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Despite how much he would have liked to, John found himself unable to fall asleep on the throne in Dornwich. When he closed his eyes, he was no longer surrounded by the appearance of a dozen flashing pop-ups screen that all demanded his attention, but his Gamer powers didn’t leave him alone. As soon as he had reclined in the seat, one which he found to be utterly uncomfortable when he sat in it, all of his senses were bombarded with the record of his most recent achievements. The sound of fanfare and applause echoed throughout the throne room as John tried to steal a moment of peace. His abilities bathed him in golden light bright enough to see behind closed eyelids and would have been the thing to interrupt his moment of rest if Ms. Lask hadn’t done it first.

“We should talk about what you plan to do with your prisoners and how you plan to reimburse the warriors who fought for you here,” the female Gnome started, and John flinched at the idea of doing something so serious again so soon. He turned to look at Ms. Lask as she leaned over Kennedy, her hands radiating with a subtle glow similar to the one shining on John, and sighed. He had already stayed in the Kingdom for far too long. He had things to do outside of his private realm and, according to Otrov, not much time left to accomplish what he needed to.

Truthfully, he had been glad at first for the escape into his Kingdom after dealing with so many problems in the world he had grown up in. He wasn’t completely sure when it happened, but now he was sure that that feeling had changed at some point when he attacked Dornwich… or when Dornwich attacked him. It didn’t matter if he was at home with the rest of humanity or in his magical realm. Both sides required him to kill. It was easier to brush off the deaths of undead things when he first jumped into the Kingdom, but he wasn’t just fighting monsters anymore. He had killed Elves now, without batting an eye, and he could feel Gamer’s Mind trying to help adjust him to that reality. A reality where he could defend himself and take lives without breaking down because of it.

Truthfully… Some silent part of him had wanted to hide in Dornwich, from the responsibilities of the Abyss, but if killing people was in his future regardless, then John saw no need to stay in the Kingdom any longer. The Gnomes seemed like reasonable people so far. Even if Ms. Lask hadn’t made the promise to let him keep Dornwich herself, she hadn’t argued with him when he tried to assume control. Even if they did turn out to be hostile when he returned, John still had the gem that linked all the Elven minds of Dornwich together. He didn’t know what might happen to the gem when he left the Kingdom with it, but if it remained fine, then he could use it to order the Elves to fight the Gnomes if they turned on him… and he certainly didn’t feel comfortable leaving the gem behind. The best option seemed to be to put it in his inventory and hope that it would preserve the state of the jewel like it did with food.

The pop-ups and any possible levels that he had received were ignored, John didn’t want to read them for the time being. He could do that later. He knew he needed to if he wanted to continue getting stronger, but he didn’t need the extra strength until his fight with Daniel, and even then with the help of the Frozen Flame it was possible that he might not need it.

“Are you listening to me? I said we need to-” Ms. Lask’s insistence for action nearly caused John to flinch again. He called out from across the throne room to interrupt her, but he still felt the weight of her reasoning fall on his shoulders before she even finished her sentence.

“Later,” he told her, and then changed his answer to be a little more specific. “Tomorrow.” Ms. Lask looked up at him like he was joking. Her mouth fell open out of shock and her eyes widened slightly, but John didn’t stick around to listen to her.

He turned to Urga who stood up when she heard him approaching and relayed to her a request to try and keep things calm in his absence. The Orcess immediately took it as if it were an order no matter how he phrased his statement and agreed to follow his command… and then she posed a question to him that he hadn’t been expecting.

“You’re leaving again…” She didn’t sound sad or accusatory, just… curious. She left the sentence hanging until John verbally confirmed it, and then asked him something that he wouldn’t have thought she would wonder about before because of the tribe’s stance on magic.“When you leave… where is it that you go to?” She took a step towards him, and John blinked slowly. Despite how brutal and hostile the tribe had been when he first met them, Urga no longer seemed to give off that attitude towards him anymore. He recognized how she tried to keep her head up and her stance ready like she was still a warrior and not a ****, but the Orcess had grown up in a society that fought and threatened each other to establish ranks. She knew how to make herself look imposing, but fought the instinct to do just that when she approached the Gamer. She abandoned her weapon, left it leaning against one of the stone walls of the throne room, and stepped closer and closer to John until he didn’t need to call out to talk with her.

He didn’t know how much information he could give her without putting himself at risk. He wasn’t worried about what Urga would do with it. If he needed to, he could use the magic collar she was wearing to order her to stop her from sharing what he told her. He was worried about Ms. Lask and Kennedy, though. If the little Gnome had recovered early enough to eavesdrop on their conversation then it could have potentially caused problems for him. He didn’t know how it might cause problems for him, since no one had been able to follow him in and out of his kingdom thus far… but he figured it better for him to succumb to his paranoia rather than ignore it.

He watched as the Orcess’ head lowered when she realized that he had neared, respectfully bowing her head lower and lower until he couldn’t see her eyes anymore… and then John let out a soft sigh as something about her attitude pushed him to speak to her regardless of the potential danger.

