The Bathrobe Knight: Volume 3 by Charles Dean Read Free Book Online

races. There were so many options, but he felt like most of them were just silly. How could someone pick a simple human or an animal hybrid when other races had so much more to offer? Like the White-Wings, for example, some races granted the ability to fly. What was more exciting than that? It was a dream many men had held onto their entire lives made as real as morning dew the instant you entered the game. There were also the Fire-, Earth-, and Ice-Walkers turning everyone’s favorite cartoon dreams into a reality as they could grasp and bend the very elements to their will. So why, with all of these options available, did people insist on picking furries? Was being a cute panda, kitten or dog really worth giving up the fantastical powers that the other races had to offer?
    “This place gives me the creeps,” the Jotunn said, taking a large sniff. “My eyes see the pets, but my nose doesn’t smell the usual aroma that goes with a house full of them.”
    “That’s what bothers you about this?” Ashish laughed. His second-in-command had always found the strangest things unsettling. Ashish would grumble about the uneven terrain upsetting their guild’s formations, or the flyers always hovering just out of their spells’ range, but not Linzmeier. No, he was the type to get frustrated with the appearance of wolves in an area that didn’t have deer or other large game, and he had been known to complain that the architecture in Jotunnheim was bothersome since none of the NPCs had the toolset to produce it.
    “Of course. If something doesn’t add up, that’s exactly when you should be unsettled,” the Jotunn said in a matter-of-fact way. “If things don’t add up, it’s because someone somewhere is messing with you. How could that not bother you?”
    “Why would anyone be messing with me? We’re just here to get a mission,” Ashish replied, brushing off Linzmeier’s concern. “There is no-one in here trying to trick us or anything. There’s just a bunch of NPCs, one of whom has the holy grail of quests.”
    “Holy only because no one has completed it yet.” The dour vibes radiating from Linzmeier’s gigantic frown permeated the atmosphere, infectiously making even Ashish momentarily doubt himself. “This whole thing bothers me. Something is wrong.”
    “You worry too much. It’s not that complicated. There is just a random NPC tucked away inside this bar that only talks to guild leaders and gives out a hidden quest that you can’t share.” Ashish realized exactly how odd it sounded as the words stumbled out of his mouth. “Okay, so maybe something is a little off, but don’t you want to be the first group to actually complete the quest?”
    “Four mutts, no smell. Two cats, no smell. Something isn’t right here. That’s all I’m saying. Even the way they move, talk and act isn’t right. It’s like this whole place isn’t real,” Linzmeier said, maintaining his doubts. Ashish had tried many times to convince his big friend to just go along with things, but, until everything ‘added up,’ Linzmeier’s attitude wouldn’t ever budge. He’d follow the guild even if he disagreed with a course of action, but he wouldn’t be happy about it.
    “It very well might not be real. This is a game, after all. Maybe the reason this quest is so hard to find and isn’t shareable is simply because the developers tried to write it out of the game,” Ashish offered. He knew that the best Easter eggs were often the pieces of dust a game designer forgot to sweep back under the rug before launch. “But either way, Xeal and Waseem both said that this place had a quest with the best reward a player could ask for, and so far, everything has matched up with what they told us about the place.”
    “Maybe.” Linzmeier’s frown faded, barely, but his eyes showed that his uneasiness remained. “Let’s just get this quest and get it over with.”
    “Is that really the attitude that two young adventurers should