With uncertainty regarding future opportunities, we decided to take the ship to Nobost. It would an about a month of travel down the coast if we went by foot to get from Nobost to Phalladri. Hatterion would be roughly at the halfway point, but without knowing whether there’d actually be a ship, none of us wanted to take the risk.
The other possibility would be to take the ship to Nobost and look for connections from there, as the Naga ships were stupidly fast, especially the large ones. I had asked Wavespeaker Kelartis and she had told that the crossing would only take about a week, due to limited weather influence. That seed utterly insane to , to cross a distance we’d need two months to cross within a week. But then, the ship didn’t need to sleep or rest, they could forge ahead at full speed, hidden from sea monsters by their magic and the ship certainly didn’t need to take the road into account. Though, I had a sneaking suspicion that it was set up that way to allow Travellers to move from one continent to another with relatively little down-ti, as months of enforced inga down-ti would likely be a no-go for a lot of players.
Alas, a week was quite so ti to be stuck on a ship, but really, it wouldn’t be too bad.
As I thought about it, I began to ntally compile another report for Pantheon, Entertainnt regarding travelling. The extre limitations on intercontinental travel would likely be a stumbling block for players, the whole travelling was incredibly cumberso. On one hand, it made the world feel alive, with countless inhabitants and potentially interesting things around every corner. On the other hand, it ant that if you wanted to play with your friends, it might take months, or even years, to et up if your starting locations were too far apart.
Maybe, Pantheon should look for a middle path, where the whole world was relevant and interesting, without making players travel for months on end to get from spot A to spot B. Imrsion versus convenience, the current system was completely on the side of imrsion, which might deter so players.
Pushing away those considerations, for later compilation, I focused on our surroundings, where Adra was talking to Kelartis, making an agreent regarding our passage to Nobost. It would take a chunk of our hard-earned coin, but that was sowhat expected. Boarding would be in five days, early in the morning, as the ship would be sailing with the tide. That ant we had those days open, with nothing pressing to do.
I considered looking for quests in Torop, or even for Travellers who frequented the port, but really, I had little interest in so urban fetch quests. While I had no doubt that there would be other types of quests as well, so sort of investigation or maybe even ones that required a direct and violet resolution, trying to navigate the laws and customs regarding them sounded like a pain in the behind that I would rather not deal with.
Instead, I decided to leave Mundus for a ti, stashing my body in my Hallow and dealing with the various chores and obligations that had piled up in the real world. On my list were such wonderful things like thoroughly cleaning my apartnt, taking care of so errands and other exciting things. But with the ti I had, there was even the option of visiting Mrs Wu for an additional session, going for a long walk in the park and giving Chris a call, he had been suggesting eting for dinner.
My first call went to Mrs Wu, who happily suggested eting up during the afternoon. Contrary to our normal practice, she suggested eting at a shopping centre near their gym, an alteration to our usual routine that made curious. So of the lessons she had given had been regarding blending into a crowd and moving within one, but I wasn’t quite sure I actually wanted to put them into practice. It wasn’t as if I actually wanted to put those lessons into practice, certainly not outside of Mundus. And within Road to Purgatory, I was using the skills she taught less and less, as my magic was taking priority. Alas, she was teaching sothing interesting and learning it wouldn’t be a disadvantage. Once that call was taken care of, it was ti for a dreaded aspect of life, social interactions outside of a rigidly defined setting. In other words, freely socialising with friends.
Stolen novel; please report.
After finding Chris’ number, I sent him a ssage that my schedule was unexpectedly cleared and I would be open for the dinner he had suggested. I had previously declined but given my Mother’s teaching about the maintenance of friendships, I felt that an effort should be made, His reply ca surprisingly quick and within a minute of sending the ssage, my phone rang with his number.
“Yes?” I picked up, curious why he called instead of sending a ssage back.
“Who is this?” a female voice asked, montarily confusing . The display had given Chris’ number, so why was a woman calling back?
“Shouldn’t I be asking that?” I retorted, just a little amused, “This is Samantha, now it’s your turn.” I added, trying to place the voice. Sadly, I was bad with those, so other than it being female and a little sharp, I wasn’t sure.
“Samantha? That…” the voice paused, and I heard a soft noise in the background, “This is Jenn, Chris’ wife.” she told and finally, the penny dropped with a chiming sound, giving the context I needed.
“Ah, Jenn, yes. We’ve t a while back, at the park. How are you? How’s the baby?” I asked, frantically trying to co up with a sensible way to continue the conversation.
For a mont, there was an awkward silence on the other end. It stretched a little but finally, she replied after a brief sigh.
“So it’s you. I’m feeling well, thanks for your concern. Why did you suggest eting my husband for dinner?” she asked, a weird emphasis on the word ‘husband’.
“He invited a few weeks ago, but I was a little busy. Now, my schedule has mostly cleared up, so I thought to give him a word. When would it be good for you?” I replied, curious if Chris had told her about it. He should have, given that she was his wife, I’d expect any dinner invitation to include her.
There was another silence but this ti, it didn’t last long enough to turn awkward.
“I see.” I could almost hear the frown in her reply, “Let take a glance at his calendar, I think he should be free tomorrow evening. Would that work for you?” she asked, and I briefly did the calculations of what ti that would be in Mundus.
“That would work.” I briefly paused, considering my next words carefully before deciding to go for simple honesty. “I’m afraid I don’t know just how restrictive your pregnancy is. Are you comfortable visiting a restaurant? Any special considerations I should be mindful of?” I asked, trying not to be rude while asking about fairly intimate topics.
There was a brief chuckle on the other end and it seed that the ice had broken, as her voice suddenly gained a bit of warmth.
“I’ll admit, I’d rather avoid a restaurant.” she paused for a mont, before continuing, “Are you a good cook?” she asked in a non-sequitur.
“I’d consider myself a fair cook, why?” I asked, only to realise the answer, “If you like, I could co over tomorrow and prepare dinner at your place. That would be easiest for you, wouldn’t it?” I suggested, trying to navigate the bounds of propriety and decorum. Sotis, those could be a pain.
“If that would work for you, I would appreciate it.” she admitted, “We’ve got a few dietary restrictions, what did you have in mind for the nu?”
For the next couple of minutes, we discussed their preferences and restrictions, making sure that the food I had planned would be suitable. I wasn’t planning anything fancy, just a classic dish of stir-fried vegetables, chicken and rice, with a mildly spicy sauce. So might even call it boring, but given that Jenn was pregnant, stimulating her too much might be a bad idea.
“Why don’t you co over around six? Chris should be ho around seven, that way, dinner would be ready then,” she suggested, once everything was ironed out.
“That works for , yes.” I agreed, “I’m looking forward to eting you again:”
“Yes, it’s been nice talking to you.” she replied, “See you tomorrow.”
We both said our goodbyes and I put down the phone, feeling good about myself. If that wasn’t an effort to re-establish and maintain a friendship I had let slide over the years, I didn’t know what would be.
Sadly, before that, I still had a bunch of chores to do in my own apartnt. Letting out a sigh, I got out the vacuum, to take care of another thing I had let slide for a little too long.
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