Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
MAISIE
SassyLassie
Well? I’m waiting. Or should I just hang on to this claymore?
I bite my lip, the irony of my digital dare not escaping me. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to fend off creepy male gamers when they’ve initiated completely inappropriate chats with me. And yet here I am asking Lochie to open up about his sexual appetites.
Maybe I’m crossing a line in our virtual friendship, but I’ve been playing with Lochie for a few months now, and I reckon he’s not the type to take offence easily. Either he’ll answer my question or he won’t. Whatever happens, I’ll give him the sword—I’ve no use for it, and besides, he and I are a team. That being said, if I can have a bit of fun with him first, all the better.
LochNLoad
Well... since you’re twisting my arm, I’m sort of interested in power dynamics. Being at someone’s mercy or having them at mine... that’s always a fun game to play.
A burst of laughter escapes me, echoing off the walls of my empty flat. “Lochie, you dirty wee scamp!” I say out loud, amused by his candid admission and also oddly pleased that he actually opened up to me.
Nudging my finished dinner plate to the side, I pull my laptop closer and tap out a reply.
SassyLassie
Oh, spicy! I wouldn’t have guessed that about you, Mr Muscles.
LochNLoad
What can I say? I’m full of surprises. Your turn now, Sass. Fair’s fair.
SassyLassie
Nope! That was NOT the deal. The deal was you answer my question, and I give you the Claymore of the Clan Chiefs. So here you go.
I navigate through the game menu and initiate the item transfer.
LochNLoad
Cheers! You’ve just made my day. Though I can’t help but feel a wee bit disappointed that I don’t get to hear your kinky confessions.
SassyLassie
Ha! Sorry, but my secrets are staying secret. For now, at least...
LochNLoad
You know what’s weird? If I’d told someone that in real life, I’d be beetroot red right now. But with you, I don’t even feel embarrassed. It’s like... you’re a stranger and an old friend rolled into one. Does that make sense?
I know exactly what he means. The bond we’ve forged through countless hours of gaming together feels... significant. Aye, we may spend most of our time ribbing each other, but Lochie has also become my virtual confidant, a friend I trust implicitly, even though I’ve never seen his face or heard his voice.
SassyLassie
Makes perfect sense. I always suspected the mighty LochNLoad was a big softie, really.
LochNLoad
Softie? I prefer “emotionally well-rounded”. It’s all part of my charm.
A knock at the door jolts me from my virtual world.
“Maisie?” a familiar voice calls.
“Iona, is that you?” I grab my dinner plate and dump it in the sink. “It’s open. Come in!” Sliding back into my chair, I hastily type out a goodbye.
SassyLassie
Sorry, gotta go!
LochNLoad
Later, Sass.
I log off just as my friend Iona walks in, her blonde hair in its trademark messy bun, her puffin-print dress a testament to her love of animal-themed outfits.
She smiles. “There you are! Your da sent me up to fetch you. The pub’s heaving and everyone’s waiting for our quizmaster to show up. That’s you!”
I check the time and wince. “Shit, sorry. I didn’t realise it was so late.”
“You lose yourself when you’re gaming—kind of like how I get when I’m deep in a romance novel. Is this the Highland Legacy video game I’ve heard so much about?”
I’ve been returned to the title screen, where a gameplay montage showcases epic battles, scenic environments, and key NPCs. “Aye.”
Although not a gamer, Iona is a fan of the Highland Legacy TV adaptation, and I can’t help but remember the girls’ night last year when she and I spent a little too long dissecting it. Or, more accurately, dissecting the famous scene in which lead actor Ronan Dunbar bares all. We both owned up to rewatching that bit more times than we cared to put a number to. Now there’s a man who doesn’t need to compensate for anything with some oversized sword—not with the “natural weaponry” he’s been blessed with.
“You know, now that I’m seeing the game, it looks familiar,” Iona says. “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Jamie play it.”
Jamie is the younger brother of Lewis McIntyre, Iona’s boyfriend and childhood sweetheart. Iona recently moved in with Lewis into the small hotel he manages, which is just along the road from here. It being a family operation, Jamie stays in the hotel too, and so he’s now a housemate of sorts of Iona’s.
“Aye, well, it’s a pretty popular game,” I say.
“You should look Jamie up and play together with him sometime.”
