Vera's hair swung lightly, back and forth like a pendulum with the footsteps of the man carrying her. He moved quickly and methodically underneath her. It seemed to her that he was moving with an almost supreme amount of eagerness.
She tapped him on the shoulder. "...I think I can walk by myself now."
"Nonsense," Stockwell said. "You've been alive for ten minutes. You need rest."
"I must be pretty heavy though. I don't want to burden you any longer…"
"You'd never be a burden, Vera." Stockwell said, "How many times have you saved my life? Just hang on, we're almost there."
Vera shivered in the cold. The winter chills had come to the Re-Estize kingdom and all she had to wear at the moment was Stockwell's coat that he had given her. Her naked legs swung weakly beneath her. "...Okay."
She looked around at the faceless buildings of E-Rantel. It hardly looked like the same place. It was a complete ghost town. A hollow wind blew through the city.
She could only assume that the city had been annexed by the Sorcerer King.
They continued for only a little while longer until she saw a death knight riding a horse-like monster patrolling the streets. She had seen the pair of death knights guarding the villa on their way out, but had assumed that such powerful creatures were only reserved for royal guards.
Her memories came back to her. Oh yeah… we saw them at Katze, didn't we… The Sorcerer King had brought with him a convoy of over a hundred of the undead creations. She tightened her hold and leaned into Stockwell as they passed.
She gazed at the horse monster. Its fog-like tendrils flickered in and out of the hollow skeleton that made its body. I think I've heard of these before… back in the cult. A legendary creature that eats souls. A soul eater. She could only assume that the all powerful necromancer that summoned them was the same one that had brought her back to life.
She had not seen the Sorcerer king's face, Stockwell had not permitted her to turn her head. "...How long have I been gone?"
"It's been a little less than four days since Katze." Stockwell said.
"...I see." It had felt like an instant to her, but looked like it had been an eternity for E-Rantel.
"I'm sorry he interrupted your time in heaven. I wouldn't have wanted to come back to this world either."
Vera shook her head. "Oh… no, um, I'm good. That's not really how it all works… heaven and all that. Or, I guess I'm not really sure. My sense of time must've been off since I don't remember being dead."
Stockwell sighed. "...a pity."
She had not grown up on the belief of there being such a thing as an afterlife with a heaven and hell that differentiated the souls of mortals. That was a Roble belief, and a naive one according to her grandfather. Her own teachings came from the ancient texts of Zurrerorn and Corpus of the Abyss. Souls are entities like the foam left by the waves of this great world, and so whether large or small, they are fundamentally the same. Sin and virtue are of no consequence.
The existence of necromancy alone disproved the concept of heaven were souls would return forever anyways. There was also the ancient magic of the dragons too, which were able to manipulate the souls of the dead.
If heaven were ever to exist, they would need to make it in the living world.
"... I'm sorry." Vera said quietly. "...for dying."
"It was never your fault."
"...well, maybe… but," Vera said. "But what did you pay to get me back?"
A slow and dark chuckle welled up inside Stockwell.
"Wesley?"
"Pay for you? No no no, the Sorcerer King gave you back free of charge. Or more accurately, you were on the house. Degrading, right?"
"But back there… I heard him say that you were in his debt."
"Oh I know what he said Vera dear." Stockwell replied. "I also know what he didn't say. And sometimes that's more important than the other."
"I don't understand…"
Stockwell began to chuckle once more. But it was not rueful or mocking, nor was it joyful. It sounded to Vera as though he was laughing at a dark inside joke that he had shared with someone else. Like the effervescence of a slowly bubbling, black lake of tar.
"Ainz Ooal Gown is the type of person who never says what he actually means. His words contain many many layers to them. He's letting us go free."
"But I thought he told you to work for his kingdom?"
"That's what he said, but that it isn't what he meant." Stockwell said. "He said to work for the Sorcerer Kingdom, without actually specifying what to do, but that I should work very hard at whatever it is I choose to do."
"...I don't get it." Vera said, lost.
"By not specifying exactly what I should be doing, he purposefully left the statement open to interpretation. He proposes that I plan on working very very hard for his kingdom, which I now have every intent on doing. Just not for its benefit."
Stockwell grinned wolfishly, his eyes containing in them a dark eagerness that one would expect to see in someone about to run a gauntlet of god-like proportions. "I already failed once with E-Rantel Steel Works and the Re-Estize kingdom, but like he said: He's a 'merciful' king who's willing to give second chances."
