Author: Jason A. Cheek
Date: 2022-09-20 07:00:00+00:00
Description: After sacrificing himself to the Wyrm-Ghast so that his people could escape Darom, Startum Ironwolf has been left behind on the western side of the Nordic Region with Phoenix, Neristhana, Helgath, and Neysa. Before going after his Battle Mage Class, Star has offered to assist Töten Feinde in recovering his stronghold before time runs out.

UNFORESEEN PATH

BOOK 11

OF

THE WORLD

Copyright 2022 Jason Cheek

Published by Jason Cheek on Amazon

Cover Art by Leonardo Black

ISBN-13:

License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your enjoyment only.  This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.  If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Amazon.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy.  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Table of Contents

Preface

Map of the World

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Appendices and the Post Credit Scene

Character Sheet

Startum Ironwolf’s and Helgath’s Gear

Zeven Al'Zaric’s, Bright Claw’s, and Nahimana Tor’Narc’s Gear

Neristhana’s Gear

Phoenix’s Gear

Töten Feinde’s Gear

Character List

About the Author

Connect with Jason Cheek

Epilogue

Preface

(A note from the Author)

Thank you for your support. I hope you enjoy the story and apologize in advance for any grammar and proofreading mistakes that are sure to be a part of this work. Being an ‘Indie Author’ typically means that you do not have the extra money to pay for a professional editor or proofreader and end up doing all of the work yourself and with helpful friends. While I do the best that I can to find mistakes, I know well my lack of ability in the proofreading, spell-checking, and editing arena. At the same time, I have done my best with the tools available to clean up the story for publishing. If you do find something as you’re enjoying this story, please let me know at jasonacheek@gmail.com so that I can make the necessary corrections needed to make this book as enjoyable to read as possible. I will gladly give you a shout-out for your contribution here in the book’s Author’s Notes.

I would like to give a shout-out to a number of fans and friends that have put a huge amount of effort into getting this story into as good of shape as it is in. Eric (Töten Fiend who offered his expertise for editing and proofing) along with friends and fans like Travis, Steven, Jonathan, and Tricia has helped greatly with beta reading and giving feedback. Additionally, I want to thank those fans who support me on Patreon: Aimee, Bilal, Brian, Bryan, CUI13, Jodi, Jonathan, Justin, Kirk, Kore, Michael, Mike, Nash, Patricia, Rob, S, Andrew, Dana, Evan, Jens, Keenan, Keith, Malik, Olaf, Rylon, Saap, SteveTina-Maria, Trey, Will, Carl, Charles, Daniel, James, John, Lukas Lenk, Manuel, Okeland, Peter, Simon, Aety9, Corry, Dylan, and Gorgarn. Along with an extra special thank you for going above and beyond for being House of Kayden members to: Braidborn, Dracul & Michelle, Jarl, Nick, Tenebris, Blackfalk, Miguel, and Travis. All of you’ve helped to make this series possible and your support is greatly appreciated. Lastly, I’d like to offer another thank you to Jordon, Jeff, Daniel, Lars, and Patricia for emailing in the mistakes they found. Thank you very much for making the series that much better.

If you like the story, please leave a good review on Amazon and Goodreads for the books. Not just mine, but any Indie Author you like, especially if you want to see new stories coming out that are not the cookie-cutter-copies that seem to be so rampant in the genre. The only way you will encourage this to happen is by leaving reviews for the authors you like. It lets everyone know that they’re telling a good story, besides being the only way to protect the authors you love from the established authors in the genre that do their best to block new stories from coming out. Your support in this truly makes a difference.

Lastly, I discuss this because I have personally experienced this type of harassment and trolling since releasing The World series. Every book, whether audible or eBook has been repeatedly attacked. Not just book one, but every proceeding book in the series. Even now, they continuously check my blog to know when my newest book is going to be released to leave bad reviews. It’s like battling an in real-life Syndicate guild. Your continued support has been all that has stopped their bullying from being able to cancel my stories.

Map of the World

Chapter One

(Sunday, May 11th / Day 21 of The World.)

(Solivann LET Guild in the Dark Elf port city of Londshos.)

“Yo … yo … yo, the Triple A guild is in the house,” Leerianne Rastleer, the stacked female Light Elf-Human of the trio, announced from atop the stage as Brent Cadenach, the large male Light Elf-Human standing next to her, began beatboxing a tune, “We’re here to deliver all of you a public service message. The word is going around that Starfairy Ironwolf will be heading towards our region, to cause us some havoc, little does that fool know how we are legion.”

“If you want to earn some gold,” Aven Taurig, the slim Light Elf-Human next to her cut in with the same sing-song rap, “you better listen up and do what you’re told!”

“Bbbeeessshhh bop be diddily bop,” Brent continued thumping his hands against his breastplate while huffing to a made-up beat, “Whizzly whizzly whizzly bbbeeessshhh bop.”

“This loser has destroyed both Telrain and Darom,” Leerianne continued rapping out in a high-pitched voice as she strutted from side to side on the stage, “if we don’t hunt him down, it’s sure we’ll all be slain-”

“We’ll spawn camp that Starfairy asshole if he dares to show his face anywhere around here,” a player somewhere in the crowd around them shouted out, as a blood-thirsty roar rang out from the audience around the stage. Another voice yelled out as the ruckus started dying down, “If you hear of Starfairy being in your area, drop whatever you’re doing and join in on the attack against him!” Another aggressive cheer drowned out the speaker. As the crowd calmed down again, Leerianne thrust her fist into the air and shouted, “That’s the only way we’ll let that loser know he’s not welcome in our part of The World!”

As the trio started doing the Ickey Shuffle, Solivann could only shake his head at the train wreck happening before his eyes. And he’d thought Leerianne’s crappy lyrics had been bad. Just when he thought the boomers couldn’t embarrass themselves more, the trio switched into doing the running man while the crowd unanimously booed as one. Not that he blamed them, it really was terrible dancing and rapping.

“I can’t believe the organizers haven’t pulled them off by now,” Alocer said in exasperation from beside him, “I swear a group of cats in heat would sound better than this.”

“Tell me about it,” Solivann agreed, cringing as Brent suddenly went into a beatbox solo while the two females cheered him on, “They really think they’re putting on a good show.”

“Taking Starfairy down is not a problem,” Adelya suddenly hollered out next to him, “but only if you hosers get your dumb asses off the stage and let some real musicians play!”

“Adelya!” Assen urgently hissed, “Don’t get us in trouble with those Triple A assholes again!”

To the rest of the Les Enfants Terribles guild’s amusement, it was as if Adelya’s shout had set off a spark. All around the plaza, the crowd began to angrily stir as more players began to loudly join in with Adelya’s jeering. As the animosity began to ratchet up, Solivann uncomfortably noted Leerianne’s angry gaze settling on their little group as if she remembered them from earlier.

Bring it on, Solivann privately thought, letting his animosity for the little hussy show in his eyes as they stared each other down. While he disliked Startum Ironwolf as much as the next player, having these chuckleheads speaking out against him was akin to the pot calling the kettle black. Seriously, did they really think anyone was going to believe that the Triple A assholes were suddenly looking out for other players’ best interests? What a joke. They were the biggest group of griefers on this side of the starting area. The bigger question Solivann had was who had these skeets blown to get a gig on the festival’s stage in the first place?

“Get off the stage, ye Squatch,” Alocer’s bellow cut over the crowd’s roar as the wannabe Paladin pointedly grabbed the inside of his elbow while meaningfully thrusting the other hand into the air in the international symbol to ram it up your ass, “and learn how to beatbox!”

“Hell, they need to learn how to dance,” Nikina humorously chimed in as everyone laughed but for Assen.

“I’m sure Leerianne marked us that time for sure,” Assen uneasily grumbled as the crowd began to chant as one, “Get off the stage … get off the stage!”

“And what of it?” Alocer cheerfully asked, noting his friend’s reaction, “It’s not like we can’t take on these sieves if they wanna make it into an issue again.” He confidentially shrugged, before continuing incredulously. “I think these idiots actually think they’re putting on a good show.”

“I just don’t feel like being spawn camped every time we log in for the next half a week,” Assen irritably said as the crowd let out a loud cheer as the trio of Triple A assholes angrily stalked off the stage. Seeing Alocer take a breath to argue, he held up a hand to explain, “Look, beating them is not the problem,” he let out a frustrated sigh, “I just hate losing levels to a bunch of unskilled hosers that only get the win due to their overwhelming numbers.”

“I don’t know if I’d call that winning. Those losers only lasted for three days before giving up the last time they tried us,” Solivann said with an unconcerned shrug. While that whole deal had sucked major donkey dick, there was nothing like forcing an enemy to run away with their tail tucked between their legs. As Assen reluctantly nodded in ascent, he innocently added, “And it really didn’t take us all that long to level back up once all was said and done.”

“I think you’re right, Alocer,” Nikina said in stunned amazement, “they’re bowing to the boos.”

“You know,” PixelBomb said, speaking up for the first time as he analyzed the situation, “we’re probably the only group I know that would call those Triple A assholes unskilled hosers.”

“Still doesn’t change the fact of the matter any,” Adelya dismissively said as a new group began making their way onto the stage. At the distinct sound of clopping hooves, the Tiger-Kin female suddenly began jumping up and down in place excitedly, “Holy Schnikes, it’s that crazy Bard troupe we saw walking around the town earlier tonight?”

“Wait,” Solivann asked as his eyes whipped back to the stage, “you mean the Bard troupe with the Centaur and-”

“Yeah,” Nikina excitedly exclaimed, cutting him off, “the ones with the Gnomeling, Half-Orc, and all those Half-Elves?”

“Didn’t they also have that sexy Dwarf walking around with them too?” Adelya gushed.

“You mean that one with the open leather vest that looked like a band member from The Village People?” PixelBomb asked, perking up.

“Look, there he is,” Adelya squealed, “Oh my gawd, he’s showing off his hairy chest and only wearing those tight leather pants!”

“Is this an X-rated show or something?” Assen asked, taking in the leather and skin.

“I don’t know, but we’re about to find out,” Nikina said, impressed at the Gnomeling’s sexy outfit, “It takes some ovaries to wear something like that with a crowd like this but that girl sure knows how to strut it.”

“What’s with the metal-armed Half-Elf girl?” Assen curiously asked as he looked over the group.

“I don’t know,” Solivann said, tearing his eyes away from the bare-faced Centaur, “You usually only see prosthetics like that in the Kingdom of Cadarea.”

“Hmm, that’s odd,” Alocer agreed, focused on the goings on that the group was doing to prepare the stage, “What’s with those large smoking pots?”

“No clue,” Solivann said, cocking his head to the side as he curiously studied everyone’s instruments, “it’s not like they need lighting or anything.”

The Gnomeling female in the leather teddy had an odd-looking guitar. It was almost like something he’d have expected to see in the Gnome capital of Tulduroc. The male Dwarf had a surprising number of odd-looking drums around him. Lastly, to his surprise, the Half-Elf seemed to be rocking a violin of all things. This was either going to suck or completely rock, Solivann laughingly thought.

“This must be the medieval version of a smoke show,” Adelya said, loudly giggling at her own joke as everyone chuckled with her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce our newly minted Bard troupe,” the metal-armed girl announced as she came to a stop at the edge of the stage and looked out at the agitated crowd, “Dark Star Rising!”

There was a number of indifferent muttering and sporadic claps but obviously, the waiting crowd wanted to be entertained. Solivann had seen this before at comedy shows and other concerts. A bad act gets the crowd riled up and then the proceeding acts take the brunt of the audience’s bad attitude. This young woman was going to have to show more pizzazz than this or the group was going to get booed off the stage like those Triple A assholes had been, he thought, as the lead singer began announcing the rest of the troupe’s names.

“Hey Solivann,” Adelya suddenly asked, interrupting his internal contemplation, “did she just really say that the chick in the leather teddy is playing a mana-infused guitar?”

“Uh, I wasn’t really paying attention,” Solivann stuttered, caught by surprise.

“Dude, get off dreaming about that Centaur,” Nikina teasingly said, “If he got his hands on you, you’d be walking bowlegged for a week.”

“I wasn’t thinking anything like that,” Solivann denied as the rest of the guild laughed at his embarrassed reaction, “I was just-”

“Aye, tell it to someone who cares,” Nikina dismissively said, teasingly holding up a hand to stop his protests. Before anyone could add their two cents in, the lead singer’s voice rang out across the plaza as if it had been suddenly magnified like she was speaking into a mic.

“It seems like there’s a lot of discussion going on about the infamous Starfairy and the atrocities that he inflicted in the cities of Darom and Telrain in the Kingdom of Kader!” the lead singer named Alanah announced. The crowd began angrily muttering upon hearing the name of the player that everyone kept arguing about on the forums. As the shouts rose to an ugly crescendo, the Half-Elf held out her hands so that they’d quiet down enough for her to speak.

“I must say, your outrage at this tragedy speaks to my heart. It just so happens to be the case that our troupe just escaped the city of Darom as it was being burned to the ground.” Alanah’s words seemed to catch the crowd by surprise as individual players glanced at each other not quite believing what the girl was saying.

“Our song for tonight’s show tells the tale of the events that led up to Darom’s destruction at the hands of the most wanted criminals the Nordic Region has ever seen,” she paused as a sly smirk playfully flashed across her lips as the macho-looking Dwarf picked up a large round flat drum behind her and balanced it on his shoulder, “Though, I give all of you this one word of warning. The truth of what actually happened might not be as you newfar believe.”

“Is that girl using a microphone or something to project her words?” PixelBomb quietly asked as the Half-Elf named Ayda started playing her violin to the slow beat that started coming from the Dwarf’s drum. To everyone’s surprise, the scarred Half-Orc standing next to the beautiful Gnomeling also pulled out a cowbell and began joining in on the tune, while the Centaur began stomping his hooves on the stage to the throbbing beat.

“Seriously, he’s using a cowbell?” Assen sarcastically asked out loud, “Could this be any more cliché?”

Even as Solivann was thinking the same thing, he found himself wondering about what the Half-Elf had meant about things not being as they seemed, when the lead singer brought a shepherd’s flute to her lips and began playing a simple four-note tune. As the last fluttering notes died away, Alanah started to sing acapella.

“On a cold icy morning, a group of newfar called the Dread Pack approached the port city of Darom. With hate in their cold hearts, they asked to speak to the Lord of the city with an order from the king.”

There was something about Alanah’s haunting voice that seemed to draw Solivann into the music along with everyone else. Without conscious thought, he found himself leaning forward to listen to each heartfelt word when a throbbing rip of cords from what sounded like an electric guitar was struck to the beat of the drum. As the growling sound slowly died away leaving him wondering if he’d actually heard it correctly or not, the song took off as the two other female singers joined in with the vocals while the electric guitar began growling out with the increased beat of the drum.

“The Dread Pack murdered the lord of Darom and most of the Royal Guards were slaughtered. Before the townsfolk of Darom knew what was happening, they were being enslaved by the newfar and the remaining swordsmen were being gathered up to be slaughtered like vermin.”

It felt like they’d suddenly been transformed into a modern-day rock concert. Tavon the Centaur was doing some intense high-stepping stomp dance to the beat that almost made Solivann think of an Irish Riverdance, while the Half-Orc was thrashing from side-to-side beating on his cowbell as if he were in a mosh pit of one. Behind them, the Dwarf was thrashing the drum on his shoulder as he danced and skipped around the stage, while the females sang and played their instruments. It was an amazing performance.

Solivann heard several players in the audience calling out to the Half-Orc for more cowbell. The request was funny as hell, especially when Mug started leaping about the stage even more energetically while whaling on his cowbell. It was hilarity at its fullest. Not that it took away from the quality of the overall performance.

“Why is that singer talking about the Dread Pack? I thought Starfairy did all of that?” Adelya asked in confusion to only be shushed by the players around them.

To all their surprise, the performance took on a more serious note a few minutes later. In the curtain of smoke billowing up behind the troupe, a realistic holographic scene of the events the troupe was singing about began playing out. It was almost like watching a large screen at a drive-in movie theater, except that you felt as if you were there in the middle of the action. The odd realistic illusion went into far more detail than what Solivann had seen on the short video that he’d caught of the event on the forums that everyone was pissed about.

Before he knew it, Solivann found himself caught up in the visualization of the events the troupe was singing about as they were realistically displayed on the smoky background. The story started with the city of Darom being ransacked by the Dread Pack players. Those disturbing images slowly morphed into the players forcibly separating the parents from their crying children and herding them into the city’s arena to slave away at crafting for the guild. The scene was almost too heartbreaking to watch. As helpless fury welled up inside of him, the scene continued to his horror as the laughing Dread Pack players slaughtered the helpless children and piled their corpses into a corner behind the stadium.

Solivann shook his head unbelievingly. None of this crap had been on the video that he’d seen on the forums. As he struggled to understand if what he was seeing was real or not, Alanah went back to singing acapella once again.

“It was at this time that the most wanted criminal Starfairy appeared in Darom’s harbor with his black armored troopers on their warships. Like a reaper of death, he swept through the city, slaughtering all in his path. When Starfairy discovered the enslaved townspeople and their murdered children, the scoundrel forced them to join his House of Kayden and raised their children back to life, before leaving to inflict his terrible wrath across the breadth of the Kingdom of Kader.”

That’s how the performance went for nearly an hour straight. The music itself was enthralling. Something like a twist between a medieval song with a hard-rock flair. It worked perfectly for the festival with its unique folklore-like rhythms, catchy tunes, and heavy beat. Solivann could see it reaching the top of the charts if this had been released in the real world.

While Alanah’s lyrics openly mocked Starfairy’s every action as if she somehow knew of the damning video that had gone viral on the forums, the illusions being displayed on the smoky screen behind them told a completely different story. Solivann found himself having to swallow a difficult pill that Cristiane Sekhmet was actually the one that had destroyed Telrain while Starfairy rescued the victims murdered during the Chaos Storm Alliance’s cruel rule.

From the unsettled murmurs coming from the players around them, Solivann wasn’t the only one feeling conflicted about what they were seeing. It came to a head when Cristiane Sekhmet dropped the Meteor spell on top of the city, destroying everything in sight. A few more obnoxious players tried to jeer and shout the singers down, but the troupe simply ignored them as they continued with their performance like true professionals. If Solivann had thought Telrain’s images were damning, the clincher came when the lyrics turned to the Chaos Storm Alliance laying siege to the city of Darom while the defenders did their best to hold them at bay.

This was another subject that had been freshly raging on the forums. The videos from Cristiane Sekhmet had caused another wave of outrage in regard to Starfairy and the destruction that he and his friends had caused. Players were up in arms about how he was trying to destroy The World for everyone else. What was insane was that it was obvious to everyone watching the performance that the city of Darom’s salvation only came when Starfairy finally arrived.

Even as Alanah’s words openly mocked Starfairy for summoning the undead Wyrm-Ghast, Hitlohtla Doombreath the Devouring, it was obvious that he’d only done it to save the townsfolk, troopers, and refugees under attack by the Chaos Storm Alliance. When the lead singer’s final note came to an end at that disturbing illusionary image of the immense Flying Serpent towering over the city of Darom as the ships filled with refugees and survivors safely sailed away from the harbor, Solivann would’ve sworn you could’ve heard a pin drop from the players across the plaza.

There was an intense pause as everyone in the crowd looked at each other in confusion. It was like no one was sure how to react from such conflicting images to the lyrics being sung. In a way, it was almost as if the troupe was mocking them to their faces. The odd silence was suddenly broken when, to Solivann’s surprise, Adelya let out a resounding whoop. Once again, the crowd joined her a split second later in a roar of approval and applause.

Lining up on the stage together, Alanah joined hands with the rest of the performers as the entire troupe bowed to the audience. Whether the story the group told was pure fiction or not, Solivann couldn’t help bringing his fingers to his lips and letting out a loud whistle of approval, before clapping his hands and shouting out along with everyone else.

No matter how you looked at it, the performance was absolutely incredible and the mix of unique species just made it all that more fun to watch. The high-stepping River dancing Centaur was the absolute best in his personal opinion. Though, he had to admit, the moshing cowbell pounding Half-Orc and drumming Dwarf were both incredibly entertaining to watch too. Those tight leather pants looked exceptionally good on the fit Dwarf. Add in the odd illusionary images being displayed on the smoky curtain and it moved the performance into one of the best rock concerts that he’d ever seen.

Standing up straight, Alanah called out, “Once again, we are the troupe, Dark Star Rising! If you want to see our next show, we’ll be in Tulduroc in two days.” As the crowd of players cheered again, the performers took one last bow, before hurriedly collecting up their gear and leaving the stage with the help of a handful of Half-Elf, Beast Kin, and Gnome roadies.

Solivann almost felt bad for the next act of the night that was waiting to set up for their performance. As the equipment from the Dark Star Rising troupe was hurriedly hauled away and the group left, the Dark Elf leader of the Londshos Theater troupe angrily threw his arms up into the air and stalked away in a huff with the rest of his dejected group trailing behind him. Not that Solivann blamed them one bit for not wanting to go on stage. What regular music troupe could hope to compete with an amazing performance like that?

“So, guys,” Nikina asked, giving the rest of them a meaningful look as the players around them began animatedly arguing about the show, “what the hell was all of that?”

“I don’t know,” Alocer earnestly said, rubbing the back of his neck. This was an old argument they’d had midweek about Telrain when the forums were blowing up about who actually had destroyed the city. It had only grown more heated after the newest video had been released of Darom. “Maybe, we need to do some more research.”

“Most definitely,” Assen said, shaking his head as he thought back to the performance, “If any of that story was true-”

“We’ve been played hard,” Adelya admitted in disgust, “I guess I should’ve taken the time to watch the original video.”

“It’s cool, Adelya,” Solivann said, understanding where their strategic friend was coming from. Adelya was the one that always researched the best path for grinding out levels and skills in every game they’d ever played. It was a point of pride to her, which was why she was pissed that a group of PKing chumps might have slipped one over on her. “I’m sure you’ll figure out who’s telling the truth once you log out and do some research.”

“That’s not the point, Solivann,” Adelya unhappily grunted, focused on something internally, “I don’t usually allow myself to be tricked like that.”

“It happens to the best of us,” Solivann said with an unconcerned shrug, “Besides, weren’t you busy with that crazy project you were programming for the sales conference at the Metro all last week?”

“Still, not an excuse,” Adelya disagreed with a frown.

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Assen easily said, coming up behind Adelya to clap her on the shoulder, “it happens to the best of us.” He nodded towards the retreating NPCs’ backs. “Who knows, maybe they’re the ones lying about what really went down.”

“I don’t know about that,” Solivann thoughtfully said, watching the group head towards the docks, “Something tells me they know what they’re talking about.”

“Aye, you can see it in their eyes,” Nikina said in agreement, before perking up, “How about we get another round before logging for the night?”

“Woohoo, I’m down with that,” Adelya cheerfully shouted as she rejoined the conversation, “especially since it’s PixelBomb’s time to pay for the next round!”

Chapter Two

(Sunday, May 11th / Day 21 of The World.)

(Alanah Valadhiel and the Brat Pack in the Dark Elf port city of Londshos.)

“By the Dark, that was incredible,” Alanah gushed as she ran up behind Zinn and excitedly grabbed her arm, “How was my singing? Do you think everyone liked the performance?”

“I told you that your voice was good enough to be on stage,” Zinn said to her girlfriend as she wrapped an arm around the Half-Elf’s waist reassuringly, “Trust me, you did amazingly well, Alanah. I’m sure that by tomorrow evening everyone in Londshos will be talking about your performance,” her voice lowered conspiratorially, “and even if they’re not, those newfar certainly will be.”

“Yeah, luv,” Norrid said from behind them as a broad smile came to his rugged face, “you had those newfar eating out of your pretty little hand by the end of the show.”

“Do you think it was enough to get them on Star’s side?” Alanah worriedly asked since that was one of the two reasons that they were doing all of this.

“We hit a nerve with most of those newfar to be sure,” Zinn thoughtfully said, still clutching the mana-infused guitar’s strap tightly to her shoulder, “Did we permanently change their mind or not, that’s a lot harder to know.”

“With you using the Hum of the Bargain for most of the performance,” Ayda thoughtfully said from where she was walking next to Norrid, “it at least made them receptive to the message. If you’d used anything more direct to influence their minds-”

“You’d have just pissed them off once the mental magic effects had worn off,” Norrid knowingly said, cutting Ayda off. Seeing the amused twinkle in the Half-Elf Bard’s eyes, he gave her a sheepish look, “We all have to learn that lesson one way or another as a Bard.”

“From the story that Sammaetrud told me of your captivity with the Sea Orcs,” Ayda nonchalantly said, “It took a certain Dwarf more than a few times to learn that lesson.”

“I never said I wasn’t speaking from personal experience,” Norrid easily protested, “I’m just an uncomplicated male that appreciates beauty in all its forms.”

“Looks like we’re going to have to let Sammaetrud know that’s what you're calling your tricks now,” Alanah teased as a look of alarm lit up the Bard's face.

“Now, my dear Alanah, no need for any talk like that, I’m-,” Norrid hurriedly said only to be cut off as the rest of them busted out laughing.

By now, everyone knew of the trick Norrid had pulled on the female Dwarves when they’d been enslaved by the Sea Orcs. While the silver-tongue Bard had saved them from being used by their slavers with the use of a creative illusion spell, he’d left his own eyes free of the spell’s effects to enjoy the view. Poor Norrid still wasn’t out of the proverbial doghouse with the rest of the female Dwarves in the Artillery unit for that little trick.

“All that matters is that your new song gets out to Londshos and the other nearby cities by the traveling Minstrels that caught your performance tonight,” Blolnat Irontouched gruffly said as the female Gnomeling’s runes of retribution momentarily glowed from where she led the Beast Kin Marine contingent as they headed for the dock where The Doon was moored. “Otherwise, Lord Ironwolf won’t be able to enter into a Gnome or Dark Elf city to complete his Class quest.”

“They would dare to stop Lord Ironwolf from entering one of their cities after all he’s done?” Tavon asked as his ears flattened against the sides of his head in anger.

“It’s hard to say, Lord Ironwolf’s titles are mostly with the Kingdom of Kader and the Royal Army,” Blolnat thoughtfully harrumphed, her tone harsh as she kept a close watch on the nearly empty street ahead of them, “All that I can say with certainty is that without traveling Minstrels telling the true story of the fall of Darom to offset the bad reputation he received from the Scourge Bringer Title, most gate guards wouldn’t blink an eye at denying a Halfling like him entrance into their cities.”

“Aye, Blolnat has the right of it,” Norrid agreed, “This be the only way we can be helping him to do what he needs to do.”

“It’s just so frustrating,” Alanah unhappily huffed as she laid her head on Zinn’s shoulder while they walked, “He’s done so much for all of us and these liars keep trying to drag him down. It’s just not fair!”

“The one thing life is not,” Norrid sagely said, “is fair.”

“Far from it,” Ayda agreed as her face took on a faraway look, “It’s up to each of us to make the most out of life, that we can, from whatever start that we had.” A sad smile turned up the corners of her lips. “Facing that truth head-on is what makes all of us heroes in our own right.” The beautiful Half-Elf shook her dark-brown hair out as if to dismiss the serious thought, before flashing a giddy smile at the two girls that had turned around to stare at her. “I’ve listened to Lord Ironwolf talking to his friends about newfar communications in their world long enough to know that all we need to do is create a kernel of doubt about what truly went down for the newfar in the audience to seek out the truth on their own.”

“Aye, lassies,” Norrid said, nodding in agreement, “the one thing a lie can’t face is the light of truth. That’s one of the most important aspects of being a Bard in the first place.” He gave Ayda a comradely clap on the back. “To spread the truth that many rich merchants and nobles would choose to suppress with their wealth and power.”

“And why we agreed with Zinn’s plan of traveling to all of the nearby port cities as a troupe to spread the truth of Lord Ironwolf’s actions,” Ayda agreed, giving the wide-shouldered Dwarf a brotherly clap back, “Who knew we’d be able to pull off such an incredible performance in the process.”

“They’ll be talking about that song and those illusions all the way to Lodenburg,” Norrid agreed, letting out a bark of gruff laughter.

“Who knew we’d have such fine non-Bard helpers on top of it,” Zinn said, letting go of Alanah to playfully pull Mug into her arms, “I’ve never seen any audience so enthralled by someone simply playing a cowbell before.” As the scarred Half-Orc blushed to the tips of his ears, the Gnomeling throatily continued, “But, then again, I’ve never seen a cowbell played with such focused full-body enthusiasm.”

“That’s one way to describe the performance,” Ayda said, giggling in mirth as she thought back to the Half-Orc thrashing around the stage beating on the cowbell, “I’m afraid we’re going to have to get a new cowbell crafted in time for the next performance.”

“Tavon was fantastic too,” Alanah enthusiastically said as she wrapped her arms around the Centaur’s muscular bicep, “the crowd was mesmerized by his stomping tribal dance.”

“Alanah,” Tavon gently protested, “I told you that dance was considered private between two people who care greatly for one another.”

“I know, Tavon,” Alanah said, hiding her wide smile behind her palm until she got her giddiness under control, “but if it helps us to spread the truth of Lord Ironwolf and clear his name-”

“I’ll gladly do what I can to help our Chieftain,” Tavon reluctantly agreed, before offering Alanah a weak smile, “Though, I will have to admit to being somewhat surprised at how much the audience seemed to enjoy my tribe’s stomping dance.”

“It was really something to see, boy,” Norrid earnestly said, “Maybe, we’ll even ask a few of me Dwarves to join you on stage next time.”

“We’ll have to practice The Battle for BrokenFang Hold all day tomorrow if we’re going to have it ready to go for the show in Tulduroc,” Zinn said, letting go of Mug’s arm as she thought over the issue.

“You’re gonna need three songs in all if you want to play in Tulduroc,” Blolnat warned as Norrid nodded in agreement.

“That’s true,” Norrid confirmed with a curt nod, “the Gnome capital is known around the Bard circuit for having the strictest requirements for troupes playing in their festivals.” He met Zinn’s sky-blue eyes. “You’ll want to add in the Breaking of Ironheart Stronghold’s Siege or Lord Ironwolf’s Battle in the Sea Elf’s Vortex.”

“Then we’ll have to add the Wind Dancer’s Orc Battle in the Sea Elf’s Vortex,” Zinn confidently said as she turned to Alanah, “as long you’re up to learning two new songs at once.”

“Two songs at once?” Alanah repeated as her eyes grew wide as saucers. The concerned look disappeared almost as quickly as it had come as her face took on a defiant expression, “I was there for the battle, so learning the lyrics should be easy enough.” She glanced back at Ayda and Norrid. “The only question I see is if I’ll be able to have enough endurance for the whole performance.”

“Aye, lassie, you make a good point,” Norrid agreed, “but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem with a few Stamina potions.”

“That’s right,” Zinn excitedly said, “and I have a recipe for one that Old Man Fortner taught me when we were preparing for the siege of Darom.”

“If you teach me the recipe,” Tavon said, perking up at being able to help, “I’ll work on that while you’re learning the new songs.”

“Deal,” Zinn cheerfully said as Alanah happily leaned her head against Tavon’s shoulder. Before they could plan more, Blolnat’s harsh voice cut off any further discussion.

“You need to run for the dock now!” Blolnat barked as the Kayden Marines began drawing their blades and unlimbering their shields. “Looks like those Triple A newfar are going to try and cut us off before we can reach The Doon.”

“Should we call for the City’s Watch?” Zinn fearfully asked as they started running for The Doon.

“If the City Watch gets involved, we won’t be leaving for Tulduroc in time to reach the festival.” Blolnat said in a no-nonsense tone as Norrid and Ayda nodded at the wisdom of the female Gnomeling’s words, “Besides, Captain Deepwater expected something like this might happen. Right Zane?”

“That be the right of it,” the large Wolf-Kin answered as his black lips pulled back from his large fangs. To their surprise, Zane let out a quick series of high-pitched yips that seemed to echo around the docks. As the troupe looked at him questioningly, he confidently explained, “We’ve got twenty Hollysharp Specials lined up on the railing along with the rest of the squad on alert for just this situation.”

Alanah’s heart was in her throat as they reached the base of the pier where The Doon was docked. As Blolnat and her squad of Beast Kin led them down the dock at an all-out sprint, she heard the familiar twangs of Hollysharp Specials loosing quarrels over their heads. As painfilled shouts of surprise rang out behind them, Alanah heard Captain Deepwater’s stern voice calling out orders.

“Release the lines and prepare to set sail, I’ll have Squidward start pulling The Doon out to open water as soon as everyone’s onboard!”

Chapter Three

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Orion Prakoli sneaking into the Hobgoblin’s camp 0200 in the morning.)

“Þetta kjöt hentar ekki þrælum!” the Hobgoblin Warrior angrily roared, throwing the meat stick it had just burned into the firepit, “Hvar er gott efni?”

Orion froze in place at the sound of angry guttural voices suddenly coming from the group of demi-humans they were sneaking past as Killtet held up a clenched fist for everyone to stay where they were. To his annoyance, the Valkyrie Rogues ignored the order and instead began repositioning themselves between the large group of Hobgoblins and the stealth raid.

“Öllum hræætum var slátrað af þessum ljótu ljósálfum,” the larger Hobgoblin snarled back, “Svo borðaðu það sem þú átt og lokaðu munninum!”

From the incredulous looks, the Devil Dogs team traded with one another, none of his guildmates could figure out what these useless fools were trying to do. All that Orion knew was that these idiots were going to give away their position. All that he could do was grit his teeth while mentally swearing up a storm that Killtet had agreed to take a bunch of non-professionals with them on this run.

“Hæ undirleiðtogi, lyktar þú af þessu?” another Hobgoblin grunted out as it suddenly stood up.

To Orion’s surprise, he saw Killtet’s eyes suddenly light up in understanding instead of rage. It was an even greater surprise when Killtet began ordering three-quarters of their group to join the Valkyrie players’ rough defensive line with hand signals while urgently signaling for Orion, Austin Montoya, Zyphonn Padaedus, and Forrest to join him. As they gathered around, he signaled for them to get ready to run.

“Við höfum staðfest boðflenna!” the larger Hobgoblin gutturally snapped, “Gerðu af holdi, taktu hóp með þér og láttu vinddrúidinn vita.”

There was a collective intake of breath when a squad of ten Hobgoblins suddenly stood up and took off running further into the massive camp. It wasn’t until the group of forty remaining Hobgoblins went back to unhappily eating their burnt meal of disgusting half-rotten scraps that everyone in the stealth raid began to relax. With another series of hand signals, Killtet ordered Forrest to take the lead again and everyone else to follow.

What the fuck was he even doing here? Orion silently swore as they began moving out again. Seriously, he didn’t see himself being that much help if they ran into a group of Air Shamans. Not that Killtet or Forrest bothered to listen to him on that point. Nope, he was basically voluntold to be a part of the stealth raid to recover the BAMF parts.

To say he was annoyed would’ve been an understatement. Being pressured to come along to deal with the Air Shamans was as dumb as expecting a door gunner on a Ch64 to drop into the muck instead of fighting from his Ma Deuce gunnery position. That, and his skills were extremely lacking in comparison to these high-level casters.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the Hobgoblin encampment wasn’t a place for the faint of heart. There was a casual brutality the demi-humans had towards life in general that was disturbing to be around even for someone like him that had seen a bunch of messed-up shit during his time in the Navy. More than once, Orion had seen high-level Hobgoblins casually murder their lower-level subordinates.

These weren’t clean kills either, but bloody hackfests where the goal seemed to be dragging out the agony of death for as long as possible. That wasn’t the most disturbing part of the whole thing either. To everyone’s shock, these brutally murdered Hobgoblins were simply added to the pile of monster bodies to be cooked up for later. It was some truly fucked up shit, Orion thought, cringing at the horror of it all. Though a part of him had to admit, it was an impressive way to motivate the lower-levels grunts to work harder.

Doing his best to simply ignore the shit-show going on around him, Orion focused on getting through the Hobgoblin-filled camp without being discovered. The encampment was surprisingly immense and literally went on for mile after mile, which was the main reason it had been so difficult to find the closest side to where the BAMF parts were being kept. Not that it helped much when they finally did triangulate the position. From what Forrest could determine, the location was a solid five-minute run deep inside the camp’s outer borders.

To say that bit of information had caused a stir amongst the Valkyrie and Devil Dog players would’ve been an understatement. Vardrid and Connor simply wanted to leave the captured components in the Hobgoblin’s hands since they were only minor upgrades. Their argument was that without the unique design for the quick loading crossbow the gravity cartridge was all but useless. Forrest, Kyarina, and Ashley, on the other hand, strenuously disagreed with that assessment and argued for undertaking the mission.

In Forrest’s case, that was because he was pissed about losing his creation. Not that any soldier worth his salt wouldn’t be pissed about losing their gear to the enemy. For Kyarina and Ashley, it was different. Orion felt like both women just weren’t taking the demi-humans seriously. Not that he didn’t understand. After his personal time spent with Minny, Orion’s own attitude towards the people of The World had majorly shifted from that of his guildmates.

To his surprise, only Connor and Vardrid seemed to be taking the enemy seriously. They had both pointed out that the items in question were suspiciously located only a five-minute run inside the Hobgoblin encampment. Why wasn’t something so important located much nearer to the center of the camp? This seemed to put the BAMF parts close enough to be doable for a stealth run but far enough away to make an ambush nearly impossible to escape. Both players argued that it was bait. Not only that, if the rest of us weren’t super careful, one miscalculation could put the whole shebang in the enemy’s hands and leave them running back in only their underwear.

Curiously enough, Pherala was of the same mindset along with Zror who was leading the small Dread Herd with them which just caused everyone else to get their backs up about the issue even more. In Orion’s opinion, both groups made a good point. He had to admit that the smart play probably would’ve been to either continue carefully harassing the enemy from a distance or to simply admit this wasn’t working and head back to BrokenFang Hold.

Of course, the majority of the raid simply hadn’t seen it that way, Orion silently thought, as he crept behind Forrest, Killtet, Austin, and Zyphonn. While he agreed on one level with Vardrid and Connor that it was better to quit while they were behind, that went against his normal way of thinking along with many of his fellow Marines. At least, they’d agreed to set up several fallback positions in case the shit destroyed the fan. While they’d mostly done that to settle Pherala, Zror, Connor, and Vardrid down, Orion was starting to reconsider his position as they neared the large hide-tent Forrest had marked as holding their stolen gear.

< Eastern wall> Killtet hand signaled <Prepare to breech>

As soon as Orion saw the unguarded opening, his sixth sense started going off. Why would the demi-humans leave something so important unguarded? Looking around the stealth raid, no one else seemed to be alarmed in the least. Doing his best to stay in Stealth and keep up with the rest of the group, he began

<Killtet> Orion signaled as he did his best to stay in Stealth while keeping up with the rest of the Rogues, <No guards>

<I know> Killtet signed back as the stealth raid bunched up against the selected hide wall at the back of the large tent.

The plan was for most of the stealth raid to wait outside while a small group of them breached the tent to grab the stolen gear. As the rest of the stealth raid made a defensive semi-circle around their entrance point, the rest of them prepared to make a long slit in the thick hide. Instead of taking up his designated position between the Valkyrie players Laya ShadowStalker and Lady Death, he huddled down next to Killtet.

“Hey Killtet,” Orion softly said under his breath as he caught up to Killtet and urgently gripped his shoulder, “that’s not what I mean.”

Ignoring his guildmates’ shocked looks, Orion waited as Killtet turned to look at him with dead eyes. Yeah, he knew that he was blowing operational procedures but this was too important for him to ignore. And typing this message out on his virtual keyboard really wasn’t an option for him. He was a two-handed single-finger tapper at the best of times. There was no way he was going to type all of that out before they breached.

“I think this is a trap!” Orion pressed on as Laya and Lady gave him looks that screamed noob.

“Of course, it’s a trap,” Killtet agreed without hesitation as everyone looked at the Rogue in confusion, especially the Valkyrie players whose heads had whipped around to stare at them in shock. Seeing the looks on everyone’s faces, he proceeded with an indifferent shrug, “We’ve had Hobgoblins packed together like sardines everywhere we’ve traversed. Only here in a twenty-foot radius, there’s no one around?”

“If it’s a trap,” Laya hissed, “then what are we doing here?”

“Our original mission,” Killtet pointedly said. As the Valkyrie players began trading alarmed looks with one another, he pointedly asked in the same even tone, “Do any of you think we’ll be allowed to escape from here? I might not be able to understand Hobgoblin, but there’s no doubt they know we’re here.” Not waiting for an answer, he continued in the same dispassionate tone. “I’ve already tried warning the rest of the raid but we’re in a different area so raid chat’s not reaching them.”

“How are we going to recover our gear then?” Lady demanded as everyone in the stealth raid perked up.

“You’re welcome to come back and try to slip away from these assholes if you want,” Killtet calmly replied, “but I’d not recommend it. These Hobgoblins are slippery as hell. I plan to just take the hit of respawning at the graveyard and try to catch up with the rest of the raid,” His gaze took in everyone’s eyes for a second before he continued. “I have a feeling they’re going to need all the help they can get.”

“You weren’t going to warn any of us about,” Lady waved her hand around at the rest of the stealth raid, “this?”

“Not really,” Killtet said as his dead eyes focused on hers, “What’s the plan if we get wiped out on our breach?”

“To respawn at the graveyard,” Lady said, frowning in understanding.

“Look guys, all of us knew what we were possibly getting into,” Killtet said as his gaze swept the group, “The only thing that changed is that you know we’re probably not going to make it out of this alive, so you might want to tuck any unique items that you have into your inventory for safe keeping.” He pointedly looked at the Valkyrie players. “Remember, this is all for fun. So, if you guys want to turn back and take your best shot at getting out of here alive, you’re welcome to do it.” A grin cracked his face. “This isn’t a mission in the sandpit.” That triggered smiles on the Valkyrie players’ faces. “But, the rest of us are keeping to the plan.”

“Naw, that’s cool,” Laya said, shaking her head ruefully, “all of us have backup gear if we need it. It’s just a hell of a hardcore approach to a wipe.” She tilted her head at Killtet in respect as she got nods from the rest of her guildmates. “We’re all in.”

“Good,” Killtet said, giving a nod of respect to the Valkyrie players to the surprise of the Devil Dogs. His face turned serious once again as he eyed the members of the stealth raid, “The plan is the same. We’ll rush in and have Forrest and Orion load up the parts as quickly as possible. If the shit hits the fan, we’ll do our best to adapt as much as possible.” Getting nods of agreement from everyone this time around, he turned back towards the hide tent with his blades held at the ready, “Let’s do this.”

Everyone was on pins and needles as Killtet’s hand flashed <Breach> Immediately, Killtet, Lady, Laya, Austin, and Zyphonn popped out of Stealth in front of them as their blades sliced through the hide wall of the tent. Orion caught a nervous glance from Forrest when the five Rogues didn’t automatically re-stealth as the plan had called for, but instead, just burst through the slits like gangbusters. Neither Devil Dog hesitated as they followed the breaching team in.

“What the fuck is all of this?” Lady hissed under her breath as the entire group came to a hesitant stop five yards inside the tent.

“Looks like they’re making a bunch of copies of the parts they captured,” Austin said as his face screwed up in concern.

“And are even testing crossbow designs to go along with them,” Laya pointed out in the same disturbed tone.

As the rest of the stealth raid came rushing into the tent, Orion and Forrest unslung their backpacks and got to work. Since Forrest was starting on the tables in front of them, Orion decided to circle around to the other side of the tent to start there, when he noticed several Rogues in the second portion of their raid were not Stealthed. Before he could wonder what that might mean, a guttural voice rang out from the far side of the tent.

“Bogmenn, skjóta!” the largest Hobgoblin Orion had ever seen suddenly popped out of Stealth at the far side of the entrance. While that was bad, a massive volley of arrows appeared out of thin air along with forty Hobgoblin Rangers in two orderly rows blocking off the entrance to the tent was much worse.

The Sneak Attack was complete as the entire stealth raid was turned into instant pin cushions in the blink of an eye. Orion was the only one not in the direct line of fire as screams and shouts of “It’s an ambush!” and “Hit the deck!” came from his friends. As he dropped to the ground, Orion heard the guttural bellows of, “Bogmenn, skjóta!” ringing out on the outside of the tent as more arrows came shooting in through the slits cut into the back wall of the hide tent.

“Fuck … fuck … fuck!” Orion swore under his breath as he tried to crawl underneath one of the tables to keep out of the line of fire. What the fuck were they going to do now?

Orion caught sight of Killtet ducking low at half-health with Laya and Lady at his sides. Though the trio had been severely hurt, they were still on their feet and rushing forward in a low crouch as they dashed between the line of workbenches for the Hobgoblins. Before they’d managed to take more than five steps, a new chorus of guttural voices bellowed out.

“Keðjueldingar!”

There was a tremendous series of thunder cracks as actinic light flared throughout the tent. Orion immediately snapped his eyes closed but it was too late. His Darkvision was ruined as the electric sounds of blowing transformers rang throughout the room. As the terrible cacophony of noise finally died down, the smell of burnt flesh filled his senses as another guttural chorus of bellows came to his ears.

“Eldingakeðjur!”

Blinking the spots from his eyes, Orion climbed to his hands and knees in time to see the entire stealth raid was down. A quick glance at his HUD let him know that no one was dead. Even so, they may as well have been since everyone’s hit points were in the red and dark orange of severely injured. Orion was trying to figure out what he could do to help when he noticed an odd debuff listed underneath everyone’s name. As he focused on the icon, the description popped up before his eyes as a guttural voice of a Hobgoblins begin issuing orders.

Eldingakeðjur debuff AOE – The targeted individuals affected by this debuff are locked in chains created from pure lightning for five minutes. During this time, the targeted individuals are Stunned due to their muscles being rigidly locked in place from the spell’s electrical effect. This time can be reduced depending upon individual lightning resistances and other magical items. This spell can only be used against targeted individuals that have twenty-five percent or less health.

“Safnaðu kjötinu saman svo hægt sé að spyrja þau!”

Clawed feet passed his hiding spot underneath the table as more Hobgoblins entered through the slit in the hide tent. In the blink of an eye, the tent was full of heavily armored Warriors with swords, shields, and axes. As they began roughly picking their victims up by the hair and dragging them towards the front of the tent, Orion tried to think of what he could do to help.

Obviously, their stealth run was a bust. There was no way he was going to be able to gather up the items the Hobgoblins had managed to craft out of what they’d seen of the BAMFs. Even worse, there was nothing he could do to help his raid mates, Orion anxiously thought, when an idea suddenly came to him. Maybe, there was something he could do to solve both problems.

Clearing his mind, Orion tried to think back to what Naamro had taught him about Air Shamanism. She’d said that controlling Air was very much the same as Lightning. It just took a higher skill level than what he’d currently had at the time she was training him. Focusing on his friends’ dangling feet, Orion reached out with his senses to the glowing white chains imprisoning them as the guttural voice of what he assumed was the Hobgoblin’s leader spoke again.

“Færðu mér fyrst veikan leiðtoga þeirra.”

As Killtet was dragged forward, Orion realized he could feel the lightning magic holding his raid mates captive. It was almost like he could reach out and pull the spell apart. Well, maybe not apart, he realized, as he briefly touched the crackling chains with his senses and took a jolt of damage. He was trying to figure out how he could manipulate the mana when one of the Air Shaman that had cast the spell suddenly sucked the remaining portion of the mana left in the spell back into him.

“Ef þú vilt hreinan dauða, kjöt, segðu mér hvar restin af árásinni þinni er staðsett.”

Huh, so that’s how you do it, Orion thought as he perked up. So, if you can suck the mana out of one spell, can I do the same by attaching a tether to multiple people at the same time?

“I can’t understand a word you’re saying, you ugly piece of shit!” Killtet roared as he surged for the lead Hobgoblin, only to be held in place by his captors.

Instead of getting mad, the Hobgoblins hungrily laughed as they began pounding the shit out of Killtet. Doing his best to ignore the brutal beatdown and raucous bellows, Orion worked on attaching a tether to each of his raid mates. Unfortunately, as soon as he started to slowly unweave the spells, he popped out of Stealth. Luckily for Orion, he was solidly wedged up under one of the larger workbenches so none of the Hobgoblins seemed to notice him as he hurriedly worked.

Instead of trying to suck the mana in like he’d seen the Air Shaman do, Orion had a different idea and began gathering the energy up into a crackling ball at the center of his chest. It was somewhat like the process he’d used for creating the Air Bazooka spell. As the seconds ticked down, the Hobgoblins reached down and dragged a bloody and beaten Killtet back to his feet.

“Þýddu orð mín,” the large Hobgoblin commanded one of the Air Shaman’s behind him, before addressing Killtet directly, “I said, if you want a clean death, meat, tell me where the rest of your raid is located.”

“Oh, is that what you asked?” Killtet said in a barely audible whisper through his bloody, swollen lips, “Sure, I’ll tell you.”

“Speak up, meat,” the large Hobgoblin angrily demanded as Killtet’s head lolled back like he was about to pass out.

“Then come closer,” Killtet weakly coughed out as his eyes rolled back into his head.

“Tell me now, meat,” the Hobgoblin roared sticking his pumpkin head up close to Killtet’s face, “or I’ll eat your face off while you’re still alive!”

“I said,” Killtet whispered before his voice suddenly roared as he slammed his forehead into the Hobgoblin’s face, “Eat shit, mother-fu-”

“Rrraaawww!” the Hobgoblin suddenly bellowed in agony as he stumbled backward away from the nearly dead Rogue. All around the tent the raucous laughter came to a stop. Catching his balance, the large demi-human began wiping its blue blood away with the back of its hand. Eyeing Killtet, the Hobgoblin let out an evil snarl, “So the piece of meat thinks it can bite?” Its pumpkin head jerked towards a pair of Warriors standing behind Killtet and leered. “Bring the females over, we’ll see how tough you are after we ravish and eat them!”

“Everyone get ready to hit the deck, I’m about to release your lightning chains,” Orion rasped out in raid chat, “If you survive the explosion, make these bastards pay!”

Orion knew the jig would be up as soon as the Air Shaman went to pull the mana from the lightning chains back into himself. So, he had only one chance to get this right. Increasing the mana draw on this web of tethers to a hundred percent, there was no question in his mind that he wasn’t going to hold onto what was pouring into him but for a few seconds longer. As he compressed the crackling ball of energy tighter and tighter into his chest, Orion cast Pyroblast as soon as he felt the Air Shaman reach out for Laya and Lady’s lightning chains.

“Hvað er í gangi!” the Air Shaman’s guttural bellow rang out in shock. As all the Hobgoblins in the tent turned to the Air Shaman, the Hobgoblin’s alarmed eyes met Orion’s as he followed the tethers to their source.

“Suck on this!” Orion roared, flipping the workbench over as he shot to his feet.

Everything seemed to happen at once. As the last of the mana was drained away from the lightning chains holding his raid mates, they struck out at the Hobgoblins holding them and dropped to the ground as one. Not Killtet though or the two female Valkyrie players. As the Rogue launched himself at the large Hobgoblin in front of him, Lady and Laya got to the demi-human first and leaped on top of him with shrieks of rage.

Orion didn’t see what happened after that. He caught a glimpse of the Air Shaman turning around to flee the tent as the massive ball of fire and lightning tucked into his chest went critical. Orion barely had the time to shove the erupting ball away from him as a series of system messages popped open before his eyes a split second before everything went dark and he was standing in the middle of a graveyard.

Congratulations! You have learned a new spell: Tether Drain.

Cast Time: Channel

Spell Requirements: 10 Mana

Allows the caster to feel and draw mana out of a static spell. Can be attached to multiple targets. Draws up to 50% Spell Power per second channeled. Requires Air Shaman skill level 5. Range is sixty yards.

Congratulations! You have learned a new spell: Basic Lightning Manipulation

Cast Time: 5 sec

Spell Requirements: 20 Mana

Allows the caster to manipulate Lightning magic. If used in combat the damage to the target is 400% Spell Power. Requires Air Shaman skill level 10. Range is sixty yards.

Congratulations! You have learned a new spell: Self-Detonate.

Cast Time: 5 to 60 sec

Spell Requirements: 30 to 2400 Mana

Allows caster to gather internal and external mana into a condensed ball of energy that can be released all at once. If used in combat the damage to the target is between 1200% to 18000% Spell Power. Requires Air Shaman skill level 15. Range is self only. The area of effect is a 10-yard radius.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill, Amalgamate and are now able to combine Fire and Air elements.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 39!

Racial Bonus: + 1 to Intellect, +1 to Charisma

You have 5 attribute points available to distribute!

Congratulations! You have reached Level 38!

Racial Bonus: + 1 to Intellect, +1 to Charisma

You have 5 attribute points available to distribute!

Congratulations! You have reached Level 37!

Racial Bonus: + 1 to Intellect, +1 to Charisma

You have 5 attribute points available to distribute!

Congratulations! You have reached Level 36!

Racial Bonus: + 1 to Intellect, +1 to Charisma

You have 5 attribute points available to distribute!

You have been killed by yourself! Do you wish to resurrect at your corpse or release your spirit to the nearest graveyard?

“Ain’t that the shit?” Orion muttered to himself in stunned amazement while staring at the blood-red letters hanging in front of his eyes.

Chapter Four

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Ashley Duchenson waiting outside of the Hobgoblin’s camp 0230 in the morning.)

“That can’t be good,” Ashely muttered out loud as everyone looked over at her in surprise.

“Ouch, that’s gotta hurt,” Vardrid agreed, shaking his head in empathy.

“What’s up?” Kyarina asked from where she was sitting making potions with her guildmate Lorelai and the Devil Dog priests, “Did they blow the stealth raid that spectacularly?”

“Yep,” Connor said, standing up from where he was playing with his Wraith Hounds while they waited for the action to start, “I don’t remember the planning session having anything about blowing the tent up.”

“How do you blow a tent up in a fantasy game?” Lorelai, a Valkyrie Priest, demanded as she finished making her potion and stood up to see what everyone was talking about. Walking up next to Ashely and Vardrid her mouth dropped open in surprise.

“Pretty much just like that,” Blu3buck said, crossing his arms as he studied the growing blaze at the edge of the Hobgoblin’s massive encampment, “I wonder how they pulled something like that off. The only Fire mage they had with them was Orion.”

“No Fire mage could’ve pulled that off,” Torlandro, a Valkyrie Fire mage, said as he stepped up next to the pair.

“You mean, at least not at our current level,” Lorelai corrected.

“Word,” Blu3buck agreed, looking to the side to see who was talking. Looking Lorelai up and down, he let out a low whistle, “Damn, that babe has got some back.”

“Eyes front and center, Buck,” Ashley growled as Lorelai gave them an amused look.

“There’s no problems with looking, sonny boy,” Lorelai said, letting out a throaty chuckle as she gave him a saucy wink.

“See, Ash, she’s not even upset,” Blu3buck argued.

“Yeah, because she’s old enough to be your grandma,” Ashely snapped, shaking her head as she pulled up her HUD to check the stealth raid’s status.

“Then she’s a total GILF,” Blu3buck chortled as the rest of the Devil Dogs listening to the conversation groaned.

To Ashely’s surprise, Lorelai just seemed to accept the compliment in the vein it was meant without batting an eye. Huh, who would’ve thought she’d be cool with that? Still, she had to keep Buck on a leash or he’d become impossible to be around.

“Ugh, you really need to get laid,” Ashley said in disgust, slightly conflicted at the older woman’s nonchalant attitude about being openly ogled.

“Why are you offering?” Blu3buck flippantly asked before he saw the angry look that flashed across her face. Holding his hands up fearfully, he began quickly backing away from the Warrior/Priest, “Sorry, Ash, that was just a joke.”

“Whatever, I’ll just let Killtet talk to you about it again once he gets back,” Ashely dismissively grunted, seeing that the entire stealth raid’s icons had suddenly turned gray, “which should be soon since everyone in the stealth raid just died.”

“Everyone?” Kyarina asked, standing up suddenly and urgently walking over to join them, “Laya and Lady wouldn’t have gone down without a fight!”

“We might want to start getting into our defensive positions,” Demonslayerz, one of the Valkyrie Warrior Officers, said as he studied the scene below, “Those Hobgoblins seem to have a general idea of our location.”

“Why do you say that?” Ashely demanded of the other player.

“Look for yourself,” Demonslayerz said, nodding to the activity going on down in the Hobgoblin camp below.

“What the hell?” Ashely swore, seeing what he meant. The whole side of the camp they were on was a buzz of activity that seemed to be heading in their general direction, “Killtet wouldn’t have given us up even if they’d somehow managed to torture him to death.”

“I warned you earlier this would happen,” Pherala said in an accusatory tone as she watched the Hobgoblins begin to swarm up the slope in a solid mass, “I imagine they simply smelled the location the stealth raid chose to enter the encampment from and deducted the rest.”

“That’s impossible!” Kyarina exclaimed in disbelief, “There wasn’t even an alarm sounded!” Even with the proof right before her eyes, it was obvious that she couldn’t accept the simple truth of what the Centauride was saying, “Besides, it’s not like they could even see our stealthers if they didn’t attack.”

“The Hobgoblins don’t need to see our people,” Pherala calmly continued as if she were talking to a particularly dense child. “They just needed to set up a trap and ambush our people when they took the bait.” Her golden eyes swept across the shocked looks on the players’ faces around her. “What better bait than the parts of a new overpowered weapon that they captured?”

“Rrreeeiii!” The whinnying scream that suddenly came from Zror and the rest of the Dread Herd made everyone freeze. Clopping to a stop around their group, the lead Dread Stallion aggressively thumped its thick fleshy tail on the ground as its horse-like head swung around to glare at the raid. While the rest of the herd reacted the same way, Zror let out another whinnying scream.

“Um, Orion’s not here,” Kyarina gulped, taking a nervous half-step back from the monstrous horse-like creature, “Any idea what they’re going on about?”

“He’s not happy?” Ashley unhelpfully concluded as the lead Dread Stallion swung its head around to give her a look of disgust.

The herd had taken off shortly after the stealth raid had left. Without Orion playing translator, none of them had known what was up and just let them go. It wasn’t like any of them could really stop the group even if they wanted to without it turning into a fight from hell. As Zror’s large head turned to Pherala, the lead Dread Stallion began communicating in a complex series of whinnying and neighs. Ashley didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that something bad was going on. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck begin to stand on end at the alarmed look that began forming on the Centauride’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Kyarina asked Pherala, trying to understand the situation.

“Chill,” Ashley warningly said, placing a calming hand on the other woman’s shoulder, “it’s not like Pherala speaks their language either.”

“She obviously understands something,” Kyarina griped, trying to keep her annoyance in check, “or they wouldn’t be trying so hard to speak with her.”

There wasn’t much she could say to that. In truth, there shouldn’t be anything that could be threatening them at their present location, Ashely silently thought as her eyes searched the darkness around them. Their raid had set up a good half mile away from the Hobgoblin encampment looking down at it from atop a steep hill.

Even with the Hobgoblin forces charging out of their camp, they should be far enough away to not be found. In theory, they should be able to see anyone sneaking up on them. Though, Ashely was beginning to fear that was a dangerous assumption to make. Even so, the only way they’d run into problems was if the demi-humans somehow figured out exactly where they were. Besides, it wasn’t like anyone in the stealth raid would’ve given up their defensive position. So then, why were Pherala and Zror making such a production about this?

“By the dark, they have Plague Hunters with them!” an alarmed Pherala swore, holding a hand up to silence Zror. Whirling around, the Centauride’s nostrils flared as she faced the empty slope around them. A cold shiver of déjà vu ran down Ashely’s spine. It was obvious Pherala had caught a whiff of something as she brusquely continued, “All of you need to pack up your gear now and fall back to the spider-holes you dug earlier while Connor and I lead the enemy away.”

“The hell are you going on about?” Matt Mellon, a Devil Dog Barbarian, demanded as he looked at the rest of his guildmates for support.

“Buck and Marie, you’re with me on the Bone Sled of Dread,” Pherala ordered, ignoring the angry outburst as she turned to Santaz Krew, a Frost mage / Ranger, who’d just walked up, “Santaz, you’re with Connor.”

“We don’t take orders from an NP-” Allen Hiser, a Devil Dog DPS Warrior, began to say, only to be cut off midsentence by a chorus of rumbling growls as the pack of five Wraith Hounds turned to face down the slope with their hackles raised.

The aura of dread radiating out from the hounds momentarily silenced the entire raid as everyone eyed the dark gray hounds fearfully. It wasn’t just the players who reacted that way. If anything, Pherala and the Dread Herd’s reaction to the otherworldly creatures was even more extreme. As both groups uneasily backed away from the wild dogs with the whites of their eyes showing, Connor gave the raid a speculative look.

“Talk about déjà vu,” Connor said as a bemused smile played at the corners of his lips, “this is the exact same reaction they had the first time we were ambushed by the Hobgoblins.” He nodded to his babies as the Pack Leader’s red glowing eyes turned to meet his own. “Ankou says the enemy force is getting close but he thinks they still can’t see us yet with their Darkvision. So, whatever we’re going to do, we need to get it done now or most of us will die a horrible death in the next few minutes.”

Ashley traded a conflicted look with Kyarina as both women came to the same decision in the blink of an eye. Both of them were having problems treating the NPC like an equal member of the raid. It was hard, her natural reaction was to treat the Centauride as a simple piece of digital code, but that had to stop if they didn’t want to lose the BAMFs to the enemy. Not only that, this was the third time their Scout had alerted them to a pending attack. Only an idiot would ignore that. Getting a subtle nod from Kyarina, the Devil Dog officer turned to the spooked Centauride.

“What do you need us to do, Pherala?” Ashely asked like she would to anyone else on her team. It took repeating the question twice before the Centauride’s terror-filled eyes would turn away from the Wraith Hound pack to acknowledge her, “How do you want to do this?”

“The Pack is on our side,” Connor soothingly said, patting Ankou and Herne on the necks as he stepped between his pets and the Centauride.

“They’re wraith-cursed,” Pherala said with an undertone of fear in her voice, “Our legends say such monsters hate the living and feed off of their life essence.” Her golden eyes studied the dark gray pack defensively surrounding the Light Elf as they faced down the slope towards the hidden enemy while coming to a decision. “But I’ll readily admit their connection with you seems to be very different,” a conflicted look flashed across her face, “and we’re desperately going to need their help if we’re going to pull off this escape.”

“We’ll pack up all of the iron bolt cartridges on the Bone Sleds and any arrows the rest of you can give to the cause,” Pherala said in a tone that brooked no argument, “While the raid hides in your spider-holes,” she flashed the players that she’d asked to join them with a smile, “the rest of us will be doing our best to get the enemy to chase after us. If that works, once the Hobgoblins and their Plague Hunters have passed, I’d suggest you meet up with the stealth raid at the graveyard and head back to the Sulfuric Springs with all possible haste.”

“I didn’t say we were calling off our harassment-,” Kyarina began to argue as many of the Devil Dogs and Valkyrie players bristled at the thought of running from the enemy.

“Hold up, and let Pherala explain,” Ashely barked, catching everyone by surprise.

Ashley had decided to just put the Centauride into the slot of being one of her soldiers. It was just easier that way. So, if her Scout was dropping a truth bomb on her, she was at least going to listen to her soldier’s reasoning.

“Thank you,” Pherala said, dipping her head in thanks. Jerking her chin at the growling Wraith Hounds, she continued, “Even the wraith-cursed can sense the Plague Hunters from here. They are the Hobgoblins pets that they use to run down their four-legged enemies,” her mouth curled in distaste, “and are one of the beasts they used to push my tribe from the Plains of Atoll. One diseased bite from the monsters and you’re infected.” She visibly shivered at the memory. “Death quickly follows afterward.”

“Is that why you want us to fall back to what, BrokenFang Hold?” Kyarina asked, sharing a glance with Ashley, “And why can’t we just circle back around to harass the enemy like normal once we outrun these Plague Hunters?”

“You don’t outrun Plague Hunters once they’re released,” Pherala hauntingly said, her face hard as she met the Valkyrie woman’s dismissive smirk head-on, “And if we can’t hold their attention, you’ll find out what I’m speaking of quickly enough.”

“We’ll take your words under consideration,” Ashley hurriedly said, stepping between the two of them as the Wraith Hounds began to grow tenser, “For now, what should we do?”

“Pack up the BAMFs on the Bone Sled, so if the spider-holes don’t work, they won’t be lost to the enemy,” Pherala said, glancing at the Dread Herd, “with Zror’s herd’s help, we should be able to keep ahead of the Plague Hunters even with the extra weight.” The Centauride nodded to the players that she’d selected. “Then, we’ll do a run at the enemy and try to get them to chase us. If we’re successful-”

“We won’t be taking a trip to the graveyard,” Ashley finished, nodding in understanding as everyone grimaced. Giving the Centauride a nod of thanks, she turned to the raid, “Alrighty people, let’s get moving. We’ve got,” she glanced at Connor.

“Maybe five or ten minutes tops,” he said, after a moment.

“We’ve got five minutes to get the sleds loaded up and into our camouflage spider-holes!”

It was a tight squeeze. Both guilds worked hard to get the BAMFs anchors out of the ground and loaded up on the sled. There was some disagreement on the number of quivers to share out from everyone’s personal supplies but as Ashley succinctly pointed out. If they were discovered by the enemy, it sounded like they wouldn’t be able to respawn at their gravestones to recover their gear.

That point caused even more of a ruckus, but one that everyone finally grudgingly agreed made sense. By the time five minutes had gone by, both Bone Sleds were loaded up and heading out while the rest of them hurried up the ridge to disappear. The trickiest part about the whole situation was that they were simply guessing at how close the enemy was before they were within Darkvision range. Not that it exactly helped that their spider-holes were on the backside of the slope.

“Make sure you crawl over the top of the ridge!” Ashley commanded as everyone hurried up the slope.

“Why the hell would we do that?” Jorgen, one of the Valkyrie Warriors, asked as the Devil Dogs dropped to the ground to scurry up the remaining distance to the ridge.

“Because you’ll clearly stand out against the skyline to anyone looking up the slope in this direction,” Vector Fisher, a Frost mage / Warrior / Priest, irritably snapped, “So stop complaining and get down on your hands and knees!”

“Wait,” Lylirra Valkyrie, a Frost mage, suddenly said, “What are you guys talking about again?”

“Um,” Vector stuttered in surprise, “How best to keep hidden from the enemy when crossing a ridge.”

“Damn, my fault,” Lylirra apologized while trying not to smile, “It sort of sounded like Jorgen was trying to talk me into some bedroom shenanigans for a second.”

“Hey now,” Jorgen protested in indignation as everyone chuckled, “I never asked like that before.”

“Sure, you haven’t,” Kyarina teasingly said, giving the rest of the raid a broad wink.

“Now we know why you never get any lovin,” Vardrid added with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Ew, burn,” the raid chorused as Ashley gave Lylirra an appreciative nod.

Joking hard always helped release tension in their guild and, from everyone’s reaction, it helped to take the sting out of Vector’s words. The other woman simply gave her a wink as they hurriedly crawled over the hilltop. Crouched low, they hurried down the far side of the slope to the camouflaged trap doors as the Devil Dogs began helping the Valkyrie players inside.

In one way, it was better that the spider-holes were on the opposite side of the hilltop and out of sight because if any of them had been seen by the enemy, it would help make them think they’d actually run for it instead of hiding in place. As she and Shelly made sure the trapdoor lids were well blended into the ground cover, Daiki, Allen, Vector, and Matt began making tracks further down the hill. They’d gotten about half of the false trails laid when the sounds of nearby fighting came to their ears.

“How far away do you think they are?” Shelly asked as they began carefully wiping their footprints away.

“Not far enough,” Daiki muttered as Allen and Matt hurried over to them.

“The rest of you need to get into your spider-holes,” Vector ordered as the rest of them nodded.

None of them balked at the ex-Cav Scout taking the lead. Being ex-military, all of them knew much about each other’s MOSs and deployment history when they were on active duty. Vector, like her husband Killtet, was skilled in infiltration deep inside enemy lines and was the best out of all of them at camouflage and hiding tracks. That was why the rest of them simply nodded and followed orders.

Though Ashley was from a Cav unit, she wasn’t an expert in forward observation due to her support and command role. Even so, she was trained in much of the same skills as Vector which was why she was second to the last to go into her own spider-hole.

“Let’s hope this works,” Vector murmured in a low voice as he held up the trap door for her. By then, the numerous sounds of running feet, inhuman shrieking howls, and guttural commands being bellowed out from many throats on the other side of the hill were all too close for comfort.

“We’ll know soon enough,” Ashley agreed, unlimbering her new shield and sword before dropping into the earthen hole with her knees tucked up to her chin.

The darkness was complete as Vector hurriedly sealed her inside and moved on to his own spider-hole. To say it was cramped would’ve been an understatement. They hadn’t truly been expecting to need the fallback position, but if there was one thing Marines and Cav Scouts loved to do, it was digging holes, Ashley jokingly thought. Most of their training emphasized digging some sort of foxhole or observation blind whenever they took up a defensive position for any length of time.

At least, the holes were shallow enough to crouch down inside. While that made the space that much more claustrophobic, on the plus side, they’d be able to pop out and fight relatively easily if they were discovered. She just hoped the Valkyrie players didn’t have a problem with the tight spaces, Ashley thought, hearing Vector’s ruffling sounds stop as he got his own spider-hole sealed up.

It always surprised her that the innovative hidey-hole wasn’t all that original. In truth, the camouflage technique had been used by Humans since the dawn of time. It was copied from an arachnid creatively named a Trapdoor Spider. Though, she’d argued that modern special operations teams had taken the technique to a new level.

To Ashley’s surprise, they didn’t have long to wait. It had only felt like they’d been waiting for a minute, when an inhuman shrieking howl rang out from, what she assumed, the hilltop. The disturbing sound snapped her out of her contemplation as savage growls filled the air. Next, she heard the sounds of many clawed feet as the creatures raced down the slope. A half-second later, they were over the top of their position snuffling the ground loudly as a large pack of something began searching for their missing prey.

