"Hey, guys..." muttered Codex weakly into her microphone, trying to get the guild's attention. The Knights of Good were right in the middle of battling the biggest cave-troll any of the gamers had seen in weeks, but the battle would be well worth it: inside the cave was enough gold to get the entire guild some shiny new additions to their armor. They had been preparing for days...
"Uh, guys, hello..." Codex was struggling to keep up with the battle. A nauseating sickness had overtaken her and was creeping into her fingers, making it difficult for her to attack and cast spells. She hadn't been feeling well since that morning, but assumed she'd be fine for the battle that afternoon. Besides, she didn't want to upset any of her guildmates by bailing out. "Codex, wake up!" yelled Tink, "what is wrong with you? You're just standing there in front of the frickin' troll!" Codex blinked and shook her head. She felt dizzy... the screen was swimming in front of her. Her fingers trembled on her mouse and keyboard. "Codex, remove yourself from the troll's immediate vicinity," directed Vork, "heal yourself and re-join the battle." "Codex, are you ok?" asked Clara, "oh shoot, my health's low too." "Codex! Codex come over to my avatar," called Zaboo, "I'll, heal you, my lady!" "Zaboo, focus!" said Vork, "she can handle herself. We need to direct as much firepower as possible towards the troll!"
Codex barely managed to move her avatar out of danger and swallow a healing potion. She could see her avatar swaying on the spot. "I don't feel so good," she said softly to herself. "What was that, Codex?" asked Vork, repeatedly inflicting damage on the weakening enemy troll. Suddenly the rest of the guild members heard a loud retching coming from Codex's mic. They fell silent until Bladezz laughed, "Dude, get out the chat before I catch whatever you've got." Tink wrinkled her nose; "That was totally disgusting." "Oh, Codex, I didn't realize you were sick!" said Clara, "One time, I played for 3 straight days with the Ebola virus." The guild fell silent again. Codex hoisted herself up, clinging to the edge of her desk. If the blood hadn't drained from her face on account of her illness, she would have blushed fiercely. "Oh my god, guys, I can't believe you heard that, I'm so sorry..." "If only my mom didn't force me to spend the weekend at my stupid grandparent's house I'd already be at your side, making you hot cocoa and otherwise tending to you lovingly, Codex!" enthused Zaboo, overcome with concern for his beloved. "Codex," said Vork, "you've been performing exceedingly well given the circumstances. We've nearly defeated the enemy but we need a priestess' guild spells to finish him off. Can you do that for me, Codex?"
She smiled for the first time that day and went forward with renewed confidence. "Take that, evil troll-face," said Codex, as boldly as she could. She was still feeling very queasy, and staring at the screen was making her dizzy again, but she managed to pull through until the giant troll fell to the ground in an exhausted heap. The Knights of Good rejoiced in their victory and plundered the cave for every last gold coin. "Excellent work, Knights, we've defeated the enemy and earned our reward," said Vork. "Now, I have some pressing, offline matters to attend to. I will be offline for approximately three hours." The shocked guildies were about to ask Vork what could be so important that he would actually leave the game for hours right in the middle the day, but before they could, Vork had logged off. Codex was curious too, but she didn't have time to think about it. "Um, guildies, I'm really glad we killed the troll... yay! But if I stay on I'll probably, you know, throw up all over my keyboard so, I'm gonna go lie down but I'm sure I'll feel better tonight." "Ok, get well soon, Codex!" said Clara, who was busy killing an imp that was trying to steal her gold. "Farewell, my lady, think of me when..." Codex logged off, took a deep breath, and fell over off her chair.
Codex woke up in a daze, her head flat on the ground, her feet propped up on her chair. Standing over her was "Vork!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" she was embarrassed to be seen by anyone in her current state. Vork helped her up. "I'm here to ensure that you a have a rapid recovery," he explained. "You're a valuable member of the Guild, and the longer you're unable to quest with us, the more opportunities we lose." Codex blushed "So, I'm the… important offline business?" "Correct," said Vork, and popped a mercury thermometer in her mouth. The glass clinked against her teeth as he clapped one hand to her forehead. "Well you don't have a fever," he said, "so it's may not be life-threatening after all." Codex' eyes widened. Vork took the thermometer and turned on a dime. He started walking out of her bedroom.
