From Real to Realm

Bathing together turned out to be more romantic than erotic. Val originally assumed being together nude within the bath would lead to more, but it never did. Instead, together they worked to clean each other off. Even Val was surprised she didn’t linger when she touched Lynesia. Of course, a few kisses were shared, but nothing beyond that.

Now they were standing in the bedroom together, both with a towel wrapped around them. Val was finally completely soft as well.

“Do you need me to give you a minute to get dressed?” she asked Lynesia, earnestly.

Lynesia giggled. “Really? After what we just did? I don’t feel the need to hide myself from you anymore, Val.”

Val’s chest warmed at such affirmation. “I feel the same way, but should we still wear something to bed?”

Lynesia thought for a moment, then dropped her towel. Once more, Val was able to drink in the sight of her love.

“I think we can sleep nude. As long as you keep yourself under control,” she said, slipping into bed.

Val shrugged. “This thing has a mind of its own. I can only control it so much.”

She dropped her towel as well. A smirk spread as she saw where Lynesia’s eyes locked to. She didn’t waste time sliding into bed, though. As soon as she was comfortable, Lynesia cuddled up to her side, resting her head on Val’s shoulder. Val noticed a subtle smile that refused to leave Lynesia’s face.

“Happy?”

Lynesia nodded softly. “More than ever.”

It didn’t take long for both of them to fall asleep after that. Luckily, Val didn’t experience another nightmare that night.

Instead, her eyes slowly fluttered open to the light pouring through the gaps in her curtains. Her mind was still foggy from the sleep as she tried to orient herself. The warmth of another person was still pressed to her side. There was a tent being pitched as well, something she’d come to expect most mornings. Then it all came flooding back to her. Last night wasn’t just any night; it was the most perfect one. She turned to look down at Lynesia, cuddled up close and still sleeping soundly. A smile spread across her face at the sight of her beautiful girlfriend sleeping soundly.

“Perfect.”

It was still early, but Val had things she needed to do today. Finding Amarisse was at the top of the list. Val had a new set of gear now and a renewed desire to keep fighting. Amarisse seemed like she was waiting to see what would become of the party. Now that Val was ready to keep going, it was time to sit down with Amarisse.

A sudden yawn from Lynesia brought Val back to the moment at hand.

“Morning,” she said, pushing some hair out of Lynesia’s face.

Lynesia smiled, grabbing Val’s hand and kissing it. “Morning.” Then she sighed. “Really? Even after last night?”

She was looking down at the tent underneath the sheets. Without any clothes on, there was no way Val could hide it.

“I told you, I can’t help it. Thing has a mind of its own.”

Lynesia looked up at Val. “Uh-huh. Well, I’m not taking care of that.”

Without another word, she slipped out from beneath the covers. Val scooted up the bed, leaning against the headboard as Lynesia stood and stretched.

“You have such a nice ass, you know that?”

Lynesia playfully glared at Val before walking over to her bags. Instead of bending over, she crouched to rummage through her belongings. After a handful of seconds, she stood with a change of clothes in hand.

As she started putting on her bra, she turned to Val. “What do you have planned for the day?”

Val threw the covers off and then slid out of bed. “I need to talk to Amarisse.”

Lynesia paused for a second, her smile faltering. “What about?”

Val started getting dressed as well. “About her plans. Our plans.”

Lynesia pulled her pants up, buckling the front. Val could tell she had something she wanted to say. For whatever reason, though, she wasn’t saying anything.

“What’s wrong?”

Lynesia froze, squeezing the shirt in her hands. “Are… are you going back?”

Val tilted her head. “Back where?”

This time, Lynesia huffed, turning toward her. “You know where I’m talking about! The dungeon, the guild, all of it.”

Val exhaled. Her eyes scanned the floor before she finally met Lynesia’s gaze. “Probably.”

Lynesia had her shirt on now, just missing her boots. Without a word, she closed the distance before embracing Val tightly. “I…” She looked up into Val’s eyes. “Just promise you’ll be careful. Last night… everything… it means so much to me. I don’t want to lose you now that I’ve finally got you.”

