Somnium Online

Elizabeth

The coffee shop was a small one. The kind you see in the lobby of a fancy hotel. Despite its limited size, the line was out the door.

At a table, two young women sipped their espresso and made eyes at the young barista behind the counter.

"Oh, my, gosh, isn't that guy so cute? Look at him, Ashley!" One of the women said, taking another sip of her mocha.

Ashley giggled and scrolled through her phone. "Yeah, but aren't you more into models and rich guys, Haley?"

Haley put her drink back down, savoring the perfect flavor. "I don't even care. He's the one for me."

They both stared longingly at the counter.

"We are talking about the same guy right?" Haley asked cautiously.

"Yeah, the one on the right, right?" Ashley replied breezily.

Haley stood abruptly. "Absolutely not! The one on the left is clearly way hotter."

Ashley stood as well. "You're obviously going blind, the one on the right is far superior, and his coffee is better too."

"Hey, if you two are done making eyes at the guys behind the counter could you please leave? The line for your table is out the door."

The two women looked up to see a blonde woman in a waitress uniform matching the ones of the guys behind the counter.

They hurriedly packed up their things and left, clearly embarrassed.

The woman cleaned the table with an expert flourish and returns to the counter.

"Thanks for the assist, Sasha." The guy on the left says cheerfully. At 6 foot 3, he cuts a large figure next to his younger coworker. His dark hair and handsome looks would make him an easy hire for any coffee shop, but the aroma from the coffee he brews is what got him his job.

The blonde woman looks up from her work "someone has to keep an eye on the customers Lucius." She said, before disappearing into the crowd, carrying trays full of drinks.

"Hey, thanks for getting me this job Lucius," Eric said, pouring another order of coffee.

"Don't mention it. I figured if your skills online matched your skills offline, then you might be worth a shot, and it looks like I was right." Lucius grinned at the gigantic line.

Eric laughed and turned to start another round of drinks.

Lucius lowered his voice. "They say the attack is going to be next week. Do you think you can finish your training by then?"

"No clue, the program is supposed to end soon, but there's no telling where I'll be deployed," Eric replied.

"Oi, stay focused you, slackers!" Sasha called over the noise from the crowd.

"Kind of a crazy coincidence that I work near your new school," Lucius remarked.

"Yeah, it sure is convenient. But I'm not complaining." Eric answered happily. "So what brought you here of all places?"

Lucius smiles "I tour the world, working at coffee shops wherever I end up."

"Really?!" Eric exclaimed.

"Yeah, and Sasha here tags along," Lucius replied with a wink. "You know, once you graduate you could join us. You've got the skills."

"I'd like that..." Eric said wistfully. He quickly snapped back to the present.
"Oh, right, isn't the official release of Somnium coming up soon?

"Yeah, but since you switched timezones they've had to do all sorts of maintenance." Lucius joked.

"Dealing with all the new players is going to be a nightmare for the kingdom." Eric already knew who that job would fall to.