"But that would mean…" Vera looked puzzled. "... that would mean he's encouraging you to try to destroy him? Why would he do that?"
"Why, you ask?" Stockwell said. "That should be obvious. Ainz Ooal Gown has no flesh, no emotions; a being of purely intellectual experience. He can't be motivated by the trivialities of sex, wealth, conquest, or power. Moreover his magical might is unparalleled in this world. In a way, I can sympathize with the unimaginable boredom he must feel… yes…"
"Wesley?"
"Yes… that must've been what he was trying to tell me by making his motions appear like he was bored…"
Stockwell nodded slowly, "For a being such as him, this world is just a game and he is just a player. He wishes for me to play with him for as long as possible. Just like with Lucifer, the unbound, pure intelligence with no humanity to restrain it, naturally generates an unstoppable pride. He wants to beat me down for his own gratification… yes… that has to be it… it must be… it's either that or he merely wishes to be entertained."
Vera's eyebrows furrowed. "...I'm not sure about your reasoning… Wesley. It sounds pretty far fetched, are you sure you're not over analyzing—"
"—Then what else am I supposed to think!?" Stockwell yelled. The wrath in his voice barely masked his despair. "I'm only thinking logically! What else could I have that someone like him could possibly want!?"
The only reply that came was his own question, echoed back at him by the soundless streets.
"—I…" Vera tried to say something but nothing came out. She dropped her head sadly. She was used to observing this kind of behavior. She understood that Stockwell was not actually mad at her, but it still hurt to see him like that.
Stockwell pinched his temples. "I'm Sorry…" He took a deep breath and organized his thoughts. "It's just… You've only been alive for ten minutes, you weren't there for the whole meeting. You never saw how he acted, how he talked. Every single one of his actions and words has hidden meaning behind it. Ainz Ooal Gown is someone far beyond playing with vague interpretations and accidents. There is no such thing as over analyzing when it comes to him."
Vera rode along in silence for quite some time after that. Even if Stockwell was a grown man, he was still only human and could only carry so much so quickly. She must've been heavy after all this time and their progress towards the house was slow.
She thought over everything that she knew. Of Ainz Ooal Gown, of Stockwell, of her grandfather, of everything she knew about the universe she lived and died in.
"But isn't that a bit cynical…? Treating the world as nothing but a game… doesn't that just make everything meaningless?"
Suddenly, Stockwell stopped in his tracks.
"Wesley?"
Stockwell retreated into his mind. No… no wait. That's just it.
Aamon's research flashed through his mind. The pieces suddenly fell into place. Impossibly powerful, alien beings. Aliens who possess esoteric knowledge from other universes, and who impulsively conquer the world.
"Player."
That was the word used to describe such entities in Aamon's research.
"Ainz Ooal Gown is a player." The words simply fell from Stockwell's mouth.
"A Player?" Vera questioned. "You mean… like the people in Aamon's research? Like the Greed Kings?"
Upon considering it for a moment, Vera too suddenly went still in realization that the description matched Ainz Ooal Gown perfectly.
"I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. Maybe the word isn't auto translated at all." Stockwell said. "A Player. A being that plays this world as though it were a game."
His tone was very dark, but he spoke in a manner that suggested he was completely lucid. He looked back to the Mayoral building at the peak of E-Rantel.
An eager grin plastered over his face.
In a single epiphany, everything had become much clearer.
"Players have been killed before."
They only continued on for a little while longer and eventually reached their residence.
…
They returned to see Baldo lounging around in the living quarters. He appeared to be reading a letter with a great amount of importance.
He stood when he saw the pair enter. "Wesley-san! I had heard that you had been summoned by the Sorcerer King so I came by-" His eyes grew wide when he saw Stockwell's condition. "You're healed! How did—"
"It's because apparently, the Sorcerer King is a merciful ruler."
Baldo noticed the strange conviction in Stockwell's eyes, and noticed the woman he was carrying. "...What happened?"
Stockwell ignored the man. He helped Vera down off his back. "Are you okay to walk by yourself?"
Vera nodded. "Yeah."
"Then why don't you go and find something to wear."
Vera stood shakily on her legs. "I was planning on it." She tentatively made her way to the bedroom.
He called out to her as she was heading up the stairs. "Are you hungry?"
"Starving."
