52. Queueing (Patreon)

The line stretched out of the Tower’s doors and coiled around its side, half-full of cheery families with stuffed-full daybags, luggage, and sugar-buzzed kids, half-full of grizzled climbers in scared armor, grimly clutching weapons and weighed down with over-full backpacks.

Rowan sighed. Right. I forgot it’s the weekend.

Joining the back of the line, Rowan, Ikara, and Kaidu hit the midpoint between the two. Rowan checked his bags once more, just to be sure. Kaidu stared into the middle distance, miles away from the hubbub. Ikara bounced around, somewhere between excited and on-edge.

“Where are you three going?” a pleasant voice asked from behind them.

Rowan turned.

A middle-aged lady with curly blonde hair beamed up at him, holding a bouncing pair of equally tow-headed children by the hand. “We’re on our way to the beach. It’s only one node-hop from here, super cheap!”

“Uh, we’re here to challenge the Tower,” Rowan replied.

“Right, right. That’s what Matt wants to do when he grows up, isn’t it?” She grinned down at her right-hand child. The child smiled back at her and nodded furiously.

Kaidu clicked his tongue and turned away.

“So where are you really going?” she asked conversationally.

“The… the Tower,” Rowan repeated.

“Oh, alright. Of course.” She winked.

What’s that for? I’m serious. Rowan twisted his lips, then turned away. Not really worth the fight.

“Second floor, actually. We’ve already beaten one floor,” Ikara butted in.

“Oh, wow!” the woman said, pretend-amazed, mouth open in an O.

“Ikara,” Rowan said quietly. He shook his head.

Ikara huffed and crossed her arms.

The line wound slowly around the Tower. Overhead, the sun beat down. Rowan fanned himself gently. Bored, he squinted at the sky. Lots of sun… hey, I bet my plants would love it! He held out his hand. Manifest!

The garden box thumped to the ground. One plant stood inside it.

Rowan frowned. One? There were definitely two last time. He leaned in, trying to identify which remained.

Slender, heart-shaped green leaves. Bulbous sprays of white flowers. Easily as tall as his hip, sprawling out of the box. Eh? It kind of looks like both. He narrowed his eyes. Plant Identification!

??? Unlock Rare Plant Identification to Identify.

Rowan blinked. Rare? Wasn’t it just Uncommon before?

“Huh? What happened to your other plant?” Ikara asked.

“I was just trying to figure that out,” Rowan muttered, circling the flower. It’s definitely not Hogweed anymore, but that little plant is gone, too. Or… he squinted. It’s almost like… the two plants fused together.

The plant shifted in the sun, swaying gently in a wind that didn’t exist.

“It’s so cute,” Ikara said.

Rowan held his hand over it. Watering Can.

“He’s making water? From his hand?” The little boy giggled. “Weird.”

“Look, kids! If you don’t work hard, you’ll end up with skills like that,” the mother warned her children quietly, but loudly enough to hear.

Kaidu glared fiercely over his shoulder. Rowan pressed his lips together, brows furrowed. His heart raced, aching in his chest. He closed his hand, cutting off the spell. It’s okay. It’s fine. I used to think that way, too. Don’t let it bother you.

“Hey! Shut up, you dumbass old lady. Just because you can’t beat the Tower with your shitty intellectual skills doesn’t mean we’re all shit, too!” Ikara burst, hands on her hips.

The woman covered her children’s ears, gathering them to her. She glared at Ikara. “Language!”

“A little language isn’t going to hurt them. What you said, on the other hand? Cover their ears when you spew that bullshit! What if they really start believing that? If they become support classes one day, what do you want them to do, roll over and give up?”

Rowan looked up at that and stared at Ikara’s back.

Dragging her children, the woman backed away. Once she was a dozen steps away, she whirled, grabbed them by the hands, and hurried away as fast as she could lead the kids.

“Yeah, that’s right. Go. Can’t handle the truth, huh?” Ikara called after her.

Rowan caught Kaidu’s stare and felt himself making the same wide-eyed expression. He giggled, then laughed out loud. Kaidu almost cracked a smile before he turned away, hiding his face.

“Damn, Ikara. Just… damn. Savage,” Rowan chuckled.

“Hmph. She deserved it,” Ikara replied, still glaring after the woman. She shook her head. “Dishes it out, but can’t take it, huh?”

Ahead, a gap stretched between them and the line. Rowan passed his hand over the garden box and de-materialized it. “Looks like the line’s moving. Let’s go.”

--

Sweaty and exhausted, Rowan finally reached the door and staggered through. Cold air blew down on them at the threshold, and then they stepped inside, into the icy interior of the Tower’s lobby. The line whittled down slowly.

“Node-hopping to the coast, stopover to Northton,” the receptionist intoned, adjusting her red-rimmed glasses. Her hands moved, red nails typing on the air, and she nodded. “Authorizations are in order. You are free to go.”

The couple ahead of them nodded and walked over to the far right wall. A door opened up in the smooth white, and they stepped through into pure white light.

“Next.” The receptionist looked over her glasses and raised a meticulously plucked brow. “You?”

“Us,” Rowan replied. “Second floor.”

“Didn’t learn your lesson after almost dying on the first?” the receptionist asked dryly. Even as she spoke, her fingers danced across the air.

“’Fraid not,” Rowan shrugged, subconsciously rubbing his palm across the scar on his stomach.

The receptionist shrugged. “Your heads on the line.” She peered at Ikara and thrust a nail at her. “That one want to join your party?”

“Yes please!” Ikara said.

“I need confirmation from party leader,” the receptionist replied, tapping away.

“Confirmed.”

The receptionist nodded. A door opened on the far left wall. “You’re in luck. A new round starts in a few hours. Enter the queue.”

“Another line?” Ikara muttered.

Kaidu strode forward, ignoring her.

“Wait! Wait.” Rowan grabbed Ikara’s hand and ran after Kaidu. He grabbed Kaidu’s hand as well.

Kaidu started to pull away, but Rowan gripped tighter. “You remember what happened with Jude. I don’t want us to get separated again.”

“That doesn’t usually happen in Scenarios,” Kaidu muttered.

“Usually. Just in case, okay?” Rowan said.

Kaidu pressed his lips together and turned away.

Taking it for an okay, Rowan led the way into the light.