Somnia Online by K.T. Hanna (reading strategies book txt) 📕

the feeling of trepidation that ran through her. They’d been standing in this same area for too long. Hell, they’d fought two bosses here already. Although, granted, James wasn’t originally intended to be here, so maybe that was the reason why. Still, the path beyond narrowed; pillars turned into walls and created a much narrower walkway to take the raid down.

She wasn’t looking forward to traversing it, but they needed to get out of here, before that sense of foreboding gnawing at her gut got the best of her.

“Looks pretty narrow, doesn’t it?” She nudged Havoc.

“Very. Maybe four people across with their arms by their sides.” He seemed thoughtful. “Can’t really get a read on more than about five feet in. You sense anything?”

“Nope.” She shook her head, irritated again at the impediments placed on her using her abilities in here. Enchanter or sensing abilities appeared to have been blocked. Considering they were fighting a mutation of the system and the system knew all of their classes…It was almost like someone had been expecting them.

Sinister walked up, slung an arm around Murmur’s waist, and squeezed so tightly Murmur coughed. She spoke in a low voice that might have been deliberately sultry, except the words didn’t match the tone at all. “Don’t look now, but I think you have a visitor, and lately, he’s been pretty shitty when it comes to you.”

Murmur took in another breath, contemplated just counting to a thousand and hoping that everything went away, and then realized she had to figure this shit out anyway. Confront it head on or whatnot. Putting on her most impassive face, which, as a locus, still kinda seemed a bit snooty, she turned to face her visitor as he approached.

She was glad of her mask as soon as she saw him, because the change in their stance and expressions alone shocked her not to mention that someone else was behind him. Murmur definitely hadn’t expected Jinna to be there, and from Sinister’s reaction, neither had she.

Masha was actually smiling. Well, half-smiling, anyway. His eyebrows were pinched, showing he was a bit worried, but that could be about a lot of things. And Jinna, well, that might have been the starkest comparison. He seemed almost sheepish—and tired. The lines around his eyes were slightly more pronounced than they had been, and she worried that playing for this long had put too much strain on him.

“Mur?” Masha spoke first, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “That was a cool encounter.”

Jinna nodded in agreement and cleared his throat. “I think I owe you an apology. I’m not sure what’s gotten into me lately, maybe I’m overtired, but sorry that my DPS has been sucking wind lately. Just wanted to apologize. I’ll step it up.”

“No problem,” Sinister cut in, her smile cloyingly sweet. “Going to keep hanging with your rogue friends? I must confess I really like Karn.”

Jinna hesitated and shrugged. “She’s pretty good for a new rogue. But I’m glad to be rid of Jirald, even though it leaves us one short. I swear, that boy gives me a headache. It’s hard to think when he’d around.”

That caught Murmur’s full attention, and she whipped around to face them both, looking at Masha and Jinna in turn. “What do you mean, you’re glad to be rid of Jirald?”

Jinna shrugged uncomfortably and looked beseechingly over at Masha. The cleric hesitated momentarily before he began to talk. “We defeated James, and then it was like I felt something odd. As if something had been weighing me down but had just fallen off my back. I had no idea what to make of it, but damn, defeating that boss felt amazingly good.”

“That’s great and all,” Sinister interrupted as her patience ran out. “And I’m so glad you enjoyed the fight, but focus.”

Masha laughed, and he sounded as tired as Murmur felt. “Sorry. Anyway, I looked around for Jirald to see how he’d liked it—pretty sure he would have hated it because nothing died. His DPS wasn’t good, but no one’s was, because our aim wasn’t to kill it, just occupy it until we could figure out the puzzle.”

Masha cracked his neck from side to side, and a nervousness overcame him. “But Jirald wasn’t there. You can still see him in the raid party, but it looks like he’s out of casting range. I’ve been all over this platform, behind the pillars, back up toward the path we entered from, and he’s not anywhere to be found. He’s just…vanished.”

Murmur eyed the cleric for a moment, knowing that sometimes he liked to play tricks. But he definitely wasn’t doing so now. Her sensing nets may as well have flashed up a notification that he was telling the darned truth. She frowned, trying to figure out where the hell the rogue had gone. “So it seems he’s still logged in, technically still in the raid, but we can’t find him?”

“Got it in one.” Masha frowned thoughtfully. “I’ve even tried to send messages or to grab him through guild voice, but he’s not responding at all. Usually that’s nothing strange. He’s reclusive and not easy to get along with, but he will usually respond to me if I make the effort to send messages or track him down.”

“Do you think he might have scouted ahead?” Murmur asked doubtfully but willing to entertain the idea.

Masha shook his head. “Not really the self-sacrificing type, in case you haven’t noticed. Also, if he had, he would have responded to something I sent whether it was with sarcasm or inferring that he’d find some shit to kill when the raid wouldn’t.”

“Yeah. I can see that.” Murmur cringed, quite amazed at the way Masha dealt with the rogue. She’d lose her temper so many times with that sort of attitude. Although, like her, he hadn’t been given his first choice for a class, so some of that irritation was understandable. She thought for a few moments and sighed. “Well, I guess if he has crept off or something,