Saiyan

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

"Cheers," Fenna said to Clive and Zell, raising her mug. Zell copied her. "We've been through a lot and the troubles are far from over, but at least we're in good company."

"Spot on. I'll drink to that, mate," Zell added with a one-sided grin. He knocked his mug against theirs and took a big swig.

Shortly after Fenna's arrival, the trio had grabbed a spare table and gotten down to business. Beer, lively banter and funny stories all around. Each took a turn getting a round of drinks in, which took them a hour or two into the evening. As the sky outside darkened, the tavern got a little busier, not another adventurer in sight, just regular local folk who'd likely put in a hard days work with the defence preparations and now wanted to relax and take the edge off.

The addition of the Ranger had changed the vibe and Zell was glad of it. It was nice to have some one-on-one time with Clive, to hear about his life, to let him vent some of his thoughts. But in Zell's experience of friends, nothing good comes from extensive drinking while depressed. Combining this bit of wisdom with the Source Crystal superpowers; Fenna had potentially averted a disaster.

"Wehey!" Zell cheered as he approached the table, his big hands wrapped around three small glasses, with his fingers also hooking three mugs of beer. He set them down before taking his seat, then slid each of his friends a mug of beer and glass of dark fluid each. "Would you believe Mytheria's got shots n all, ha."

The stuff in the glass was called, "Manticore Spit," and Zell explained as much, telling them that he got chatting to a table while waiting for the beers and they recommended it as something that will - quote - 'blow your fucking head off.'

"Alright adventurers... shots up." Zell threw back the shot and immediately regretted it. It was as awful as it was powerful and so hard to swallow. "Oh-emm-gee, for fuck's sake," he croaked hoarsely. He banged a fist on the table, his unable to unsquint his eyes for a moment. "I think I'm gonna die."

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

lol alright lads, let's propel 'er to insanity

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Hahaha, thanks. I have been flying for a few years as a part of my education. Getting my BA in Flight Operations and working on my commercial certificate at the moment. I love it, and looking forward to it being my career soon.

@AvaP

seems like a pretty plain hobby to me

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

"...most of all-" the southerner raised the dirty mug up with a wry smile "Well good beer of course," Clive stifled a snort and Zell grinned.

"Too right, mate. I'd give my last silver for even a watered-down Fosters, right now."

They knocked their mugs against eachothers an extra time for good measure before Clive sighed and looked somewhat more serious. The cowboy had started on a sincere answer, mentioning family first. He'd probably cracked a joke just to make the 'sharing' a little more palatable between the two men. Zell understood.

"If...If I'm bein' darn well honest I reckon what I miss most is what I used to have, my life was simple I...I was a gosh darn farmer, I worked a field and took care of horses not...Not this...Sometimes it's just so...Overwhelming y'know?"

"I hear ya, mate. You aren't alone in that one." Zell gulped down some beer. "My life wasn't exactly simple... Come to think of it, it was pretty fucking crazy at times." A flurry of images flickered through Zell's mind, among them; the parties, the nightclubs. Hand-offs of little baggies of just about every drug that could be found in London. Recieving wads of notes from his workers, counting piles of cash in his dorm. Getting a brutal kicking from club bouncers who'd caught him moving in on their turf, meeting big names in the London's criminal underworld. Still though... "But it was nothing compared to this shit," he made a show of looking at the source crystal in the back of his left and shook his head exasperatedly. "Sometimes, when I wake up, it takes me a second to remember that this is all real." He looked at Clive with a snort and a grin. "So... simple country boy, eh? What's that like? I've only ever known the city."

There was a hint of reluctance but Clive did indeed go into some details about his old life. Zell enjoyed it, laughing along with some of the stories. It was an alien lifestyle and definitely not to Zell's taste, but Clive's passion and storytelling was persuading the Englishman that he might actually love it.

...

"Y'know somethin?" the farmer leered closer to his companion placing a hand around his shoulder, his speech somewhat stunted and eyes bleary from the drink. The sun was almost set. Zell was somewhere between drunk and tipsy himself, at this point, and he leaned right into Clive to hear him. The two looked like they were huddling together for warmth or something. "When-Wh-When I died...Ag-Again, it was so dark..." Zell moved away enough to be able look Clive in the eye and there he saw a troubled soul. "I can't get it out o' my head no matter how much I try."

"Musta been weird ay-eff," was all Zell could think to say. It was pretty traumatic for his own self, remembering every moment from getting hit by that bus to finally passing away. Pretty traumatic to say the least. Clive had two deaths to haunt him. And the description of this second one sounded fucking terrifying. There was an oppressive weight to the minimalism of it. The nothingness. "We won't let it happen again, bruv. Mark my words."

...

"Fenna! Let's fucking goooo." The appearance of the Dutchwoman was fantastic and she looked ready to drink. Zell and Clive were not so drunk that Fenna wouldn't be able to catch up to them. "Barman. Get our friend a mug." Zell had only parted ways with her this afternoon, yet he greeted her like they hadn't seen eachother in ages, holding out his hand so he could clasp hers with a hearty clap. "Our search for Amstel or Heineken has borne zero fruit, but they got somethin that passes for beer... barely."

