Chapter 2

After a quick climb up to the second level, Riley and Abel exited into the long hall bathed in yellow light. The smell of three different meals wafted in the air and created a nauseating aroma that mixed with the musty smell of the cheap carpets.

Entering the apartment quickly, Riley and Abel made their way past the worn couch and dented coffee table towards the balcony. As he passed, Riley tossed the two books onto the sofa, where they softly bounced into their resting place.

Opening the glass door to the balcony, Riley let Abel exit first as he excitedly kicked off his shoes. While it wasn't much, he enjoyed being barefoot on the patio, where the warmth of the concrete relaxed aching feet. And even though the balcony wasn't large, it was still big enough for him and Abel to sit at the small ChargeCo table.

Before eating, the pair added their special herbs into the mix. They inhaled the rich flavours, taking turns passing the rolled leaf to each other before relaxing back down into their seats surrounded by pungent clouds of smoke. As the haze cleared, they were finally ready to eat and set to their processed meals.

"Twiggy Azaleas," Abel said halfway through his burger.

"I'm sorry, what?" Riley coughed a shocked laugh. Covering his mouth, he quickly finished his current bite of food.

"A name for my Arbornaut."

"That's great. What about Butternut Bumblebush?" Riley joined in as he laughed at his addition.

"Pinus Humongous."

They both laughed loudly, their voices echoing into the parking lot below and off the brick apartment complex that made up their horizon. The laughter died down, and they continued to eat with light conversation. As they finished their food, Abel lifted himself from the seat and stood at the ledge.

"See you online?" He asked, reaching up and grabbing hold of the railing at the top of the balcony.

"Yeah, wait," Riley raised a hand. "Use the door!"

"I locked myself out this morning. Love youuuu..."

Abel continued to draw out the word as he climbed his way over the railing and into the adjoining balcony, out of view. Riley remained, laughing to himself as he gathered his trash into the bag and left it outside on the table.

Quickly returning inside, Riley set up in front of the computer screen in his bedroom. Cracking his fingers and neck first, he then turned on the monitor and clicked the pale green login icon for League Wars. Luckily, he left the tab open in the morning, meaning the game had already finished loading the sizeable update. The screen flashed to black before loading the two dozen characters Riley had previously created.

"And create new." He mumbled to himself as he clicked the small plus. "Alright, race. Human. Class. Druid. Background—skip. And play."

The screen flashed black once more before letters strung into sentences, and the introduction began.

"The Druids have walked our world since the Dawn of Nature." The game narrated as artistic images of nature wove into a beautiful mosaic across the screen. "Eternal Stewards—"

"Okay, skip," Riley said impatiently, skipping through the cut scene. Finally, the screen opened up at the edge of a pond, with a forest rising against the far shore. In the distance, he could see Mekos, the game world's silvery moon, appearing over the horizon, illuminating the new character. The tattered clothing on the Druid revealed patches covered in moss and leaves that dropped with every step.

Opening the chatbox, he direct messaged Abel.

"Hey, fool," He mumbled as he typed. "In the starter zone, where are you?"

As Riley waited, he inspected his starting spells and combat skills. Eventually, bored of waiting for Abel, he wandered his character off to a nearby tree. It was the green glimmer around the tree's bark that initially drew his attention, and as he approached, he was rewarded with a pop-up.

"Only Druids can speak the words of Nature—" Riley muttered as he read the text and clicked next. He laughed as the following text box was filled with gibberish. "Now, that isn't English."

Clearing his throat, Riley muttered to himself in an attempt to translate. "Fuh ach'quooie'whyjay ze'el Ak'zi'key'my,"

Thwomp. A loud thud beat beside him, nearly causing him to jump out of his seat. Clutching the chair's arms with a deathly grip, he peered back in the direction of the sound, but nothing was there. Rubbing his eyes, Riley stared at the thick, leather tome that rested at the edge of the computer table.

"I..." Riley mumbled to himself as he reached over and touched the book. "I don't remember—"

Ding! A ping from the speakers caused Riley to jump in his chair a second time.

"Fuckin, hell!" He yelped and then looked back at the monitor and the pale purple line of text from Abel.

"Dude, I think I'm tripping," Riley typed to Abel without reading his friend’s message. "Where are you?"