LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 18: Ground Beef Knees
Nikola steadied her hold on the spot behind the red-haired girl's knees, because yes, she had been seated up there the entire time they had been at her house. Well, besides the part when she was changing, which would have been next to impossible.
Now that she was in a cloak, which provided some cushioning to her back, having her there was much easier. She even started to wonder if she could fashion something out of rope to solidify the arrangement.
"Dang, the water's gotten so high. We really need to get moving."
"So high? But it is not even up to your 'fnees' yet," Nikola jeered, chuckling softly as she descended the steps that led to her front door. The water claimed her feet entirely as she walked down the stone pathway and towards the main road, which had also been engulfed. Everything she could see was one big, glimmering puddle, one part beautiful and one part concerning.
Luke glanced over at Nikola, intending to communicate to her how surprised he was that it was even possible for her to make a joke of any kind, but seeing her in full reminded him that she was wearing a girl. "Oh, right. You said you were going to tell me about her?"
"Yes," she responded, pulling a foot out of the water that was just above her ankles, "but I do not believe now would be the time for idle chatter either." Nikola gestured at the water all around them. She had hoped it would be dwindling away by now, but it was becoming apparent that that was wishful thinking.
"Fiiiiine... let's get out of here so we can talk about why you've been carrying some near-unconscious girl around. There's no Fast Travel in this game, but I know where we can rent a carriage." Luke took the lead, splashing ahead of her easily with his wider strides from being taller; and because he wasn't burdened by piggybacking someone.
He led Nikola towards the outskirts of her village, where he knew a man with a horse and carriage would be waiting for customers.
"Luke." Nikola's steps slowed, and she took a closer look at the townspeople. Not only were they proceeding as if everything was peachy, they didn't even seem to notice the water. Their eyes didn't flit downwards when a wave crashed into their knees, and they had no panic painted on their faces. "I don't think they notice the water."
"Huh." Luke scanned the villagers as well, many of whom were milling about towards the mountain instead of away from it.
"This must not be a scripted event, I guess." He shrugged and continued on his way.
Nikola reluctantly followed suit, but it felt wrong to turn her back on the townspeople. "Will they be okay?"
"Yeah, probs. I mean, they'll just respawn if anything bad happens to them–the only things that can permakill an NPC are scripted events and other NPCs." He blinked, turning his navy blues to meet Nikola's icy, widened eyes. "Did you get any of that?"
Nikola wrinkled her nose in disdain. He may have stopped calling her an NPC, but he was still referring to the villagers as such. So, were all of them were fixtures in this game of his? Every single one of her childhood friends, mentors, and even the people she had killed? Was she able to kill them because she, too, was an NPC? What made her so different from them that they seemed unable to notice the oncoming tsunami while she was escaping with Luke?
She had noticed a change within herself; the wild emotions, the sudden insurgence of her own thoughts and internal monologues, her ability to choose dialogue options outside of the preset options presented to her. Had they not undergone the same change?
"Nikola?"
"Did you get any of that?"
Oh. He had mentioned something about permakilling NPCs, and events, and... "I comprehended what I believe to be your point, which is that they will be fine."
Luke nodded and then continued towards the carriage.
Nikola struggled to get her feet to listen to her, but slowly they lifted from the mud and started to take her to the carriage as well. She could feel the desire to 'save' her townspeople clawing at her newly-formed conscience, but Luke assured her that they wouldn't be in danger if she left them. It was both a comfort to her and a concern that they continued on with their day as if the water wasn't there.
Oh well. She didn't have enough space on her back to rescue any of them anyway–that space was already occupied.
The two of them splished and splashed along in mushy silence for a few minutes before coming upon a horse-drawn carriage. The horses were the kind with chunky, fluffy hooves and Nikola took a moment to admire the weightlessness of their ankle fur as the water flowed past.
"Hey, are you accepting passengers?"
The man holding the reins of one of the horses turned to face them. He was a long, lanky man wearing dark clothing, with greying facial hair around his chin and mouth that hadn't been trimmed in a while. "Oh, hello there! We are indeed accepting passengers. Where would you like to go?"
Luke shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he mulled over his options. He wanted to go somewhere the water wouldn't have touched yet, but it also had to be central and close enough that they could return in a pinch. "How about the Copper Citadel?"
He nudged his toes into the stirrups and hoisted himself onto the equine's back, straddling the saddle. Drips and drops of water flowed down the creature's sides as the water emptied from his pants and boots.
"Come on, Nikola. Let's get in."
Luke disappeared inside of the carriage, and she followed suit shortly after. It was the sort of carriage with a roof and doors and two rows of seats, one of which she happily dumped the red-haired girl on before sitting down herself. She conformed to the seat happily, one arm flopping over her nose and eyes as her back settled into the cushion.
Nikola scanned the inside of the carriage. It was just big enough for five or six people to sit up in, and it had a canopy. It was fancy but not extravagant, and yet she had still never been in one before. There was a back to the seat that squiggled in a way that encouraged proper posture, so she leaned into it and let her head sink into it, exhaling softly.
Oh, it had been so long since she had been able to sit down. She had been on her ass, knees and feet for hours on end, escaping from captivity and piggybacking a whole other person as well. The tendons in her arms felt like they had been stretched out like noodles. She wondered if her arms looked any longer, because they felt like it.
"I'm... in..." Nikola breathed the words out, eyelids heavy as a sense of calm washed over her. Or, rather, the adrenaline that had been pounding through her finally saw its opportunity to subside.
"Are you ready to go?"
She peeled the bag she had been carrying from her shoulder and let it fall to the floor by her feet. "Yes, I am ready. Thank you for paying for this. I did not realize... how tired I was." Nikola winced as she realized how much her knees hurt now that her pants were stretched over them. Dots of blood had been blotted up and were showing through the fabric. "It appears I injured myself more than I realized as well."
"We're ready to head out!" Luke bellowed, and the carriage jolted to life almost immediately as the man outside flicked the reins. The horses took off and started splashing towards the forest in the distance.
"Onward we go! Please let me know if you need to stop at any point and I'll get us to a safe place to do so. There are monsters out there in the woods, but they don't often go looking for a fight, so don't bother them and they won't bother us."
"I am fine," she replied instantly, not bothering to try to hide her bloody bits. Normally she would tuck them under something, but she had too little energy to care.
"That doesn't look fine. When did you get that?"
Luke said something else, but his words were starting to sound further away.
Were her eyes closed?
Oh, yes. They were. A vast, murky darkness in the form of the backs of her eyelids sat in front of her eyes and her consciousness started to slip away. Oh, she was much more tired than she had realized. Her arms felt stiff and metallic and she didn't want to stand ever again.
Normally, she wouldn't even close her eyes around a stranger, let alone somebody she had stuffed in her basement, who had every right to enact his revenge. And yet, she was losing the fight against her mortal form's deep desire for rest.
"I need... to sleep, Luke," she rasped. She wasn't even sure she finished her sentence before sleep ate the rest of her consciousness all up.