The stench of the monsters made her skin crawl. It actually made the rotting flesh of Zombies smell pleasant in comparison, Ashely thought in horror as a cold shiver ran down her spine. These things must be the Plague Hunters that Pherala had been talking about earlier. A part of her wondered what the disgusting beasts looked like as the noise above them got louder.

No … no … no! Ashely urgently thought as she heard the pack begin digging at the rocky ground with their paws in confusion. It was crazy that she could smell the creatures’ overwhelming stench even through the sealed trapdoor. As Ashley gipped the hilt of her blade tightly preparing to burst out of her spider-hole, she suddenly heard part of the pack take off further down the slope. From the sound of it, the creatures had found the false trails that the guys had set up.

While that was a relief, the problem was it took only one of the monsters to get lucky and snag the lip of one of their trapdoors. It wouldn’t take much for a Hobgoblin to recognize the regular shape embedded into the ground. Imagining that she wasn’t the only one starting to freak out at the commotion, Ashley made sure she was still on raid chat as she began mentally typing.

“Give a shout if your cover is blown and the rest of us will come out swinging!” Ashley sent to the raid, getting a handful of confirmations back almost immediately. She obviously wasn’t the only one getting wound up.

Closing her eyes, Ashley did her best to calm her beating heart as cold trails of sweat began running down her back under her armor. There was something about waiting to be discovered by snuffling monsters that made your skin crawl. If they were all going to end up dying, she swore that she’d rather just get the shit over with sooner rather than later. Her eyes cracked open to slits as the trapdoor above her began shaking from the digging claws of an especially excited Plague Hunter. She was about to say fuck it and attack when a guttural bellow caught her by surprise.

“Það er greinilega ekkert þeirra heimska dýr,” an angry Hobgoblin snarled as a solid thwack rang out above her. The digging instantly stopped to be replaced with pitiful whimpers as the gravelly voice cruelly continued, “Farðu að veiða með restina af pakkanum þínum!”

For a long second, she held her breath waiting for the expected sound of the trapdoor being forcibly removed. One … two … three, Ashley silently counted the seconds down, prepared to slaughter as many of the ugly pumpkin-headed bastards as she could before they could cut her down. It was almost a letdown when she reached a hundred twenty seconds. That’s when she noticed the massed sounds of clawed feet passing by overhead were all but gone.

“So, does anyone have a clue as to how long we should wait before checking to see if the coast is clear?” Kyarina suddenly asked, not bothering to type the message out.

“Good question,” Shelly said, choosing to forgo mentally typing out the message too, “What do you think Ashley, Vector?”

“I’d wait another three minutes just to be safe,” Ashely replied, after automatically checking the time on her HUD.

How many minutes had it taken for the Hobgoblins to reach the hilltop after they’d cleared the other side? It was a good question. Was it five or ten minutes? Ashley mulled the problem over while the seconds ticked down, silently glad that she’d had the sense to listen to Pherala’s advice this time around.

What was stuck in Ashely’s head was that the Centauride must have had the right of it. The Hobgoblins would’ve had to have been waiting for them to go after the BAMF parts this whole time. They had the intelligence to pick up when their stealth group had entered their camp and had used that distraction to ambush their main raid.

It was a terrifying thought. If Pherala and Zror hadn’t picked up on that, there was no doubt in Ashley’s mind that the Hobgoblins would’ve managed to capture the rest of the components they needed to craft their own BAMF. The last thing she wanted to have to do was explain to everyone how they’d fucked up and been outwitted by a bunch of in-game monsters. Before she could mentally flagellate anymore, Vector’s voice sounded in her ears.

“I’m gonna take a peek now.”

There was a long pause as Ashley held her breath waiting to see if they’d been suckered by the Hobgoblins again or not. There was a slight scuffling sound of rocks and earth being moved as she pictured Vector carefully titling up the trapdoor enough to look all around them. She let out a sigh of relief at the ex-Cav Scout’s next words.

“The coast is clear, but hold up a second longer,” Vector said in a low whisper, “I’m gonna check the backside of the hill just in case.”

Ashley didn’t hear a sound as Vector moved out. In her mind’s eye, she could see him carefully crawling back up to the ridge to have a look around. It might sound ridiculous, but she honestly didn’t trust these Hobgoblins not to have another trick up their sleeves.

“It’s all clear as far as I can tell,” Vector’s voice came a few minutes later. As they all carefully began crawling out of their spider-holes, the ex-Cav Scout continued softly, “If you switch to normal vision mode, you’ll be able to see the force that they sent after us towards the east.”

Keeping low to the ground, Ashley carefully crawled out onto the ground, before fitting the trapdoor carefully back into place. As she looked around at the rest of the raid, it looked like everyone else was playing it safe. Rising up to a crouch, she scanned the plains towards the east and gulped at what she saw.

“Un-fucking-believable,” Ashely muttered under her breath in horrified awe.

There was a stretched-out line of Hobgoblins that had to be several thousand in number long jogging in the direction that she assumed Pherala and Connor had headed in with their Bone Sleds. While that was bad enough, it was the disgusting packs of misshapen monstrosities ranging out ahead of the pumpkin-headed bastards that made her skin crawl. Not that she could see the creatures clearly but what she could make out in the shimmering moonlight was terrifying to behold.

They were nearly half the size of a terrestrial horse but much thinner and moved like a pack of hungry wolves across the plains. As her eyes studied them, she swore it looked like their skin was sloughing off their emaciated bodies. Boy was she glad that she’d listened to Pherala on this one, Ashely thought, shivering at the memory of their awful stench.

“I think it’s safe enough for us to start heading for the graveyard,” Vector suddenly said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Take the lead, Vector,” Ashely said, after getting a nod from Kyarina, “and let’s move out.”

Chapter Five

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Startum Ironwolf waking up and logging in outside of Darom.)

Beep … beep … beep

Throwing my covers back, I sat up on the side of the bed while automatically reaching for the smartphone on my nightstand to dismiss the alarm. Even though it was five o’clock in the morning, I was instantly awake. As I stood up and stretched to my full height, I silently marveled at how much better a good night’s sleep could make you feel as the ligaments and bones noisily popped throughout my body.

Well, that was more like two solid nights’ sleep and a half-day off, I mentally corrected myself, grabbing the large water cup from the nightstand and heading for the bathroom. Taking care of business, I downed the cup of water, cleaned up, and jumped in the shower. I was out in just a few minutes instead of soaking up the wet heat like most mornings.

Toweling myself off, I was amazed at how well I felt. The crippling soreness of overused muscles that I’d had during the first three weeks of playing was nearly gone. I’d been mostly there about a half week ago, but then we’d been forced to ride all day long for three days straight to keep the horde of Orcs at bay. After that, I’d been barely able to walk after logging out. It was such a relief not to be constantly in pain that I’d nearly forgotten how that felt.

Not bothering to get dressed, I headed to the kitchen feeling like a new man. Instead of going to the espresso machine first, I popped open my laptop and started up my favorite playlist. As the song “Die for you” started playing, I hummed to myself, “This could be the day I die for you …” as I started breakfast and turned on the espresso machine.

Starting up the bacon and home fries in the pan, I mixed them together with the eggs, ham, and vegetables happily humming away. Coffee was next. As the next song “AMV Mortals” started to play, I lightly began to sing the lyrics, “Standing in the open, dried out tears of sorrow … hum humhum … staring down the barrel …” while I mixed up a large cup of Cuban coffee.

Luckily, no one could hear me. While I loved to sing along with the music, it was most definitely not my forte. Not that such concerns stopped me from actually singing, but I usually only shared the horrible experience with others when my friends were locked in the car along with me. A smile came to my face as I thought back to the last time Domenic and Mike had been forced to endure my singing. It had been on a Wednesday night when we were still going together to Martial arts class. I silently shook my head and laughed. Let’s just say they never rode with me again after that

Carrying everything into the living room, I sat down on my sofa and started up my laptop as I began shoveling food in my mouth. I’d gotten up extra early to go through everyone’s emails and look over the forums. Partly, that was because it was my job as a guild leader, and partly, that was because a lot of things had gone down during the fight and I was curious to see what everyone was saying about it.

Huh, the first email was from Kyarina and it had been sent not a half-hour earlier. What the hell was she doing up so late? I silently wondered as I read the subject line, “Holding off the Hobgoblins any further is a bust!” Frowning, I double-clicked the email and began reading.

This isn’t good, I thought, reading Kyarina’s latest update. The Hobgoblins had set up a trap in conjunction with an invisibility spell to ambush the Scouts. What the fuck? I thought as I read. These Hobgoblins sounded nothing like their Orc counterparts. We’d have been completely fucked if the Orcs had caught us in an ambush like that.

Kyarina described how the Hobgoblins had set up a similar ambush for their larger raid group. The only reason it hadn’t worked was that Forrest had made some sort of bone dogsled with their BAMF mounted on the backend like some sort of 50. Cal and the attack force had really only been sized for the two Scouts. If not for that, they’d have been wiped out. I let out a low whistle while checking out the screenshot of the vehicle that she’d added. It was really impressive and made me wish I were back at BrokenFang Hold doing some crafting.

Not currently possible, I sadly thought as I read on. Still, it was crazy what Kyarina was saying about the Hobgoblins. From my experience, Goblins were much tricker than Orcs, but it sounded like these Hobgoblins were all of that on steroids. If the Orcs had been half that sneaky, we’d have been royally fucked and have never made it back to Darom. It sounded like we were going to have to step up our game against these assholes, I thought, reading further as the food that I’d just eaten started to feel like a solid weight in my stomach.

From what Kyarina was saying, The Scouts had ended up losing a few parts of the larger BAMF during an earlier ambush. Forcing the last few bites down, I started sipping my coffee. Okay, the tripod and gravity cartridges weren’t game-ending but it wasn’t good either. As with most inventions, coming up with the initial concept was what was the hard part. Once you saw it in action, copying the concept was much easier. I’d still expected a month or two of weapon superiority before anyone thought to copy the concept. Who’d have thought that our first contenders would be a race of demi-humans copying our designs? Talk about a game-changer! I shook my head and kept on reading.

As soon as Kyarina started explaining their plan to recover the stolen items, I began shaking my head knowing how this was going to end. If those pumpkin-headed bastards were already being that tricky out on the Plains of Atoll, it seemed like a doubly bad idea to try taking them on in their own encampment. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have done the same, but this just sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.

Unsurprisingly, the story just got worse as I read. Somehow, the Hobgoblins had been waiting for them to try and take their gear back. They’d nearly taken out the raid and captured the rest of the BAMFs a half-mile away before the stealth group had even made it to their goal. While they’d managed to hide from the enemy due to some smart thinking from Pherala and the Scouts, they were now trying to race back to BrokenFang Hold while being hunted by a large force with hundreds of Plague Hunters chasing them down.

Coming to the end of the email, I silently shook my head while nervously rubbing my eyes. The whole thing sounded like one huge clusterfuck. Reading between the lines, I understood what Kyarina had not said. There was still a chance they could lose their BAMFs to the Hobgoblins if they messed up during their flight across the Plains of Atoll. I’d have to ask Helgath about these Plague Hunters she was talking about. From Kyarina’s description, they sounded pretty nasty.

Her P.S. was just as disappointing. Because they hadn’t been back to the Sulfur Springs or BrokenFang Hold as of yet, she hadn’t been able to get anyone working on making the weapon designs that I’d sent her. Even worse, she doubted that they’d have any time to collect the minerals that I’d asked Minny to search for while she was mining.

My reply was simple. Just focus on getting everyone out of there alive and with as many of their levels intact as possible. I didn’t bother bringing up the lost pieces of the BAMF since I’d already told them that was dangerous when I’d first heard what they wanted to do to slow down the Hobgoblins. Besides, it wasn’t like they needed me to tell them that they’d screwed the pooch on that one. Shaking my head, I went to the email from Thomas next.

It started out like I’d expected it would. “You could’ve let me know what your backup plan was.” As I read, it was obvious that he wasn’t upset. If anything, it sounded like he felt bad for how everything had gone down at the end. Not like there had been much of a choice for me at the time. Still, the more I read the more it made sense once I thought about it. How many movies had been made about Marines going above and beyond the call of duty to never leave anyone behind?

Thomas assured me that he and his vets would do everything in their power to help hold BrokenFang Hold from the Hobgoblins. Though, he warned me not to take too long getting back or I was going to miss out on all the fun. From the forum messages that he’d gotten from his people, he warned that it sounded like these Hobgoblins were going to be much harder to take on than the Orc horde that we’d just faced.

No shit Sherlock, I thought with a shake of my head. Thankfully, it looked like Thomas and I were basically of the same mind about this entire situation. As I read his summary of the events that had transpired with the raid facing off against the Hobgoblins, it was obvious Thomas wished they hadn’t taken the bait. Not that he blamed them for trying. As he pointed out, we now had a better understanding of the type of enemy we were up against.

Even though Thomas covered much of the same information that Kyarina had in her email, I still read through everything in detail trying to see if I could glean any new facts from their slightly different take on the event. From what I could see, the core information about what had gone down was basically the same. The only difference was that Thomas had added the breakdown of how the Hobgoblins had ambushed everyone inside the main tent. That part hadn’t been included in Kyarina’s email.

To say it was an eye-opener would’ve been an understatement, especially the part where they’d been suckered into the trap. What stuck out most in my mind was that the stealth raid had been hidden for the entire time, except for when they were entering the tent. Thomas’s buddy Killtet, who’d been leading the group, didn’t know what had given them away, but it was obvious to everyone that the Hobgoblins had reacted to their infiltration much quicker than should’ve been possible.

Huh, I thought, remembering something that had stood out when I was reading Kyarina’s email. Pulling up her message again, I quickly scanned for the part that I’d mentally flagged as curious. It was when she was explaining about the tent catching fire inside the Hobgoblin’s camp being the first heads-up that something went wrong. Shortly after that, Pherala, Connor’s Wraith Hounds, and even the Dread Herd had reported that they could smell the approaching Hobgoblins even though they’d been invisible at the time.

There it was, I excitedly thought. If our allies could smell the Hobgoblins when they were approaching, then why couldn’t the opposite be true for the enemy? That meant the Hobgoblin guards had simply smelled the stealth raid when they’d entered the encampment. Once they had the general location the group had entered from, it was basic deductive reasoning to send a hidden force out from that point to look for the remaining portion of the raid.

That possible course of events rang true to me. I imagined that both the Valkyrie and Devil Dogs just dismissed the reasoning because they still considered the people of The World to be like they were in any other MMO that they’d ever played. No one had tested this theory out because no one was willing to run back to their corpse to grab their gear and try escaping the Hobgoblin’s encampment under stealth.

Not that I particularly blamed them. There was no sense in being needlessly slaughtered again and being one more death closer to dropping a level. Besides, from what Thomas was saying about what his people had seen going on inside the camp, it had been a horrifying experience, to say the least. Though, the most disturbing part of the whole update was that the Hobgoblins were already hard at work trying to recreate the BAMFs.

Opening up another reply for Kyarina, I quickly typed that point up and sent it out, before copying the same blurb for Thomas’s reply. As I finished with that, I was curious to see that Thomas had something more to share with me. It was a screenshot that he’d gotten from his sister Jodi and a guy named Tumms Darkbrew, who was his only guildmate still in BrokenFang Hold. The image they’d sent to everyone was some sort of magical portal-looking device that was found inside the mountain behind the main keep by my people.

This was the first I’d heard about the device, I angrily thought, looking at it closer. Obviously, Jodi and I were going to need to have a talk about including me in these updates too. It was annoying. While she might have only joined the guild to be close to her brother, as her official guild leader, she should’ve included me in the update as well. Seriously, it wasn’t like she didn’t have access to my personal email address since I’d already received emails from her husband and brother.

I let out a heavy sigh. It really came down to a personal respect thing. If someone was willing to help you out, the least you could do is have the common courtesy to include them in interesting updates about stuff going on in their own lands.

Dismissing the feelings of annoyance that it caused, I studied the image closely. Looking at it, there was no doubt in my mind that this was some sort of transportation portal. The ramp leading up to the opening that faced a solid wall made it the most likely conclusion. Zooming in on the complex runes, I immediately wondered if Hollysharp would be able to make heads or tails out of them. As I was panning over the image, I stopped on one of the gems that were inlaid into the device’s outer rim. I swore that I’d seen something like that before.

Harrumphing thoughtfully, I pulled up another window in my browser and went to my twitch stream channel. I browsed through the video lists until I found what I was looking for. It was my first day of week two inside The World. Fast forwarding the video, I froze the scene at the point in time when I was looting Hitlohtla Doombreath the Devourer’s corpse, and found The World Boss’s heart.

Lining up Thomas’s screenshot of the portal-like device with the image of the glowing heart, I compared the two images. There was no doubt about it, I thought excitedly. The gems embedded into the rim of the device looked to be the same exact type of item. Tucking that little tidbit of information away, I went back to Thomas’s email as my mind whirled at the implications.

To my surprise, Thomas said that Jodi’s husband John had already done some research on the item. While there was nothing that he’d found within the online lore of The World, he did uncover something interesting. He’d taken screenshots where the developers had discussed that there were lots of ways to uncover pieces of lore inside The World. The main ones were inside the main libraries that different civilizations had in their capital cities or even old ruins that were also dungeons.

Curiously enough, John had discovered that each capital city in the Nordic Region had its own great library. He didn’t know if they’d have the information on the portal device my people had uncovered or not, but since I was going to be making a run to the Gnome Capital of Tulduroc, he thought it might be worth my time to swing by the library there to see if they had anything.

Huh, I thought, sitting back on the sofa to sip my coffee. Depending on if it’s needed or not, I could easily swing by the library in Aeroch Nor since it was on the way to Dolurn. Hell, if it was needed, I could even swing by Baernathrad, the Dark Elf capital. That gave me another idea.

Sitting forward, I cracked my knuckles, before opening a new tab in my browser. It took only a moment of searching to pull up the map of the Nordic Region. Studying the distances between the port city of Myathlune where my friends would be landing to that of Delonshire and Amyalneas, the capital city of the Light Elves, I nodded to myself thoughtfully. That could work out nicely if Sarka, Yun, Unalia, and Tinyr were willing to run a quick errand for me.

Popping open another email, I added my old teammates’ names to the address. Attaching the images that I’d been looking at along with all of the other information that Thomas had given me, I quickly typed up a message. It was simple enough. “Hey, do you mind taking a quick detour to Amyalneas for some research?” I assured them that they’d be able to catch up to everyone before they reached Delonshire.

Knowing the crew as well as I did, I figured they’d also be as curious as I was about the strange portal-like device and be more than willing to take a side trip. Also, Amyalneas should be an excellent place for some upper-tier item shopping, especially since the crew had a pocket full of gold and silver burning a hole in their leather pants. Besides, when it came to Sarka, it helped to know which buttons to push. Chuckling at that last thought, I hit send and went back to Thomas’s email.

The last paragraph was basically about the Admin’s Flying Ship that got caught in the battle with Hitlohtla Doombreath the Devouring. Thomas and his crew had collected a bunch of forum links where people were speculating if flying ships were possible for anyone to build inside The World. It was a good question and had gotten my own mind churning. I popped open a few of the links to save the screen captures that many of the players had taken of the flying ship. Just wait until the HollyTerror made its appearance, I smirked at that thought. Who knows, maybe Hollysharp could figure something out if I could get a clear enough image of the ship and its runes.

Typing everything up, I warned Thomas about having his people keep any knowledge about the HollyTerror to themselves. The last thing we needed was another large guild not caught up in all of this PVP mess getting the jump on us and copying the idea of what I was having built in Auris Shaeras. Besides, I wanted the introduction of the magic ship to come as a complete surprise to the player base.

Hitting send, I quickly scanned through the rest of my messages. There were a few updates from Zilla, John Fay, and the others in the Beast Kin area. From the sound of things, they were going toe-to-toe against various parts of the Triple A guild. That and their lands were being constantly raided by Sea Orcs. I gave them a quick thanks for the update but warned them of the situation going on back at BrokenFang Hold. If we got things under control, I’d see about what we could do to give them a hand.

Checking the time, I saw that it was getting close to seven, and time for me to log back in. I needed to be on time if I didn’t want Töten and Phoenix to leave me behind. Closing the lid of my laptop, the music that had been playing suddenly cut off as I began gathering up my dirty dishes. Putting everything in the dishwasher, I grabbed my suit from where it was hanging in the guest bathroom and headed back to the kitchen. It took only a few minutes to fill up the camelback with fresh water and mix in the protein package.

Suiting up, I topped off my large plastic cup and headed for the computer room. Getting everything set up on the computer desk next to the egg, I picked up the helm and sat back into the gaming unit preparing to login. Hooking the tube from the camelback into the side of my mouth, I took a test sip and placed the helm on my head, before closing the door.

Instead of immediately triggering the login sequence, I took a second to prepare myself for seeing Helgath in her newly repaired body. It might sound funny, but up until now, I’d been too busy to think about the change. Now that I was about to see her again, I felt my heartbeat quickening in my chest as flashes of a few of the more detailed sexual dreams that I had the night before started flittering through my mind.

Taking a deep breath, I took a moment to calm my libido. Just the thought of seeing her this morning and having her in my arms had gotten me going in a way that I hadn’t expected. The problem was that logging into The World with a hard-on for my severely abused soulmate didn’t sit right with me no matter how sexy she might now look. It wasn’t right, I repeatedly told myself, slightly rocking back and forth in the Egg as I did my best to clamp down on my desires.

To say that I was internally conflicted would’ve been a massive understatement. While the in-game soulbound rune literally made us technically a bonded pair, up until now, I’d never had any sexual desire for Helgath. Not because I didn’t care for her greatly, because I actually did. The simple fact of the matter was that she hadn’t fallen into the range of beauty that I considered attractive.

A smile flashed across my lips. I could hear the outrage screaming now if anyone could’ve actually heard my personal thoughts on the matter. For some reason, it seemed like men in our society weren’t allowed to have a personal preference when it came to women.

What-the-fuck-ever, I dismissively thought, knowing that much of the baggage I had was from my abusive past and that it had scarred me deeply. While all that might be true, it didn’t change the simple fact of the matter. Everyone had their individual preferences for what they considered attractive. Whether or not you approved of that simple truth, it was perfectly fine and natural, regardless of what society tried to say otherwise.

A smile briefly played at the corners of my lips. The problem that I had with Helgath was that I was now mentally and physically attracted to her. While I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that a physical relationship between us wasn’t an issue for her, the problem was that it was an issue for me. During our time together, I’d gotten to see flashes of her past from the soulbound link that we shared. In all of them, Helgath had been abused on an almost unimaginable scale.

From our private talks on the matter, I’d learned that was how it had been for most of Helgath’s life. She’d been enslaved from birth and repeatedly raped as a slave from a very young age. Not that she’d understood what rape meant. It wasn’t even a concept in Orc culture. Even so, unlike many of those around her, she’d fought against the casual abuse with every fiber of her being. There’d been something inside of her that knew such things were wrong on an almost instinctual level. The internal conflict those thoughts created made Helgath neglect her looks regardless of how much they’d beaten and tortured her for that defiance. Her goal had always been to make herself strong enough to find a way out of the hellhole that she’d been born into.

Because of our connection, I knew how Helgath looked at herself. I understood that she simply expected to be used. It was such an ingrained part of her life throughout the Half-Orc’s existence that she’d never thought there could be anything different. And while she’d raged against the abuse as a slave, I knew that she wouldn’t have batted an eye at it now. Not since Helgath had sworn herself to me in Auris Shaeras.

I’m sure many people in my position would simply have taken the physical aspect of our relationship as a given and used her body to satiate their desires. For me, that wasn’t possible. I understood all too well how such traumatic long-term abuse affected one’s understanding of a healthy relationship and made certain concepts hard to even fathom. How one’s personal choice and desires could be twisted into something ugly. I shuddered at the thought as that reminded me of the abuse in my past.

I let out a heavy breath. If I took advantage of Helgath now, I wouldn’t be any different than all of those monsters that had abused and used her throughout her life. For a physical relationship to exist between us, the requirement for me was that Helgath would have to freely choose to be with me. That she understood what love and physical intimacy meant and wanted to share it with me; not something that she simply endured because it was an expected part of the cruel and brutal Orc society that had enslaved her from birth.

While I could normally divide the physical act from the emotional aspect during a one-night stand, due to the connection I shared with Helgath, that was all but impossible. That meant there was no way that I could allow anything to happen between us unless we were of the same mindset, regardless of what my hormones were saying. Otherwise, I’d be going against my personal honor and that would devastate me emotionally.

Opening my eyes, I cracked down on the last vestiges of desire running through my thoughts. I had to make sure it was pushed far enough down so that Helgath couldn’t find it if she were rummaging through my surface thoughts during our long ride. With that finally accomplished, I triggered the login sequence. Within seconds, my vision darkened as the login process began flashing past my eyes.

Running Pod Diagnostic – Complete

Synchronizing controller units - Complete

Neuro Synchronization - Complete

Initializing virtual environment …

The crisp morning air hit my face as soon as my consciousness synchronized with my in-game body. Before I could take in my surroundings, I instantly became aware of two familiar weights snugged up tightly against my chest. The first was Neysa’s massive head lying on my shoulder, while the second had all of those newly added curves that seemed to burn my body wherever they pressed up against me. As my eyes snapped open in alarm, I found myself looking up into Helgath’s yellow cat-eyes that were staring down at me intently.

‘I’ve been waiting expectantly for your return, War Leader,’ Helgath’s satisfied voice sounded in my head as my body tensed at the intimate closeness between us, ‘This was the longest time that you’ve been away since I’ve become your soulmate.’

In the light of early morning, I could clearly see Helgath for the first time since she respawned. It took everything I had not to stare at the shocking changes that had come over her. Instead of the sunken skin and half-starved gaunt look that the Half-Orc had always had since I’d accepted her as my soulmate, she looked exceedingly healthy. The green tinge of her skin had a healthy glow while thin lips and cheeks were now filled out. Not only that, Helgath’s stringy and patchy black hair had been replaced with a healthy mane of straight black locks that beautifully framed her alluring face.

Below the neck, Helgath’s changes were even more eye-popping. The Black Cuttle Leather armor she wore was stretched to the limit and may as well have been painted onto her curvy body. Not that she was fat. The changes were more subtle than that. Her too skinny legs were now decently muscled and well fleshed out, I silently thought, unconsciously gulping as my eyes passed over her very rounded ass. It all fit well with the rest of her very athletic curves.

‘I still don’t understand why the Nordic Guardians were holding you responsible for Rani’s death from the Wyrm-Ghast’s attack,’ Neysa sent, distracting me from my visual once-over of Helgath as she raised her large furry head to look down at me.

‘Probably because Rani made a big deal of it. Though, I can’t say I was overly surprised about it. I’ve dealt with people like that my entire life,’ I said, doing my best to think of anything else but how good the Half-Orc looked, ‘From what I’ve seen of her personality, she’s not someone who deserves respect for the merit of their character or the performance of their job duties. If you don’t fawn over her position,’ I mentally snorted, ‘or looks, she turns into a petty despot.’ Whatever else I was going to say about the annoying woman fled my mind as Helgath happily snuggled deeper into my chest.

‘I’m just glad to have you back in my arms,’ Helgath sent, letting out a satisfied sigh.

‘Um, how did everything go while I was away?’ I sent while silently cursing my body’s betrayal at the hardness slowly forming between my legs as my mental voice went up a few notches, ‘Did you have any trouble with the Chaos Storm Alliance?’

‘There were no problems that we couldn’t handle,’ Helgath assured me even as she cocked her head to the side at my suddenly higher mental tone.

‘Yeah,’ Neysa gleefully chimed in not picking up on the change at all, ‘We tore up a few of those Chaos Storm Alliance rats when they tried to flee past us while on our patrol of the area.’

‘Huh,’ I mentally squeaked, doing my best to turn my hips away from the Half-Orc, ‘I’m surprised they didn’t try hunting you down.’

‘No way,’ Neysa proudly proclaimed as Helgath gave me an odd look, “not after what happened inside Darom and the surrounding area. Most of those Chofe-ka were too busy fighting the new monster respawns or running away to bother with us.’

‘That’s strange, why would the newly spawned monsters be giving them any issues’ I sent, sitting up to put some distance between us as the pair made room for me, ‘And who’s keeping watch now?’

‘The region jumped in levels,’ Helgath explained in more detail, knowing that I’d want to know the changes occurring around Darom, ‘the low-level creatures are all gone. In their place, there is a new selection of level twenty-five to forty range monsters.’

‘Neri offered to keep an eye out for intruders while we waited to see if you’d be showing up this morning or not,’ Neysa sent, answering the second half of my question.

‘Huh, that is odd,’ I mused at the Half-Orc’s words, while distractedly patting the Silver Dire Wolf on her flank. “Good thing Neri decided to come along with us.’

‘Yeah, and she brought lots of tasty rations along with her,” Neysa enthusiastically agreed as I wondered what would make a training region change like that.

‘I thought the area outside Darom couldn’t level up beyond level 20 because it was a newfar training city?’ I asked, focusing back on Helgath.

‘Newfar training city?’ Neysa curiously asked, cocking her head to the side as her tongue happily lolled out of her mouth.

‘I can’t comment on that,’ Helgath replied as her fingers brushed my surface thoughts for clarification, ‘Maybe, it’s due to the Crevice of Shadows monsters taking over Darom.’

‘What do you mean the Crevice of Shadows monsters took over Darom?’ I demanded, turning to the Half-Orc in alarm.

‘All of those high-level monsters that chased after the Orcs are now making Darom into their new home,’ Neysa explained as if that were a normal thing for monsters to do.

‘That would probably have something to do with it,’ I dryly agreed, keeping my mind focused on the mystery at hand as my body started to calm down, “Or, The World doesn’t consider Darom a newfar training city any longer and has changed the rules governing its surrounding areas.’

‘That could indeed be the case,’ Helgath agreed as she mulled the unique situation over, ‘It happened after the newfar that escaped Darom began randomly slaughtering the low-level monsters in the local region.’

‘Heh, sounds like they were frustrated,’ I chuckled, thinking about how pissed the Chaos Storm Alliance players must’ve been when they realized just how fucked they were, ‘That’s probably what pushed the region to the next higher-level.’

‘So, that’s good right?’ Neysa asked, looking back and forth between us.

‘Not exactly,’ Helgath thoughtfully grunted, ‘If anything, it would help some of them recover their lost levels.’

‘Exactly,’ I said, thinking over the Chaos Storm Alliance players’ most probable reaction, ‘And they’ll probably end up pushing the region up to the next level above that, whether by accident or to speed-level their raids up. Either way, it’ll probably make approaching Darom by land nearly impossible without a decent-sized raid or high-level group.’ As the Half-Orc’s yellow cat-eyes met mine, I thoughtfully continued, ‘We’ll have to-’

“Yo, Star, you’re back!” a familiar voice suddenly interrupted us from the other side of the smoking campfire, “I thought you were locked out for the next forty-eight hours or something?”

“Hey, Phoenix,” I called back to my friend while nodding to my girls that I was going to stand up, “I thought that too, but after my email to customer support about the issue, they apologized for the misunderstanding and said I was free to log back in.”

“Damn,” Phoenix exclaimed, letting out a low whistle as I helped Helgath to her clawed feet, “You’re one lucky sonofabitch!”

“Tell me about it,” I said, flashing her a grin as she came around to give me a friendly hug and clap me on the back, “I bet Rani was pissed as fuck when she heard about that.”

“I’d have loved to see her face when they denied her request,” Phoenix agreed, letting out a bark of laughter. The Barbarian turned suddenly serious as she stepped back to look me up and down. “I watched that whole video once again this morning.”

“What video is that?” I asked as I looked around for the newest member of our little group.

“That whole fight you had with Hitlohtla Doombreath the Devouring,” Phoenix said, visibly shivering as she said the Wyrm-Ghast’s name, “Why the hell did you go after that monster in the first place?”

“More like how I got my ass kicked,” I dismissively snorted, waving her words away as I began walking towards a log that had been pulled up near the dead campfire, “While all of that shit was going on, Thomas sent me a message saying that Captain Lightouch of the Wind Dancer wouldn’t sail away from the pier if I didn’t either die or come back to the ship.”

“You’ve gotta be shitting me?” Phoenix laughingly exclaimed as everything popped into place, “So you either had to kill that monster or die trying!”

“Basically,” I grunted in agreement as a familiar figure suddenly walked out of the tree line.

“Lord Stinky!” Neristhana screamed as she raced over to me. Jumping at the last moment, she flung herself into my arms, “What happened? I thought you were banished for two more days.”

“So did I,” I said, hugging the Gnomeling back tightly, “but the judgment against me was rescinded and so here I am.”

“Then come,” Neristhana commanded as I let her down, “you need to eat.” Taking my wrist, the Gnomeling dragged me over to one of the logs and motioned for me to sit down as she pulled out another carefully wrapped package of food, “Now, eat!”

“Who’s keeping watch?” I asked as Phoenix let out a silent chuckle behind the Gnomeling’s back.

“No one,” Neristhana said as I began to eat, “Besides, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of anyone since yesterday evening.” To my surprise, I saw Phoenix doing the same. “What’s up with that?” I nodded towards the food. “I thought Advanced start players didn’t have to eat.”

“What, no one told you?” Phoenix asked in surprise, “V-MMORG sent all of us an email last Monday saying that we’d have to start eating three times a day like a Nightmare start players starting today or we’d start getting negative debuffs and die after three days.” The Barbarian gave an indifferent shrug. “It’s annoying but not unexpected.”

As we talked and ate, Helgath and Neysa listened quietly as Neristhana joined the discussion with Phoenix and me. That was par for the course when it came to the Half-Orc. She usually didn’t choose to talk much with others and mainly listened. As the Gnomeling told us about the changes going on in Darom and the local region, I could tell from Phoenix’s side looks at the pair that she wanted to ask me about the sudden change that had come over Helgath. A minute nod was thankfully enough to let her know to save the discussion for later when the two of them weren’t here.

There was a slight flash near the edge of the camp as Töten suddenly appeared on the ground. This was the first time that I’d seen a player login to The World. It took a few seconds for him to fully synchronize with his avatar and sit up. Standing up smoothly, Töten saw us watching him from where we sat near the burned-out campfire. As he walked over to us, he gave a silent nod and sat down.

“Morning,” Töten gruffly said as he removed his helm and set it down beside him.

“Sup,” I greeted, flashing the large Halfling a smile as he pulled out some hard-packed rations for breakfast.

“Hey, Töten,” Phoenix said as she glanced over at me as if to say, “What the fuck is up with his odd race?”

Töten didn’t look like any normal “Halfling” player. It was obvious that his race was crafted from two demi-human races. What was odd about that was that everyone I’d seen up until now was a mixture of the base humanoid races available in the Character Selection screen. While Helgath was a mixed humanoid/demi-human, I’d only seen such racial combinations like that with the people of The World.

“I’m surprised to see you here this morning,” Töten directly said as he began to eat, “V-MMORG isn’t known for retracting punitive bans once they’ve been issued.”

“Tell me about it,” I agreed, “I honestly didn’t expect anything from the ticket that I’d put in.” Thinking back to the email, I silently shook my head. “The email said that after further investigation it was determined that I was not directly at fault for Admin Rani Lamkin’s death.”

“Well, duh, anyone with half a brain could’ve told you that,” Töten snorted dismissively, “I watched your video of the events that happened myself. What’s surprising is that upper management decided to intervene at all.” He turned to look me in the eyes. “Let’s just say that I’ve never seen upper management rein in one of their Admins since my time in closed Beta.”

“Since closed Beta?” Phoenix dubiously asked, questioningly looking Töten up and down.

“How do you think I managed to get this unique race otherwise?” Töten pointedly asked the Barbarian.

“I don’t know,” Phoenix said, flicking her hair back over her shoulder in annoyance, “but I imagine you selected it like everyone else did from the Character Selection screen.”

“Hardy har-har,” Töten sarcastically said as he glanced over at me and raised an eyebrow.

“He obviously didn’t select two demi-human races from the regular Character Selection choices that the rest of us had,” I said, disagreeing with Phoenix as Töten smiled at my words, “let alone have the selection of an Oni or Fire Giant.”

“Are you sure about that?” Phoenix asked, not believing me, “I didn’t go through them all, but there were a whole bunch of Beast Kin options-”

“Says the only pure Human in the group,” Töten dismissively snorted as I suppressed my own smile.

“Hey now,” Phoenix exclaimed as I cut her off.

“Trust me, Phoenix,” I said, overriding her outburst, “It was just the basic selections of the regular Humanoid and Beast Kin races.”

“Exactly,” Töten said, finishing off his meal and pulling out a waterskin, “I’m an officially sponsored “new race” tester and bug-finder.”

“Ah, shit,” Phoenix grumbled as she turned to glare at me, “we’re not going to have to put up traveling with another obnoxious Game Admin are we?”

“I’m not a Game Admin,” Töten protested, “I’m just a paid race tester,” he coughed in his hand to disguise his next words, “and medical pod tester.”

“Medical pod tester?” we both asked in unison.

“Yeah, I’m all screwed up in real life from an accident,” Töten said somewhat embarrassingly, “A tractor-trailer slammed into my stopped car at a light and wrecked my day.”

“More like wrecked you for life,” Phoenix said, shaking her head.

“More or less,” Töten agreed as a faraway look came into his red eyes, “In all honesty, I’m lucky to even be alive.” He dismissed the traumatic memories as a shiver went down his spine. “Even if I’ll never be without pain again.”

“So, V-MMORG offered you a job, a cool class, and a medical egg to see how much benefit it would be at giving you a better quality of life,” I said, thinking through the company’s possible reasoning.

“And make me less of a strain on the Medicare system,” Töten agreed, “If they can prove it’s effective, I bet they could get some government grants to pay for the program.”

“While advertising their new product to a wider range of audience,” Phoenix added, following the logic.

“Good PR is good PR,” I said, following the logic, “especially if it’s getting people off Welfare and doing something constructive.”

“Are you saying that playing a FIVR MMO is constructive work?” Phoenix incredulously demanded.

“It is if you’re getting people jobs,” I said, nodding towards Töten, “and helping them effectively deal with their chronic injuries to get off of Medicare.” I looked into the Barbarian’s green eyes. “Just the weight loss alone would help someone’s overall health and reduce their strain on the system.”

“Okay, there’s that,” Phoenix agreed, before glancing over at the Anti-Paladin, “I take it you were a fatty when all this started?”

“Not any more than you were,” Töten said, flipping her off. Turning to look at me, his voice turned neutral. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be off Medicare but the worst of my pain has gone down with the weight loss and strengthening my core.” He silently shook his head. “But those first few months were hard as hell. I thought for sure I was going to die from pushing my body so hard.”

“You and me both,” I agreed, “I was just thinking that same thing earlier this morning. This was the first time I didn’t feel half-dead from muscle aches since learning how to ride.”

“Ha, I hear you,” Töten guffawed as Phoenix winced at my words. Seeing the uncomfortable look that flashed across her face, he soothingly continued, “Don’t you worry about it too much, little lady. It took me a month to stop walking like I was bowlegged when I first learned how to ride.”

“Yeah, little lady,” I howled in laughter as a pissed-off Phoenix glared at me, “just keep working those thigh muscles and you’ll be right as rain.”

“I’ve got your little lady right here, Star,” Phoenix angrily grunted as she vulgarly grabbed her crotch, “In case you didn’t know, Töten, I’m a fucking guy in real life.”

“Of course, you’re a guy in real life,” Töten said not blinking an eye as I howled in laughter at the look on Phoenix’s face, “That’s lesson 101 when meeting any woman online in an MMO.”

“Not that you’re not a pleasure to look at,” I added as the Barbarian let out an angry huff.

“Do you really want me to start asking questions about the white elephant in the room?” Phoenix pointedly asked as I stopped laughing immediately and sat up. “That’s what I thought.”

“What white elephant in the room?” Töten asked as the two of us pointedly glanced over at Helgath who gave all of us a blank look, “Oh, that white elephant!”

“We’ll talk about it later,” I said in a tight voice as both Phoenix and Töten gave me a smirk.

“Do you mind including me in that discussion too?” Neristhana suddenly asked, catching the rest of us by surprise, “Because I’d like to hear what happened with that too.”

“Um, sure, Neri,” I stuttered as a knowing smile curved up the corners of her lips.

“If we’re done with that,” Töten said, standing up abruptly, “Are you guys ready to move out or not?”

“Um, sure,” I said, after getting a nod of agreement from Neristhana, Helgath, and Phoenix, “just let us raise our Ghouls up real quick.”

“Sure thing,” Töten said, beginning a cast of his own as I started pulling out soul stones, “as long as you’re not summoning another one of those World Bosses again.”

“Very funny, everyone likes to think they’re a comedian,” I muttered, standing up with Helgath and handing her three of the soul stones as Phoenix and Neristhana started their own casts.

“Neigh!” the rest of us jumped as a loud horse-like scream filled the air and fiery steed suddenly took shape beside Töten. The beast was solid black with steaming hooves, glowing red eyes, and trails of smoke curling up from its nostrils. I swear there were even waves of heat coming from its body as if the creature’s skin was hot enough to actually burn you on touch.

“That’s a beast from the Spirit Realm,” Helgath exclaimed as Neysa shot to her paws growling.

“What the fuck is that?” Phoenix asked in an alarmed tone while still keeping her cast going.

“This is Lilin,” Töten proudly said, “my Nightmare.”

“It figures,” I said, beginning my own cast without too much concern as a wide-eyed Helgath silently joined me.

“What do you mean, it figures?” Phoenix asked as Helgath looked back and forth between us.

“He calls his class an Anti-Paladin and is a Fire Giant-Oni mixed race,” I said as if that explained everything.

“Wait, an Oni is what?” Phoenix asked, trying to remember her lore.

“It’s basically a demon,” I answered as Neysa looked to Helgath for clarification, “so a Nightmare for a mount sort of fits.” I jerked my chin at Töten. “What did you do, get the mount as part of your Nightmare tree?”

“Yeah, at level 50,” Töten admitted as he mounted up on the beast’s back.

“Fucking Pallies and their free mounts,” Phoenix grumbled as she and Neristhana’s four Orc Warrior Ghouls raised up out of the ground.

I could only laugh at the sentiment. It was the way most non-paladins thought about the free mounts they usually got for being their class. Not that it bothered me. Like every class, they had plusses and minuses. While those thoughts were going through my head, I finished my spell with Helgath as sixteen Orc Warrior Ghouls raised up out of the ground.

“Damn,” Töten said, shaking his head at the twenty Ghouls that were suddenly surrounding us, “I didn’t realize you were bringing your own raid.”

“Not too shabby, huh?” I asked while calling Neysa over and nodding for Helgath to mount up.

Whistles sounded around us as Neristhana and Phoenix called their Palnisdale Mounts. As everyone began mounting up, I started casting my usual battle buffs on our group as Helgath joined me. Arcane Speed, Enhanced Mage Armor, and Holy Shield, before casting Bone Shield and Bone Fangs on myself. I also took the extra time to buff up our Ghouls with Touch of the Grave, Monstrous Vitality, Grave Flesh, Leeching Touch, and Elemental Resistances. As I climbed up behind Helgath, I was surprised to see Töten cast a spell as a new glowing aura momentarily surrounded all of us, including the Zombies. Glancing at my HUD, I let out an appreciative whistle.

“Aura of the Crusader,” I said, nodding to Töten as Phoenix scrambled to check her HUD to see what I was talking about. It was a typical Paladin buff for increasing the movement speed of the party. The aura was usually associated with running speed or mount speed but this one was somewhat different. It looked to cover all movement speed of allies within a forty-yard range of the Paladin, which meant it might also be usable in combat. Now the question was whether or not it stacked with my Arcane Speed spell, “I forgot how nice it is to team up with a Paladin.”

“Anti-Paladin,” Töten corrected as I rolled my eyes. A wry grin came to his face. “So, are you ready to go or do you have a few more spells that you wanna cast? Maybe you’d like to summon a few more pets or something-”

“We’re good,” I said, cutting him off as I got a nod from Neristhana and Phoenix, “It’s not like we need any of our Summoned Pets before we get to your stronghold. Besides, we can probably travel faster without them.”

“Wait, you have even more pets you can summon?” Töten asked in confusion.

“Yeah, those were just our fast-moving Ghouls,” Phoenix said as if that explained everything, “but if you want, we can summon our slower-moving pets.”

“Oh, hell no,” Töten said in mock horror, “That took more than long enough to do.”

“That was fast in comparison to most casters,” I said, rolling my eyes, “I just have more buffs than most players.” As he climbed into the saddle, a thought hit me, “Hey, do you mind skirting by the outskirts of Darom? I’d like to see what’s going on with all of the Crevice of Shadows monsters that got left in the city.”

“The Crevice of Shadows monsters are still in the city?” Töten asked as a shadow passed over his face, “Sure, we can do that.”

Clicking his heels to the Nightmare’s sides, Töten’s mount took off at a fast trot, heading through the forest in the direction of Darom. Nodding for Phoenix to go next, I fell in behind the Barbarian not bothering to ask Neristhana what she wanted to do. Over the last few days, I’d learned that the overprotective Gnomeling preferred to take up tail-end Charlie behind me whenever possible.

We cut through the forest much quicker than any of us expected. The twenty-five percent speed increase to our mounts made our trot feel more like a canter speed-wise. As we swung wide around the graveyard, my eyes caught glimpses of new monsters scurrying between the trees around the previous low-level forest as we passed.

There were large mastiff-sized rabbits that were all teeth and claws called Dire Horn Atrocities that were being chased by Razor-Tailed Horrors. Those last guys were basically mutated Foxes from a horror slasher movie. They had razor-sharp tail-whips that could cut through the prey they were hunting in seconds. Further back in the trees, I caught sight of shadowy packs of Elite Dire Forest Hunters that were wolf-like monsters nearly the size of a small pony. Luckily, the new monsters were in the level 20 to 30 range or we would’ve aggroed a shit-ton of the monsters as we trotted past.

Töten didn’t lead us out of the edge of the woods but had us run along the edge of the clearing to the city of Darom’s walls. It was a good thing too, because the shit-show of new monsters made the back of my hair stand on end. As Neysa followed close behind Phoenix, Helgath and I checked out the swarms of monsters that were now making the city their home.

The open field that led up to the walls was covered with the familiar forms of the trash mobs that we’d fought earlier. Packs of Scaled Shadow Hunters moved around the field battling Toxic Stingers and Nightwing Slasher Mosquitos, though, the packs were being fed on by Venomous Rock Scorpions and Jagged Assassin Beetles. On the walls themselves, I saw groups of Spiked Geckos and Crystalline Spiked Gorgons quietly sitting in wait for any flying monsters coming close enough to feed on.

‘What are they doing with those piles of corpses?’ Helgath asked as my eyes surveyed the field until I found what she was talking about, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that before.’

‘I don’t know,’ I replied, seeing an odd mound-like mass not twenty yards away.

To my shock, it was pulsating and undulating as if it were alive. Looking closer, I suddenly realized the odd mounds were created from what remained of the mass of Orc corpses from the Horde’s invasion force. The demi-human bodies had been gathered up into piles and stuck together with what looked to be some kind of weird sticky excretion. As a light bulb went off in my head, I felt bile suddenly rise up in the back of my throat.

‘Star, are you okay?’ Helgath urgently asked as I gagged behind her trying not to puke.

Talk about being totally creeped the fuck out! It was the insectile monsters’ larvae consuming the necrotic rotting flesh of the dead that made the mound of corpses look like it was pulsating and alive. It was like something out of an old Aliens horror movie. You know, the one where the Aliens had gathered up their living victims into breeding clumps of spittle and slime as the humans were forced to endure the horror of implantation and birth. That, or the concept of a Zerg Breeding Pool from StarCraft and corrupted Terrains. As I looked out across the area between the woods and the walls, I silently swore, realizing there were mounds like this everywhere.

‘I’m fine,’ I managed to send back while gasping for air. Feeling the Half-Orc stiffen in my arms, I pointed to the nearest piles of corpses to explain, ‘The monsters are somehow using the corpses like biomass to feed and breed their young instead of implanting a single corpse.’ I sent her the mental picture of the PKer idiots that I’d seen being stupid enough to be implanted while their bodies were still alive by the Nightwing Slasher Mosquitos. ‘They probably have to do it that way when the hosts are already dead. That, or it allows them to somehow produce even more young.’

‘I’ve heard of legends of such horrors before,’ Helgath replied in a quiet voice as she studied the pulsating mounds and the insectile monsters taking care of them, ‘When they’re found within deep holes like the Crevice of Shadows, they can only grow so large.’ She swept an arm at the forest around us. ‘In a highly populated forest like this nearby for fresh corpses, such monsters have the ability to explosively expand nearly unchecked until it takes a Horde to defeat them.’

‘Great,’ I sarcastically thought as I looked out across the nightmarish landscape, ‘There’s nothing we can do about it right now.’

‘I wasn’t accusing you of-’ Helgath began to stutter as I cut her off.

‘I’m not saying that.’ I assured the Half-Orc as I hugged her tightly to my chest and forced my eyes away from the beginnings of a new horror show. ‘It’s just the simple truth and will be a problem for future Star to deal with when we come back to recover Darom.’

Feeling Helgath’s silent nod of agreement against my chest, I kept alert for any immediate threats as we rode on. Curiously enough, Töten’s winding course led us around to the northwestern side of the city. Yeah, the same side that we’d passed through on our way to counterattack the Chaos Storm Alliance’s invasion force. Not that I blamed him for not hanging out longer around the field of death. One misstep and we could aggro a whole mass of Crevice of Shadow monsters on top of us.

As we climbed back up the slope, it was interesting to see the damage caused by our massed charge from earlier. Everywhere I looked, the trees and ground were still visibly torn-up from our passing. In truth, it shouldn’t have been all that much of a surprise. This was the first time that I’d doubled back through an area I’d previously passed through. Parts of the living breathing world like this still caught me by surprise and, if anything, drew me deeper into the FIVR world.

In the distance, I noticed new monsters that seemed to be everywhere. To our left, a sounder of Elite Ridged-Spiked Boars was making their way through the woods near the top of the ridge. As I watched, they were being slowly surrounded by a pack of Dire Shadow Terrors. Even more surprising, both groups were in the level 40 to 45 range.

To my far right, I saw thick webbing covering a large portion of the trees directly north of the city. Looking closer, I could see black spiders with red skulls on the back of their bulbous backs as large as a small pony slowly expanding their area. Talk about disgusting. I couldn’t help but shiver at the new monsters that were in the process of taking over the region.

Luckily for us, the top of the ridge was mostly barren due to its relative closeness to the plains that we’d crossed the day before after leaving the Crevice of Shadows. As Töten brought the group to a halt, I turned back to look down at the city. Behind the walls, I could see the very top half of a few Elite Hulking Monstrosities slowly making their rounds throughout the city. As the massive beasts passed an area, sometimes an Elite Cavern Death Maw Spinner would hurriedly clamber on top of a guard tower or the remains of a burned-out apartment building to get away from the high-level monsters. That in turn would cause a number of Giant Armored Toxicpedes to scamper over the wall or upset a flight of Paralytic Vampiric Bats. The resulting feeding frenzy of the Spiked Geckos and Crystalline Spiked Gorgons made me cringe at what it would cost to retake Darom.

“Holy shit,” Phoenix muttered under her breath as she rode up beside me, “I don’t think you’re going to be retaking Darom anytime soon.”

“Tell me about it,” I said, shaking my head in disgust, “At least, it allowed us to escape and took the city away from the Chaos Storm Alliance.”

“And the Horde,” Phoenix agreed.

“There’s that,” I agreed.

“You know,” Neristhana said, joining us, “This could be a great opportunity to get a ton of crafting materials. By the dark, if you could figure out a way for us to farm those monsters, we could make a killing even if we just sold the raw materials.” Seeing the shocked looks on both of our faces, she rolled her eyes. “You know, I’m just saying it’s not all a completely bad thing.”

“It also means you didn’t lose the city to the Chaos Storm Alliance,” Töten knowingly said, “that means, you don’t lose any status or reputation.” Seeing the thoughtful look on my face, he flashed me a grin. “We ran into that during closed beta. It just means you’re permanently considered under assault, which will cause you issues with forming new alliances until you can retake the city.”

“That’s good to know,” I thoughtfully harrumphed, “What about the issue of a growing swarm of those monsters having access to so much new stock to feast on now that they’re away from the Crevice of Shadows?”

“Uh, no clue what you’re talking about,” Töten muttered as he gave us an uncomprehending look. Quickly, I explained the legend that Helgath had told me about. From the look on his face, it was obvious that he was surprised that something like that would even be possible.

“Let me guess,” Phoenix dryly said, “You never ran into an issue such as that in closed Beta?”

“No, not really. No one was ever stupid enough to do something like that,” Töten said with a shrug. As Phoenix and I rolled our eyes at the comment, he quickly switched gears, “If you’re done looking, we’ve got places to go and people to kill.”

“Yeah, we’ve seen enough,” I said, after getting nods back from my companions, “Lead on oh Lord of Darkness.”

“Funny, isn’t that closer to your title?” Töten asked, snorting at the Legend’s reference, “Besides, that pussy only wishes he looked this cool.” Whirling his mount around, the Anti-Paladin raised his hammer into the air and bellowed. “Now, let’s ride!”

“This is going to be a long day, isn’t it?” Phoenix asked, watching the pair ride down the slope onto the plains.

“You’re saying that like it’s something new,” Neristhana chortled as the Barbarian grimaced.

“Just think how much you’re riding skill is going to level up today,” I laughingly said, nodding to them both as Neysa leaped down the hill after Töten while the mass of Ghouls moved out to screen our flanks.

“Ayeiii!” Neristhana screamed as she clicked her heels into her Palnisdale Mount’s side and leaped after us.

“I’m just thinking how sore I’m going to be tonight,” Phoenix complained as she urged her mount into a trot.

This trip across the grassy plains was going to be vastly different this time around. While we’d seen a number of monster herds in the distance, they’d actually run away from us before the raid had gotten close enough to get a good look at them, let alone cast an Identify. It wasn’t that particularly surprising given that the monsters had mostly been in the level 30 to 40 range and our raid had outnumbered and out-leveled them so completely. The handful of level 45 to 50 monsters who hadn’t run we’d handled without breaking a sweat. Even so, I didn’t particularly want to waste time by running afoul a pride of Elite Dire Frost Tigers or a pack of Elite Spiked Plain Hunters.

Now though, I could see there were many herds moving around the grassy fields in the distance, and this time, none of them seemed overly concerned about our presence. As we looked down at where the horde had stomped a path through the snow-encrusted plain, I was stunned to see numerous Steel Wool Sheep, Black Fang Rams, and Cobalt Antler Caribou herds eagerly consuming the remains of the Orc corpses that had been left behind by the Crevice of Shadows monsters. These most definitely weren’t the herbivores of Earth but omnivorous monsters that had no problems eating a free meal of opportunity. As Töten led us down the slope to the plain, an eager squeal caught me by surprise as two Ghouls suddenly went charging ahead of us.

“Steel Wool Sheep!” Neristhana shrieked in excitement as she spurred her mount into a gallop. As we all looked at her riding past in shock, the Gnomeling called back over her shoulder, “Don’t just sit there like a bunch of lumps on a log, we’ve gotta skin as many of these monsters as we can!”

“What the hell?” Töten cursed as he reined his mount to a stop.

“Why are we attacking trash mobs, Star?” Phoenix asked, slowing down as she twisted around in the saddle to give me a confused look, “And sheep of all things.”

“Fuck if I know,” I grunted while commanding my Ghouls to go after the remaining Steel Wool Sheep in the herd. While I didn’t know what was up, it was too late to argue about it now.

‘How do you want to handle this?’ Helgath asked as I kneed Neysa in the flanks for her to follow after my recalcitrant companion.

‘I’m not sure,’ I hurriedly sent as Helgath drew her blades, ‘Just take down as many of the monsters as you safely can and we’ll figure out what the fuck is going on once this is all over.’

‘Gotcha!’ Helgath and Neysa both answered.

As the two Ghouls tackled their Steel Wool Sheep, Neristhana leaped from the back of her mount like a maniac. Yanking out her hand axe, she brought the blade slashing down on the broad neck of the Steel Wool Sheep with a resounding clang that made my eyebrows rise. That didn’t deter the hyper Gnomeling in the least. With an excited shriek, she began hacking the monster about the head as the rest of the herd began running away.

While I didn’t exactly understand what was going on, I knew enough to command my Ghouls to target the Steel Wool Sheep’s heads. Warning Neysa and Helgath to do the same, we galloped past Neristhana’s fight to chase down the rest of the herd. As we came up behind the stragglers, Helgath smoothly leaped from the Silver Dire Wolf’s back first to take down a pair of monsters.

Unslinging my Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender and yanking the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty from my belt, I slid off of Neysa’s back, using her velocity to launch myself at another two of the lower-level trash mobs. Shield Bashing the first beast in the side of the head, I blasted the monster off its hooves with the overpowered blow. As the trash mob collapsed like it had run into a brick wall, I turned on the second Steel Wool Sheep and brought my hand axe chopping down on the back of its head where the protective coat was at its thinnest.

The resulting clang caught me by surprise. It felt like I was chopping into a thin sheet of metal. Even so, the Steel Wool Sheep staggered from the blow as its run faltered. Before the beast could recover, I began going to town with a purpose as my axe repeatedly hacked into the base of its skull. Being eighteen levels higher than the trash mob made it relatively easy to physically overpower the beast. As it collapsed to the ground squealing in rage, I Executed the monster with a two-handed chop that ended its life.

Whirling around, I was just in time to see the first Steel Wool Sheep that I’d attacked climbing back to its hooves. While it shook its head to clear the effects of the stun, I charged back the way that I’d come as I saw Neysa pounce on another pair of the low-level mobs out of the corner of my eye. Wanting to end this quickly so I could give the Silver Dire Wolf a hand, I slammed a Shield Bash into the beast’s head, stunning it once again. As the beast’s legs folded underneath it, I strode forward and struck the monster on the back of its neck, decapitating it one clean blow as the hand axe’s special attack proc’d. Swinging the blade back up to my shoulder, I quickly spun around in place scanning the immediate area as I searched for more members of the herd needing to be cut down.

In a flash, I saw that Helgath was working with Neysa to take down the pair that the Silver Dire Wolf had run down, while each of our Ghouls had managed to take down the beasts that they’d run down. From the look of things, Phoenix had managed to finish off the monster that she’d pursued and was now helping her Ghouls to finish off the ones that they’d nabbed. While Töten, to my surprise, had taken out the last four from atop his mount and was now waiting with an annoyed look plastered on his face.

Seeing that the stragglers had been taken care of, I turned back to see Neristhana already hard at work trying to skin the Steel Wool Sheep that she’d taken out on her own. Giving Töten and Phoenix an apologetic look, I shouldered my Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender and slid the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty back into my belt as I walked up behind the happily humming Gnomeling.

“So, um, you want to let us in on why we just hacked apart a herd of low-level Steel Wool Sheep?” I asked as I came to a stop behind the Gnomeling.

“Yeah, because this is one of the few ways you can gather Blue Steel ore,” Neristhana excitedly said, not looking away from her work as she fumbled around with the corpse. Annoyed, she slammed her fist into the side of the dead beast with a loud clank, “By the dark, how do you skin these damndable things?”

“I don’t know,” Phoenix said as she walked over to join us, “but I’d probably start with the bunghole first.”

“Do you mind speaking in Common?” Neristhana irritably snapped as she turned around to glare at the smirking Barbarian.

“She means the anus,” I clarified, trying not to smirk as the Gnomeling threw her hands up in frustration. This must be something pretty big because I’d never seen Neristhana act this way before over crafting materials.

“Then say that next time,” Neristhana irritably grumbled as she called her Ghouls over to hold up the corpse. Standing up, she precisely cut a hole around the monster’s anus. Even then, it took some work to get the skinning knife to cut through the surprisingly dense hide. As she began slicing her skinning knife down the length of the abdomen from the inside out, the Gnomeling happily sighed, “Now, that’s much better.”

Going over to one of the other dead Steel Wool Sheep, I bent down and grabbed a fistful of the creature’s metallic-blue fur. To my surprise, the texture felt like it was made from coarse metal, yet at the same time, it was soft enough for me to run my fingers through it like regular fur. That’s weird, I thought, kneeling down next to the dead monster to take a closer look.

Unsheathing my skinning knife, I decided to try a few experiments. If I slammed the blade against the fur, it stopped the knife as if I were hitting a sheet of solid metal. Pressing the point against the undercoat, it felt like I was trying to force the tip of my knife through a solid piece of metal, but when I took my leather glove off to run my fingers through the monster’s coat, the fur gave away like a real sheep’s fur. Looking next to me, I saw Phoenix doing many of the same tests with her skinning knife.

“Dude,” Phoenix said in awe, “Do you think we can make clothing from this?”

“I don’t see why not,” I replied in the same tone, “if we can, it would be crazy strong.”

“Are you guys going to just sit around and fondle the monster corpses,” Neristhana asked in a caustic tone, “or are you going to help me skin these beasties?”

“Come on,” I said, jerking my chin at Phoenix to get busy. Looking around, I saw that Helgath was already hard at work as Töten let out a big sigh.

“We’re not going to be doing this every time we run across a herd of Steel Wool Sheep or Cobalt Antler Caribou, are we?” Töten unhappily asked. “Otherwise, I’m going to just ride on ahead while all of you farm your hearts out.”

“There’s Cobalt Antler Caribou around here too?” Neristhana excitedly asked as Töten’s lips angrily pressed together, “How many herds are we talking about?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, shutting the Gnomeling down before our new friend could take further offense, “Neristhana, we’re responsible for completing a time-limited quest and you won’t be taking off again unless I say otherwise. Got it?”

“But, Star,” Neristhana protested as she whirled around to stare at me, “Do you have any idea what kind of coin we could be making on the open market if we farmed both types of herds at the same time?”

“It doesn’t matter what they’re worth,” I said, giving her a stern look that brooked no argument, “I promised Töten that we would give him a hand with his quest.” As an unhappy look flashed across the Gnomeling’s face, Phoenix spoke up interrupting our argument.

“What is this stuff even used for?” the Barbarian asked, finishing up with his skinning of the Steel Wool Sheep he was working on.

“Oh, it’s used for all kinds of stuff,” Neristhana excitedly gushed as she had her Ghouls drag over the next monster’s corpse, “You can smelt the fur down into Blue Steel bars for crafting high-quality components, armor, and even weapons.” Her voice continued to rise as she began skinning the next hide. “Though, the best is selling it to a high-level Tailor,” she let out a low whistle as she worked, “mages and nobles will pay top coin for this stuff.”

“How high of a level does the Tailor need to be to make clothing out of this?” Phoenix curiously continued asking as I gave him a silent nod of thanks. While I understood where Neristhana was coming from, now wasn’t the time for it. With a thought, I had an Orc Ghoul drag another corpse over for me to work on, while I sent the rest of the undead out to set up a perimeter around us so we weren’t caught unaware by a surprise attack as we worked.

“The Tailor would have to be at least level 40 to 50 skill-wise to be able to work with this,” Neristhana said as Phoenix nodded thoughtfully at her words, “but you’ll get an even better quality if you can find an Expert Tailor to do the crafting.”

“I guess I’d better give you a hand if I don’t want this to take all day,” Töten grumbled as he climbed down off his mount to give us a hand with the work, “By the way, thanks for that.”

“It’s no problem, man,” I said as Töten started skinning one of the Steel Wool Sheep that he’d taken out, “Like I said earlier, I owe you big time for all the help you gave to my people in Darom.” As he gave me a silent nod, I motioned at the hide in my hand. “Just curious, have you ever worked with this stuff before?”

“Not really,” Töten said, holding the body of a monster up one-handed as he started the cut with the other, “but I heard talk about it from some of the larger guilds in closed beta.” He gave me an indifferent shrug. “If you’re ever around high-level mages or nobles, you’ll see them wearing stuff like this all the time.” He shook out the sac of internal organs and set the monster down to peel the rest of its skin away as Phoenix and Neristhana continued chatting away behind us. “At higher levels, there was talk of some of the players using materials like this for crafting top-tier armor, but from everything I heard, it’s expensive as hell.”

“For what, armored clothing or crafted plates?” I asked as Helgath finished up her last monster. Getting one of her Ghouls to drag the next corpse over to the two of us, she silently went back to work while listening in on our conversation.

“Both actually,” Töten explained as we worked, “I’ve heard of Mages and Rogues having the natural metal being sewn into their robes and leathers to increase the overall armor class of their gear, but like the Gnomeling said, just finding a Tailor with a high enough skill level to work with this type of material is pricey enough on its own.” He tossed the metal hide to me and gave me a wink. “Gathering enough of this raw ore to craft a full suit of heavy plate would take forever. You may as well sell this little bit to an aristocrat and buy a top-tier suit of Dwarven armor instead. That is if you can get your reputation high enough for them to take your money.”

“What do you mean, if I can get my reputation high enough for them to take my money?” I asked, my face screwing up in annoyance at the comment.

“By now, you should know most Humanoids don’t like demi-humans all that much, unless you’ve grinded out a shit-ton of reputation with them first,” Töten pointedly said as I nodded in agreement, “Well, it’s even worse with Dwarves.”

“Great,” I said, grimacing at his words as I started on the next monster’s hide. Halfling discrimination was definitely an issue in The World. It was like the developers had purposely set that up for another hurdle for Nightmare players to deal with, I silently thought, when an idea suddenly hit me, “With these Steel Wool Sheep being worth so much, I’m surprised no one has bothered trying to domesticate them yet.”

“Dude, they’re monsters,” Töten said, letting out a bark of laughter, “they’re not meant to be domesticated.”

“Not in the typical sense,” I said, rolling my eyes as I worked, “I mean, why not just put them in a small holding area and feed them the appropriate level monsters to level them up.” I mulled over the idea as I worked. “You know, it really wouldn’t be all that different than what I’ve already done with the Carrion Scavengers that I collected after completing my Nightmare quest.”

“You did what?” Töten demanded, turning around to look at me like I was crazy.

I snorted at the Anti-Paladin’s odd reaction as a frown came to his lips. Doing the hand signal to disable my stream’s recording, I began explaining how I’d gathered up the Carrion Scavengers into a holding area and had my people feed them lower-level monsters. We also added corpses into the hole to assist in their breeding. The biggest issue was making sure you were safe when you were removing the cover and keeping them inside.

To my surprise, Neristhana and Phoenix both started listening closely to the conversation and began asking questions about the process. At first, they both wanted to know why I’d even bothered with such low-level critters in the first place. Though, once I explained how we’d been able to level them up and harvest their paralytic tentacles every so often to be made into a salve for arrowheads, weapon blades, and even clay pots that could be burst over a small area, that got everyone’s attention really quick. When I came to the end of my spiel, Töten gave me an approving clap on the back with a bloody hand.

“Hell, Star, that’s even worse than my poison traps.”

“Yeah, that poison you made up was some nasty stuff,” I agreed, remembering back to how my skin kept melting off my bones, “How did you come up with that stuff?”

“It’s basically Mustard gas,” Töten said with a shrug, “It’s not too hard to make in a magic fantasy world like this with Alchemy if you study up on the basic process.”

“I need to get something like that made up for the coming Hobgoblin attack back at BrokenFang Hold,” I said, thinking about how much that would screw up an invader trying to breach our walls.

“That would be tough with Hobgoblins,” Töten disagreed. Seeing my look of surprise, he explained what he meant, “Hobgoblins are straight-up vicious and tricky as fuck. On top of that, they always have a shit-ton of Air Shamans with them everywhere they go.” The Anti-Paladin shook his head as he got a faraway look in his eyes. “They’d be able to figure out a way to push that poison back over your walls lickety-split. While you’re busy trying to heal everyone back up, they’ll be taking over the top of your walls.”

“I wonder if you could somehow hold the poison in place with some powered runes or something?” I wondered out loud as Töten harrumphed thoughtfully.

“That would work at first, but once they knew it was there, the Hobgoblins would overpower the runes and still do the same thing.”

“You know, I’m actually surprised the Chaos Storm Alliance didn’t manage to pull something like that off in Darom,” I said, scratching that idea off of my list of possible anti-siege traps for now. If I did end up using something like that in the future, I’d have to catch people by surprise and know what classes I was up against ahead of time, “That would’ve sucked if they’d managed to push the poison into the Bastion while everyone was inside.”

“I wasn’t too worried about that,” Töten disagreed, “They’d have to be a high-level Air Shaman to pull something like that off.” He let out a dismissive snort. “How many players do you know that can even cast a basic Shaman spell?”

“Two,” I said as the Anti-Paladin wordlessly looked over at me in surprise. I gave him a wink, “We have an Air Shaman back at BrokenFang Hold and I have some skill as a Water Shaman myself.”

“Respect,” Töten said, before going back to work.

As I finished up skinning my last Steel Wool Sheep, I wrapped the prime pieces of meat inside the skin and rolled it up for later. As I began packing everything away in my rucksack, Helgath handed me what she’d collected. Before I could close my rucksack up, to my surprise, Töten did the same.

“What’s this for?” I asked in surprise.

“Just a thank you for keeping your word,” Töten said, dropping the stack of skins next to me.

“Dude, that’s not needed,” I protested, while quickly gathering the hides up to give back to him.

“Keep it,” Töten grunted as he abruptly turned back to his Nightmare and mounted up.

Packing everything away, I stood up and swung my rucksack back into place as I looked around. Neristhana and Phoenix had just finished packing up their gear and were mounting up after giving me a nod. As I turned around looking for my soulmate, Neysa came to a stop beside me with Helgath already on her back ready to go. Mounting up behind the Half-Orc, I nodded to Töten as he took off again at a fast trot while the rest of us fell in behind him.