Val wrapped her arms around Lynesia. “I promise to be careful, Lyn.” She leaned down, kissing her girlfriend. “I don’t want to lose what we have either.”

Lynesia seemed to accept Val’s words. At the very least, she didn’t continue to press about it. Both of them continued to finish getting dressed for the day in silence.

Just as Val was about to leave, Lynesia snapped her fingers. “That reminds me. Marxus has a single bedroom we could move into? It’s cheaper and we don’t need a second room anymore.”

Val thought for a second. “True. Plus, after last night, we really don’t need a second room.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Lynesia slapped Val on the shoulder. “Marxus said we can stay in this room for the remainder of the week, free of charge. The single bedroom is four marks per week instead. He’s saving the room for us.”

“Awesome,” Val said, leaning against the wall. “That saves me some headache of finding new lodging. I can afford a place for both of us so long as I keep taking quests and finding things within the dungeon.”

Lynesia opened her mouth, then closed it. After a second, she finally said what she was thinking. “You don’t have a party, though. You can’t expect me to be okay with it being just you and Amarisse?”

Val shook her head. “Relax. It’s not going to be just us two. Instead, we’re applying as position fillers. We’re both still low-level, so we need experience, and we can fill in on other groups. It means a lot of switching between other people, but maybe we’ll get lucky enough to find others looking to group up.”

Lynesia walked through the door, continuing the conversation. “Isn’t that still a little risky? There’d be no real chemistry between you, right?”

Val walked into the hallway, closing and locking the door behind her. “That’s probably true. But I’m sure the groups and guild will account for that. We hopefully won’t be put into situations that could be enough of a strain for that to become an issue.”

Lynesia didn’t say anything else as they walked down the hall. When they stepped off the bottom of the stairs, Marxus looked up from his book.

“Morning.”

“Morning, Marxus.” Lynesia gave a smile and a wave. “I talked to Val, and she said she’d love to switch to that single bedroom after this week.”

He nodded. “Alright, I’ll make sure to save yer key then. Enjoy the two-bedroom for now.”

“Thanks, Marxus. I appreciate it more than you know,” Val said, nodding her head toward him.

Marxus chuckled. “Don’t mention it, lass.”

With that handled, the two of them walked out into the warm morning sun. The street wasn’t particularly busy just yet, but people were starting to fill it.

“I’m going to head home,” Lynesia said, grabbing Val’s hand. “I need to pack some things now that I’m moving in with you.”

Val raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to move in with me? You sure?”

Lynesia smiled. “Of course. We’re together now, so why wouldn’t I? You’re also still struggling with what happened. I don’t want to leave you alone when I could be there for you.”

Val pulled Lynesia close, then kissed her. “Thank you. I’ll see you later when I come home, yeah?”

Lynesia nodded. “Of course. Be safe, okay?”

With that, the two reluctantly let go of each other. Lynesia started walking toward home while Val turned toward the guild. If she were lucky enough, she’d run into Amarisse there. On the off chance she wasn’t there, Val had her address now. Their next steps were important.

With the streets getting a bit busier, it took Val a little longer to reach the guild. When she did, she gave a quick flash of her badge and walked through the gate. To her surprise, nothing had come from the altercations with the gate guards. Even now, they paid her little attention. Either they forgot about her, or they just didn’t care to pursue something trivial like a grudge. Val took a deep, calming breath, then started heading for the training yards around back.

Val would’ve made it there briskly if it weren’t for someone suddenly crashing into her side. It was so sudden that Val almost fell over, just barely catching herself. They had wrapped their arms around her waist, squeezing like they were afraid to let go. When she looked down, she saw bright green hair. It took a few seconds before it dawned on her who this was.

“We heard you were out for a while there, Val,” Cyrus said, approaching from behind.

Dolf and Zennia were with him. Irina was the one currently hugging Val for dear life.

“Hey guys,” Val said, gently rubbing Irina’s back.

Irina looked up, teary-eyed. “Really? Just ‘hey guys’? After what we heard, we didn’t know if you were even alive. It wasn’t until yesterday that we found out!”

Val sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “I didn’t know you guys were following so closely.”