"Dress in your usual sleeping attire. I will wait outside until you're finished," he ordered, and shut the door behind him. Codex stood confused for a moment, then looked under the door to see if Vork's shadow could be seen. He was indeed standing right outside her bedroom door. Codex hurried up and slipped into her pajamas. The whole time she was dressing, she wondered how she would react, or how Vork would react, if he were to barge in on her while she was half naked. She dressed quickly before shyly stepping out of her room. "Good," said Vork, looking her up and down. Codex squirmed a little at being eyed, "now we begin the remedies. Have a seat," he said, leading her onto the living room couch. "Your kitchen opens into the living room, so I can keep a close eye on your progress." "My… progress?" she asked. "Yes. Your progress." Vork had brought a traditional doctor's bag; it looked like it was from an antique store. He pulled out bottles of vitamins and elixirs and set them on her kitchen table. "What are those?" asked Codex, especially concerned about a glass bottle of green, slimy-looking liquid. "Time-tested remedies for stomach sickness," replied Vork. "My grandfather instructed me on their proper usage." Vork also packed a regular can of chicken soup. He popped the top and fumbled in the kitchen for something to cook it with. Codex's head was still swimming as she layed down on the couch. She tried to close her eyes, but the lack of light left her disoriented; she felt like she was on a roller coaster, her whole body spinning. She opened her eyes quickly and sat up, breathing heavily. Vork looked up from the stove, "Codex," he called, "are you…." his voice faded as she hallucinated countless green lights. They filled her eyes and obstructed her vision. Her throat tightened and she fell into the void.
"Codex, speak to me!" yelled Vork. Codex squinted, her consciousness slowly returning. She felt a hand cradling her head, heard Vork calling to her, but she didn't have the strength to speak. Were her eyes closed? It was so dark… Suddenly she felt the gentle brush of lips against hers. Her body filled with warmth, her limbs tingled… she felt the kiss double in intensity, a sharp pressure sank into her chest then rose up again. She gasped, her eyes flew open. Codex sat up to meet Vork's gaze. She had never seen him look that way before; his eyes were full of concern, perhaps even tenderness, as he helped her stay sitting. Vork suddenly looked embarrassed and stood up, offering her a hand. "I apologize for invading your personal space," he explained, "I was simply administering CPR. You lost consciousness." Codex's lip trembled; the room slowly stopped spinning and Vork's face came into focus.
"Vork?" said Codex softly, getting herself up. "Yes?" he asked, titling his head. "Vork… the…" she pointed at the stove, her voice faltering." Alarmed, Vork ran over to the overflowing pot. A few minutes later, Codex cradled a hot bowl of soup as Vork sat on her coffee table, observing her. Codex sipped it sheepishly, arguing with her queasy stomach that was telling her not to eat. 'I should probably find this kind of unnerving,' thought Codex as Vork watched her spoon go from the bowl to her mouth, then back again. For some reason, though, it wasn't unnerving, it was comforting. So comforting it made her uncomfortable. "Um… thanks for the soup, and for looking after me today, Vork. I think I'll be ok now…" Codex suddenly turned pale and set her soup bowl down. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Codex, are you alright?" asked Vork, putting a hand on her knee. Trying to steady herself, Codex placed her hand right on his.
"Vork…" she muttered, clasping her other hand to her mouth "… I think I'm gonna be sick." Codex got to her feet and ran into the bathroom as quickly as she could- she leaned over and tried to cough out the sick feeling, but it wasn't working. Codex moaned helplessly, holding onto the sink for balance. 'Make it stop…' she thought. Codex looked up and screamed a little: she had just caught a glimpse of her own pale, sick self. "I look like a zombie." she whispered, wide-eyed. Vork knocked on the half-open bathroom door. "Codex? Do you need assistance?" "No Vork, I look awful!" cried Codex, covering her face. Wait, why did she care how she looked in front of Vork? She was starting to act like a junior high school girl with a crush… She couldn't handle this. She had to go to her safe zone, her happy place… "I'll be right back" she said, running out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. She locked the door, checked under it for shadows, and turned on her webcam to talk to her ever-understanding video diary.
"So, it's Thursday… is it Thursday? Well, whatever- Vork is totally in my house right now. He actually left the game to come take care of me because," she said, pointing at her face, "as you can tell, I am really, really sick. I don't know what's going on…. does Vork like me, or is this really just 'guild business' to him? Do I like Vork?" Codex considered that for a moment. She'd never thought of Vork that way. He was the Wise Man, the stoic leader of the guild. Sometimes he was kind of stickler, but "Vork" and "sexy" were two things that had never come together in her mind. Today, though, something had changed. His serious demeanor made his compassion even more attractive. "He does look good in a suit jacket. It's kind of a hard look to pull off," Codex revealed to her webcam. She breathed deeply and straightened up, trying to feel more confident.
"Ok, I'm gonna go back out there now" she said. Then she started to feel queasy again. "Uh oh," she mumbled, covering her mouth. She heard a knock on the door. "Codex?" it creaked open a bit and Vork peered his head in. Codex was bent over her trash can, coughing. Vork came and held her hair back. She was sick for what seemed like ages before Vork picked her up and layed her on her bed. She looked up at him wearily. With her eyes closed, she ran her hand over the other side of the bed, instinctually inviting him. Vork was nervous and stood stiffly, shifting his feet before laying down next to her. They both drifted off, but Codex woke up first to find Vork's warm suit-jacket arms wrapped around her.