Chapter 28 Lights in the Night
We managed a few more miles before it grew too dark to safely continue.
Luckily, we were near a turnout. It looked like the devs had created campsites along the way, even though in a ‘real’ fantasy world, it wouldn’t be realistic.
But right now, I was grateful for the thought that went into the gameplay.
“This will work,” I said, stopping at one of the sites. There was a firepit, and relatively flat ground. A stream frothed nearby, about ten feet wide with whitecaps rolling. At least we’d have fresh water. “Reggie, can you spark a fire?”
He nodded. “I need kindling and wood, though.”
Brynn and Ray immediately started looking for wood, while Thornhold and I scouted out the nearby area to make sure we weren’t bedding down near a troll or a bunch of goblins or orcs.
The trees were thick, but the undergrowth in this area was sparse, and if there was anybody hiding out, we could see them with a cursory examination.
By the time Brynn and Ray were back with the wood, Thornhold and I had figured out that we were alone—with the exception of a few animals like foxes and timbours—a small feral piglike creature who was created by the devs for the storylines.
As I opened my pack, I found a small square of material, folded into a square about ten inches square.
As I took it out, I knew that the Wildings had tucked it in there.
The others found the same in their packs.
I unfolded it, wondering what it was and was surprised to find that it was a small tent, capable of being set up in minutes.
And we quickly found out that we could join them all together, which we promptly did.
It seemed safer to sleep in the same tent.
“I can’t believe that Sen-ti didn’t tell us he was giving these to us. It must be a thank you from the Wildlings,” I said.
“I’m grateful, I’ll tell you that,” Thornhold said. “It’s getting colder. These are made of spidersilk. Remember? We had spidersilk tents in the game, though we didn’t use them that often.”
I let out an “Oh!” as I remembered. True enough, our party had carried spider-silk tents throughout a lot of the game, but we seldom set them up. We usually played with the settings set to spring and summer, and we hadn’t reached the mountains yet in the table-top game.
“You’re right. We did have tents. Why didn’t we use them?”
“Because we weren’t actually sitting around in forty-five degree weather, hoping that it wouldn’t rain.
Bad weather seems so much more bearable when it’s hypothetical.
I feel like we should go back to thank them, but I guess wiping out the forest troll was a big enough thing they felt like we deserved the gift.
” I glanced over at Reggie, who had the fire blazing, and he had already filled a kettle at the stream and hung it over the flames.
“Soup?” he asked. “Liesel gave us some dried soup mix.”
“That sounds good,” I said. “Let’s go for it.” I pulled out my aluminum cup. We each had one, along with a foldable aluminum plate, and silverware. “We also should finish up the bread before it goes bad. I’ll toast it lightly.”
I found a stick that would serve as a skewer and stabbed it through the slices of dense bread.
Then, holding it over the flames, I kept a close watch until it was just done.
I handed around the pieces of bread and sliced off some cheese to go with it, to hold us over till the soup was ready.
Luckily, it only took about twenty minutes until the broth was boiling and the veggies and meat rehydrated.
As we sat around the campfire, mugs of soup in hand, the clouds backed off and the stars began to come out.
I gazed up, grateful to see them, even though it meant a cold night.
The silence of the forest around us—minus the shadowed noises of animals roaming and the wind rustling the leaves—began to lull me into a slightly melancholy, but peaceful mood.
“It really is beautiful,” I said. “The past couple of weeks—however long it’s been since the game broke—have been so stressful and worrisome. But right now, right here, I feel like I could just sit here forever, watching the flames, and letting my worries slough off.”
Thornhold nodded. “I know—it feels as though something shifted today. Maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s just that we’ve been here long enough that the world is starting to feel comfortable. Whatever the case, I feel the same way.”
Brynn and Reggie nodded, but said nothing.
Ray shrugged. “I don’t think I’m there yet,” he said.
“I doubt this will last,” I said, smiling over the flames at him. “I have the feeling that, for as long as it takes to get out of here, we’ll have good days and bad days.”
He grunted, staring at the fire. “I suppose you’re right.”
We fell back into a comfortable silence. After we finished all the soup, Brynn and I rinsed the dishes in the stream, while Reggie stoked the fire.
“Shall we take watches?” he asked when Brynn and I returned with the clean mugs.
“I guess that would be a good idea,” I said. “It’s…” I glanced at my watch. “It’s eight-thirty. Shall we sleep till six, and get a good start on the day tomorrow?”
“Sounds good to me,” Brynn said. “There are five of us, I suggest we each take a two hour stint? That way, we’ll each get six solid hours of sleep.”
“I’ll go first,” Reggie said. “Who’s next?”
We worked it out so that Reggie would take first watch, then Brynn, then me—partially because I was an Elf and I could handle my sleep broken up better than the others, then Thornhold, and Ray would take the last watch.
We coordinated times and then, with Reggie sitting by the campfire, the rest of us entered the tent and bedded down in our sleeping bags.
All the walking and work that day took its toll and we barely said goodnight before all of us dropped into a deep slumber.
“Erenye? Wake up,” Brynn whispered, shaking my shoulder.
It was twelve-thirty, and I blinked, wanting to swat her away. But then I remember: it was my turn at watch. I quietly climbed out of my sleeping bag and slid on my boots and followed her outside. Shivering, I decided that I’d buy a cape when we reached the next town—something durable and warm.
“Has anything happened tonight?” I asked, accepting the mug of hot water she handed me. It helped warm me up and also served for hydration. We needed to remember to drink while we were on the road.
She shook her head. “No, it’s been quiet, although I always feel something’s watching me—ever since we took to the road.”
“I know what you mean,” I said. “All right, go to bed and I’ll wake up Thornhold at two-thirty.”
She gratefully slid back into the tent as I settled on the log, using a stick to stir the fire.
Brynn had stoked it well, so it would be another hour or so before I needed to feed it with more wood.
Brynn had left a deck of cards by the log, and I slid down to sit on the ground so I could play solitaire by the campfire light.
I shuffled the cards and began laying them out, trying to keep from dwelling on everything that had happened.
For about half an hour, all was quiet. But as I folded up the cards, bored and a little sleepy, I thought I heard something coming from the forest. I straightened, pulling out my sword as I looked around.
For a moment, everything seemed to be normal, but then I thought I saw a faint glow from behind one of the trees.
“Goblins don’t glow,” I murmured to myself. Maybe it was just a lightning bug or some sort of insect? The glow seemed to be concentrated in the air, rather than near the ground. Curious, and a little bit worried, I stood, craning my neck as I tried to catch a glimpse of whatever it was.
The glow strengthened, and my stomach twisted…just a little. As I cautiously moved toward the light, it grew in intensity. Frowning, I inched closer. Then, without warning, a globe of light shot out from behind one of the barren oaks.
I jumped back, then froze. It wasn’t a creature—not any that I’d seen. No, I was facing a globe of pale pink light about six inches in diameter. I tilted my head, trying to remember all the game lore that I knew, but nothing came to mind.
The next moment, the pink orb was joined by several others—one green, one blue, and yellow one. They flashed, blinking on and off. It almost looked like they were talking, and I was so fascinated that I forgot to keep my guard up.
The next moment, one of the lights shot forward and bounced against me.
I yelped as it jolted me, the current stinging me hard.
The next moments, the other orbs came sailing toward me and before I knew what was happening, they were surrounding me, stinging me with long coils of light that protruded from each of them.
And that answered whether they were dangerous.
I yelled for help, and then turned back to the lights. I didn’t know what they were, but I knew that I was in for a fight.