To my surprise, Töten didn’t lead us down the swath of destruction that the horde and Crevice of Shadows monsters had left in their wake. He instead headed straight north which cut across the nearly empty grasslands. That emptiness was only due to the direction we were traveling in that loosely paralleled the horde’s trail of corpses which had attracted the attention of most of the monster herds in the immediate area.

Letting out a sigh under my breath, I did my best to match the movements of Neysa’s fast jolting trot. While a mount could keep up this pace for hours, it wasn’t very comfortable for the rider in comparison to a Canter or straight-up Gallop, I thought, as Töten pointed towards the mountains ahead of us in the distance.

“I don’t know how long our path will remain clear,” Töten said, “but even if we have to fight, I don’t see that being much of a problem with how large our party is. Between my Aura of the Crusader and all of us being mounted, any herd or pack that does aggro on us will be hard-pressed to match our pace for any length of time.”

“That sounds easy enough,” Phoenix said while silently wincing at the brutal jolting, “that means we just have to make sure we’re not caught in an ambush or pass too closely to a herd.” The Barbarian perked up as she noticed a large herd on the far left of our path. “Holy shit, are all of those Wild Palnisdale Horses?”

“They’re actually called Wild Strykers,” Töten automatically corrected after eyeing the herd for a moment, “but they’re a lower-level version of the same monsters that are typically captured and trained as Palnisdale Horses.”

“Huh, so you can capture adult monsters and then train them to be your mount?” I thought out loud, “I was wondering if that was even a possibility, or if the developers were going to force everyone to buy their mounts from the people of The World.”

“Naw, it can actually be a pretty good money-making gig,” Töten said as a wistful smile came to his voice, “Back in closed beta, it was the only way you could purchase specialty mounts. Most Humanoids only typically train and sell one type of mount.”

“Damn,” Phoenix swore as she eyed the herd off in the distance, “at two hundred gold a pop, that’s quite a bit of money just waiting to be gathered up.”

“Slow down there, cowgirl,” Töten laughingly said, not bothering to glance back over his shoulder as he talked, “Just a friendly warning, it does take some skill to wrangle wild horses.”

“Yea … yea … yea, what-the-fuck-ever,” Phoenix said unperturbed, “this is an MMO, I can learn any skill that I want to.”

“Well, just so you know, not every monster can be a mount,” Töten quickly warned, popping the Barbarian’s balloon somewhat by the sudden put-out look on Phoenix’s face, “And the ones that can become mounts must be captured when they’re still babies or very young,” he looked at me in particular, “so no adult monsters as mounts. Otherwise, they’ll just fight you to the death.” His large shoulders gave an indifferent shrug. “It’s kind of an odd trial and error to see which monster species are more flexible to being trained as mounts than others.”

‘He’s not fully correct,’ Helgath sent to me as we rode, ‘Most demi-humans have the ability to turn certain adult monster species into trained mounts.’ The picture of a Worg Rider suddenly flashed in my mind. ‘Like the natural ability that Goblins have to train adult Worgs as mounts,’ an image of Orcs riding Wolves appeared next in my thoughts, ‘similar to the one that Orcs have with Wolves.’

‘That’s interesting,’ I sent back while half-listening to Phoenix playing twenty questions with Töten, ‘It means that the more races I use to assist in capturing and training monsters, the better chance we’ll have of getting them successfully trained as mounts that my people can use as cavalry.’

‘I’m not sure how that will work,’ Helgath thoughtfully replied as she considered my plan, ‘Orcs don’t use slaves to train monsters into mounts, but the logic sounds solid.’

‘That makes me wonder what someone with a skill like Exotic Animal Husbandry and Beast Taming might accomplish,’ I pondered, sending the Half-Orc the information for my new guildmember Jodi Tempest back in BrokenFang Hold, ‘Does that mean she’ll have a chance to train any of the adult Elite Battering Rams and Elite Warrior Badgers in the mountains surrounding BrokenFang Hold?’

‘Forgive me, War Leader,’ Helgath replied, slightly frustrated at her lack of knowledge, ‘that I do not know but it sounds plausible.’

‘It’s fine,’ I assured her, hugging her tighter to my chest with the arm I kept around her waist for support as we rode. That, for some reason, made me take note of her breasts pressing up tightly against my forearm. Quickly loosening my arm, I continued without reacting further, ‘She’ll be able to quickly expand our ranks with adult mounts, or she won’t, and we’ll have to train up the monsters’ young. Either way, it’s a lot cheaper than actually buying new mounts from the cities.’

‘If mounts are so important,’ Helgath sent in a displeased tone, ‘I don’t understand why you were so concerned about paying for the mounts you got from Palnisdale instead of simply taking what you needed.’

‘With the current emergency going on, there’s no doubt in my mind that I could’ve done just that and gotten away with it,’ I explained, carefully considering my words, ‘but if I’d done that, it would’ve made me no different than any of the other nobles that have come before me. If I didn’t hold to my word as Overlord and left the specifics of ruling the Kingdom of Kader to the Queen, then why would she not betray me as soon as this emergency has passed?’

‘She already betrayed you once,’ Helgath unhappily pointed out as she began probing my mind to understand what I was trying to say.

‘There is that,’ I agreed, shaking my head at Princess Isolde’s previous betrayal, ‘But afterward, she ended up losing more of her own authority by not honoring her oath to me. Now, as long as I have the Royal Army and the people of the Kingdom of Kader behind me, there is little she can do to openly defy my rule as Overlord.’ I shrugged. ‘At least, that’s my hope.’

‘That is very confusing,’ Helgath grunted, finding the concept difficult to understand due to her own culture’s differences, ‘All of Orc society is based on the concept that might makes right.’

‘And how well does that work for a stable government and thriving society?’ I asked the Half-Orc.

‘Not well at all,’ Helgath admitted with a snort, ‘Orc society is neither stable nor particularly thriving, it is brutal and filled with suffering but it does function on a basic level.’ Gripping my hand in her clawed fingers, she turned suddenly serious as she pulled my arm tight to her chest, ‘I’ve never met anyone who thinks as you do, War Leader.’

‘I’ll take that as a good thing,’ I joked, squeezing her back while doing my best to ignore the large cushions my arm was suddenly being squeezed against, ‘Think of it this way. Whether or not you’re a War Leader, a King, Queen, or an Overlord, there are rules within a society that you must follow or you’re stealing from those that have sworn their loyalty and lives to you. In essence, you’re breaking your oath to them,’ I sent back as I did my best to clear my mind of the Half-Orc’s touch while thinking back to the history of my own world. ‘I’ve seen too much of that privileged attitude corrupt the good in my own world and refuse to be that way here if I have any other choice.’

Most of Earth’s past was filled with horrible dictatorships, monarchies, and totalitarian regimes that were led by despots that tread the common person under their iron heels, making most people little more than slaves. Even the most benevolent democracies and representational democracies slowly turned into brutal totalitarian regimes over time which stole the power away from the common person and put it into the hands of a corrupt few. The results always ended in atrocities. Sadly, it seemed to be a progression that all governments passed through over time, and made me wonder if this was some ugly aspect of Human nature that we couldn’t escape as a society.

‘If I could’ve stayed longer and taken the time to get the city’s stables and the Queen to agree to the loan of the mounts for all of my people, I probably could’ve gotten them to agree to freely give up what we needed. The only problem with doing that is that it would leave me vulnerable to my enemies. They would use that weakness to pressure me into working with iron-fisted nobles that don’t share my vision of the future,’ I said, trying to explain the complexity of the situation. ‘That ultimately would weaken my reputation with the commoners that currently support me and set back the plans I have for changing the Kingdom of Kader’s current social structure.’

In my world, the rich, be it the church or wealthy merchants, would sell the means of war to those in power whether that be a monarchy, democracy, or totalitarian regime. That was done usually by the use of loans of gold and the sale of weapons to both sides in the same conflict. Ultimately, the church or wealthy merchants would be the only winners of the conflict while the countries and their people that went to war in the first place were left in poverty and desolation regardless of whether they won or lost.

‘You also fear what the Nordic Guardians might do to you if you overstepped your newfar boundaries,’ Helgath sent as she combed through my thoughts.

‘That’s also a fear that I must closely be on guard for, too,’ I agreed, mentally nudging her out of my thoughts. I didn’t need her going any deeper and finding the physical attraction that I now had for her. Temporarily through with further discussions about admins and politics, I changed the topic to something lighter, ‘By the way, how did everything go while I was away? Neysa said something about you guys having a few run-ins with the Chaos Storm Alliance.’

I listened with half an ear as Neysa and Helgath started telling me about everything that had gone down while I was logged out. It was curious that the lower-level PKers didn’t try overwhelming my soulmates and companion. Probably because they’d been so completely shell-shocked. While Neysa and Helgath went back and forth describing their fights, the other half of my focus was on Phoenix’s conversation with Töten as she did her best to find out more about him.

From what the large man began to slowly explain, Töten’s father had died on the job during his senior year in high school. The Petroleum company had pulled some shenanigans and refused to payout the insurance for their family, saying that his father had missed the last month’s insurance payment. Two years after that, he’d had a tractor-trailer rear-end him at a traffic light on his way to college. Töten explained that the local hospital’s x-ray machine had been down and so the doctor on duty had sent him home with a broken back, fractured pelvis, and several broken ribs.

Due to that, the insurance company wouldn’t pay for his injuries since they weren’t documented on the night of the accident. That mishap ruined his dreams of being a chef and left him with a broken body. He’d been forced to live off welfare while trying to survive by doing whatever work he could from home. That’s basically how he became a bug tester for several gaming companies. It barely allowed him to make ends meet most months but it was a living.

Curiously enough, that unique combination of being a gamer and bug tester with a shattered body is what had gotten him into the closed beta in the first place. That had then evolved into his current gig with V-MMORG. While his job was officially bug-testing new demi-human classes before they were offered to the player base, V-MMORG was mainly looking for data on how a player’s body with long-term physical injuries reacted to their new medical pod.

While I sometimes joined in on the conversation, for the most part, I simply listened. As far as I was concerned, the most important part of their whole discussion was that it helped to get Töten out of his funk somewhat. Besides that, it was a good distraction and helped to make the time fly by as we rode across the plain. As we approached the silhouette of a small town in the distance, I was surprised that Töten adjusted our line of travel to head towards it.

“Welcome to the pleasant village of Stone Haven,” Töten sarcastically announced as we got close enough to see the shattered windows in the solid stone houses, broken fence posts, discarded household goods, and other paraphernalia scattered across the entire area. The entire place had been ransacked.

“Damn,” Phoenix grunted, “they slaughtered the entire village.”

“They ate,” I subtly corrected, letting out a cough to emphasize my words, “the entire village.”

“Shit on me,” Phoenix muttered, shaking her head at the horror of it all, “I mean,” her eyes studied the dried blood stains scattered around the ground, “I know that’s why you took the time to clear out the Shadowfell Village but knowing that something could happen and seeing it-”

“Are two different things,” I agreed, nodding in understanding.

“What I don’t get,” Töten said in the same tone of disgust, “is why would the developers let this happen? The horde’s invasion should be an entirely separate quest line.”

“I get the travesty of it all,” Phoenix said, as her face took on a troubled look, “but why does that even matter?”

“What do you mean?” I asked as Töten turned back to give the Barbarian a disapproving frown.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Phoenix growled, somewhat flustered as she saw the same look mirrored on my face, “I mean, why did they even bother putting an insignificant town like this out in the middle of nowhere in the first place?”

“It’s supposed to offer a base of operations for players trying to open up the static dungeon that guards this passageway to the Subterranean Realm,” Töten said as he jerked his chin towards the north, “The guarded entrance isn’t too far away from here.”

“Subterranean Realm?” I curiously repeated as the Anti-Paladin continued as he focused on the way ahead.

“Entrances to the Subterranean Realm sort of act like a one-time dungeon that needs to be beaten before you can access a new area of The World. Most of them are in the level forty to sixty range but it’s always best to run an Identify on the guards outside before you attack. You never know if that passageway leads to a higher-level area or not,” Töten warned, “Sort of like your Sea Elf quest to open up the shipping lanes between the two sides of the Nordic Region.” As I nodded in understanding, he continued nonplussed. “While they didn’t have the Subterranean Realm accessible during the closed beta, from what I read on our internal forum, it sounds something like what you’d expect to find in the Underdark.”

“Got it,” I replied, trying to picture how big the underground realm might be.

“The Underdark?” Phoenix asked, not immediately catching the reference as she gave us an annoyed look.

“Eh, it’s an old Dungeons and Dragons term,” Töten said, giving the Barbarian a shrug as I nodded in agreement, “that covers the underground passages and caverns that make up the various civilizations and monsters who live underneath the earth.”

“The hell!” Phoenix exclaimed, giving us an unbelieving look, “Do you know how large that could be?”

“As large as The World itself,” I joked, giving her a wink.

“Sort of like the whole Underwater Realm,” Töten dryly replied as we rode through the other side of the village.

Both of those comments gave Phoenix a pause. We’d barely scratched the surface of the Underwater Realm. It was kind of shocking if you thought about how much gameplay these different areas opened up. It was even crazier when you realized that we’d have to create more advanced magic-tech before we could even begin to seriously explore the oceans further. As the Barbarian processed that, I pulled up my map to see how close Stone Haven was to where we’d passed through the days before with the horde on our tails.

“You know,” I slowly said, looking off towards the west, “it was probably more bad luck than anything else that the village was raided.”

“Why do you say that?” Töten asked, his large closed helm rotating to follow my eyes as he tried to understand what I was getting at.

“Well, the Valley of Stones isn’t all that far away,” I said, closing my map with a thought, “When we blocked the exit out of the valley and made camp for the night, the horde sent their forces circling around to get behind us.” I pointed towards the ridge off in the distance. “The Orcs could’ve easily seen Stone Haven and split off a portion of their horde to deal with the village.”

“I wonder how many other small villages were destroyed in the same way?” Neristhana suddenly asked, catching all of us by surprise. Seeing the troubled looks on Phoenix and my faces, she offered us a sad smile, “It’s not like any of us could’ve done more than what we already did to stop the horde and their massacre.”

“That’s true,” I replied after a moment, frustrated that everything I’d done hadn’t been enough to stop the senseless deaths.

We rode in silence for a bit as Neristhana’s words echoed in our individual thoughts. The idea of dying by being eaten alive was an unimaginably horrific way to go, but it helped to put the situation into perspective for what the people of The World were truly faced with the Orc and Hobgoblin invasions. While we were playing this game for fun, for them, it was a life and death calamity.

My thoughts on the matter were hard to put into words. The more I played, the more real The World was becoming to me. I paused for a moment as I considered that thought. Maybe, it was more accurately said, that every day I was preferring living in this world more than that of my own.

Throughout my life, I always had to be very careful about defending myself from bullies in the real world. Whether it be in school, with my abusive parents, uncaring bosses, or even the law, it seemed like the people doing the actual violence were rarely, if ever, held responsible for their actions. I silently shook my head at the hypocrisy that I’d repeatedly faced in my life. Why did so many people not recognize that the more they allowed such violence to happen, the more it emboldened those same people to do even more?

There was always some ridiculous excuse given as to why you shouldn’t resort to violence to stop those attacking you with violence. Why standing up for yourself was a bad thing. I’d heard it repeatedly throughout my life. It was almost like parts of society needed and expected some people to be the victim. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’d seen that same attitude reflected in the eyes of those people doing the bullying. Whether they be a man or a woman, it was as if they believed you had to accept their abuse, or even, that you deserved it on some subconscious level.

For me, one of the best parts about living in The World was that I had the power to make a difference. My hands were no longer tied. If someone tried pulling that shit here, I’d simply send them to the graveyard. What, you didn’t like that? Too fucking bad. Be polite or I’ll fucking do it again. That, surprisingly enough, even worked with Basic start players with their lower pain threshold.

Whoever said that violence solves nothing was a fool. Righteous violence properly applied to stop aggressive violence was highly effective in correcting anti-social behavior. Trust me, there is nothing like getting smacked down to make you reconsider how you got in that predicament in the first place. It actually solved two problems at once, I thought, chuckling at my own past experiences with that basic fact. There was nothing like getting smacked down and being forced to get back up to build character.

The situation with the Orc Hordes and Hobgoblin invaders was another issue altogether. With those savage demi-humans seeking to destroy everything in their paths, the concepts of good and evil weren’t nebulous. It was either us or them. While it pissed me off that I was too weak to do more to stop them right now, I was doing everything within my power to change that situation as quickly as possible.

I shook my head in frustration. At times, it felt like parts of The World were broken. Not that it mattered one way or another. Like everything else I’d ever faced in my life, I would overcome this too. And, if I were being perfectly honest, that challenge alone made The World more addictive to me than any other game that I’d ever played. Not to mention, the fact that it was giving me the money I needed to be successful in my real life too.

“There!” Töten suddenly called out, interrupting my thoughts as he brought his mount to a stop, “That’s the entrance to the Subterranean Realm that I was talking about.”

Following the Anti-Paladin’s finger, I saw the odd cave-like entrance in a small depression a mile off to the left of our path of travel. It was relatively easy to see now that we’d gotten off the icy plain. From this vantage point, the passageway sort of reminded me of a ‘Pit of Evil’ that you would sometimes run across in a Diablo game. It was an innocuous cave entrance in a rocky depression that was nearly flat with the ground. Around the hole, there was a smattering of weird multi-colored and limbed creatures going about their business.

“What are those things?” Phoenix asked as Neristhana nervously brought her Palnisdale Mount to a stop next to me.

“They’re Dökklingur Scouts,” Töten spat as his face turned hard, “an insectile slaver race that likes to raid above ground for slaves during the warmer months.”

Looking closer, I focused on the odd brilliant blue and black guards around the hollow’s rim seeing what he meant. I realized their oddly lumpy forms looked that way due to their bodies being covered in hard chitin. Curiously enough, they also seemed to be wearing some sort of scaled black armor and had patches of what looked to be downy black fuzz around their shoulders and upper backs. Though, what caught my eye the most were their three pairs of appendages.

The first two sets were regular-sized arms while the third set was small and thin with scythe-like bladed ends that the Scouts kept tucked up close to their torso. It gave them a sort of Beetle mixed with a Praying Mantis look about them. They were lightly armed with long spears that had odd triangle-wedged tips in one pair of hands, while the second pair held what looked to be a heavy crossbow at the ready.

“There are legends of such demi-humans raiding the Kingdom of Cadarea but not during my lifetime,” Neristhana said, eyeing the monsters along with the rest of us, “Normally, we’re fighting off night raids during the spring and summer months from Dark-Hobgobs.”

“I’ve never fought any Dark-Hobgobs before,” Töten harrumphed thoughtfully, “but they sound like they’d be nasty.”

“They’re a constant scourge that raids our villages and towns outside the larger cities,” Neristhana replied, giving the large Anti-Paladin a curt nod of agreement.

“Huh, I wonder if that’s a regional thing or not,” Phoenix thoughtfully harrumphed, “Though, if Neristhana’s people haven’t seen the insectoid demi-humans for such a long time, then why are they suddenly showing up here and now.”

“Who knows, maybe different races controlled different passageways to the surface,” I said, thinking over Phoenix’s question, “That or the passageway’s guardians simply reflect the changing power structure going on within the Subterranean Realm.” That brought up another point. How long ago were the Closed Beta players here timewise for the people of The World? Dismissing that random thought, I mentally reviewed what I knew about insects and winter, “You know, I would’ve thought this weather would’ve been too cold for them to function in.”

“That’s why they’re only out during the day, for now, to work on their defenses,” Töten explained as he pointed out the dark brown shapes moving amongst the rocks, “Already, Dökklingur Workers are preparing defenses for when the weather is warm enough for them to start conducting raids of the local area.”

As he pointed towards the dark-brown shapes moving amongst the rocks, I saw what he meant. There were a number of demi-humans that looked even more outlandish and insectoid in appearance than the Dökklingur Scouts and weren’t wearing any type of armor or clothing. These must be the Dökklingur Workers, I thought as I compared them to the Scouts.

Curiously enough, the Dökklingur Workers didn’t have three pairs of arms but four. One set was an overlong pair that came off their shoulder blades on each side of their back to hang directly over their heads and ended in large hooked-bladed pinchers. The next set was nearly identical but attached to the backside of their shoulders to stick out at forty-five-degree angles on each side. They seemed to primarily use these two pairs of arms in conjunction with their regular Humanoid-like arms that came from their shoulders for carrying large objects somewhat like an ant. Unlike the Dökklingur Scouts, these arms didn’t end in a regular hand but an odd-three jointed pincer. The last main difference was the pair of mini-pubescent small arms that stuck out in front of their chests and ended in odd nubs that the Workers used to stabilize the large stones they were hauling towards the entrance of the hole.

“I wonder if they know everyone has recently been wiped out in the local area,” Phoenix said, letting out a snort as we watched the odd demi-humans work.

“Eh, I doubt they’re all that picky as to what slaves they’re looking to capture,” I said, thinking about what their goals might be. If you were searching for slaves with lots of strength, demi-humans might even be preferable over other Humanoids, “I’m sure Orcs would work just as well as Humans.” I shrugged as an ugly thought came to my mind. “Unless it’s a taste thing.”

“Dude,” Phoenix said, unhappily glaring at me, “that’s some fucked up shit.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m wrong,” I said, giving her an unflinching look, “Besides, I’ve shared some of Helgath’s memories from when she was an Orc slave.” An unconscious shiver ran down my spine. “Trust me, Orcs typically take slaves for three different reasons,” I clicked off each point with a finger, “physical labor, sex, and or food stock.”

“It’s an excellent motivator to get players to want to fight against the evil in The World,” Töten knowingly said as Phoenix reluctantly grunted in acknowledgment.

“Fight or be slaughtered, eaten, or enslaved,” I said, nodding in agreement, “except for the eating part, it’s a pretty accurate description of most of Human history since the dawn of time.”

“I don’t know about that,” Töten disagreed as Phoenix got a panicked look on her face, “There were quite a number of Human civilizations that practiced cannibalism.”

“Guys, can we stop on the cannibalism stuff,” Phoenix begged, “Unless we’re talking about oral, I really don’t want to hear this.”

“I’m not touching that comment with a ten-foot pole,” I grunted, shaking my head at the Barbarian’s words.

“What’s oral,” Neristhana suddenly asked as the rest of us turned around to stare at her. I don’t know about Töten and Phoenix, but I’d completely forgotten that we’d had an audience that wasn’t from our world here.

“Well … um …,” Phoenix began to stutter as I let out a heavy sigh.

“You can ask Phoenix later tonight if you really wanna know,” I said in a tone that ended further discussion on the topic from my end.

“Come on,” Töten said, clicking his mount into a trot again as he choked back whatever comment he’d been thinking of adding to the off-topic discussion, “we’re almost to my stronghold anyway.” He glanced over at the Dökklingur one last time. “Besides, we don’t want any of those Scouts seeing us or they’ll sound the alarm and we’ll have a few Shamans and Knights to deal with.”

‘Huh, so that’s oral,’ Helgath’s bemused voice suddenly echoed through my thoughts as I froze behind her on the Silver Dire Wolf’s back, ‘Who knew sex could be enjoyable like that.’

‘That’s enough of that,’ I mentally squeaked, pushing Helgath and now Neysa’s presence out of my thoughts. I’d momentarily forgotten the girls could do that. Talk about feeling like an instant heel!

‘Why did you do that?’ Helgath instantly complained as she began seeking a way around the block, ‘It was just getting good.’

‘Yeah,’ Neysa aggressively chimed in, ‘it’s not like there’s anything else to do while I’m running around with your heavy asses on my back.”

‘Running through my private stash of internet porn is not on the entertainment menu for today’s trip,’ I sent, refusing to respond further on the subject.

That was for the best because it was taking everything I had to ignore the hard-on that was slowly growing between my legs. It was hard, I mentally rolled my eyes at the double entendre, because I’d once again begun taking note of the Half-Orc’s leather-clad ass that pressed up tightly against my groin like a glove. Even worse, the constant rubbing motion was only helping things along. Squeezing my eyes shut, I did my best to try to do Algebra proof formulas in my head, when I began to take note of the discussion going on around me again.

“Dökklingur Knights?” Phoenix asked as she caught back up with the rest of us.

From what Töten explained as we climbed further into the mountains heading closer and closer to the Isolde Line, the Dökklingur Knights wore a mixture of heavy metal armor that was reinforced with thick white chiton and looked like a fully armored Knight from the Middle Ages. Supposedly, they were highly skilled and dangerous with the extra blades they could wield with their numerous pairs of arms.

The Anti-Paladin had run across a few more of their numbers during Closed Beta, so he was familiar with some of their odder Fire Elemental spells and high-level unique classes. It was good information that I sucked up like a sponge. A good example of that was his explanation that their Warriors were recognizable by their dark green colors and Horned Beetle-like heads, while their Rogues looked more like giant Beetle Cockroaches with Praying Mantis scythes than anything else.

Being from Florida, that last description nearly made me puke. I couldn’t help but mentally visualize a giant human-sized Palmetto Bug leaping at me to rip my throat out or to eat my face off. Talk about a terrifying nightmare! For the uninitiated, Palmetto Bugs look like giant cockroaches that you would question if stomping on it with a flip-flop was actually a good idea or not. Now, imagine, when the fuckers saw you, that they would instantly charge by flying through the air directly at you if you got too close to them. And if that wasn’t horrifying enough, their wings would vibrate so loudly against their hardened carapace that, when they flew, they sounded like an oversized insect helicopter ripping through the air. Yeah, those insects were right at the top of my list of things that I hated, right up there with Cavern Death Maw Spinners.

I couldn’t help but laugh at my visceral reaction to Töten’s description of the Dökklingur Rogues. Not that I would admit to it to anyone out loud. If I did, they’d have to revoke my man-card, I silently joked, while listening to the Anti-Paladin’s tale along with everyone else. He had some damn good stories, but I swore that if I heard the words “Closed Beta” one more time, I was gonna lose it. One look at Phoenix’s face told me that she felt the same. Nonetheless, it was an interesting conversation that made the time fly. Before any of us knew it, we came over a sharp ridge only to have Töten’s mount come to a stop as he swept an arm out at the small valley below.

“The Fortress of Mund-spilli,” Töten announced in a rough voice filled with emotions, “and the graveyard of my people.”

Looking down into the box canyon-like valley that was maybe three miles long and one wide, I saw the remains of muddy trampled fields and the burned-out buildings of a small village. There was nearly nothing left of the individual structures except for the blackened rectangles where the structures had once been. That and the beginning base of a defensive wall that must have been under construction when the attack had come.

On the far side of the ruins, the valley dead-ended at a stone fortress that had been built into the wall of the canyon-like mountain. There was an immense entrance that I swear had been sized for giants that had been blocked by what looked to be an avalanche. It must’ve been a last-ditch effort by Töten and his people to keep out the invaders that obviously hadn’t worked.

To either side of the clogged entrance, rounded towers had been carved into the stone cliff. These had various defensive terraces and windows that started nearly forty yards up. The towers actually rose up above the oddly rounded mountain top of the cliff on the backside of the fortress. From this distance, it was hard to judge the exact height, but I’d have roughly said it was at least sixty yards higher.

The odd rounded bowl-shaped depression took up the entire mountain top and was maybe a hundred yards in diameter. In its very center, there was a small lake that seemed to slightly steam. From our current position, we were just high enough up to see there was a second much smaller defensive wall that had been under construction about thirty-five yards out from the top half of the fortress from where it rose above the depression to the water’s edge.

“I’m sorry, man,” I said, at the tightness in his voice. Catching Töten’s eye, I jerked my chin towards the destroyed portions of the partially constructed wall, “I take it their initial vector of attack was via the lake?”

“Yeah, not that it’s much of a lake,” Töten grunted in agreement at my analysis, “it’s actually a shallow caldera.”

“A Caldera!” I exclaimed in surprise, “What the hell, do you have an active volcano under your fortress or something?”

“Wait,” Phoenix squeaked as her head whipped around to stare at us, “What volcano?”

“Um, Fire Giant-Oni here,” Töten said, pointing a thumb at his chest as if that explained everything, “we kind of need the extra heat to be comfortable.”

“Yo, Star,” Phoenix’s voice took on an edge of panic, “you never said anything about going into a volcano.”

“I don’t know why you’re getting so nervous,” Töten said as his full helm rotated around to stare at the Barbarian, “It’s not even all that active.”

“Is he trying to be funny or something?” Phoenix asked, ignoring the Anti-Paladin as she gave me a sideways look, “A volcano is either active or not!”

“Seriously?” I asked, giving her an incredulous look, “You can freaking see the heat shimmering off the water from here.” Ignoring her nervous gulp, I glanced over at Töten. “Any idea if the lava pool is considered part of your stronghold or not?”

“Uh,” Töten paused as he questioningly looked back at his fortress, “no clue.”

“Because that’s going to suck if you can only set up your fortress someplace where it’s hot,” I thoughtfully said out loud as a frown came to my lips, “I guess we could always set you up at Sulfur Springs.”

“Isn’t that the place they were saying smells like rotten eggs?” Phoenix asked as I gave an indifferent shrug.

“Um, maybe?” I distractedly replied while thinking back over everything I’d ever heard about sulfuric springs, “Don’t they say you get used to the smell after a few weeks?”

“I’m pretty sure Kyarina and Orion told me they said the place caused physical damage every second due to the poisonous air?” Phoenix pressed as I suddenly remembered what she was talking about.

“Oh, yeah, I’d forgotten about that,” I said, not overtly concerned as I glanced over at the big guy, “So what of it, Töten? Is that a problem for Fire Giant-Onis or not?”

“Yeah,” Phoenix humorously chortled, “Does your heritage give you bonuses for handling the smell of rotting ass?”

“The smell of rotting ass?” I asked, giving her a “what the fuck” look.

“Rotting eggs or rotting ass,” Phoenix shrugged, “it’s all the same thing.”

“Um, no, it’s not,” I said as Töten let out a put-upon sigh.

“Sulfur-smelling air is not a problem for us,” Töten agreed as he turned back towards the fortress, “It actually smells sweet.”

“Sweet?” Phoenix asked as I covered my face with a hand, “So let me get this straight,” she managed to choke out, “If I drop some serious stank ass, it’s going to smell like roses to you?”

“Women don’t drop stank ass, Phoenix,” I corrected the Barbarian while trying to keep a straight face. This really was hilarious, “They queef.”

“Trust me,” Phoenix disagreed, “I don’t queef.”

“You might, if you ever found the right man for the job,” I managed to bust out, before letting out a loud braying laugh like a mule.

The look on Phoenix’s face was priceless. It was a look of pure shock and disgust. Not that I blamed her. The straight-guy joke, always was, my ass is exit-only. Obviously, she felt the same way even when playing as a female. That was why the joke was so perfect in this case. Even Töten seemed to be laughing at that one as he abruptly turned his mount around and began heading down into the valley. Flipping me off, Phoenix spurred her mount to catch up with the Anti-Paladin.

“So, Töten,” Phoenix innocently asked as her mount slowed back down to a trot behind him, “How did you get taken out so early?”

“Are you serious?” Töten asked as he reined his mount to a stop to turn and look at the Barbarian.

It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that the Big Guy was sensitive about the subject. Not that I blamed him one bit after losing all of his people and his Nightmare quest to a bunch of PKing asshole thugs. Still, I couldn’t say that I wasn’t interested in hearing his story. Seeing the curious looks reflected in all of our faces, he shrugged and clicked his reins, starting forward again.

“I think that I was the first person the Chaos Storm Alliance took out on the Isolde Line,” Töten started in a heavy voice as we made our way down into the valley, “They hit us Monday morning, the day after I finished my Nightmare start quest, but even if we’d been attacked towards the end of the week, I doubt we would’ve been able to stand against the force they sent against us.” His big shoulders gave an indifferent shrug. “While we would’ve had more defenses in place to make them pay dearly for the invasion, I’d still only have had about fifteen Anti-Paladins to fight with,” he swept an arm at the fortress at the end of the valley, “that’s practically nothing for a place this size.”

“Why did you have so few people?” Phoenix asked, not understanding since she hadn’t done her own Nightmare quest.

“Due to some of our unique abilities,” Töten said, the ire clear in his voice, “we’re only allowed to purchase thirteen replacements from the NPC Recruiter instead of the typical option of twenty-five like all the other demi-human races. All but three were Crafter classes. Not that it would’ve helped much even if all twenty-five had been Anti-Paladins.” He shook his head heavily. “I’d just gotten my new people a couple of minutes earlier when the alarm came that we were under attack from the caldera side of the fortress”

“Damn, that’s crazy,” Phoenix said, glancing back at me in confusion, “I thought you could buy a lot more people than that on the NPC Recruiter.”

“You usually can,” Töten unhappily grunted in frustration, “but some asshole bought them all up in one go.” He shook his head in disbelief. “It must’ve been one of my fellow Closed Beta players, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out who that might have been. Seriously, who has that kind of coin this early in a game?”

“Hold up,” Phoenix said as she cocked her head to the side, “Star, didn’t you say something about buying up nearly a thousand people all at once?”

“Actually, that was week number two,” I said, looking away as I let out an embarrassed cough, “the first week all that I could purchase was like seven hundred.”

“That was you!” Töten growled as he turned around to glare at me. At least, that’s what I imagined he was doing behind the full helm.

“Oh, snap!” Phoenix exclaimed, covering her mouth with a hand.

“What about it?” I asked, not flinching in the face of their accusations, “I had the money and I wasn’t about to let the Syndicate take me out because I couldn’t get enough people of The World to protect my lands,” I swept my arm back in the direction of Darom, “especially not since I had to come over to this side of the map to pull Domenic’s ass out of the fire.”

“It’s cool,” Töten said, waving away his previous angry outburst as he turned back around, “I’d have done the same thing if I could, but I just didn’t have the extra coin.” His voice took on a contemplative tone. “Though, I can’t say it doesn’t make me wonder how things would’ve turned out if I’d been able to pull that off.”

“How big of a force did they end up attacking you with?” Phoenix asked, curious if the influx of new crafters and troopers would’ve helped or not.

“As I explained earlier, the lake on top of the caldera is shallow enough to wade across,” Töten explained as we descended through the game trails of the slope, “so, while we were down in the village greeting our new arrivals, the enemy was able to sneak attack us topside with fifty plus players,” I could hear the self-reproach in his voice as he spoke, “When we rushed up the stairs to repel the invaders, another similarly sized group attacked us from behind. They entered through the valley to kill all of the civilians and burn down the town. By the time I realized the extent of the attack, we were trapped between two forces of newfar and whittled down until all of my people were slaughtered to the last.”

That was pretty fucked up, I silently thought as Töten went on with his story. I imagined the Chaos Storm Alliance used a similar tactic to take down the entire Isolde Line. How many people were caught completely off guard and still riding high after finishing off their Nightmare quest? It made me wonder how many of those players rage quit after having these assholes destroy their accomplishments with a simple raid?

It made me wonder how I’d have fared in a similar situation. Well, with the training I’d done for my crafters to get them up to speed to be able to assist in defense, I imagined my people would’ve handled the situation a lot better. Still, without that boost of new people of The World from the NPC Recruiter, we would’ve been wiped out too.

In truth, the only reason Domenic had survived as long as he did was due to his having a whole week to prepare and upgrade his stronghold due to being at the absolute ass-end of the Isolde Line. It also allowed him to hire those Dwarven mercenaries. Even so, if he didn’t have Evil Sandra purposely trying to drag things out so as to sucker me to this side of the Nordic region so she could grief the fuck out of me, I mentally snorted, I doubt Domenic would’ve lasted any longer than Töten, which, I’m sure, was the last thing Domenic would want to hear or admit.

“Ever since then, I’ve been leveling up with the goal to get high enough to take on these PKing assholes,” Töten solemnly continued, “At first, I simply wanted to stop them from being able to take over my stronghold and be a thorn in their sides but most of the Nightmare start players had simply rage quit. And the handful I was able to hunt down that didn’t, had simply decided to keep their upgraded stats and moved on. They weren’t interested,” he shook his head letting out a grunt of disgust, “in fighting to get their strongholds back.”

“That’s crazy,” Phoenix said, glancing back to get my take on the Anti-Paladin’s story, “Why wouldn’t any of those players be willing to fight for their-” she flailed her arm about trying to come up with the right word.

“Homes?” I asked as she pointed at me excitedly.

“Homes works but so does people,” Phoenix said, continuing her point, “I would’ve thought they’d as least be willing to make life a living hell for those losers.” The Barbarian got a thoughtful look on her comely face as she studied the Big Man’s back. “If all of you could’ve caused enough of a ruckus at each of the strongholds that they’d taken, they would’ve been too busy putting out bush fires to take out anyone else.”

“That had been my plan,” Töten agreed, “but the main problem was that they left a garrison of ten players at each stronghold.”

“Well, that’s not-” Phoenix began to say only to pause in mid-thought, before finishing weakly, “too bad.”

“It’s bad enough,” I said, thinking over the strategy that Julie and Evil Sandra had used to take over everyone’s fortresses, “You’d have to attack with at least an equal force. Unless you’re one of the larger guilds, that’s hard to come up with. Why should a Basic or Advanced start player care to give you a hand? It’s PVP which doesn’t give any actual experience. While it can give you the opportunity to acquire some pretty nice loot, at the same time, you can lose big time too. Besides that, you’re attacking and not defending against Advanced and Nightmare start players,” I shook my head at the simplistic ingenuity of the plan. “If any of the individual groups needed additional support, they could have easily doubled or even tripled their strength by temporarily combining their forces with the captured strongholds to either side of them.”

“It just seems like such a waste,” Phoenix angrily said, “It’s like they’re trying to purposely ruin the game.”

“That’s why all of those assholes were willing to ditch their Nightmare starts,” I suddenly exclaimed as the Dread Packs and other PKers’ tactics became clear to me.

“What do you mean?” Phoenix asked as Töten glanced back at me curiously.

“I don’t know how many guilds in the Chaos Storm Alliance are pushing this tactic,” I said as my eyes focused on everyone that was staring back at me, “but there were a number of their members that ditched their Nightmare starts as soon as they appeared in The World.”

“Yeah, we know that,” Phoenix said, giving a minute shake of her head in annoyance like none of that was important, “They’re doing that for the improved Attributes.”

“Maybe, that’s not the only reason,” I countered, thinking through the logic, “Why not ditch your Nightmare start quest to take over another Nightmare start area and then combine your buddies’ strongholds together into one cohesive force.” I shook my head as I pictured the strength that would offer. “If done correctly, you could take over an entire region and be nearly impossible to take down.”

“It would explain why they’d take the Reputation hit and ditch their people,” Phoenix harrumphed thoughtfully.

“I don’t know about all of that,” Töten gruffly said as he mulled over my words, “Sometimes, I think they’re just trying to purposely ruin the game as Phoenix said.”

“You mean, beyond the level that most PKers are typically trying to do?” Phoenix laughingly asked.

“Most PKers aren’t trying to ruin the games they play,” Töten disagreed, “they’re just having fun challenging themselves against other players and dominating those areas of the gaming world.” He gave the Barbarian a dismissive snort. “Not every player wants to do PVE day in and day out.”

“Hold up right there,” Phoenix hotly said as she turned to face me in a huff, “Star, we’re helping a fucking PKer get their shit back?”

“PKers aren’t exactly bad,” I said, letting out a heavy sigh as Töten’s helmeted head rotated around to observe my reaction, “It’s all part of the game, and like many PKers, I enjoy going toe-to-toe with other players and mixing it up.” Seeing the frown that came to the Barbarian’s face, I tried to explain my perspective.

“It just depends on how it’s done. There’s no reason to be a purposeful asshole. There’s no reason to hammer your opponents into the dirt after they’re beaten unless you’re trying to teach them a lesson for being an asshole or are expanding your borders and influence into those areas as part of the strategy side of the game.” I shrugged. “In that way, it’s no different than any other StarCraft or Civilization strategy game. Sometimes, you’re playing for fun with friends to improve your skills, while other times, you’re playing for keeps.”

“I guess,” Phoenix neutrally commented as her brows knitted together in thought, “It’s just that, in my experience, most PKers are just trying to grief other players.”

“I’m not going to try arguing against that,” I said with a laugh, “I’m sure there’s a bit of truth in that. Even so, whether most gamers realize it or not, I would argue that PVP and even PKers bring a lot to the games they play. It’s an unknown danger that makes the game exciting in a way that most scripted adventures can’t.”

“That’s one way to describe it,” Phoenix dubiously said.

“On top of that, it forces regular players to come together to fight against those same players.” I couldn’t help the smile that came to my lips at the conflicted look that flashed across Phoenix’s face at my words. “Think back to some of the best stories of past games that you’ve ever played. I bet many of them centered around how you combated PKers or asshole guilds to accomplish whatever it was you were trying to do inside the game.”

“This is actually the first time that I’ve ever played an MMO where PKers were on the same server as everyone else,” Phoenix said, giving me a wry look.

“Never?” I asked in shock.

“Sounds like you’re in for a treat,” Töten said as I let out a loud bark of laughter at his comment.

“I’ve only ever done arena matches, capture the flag, or domination matches,” Phoenix drolly explained, ignoring both of our comments, “I never spent any time playing those older MMOs like you’re always going on about, Star.”

“Fair enough,” I said somewhat stumped, “Except for the partial virtual reality World of Warcraft and Chaos Online MMOs, I haven’t played any of the modern titles that have come out in the last decade or so. They just seemed too boring and-”

“Pay to win?” Töten asked.

“Yeah, that too,” I agreed.

“Look, I’m not saying that you guys are wrong,” Phoenix grunted as she shifted uncomfortably in her saddle. It was obvious that she was conflicted by my words, “and I agree that V-MMORG has made PVP a part of The World’s gameplay for a reason. It’s just taking some time for me to get used to all of this.”

“Having the added risk of losing your land and people really does up the ante in all of this,” Töten gruffly said, “but it just pulls me further into the machinations of The World.”

“There is that,” Phoenix readily agreed, shaking her head as she tried to come to grips with her contrary feelings on the topic, “But, I swear, the last few days have been like strapping yourself into an insane rollercoaster and going from one adrenaline-filled fight to the next.”

“Hey, if you needed a break, you didn’t have to come with-” I started to say as the Barbarian cut me off.

“Naw, it’s cool,” Phoenix assured, waving off any of my concerns. “Besides,” she shot me a grin, “that would mean I’d be missing out on all the exciting shit you’re always stepping into.”

“That’s one way to put it,” I agreed, silently shaking my head. I don’t know what it was, but sometimes, I swore, it was like I was an asshole magnet whenever I played a game online.

“So, do we need a group hug or are you guys good to go,” Töten sarcastically called over his shoulder.

“I’ve got your fucking group hug right here,” Phoenix laughingly shot back, grabbing her crotch as the Anti-Paladin shot a bird over his shoulder without turning around.

“What about you, Star?” Töten pressed, “You need another manly-man hug?”

“There was nothing manly-man about that,” I disagreed as Phoenix, Neristhana, and even Helgath turned around to stare at me, “And, no thank you, once was bad enough.”

“Hey, man,” Töten said in a mockingly hurt tone, “don’t be like that.”

“Uh, do you guys need a private room or something?” Phoenix joked.

“Bitch, please,” I said flipping her off.

“What do they say?” Töten asked, still laughing it up as Neristhana arched an eyebrow at me, “What happens in Darom, stays in Darom.”

“Sometimes, I hate you guys,” I said in mock exasperation as everyone cracked up.

I’m sure the rough joking back and forth between us might’ve been taken by an outside observer as fighting, but it was the exact opposite. The friendly ribbing broke the slight tension that had been building between us during the PVP and PKer talk, perfectly setting everyone at ease. It was a hard thing to explain to non-gamers. Most of the community liked to talk shit and take names. If you couldn’t handle that in the vein it was meant, then this wasn’t the hobby or profession for you. That, and you most definitely weren’t leet, as some of my older hacker friends would say.

“So, Töten,” Phoenix said, returning to their previous conversation, “I take it, you decided to help Star out in Darom after hearing about us taking on the Chaos Storm Alliance on the forums and winning?”

“It was kind of hard not to,” Töten said, turning serious again, “Mainly though,” the full-helmed head turned back to glance at me as I spoke up.

“He wanted to know the secret of packing up a stronghold so it could be moved to a new location,” I explained as Phoenix nodded in understanding.

“That’s really the only way I could hope to get my stronghold back and not have those assholes take it away from me again before I can build up my defenses,” Töten agreed as he turned back to watch the path through the forest ahead.

“That’s why you showed up in Darom,” Phoenix said in understanding as she began putting the puzzle pieces together, “so you could get the information Star cut out of his Twitch Stream?”

“And to maybe form an alliance with someone who was willing to stand up to these assclowns,” Töten added as we came to the edge of the treeline to the village’s burnt-out fields. Immediately, he reined in his mount and dismounted while signaling for the rest of us to do the same, “We walk from here.” As the rest of us began to dismount, he continued in a low voice. “Do your best to stay out of sight as much as possible and keep an eye out for any enemy sentries. If they notice our approach, it’ll be hell trying to scale the wall to breach their defenses.”

“Then, why aren’t we waiting until tonight to do all of this?” Phoenix bitched as she dismissed her mount and unslung her two-handed battle axe.

“Because, it’ll be too late for me to resume ownership of my stronghold,” Töten replied as the Barbarian grunted in surprise.

“Talk about procrastinating until the last minute,” Phoenix flippantly said as Töten and I both gave her a “Really, you’re going there!” look.

“Be cool, Phoenix,” I chastised my friend for the disrespectful comment, “Töten only waited that long because he was helping us in Darom.” Seeing the sheepish look that flashed across her face, I rolled my eyes. “Besides, it’s not like he could do all that much without the information needed to move his stronghold.”

“I’m always cool,” Phoenix joked, glancing over at Töten. “By the way, I didn’t mean anything by that comment.” She gave an apologetic shrug. “By now you should know I was just talking shit.”

“It’s fine,” Töten distractedly grunted as his eyes studied the stronghold in the distance. Glancing over at Helgath still mounted on the Silver Dire Wolf’s back, he gave me a questioning look.

“Neysa will be fine with Helgath’s help,” I assured the big man as I began refreshing everyone’s buffs.

“Whatever,” Töten grumbled with an annoyed shake of his head as he waited for the light show to stop.

Once again, I did my whole swath of buffs on everyone in the group. Holy Shield, Light’s Blessing, and Enhanced Mage Armor were the main buffs I was sharing out. As I worked, I caught Töten’s eye.

“Where’s the graveyard that will be used by anyone who’s killed inside the stronghold?” I asked as I worked.

“It’s the one at the far end of the valley where we entered,” Töten said, nodding back the way we’d come.

“Excellent,” I said, starting the last set of buffs on myself, “then we’ll have all of our Ghouls keep guard at the graveyard.”

“All of them?” Töten asked in surprise as all twenty Ghouls raced off for the graveyard at the end of the valley

“If we need more, we can always raise more of them,” I said with a shrug, “but it should nicely secure the graveyard in case those assholes try to regroup before we’re ready.”

As all twenty Ghouls began racing away for the graveyard at the end of the valley, I finished casting Arcane Speed, Bone Shield, and Bone Fangs that were self-buff only. Ready to move out, I turned to Töten to see him curiously going over the buffs in his HUD.

“Not too shabby for bonuses,” Töten said in an amused tone, “Too bad magic attacks and buffs are only around thirty-five percent effective for me. Otherwise, these would be sweet as hell.”

“What are you saying?” Phoenix asked as I arched a questioning eyebrow at the big man, “You’re mostly immune to magic?”

“Uh, Anti-Paladin here,” Töten said, chuckling at the surprised looks on our faces, “Don’t get me wrong, any heals are nice but just know their effectiveness is somewhat limited.”

“I would say,” I agreed with a frown as I remembered back to something he’d said earlier about his armor being resistant to elemental magic too, “So does that mean you’re basically seventy-five percent resistant to all Elemental attacks and thirty-five percent resistant to everything else?”

“Yeah, basically” Töten agreed, holding up a bronzed armored arm for us to see, “No offense to your girl,” he gave an apologetic nod to Helgath, “but I quenched the metal in Orc blood to get the added resistances during the smithing process.”

“Huh, that’s something I’ll have to remember,” I thoughtfully grunted at the information. As Phoenix and I traded a knowing look, the Barbarian spoke up before the big guy could say his catchphrase.

“I guess you picked that up when you were in Closed Beta too?”

“Where else?” Töten agreed as an annoyed look flashed across his face at Phoenix stealing his line.

“We’ll have to see about adding that to our own crafting process for armor,” I said, suppressing the smile that tried to come to my lips as I thought over how the black coral armor functioned, “That is if it’ll work the same way with black coral armor.”

“Does that mean we’d have to use Orc blood to repair it too?” Phoenix asked, curiously glancing at her own armor.

“Not sure,” I said, thinking over the benefits, “but if it works for adding elemental resistances for everyone, it’ll be worth the effort.” I was somewhat giddy at the thought. That could be a relatively easy upgrade to give to all of my people. “We’ll just have to come up with a good way of storing the extra Orc blood we collect.”

“If you’re done discussing the finer points of crafting with Orc blood,” Töten said as Phoenix got a speculative look on her face, “Then, let’s move out.”

That wasn’t much of a plan, I thought as the large Anti-Paladin turned around and began a long clanking sprint across the trampled field. It would’ve made more sense to send a Stealth group into the stronghold first to take out any sentries on watch. Not like that still couldn’t be done. Seeing Phoenix and my companions looking back at me in surprise at Töten just taking the lead, I flashed them an unconcerned smile and began giving orders.

“Helgath and Neysa,” I said out loud, “Stealth and get in as close as you can to the stronghold. Even if you can’t climb the wall, you can keep an eye out for sentries.”

‘Be safe,’ Helgath sent with a nod as the pair faded into Stealth and took off across the field.

“So, Stealth and get out ahead of the big ox?” Phoenix asked.

“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed, flashing Neristhana and Phoenix a smile. Glancing back at the Anti-Paladin, I cocked my head to the side, “It looks like our big friend isn’t used to working with others.”

“I’m sure he’ll learn quickly enough,” Neristhana said as we laughed and Stealthed.

“Let’s go,” I said in a hushed whisper as we began sprinting after Töten.

“What the hell are they doing?” Töten grumbled as he saw the shadowy images of Helgath and Neysa race past.

“Scouting ahead,” I replied as I kept an eye on the darkened window slots of the stronghold ahead of us.

The Anti-Paladin had barely cleared the first field by the time we caught up with him and raced on past. Even in Stealth, we were nearly twice as fast as the much larger man. It was the cost of heavy plate armor and the added bulk of a large physique. By the time we crossed the next ruined field the big man was half a football field behind.

Unconcerned, we entered through the ruined gates of the defensive wall and entered the burned-out village. There wasn’t much to see as we made our way through the grid pattern streets. Keeping away from the black ash as much as possible, we headed for the second defensive wall that protected the base of the stronghold, when Helgath’s voice rang in my head.

‘There’s someone here!’

‘Did they see you?’ I urgently asked, peering up at the slotted windows of the stronghold to see if I could see the sentry, ‘Do the rest of us need to take cover?’

‘They can’t see you, nor are they aware of our presence,’ Helgath assured me, before continuing in a bemused tone, ‘I also don’t think they’re here to protect the stronghold. In fact, I’m sure of it.’

“Hold up, you guys,” Töten gasped out as he clanked through the destroyed gate puffing like a steam engine, “I … think … we … should … move … forward … together.”

“There’s a situation that we’re taking care of,” I distractedly said, increasing my pace to an all-out sprint as Neristhana and Phoenix followed closely behind me, ‘How many people are we talking about and how do you know they’re not sentries?’

“What’s going on?” Phoenix hissed as I held up a hand for a moment of silence.

‘There’s two of them,’ Helgath answered after a moment, ‘And I think they’re here trying to break into the stronghold like we are.’ She let out an amused snort. ‘You’re just going to have to see this for yourself.’

“Helgath and Neysa found two people they believe are trying to break into the stronghold ahead of us,” I hissed under my breath to Phoenix and Neristhana as I dropped my hand, “but otherwise, they’ve seen no sentries.”

“The fuck?” Phoenix swore as she kept pace with me, “that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Tell me about it,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief, “She says we’ll understand better when we see them.”

Racing through the ruined gate of the second wall, I followed the mental presence of Neysa and Helgath. To my surprise, they were nearly straight ahead towards the base of the stronghold’s wall. There was a slight dip in the ground before the stronghold’s clogged gates. As we neared them, I saw the blurred forms of my soulmates and the very odd scene that was playing out before them.

Coming to a stop next to Neysa’s side, my eyes scanned the odd pair that were obviously trying to climb up the outer wall and into the stronghold. Phoenix came to a stop next to me a split second later as Neristhana pushed her way between us. As the pair’s conversation came to our ears, all that we could do was listen and stare.

“I know for a fact that you can easily handle the weight,” the Badger-Kin angrily said in a harsh whisper, “because you freaking carried me for most of the day!”

“That’s because you were using a saddle, not standing on my shoulders.” The massive bear-like monster complained a little too loudly. “I don’t have any padding there!”

I’d never seen anything like the creature before. It had the clawed hindlegs and body of a bird of prey and the front half of a grizzly bear. At least, that was what it looked like from the parts I could see through its heavy iron armor. On top of that, the creature was massive, roughly half again the size of Neysa. A quick Identify gave me the information Bright Claw of the Azure Sky, level 43 Grizhawk, while what I assumed to be his owner, popped up as Zeven Al'Zaric, level 48 Spirit Hunter.

The Badger Kin was nearly as unique looking as his pet. He was wearing a kilt of all things with muted camouflage-like colors over the top of scaled blue armor. I didn’t know what kind of creature it could’ve possibly been made from, but it sort of reminded me of the white-scaled hide that I’d taken from the Flying Serpent when it was living.

Lastly, the Bardiche strapped to this Zeven’s back looked to be quite an impressive weapon. Though, it didn’t have the aura of a Nightmare weapon like that of the Dark Blade of Kayden or the Azura Blade of Lord Varpulis. There was no doubt in my mind that the high-quality weapon had cost a pretty penny and was dangerous. Even though this player was a few levels lower than me, I wasn’t about to take this guy for granted.

“What do you mean, you don’t have any padding on your shoulders?” Zeven hissed through gritted teeth as his voice level increased a notch with every word, “You’re a freaking walking carpet!”

“That kind of reminds me of you and Neysa when you’re going at it,” Phoenix humorously whispered in my ear loud enough for our companions to hear.

“We’re not that bad,” I argued back in a low voice, only to have the Gnomeling glance up at me with bright eyes.

“Oh, yes you are,” Neristhana assured me as the Barbarian let out a muffled snort next to her.

“Okay, I’m gonna give it a try again,” Zeven said, crouching down as if he were going to try to jump.

“We’ve already tried it twenty times,” Bright Claw unhappily whined.

“I promise this is the last time. If this doesn’t work, we’ll try fighting our way through the upper levels next,” Zeven promised, before launching himself straight up into the air.

Damn, the Badger Kin got some decent air, I silently thought as he leaped nearly eighteen yards straight up. What was even more surprising was that he did that while fully loaded up with weapons, armor, and an extra-large rucksack. While that got him a little more than halfway up to the windows, the guy still had a good thirty-five yards to go.

Seeing the odd rectangular shape that looked like a giant stone block filling the rucksack on his back, made me wonder if he wasn’t lugging around a packed-up stronghold like Krishna. As that thought was percolating through my mind, Zeven managed to get his claws dug into the plaster and hang in place as the Grizhawk fell backward from the force of the kickoff.

“I think I have it, Bright Claw,” Zeven chortled as the Grizhawk rolled to its paws and craned its head to look up at its master.

Dangling from the side of the wall, I watched the Badger Kin work its claws into the plaster of the next block further up. With his muscles straining, he worked his black claws into the gap and pulled himself up again. That might actually work, I silently mused, when a clanking Töten suddenly came running up behind us.

“Dammit, Star,” Töten stormed, “next time wait up for-” The Anti-Paladin’s voice came to a choking halt as soon as he saw the armored Grizhawk’s head swiveling around to stare at him.

“There are Humanoids behind us!” Bright Claw called out in a warning bellow.

“What do you mean there are Humanoids behind us?” Zeven demanded as he craned his neck around to look behind him.

Seeing the lone armored Knight-looking player standing in front of his Combat Pet, a growl of anger came from the Badger Kin’s black lips as he let go of his handhold. Dropping twenty-six yards down, he landed in a crouch next to Bright Claw. Swinging his Bardiche from his back, Zeven faced off against the high-level enemy with his eyes burning in rage.

“That’s one Humanoid,” Zeven snapped back at the Grizhawk, before he growled at Töten in barely understandable common, “Who the fuck are you?”

“I believe that’s my question for you,” Töten spat in nearly the same tone, “This is my stronghold and you’re trespassing.”

“Oh, so you’re part of the Triple A guild!” Zeven snarled as the Grizhawk’s fangs pulled back from its thick lips and let out a challenging bellow at the Anti-Paladin.

“I’m not a part of the Chaos Storm Alliance or working with those Triple A pussies,” Töten roared in outrage as he swung the massive two-handed War Hammer off his back and faced off against the pair, “I’m the Guild Leader of the Disciples of Armageddon.”

“So, you are part of the Chaos Storm Alliance,” Zeven exclaimed in recognition as he began trying to position the Grizhawk and him to either side of the unknown Warrior.

“Why the hell would you say that?” Töten asked with a confused look on his face as he lowered his hammer back to his shoulder.

“Because the DOA and Triple A guilds are all part of the Chaos Storm Alliance!” Zeven angrily bellowed, pissed that the player before him wouldn’t just say he was allied with his enemies.

“Get your acronyms right, boy,” Töten snapped back as if the Badger Kin was an idiot, “The DOA that’s aligned with the Chaos Storm Alliance stands for the Disciples of Anarchy, not the Disciples of Armageddon!”

That statement seemed to momentarily take the wind out of Zeven’s sails as both players threateningly stared at each other across the small gap between them. Having listened to the Beast Kin’s conversation during his climb, it was easy enough to determine the pair before us weren’t our enemies. That didn’t exactly mean they were our friends either, but there was no sense in fighting if our goals were in line with one another’s.

“I swear, it’s like watching two idiots rolling around in the same pod,” I said, canceling my Stealth with a thought as I appeared a little ahead and in-between Töten, the Beast Kin, and his Grizhawk mount, “No wonder the Chaos Storm Alliance fucked you both over.”

“Wh … who the fuck are you?” Zeven nervously exclaimed as he recoiled a step back at my sudden appearance.

“Why the fuck didn’t you warn me about these two before I came running up?” Töten angrily demanded as he turned on me shaking in rage.

“Asks the brainiac who decided to break into a stronghold without bringing along a rope?” I scornfully said to the Beast Kin, before turning on my new companion, “Probably because I was trying to determine if he was part of the Chaos Storm Alliance or not, which just for the record, he most definitively is not.”

“How was I supposed to know we’d be breaking into a stronghold?” Zeven defensively protested.

“So, that’s why you didn’t warn me about the sentry?” Töten railed.

“I don’t think another player trying to break into the same stronghold that we’re trying to break into counts as a sentry,” Phoenix dryly said to Töten as she suddenly popped out of Stealth next to me.

“How many of you fuckers are surrounding me in Stealth?” Zeven muttered under his breath, after starting at the Barbarian’s appearance. As his black nose began sniffing the air, he gave Töten a confused look, “Why would you be trying to break into your own stronghold if you own this place?”

“Because the Chaos Storm Alliance slaughtered all of my people and forced me out of my own stronghold,” Töten snapped as he kept a wary eye on the Beast Kin before him, “and I’m here to take my stronghold back.”

“We’re here to give him a hand with that,” I said, holding the Beast Kin’s gaze with my eyes, “So, do you want to let us know why you’re here?” I gave him an indifferent shrug. “If it’s compatible, maybe we can work together?”

“And if it’s not compatible?” Zeven warily asked, glancing between the three of us as his eyes swept over the spot where Helgath and Neysa silently stood still in Stealth.

“I think you already know the answer to that question,” I pointedly said, not mincing my words as Töten’s hands threateningly went back to the hilt of his two-handed war hammer, “Then, we’ll send you on your way to the graveyard and keep sending you back until we’re finished with recovering Töten’s stronghold.”

“Why not just kill me and do that anyway?” Zeven skeptically pushed.

The mistrust was evident in the Badger Kin’s eyes. It was obvious that he was trying to understand how we were planning on screwing him over. Not that I blamed him one bit for being jumpy. Few players chose to play nice simply because it was the right thing to do. And if he’d recently been screwed over by the Chaos Storm Alliance, he wasn’t about to trust a group of random strangers in an unusual situation like this. If I wanted this to work out, I had to try another tactic.

“Look, I can tell you’re pissed at whatever these assholes did to you and your people,” I said, letting out an exasperated sigh, “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be traveling with your stronghold on your back.” Hearing that statement, I saw Zeven tense to strike with his deadly Bardiche as I held up my empty hands, trying to calm him down. “If we wanted to gank you earlier and then spawn camp you until your stronghold dropped, we’d have already done it.”

“You can’t get your hands on my stronghold if it’s packed away in my inventory!” Zeven said through clenched teeth as he mentally weighed the odds of attacking us first or not.

“Actually, if you double-check the in-game wiki’s second footnote on PVP and dropped gear,” I calmly explained, while prepared to dodge any surprise attack that might come, “you’ll see that a stronghold is always able to be looted even if it’s in your inventory.”

“The fuck,” Zeven swore as his eyes urgently began moving around while he called up the article in question.

Seeing Phoenix arch an eyebrow asking if we were going to take this chump out or not, I gave her a minute shake of my head. I made sure to do the same with Töten too. There was no reason to be an asshole about this unless he forced our hand. Who knows, if we played this right, we might get a hand for what we wanted to do too and maybe start another future alliance too. When I saw the widening of the Beast Kin’s eyes as he read the footnote that I’d referred him to, I cleared my throat to get his attention.

“So, you see, we’re not here to fuck with you,” I said as he flinched at my direct words, “And due to the latest set of Emergency patches, I know you can’t loot Töten’s stronghold once he folds it up,” I let out a low chuckle, “even if you could seriously threaten our group.”

“You sure about that?” Zeven asked, giving me a hard look as he directed the gleaming point of the Bardiche at my chest, “I could have a few friends stashed away in stealth waiting for my say-so.”

“Ah, good point, but you don’t,” I said without batting an eye, “Do you?” As the Badger Kin unhappily pressed his thick black lips together at my words, I continued in a relaxed tone, “So, you want to let us know why it’s so important for you to get into the stronghold?”

“Let’s just say they took something from me,” Zeven grunted, not wanting to give up his secret.

“Well, when Töten folds up the stronghold,” I said with an indifferent shrug, “anything still inside is going to become very dead and very crushed.”

That casual comment got Zeven’s attention real quick. For a second, I wondered if he was going to try attacking us when the moment passed nearly as quickly as it came. I let out an explosive breath, the Badger Kin’s eyes flicked to the spot where Helgath and Neysa were waiting in stealth.

“Is this all of you,” Zeven asked, standing taut as a guitar string, “or are there more of you waiting in Stealth?”

I didn’t know what was going through his mind or why he was choosing to be so stubborn about all of this. Whatever it was, it had him primed to attack even knowing that he was going to get his ass kicked if he did. I snorted to myself, no matter how good of the gear he might be sporting.

‘Show him who you are,’ I sent to my soulmates as I said out loud to the Gnomeling at my side, “Show yourself Neristhana.”

Almost before the request had fully formed in my thoughts, Neristhana, Neysa, and Helgath suddenly popped out of Stealth. Zeven’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw the beautiful Half-Orc sitting atop the massive Silver Dire Wolf staring back at him with her blades drawn along with the stacked Gnomeling with her hand axe held at the ready standing by my side. Bright Claw must have been surprised because the Grizhawk chuffed as he reoriented towards the new threat.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I expected the Badger Kin’s reaction to be. A sudden easing of tension in his taut body most definitely wasn’t it. Was that because both of my companions were females? I wondered as he took a second to study my soulmates and companion. Stepping back, he brought his Bardiche up to rest against his chest in a non-threatening manner.

“One of the Triple A players inside this stronghold kidnapped my companion,” Zeven explained as his eyes watched for my reaction closely, “All that I am here to do is to get her back alive.”

“We can work with that,” I thoughtfully said as Neristhana, Helgath, and Phoenix gave me a nod of agreement. Still, I found his sudden change of attitude about the situation somewhat confusing.

“Fuck, it had to be that,” Töten swore as soon as he saw the looks that flashed in all of our eyes, “You do know that’s only going to make this whole operation more complicated right?”

“What of it?” I asked, deciding to give Zeven a chance as he uncomfortably looked between us at the Anti-Paladin’s annoyed reaction. Having one of my companions kidnapped would’ve pissed me the fuck off to no end, so I could readily empathize with him on this, “It honestly won’t change the plan all that much. You’ll still go down to the control room to trigger the closing sequence while the rest of us kill us some PKers. As soon as our friend here finds his companion, we escape as planned and you fold up your stronghold.” I gave an unconcerned shrug. “Easy peasy.”

“Easy peasy,” Töten grumbled as he began digging out a length of rope from his rucksack with an iron grapple.

“So, do we have a temporary alliance?” I asked, walking up to the tense Badger Kin. Coming to a stop in front of him, I held out my hand, “The name’s Startum Ironwolf.” I clapped the Gnomeling on the shoulder at my side. “This is Neristhana Lightouch and,” I motioned to my soulmates, “Helgath Ironwolf and Neysa.”

“You know that proper introductions aren’t exactly needed when we can just run an Identify,” Zeven brusquely said, looking me up and down.

To my surprise, the Badger Kin’s eyes didn’t widen in recognition at hearing my name. That might sound like I was being big-headed, but after all of the drama that had been going on in the forums, it was honestly to be expected. Either this guy had a masterful poker face or he didn’t bother keeping up with the in-game politics.

“True enough,” I agreed while still holding out my hand, “but basic common courtesy is never a bad idea when meeting new people.” A wry grin turned up the corners of my mouth. “It doesn’t take much effort to be nice.”

“And yet so many people struggle with such a simple act,” Zeven said as he grasped my proffered hand. “I’m Zeven Al'Zaric.” Unable to help the toothy grin that came to his furry face at my antics, he nodded to his Combat Mount, “and the Grizhawk over there is Bright Claw of the Azure Sky.”

I understood why the Badger Kin was giving me the look that he was. It took some balls when meeting new people in an MMO like this. At lower levels, it wasn’t so bad. You had less to lose and had been through less shit with other players, but at higher levels, it was a different story altogether. There was almost an expectation to be screwed over if it benefited the other player, which was why a guild’s or player’s reputation on a server was so important.

That’s because most players were out to get a quick kill and pick up some easy loot. Such attitudes made it hard to not instantly want to kill any fellow players that you ran across in the wilds before they tried to kill you. I imagine that was much the same way it was back in medieval times. Who would know if you killed a traveler out in the forest and took their stuff? When everyone was so impoverished, I bet turning to temporary highway robbery was an easy thing to do. The only thing that discouraged such anti-social behavior was the prevailing religious beliefs at the time that you were damning your eternal soul if you did such things.

Modern society, on the other hand, no longer had those prevailing beliefs. There was no concern about eternal damnation for anti-social behavior. As I’d heard so many times popularized on social media, God was dead. The only trouble you might get into was if the law came after you, or in some MMOs, an Admin might discipline you for your activities.

In The World, PVP was allowed pretty much anywhere but the cities. There was really nothing holding players back from practicing the oldest law of nature, might makes right. Only one’s personal beliefs in having an enjoyable gaming environment and doing what was right with the strength to enforce it, kept The World from becoming a bloody free-for-all. If anyone had any doubts about that, they could look at the actions of guilds like the Chaos Storm Alliance.

“A Grizhawk Combat Mount?” I asked, releasing Zeven’s hand.

“It’s a bit of a story,” Zeven said, deflecting my question.

“I can imagine,” I said with a knowing smile as I turned to the Gnomeling at my side, “This is my companion, Neristhana Lightouch.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Neristhana politely said as Zeven bent down to take her hand.

“Phoenix Sonata,” Phoenix said, stepping forward to shake the Badger Kin’s hand next.

“That’s Töten Feinde over there,” I said, motioning to the Anti-Paladin.

“It’s a pleasure, I’m sure,” Töten gruffly said as he began spinning the grapple on a length of rope.

“Lastly, my soulmate Helgath and Combat Mount Neysa,” I said as the Half-Orc gave a silent nod while sheathing her daggers.

“Soulmate?” Zeven asked. His silver-blue eyes scrunched up at the unfamiliar term as the Silver Dire Wolf and the Grizhawk carefully sniffed each other across the gap.

“It’s somewhat of a long story,” I apologetically said as my eyes glinted in mirth.

“I bet,” Zeven agreed while nodding as if to say that I’d scored a point.

“I’m tossing this up,” Töten interrupted as the grapple flew for the slotted window far above, “Who’s going up first.”

“I will,” Helgath stated as she leaped from Neysa’s back.

“I’ll go with her,” Phoenix immediately added, giving me a sideways look as she rolled her eyes at the Anti-Paladin.

While Töten’s constant press to hurry this along and get his stronghold back was understandable, it was also somewhat aggravating. Not that either of us was going to say anything about it. We both knew where the stress was coming from and I can’t say if the shoe was on my foot that I’d be any better.

“Come on, Neysa,” I said, patting the Silver Dire Wolf on the flank. As I began walking over to Töten, Helgath began skittering up the rope with Phoenix waiting to go next, “I’ll probably have to dismiss you and recall you once we’re up the wall.”

I’d said that out loud more for Zeven and his Combat Mount than for Neysa. I figured it was best to get that argument out in the open sooner rather than later. Not that Neysa didn’t immediately begin complaining to me about it.

