisherman, what’s the goss?” I asked.

“The sea is full of gossip, if you know how to listen.” I turned and looked at the lake, wondering if I’d somehow mistaken it for a much larger body of water.

“Someone didn’t do their due diligence when they moved your town inland.”

“Things could have been different for us,” said the man. “If not for that raging storm forty years ago.”

“Oh, gee, tell me what happened in the storm,” I said.

“It was a tempestuous night. The sky was black but for the moon’s eerie glow.”

“Ah, but for the moon,” I said, nodding.

“A ship laden with riches was bound for our harbor that night, but they never came in. They say she’s still out there in the bay.”

“You mean like a ghost ship or like a sunken ship?”

“They say she’s still out there like a sunken ship in the bay,” said the man.

“Okay, thank you for your time,” I said. I turned to the fisherman who was still trying to unmoor his boat. “Hey, are you the guy I rent the boat from for the quest?”

“Yes!” the man yelled back at me.

“Carry on!” I shouted, and I started back up to town. I spotted Lilian and Paelyn entering a large building and decided to follow them in. Inside was a kind of saloon or alehouse.

“That’s our side done,” said Lilian, as they finished talking to the NPCs in the bar.

“I guess we can just wait here for the guys,” said Paelyn.

“Suppose I’ll get a beer,” said Lilian.

“You’re twenty one?” Paelyn and I said, at the same time.

“Twenty-two” said Lilian, doing peace signs with a wink. “Wait, you’re both underage? Is everyone here a kid but me.”

“Hey eighteen is not a kid.”

“I’m only nineteen,” said Paelyn.

“Oh my gosh, you’re babies!” said Lilian.

“Ok, I’m gonna get a beer. Can I get you anything? A Shirley Temple?”

“Haha,” I said, mockingly. “Just get your beer.”

As she was returning to the table, Leo and Kyle walked in. “Hey, any luck? Woah, is that a beer?” asked Kyle.

“Yep. Are you legal, Baylor?”

“Why, yes I am,” said Kyle, making a pretentious face and twiddling an imaginary mustache.

“Huh, I wonder if I’m twenty-one now,” said Leo. "Do you think August third has passed?”

“Probably,” said Kyle, and the two of them headed off to the counter.

“Mmm, this is good beer!” said Lilian, her eyes twinkling.

“I guess it doesn’t really make sense for it not to be,” I said. A minute later Kyle returned with a beer of his own.

“What’s taking Leo?” asked Paelyn.

“He’s having an episode. He wants to get a beer, but he doesn’t know if he’s old enough.”

“Will they sell him one?” I asked.

Kyle threw up his hands. “I don’t know. I told him to just get it.”

“Let me see,” I said, getting up. I walked over to the bartender and asked to see the menu. A selection screen popped up in which beer appeared as a grayed out option beside red letters saying I was under twenty-one. “He won’t sell me a beer. So you must be over twenty-one, if he’s willing to sell it to you,” I said.

Leo let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, I was really afraid I was gonna get in trouble or something.”

“No worries,” I said. I bought a ginger ale with the little money I’d found on my journey and went to sit back down.

Leo returned a few moments later.

“Got over your moral dilemma?” asked Kyle.

“Bastian helped me. He figured out that they won’t sell you one if you aren’t of legal age.”

“Wait–Bastian, that’s kind of smart,” said Lilian.

“Way to look surprised,” I said.

“Did you end up finding anything?” asked Paelyn, returning to the topic which had been abandoned for the beer discussion.

“No, not really,” said Leo. He took a sip of his beer and made a face. “Hmm,” he said.

“It’s a bit of an acquired taste,” said Kyle, smiling.

“But, yeah, nothing very interesting unless you’re interested in traditional net weaving…How about you?”

“Nothing,” said Lilian. “I’ll drink that if you’re not going to finish it.”

“Be my guest,” said Leo. “What about you, Bastian? Anything interesting at the pier?”

“Yeah there seems to be some sort of quest to look for a sunken ship in the lake, and there’s a guy you can rent a boat from.”

