11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Cody
Cody was locked in a dream. It was the same dream he’d often found himself trapped in: he was in a dungeon, cornered by spear-wielding goblins.
There were at least fifty of the stinky little green beasts, laughing and jeering and playing with their prey: him.
He’d already lost his sword and Knife, he was out of potions, and both his Health and Stamina were dangerously low.
But the goblins, the Health and Stamina, the upcoming fight–that was never the terrifying part of the dream.
The terrifying part was that he no longer had it in him to fight back.
He didn’t care. He wasn’t going to make a last-ditch effort to steal a spear from one of the goblins and fight his way out of this dungeon.
He was ready to give in, lie down, and die.
Wake up! he heard Knife shout, somewhere in the distance.
Cody tried. He tried to escape the nightmare, but he found he barely had the will to do even that.
Wake the fuck up! Knife shouted again. If you want to see Morgan again, you need to wake the fuck up!
That worked. Memories poured in: he was back in Cornerstone, and he’d gone on an amazing fishing date with Morgan. He was eager to see her again, sometime soon.
You good? I pulled you out of that stupid nightmare, Knife said. You’re welcome.
“Right…Thanks…” Cody mumbled.
A quick peek at his Stamina showed him at fifty percent.
Not even a full night’s sleep had restored him to one hundred percent.
He wanted a big, greasy breakfast at Frank’s Diner.
But he didn’t feel like making the effort to go into town, and Cornerstone didn’t have any food delivery services.
He’d have to settle for coffee and a bowl of extra sugary cereal at home.
Hey buddy, you got some touch last night, Knife said. Whaddaya say you take care of me now?
Yeah, I don’t know, Cody said. Kind of busy with all this game stuff.
But I am way overdue.
Knife had certain…needs, which had to be taken care of on a monthly basis. And if Cody tried to ignore it, he ended up with an insane migraine.
Fine. But let me have my coffee and breakfast first.
Awesome! Knife said.
Cody could already feel a headache arriving in his temples.
The late morning sun was doing no favors for his growing headache as he walked through the forested area that surrounded his cottage.
There was a narrow dirt path that wound through the trees.
It was a path he’d walked countless times with Grandpa Sam.
As he walked, he picked up anything interesting: pinecones, wildflowers, small rocks, and some other weird shit, like little red springs and blue cogs.
He had no idea where those game-like items were coming from.
They had never shown up in the forest before.
He figured he might as well shove them into his Inventory.
You cannot possibly need all of that garbage, Knife said.
You don’t know that, Cody countered. And by the way, I don’t want to kill anything today. No rabbits or squirrels. Nothing.
Why the fuck not?
Knife’s monthly needs often coincided with Cody hunting for dinner, but he had no intentions of killing wild animals in Cornerstone. As long as Knife was stabbed into something he deemed acceptable, the headache would go away.
First of all, I don’t have the traps I used to use in Velasarin, and I don’t feel like making new ones, Cody explained. And second of all, I no longer have to hunt for food, so I’d rather not.
Cody wasn’t about to give up meat and go full vegan, but he’d never liked the moment the life left the eyes of the small, adorable mammals he used to hunt. If he could avoid that for the rest of his life, he would gladly do so.
But their fresh blood is so warm along my length, Knife complained. It feels fucking amazing.
We’ll figure something else out. You’ve fucked a mud puddle before and you’ll do it again.
I fucking hate mud fucks.
Cody walked in silence for a few moments, before Knife spoke up again: What about Marigold? The pet shop girl?
What about her?
You don’t think she’s cute?
She’s fine, I guess. Why? Cody asked. Because I am definitely not stabbing her.
No, I just…
What? Cody asked. Wait, do you like her?
Knife was silent, but Cody could feel his discomfort.
Well, sorry bro, Cody said. I don’t think the super shy pet shop girl is going to be into dating sentient weapons.
I know, Knife said sullenly. I know. Sucks to be me.
They walked a bit more, and then Knife spotted something: What the hell is that?
Cody instinctively knew what Knife was looking at. He saw the bright white fungi, standing out starkly amongst all the browns and greens of the forest. It was a big, round mushroom, common in the area. Sometimes Grandpa Sam would pick them, slice them up, and grill them for dinner.
It’s a puffball mushroom.
It’s the size of your head! And it’s a mushroom?
It’s definitely a mushroom, yeah.
Fuck…I bet that’d be real nice and soft to sink into. And it’s out in the sun on this hot summer day. Be real nice and warm in there…
You want me to toss you over there and let you have your way with the fungi?
Yes, please!
Cody took Knife out, aimed at the big white mushroom, and threw. Knife went sailing through the air only to clatter to the ground next to the mushroom.
What the fuck? Not cool! Knife complained.