‘Don’t you dare even think about dismissing me,’ Neysa’s angry mental voice growled in my thoughts, ‘Otherwise, just plan on hauling me up on a rope instead.’

“I don’t want to be dismissed!” Bright Claw loudly bellowed in annoyance behind me as Zeven began having a similar argument with the Grizhawk.

“You do realize that’s not going to work,” Töten casually said as we walked up. Seeing the surprised looks on our faces, he gave me an indifferent shrug, “It’s something that V-MMORG disabled during Closed Beta.” Phoenix and I groaned under our breaths as Zeven turned to listen to the Anti-Paladin with interest. “You can’t call a mount while you’re inside a building. The best you can do is dismiss them until the end of the fight.”

“Well, fuck,” I said with an unhappy grunt as Helgath reached the top and waved that all was clear.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Zeven agreed beside me.

“It was a regular tactic we used to employ in castle raids during Closed Beta,” Töten said as if that was a given.

“Have you even tried calling a mount inside a building ever since The World went live?” I asked as Phoenix headed up the rope next.

“Why would I do that?” Töten dismissively asked as if that was the craziest thing he’d ever heard.

“Because it doesn’t make much sense,” I said with a frown.

Seriously, why would you allow attackers to invade with mounts but make the defenders unable to recall their own mounts once they retreated into their keep? If that was the case, it made more sense to disable all mounts inside of buildings. Seeing that Phoenix reached the top, I called up to her.

“Do you think they’d hear a mount’s whistle being called from here?” I asked, cocking my head to the side as I glanced over at the Anti-Paladin.

“Doubtful,” Töten said after considering the question for a moment, “it’s a number of floors up that’s constructed from solid-”

“Yo, Phoenix?” I shouted, cutting the big guy off mid-sentence.

“Dude, can you guys be any louder?” Phoenix hissed after peeking her head back over the side.

“Töten said it should be fine,” I replied with a shrug, “Do you mind seeing if you can call your mount while you’re up there?”

“Seriously?” Phoenix asked incredulously.

“Dude, I told you that’s not going to-” Töten began to say when we all heard the call of a mount’s whistle. Instantly, a loud whinny rang out from above along with the sounds of clopping hooves on stone.

“It works,” Phoenix said, before instantly dismissing her mount a second later and giving us a thumbs up as Töten sputtered in confusion.

“Good,” I said, not saying anything further about it, “because I sure the hell didn’t want to haul Neysa’s heavy ass up with a rope.”

“Tell me about it,” Zeven said, eyeing the armored form of the Grizhawk.

An instant later, Bright Claw disappeared like a regular mount as the Grizhawk let out a soulful bellow. Not discussing the issue further, Zeven snagged the rope and started climbing up next. Curiously enough, I noticed the player letting the rope lie on top of his foot while he stepped on it with the other. This put all of the effort of climbing onto the legs and not the arms. It was the same style I’d learned from my grandfather from his time in the Marines when I was a young boy. When the Badger Kin had made it halfway up, I felt a large presence step up beside me.

“You just had to offer to give this guy a hand,” Töten distastefully said as he grabbed the end of the rope.

“Says the man that offered his help to my people in Darom without the guarantee of receiving anything in return but a swift kick in the ass,” I replied back in an amused tone.

“That was different,” Töten argued as he held up a gauntleted hand and slowly closed it into a fist, “You were the only player that I could find who was willing to stand up to these bastards and were actually winning to boot.”

“How do you think I accomplished that?” I asked as Zeven reached the slotted windows above. Not waiting for Töten’s answer, I continued softly, “By bringing like-minded people together under a unified banner to fight these assholes and not allowing myself to be punked out.” I gave him a sad smile. “Unfortunately, you can usually only do that after people have been slapped in the face by reality because most people aren’t willing to stick their necks out until it gets to that point.”

“Sounds like you’re talking about more than just gaming,” Töten grunted in surprise at my words.

“It is because that reflects more than how people just react to hard situations inside a game world,” I said, silently thinking back to the bullying I’d dealt with throughout my life.

Most people would rather keep their heads down so as to not become a target than stick their necks out and take a stand for what they believed to be right. Sadly, that never really helped them in the end. Bullies were bullies, plain and simple. You either took a stand to stop that kind of shit whenever you saw it, or you ended up becoming a victim of it forever.

“There’s some hard truth for you,” Töten agreed, before addressing the situation at hand, “Just so you know, there’s only about an hour left before my deadline is up, so don’t take all day finding his companion. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to-”

“Take care of business,” I finished for him as he nodded in agreement.

“Fuck, this is going to suck,” Töten grumbled, taking a deep breath as he began climbing up the stone wall in full armor.

No shit, Sherlock, I thought, watching the big man struggle under his own weight as he climbed the rope. Even with the increased Strength that all of us had from our stats, it couldn’t be easy for him. Töten was wearing a set of armor that a regular Human on Earth couldn’t have even walked in, let alone climb up a wall in. On top of that, it wasn’t like he was a small guy. The Halfling was freaking eight feet tall. It had to take a large portion of his overall Strength just to lift that much mass. Making sure I wouldn’t get crushed beneath him if he lost his grip and fell, I picked up the end of the rope and glanced over at the disgruntled Silver Dire Wolf at my side.

‘So, you can either wait here until we get back and miss out on the fun, or you can do what Bright Claw did and accept being dismissed while I’m making the climb,’ I sent in no uncertain terms.

‘I don’t know why you can’t just carry me,’ Neysa unhappily grumbled as I turned back to watching Töten climb.

Not saying a word, I sent a mental picture of how I used to carry her in my arms when she was a puppy, before picturing how that would look now at her current size. That got a loud snort-like sneeze out of her as I felt a light bulb go off in her mind. I suspected that it was something like that. A part of her hadn’t comprehended just how much bigger she was from a week ago. Seeing the mental image of the difference had hit her in a way that logic couldn’t.

‘Whatever,’ Neysa unhappily huffed as Töten was helped over the lip by both Zeven and Phoenix. I don’t know why he didn’t bother using Zeven’s climbing technique.

‘Whatever what?’ I asked as Neristhana watched the two of us silently arguing with one another. By now, she knew how to recognize the signs that we were having one of our telepathic discussions.

‘Dismiss me,’ Neysa grudgingly sent as she sat back on her haunches and patiently waited.

‘Don’t worry, it’ll only be for a moment,’ I soothingly assured my girl as I mentally activated the “Dismiss” command.

“I wondered if she was going to accept being dismissed or not,” Neristhana said, stepping up next to me as soon as the Silver Dire Wolf disappeared. She gave me an amused look, “You do know that you’re the first person that I’ve ever met that has such arguments with their Combat Mount.”

“That’s just one of the many reasons why you swore your oath to me,” I said, flashing the Gnomeling a smile as she rolled her eyes at me.

“A fact that I question daily, Lord Stinky,” Neristhana jokingly replied as she waved at the rope for me to get moving.

Maybe I was a fool, but I had to treat people in a way that I felt was right, I thought, draping the end of the rope over my right Cuttle Leather Corpse-boot and using the other to stand on it to push my body up. It was surprisingly easy, even with being fully geared up and my full to overflowing rucksack strapped to my back. While my grandfather had been an abusive asshole, you couldn’t deny that he knew his shit. I reached the top in no time and accepted a hand from Töten who easily hauled me up and over the lip without even batting an eye.

“Now, tell that Gnomeling of yours to hurry up, we don’t have-” Töten began to complain, when Neristhana peeked over the stone windowsill.

“Would you get over yourself and get moving,” Neristhana snapped as she easily hopped over the ledge before any of us could offer her a hand, “Like you said, it’s not like we have all day.”

It was almost comical to watch as Töten froze in place where he stood. Though I couldn’t see it, I mentally pictured his mouth opening and closing at the casual ease she’d scaled up the rope. Not that I bothered explaining to him that she was a sailor that was used to working on rigging during a storm. I saw Helgath standing back a few paces to keep a watch out for any sentries on guard duty and on our new friend, I mentally reached out and called Neysa back to me as she appeared a moment later in a swirl of magic.

‘Helgath!’ Neysa wailed, ‘Star was a meanie. He refused to haul me up the wall with the rope.’

‘Didn’t he just basically do that now?’ Helgath asked as a soft smile played across her full lips so that the tips of her fangs peeked out.

‘That’s not what I meant,’ Neysa fumed as she padded over to the Half-Orc that began soothingly stroking her flank. Keeping half an ear on their conversation, I turned to Töten as he finished pulling up his rope.

“Let’s move out,” Töten snapped as he began urgently striding down the stone corridor.

As the rest of us drew our weapons and fell in behind the big man, I couldn’t help the smile that came to my face at the questioning look Zeven traded with Bright Claw. It only took them a moment to come to a decision as they followed after us. While I understood the Badger Kin’s hesitancy on one level to team up with strangers, it really did make the most sense to follow the lead of the owner of the stronghold instead of heading off on their own to find their companion. As we came to a wide stone stairwell, the Anti-Paladin turned to face the rest of us.

“I’ll go down to the lowest part of the stronghold and find the control room, while the rest of you go up to the main hall on the fifth level and take care of business,” Töten said in a tense voice, just as a blood-curdling scream suddenly rang out from the upper levels of the stronghold.

Before any of us could react, Zeven let out a strangled cry of rage as Bright Claw blasted past us. The Grizhawk’s armored bulk easily knocked us aside in the beast’s haste as its nearly foot-long claws skittered on the stone floor in its rush to lunge up the stairwell. As we stepped back to catch our balance, Zeven raced past us next to leap up the steps four at a time with a look of fury plastered on his enraged bestial face as the screams of angry male voices howling in agony filtered down the stairwell next. There was no doubt in my mind that the situation with Zeven’s companion had suddenly turned critical as the Anti-Paladin’s alarmed face hurriedly turned to us.

“Go back him up,” Töten bellowed, the tension clear in his voice as he pushed off the wall and began racing down the stairs for the lowest part of the stronghold, “they should be in the main hall on the fifth floor!”

“We’re on it!” I shouted as the rest of us began racing up the steps.

Chapter Six

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Lester McStealy of the Triple A guild logging into the Fortress of Mund-spilli.)

Running Pod Diagnostic – Complete

Synchronizing controller units - Complete

Neuro Synchronization - Complete

Initializing virtual environment …

“This is fucking ridiculous,” Lester snarled out loud as he looked around the dirty great hall of the conquered fortress that was supposed to become his new home, “I told Zwicky to get you guys working on cleaning this pigsty up while I was logged out to eat lunch.”

“What’s got your panties in a knot, McStealy,” Rochow Cadabum lackadaisically asked from where he was sprawled back against a rough-cut trestle table with half of his teammates, “It’s in the process of being taken care of.”

“Woohoo,” Becker McPecker cheered from the other side of the table.

“The fuck it is,” Lester snarled, waving an arm at the piles of half-rotten food and broken earthenware that were strewn out across the massive room. He hated dealing with the attitudes from the other guild officers’ raid groups like this, “This looks like one of you guys’ dorm rooms after a frat party.”

“I know, isn’t that cool?” Vain Pruisen, the DPS Warrior, laughingly said from where he sat next to Becker. Holding up a chipped mug of ale, he saluted the soon-to-be new owner of the stronghold, “Thanks again for bringing all of this ale. We’ve been out of anything alcoholic to drink for the last three days.”

“You do know those supplies were supposed to last us for the rest of the month, right?” Lester asked through gritted teeth as the table of drunken idiots downed their mugs in one go.

These idiots didn’t know how hard it was to transport all of this shit all the way from Lodenburg with a fucking handcart. If he didn’t put a stop to this shit, these idiots would burn through all of the supplies that he’d brought in less than a week. Before he could read Rochow and his crew the riot act, Zwicky Holger came strolling in from the kitchen with two of his team leaders.

“Hey Lester,” Zwicky cheerfully called out, “you logged back in early.”

“What the fuck, man,” Lester angrily stalked over to the obviously sloshed DPS Warrior, “you said you were going to take care of this!”

“What the fuck do you want from us?” Zwicky snarled back as his cheery face suddenly turned hard, “We’ve been stuck in this shithole for a week with nothing to do after capturing this stronghold for you and Leerianne but grinding on the same monsters day in and day out or beating our dicks while bored out of our gourds. It was nothing like the rest of you who were out having fun ransacking villages and ganking noobs.”

“And if that wasn’t fucking annoying enough,” Rochow called out from behind him, “this whole place stinks like three-day-old ass!”

“Yeah, so have fun with that,” Vain Pruisen jeered next, before hollering out, “We need more ale!”

“Oh, don’t give me that shit,” Lester growled right back at the obnoxious crew, “Each and every one of you guys is being paid in high-quality gear, gold, and on top of that, you’re getting two Nightmare trees to boot.” He angrily pointed to Rochow. “Weren’t you the one who came up with this whole idea in the first place?”

“That’s before we understood how boring it was going to be,” Yochen Holzig drunkenly added, before thrusting her mug into the air and shouting, “More ale!”

“It might have been different if there was at least a fucking dungeon or something nearby to camp,” Zwicky said, calming down a bit at being reminded of their payment, “but there wasn’t shit around except for those high-level bugs and Orcs.”

“Fuck, Zwicky,” Lester swore, making the signal for that part of their conversation to be deleted from his Twitch Stream, “I hope you guys didn’t fuck up our alliance with the horde or we’re going to be screwed big time.”

“None of those losers made it out of here alive,” Zwicky promised, waving away his concern.

“Yeah,” Vain drunkenly chimed in, “not even that Air Shaman that was with them.”

“Whatever you do, I wouldn’t say a word about that to anyone outside of the guild,” Lester said, turning suddenly serious, “Those Chaos Storm punks are looking to blame anyone they can for the shit that went down with the Orcs.”

“Why not?” Zwicky asked as his face screwed up in confusion, “Weren’t we going to betray them anyway as soon as we got control of the Isolde Line?”

“I don’t know,” Lester honestly said, “but everyone has been screaming about some crazy shit that went down Sunday in Darom.” He shrugged indifferently. “Supposedly, Cristiane Sekhmet was losing her shit about the Orcs not keeping to the terms of the agreement.”

“How is that even possible?” Sascha Rivolr, one of the team leaders with Zwicky, demanded.

“Yeah,” Wischi Martin, the other team leader with Zwicky, said, “There just a bunch of NPCs. It’s not like they can go back on their word. Besides, weren’t we supposed to have a friendly reputation with the Orcs or something so this wouldn’t be an issue?”

“That’s what Leerianne had said back in Lonsalindel,” Lester agreed with a shrug.

Not that he was about to get into any of their experiences with the NPC villages that they’d raided or his difficulties in dealing with the Badger Kin slut that he’d captured and was trying to train. These lazy idiots could find that fact out for themselves.

“Whatever, it just gives us more monsters to kill,” Zwicky said, not concerned in the least as he jerked his chin at Lester, “So, why were you going ballistic on my boys? You said we could drink all the ale we wanted.”

“No, you jackasses, I said you were welcome to two barrels, not the whole cart,” Lester irritably said as the raid cheered behind him like he’d made a joke, before chanting for more ale. Letting out a heavy sigh, he wrote off the barrels as a loss and got back to the topic at hand, “Dude, you promised you’d get your raid to clean up this pigsty before heading out.”

“We got that covered while you were logged out,” Zwicky drunkenly assured him, before roaring over his shoulder, “Nahi, we need more ale out here.”

“Who’s Nahi?” Lester asked as a creeping suspicion of fear began traveling down his spine.

“It’s Nahimana,” Zwicky laughingly said as if he’d made a joke, “your Badger Kin companion!”

“My Badger Kin companion!” Lester exclaimed as his body went taut.

“Dude, even if she’s got too much hair everywhere,” Zwicky enthusiastically said, pushing him towards the tables that everyone was sitting at, “she’s not too hard on the eyes.”

What the fuck! Were all of these guys complete fucking morons, Lester silently swore? That Beast Kin girl was level 35 and had nearly been the death of him and his team on several occasions during their trip out here. After all of the beating and raping, he would’ve thought she’d have just shut the fuck up and meekly agreed to become his companion, but so far, nothing he’d done to her had worked. Now, all of a sudden, the fucking bitch was telling everyone she was his companion! Seriously, what the fuck?

“I don’t know why you were keeping her muzzled and chained up in the cellar like an animal,” Zwicky continued after dragging him over to the trestle table to sit down with the rest of his raid, “because she’s friendly as hell.” He motioned towards Sascha who was busy repeatedly slamming her mug down on the tabletop as she called for more ale. “She even asked Sascha if we needed someone to be the barmaid for the party last night,” he gave Lester a nonchalant shrug, “so we decided to put her to work.”

“You did what?” Lester demanded as he shot to his feet in alarm.

No one took notice because they were too busy cheering for the Badger Kin girl as she came busting into the room with a tray full of porcelain mugs. Nahimana did look very different than normal, Lester had to admit. She’d cut away her torn-up kilted skirt and made a mini-skirt out of it, while her ruined leather halter top was now nothing more than a tight tube top across her breasts. Except for some of the deeper whip marks on her shoulders and muzzle, her beaten-down and haggard appearance were all but gone.

Not only that, the young Badger Kin girl was now moving with confidence and assurance that Lester hadn’t seen in her before. It was like she was a changed woman. There was no flinching or hesitancy in her movements as she swung her hips with each step as she approached the table with her full tray. He had to admit Zwicky had the right of it. She did look damn good. But, unlike the DPS Warrior, he especially liked her being covered in fur.

“You newfar boys and girls are in for a real treat,” Nahimana cheerfully announced as she carefully slid the tray onto the trestle table to hand out the mugs, “I found the ingredients in the kitchen to make a proper barrel of House of Bruic Diongmhalta’s dioghaltas!” She gave the table of Triple A players a coy smile. “I’m sure it’ll strip the fur off your chests!”

“Yeah!” the players around the table drunkenly cheered as they began grabbing up the mugs from the tray. Lester was the only one on the crew that didn’t immediately reach for a mug.

“What happens if we don’t have fur on our chests?” Sascha jokingly asked as she happily held the mug before her with both hands preparing to drink.

“It’ll strip the skin right off your bones,” Nahimana sweetly assured the Ranger as she sexily swung her hip to the side and pushed her chest out in a sexy pose.

That comment and pose got even more catcalls from his guildmates. While the Badger Kin girl did look mighty good, Lester’s sixth sense began screeching in alarm that something was horribly wrong as she picked up a single mug in one hand and the two remaining mugs on the tray in the other. Coming around the table looking like a German barmaid at an Oktoberfest, she plopped the foaming mug directly in front of him along with the tray, before grabbing the last two for herself. Wanting him to drink with them, Zwicky pulled him back down on the bench and pushed the large porcelain mug into his hands.

“It’s time to toast the new leader of the Fortress of Mund-Spilli!” Zwicky proudly announced to the table.

“Well, it’s not for an hour yet,” Lester disagreed as he nervously eyed the large mug of ale in his hands.

No one else seemed concerned about his sex slave serving them ale. While she’d been doing it safely all night long, Lester didn’t trust the odd change that had come over his captive Badger Kin girl. No matter how much he wanted the bitch of an NPC to simply accept him as her master. At the same time, he didn’t want to come off as an overanxious pussy to his guildmates either or they’d never let him live that down.

“In that case, you’re going to have to do a proper House of Bruic Diongmhalta’s toast then,” Nahimana announced, overriding Lester’s protest as she played up to the players around the table who enthusiastically cheered at being the first players ever to take over another person’s fortress inside The World. Holding the last two mugs up as if to drink along with them, she continued in that same tone, “That means downing your mugs in one go!” She gave a sexy wink and thrust out a hip. “Show me the best you’ve got and then I’ll show you how a real Badger Kin female does it with two hands!”

“Woohoo!” the guys around the table jeered loudly at her sexual innuendo.

“Cur fo chràdh!” Nahimana called out as everyone around the table repeated the toast.

“Cur fo chràdh!”

As his guildmates around the table began chugging down the mugs of ale as fast as they could, Lester froze with the porcelain rim at his lips. This whole act from the Badger Kin girl was seriously starting to freak him the fuck out. Could the NPC have just changed that quickly from one day to the next, Lester wondered? While he hadn’t bothered checking in on her this morning, he’d no idea that the rest of the crew had released the bitch from the cellar.

Lester’s eyes swiveled to the Badger Kin girl standing next to him as his eyes locked onto the large furry mounds even with his eyes. They looked like ripe peaches the size of grapefruits. If whatever was stopping Nahimana from accepting him as her new master had ended, that meant he’d finally have his dreams come true. The thought was almost too much for him to handle as a raging hard-on instantly began growing in his leather pants. All that he’d ever wanted was a digital furry slut that would do whatever he ordered in and outside of bed!

As he debated simply dragging the Badger Kin girl back to his room and saying fuck it to drinking with everyone, Lester’s eyes rose to her silver-furred face. That’s when he saw it! The look of pure hatred that had always filled her green eyes whenever she would glare at him after one of their nightly sessions to break her spirit. It was now being directed towards everyone at the trestle table that was gulping down their ale.

“To the death and suffering of your enemies!” Nahimana screamed, translating the toast into common as around the table looks of alarm started coming to the various Triple A players’ faces.

“I don’t feel so good,” Sascha was the first to say. As her face turned pale, she suddenly projectile vomited across the table, covering Gunther Sonoko with sickly green bile.

“What the fuck, Sascha?” Gunther screamed in disgust as he urgently pushed away from the table trying to dodge the deluge, “Go puke on someone else!”

“What’s wrong with me?” Sascha asked in distress, covering her mouth anxiously as she tried to stem the flow of vomit. Between breaths, she managed to get out, “My hit points are dropping like a rock.”

“Hhhuuurrrlll!” Rochow suddenly exploded like a fountain, retching everywhere as he fell back over the bench seat onto the ground.

“Ggghhhaaa!” Vain urgently gasped while doing his best to cover his mouth. Not that it helped any as the puke shot out from either side of his hands onto the guildmates next to him.

Within seconds, everyone at the trestle table was sick. Lester’s face turned white as a sheet as his eyes fearfully darted between one guildmate to the next. The stench was horrendous and it took literally every ounce of his willpower to control his own gag reflex. He swore it was like they were puking out their entire insides with each heave.

That’s when it hit him as to what must’ve happened. Whirling around, Lester accusingly stared into the Badger Kin bitch’s hate-filled eyes as she stepped back away from the table with a look of savage glee on her silver-furred face.

“You did this to them!” Lester accused, shooting up from the bench seat. Throwing the porcelain mug away from him, he furiously turned on the Badger Kin slut as his mug’s contents splattered across the table and many of his puking guildmates.

“Of course, I did that to them,” Nahimana angrily shouted back without any remorse. Her thick black lips pulled back from her white fangs as she advanced on him with the mugs of ale still clenched in her clawed fists, “I’ll kill every last one of you monsters if it’s the last thing I do!”

“You dumb fucking bitch!” Lester snarled as he began advancing on the Badger Kin girl in turn. Unconsciously, his fist began to glow with the Triple A’s signature Icy power of their Nightmare tree, “You know as well as I do that you can’t beat me.” He pointed an accusatory finger at her. “I tried to treat you right. I tried to get you to accept me as your master the easy way. But, nooo,” he mockingly dragged out the word, “you had to be too stubborn for your own good.”

“That was nice?” Nahimana shrieked back at him as her eyes gleamed in righteous fury, “You slaughtered all of my people, beat and raped me every night, and now you act like you’re doing me a favor by trying to enslave me!” She threw both mugs of ale into his face screaming at the top of her lungs, “I’d rather die a thousand deaths than accept anything from some sick fuck like you!”

“That can be arranged!” Lester roared as his face turned beat red, “You thought I was an evil fuck before. Just wait! I’m going to beat the ever-living shit out of you and then put you in stockades so the rest of these boys can help me break your will!”

“That’s never going to happen now. By the time you get back from the graveyard, there won’t be enough of my corpse left to resurrect,” Nahimana growled back at him as her green eyes gleamed triumphantly, “Besides, you’re already dead. You just don’t know it yet.”

“What the fuck are you talking-” Lester began to demand when a fountain of bile shot from the Badger Kin bitch’s throat. His voice died away as a look of horror flashed across his face. His skin was starting to burn everywhere that the ale had splashed over him.

“That’s right, you’re starting to comprehend what I’ve done,” Nahimana savagely spat as the glow of magic disappeared as he stared at his hands in pure shock. Already, Lester could see the skin was melting off his bones. That’s when it hit him as to what she’d meant. As he tried to think of what he could do to stop her from suiciding, she launched herself at him shrieking in fury, “Die, you sick fuck!”

Before Lester could even think of fighting back, the bitch screamed in bloody murder and was atop him in a flash. Her claws lashed at his face and throat as he did his best to bat her blows away. While he was stronger than her due to his Nightmare stats, his muscles were already being eaten away from the poison she’d flung on him.

In desperation, Lester caught her wrist and managed to bat the other one aside. They struggled a bit more until he caught the limb in his armpit. As she fought to yank her arm free, he laughed in her silver-furred face.

“What are you going to do now?” Lester chortled as he pulled her down within an inch of his face, “I told you that you can’t beat me!”

“Suck on this!” Nahimana snarled as she did something he’d never forget. Opening her maw, she chomped her mouth down over his own as if she were a lover going to suck on his tongue. Only, instead of this being something sensual, her fangs had locked their mouths together as she began retching green bile down his throat.

She’d taken the poison too, Lester silently shrieked in comprehension as green bile was forced down his throat! It was the most disgusting thing that had ever happened to him in his life. It made him instantly begin puking back. Not that such a thing was possible with the lip-lock that the bitch had on his lips. At any other time, that would’ve been a dream come true. Now though, it forced the burning vomit out of his nose as the only available path for the vile substance to take.

Even as all of that was going on, Lester’s mind was stuck on trying to figure out what his Badger Kin slave girl had meant. How was she going to commit suicide in such a way that he wouldn’t be able to resurrect her back? That’s when he realized it must have something to do with the poison that all of them had consumed.

Why the fuck did she do that? Lester wondered as he fought to get her to release her grip on him. Releasing her wrists, he began pummeling her in the side of the head as she resumed clawing at his eyes and face with the strength of the damned.

Lester’s hit points were nearly down to a third when he saw a vomit-covered fist grab the back of Nahimana’s head. Another fist joined him in pummeling the Badger Kin girl until the other player was able to rip her free of their lip-lock kiss of death. As Nahimana turned on the player that had been helping him and began clawing the shit out of them, they kicked her away with a grunt of effort.

“What did that crazy bitch do to us?” Zwicky screamed as he urgently dragged Lester to his feet to face him.

Whatever Nahimana had used to poison them it was nasty as fuck, Lester urgently thought in the back of his mind as Zwicky released him and doubled over to vomit again. As more of the sickly green bile poured from his guildmate’s mouth, he realized they were all dead if they couldn’t get a Cure Poison spell or potion. That’s when he saw Antye Barbour suddenly log in at the center of the great hall.

“What the hell is going on?” Antye demanded as he turned towards the horror show that had recently been their party. Before any of them could explain, a deep whomping boom rang throughout the room.

Turning around in shock, Lester’s plight was momentarily forgotten as his and everyone else’s eyes went to the double doors at the far end of the great room. The hallway beyond led to the lower part of the stronghold that they had captured and had simply been shut to keep out any intruders, instead of being actively guarded. That wouldn’t have normally been the case, but with the lack of counterattacks from the previous owner, it was deemed an adequate defense if they did suddenly come under attack.

Again, something massive slammed into the opposite side of the double doors. This time, the blow was so hard that the garbage scattered across the floor jumped from the force of the impact. Not only that, but as the dust and debris rained from the top of the archway, Lester heard the ironwood bar holding the portal closed let out a sharp crack as its timbers began to split.

“What the fuck is that?” Antye nervously demanded as the rest of them traded wide-eyed glances with one another. The agony from their melting internal organs was momentarily forgotten in the face of a new threat.

“We’re obviously under attack,” Zwicky groaned between gasps of agony.

As the raid leader forcibly stood up to face this new threat, Antye started urgently casting Regeneration as more of Lester’s teammates started logging back in. Biggee McGee, Yochen Holzig, and Pheeltip Choker appeared within seconds of each other. They were just looking around to see what was going on, when another overpowered blow slammed into the double doors, blasting them open in a small avalanche of stone as the archway partly collapsed from the impact.

“Rrraaawww!”

As the bellowing roar rang throughout the great room, the shape of an armored bear-like monster filling the doorway suddenly became visible through the dusty cloud of falling debris. It was immense. Standing on its hindlegs legs, it was easily twelve feet tall and six-feet wide. As its enraged gaze swept across the Triple A players to lock on the dying Badger Kin girl, it dropped onto all fours, shaking the stone floor beneath their feet. With another roar, it began propelling its massive bulk into a charge heading directly for their group.

“Hit it with everything you got!” Lester shrieked to his teammates as he weakly held up his arm and cast Icy Lance Barrage.

Immense trios of Icy Lances began blasting from his hand as well as from his other guildmates around him at the charging monster. The shafts were nearly three feet long and two inches in diameter and packed a punch, being the highest attack spell that any of them had learned from their Ice Storm Nightmare tree. There had to have been nearly forty-five lances in that first barrage that exploded against the charging monster.

To all of their shocking surprise, the icy lances seemed to uselessly explode against the monster’s heavy iron armor. Hell, Lester wasn’t even sure if it even noticed the strikes raining down on it as being actual attacks, let alone taking any damage from them. Even the AOE portion of the spell seemed to have no effect due to the bear’s thick furry hide beneath its armor. The razor-sharp clouds of ice were simply shrugged off as if they were nothing as the monster barreled towards them.

Lester saw Biggee McGee’s Multi-Strike arrows begin ricocheting off the heavy iron helm of the monster bear’s head, while Pheeltip Choker switched to Scorching Shots. Nothing seemed to work as Yochen Holzig drew her two-handed blade and ran to meet the bear head-on. Staggering after her, Lester tried to draw his daggers with his bony hands to join her, when a flickering axe shot over the bear’s back to slam into his forehead.

For a moment, Lester didn’t know what had happened to him as he looked around from his position sitting on the floor. There was a roaring noise filling the air that made his ears ring as he tried to figure out what had happened. He caught a glimpse of a bloody Yochen flying through the air in one direction as her two-handed sword went in another when he was suddenly run over by a freight train.

Agony shot through his bruised and bloody body as he struggled to rise to his hands and knees. Though it wasn’t until the axe blade disappeared and blood started pouring down his face that he realized what had happened. Jerking around, Lester saw the armored bear laying into his guildmates. Zwicky was held in the monster’s fang-filled jaws being shaken like a rat in the jaws of a junkyard dog as it sought to break his neck, while its armored claws shredded Vain Pruisen to ribbons. As he staggered to his feet, a snarling growl from behind caught him by surprise.

“Rrraaaww!” Lester turned around just in time to see a massive Dire Wolf leaping at his face. The monster’s jaws closed around his face as he was physically picked up and flung across the room like a limp ragdoll.

The room spun as Lester came to a stop by slamming into a wall. His hit points were blinking in the red and his skin continued melting off of his bones as he struggled to rise to his hands and knees. The fight, if you could even call it that, was basically over. His guildmates were in the process of being slaughtered around the great room one by one.

From the look of things, Yochen had tried to re-enter the fight but had been stopped. She was now in a life-and-death fight against a massive Badger Kin male. Even as he watched, the male used his Bardiche to hack the Warrior’s arm off mid-forearm. Yochen tried to recover by drawing her dagger, but before it had even been drawn from its sheath, the Badger Kin spun around and took her head off at the shoulders. As her headless body toppled over, his eyes went to where his other two guildmates had been standing.

Antye hadn’t been able to hear their teammate because he was in a battle for his life. Lester saw a beautiful Half-Orc eviscerating the man’s bowels with a series of nasty slashes that cut through the Priest’s robes in the blink of an eye. As he tripped over his own intestines and fell to his knees, the demi-human leaped on his back and began Backstabbing him to death.

As Lester’s eyes searched to see why Pheeltip wasn’t helping his teammate, he suddenly caught sight of the Fire Mage on his hands and knees. Black gunk was pouring from his screaming mouth, eyes, and ears while Zombie Hands burst from the stone floor to shred his body. There was no doubt in Lester’s mind that both men would be dead in seconds.

Urgently looking around to see what the rest of his Triple A guildmates were doing, Lester saw them on the far side of the room where they’d been drinking. The trestle table they’d all been sitting at had been utterly destroyed by the monstrous bear’s charge. Now though, there were another three Humanoids slaughtering his people.

The first was a fierce red-haired Barbarian woman wielding a deadly two-handed axe as she leaped amongst his poisoned guildmates to slaughter them with overhanded blows from the massive weapon. While he didn’t know who she was, Lester immediately recognized the player beside her. Even though he couldn’t see the Half-Elf’s face, the gleaming winged helm and black stone plate armor were well known across the server along with the bastard’s oversized hand axe, which he was using to Execute his downed targets, killing them with one strike each.

The last member of the group was a small female Gnomeling who was assisting in the butchering. That was the only word to describe what she was doing since it took several blows from her hand axe to finish off his screaming teammates. It was truly brutal in the extreme. Regardless, his thoughts were focused on the Half-Elf above everyone else.

“Why would Starfairy be here of all places?” Lester gasped out under his breath in shock as he tried to think of what he could do. That asshole was supposed to be all the way back in Darom and heading towards the southern cities, not back towards the Isolde Line!

“There you are!” Lester startled as a hoarse voice rasped in his ears a second, before a clawed hand wrapped into his long stringy hair.

Lester barely had any time to react as his face was forcibly slammed into the stone wall that he’d crashed into just moments earlier. He heard Nahimana’s hateful shriek as she drove his face into the wall again and again as she chanted, “I hate you … I hate you!” His face felt like someone had beaten him to a pulp with a baseball bat as he helplessly windmilled in her iron grip.

His hit points were flashing in the red by the time the Badger Kin bitch threw him onto his back, but not before she managed to break his arm. As a screaming Lester’s head bounced off the stone floor, Nahimana somehow managed to snag and break his other arm before he even knew it. Quick as a striking Adler, she leaped onto his chest and began pummeling his face with her small fists.

Each savage strike drove Lester’s health down another few points closer to zero. He was helpless to fight her off as she pounded him with feral ferocity, completely unconcerned about her own impending death. There was something terrifying about the young female’s assault. She’d made sure to take away his ability to defend himself against her in any meaningful way and now was relishing in his suffering. The pain momentarily stopped as her flashing blue eyes locked with his own.

“You’ll never hurt me again!” Nahimana screamed as her fangs tore out his throat.

Lester’s last sight was the Badger Kin female’s victorious smile and bloody muzzle as she looked into his terrified eyes to watch him die as his hit points finally ticked down to zero.

Chapter Seven

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Startum Ironwolf and friends finishing off the Triple A guild in the Fortress of Mund-spilli.)

“She’s dying!” Zeven’s anxious voice cried out from the other side of the room.

Finishing off the last PKer, I looked around to make sure the battle was over. Though the great room was a mess, I didn’t see anyone still moving except for Bright Claw, Helgath, and Neysa who were moving around the corpses to make sure everyone was actually dead. Catching Neristhana’s eye, I nodded to the bodies around us.

“Loot everything that you can,” I said to the Gnomeling while mentally repeating the message to my soulmates, “and keep an eye out for any enemies that might login or be hiding in ambush waiting to attack.”

“I’m not leaving your back unguarded while you heal,” Neristhana said in no uncertain terms as I let out a heavy sigh. Seeing Zeven urgently casting Heals one after another, I realized there was no time to argue as I began striding towards the other side of the room, “Phoenix, there’s something strange going on here, so I’d recommend not touching any of the food or drink.”

“That was my thought too,” Phoenix called back to me as I came to a stop at Zeven’s side.

“Do you know what’s wrong?” I asked, kneeling next to Zeven who was holding the young Badger Kin female to his chest and rocking her back and forth as she gasped in agony.

“Nahi’s poisoned,” Zeven choked out between sobs, “she did it herself to escape these assholes and now I don’t have any Potions of Antidote to help her.” His red-rimmed eyes looked up at me pleadingly. “Can you do anything to help?”

“Sure thing, man,” I said, hitting the girl with a Minor Cure Disease spell and a Regeneration. Unsurprisingly, Nahi’s eyes glanced at us in consternation not knowing who we were. As the golden glow disappeared for the second time, I glanced up at his anxious eyes, “Can you tell if that did it or not?”

“That did it!” Zeven exclaimed in relief as the Badger Kin girl’s color started to improve.

Sitting up urgently, she pushed Zeven’s arms away as she suddenly leaned over and puked what seemed to be an inordinate amount of green bile onto the floor. I was just reaching for a water flask to give to the poor girl, when Zeven handed her one of his own.

“Don’t touch that,” Nahimana rasped out between gasps of breaths, “it’ll still poison you.”

Glancing over at Neristhana, we silently both took a step back without saying a word. There was no sense in getting any of the foul-smelling green bile on us even if a simple Minor Cure Disease would clear it up. Besides, I didn’t know how the Gnomeling was doing, but it was taking everything I had not to puke up whatever was left in my stomach from breakfast.

“What the fuck are you guys doing?” Töten demanded in group chat, “Can I fold this place up or not?”

“Give us a few minutes longer,” I said out loud so that Zeven and his companion could hear me, “We just slaughtered these fucktards and rescued Zeven’s companion.”

“Well, can you guys just hurry the fuck up so I can make sure this is actually going to work?” Töten barked.

“Sure, I’ll let you know when we’re at the outer edge of the village’s wall,” I assured him.

“We need to move,” I said to them both, “Can you carry her, or do you need-”

My voice died away as a bloody Bright Claw stomped up. Seeing the sizzling blood covering him, I decided to hit him with a Minor Cure Disease and Regeneration along with everyone else in our little group as Zeven scooped the Badger Kin girl up into his arms and put her on the Grizhawk’s back.

“I’ve got it,” Zeven gruffly said as Nahimana nodded that she was strong enough to hold on for herself.

“Alrighty people,” I called out to the great hall, “let’s get the fuck out of dodge before any of these assholes make it back.”

With that, I began jogging out of the shattered great doors with Neristhana following close behind me. Before I’d crossed half the distance, Phoenix, Neysa, and Helgath had joined me. Flying through the shattered doorway, we raced down the hall for the stairwell that we’d passed through minutes earlier.

“Though it’s all low-level, a few of those guys had some interesting loot,” Phoenix said as we ran, “and a decent amount of coin on top of everything else.”

“Nice,” I said as slid across the stone floor to slow down, before ducking into the stairwell.

Flying down the steps three at a time, I kept heading down until I reached the floor we’d originally started from. Racing out into the corridor, I ran for the rope that we’d left hanging from the slotted window. Seeing Neristhana behind me, I waved for her to head down the rope first. The Gnomeling female disappeared in the blink of an eye, sliding down with some move that should’ve burnt the fuck out of her hand. Somehow, she slowed herself down at the last moment and landed lightly on her feet.

“Where’s Zeven and his companion?” I asked Phoenix while waving for Helgath to go next.

“No clue,” Phoenix said, glancing behind her in surprise, “Weren’t they supposed to be heading out with us?”

“Uh, maybe,” I said, listening to hear if I heard their footfalls behind us. There was nothing, “It’s not like we’d really talked about it one way or another.”

“Maybe, they decided to head off on their own,” Phoenix said as a concerned look came to her face, “I mean, we’d have if they’d gotten into a fight, right?”

“It’s not like that Grizhawk is exactly subtle,” I replied, waving her towards the rope, “Either way, it’s not our problem.”

“Truth,” Phoenix agreed, hopping out the window. She blazed down the rope nearly as fast as the Gnomeling as I frowned in annoyance. Stepping back from the window, I tried one last thing.

Startum Ironwolf: Hey Zeven, are you around? We’re climbing down the wall now and I’m gonna let Töten know it’s cool to trigger the stronghold’s travel mode as soon as we clear the village. Is that okay with you? Have you cleared the ground or do we need to wait?

This time Neysa didn’t argue with me as I dismissed her and climbed out the window. Unlike Phoenix or Neristhana, I wasn’t as comfortable going down as I’d been coming up. What can I say? I had a slight fear of heights. It didn’t mean that I didn’t do what needed to be done, nor had it stopped me from going skydiving. But, in situations like this, it always made me a bit nervous.

Kicking off the wall, I went down more traditionally. It only took me two bounces to make it down the forty yards, but as I landed and turned around, I saw the peanut gallery smirking at me. As I recalled Neysa, the two of them started in on me.

“Could you have been any slower?” Phoenix asked with a smirk on her full lips.

“The next time we’re aboard the Wind Dancer,” Neristhana commented with a smirk as Helgath hopped on Neysa’s back, “you’ll have to let me help you with your climbing skill.”

“Thanks,” I said, giving the rope a hard jerk to dislodge the grapple as the two of them began recalling their mounts, “but I think my falling skill is leveled up high enough.”

As I rolled up the rope, I glanced around the upper windows one last time to see if Zeven, his companion, or Bright Claw were around. I didn’t need to wait for Zeven to reply since we were on a time limit with the PKers respawning back in at any moment. Still, I figured that was the right thing to do.

Seeing and hearing nothing, I mounted up behind Helgath and galloped for the destroyed gate around the base of the stronghold. Within seconds, we were speeding through the burned-out village. We kept an eye out for any enemies but saw nothing on our way to the main gate. As we approached the destroyed gate, I messaged Töten.

“Give us five seconds and you can trigger the travel mode.”

“It’s about time,” Töten groused just as we rode out the last gate.

I’d given us a few extra seconds in case we needed to be a little further away from the village since we were still galloping through the fields. That, and I didn’t want Töten to get too jumpy and hit it before we’d had a chance to clear his lands. I had no desire to get my gravestone caught up in his stronghold and only have access to whatever was in my inventory.

We were halfway across the second field when the rumbling sounds of grinding rocks and crashing debris started behind us. Mentally signaling Neysa to stop, we swung around to watch the incredible sight as Phoenix and Neristhana reined in their mounts next to us. The outer wall and village folded up two different times until it reached the stronghold itself.

There were more sounds of folding earth coming from the far side but we couldn’t see what it was from our position. When that finished, the top of the cliff and fortifications began to reduce and shrink further as the massive stones continued folding up smaller and smaller. It was then that I realized the entire top of the caldera had folded up along with the top of the cliff.

At the end of a minute, there was simply a hole left in the ground where the entire structure had been, when I saw Töten stand up in awe and pick up the solid stone block that was left on the ground. It only took him a few moments to get the stone stored into the rucksack on his back. Though, it took a few minutes longer to repack all of the stuff that he’d had inside of it to get everything to fit. As he called his Nightmare Lilin and mounted up, Phoenix gave me a curious look.

“So does that mean those assholes are locked out for the next twenty-four hours?”

“I think so,” I said, thinking over the research I’d read about the subject, “From what the in-game Wiki said about it, you’re locked out for twenty-four hours if you’re still dead and your gravestone gets caught inside a stronghold that has been put into travel mode. So, as long as none of those assholes respawned at the nearest graveyard first, we should be free and clear of anyone hunting us.”

“So, that’s why you sent all of our Ghouls to the graveyard?” Phoenix asked as she considered the problem.

“That was one of the main reasons,” I agreed, “but if the shit had hit the fan, it’s nice having all of the escape exits covered too.” I glanced at my HUD and the status of my Ghouls. “So far, it doesn’t look like anyone chose that option.”

“Nice,” Phoenix said when I saw her face screw up in thought, “What do you think will happen if anyone else logs back into that Great Room?”

“That’s a good question,” I said with a frown, “I guess they’d either fall to their deaths-”

“Or appear on the ground?” Phoenix finished for me.

“I guess that means I should leave a few Ghouls here too just in case,” I said, not wanting to leave any possible enemies around to ambush us.

“Yeah,” Phoenix agreed, “because I don’t think that fall would exactly kill a Nightmare start player at full health.”

“Seriously?” I asked, looking at her like she was crazy, “That’s like a hundred and fifty yards up in the air. I don’t care if you have a shit ton of stats and health, your ass would be kissing your brain if you fell from that height.”

“Or, you’d wish it were,” Phoenix chuckled, before turning serious, “So, you still gonna plan on leaving some Ghouls behind just in case?”

“Yeah, it’s probably for the best. Who knows if someone was sleeping on a lower level or had some feather fall spell or magic item,” I said with a shrug as Töten’s mount trotted to a stop about twenty-five feet away from us, “Besides, I bet a Rogue with the right skills could survive a fall like that without breaking a sweat.”

“I didn’t think about that,” Phoenix admitted, before giving the big guy a curious look as she lowered her voice, “What’s with Töten? He looks like he’s ready for a fight.”

“Fuck if I know,” I whispered back, noticing what she meant. His big two-handed war hammer was held loosely in his fist as he looked at us as if he were waiting for something. Curiously, I called out to our new friend, “Everything cool?”

“You tell me,” Töten gruffly said. “I heard what you said to Zeven. You didn’t bother telling him that Phoenix here could’ve taken his stronghold at any time.” His full helmeted head seemed to take each of us in separately. “Are you gonna try taking my stronghold now or when I sleep tonight?”

“Fucking really?” Phoenix exclaimed, covering her face in exasperation as she shook her head.

“I guess your reputation proceeds you,” I said to her, letting out a bark of laughter, “Is this something I should be worried about or-”

“Seriously, man?” Phoenix asked, giving me an unhappy look, “that’s not even funny.”

“It is a little bit,” I jokingly said, giving her a wink, “Besides, my stronghold can’t be put into travel mode like all of these castles on the Isolde Line.”

“I’m not playing, Startum,” Töten angrily interrupted, not appreciating our byplay as his Nightmare mount furiously pawed the ground with its burning hooves.

“Sorry, man,” I apologized, holding up my hands to the big guy while trying not to laugh, “it’s just hard to take you seriously about all of this.” I glanced over at Phoenix. “Were you planning on taking his stronghold at any time?”

“Dude, I’m only here to watch your back since you were forced to stay behind in Darom!” Phoenix said, starting to get annoyed.

“I know that,” I soothingly said, knowing this whole conversation was starting to get under her skin, “I’m just trying to get that through our thick friend’s skull here.” Turning back to Töten, I continued in an easy-going tone. “Look, dude, neither of us cares about your stronghold. We were only here to give you a hand so you could get your shit back.” I shrugged. “I only offered my help because I needed a hand to get out of Darom and because I owed you for helping my people back in Darom. Besides, it was another chance to piss my enemies off.”

“Why would you not fucking want my Nightmare tree?” Töten demanded, now annoyed that we weren’t planning on taking his shit.

“I swear,” Phoenix said under her breath, “it’s like arguing with a woman.”

“Not helping,” I whispered under my breath, before replying to Töten, “Probably because I’d only be interested in it if it was attached to a friend.”

“A friend?” Töten angrily shouted, “I don’t know you from Adam.”

“Come on,” I said, jerking my chin to catch Neristhana and Phoenix’s eyes as I let out an explosive sigh. He was obviously too keyed up to think about this clearly, “We’re getting out of here.”

‘Let’s head back the way we came,’ I sent to Neysa as she moved out at a fast trot while the rest of the party fell in behind me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Töten angrily asked, not understanding why we were riding off instead of attacking him.

“Tulduroc,” I called out over my shoulder in an unconcerned tone as we headed for the trail that we’d entered the valley.

We didn’t have any more trouble with Töten as we climbed up out of the valley. Actually, I couldn’t even see him when I did finally look to see if he was still back there or not. Maybe that was for the best. I honestly didn’t want a run-in with the big guy. While I didn’t blame him for being so paranoid after everything that he’d been through, at the same time, I was seriously bummed out at the way he’d chosen to deal with everything.

Getting out of the valley was easy enough, I thought, as we reached the original ridge that we’d first stared down upon his captured stronghold together. While I was deep in my own thoughts, Neristhana and Phoenix were quietly chatting with one another about why things had gone down the way they did. Helgath simply held the hand of my arm wrapped around her waist to silently commiserate with me as we rode.

Personally, I was disappointed with how everything had run its course. I’m sure that some people would call me a fool for not getting pissed off at Töten for his shitty attitude. While that might be true on one level, on the other, he’d done a lot for me. Whether or not our relationship turned into anything more, I’d owed him for that alone. It might sound funny, but it was for my own sense of personal honor more than anything else.

Looking back down at the valley, I saw that it was completely different now that the stronghold and its caldera had been removed. It actually had a path out the far side where it had been previously blocked before. I found that particularly interesting because that meant a player could drastically change an area depending on where they set their stronghold up at.

“I’m gonna miss that Aura of the Crusader spell,” Phoenix said as she came to a stop next to me.

“Tell me about it,” I said with a heavy sigh, “I doubt we’ll even reach Lodenburg by midnight.”

“Daylight is a burning,” I said as Neysa took off down the trail.

We made sure to pass quickly by the Dökklingur Beetle-Kin and the Subterranean Realm passageway. Because of the steep slope, we made a surprisingly good time. As we reached the open plains, I felt a lead weight settle in the pit of my stomach as I saw who was waiting for us at the bottom of the trail.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Töten called out as we came to a stop twenty feet or so in front of him.

“Can we help you with something, Töten?” I asked, feeling my ire rising as Neristhana and Phoenix came to a stop on either side of me.

“Yeah, about that,” the big guy said, looking somewhat embarrassed, “I wanted to apologize for being an asshole back there.” He let out a heavy sigh. “A part of me was concerned that you were just leading me on and I needed to see if you were legit or not.”

“Legit or not?” I asked, suppressing the smile that tried to come to my lips as I watched him squirm.

“You know,” Töten said in a huff as his mount slowly closed the distance between us, “not just another asshole planning to Backstab me when I turned my back.”

“If you listened to what everyone was saying on the forums about us,” Phoenix said, crossing her arms under her chest as he came to a stop directly in front of us, “we’re exactly those kinds of assholes.”

“Hardly,” Töten said with a dismissive snort, before turning to me, “I was wondering if that offer for being an ally was still open?”

“Are we going to be doing all of this,” I asked, pointing my finger back and forth between us, “again?”

“Naw, man,” Töten said in an abashed tone, “I know where we stand.”

“Good,” I said, asking Neysa to come up beside him as I held out a hand, “the name’s Jason.”

“Eric,” Töten said as we gave a brotherly clasp and bumped shoulders.

“I’m Matt,” Phoenix said as he came to a stop on Töten’s other side.

“So, can we get going?” I asked, sending Töten a group invite as they finished shaking.

“Sure,” Töten said, accepting the friend requests as he turned his mount around, “Where did you wanna head to, Lodenburg?”

“Yeah, I figured that made the most sense,” I agreed, “since it’s the nearest city we could possibly reach before midnight.”

“Not that it’s a problem now since we have your Aura of the Crusader,” Phoenix happily added.

“Wait, did you just want me to be part of the crew because of my travel speed buff?” Töten asked in mock indignation.

“Hey, at least we want you for something,” Phoenix said as we fell in behind Töten, “because it’s definitely not due to your sparkling personality.”

“Hey,” Töten exclaimed, “I had a lot of shit on my mind-”

As the two of them began bitching at each other, I let out a happy sigh at how everything had turned out with Töten. While I wasn’t exactly thrilled at his little emotional tizzy, I was used to dealing with such things as a guild leader. It just hit a bit closer to home than I’d realized when he’d rejected us so hard after helping him to take back his stronghold, especially after how everything had gone down with Zeven. At least with Töten, we’d been able to clear that up and make a friend.

‘I’m glad that worked out,’ Helgath sent as we rode.

‘Me too,’ I agreed, hugging her to my chest.

Chapter Eight

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Jodi Tempest logging into BrokenFang Hold after work.)

Jodi Tempest: I’m entering the keep now. Where are you guys?

Tumms Darkbrew: We’re in the back at the bar.

Jodi Tempest: There’s a bar in the back?

Tumms Darkbrew: Okay, maybe bar was the wrong word to use. We’re next to the place where the cooks prepare the food. You know, by the quest board.

Jodi Tempest: Okay, on my way.

“Fuck, where did all of these people come from?” Jodi muttered under her breath in annoyance as she pushed her way through the crowd in the foyer to reach the great hall.

“Leet … leet!” Blasto loudly agreed, struggling to be released to let his displeasure be known.

“No, a Pyro Blast won’t help the situation,” Jodi chided as she kept the Elite Pyro Spitter close to her chest so he wouldn’t cause any problems. The last thing any of them needed was for him to get loose and cause a ruckus in these tight quarters.

It wasn’t like Jodi hadn’t seen such a large number of NPCs before. If you took Nren Unarith as a prime example of a typical city in The World, there were thousands upon thousands of people in total within the city’s walls. You just rarely had a chance to see the majority of them all in one place. And, even if you did it for a festival or something, it would’ve at least made logical sense.

“This, on the other hand, is just freaking insane,” Jodi muttered under her breath as she silently shook her head while Blasto let out a remorseful “Leet” from her shoulder.

What was so crazy about all of this was that BrokenFang Hold was a player-owned city, not a pre-built city constructed by the developers. Not only that, it had all been upgraded, or in the process of, in just two full weeks. Jodi let out a dismissive snort. And, for most of that time, he hadn’t even been around to manage everything.

How many NPCs did Startum even have at the end of his Nightmare quest? What, maybe two-hundred or two-hundred-fifty Jodi thought, trying to remember back to what she’d seen during her video marathon of Startum’s Twitch Channel? Yeah, that sounded about right, but she now remembered that didn’t include the seven hundred NPCs that he somehow had managed to purchase at the start of his second week.

That seemed like a crazy number of NPCs for any one player to buy, Jodi thought, but after one week of actual gameplay, she realized that there were only a limited number of successful Nightmare start players. Not only that, there were even fewer that would’ve had any available funds for such a purchase. That’s if they even knew about the NPC Recruiter. She snorted to herself. Even if they had the money, in her experience, most players would’ve just put the money into gearing themselves up better instead of building up their own base.

That might sound odd, but it was actually the smart play. Base building was always a difficult balance at the best of times. Jodi knew all too well how difficult it was to be a new player that only had a limited amount of funds to gear themselves up. Did you use your limited resources to purchase NPCs that wouldn’t be of any immediate use at the beginning of the game, and in actuality, took more of your limited funds for their constant upkeep? Or, did you use that same money to quickly level yourself up and then build up your base once you had a regular flow of coins coming in due to your higher level?

From what Jodi had seen up until now, Startum had chosen to invest all of his money into leveling up his base and skilling up his NPCs. She didn’t know everyone else’s thoughts on that decision, but in her book, doing that had been a major gamble on Startum’s part.

Still, with all that being said. If everyone that had been in Requiem, the fortress at Fang Pass, building the wall, and normally living here had all gathered in one place, Jodi still didn’t think it would be this many people. That meant something else had to be going on.

“Excuse me, coming through,” Jodi apologetically called out as she came across a knot of crafters animatedly talking with one another. It wasn’t that they were being rude. There were simply no other places for them to sit or stand in the great hall.

“Sorry about that,” the charcoal gray Grimal Kin apologized as she stepped aside to let Jodi past, “it’s a little tight right now while they’re getting all of us organized.”

“I bet,” Jodi automatically replied as she squeezed past, wondering what the other woman had meant.

That was the other crazy thing about all of this. What was with all of the new species she’d been seeing around the place? There were all kinds of Beast Kin wandering around along with a number of Gnomes, Humans, and Gnomelings. Didn’t Nightmare start players only get access to purchasing members of their own species? As she wondered what was up with that, a shout caught her attention.

“Jodi, over here!”

Looking around, Jodi saw Tumms holding up his arm towards the back of the room next to where the cooks were busy preparing food. Waving to let him know that she’d seen him, she began making a beeline toward him through the crowd. As she got close, she saw the group of Zeppy’s Heroes that he’d been teaming up with during the day enjoying a mug of ale.

“Hey guys,” Jodi said as she walked up.

“Hey Jodi,” the group of players chorused.

“How’s the leveling going?” Jodi asked as they made room for her to stand with them at the bar.

“Awesome, I’m up nearly six levels,” Tumms happily said, pushing a mug of ale into her hands as Blasto jumped on the bar squawking loudly.

“Leet … leet … leet!” the Elite Pyro Spitter loudly complained as he furiously began cleaning his fur in a huff.

“That’s only because you were so much lower than the rest of the raid, Tumms,” Sunny sweetly said as the Zeppy Heroes’ players began teasing the Priest. Ignoring the banter, the Essence Shaman gave Jodi a wink, “Not that I’m complaining about the four levels the rest of us picked up so far.”

“Damn, that’s some fast leveling,” Jodi said, letting out a low whistle, “I thought you guys were going to run local quests for the NPCs, not do a dungeon run.”

“Oh, honey,” Sunny exclaimed, letting out a brief laugh, “that is from doing local quests.”

“Really?” Jodi asked in surprise, looking towards Tumms for confirmation.

“It’s been easy stuff,” Tumms said as the rest of the group gave him an incredulous look, “mostly escort quests for miners so they can gather their ore.

“Says the healer that’s been standing in the back while the rest of us have been dealing with the majority of the fighting,” Grody croaked out as the rest of the melee classes began ribbing the Devil Dog again.

“Escort quests are far from easy,” Zeppy groused, after taking a deep draw from his mug.

“You guys hardly did any actual fighting,” Tumms exclaimed.

“That’s not the point,” Lylar argued as Sunny rolled her eyes.

“While those Warrior Badgers were tough to take down,” Sunny said, lowering her voice as Tumms proclaimed that he’d been doing as much fighting as any of the rest of them, “they weren’t too bad since we’ve all been using our new Zombie pets as much as possible.” The older Priest gave her a wink. “That really has been saving on the amount of heals either one of us has to cast during a fight.”

“I bet,” Jodi mused as she discreetly glanced around the great hall before changing the topic, “Do any of you know where all of these people came from? I swear; they weren’t all here when we logged out last time.”

“Oh, that’s because they didn’t arrive until this morning,” Zeppy explained as the rest of the party nodded enthusiastically.

“It was quite a sight. We were just heading out the front gate on our first escort quest when,” Tumms said as his voice filled with awe, “BOOM, eight-hundred-twenty-five NPCs suddenly appeared in front of the keep.”

“There was no actual boom,” Sunny said, rolling her eyes at the Devil Dogs’ theatrics, “but it was mighty impressive.”

“I can’t believe Startum was able to buy out the entire region’s available NPCs again,” Grody said, crossing her arms over her saggy dungs, “Wouldn’t all of those large guilds be trying to purchase their own NPCs to counter his local forces?”

“You’d have thought,” Pheyed agreed, “especially since he’s been using them so effectively to fight all of them.” His face squinched up in thought. “Do you think he just outbid them all?”

“That’s the only thing that would make any sense,” Warduke thoughtfully said, considering the problem strategically, “With the Hobgoblin invasion headed our way, there’s no way he couldn’t lay down whatever coin was needed to get all of the available NPCs.”

“That must have cost him a shit-ton,” Grody said, shaking her head as everyone nodded in agreement.

“That’s the part I don’t get. How would Startum even have that kind of coin this early on in the game?” Jodi asked, looking around the circle at everyone, “He what, started out with around two-hundred and fifty NPCs after his Nightmare quest was complete and then got another eight-hundred-twenty-five now.”

“That’s probably eight-hundred-fifty,” Sunny said, as everyone glanced at her in surprise, “Don’t you remember he’s rerouting the Sea Elves to their own city?”

“Damn, I forgot about that,” Grody said as everyone nodded.

“Didn’t he also have an NPC order at the start of the third week?” Zeppy asked, glancing to his wife for confirmation, “I don’t remember seeing it on his feed but it would make sense.”

“Yeah, it would,” Sunny said slowly, “They’d have been delivered directly to BrokenFang Hold, so his Twitch Stream wouldn’t have shown their arrival since he’s been over in the Human Region this entire time.”

“I get that,” Jodi said, following the logic as she looked between the thoughtful faces around her, “but where did he get all of that coin from for those mass purchases?”

“Well, I don’t think any of the larger guilds were actually purchasing NPCs at the time,” Zeppy said with a faraway look in his eyes, “Weren’t they saying that purchasing NPCs was just a waste of resources on the forums?”

“Oh, yeah,” Grody said, “I remember several posts going on about that.”

“Something about them being useless because they died permanently,” Warduke added as he thought back to the gist of the thread.

“Yeah, that was it,” Pheyed said, pointing at Warduke excitedly, “Since the majority of Nightmare players were on the Isolde Line and they were in the process of being wiped out by the Chaos Storm Alliance, that would’ve meant Startum would’ve just been paying for the NPCs minimum bid.”

“Makes sense,” Grody agreed, “and Startum made a killing taking out all of those Orcs that were attacking the Sea Elves.”

“Wouldn’t that have wiped him out of coins?” Jodi pushed, thinking that Startum had to have found a bug or something to be doing everything he was doing.

“Yep, but that really wouldn’t have mattered,” Tumms said, thinking back to what everyone had been talking about on the Devil Dogs’ forum, “From what Thomas and everyone with him have been saying, they were rolling in the dough after Darom.” He shook his head with a touch of awe in his voice. “And that doesn’t include all of the coins they’ve been making from slaughtering tens of thousands of Orcs for the last few days.”

“Tens of thousands?” Jodi scoffed, thinking he was exaggerating.

“It’s been a pure bloodbath from what I’ve seen of the videos,” Zeppy said without a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “That new Dark Lance spell that Startum picked up at level 45 is crazy powerful.”

“It is in the right situation,” ChopU Ginsu quietly said, before cocking his head to the side, “Though, I imagine Startum made a killing in coins just by slaughtering all of those PVPers when they escaped Darom.”

“Now that was a bloodbath,” Warduke agreed, slamming his mug of ale down on the bar to emphasize his point, “Startum even gave them an extra special F.U. by giving all of his coins to his companion so they couldn’t get any of it back when they spawned-camped the fuck out of him.”

“That was pretty cold,” Tumms laughingly said, tipping his mug up in salute, “but beautifully carried out.”

“Damn, it sounds like I missed a hell of a show,” Jodi said, wondering how the mighty Startum Ironwolf handled being spawn-camped like a noob, “I know what I’ll be busy doing when I take lunch tomorrow.”

“Honey, just tell the truth. You just can’t wait to see Startum getting spawn-camped,” Sunny said in a disapproving tone.

“The other thing I don’t understand,” ChopU Ginsu said, ignoring a blushing Jodi as he ran a hand over his bald head, “is where did he get the extra hundred fifty NPCs from? I thought the max number of available NPCs for purchase in the region was seven hundred in total.”

“Yeah,” Jodi said, still unable to drop the point, “and I thought Nightmare players could only purchase NPCs from their own race.”

“He probably just knocked out some other special quest that gave him the extra NPCs to purchase like he did with the Centaurs,” Sunny said as the rest of them gave her a dumbfounded look, “I thought that was obvious enough.” She shook her head at the surprised faces looking back at her. “Otherwise, there wouldn’t be new Centaurs waiting along with the rest of the newbies.”

“Damn, woman,” Zeppy said to his wife, “you’re scary as hell with your Sherlocking at times.”

“Word,” Warduke said as he bumped fists with Grody.

“You boys just don’t pay attention to details like you did in the service,” Sunny teased when a familiar voice called out interrupting their conversation.

“Blasto!” Metite Ilyrall, the Centauride filly from the day before, excitedly called out at seeing the Pyro Splitter sitting on the top of the bar.

“Leet!” Blasto squawked in glee back. To Jodi’s complete surprise, the little traitor excitedly leaped into the young filly’s outstretched arms as the Centauride began cooing to him like a baby.

“I bet you’re hungry,” Metite conspiratorially said, walking back towards where the food was being prepared, “Come on, let’s go see if we can find you a few treats to eat while Jodi’s enjoying her ale.”

“What about our ale?” a scruffy black-furred Wolf Kin protested from further down the bar as the filly trotted away.

“Yeah, we were here first!” the scarred dark-gray Grimal Kin standing next to him exclaimed.

“I told you that Centaurides are not known for being barmaids,” a dark red-furred Kitsune Kin groused as she stared morosely into her empty mug.

“I’d better not be hearing any derisive remarks being made about my servers for their race,” a young Half-Elf female said as she abruptly came to a stop in front of the group of rough-looking NPCs. She’d been in the process of carrying some foodstuffs to the cooks in the back and overheard the casual comment.

“Not that I meant anything bad about it,” the Kitsune kin stammered as the rest of the group gave their teammate uncomfortable sideways looks, “I was just frustrated at having to wait for my ale.”

“Who is that Half-Elf female supposed to be?” Jodi hissed under her breath to Sunny.

As they both curiously watched the unfolding scene, Jodi started running Identifies on the group: Galvin Bruic, level 50 Badger kin, Guardian Ranger; Kei Taro, level 50 Kitsune kin, Deadshot Archer; Jinlura Dorhorn, level 50 Half-Elf, Shadow Stalker; Ordan Gauss, level 50 Wolf kin, Predatorial Hunter, and Ryu Shachu, level 50 Grimal kin, Arcane Ranger. Holy shit, Jodi silently thought as she finished identifying the last member of the group. These guys are all level 50!

“I don’t know,” Sunny whispered back, nodding to the young Half-Elf female, “I already did an Identify on her and she’s just a cook.”

“She’s just a cook?” Jodi exclaimed, not believing the other woman’s words until she saw the truth for herself from her own Identify as Mariona Furtaeln, level 43 Half-Elf, Head Cook appeared over the young girl’s head., “Holy shit, and she’s just telling off all of those level 50 Rangers?”

“That girl has a pair of ovaries on her,” Sunny agreed, letting out a throaty chuckle as the Half-Elf gave the Rangers a severe once over.

“All of you might have had one too many of those ales if you’re talking like that,” the young Half-Elf female groused as a frown came to her lips, “I’m warning you here and now. There are too many different species sharing the same space for attitudes like that to casually be bantered around.” Her stern face did a once over of the hard-looking Rangers. “You’re new here, so I’ll give you a chance to learn the ropes. But, if I hear any more talk like that, I’ll be letting Lord Ironwolf know about this the next time around. Yea hear me?”

“Yes, Mariona,” the group chorused as the young Half-Elf nodded to herself, before going on about her business.

“Damn, that was pure badassness,” Sunny said in awe.

“You’re telling me,” Jodi said, watching the young Half-Elf walk away towards the back of the kitchen. She gave the older woman a sidelong look, “Any clue why they’re listening to her without any backtalk? I would’ve thought for sure a crew like that would’ve given a young female cook a hard time out of everyone here.”

“No clue,” Sunny said, shaking her head, “I find it curious that she had no problem dropping Lord Ironwolf’s name though.” She glanced over at Jodi with a confused look on her face. “The young lady acted as if she knew him personally.”

“Does that mean he’s banging all the females around the castle?” Jodi asked, not comprehending it either.

“If he were,” Sunny dryly said, giving Jodi an eye-rolling glare, “wouldn’t you have seen it in one of those videos you were watching.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess you’re right,” Jodi said, holding up her hands apologetically as she suddenly felt like a heel, “Sorry about that, it’s just-”

“You weren’t thinking before you ran your mouth again,” Sunny finished for her as Jodi swallowed the first response that came to her mind.

While she was annoyed at being chastised yet again, Jodi had to admit that the comment had been unfair. She just wasn’t used to thinking of Startum Ironwolf as being one of the good guys. Even now, after knowing most of what she’d read about him on the forums was mostly bullshit to trigger a visceral reaction, she still didn’t like the guy. Not that it was Startum’s fault, it was just hard for her to emotionally change the way she felt about him even with direct evidence that pointed to the contrary.

“I guess, I deserved that,” Jodi said, letting out a sheepish sigh.

“Yes, you did,” Sunny said as her tone softened, “But, you’re getting better, deary.”

Once again, Jodi found herself biting her tongue at being called “deary.” Though, her initial reaction was to snap in response. She knew that it was simply the vocabulary that people in her grandmother’s generation regularly used in friendly conversation. It wasn’t the insult that so many of her generation automatically tried to make it into. As she was reminding herself of that, she gave Sunny a backhanded compliment.

“Thanks, Mom, I’ll try to remember that for next time,” Jodi said with a twinkle in her eyes as the older woman let out a bark of laughter. Before Sunny could respond, they heard Elandorr’s voice call out over the hum of the crowd.

“If all of you will quiet down, we can get everyone moving.” Turning towards the sound of Elandorr’s voice, Jodi saw the handsome Rogue standing on the top of a table with five other high-level-looking Half-Elves as he continued in a loud voice. “When you exit the keep and head out the front gate, you will gather into a group to have Lady Chiara explain to you the basics of Dark magic. Once she’s finished with her demonstration, we’ll be splitting you up into five separate groups to begin learning how to stand in defense of BrokenFang Hold when the need to protect your homes arises.” There was a low murmuring from the crowd as Jodi noticed the group of high-level Rangers behind them trading puzzled glances with one another.

“I understand that as crafters you’ve never been asked to learn combat techniques before,” Elandorr smiled briefly as he looked out across the crowded great hall, “but if you haven’t figured it out, we do things somewhat differently here in BrokenFang Hold.” That comment got a friendly chuckle from the group as many in the crowd held up their mugs of ale.

“On top of learning Dark magic, half of you will be receiving additional training by Saphielle Carzeiros here in Fire magic.” The dark-haired Fire Mage Assault Leader gave a wave to the crowd from where she stood, “while the other half will be learning Frost magic from Vulmon Bryroris.” This time the Frost Mage Assault Leader gave a precise bow to the crowd to signify who he was.

“Additionally, all of you will be spending time with Nalaea Heleyra to learn Light magic,” Elandorr announced to the amazed murmurs of the crafters as an elegant blonde-haired Half-Elf female stepped forward. Tucking her hands together at her thighs, she gave a shy bow to the crowd who didn’t seem like they could believe their ears. “While it would normally take a long time to level up such a skill, I fear all of us will be getting more practice with healing in the near future than we want with the coming Hobgoblin invasion.”

