The World Which Is

Chapter 36

It's two days before the ferry leaves. During that time, I'm kind of stuck in the club.

With Xander set on taking the journal, Brandon doesn't want me roaming outside unescorted, and he can't do it. He has to get supplies for the trip, he needs to let some folks know he's going to be out of town, and see to it we have a spot on the ferry.

I've already gotten everything I'll need, so it's not like I have a reason to go out, short of exploring the city, and I can't say I care to do that all that much.

I spend some of the time going over the maps in the journal, and even come across one with 'The Knox' marked on it. It's south of Indianapolis, which is southwest of Toronto, according to one map of the east side of what used to be the United States. It was large enough to need two maps, each the size of a journal page folded over four times. There aren't a lot of points marked on either of them, so I figure Aaron just marked the largest cities, and then he made more detailed maps of the areas he visited.

Or maybe those two he got from someone else. The city names are written in blockier letters than Aaron's handwriting. I guess it makes sense he'd buy maps from others. He can't have traveled the entire continent.

Maybe there's some way to make duplicates. I do get an auto-mapping ability once I reach level 26, so maybe that and a high enough drawing skill does it?

I rearrange the maps based on the major cities on them. I have no idea how Aaron used to find anything in them the way they were shuffled.

I also introduce myself to some of the others in the club, which garners me chuckles and odd looks. I get the feeling that's not something they do, but I'm not going to be the one acting like I'm better than anyone here.

And this way I can make sure I'm known as Dennis, instead of Aaron's son. Just Dennis, I tell them, and figure they can decide why I don't want Aaron's surname associated to me on their own.

The team of non-humans is led by the orc, Wilfred. The bear like woman, she's a Bogbear, is quick to warn me to never call him Will. She's Renata. The scaled man is Patch, his species is Karlical, which I've never heard of, but considering how long that list is, doesn't surprise me. All he'll tell me about himself, is that he's from South America. There's a fourth one with them that morning, and even mentally I fight not to describe him with the animal he resembled, until he tells me he's a rat. Ratican, he specifies, but so long as he's not the butt of a joke, he doesn't mind being referred to as a rat. He's Maurice.

He's a researcher, I find out, when I ask if any of them have the explorer class. Wilfred and Renata are the bruisers and Patch is their security. None of those are classes, I figure, but I don't inquire further.

The older folks are colder toward me, and I can't tell if it's because of my age or the exchange with Xander. None of them are outright rude, but I'm definitely left with a 'they'd rather I not be here' sense.

Marygold is the friendliest of everyone here, which I figure she has no choice, seeing how she had to deal with all of them.

* * * * *

"Tell me you have space in your inventory," Brandon says when he returns a little before lunchtime.

"I do." I immediately shove the map I was studying in the journal as a large pack appears in his hand and he drops it on the table. "What's that?"

"Camping equipment. You're going to need your own."

"Aren't we traveling with a caravan?"

"Why do you think you wouldn't need your own tent even then?"

"Maybe...I have my own?" God, do I sound lame. How did I not think to get a tent?

"No, you don't. Even if you hadn't implied you think you don't need it with a caravan, you came here on Chuck's. And for as horrible as the stories are about him, they all agree that his caravan's one of the best one to travel with. I'll bet that one of them offered you a tent and made it seem like they weren't even put out by having to sleep under the stars."