"I'll prepare something then" He headed off into the dining area.
Baldo quickly followed after him. "W-Wait… Wesley-san. Your health, your attitude… that woman. Tell me what happened?"
"Isn't it obvious, Lauffray?" Stockwell began to tear through the cabinets in search of food. "The Sorcerer King, in all of his power and wisdom, healed me and brought Vera back to life. And now, Wesley Steel Works is in an agreement with the Sorcerer Kingdom and will be working diligently to create as much profit as possible."
He found a loaf of bread and began wolfing it down.
Baldo was at a loss. Stockwell's tone and demeanor was too hard to read. His reply seemed too simple and his change too drastic, and he knew of Stockwell's general personality too and knew that there must've been so much more to the story.
Baldo wanted to ask him more, but the sheer intensity at which Stockwell moved about the kitchen made him hesitant. He looked like a ravenous wolf in search of prey.
However, there was one thing in particular that Baldo fixated on that he just needed to ask. "The Sorcerer King… Can bring back the dead?"
"Of course he can." Stockwell voraciously gulped down a huge portion of bread. "He's so good at making things dead, it's only natural that he would be able to bring some back as well."
"...Right." Baldo trailed off."
"Why do you ask? You've got some late mother or lover you'd like to see again?"
"N-No, not at all." Baldo defensively shook his head. "-And hey! Don't you think you should slow down a bit? Your stomach won't be able to take it if you eat so quickly."
"Quiet Lauffray, I need energy. And I haven't eaten in three days, not three weeks. I'm not at risk of refeeding syndrome." Stockwell finished the bread and set his sights on a container of lamb stock.
He put some fresh wood in the oven and started to clear room for the lamb stock. He looked back out into the living area at the fireplace.
Baldo caught on to what he was thinking. "Oh, sorry. I think the coals are out. The neighbors probably have fire."
Stockwell shook his head in disappointment. "...I fucking hate the dark ages. All I need is a light for god's sake… fuck it, I'll just ask Vera to light it when she comes back down."
He moved on to some vegetables and began to cut them.
As Baldo watched him, the sight seemed a little surreal. Stockwell moved with unreal intensity, like he didn't want to waste a single moment.
Stockwell spoke in between mouthfuls as he chewed on the vegetables. "I'll be taking a leave from E-Rantel for a while. I want you to watch over the place while I'm gone. I know that you have business in this city and won't be leaving for some time."
"Leaving E-Rantel? But I thought you said that your company just entered an agreement with the Sorcerer King. Don't you need to be here to coordinate things?"
"Nonsense." Stockwell said. "Knowing the Ainz Ooal Gown, I trust he's already coordinated things. I expect to find a letter arriving in E-Pespel shortly. And besides, you know as well as I do that there won't be any activity in the domestic markets here whilst everyone is cowering in fear. It will still be a few months before things start to pick up and I'm actually needed here."
"B-But…" Baldo began to rack his brain. "All our other prominent colleagues have already fled the city and the rest of the smaller ones are fleeing as we speak. Surely the Sorcerer King will think you've done the same if you take leave so soon."
Stockwell shrugged. "Merchants like us with national businesses can't do our job if we're forced to stay in one city. If the Sorcerer King feels he wants something as benign as control over Re-Estize's steel production, he's going to have to let me do my job."
Vera came slowly down the stairs. She was wearing a modest set of clothing and a simple brown cloak. She glanced into the kitchen.
"What are you making? Do you need help?"
"Ahh, Vera. That was quick." Stockwell said. "For lunch, I'm just throwing everything we have in a pot with some lamb stock."
Vera suddenly grabbed her stomach. "...Lamb?"
Stockwell raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
"No it's just…" She tried to push away certain memories. "Sorry… just, I don't want anything to do with sheep, please. Too soon."
"Oh, I see…" Stockwell realized what she was getting at. "I think I saw some dried beef in the pantry, right Lauffray?"
"What? Oh, um yes. I think there was." Baldo replied.
"Then I think we can make something out of that, Vera." He turned to Baldo. "I'm sure you have other business to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer."
Baldo scratched his head. It seemed to him that Stockwell was in a hurry to get rid of him.
He eventually signed. "... I guess I'll be seeing you then, Wesley-san."
He made his way to the door. "I wish you well."
All Stockwell gave him was a small wave. And with that, Baldo left the two of them alone.