The reminder that BrokenFang Hold was soon to be under attack by the foul demi-humans sent a nervous ripple through the crowd. But, to her surprise, Jodi heard a number of muttered comments from the nearest crafters expressing their thankfulness at being included in learning how to defend their home. If anything, they were shocked that the House of Kayden troopers were willing to share their combat and magic skills with them. As she contemplated that curious fact, Elandorr continued with his impromptu speech.

“Since most of your mana pools will still be quite low along with your magic skills, we will also be teaching you how to operate our heavy BAMF Double Barrel Hollysharp Specials with our Ranger Assault Leader, Bialaer Holaynore.” Jodi’s eyes raised in surprise at hearing that as an all too familiar Half-Elf stepped forward to give a friendly nod to the crowd.

“Bialaer will also be joined by our newest recruit, Nycorel Liawynn who is a Heavy Lancer.” A second Half-Elf with black short cropped hair and a clean-cut beard stepped up next to Bialaer as Elandorr continued smoothly. “While you won’t be mounted, you will be learning how to work with the polearms needed to defend the walls during a siege and how to wear medium armor.” The Rogue’s face turned serious as his eyes swept the crafters.

“I know all of this sounds like a lot to learn in such a short period of time and that it will take too much time away from improving your crafts,” Elandorr said in an understanding tone as he held his hands up in a friendly gesture to set the group at ease, “but you’ll find we’ll have enough time to do both. All of you will have time to join in on the crafting going on around BrokenFang Hold during the day, and for two hours every evening, we’ll be going over the basics of combat.” A wry smile came to his lips. “While that means all of us will have some hard days ahead, you have my word that in the evening there will be plenty of Ironwood beer, Bard music, and good food to go around.”

To Jodi’s surprise, that promise got an enthusiastic shout from every corner of the great hall. It wasn’t just from the Half-Elves either, but the Beast Kin, Centaurs, Gnome, Gnomelings, and Humans too. That confused her since Elandorr hadn’t talked about the crafters being paid more for their hard work. Actually, she realized in shock, that he’d actually never mentioned anything about being paid at all. As she was trying to understand their cheerful reactions at basically being told they were going to be slaving away working long hours and possibly die at the end of it all, the Rogue waved towards the keep’s foyer.

“Just start making your way out of the keep and we’ll get the skill transfer and training started,” Elandorr said, waving at someone next to him to jump up onto the table. A second later, a superbly handsome Half-Elf male leaped up next to the Rogue and bowed to the group with a flourish, “While you’re learning your new skills, Master Hilron Wynstina, our new Balladeer, will be assisting everyone to learn faster with his lute.”

“And after that,” Hilron laughingly said in a deep voice after the clapping and shouting had died down, “I’ll be putting on a performance this evening after dinner so we can get some serious drinking and dancing in to relax.” Jumping off the table, he strode over to the foyer calling out to the crowd. “Come along everyone, the quicker we get this going, the sooner we can get to the fun part!”

Though Jodi couldn’t see him, she could hear the rich notes coming from his lute as he headed out of the keep while the mass of crafters hurriedly followed him out. There was no pushing or grumbling, but rather a feeling of hope and excitement for what was to come. As she tried to wrap her head around the difference between these people and how the same situation would’ve gone down in the real world, Zeppy spoke up.

“That Elandorr is one smooth operator.” The admiration for his performance was clear in Zeppy’s tone as they watched the great hall clear out.

“I don’t know why all of those crafters are acting so happy about this,” Jodi said, still not getting how Elandorr had managed to pull his little speech off, “We have a massive invasion force of Hobgoblins headed our way. They could all die a horrible death in the next few days.” A sour look came to her face. “Not only that, he’s basically told them they’ll be working crazy long hours without any extra pay on top of everything else.”

“Good food and drink can go a long way to make people happy,” Warduke said with an impressed look on his face, “Don’t forget, they’re all getting free room and board too.”

“Add in some great music to make the work go by faster and easier, and you’ve got a fantastic work environment for a medieval society,” Lylar said, before considering all of the craftings they’d seen going on, “not to mention all of the weapon and armor upgrades they’ll probably be getting as well.”

“There’s that,” Lylar said.

“Hell, just getting fed a good meal and treated to ale every day is probably a rare thing in a medieval society like this,” Zeppy said as he crossed his arms thoughtfully over his chest while watching the crafters hurry out of the keep, “Don’t forget the skills they’ve just been told they’re going to be learning would normally be something reserved for the nobles and their preferred enforcers. These guys are being offered the skills to raise their ranking within their society while also being given the ability to protect and defend themselves for free. That’s huge for commoners no matter which way you look at it.”

“That last part is probably the biggest factor in all of this,” Grody said with the same contemplative look on his face.

“Yeah, being given the power and skill to protect yourself is something that can’t be taken away once it has been given,” Zeppy harrumphed in agreement, “Though, they aren’t stingy on handing out this excellent ale,” the old man said letting out a satisfied belch as he finished his mug, “access to good drink has been the driving factor in society since our ancestors decided to start farming instead of subsisting solely on hunting and gathering.”

“Well, for this spring chicken, the promise of a night of excellent food, ale, and dancing goes a long way,” Sunny said as she gave her husband a meaningful look.

“Dancing?” Zeppy nervously gulped, seeing the twinkle in his wife’s eyes.

“Just in case you were wondering, old man,” Sunny said in no uncertain terms, “We’re staying logged in late tonight.” She ignored Zeppy’s mock groan as she gave him an excited hug. “It’s been forever since we’ve gone out dancing.”

“Yeah, Zeppy,” Grody chortled at the put-out look on their fearless guild leader’s face, “I don’t think the excuse that you’re an old man and your knees are sore is going to work for you now.”

“If you can be killing monsters, then you can go dancing,” Pheyed chimed in as everyone laughed.

“The rest of you can logout early if you want,” Sunny mischievously said to the boys in the guild, “I’m sure there’s plenty of men that will volunteer to dance with the pretty ladies that have just joined BrokenFang Hold.”

That got a number of thoughtful looks on many of the guild’s hardcore bachelors’ faces, Jodi humorously thought. Like Sunny and Zeppy had said, the draw of good food, ale, and music was quite the motivator as the rest of the guild started saying that they’d hang around a bit to enjoy the show after their last quest. As the crew started getting ready to move out on another quest, Elandorr came walking up to her with a Human and another Half-Elf trailing behind him.

“Jodi, it’s good to see you made it back in time for the hunt,” Elandorr greeted as the pair came to a stop in front of her.

“Thanks, Elandorr,” Jodi said, grasping his proffered hand in a wrist-clasp, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“More like you’re not about to pass up a new set of armor and weapons,” Zeppy coughed out under his breath.

“Be quiet you,” Sunny said, playfully elbowing her husband in the ribs.

“Zeppy and Sunny,” Elandorr said, before nodding to the rest of the guild, “I’ve heard you’ve been hard at work escorting our miners throughout the day. I just wanted to say thank you for all of your hard work.”

“It’s our pleasure,” Sunny automatically replied.

“Besides,” Zeppy said, finishing off his mug, “the ale is good and part of the deal.”

“That it is,” Elandorr laughingly said, giving the Ranger Assassin a brotherly clap on the shoulder, “please enjoy it as a part of our thanks.”

“No problem there,” Warduke enthusiastically replied.

“I still can’t believe how much better it is than what they serve in Delonshire,” Pheyed said after draining his mug.

“Seriously, I think it’s the best beer … err … ale that I’ve ever had before,” Grody admitted as the rest of the guild spoke up in agreement.

“We aim to please,” Elandorr laughingly said, “Who knows, maybe we can start selling it to the Light Elves for some extra coin?”

“It would certainly make some coin,” Zeppy agreed.

“While I’d love to talk more, we’re on a bit of a time crunch here as all of you very well know,” Elandorr apologized.

“It’s no problem,” Sunny graciously said as the Rogue turned back to Jodi.

“If we can get down to business,” Elandorr said, motioning Jodi to follow him as he moved to the rough-looking group of Rangers that were still standing at the bar. As they approached the group, the Centauride came trotting back to the bar with Blasto sitting happily on her shoulder and a double handful of mugs gripped in her hands.

“Sorry for the wait, but I had to take care of this cute little guy,” Metite said as the Pyro Spitter chittered happily and leaped down onto the bar. To the group’s surprise, the filly also plopped down the mugs in front of them and began handing them out, “Here are your ales.” She gave the group of Humanoids an innocent smile as she gave Elandorr a knowing wink. “We just won’t let Mariona know that I slipped you another round.”

“Our lips are sealed,” Kei promised, eagerly snatching up a mug as the rest of the Rangers began doing the same, “and I apologize for my comments earlier. It was out of place.”

“It’s no problem,” Metite assured the Kitsune Kin, “you guys have had quite the busy day. Besides, we’re grateful that you’re here to help.”

“We’re glad to be here in the House of Kayden’s time of need,” Galvin, the Badger Kin, gruffly replied as the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

“Exactly my point,” Metite said, gathering up the empty mugs as Blasto leaped into Jodi’s arms as they came to a stop in front of the group. As everyone turned around to see her holding Blasto without any issues, the filly continued, “If you’ll pardon me, I need to assist in preparing the great hall for tonight’s dinner.” As the Centauride trotted away, the Rogue spoke up.

“Everyone, I’d like to introduce our new mount trainer, Jodi Tempest,” Elandorr said, turning to her as everyone began introducing themselves.

“Kei Taro,” the Kitsune Kin said with a stylized flourish. Her puffy fox tail waved back and forth as they shook hands.

“Galvin Bruic,” the Badger Kin spoke up next as the large dark-gray male gave a polite nod instead of shaking.

“Jinlura Dorhorn,” the Half-Elf Ranger announced next as they shook hands.

“Ordan Gauss,” the scruffy Wolf Kin spoke up next as Jodi gripped his callused hand in a firm shake.

“Ryu Shachu,” the scarred Grimal Kin introduced himself last as Jodi clasped wrists once again.

“Excellent,” Elandorr said as he turned to the two males standing behind him, “I’d also like to introduce our last two members to this little excursion.”

“I’m Dan the Human,” Dan said, flashing her a cheezy smile as they shook hands, “if I can’t find your target, then no man can.”

“A Bounty Hunter,” the Wolf Kin grumbled under his breath as the rest of the Beast Kins of the group frowned at the Human.

“That specializes in newfar,” Dan said, unconcerned at the Wolf Kin’s reaction to him.

“Why the attitude?” Jodi asked, giving the grumpy Wolf Kin a curious look.

“Some Rangers don’t like it that I hunt Humanoids,” Dan answered for his fellow Rangers as the Rogue’s face hardened.

“Ordan, is that going to cause any problems with the two of you working together?” Elandorr pointedly asked the Wolf Kin, “because there are many of us here that hunt Humanoids, including myself.”

“No, sir,” Ordan grunted in reply, “it’s just an unusual preference for a Ranger.” There were several other nods around the group at his words. “We’re mostly known for tracking down monsters-”

“Or protecting our homes,” Galvin quickly interjected.

“Not tracking down other Humanoids,” Ordan finished his point.

“My targets might look Humanoid but they’re just as much of a threat to our homes as any of the monsters that you hunt,” Dan said, turning suddenly serious.

“There’s truth in that,” Ryu agreed as Ordan gave the Human a respectful nod. As Elandorr turned to the last male that he’d brought along with him, Jodi had to remind herself that many of her fellow players weren’t all that nice to The World’s inhabitants as the Half-Elf stepped forward to introduce himself.

“I’m Norlar Urihorn,” the Half-Elf said as Jodi shook his hand, “a newly arrived Beast Tamer.”

“Nice to meet you, Norlar,” Julie said, curious at the Half-Elf’s stated profession, “I’ve never met a Beast Tamer before in my travels.”

“And I’ve never met someone that managed to train an Elite Pyro Spitter before,” Norlar replied in a respectful tone as he observed the little monster sitting happily on her shoulder, “You’ll have to tell me the story of how you managed such an incredible feat.”

“Well, Fiona told me that it was impossible to imprint such a monster as a Combat Pet, but I-” Jodi began to proudly say when the Half-Elf cut her off.

“Fiona?” Norlar asked.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Jodi apologized, “Fiona is my Blink Lynx.” Again, Jodi saw the surprise reflected in everyone’s faces, except for Elandorr’s, as she hurriedly tried to explain how everything went down. “Anyway, Blasto here was the sole survivor of his family against a Mini-Boss that the,” she pursed her lips thinking of the proper term to call the troopers that had escorted them here, “House of Kayden troopers took down on our way to BrokenFang Hold. I just felt sorry for him after he’d fought so bravely against the monster,” she shrugged, “so I took the chance to ask him to be my companion and it just happened to work.”

“Did you earn a skill for it?” Norlar asked as he followed along with the story.

“No,” Jodi admitted, “but I think that’s because I already have the Exotic Beast Taming Skill from when Fiona became my Combat Pet.”

“Huh, that’s interesting,” Norlar said thoughtfully, “I have the Beast Taming skill, but not the Exotic subclass that you have.”

“Oh, yeah, I have that too,” Jodi said, quickly pulling up her Character Sheet, “Exotic Beast Taming is a subclass of that.”

“Not to interrupt your Skill talk,” Kei said, after taking a long draw from her mug, “but I’m somewhat confused as to why you wanted all of us to do a hunt together for Elite Battering Rams.”

“Um, sorry about that,” Jodi said, flushing as she realized that they’d been going on for a bit about taming, “I just wanted to understand the process and try something a bit unorthodox.”

“Unorthodox?” everyone chorused at the unfamiliar word.

“Um, sorry,” Jodi said, realizing that was the wrong word to use, “I’d like to try something Elandorr said sounded unconventional to the normal method that Rangers and Tamers are currently using to tame Combat Mounts.” Seeing that she had their attention, she excitedly continued, “Instead of only taming the young monsters from a herd, I want to see if it’s possible to convert an adult Elite Battering Ram as a mount.”

“Why would you want to do that?” Kei asked as the Rangers and Beast Tamer glanced at each other while a disinterested look came to their faces.

“Because, it means we could get access to a number of more mounts in the limited time that we have instead of just training the young that can be captured,” Jodi explained, not understanding why the group didn’t seem more open to her idea, “Look, if it works, then we could capture the entire herd to be used for Combat Mounts.” Seeing the dubious looks on everyone’s faces, she hurriedly continued, “Whether or not you think it’s a waste of time, I’d like to give it a try and see if it’s possible. Elandorr said that we’d have the best chance to try this with all of you giving a hand.”

“I guess Elandorr didn’t explain to you that this has been tried many times before,” Ordan said in an exasperated tone, “While legends say that some newfar managed to accomplish this a few centuries ago, the techniques they used to do it have been lost to time.”

“The main problem,” Norlar said, giving Jodi an apologetic look, “is getting the adult Elite Battering Ram or, any other monster for that matter, to stay still long enough to complete the taming process. If you’ve bound them or if your attack causes any actual damage, the taming process fails. Only by capturing the young are we able to get the taming process to work, and that only works when we’ve killed off the parents or the entire herd.”

“Actually, Jodi and I discussed the problem in depth last night,” Elandorr said as all eyes curiously turned to him, “and after discussing the same exact problems with Jinlura earlier this morning, I worked with Elyskaen and her team of Alchemists to come up with a possible solution for the taming process to be given the time to work.”

“A possible solution?” Kei asked as her face scrunched up at the Rogue’s words.

“Yes, a solution,” Elandorr’s eyes twinkled as he held up a fistful of crystal vials and a bundle of blunt-tipped arrows, “Though, a gel or salve might be a better word for the actual substance.”

“Won’t that cause damage to the monster?” Galvin asked as he plucked one of the blunt-headed arrows out of the Rogue’s hand to inspect the end.

“Actually, there’s a slot at the tip for the crystal vial to sit,” Elandorr explained as the rest of the Rangers and Beast Tamer gathered around to study the odd arrow, “when the arrow impacts, the vial shatters and delivers its contents out onto the target.”

“What kind of poison can take down a level 50 to 55 Elite Battering Ram without causing any damage?” Kei asked, snatching one of the crystal vials from the Rogue’s other hand.

“Depending upon the level, it will cause complete paralysis,” Elandorr said as a broad smile formed on his lips, “I would assume about five minutes of paralysis for a level 50 or three minutes for a level 55,” he shrugged, “We won’t know for sure until we’ve done several live tests.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Kei instantly argued as she turned to look at the Rogue-like he was trying to pull her legs, “I’ve never heard of any poison or salve like that before.”

“Not meaning any disrespect,” Dan politely said, doing his best to keep his voice respectful but failing miserably, “While I’ve heard of such a poison before, I’ve never heard it being used to take down anything over level 10.”

“Trust a Bounty Hunter to know of such a dishonorable poison,” Galvin unhappily grunted at the Human as the rest of the Rangers rolled their eyes.

“Knowing poisons and their counters is essential for any Bounty Hunter going after an intelligent target,” Dan said with an indifferent shrug as the Deadshot Archer all of a sudden perked up, “Ignorance only makes one vulnerable to an enemy’s tricks.”

“Hold up, Dan. You’re talking about the poison Kiss of the Carrion, right?” Kei asked as she gave the Human a grudging nod of respect. Turning back to Elandorr, a dismissive look came to her face as she held out the vial for the Rogue to take back, “Trust me, this whole idea is a complete waste of time. There’s no way something like this would ever work on a level 50 monster.”

The Kitsune kin’s admission that she was familiar with such poison caused the Badger kin to give her a disgusted glare. It somewhat surprised Jodi that the Guardian Ranger was acting so prickly about the use of poisons. Wasn’t that a common technique for Rangers to take down larger monsters in The World? At least, it was in all of the MMOs that she’d ever played, Jodi thought, as she noticed the female fox rolling her almond eyes in annoyance. That’s when it hit her. Maybe she was dealing with a class preference issue.

“Oh, don’t you dare give me that Guardian Ranger shit,” Kei snapped as all of the Rangers except for Galvin tried not to bust out laughing while she read the Badger kin the riot act, “You’re the only idiotic Subclass of Ranger that I know of who refuses to use poisons to enhance their Ranged Attacks. Just because you’re a bunch of uptight pricks about using poisons for honor reasons doesn’t give any of you the right to act all hoity-toity towards the rest of us.”

“I didn’t mean it like that-” Galvin stuttered before his voice died away as the Kitsune kin gave him a deadpan look.

“Of course, you did,” Kei said as her up-tight tone eased somewhat, “but it’s okay.” Her almond eyes swept the group before coming back to meet the Badger kin’s uncomfortable gaze, “We’re all here to work together for the House of Kayden, not be at one another’s throats, right?”

“My apologies,” Galvin said, bowing his head slightly to the Kitsune, before doing the same to the Human, “I’m still getting used to the intricacies of our new House.”

“That’s fine, big guy,” Dan said without showing any hint of being offended as the Kitsune kin nodded in agreement, “All of us are still getting used to this odd situation.”

“That’s for sure,” Kei agreed, before turning back to the Rogue, “No disrespect intended,” she nodded politely to both Elandorr and Jodi, “but my friends and I used to hunt Carrion Scavengers in the sewers while we were growing up. Their poison is level based, so I could drink this entire vial without so much as blinking an eye.”

“Oh, really,” Elandorr said, the amusement in his tone plain as day, “I’d pay five silvers to see that, because that’s an enhanced-” The Rogue’s voice died away as the Kitsune kin rolled her eyes and simply downed the vial instead of handing it back to make her point.

“I already told you,” Kei snarkily said as Elandorr and Jodi’s eyes widened in complete shock, “the rest of us are so used to handling poisons like this, that-”

The rest of the Rangers seemed to jump as the Kitsune kin’s body suddenly locked up stiff as a board. It was even more humorous since she’d had a moment to realize her mistake a split second before the paralysis took effect, leaving her mouth and eyes wide open. While Jodi had never seen the poison before, Elandorr had explained to her the basics of his idea for trying out what she wanted to do and had promised to have something ready for her tonight when she logged in.

“Would one of you guys catch her before she falls?” Elandorr asked, letting out a heavy sigh as he shook his head at the Kitsune kin, “She should only be paralyzed for five minutes since she’s level fifty.”

“I’ve got her,” Jinlura said, caught between being surprised and trying not to laugh. As the Half-Elf caught the Deadshot Archer, the scruffy Wolf kin standing in front of the Kitsune kin plucked the half-full mug of ale from her stiff fingers.

“I’ll take that before you make a mess everywhere,” Ordan happily said, taking a long draw of the ale as he set his empty mug on the bar.

“Damn, that’s some strong stuff,” Dan said, letting out an impressed whistle as he turned to Elandorr curiously, “How did you come up with something like that?”

“What should I do with her?” Jinlura asked as she studied the poison’s curious effect.

“Just lean her back against the bar,” Elandorr said as the rest of the group silently watched the show.

Jinlura dragged the stiff female fox over to the bar. With a shrug, the female Half-Elf propped Kei against the edge at a forty-five-degree angle. Turning back towards the group, she shrugged as if to say that was good enough while the Rogue continued as if nothing had happened.

“We’ve domesticated a number of Carrion Scavengers and have been growing and leveling them up for nearly two weeks now,” Elandorr explained as everyone’s eyes widened at his words, “I think they’re all in the level sixty plus range now.”

“Level sixty plus Carrion Scavengers?” Dan exclaimed as the rest of the group traded disturbed looks at the information.

“What is this domestication?” Ryu asked, repeating the unfamiliar word, “Do you mean like Hernen?”

Hernen? Jodi thought, perking up at the word. Weren’t Hernen the chicken-like monsters that were running around everywhere on the farms and in the smaller villages? They weren’t exactly domesticated but more like mini monsters that people ate regularly.

“More or less,” Elandorr agreed with a nod, “Not that you’d stick your hand into their nests to collect their tentacles as you would with               eggs from a Hernen.” The Rogue let out a guffaw at his own joke. “They’d snap your hand right off.”

“How do you collect their tentacles then?” Ordan curiously asked as he drained the last of Kei’s ale.

“We just pull them up from the pit that we keep them in, trim their tentacles short enough to where they can still be used to eat small prey but can be grown back naturally, and then let them be for a few days. If we want to level them up, we capture higher-level monsters and drop them into the pits,” Elandorr explained, “Not saying that it’s not a bit of a challenge whenever we work with them, but it creates a steady flow of these higher-level Kiss of the Carrion poison vials.”

“So, you’re basically farming monsters?” Dan asked in awe.

“Only one monster right now,” Elandorr corrected, but from the satisfied look on his face, it was obvious that he was proud of their work.

“I’ve never heard of anyone doing something like that before,” Dan said as the others in the group nodded enthusiastically, “but it makes more than enough sense when you put it like that.”

“Lord Ironwolf introduced the concept to us first,” Elandorr said, “While we haven’t discovered another monster worth such effort, if we do, then we’ll set up something similar.”

While the group discussed the concept, Jodi was lost in her own thoughts as she contemplated what Elandorr had said. It was a pretty ingenious concept, she had to admit, especially once you realized that the people of The World didn’t keep any kind of domesticated animals. Well, except for these Hernen monsters.

Like most players, Jodi hadn’t thought about the issue one way or another. It had never occurred to her that The World didn’t use domesticated feed animals for their cities. They simply purchased the monster meat that the adventures collected during their quests. It made sense. Why would they need anything more than that especially when the monsters simply respawned back in so quickly?

While none of what he’d done was particularly special, it took a different kind of mindset to notice those differences and take advantage of them. It really wasn’t very different than what Startum Ironwolf had done when he transferred old Earth technology and inventions into The World. Once you thought about it, what he’d done had made perfect sense, especially when it was combined with magic. You couldn’t even say any of it was particularly creative. The man had simply copied ideas that were centuries old. Even so, that was the ingenious part of it all, Jodi realized.

Up until now, no one had come up with the idea to do such a thing like that inside of an MMO. Not that there had been any MMOs prior to this that had such flexible gameplay. That was partly why you mostly only ever saw players bringing real-life tactics and strategies into such games. Though, it was usually hit or miss since most players were armchair generals. Still, Jodi thought with a mental laugh, doing such a thing with the base building was sure to change The World like no other game that she’d ever played before. At least, it would if the V-MMROG admins and developers allowed it.

“Gah!” Kei gasped as her body suddenly slide down to the stone floor like a ragdoll. Obviously, the effect of the Carrion Scavenger poison was starting to wear off.

“Ah, that was an excellent test,” Elandorr happily said, “that level 62 Kiss of the Carrion took you down for about twelve minutes.”

“Hold up,” Kei demanded with her back propped against the wooden bar as she glared up unhappily at the Rogue, “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Not at all,” Elandorr said, still grinning like a fiend, “You seemed so sure of yourself. I didn’t want to assume to know more about your Ranger class than you.”

“Next time, maybe you could explain that it’s an Enhanced version of the poison ahead of time,” Kei unhappily grumbled.

“Well, let’s hope that next time you’ll give me time to finish what I’m saying,” Elandorr said as his toothy grin got even bigger, “I was actually in the process of explaining exactly that fact to you when you decided to show off by swallowing the vial of the poison of your own accord.”

“Upon further consideration,” Kei grumbled, “I have to admit that might not have been the brightest idea that I’ve ever had.” As the Kitsune kin went climbing to her feet, Jinlura offered her a friendly hand and pulled her up. Giving the Half-Elf a nod of thanks, she turned to the grinning Wolf kin as her voice lowered to a growl, “And you had the audacity to steal the last of my ale in my incapacitated state!”

“Steal is such a harsh word. I was more concerned that you would spill such fragrant nectar all over your armor and fur,” Ordan said in an unconcerned tone as he set her empty mug down on the bar and turned back to her crossing his thick muscular arms, “You know as well as I do how that would directly affect our ability to hunt down Elite Battering Rams in the mountains.”

“That didn’t mean you had to drink it all!” Kei exclaimed in outrage.

“Please accept my apology,” Ordan said with a twinkle in his brown eyes, “it’s just a natural reaction when I have a mug of ale in my hands.” As the Kitsune kin’s fingers flexed like she was going to claw his eyes out, the Wolf kin held up his palms in a friendly gesture, “On my word of honor, the first ale upon our return is on me.”

“But the ale here is free!” Kei sputtered in indignation.

“I know,” Ordan chuckled, “Isn’t it great?”

“You flea-bitten mutt,” Kei started to rage.

For a moment, Jodi was sure there was going to be bloodshed. Kei’s black lips had pulled back from her fangs as she aggressively strode up to the grinning Wolf kin with the promise of violence in her eyes. Before anything could happen, the Rogue’s voice cracked like a whip, cutting her off.

“Kei, think of this as a learning experience!” As the Kitsune kin’s head whipped around to stare at Elandorr in surprise, he clapped his hands together and raised his voice to the rest of the group. “Alrighty, people, it’s time to move out.”

Jodi watched the two Beast kins out of the corner of her eye as she followed Elandorr out of the great hall. While nothing had immediately happened between them, it was obvious they were still having a moment. The pair disappeared from sight as she entered the foyer. To Jodi’s surprise, there was a Half-Elf standing by the exit that was handing out pouches and a quiver of blunt arrows to each of them as they exited the keep. Hearing the clinks of glass, she glanced inside to see that the pouch was filled with Kiss of the Carrion poison lead crystal vials.

Strapping the pouch to her waist and looping the quiver over her shoulder, Jodi looked around to see that the area in front of the keep and the main avenue heading back towards the mountain cliff was now free of the mass of people from earlier. As she followed Elandorr towards the exit tunnel of the gatehouse, she glanced back towards the keep to see both Kei and Ordan racing out the double doors to catch up with the rest of them. Curiously enough, neither of the two was bleeding or looked to have even been hurt. As she watched the pair fall in at the rear of the group, it seemed to her like they were actually chatting rather friendly with one another.

“Love at first sight,” Jinlura commented in an amused tone as Jodi’s head swiveled around to see the female Half-Elf running next to her, “Beast kin mating courtships are somewhat different than other Humanoids.”

“If you say so,” Jodi replied, not sure how to reply to the comment as she focused ahead on where they were headed.

In truth, Jodi found the entire argument between the two Beast kin comical. While the Wolf kin had been somewhat of an ass, he had stopped the Kitsune kin from being soaked by her own ale. Instead of letting it be wasted in such a way, he’d made sure to put it to good use, whether Kei appreciated that fact or not. Mainly, Jodi was glad that their expedition hadn’t turned to bloodshed before they’d even left the keep.

‘Did you miss me?’ Fiona asked as a pop of displaced air came to her ears.

‘Always, my dear,’ Jodi sent as she noticed the Rangers to either side of them slightly start at her Blink Lynx’s sudden arrival. While she might only be level thirty-seven to their fifty, she did have some respectful accomplishments as a feather to stick in her cap. Reaching down, she affectionately patted Fiona’s flank as they ran together, ‘You ready to do some hunting? I could really use your special touch for this quest.’

‘As long as I can get my paws bloody, count me in,’ Fiona excitedly sent.

‘Well, we’re heading towards the rocky slope where we saw the Elite Battering Rams hanging out,’ Jodi replied while doing her best to suppress the smile that tried to split her lips.

There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to catch some grief once the Blink Lynx learned of her plan. To her surprise, the Elite Pyro Spitter suddenly perked his head up as if he’d caught a whiff of what she was trying to suppress.

“LEET?” Blasto asked, looking back and forth between her and Fiona.

‘I’ll go scout on ahead,’ Fiona sent, pointedly ignoring the rodent as her cheerful mental tone took on a noticeably strained tone, ‘As long as we’re not messing around with those level 50 monsters, this should be a walk-in the park.’

Again, all the Rangers in their entourage slightly flinched as the Blink Lynx disappeared with another pop of displaced air. They watched as she appeared twenty-five yards away loping towards the far side of the plateau heading towards Fang Pass before she “blinked” again. As the group began to discuss her Combat Pet in low tones, Jodi became aware of the loud thrumming tune coming from Hilron Wynstina’s lute as they approached the large group of new arrivals hard at work with their training. From what she could tell, the Bard was busy playing his heart out somewhere near the middle of the training area.

As she listened to Hilron’s jaunty tune, Jodi felt herself unconsciously begin humming along with the words, “We will work all day … all night … we will learn … fighting to protect our homes.” The song somehow seemed to make her feel refreshed and picked up her step in a way that she’d never felt before. It was almost like taking a double shot of espresso after not having coffee for a year. Calling up her HUD, she was surprised to see an icon called, The Song of Learning showing up as a buff. As she focused on the information about the enhancement, her mouth fell open in shock at the plus fifty to Intelligence and Stamina that popped up before her eyes.

Holy shit! Jodi thought, suddenly realizing that the Bard’s music was doing way more than just entertaining the new arrivals. It was actually making it easier for them to learn the new skills they were practicing. Not only that, but it was also increasing their maximum available mana so they could work longer to increase their new skills and give them the endurance to handle the strain. It was an impressive feat. And, from the numbers involved, Jodi realized, this was helping to train both the troopers along with the crafters so they could learn their new skills together.

By the look of things, their trainers were teaching volley fire to the new arrivals. Jodi saw training groups using either Frost Blasts or Fire Blasts for their ranged spells with group leaders calling out the commands. While both magic trees were element-based, they were at the extreme opposite ends of the spectrum and would give the defenders more ultimate flexibility in case the enemy being fought had specific resistances. While the low-level spells wouldn’t be of much use in the coming battle, it was good training and would be super effective once they were able to skill up their attacks to their current levels.

Scanning the training area further, Jodi saw another group raising Goblin Zombies. This was the group focusing on skilling up their Dark magic. From what Tumms and the Zeppy’s Heroes members had explained to her the night before, it took reaching level 5 before you could start using the tree’s only ranged attack, Shadow Bolt. A big plus to the Nightmare magic tree was that the attacks were non-elemental based. Meaning, that they would give the troopers and crafters yet another form of ranged magic attack to add to their arsenal.

Interestingly enough, the group next to the Dark magic training area was being led by Nycorel. The Heavy Piker was teaching his trainees how to attack and defend in formations with their polearms. Whoever had constructed the training had intelligently decided to have the two groups work together. That was great because it allowed the polearm trainees to practice their techniques against the undead humanoid targets. Training like that had to be better than shadow-striking the air or attacking an inanimate target.

Even more interesting was how the Zombies ignored the attacks coming in at their chests like they were nothing. Watching the damage being dished out, Jodi slowly began to realize just how strong the Zombies actually were. That’s when she remembered that for someone to actually kill the things, they’d have to chop off the Zombie’s head first. Talk about a perfect tank to go along with their little group. Jodi couldn’t help the giddy feeling running through her veins at the thought of what they could do with their group’s dynamics once she managed to acquire a humanoid or demi-human soul stone for their next quest.

As they ran past the last group in the lineup, Jodi’s eyes goggled in surprise as she saw the large crossbows mounted on their tripods. When fully put together, the BAMFs were a sight to behold. They were like something directly out of the Spartacus TV series that had been so popular a few years back. Only, these crossbows looked even more deadly than the Roman Scorpions. They fired two bolts simultaneously and had some sort of large cartridge that fed the bolts into the mechanisms like a semi-automatic pistol.

While Thomas had told her about the new weapons that Startum had introduced into The World from the earth, seeing them in action was entirely something different altogether. The double bolts that the crossbows shot out were as long and thick as her arm. If she had any doubt as to the punch the mechanical constructs were dishing out, she only had to see how hard they hit the newly created Goblin Zombies that were also being used here to assist the trainees in learning how to deal with moving targets. Every successful hit blasted the undead demi-humans off their clawed feet and threw them nearly ten-yards back.

Jodi could only shake her head in amazement. What could a Ranger do with a weapon like that? Would their special skills like Multi-Shot be triggerable? She made a mental note to ask Elandorr about that once this trek was over. As those questions were going through her mind, she suddenly realized they must have gone past the range of Hilron’s magic. Even though she was still humming along with the tune, there was no dismissing the fact that her feet suddenly felt much heavier.

That was really going to be an interesting effect to have going on during a battle, Jodi thought as they took a path below the mountain trail that they used on their way from Fang Pass to BrokenFang Hold the day before. As they made their way down the difficult rocky slope, she realized this would take them into a shallow rocky canyon between the plateau and the next mountain top where they came together and where she’d seen several herds of Elite Battering Rams feeding the day before last.

Though it took them around two hours to reach the monster’s area, Jodi barely noticed the passing of the time due to the rough terrain. With Elandorr leading the way, the rest of them could focus on not breaking an ankle or falling down the slope during the difficult descent. The icy snow was starting to melt with the coming of spring and was making the stones extremely slick and hard to traverse. To her surprise, there was a noticeable stream of icy water already starting to form at the bottom of the rocky canyon.

While there weren’t much in the way of any words being exchanged during their excursion, Jodi’s fellow Rangers were surprisingly helpful. Ryu, Ordan, and Kei quickly found safe paths down the steep slope for the rest of them, while Jinlura and Galvin helped to set up ropes for the rest of them to use during their descent.

To Jodi’s surprise, Elandorr spent most of his time scouting ahead with Fiona keeping watch over him. The Rogue had a natural dexterity for climbing and ran down the rocky slope as easily as he did across the flat plateau. Talk about annoying, it was the worst when he’d come skipping up the slope as if it were nothing to guide them where they needed to go next only to have them spend the next fifteen minutes trying to cross the same patch of rocky expanse. When they finally came near the first herd, Fiona suddenly appeared next to her in a pop of displaced air.

‘Jodi, I need you to talk to that idiot who’s guiding us,’ Fiona snarled as she glared in the direction of Elandorr in annoyance, ‘I tried to steer that idiotic Rogue from the path he’s taking, but I swear, it’s like that Half-Elf is purposely leading us directly for the herd of Elite Battering Rams on the far slope!’

‘Well, Fiona,’ Jodi innocently sent, ‘that is the plan.’

‘What?’ Fiona exclaimed, letting out an angry yowl that brought the other Rangers around them up short to glare at the two of them, ‘There are nearly thirty of those dirty level 50 to 55 beasts that’ll eagerly hunt us as much as they would any other smaller group of monsters that they might run across!’

‘Oh, that’s okay, we’re not planning on fighting them,’ Jodi soothingly said, smoothing down the line of ruffled fur standing on-end on the Blink Lynx’s back, ‘We’re going to ambush the herd and incapacitate them with poisoned arrows.’

‘The only way something like that would work is if one of you suckers tried playing bait,’ Fiona sniffed disdainfully as her tail whipped back and forth, ‘but I’m telling you now, not even that slick two-footer leading all of you could get away from one of those bounding monstrosities on slopes such as these.’

‘You’ve got that right,’ Jodi sent as the Blink Lynx sat back on her haunches to wait as the rest of them resumed their slow scramble towards the bottom of the canyon.

‘Of course, I’ve got that right,’ Fiona sniffed as she began to clean her fur.

“Hey, Jodi, did you let Fiona know what we need her to do?” Elandorr suddenly called out in raid chat as the Blink Lynx froze mid-lick.

‘What, pray to tell, is that Half-Elf talking about?’ Fiona demanded as her golden eyes turned to glower at Jodi.

“We’ll use a reverse arrowhead formation. Galvin, you take up a position at the bottom of the canyon,” Elandorr continued as Jodi innocently pursed her lips and met her Combat Pet’s angry glare, “Ordan, Kei, and Ryu, you climb up as high as you can get on the opposite slope in the next two minutes. The rest of us will do the same on this slope, while Fiona draws the herd into our ambush.”

‘I told you that I wanted to get my paws bloody in a hunt,’ Fiona sent, bristling at the Rogue’s words, ‘not by getting my ass kicked by a herd of high-level monsters!’

‘Your words, not mine,’ Jodi sent right back without batting an eye, ‘Besides, I don’t know why you’re being a drama queen. This will be easy-peasy with the group we have and then we can go on a nice hunt with just the three of us.’

‘This is not going to be easy-peasy; those rams are no joke in their home terrain!’ Fiona sent in a huff, ‘One misstep and I’ll get my fur all dirty and wet.’

‘Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right,’ Jodi dismissively replied as she continued diagonally across the slope to get into position, ‘A two-footer like Elandorr can do a much better job at playing bait in this kind of terrain than a four-pawer like you.’

‘That’s not what I meant!’ Fiona sent, bristling in outrage at her Light Elf’s words.

‘It’s okay, we’ll just keep that our little secret,’ Jodi continued as if she hadn’t heard the Blink Lynx’s outburst, ‘I’ll make an excuse to the rest of the Rangers that you hurt your little paw as you were crossing over one of these pointy rocks. I’m sure none of these Rangers will wonder at how delicate your kind can be.’

‘Delicate!’ Fiona mentally roared at her words. There was a pop of displaced air as the Blink Lynx suddenly disappeared. She reappeared a second later twenty-five yards further up the slope at a fast trot, ‘I’ll show these two-footers who’s the proper hunter!’

“Good job,” Elandorr said in a low voice as he came to a stop next to her, “I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to talk her into giving us a hand with this or not.” Seeing the surprised look come to Jodi’s face, he flashed her a smile, “Everyone knows how great cats are.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jodi replied, not wanting to speak badly of her Blink Lynx even if she could be a complete bitch at times, “I told her not to worry about playing bait, that you’d take care of it since she obviously couldn’t handle it.”

“Funny that,” Elandorr said as they both shared a quiet chuckle. With a final nod, the Rogue switched to raid chat to address the rest of their group, “Get your arrows loaded and ready, we should have thirty Elite Battering Rams showing up any moment.”

“Hey, Elandorr, do you think you’ll be able to point out the Alpha Ram when we take them down?” Jodi asked as she hurriedly began slipping the lead crystal vials into the blunt arrowheads. She decided to go ahead and prepare six just in case something went wrong.

“Sure, not that you’ll really need my help. The male will be much bigger than the rest of the herd,” Elandorr said with a shrug, “You really can’t miss him.”

“I’ll only have what?” Jodi asked, “Ten minutes or so to make my way over to him?”

“Hey Jodi,” Norlar called out as the Beast Tamer carefully made his way over the slick stones to her, “Do you mind if I watch how you go about taming this monster?”

“Uh, sure,” Jodi said, not feeling exactly confident in what she was about to do. The whole, “That’s not possible with an adult monster!” argument had made her unsure as hell, “Not that I can guarantee this is even going to work.”

“Then, I’ll be there to protect you if it doesn’t work,” Norlar said, giving her an unconcerned shrug.

“Thanks, Norlar,” Jodi quietly said as the Beast Tamer gave her a friendly wink for a reply.

‘We’ll be there in thirty seconds!’ Fiona’s voice suddenly rang out in her mind.

‘We’re in position,’ Jodi sent back, ‘Try to get the Alpha as close to me as you can.’ She hurriedly announced to the rest of the raid, “We’ve got incoming in thirty seconds!”

‘Do you think I don’t know that?’ Fiona snapped in a tight voice as she blinked in and out of reality, ‘This smelly bastard is faster than I thought!’

Jodi heard the pops of displaced air as the Blink Lynx came closer. All around her, she noticed the Rangers tensing with their arrows held at the ready. While they exuded proficient confidence, there was no doubt in her mind that the rest of the raid had to be as nervous as she felt. What was totally crazy was that they couldn’t respawn like she could. On top of that, they had no Priests with them in case the shit really hit the fan. She didn’t know if Elandorr was that confident in their raid’s abilities or if it were bad planning on her part.

“LEET … LEET!” Blasto chittered excitedly as he felt her anxiety building.

“It’s okay, little guy,” Jodi whispered back, “Don’t blast them unless the shit hits the fan, okay?”

“LEET!” Blasto confidently replied.

Jodi didn’t know if the Elite Pyro Spitter understood a word she was actually saying, but she decided to go with the hope that he’d gotten the gist of what she was saying. If not, this was going to be a major clusterfuck as her brother Thomas liked to say. As she listened to the approaching cacophony, she realized that Fiona was doing her best to gather the entire herd together by blinking back and forth along the path. Not that the Blink Lynx needed to worry too much about getting the monsters to chase after her. From what Jodi could see, the herd was quickly working together to block off all her escape paths.

Waiting in Stealth, Jodi crossed her fingers hoping that their scent wouldn’t be picked up by the approaching monsters as she crouched down with her bow bent with a poison-tipped arrow notched and ready to let fly. From the worried looks on the faces of the Rangers nearest to her, they had the same concern reflected in their eyes. That fear just grew when five especially large Elite Battering Rams came bounding into sight further up the opposite slope.

In the blink of an eye, Jodi took in the monstrous creatures. When she’d first seen them from a distance on her first trip to BrokenFang Hold, she’d initially thought the monsters had looked more like their earthen counterparts, but seeing them up close now, she realized that had been a grave mistake as their red vertical-slit eyes focused on the fleeing Blink Lynx in the distance.

The first thing that stood out about the monsters was how big they were. Size wise they were in the range of a thoroughbred horse, and unlike their earthen counterparts, they moved like a pack of hungry wolves down the slope. The next most noticeable thing about them was that they had two pairs of horns instead of the typical single pair. The larger set was massive corded bones that swept back over their heads and were a yard in length, while the second pair stuck out from the front of their skull-like corded daggers. They also had curved bone-like blades sticking up from the top of their front knees. Almost like something you’d see on a Velociraptor for disemboweling prey. Lastly, the Elite Battering Rams had large oversized tusks like something you’d see on a Wild Boar jutting out from their lower jaws for ripping and tearing flesh. There was no question that these monsters hunted and consumed prey.

“I’ll take these five!” Jodi snapped in raid chat as the rest of her raid mates began calling out targets.

No wonder Fiona had been freaking out about facing off against an entire herd, Jodi anxiously thought, starting to have second thoughts about trying to train an adult. Pushing the negative thought away, she silently watched the galloping monsters’ curving path suddenly take a sharp turn that would take them directly past Ordan, Kei, and Norlar’s hiding spots on the slope.

At first, Jodi was afraid the course change meant their ambush was blown as everyone prepared to release their arrows. A sudden bark from Elandorr for everyone to hold their shots stopped them from blowing the ambush. As the seconds ticked by, it became obvious that the Elite Battering Rams were simply angling to cut off the Blink Lynx’s possible escape route.

Still, the danger wasn’t completely past. There was a chance that one of the Elite Battering Rams could pick up one of their raid mates’ scents, Jodi thought, keeping an eye on the quintet. It wasn’t until they galloped nearly over the top of Kei’s hiding spot that they collectively let out a sigh of relief. As the monsters’ spaced themselves out to cover whatever direction the Blink Lynx tried to blink away in, Jodi saw Fiona suddenly appear twenty yards in front of the lead ram with the rest of the herd on her tail, when Elandorr’s voice cracked in raid chat like a whip.

“Release arrows!”

Jodi didn’t hesitate as her first arrow targeted the rear ram barreling down on her girl. As soon as her bow twanged, she was already reaching for the next arrow that she’d laid out in preparation ahead of time on the ground. In quick succession, she sent another four arrows flying at the group with her last targeting the lead ram.

The order of attack might sound a bit contradictory to those unused to triggering an ambush. In truth, Jodi had learned the technique by watching Cowboy Westerns when she was growing up. The heroes always targeted the bad guys in the rear so that the rest of the group didn’t realize they were under attack and started dodging. While she’d never actually tried it herself until now., she had to admit the tactic had worked like a charm. She took the rams down one after another without any of them realizing they were under attack. As the last ram dropped to flop unceremoniously to a stop, the rest of the raid attacked.

While the first two volleys had taken down their targets without any issues to the confused and slowing herd, curiously enough, the Rangers had a bit more difficulty in taking the remainder of the herd down. Because the Rangers hadn’t targeted the Elite Battering Rams in the rear, the third volley sent the survivors fleeing across the slope in multiple directions. Not that, that was an issue for the level 50 Rangers who targeted the fleeing monsters with scary precision. Before the last Elite Battering Ram was down, Elandorr was up and racing up the far slope.

“Hurry up, Jodi,” Elandorr shouted, waving for her to follow as the rest of the raid began hurrying towards the downed monsters with rope, “that last ram you shot was the herd’s Alpha male!”

“Right behind you!” Jodi called back as a pop of displaced air sounded beside her.

‘Did you see that?’ Fiona proudly chortled as she kept pace at Jodi’s side, ‘I tricked those horned idiots good.’ A mental snort of derision sounded in her head. ‘They never had a chance to catch me.’

‘You did a fine job,’ Jodi sent back, stroking the Blink Lynx’s ego somewhat, ‘Though, if I hadn’t taken out that quintet of monsters circling around to cut off your escape, things might have turned out differently.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Fiona demanded as her tail momentarily straightened in fear, ‘The entire herd was behind me!’

‘Is that so?’ Jodi sarcastically asked as she hurriedly began making her way up the far slope towards where Elandorr had come to a stop, ‘Then, I take it those five rams are from another herd?’

“Leet … leet … leet,” Blasto scoldingly chittered down at the Blink Lynx as her golden eyes widened in shock.

“Hold up, Jodi,” Norlar’s voice yelled out behind her, “I want to see how you manage this.”

‘Wh … what are those monsters doing here?’ Fiona demanded as her head noticeably jerked back in clear shock. There was a pop of displaced air and the Blink Lynx suddenly appeared opposite the Rogue who was starting to bind the legs and snouts of the downed Elite Battering Rams. Her mental voice took on an odd tone, ‘If you hadn’t taken them down, they would’ve boxed me in.’

“Focus on securing the downed monsters first and then you can join her!” Elandorr shouted to the Beast Tamer, “If this works, you’ll have plenty of time to observe how she does this back at BrokenFang Hold.”

“Hey Elandorr,” Norlar shouted as he redirected himself towards the rams that he’d downed, “once I’m done, do you mind if I head over to watch how Jodi does this?”

“That’ll work,” Elandorr agreed, not bothering to look up from tying up the rams.

‘Probably,’ Jodi mentally replied to Fiona as she neared the lead ram. For his part, Norlar seemed to be following the Rogue’s orders which were probably for the best.

Jodi missed the normally supercilious look on the Blink Lynx’s face momentarily disappear as a look of understanding flashed in Fiona’s golden eyes. Reaching the lead ram, she came to a stop next to the alpha male’s large head as she drew the longsword from its sheath at her hip. Looking into the monster’s vertical pupils, Jodi saw the recognition in its eyes of the helpless situation it was in as she drove the point of the blade into the rocky ground next to its forehead.

“I could’ve just taken your life and there’s nothing you could do about it,” Jodi said in a low voice as she dropped to her knees in front of the monster.

“Leet … leet!” Blasto threateningly added as he sat up on his haunches while still on her shoulder.

“Not helping, Blasto,” Jodi said, chastising the little guy as she took off her armored glove to stroke the ram’s head with her hand.

Jodi had thought she would find the monster disgusting, but looking down on the helpless Elite Battering Ram, she had to admit that he was a handsome-looking specimen. Having these monsters as Combat Mounts would give any mounted force a significant advantage on the field of battle, she thought, studying the ram’s natural weapons. That’s when she remembered the video streams of Startum’s Silver Dire Wolf fighting along beside him. Could these guys be used as another teammate like that?

“Look,” Jodi said, getting excited about the possibility of having her own Combat Mount, “If you’re willing to work with me and the others at BrokenFang Hold, I promise we’ll get you plenty of fresh meat and as many fights as you can handle.”

Checking the time on her HUD, Jodi figured she was running out of time quickly. It had taken her a bit too long to climb the slope. Whatever, she could do this. Taking out a hunk of meat from the supply that she’d kept for Fiona, she enticingly waved it in front of the large male’s nose.

While she was doing that, Jodi began trying to think of how she’d managed to get Blasto to become her pet. Was getting a monster to accept her simply a Skill or did it have something to do with her desire and empathy? Whichever it was, she figured it was worth a shot. There was too much at stake for this to fail, especially if Fiona and her were going to get a new set of premium weapons and armor. As the ram’s vertical slitted eyes focused on her, it started to weakly move its large head around as the paralysis began to wear off.

“Don’t fight this,” Jodi murmured in a gentle voice, “because if we can’t find a common ground, we’ll be forced to slaughter you and the rest of your herd for meat.”

As she spoke, Jodi saw Elandorr hurrying over to her with his blades drawn. Obviously, he didn’t want to risk having her be killed by the monster if this didn’t work. In her peripheral vision, she saw the other Rangers in their raid finishing up and notching iron-tipped arrows into their bows. While she appreciated the physical support, it annoyed her that no one seemed to think what she was doing was possible. As those worrisome thoughts were going through her mind, she noticed the ram’s mouth open as it took the hunk of meat from her hand.

“That’s a good boy,” Jodi murmured, trying to keep the thrill of excitement from her voice as she hurriedly pulled another piece of meat from her pouch and fed it to the ram, “How about we become friends?”

“Did the monster accept you as its owner?” Elandorr urgently hissed.

“Not exactly,” Jodi replied back in a calm voice, “but I think it’s close.”

“There is no close,” Kei snapped, “we should kill the monster now and be done with it. Otherwise, it’ll rip your throat out.”

“Don’t you dare kill him until I say!” Jodi snapped with an edge in her voice, “Got it?”

Jodi didn’t bother to glare at her raid mates as she put the entire focus of her will into getting through to the Elite Battering Ram. Whether or not the rest of them realized this or not, she was going to take the alpha male as her own mount if this worked. Glancing at her HUD, she saw that the time was clicking past twelve minutes when the large monster in front of her suddenly rolled to its side and stood up.

“No one shoot!” Jodi urgently screamed, stretching out her arms to cover the front of the ram as much as she could with her own body.

Instead of chomping her face off, the Elite Battering Ram paused as its vertical-slitted eyes held her gaze. Its horned head heavily swung from side to side as it took in the enemies ready to take its life. While they were a threat, it was one that didn’t seem to phase the large alpha male one bit as its predatory eyes turned back to focus on her face intently.

“Come on, bond with me!” Jodi pressed, staring into the ram’s golden eyes as she willed this to work, “It’ll be good for both of us and the rest of your herd!”

There was a stirring around them as the Elite Battering Ram slowly stepped up to her. Jodi could understand everyone’s concern. While she hadn’t run an Identify on the monster before her, if this was the alpha male of the herd, then it was probably a level 55 monster compared to her wimpy level 37. Was it even possible for her to tame such a high-level monster? Jodi was just starting to worry that maybe she’d made a mistake when the ram thrust its muzzle into her chest as a message popped up before her eyes.

Congratulations! You have tamed a level 55 Elite Battering Ram. If you want to take this Combat Pet as your own, select Yes. If you want to leave this Combat Pet open for another, select No.

“Now, that’s a good boy,” Jodi murmured in joy as she hugged the ram’s large head to her chest and began stroking the ridge of his bony forehead. In that same moment, she felt a similar connection spark in her consciousness like the one she’d shared with Fiona.

Reading the system message before her eyes as she accepted the Elite Battering Ram’s bonding, Jodi wondered if these options were available because of her unique Skills or the same thing that everyone else saw when they acquired a Combat Mount. After considering it for a moment, she figured it was probably the option that every player got whenever they were acquiring a Combat Mount. That, or something unique for having tamed an Adult Monster, she thought, selecting “Yes.”

Congratulations! You have acquired a new Combat Mount. Please enter a name for your new Combat Pet:

“By the dark, she did it!” Jodi heard Kei incredulously exclaim behind her.

“That’s crazy,” Ordan agreed in a half-growl.

“Damn, I missed how she did that,” Norlar complained as he hurried over to her across the slippery rocks.

Barely registering everyone’s comments around her, Jodi selected the name, Basher.

Chapter Nine

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Lara Moonshadow in the Capital City of Auris Shaeras.)

Now, if you’ll tighten down the straps you should be good to go,” Hollysharp said in finality as she did her best to keep the irritation out of her hoarse voice, “that completes the fitting of your first set of Black Coral Armor.”

“This crap doesn’t fit,” a voice suddenly called out in frustration.

“Troy,” an annoyed voice snapped, “just put on the freaking armor and shut it!”

“Then you’re doing something wrong,” Hollysharp irritably snapped at the voice coming from the back of the group.

“Laurie,” Troy’s voice continued in defiance, “How can this stuff be any good? It’s lighter than my chainmail armor.”

“I’m not doing anything wrong,” Troy snapped back in the same tone, “this armor is just junk.”

“My armor is not junk!” Hollysharp’s voice rose a notch as Oránn hurried over to the enraged Gnomeling’s side, “You’re just a moron that can’t follow simple directions!”

“Not helping,” Oránn hissed at the other female as she stopped her from swimming in the direction of the voice.

“I’m the moron?” Troy hollered back in an offended tone, “I did everything you said and this crap won’t fit over my clothing!”

“Obviously, you fucked something up or it would be fitting, you ignorant buffoon!” Hollysharp raged, trying to push the Sea Elf away from her, “Let me go, I’m going to go give that Human a piece of my mind!”

“Lara! Honey!” Oránn called to the Beast kin women, “Can one of you deal with this while I stop Prustine from making a scene?”

“We’ve got this,” Lara said, after getting a nod back from the Badger kin female that had become her shadow after being captured by the Sea Orcs. While the Gnomeling always took any criticism as a personal attack, this was the first time she’d had one of the troopers call the black coral plate mail armor crap.

Pushing away from the black coral reef, the pair began swimming towards the commotion that seemed to be growing. While the majority of the newly minted House of Kayden troopers were solidly behind Lord Ironwolf and were no trouble at all, they’d both run into enough disgruntled Humans within these gearing-up groups to know that not every Human was happy at receiving direction from a Sea Elf, Halfling, or Beast kin. In those situations, it had become prudent to have a friend watching their backs.

Part of the problem, Lara silently thought to herself as they approached the growing commotion, was that it seemed like the group of troopers that had stayed behind to protect the city of Darom were struggling to come to terms with how the final battle had gone down. Many of the Humans seemed to be hung up on the fact that Lord Ironwolf had sacrificed himself so that they could escape, while others were struggling with the changes that they’d been undergoing with being a part of the House of Kayden.

Lara could well understand the Humans discomfort. What they’d seen go down in Darom went against everything that they’d known to be true. A noble had sacrificed himself for his commoners. That was unheard of. And, if that hadn’t been shocking enough, the noble in question was their new Halfling Lord of all things.

For many of them, it was like the sky had suddenly turned red or if the sun had started rising in the west. This challenged many of their basic core beliefs on what they believed was the way of The World. A fact that many were finding extremely difficult to fully accept.

“You just read the stats yourself,” Laurie huffed in annoyance, “Of course, it’s better!”

“I don’t see why I can’t keep my own gear,” Troy sulkily replied as many of the group around the young man grumbled in agreement.

“Troy, the Sub-Leader is correct,” an older human’s voice suddenly spoke up, “this armor actually looks to be based on the same set of armor that Lord Ironwolf wears.”

“Are you sure about that, Sub-Captain Davis?” Troy asked in an unsure tone, “What kind of noble would be willing to spend that kind of money on a bunch of commoners?”

As Lara floated to a stop above the group, the question from the young Human-caused the low muttering that had been going on to erupt into emotional shouts as the hundred or so gathered officers began arguing with one another. It was like a third of the group couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Listening to the back and forth and studying the various uniforms of the Humans involved in the confrontation, Lara realized that the fighting seemed to mostly be between those that had fought alongside Lord Ironwolf through his trek across the Kingdom of Kader and those that had stayed behind in Darom. At least, that’s if she was identifying the different groups properly.

“What seems to be the problem here?” Lara asked loudly enough to be heard over the commotion.

“Oh, great! They sent two Beast kins over to us to ask what we’re doing wrong?” Troy snarkily ridiculed as he glared up at them. His words seemed to catch the rest of the Humans by surprise. As the group followed his gaze, the young man dismissively continued, “Like either one of those savages would possibly know anything about quality armor.”

“Troy, mind your manners!” Laurie snapped, embarrassed at her brother’s lack of courtesy as the two groups began muttering angrily at one another again.

“Obviously, more than you do, youngling,” Honey snapped back in the same tone as she showed her fangs to emphasize her point, before Lara could interrupt the obnoxious Human her girlfriend continued, “Too bad you can’t seem to follow basic directions. You were told to dress in your Black Cuttle Leather armor first for a reason before donning your Black Coral Plate Mail armor. No wonder it’s not fitting.”

“And I already told everyone that Black Cuttle Leather armor is a piece of crap compared to my guard’s chainmail!” Troy angrily spat, not backing down from the Badger kin female an inch, “That’s why I kept my own armor on.”

“I guess that means your little guardsman wannabe swordsman self thinks you know more than General Dell on how best to prepare an Army to fight against a Hobgoblin invasion,” Honey shot right back as the young man cringed at her accusation, “or are you too proud to wear the same type of armor as a Halfling like Lord Ironwolf?”

“Uh … it-it’s … uh … not like that,” Troy nervously stuttered back as the rest of the Human faces that had been arguing the young man’s point turned a shade of gray at the female Badger kin’s words.

“It’s okay, I’m sure it was a simple misunderstanding,” Lara smoothly said as she cut Honey off with a hand on the female Badger kin’s shoulder. Seeing that she had everyone’s attention, she patiently continued, “Young Troy, you are absolutely correct that the Black Cuttle Leather armor is not as strong as your guard’s chainmail on its own. That’s because it’s meant to be worn in conjunction with your new Black Coral Plate Mail armor.” Her green eyes gently held the young man’s angry and embarrassed glare. “If you’ll look at the stats of both armors when they’re overlaid on top of one another, you’ll see that the combined armor class is well over five times greater than what you’re wearing now.”

That statement brought many of the disgruntled young guardsmen up short as they hurriedly pulled out the Black Cuttle Leather armor to see the truth for themselves. Lara saw the shocked looks on many of their faces as they realized the truth of her statement.

“By the dark,” the young man standing next to Troy said in a hushed whisper, “it’s the same caliber of protection to what a Royal Guardian Knight that protects Queen Isolde would wear!”

Lara almost felt sorry for the young pups as she started to understand part of the problems some of the Humans were having. One of the biggest being that these young men had to come to grips with was that this Halfling Lord, of all people, was treating them better than anyone had ever treated them before.

Lord Ironwolf hadn’t just resurrected them and given them another chance at life. He was giving them the same weapons and armor that he used to fight against the enemy. Such things were unheard of for commoners and it shocked each and every one of them to the core. There was nothing more terrible than having your core beliefs of The World challenged.

And if that wasn’t difficult enough, they were now working with other races that they’d been told throughout their whole life were little more than animals, stupid, greedy, or lazy. Not that any of them had ever spent any actual time with another race during their lives. Like everyone else, they’d simply accepted the rumors of Beast Kin, Gnomes, Dark Elves, and Halflings as the truth. Now though, they were sworn to a Halfling Lord and were actually working and living with all types of different races. Learning that there really weren’t much of any actual differences between them was another bit of hard truth to swallow.

“If this is how Humans uphold their oath to a lord that sacrificed his life for theirs,” Hollysharp’s caustic voice suddenly rang out over the black coral field, “then maybe Lord Ironwolf should’ve left the honorless lot back in Darom.”

The last of the muttering died down as everyone looked over in surprise at the sight of the pissed-off pink-haired Gnomeling that came floating to a stop above them with a Sea Elf at her side. None of the troopers in the back had tried to get a look at who was teaching them how to get their armor fitted onto their bodies, thinking she was just another armorer. While the voice had been clear enough to hear and follow directions, only those in the front few rows could actually see who was doing all the talking. Mainly, that was due to how they had to be attached to the black coral reef for the armor to be properly grown to fit their individual bodies.

“Hollysharp,” Lara said in a scolding tone, “I told you that we would handle-”

“Who do you think you are?” Troy irritably demanded, cutting the Grimal kin off as he faced off against the unpleasant Gnomeling.

“A master crafter who’s been asked to take her precious time away from building an entirely new magic-tech ship for Lord Ironwolf,” Hollysharp snapped at the young Human male, “to waste it on a group of young obnoxious Human idiots for the sole purpose of not having them die in their first battle against the coming Hobgoblin invaders!”

“A Gnomeling calling a Human obnoxious,” Troy mockingly said, “That’s like the pot calling the kettle black!”

“If the shoe fits,” Hollysharp condescendingly replied, “My job is to make sure you live long enough to pay back the life debts all of you owe Lord Ironwolf. From what I’ve heard of the events that went down in Darom, most of you owe him for three if not four lives at the very least!” Her eyes focused on the older man standing amongst them with an amused look on his face. “What would you say to that, Sub-Captain Davis?”

“I would have to sadly agree with you, Runemaster Hollysharp,” Tony politely replied as he gave the female Gnomeling a respectful nod. Flexing his knees, the Sub-Captain slightly pushed off the black coral reef so he floated slightly below her and could look out at the other Human faces that were part of the last groups to get their armor fitted, “In truth, if not for being sworn to Lord Ironwolf, many of the men and women that I see before me wouldn’t have gotten their second chance at life, let alone the additional ones that many of them ended up receiving by the end of the day.”

“We paid our debt to Lord Ironwolf by defending Darom against those newfar and-” Troy began to say.

“You lost Darom before Lord Ironwolf ever arrived in Darom!” Tony roared, cutting the younger man off as the muttering from the group stopped, “And then again when you were left to defend the city in Lord Ironwolf’s absence.” Taking a deep breath, his voice lowered to a more normal tone. “Just like those of you in Telrain did. Like all of us here, you would’ve died without ever having had a chance to fight those that slaughtered you and enslaved the people in the cities you swore to protect.”

“That’s not fair, we did the best we could to defend Darom,” Troy weakly protested along with a few other ex-guards.

“It’s not our fault about Telrain!” several other voices shouted out.

“It doesn’t change the fact of what happened or that you lost your lives,” Tony pointed out in no uncertain terms. Not missing a beat, he pointed towards Troy. “Would Warden Rohan have beseeched the Priests of Light for a resurrection if you’d fallen in battle?” As the young man cringed, he pointed to another older Human. “Sub-Leader Tericius, did any of the nobles of Telrain secret away your corpses from the piles of the dead outside of Telrain to bring you back to life so you could fight against the invaders?”

“No, they did not,” Sub-Leader Tericius said in a gruff voice filled with emotion as he pushed off of the black coral reef to float next to Sub-Captain Davis, “if not for Lord Ironwolf, none of us would’ve had a second chance at life or had a chance to drive the evil out of the Kingdom of Kader.”

“We were the only ones that were driven out,” another angry young voice said.

“Are all Humans this short-sighted?” Hollysharp demanded in a high-pitched voice as all eyes went back to her. “Instead of being thankful for everything that Lord Ironwolf and the rest of us are doing to help you so you can properly fight your future enemies. Instead, you’re whining about losing your old uniforms!” A look of disgust formed on her face as her eyes swept the group. “What a bunch of nincompoops! And, here, I was starting to think Humans were smarter than that!”

“Watch your mouth, Gnomeling!” an angry voice shouted from the rear of the group.

“What would you know about it anyway!” another Darom guard yelled.

“You weren’t even there!” a third speaker bellowed.

“What do any of us know about it?” Hollysharp demanded in a scathing tone. “You don’t think we haven’t heard the story about how Lord Ironwolf had to sacrifice himself so that the rest of you could escape Darom’s harbor? You don’t think we have eyes and ears to see how you’re paying him back by acting like a bunch of honorless Chofe-ka because you’re suddenly surrounded by other races? Are you trying to get out of honoring your oaths? Or,” her withering glare swept across the group, “are you simply embarrassed at being beholden to a Halfling Lord?”

Lara could see that the Gnomeling’s words had hit the frustrated and confused young men and women hard. While Hollysharp’s attitude was hard to take at times, this was something these Humans needed to hear. From the guilt in their eyes, they were having difficulty denying the Gnomeling’s accusations. The Grimal kin watched Hollysharp put her tiny hands on her hips to glare down at the group of Humans.

“While we’ve heard much of what many of you have endured, you know nothing of how the rest of us came to give our personal oath of fidelity to Lord Ironwolf,” Hollysharp huffed.

“Why don’t you tell them?” Lara asked as her question caught both the Gnomeling and the Humans by surprise.

Lara knew the best way to combat this gap between these Humans and the rest of the House of Kayden races was simply to explain how they came to be under Lord Ironwolf’s banner. Partly, she realized, that was necessary for the Humans to gain back a modicum of their personal respect. Right now, many of the Humans felt downtrodden and humiliated for losing their homes and being forced to flee the enemy. And partly, Lara realized, it would reinforce the point that, though they were different races, all of them shared a similar story and background. It was a point that she was starting to learn from watching and listening to Lord Ironwolf’s many adventures.

“Tell them what?” Hollysharp disgruntledly asked.

“How and why you and the other Gnomelings on the Wind Dancer chose to swear an oath of fealty to Lord Ironwolf,” Lara confidently said as Hollysharp frowned. Instead of snapping back like she normally would’ve when they’d first met, the Gnomeling let out an explosive breath as she looked out across the group of Humans.

“For myself and the crew of the Wind Dancer,” Hollysharp began, “a corrupt noble in Myathlune allowed our ship to be captured by pirates who enslaved or killed most of the crew. It was Lord Ironwolf who saved us, resurrected those that he could, and gave us our freedom instead of keeping us as slaves.” The Gnomeling shook her head momentarily lost in some internal thought. “He’s also given me my life back by showing me new magic-tech designs that I never thought were even possible.”

“What about you, Oránn?” Lara asked as she turned to the silent Sea Elf, “Why not explain to these Team and Sub-Leaders why Queen Naeris swore to be a vassal to Lord Ironwolf of all things?

“Um,” Oránn nervously stuttered, before her face hardened in resolve, “Auris Shaeras was attacked by Meer-Lizards and Grindylows. Unbeknownst to us, they were the vanguard of a planned invasion from the Sekolahian Empire. While they were ransacking our city and slaughtering our population,” a series of complex emotions flashed across the dark blue skin of her exotic face as she spoke, “we captured the Wind Dancer and planned to enslave the crew to help in our fight against the Sekolahian Empire.”

There were angry mutters at the Sea Elf’s words from the gathered Humans. Not that Lara disagreed with their anger, but the Sea Elves weren’t the first race that had committed such atrocities while trying to save their kingdom. Nonetheless, the Grimal kin female could see the story easing some of the tension in many of the younger men and women’s faces as the Sea Elf continued.

“Lord Ironwolf and his friends could’ve simply freed themselves and left the rest of us to our fate, but instead, he chose to come to our aid. With the assistance of the ship crews that we’d previously enslaved, they slaughtered the invasion force and freed most of us from a fate worse than death,” Oránn explained as her hand unconsciously went to her belly at the memory.

The Humans shifted uncomfortably at the Sea Elf’s story. They’d heard the rumors of how nearly the entire population had been murdered by the Meer-Lizards’ vicious raping and pillaging. It was easy enough to see since there were no Sea Elf males outside of the Red Coral Knights left alive afterward. As the Humans uncomfortably glanced at one another, Lara continued in a calm voice.

“Honey, would you mind telling the story of how we met Lord Ironwolf and came to swear our oaths of fealty to him?”

“Aye, I can be doing that,” Honey said, her Bruic Diongmhalta dialect coloring her words. “Like you Humans, my home of Blaidd Ogof Hold was raided by a savage group of murderous newfar. As our brave Warriors fought them, my father bade the rest of us flee while we could so that some small part of our Clan would live on.” The female Badger kin’s haunted gaze held the wide-eyed group of Humans as her thoughts went back to those dark times.

“Unfortunately, when we made it to the coast to run for the next nearest clan, we were captured by Sea Orcs and taken as slaves. That was because a large force was raiding the Kingdom of Ocilimma’s entire coastline.” Honey’s face screwed up in rage as she remembered the horrors. “Many of our people were raped, tortured, and eaten for the Sea Orcs’ pleasure. That fleet fell into the same trap as the one that captured the Gnomeling Trader’s Wind Dancer.” Like with Oránn, the Badger Kin female’s face reflected the complicated feelings she had at that time.

