Free The Bathrobe Knight by Charles Dean, Joshua Swayne Page B

scarred for life after that slip yesterday.  
    When she opened the door to the tavern, though, all the anger she was building up at him for still having a Bathrobe on faded away. He was staring blankly at the empty plate in front of him with a face that somehow reminded him of her dad’s when he first heard that her mom had died.
    “Did you get any sleep last night?” she said, taking the seat opposite him.
    “No, I found out that I can’t sleep,” he said, not really making eye contact with her.
    “I know what you mean. If we hadn’t stayed up so late, I wouldn’t have even fallen asleep.”
    I don’t know what he means, she thought, his face telling her that she was so far away from saying the right thing that she might as well have been speaking a different language.
    “So, about the quest. I figured I would wait on you to turn it in,” he said, changing the subject as quickly as he could. Something is definitely wrong with this guy. A part of Kass really wanted to help him out, but she had learned enough about leaving people alone with their problems in the past. She thought about her mother’s death again.  
    “Yeah, let’s go get that done. By the way, do you want to go shopping afterwards? I just got a ton of money from selling all those Axes we looted yesterday.”
    “Maybe. I didn’t see anything but Staves and Arrows in the Blacksmith’s shop. One of those Staves might be an upgrade for you?”
    “Oh, heavens, no. Those things might as well be used as door stops or furniture props for all the use they would be to a Mage. We have to get our weapons from the enchantment or magic shops or they won’t do anything for our spells. Don’t you know anything about items?”
    “No, not really. If we’re going, let me pay up first.” Darwin said as he got up and went to the Bartender. As soon as he got up, Kass noticed that underneath the plate there was a piece of paper hidden with only its edges sticking out. Secret! She looked over at Darwin chatting in an overly friendly manner with the Bartender and decided it was safe to sneak a peek at the paper.
                                Race: Unknown              **No Red-Eyed man before me.
                                Class: Unknown
                                Locked: Attributes, Sleep, Log out, Class Promotion
                                Respawning?
    I was able to party with Kass but Kass is a PC human. According to what I’ve discovered the party system currently prevents humans from partying with other races. Of the other races White-Horns, Black-Wings have been seen to party with each other.
    PCs don’t require food. NPCs require food. I require food. PCs don’t require sleep. NPCs require sleep. I don’t require sleep. PCs can respawn. Can I?
    After a series of questions I’ve realized that most of the NPCs aren’t aware that this is a game. They seem to be capable of making mistakes and I can’t tell the difference between their emotions and the emo--
                  Kass kept glancing back and forth between Darwin and the page as she read the notes.  When she saw that he was finished and heading back towards her, she slid the piece of paper back where she had found it as quickly as possible and hoped she hadn’t been noticed.   Is he comparing himself to a NPC? No Red-Eyed man before him? What are you up to, Mr. Darwin? What’s your real secret?   She wanted to ask him right away, but she couldn’t. She had discovered the paper by snooping when he had clearly hidden it under the plate. If she brought it up right away, he might suspect her, and she still needed him for the EXP.
                  “Ready to go?” he said, trying and failing to sneak the piece of paper out from under the plate without Kass seeing. Kass smiled to herself, Too late! I’m on to you, Mr.