Vera helped Stockwell along as he hurried to make the meal. "You might want to slow down a bit."
"Now that we know it's possible, we need to go all out." Stockwell said.
Vera raised an eyebrow. "Like we haven't been going all out already?"
Stockwell nodded "All out.. We must be swift, and focused. Let's hurry and fuel up, catch you up on the current situation, clear the building of useful materials, and return to Moot."
…
They stopped their cart just outside of one of E-Rantel's main gates. There was a long line of horse drawn carts and wagons just ahead of them also trying to get out of the city.
Stockwell stood up at the reins and looked over the line of people ahead of him. He scowled and sat back down.
"It looks like they're stopping the carts. They're probably searching them."
"Is that a problem?"
"Not really." Stockwell grunted. "It's not like we have anything on us that would pique anyone's interest. Oh- look."
They craned their necks to see several carts turning away from the gate. "They're turning people back."
"Why?" Vera asked.
"Well, since normal citizens are being allowed to leave, those people were likely people of interest that, for some reason or another, the Sorcerer Kingdom didn't want leaving the city. It's probably political."
They waited as the line grew shorter. Eventually they got to the gate.
A hooded figure with a clipboard approached them.
Two points of light burned brightly with its eye sockets. An elder lich.
It spoke in monotone. "Name?"
"Oh? I didn't realize Ainz Ooal Gown was employing undead monsters as bureaucrats now." Stockwell quipped. "Actually, you know what, never mind, that sounds like a perfect job for your kind."
The elder lich ignored the comment. "Name?"
"Adolf Hitler."
The lich paused for a brief second as it viewed its clipboard. "You are lying."
"Oh well that's good news." Stockwell chuckled lightly.
The elder lich continued. "What is your name?"
"Jack Skellington."
"You are lying."
Vera saw the pair of death knights guarding the gate begin to shift. She quickly grabbed Stockwell's arm. "Wesley!" She spoke harshly into his ear. "What happened to 'swift and focused'?"
"I'm just fucking with it." Stockwell waved her off. "How many chances do you think one gets to mess with something that looks so much like Ainz Ooal Gown?"
The elder lich looked up from its clipboard. "You are Wesley Aamon."
"Ahhh, look what you did Vera. You went and spilled the beans." Stockwell lazily threw up his hands in an 'I surrender' fashion. "Congratulations skeletor, you got me."
The elder lich made a mark on its clipboard. "You are not allowed to leave."
Stockwell's sarcastic attitude instantly changed. "Excuse me?"
"Wesley Aamon and Vera Koshikn are not allowed to leave E-Rantel, as per the order of prime minister Albedo." The elder lich replied.
"Prime minister… Albedo?" Stockwell blinked, "the Sorcerer King has a unit of solar reflection working as prime minister?"
The elder lich ignored him. "You will now be searched."
Another elder lich and a pair of goblins appeared from the gate house. They made their way to the cart.
"Woah, hold on." Stockwell said. "I was just in a meeting with the Sorcerer King. I've been given clearance to leave."
The elder lich double checked its clipboard. "You are on the blacklist."
"Well the list is wrong!"
The goblins and the other elder lich began rummaging through the back of the cart. There was nothing magical or technological in there that would be considered contraband, but it was still a violation of basic privacy nonetheless.
"I'm just going on a business venture, not fleeing the city! Check your list again."
"The list is not wrong." The elder lich replied.
"This is madness!"
The people around them began to shift uncomfortably.
Stockwell looked around at them. "Oh come on. Are all of you just too scared to speak out against such obvious injustice!? Just because there's some animated bones watching you?"
Vera grabbed his arm and spoke harshly into his ear once more. "Wesley! Stop, you're making a scene."
Stockwell crossed his arms and let out a frustrated groan. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "This can't be right."
A voice appeared from behind them. "Is there an issue here?"
They heard relieved sighs rise from the people around them. Vera audibly shifted.
"What is it?" Stockwell turned around.
There was a black wall of metal approaching them.
"Momon-sama."
Stockwell squinted at Vera's words. "Momon-sama? Oh… I see."
The dark warrior approached the cart. His black armor glistened in the evening sun and his red cape fluttered brilliantly behind him. "If you have any issues you may talk to me, citizen."
Vera stood in her seat. "Momon-sama. It's me, remember? You saved us when Jaldabaoth attacked."
Momon paused for a second. "Yes, of course." He nodded grandly.