I don’t exactly have the same skill set that I had in Velasarin. He walked over and retrieved Knife from the ground. Twenty-eight-year-old Cody had never killed anything, held a sword, or owned a hunting knife, okay? Let me try again.
Or just stab me into that puff princess.
No. If Cody could avoid actually stabbing Knife into his chosen conquest, then he would. And since the mushroom was perfectly stationary it meant he should be able to throw Knife into it.
Cody walked back a few paces and threw Knife again. This time Knife landed perfectly in the mushroom. Cody was actually pretty impressed he managed it on his second try.
Some privacy, please? Knife said.
Of course. He felt Knife blocking him and he let it happen.
Cody had absolutely no desire to be part of Knife’s shenanigans, so he quickly walked off into the forest, putting a good distance between them.
Knife couldn't move on his own, so Cody didn’t really know what exactly Knife did, but he also didn’t really want to know.
Cody had his head down, collecting more of those weird spring things, when he heard the crunch of footsteps.
He looked up to see a little girl. She had come to a stop along the path, watching him.
She had long black hair in high pigtails with pink ribbons.
Cody immediately recognized the girl from her headshot in his Resident List: Gracie Callahan, Doug’s daughter and Morgan’s niece. She appeared to be out on her own.
“Hey kiddo,” Cody said. “Aren’t you kind of little to be out in the woods alone?”
“I’m not alone. My dad’s over there.” She pointed vaguely into the trees, but Cody couldn’t see any six-foot gingers ambling around.
“Uh…you’re Gracie, right?”
The girl took a few steps back, her face clouding over. “How do you know that?”
“I’m a friend of your Aunt Morgan’s. I was also Grandpa Sam’s grandson.”
“Really? You know my Aunty Morgan? And Grandpa Sam?”
“Yeah. Did you know Grandpa Sam?”
“He was my friend,” the little girl said solemnly. “But he’s gone now.”
Cody was aware his grandfather was a popular guy around Cornerstone. Pretty much everyone called him Grandpa Sam, even the townsfolk who were roughly the same age as him. He had no idea he’d been ‘friends’ with Morgan’s niece.
“Yes, he’s gone. I miss him.” Not for the first time, Cody wished he would have come back to Cornerstone to visit his Grandpa Sam more often. In the ten years since graduating high school and getting a job, he only came to visit maybe five or six times, and only for a single weekend each time.
“I miss him, too,” Gracie said. “He knew about lotsa cool things other people don’t know.”
Cody wasn’t really sure what she meant by that, but then he got what he thought was a brilliant idea that would cheer up the sad little kid: “Want some candy?” He pulled one of the cherry candies from his Inventory, pretending to pull it from his pocket, and held it out to Gracie.
Gracie eyed the candy suspiciously. “I’m not supposed to take candy from strangers.”
“Oh, right.” Cody put the candy back in his pocket and sent it to his Inventory. “Good call. Sorry.”
“But…” she said, drawing out the word, “I do need you to find me twenty-four pinecones. The Little Itty Bitty ones.”
“Why?”
“Because. I need them. That’s why.”
She was being kind of bratty, but she was on his Resident List. He realized this could be a fetch quest that could earn him a Friendship Level.
Cody quickly scanned his Inventory for Little Itty Bitty Pinecones.
He already had thirty of them. He shoved his hand into his pocket, pretending to grab twenty-four of the mini pinecones from there, and then held them out to Gracie.
Her eyes widened in awe, but she stayed rooted to the spot, as if still uncertain about meeting a new person while her dad was out of sight.
“I’ll put them on the ground, okay?” Cody dumped them onto the path. “I’ll turn around and go back the way I came, and you can come collect them once I’m gone.”
“Deal!”
“It was nice meeting you, Gracie.” Cody gave her a nod before turning around and heading back to Knife, hoping he was done with his little tryst with the puffball mushroom. As he walked down the path, a pink notification screen popped up, and he kept walking as he read it over.
[Congratulations! You have completed your first Friendship Level with Resident Gracie Callahan! Only four more to go until Full Friendship Achieved!]
Cody gave himself a mental pat on the back for earning a new Friendship Level with a brand new Resident.
Maybe the kid would keep asking him for random stuff.
He just needed to make sure he saw her four more times and hope that she asked for items he already had in his Inventory, or things that would be easy enough to find.
He made his way back to where he had tossed Knife. The enchanted weapon was right where he had left him, embedded in the puffball mushroom.
You good? Cody asked.
Oh, yeah. Thanks, buddy.
Cody Hampshire Player Stats
Residents Met: 8/10
Friendship Moments: Doris: 3/5, William: 3/5, Gracie: 1/5
Romance Moments: Morgan: 1/10
Relationship Status: Probably in a Relationship