“Lord Ironwolf could’ve set fire to the ships and saved himself a savage fight against the Sea Orc Raiders, but instead, he chose to free us from our imprisonment along with the other slaves and made them part of the House of Kayden.” Honey’s blue eyes swept the intensely listening group of Humans. “That was how he saved your General Dell, the survivors of the Royal Army, Princess Isolde, and her surviving group of Royal Guardian Knights.”

“Without that honorable act,” Sub-Captain Davis said, suddenly speaking up, “The enslaved survivors of Darom and Telrain would’ve never been saved, Palnisdale would not have had the evil Dil-Hilth removed from power, and the Orc Horde’s main invasion force wouldn’t have been stopped by the Citadel.” The veteran’s blue eyes swept the Humans around him. “And none of us here now would have had a chance to drive the evil from our lands,” he flashed them a solemn smile, “or have another chance at life with a Halfling Lord that treats us with such dignity and respect that he sacrificed his own life so we could fight another day.”

“There is truth to what you say,” Troy agreed, rubbing at his eyes. With an apologetic nod to the friends around him and his sister, he began stripping off his guard’s armor. Seeing everyone staring back at him in surprise, he snapped, “Come on, let’s get geared up. We’ve got work to do.”

“You are unlike any other Beast kins that I’ve ever met,” Hollysharp said with grudging respect as she saw the looks of motivation in the faces of the Humans that had only moments before been disgruntled and argumentative.

“How many Beast kin have you known, Prustine?” Honey pointedly asked as the Gnomeling’s face turned a shade of red in embarrassment.

“And you’re exactly like most of the supercilious Gnomes that we’ve ever met,” Lara pleasantly replied with a slight rise of her chin. She patted the smaller female on the shoulder as Honey stifled a laugh. “But, at least, it looks like you’re learning.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Hollysharp irritably snapped, “Look, Beast Kins aren’t exactly known to be the most magic-tech savvy-”

“Are you finished up here?” a familiar voice suddenly called out, cutting the Gnomeling off.

“General Dell!” chorused from the group as the House of Kayden officers respectfully snapped to attention.

“Everyone is geared up,” Team Leader Butcher snapped. Her fist slammed to her chest after a quick glance at the other Humans that were stationed in Darom and seeing them fully suited up.

“And ready to go,” Assault Leader Raventhorn and Sub-Leader Tericius replied in unison.

“Excellent, then we can get the last group in to get them geared up,” General Dell said, returning their fist salutes with one of his own. After getting several nearly imperceptible nods from his Assault Leaders that had been quietly keeping an eye on everything, he continued crisply, “Go ahead and start getting your people loaded up on the ships. By the time that’s done, the last group should be finished up here so we can get on our way to Myathlune.”

As affirmatives rang out from the officers present and they began swimming away, Hollysharp shouted out to the men and women, “Don’t forget your Black Coral Shields!” Upon hearing that, several officers came to a stop. With embarrassed glances toward General Dell, they began swimming back to their spots for their missing gear. Seeing that everything was being taken care of, General Dell floated over to the group of four females.

“I appreciate all of the hard work that you’ve put into gearing everyone up,” General Dell politely said, giving the group a respectful nod, “It’ll make a huge difference in the coming battle against the Hobgoblins.”

“Look, Human,” Hollysharp irritably snapped, “I’m only wasting my time on this because Lord Ironwolf-”

“You’re very much welcome, General Dell,” Lara graciously said, overriding the Gnomeling’s rude words as Honey bowed her head behind the Grimal kin, “It was our pleasure.”

“I do understand the sacrifice you’re making for us,” General Dell easily continued as a smile momentarily flashed across his lips. Pointedly ignoring the female Gnomeling’s caustic attitude, he gave her an earnest look, “Captain Lightouch explained to me the time crunch that you’re in with your magic ship.”

“Did he tell you that I now have less than three days to get everything worked out before the ship needs to be on its way to Dolurn?” Hollysharp demanded to the General’s surprise.

“Hollysharp,” Lara chided the Gnomeling, “I’m sure-”

“It’s actually more like two days,” Hollysharp loudly complained, cutting the Grimal kin off, “since day three will be mostly packing up our supplies and getting the water out of the ship’s hull.”

“The water out of the hull?” General Dell stuttered, “Why would you need to do that?”

“Would you leave the poor man alone, Hollysharp?” Honey warningly growled.

“Why?” Hollysharp’s voice rose another notch as she flung her arms out to either side, “Look at it yourself, it’s basically sunk on the bottom of the Strait of Icelus right now!”

“Is that going to be a problem?” General Dell asked, getting visibly agitated at the Gnomeling’s words.

“It’s fine,” Oránn sarcastically said loud enough to drown out Hollysharp as she tried to calm the man down, “We have a solid plan for raising the ship to the surface.”

“A solid plan,” Hollysharp’s arms shot over her head dramatically, “This has never been done before!”

“Hollysharp,” a stern voice called out from behind them, “leave the poor man alone.”

“Grahorn!” Hollysharp happily shrieked in a high-pitched voice as everyone turned around to see Captain Lightouch from the Wind Dancer leading the last group of seventeen people over to be armored up.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Prustine,” Captain Lightouch warmly said as he exchanged hugs with the small Gnomeling female. Sparing a brief glance over his shoulder, the Gnomeling lowered his voice, “This is the group of newfars that Ianfalcon was warning you about.”

“Newfars,” Hollysharp spat the word like a curse as she turned toward the group swimming over to them.

“I hope this isn’t going to take all day,” Jill loudly complained as she swam, “cause I’m about done with this Sea Elf city.”

“Tell me about it,” Krystal agreed, “aren’t capital cities supposed to have a bunch of shops?”

“Didn’t Jay say this city was ransacked around a week ago?” AJ asked as he kept up with the pair.

“Yep,” Thomas dryly answered, before adding, “this place has actually cleaned up a lot since the last time we were here.”

“I’m actually surprised there’s as much as there is to buy in the shops,” Zhou agreed. Seeing the rest of the non-Devil Dog players glance at her in surprise, the Rogue gave them an indifferent shrug, “I’m just saying.”

“I don’t know what the big deal is,” Kenzie said, the exasperation clear in her voice, “Weren’t you guys running quests the entire day?”

“She’s just upset that Fire magic doesn’t work so well underwater,” Sarka mockingly called out from further back.

“Aren’t you using Dark magic?” Kenzie asked, turning back to her girlfriend questioningly, “Because, that shit’s the bomb.”

“That’s not the point-” Jill began to irritably say when Sara cut her off.

“It’s not the same as blasting shit with fire!” That got several amused hoots from the group.

“Seriously, you’d have thought that magic would work underwater,” Hefe said from where he swam with Bonny Smash, “It’s like …”

“Water is the exact opposite of fire?” Tinyr helpfully asked.

“Yeah,” Hefe exclaimed, before realizing what the Rogue had actually said, “No, I mean-GAH!”

“I think they get it, Honey Bear,” Bonnie Smash said, cutting him off as she wrapped her arm around his waist with the other over his mouth. His little arms and legs flailing helplessly as she hugged him to her chest and kept on swimming.

“You already know the Devil Dogs and Lord Ironwolf’s old group,” Captain Lightouch said, drawing their focus back to him, “but there are a few new friends with them as well.” He flashed a toothy smile. “So, try to do what you can to make them feel welcome.”

“We will do what we can, Morgan,” Lara assured General Dell. After being chained together on a Sea Orc trireme, his change in rank didn’t alter their relationship in the least.

“Wonderful,” Hollysharp sarcastically muttered as she listened to the two of them.

“Just be happy you don’t have to travel with them for days on end,” Captain Lightouch grunted in a low voice, giving her a hard clap on the back. Raising his voice, he called out to the group floating to a stop around them, “Hollysharp and her friends will get all of you geared up as promised. Once you’re finished, come back to the Wind Dancer and we’ll get underway.”

“About fucking time,” Jill muttered a little too loudly under her breath.

“It shouldn’t take too long, Captain,” Thomas politely said louder than necessary to drown the Fire mage out as he gave the older man a friendly nod.

“Excellent,” Captain Lightouch said, ignoring Jill as he turned to the Human floating next to Hollysharp, “Come on, General Dell, let’s get your troopers loaded up the best we can.”

“Alrighty, there are places on the Black Coral that are clearly marked for you to stand on,” Hollysharp called out in a high-pitched voice as the Gnomeling and Humans swam away, “if you’ll take your spots, we’ll have the Black Coral grow to fit your individual bodies.”

“Where’s the Red Coral?” Sarka interrupted, catching Hollysharp off guard as all but two of the women in the group swam up to her while the rest headed over to the Black Coral reef, “I want a set of armor like what Phoenix is wearing.”

“Um, I don’t work with the Red Coral,” Hollysharp stuttered, slightly taken aback at the request as the Sea Elf swam over to them.

“As per Queen Naeris’s orders, I can assist with that,” Oránn politely announced as she placed a calming hand on the Gnomeling’s shoulder.

“Wait, we can do Red Armor?” Hefe suddenly asked as he pushed out of his girl’s arms.

“Yeah, I’d like to get a set of that too, if possible,” Bonnie Smash agreed as they both excitedly swam over.

“That’s not an issue,” Oránn assured the pair, before calling out to the rest of the newfar as Hollysharp gave her the stink eye. “Is there anyone else that wants Red Coral armor instead of Black?”

“Yeah, Yun does,” Sarka said, perking up as she waved for her husband to join them.

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea, honey,” Yun said under his breath as he floated over, “As a Healer, I don’t want to stick out too-”

“Just think how cool it’ll be,” Sarka said, waving his protests away, “we’ll have matching armor.”

“I don’t want that to mess up my ability to Stealth,” Yun quietly pushed not liking this one bit.

“It never stopped Phoenix,” Sarka dismissively said as her husband frowned

“Um, she doesn’t-” Yun began to argue only to be cut off by the Sea Elf.

“Is that everyone?” Oránn asked again as the Gnomeling floated up next to her.

“What are you doing?” Hollysharp demandingly hissed.

“Um, dealing with as many of the newfar as I can so you have less of a workload,” Oránn whispered back. A smile suddenly came to her face as she arched an eyebrow at the difficult Gnomeling, “Don’t tell me you’re jealous that they want another color.”

“I’m not jealous,” Hollysharp defensively snapped.

“Good,” Oránn said in the same amused tone, “because regardless of the color, the magic tech is the same.”

“The coral armor isn’t what makes it so special,” Hollysharp dismissively said as the Sea Elf rolled her eyes at the Gnomeling’s refusal to admit their grown armor was impressive magic-tech, “it’s how I’ve been combining it with the armor they’re currently wearing.” Hollysharp gave her a severe look. “Don’t you be messing this up-”

“Like you did with that Darom guard?” Oránn innocently asked.

“That Darom guard’s armor was crap!” Hollysharp shrilly said as the Sea Elf stifled a grin.

“Hollysharp!” Lara sharply exclaimed as the Gnomeling flinched at her chastising tone.

The truth of the matter was that, by now, all of them knew how to combine people’s existing armor with the grown coral. At least, if it was worth combining. That Darom guard’s armor just didn’t have any buffs that were worth integrating. Hollysharp just had problems admitting that the rest of them were capable of doing professional work. Though it was annoying, it was basically because the Gnomeling only had respect for other Academy of Technomancy graduates.

“If that’s everyone,” Oránn said, not bothering to respond to the Gnomeling’s unspoken insult as she began swimming away, “Just follow me to the other reef and we’ll get that crafted right up.”

“Alrighty then, if everyone will get into …” Hollysharp’s voice died away as she suddenly realized there were still three female newfar floating in front of her. Swallowing her first three responses, she faced the group and let out an exasperated sigh, “I can’t really do anything to help gear you up if you’re not standing on the Black Coral.”

“That’s not really something we would want,” Jill indifferently said while fluffing out the back of her hair.

“Why would my Black Coral armor not be something for the two of you?” Hollysharp asked as her voice rose a notch.

“We’re mages,” Krystal explained as if the Gnomeling was an idiot, “it’s not like the armor is going to give us any benefits in comparison to the buffs that we already have.”

“Yeah,” Sara agreed, “I’m not about to lose the plus one hundred thirty points to Intelligence my mage robes give.”

“Obviously, that extra hundred thirty points to Intelligence isn’t being put to full use,” Hollysharp sneered at the other female.

“What did your little midget-ass just say to me?” Sara demanded as Jill and Krystal both bristled at the implied insult to their friend.

“Why would you have to lose your existing buffs?” Lara calmly asked as if the Gnomeling hadn’t said a word.

“Because we’d be ditching our mage robes!” Jill snarled in the same tone as she glared at the Gnomeling.

“Another one that can’t fully use their boosted attributes,” Hollysharp quipped to the incredulous trio as the Grimal kin put her arm around the Gnomeling and forcibly pulled the Gnomeling to her side.

“Not helping, Hollysharp dear. Remember, Captain Lightouch asked us to be polite,” Lara counseled.

“This is me being nice,” Hollysharp grumbled under her breath as the Grimal kin addressed the newfar.

“Actually, that won’t be an issue.” Lara let her claws dig into the Gnomeling’s upper arm in a warning. “Our wonderful Runemaster here has come up with a technique to combine your existing armor or,” she nodded to the mages, “clothing to the process. This allows your current magic buffs to be transferred to the Black Coral armor.”

“You mean, we’ll get the buffs we currently have with whatever the Black Coral armor naturally comes with?” Krystal asked as the trio seemed to lose their anger.

“What part of transferred do you not-” Hollysharp began sharply saying only to yelp in pain as the Grimal kin let her claws break the skin on the Gnomeling’s arm.

“What my friend Hollysharp meant to say,” Lara continued as if nothing had happened while Honey crossed her arms over her chest with a satisfied look on her furry face, “Is that’s exactly how the process works. Though, I imagine, we’ll have to assist the process with your robes manually.”

“Oh fuck, yeah!” Sara cheerfully exclaimed, “no more being stabbed to death when an enemy gets within melee range!”

“Okay, that is cool,” Jill admitted as her anger immediately dissipated.

“So, what do you need us to do?” Krystal asked in excitement.

“The same thing I told you to do in the beginning,” Hollysharp sarcastically said, shaking Lara’s arm away, “Take your place on the Black Coral Reef so I can grow the armor over you like everyone else.”

“Damn, you have a mouth on you,” Jill murmured in an almost impressive tone as she shook her head at the Gnomeling’s audacity.

“Come,” Lara said, nodding to Honey for a hand, “we’ll give you a hand getting your current gear prepared for the conversion.”

“Now that’s been resolved, we can get to work,” Hollysharp announced to the group as Lara and Honey began working with the trio, “Since all of you have armor that you want to integrate, we’ll start with your boots and pants first …”

“My name is Lara,” Lara politely said, before nodding to the Badger kin standing next to them, “and this is my friend, Honey.”

“Nice to meet-” Honey began to say, when Jill let out an explosive breath that came out as a burst of bubbles.

“You’re joking right?” Jill asked, chortling openly.

“I don’t see what you’re finding so funny,” Honey stiffly said as her hackles unconsciously rose on the back of her neck.

“Um, Jill,” Krystal hissed under her breath, “Are you purposely trying to piss her off?”

“That’s not cool,” Sara seconded as she began nervously nodding her head in agreement.

“I’m sorry,” Jill gasped as she doubled over in laughter, “but … you have to admit … it’s funny as hell.”

“Yeah,” Honey’s words came out in a half-growl, “Please explain what’s so funny about my name?”

“You don’t get the joke?” Jill asked, looking back and forth between her friends. Seeing that neither Krystal nor Sara was getting it, she blurted out, “She’s a Honey Badger!”

“A Honey Badger?” Krystal asked, not getting the reference as Sara’s eyes suddenly got wide.

“What does this Honey Badger term mean to newfar?” Honey demanded as she began to swell up in anger.

“It’s not bad,” Jill assured the Beast kins as her face turned beet red.

“She’s not lying,” Sara agreed as Krystal looked at her girlfriends in annoyance.

“Then, what does it mean?” Krystal asked as Lara and Honey gave the newfar a surprised look at being as confused as them.

“A younger woman that likes older men,” Jill said, busting out laughing.

“I don’t know if I should feel insulted or not,” Honey huffed as Lara frowned in agreement.

“It also means someone that doesn’t take anyone’s shit,” Sara helpfully added.

“I thought a Honey Badger was something like a Tasmanian Devil?” Krystal asked in confusion.

“Naw, that’s what a Tasmanian Devil checks for under their bed for when they go to sleep,” Jill joked as Honey cocked her head to the side.

“So, you’re saying that Honey Badgers are badass?” Honey skeptically asked as her fur began to lay back down.

“More or less,” Sara said as Krystal and Jill both nodded in agreement.

“If you’re finished joking around,” Lara said, settling down somewhat as she turned to Krystal, “I can start with you first.”

“Oh, okay,” Krystal stuttered in surprise, “my name is Tatheirel.”

“And, I’m Sara,” Sara politely added, nodding to both Beast kin females.

“A pleasure to meet you, Sara,” Lara pleasantly said, “Honey will work with you.”

“Hey,” Jill complained, “What about me?”

“And your name is?” Lara asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Kriminali,” Jill said as the Beast kin females sagely nodded in unison. Frowning, she continued in an annoyed tone, “What’s up with that?”

“Kriminali means last in Beast kin,” Lara succinctly explained as she turned to Krystal. “Now, the first thing I need you to do, Tatheirel is take off your robes.”

“Um, sure,” Krystal replied as Honey nodded for Sara to do the same.

“The hell?” Jill complained as both her friends snickered at the offended look on her face, “Are you serious?”

“Indubitably,” Lara said without turning around as she took the robe from the Dark Elf Priestess. “We’ll remove your belt and shoulder pads for now,” the Grimal kin explained as she removed the separate pieces. Drawing a dagger, she began slicing the sides of the robes with the sharp blade.

“We’ll let the front and back be their own pieces that you can use overtop your leg armor.” Lara slid the blade into the sheath at her waist. “Now, watch this.”

Kneeling down, Lara held the U-shaped piece of cloth over the Black Coral reef as she began pushing her mana into the coral reef beneath her. In less than five seconds, the top of a breastplate began growing up out of the coral beneath their feet. Draping the magic cloth over the top of it as it grew up out of the Black Coral on what looked like an armor stand, she focused on having the growth merge with the magic fabric.

Within twenty seconds, the breastplate was completed. It was still connected to the reef with an arm and pole that almost looked like a clothing hanger. The magic robe was fully integrated into the front and back of the fabric with a two-foot length of cloth hanging from the front and back of the armor. It was the only part of the robe that was still recognizable. Shaping the armor with her mind, Lara crafted the ends into something that like looked like a loincloth or the lower part of a tabard.

“Okay, now,” Lara said, motioning to Tatheirel, “Slide up into it from the bottom, and let’s see how it fits.”

It took a of couple tries to get the shape right so that Tatheirel’s breasts didn’t feel like they were being crushed. Luckily, the preplanned shapes were easy enough to create after Oránn’s people had created the basic shapes. Getting a nod from the Dark Elf that the fit was good, Lara began working on the shoulder pads and equipment belt.

Once that was done, the Grimal kin had the Black Coral grow up around Tatheirel’s legs to form the greaves. She helped the other woman to remove her soft suede leather boots. It took only a moment to grow the knee-high boots and combine them with the soft material, before helping the Dark Elf step into them. She did the same with the shoulder pads and put them in place, before lastly doing the same with the cloth gloves that went up to her elbows. Stepping back, she gave the other female a visual once over.

“How does that feel?” Lara asked.

“Surprisingly light,” Krystal said, a note of awe in her voice as she looked at the stats, “And all of the bonuses on my gear transferred over without an issue.”

“Yes,” Lara agreed, “it’s a process that our Runemaster Hollysharp figured out.”

“I’d expected it to be much heavier,” Sara said in a bemused tone as she tried out her own armor.

“Excellent,” Honey replied, stepping back to watch the Devil Dog try out her range of motion in the new armor, “If nothing is too tight, I’ll go ahead and separate you from the reef.”

“I think it’s good,” Sara said.

“Me too,” Krystal agreed.

“Now, Kriminali,” Lara said, after disconnecting Tatheirel from the reef, “if you’ll strip down, Honey and I will get you fixed up.”

“Usually, I’m at least getting dinner when someone says that to me,” Jill joked as she began removing her robes.

“Then, I reckon you should be feeling like a noble escort,” Lara said in an amused tone. As all three newfars’ heads whipped around to stare at her, the Grimal kin continued with a smile, “because a fine suit of armor such as this is at least equal to a high-class lord’s banquet.”

“Did you just call me a whore?” Jill said, more amused than offended.

“Basically,” Krystal agreed, snorting as Lara’s ears momentarily laid flat at the newfar’s accusation.

“Not at all,” Lara said with a twinkle in her eyes as she took the robe from Kriminali’s hands.

“I think you called yourself that,” Sara snarkily chimed in as Jill playfully shoved her back.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with such a course in life,” Honey dubiously added as she waved for Jill to hand over her boots and gloves.

It took only a few moments to get the pieces pulled apart and the Black Coral growing over the individual pieces. The process was more of a hack that Hollysharp had figured out than an actual merging of the two magical items. Still, it worked like a charm and combined the strengths of both items together into one piece of gear by basically covering the existing items with an outer layer of sturdier material. As they had Kriminali step into the completed pieces, an unhappy frown began forming on her face.

“I just wish it didn’t look so ugly,” Jill complained as her girlfriends nodded in agreement.

“It’s about as unflattering of an outfit as you can get,” Krystal agreed, unhappily looking down at herself.

“You’d think there’d at least be a way to add some coloring or something to the design,” Sara added.

“Is the fit alright?” Lara asked as she and Honey stepped back so the newfar could check the fit and her range of motion.

“Yeah, it’s fine. You can complete the process,” Jill said with an annoyed sigh as she looked down at her blocky appearance, “Great, the first awesome virtual world, and they have shit choices for armor.”

“Why, what did you expect, an elegant gown?” Honey scornfully sniffed at the trios complaining, “It’s armor, it’s supposed to be a protective covering that can take a beating.”

“It would’ve been cool if we had the choice of having a more female-shaped cut,” Jill said, shaking her head.

“Or something like transparent windows that could show off a little bit of skin,” Krystal depressingly agreed.

“Because no man would’ve designed something as butt ugly as this for their female fan base,” Jill agreed.

“This sucks,” Sara agreed, frowning down at her front, “I’m so sick of non-gamers trying to tell us what we’re supposed to want.”

“What’s the problem?” Lara asked, not getting the newfars’ meaning as she traded a confused look with Honey, “Did you want something like silver or gold inlay like a noble’s armor?”

“Do I look like I’m a boomer?” Jill snapped while Sara and Krystal let out amused snorts at the looks of horror on the Beast kin females’ faces. “Naw, I’d like to have a set of bikini armor or something that shows off a bit of skin and makes me feel sexy.” She waved a hand at her body. “Not this fugly shit.”

“Yeah, because this is no fun at all,” Krystal said as Sara nodded in agreement.

“What is this bikini armor that you’re talking about?” Honey asked as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“Ohmygawd, you don’t know what a bikini is?” Jill openly laughed as both female Beast kins frowned.

Wiping the moisture from her eyes, the newfar caught her breath enough to explain the concept to them. As she finished describing several of the previous armor designs that she and Tatheirel had worn in the past, Honey looked at the newfar females like they’d lost their minds. Not that the Grimal kin blamed her. While the idea of purposely wearing a set of bikini armor seemed outrageous, another part of her found it titillating, especially if it still offered the full protection of a regular suit of armor.

“You know,” Lara said, glancing at Honey as an idea suddenly came to her, “there might be a way to do what you want.”

“What are you thinking, Lara?” Honey asked as the hackles on her neck stood on end.

“Couldn’t we basically do what they want by using that Transfiguration wand Oránn and Hollysharp were using on the HollyTerror?” Lara asked.

For a long second, Honey’s jaws opened and closed as if she were searching for the right words to say. When she saw the amused gleam that came into the Badger kin’s blue eyes, Lara immediately knew what she was thinking.

“Do you have any idea how much-” Honey began to say.

“That will totally piss Hollysharp off?” Lara finished as they both busted out laughing.

“We’ve gotta do this!” Honey said when her eyes flashed with another idea. “Wait, isn’t there a compound the Sea Elves use to color their artwork?”

“Oh, my,” Lara exclaimed as her thick black lips pulled back from her fangs, “Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint our newfar friends.”

“Do you have something that might work?” Jill asked, following their conversation.

“I believe we do,” Lara said as her smile grew even wider.

“Hey, Jill, look over there,” Krystal suddenly said, interrupting their conversation, “Sarka looks like she’s unhappy about the new armor too.”

“I don’t know why,” Jill dismissively said, “It’s not much worse than that set of Red Goblin Slaver armor she was wearing.”

“Hefe doesn’t look particularly happy either,” Sara added as they saw their friend excitedly yelling at the Gnomeling.

“Come on, everyone,” Lara said in an amused tone, at the idea of being able to do something that would surely piss the Gnomeling female off, which filled her chest with glee, “Let’s go explain the fix to the problem to Prustine.”

“Oh, this should be a blast,” Honey said, swimming after her with the trio of newfar at their back.

Chapter Ten

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Startum Ironwolf and friends traveling through the Kingdom of Kader.)

“Where in the hell is this place?” Phoenix loudly complained from where she rode behind Töten, “I thought Lodenburg was only a half-hour away!”

“We’re nearly on top of the dot,” I replied, calling up my in-game map, “We should be seeing it over the next hill any time now.”

“You said that three ridges ago,” Phoenix unhappily countered as she swiped at an invisible screen before her eyes.

“Damn, man,” I grunted, shaking my head, “you really complain like a woman.”

“And, you can fuck off now,” Phoenix mocking said as she flipped me off, before turning serious again, “Seriously, though, I swear the city’s dot is right on top of us.”

“You said that three ridges ago,” Phoenix unhappily countered as she swiped at an invisible screen before her eyes. “I swear, the city’s dot is right on top of us.”

“That’s because the in-game maps aren’t all that exact,” Töten tiredly replied from where he was riding point.

“What do you mean the maps aren’t that exact?” Phoenix irritably asked.

“Did you ever wonder why the maps of The World look like they’re hand drawn?” Töten asked as my interest perked up in spite of the fatigue weighing me down.

“I honestly hadn’t really thought about it,” the Barbarian said as she stopped playing with the map floating before her eyes, “except to dismiss it as poor programming.”

“Well, a number of us closed beta players wondered what was up with the maps,” Töten explained as Phoenix and I rolled my eyes at the constant reminder he was a “closed beta” player. “The developers said it was based on how maps from the Middle Ages were created. Except for Roman maps, most maps weren’t all that exact for distances and used regional landmarks to help travelers understand where they were traveling.”

“That’s crazy,” Phoenix said, shaking her head.

“Not really,” I dryly said from behind her, “By now, you should know how much V-MMORPG loves their realism.”

“Which is why we’ve been sticking to the roads instead of heading cross-country like you wanted to do earlier,” Töten humorously added as the Barbarian flipped him a bird.

“I swear,” Phoenix said, letting out an explosive breath, “if we don’t find a place to rest soon, I’m gonna start falling asleep in my saddle.”

“Let’s see if we can see anything from this next ridge,” Töten said, stretching out his stiff back. “It’s just hard as fuck to get your bearings once it gets dark.”

“If we keep following the main road, we should at least run into one of the smaller villages around Lodenburg,” Neristhana spoke up from the rear, “and we can get a room there for the night.”

“Does that work for everyone?” Töten asked, looking back for confirmation.

“Works for me,” I said with an indifferent shrug as Phoenix tiredly nodded her consent.

I didn’t blame Phoenix at all for being exhausted. She was still getting her riding skill up, and the added strain of using the different muscles needed for staying in the saddle was kicking her ass. I suspected she’d have trouble walking to her bed in meatspace once she logged out for the night.

Not that it was much easier for me either. While I’d developed the muscles needed to stay on Neysa’s back without overstraining them, riding all day long at a steady canter was very different from cavalry runs. Charging the enemy was a major adrenaline rush, especially if you didn’t know if you were going to be able to ultimately escape or not. Long-distance traveling, on the other hand, was mind-numbingly boring and physically exhausting.

That’s not saying that we didn’t talk up a storm in the beginning, because we did. It was just that we’d been riding for seven-plus hours straight. We hadn’t had the chance to hunt down mobs or pull up for any exploration. That timeframe didn’t even include the first four-hour run to Töten’s stronghold either. While we traveled, we’d basically covered the gauntlet of sci-fi and fantasy topics along with a wide range of subjects inside and outside of The World.

In the last two hours, the chit-chat had all but died as our grueling ride became a contest of endurance. The most annoying part was that we were over the dot of Lodenburg and still hadn’t run across the city. As we topped the next rise, Töten held up a fist for all of us to stop as the entire plateau became visible below.

“See, I told you we were close,” Töten said, pointing at a glowing city about five miles away, “We just had to get high enough to see where we were.”

“Fuck, that’s still so far away,” Phoenix complained as she rose up in the saddle to relieve the pain of her sore thighs. Scanning the slope, she pointed out a glow in a small hollow about half the distance away, “What about just heading to that village and calling it a night?”

“Works for me,” I agreed as Töten gave an indifferent shrug.

“Woohoo,” Phoenix cheered, spurring her mount into a gallop as she called over her shoulder, “last one buys the first round of ale!”

The Barbarian’s enthusiasm was contagious as the rest of us sent our mounts racing after her. It was a bunk bet on one level since Töten’s Nightmare was the slowest mount in our party. Well, it was if he didn’t kick the rest of us out of the party and use his Aura of the Crusader to outdistance the rest of us. Not that the big guy seemed all that concerned as Neristhana and I got ahead of him on the dirt road.

‘I’m looking forward to being able to strip down, bathe, and fall asleep in your arms,’ Helgath sent as she leaned back into my chest with a deep sigh.

Ack! My mind went blank as the Half-Orc’s sudden repositioning pressed her firm breasts against my forearm. In the blink of an eye, I turned instantly hard. Panicking like a drowning man gasping for one last breath of air, I slammed an iron fist over my thoughts while doing my best to will my body to calm the fuck down. Not that it listened to me in the least.

There was something about the release of tension from the last few days, being physically exhausted from a hard day’s ride, and holding someone sexy that I cared deeply about in my arms that punched all of my buttons. I stiffened in alarm as I caught myself unconsciously nuzzling my face into Helgath’s soft neck as her hair whipped past my face.

Not good … not good, I mentally began chastising myself for being caught off-guard by the three-punch combo. This had to stop right now. Before my soulmate could catch any of the stray thoughts filling my mind or notice the hardness trying to burst from my leather pants, Phoenix’s shout of alarm in group chat snapped me out of the moment.

“There are sounds of fighting coming from up ahead!”

“The fuck?” I asked, glancing back at Töten and Neristhana as we drew our weapons and kicked our mounts into a gallop.

Leaning over Neysa, we raced after Phoenix’s receding back as she thundered towards the sounds of combat. Curiously enough, that trail was leading us towards the hollow where we’d seen the town. Was this a PKer group raiding another town like what we’d found in Staghollow Village?

A part of me was half tempted to start Raising Ghouls at this point. While that would’ve been the safest move, the levels of monsters here were only in the mid to high thirties so I didn’t expect us to run into any opposition that the five of us couldn’t handle. I also really didn’t want to go through the whole ordeal again about Dark magic being forbidden. Not that it had been a problem so far within the Kingdom of Kader, but I was still a bit wary of possible problems after my earlier experience traveling through Myathlune.

On top of that, Lodenburg was as far away from Palnisdale as you could get. I didn’t want to find out about any regional differences the hard way. Besides, I was trying to keep a low profile, and having a gaggle of Ghouls following me everywhere I went was a dead giveaway for those that were hunting us down.

“There’s a woman slaughtering an old lady up ahead!” Phoenix shouted in warning as she disappeared over the rim.

As we caught up to the edge of the hollow fifteen seconds later, a message flashed before my eyes.

Welcome! You have entered the Hamlet of Hardfall. All may enter but none can ever leave!

That’s odd, I thought, before dismissing the random message as I took in the scene going on down the slope in a flash.

Phoenix’s mount was closing with a nearly topless female Warrior who was about to bash an old lady’s brains out on the ground with a spiked iron mace. Scattered around them were what looked like a coarse burlap wrap and wood sticks you might use for a fireplace. Further behind the pair was another Halfling male Warrior that was laid out on the ground. Did this female attack them both?

“Get the fuck off the old lady, psycho!” Phoenix shouted as her mount knocked the female away just as she swung.

“Gah!” the female Warrior screamed in surprise, stumbling back from the mount as it shouldered past her.

As Phoenix leaped from her mount and ripped the two-handed axe from her back, I managed to cast a quick Identify on the enraged Halfling as she whirled around to face her new attackers. What I saw shocked me. Even though I’d seen numerous mixed races up until now, I was caught completely off-guard by what I saw.

Red horns jutted out of the female Warrior’s forehead and curved back over her head above the mane of long blonde hair that bobbed in a ponytail with her every move. Even more curious was the sprinkling of fine red scales that ran down the sides of her face to her pointed ears, before spreading out across her neck and trapezius muscles and ending in a “V” between the valley of her massive breasts. It almost looked like she was wearing an armored gorget.

Though, for a second, I honestly wasn’t sure if the red scales offered any actual protection or if they were meant as more of a distraction. You might think I was exaggerating that last point a bit, but trust me, I wasn’t. With the thin leather strip wrapped around her chest to hold everything in place, it was nearly impossible not to stare at the mountains of flesh. Even as that thought crossed my mind, the name Igtra Raktizu, Level 36 Red Draconian-Human, Wild Shaman appeared over the female’s head just as my gaze caught sight of the same red scales which covered her hands and forearms like gauntlets.

“Ignorant fool!” Igtra snarled even as she reoriented on the downed old lady who was now fearfully holding her hands up to ward off the next attack, “Stand back or I’ll rip your still beating heart from your chest and offer it to the Red Lord for your insolence!”

“Says the red scaley freak bashing in helpless old lady’s heads,” Phoenix mockingly said as she stepped between the pair. She flashed one of her wry smiles as we galloped up, “How about you step the fuck back and lower your weapon so we can talk?” Seeing Igtra’s face screwed up in outrage, she gave an indifferent shrug. “Or, I can just pound the ever-loving shit out of your scaley ass to get the answers I’m looking for.”

“Obviously, your idiocy knows no bounds and so you disparage the symbol of my proud heritage,” Igtra snarled, before muttering a word under her breath. Instantly, the head of the spiked iron mace held in her hand started glowing like a brilliant orange flame as if it had been shoved into a burning hot furnace for hours. As waves of heat began twisting the air, she aggressively swung the spiked head back prepared to fight, “For that alone, you will pay and then I’ll cleanse this aberrant of nature from the world!”

“Beware of that Blazing Weapon enchantment,” Töten called out as we galloped to a stop behind Phoenix, “It ruins the durability on most weapons after just a few hits.”

‘I know of this race,’ Helgath’s thoughts suddenly sounded in my mind, ‘they live deep in the mountain ranges along the western edge of the Plains of Atoll.’

‘That’s curious. I wonder what they’re doing all the way down here?’ I sent back not overly concerned at the female’s excessive bravado. Phoenix was seventeen levels higher than her opponent and she had the rest of us to back her up too, ‘Are they good or evil?’

‘Neither,’ Helgath replied as the Barbarian quickly shouldered her battle axe and brought her fists in front of her in a boxer’s pose, ‘They hate all but themselves from the rumors that I’ve heard about them.’

“Looks like you’ve chosen the hard way,” Phoenix happily said, cracking her knuckles meaningfully as she aggressively began striding towards the other female, “I’ve been jonesing for a workout after riding all day.”

“I don’t know if I’d do that-” Töten began to say when Igtra’s lips pulled back from her short fangs in triumph.

“What overconfident fools. Taking down a group of high-level simpletons doesn’t get much easier than this,” Igtra hauntingly spat, cutting the Anti-Paladin off as she thrust a red-clawed hand out towards us and shouted, “Phosphorus Web!”

As the Red Draconian-Human’s words left her lips, I felt Neysa’s muscles ripple underneath me to spring away even as brilliant white glowing strands of webbing shot from the Wild Shaman’s open palm. Up until that moment, I hadn’t been too worried about any spell she could possibly cast. Though, at hearing the word “phosphorus,” I immediately realized that might have been a grave mistake on my part as a bolt of shock ran down my spine.

While our magic shields should protect us, the Halfling’s supercilious attitude suddenly had me wondering if the low-level spell might have some unique ability to hurt or disable even high-level players such as us.  Because there was no way the Silver Dire Wolf was going to be able to clear the range of the spell in the split-second it would take for the burning webbing to cover everything in its path. As I unlimbered my shield and brought the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden up to deflect the sizzling substance the best that I could, Töten’s massive hammer suddenly flew past my head.

The reaction was instantaneous. As Töten’s hammer blasted through the center of the glowing strands, it reversed the flaming web’s direction with the sizzling popping sounds of burning metal a half-second before it slammed into Igtra’s gloating face. This was the first time I’d ever seen someone stop a magic spell like that. Usually, attack spells were stopped with a weapon or a shield. From the look of stunned horror on the Red Draconian-Human’s beautiful face as she crumpled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut, it was the first time that Igtra had ever seen something like that too.

“Dammit, Töten,” Phoenix complained as she lowered her gauntleted fists, “I really wanted to beat that superior smirk off her scaled face.”

“You’re welcome to do it now,” Töten said with an indifferent shrug as we dismounted.

‘Check the old lady while I look over the other guy,’ I sent to Helgath as Phoenix and Töten headed over to the stunned Wild Shaman.

“Oh, thank you so much for coming to my rescue,” I heard the old lady say in a rickety voice as Neristhana fell in behind me, “Old Drea Dmaw knew everything would be better once you entered the boundary of Hardfall.”

Glancing back, I saw Neysa trot over to the Half-Orc as she cast a heal on the old woman, before helping her back to her feet. Other than some burnt and bloody clothing she’d be fine, I thought, turning my attention to the unmoving Red Draconian-Human male on the ground. Neristhana kept her axe held at the ready as I squatted down to the male and cast an Identify. A second later, Byrnwulf Undaunted, level 36 Red Draconian-Human, Barbarian Berserker appeared over his head as I warily turned him over to inspect his wounds.

“Hey guys, this dude is the same race as angry Igtra” I called out over my shoulder as I heard somebody behind me drop to the ground. I guess the old lady wasn’t feeling as good as she’d thought. With an indifferent mental shrug, I began looking over the Halfling’s injuries, “Any idea why she’d just drop him like this?”

“Other than being a crazy evil bitch?” Phoenix mockingly asked as she kicked the Halfling female’s iron mace further away from her limp hand.

“We had one of these Draconian-Human mixes in-” Töten began to say as Phoenix and I cut him off.

“Closed Beta?”

“Imagine that,” I sarcastically continued.

“No, that can’t be,” Phoenix humorously added as the big guy let out a heavy sigh.

“Their Wild Shaman spells are pretty nasty,” Töten continued as he pointedly ignored our mocking comments. “Not that such a low-level spell would’ve done anything to hurt us with these magic shields in place.”

“Then why bother casting it?” Phoenix asked as she pulled a length of rope from her backpack, “Should we tie her up or just break her arms and legs to make a point?”

“Because she didn’t know we were protected,” Töten explained with a shrug, “or that we had specialized gear that would ignore her basic root spells.”

As the two of them talked, I studied Byrnwulf’s health bar realizing that he was still alive. Not only that, he was a Nightmare player like the rest of us. As my fingers explored the single hole in the player’s chest, I realized there was no way that wound was caused by a spiked mace. Casting a Regeneration, I sat back on my haunches thoughtfully. If he’d been stunned just like Igtra, then why was he taking so long to recover?

“Hey Star,” Neristhana suddenly said as she dropped to the ground beside me on her knees to sniff the closing wound on the player’s chest, “I think he was poisoned.”

“Poisoned?” I grunted thoughtfully, not noticing that Töten and Phoenix had fallen silent behind me. I was just about to cast my Minor Cure Disease spell when a surprisingly strong hand clapped me on the back of the neck as a series of pin-pricks pierced my skin. To my shock, I peripherally saw the old woman’s face as she leaned forward to squat down between Neristhana and me as system windows suddenly pop-up open before my eyes.

Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch has stung you for 100 points of damage.

Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch’s poison has paralyzed you for five minutes.

“Oh, my,” I heard Drea Dmaw’s rickety voice cooingly exclaim in my ear, “I never expected to trap such succulent specimens for this evening’s festivities.” A hard hand that almost felt like a claw poked and prodded my body for a few seconds. “My children are in for a mighty nice treat tonight!”

Those words made my skin crawl as my mind suddenly put two and two together. I immediately felt like an idiot. Drea Dmaw was basically Dread Maw! Igtra Raktize’s enraged accusations of “Ignorant fool” and that “your idiocy knows no bounds” suddenly came back to me in a rush, especially her comment that she was going to “cleanse this aberrant of nature from The World.” I shook my head in disgust. We’d blindly walked right into that trap.

Just for the record, I sagely thought, the Red Draconian-Human female could’ve been a little less of a raging bitch to get her warning across. A part of me was fuming at being tricked like this, but seriously, who’d ever heard of an old lady shape changing into a monster that hunts players in anything but an Anime series or a horror movie? While that thought was churning through my head, another part of my mind wondered how she’d accomplished the shape-changing feat. And, more importantly, were there other monsters like this in The World? Without any warning, agony shot through my back as a chitinous spike the size of a baseball bat suddenly burst out of my chest as another system window popped open before my eyes.

Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch has stabbed you for 237 points of damage.

Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch’s poison has paralyzed you for thirty-seven minutes.

While the wound hurt like a motherfucker, it only did two hundred and thirty-seven points of damage. As my body was hauled up into the air still hanging from the spike sticking through my chest, I caught a glimpse of a frozen Neristhana hanging in the air next to me like a piece of meat as the creature turned and began waddling towards the glow of the village at the bottom of the hollow.

“Time to hang up you lovely meat sacks for later,” Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch said as her voice deepened midway through into a monstrous tone, before beginning to hum a jaunty tune about feeding hungry children as a new series of system windows popped open before my eyes.

Congratulations! You have entered the unique dungeon of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Infestation!

New Quest automatically received! Kill Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch and stop the infestation that has taken over the Hamlet of Hardfall!

The Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Pseudoscorpion, Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch, and her two mates, Toxic Stalker the Noxious and VaporStrike the Ravenous, have infested the Hamlet of Hardfall and planted their larva into the townsfolk that lives there. To stop the pseudoscorpion infestation from spreading to the major city of Lodenburg and the other nearby towns, you must defeat the Matriarch and her mates or be consumed by her swarms of young.

Warning! You have two hours to complete this quest! The dungeon starts in thirty-nine minutes.

(Additional note: this quest will adjust to the highest-level player inside the dungeon and the number of players who are captured inside when the event goes live. All players trapped in the event will need to work together to escape captivity and complete the dungeon. Low-level players need to tackle the swarms of monsters, while high-level players dispatch the bosses. While players can choose the suicide option to escape this dungeon, this will leave the other players at a disadvantage and the infestation will continue to spread and destroy the surrounding area. While the event is active, players and monsters cannot leave the boundaries of the Hamlet of Hardfall.)

Objective: Kill the Boss Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch and her two mini-boss mates, Toxic Stalker the Noxious and VaporStrike the Ravenous.

Difficulty: Nightmare.

Reward: Experience and Reputation with the city of Lodenburg and the Kingdom of Kader.

Accept: Yes

Fuck a duck, I silently swore, wondering just how screwed we were going to be. While I was worried about Helgath and the rest of my friends, I forcibly squashed my disquiet, figuring everyone would be fine. At least, they would be until the start of the dungeon.

Chapter Eleven

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Zeven Al'Zaric and his companions traveling through the Kingdom of Kader.)

“We’ve gotta stop,” Nahimana sobbed into Zeven’s ear from where she clutched his waist in a death grip, “I’ve gotta rest!”

“Just a little bit longer, Nahi,” Zeven soothingly murmured, mentally calling up his map once again to verify their position, “We should be reaching Lodenburg at any moment.”

“I’m sorry, Zeven,” Nahimana sobbed as her claws dug into his fur, “I’ve been trying not to complain but every muscle in my body is killing me.”

“It’s cool, you’re really doing great,” Zeven encouragingly said as he comfortingly patted her tense thigh while trying to figure out where in the hell they were.

Studying the map hovering before his eyes, Zeven pressed his thick black lips together in frustration. What the hell was going on? The map showed that they were directly under the Lodenburg’s dot! So then, why weren’t they seeing the damnable city? Closing his silver-blue eyes, he took a deep breath and counted down from ten silently in his head to dissipate the furious rage in his chest, before addressing Nahimana again.

“Remember, you’re too low of a level to actually be able to learn the riding skill at this time. That’s what causing you so much pain.” He let out an explosive breath. “How about this? Once we climb this next ridge, we’ll take a quick break while I figure out where we are in relation to Lodenburg.”

“I’ll try to hold out a bit longer,” Nahimana gasped in tears, nearly hanging from his neck as she tried to reduce the muscle strain on her leg muscles.

“Bbbrrrraaa bbrraaa Bbrrra,” Bright Claw morosely cried out next to them.

“I know, man,” Zeven said, worried about Nahimana too but there wasn’t much else they could do, “but we already tried that. Riding on your back just isn’t working like it did with the Dwarven children.”

While Zeven’s heart went out to Nahimana, there simply wasn’t any other option left open to them. From everything he’d read on the in-game wiki, the fact that she was able to ride behind him at all was amazing in and of itself. The only thing that made any sense was that there was some unique ability at play with the Mountain Strider Combat Mount that wasn’t listed in the details.

"We’re here,” Zeven said as soon as they crested the ridge. As carefully as possible, he swung Nahimana to the ground as she all but collapsed in a heap.

Sliding down next to her, Zeven held onto the poor girl as gently as he could while his silver-blue eyes studied their surroundings. About five or so miles down the slope, he saw the massive glowing city in the distance that had to be Lodenburg. Breathing a sigh of relief, his eyes sought out the smaller glowing areas he knew were around. These were small farming communities where players could get local quests to build up their reputation with the Human faction.

“Did you pass through Lodenburg on your way to rescue me?” Nahimana curiously asked as her eyes studied the city in the distance.

“No,” Zeven said as an ugly look momentarily danced across his furry face, “They wouldn’t let an unknown Beast Kin enter the city.” He pointed a claw-tipped finger at the smaller glows that were scattered around the bright blob of Lodenburg. “I stayed at a small inn in a farming community that allowed me to rent a room for the night.”

“You’re not missing anything,” Nahimana growled, “When Lester led me to the main gate, I thought the local guards would save me.” Her face hardened at the memory as her eyes flashed in fury. “They did nothing except act like I was his property!”

“Now you’re a free female,” Zeven gruffly said, trying to not think about the horrors that she’d been through.

That might sound cold, but honestly, Zeven couldn’t handle thinking of the torture and rape that Nahimana had been forced to endure during her captivity with that creepy player. Talking about it really didn’t help either, he thought, shaking his head angrily as rage burned through his veins. The truth of the matter was that bad things happen to good people. It was the simple fact of life we all had to accept.

The only thing you could do to stop such tragedies from happening in the future was to make yourself strong enough to never be a victim again. Zeven’s mind went back to some of the horrors he’d witnessed in his time in the Navy in foreign ports. While death was always a possible outcome for standing up for yourself, it was preferable to the alternatives, aka living life as a slave.

“I still don’t understand why these Chofe-ka allowed that to happen to me!” Nahimana angrily snarled as she started to painfully climb to her feet to stand next to him.

“That’s because, in most of the Nordic Kingdoms, slavery is allowed,” Zeven explained in a pained voice as he helped her up while his mind flashed back to the term Human Trafficking. It was like slavery was too ugly of a term for modern countries to use, so they tried to excuse it by calling the horror of owning another soul a new name. Twenty-first-century marketing for slavers, he thought with a snort of disgust. “So, they turn a blind eye to the horrors going on before their eyes due to the atrocity being unofficially supported by the nobles.”

“Is there no way we can stop it?” Nahimana asked in a small voice.

“It’s possible, but only at great cost,” Zeven heavily said as they quietly stood next to each other lost in their own thoughts.

“Where are we going to go then?” Nahimana asked, glancing up at him.

“There,” Zeven said, pointing to the closest glowing village in the distance. Not that they could see much of it since it was hidden in a small hollow down the slope. “Then, we’ll head back to Aeroch Nor where I have a few friends, and decide how to hunt down the rest of our missing clanmates.”

“I’m sorry that I don’t know more of what happened to our people-” Nahimana began to apologize again as Zeven wordlessly hugged her to his chest.

“No apologies are needed,” Zeven said, his voice cracking with emotion, “I found you, together we’ll figure out a way to find and rescue the rest of our people.”

“Bbbrrraaaa brraa bbbraaa?” Bright Claw asked, shoving his keg-like head into their waists.

“I know we’ll find a way,” Zeven said, clapping the large Grizhawk on a muscular shoulder, before standing up straight and giving Nahimana a firm nod. “Come on, we both need food and rest after everything that’s happened today.”

“Let’s,” Nahimana said as her jaw clenched and a look of determination flared in her eyes.

Mounting up on Prima’s back, Zeven held out a clawed hand to help Nahimana climb back on. Ignoring the momentary groan of pain as she settled in place, he clicked his heels for the Mountain Strider to head down the slope. Thankfully, it only took them about three minutes to reach the hollow and start their way down the dirt road that seemed to appear from nowhere.

Welcome! You have entered the Hamlet of Hardfall. All may enter but none can ever leave!

That was curious, Zeven thought, glancing back to see that the road just ended at the outskirts of the hamlet. As they headed down toward the village, he called up the system window to read the message once again, smirking at the addition of the “All may enter but none can ever leave!” It made him wonder if one of the developers was a fan of the song Hotel California.

Not that Zeven took the wording to mean anything nefarious. From his experience, developers were always adding in little Easter Eggs for players to pick up on in their games. It made games fun and it was cool to be one of the few people who actually caught the hidden cultural and gaming references. Besides, all that was important was that they could get a secure room for the night.

While Zeven wished they could’ve stopped to camp earlier, there simply weren’t any other options left open to them. After recovering Nahimana from the Triple A guild, he wasn’t about to leave her alone when he logged out to crash. If she was kidnapped again by another group of PKers, this whole ordeal would’ve been all for nothing.

The Hamlet of Hardfall was a surprisingly decent size based on the glowing lights that were visible. It roughly looked like there was a cluster of twenty houses. At the center of the log cabins, there was a large two-story structure in the middle of the hamlet with another four large but one-story buildings that looked to be for commercial purposes. They were just passing the outermost house on the street they were on when an overtly friendly voice called out from the shadows

“Hey friend,” a male voice suddenly called out from where he was sitting with a woman and two children, nearly making Zeven fall from his saddle. How did he miss this group with his low-light vision? As he reined Prima to a stop, the man continued in the same tone, “You should swing by the Lazy Stag Pub for the festival tonight.”

“Fes-festival?” Zeven stuttered in surprise as his eyes went to the smiling faces of the farmer’s family. Not one of them seemed to mind they were Badger kin.

“Yeah, it’s a special event. Drea Dmaw is giving out free food and drink for everyone who attends the party,” the man explained, before pointing further down the dirt road, “The Lazy Stag Pub is in the center of town. You can’t miss the building. It’s the only two-story place in the whole hamlet.

“Um, thanks,” Zeven said with a nod of thanks. In the last farming village where he’d stayed the night, the Human villagers hadn’t been nearly this nice. “Does the Lazy Stag have rooms for the night?”

“Sure does, friend,” the man replied, his smile never wavering, “it’s actually the only inn in the whole hamlet.”

“I guess the Lazy Stag it is then,” Zeven said, clicking his heels against Prima’s flanks as the man called out one last time.

“Don’t dally, the festival starts in twenty-seven minutes.”

“Thanks again,” Zeven politely said, giving the family a final wave as Nahimana whispered in his ear.

“Why wouldn’t we be able to go to the festival after it starts?”

“No clue,” Zeven said with a shrug, “maybe they need to know how many place settings to prepare ahead of time?”

“Don’t be too late for the festival!” a pair of young women shouted as they trotted past them on Prima’s back.

“Thanks,” Zeven shouted back, giving the pair a friendly wave, “we just heard about it.”

“The Lazy Stag Pub is offering free food and drink for tonight’s festival,” another old man shouted as they passed a group of five men standing on the corner of what looked to be the local butcher.

“We already heard,” Zeven called out as they rode past.

“Don’t be too late, the festival-” the old man began to say.

“Already heard, it’s in twenty-seven minutes, “Zeven cut him off.

“It’s twenty-six now,” the old man corrected.

“Rrright,” Zeven drolly replied, rolling his eyes. This was seriously starting to get ridiculous.

“Is it just me,” Nahimana asked in a low voice, “or is everyone acting really weird?”

“They’re being weird,” Zeven said back, doing his best to keep his voice low, “but it’s better than having them start screaming and throwing rocks at you to get out of town as soon as they see you.”

“Good point,” Nahimana agreed, nervously glancing around uncomfortably at the crowd of villagers that seemed to be making their way back to their homes. “Uh, why aren’t they heading to the Lazy Stag Pub too?”

“No clue,” Zeven said, looking around them to see what Nahimana meant, “maybe they’re going to get dressed for the festival?”

“Really?” Nahimana asked in a tone that made him sigh.

“Look, it’s not like we have much in the way of choices,” Zeven tiredly said as they came to a stop outside of the Lazy Stag Pub. “We just need a safe place for you to stay for the night.” Helping her down with a forearm, he dismounted beside her. “We’ll plan on getting out of dodge first thing in the morning after breakfast.”

“Good job today, Prima,” Zeven said, stroking the Mountain Strider’s armored bone muzzle as held out a chunk of dried meat for a treat to the goat-like creature. As Prima bleated happily and began chomping away, he dismissed the Combat Mount back to its horn with a thought as he said, “We’ll call you in the morning.”

“Let’s go check out what kind of food and drink Drea Dmaw is serving,” Zeven said, nodding for Nahimana to follow as he climbed the stairs and reached for the heavy oak door of the Lazy Stag.

A blast of cold air announced their arrival as the door creaked open to a brightly lit taproom filled with a boisterous crowd. For a moment, the conversations died down as everyone in the nearly full taproom stopped to look at them. As Nahimana stepped past him, Bright Claw followed on her heels, before Zeven levered the heavy door closed again as the lanterns stopped flickering. After a curious once over and a few muttered comments wondering “What kind of Combat Pet is a Grizhawk?” or “What were Beast kins doing all the way out here?” everyone went back to their conversations as Zeven’s eyes scanned the room for the barkeeper.

From the look of things, there were three different groups of five filling the tavern. Zeven began randomly casting an Identify on a player at each of the trestle tables as they headed for one of the smaller empty tables in the back of the common area. A quick glance at how everyone was dressed and geared out made it clear that the room was filled with players enjoying the festivities and not any of the townsfolk as names started appearing over the three people’s heads, Gillam Goreman, level 32 Human, Warrior, The GOAT; Andy Lambert, level 22 Human, Priest, Raising Cain; and Samantha Buller, level 35 Human, Defensive Warrior.

“What is this,” Zeven asked in a low voice, “a newfar only festival?”

“I never heard of such a thing before,” Nahimana hissed back, sitting down with her back to the wall.

Zeven frowned, pausing as he debated asking Nahimana to trade places. The Navy Seals always said it was best to sit with your back to the wall and face the door, especially in a strange land. Old habits were hard to break, he thought with a snort, deciding to just go with the flow. As Bright Claw took up a sitting position on the floor next to the table, he sat down opposite his companion with his back to the open room.

“Yeah!” the entire taproom suddenly shouted. Twisting his body around to see what was going on, Zeven saw an old lady carrying a double handful of mugs as she entered the taproom from the kitchen area. As her eyes caught sight of Nahimana and him sitting at the back table, the old woman altered course towards their tables.

“Hey, Grandma Drea,” one of the female players complained, “we’re out of ale over here!”

“Just hold your horses, Shawna and I’ll be right over,” Drea cackled gleefully, “Our newest arrivals need to get their first ales so they can properly celebrate the start of the festival!”

“Welcome to the Lazy Stag. As you’ve already heard, my name is Grandma Drea,” the old lady said, introducing herself as she plopped two mugs of ale down on the table, “What might your names be?”

“I’m Zeven-” Zeven paused unsure of whether it was a smart idea to give his whole name while they were on the run from the Triple A guild. Glancing around the room, he realized the only guilds present were The GOAT and Raising Cain and they didn’t seem to be paying any attention to them. With a mental shrug, he continued, “Al'Zaric.” He nodded to the other side of the table, “my companion, Nahimana Tor’Narc, and,” he waved to the Grizhawk on the floor, “Bright Claw.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Grandma Drea cheerfully replied as she began walking away, “Just give me a moment and I’ll have two plates delivered in a jiffy along with a little something for your Combat Pet.”

“Uh, thanks,” Zeven stuttered in surprise as the old lady began dropping mugs at the table next to them where the female player had complained.

Turning back to Nahimana, Zeven saw the hollowed look in her eyes as she looked around the taproom in a daze. Obviously, a large number of Humans in here was probably making her uncomfortable due to the ordeal she’d just been through. Clearing his throat, he caught the girl’s attention.

“Here’s to us and finding the rest of our kin,” Zeven said, holding up his mug of ale as Nahimana’s haunted green eyes turned to him.

“Do you think that’s possible?” Nahimana asked as a mixture of emotions played across her furry face.

“Of course, it is,” Zeven said, meaningfully tipping his mug up with a smile, “I managed to find you, didn’t I?”

The truth of the matter was that Zeven had no clue where to start searching for the rest of their people, that wasn’t what was important for now. All that mattered was that he’d gotten her back. If he could manage that, then the two of them would find the rest of their people while they rebuilt the House of Bruic Diongmhalta together. That was the hope that drove him now.

“Thank you, Chieftain,” Nahimana respectfully said, bowing her head to him.

“That’s enough of that,” Zeven said, pushing the mug into her clenched hands, “I’ve already told you to call me, Zeven. Now, let’s drink!”

“Here’s to us and finding the rest of our kin,” Nahimana said, repeating his toast as they both tipped their mugs back.

“Damn, that’s surprisingly tasty,” Zeven said in surprise after drinking half of the large mug down.

“It really is,” Nahimana agreed in surprise. Before they could say more, two plates heaped with food were plopped down in front of them making them both jump, before dropping a large meaty bone to Bright Claw.

“Here you go,” Grandma Drea announced.

“Damn, that was fast,” Zeven exclaimed with his eyes wide open as he looked down at the two plates of heaping food that had suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere, “I didn’t even hear you walking up behind me.” She flashed them a toothy smile.”

“Aye, I’ve heard that accusation plenty of times before,” the old lady proudly stated, before lowering her voice as if she were imparting a great secret, “you could say it’s a specialty of mine.”

“A specialty?” Zeven asked somewhat confused.

“What is a bartender?” Grandma Drea tauntingly asked, flashing them a toothy grin as she answered her own question, “but an ambush predator waiting for thirsty adventurers to enter their lair.”

“That’s one way to look at tending bar,” Nahimana muttered under her breath as Zeven laughed good-naturedly at the old woman’s joke.

“Now, eat up,” Grandma Drea said, clapping her hands together in satisfaction.

“That sure is a lot of food,” Zeven said, eyeing the two large plates piled high with bratwursts and boiled potatoes covered in melting butter along with a large chunk of fresh bread on the side. It was a small feast and nothing like he’d expected from a free meal in some small out-of-the-way hamlet. He looked up at the old lady shaking his head, “Are you trying to fatten all of us up or something?”

“The fatter the better,” Grandma Drea cheerfully agreed, “Now hurry up, the festival starts in less than fifteen minutes.”

“I wonder what’s so special about this festival?” Nahimana asked as she curiously watched the old woman walk away.

“No clue,” Zeven said with a shrug as he dug in, “probably some all-you-can-drink contest. That would make sense with the whole all-you-can-drink ale being offered.” Taking a bite of a bratwurst, he was amazed at the incredible flavor as he hurriedly gulped it down and took another. “Wow, the bratwurst tastes amazing!”

“Oh my, that really hits the spot,” Nahimana enthusiastically agreed, chomping nearly half of a bratwurst down with one large bite.

After that, they ate in silence lost in their own thoughts. While the meal surprisingly didn’t smell as good as it looked, it nevertheless hit the spot after a full day of riding. Nahimana must have been starving because she didn’t stop until she was done. Zeven was right behind her, finishing up the large plate a few minutes later as he sat back and let out a loud belch.

“Damn, I can’t believe we finished all of that food,” Zeven said, taking a deep pull on his ale, “and with two minutes left before the start of the festival.”

“That really hit the spot,” Nahimana said with a sigh, “I didn’t realize just how hungry I was.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Zeven saw that Grandma Drea had begun going table to table to whisper into each player’s ear. To his surprise, the raucous crowd immediately began to settle down. He didn’t know what the hell she was saying to them, but as soon as she left the table, everyone was sitting back and quietly waiting for the event to start. As she came over to their table last, Zeven nodded for Nahimana to hurry up and finish up her ale.

“It’s nearly time for the festivities to begin,” Grandma Drea excitedly announced as she walked up.

Zeven was just swinging his legs around to the end of the bench when the old woman pressed up against the edge of their table and excitedly leaned over to throw an arm around each of their necks. Immediately, hot agony shot through his back as something sharp pinched his skin.

Except for a sharp intake of breath, Zeven couldn’t move a muscle as he immediately stiffened on the bench as a system window popped open before his eyes. If not for Grandma Drea’s arm wrapped around him, he would’ve keeled over in the blink of an eye. From the frozen look of shock on Nahimana’s face, she was no better off as he quickly read the message.

Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch has stung you for 100 points of damage.

Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch’s poison has paralyzed you for five minutes.

As his mind tried to process what was happening, to Zeven’s horror the wet sounds of tearing flesh and crackling bones suddenly came to his ears. He could feel the slimy touch of Grandma Drea’s arms on his neck as the old woman’s flesh began to ripple and stretch. Within just a few seconds, the limbs had grown long enough for the old woman to stand back up to look down at them.

Terror filled Zeven as he watched in horrified fascination at the changes coming over Grandma Drea’s body. A monstrous feminine groaning came from her throat as the old woman’s entire abdomen began to ripple beneath her shapeless smock. The sound coming from her lips was somewhere between a moaning orgasm and a cry of continuous pain as spikey protrusions began pressing into the coarse fabric from underneath. The sound of tearing fabric and rending flesh seemed to come to a culmination in the silent room as multiple fleshy tentacles suddenly burst from the old woman’s misshapen chest.

Zeven puked in the back of his throat at the sight of Grandma Drea’s naked molten skin and saggy breasts which were put on full display as her body began to transform into an inhuman monstrosity. The old woman’s head, neck, upper shoulders, and saggy breasts were left untouched as her entire torso turned into a massive maw with large inward-turning fangs as long as his forearm. While her legs began turning into thick claw-like chitinous protrusions, the old woman’s lower back began to expand into a fleshy bulbous skin sack that took up a quarter of the entire taproom as six thick chitinous spikey legs grew out of the mass.

At the loud scraping sounds of wooden trestle tables and bench chairs being forcibly shoved back, Zeven cringed with the thought of being one of the paralyzed players caught underneath the reeking pustules of the bubbling fleshy mass of the old woman’s ass. That had to royally suck. Any concern for his fellow players was suddenly ripped from his thoughts as the spikey tentacle masses wrapped around Nahimana and his necks suddenly lifted them up into the air to bring them face-to-face with the old woman’s wrinkled face.

“Tonight’s festivities will be truly spectacular,” Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch cooed in a delightful tone even as Zeven struggled to suck air into his lungs. Any fear that he would suffocate to death was outweighed by the ghastly countenance of the old woman’s still human face hungrily looking them over like a butcher examining a high-quality piece of meat, “While you’re not the highest-level specimen that has fallen into my trap tonight, nonetheless, you will be a succulent addition to tonight’s feast for my hungry children.”

This was some fucked up shit, Zeven severely thought, trying to get his mind wrapped around the creep show going on around them as he fumed in rage. How in the hell were they going to get out of this? After everything that he’d done to rescue Nahimana from the PKers, it was all going to be undone because of an insane fucked up monster in a unique hidden dungeon. It almost made him want to say fuck it all and quit right then and there. As tears of frustration began running down his furry cheeks, a loud scratching sound suddenly came from the other side of the Lazy Stag’s door.

“Oh my, the time must have gotten away from me,” Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch exclaimed in a sickening imitation of a grandmotherly voice. Still holding them up in the air like a pair of ragdolls, the monstrous creature gathered Bright Claw’s stiff body and turned her massive bulk around as she began collecting up the other players in her tentacles by stabbing them through the chest like hors d'oeuvres at a crypt keeper’s ball while heading toward the door. “Time to hang you lovely meat sacks up for later.”

As those words left Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch’s lips, she began humming a jaunty nursery rhyme about feeding hungry children as a new series of system window’s popped open before Zeven’s eyes.

Congratulations! You have entered the unique dungeon of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Infestation!

New Quest automatically received! Kill Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch and stop the infestation that has taken over the Hamlet of Hardfall!

The Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Pseudoscorpion, Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch, and her two mates, Toxic Stalker the Noxious and VaporStrike the Ravenous, have infested the Hamlet of Hardfall and planted their larva into the townsfolk that lives there. To stop the pseudoscorpion infestation from spreading to the major city of Lodenburg and the other nearby towns, you must defeat the Matriarch and her mates or be consumed by her swarms of young.

Warning! You have two hours to complete this quest! The dungeon has already started.

(Additional note: this quest will adjust to the highest-level player inside the dungeon and the number of players who are captured inside when the event goes live. All players trapped in the event will need to work together to escape captivity and complete the dungeon. Low-level players need to tackle the swarms of monsters, while high-level players dispatch the bosses. While players can choose the suicide option to escape this dungeon, this will leave the other players at a disadvantage and the infestation will continue to spread and destroy the surrounding area. While the event is active, players and monsters cannot leave the boundaries of the Hamlet of Hardfall.)

Objective: Kill the Boss Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch and her two mini-boss mates, Toxic Stalker the Noxious and VaporStrike the Ravenous.

Difficulty: Nightmare.

Reward: Experience and Reputation with the city of Lodenburg and the Kingdom of Kader.

Accept: Yes

Chapter Twelve

(Monday, May 12th / Day 22 of The World.)

(Startum Ironwolf and his companions hanging from the rafter of a barn inside the unique dungeon of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Infestation.)

“Gggaaahhh,” I heard Phoenix’s enraged scream suddenly ring out behind me in the dark barn, “I’m gonna kill that old hag!”

Fuck, Phoenix, you know better than to do that stupid shit, I silently cursed, while watching my own timer tick down for the paralysis poison’s effects to wear off. If this was anything like the horror games that I’d ever played before, you never let the monsters know you were recovering. It just brought you to their attention so they knew to hit you with another dose you again.

Three … two … one …, I sucked in a ragged breath as the paralysis poison icon changed on my HUD to a new debuff.

Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso’s Neurotoxin debuff has weakened. Full paralysis has now reduced to a muscular and mental disablement that blocks all Special and Magical Skills. Duration is for sixty minutes depending on the individual’s level and their natural resistance to poison.

As I read the information in my HUD, I heard the all too familiar tapping steps of one of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso monsters making its way across the stone floor of the barn.

“Just a quick heads up when your paralysis debuff changes,” Phoenix snarled in our local group chat, “the debuff pops, for some reason, it defaults your chat back to local.”

“Good to know,” I said, after changing my chat back to the group’s as I furiously began struggling against the spittle-like bindings holding me in place. Whatever the spittle goop Dread Maw applied to us was, it was tough as hell, I thought, as the constant straining of my muscles started to cause my body to spin around from where I hung from the rafters, “Sounds like you have company heading your way.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty fucked,” Phoenix admitted as the sounds got closer and closer, “that piece of shit mini-boss is probably going to paralyze me like Dread Maw.”

“That or eat your face off,” I said with a nervous laugh, trying to get turned around enough to see what was happening.

“Not even … remotely funny,” Phoenix unhappily grunted as the sounds of her struggling became more pronounced behind me.

“Any idea where everyone else is?” I asked, trying to get myself completely spun around as gooped-up hanging bodies started becoming visible in my peripheral vision, “Cause, I can’t reach Helgath or Neysa at all!”

“The rest … of us … are hanging … behind you,” Phoenix explained between strained breaths as I caught sight of her bound body bouncing around like a fly caught in a web, “Fuck … this shit … isn’t budging … an inch!”

“What mini-boss is in here with us?” I urgently asked, straining to spin completely around to see what we were up against.

“Level 58 Toxic Stalker the Noxious,” Phoenix hurriedly said as her struggling and grunting became more pronounced. “Fuck, this is going to suck-”

“Stop moving, Star!” Töten’s raspy voice suddenly commanded in group chat, “The mini-boss is right on top of you guys!”

I immediately froze at the big guy’s words as my rotation continued to spin me completely around so I could see the rest of the barn. As everyone’s bound hanging forms came into view, I was greeted with a horrific sight that I immediately wanted to scrub from my brain forever. Phoenix hanging from the rafters in her saliva cocoon with the bloated body of a monstrous tick the size of a city bus hunched over her with its tongue-like proboscis shoved into her abdomen.

“Hmm, tastes like chicken,” Toxic Stalker crowed in delight with a fang-filled maw as it shivered in pleasure over the Barbarian’s convulsing body. As its chitinous mouth tentacles lovingly scooped her body up, the monster began forcibly thrusting its proboscis enthusiastically in and out of her belly to widen the hole as it chittered excitedly, “With all of the guests collected for tonight’s festivities, I’m sure Dread Maw won’t notice one succulent meat sack being missing.”

