Chapter 22
Tyson
Rohan’s been quiet since the waterfall. You’d think I’d be happy about not having to hear his mouth.
But I kinda miss it. The inn is bustling with NPCs this morning, coming in and out, being seated at the tavern area and eating.
You’d think this was a real place with the way it’s so alive.
Got to applaud the design team for that.
It’s kind of creepy when you’re stuck in it though.
Because these aren’t real people with real thoughts.
I climb back up the steps and head towards our room.
When I left, he was bathing, and of course, not even my dick being in his mouth stopped him from not wanting me to see him naked.
I peek my head in; he’s there on the bed with the cloth hanging over his wet hair.
He’s in just a tunic that’s all too big for his body, his smooth legs sprawled out.
“You can come in,” he mutters.
“Yeah, thank you for letting me back in my own room.” I chuckle, sitting down next to him, my eyes flickering over his legs.
They’re so perfect.
Who the fuck has perfect legs?
My mind wanders a little, and I don’t realize I’ve started grazing my hands across them. When my eyes meet Rohan’s, he’s biting his lip, staring at me.
He’s giving me that look again.
“Why can’t I see you naked?”
Though I’ve seen all of him, very much naked.
“Why do you want to see me naked?” Rohan retorts.
“I think we both know why.” I watch him, eyes half-lidded.
“Cause you’re a pervert?” he says, rolling his eyes at me. He presses the ball of his foot to my chest, the gold anklet he’s been wearing dangling, catching the light above us.
“No, cause your body’s beautiful,” I blurt out, flinching at my raw revelation, not that it’s untruthful. Thankfully, I don’t think he noticed I’ve shocked myself.
“Is it? I’m not all buff like you,” Rohan mumbles, his cheek reddening a bit.
“Who said you had to be?”
“Nobody … I just…I don’t know.”
“I like you just like this, Rohan.” We lock eyes at my statement, and it feels like someone has paused the game.
“Oh, yeah, cause I definitely was wondering,” he says, coughing a little before pulling his legs away.
“You…” I start before our interface blinks, signaling a new quest has come up in the inbox. We exchange a glance before I open it. The message is telling us to meet Leon where he usually is again. Rohan is already slipping off the bed, away from me, and I can’t help but feel disappointed by this.
He uses the game’s controls to change back into his class outfit.
That fits him oh so perfectly. I want to touch the skin peeking out of his top’s cut-outs.
I wonder if he knows. Fuck. I need to get a grip.
Especially since it feels like he’s not trying to let me get close anytime soon.
I mean, since when did I want to get any closer?
If all he wants to do is fuck around in here, I’m fine with that.
“Are you coming?” Rohan says, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Yeah … Let’s head out.”
* * *
Leon’s garden is still when we arrive. The sun is hanging high in the sky, but the lack of breeze and the sound of birds or something makes it feel a tad bit creepy. Where is he, anyway? He’s not at his usual spot.
“Leon?” Rohan calls out. The wind suddenly rolls through, swaying the daffodils and aster.
“Ah, there you boys are!” Leon appears behind us, seemingly out of the blue.
“Hey…” I say, tilting my head.
“You’ve got a quest for us?” Rohan asks, crossing his arms. I don’t think he likes Leon very much. I almost want to laugh. He’s even annoyed with a NPC.
“Sure do! So I need you boys to go up to the top of Ballister Clock Tower and retrieve a goodie for me.”
“And what is that?”
“Ah, you’ll know it when you see it.” He chuckles.
“What do you mean we’ll know it when we see it?” I ask.
“Trust me.”
“Okay, well, how do we get into the tower? I’ve been to that map before; it’s locked,” Rohan says.
“You have?” I say, turning to him.
“Yeah.”
“The town’s leader has it, ya gotta get from him. He should let ya borrow it.” Leon smiles.
“Right. And you sure we’ll know whatever the fuck this drop is when we see it? Is it just hanging out up there?”
“You’ll see,” he reassures.
“Ugh, let’s just accept it and go. I’m getting hot.” Rohan rolls his eyes.
“Alright, we’ll see you then.” I nod.
“Yup!” Leon says, waving at us as we turn to leave the garden.
When we’re out of earshot, Rohan says, “He’s so fucking weird.”
“Yeah, for sure. Let’s just complete these quests for now. Till we figure it out. Head to the city hall. The town’s leader NPC should be there,” I hum.
Another aimless quest, this is starting to get a little ridiculous.
Now we’re being sent on a wild goose chase for loot we can’t even identify.
I’m also not familiar with the clock tower map because it’s even beyond my level.
Like the castle map, I stare up at the striking structure as it sits atop Halia.
They did a good job on that thing.
It’s beautiful.
* * *
Rohan leans against the unmanned desk with a very irritated sigh. The town’s city hall is empty. We’ve searched every crevice of the place too. He’s nowhere he’s supposed to be. How far could a pre-programmed NPC actually go?
“What the actual fuck is going on?” Rohan huffs out.
“I wish I knew.”
“Are you sure this is where the NPC usually is? Sure he’s not programmed to wander town?”
“No, he’s not. He’s always at least within the city hall unless there’s a special event.”
“Is there?” Rohan asks.
“Does it look like it?”
“Okay, well then where the fuck is he, Tyson?”
“How the fuck should I know?”
“You said you worked on the game.”
“Yes, Rohan, but look how that’s going? We’re in the fucking game. Clearly shit is not the way it should be.”
Rohan holds my gaze, biting his lip. I get it, he’s frustrated, and he clearly wants to get out of here, but so do I. He walks over to the exit and into the courtyard. I follow behind him. Rohan sucks in a deep breath, the soft breeze playing in his hair. I swallow, watching him.
“I noticed earlier, we’re able to be apart in town without losing HP. Maybe we can split up and ask around for information on the town’s leader. Maybe it’s some kind of hidden side quest,” I say.
“Right … Sounds good,” Rohan mumbles, walking towards the town center without even looking back at me.
Fuck.
* * *
Since splitting off from Rohan, I haven’t found much information besides that the NPCs obviously had no idea their town’s leader was even gone in the first place.
Since this isn’t a real place. It’s programmed to do what it does no matter who’s running it.
The markets are going to open at the same time, the weapons-masters and the cattle wranglers are all going to be exactly where they should be when they should be.
So where the fuck has this town’s leader gone?
A cat jumps off an awning right to my feet. I lean down to pet it, chuckling. “Hey there. I wonder if you could help win some points with Rohan?” Win points with Rohan? Fucking hell. Since when did I even care about that?
Does he even like cats?
I sigh, standing back to my full height. The cat jumps halfway into the air before scurrying away at a sound coming from the alley we’re both standing in front of. I tilt my head to see what the source of its fear is.
“Tyson.” My eyes widen at the voice.
“Dad?”