"Hey," the barman protested as he pulled a drink from the barrel.

"No offence," Zell apologised, then whispered to Fenna. "It's crap, but it does the job."

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

"It's like," Zell went on to the short, bushy-eyebrowed barkeep. "I got feelings too. As soft as it may it sound." He took a swig of his ale. "I'm a person."

"I dunno."

Zell looked offended. "Wha'dya mean, 'you dunno'?"

"Well, I mean, you did say you were the asshole o' the group. Doin asshole things. Sayin asshole things all e'time, reet?"

Bartender confidentiality didn't usually come with so much pushback. "Yeah, but not all the time. I can be nice. Clever? On occasion." Zell knew these were not the strongest claims. "Sort of," he weakly added. "Surely I've got more use to me than fuckinggg..." he shook his head, looking at the counter for the right words but couldn't find them. Then he looked further down, between his legs. "...I dunno... like I'm nothing more than a 6'2" breathing machine for my di-"

"Achoo!"

He was interrupted from finishing his vulgar comment at the last second by the other man sat at the bar. Both Zell and barkeep looked at the old man who was wiping his nose with one hand and raising the other in apology. The barkeep, who was on automatic, wiping 'clean' his dirty mugs with his dirty rag, put another mug down and grabbed the next one. "I can't say I can relate, lad," he said. "I've never been desired for my body."

Zell looked him up and down, noting in particular the giant belly hanging out from under his shirt. The Englishman tilted his head in understanding, then took another swig.

Now the old man with the sneeze decided to get involved. "Ay. Been listenin, I ave, to your dilemma. And I might ave the solution yer lookin for."

Zell's eyebrows were raised, his expression skeptical but he said nothing. The barkeep kept polishing his mugs, still mildly interested in the conversation. The old patron went on.

"I once heard of this scientist from out west who presented an experiment of sorts to his peers. He placed a rat in a small room with nought but a fresh cheese he'd posioned in advance." What the fuck!? was Zell's only thought. "He put it to his peers that until they went in the room to find out if the rat had eaten the cheese and died, two realities existed silemul-taneously. In one reality the rat was dead. In the other, it was alive. But both existed." You could tell that the old man felt quite smart relaying this information. "This phenomenon was coined after the scientists name and thereby dubbed, 'Broodinger's Rat.'" Sneeze! "I'd put it to you that, until you tell this girl o' yours how yous really feel, you don't know what her response will be. So both realities exist. One where you live happily e'r after. And one where yous take yer own life outta depression. Your love is like Broodinger's Rat."

There was a silence that fell on the three. Even the barkeep had stopped polishing. Zell, who literally looked in pain, he was so baffled by what he'd just heard, couldn't even begin. "Double-you. Tee. Eff." Aside from the absolute nonsense of a story, Zell wasn't even sure there'd been a solution presented. "What in the fuck kinda bollocks is that? This is what passes for science in Mytheria?"

The old man looked hurt. "Think so. It might be philosophy."

"Gibberish is what that was. In my world, if some so-called professor had come up with that, he'd be a laughing stock." He shared his disappointed expression between the old man and the barkeep. "Fat lotta help you two are."

"Hey, you're the one came cryin te us. No one asked for ye life story."

Zell supposed that was fair, but shook his head anyway. Done with the conversation, he swivelled on his stool to check out the rest of the room, clocking through the window by the door, a familiar face coming into the tavern. "Well, well." He quickly looked at the barkeep and the old man. "Hey, we never had this conversation, yeah? Not a word." Then he looked back at the door as it opened and nodded to his friend, letting the farmer mosey on over before speaking. "Bit of a coincidence, this, ain't it."

"I ain't even gonna ask what in the devil brought you out here..."

"You don't wanna know, bruv," Zell replied, noting Clive's tired face and tone, which was not like the Texan at all.

Then, as if reading the Englishman's mind, Clive put a hand on Zell's shoulder, sighing "Y'know you and I, we look like shit right now...Reckon we might as well drink to make us feel like it too."

Zell let out a breath. "Christ. Truer words were never spoken. Let's get to it."

And so the pair began their quest to get wasted. Each beer, they knocked their dirty mugs against eachother's in salute before starting on it. They talked a little about how military training was going, Zell naming a couple of soldiers from The Lions that he liked in particular. He was happy to hear about what Clive was doing with his own band as he hadn't seen too much of the Military Centre, the swordsman shirking his duties half the time. After two beers, Zell turned the conversation onto Earth.

"So tell me: Wha'dya miss most about Texas, eh?"

A bit of nostaglia was in order and Zell would enjoy hearing anything other than Mytheria shit, right now. America had always felt like a totally different place to Zell, but here in a world where armies of the undead, willy-nilly just decided to sit outside and lay siege to your city, America was practically home for the Englishman.