“I’m going home,” he grunted, and found himself relieved by the fact that he wasn’t entirely focused on watching what he said for once. “Briefly. It’s… hard to explain, but perhaps I’ll be able to show it to you some time,” he said hopefully… and then frowned and stood there dumbfounded as Urga responded with nothing more than a carefree grunt. She accepted his answer, despite how vague it was, and turned to walk away without giving his statement a second thought. The Gnomes, who had thankfully been silent up until this point, moved as Ms. Lask set Kennedy’s **** form up against one of the nearby walls and then turned to John… but the Gamer didn’t give her the chance to continue bothering him.

“I’ll be back soon,” he told her, turned, and then left the Kingdom with the click of a button.

When John finally appeared in Springfield again, he barely even stopped to take in the time of day. He didn’t take a moment to change out of his armor or gather his surroundings. He just closed his eyes and breathed in. The scent of wet grass and fresh air filled his senses, but it didn’t revitalize him, not at first. Instead, the air burned like its cleanliness was strangely caustic to him. He came out of his first breath coughing and wheezing as his body worked to expel all the dust and dirt he had been inhaling over the past 24 hours, if not longer. It left him in a weakened and breathless state for a good five minutes until he had finally spat up everything. His throat was dry and stung like he had a porcupine camped out in his throat, but it was worth it for the moment when he finally managed to take a complete lungful of fresh air and let out a happy groan. In a way, it felt a lot like he had been a sailor lost at sea and finally got his first taste of dry land again.

All he wanted to do was kiss the air and the birds around him as they chirped softly at the strange appearance of a smelly, bloody man. It was peaceful, finally, and John nearly let himself fall back onto his ass just so that he could sit in that peace for a while longer. He wouldn’t have even been upset if another elderly neighbor spotted him on their morning walk, while he was still dressed up like bloody viking late for the renaissance fair.

For once, he was finally able to relax.

“Welcome back,” a familiar voice greeted him, and John’s peace ended. The Gamer turned to look at Otrov’s feminine face but didn’t bother searching for her with his abilities for once. He didn’t feel ready to trust her, but he had had enough of all the fighting for the time being. He couldn’t work in a situation where he tried to do what she wanted while at the same time he fought to keep her away.

“I’m not in the mood,” John grunted, and Otrov took a step back when the deep rumble and hostility in his voice surprised both of them.

“I was starting to wonder if you had run off on me or not. It’s been over a day.” Even after he snapped at her, Otrov continued talking. A part of him knew by this point that she didn’t care to wait until John was ready to do what she wanted. She had her own plans, and if he wanted her to release Moira and Cassandra, he had to go along with them. “You are still going to help me… right?” she asked, and John had an answer ready for her faster than he would have liked.

“Yes,” he grunted again and scowled at her. It made him sick to say it, but the Abyss wasn’t a place for weak stomachs. “Stop asking. I’ll get it done.”

Otrov didn’t reply to that. The brunette simply stood in place over John as he continued breathing in and out for as long as she would let him. The sound of birds chirping slowly came back into focus now that the rogue wasn’t talking and a gentle, serene expression fell into place on the Gamer’s face. A part of him briefly wondered if it would be possible for him to clean the air up in Dornwich until it was that fresh or if he could find birds with voices as sweet to take to the castle, but the thought didn’t stay in his head for long. Even when he was thinking about something that he wanted, his own heart and mind eventually placed him back on the path forward. He couldn’t continue to enjoy things like songbirds and fresh air until his job was done.

He needed a plan. His Observe ability had told him a small amount about what Daniel could do, and as far as he could tell, the man was stronger when he was surrounded by allies. He needed an ambush, weapons, supplies… and he needed assurances. Keeping an eye over your shoulder all the time was a fool’s job. He needed every bit of focus he could muster for something like this… and he told her as much.

“I want a contract,” Otrov’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t interrupt John. “A proper one. To keep you from going back on your word.”

“That’s brave. The Order would crucify you just for suggesting such a thing. A contract with someone from the Cabal? Haven’t we already talked about this? I’m fairly certain I’ve made it clear by this point that we’re doing this my way. I-” John wasn’t as patient. He didn’t let her finish talking. If he was going to take the throne of a king in a barrier then he had to start learning how to act like one.

“I just spent an unreasonable amount of time fighting and training in the depths of a barrier so fucked up that I’ve had to hide from dragons just to stay alive. Fire breathing fucking dragons. I think I can manage hiding from you by this point if I have to. Make the damn contract or you’re on your own with Daniel and the Order’s retaliation for this shit,” he snarled, before Otrov’s eyes narrowed dangerously at John. Her lips parted and crooked up into the start of a growl of her own before John took a sudden step towards her. Alanah didn’t hesitate. As soon as she saw him flinch in her general direction, the rogue shifted her weight onto her back foot and then stopped… like she was waiting for him to charge her. They both paused for a moment as Otrov locked eyes with John and the Gamer tried to wait for her answer… but neither moved for a slow, tense minute as they waited for the other to act.

Eventually, Otrov answered him once she had a moment to consider his request for a contract. Her glare didn’t soften and her battle stance didn’t change, but she did take the time to talk to John. Her answer just wasn’t what he wanted to hear.