"And I'm sure you remember Wesley—"
"—You're the one keeping the law around here, right?" Stockwell interjected.
Vera tugged on his arm and whispered quietly. "I think it's smarter to play it cool here."
"Yes, that is one of my duties." Momon replied.
"Then tell this skeleton to let us pass. There's no reason for it to be keeping us here."
Momon went to the elder lich and the two began to discuss with each other. He returned moments later. "You're on the list. I'm afraid I can't intervene on your behalf in this matter."
"Hah?" Stockwell's eye twitched. "I've been given direct permission from the Sorcerer King to leave E-Rantel! You would dare stand against his direct orders?"
Momon raised his hand. "How do I know you're not just making that up?"
"Excuse me!?" Stockwell raised his voice. "You'd take an undead's word over that of your own species!?"
"That isn't relevant to the conversation at hand. I'm merely doing my duty to uphold the law. This elder lich has no reason to lie."
"So what?" Stockwell said. "For the sake of argument, let's say I was lying. Let's say I was trying to flee the city because I was fearful of the Sorcerer King and didn't want to be trapped in this city any longer. Would you not just do a simple favor for me, a fellow human being, and allow me to escape?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Momon replied calmly. "If I allow myself to do favors for people attempting to undermine the will of the Sorcerer King, then I will be breaking my agreement. And if I break my agreement with the Sorcerer King, then there is no telling what he might do to the innocent people of E-Rantel."
Several voices rose from the people around them listening in to the conversation.
"Shut it rich kid!"
"Momon-sama saved us!"
"Oh come on!" Stockwell stood and gestured aggressively to the onlookers. "'Undermine the will of the Sorcerer King'? I thought your sacred duty was to uphold the will of humanity!"
Momon simply gestured to the same people. "They seem to agree with me."
"Stop thinking you're better than Momon-sama!"
"Yeah, he's right!"
"Stop arguing with Momon-sama!"
"Move your cart out of the way already!"
Stockwell threw a glare over the growing crowd. "Quiet! All of you are only saying that because you're sheep! You cavemen would all sooner flock to the strongest man in the room and follow him off a cliff than do any critical thinking yourselves!"
Vera tugged hard on his arm. "Stop it, Wesley. This is going backfire. You're being—"
"What, I'm being rude, Vera? I'm being illogical?" Stockwell spread his arms wide to the crowd. "Don't you all just think it's a little too convenient that the Sorcerer King happened to find the perfect sheepdog for keeping you peons in line without even having to lift a finger? Isn't it just too much of a coincidence that it also happens to be the same man who let Jaldabaoth go free during the demonic disturbance too? And don't you think it's strange how all of these people just happened to show up in the Kingdom all within the same year? Come on you people, it's so obvious! You're all being played for fools!"
The crowd gave him a chorus of boos in response.
"Wesley!" Vera pulled him down back into the seat.
Stockwell scoffed and sat back down, crossing his arms. "...shows what they know."
Momon calmed the crowd with a motion of his hand.
He removed his helmet. Momon did not do this often and only reserved it for situations like this. It was that fact that he did it so little, that the action had so much gravity to it.
The crowd gasped and strained their necks to get a glance at the dark warrior's face.
Momon's features were not particularly fanciful and his expression was humble. "Are you finished assaulting my character? It does no one any good to sow seeds of doubt about each other's basic humanity."
"Hmph… Yeah, sure. Whatever you say Mr. Paragon." Stockwell said coldly.
Vera bowed deeply in her seat. "We're so very sorry Momon-sama. We all understand the sacrifices you must've made to keep us safe. But, just this once, can you please let us through?"
Stockwell spoke from the side of his mouth. "...don't apologize for the both of us."
Vera ignored him. "Wesley is just really stressed is all."
Momon gently put his helmet back on. "I understand, Vera-san. No offense has been taken. It's only natural that all of the undead guarding the city will put anyone on edge."
He turned to the crowd. "But you can have faith that I will do everything within my power to keep all of you safe."
Smiles and sounds of gratitude rose from the crowd, and slowly, people eventually began to disperse.
"Now then. Sorry to say, Vera-san, but my earlier judgment stands." Momon turned back to Stockwell, "I'm going to have to ask you to turn your cart back."
Stockwell grabbed the reins. "...Fine."
But as they were turning away, Momon suddenly stopped them.
"Wait."