He also wanted to ask the man what was on his mind. Clive looked troubled. But Zell decided to wait another beer into their drinking session. He was actually quite happy to just drink and talk about regular stuff, but he figured he should give his friend a chance to get his problems off his chest if he felt like it. He did eventually ask.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

this you lol psyco

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Ugh, this post fought me all the way and I am still not happy with it. Got a lot of stress cuz some bad news lately and I can't focus properly on writting. But anyway, post up.

@Teyao

post was fire to me, bruv. you have picked the hardcore difficulty with this zigmund shit tho lol you always play on hard mode tho. i respect it

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Zell was forced out of MacKensie's room by way of being poked repeatedly in the waist and hissed at. "Go, go, go, go..."

"Ow - alright - ow - I'm going, jeez..."

Zell stumbled out of the room and quickly made his way down the corridor to his own room. When he got to his door, he looked back in time to see MacKensie's door shut. A little in shock, Zell shook his head bewilderedly and went inside.

He was soon in the shower, feeling sorry for himself as the water blasted on the top of his head.

"She's ashamed of me," he muttered to himself.

Zell, for the first time, had found himself on the short end of what he and his friends liked to call, 'Surfed n Turfed.' Most of the time, when hooking up, both parties understood what the deal was. One night - maybe a week or two at most - just a bit of fun, no problem. Occasionally though, there were those girls who had much higher expectations of the engagement. This kind of problem often led to hurt feelings, emotions toyed with etc. Now Zell understood what it felt like to be one of those girls. It was not nice.

...

Dressed and ready to head out, Zell left his room and walked down the corridor. Sadly, he looked upon MacKensie's door as he passed it, half-hoping she would open it. She didn't. By the time he was once more facing front, his expression was rearranged to a more typical carefree, content and confident vibe.

Stepping outside the Mended Drum, Zell put his hands on his hips, took a whiff of the air and looked around. Setting off down the street, he walked as if ten feet tall and king of everything, nodding an occasional greeting to a passing stranger.

"Hi."

"Afternoon, miss."

Of the few who bothered to respond, not a single citizen mirrored Zell's energy, which made sense considering the suspense and despair of the siege had been increasing with each passing day. Zell was overcompensating anyway. Underneath his social mask, he considered that he was in no fit state, mentally, to go to the Military Centre and see The Lions. It was honestly a good job that his drill sergeants were extremely competent trainers. Between Baphomet pecking his head, almost abandoning Valhiem with the Ambassador, and complications with MacKensie - Zell had been an absentee Captain of the Garrison. Even when he was there, he wasn't all there. And speaking of Baphomet; the bastard was quiet at the moment, but Zell could just imagine the devil laughing his ass off at Zell right now. The self-loathing part of Zell's brain, albeit small, was rather loud right now. The Englishman mocked himself for being such a pussy and skirting every opportunity to be ultra-clear with his feelings to MacKensie. Ego bruised and insecurity at an all-time high, Zell simply tried to ignore his thoughts and push his feelings deep, deep down in the abyss with the rest of them. It was easier said than done.

"Fuck, I need a beer."

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

our resident princess is off the rails rn lol

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Frederick was back behind the bar. On arrival, the old man gave a curt little nod to Zell who returned the gesture with a bounce of his eyebrows. Frederick's assistant was sent off to other duties. As Zell drank from his glass, he caught a visual of gold in his peripherial and looked in time to see a blue cape and blonde hair disappear up the stairs. Zell sighed and turned about to his lean back against the bar with glass in hand. Only him and Fenna were left, but the Dutchwoman soon decided to be off aswell.

"Back to work I guess," she said to him as she made to leave.

"Alright mate," Zell nodded. "Catch ye later, yeah."

He absently watched her go until Frederick, who was buffing down the bar with a rag, piped up. "And then there was one."

With a smirk and a slight turn of his head, Zell acknowledged the barkeep, but his mind was soon back on MacKensie. He was deciding wether or not he should try to speak to her. There was a chance he could make things worse (Zell being Zell, this chance was not insignificant) but at least he could say he tried. The Englishman had lived his life boldly. The very opposite of risk-averse. But here he was, stumbling, fumbling and bumbling.

He finally came to a decision. "You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take," he said to himself - a phrase not uncommon from his mouth.

He took a deep draught of his ice water and put it down on the bar, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve and headed for the stairs. He arrived at MacKensie's room and knocked on the door, deciding against calling out, as he knew that she may not even open the door if she knew it was him. When she opened the door, he knew he'd have to be quick.

"Mac, can we talk? Please," he asked, ready to put his foot in the doorway so she couldn't slam the door in his face. "Come on, doll. We can't go on like this. It's killin me - not being able to have a laugh with you, like normal. The banter between you, me n James is half of what keeps me sane in this shitshow." His one-sided grin was soft, hopeful. Anything but the usual cocksure. "Everyone's gone. Let's just talk."