Somnium Online

Rise and Shine

"Rise and shine" Anne whispered.

Eric snapped awake and immediately tried to scrambled backwards hitting his head on the tree he had been sleeping against.

Anne was crouched on top of him, her hair tousled from sleep.

Eric rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned. "What happened last night?" He wondered aloud.

"Oh!" Anne grinned maniacally. "Did you forget?"

Eric was suddenly very nervous. "Anne..." He said cautiously. "What exactly did you do to me."

Anne stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Well, let's see, I rested my head on your shoulder, but you fell asleep."

Eric nodded. "Good, and what happened after that?"

Anne smiled. "You slept with me!"

"d-dont say it like that!" Eric stammered.

Anne was thouroughly enjoying this. "Well, technically next to each other."

Eric relaxed a bit. "However..." Anne continued. "There's no need for me to elaborate on the difference when I tell Abby."

Eric had a brief vision of Abby mocking him for all eternity.

Eric's eyes widened in fear. "Please don't do that."
"Aww, you're so cute when your face gets all red." Anne remarked.

"It's too early for this. I'm going back to sleep." Eric grumbled.

"I'll join you!" Anne cheered as she tackled him.

Reagan suddenly walked into the clearing.

"Hey, I was sent to tell you that it's time to..." her voice trailed off as her face turned red with embarrassment. "I'll just come back later." She squeaked.

"No! Please!" Eric shouted desperately. "It's not what it looks like!"

Reagan started to leave. Eric fought desperately to free himself but to no avail.

"Please!" He called "Don't leave me with this madwoman!"

Anne covered her mouth to contain her laughter. "Good luck explaining this one!"

She got up and donned her armour. After slinging her sword across her back and smoothing out her hair she looked like a stunning, if admittedly a bit sleepy, warrior princess.

Eric sighed with resignation. "Why me?" He asked the sky. The sky ignored him.

Eric put on his armour and buckled on his sword.

After wiping the last traces of sleep from his face and double checking his gear he rejoined the rest of the party.

They set off after a short breakfast. And by midday they reached the base of the mountains.

"We have reached the base of the Aurelian mountains." Jorvik announced. "Make sure teh keep yer eyes peeled for bandits and whatnot. They'll ambush anyone they think they can catch."

Eric was currently sitting with another member of the BA.
"That should mean we're safe, right?" He asked.

The Axe stroked his beard pensively. "Normally yes, but if they're desperate Bandits will even attack well armed groups like ours. And then there's Wyverns. Run into one of those and all bets are off."

Eric shivered. Even if they were well armed and experienced veterans, there were no guarantees out here.

They climbed farther into the mountains, the horses plodding along steadily despite the difficult terrain.