Beers and Beards

Back upstairs I was surprised to see that Rumbob and Whistlemop had been replaced at the table by a few other faces I recognized.

“Val! Berry! Joseph! Um, Lord Yi.” I gave a cheery wave and then a cautious bow.

“Master made it!” Mirelda said with joy, reaching out to fill his glass back up to full from a bottle of Soju.

I winced, watching the soju rapidly disappear. “Is that from my personal – of course it is.”

Mirelda grinned. “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is –”

“Your Master’s, how could I forget,” I grumbled pulling up a chair and joining the group.

“This… space of yours is very interesting, Peter.” Yi said, looking around. “The chi in it is quite strong and… new? It’s an odd feeling, like a child’s chi, and yet it is the land itself.”

“It was just created by the Gods in the past year, Master,” Mirelda explained.

“That could be it.” Yi nodded. “And this Inn is as grand as any pagoda in Murim. It makes me want to have a good old fashioned duel while jumping between the levels. Ah, those were the days.” He sighed contentedly as he drank his soju. “My apprentice was just telling us of your adventurers in South Erden.”

“Not everything, I hope.” I smirked. Mirelda’s ears turned red and she hit me in the shoulder.

“Gods, you two are worse than me an’ Jo.” Berry rolled her eyes.

I crooked an eyebrow at her in disagreement. “Oh really? Do you know what rumours I was hearing about you two from Val?”

“No. What!? What rumours??”

Val whistled a little tune and tried to hide behind Yi as Berry turned an angry glare his way.

I grinned maliciously. “There was a bit about a hot-tub, and some chocolate, and –”

“Anyways!” Joseph coughed, his face betraying not a single emotion other than smooth contentment. “We were talking about how everyone’s influence quests are doing. See if we can guess who’s going to win.”

I gave a wary look at Yi. “Does… it matter? I mean does anyone here really care?”

Yi snorted. “I’ve never even looked. I don’t care, and dislike being reminded that the Gods are watching my every move.”

“He’s just mad that he’s losing.” Val tittered.

“I’m not losing, I just refuse to play the game.” Yi ground out.

“I’m at level eight for gnomes, level seven for dwarves, and level five for everyone else except for dragons,” Berry chirped. “I think I have a good shot.”

Mirelda sighed. “I haven’t gotten an update on my quests in a while, so I’m clearly not in the running. But Pete, you’ve been doing well, haven’t you?”

I pulled up my quests and status sheet with a snap of my finger and considered them. “Hmmm…