“Good work,” said Leo, clapping me on the back. “Hey, is that a ginger ale?”

I nodded.

“Think I’ll get one.”

We ended up breaking for lunch. It was then that I remembered what I had wanted to ask them.

“Hey, how do you all feel about my joining your party? I don’t want to impose myself if anyone is against it, but since it seems I’m traveling with you all, I wondered if it would make sense for me to join you officially.”

Paelyn was the first to give her consent. “Of course,” she said with a kind smile.

“Sure, I don’t care,” said Kyle.

“I can’t think of any reason why we should object,” said Leo.

“Oh?” said Lilian. She was the last to answer, and all eyes were on her. “I can think of several reasons. For one thing, he doesn’t bring anything to the team. He has no combat or utility capabilities except the ability to blow himself up. When we were fighting all those monsters, what was he doing? Sitting off by himself–because he’s useless.”

“Lilian, it’s not his fault–” Leo started to say but she interrupted him.

“Have any of you considered how the experience, loot, and potential points get distributed to the members of a party? If we let him join that’s one more way we have to share all of those things.”

“It’s fine, Lilian. How much is it really going to matter?” said Paelyn.

“No, she’s right,” said Kyle. “She’s the only one going about this the right way. I’m sorry, Bastian, but I’m with Lilian.”

“No, I–I’m sorry for bringing it up,” I said. “I hadn’t thought it all the way through. The last thing I want is to mooch off of all of your hard work. I’m grateful to you for just letting me tag along.”

Lilian downed the last of Leo's beer. “Ha! Alright, let’s go see about this quest,” she said, getting up. I caught her eye as she went past me, and a gloating smirk spread across her lips.

“I’m sorry, Bastian,” said Leo. “Don’t let it get you down. It isn’t personal.”

I muttered something like thanks, but honestly it wasn’t the rejection of my request that had me depressed–it was the way Lilian had seemed to delight in publicly opposing it. Why had she not told me her objections when I’d mentioned my plan to her the day before? Why let me go through with asking them and making a fool out of myself?

I was still feeling confused as we made our way down to the pier. Lilian talked to the old fisherman and got the story about the sunken ship. Then they rented the boat, and Leo and Kyle rowed us out onto the water.

The lake was a greenish blue and pretty clear. There wasn’t much wind, and the surface of the water was tranquil. Real or simulation, it was beautiful out on the water, and my mood steadily improved.

“What’s that?” said Paelyn, pointing into the water. I looked over the edge of the boat. There was something dark at the bottom of the lake, but it was hard to see clearly at that depth.

“Watch it be a giant shark,” said Kyle with a laugh.

“Don’t you dare…” said Lilian.

“Afraid of the water, are we?” asked Kyle.

“Since you’re so brave, why don’t you go get it?” said Lilian.

“Fine, but if it’s a scroll or something like that, I’m keeping it for myself.”

Kyle took off his shoes, shirt, and pants, then jumped into the water. “Woo!” he yelled, as he came up, shaking his wet hair out of his face.

“Is it cold?” asked Paelyn.

“Not too bad. Actually it’s pretty nice.” He took a breath and went underwater, coming up a few seconds later. “Yep, looks like a ship. Any last objections before I go claim the treasure for myself?”

“Go ahead,” said Lilian.

“Alright.” Kyle took a deep breath before diving out of view. For a few seconds there was silence, then bubbles started appearing. A few more seconds passed and Kyle emerged, gasping for breath. “Ah! How are you supposed to get down there?”

“You just dive,” said Lilian.

“It’s not that simple. It’s like thirty feet down. If you don’t blow out all the air in your lungs you don’t sink, and once you do you start to feel like you’re drowning.”

“It can’t be that difficult,” she replied.

“Have a go yourself, then.”

“Fine,” she said, as she stripped down to her undergarments and plunged in.

“Is it just me or is she a little–” Before Kyle could finish his question, her head emerged from the lake.

“Cold! Cold! Cold!” said Lilian, grabbing the side of the boat.