"Huh? What is it now?"
Momon stood still for several seconds. His palm was held up to the side of his helmet where his ear would've been, as though he were talking on the phone with someone. He held that position for several seconds before continuing.
"Your name was Wesley Aamon, correct?"
Stockwell's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I guess that's what people call me. What of it?"
"My sincerest apologies then. It would seem that you have indeed been given permission to leave E-Rantel."
Stockwell let out a frustrated groan. "Oh great. Let me guess, it was a bureaucratic mix up in the upper echelons of the Sorcerer Kingdom. A mistake on prime minister Albedo's behalf, or maybe a certain demon's perhaps?"
Momon hesitated. "...Something like that."
Stockwell turned the cart back towards the gate. "I wonder how the Sorcerer King must feel, to have such incompetent subordinates compared to himself." He knew he was being unnecessarily insulting, but if he didn't vent his malcontent every once in a while, he would be sure to explode.
Momon froze up for a second. Unbeknownst to anyone watching, Stockwell's comment had struck a chord in the man behind the helmet.
Even if Momon had no respect for Stockwell's words and brushed his insults off harmlessly, this one insult in particular stung. This likely gave credence to the fact that it simply reminded Momon of how he truly felt.
Vera looked at Momon questioningly. "Are you alright?"
"What? Oh...yes. I'm fine."
Momon motioned to the elder lich at the gate to let them through. The lich obliged and the gate slowly opened.
Vera gave Momon a short bow as they passed. "Thank you, Momon-sama. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. No hard feelings right?" She grabbed Stockwell's arm. "Right?"
Stockwell sighed. "...sorry."
"Not at all." Momon waved them goodbye. "Gute Fahrt."
Vera had a puzzled look for a second.
"Tschüss." Stockwell replied automatically.
And with that, they left E-Rantel.
...
They rode down the path away from E-Rantel.
Vera frowned. "You know, Wesley. Momon is an influential figure. It would be smarter to play it cool with him, right? He also saved your life in the capital."
"Yeah yeah..." Stockwell waved Vera off. "The madman with a dagger charging into a sea of demons after someone totally out of his league. I've heard the story a thousand times."
Vera sighed. "You weren't serious back there, were you? About Momon being in league with the Sorcerer King?"
"What? Oh…" Stockwell rubbed his forehead. "Well, no, but not exactly… I was sort of just making it up as I went. I was angry, alright?"
Vera gave him a concerned expression. "Really? What got into you?"
"Christ, I don't know Vera. I can't seem to pinpoint any reason as to why I might lash out angrily sometimes," he said sarcastically.
"It couldn't possibly be the the twenty four hours of limping back to E-Rantel on a broken foot and arm, the three days of starving myself whilst undead monsters breathed down my neck, the almost two years now of struggling to fight off bull shit fantasy people with a popgun and poison gas, the way I was shanghaied away from my home and tortured for five months, the undeniable evidence that all our fates are just playthings in the hands of an unfeeling undead multi-dimensional necromancer who keeps a world ending demon emperor as a pet, or even the fact that I had to stare at the decaying and mutilated disembodied head of the one the few people I can trust in this world."
Vera went quiet.
Stockwell slumped forward at the reins. "But God forbid I be rude every once in a while…"
Vera looked him over. She mused earlier that day that E-Rantel had looked like it had aged so much more than the almost four days she had been dead.
But she then realized that the one who had aged the most was Stockwell. His hair was somehow even greyer than she remembered, and she swore that the stress lines on his face weren't that pronounced before Katze.
Perhaps she had taken Stockwell's indomitable stubbornness too much for granted. Her death must've shaken him more than she thought.
She tucked her legs in and spoke quietly. "...I'm sorry."
"No, no… It was never your fault." Stockwell passed his hand through his hair.
They rode on in silence for a long time after that.
The sun had just started to get near enough to the horizon behind them for the first shades of orange to appear in the sky. The bird song had long since stopped and crickets had started to chirp in anticipation for the coming night.
The sights and sounds of their beautiful world passed through her. Soon, the dead of winter would be upon them and the sky would be locked in a permanent gray overcast for many months.
"So then…" Vera eventually asked. "What's the plan?"
"What do you do when you reach the final boss of a game too early and get crushed?"
Vera cocked her head. The metaphor was lost on her.
"You return to the earlier levels and grind until you have the right items to challenge the boss again, Vera dear."