At those sickening words, bile rose in the back of my throat. Were the developers really going to capture us with some shady ass bullshit like a shape-changing humanoid boss, and then force us to watch our teammates being slowly eaten to death before our eyes. As I watched the fat bulbous tick hungrily violate my friend, I could feel the adrenaline begin flowing through my veins as a haze fell over my vision like a red curtain. I was peripherally aware of Phoenix’s hit points dropping with each of the mini-boss’s audible wet thrusts as I went apeshit. Sucking in ragged gulping breaths, I fought the sticky strands with every fiber of my being.

“Dude, chill the fuck out!” Töten barked in group chat. “They’re not going to kill Phoenix in a special dungeon like this before we’ve even had a chance to escape.”

‘War Leader, we’re free of the paralysis!’ I could barely hear Helgath’s and Neysa’s mental cries over the blood pounding in my ears, ‘You must stop struggling so you’re not targeted next!’

Though the substance gave way a few inches as it cinched tighter around the rest of my body, I couldn’t break free of the spittle no matter what I did. There was no question in my mind that the mini-boss was going to kill Phoenix before my eyes. As tears of helpless rage ran down my cheeks, the double doors on the far side of the barn were suddenly thrown open.

“Seriously, man,” Töten continued doing his best to talk me down, “if you keep that shit up, you’re just going to get poisoned again for another five minutes.”

‘You must stop this so we can plan a proper escape!’ Helgath’s voice pleaded in my mind.

“Toxic Stalker!” Dread Maw’s enraged shriek rang throughout the barn. “Release that meat sack now!”

The sudden shout completely took me by surprise when I saw the monstrous form of Dread Maw the Ravaging Matriarch standing in the doorway for the very first time. My rage was momentarily forgotten as I took in the ghastly Nightmarish monster lugging sixteen more bodies into the barn with her flailing mouth tentacles. The creepiest thing of all was the remaining old woman parts of the monster that were still fully intact. With an almost sick fascination, I watched in horror as the wrinkled human face sitting atop a naked human upper chest and shoulders looked around as if the rest of her body wasn’t a monstrous fleshy tick.

Though, the most disturbing part of the entire transformation was the saggy wobbling knockers that crazily flopped around with her every step in a mock display of eroticism. It was like a trainwreck happening in slow motion before my eyes. I couldn’t have looked away to save my life. Even the massive fang-filled maw that her torso had turned into didn’t give me the heebie-jeebies like those wrinkled orbs. Not even her Human arms and legs that had been transformed into thick chitin-covered claws, or her fleshy ass that had expanded into a pulsating mass creeped me out as much.

As Dread Maw waddled over on her six spikey, chiton-covered legs, I sagged in place gasping for air. With a pure force of will, I ignored the bile rising in the back of my throat while I watched the pair approach. My logical mind clamped a fist on my disgust and simmering rage as I listened to the monsters’ ongoing conversation with a morbid curiosity.

“That’s it, just keep your cool,” Töten whispered in group chat almost as if he were worried the monsters might overhear our conversation. “We’ll probably be hung up in pairs and then we can try escaping.”

“But Dread Maw, my dearest,” Toxic Stalker whined as it ripped its proboscis out of Phoenix’s abdomen with a wet, fleshy pop like a child caught with its hand in the cookie jar. Turning to face the dungeon boss, the mini-boss possessively clutched Phoenix’s unmoving body in its mouth tentacles as it flippantly continued, “Why are you making a big deal of one puny meat sack when we have a whole slew of captured prey for tonight’s birthing?”

‘Neysa and I might have a plan on how to do that, War Leader,’ Helgath murmured in my mind, ‘but it won’t work if there are two bosses present.’

“What’s the big deal, you stupid oaf?” Dread Maw furiously raged as she came to a stop, “That fleshy meat sack is our key to taking Lodenburg!”

“I’m cool, Töten,” I replied in a low raspy voice, before sending to my soulmates, ‘Tell me.’

“Lodenburg?” Toxic Stalker dubiously chittered as he thrust Phoenix away and angrily whirled on the immense female monster. “You said we’d have to take over another five of these shitty little villages before even thinking of trying to take on a city that large!”

“You hanging in there, Phoenix?” Töten asked as the girls gave me a quick rundown of their idea. After waiting for a few moments and not getting a response, the big guy let out an unhappy sigh, “It’s just as I thought, that mini-boss paralyzed her again.”

“That’s before that high-level meat sack you were about to suck down by your lonesome wandered into our lair,” Dread Maw clicked animatedly as she lugged her prizes over to be hung, “Feeding that meat sack to the children along with her friends will give us a high enough level swarm to take on the city’s guards!”

“Fine, I’ll let her live!” Toxic Stalker chittered, throwing his mouth tentacles up in frustration as they hung the last of their prisoners up.

“Don’t fuck this up, Toxic,” Dread Maw warningly chittered as they began waddling back to the barn’s double doors, “or I’ll take it out of your hide.” She stopped at the open doors and glared at the smaller male. “Do you hear me?!”

“Gah!” Neristhana suddenly gasped as her paralysis wore off.

“I know better than to cross you, dearest,” Toxic Stalker grovelingly clicked as the Gnomeling shook off the effects of the poison.

“Welcome to the land of the nonparalyzed, short-stuff,” Töten dryly welcomed my companion back.

“You’d better,” Dread Maw loudly clacked, staring the male down, “or I’ll feed you to the children in her place. Got it?”

“Glad to see you survived that ordeal, Neri,” I greeted my companion while listening to the monsters’ conversation.

While I hadn’t asked about Neristhana earlier by name, I’d already seen that she’d survived along with everyone else while I’d been paralyzed. The Gnomeling was the one person in our group that wouldn’t respawn if she were killed. That put her safety paramount above everyone else’s.

“I will do as you command, dearest,” Toxic Stalker sarcastically bowed, pressing his toothy maw and belly to the ground in a sign of submission.

“That clicking is starting to get on my nerves,” Neristhana croaked as she watched the monsters at the far end of the barn, “I can’t believe that’s the monster who ambushed us. How is a shape-changing monster like that even possible?”

“Yeah, that constant clicking is the worst,” Töten agreed as Dread Maw slammed the double doors shut, “While I’ve never been through one of these unique random dungeons before, I’ve heard about them in closed beta.” I couldn’t help the groan that came from my lips as he continued nonplussed. “They’re supposedly hard as fuck and you can’t get out of them until you’ve either died or killed the bosses.”

“Great,” Neristhana grunted at that bit of wonderful information as Toxic Stalker raised himself up on his chiton-spiked legs.

“Supposedly, they carry dire consequences to the-” Töten began to say.

“Surrounding villages and city if we fail at taking them down,” I said, finishing his sentence as the mini-boss began slowly waddling back towards us down the center row of hanging bodies.

“Exactly,” Töten agreed with a note of surprise in his tone. “How did you know that?”

“I listened in on their conversation,” I explained with a frown, trying to figure out if the mini-boss was coming back for Phoenix. “If we don’t take these fuckers out, they’re planning on going to Lodenburg next.

“Great,” Neristhana grunted at that bit of wonderful information, before calling out to me in surprise, “Hey, Lord Stinky, look at who the monster dragged in.”

“Who the monster dragged in?” Töten asked in confusion before his eyes lit up as he eyed the bound form next to Phoenix’s swinging body. “Well, if it isn’t old hot and bothered.”

“I wasn’t talking about that scaly bitch,” Neristhana said with a dismissive snort as her eyes went to the body hanging in front of me, “but that Zeven guy we helped earlier today.”

“You mean the Badger kin guy who took off on us after helping him recover his companion?” Töten asked as we watched the mini-boss come to a waddling stop in front of us.

“Is the monster going to eat Phoenix?” Neristhana anxiously gulped as all eyes went to the disgusting creature as its mouth tentacles flailed in the air.

“It’s not supposed to,” Töten nervously said as the mini-boss’s slimy proboscis reached out to lovingly caress the Barbarian’s rigid face.

“Dread Maw warned him not to eat her,” I said in a tight voice as I watched the interplay, “or he’ll become dinner for the swarm of hungry children being hatched in the hamlet.”

“Hatched?” Neristhana’s voice cracked upon hearing that as Töten’s face tightened in disgust.

“That’s not good, man,” Töten grunted, “Did you see that Dread Maw is level 63?”

“Yeah, not that this Toxic Stalker guy is much better,” I agreed as the mini-boss drew its proboscis back with a sigh of regret. As it turned around and began waddling back down the row of bodies it was guarding, I began spinning around so that Helgath could check something about the bindings I’d noticed during my struggles.

“Level 58, this guy is gonna suck to take on too. That’s if we can even break out of these bindings,” Töten spat in disgust. “I’ve heard of plenty of groups wiping in these unique dungeons because they were never able to overcome the first trap to even take on the dungeon.”

‘Do you see it?’ I asked Helgath.

‘Yeah, there’s a thick strand in the middle that seems to be holding the bindings together,’ Helgath confirmed as I continued spinning back around towards the group, ‘If Neysa can cut it with her claws, it should unravel enough to let you move a bit,’ a mental growl of frustration sounded in my head, ‘but it won’t fully release you from the bindings.’

‘The monster plays at being slow and ponderous,’ Neysa sent as her golden eyes studied the massive mini-boss, ‘but I’ve already seen it move. I’ll only get one shot before it’s on me.’

‘Gotcha,’ I sent back, flooding the link we shared with approval and love as I caught the big guy’s eyes, “What’s up with your mount? Is there any way for you to summon your Nightmare?”

“Fuck no,” Töten cursed, the frustration clear to hear in his tone, “it’s a magic spell like raising your Ghouls.”

“That sucks,” I said frowning, before coming to a decision, “May as well go ahead and send invites to the rest of these guys.”

“Why would we even bother?” Töten asked, “Most of these guys are in the low thirties to twenties.”

“Read the quest for yourself,” I said, doing Identifies on the other groups.

From the look of things, there were two low-level Guild Teams and a slightly higher-level pick-up group who were in the level 34 to 37 range. As my eyes swept the various players around us, I focused on Igtra and Byrnwulf. The pair that we’d run into during the ambush.

“Make sure you get those two Red Draconian-Humans too,” I said as the big guy got to work.

“Are you serious?” Neristhana asked incredulously, “That female is a major bitch.”

“That she is,” Töten agreed with the Gnomeling while doing what I asked. “You know these guys won’t be able to do anything until their paralysis wears off, right?”

“If they have half a brain, maybe we can stop them from drawing the mini-boss’s aggro,” I said when two new names suddenly popped into our group, Igtra Raktizu and Byrnwulf Undaunted.

“Why did we join those uncouth idiots’ group, milord?” Igtra demanded in group chat.

“Igtra, I said that I’d take care of this!” Byrnwulf heatedly snapped as the enraged female gave him a glare of pure outrage.

Surprise, surprise, they were actually a team and not enemies, I thought, shaking my head at how wrong we’d read that scene. Whatever, it’s not like Igtra had made reading the situation any easier with her obnoxious attitude.

“Dude, is she for real?” Töten asked in an unbelieving tone at the exchange, “What part of that whole, “While the event is active, players and monsters cannot leave the boundaries of the Hamlet of Hardfall,” did your psycho girlfriend not understand about the quest?”

“In her defense,” Byrnwulf said as his voice took on a slight edge, “the quest didn’t pop up until after she was paralyzed by the boss. So, maybe, she could’ve escaped the boundaries of the hamlet.”

“Ha, see,” Töten laughingly chortled, “he didn’t deny that she was psycho.”

“Hold up there, chuckles, I never once called Igtra a psycho-” Byrnwulf protested only to be cut off.

“So, you’re saying, she’d have left you behind to the mercies of that evil boss?” Phoenix gasped out as her paralysis wore off. “Damn, that’s cold, even for a psycho bitch like her.”

“She must be a psycho if she’d leave her lord behind to die like that,” Neristhana scornfully added, getting in on the action.

“Stop calling me a psycho!” Igtra shrieked as I rolled my eyes at my friends’ byplay.

“Alrighty, now, how about everyone just chill for a moment,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm, “because this isn’t helping the situation any.”

“But it is helping me feel better after being violated by that disgusting insect,” Phoenix said, gagging at the memory as she eyed the mini-boss on the other side of the barn.

“Word,” Töten said as I rolled my eyes at the pair.

“Red Lord,” Igtra said in a put-upon tone, “I told you we couldn’t expect anything but scorn from these ignorant Chofe-ka.”

“Call my War Leader an ignorant Chofe-ka again and I’ll-” Helgath began to coldly say as I mentally cut the Half-Orc off.

‘Not helping, Helgath!’ I silently chastised as the Half-Orc continued her threat non-plussed.

“Cleanse your body of all pollutants,” Helgath harshly finished as Töten and the Red Draconian-Humans looked at the Half-Orc in confusion at the oddly worded threat.

“Fuck, Helgath,” Phoenix giddily exclaimed in the sudden silence, “I’d pay good money to see that.”

“Would everyone just shut the fuck up!” I roared in group chat, cutting everyone off. As Igtra and Töten paused with their mouths hanging open, I gruffly continued in the momentary silence. “If we’re going to get out of this dungeon without being eaten alive, we need to work together, not be bickering like a bunch of noobs.” I let out an aggravated sigh as I focused on the pair. “So, how about we try proper introductions this time around.”

“That works for us,” Byrnwulf said, giving Igtra a warning glare to keep her mouth shut.

“Excellent,” I said, letting out a heavy sigh. “I’m Startum, the big guy next to Byrnwulf is Töten, Phoenix, who’ve you both met, is across from Igtra, my companion Neristhana is hanging near the third pillar to the left side of the door with my soulmate Helgath, and my Combat Mount Neysa is by the double doors across from the Grizhawk.”

“Oh, how quaint, Red Lord,” Igtra mockingly said as soon as I finished my introductions, “the ignorant cur even introduced his Combat Mount of all things.”

“I’ve repeatedly warned you, Igtra. Now, I’m ordering you to shut your mouth and keep it shut,” Byrnwulf angrily snapped as the female Red Draconian-Human’s head snapped back like she’d been physically slapped, “unless you happen to have something constructive to say to help the situation.”

“I assure you, milord,” Igtra flippantly replied, “every word that comes out of my mouth is critical to the situation at hand.”

“Igtra!” Byrnwulf warningly snarled as the female Red Draconian-Human noticeably stiffened at his tone.

“As you command, Red Lord,” Igtra frostily gritted out in a tone that promised he wouldn’t be getting any nooky in the near future for embarrassing her like this.

“The name is Byrnwulf Undaunted,” Byrnwulf said after silently counting down from ten, “and my companion, who you already met, is Igtra Raktizu,” his lips momentarily curled into a self-mocking sneer, before he continued politely. “Thanks for the team invite.”

“It’s our pleasure,” I replied, flashing him a similar grin as my group chat suddenly flashed with a message that said I’d been invited to the group’s command channel.

“I almost feel bad for him,” Phoenix commented in the group’s command chat, “He must like the crazy hot girls.” She snorted in derision, “And all of you know what they say about that?”

“That they’re crazy wild in bed?” Töten guessed.

“Naw, they’re only good in bed,” Phoenix laughingly answered his own joke.

“Not really,” I disagreed, “the right answer is to always say no to crazy.” Igtra reminded me way too much of Julie, I shivered at the thought while casually switching back to group chat, when two more names suddenly popped into our group.

“What the fuck are you guys doing here?” Zeven immediately demanded.

“Besides hanging around?” I sarcastically asked, not even sure how to take this guy’s question seriously.

“Seriously, dude,” Zeven asked with a snarl, “Are you following us or something?”

“Are we following you?” Phoenix incredulously said, letting out a bark of laughter, “Dream on asshole. We were here before you two ever showed up!”

“That’s not really something to be proud of, Phoenix,” Töten dryly said as I snorted at the joke.

“I’m not joking, Startum,” Zeven said as he glared at me from his hanging prison.

“Yes, Zeven, we’re obviously following you,” I derisively said, meeting his furious silver-blue eyes without blinking. “We galloped all day to get ahead of you, found this unique special dungeon, and allowed ourselves to be captured just so we could meet up because we missed your furry face so much.”

“Oh, yeah, you know it,” Phoenix humorously agreed, “We just couldn’t wait for you to ditch us again after helping you out the first time.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Zeven snapped over his shoulder at Phoenix.

“It wasn’t?” Phoenix asked.

“I swear,” Töten spat in annoyance, “Even in closed beta, every Badger kin that I’ve ever met was a complete asshole.”

“I guess like calls to like when people pick their race,” Phoenix innocently smirked, before letting out a bark of raucous laughter.

“It’s probably just a player preference thing,” I said with a frown as Zeven’s furry face screwed up in annoyance, “because my new Badger kin vassal has been nothing but great.”

“Oh, yeah,” Phoenix said perking up, “I forgot about Honey.”

“Hold up,” Töten said, starting to chuckle, “are you saying that you have a Honey Badger sworn to you?”

“Basically,” Phoenix said, smirking at the implied joke.

“More or less,” I agreed with a shrug.

“The fuck!” Zeven exclaimed, before demanding, “What the hell is Honey’s last name?”

“Fuck all if I know?” Phoenix flippantly said, somewhat confused at the odd change in behavior that had suddenly come over Zeven.

“Dammit, Startum, tell me her last name!” Zeven roared, getting all worked up as he strained at his bindings.

“You’d better chill the fuck out or you’re gonna get a love tap from sweet-sucking Toxic Stalker over there,” Phoenix warned the Badger kin with a shiver.

“Hold your horses, dude and give me a second to look it up,” I said not fully understanding what the big deal was but knowing it was something important to him. It took me a moment to call up my Land Management tab and find the list of NPCs that were sworn to me. “Her name is Honey Mistborne.” I dismissed the system window with a thought. “What of it?”

“You’re one of the ones that slaughtered and kidnapped my people!” Zeven accused as his face took on a feral look. Immediately, his entire body started to spasm as he fought to break free of his bindings like some crazy man while growling and screaming at the top of his lungs. “Gah! I’m gonna rip your throat out with my fangs! I’m gonna chop you’re fucking head off and skull fuck you to death! I’m going to add your head to my-”

In the blink of an eye, the massive form of Toxic Stalker was next to us. I swore the mini-boss had just been twenty yards away when his thick spiked proboscis suddenly shot from his mouth at Zeven. That horrific sight snapped the Badger kin out of his boiling rage as the meaty organ slammed into the blue-scaled armor covering his chest without penetrating his armor with a meaty thunk.

While the rest of us were goggling over the fact that the Badger kin’s armor held, the monster sucked its thick proboscis back into its mouth. I almost let out a nervous laugh at the ridiculous mental picture that suddenly came to my mind of a massive fleshy vacuum cleaner’s power cord being slurped up into its body upon hitting the cord button. As that ridiculous scenario flashed through my thoughts, the mini-boss spat out its proboscis at Zeven again as all of us flinched at the sickening wet sound of the proboscis entering flesh came to our ears.

As the Badger kin’s body went ridged, the obscene sounds of fluids being sucked through the muscular proboscis momentarily echoed around the silent barn as the rest of us helplessly watched the dreadful scene unfolding before our eyes. You could clearly see the mass of blood and meat passing along the spiky length of the muscular organ with each loud suck. I thought for sure I was going to retch right then and there when the monster yanked back its proboscis with a wet meaty slap. with a look of pure disgust on its face.

“Ew, how gross,” Toxic Stalker loudly complained as a look of pure disgust formed on its Nightmarish features. Turning around in a huff, I saw its mouth tentacles swiping at the tip of its fleshy proboscis as it waddled away complaining out loud to itself. “I think there’s hair stuck to the end of my proboscis-”

“What a great idea it was to join up with this group, Red Lord,” Igtra mockingly sneered to Byrnwulf in group chat in the sudden silence, “If grouping up with a bunch of uncouth idiots wasn’t bad enough, we now actually have dumb beasts to add to the list of indignities that must be endured.”

“I wasn’t joking when I told you not to get too animated,” Phoenix said in a low voice, ignoring the rude comments from Igtra as Töten and Byrnwulf began going off on her.

“Igtra, I told you, that’s enough!” Byrnwulf hollered as the rest of us rolled our eyes or uselessly tried to shake our heads at the female Red Draconian-Human’s disagreeable nature.

“Seriously, woman,” Töten angrily bellowed, “could you be any more of a psycho spazz?”

“What else should I have said about the ignorant beast?” Igtra yelled back, “Great job on drawing its attention?”

“Huh, sounds like the same conversation I was having with you until Phoenix aggroed that monster on herself,” Byrnwulf roared back, “so don’t act like you’re a know-it-all!”

“Milord, that was said in private-” Igtra snarled in outrage at being called out for nearly making the same mistake.

“Look, Zeven,” I said, tuning out the trio’s back and forth, “When I was heading over to this side of the map to help my friend fight off a group of PKers, I met Honey while doing a quest to sail between Myathlune and Darom, when I got sucked into a world dungeon for the Sea Elves to open up the sea pathway between the two sides of the continent.”

“Yeah, that’s where Star and I met,” Phoenix spoke up. “Without his help, let’s just say that I’d have been … um,” a pensive look came to the Barbarian’s face as she embarrassedly admitted, “raped to death by a group of Meer-Lizards.”

“Luckily, that didn’t happen and we were able to fight off the Sekolahian Empire’s invasion and complete the dungeon,” I quickly said, trying to get to the important part of the story for Zeven, “which is how I ran into Honey. She was one of many Beast kins that I managed to free from slavery on the Sea Orc ships that were stuck in the dungeon along with us.”

“Ha, freed is an interesting way to put it,” Phoenix said, laughing at my comment, “Didn’t you sort of give them an ultimatum of swearing to be a vassal or you’d leave them chained up?”

“Not helping, Phoenix,” I said, letting out a big sigh. “I gave them that ultimatum because I had too many mixed races fighting together to risk having them attack my people by accident if I simply let them free. Also, it’s the same ultimatum that I gave to everyone, not just the Beast kin.”

“Ha, Princess Isolde and her Royal Knights weren’t too happy about that either,” Phoenix chortled at the memory.

“Dude, seriously?” I asked, put off by Phoenix’s glib commentary.

“Just chill, Star. I’m just calling it how I see it,” Phoenix continued non-plussed. “While it was a bit on the mercenary side, it’s not like you treat any of your new vassals badly or anything. Hell, all of them seem thrilled at being sworn to you.”

“Um, thanks, I think,” I said, somewhat unsure of where the Barbarian was going with all of this.

“The point I’m trying to make, Zeven,” Phoenix said, ignoring the annoyed edge in my voice, “is that Star helped your people and had no part in attacking your stronghold or whatever you thought he was guilty of.” She let out a dismissive snort. “If anything, you should be thankful that he saved Honey and the rest of the Beast kin with her from a life of slavery amongst the Orcs.” The Barbarian’s voice took on a surprisingly serious tone. “If you have any doubts about how terrible her life would’ve been, just ask Helgath how life is for as an Orc slave.”

“Thanks for that vote of confidence, Phoenix,” I drolly said, before getting to Zeven’s other point. “As for how we met up here, it was just dumb luck. We were planning on passing through Lodenburg on our way to Tulduroc and just happened to get dragged into this dungeon because we heard the shouts of combat coming from this hamlet.”

“Yeah, because Mr. Hero here thought some PKers were razing a village,” Phoenix said, making fun of me.

“If I’m not mistaken,” Töten said, interrupting our conversation, “weren’t you the one that went racing off at the sounds of fighting.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” I said as the Barbarian blushed to her neck, “Weren’t you saying something about needing to get into a good fight after riding all day?”

“Now, now,” Phoenix said, lifting up her chin as if she were better than that, “I think you might be exaggerating that just a bit-”

“Hold up,” Igtra suddenly roared as what we said dawned on her, “Are you saying this rude bitch attacked me because she was simply bored?”

“Well, it didn’t hurt that you were such a mouthy slit either,” Phoenix admitted as the two females stared daggers at each other.

“Before you two start sniping at each other again and wasting more time,” I said, interrupting their stare down as both Töten and Byrnwulf glanced at me in surprise, “Helgath and Neysa came up with a partial plan to escape, but it would help if any of you guys have a magic item that can be triggered to help us break free of these sticky strands of goop or possibly even the ability to call a Combat Mount or Pet that might be able to assist.”

“Milord, I swear the ignorance of these Halflings knows no bounds,” Igtra gratingly said as she gave me a look of utter contempt, “If we actually had any Combat Mounts or Pets at this low of a level, wouldn’t I have used them against you when your Human skank unjustly accosted us?”

For a long second, none of us said a word as we stared at the Red Draconian-Human female. While annoying as all get out, I had to admit that Igtra’s insults were starting to become truly impressive in their own right. At least, to the extent that mountains of crap kept pouring out of her mouth. Instead of answering the haunting female’s glare, my eyes went to Byrnwulf who seemed to be silently shaking in laughter at his companion’s rant.

“Damn, man,” I said, chuckling in spite of myself, “I hope those big guns of hers are worth all the shit that she must put you through on a daily basis.”

“Big guns?” Igtra snarled, not getting the reference as she scowled at me angrily.

“Every night, and twice on Sundays,” Byrnwulf admitted as his body shook in mirth even harder. Taking a shaking breath, he was finally able to stop his laughter as he looked me in the eyes, “I keep thinking that I’m getting through to her until we meet new people.”

“And then she gets foot-in-mouth syndrome?” Phoenix asked.

“I’m sure she gets something shoved in her mouth,” Töten grunted a little too loudly as Igtra’s face screwed up in fury.

“Basically,” Byrnwulf agreed, closing his eyes as he tried not to lose it again.

“Milord,” Igtra stormed, saying the word as more of an insult than a term of respect, “I don’t appreciate you talking about me over my head in newfar speak-”

“Then, you should work more on not pissing everybody we meet off,” Byrnwulf snapped, not holding back, “especially after I specifically told you to keep your mouth shut unless you had something nice to say!” As Igtra’s mouth snapped shut, the Red Draconian-Human was interrupted before she could say anything more by a croaking voice.

“I have a magic item that might work for getting us out of here if it can be activated,” Zeven gasped out as his paralysis wore off.

“Great,” I said, spinning myself back around to face the Badger kin, “as long as you can be trusted not to skull fuck me to death or-”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Zeven grunted apologetically as he tried to swallow enough saliva to clear his dried throat. “I should’ve listened to what you had to say before just going off the rails like that.” He blew out a heavy sigh. “It’s just been driving me crazy trying to find out any information on the survivors of the Triple A guild’s raid on my stronghold.” His silver-blue eyes flicked towards his companion hanging near Helgath and Neristhana. “I’d hoped Nahi would know something more about what happened to everyone but-”

“She didn’t learn anything new after being kidnapped by that Triple A creep,” I finished for him as he silently nodded in agreement.

“So, if you’re willing to let us travel with you to talk with Honey,” Zeven said as his eyes critically looked me up and down, “we’ll be quid.”

“Dude, seriously?” Phoenix unhappily asked, “You’re gonna give him another shot after he ditched us back at Töten’s stronghold?”

“Give him a break, Phoenix,” Töten said, coming to Zeven’s defense. Seeing the surprised look on her face, the big guy let out an exaggerated sigh, “You know what my issue was, so I can kind of understand why he did what he did.”

“Well, it’s not like he screwed us over,” I said with a shrug, “and he did wait until the battle was over before skedaddling.”

“He did threaten to skull fuck you to death,” Phoenix contemplatively harrumphed.

“Not anything worse than what fruit loop there threatened to do to us earlier,” Töten humorously said as all of us glanced over at a fuming Igtra who surprisingly kept her mouth shut this time around.

Though that probably had something to do with whatever Byrnwulf was privately messaging her about, I thought with a derisive snort. It was obvious he was saying something since his lips were moving without any sounds.

“Okay, it’s a deal, Zeven,” I said, hoping that I wasn’t going to regret this later. Still, it was better to try making friends than not, and like Töten, I could readily understand why the Badger kin was so keyed up after everything he’d been through. If that had happened to my people, I’d have been worse and I knew it. “So, how does this magic item work, and what did you mean, if it can be activated?”

“Yeah, about that,” Zeven said, frowning momentarily as he glanced suspiciously over at the pair of Red Draconian-Humans.

“They’re both level 36 so I wouldn’t worry too much about them trying anything,” I said, lowering my voice dramatically.

“I don’t know why you’re bothering to lower your voice, because we can both still hear everything that you’re saying in group chat,” Byrnwulf sarcastically said, “Besides, it’s not like we’re a pair of assholes.”

“True, only one of you has been a major asshole so far,” I said rolling my eyes as the Badger kin smirked seeing Igtra’s face turn a deeper shade of red over my shoulder.

“Says the pot calling the kettle black,” Byrnwulf philosophically mused as my friends snickered in agreement.

“Anyway, if you can activate my magic belt,” Zeven continued non-plussed, “it will make me immune to the monster’s poison for five minutes and I should be able to slice my way out of this goop pretty quickly. The only problem-”

“Besides Toxic Stalker coming over to give both of you love kisses for moving around too much,” Phoenix commented.

“Besides that,” Zeven agreed with a visible shiver, “to activate my belt, the two tabs on either side of the belt buckle need to be pulled at the same time.”

‘I’ll be able to chomp through your bindings before that fat bug even knows I’m free,’ Neysa confidently growled in my head.

“No way that can possibly go wrong,” Byrnwulf chortled.

‘That fat bug moves much more quickly than you think,’ Helgath sternly warned the Silver Dire Wolf, ‘And more importantly, you need to kite that monster for as long as possible or Star will never be able to get everyone freed in time to take it down.’

‘Helgath, I saw how fast he moved to strike that Badger kin,’ Neysa angrily disagreed, ‘I can do this without any issues.’

“Dude, you do realize that,” Töten laughingly said, “to grab ahold of his belt, you both are going to need to swing together.”

‘Remember, Neysa,’ I chimed in, trying not to sap her enthusiasm but wanting her to know what it was she was up against, ‘it only takes one unlucky hit and you’ll be down to three legs. If that happens, he’ll be on top of you in the blink of an eye.’

“OMG … OMG!” Phoenix guffawed out loud as she looked back and forth between us gleefully, “The only thing I want to know for the video I’m posting on the forums is whether Zeven is the pitcher and Star is the catcher, or what?”

‘I more than understand,’ Neysa sent as I felt a wash of emotions suddenly spill out over our shared link before she smothered it again.

In a flash, I understood what was going through her innermost thoughts. Though she was putting on a brave face, there was a low-level feeling of terror running through her bones at what she was about to go up against. The spiked proboscis which shot out of that fat bug’s fang-filled maw terrified her on an almost primal level. There was no doubt in her mind that the monster would suck her dry if given half the chance. Nonetheless, she willingly faced that fear for Helgath and me.

“Yeah, you don’t want to label that wrong,” Byrnwulf helpfully added between his fits of laughter, “people get offended when that happens.”

‘Good,’ I replied, wishing that I could hug her to my chest even as I did my best to ignore the peanut gallery around us, ‘I’ll let you know when we’re ready to start.’

“If not for Nahi being able to be permanently killed,” Zeven gruffly said, shaking his furry head as I refocused on the conversation going on around me, “I’d now almost prefer hanging here and being eaten to death.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” I said, frowning in annoyance at the rest of the group, “It’s the same with me and my companion, Neristhana.”

Surprisingly enough, for once, even Igtra didn’t look as if she’d tried swallowing a porcupine whole as she hesitantly laughed along with the rest of us. Even though she might not understand all of the newfar jokes, she got the gist enough to appreciate the humor of the situation. Letting out a heavy sigh, I silently reminded myself that laughing together was another way to build a sense of team morale and cohesion with disparate groups of people.

“Ah, don’t be like that, you know we’re just funning” Phoenix snickered, trying to keep a straight face as Zeven and I simply ignored her.

“Once I give Neysa the signal that we’re ready to go, this shit is going to get bad really quick,” I said while shifting my body to see how much movement I had in the spittle binding. “When I dismiss and then recall her, she’ll snap the bindings holding my hands in place and then focus on kiting the boss away from us.”

“That surprisingly sounds easy enough to pull off,” Zeven said as he glanced towards the short-bus-sized mini-boss waddling slowly up and down the aisle between our hanging bodies. His furry face squinched up in thought as his silver-blue eyes turned back to me. “So, how are you gonna pull the tabs on my belt?”

“Yeah, that’s where it’s going to get tricky,” I drolly said as a sardonic grin came to my lips, “We’re going to have to swing together enough that we’re slightly offset so I can grab your belt from behind-”

“While I’m thrusting my hips forward,” Zeven said in sudden understanding. Picturing what that physically meant, he shook his head realizing the essence of truth in everyone’s jokes from earlier. I swear the Badger kin sagged in his bindings as he let out a put-upon sigh, “So, this video is going viral for sure.”

“More than likely,” I agreed, knowing my friends would never let me live this down once they saw the video.

“Okay, I’m gonna turn around to get into position,” I said, eyeing Toxic Stalker as I wiggled my body around to turn my back to him.

“When we get close,” Zeven said as some low grunts came from behind me, “I’ll thrust my hips forward so you can grab it.”

“Just be gentle with me,” I joked, trying to make light of the uncomfortable situation, “this is my first time.”

“Not funny, man,” Zeven grunted a little too loudly at my offhand joke as the peanut gallery went off behind us.

“OMG,” Phoenix howled, nearly in tears, “be gentle with me!”

“This is my first time,” Byrnwulf choked out, gasping for breath between fits of laughter.

“Laugh it up all you want, but you’d better be ready to finish off the mini-boss when you’re released,” I grunted to the rest of the group while sucking in a deep breath to calm my nerves. Watching Toxic Stalker make his way to the double doors, I waited until he turned around and waddled past Neristhana, Helgath, and Neysa, before nodding to Zeven, “Here we go.” Next, I focused on my link with Neysa, ‘It’s time.’

‘I’m ready,’ Neysa replied without hesitation.

‘Dismissed,’ I mentally commanded as the Silver Dire Wolf disappeared from the sticky strands in the blink of an eye.

There were a number of shocked looks on the faces of the other three groups of players that had been hauled in with Zeven. I hadn’t thought to ask him about them, but as far as I was presently concerned, they were of little importance. Besides not being a high enough level to be much of any help with the coming mini-boss fight, not one of them had bothered accepting Töten’s group invite even after seeing the boss stab Zeven through the chest for moving around too much. That basically meant, they were either too stupid to figure out the simple message or they just didn’t care to work together.

Whatever the fuck ever, I flippantly thought. I personally hated teaming up with random players when I didn’t have a choice in the matter, especially when they were already acting like dumbasses. Not that there was any great surprise there. Pick-up groups were generally disliked in every MMO since the days of Ultima Online and EverQuest for that very reason.

Luckily enough, Byrnwulf seemed to be cool so far. Not that he had anything to offer level or help-wise for breaking out of the trap we were currently in. Still, that said a lot about his personality, especially since we hadn’t met under the best of circumstances. Being willing to team up and work together without making a fuss went a long way in my book, even if he did have Igtra as a companion.

Not that I was particularly going to blame him for that, I smirked, thinking about her two most prominent arguments that she brought to the table. Most men would put up with a lot of shit to have a shot with a physically stunning beauty like that.

Unfortunately, I knew the truth of that statement all to well. It’s why the Red Draconian-Human female reminded me so much of Julie. That thought brought a frown to my face as I watched Toxic Stalker make his way across the barn towards us. It had taken me going through a shitstorm to learn the harsh lesson that looks weren’t everything. Nowadays, things like trust, personality, a mutual value system, and someone who actually treated me right were at the top of my personal list when first meeting someone that I was attracted to.

Don’t get me wrong, looks had their place. It was one of the first things we noticed at the start of nearly any intimate relationship. My soul bond with Helgath up until recently was a great example of this basic truth. No matter how much you might care for someone, you still had to be physically attracted to them for an intimate relationship to occur. This always stood out as a point in my mind because modern society constantly tried to deny that simple truth and was part of the reason I always seemed to be at odds of late with Krystal and Jill.

The random flow of thoughts churning in my head disappeared in the blink of an eye as Toxic Stalker’s immense bulk slowly waddled to a stop in front of us. I felt my mind immediately kicking into overdrive as my focus suddenly turned to the upcoming mini-boss fight. Not that anything, in particular, had changed. The plan was going to work or it was going to fail spectacularly.

Taking a deep breath, I tried not to worry about what failure would mean to Neristhana or to the other companions in our group as my eyes studied the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso. It had ten tentacles around its mouth and a proboscis that could be used as weapons, besides its innate ability to paralyze with a touch. While those were terrible enough natural weapons in their own right, knowing how developers liked to structure dungeon bosses, I had no doubt that the mini-boss had other special abilities that we didn’t know about.

Keeping those thoughts in the back of my mind, I expectantly watched the Toxic Stalker turn its bulk around. When the mini-boss began waddling back towards the other side of the barn without any alarm, I breathed a sigh of relief and began counting down the yards.

“That’s one hurdle cleared,” Töten said as his eyes flashed in excitement.

“What do you mean?” Byrnwulf nervously asked in group chat.

“The mini-boss didn’t immediately notice that Neysa was missing,” Phoenix calmly replied as she deeply breathed in and out with her eyes on the monster.

“Neysa?” Byrnwulf asked in confusion.

“The Silver Dire Wolf,” Töten grunted, his eyes never leaving the monster’s bulbous form.

“Then, why isn’t he recalling the beast as planned?” Igtra spat while watching me silently count down.

“Let me guess,” Byrnwulf said as a thoughtful look came to his face, “He’s worried that the mini-boss will detect Neysa’s recall?”

“Got it on the first try,” Phoenix approvingly said between breaths.

“How does he know what the monster’s detection range is?” Igtra snapped as she glared back and forth between Töten and Phoenix.

“He doesn’t,” Byrnwulf answered for the pair, immediately understanding the problem, “so he’s guesstimating to give the Silver Dire Wolf enough time to chew through the bindings before the mini-boss can attack.”

“But, won’t the monster re-paralyze us once it realizes one of its prey is missing?” Igtra nervously asked as her eyes swept their group.

“Probably,” Phoenix said as a wry grin turned up the corners of her lips, “That’s where the other guesstimating part comes into play.”

“Tha … that’s insane!” Igtra stuttered as a look of horror came to her eyes.

“Do you have a better plan?” Töten asked, giving the Red Draconian-Human female a deadpan look.

“No … but,” Igtra choked as her eyes begged Byrnwulf to disagree.

“It’s on!” I announced in group chat, recalling Neysa to me as the mini-boss hit the halfway point between us and the empty spittle sack.

“Like Donkey Kong,” Töten jokingly added as the Silver Dire Wolf appeared next to me.

‘Go … go … go!’ I mentally screamed to Neysa as everyone’s eyes nervously went to the mini-boss.

To our relief, Toxic Stalker didn’t seem to register the Silver Dire Wolf’s sudden reappearance in the barn. I wasn’t sure how long we had or what kind of movement would alert the mini-boss to her presence. Not that it mattered at this point, we were committed and the clock was ticking. If this didn’t work, I didn’t see any of us leaving this dungeon alive.

Neysa’s fangs immediately began ripping and tearing at the spittle bindings that were locking my arms behind my back. To help her, I strained against the strands with all of my might, trying to keep them as tight as possible so she could chomp through them easier. As I nervously glanced after the mini-boss, I felt the Silver Dire Wolf’s entire upper body settle onto my lower back as she added her claws to the mix. Even so, with each passing moment, it became clear that nothing was loosening up in the least.

“Fuck, Star,” I heard Phoenix curse, “It’s not working!”

‘What’s wrong?’ I urgently sent to Neysa as her movements became more frantic.

“This is ridiculous!” Igtra stringently snarled, before demanding, “Doesn’t the dumb beast have any special attacks she can use?”

‘I don’t understand what’s wrong,’ Neysa panickily sent as she frantically attacked the bindings with everything she had, ‘My fangs can’t seem to bite through the strands and my claws aren’t working either!’

‘That’s because you’re still being affected by the secondary poison,’ I anxiously sent while checking over her status in my HUD.

‘Gggrrraaa!’ Neysa’s mental growl of anguish reverberated through my mind as she struggled with everything she had.

“You guys have to try something else!” Töten gruffly said as he critically watched our struggles.

“Like what?” Byrnwulf tersely asked, “It’s not like she has any hands!”

“How about trying this?” Zeven urgently said as he watched our struggles. “If she can’t bite through the strands, then maybe she can snap them.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded through gritted teeth as I strained my muscles.

“SSSHHHEEE!” Toxic Stalker’s chittering shriek suddenly rang throughout the barn as my blood turned to ice in my veins.

I could only watch in horror as the monstrous Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso raced for Neysa’s empty spittle sack with its mouth tentacles excitedly waving around in the air. There was no doubt in my mind that it would only be seconds before the mini-boss began searching for its missing prey and the jig would be up. Thankfully, the Badger kin didn’t let himself get distracted by the impending doom that was shortly going to be heading our way.

“I don’t know if you can get her to understand basic commands,” Zeven said in a strained voice, “but if you could get her to loop the strand around her lower fangs and yank up with her neck while pushing down with her claws, she might be able to snap it!”

‘Does he think I’m a complete idiot or something?’ Neysa’s growl echoed in my mind as I felt her turn around to glare at the Badger kin.

‘Less growling and more doing,’ I desperately barked over our link as the mini-boss’s mouth tentacles yanked Neysa’s spittle sack from the barn’s rafters and tore it apart with a chittering shriek, ‘because if that doesn’t work, we’re fucking dead!’

I felt Neysa’s head bump into my back as she dipped forward to get her lower jaws hooked securely around the main strand. A split-second later, the spittle webbing holding me in place uncomfortably tightened as the Silver Dire Wolf strained with her entire body. Sucking in a shallow breath as the strands began cutting into my face where the Helm of Inaxidor didn’t cover, I joined her while ignoring the blood that began running down my face as my Black Coral DarkCuirass Weave began to creak.

My ragged breaths came out in high-pitched whimpers as Neysa and I did our best to snap the main strand binding me in place. How that one strand could affect everything else was beyond me. All that I knew was that it felt like my face was being slowly forced through a giant cheese grater as I forced my body to slowly bend forward at the waist.

Not that Neysa was faring any better. Via our link, I could feel the agony she was enduring as the strand cut completely through her thick pads and the sides of her muzzle down to the bone. As our blood mixed together on the cold stone floor, she silently bore the agony while giving it her all.

Through the haze of our shared pain, I heard my friends’ shouts of alarm as a chittering shriek of triumph rang out from the far side of the barn. Toxic Stalker must have caught sight of us, I urgently thought as a thumping roar of chitinous spikes slamming into stone suddenly filled the air. The horrendous cacophony sent shivers of terror down my spine as I forced my chin up with my last bit of willpower in time to see the monstrous form of Toxic Stalker barreling towards us.

As hot tears of frustration began running down my cheeks, I saw the mini-boss suddenly launch itself into the air through my tear-filled eyes. The sight of the massive monster bouncing off the ceiling to come crashing down at us filled me with a gibbering fear as thoughts of Neristhana permanently dying flooded my mind with dread. Feeling my anguish washing over our link, I heard Neysa let out a wailing howl as she leaped on top of me with all four paws to use the weight of her entire body.

TWANG!

The vibrations of the burst cord shot through my chest as the strand holding me to the rafters ripped me away from Neysa’s grasp like I’d been shot out of a cannon. I was barely aware of the release of tension sending the Silver Dire Wolf tumbling away in the opposite direction as I shot past the surprised face of Toxic Stalker a split second before the mini-boss came crashing down onto the spot where we’d just been standing. Not that I was paying too much attention to what was going on behind me as the wooden beams of the barn’s roof came rushing up at my face. I barely had time to turn my head to the side, before coming to a crunching stop.

For a long moment, I was unaware of anything else going on around me except for the aching pain in my head. It felt like I’d smacked into a brick wall going sixty miles an hour with only my face. My HUD pulsed with a red warning that I was afflicted by a five-second stun, of which I was barely aware of the system message popping open before my bleary eyes as I limply dropped back towards the ground at the end of my tether.

At that moment, I’d have sworn that I had a real-life concussion as I bounced, spun, and swayed on the end of the strand holding me to the rafters like a broken piñata. I felt odd, almost like the agony had been so realistic that my mind had a psychosomatic response to protect itself. As I struggled to take in the chaos going on around me, I caught sporadic, nauseating flashes of Neysa trying to kite the mini-boss as my friends alarmed and anxious shouts beat at my ears.

“Star, are you alright?” Phoenix’s muffled shout rang in my ears as I caught a glimpse of Neysa scrabbling away on bloody paws.

“Look at your HUD, he’s stunned,” Töten’s gruff voice barked as I was sent spinning from Toxic Stalker’s bulbous hindquarters smashing into me.

The monstrous mini-boss’s flailing spiked legs whipped past my face in a blur as it launched itself after the Silver Dire Wolf. Snapshots of the barn and the hanging players zoomed past my eyes as I puked in the back of my throat. By the time I’d spun back around towards the fight, Neysa was flinging herself to the side as Toxic Stalker flew past her in a mass of flailing limbs and mouth tentacles.

“No shit, I’m surprised he’s not-,” Byrnwulf bellowed as the strand I was hanging from spun me back around.

“Don’t run towards me you stupid beast!” Igtra’s fearful shriek blasted out in group chat, cutting Byrnwulf off as I pivoted back around in time to see Toxic Stalker’s monstrous bulk barreling into the Red Draconian-Human female and Phoenix.

“Holy shit,” Töten’s exclamation in consternation as Neysa painfully rolled back onto her bloody paws, “Are you guys alright?”

“I think,” Phoenix managed to gasp out as she spun uncontrollably away from the mini-boss, “I’m going to be sick!”

“Don’t you dare puke-” Igtra screamed in a panic as the mini-boss regained its footing in time to see the Silver Dire Wolf sprinting away.

“Hhhuuurrrlll!” Phoenix chokingly gagged, before her body doubled over violently as stomach bile projectile vomited from her mouth like a firehose.

My head cleared from the effects of the stun just in time to clearly see the horrified expression that crossed Igtra’s face a split second before she was drenched in puke from head to toe. There was so much of the caustic goop that she almost looked like she’d been slimed on Nickelodeon. While that was nasty, the worst part, I suddenly realized as Phoenix’s body spun away, was that the Red Draconian-Human female still had her mouth wide open.

I spun away from the pair in time to catch a glimpse of Neysa dodging another leaping attack from Toxic Stalker as the sounds of Igtra uncontrollably heaving the contents of her stomach up came to my ears. Not that looking away helped much since a still-puking Phoenix was spinning around on the end of her tether like a decorative fountain at the Bellagio. As I fitfully gulped in a lungful of air to stop myself from joining in on the fun, a pair of bound feet slammed into me from behind.

“Are you ready to do this?” Zeven shouted as a cacophony of angry curses came from the far side of the barn where Neysa and the mini-boss had gone.

“Yeah,” I chokingly gasped out as another powerful kick stopped my spinning. Swallowing the bile that had risen in the back of my throat, I angrily snarled at the Badger kin’s rough handling, “Dude! Why the fuck do you keep kicking me?”

“I’m not kicking you,” Zeven growled in a huff, “I’m trying to synchronize our swings so that you can grab my belt buckle!”

“By slamming your legs into me as hard as you can,” I exclaimed, letting out a wordless grunt as he kicked me again, “I don’t know about you, but that sounds an awful lot like kicking to me.”

The last kick sent me swinging high up into the air as Zeven shot off in the opposite direction behind me. I was just wondering what the fuck he was trying to do, when we came swinging back at each other like a pair of desktop Newton’s Cradle balls. As we slammed together with a loud “Umph,” I was reminded of Newton’s Laws of Conservation of Momentum and Energy as we both bounced away in opposite directions.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Zeven demanded in an annoyed tone as we slammed back into each other again, “Why aren’t you grabbing ahold of my belt?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I groused back in the same tone, “How about a heads-up first next time?”

“How about a heads-up?” Zeven repeated my words in exasperation as Toxic Stalker’s enraged chittering shriek echoed out, “This was your fucking plan in the first place!”

“Dude, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head!” I roared in frustration while catching fleeting snapshots of a scrambling Neysa fleeing from the mini-boss as the monster tried to box her into a corner, “I still need to know when you’re starting!”

“So, are you ready now?” Zeven sarcastically asked as our pendulum-like swings began slowing down.

“Yeah, go ahead,” I snapped, doing my best to ignore the attitude. As the Badger kin’s bound legs slammed hard against my back, I grunted from the impact as we shot away from each other again.

“Try reaching back behind you as far as you can,” Zeven shouted over the cacophony going on around us as we began to swing back towards each other, “and I’ll try thrusting my groin out.”

Neysa and Helgath’s idea for loosening our bindings had somewhat worked. While I was still bound by the spittle strands around my chest, head, and ankles, I now had about a foot that I could spread my wrists apart and the same if I tried reaching back behind me. It wasn’t much but it was much better than what I could do before. As we swung back together, I rotated my palms out and spread my hands out like a large catcher’s mitt feeling like a complete idiot.

“Now!” Zeven shouted as we slammed together with a crunching clank. I tried grabbing anything that I could but my fingers slid off the large, scale plates that hung below his waist like a short-armored skirt.

“Fuck!” I grunted as we swung away from each other again.

“You’re gonna have to stick your ass out as much as you can while I try going higher,” Zeven said, realizing the problem.

“Higher?” I asked in confusion as Neysa yowled in agony. As I reached out over our shared link, I felt nothing but agony as Zeven began explaining what he meant.

“If this is going to work, I’ve gotta be swinging a little faster than you-”

“Dude, Neysa’s hurt bad,” I urgently snapped, cutting him off, “so whatever it is you need to do, fucking do it!”

“Got it!” Zeven acknowledged as his bound feet slammed hard into my back again. As we swung back together again, he began shouting out directions, “Stick your ass out while I line up-”

“Oof!” We slammed together hard as my tailbone smacked into something hard. Ignoring the agony shooting through my ass, I scrabbled for a handhold. Still, I was too low on his legs to get ahold of the tightly drawn material before we were pulled apart by gravity.

“That was my fault,” Zeven apologized as we swung away from each other, “I was too high on that one.”

“Dude, we’re running out of time!” I exclaimed, feeling Neysa’s anguish over our link as I caught flashes of her limping away from the mini-boss’s latest attack with a hole through her chest.

“I’m going … I’m going,” Zeven said in a reassuring tone as he kicked me again in the ass. This was starting to get old really quick, I silently grunted, trying to ignore the pain still shooting through my tailbone. As we began swinging back together, the Badger kin began a running commentary, “That’s it, keep your ass where it is, you’re right on target.”

I most definitely was going to make sure this part of our escape was deleted from everyone’s stream, I cringingly thought, visualizing the hip-thrusting Badger kin lining up behind me while I was thrusting my ass out. Alternative lifestyles were all well and good, but for me personally, these were the last words that I ever wanted to hear coming from another man.

Reminding myself this was all for Neristhana, I gritted my teeth and bore the embarrassment as we swung against each other once again. Spreading my fingers out wide, my hands swept along the insides of his scaled armor-covered legs when the Badger kin excitedly shouted, “Go ahead and grab on now!”

Realizing that Neysa wasn’t going to last much longer, I decided to not take any chances this time around. Instead of going for the large belt buckle like last time and risking being blocked by the scaled armored skirt hanging over his groin, I decided not to fuck around and grabbed the first thing that I could get my hands on. As my palms ran up to the baggy scaled Jodhpur pants the Badger kin was wearing, I clenched my fists closed.

“Gotcha!” I shouted in triumph as we slammed together hard and stuck in place.

“Yyyaaahhh,” Zeven’s high-pitched cry rang in my ears as gravity tried to drag us apart.

“Star, Neysa’s in trouble,” Phoenix gasped in group chat, “So, whatever it is you guys are doing, you need to hurry the fuck up!”

“We’re going as fast as we can here!” I snapped in group chat as the Badger kin’s body froze in place.

“Th-that’s not my belt!” Zeven gasped in agony.

“Go faster,” Töten growled as Toxic Stalker let out a chittering cry of triumph.

“Fuck!” I swore, knowing this shit was heading south fast. Doing my best not to think of what my hands were currently holding, I blindly began reaching up with a hand to find the Badger kin’s belt buckle as he whimpered like a wounded animal in my ear, “Sorry dude, but you’re just going to have to suck it up for a few more seconds.”

“D-do … you … ha-have to … squeeze so … ti-tightly?” Zeven painfully mewed as I found the first tab.

“Got it,” I excitedly said, releasing my death grip on his crotch.

“Ohmygod that hurt,” Zeven moaned as I began searching for the other tab.

“I’ll give you a heal once we’re done,” I promised the Badger kin as he let out another soulful whimper.

“Not funny,” Zeven groaned as I gripped the other tab.

“What do I do now?” I snapped, ignoring his distress.

While I knew it sucked to have your beans and franks smashed, it wasn’t like there had been another choice. At least, not another choice I was willing to wait on. Besides, it was just as disturbing for me, I thought, hearing Neysa’s death howl ring in my ears from the far side of the barn.

“Pull the … tabs out … as far as you can,” Zeven managed to get out as I nodded in understanding.

‘War Leader!’ Helgath warningly exclaimed as Neysa’s icon disappeared from my HUD.

Warning! Your Combat Mount has been slain by Toxic Stalker the Noxious!

All the experience points that your Combat Mount has earned towards its next level have been lost. You will be able to resummon your Combat Mount in an hour.

‘I know!’ I sent back as rage filled me at Neysa’s death.

“Now, to deal with the two of you!” I heard Toxic Stalker excitedly chitter as I strained with all my might to stretch my arms out as far as I possibly could inside my spittle prison.

“I knew these imbeciles’ foolish plan was never going to work,” I heard Igtra snarl over the rest of the chatter.

“Igtra!” Byrnwulf warningly snapped.

“Startum,” Zeven nervously said as the mini-boss began hurrying over to us, “you’ve gotta pull the tabs out now!”

“Gah!” I screamed, choking up on the handles and trying again. This time, I felt the click through my fingertips as the magic belt activated.

“That’s it!” Zeven shouted triumphantly as the tabs pulled back into the buckle. As I hurriedly shifted my fingers into the top of his belt, the Badger kin began muttering under his breath as he began casting battle buffs, “Spirit Armor, Might of a Bear, Agility of a Squirrel, Stamina of a Wolf, Bark Skin, Speed of a Hare, Strike of an Adder, Nature’s Protection, Cunning of the Fox, Spirit Armor, and Soul Biter!”

“He’s nearly on top of you,” Töten warningly shouted out.

“Got it,” Zeven said in an unperturbed voice, “Just remember my protection will only last for five minutes. After that-”

“You’ll need back up and Minor Cure Disease casts,” I knowingly said, cutting him off as the ripping sounds of threads came to my ears.

“Um, guys,” Byrnwulf said with a note of concern in his voice, “you know that neither of you has gotten out of your bindings yet, right?”

“On my mark, let go and I’ll kick you away,” Zeven confidently said as I felt him begin moving behind me.

“And my bindings?” I nervously asked, hearing the chiton-spiked legs right behind us.

“I’ll free you when I push you away,” Zeven confidently said as he began wiggling even more behind me. Almost as an afterthought, the Badger kin casually added, “Oh, and I’ll try not to hurt you too much when I cut your bindings.”

“The fuck?” I exclaimed in alarm as he let out a dark bark of laughter.

“Don’t worry,” Zeven said, not sounding the least bit apologetic, “I’ll make sure to give you a heal once we’re done.”

“Dude, really?” I groused, realizing that whatever he was about to do was going to hurt like a mother fucker

“He’s gonna tag you with his tongue!” Phoenix suddenly shouted.

“Mark!” Zeven roared.

“Fuck my life!” I swore, hurriedly releasing my hold on the Badger kin’s belt.

Even knowing what was about to happen, I flinched as the tearing sounds of spittle strands bursting open came to my ears. Whatever Special Ability or Spell Zeven was using to release himself had no problems cutting through the goop holding him in place. Talk about impressive. I was still trying to figure out how he’d managed that when agony suddenly shot through my body.

“Hhhuuurrrgggle!” I wordlessly shrieked as my throat uncontrollably convulsed in pain.

The amount of agony running through my entire body in that instance was insane. I had no idea what the hell the Badger kin had hit me with, but it felt like a severe cat scratch that went the entire length of my body. That was if said scratch had been delivered by a two-hundred-pound Mountain Lion.

All that I could say with any certainty was that whatever attack Zeven had hit me with had completely passed through my armor like it wasn’t even there. The pain level was right up there with being set on fire. As I sucked in a ragged breath to let out a proper scream, I barely noticed the Badger kin violently shoving me away as the spittle prison that had been holding me in place fell away in shredded pieces.

“Aaahhh-ooohfuuucck!” My echoing Tarzan-like scream of agony switched midway into a horrifying curse a split second before belly-flopping onto the cold stone floor of the barn with a painful oomph.

The blood rushing through my ears momentarily drowned out the sounds of combat going on around me and the shouts of my friends as all of the wind was forced from my lungs. While my Health had barely dropped twenty points, the pain was way worse than that time I belly flopped off of the Lake Lytal community pool’s high-dive as a kid. As a nearly silent whimpering was forced from my open mouth, I fought to kickstart my lungs and draw in a breath of air as tears ran down my cheeks.

Normally, I’d have slapped out of the fall without a problem, but due to my arms still being partly caught behind my back and the way I had been dumped from the strands, that hadn’t been possible. That, and my heavy armor, weapons, and full backpack hadn’t helped with the force of the impact either. It was a few seconds before I’d recovered enough to become partly aware of my surroundings again.

“Star, you have to get the fuck up!” Phoenix’s voice yelled.

“What is that moron doing?” Igtra’s voice demanded, “He’s just laying there!”

“Yo, Star,” Töten bellowed, “you’ve gotta release me so I can help that walking carpet!”

“Milord, you have to rise,” Neristhana screamed.

“Dude, I know that had to have hurt like a motherfucker,” Byrnwulf shouted, “but you’ve gotta get your ass up now!”

There were a lot more voices than that. It seemed like the rest of the players present were demanding that they be released too, I realized, as I sucked in a shaky breath. Blinking my blurred vision away, I struggled to roll onto my back, when fresh strength suddenly filled my body.

‘War Leader,’ Helgath’s telepathic cry rang in my head, “use my power!”

It felt like a bucket of cold water had suddenly been upended in my face. Helgath had offered her own stats for me to borrow, momentarily knocking her out as the mental fog cleared from my mind and Strength returned to my limbs. I realized that my severe reaction to the damage was partly caused by Dread Maw’s poison that was still flowing in my veins. Knowing that we were on a time limit with Zeven, I snagged the last Antidote Potion from my equipment belt and quickly drank it down.

‘Thanks, Helgath,’ I sent, releasing her boost so that my soulmate could recover.

‘All for you,’ the Half-Orc weakly mumbled over our link as she started to recover.

As the rest of my fugue and general weakness disappeared in the blink of an eye, I immediately cast Healing Breeze. Rolling back to my feet, I began running to where the big guy was hanging as I hurriedly glanced behind me to see how the Badger kin was doing.

“Die meatsack, die!” Toxic Stalker chittered in rage at Zeven as the monster tried crushing him under its fleshy bulk.

Instead of being caught by the attack, Zeven looked to be playing it smart. From what I could see, he was using both ends of his Bardiche polearm to parry the incoming mouth tentacles as he urgently fell back and dodged side-to-side to not be crushed. Before turning back around, I saw one of the mini-boss’s mouth tentacles get through his defenses to stab him in the side of his neck. Instead of seeing a fountain of blood come from the wound when the Badger kin knocked the tentacle away, to my shock, the attack barely seemed to have broken the Badger kin’s skin.

Holy fuck, that must be some crazy ass magic belt, I silently thought, as I hit the Badger kin with a Regeneration and an Enhanced Mage Armor. I hadn’t really believed him when he’d said that he could buy us five minutes if I could keep him healed. Turning back around, I drew my Dark Blade of Lord Kayden and raced up to the big guy.

“Dude, get me out of this shit so I can kick that bastard’s ass,” Töten eagerly said as I ran up to him.

“Just give me a sec,” I snapped as brought the blade up over my head in two hands with the point facing the ground and leaped at him.

“Dude!” Töten exclaimed in consternation as the black blade stabbed at his head.

“Don’t be a pussy,” I chided as the tip of my blade scraped along the side of his helmeted head.

That was enough to hook the point into the top of the spittle bindings. Pulling myself up by the hilt, I used the weight of my body to drive the blade through the rest of the strands in one go. Landing on my feet in a crouch, I hit the big guy with a Minor Cure Disease as he landed beside me with a loud clank.

“That was pretty smooth,” Töten said, flashing me a grin as he dropped weakly to a knee, “Mind hitting me again with one of those Minor Cure Disease?”

“The hell?” I asked in surprise, checking my HUD to see that he was still poisoned with thirty-percent effectiveness next to the debuff. With a frown, I hit him again

“It’s my Oni heritage’s magic resistance,” Töten confided to me in local chat.

“It blocks helpful magic?” I asked in surprise as I hit him again.

“Magic resistance is magic resistance,” Töten said with a shrug.

“I guess that means poison fucks you up,” I said as the second Minor Cure Disease cleared out the poison debuff.

“That and cold,” Töten admitted as he stood up and rolled his shoulders.

“You’ll have to explain later,” I whispered back, hitting him with an Enhanced Mage Armor and Regeneration.

“Over a couple of pints of ale,” Töten agreed, before flashing me a grin as he swung the massive two-handed war hammer from his back, “Now, let’s go kick this asshole’s ass!”

“Soon as I free the rest of the team,” I called as the big guy let out a roar and charged the boss on the far side of the barn.

Phoenix was next. As I ran over to my friend, I hit Zeven with another Regeneration and Enhanced Mage armor. Fuck, that mini-boss hits hard, I thought, as Töten threw his two-handed war hammer at the mini-boss as it tried to back the Badger kin into a corner.

“Rrreeeiii!” Toxic Stalker shrieked, rearing up on his hindquarters in pain as the chunk of iron smashed into its bulbous ass.

He must’ve gotten a Sneak Attack from that strike, I realized, as the mini-boss whipped around to face Töten. I was worried that the big guy was going to be in trouble since he didn’t stop his charge or draw another weapon. As Toxic Stalker rushed to meet Töten in a mass of chitinous legs and flailing mouth tentacles, I saw the two-handed war hammer suddenly reappear back in his hands as he dodged to the side and smacked the mini-boss upside the head.

“I’m not wearing a helm like Töten!” Phoenix nervously shouted as she saw me turn back around.

“Don’t you think I know that by now?” I asked as I brought the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden over my head again and leaped at her.

“Dude!” Phoenix shouted, trying to flinch away from the blade.

Instead of going for the Barbarian’s head, I drove the blade between her breasts enough to hook the strands and used my body weight to drive the edge of my blade through the spittle bindings. As I landed on my feet below her, Phoenix began swearing up a storm as she swung from the spittle strands still wrapped around her head.

“Gah,” Phoenix complained as she used both hands to pull the remaining strands from under her chin. As I hit her with a Minor Cure Disease and an Enhanced Mage Armor, she dropped down next to me with a grunt. Before I could cast any more buffs on her, a warning shout from Zeven made me turn back to the ongoing fight.

“Startum, Töten’s down!”

“Dammit, Töten,” I shouted, seeing the Badger kin urgently driving the point of his Bardiche into the mini-boss’s face as he stood over my paralyzed friend. I began casting Minor Cure Diseases again as I shouted, “use your freaking shield!” Before I’d finished the cast, the Barbarian was already charging into the scrum.

“Phoenix!” I swore in alarm, hitting Töten with another Minor Cure Disease to clear the poison completely from his system.

There was no way I was going to cast all of the spells that I needed to in time! As the Anti-Paladin began climbing back to his feet, I hit him with another Enhanced Mage Armor and Regeneration to try and keep him in the fight for more than a single hit. I’d barely finished the cast when Toxic Stalker’s mouth tentacles suddenly snagged the shaft of Zeven’s Bardiche and yanked him towards its snapping maw.

“Fuck!” Zeven roared in fury as the mini-boss’s proboscis shot out of its mouth to slam into his scaled breastplate.

Switching targets, I began another double cast of Enhanced Mage Armor and Regeneration on Zeven as he tried to wrestle his Bardiche away from the mini-boss’s mouth tentacles. While the Enhanced Mage Armor spell was probably only absorbing a single one of those probosci’s hits, it was the only thing I could think of quickly doing to keep the Essence Shaman on his feet. As Töten launched himself at the mini-boss’s head, Phoenix used a Super Jump to close the distance.

“Rrreeeiii!” Toxic Stalker shrieked as the Barbarian’s Vicious Blade of Rending chopped deep into its mouth tentacles.

As I hit Phoenix with an Enhanced Mage Armor, the mini-boss smashed the Barbarian away with a casual backhand from one of its purple-bleeding tentacles. While on Toxic Stalker’s other side, Töten’s oversized war hammer slammed into the monster’s fang-filled maw with a devastating crunch. Another flick of its mouth tentacles blasted the Anti-Paladin off his feet. Before the mini-boss could refocus on its original victim, Zeven ripped the shaft of his Bardiche free and brought the heavy chopping blade down on its armored head.

“Rrreeeiii!” Toxic Stalker chittered in insectile fury as it rushed the Badger kin, trying to crush him with its fleshy bulk again.

“Startum,” Byrnwulf shouted loud enough for me to notice him, “Phoenix and Töten are stunned again.

“How?” I demanded, hurrying to select Phoenix again as I cast another Minor Cure Disease.

“Listen, guys,” I shouted while casting, “you have to use your damn shields or I’m gonna be out of mana before this fight is over!”

“That’s complete bullshit,” Phoenix snarled as she climbed back to her feet and unslung her Black Coral Shield as I switched to Töten, “the fucker didn’t stab me with its mouth tentacles!”

“What part of its mouth tentacles are poisonous did you not grasp the first three times it paralyzed you?” Igtra snarled, before turning her furious puke-covered glare on me. “Release me so I can show you, imbeciles, how to fight this monster!”

“Not just no,” I muttered over my shoulder to the annoying Red Draconian-Human female as I hurried over to her partner, “but hell no.”

“Igtra, you’re a freaking Shaman not a melee-” Byrnwulf irritably began to say, when I ran up to him, “Um, just so you know, all my scaled armor is gone, so be careful.”

“Gotcha,” I said, moving my blade to one hand.

It took me only a second to come up with another idea. Leaping up, I hooked an arm around his neck as our combined weight dragged the tether nearly to the ground. As the Red Draconian-Human male gasped at the spittle binding bit into this unprotected skin, I carefully slide the point of my blade between the strands around his collarbone.

“Not to disappoint you or anything,” Byrnwulf joking choked out, “but I don’t swing for the same team.”

“Really funny, man,” I said as I let go of him.

“Watch out for my junk!” Byrnwulf fearfully screamed as he was ripped away from me by the tension on the tether.

Luckily for him, I kept my blade lined up with his body as it sheered through all the strands below his waist in the blink of an eye. Not only that, I even managed to cock the blade slightly around his groin so I didn’t accidentally cut through anything extra. Before he could pull the strands from his head, I’d cut through the stands around his ankles and hit him with a Minor Cure Disease, before turning back to the ongoing mini-boss fight.

“Thanks, man,” Byrnwulf said, clapping me on the shoulder, “Let me buff up and I’ll jump into the fight with your friends.”

“Thanks,” I said with a nod, watching Zeven, Töten, and Phoenix battle the mini-boss as I hit it with an Identify. As I began refreshing the trio’s buffs, I glanced at Toxic Stalker’s status and swore under my breath as I saw that its health was only down eighteen percent, “We need to get that fucker’s hit points down as much as possible before Zeven’s poison invulnerability wears off!”

“Let me release Igtra really quick and I’ll join the fight,” Byrnwulf assured me, recasting parts of his red-scaled armor as quickly as possible.

“As long as she doesn’t backstab us or anything,” I grunted as I hit the mini-boss with an Amplify Damage debuff.

“She’s not that bad,” Byrnwulf said with a laugh like I was overreacting.

“Not that bad,” I exclaimed, switching to casting Holy Shield on the trio, “Dude, she keeps saying batshit crazy stuff like she wants to rip our hearts out for our insolence!”

“Naw, man, she’s just funning,” Byrnwulf said, before adding with a slight frown, “mostly.”

“Mostly?” I repeated, giving him an incredulous look as he let out a heavy sigh.

“It’s a long story,” Byrnwulf said in a rush of words, “but I’ll make sure to keep her in line.”

“Yeah, you do that,” I grunted as he gave me a nod and headed for his companion, “or I’ll put the rabid bitch down myself.” Before I could head for Helgath and Neristhana, a shout in local chat caught my attention.

“Are you fucking deaf or something?” The player that had been hanging across from Byrnwulf yelled at me. “Fucking let me go too!”

“And why the fuck would I bother doing that?” I snapped back in the same tone, “You dumbshits wouldn’t even join our raid.”

“Fuck you, dick!” the player screamed at my back as I sprinted towards the front of the barn.

“How are you guys holding up?” I asked as Neristhana wordlessly grunted at me in annoyance.

‘She can’t speak with her mouth bound like you newfar,’ Helgath explained as I reached up and pulled her down by her ankle strands. As I slipped my blade up to slice through the bindings up to her throat, I cast another Healing Breeze.

‘I’ve got the rest,’ Helgath assured me as she began to squirm out of the strands wrapped around her head and neck, ‘get Neristhana.’

‘By the way,’ I said while turning to the Gnomeling, ‘I’m sorry about Neysa.’

‘She knew the risks and gladly accepted them to free us from these monsters,’ Helgath assured me as she lightly dropped to the ground on her clawed feet.

‘I know, it just sucks,’ I unhappily replied, pulling Neristhana down by her ankle bindings and cutting her free the same as I’d done for the Half-Orc.