Dolf grumbled, arms crossed as usual. “We told you we’d check in on ya. We meant it.”

While Dolf looked like he wanted to tear into Val, Cyrus and Zennia’s expressions were softer.

“We do care about your health, Valnarei,” Zennia said, walking forward to pry Irina away. “Some more than others, but we all care. We took you under our wings so you could grow strong.”

Dolf nodded, but just grumbled more.

“Exactly,” Cyrus said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’ve already heard the gist of what happened.” He pulled Val into a massive hug. “We’re sorry we couldn’t be there to help you.”

Val smiled, hugging him back. It was hard to imagine where she’d be right now without such a support structure. Lynesia had done so much for Val outside of adventuring. Cyrus’ group had picked up the slack in that department.

Cyrus finally released Val, stepping back to give her room.

“I appreciate it, but I’m doing okay. I’ve got someone very close who has helped me out more than I could’ve ever hoped for.” Val smiled. “As for not being there, none of you could’ve known what was waiting for us down there.”

Dolf huffed. “True, but we still regret not being able to help.”

Val nodded. “I get it. Right now, my party is disbanded, though. So I’m trying to find my other party member so we can discuss what to do.”

Irina stepped forward. “We heard that four of you survived, though. Why are there only two of you having a discussion?”

Val nodded. “Four of us did survive.” She then sighed. “One is still in rough shape, and the other one has stepped back from adventuring. She’s lost her edge, jumping at the slightest touch or loud noise. I don’t think she’ll ever recover.”

“Oh.”

Cyrus squeezed Irina’s shoulder. “It’s understandable that Val’s party might struggle after what happened.” He then looked to Val. “So what is your plan?”

Val raised an eyebrow. “Well, originally I was thinking about quitting too.” She raised her hands to stop Irina from speaking. “But after talking with my family and Lynesia, I’m not giving up.”

“So what’s your plan?” Cyrus asked again.

This time, Val didn’t reply immediately. She took a moment to truly consider what he was asking. This wasn’t something as simple as her next step. Cyrus was asking beyond that.

After a moment, she met his gaze. “I want to fuck the dungeon up for what it put me and my friends through.”

It felt like the right answer. It might have sounded a bit foolish and heavy-handed, but she continued.

“But first, I need to train. I need experience and practice before I can do this right. I thought I could handle it after what little I went through with you guys. I know now that I was wrong.” She balled up her fists. “Maybe if I had taken more time, Elza wouldn’t have died. Maybe things wouldn’t have changed, I don’t know. So, I’ll do what makes the most sense. I’ll train, tag along with larger groups, learn the dungeon, and hopefully come out of the other side a stronger fighter and better adventurer.”

Each of them smiled.

“Good,” Dolf said, finally uncrossing his arms. “Then you’re going to need a party eventually. So, in the meantime, we’ll start asking around, see what kind of low levels might be looking.”

Cyrus grinned. “Good idea. Let’s us vet them too, see if they’re worth the time or not.”

Val rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to do any of that for me.”

Irina looked to Cyrus. “I wish we could just let Val join us.”

Zennia sighed. “I agree, but we all know she can’t. Our levels are too high; the guild would surely step in.”

Val cut in. “Plus, I wouldn’t want to drag any of you down. I couldn’t go with you to anything past the first or maybe second floor, max.” Val said, sighing. “Going down with you would be the perfect way to train. Then again, I would prefer being with people at my level so we could grow together.”

Cyrus nodded. “That’s the right mindset. We will still keep our eyes open for anyone with potential. For now, why don’t you check in with Stormveil? See if they might have some delves you can fill in on?”

Val tilted her head. “Stormveil? Is that another one of those chapters I’ve heard about before? Like Crimson Hollow?”

He nodded. “Exactly. Stormveil is one of the elites, top three usually.”

Irina cut in. “We’ve dealt with them before. They thrive on precision. Usually, if there’s a delve that involves multiple parties, Stormveil is the one coordinating everything.” She tapped her chin. “If you’d rather not wander through the guild asking every random party if they need help, then Stormveil is the best choice.”

“Where do I find them?” Val asked, looking around.

