Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Who are these friends we're meeting?" Leila asked as she put on her mask. She had chosen one with a similar appearance to Edward, but not because she meant to match styles. That mask was simply the only one that covered her whole face. The other masks covered only half of her face while others covered only her eyes. However, her version of the mask was bright red, like her flames, so Edward thought it fit well with her style. As soon as she purchased the mask she replaced her green cloak with a red one to appear fashionable. 

"Markus and Brandon," Edward answered, "Markus is a coworker of mine, he's aware of my ascendance but hasn't said anything, so he may be trustworthy enough to know about yours. He's the one who helped me recover when I asked for it. Brandon is my younger brother."

"Does Brandon know? About the whole ascension thing?" Leila asked. Edward immediately shook his head before turning to her. He chuckled.

"No, but I suppose it'll be a big shock the next time he visits me," Edward smiled, "Brandon is in college for a business degree, so he hasn't seen the family for a year or two. He'll be home for a few months come the holiday seasons, though."

"Ah, I see," Leila nodded, "I have a younger sister, but she's too young to play this game."

"What about Dan? How did you know him?" Edward asked, "I'm guessing you two were in a temporary party so you didn't know each other for long, correct?"

Leila's face darkened, "I only first met him a few days ago. I was with my roommates, the three others I told you about, when we first met him. One of them invited Dan through the forum."

"So none of you had met him before?" Edward asked, surprised. The way Dan acted aggressively and impulsively implied the man was the party's leader. He even said so himself, which is why Edward found it weird that he was party leader in the first place.

"He was the highest level out of all of us. We needed help at the time," Leila explained, "When my roommate, Heather, found his post offering to help younger players, she jumped at the chance."

"What was Dan asking? He must've had a requirement if he was offering help. A price to pay, so to speak," Edward asked. As he expected, Leila nodded her head before continuing with her story.

"He wanted first priority at one of the loot drops. He already used this priority for one of the other loot drops earlier, So when he saw the origin drop, he abandoned all other agreements and attacked us," Leila explained with a guilty voice, "My roommates and I fought him off. After the fight, we all agreed that I would be the one to take the loot because I was the one that did the most damage to him. They didn't know that it was an origin that dropped rather than something else unique and I didn't didn't get the chance to tell them because they logged out before I even took the origin."

"But they're your roommates, right? I imagine it'll be awkward the next time you see them."

"Yeah," Leila said with a frown, "It'll sure be an interesting conversation. Thank you for fighting Dan in my stead, though I suspect I would wipe the floor with him now that I have this"

Leila held up her palm. Red flames began to glide off of her skin as they rose into the air. The flame she summoned was small, but the heat it generated was enough to make Edward feel warm, even from a meter away.

"Status damage tends to go straight through armor," Edward nodded, "Even if I'd have used poison or ice, I would've damaged him. I think only armors that focus on defending against status damage could resist these types of flames."

Leila nodded, "No idea where to get them, though. I haven't seen any news on the forums."

Edward laughed, "Everybody is still low leveled. I wouldn't be surprised if we haven't discovered half of the game's basic functions, yet. For now, all we should worry about is gaining more levels."

Leila nodded in agreement. The two of them were silent for the rest of the walk. They reached their destination a few minutes later. When Edward first arrived in Pathe, he made to sure message Markus, hoping he was in the city as well. To his surprise, Brandon was in the area as well. Therefore, after only a short message, Markus and Brandon told him about a small pub on the south side of the city. 

The inn's name was 'The Dancing Sunset.' Despite being a pub, it was one of the smallest buildings on the street. It was only two stories tall and barely wide enough to fit four windows on each floor. When Edward arrived, he saw a swinging sign above the door that depicted an orange sunset surrounded by eight pints of mead.

Edward quickly opened the door and stepped inside. As soon as he did so, the smell of alcohol and sweat invaded his nostrils. He scrunched his nose in discomfort as Ikarus immediately began coughing. The pub was mostly empty. Only the bartender and five others were inside. Two were sitting at the bar, both of them men Edward didn't recognize. The three others were also unfamiliar and sat far away from the others.

Edward didn't see his brother or Markus, but he didn't worry. He knew they were waiting for him on the second floor. As he walked inside the pub, he didn't approach the bar or greet any of the patrons. Instead, he ignored them and began to walk to the stairs located near the door. Leila followed behind, her face showing extreme disgust at the drunkards staring at them.

"Why are we meeting them at this place?" She whispered to Edward, who shrugged in response.

"I don't know. Maybe they wanted to remain discreet," Edward replied. When they finally arrived at the stairs, Edward was glad a wall separated him and the patrons on the first floor. From there, the search to find Markus and Brandon became much easier. The second floor was almost a complete replica of the first, just more barren. The only patrons here were the two Edward was looking for.

Naturally, though, neither Markus nor Brandon recognized him. This was only because he was wearing a mask, so neither of them approached him or shouted out for him. Only when Edward approached the table did one of them speak up.

"Hello, Edward," Markus muttered. His eyes were glued upon the dragon resting on Edward's shoulders. His voice seemed to shake as he spoke, though he did a good job of hiding it. As Edward approached the pair waiting for him, he sat down and inspected their appearances. 

He was surprised to find that Markus hadn't changed much. He was a larger man, nearly a head taller than Edward. Markus used to play football in high school, which led to his muscular body. At the office, Markus had brown hair and deep blue eyes. In the game he hadn't changed his facial structure at all, allowing Edward to easily recognize him. His brown hair had turned blonde, though he hadn't changed its length. His blue eyes, now turned golden, had grown a little bit brighter and his skin had become much more smooth. Because of his appearance and size, Markus was often considered a knight in shining armor or a prince charming character. Hell, several people in the office had asked him out already. In the game, that had become even more true. He must've chosen a defensive Origin because his armor was thick and sturdy. Out of all of them, Markus was the only one wearing heavy armor. He had taken his helmet off for the meeting.

Edward turned to look at Brandon, his brother, and smiled. Brandon hadn't changed his appearance at all. His dark brown hair was long enough to reach his shoulder but he always tied it into a short ponytail. Unfortunately for Edward and everyone else in existence, Brandon was already old enough to grow a decent beard. His short French goatee made him look like a swashbuckling pirate with a fixation on Nordic hairstyles. Brandon most likely chose a speed-focused Origin. He had a rapier at his side and two flintlock pistols strapped to his chest. His leather armor was cut at the shoulders to allow for more mobility which revealed his white loose tunic underneath.

"A pirate?" Edward muttered, surprised.

"That's the idea," Brandon smiled. Edward quickly inspected the two men as Leila sat down next to Edward.

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Markus Davenport

Lvl 4

Warden

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Brandon Colt

Lvl 3

Bounty Hunter

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