“It’s not that bad,” said Kyle, laughing. “Go on, show us how easy it is and dive down there.”

“One moment, let me adjust to the water,” said Lilian. Once her breathing had slowed she dunked her head under the water again. “Hah, okay,” she said, “here goes.”

She flipped upside down, exposing her bare white legs for a moment before vanishing beneath the surface of the water. She was gone a long time, at least ten seconds, when she emerged from the depths, gasping and choking.

“Did you make it?” asked Leo.

“No, she didn’t make it,” said Kyle with a laugh. “Tell them.”

“Yeah, huh, huh, it’s deep!” she panted.

Lilian clambered back into the boat, followed by Kyle.

“I don’t think we have the right tool or skills to do this quest right now,” said Lilian, facing us in her wet underwear. She must have seen our expressions as the next moment she turned away from us.

“Ugh, you don’t have to make things weird,” she said, as she put her clothes back on.

“I have an idea,” I said, “but I can’t say I’m excited about it.”

Lilian scoffed.

“Let’s hear his idea,” said Leo.

“I agree, let’s hear the bozo’s idea,” said Kyle.

“Well, I’ve been unfortunate enough to fall in the water, and I learned that I sink pretty fast. If the issue is holding your breath, I might be able to go down there without having to exhale the air from my lungs. Of course I’d need you to pull me back up once I’d gotten whatever is down there.”

“We do have rope,” said Kyle, searching the trunk at the back of the boat, “along with a tin of sea biscuits…” He flicked the hardtack with his fingernail.

“I say we go for it, if you’re willing to give it a try,” said Leo.

They tied a length of rope around each of my arms and lowered me into the water.

“Wait,” said Lilian. I could tell she was opening her menu, and a moment later I got a notification. I checked it. She had sent me a party invite.

“You’re inviting me to the party?”

“Just until we finish the quest,” she said. “I want to make sure we get credit.”

“Wait a minute,” said Leo. “Bastian, you don’t have to take that deal.”

“No it’s alright,” I said, accepting the invitation. “I’m willing to prove I can be useful,” I said.

Lilian gave me a wicked smile. She was standing over me now. She put her bare foot on my head and gently pushed me underwater. “Now go get me that treasure like a good b–” Bubbles rushed over my head as I plunged down into the lake. I was surprised how suddenly it became dark, as I sank swiftly towards the lakebed. Above, the water’s surface glimmered with pale, bright colors, but it was like looking up at the light of the moon at night. Little enough penetrated to the somber depths of the lake.

I touched the bottom with a little air left, but not much. It was a struggle to move the short distance to the ship, bound with two ropes, but finally I succeeded in reaching it. The cabin roof had a hole about the size of a person into which I reluctantly plunged my lower extremities, praying to trigger completion of the quest. Suddenly, I heard a ding and knew I had succeeded. I went to signal for my extraction when I found they were already pulling me up. I freed my legs from the hull and kicked upwards as I felt my lungs heaving with false breaths for lack of oxygen. A few seconds later I was dragged back into the boat, panting for breath.

The prize ended up being some amount of coins, which, split five ways, came out to about two-hundred each–not a colossal haul, but a decent day’s work, the company decided. Lilian didn’t say anything to me, but I noticed later that I had been booted from the party.

“You were something today, Lilian,” I said, as we were all relaxing after dinner.

“Yeah, whatever,” said Lilian, blushing.

“Interesting warning they had on the alcohol,” said Leo. “Did you read that?” he asked, turning to Lilian.

“Pssh, no,” said Lilian. “I know what alcohol does.”

“I just thought it was interesting. It said that you would feel the pleasurable sensation of drinking but wouldn’t actually be intoxicated.”

“Interesting,” said Kyle, looking at Lilian. “Very interesting. Sounds like someone had a case of placebo intoxication.”

“Wait, Lilian wasn’t even drunk?” I exclaimed.

“I get it, sometimes you just need an excuse to cut loose!” said Kyle, laughing.

“Whatever!” she yelled, her face turning red, “I’m going to bed!”