“Absolutely not!” The words are out of my mouth before I can think better of them. “Not that there’s anything wrong with Jamie,” I hurriedly add, to be polite—even if, truth be told, he isn’t exactly my favourite person. “What I mean is... gaming’s my escape, you know? Like books are for you. Down in the pub, I’m constantly nattering with Bannock folk, filling them in on my life and catching up on theirs. Don’t get me wrong, I love the chat, but it’s also nice to have a bit of me-time, a chance to recharge my batteries. That’s why I game with people I don’t know. Playing with locals?” I shake my head. “That just wouldn’t be the same.”
“I get it. Sometimes you need a break from the familiar faces, eh? Well, if ever you change your mind, Jamie’s username is Locked and Loaded or something like that.”
My brain buffers for a moment. Locked and Loaded? That sounds an awful lot like...
No. No way. Jamie McIntyre couldn’t be LochNLoad, could he? Surely not. I mean, what are the chances the stranger I’ve been playing with for the last few months is someone from my own Highland town? Minuscule, right? Practically nonexistent.
And yet . . .
I want to ask Iona a few questions to try to get to the bottom of this, but she’s already moving towards the door.
“C’mon, let’s go! We’ve blethered long enough. If we don’t go down now, your da will think we’ve both gone missing.”
“Right, aye, the quiz.” My mind still glitching like a buggy software update, I follow Iona to the stairs. If Jamie is LochNLoad, then that means... oh God, I just asked him about his kinks. And he answered!
Da and I live in the flat above our pub, so my “commute” takes all of a few seconds, leaving me no time to ponder LochNLoad’s identity any further. Instead, shaking off my gaming persona and the mystery of LochNLoad, I summon my brightest smile and step out into the lively chaos of the Pheasant.
“Hold the search party!” Scott, one of our regulars, bellows from a corner table. “She’s finally here!”
A chorus of laughter erupts, and heads swivel in my direction.
“About time!” Eileen, another local, adds. “One more minute and I’d have subjected everyone to a quiz about my garden gnome collection.”
“Sorry, all!” I say, navigating through the crowded room. “But you know me: I like to make an entrance. Besides, I had to make sure my material was top-notch—I’ve got standards to uphold. I can guarantee there are no questions about garden gnomes, although I have popped in a few about Scott’s love life. Look out for them in the fiction round.”
As laughter ripples through the pub, I head over to the bar, where Da is pouring a pint. My smile wavers when I notice the pallor of his skin and the slight tremor in his hands, but I quickly plaster it back on. I’m good at keeping up appearances.
“Everything all right, Da?” I ask quietly.
“Never better,” he says gruffly. “Now get on with the quiz before this lot start a riot.”
“Will do. But first, if you’ve not taken Hamish’s order yet, let me serve him while you sit down for a moment. I bet you’ve been run off your feet down here.” Before Da can object, I grab a glass and say to Hamish, probably our most loyal patron, “The usual?”
He nods and I pour him his drink.
“I don’t need you fussing over me,” Da grumbles. “I’m okay.”
“I know you are, Da. I’m just trying to help.”
This isn’t the time to bring it up, but I’ll have to try chatting with Da again about getting an extra pair of hands around here. Just the thought of his predictable response—something about him having managed fine with our current staffing levels for decades, so there being no need to change things now—already has me wanting to bang my head against the bar. I love my da, but he’s proud and stubborn, and he outright refuses to acknowledge he’s no longer as fit and healthy as he once was.
After I pass Hamish his pint of bitter, I grab the mic then step out from behind the bar. “All right, ladies and gents, sharpen your pencils and your minds because it’s time to prove who’s got the brains and who’s just here for the beer!”
There’s a ripple of laughter and then the buzz of conversation dies down, eager faces turning my way. It’s a full house tonight, and the familiar crowd is a welcome distraction from my equally familiar worries about Da—worries typically only Highland Legacy can distract me from.
“You know the drill: no devices, no shouting out answers, and no bribing the quizmaster. Though I might be persuaded by a wee dram.”
As the crowd chuckles, I scan the room and spot Iona at a table with her mother, Elspeth, and—oh, great—Lewis. Not that there’s anything wrong with Lewis, other than the fact he looks rather a lot like his brother, Jamie. Who may or may not be LochNLoad.
Nope, do not think about that! I tell myself. The virtual world is for upstairs. Right now you’ve got a pub quiz to run.
So, waking my phone—where I’ve noted tonight’s questions—I clear my throat. “Okay, here we go. Question one...”