Cyrus motioned over his shoulder. “Inside the guild. They’re in one of the side wings. Elite chapters get their own chapter halls provided by the guild. Some opt for one within the guild, while others request their own unique locations.”

Val remembered chapters being mentioned here and there. However, she’d never thought to dig deeply into how many there were or who they were. Not to mention where they were.

“Should I consider joining one?” She asked openly for anyone to answer.

Dolf shook his head. “You’re still too low a level for any of them to consider you. For now, you can interact with them. If one sees potential in you, they might make an offer.”

“That is quite rare, though,” Zennia said. “It usually means the chapter is willing to back you with gear and supplies, but you really need to catch their attention.”

Val nodded slowly. “Alright, so after talking to my other party member, we’ll make our way to Stormveil’s main hall.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Cyrus said, giving her a thumbs-up. “If we hear anything about potential new members for you, we’ll try to let you know, yeah?”

Val sighed, realizing she wasn’t going to change their mind. “If you really want to, then yeah, that works.”

“Go and have that talk with your friend,” Zennia said, tugging on Cyrus’ armor. “We have a delve planned anyway, so we’d best get going.”

Val smiled. “Alright, good luck and be careful. Thanks again for checking up on me.”

Cyrus, Irina, and Zennia all turned and started walking. Dolf stood there for a moment longer, his gaze stern.

“Be careful, be smart, be deadly.”

Then, without another word, he turned and started following his party.

Val stood there for a moment longer, absorbing what Dolf had said. She watched as their party walked through the courtyard, talking amongst themselves. When they finally walked through the front gate, she turned to head towards the training yard.

As soon as she turned the corner, her eyes locked onto Amarisse. It was hard to miss her, considering she was the only bunny beast-kin within the training yard right now. She looked exhausted, face already covered with sweat, hands and feet already covered with dirt.

What time did she get here?

“Amarisse!” Val called out to her as she approached.

Amarisse stopped what she was doing. “Val? What’re you doing here?” Her face fell. “Don’t tell me… are you quitting too?”

Val waved her hands. “No! No, I’m not doing that. I wanted to talk to you. About what we should do going forward?”

Amarisse visibly sagged in relief. “You had me worried for a moment there. You weren’t training, and I could tell what happened was weighing on you.”

She walked away from the dummy she’d been abusing. Val followed her over to a nearby table where they both sat. Amarisse’s wooden shield and sword were beaten up.

“Have you been coming here every day?” Val asked, looking at Amarisse’s rough hands.

Amarisse flexed her fingers, looking them over. “Yeah. I’ve been training a lot, trying to get stronger, but no matter how hard I try, I won’t level up or anything.” She sighed, slumping in her chair. “I need to get stronger…”

Val reached across and grabbed Amarisse’s hand. “I get where you’re coming from. I’m kinda pissed I couldn’t do more either.” She squeezed her hand. “But now we can discuss what to do going forward.”

Amarisse slid back up straight in her chair. “What did you have in mind? We don’t have a party anymore.”

Val nodded. “That’s true, but I’ve heard from a reliable source that there’s a chapter specializing in filling slots.”

Amarisse immediately shook her head. “Absolutely not. I don’t want some chapter inserting people into our party.”

“No one’s being inserted into our party,” Val said, leaning forward. “We can offer to fill in slots with other teams until we’ve filled our party. It lets us get stronger, and if we’re lucky, we might find other people we get along with. It’s a win-win in my opinion.”

The look on Amarisse’s face screamed doubt. Val couldn’t blame her; joining random groups was a risk all in itself. Cyrus’ group seemed confident Stormveil could slot them in the right spot, though. If a chapter so dependent on precision slotted them somewhere, surely it would be a good fit.

“Alright, wouldn’t hurt to check it out, I guess,” Amarisse finally said.

“Awesome,” Val said, standing up. “Let me go put on my gear, meet me at the front doors in half an hour, then we’ll go find their hall.”

Amarisse only nodded in response. Val quickly turned, heading for the front gate. It was time for Val to finally step into chapter territory. Who knows, maybe she’d want to join one later on?

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