AlterWorld

"To us?" she said. "To you, Max. You're local. I still live in real life."

"Oh, right. I keep forgetting. But do you understand that sooner or later they'll single you out? What you go

"There's only one place where I could be happy," she said. "Here. And they can't really get to me here. I'll have to go perma."

I paused remembering a poet's words. You're responsible for what you have tamed. I couldn't say whether it was love but we felt good together. We walked the same road, and I wouldn't mind our journey to be long enough. I leaned toward her and kissed her.

"Very well, babe. You know where you can stay at first if you want to. There's your portrait in the room already, anyway. And I might give you a tip about how to rig a capsule and meet my mom in the process."

Chapter Twenty-Five

I patiently waited for Taali to wipe away her tears and only then waved to Eric. He stood a short way off, shifting from one foot to the other, unwilling to be in the way of our whispered secrets. He might look like a gorilla on steroids but he had a lot of tact. Great guy. I poked his shoulder with a fist and whispered, unable to contain myself, "Thanks, bro."

Eric looked perplexed. "What for?"

"For everything. What would you say to us meeting in the Three Little Pigs, say, tomorrow night? We have reason to celebrate."

"Why not?"

"Excellent. There's another thing we'll have to discuss. Taali here plans to go perma. But before she can do that, she has to pay off a few debts in real life."

"You need money, then? I've been meaning to buy a few things but they can wait, I suppose. How much do you need?"

"Thanks a lot, but that's not what I meant. These aren't the kind of debts you pay in gold. This kind of stuff you pay in lead."

Eric wrinkled his forehead. His eyebrows rose. He looked at Taali. With a sniffle, the girl nodded.

Eric shook his head in disbelief. "Can you ever do anything normal? You can't just sit quiet, can you? Shit. I hope it's not contagious. Never mind. We'll talk about it tomorrow. There's our cloak and dagger coming to see you again. He can't live without you these days."

Dan looked pleased with himself. He strode toward us, confident and straight-backed, like a baron crossing his castle courtyard. Then he turned to a good-looking woman nearby, pointing at his non-existent wrist watch and waving an open hand in the air. Apparently, he wasn't going to stay with us for long.

He gave me a firm handshake and gallantly bowed his head to Taali. "Great job. It went like clockwork. Those two are stripped to their underpants. Shame we won't see them again. So, Mister Robin Hood and his merry men, are you happy with the pickings?"

I lowered my eyes playing the poor pe

He smiled knowingly and shook his head. "Both you and your bear can keep the gear as promised. As a sign of our appreciation. I've got something else for you, too."

He held out a recognizable ring engraved with the Vets' crest. I peered at its characteristics.

Personal ring bearing the Clan's logo and an inscription: Clan Friend.

Eric's eyes widened. Apparently, they didn't offer this sort of thing lightly.

Dan read the silent question in my eyes. "I told you we could appreciate a good turn. Now we can return the favor. When you need help, just show this to a Vet. They might not move mountains but they'll do what they can. This isn't so much to thank you for what you've done but rather as a gesture of goodwill and our request to count you among our friends."

He didn't make it easy, did he? Could it be that he knew about the Temple? Or maybe a high-level Dark One disguised as a High Elf was valuable enough in itself? Not being able to divine his hidden agenda made me angry. I couldn't ask him directly: he'd just pretend to take offense with my questioning the sincerity of their offer. But in any case, I had better give them something back. That was one way to feel less obliged.

I reached into my bag and produced the torches. "Thanks a lot, man. I mean it. Please accept these from me," I handed him both torches. "I hate being in debt."

"What debts are you talking about?" he shrugged. "But we really appreciate these torches. Your fight has shown us all their multifunctional potential."

On hearing his last words, my i

One question kept bugging me. "The bookies won't string themselves up, I hope? Did they lose a lot?"

He laughed. "It's a high risk business. We made them hit their operating limit of one million. They should be thankful. In real life, they might not have left in one piece."

A hundred grand USD, not bad at all. No wonder Dan was beaming like a cat that got the cream. "Just to bring it into prospective, how much does your castle cost?"

He gave it some thought. "There isn't a fixed price. It all depends on how badly the parties want the deal to go through. About four million, I'd say, or possibly five. It also depends on its condition. And on how well it's stocked with structures and artifacts. Only we don't really want to sell it, even if we were offered six million for it," he gri

He turned around to go, but then slapped himself on the forehead and turned back to me. "Oh, Max, you'll have to hang around for a while. The constable of the castle will be having an awards ceremony in the arena in half an hour."

I nodded. Awards are sacred. Presently, a young boy—one of the junior cadets, according to Eric—came ru

"Cadet Invincible2022, delivering sixty-eight likes, untold ribbons and ninety-two gold on quartermaster's orders, Sir!"

Eric saluted him. "Thank you, cadet. Dismissed."

"Proud to serve the clan, Sir!"

The youth about-turned sharply, marched three smart steps and then darted away.

"Some discipline you've got here."

Eric gri

We spent the next half hour adorning my pets with likes and ribbons—a pointless but fu

The constable Major Medved was large and awesome. A paladin nearing level 200, he stood head and shoulders above me and was twice as broad. A magnificent cape hugged his frame—red velvet embroidered with gold. I wondered if all this color-coordinating was the cause of our waiting till sunset. The four wi