I reincarnated in game

50 Going Forward

Just after Hugh had climbed into bed the evening after his combat in the square, he reflected that, in spite of having had his camouflage device activated, Tom had been able to see that he was part Crystal.  He recalled that Tom had been at Level Twenty-seven … he had been at Level Twenty-five.  It appeared to him now that anybody two levels above him, or anyone who may be a cleric with the higher magic ability, would not be fooled by his camouflage.  “Good to know,” he thought to himself.

Hugh had just finished his breakfast the following morning when one of the kitchen staff approached him.  Leaning over to whisper in his ear, the man said, “Excuse me sir, someone is asking to see you.  They are waiting outside, at the back of the inn.  You can follow me; I will bring you to the back door.”

Hugh was a little puzzled, but curious at the same time.  He rose; excused himself from the table, telling Judi and Kenneth he would be back shortly.  He followed the man who had delivered the message to the rear door, then stepped out into the bright sunshine and cool air.  A woman was standing there, her back to him; her dark hair tied into a severe bun at the back of her head.  As the door closed behind Hugh, she turned to face him.  He recognized the woman as Anne, the maid from the inn at the square.

“Hello!  I was wondering if we were ever going to hear from you,” Hugh said, a little surprised.

“Well I had a few more things to deal with than I expected.  It took me a littler longer than I planned.  I just wanted to come over to ask if you are still able to honour your commitment to take me to Sdel … I would like to leave tomorrow if you are still willing to accompany me,” Anne said.

“Yes, I am still prepared to accompany you to Sdel.  What time would you want to leave?” Hugh asked.

“Let us leave on the mid-morning airship tomorrow.” Anne replied.  “I will go now and pick up my ticket.  I can meet you there at the station a half hour before departure,” she said.

“OK, then,” Hugh said.  “I will pick up our tickets later this afternoon and will see you there tomorrow morning.”  He bid her farewell and returned to Judi and Kenneth who were still seated at the breakfast table. 

“Anne just showed up and said she is finally ready to go to Sdel.  She had some vague reasons for the delay; she wants to leave tomorrow morning.  We’ll need to let James know.  Let’s go see if he is in his room,” Hugh said.  The three friends went in search of James.

Hugh knocked on James’s door.  “Come in,” was the response from within.

As soon as they were seated, Hugh spoke.  “I just had a visit from Anne; you will remember she is the maid from the inn on the square who wanted us to take her to Sdel,” he said.  “She would like to go tomorrow morning; we are to meet at the airship station.”

“OK,” James said.  “That shouldn’t be a problem.”  He stood, went over to his footlocker and returned with a small strong box.  “I have something here for you,” he explained.  “Firstly, here is some money for you.  It is in payment of the successful completion of your mission as well as a little extra for the surveillance machine that you built for us.  It has proven to be a very valuable asset for Eos,” he said as he handed a fairly weighty pouch over to Hugh. 

“Thank you very much,” Hugh replied.  “I am very happy that I was able to help in respect to both the device and the mission.”

James continued, “Secondly, I recalled the trouble you had to go through to get on board the airship at Fourth Level, so I have been working on these.”  He pulled out an envelope and withdrew two small pieces of paper about three inches by five inches.  He handed them to Hugh and Judi.  “Here are legitimate ID papers for the two of you.  I managed to use resources available to me through our organization to replicate them for you.  It should make it easier for you to travel about.”

Hugh and Judi inspected the documents and thanked James for his efforts.

Hugh’s thoughts were that this was the final step to become fully legitimate in his reincarnated world.  He looked at the document with pride.

Judi was grateful; she wasn’t sure if she could even remember where she had stashed her original ID papers when she had self-exiled to Fourth Level so long ago.  She hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, not even Hugh; but ever since she had come back to Third Level, she had been thinking about Cowson and all the demons she had left there.  She raised her head and looked at James.

“When we take Anne to Sdel, do you think it would be possible for us to go on to Cowson for a little while?  There are some matters that I need to deal with now that I am back here on Third Level.”

James thought a moment. “Sure, I don’t see why you couldn’t.  Things are a little slow right now so there is nothing here for you to deal with.  Take your time, do what you need to do.  All I ask is that you send me a report every so often to keep me informed of where you will be in the event I need to contact you should something come up,” he stated, then rose.  “I have a few things to do myself.  If I don’t see you before you depart tomorrow, take care and keep in touch!”           

Instead of waiting until the afternoon, the three friends decided to walk up to the airship station and use their newly minted ID’s buy their tickets.  On their return, they could see some activity going on down the hill on the main street.  There was still some time before the mid-day meal at the inn would be served so they decided to check out what all the activity was about.

When they arrived, they recognized Saint Elizabeth’s caravan; it appeared that she was leaving the city.  They had missed the opportunity to see her because the lead carriage had already passed the point where they were standing by the time they arrived.  They continued to watch until the last steam carriage had passed; and then turned back towards the inn.  They would need to pack up the stuff they would be taking with them on their trip.  Since they would be extending their travels to Cowson, they would need to bring along their lighter wardrobe; Cowson’s climate was a lot warmer than it was here in Aldo.

That evening, after they had eaten and finished packing, the three went to the kitchen to get some hot chocolate to enjoy in front of the fireplace in Hugh and Kenneth’s room.  While they were sipping the hot beverage, Hugh turned to Judi and asked why she had asked James about going to Cowson. 

Judi drew in a deep breath and released it slowly.  She spoke quietly.  “Do you remember when we were on our way back from Riah and had to stop by that stream to top up the steam wagon with water?” she asked.  Then she turned to Kenneth.  “We were rushing back to Halea to check on you and your father because, just before he died, Bob had told us he had sent part of his team to rob and kill the both of you.” 

At the mention of his father, Kenneth’s expression sobered as he reflected on how much he missed his Pa.

Judi continued, “While we were waiting for the steam to come up to temperature, Hugh and I spoke of why I had come to Fourth Level.  I told him about how my friend Laura had died when we had been hunting.  I blamed myself because I was the one who had suggested we hunt in the Forbidden Forest.  I exiled myself to Fourth Level; it was never my intention to return to Third Level.  Ever since we came back, I have been thinking about everything that happened …” she said, softly.  She looked at Kenneth, and then moved her gaze to connect with Hugh’s.  “Hopefully, with the two of you to support me, I will be able to face my past.”