“Hey, do you mind cutting me free too?” a female voice called out next to us.

“Startum!” Töten shouted as Phoenix suddenly took a mouth tentacle to the shoulder.

Fuck, I silently swore as I turned back around to the fight and began casting Minor Cure Disease on the downed Barbarian. Another pain-filled cry rang out as Zeven was blasted off his feet. Töten quickly stepped up to tank Toxic Stalker to give the Badger kin enough time to recover. As Phoenix began climbing back to her feet, the big guy went down as the mini-boss’s proboscis shot through the Anti-Paladin’s chest.

“If you can cut me down,” the female player kept pleading, “we’ll gladly help out with the mini-boss.”

Luckily for the big guy, Phoenix was back on her feet in a flash. As the mini-boss sucked its proboscis back, she shouldered Töten out of the way and began tanking the monster.

‘I’ve got Zeven!’ Helgath sent as I began working on the big guy.

“This asshole keeps growing his tentacles back!” Phoenix screamed in frustration as she did her best to block the incoming strikes.

“Come on, what do you say?” the female player kept asking as Neristhana dropped down next to me.

“I think he’s rebuilding them from the mass of his body,” Töten grunted as he began climbing to his feet. Before he could stand up, he collapsed with a clank as a tentacle stabbed him through the visor of his helmet.

“Gah!” Phoenix screamed a split-second later as three tentacles stabbed through her armor.

“We need more help here stat!” Zeven shouted as he rammed the point of his Bardiche into Toxic Stalker’s open maw.

“Neristhana, cut her down,” I snapped between casts, “and while you’re at it, release Zeven’s companion too!”

‘I don’t trust that woman, War Leader,’ Helgath immediately sent as the Gnomeling gave me a frown but did what I asked.

‘Neither do I,’ I unhappily agreed, ‘but it’s a reasonable risk if we can get a hand in taking down this boss.’ I gave a mental snort of disgust. ‘That and we could use an extra Healer or two so we can take a minute to raise our Ghouls.’

‘There’s that,’ Helgath dubiously agreed.

Not that I blamed her one bit. I rarely expected much from random players that I met in these types of situations. Still, I hoped for a little bit of a hand since we were all basically in the same boat.

“We’ve got your back!” Byrnwulf shouted as they ran up behind the mini-boss. To my surprise, both Red Draconian-Humans opened their mouths wide and blasted the rear of the monster with fire.

Okay, that was cool as hell, I thought as a swath of flames engulfed the monster. While I doubted the attack was much stronger than a level 25 Fire Breath spell, it was still cool as hell. Almost like watching two mini–Red Dragons belching flames.

To my surprise, Toxic Stalker seemed to go berserk at the fire washing over him. His mouth tentacles went rigid as he immediately aggroed on the duo and whirled on them to attack. While that thankfully gave Helgath and me enough time to get everyone else up and buffed, both of them were smashed away in seconds. One tentacle strike was enough to collapse their Enhanced Mage Armor and paralyze them, I depressingly thought. If not for Zeven, Töten, and Phoenix going full DPS to regain the mini-boss’s aggro, they would’ve been crushed to death.

‘Get them back up,’ I excitedly sent over our link as I did my best to keep the trio buffed, “he’s vulnerable to fire!”

“My poison resistance is going downing down in ten seconds!” Zeven anxiously hollered as the female player next to us dropped to the ground.

“Let me get my guildmates free and we’ll help out,” the female player promised as she ran for the other side of the barn.

“Fuck,” I swore, seeing who she was headed to first. That’s the asshole who’d just called me a dick, I thought with a frown, “I don’t think we’re going to be getting much help from any of them.”

“You want me to stop her?” Neristhana asked as her hands began to glow purple.

“Naw, fuck it, let’s just see what they do,” I said, feeling like I’d just been suckered, “Just focus on burning down the boss for now!”

“On it,” Neristhana agreed as she began blasting the mini-boss with Enhanced Shadow Bolts.

“He’s down fifty percent!” Töten roared a few seconds later as Igtra and Byrnwulf rejoined the battle.

“Try to hold him in place, we’ve got a plan!” Byrnwulf urgently shouted to my friends.

“Easier said than done!” Zeven bellowed as he struggled to bat away the mouth tentacles trying to get through his defenses.

“We’ll do our best!” Phoenix screamed in agreement as she blocked and parried for her life.

“Go for it!” Töten shouted as he smashed his war hammer into the monster’s bulbous body.

As we struggled to keep our friends in the fight with constant casts of Enhanced Mage Armor, I was surprised to see the duo leap onto Toxic Stalker’s bulbous backside. It was an impressive feat. Using the claws on their hands and feet, they quickly scurried up onto the mini-boss’s back until they were straddling the monster like children on an Elephant ride.

“Gah!” Zeven wordlessly screamed as the mini-boss’s proboscis suddenly shot from Toxic Stalker’s ruined mouth to pierce his throat.

“Neri, target the proboscis!” I screamed, hurriedly switching to casting Minor Cure Disease on the downed Badger kin while Helgath hit him with another Regeneration.

“I’ll consume your hairy ass first!” I heard Toxic Stalker shriek in an enraged chitter as Phoenix and Töten attacked with everything they had.

“Get off of him, you sick perverted fuck!” Phoenix shrieked as she batted aside the mini-boss’s mouth tentacles with her shield and started hacking at the thick probosci’s tongue.

“Eat this!” Töten bellowed as he stepped forward to smash his two-handed war hammer down on the monstrous head.

Too far away to assist, the rest of us could only watch in horror as Toxic Stalker began draining Zeven with its proboscis. His hit point bar was going up and down like a yoyo. As Helgath and I struggled to keep him alive with repeated casts of Light’s Blessing, I saw both Red Draconian-Humans’ weapons light up like fiery beacons as they began hacking into the mini-boss’s back for all they were worth.

Whatever spell they were using to empower their weapons worked like a charm. Toxic Stalker immediately released Zeven as its proboscis snapped back into its ruined maw in the blink of an eye. Letting out a warbling chittering wail, the mini-boss seemed to go completely berserk. Bashing Töten and Phoenix away like they were nothing, the mini-boss spun around in a mindless panic trying to dislodge the Red Draconian-Humans from its back.

Helgath began casting Minor Cure Disease on Phoenix as I hit Zeven with the same spell, before moving to Töten’s unmoving form. From the look of it, the pair of Red Draconian-Humans seemed to have found the mini-boss’s weak spot. As they continued smashing a deeper hole into the monster’s armored back, we managed to get Phoenix, Töten, and Zeven back on their feet. I was just starting to think we had this fight wrapped up and I could raise some Ghouls when Toxic Stalker suddenly froze as his hit points dropped down to thirty-three percent.

“Rrreeeiii!” Toxic Stalker chittered in insectile fury as its chiton-spiked legs lowered its bulbous belly to the ground when I realized what was about to happen.

“Get off its back now!” I shouted to Byrnwulf and Igtra just as the mini-boss launched itself straight up into the air.

“Fu-” was all that Byrnwulf managed to get out before they were slammed headfirst into the roof of the barn.

The pair’s run was over as both Red Draconian-Humans tumbled from Toxic Stalker’s back like boneless sacks of potatoes as the mini-boss came crashing back down to the ground. As spun around to finish off the pair, Töten’s war hammer slammed into the side of the mini-boss’s face as Phoenix and Zeven threw themselves back into the scrum.

‘Switch to casting Holy Shields,’ I hurriedly sent to Helgath as I began spamming Enhanced Mage Armor.

Dammit, we were so close, I sourly thought as the trio did their best to drive Toxic Stalker back. While it was working, it was slow going as the mini-boss flailed at my friends in a frenzy trying to get at the stunned pair of Red Draconian-Humans. Only quick thinking had saved the pair from being finished off. As my friends began tearing into the monster with everything they had, it let out a wailing chittering shriek.

“To me little brothers, to me!”

“I’m going in!” Neristhana shouted as she suddenly charged past us with her hand axe to enter the scrum.

Instead of calling my companion back, I let her go, seeing that she was out of mana. While I didn’t particularly want her to get killed by one of these Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso monsters, I realized that the fight was more or less over. At least, it would be once the Red Draconian-Human pair managed to recover from their stun and reenter the fight.

That, and Neristhana would kick my ass if she thought I was being too overprotective with her, I sagely thought as the Gnomeling began wailing at the mini-boss’s underside from behind. I let out an explosive breath and began to relax when shouts of alarm suddenly came from behind us.

“Shut the doors … shut the door!” I heard that same asshole from earlier start urgently shouting as the sounds of fighting came to my ears.

“Oh my god,” the female player that Neristhana had released screamed in terror, “there’s so many of them!”

‘Those Chofe-ka!’ Helgath’s mental curse rang in my head.

‘What’s wrong?’ I urgently demanded as the sounds coming from behind us began to get louder.

‘The newfar you had Neri release opened the barn’s doors,’ Helgath coldly explained as she continued to cast, ‘and now waves of low-level monsters are pouring in!’

‘Are you fucking shitting me?’ I swore, feeling my ire rising by the second. Why did it seem like no good deed ever went unpunished?

‘They decided to run away instead of helping us?’ Helgath asked as I glanced over my shoulder to see how fucked we were for myself.

The shitshow that greeted my eyes sent a shiver down my spine. A swarm of Cheliferidae Risso was rushing through the open doors as the nine players that had tried to flee from the mini-boss fight fell back in terror. It was only nine players because the assholes had left the last group hanging from the rafters when they’d made a run for it.

Self-centered pricks, I thought as I watched the Priest that Neristhana had freed get dogpiled by a group of cat-sized Cheliferidae Risso.

“Get them off of me …  get them off of me!” the woman screamed as the monsters began eating her alive.

“Owen, get that thing off Shawna!” the player that called me an asshole shouted at a Rogue-looking fellow.

“Anna, freeze those fuckers!” a Ranger-looking player screamed as he began sending arrows into the mass of monsters.

“Greg, let’s form up on Gillam!” the other team’s Warrior shouted at the Rogue next to him. As they hurried over to the asshole trying to protect Shawna and Owen, the wave of monsters continued rushing through the open doors.

‘War Leader, Töten’s down!’ Helgath’s shout ripped my eyes away from the catastrophe going on behind us.

‘I’ve got him!’ I immediately sent back and turned back to our fight, while silently swearing up a storm at letting myself be distracted. As I began casting Minor Cure Disease, Phoenix encouragingly called out.

“Boss is at five percent health!”

“We’re up!” Byrnwulf’s ragged called out a second later in group chat as I saw the pair of Red Draconian-Humans gathering up their dropped weapons.

Seeing that the pair’s health was nearly topped off, I glanced over my shoulder in surprise to see that Nahimana was helping us out. Giving the Badger kin woman a nod of thanks, I went back to buffing Töten with Holy Shield.

“Let’s burn this fucker down!” Zeven roared, slamming his Bardiche down on the weakening mini-boss as Töten clambered back to his feet. I hit the Anti-Paladin with another Enhanced Mage Armor, before switching to spamming Healing Breeze.

“Yyyaaa!” Byrnwulf and Igtra bellowed as their fiery weapons joined with Neristhana’s attacks at the rear.

“Fucking die already!” Phoenix yelled as she triumphantly hacked through the mini-boss’s proboscis.

“Rrraaawww!” Töten roared as his two-handed war hammer smashed Toxic Stalker to his belly.

“Kill it!” Neristhana shrieked as she leaped onto the mini-boss’s back.

“Go … go … go!” Byrnwulf shouted

As the pair of Red Draconian-Humans raced after the Gnomeling, the sounds of hacking and slashing intermixed with shattering chiton filled the air. While that was going on, Helgath and I urgently focused on rebuffing everyone as quickly as possible. We were halfway done when a system window popped open before my eyes.

Congratulations! You have killed Toxic Stalker the Noxious!

“Woohoo!” Phoenix yelled as she staggered away from the corpse of Toxic Stalker in relief.

“Fuck yeah!” Töten shouted triumphantly next to her, thrusting his two-handed war hammer into the air.

“That was intense,” Zeven agreed, tiredly sagging against his polearm.

“Those were some fine heals there, Startum,” Byrnwulf said, ripping his two-handed axe free from the mini-boss’s corpse as Töten and Phoenix busted out laughing.

‘Behind you!’ Helgath’s mental warning rang in my head as an image of a dog-sized monster leaping at my back flashed through my mind.

“We’ve got incoming!” I shouted while spinning around and drawing the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden. Slashing through the monstrous insect’s body, I killed it instantly as Helgath leaped at the group of cat-sized monsters behind it with her daggers flashing. Seeing Nahimana struggling against another pair of monsters, I hurried over to give her a hand.

“The fuck?” Töten asked as his head whipped around in alarm.

“How are we under attack?” Phoenix demanded as she looked behind her in confusion.

“Rrraaawww!” Neristhana shrieked as she leaped from the mini-boss’s back while Byrnwulf and Igtra mouths fell open in horror at the wave of monsters flooding into the barn.

In the blink of an eye, I took in the situation while helping Nahimana. The two teams that had opened the doors had pulled back to the edge of the opening to allow the wave of monsters to stream past them. If I was reading the situation correctly, they were planning on skedaddling as soon as the coast was clear.

‘Those fucking assholes just trained us!’ I mentally exclaimed to Helgath. That’s probably because they’d realized the swarm was after us and not aggro’ing on them, I realized as a sinking feeling began forming in the pit of my stomach. Probably due to Toxic Stalker’s last call for help before we’d managed to take the asshole down. The only question I had now was how many monsters were going to answer his cry for help.

‘I’ll gut them for this!’ Helgath growled as her daggers eviscerated another cat-sized monster in a mini-poof of blood.

‘I’ll hold them down while you do it,’ I agreed while unlimbering my Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender. Growling in frustration, I met the scattering of advanced monsters head-on.

‘You would?’ Helgath asked in surprise as the wave of Cheliferidae Risso monsters came swarming at us.

‘Why not?’ I angrily said, dropping a Light Word of Censor on top of the monsters not a yard in front of us, ‘There must be consequences for people’s shitty actions. Otherwise, they never learn not to be assholes.’

As the Half-Orc thought over my words with a grunt, we began slashing at the stunned monsters in front of us with Nahimana as Neristhana joined in on the action a second later. As the Gnomeling began hacking away with abandon, a reddish-black aura suddenly appeared around us as Töten came running up to help. Before I could check my HUD to see what he’d cast, the entire mass of monsters was set on fire with reddish-black flames.

“Abyssal Ground Aura for the win!” Töten laughingly said as his oversized war hammer pulped a whole swath of the stunned insects.

“Easy kills,” Zeven excitedly shouted as his Bardiche slashed a large swath through the mass of insects.

“Especially after that last fight,” Phoenix agreed as she came running up.

There were too many of the mini-monsters for all of us to kill in the five seconds that Light Word of Censor lasted. And, while the reddish flames hurt the swarm, it wasn’t powerful enough to kill them outright. Though, it did make it easier for a slash to easily kill them. As the glowing yellow runes faded away, the shrieking survivors of the swarm leaped at us as I released a Frost Nova.

“Step back and give us a clear shot!” Byrnwulf shouted from behind us as the wave of ice washed over the chittering mass.

Though it only lasted for a second due to the reddish-black flames burning the monstrous insect bodies, that was enough for us to fall back to where the Red Draconian-Humans were standing. Glancing at the pair sucking in a lungful of air as we came to a stop next to them, I silently wondered if the special attack was something that couldn’t be cast while they were moving. Whichever it was, I had to admit that they’d timed the AOE perfectly. As the mass of Cheliferidae Risso monsters surged forward again, they blasted out another swath of Fire Breath over the enraged swarm while we protected their flanks.

Though a few of the larger monsters managed to survive the breath attack to launch themselves at the pair, the rest were cooked in seconds. Not that they were a problem as the rest of us hacked and slashed the ones that managed to survive the Fire Breath. Unsurprisingly enough, it was over relatively quickly. As the last chittering mini-horror was cut down, I thoughtfully eyed the double doors.

“Neristhana and Helgath,” I grunted in group chat, “Do you mind closing the barn doors?”

“You’ve got it,” the Gnomeling said, giving the Half-Orc a friendly nod as they hurried over to the opening.

“What about those assholes that trained us?” Byrnwulf growled at the sounds of fighting coming from near the edge of town.

“It sucks to be them?” Phoenix said with a shrug as the girls began pushing the doors shut.

“If it were up to me,” Igtra venomously spat as the wooden doors boomed shit, “I’d skin them alive and then send them to the graveyard to teach them a lesson.”

“Mm-okay,” Zeven said, giving the rest of a look that said, “What the fuck’s up with her?” as he hurried over to his companion and began working to free the Grizhawk.

“She takes a little bit to get used to,” I said with a shrug as the Red Draconian-Human female turned to glare at me, “Not that I particularly disagree with her, mind you,” I held up my hands to stop whatever she was going to say, “because those assholes deserve whatever they get out there.

“At least you can somewhat reason,” Igtra harrumphed, crossing her arms underneath her massive breasts.

Seeing those immense orbs staring back at me, I hurriedly forced my eyes to look anywhere else. The last thing I wanted to do was get the bitchy Red Draconian-Human female going on about ripping my heart out of my chest again. Having her get cleansed by Helgath probably wouldn’t help things any.

‘Then, she shouldn’t be such a prickly bitch,’ the Half-Orc sent, not in the least bit perturbed.

‘There’s that,’ I agreed, eyeing the timer as I looked around the barn.

“Hey Startum,” Zeven called out as he finished freeing the Grizhawk, “mind hitting Bright Claw with a Minor Cure Disease?”

“No problem,” I replied, casting the spell as I began counting out sixteen soul stones.

“So, what do you want to do about this last group?” Töten asked as he walked up next to me.

“Good question,” I said as I began running Identifies on the remaining members.

A second later, the information began popping up over the bound players’ heads: Pyralis Kirk, level 36 Human, Ranger; Samantha Buller, level 35 Dark Elf, Defensive Warrior; Kevin Beeker, level 37 Ranger, Dark Elf; Alan Vans, level 35 Dwarf, Fire mage; Laura Mac, level 35 Human, Priest; and Ron Malone, level 34 Human, Fire Mage.

“It looks like they’re a pick-up group,” Töten grunted, obviously doing the same.

“Well, fuck,” I unhappily said, eyeing the players as they silently watched us back, “I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.”

“That’s better than the other two groups,” Zeven chimed in as he walked over with his companion and Combat Mount.

“What do you mean?” I asked as Töten raised an eyebrow curiously.

“The larger group was from a guild named, The GOATs,” Zeven said with a shrug, “while the smaller one was from a guild called Raising Cain.”

“Hey Star,” Neristhana interrupted as she walked past heading for the mini-boss, “I’m gonna try to recover those paralysis sacs.”

‘And we braced some wood underneath the doors,’ Helgath added as she walked up behind me, ‘but it won’t hold long against a serious push.’

“Go for it,” I shouted, waving for her to on. Handing the Half-Orc three of the soul stones, I mentally continued, ‘It’s better than nothing.’

“Either way, that’s two new guilds for my ban list,” Töten groused as I nodded in agreement.

“Let’s buff up, roll for loot, and then we can cut them down,” I said as Phoenix walked up with Byrnwulf and Igtra.

“Makes sense,” Zeven agreed as he critically eyed the group while Helgath and I started our cast to Raise Ghouls, “that way they can’t screw us over if they take off without listening to the plan.”

“There’s that,” Phoenix said with a sigh as a furious look came to the Red Draconian-Human female’s face.

“I don’t understand the problem,” Igtra superciliously snapped as she aggressively propped her hands on her hips, “If they don’t follow our commands, we’ll just-”

“Rip their hearts out through their chests, we know,” Phoenix drolly finished, cutting her off mid-rant as she jerked her chin towards Byrnwulf, “I see she’s good as ever at making new friends.”

“It’s a work in progress,” Byrnwulf admitted as Igtra’s head whipped around to glare at him. As she opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, he apologetically held up his hands, “but it works great for keeping pick-up groups in line.” He flashed us a goofy grin, before nodding towards the bound group of players hanging from the rafters. “If you like, we can take care of them while you’re buffing up.”

“Works,” I managed to grunt out while casting, after getting nods of agreement from the rest of the group.

“Just make sure we get a chance to roll on any loot that drops,” Byrnwulf said with an easy laugh. As he nodded for Igtra to follow and turned to go, the cracking sounds of bones and wet flesh made the pair freeze in place as the ground in front of Helgath and me erupted with sixteen Orc Warrior Ghouls.

“Ambush!” Byrnwulf exclaimed, stumbling backward in alarm as he whipped his two-handed battle axe from his back.

“Shit!” Zeven shouted, ripping his Bardiche from his back as his Combat Pet whirred around and let out a challenging roar, “my magic belt is still on its cooldown!”

“It’s not an attack,” Igtra suddenly shouted, placing a calming hand on Byrnwulf’s shoulder as the Badger kin looked at her like she was insane.

“It’s not an attack?” Zeven demanded, glancing at the pair in confusion as Nahimana worriedly eyes the Ghouls while his Grizhawk paused in confusion.

“What do you mean?” Byrnwulf demanded in the same tone, not lowering his weapon. Before Igtra could explain, Phoenix and Töten busted out laughing as Neristhana glanced back at the scene shaking her head in amusement.

“Star,” Phoenix chortled in amusement, “you really need to start warning new teammates about what’s up before you do shit like that.”

“They’re Necromancers,” Igtra repulsively spat, critically giving Helgath and me another once over as if to reevaluate our potential threat levels.

‘That female needs an attitude adjustment,’ Helgath irritably sent as she turned towards Igtra with a glowing clawed hand.

‘Remember,’ I gently sent, placing a calming hand on the Half-Orc’s shoulder, ‘we only cleanse those that directly harm or attack us.’

‘Yes, War Leader,’ Helgath grumbled as the Badger kin’s head whipped around to stare at us.

“Those undead monsters are yours?” Zeven asked, giving me an accusatory look as Nahimana and Bright Claw traded a confused look, “Dude, if you had these things the whole time, why didn’t you use them for taking out the PKers back at Töten’s stronghold?”

“I did use them,” I said, giving the Badger kin an indifferent shrug as I ordered the undead to guard the doors, “for camping any of those fuckers that decided to respawn at the graveyard.”

“Ouch, remind me not to get on your bad side,” Byrnwulf joked, ignoring the alarmed looks coming from his companion as the Badger kin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“It’s probably for the best,” Phoenix agreed in a tone that said she wasn’t joking.

“Oookkkaaayyy,” Zeven said, realizing just how easy it would’ve been for us to gank his stronghold if we’d really wanted to, “that’s good to know.”

“What I don’t understand,” Igtra groused as she eyed us warily, “is why you didn’t raise your undead sooner?”

“Probably because it takes a minute of uninterrupted casting to raise them, duh,” Phoenix explained in the same tone.

“So, we good?” I asked, glancing back and forth between the Badger kin and the Red Draconian-Humans.

“Sure, man,” Byrnwulf said, elbowing Igtra in the side, “Come on, Igtra. Let’s get these guys down.”

“Yeah, we’re cool,” Zeven agreed as I nodded and began heading over to the boss.

“Hey Neri, Phoenix,” I said as Zeven followed me, “why don’t you go ahead and summon your Ghouls while we have the time.”

“Good idea,” Phoenix agreed as she began fishing out two soul stones from her belt pouch.

“I’m sort of busy right now, Lord Stinky,” Neristhana complained.

Even so, the Gnomeling paused in her work to do what I asked as I walked over to the pile of gear that she’d looted from the mini-boss. Calling up the in-game wiki, I started reading up on how to do automatic group rolls since our group now had new teammates. Reading quickly through the process, I called up the system window just as the big guy came to a stop next to me and gave me an amused look.

“First time rolling for loot?” Töten asked, reaching for the first item in the pile as he gave me a wink, “You need to be the group leader to set loot preferences.”

There was the loud clink of coins in my ears as a system message popped open before my eyes.

You have received three golds, twelve silvers, and 37 coppers.

Decent haul for a group this size, I thought, as the coins were evenly divided amongst everyone present. As soon as that message blinked away, a new window popped up. This time, it was the glowing text of a purple-colored item.

Toxic Fang of the Cheliferidae Risso

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Unique

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 120-130

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 1 kg

+15 Stamina

+15 Agility

-Venomous Touch (Type: Poison) Target suffers a poisonous effect that slows movement and reaction speeds by 20% for thirty seconds on each successful strike.

*5% Chance on proc to inflict a five-second paralysis on each successful strike.

Damn, that’s a sweet dagger, I mentally whistled as my internal greed monster perked up at the interesting loot. While it didn’t have a Leeching option, the dagger did offer an appreciative stat boost just for keeping it sheathed on your hip, which wasn’t too shabby. Besides, that Venomous Touch was a pretty nice special, especially if the paralysis proc’ed.

Curiously enough, just as I’d read on the in-game wiki, everyone’s names in the group were listed underneath the item and a dice roll was automatically initiated. To my complete surprise, that included Neristhana, Helgath, Nahimana, and Igtra’s names too, and not just the other players in the group. I guess Töten had chosen to roll for any loot that dropped.

Hopefully, that didn’t cause any problems, I silently thought, holding my breath as the results appeared a second later showing that Helgath had won the roll.

“Grats on the win,” Töten said to the Half-Orc next to me as he handed the dagger over without batting an eye.

“Damn, that’s a decent drop,” Byrnwulf called out from the other side of the barn without any outward malice as they released the first player from his spittle bindings.

“Um, thank you,” Helgath said, unsure of how to act as she accepted the black and green chitin curved dagger in its plain sheath with both hands.

“No problem,” Töten said, grinning broadly as the Half-Orc unsheathed the long-curved dagger to inspect its green glowing edge, “without your support, we’d have never brought that mini-boss down.”

While a small part of me was a little bit jealous at losing the roll, I shrugged the jealous feeling off for the nothing it was. Helgath needed the upgrade, and it was basically the same as if I’d won the roll myself. Laughing at my reaction, I glanced up at the Anti-Paladin as both Neristhana and Phoenix finished raising their second Orc Warrior Ghoul.

“Respect,” I said, giving the big man an appreciative nod as he reached for the pile of gems that Neristhana had set to the side.

“It’s only right,” Töten grunted with a dismissive shrug as multiple windows suddenly popped open before my eyes. There was one for each gem held in the Anti-Paladin’s hand. The results were listed within a few seconds.

Everyone but me won a roll on one of the ten Blood Agates that had dropped. Zeven and Byrnwulf won the roles on the two Verdant Agates, while Helgath won another roll for the Lesser Moonstone that dropped. Not that I was complaining. I ended up with one of the two Citrines that dropped with Igtra getting the other.

As Töten bent down to pick up the next item, I was curious to see the turquoise color of an Exceptional item pop up in a window.

Toxic Chitin-Spiked Knuckles

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Unique

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 40-60

Durability: 250/250

Weight: 7 kg

+10 Stamina

+10 Agility

-Venomous Touch (Type: Poison) Target suffers a poisonous effect that slows movement and reaction speeds by 3% for thirty seconds on each successful strike or pierce against target's dermis, scales, chitin, etc.

While interesting, it wasn’t anything I particularly wanted, I thought, as the automatic roll started again. A second later, Nahimana was displayed as the winner.

“Is this alright?” Nahimana asked in consternation as she turned to look at Zeven

“It’s fine,” he assured his Badger kin companion, “take it.”

The next item that popped up for a roll was a flat stone with carved runes on its face. As soon as Töten held up the item, a green text system window popped open before our eyes.

Charm of the Warrior

Item Quality: Fine

Item Type: Crafted

Location: Inventory

Durability: 150/150

Weight: 0.8 kg

+20 to Stamina

+200 to Armor

Even though the charm was green, that extra 200 to your Armor Class and plus twenty to Stamina wasn’t anything to sneeze at. That most especially went for an item that you simply had to keep in your inventory to get its benefits. When the automatic roll finished, Byrnwulf let out a happy whoop from the far side of the barn.

“Oh yeah, baby, that’s sweet as hell!”

“Head’s up,” Töten said, throwing the stone charm to the Red Draconian-Human player like a Frisby.

“Thanks, dude!” Byrnwulf shouted as he nabbed the stone expertly out of the air.

“What did you get?” the player he’d just released asked.

“Holy shit,” the Rogue said, “I didn’t know they had charms in The World!”

“Seriously?” another of the players asked, hurrying over to the Red Draconian-Human as Töten picked up the next item, “let me see.”

Half-Digested Brown Leather Pants

Item Quality: Inferior

Item Type: Common

Slot: General Clothing

Defense: 0

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 8/25

Weight: 1.3 kg

-5 Charisma

-Description – Too thin rancid leather pants that smell like rotten food and digestive juices.

“Dude, are you serious?” Phoenix laughingly asked as the roll automatically started.

“What?” Töten asked, “It triggered as soon as I picked it up.”

“Sure, it did,” Phoenix barked in laughter as the big guy flipped her off.

“Why would the system even bother rolling on an item like that?” Zeven asked as his face screwed up in confusion.

“Probably because it’s still considered loot,” Töten said with an indifferent shrug, when the winner of the roll was displayed, “Congratulations, Star.”

“Seriously,” I said in annoyance as I got a perfect roll.

“Hence the description,” Töten laughing said, tossing me the still slimy leather, “Enjoy.”

“Thanks,” I said, holding the pants up to look them over, “I swear, they look like a rock star’s used skinny leather pants the next morning after a concert.”

“Who had a lot of sex and alcohol before puking all over themselves,” Phoenix needlessly added.

“They sure smell like it,” Zeven agreed, shivering at the whiff he’d gotten of the rancid pants. Seeing me stuffing the disgusting things into my rucksack, he gave me an incredulous look, “Dude, are you keeping them?”

“At least, until the end of the dungeon,” I said with a shrug.

“Probably for the best,” Töten agreed sagely.

“Why’s that?” Byrnwulf asked as he freed the last player with the help of the rest of the team.

“It’s old-school gamer logic,” Phoenix explained before Töten or I could speak up, “The owner’s spirit shows up at the end of the dungeon, and the only way to solve the final quest is to make sure you have their missing leather pants.”

“Otherwise, he starts killing everyone screaming for his lost pants,” Töten agreed.

“You’re shitting me,” Zeven said, looking back and forth between them.

“That’s not it at all,” Neristhana interrupted as she searched the mini-boss’s corpse for loot and crafting items, “Lord Stinky is a hoarder at heart.”

“I’m a hoarder now?” I patiently asked as the Gnomeling shot me a wink.

“Yeah, Sarka and Yun told me all about what you did back in the Delonshire Mine when they first met up with you,” Neristhana explained to my friends with her arms elbow deep in the corpse, “He looted all of the bloody clothing that they found after the Goblin invasion of the mine and took it with him for his people to use later on.”

“Seriously?” Phoenix laughingly asked.

“Of course, I did,” I said without batting an eye, “I had a lot of people that needed replacement clothing after the invasion and that stuff is expensive as hell in a society like this.”

“So, what did you do?” Töten asked, belly laughing at me, “give them a bunch of bloody clothing and say, clean this up?

“And ignore the bloody stain from the last owner?” Phoenix humorously added, slapping the big man on the back as they both roared at the visual.

“More or less,” I dryly agreed, “It worked too.”

“He has a point,” Zeven thoughtfully said as Phoenix and Töten looked at him in surprise, “From what I saw in Aeroch Nor, the price of good clothing here is right up there with a high-quality piece of armor.” He shook his furry head side-to-side. “I can’t even imagine how expensive it would be to outfit a whole community.”

“You’re joking, right?” Töten asked, trading a confused look at Phoenix.

“Don’t look at me like I’d know the answer to that,” Phoenix said with a dismissive shrug, “That sounds like something a Closed Beta Player should know something about.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Töten said, rolling his eyes at the “Closed Beta Player” comment. Turning back to the Badger kin, the big guy asked, “What did you end up buying clothing-wise?”

“I didn’t buy shit,” Zeven said, letting out a derisive snort, “but the one ceremonial outfit that a Dwarven Clan bought for me a few days ago was well over five hundred gold.” Seeing Phoenix and Töten’s mouths drop open in utter shock, he curiously asked, “Why, how many people did he have sworn to him at that time?”

“I’m not sure since I wasn’t sworn to Lord Stinky back then,” Neristhana thoughtfully said as she glanced over her shoulder at me, “How many people were sworn to you, about two hundred fifty people at that time?”

“I think it was more like a hundred-sixty,” I said, trying to remember back to the refugee camp I’d set up before heading on my first trip to Delonshire, “and everyone was wearing rags in the middle of winter at the time.” I shook my head at the memory. “Freezing to death during the middle of the day was an issue.”

“Fuck,” Zeven exclaimed with a look of shock plastered to his furry face, “I’d be looting every piece of clothing too if I had two-hundred-fifty vassals sworn to me.”

The Badger kin missed the looks my friends shared as they tried to figure out just how many people of The World I had sworn to me. Phoenix knew of the people that I’d saved in Auris Shaeras and sent to Palnisdale, while Töten had seen the people that I’d evacuated from Darom. On top of that, they both knew that I had a shit ton of people back in BrokenFang Hold building up my defenses and preparing for the coming Hobgoblin invasion.

“In that case, I retract everything I just said,” Phoenix said, shaking her head.

“Me too,” Töten said in the same tone, “because if I was in Star’s shoes-”

“I’d be looting every last thing I could get my hands on,” Phoenix finished. Before Zeven could ask anything more, the Gnomeling interrupted.

“Well, I think that’s all of it,” Neristhana said as she stood up and tossed a large amulet over to Töten.

“Thanks, Neri,” Töten replied, catching the necklace as a turquoise-colored system window popped open before our eyes.

Mithridatum's Amulet of Fortification

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Neck

Weight: .8 kg

Makes the wearer immune to paralysis-type poisons. Instead of being paralyzed, the wearer's movements are reduced by seventy-five percent.

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” Töten excitedly said, perking up, “Come on virtual dice, Daddy needs some poison resistance!”

“Fuck that jazz,” Phoenix said, rubbing her hands excitedly as I traded an amused look with Neristhana and Helgath, “Momma needs some more bling.”

While the amulet was nice, it was more or less useless for me. The plus five additional pets the Dark Amulet of Summoning provided were just too useful to give up for poison resistance. Though it would be awesome for one of the girls to have it, I silently thought, curiously waiting for the automatic dice roll to complete. My name was first and popped up with a one.

“I swear, Star,” Phoenix laughingly said, “you have the worst luck with dice.”

“Story of my life,” I agreed with an indifferent shrug as Töten cheered at his roll of eight. Not that I was complaining, Helgath had already won a sweet drop.

“Damn,” I heard Byrnwulf grunt as he rolled a six while Igtra got a five.

“Woohoo!” Phoenix shouted as the last three roles popped up with the Barbarian having a perfect roll of nine, “Hand that over!”

“Easy come, easy go,” Töten muttered as he tossed the amulet over.

“The gold goes perfectly with my Red Coral breastplate!” Phoenix happily said as she posed for effect with her arms akimbo.

“Hey Töten,” Byrnwulf’s shout interrupted us as he walked up with the pick-up group that he’d just released with Igtra, “Can you shoot an invite again to Samantha?”

“Sure,” Töten said as we turned around to greet the pick-up group following behind the pair of Red Draconian-Humans, “but why didn’t she accept the first invite that I sent?”

The words died on the Anti-Paladin’s lips as he took note of the tense looks on the group’s faces and the white-knuckled grip they had on their weapons. It was clear that they were upset about something. I frowned thoughtfully as Neristhana and Helgath quietly took a step closer to me. And that something was most definitely me.

“Because you were obviously teamed with that known PKer!” Samantha snarled, motioning towards me with her naked blade.

“Guys, chill the fuck out!” Byrnwulf worriedly hissed under his breath as I turned to eye the group critically, “If he’d wanted to gank any of you, he’d have just done it while you were all still tied up!”

“That’s just because the loser needs us for finishing off this dungeon,” the Ranger standing beside the female Warrior belligerently snarled at me with his knocked arrow as the name Pyralis Kirk, level 33 Human, Ranger appeared over his head.

“You saw how effective Fire magic was against that bug,” Ron Malone, Level 34 Human, Fire mage readily agreed next to him as he waved his fiery fists around to emphasize his point.

“Are you a bunch of morons?” Igtra scathingly asked as she glared at the trio.

“What do you mean?” Samantha demanded, meeting the Red Draconian-Human female’s look of disgust without batting an eye as Byrnwulf urgently spoke up.

“Igtra didn’t mean anything-”

“The Half-Elf just raised thirteen level 47 Orc Warrior Ghouls on this own and the rest of his group raised another seven level 45,” Igtra continued, completely oblivious to Byrnwulf’s waving hands as the other two members in the group traded nervous glances with one another, “On top of that, every one of them is over level 50 except for the two Badger kin. So, what do you think your level thirty-four to thirty-seven group is going to bring to the table that they don’t already have covered?”

That shut everyone up really quick, I thought as the Human Ranger’s mouth slammed shut with an audible click. Not that it stopped the loudmouth asshole from staring daggers at me while his buddy Ron the Fire mage puffed out his chest challengingly. At least, Samantha seemed to be having second thoughts about pushing the whole “known PKer” thing since she hesitated at Igtra’s words. Before any of the low-level players could think of an appropriate response, the Badger kin glanced over at me curiously.

“Known PKer?” Zeven asked in a concerned tone. Looking towards Byrnwulf, I saw the same look of concern reflected on his face.

“Yeah, the alliance of asshats that raided your stronghold and killed all of your people was playing the innocent victims on the forums, when I kicked their asses and helped my buddy out who was in a similar situation that you were in,” I said, before jerking a chin towards the other group, “but I still get grief from players that take whatever they read on the forums as gospel, instead of doing their own research on the matter to see what really happened.”

“What the fuck are you talking about,” Pyralis spat in self-righteous fury, “I saw the fucking video for myself. You destroyed Telrain with everyone in it and then burnt down the city of Darom.”

“Ah, you’re talking about the clipped dramatized video my ex-girlfriend made,” I said with a snort of laughter, “the one that all of the sheeple on the forums keep going on about instead of watching the actual full video that I posted.”

“Your ex-girlfriend is the guild leader of the Chaos Storm Alliance?” Alan Vans the level 35 Dwarf Fire Mage asked in surprise.

“Unfortunately,” I agreed with a heavy sigh.

“That’s crazy,” Laura Mac, the level 35 Human Priest said, glancing between Samantha and Alan not sure what to believe.

“You’re a lying piece of shit,” Pyralis self-righteously shrieked, raising his bow as if he were going to shoot me in the face.

“Is this guy for real?” Töten asked, looking back and forth between Phoenix and me.

“I’m sure he is,” Phoenix said, shaking her head in disgust.

“What the fuck would you losers know about it anyway?” Ron demanded as he stepped up beside the Ranger.

“Because I’m not a tool and watched the whole fucking video from the source,” Töten said with a smirk as Byrnwulf tried not to laugh.

“From the source?” Ron hesitantly asked, looking back and forth between the pair in confusion.

“Yeah, you know, direct from V-MMORG itself,” Töten said, the revulsion he felt towards the pair clear to see on his face.

“And I was there and saw it all go down,” Phoenix added as the two of them high-fived.

“Take a chill pill, guys,” Samantha hissed under her breath to her teammates, “cause if what they’re saying is even half true, then you’re on your own here.”

“Are you pussing out, Samantha?” Ron angrily demanded as he glared at the female tank.

“Pussing out?” Samantha furiously snarled back, “fighting our group wouldn’t be a fight for any one of them, let alone for a whole team of level 50s, so you can take that pussing out bullshit and shove it up your ass!”

“Yeah, you can count me out of this as well,” Alan said, backing up from the Ranger as the flames left his fists.

“Me too,” Laura squeaked, “you know how much I hate PVP.”

“Come on, guys,” Pyralis exclaimed, looking back and forth between his teammates, “we’d only have to kill him once to get the bounty!”

“What bounty are you even talking about?” Samantha demanded with an edge to her tone as she got into the Ranger’s face.

“Ah, now the truth of the matter comes out,” I knowingly said as the rest of the team looked at the Ranger in shock. Obviously, none of them had realized that he was pushing this for his own selfish reasons, “It’s not about me being a known PKer. It’s not about being outraged at what you thought happened in Telrain or Darom.” I let out a derisive snort while meaningfully looking the Ranger up and down. “It’s all about how much coin you could possibly make by being one of those asshat’s lackeys.”

“How much of a bounty are we talking about?” Ron asked as a conflicted look passed over his face.

“One hundred gold for each kill!” Pyralis hissed, not even trying to hide his greed anymore as the Fire mage rocked back on his heels.

“One hundred gold!” Laura and Alan choked out loud as the rest of their team member’s eyes lit up.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s five-hundred gold per kill,” Samantha spat, glaring at the Ranger like he was an idiot, “It’s not like we could kill him even if we wanted to. Besides that,” her eyes burned into the Ranger in fury, “I’m not cool doing anything for those PKing jerkwads.”

“Besides, it’s doubtful you’d ever see the gold they’re offering for that bounty anyway,” Kevin Beeker the level 37 Dark Elf, Ranger said, speaking up for the first time, “only a fool would believe those jackasses would hold to their word.”

“Oh, they’d probably pay it,” Samantha said, letting out a harsh bark of laughter, “then they’d spawn camp you until they took it all back with interest.” Turning to the Ranger, her voice took on a harsh tone as she hit accept and joined our group, “If you fuck this up, I’ll kill you myself.”

“Welcome to the team,” I said in an amused tone as the Warrior gave me a gruff nod.

While Pyralis lowered his bow with an annoyed huff, the clarification of what was really going down seemed to set both Byrnwulf and Zeven at ease. It probably didn’t hurt that we’d treated them both with respect since we’d first met them when we could’ve taken advantage of their situations. Like Zeven and Töten, Byrnwulf was currently lugging around his stronghold on his back too which probably made him a bit jumpier of PKer accusations. Not that I was going to mention that we knew he was lugging around his fortress along with him. I wasn’t about to make the same mistake that I had with Zeven but it did make me curious as to his situation.

“Good job on taking out that mini-boss,” Samantha gruffly said as her teammates silently nodded in agreement, “and thanks for not leaving us behind like those other assholes did.”

“Not a problem,” I replied in a relaxed tone, “I always say actions speak louder than words.”

‘We should kill the Ranger and be done with this,’ Helgath’s sent, not happy with the situation one bit.

‘Probably,’ I replied, doing my best to not let my reaction to the Half-Orc’s words show on my face, ‘but I can only kill him if he crosses the line by attacking one of us first.’

“So, do you have a plan for taking on the next boss?” Samantha asked, trying to act like she hadn’t been threatening my life a moment before.

‘Why not?’ Helgath demanded, ‘He’s already admitted to unjustly wanting to kill you for a bounty!’

‘That’s just the way it goes sometimes,’ I sent with a mental shrug. How did I explain to her how soft people had become in the real world? ‘That’s why you and Neristhana are going to be watching my back closely. If he attacks me-’

‘We’ll cut him down like the Chofe-ka he is,’ Helgath growled as she glared at the Ranger while threateningly spinning her daggers.

“Part of one,” I said, grinning at her raised eyebrow, “Once we get out of this barn and can see what’s going on in the town, I’ll have a better idea of what we’re up against. Until then, I figure I’ll lead with my Ghouls and see what happens.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Samantha said, eyeing the large Orc Warrior Ghouls thoughtfully, “Those guys would’ve made mincemeat out of that Toxic Stalker mini-boss.” A frown creased her lips. “Um, how do you want to manage the loot?”

What Samantha was really asking was if we’d allow them to roll on any loot that dropped. That’s because if our Ghouls were doing all the killing, what would they really be adding to the fight? While that might be true on a certain level, if you were in a team like this, it was a general courtesy that everyone was allowed to roll on whatever dropped. And who knows, maybe they would turn out to be helpful in the long run since the Quest more or less said that everyone in the dungeon would be needed to complete the quest. Then again, most groups didn’t have their own raid of pets like we did.

“It’s set to automatically roll for everyone in the group,” Töten grunted as he eyed the other players, “Does that work for you?”

“Seems fair enough,” Samantha agreed after trading quick nods with the rest of her team.

“If you’re buffed up and ready to go, then let’s go see what we’re up against,” I said, heading for the barn’s double doors while Neristhana and Helgath traded a nod. As the group followed after me, Neristhana casually fell back to the rear as I glanced at the timer on my HUD, “We’ve got an hour left to knock this dungeon out.”

While Helgath got the Ghouls into position, I began summoning my last two pets. There were a number of confused looks as the undead repositioned into a defensive line while I did the first-minute-long cast. That cleared up a moment later when the green sparkles of magic the spell produced pulled together into a familiar shape of a large Cave Bear as a loud bestial roar rocked the barn.

‘It’s good to see you too,’ I replied to Kitano as his barrel-shaped head nudged me affectionately. As I started on my next minute-long cast, I swear Pyralis was nearly pissing himself as the Cave Bear took up a position behind me.

“How many summoned pets does this guy have anyway?” I heard Kevin ask Alan who was standing beside him.

“No clue,” Samantha hissed back, “I’m just glad none of us listened to dumbass over there and attacked him.”

“What she said,” Alan agreed, ignoring Pyralis’s angry glare as they watched the green sparkles begin to gather in front of me again, “Not that I’m about to complain.”

“As long as we can roll on drops,” Samantha agreed.

“Rrraaawwwlll!” Shadow Fang’s howl rang throughout the barn as the Shadow Wolf took shape in front of me a half-minute later.

‘Glad to see you too,’ I replied in greeting, ‘You can keep watch over me while Neysa is away.’

“Chuff,” Shadow Fang agreed as he slipped behind me to stand next to Kitano.

“Everyone ready?” I asked, looking around for confirmation.

“Let’s do this,” Byrnwulf said as Igtra’s intense eyes quietly studied me.

“Ready,” Phoenix and Töten replied in unison as Zeven quietly nod in agreement.

“Been waiting on you,” Samantha impatiently grunted, waving towards the closed doors for us to proceed.

“Alrighty then, let’s move out!” I laughingly said, giving Helgath the go-ahead to proceed.

The sight that appeared to us as the Orc Warrior Ghouls swung the heavy double doors open was straight out of a horror movie. Cold moonlight lit up the foreboding-looking Hamlet of Hardfall that was thirty yards away from the barn. From the look of things, all the fireplaces, lanterns, and candles had been snuffed out which just made the shadows between the houses that much deeper.

Striding through the opening behind the line of Ghouls, I could see that the frozen field between us and the hamlet was strewn with the smashed remains of a dead cat and dog-sized Cheliferidae Risso. The trail of corpses led in a straight line towards the darkened hamlet in the distance. This was obviously the path that the two teams had taken towards the town, I silently thought, as we moved out across the field.

“This isn’t creepy at all,” Zeven hissed under his breath as our feet crunched over the scattered chitin-covered remains.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Laura gagged in a small voice as the bodies began to get thicker.

“Why did it have to be giant insects?” Byrnwulf grunted as a smile came to my lips.

As long as we weren’t dealing with Giant Spiders, I could hang. Though, as my foot crunched over a large claw, I could understand where he was coming from to an extent. It was most definitively on the disgusting side. As we passed the three-quarter mark of the field, I was just starting to wonder why we hadn’t run into the other group or, at least, some of their corpses, when the sounds of fighting and Frost mage spells suddenly came to my ears from up ahead.

“Oh … god,” a voice screamed.

“Kill it … kill it!” another voice shouted.

“It’s eating me … it’s eating me … gggaahhh!” a player’s gurgling scream was suddenly cut off as the sounds of fighting intensified.

At the sounds of combat, bloodcurdling screams began ringing out from across the hamlet. The eerie wailing shrieks were enough to make the hackles on the back of my neck stand on end as the monsters seemed to be getting closer. Though, what really started giving me the heebie-jeebies was the low-level chittering roar that seemed to be coming from everywhere. It reminded me of the sound from a swarm of locust.

“Hey, Samantha,” Pyralis urgently shouted as he ran out ahead of the Ghoul screen, “I think I see the other groups fighting up ahead!”

“Everyone make sure you stay in line of sight of a healer so we can hit you with a Minor Cure Disease if needed,” I said, drawing the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden and unlimbering my Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender as Laura Mac nervously nodded in agreement.

“We gonna give them a hand or what?” Pyralis demanded as he hurried to the edge of the street heading between the homes with an arrow knocked.

“Why should we?” Byrnwulf grunted in reply, “Are they suddenly our friends or something?”

“That’s seriously cold, man,” Ron groused as hurried ahead to join the Ranger with his hands starting to flame.

“How is that cold?” Zeven demanded, looking at the rest of us for support, “They left us to die while we were fighting the first boss.”

“And trained the rest of us to boot,” Phoenix agreed with a look of pure disgust on her pretty face.

“That’s not the point,” Pyralis argued as the sounds of fighting become more intense, “you said it yourself. Every extra hand is a plus, right?”

I didn’t hear what Pyralis whispered to the Fire mage, but from the excited hand gestures, I could guess what they were going on about. Not that the sullen looks in my direction left any doubt as to what they were planning. As the line of Ghouls reached them, the pair must’ve come to a decision, because they suddenly took off between the houses at a run.

“You losers can do what you want,” Pyralis shouted over his shoulder, “but we’re gonna give those guys a hand while they’re still alive.”

“Those two are complete fucking idiots,” Töten grunted as their teammates glanced between one another unsure if they should stay or follow after the pair.

“You’re not gonna run after them?” a conflicted Samantha asked, watching the two players go unsure of how to react.

“Their lack of planning and forethought doesn’t create an emergency on my side,” I said with a shrug, commanding the Ghouls to clear a path ahead between the darkened houses, “Besides, I’m not about to rush headlong into an obvious trap for a bunch of assholes that left us to die.”

“Word,” Phoenix agreed.

“Obvious trap?” Laura squeaked, glancing between her teammates nervously.

“Seems that way,” Alan agreed as he meaningfully nodded towards the shadowy paths between the wooden houses.

“How do you want to do this?” Töten gruffly asked with his heavy shield and hammer held at the ready.

“Let’s go single file,” I suggested, commanding the Ghouls to head between the houses in multiple aisles parallel to us, leaving only the three directly ahead of us in the lead, “while everyone does their best to keep an eye on the doors and windows of the homes.”

“Works,” Töten said, stepping in front of me while waving Phoenix, Zeven, and the others to join him in the lead, “Healers to the rear.”

“I’m not your fucking healer,” I grunted at the big guy’s back.

“Whatever you say, Haus,” Töten replied as Phoenix laughingly pushed ahead of me.

“What does he mean, he’s not the healer?” Zeven asked in confusion as he followed the Barbarian.

“Looks like a healer to me,” Byrnwulf agreed with a twinkle in his eyes as he followed the other two with Igtra at his back.

“What’s wrong with being a healer?” Nahimana asked in a hushed voice to Neristhana as the Badger kin female fell in behind me.

“Nothing at all,” the Gnomeling conspiratorially whispered back, ignoring the glare I shot her way as I felt the Ghouls come under attack via our link.

“We’ve got incoming,” I warned as we moved between the first row of houses.

“How the hell can he know that from the rear?” Samantha bitched from up ahead as several others grunted in agreement.

“Probably because it’s his pets leading the advance,” Byrnwulf shot back.

“Oh, yeah,” Alan grunted in understanding.

“I see them,” Phoenix confirmed from up ahead as my summoned pets Kitano and Shadow Fang took up the rearguard, “these are smaller than what attacked us in the barn.”

“Smaller?” I asked, concerned at that bit of information.

“They’re the size of rats and squirrels,” Zeven explained as combat alerts came from the Ghouls further out.

“How many are we talking about?” I pushed, hearing the familiar crunch of chitin shells being crushed underfoot.

“Waves of them,” Byrnwulf said with a nervous edge to his voice, “they’re pouring out of the doors and windows of the house we’re passing by.”

“That’s strange,” I muttered under my breath as we finally made it between the houses.

The crunching sounds underfoot were constant now. It sort of reminded me of that one summer I got stuck cleaning out my grandma’s garage with all of the cockroach eggs that were crunching underneath my sneakers. I mentally shivered at the memory.

At least, those crunches had only been leftover egg sacks. Many of these were still very much alive, I thought, frowning as I lifted my legs up higher to crush the surviving creepy-crawlies that made their way over to me underneath my boots. Catching one of the many Cheliferidae Rissos that were flooding out of a nearby windowsill, I curiously ran an Identify on one of the little red monsters.

Cheliferidae Risso, level 5, Hatchling

That’s weird, I harrumphed thoughtfully to myself. Normally monsters that were this low of a level were gray and didn’t attack higher-level players. My strategic mind suddenly flared in nearly painfully intensity as a worrisome thought suddenly hit me. Pausing mid-thought, I hurriedly popped open my Damage Meter system window to verify what I was seeing.

You have gained Experience!

You have killed a Cheliferidae Risso Hatchling.

You have Stomped Cheliferidae Risso Hatchling for 20 points of damage.

A sinking feeling hit the pit of my stomach as I read the last three messages that were listed for my latest kills. I was still trying to understand the ramifications of what that could mean when a shout from Laura brought it all together for me in a flash.

“That’s so sick,” the Priestess called out in disgust, “the monsters are eating each other.”

“They’re eating each other?” Töten asked, unsure if he was properly understanding what she was saying.

“Yes … the larger ones … are eating … the smaller ones,” Laura managed to get out between breaths while holding her robes up to not get the insect goop on them.

“Better for us,” Samantha said, letting out a harsh bark of laughter as the sounds of fighting drew near.

“I just wish they’d do it faster,” Alan agreed as he stomped on a particularly large group pouring out of a nearby window. He couldn’t use his magic to smoke them due to the close quarters of the houses to either side of us.

This was bad, I urgently thought, getting lightheaded as my mind kicked into overdrive. Though I didn’t have all the data, I knew that I had to be right. It was the only thing that made any sense from what the boss Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch had said when she was chastising Toxic Stalker the Noxious for nearly eating Phoenix in the barn. The one thing that would confirm it would be if they were getting bigger.

“Gah, what took you guys so long!” I heard Pyralis’s panicked yell come from up ahead.

“Get up here quick, Alan,” Ron’s shrill shout sounded above the chittering roar that seemed to be growing by the moment, “I’m almost out of mana!”

Even as my Ghouls reacted automatically to the changing combat situation, I was blind with everyone clogging the path in front of me. Looking around for something I could do, I realized that I’d have to climb up to the nearest rooftops to see what was going on with everyone else in the way. As I looked around for a handhold to climb up, Helgath’s clawed fingers wrapped around my bicep to get my attention.

‘We’re here!’ Helgath sent, pulling me ahead as Töten stepped into what looked to be a small intersection.

“Holy shit,” Phoenix barked as she dodged around the big guy’s large frame, “they’re everywhere!”

“Damn, they’re getting bigger!” Zeven hollered as he rushed around the Anti-Paladin’s other side.

“Igtra, you take the right!” Byrnwulf urgently shouted as both Red Draconian-Humans took off.

“This is insane!” Samantha cried out as soon as she got out of the aisle. She immediately rushed forward to get into the scrum.

“Shit dude,” I heard Alan worriedly exclaim as he made it up to the avenue next, “you’re gonna burn down the whole block!”

“They won’t stop coming!” Ron anxiously screamed back as the whoosh of Scorching Shots being cast came to my ears.

“Laura, we need your healing over here stat!” Pyralis shrieked as soon as he saw the Priestess exit between the houses next to me.

As Laura raced over to the three severely wounded players that the pair had pulled free of the swarming monsters, my eyes quickly took the horrific scene going on around the intersection. The three weakly moving bodies of players covered in burnt insects and bloody gashes lay at Pyralis’s feet. The unmoving forms of their teammate’s corpses were buried under piles of feeding monsters. The Ranger’s panicked Multi-Shots flaring into the endless press of insect bodies pouring down the main avenue, Ron standing next to him sending Scorching Shot after Scorching Shot into the writhing mass at their feet with a look of pure horror on his face. The pair’s shredded clothing and gaping, bloody wounds on their arms, legs, and chest painted an ugly picture of the shitstorm they’d unknowingly rushed into as the melee players of our group charged into the scrum to drive the enemy back.

Luckily, my Ghouls had the intelligence to advance to the far side of the intersection to make their stand. They were using their large bodies to block the horde of Cheliferidae Risso’s advance. Otherwise, we’d have been overrun right then and there, I critically thought, sheathing my sword and shouldering my shield as I let loose with a Frost Nova. As the icy wave immediately washed over the insects around us, I began blasting a path clear with dual casts of Pyroblast.

The Cheliferidae Rissos coming from the center of the hamlet were already in the range of small dog to mastiff-sized monstrosities and were mindlessly launching themselves at the undead with a feral fury. Their whip-like mouth tentacles would grab onto the Ghouls’ arms and legs so their gibbering chest maws could tear out chunks of flesh with a ferocity that had to be seen to be believed. Not that the bloody wounds particularly hurt the undead since they were crushing the monsters nearly as quickly as they were coming, but I knew that would quickly change if I didn’t come up with a plan to get us to the dungeon’s bosses quickly.

Tearing my gaze away from the frenzied battle going on in front of me, I looked to the left and right where another road circled around the entire hamlet like an inner ring. On both sides, the rest of the Ghouls were busy battling the waves of Cheliferidae Rissos coming at us between the houses and from further away. Except for the ones coming from farther away or in the center of town, the rest of the hatchlings weren’t much bigger than a large rat to a medium-sized cat. That meant we still had a little bit more time left before the situation became untenable.

‘What do you need me to do?’ Helgath asked, feeling my intent. Instead of answering, I opened my mind while pushing a handful of soul stones into her clawed hands.

“We’re gonna have to fall back,” Samantha anxiously screamed while stabbing and stomping the insects for all she was worth as Helgath and I commanded the Ghouls on our flanks to fall back, “there’s too many of them!”

“What part of the quest did you not understand?” Töten roared back as we started our complex cast, “There is no place for us to fall back to!”

“Hey Byrn,” Phoenix hollered as she chopped and stabbed like a maniac, “think you and Icky can do that bad breath attack thingy of yours?

“My name is Igtra, you imbecile,” Igtra snarled as she laid about with her burning mace.

“Our Draconian Flame Strike is not a bad breath attack thingy,” Byrnwulf shouted back in a similar tone of outrage.

“More blasting and less bitching guys!” Zeven shouted as he dove between the trio to spear an especially large Cheliferidae Risso that had made it past the Ghouls.

“Gah!” Byrnwulf shrieked as he backed up a step, “Sure, just keep them off of us while we cast!”

“We’ve gotcha!” Töten yelled, coming forward with Samantha to join Phoenix as we completed our cast.

A rumbling, snapping roar momentarily drowned out the sounds of battle across the intersection as bones, flesh, and sinews began sprouting from the ground. The sound of mutating writhing flesh and the crackling of bones knitting themselves together filled the air as the amorphous mass grew across the road until it was pressed against the houses on either side. Though it was only a yard wide, it was nearly twenty-five yards in length as it began to thicken. The gruesome pulsating flesh, bone, and undead muscle quickly grew to a height of five yards to completely block the road.

The Zombie Wall was directly out of a Lovecraftian Cthulhu nightmare. Embedded in the undead flesh, numerous Orc Warrior Zombie faces with fully functional mouths and clawed hands eagerly snapping and grasping in anticipation at the numerous enemies within its reach. Even before it was fully formed, I saw several of its clawed hands eagerly snatch up several of the rat-sized Cheliferidae Risso and shred them to bits as it pulled the corpses into its solidifying mass. As the spell finished, I had to admit the eight soul stones it had taken to stretch the wall across the roadway had been worth the cost.

From the shocked looks on my friends’ and temporary teammates’ faces, the Zombie Wall must’ve been a sight to see. Luckily, the pair of Red Draconian-Humans didn’t lose their concentration on the Breath Attack they were preparing to cast. As Helgath and I started the next cast to block off the avenues of attack behind us, Byrnwulf stepped forward with Igtra to give Töten and Phoenix a hard rap on their armored backs. Seeing their wide eyes and puffed-out cheeks, the Barbarian and Anti-Paladin fell back dragging the other melee fighters with them while shouting, “Fire in the hole!” A second later, insectile shrieks of death filled the air as two large cones of flames whooshed out of the pair’s mouths.

The dual Flame Strikes covered the entire main avenue in a ten-yard swath with flames, killing nearly a hundred of the mastiff-sized juvenile hatchlings within the five-second-long cast. When the wash of fire stopped pouring from their mouths, the pair stepped back from the sizzling mass of corpses and blackened cobblestones as my friends breathed a momentary sigh of relief. I’d just ordered the Ghouls on both sides to start slaughtering the juvenile hatchlings within the intersection and to make their way to support the main avenue when cries for help suddenly came from further down the main street.

“Aaaiii, he’s trying to kill us!” I heard a female voice suddenly cry out in terror.

“Please help us!” another very feminine voice cried out.

“He’s turned into a monster!” a third voice shouted.

“Hurry up and run!” I heard Ron urgently shout as he quickly downed a Mana Potion. As he began to send a fresh wave of Scorching Shots down the street, he shouted at the Ranger next to him, “Pyralis, give them a hand!”

“Guys,” Zeven nervously said as the guys rushed down the avenue to help the women, “I don’t think we should be helping any of the townspeople-”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, man?” Pyralis snarled, “They’re people too!”

“You guys are just hopping to get laid,” Samantha unhappily grunted as everyone else hesitated unsure of what to do.

I caught flashes of swaying breasts from three half-naked women running for their lives from an enraged Human/Cheliferidae Risso. The hybrid monster was the size of a man, but instead of a chest, it had a gaping maw filled with fangs. Its poisonous mouth tentacles were currently flailing at the fleeing women. From the glimpses of their bleeding torsos, I was somewhat surprised the women hadn’t already been taken down. Not that I could focus on exactly what was going on since our second cast of Zombie Wall had just completed.

As the bone and flesh wall rose up out of the ground to block the three aisles that we’d passed through to enter the hamlet, the three young and mostly naked women came running up the intersection. There was some sort of commotion going on behind me. Ron and Pyralis had run forward to help the women to safety as my friends stepped forward to hack the Human/Cheliferidae Risso hybrid to death when alarmed shouts began blowing up group chat.

“Why the fuck is that asshole’s Ghouls trying to kill us?” Pyralis shrilly shouted behind me as I got a notification that my Ghouls were under attack from another player.

“That fucking PKer is trying to gank us!” Ron howled as he began blasting the Ghouls that were guarding the entrance into the intersection. “Get that fucker before he kills us!”

“Attack Lord Ironwolf and I’ll hack your face off!” Neristhana shrieked as Kevin and Alan aggressively turned towards Helgath and me.

As both men hesitated at the angrily Gnomeling in their faces, I mentally commanded my Ghouls to stand down as I turned to see what the fuck was going on. I immediately saw that two of the Ghouls I’d set to guard the mouth of the street had gone after the pair and the three half-naked women they’d rescued. When I mentally linked with the Ghouls to understand why they’d attack, I felt the hair on the nape of my neck suddenly stand on end as the red glowing names of “Cheliferidae Risso Breeder” suddenly appeared over the three women’s heads

“Startum, what’s the meaning of this?” Samantha angrily demanded as she stood halfway between the head of the street and her teammates unsure of how to respond to the Ghouls’ attack. Before I could explain to everyone what was going on, the little Priestess helping the three players interrupted our odd standoff.

“None of my heals are working on any of them!” Laura screamed out in frustration as all of us looked at her in surprise.

“What’s your problem, Laura?” Kevin asked, looking at the Priestess in confusion, “Their health bars look nearly full to me.”

“The-their he-health bars are nearly full?” Laura stuttered as she uncomprehendingly looked down at the three players on the ground in front of her.

“Um, why are their name tags red?” Alan asked in a concerned tone when the shit suddenly hit the fan all at once.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Pyralis exclaimed in consternation. As our eyes shot back to the Ranger, I was shocked to see that the woman’s arm that he’d looped around his shoulder had suddenly pulled free from her socket. As he looked at the arm in horrified confusion, it grew a mouth with tentacles and lunged at his face as he let out a bloodcurdling scream, “Aaahhh!”

“What the fuck is going on?” Ron demanded as he spread his arms out wide and forcibly backed the other two women away from his teammate. They’d barely taken more than a few steps, when he let out a gurgling shriek as multiple fleshy tentacles burst out of his chest, “Gggaaahhh!”

Bile rose in the back of my throat as my eyes flipped back and forth between the terrified men. Pyralis’s screams had become direr by the second as the woman’s other arm detached and began eating into the side of his head. I could only watch in horror as the screaming half-naked woman’s chest transformed into a fang-filled maw under her pendulous breasts. Before anyone could react, the monster’s fleshy tentacles shot into his torso and began dragging the Ranger into its ravenous jaws. As my eyes flipped back to Ron, I shuddered at the spine-chilling site of the two naked women ripping the still screaming Fire mage’s body apart as they ate him alive.

Another bloodcurdling scream pulled our eyes from the freak show going on before us as the three players that Laura had been trying to heal suddenly lurched upright on fleshy mouth tentacles. Before the Priestess could throw herself back, the trio of players launched themselves at the terrified woman.

“Aaaeeeiii!” Laura shrieked in terror, “Get them off of me! Get them off of me!”

As the Priestess fell back shrieking for her life, a massive two-handed war hammer blasted the closest humanoid monster off of her and crushed it against the wall of a house. A split-second later, Helgath blasted the two other Humanoid monsters with dual Scorching Shots that set the two other Cheliferidae Risso Breeders on fire while countermanding my order to the Ghouls to stand down. As the burning monsters fell on top of the poor Priestess, the Half-Orc continued blasting the Cheliferidae Risso Breeders with Scorching Shots as the undead waded into the horrific scene.

Töten’s and Helgath’s quick thinking snapped the rest of us out of our stunning shock like a bucket of ice water being splashed in our faces. Without thinking, I raised my hands and began blasting the Cheliferidae Risso Breeders along with my soulmate. As the whole area around the Priestess turned into a burning pool of flames, the rest of our teammates joined in the fight.

For thirty seconds it was pure chaos around the intersection. Ghouls were everywhere stomping and smashing monsters under their feet. Phoenix, Zeven, Byrnwulf, and Igtra were slaughtering the Cheliferidae Risso Breeders that had eaten Ron, while Kevin, Samantha, and Töten finished off the monster that was eating Pyralis alive. Around us, Neristhana and Nahimana were joining in the overall destruction with Kitano and Shadow Fang. Though, it was seeing Alan the Fire mage blasting the fuck out of the pile of Cheliferidae Risso Breeders on top of Laura that finally snapped me into action.

It took another few seconds for the heebie-jeebies that were driving my adrenaline rush to settle down enough for me to think clearly. When I saw that Laura was nearly dead, I hurriedly selected her name in my HUD and hit her with a Regeneration and a Holy Shield. Ignoring the pool of flames at our feet as the Cheliferidae Risso Breeders shrieked in their death throes, I began redirecting my pets into a coordinated defense of the main road that was the only way left for the swarm to attack us in the intersection.

Even so, I knew it wasn’t going to be enough. If we didn’t get moving on the next boss soon, we were going to be shit out of luck. As those thoughts were going through my mind, I frowned noticing that the Priestess seemed to be getting worse.

‘She’s infected,’ Helgath explained still synched with my thoughts, ‘but my Water Shaman magic should be enough to cleanse her.’

‘Do it,’ I sent before I’d fully completed the thought. As Helgath moved to the Priestess’s side, I grabbed Alan to stop him from blasting his friend any further.

“Calm the fuck down, man,” I said, pulling the Dwarf back by his shoulders.

“I’ve gotta burn them,” Alan shrieked, trying to raise his arms again to cast another spell, “they’re still not dead!”

“It’s okay, man. You got the monsters,” I soothingly said, kicking the burning charcoal husks from atop the Priestess, “Now let us help your teammate.”

“Gah!” Alan wordlessly screamed, raising his arms to blast the still-breathing Priestess whose health was hovering at a quarter, “Kill her! She’s one of them!”

“Naw, man, she’ll be fine in just a second,” I reassuringly said, “as soon as Helgath does her thing.”

Seeing the rest of the group finishing off the Cheliferidae Risso Breeders, I quickly cast a Healing Breeze to keep everyone’s health up while the Half-Orc hit the Priestess with another Regeneration before she started her Cleansing spell. Within seconds, Laura’s body was convulsing as black goo began seeping out of her pours, ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. The most disturbing part was the partly whole tentacle-like worms that the poor woman puked from her mouth.

“What are you guys doing to her corpse?” Samantha demanded as she came hurrying over with Kevin at her side.

“She’s still alive! My soulmate is trying to-” I began to explain only to have the Ranger cut me off.

“How do we know she’s not another one of those monsters?” Kevin shouted as he raised his bow to shoot the poor woman in the head.

“Because we can detect and cleanse the worms out,” I snapped, grabbing his bow and forcing it back down before he could shoot his teammate.

“That’s just wrong,” Samantha gagged after a moment of watching the Priestess spew the black gunk out of her nose and mouth like something from one of the Exorcist movies.

Thankfully, the Cleansing only lasted for about five seconds, but I wouldn’t want to go through a projectile vomiting of that intensity. Unfortunately, with the rest of the Priestess’s teammates being so freaked out, I didn’t dare look away since every time I relaxed my grip on the Fire mage, he’d think about frying her again. When the Half-Orc finished the ritual, she stepped over to the poor woman to help her up.

“Ohmygod … ohmygod,” Laura chanted with a freaked-out wide-eyed look on her face as she began feeling her body all over, “that was so unbelievably gross.”

“Sorry about-” I began to apologize as the Priestess enthusiastically cut me off.

“That was like the best horror show ever!” Laura excitedly gushed as the rest of us looked at her in shock, “I thought for sure I was dead when those monsters leaped on top of me.” Her face took on a stern look as she momentarily glared at the Fire mage. “Especially when Alan freaked out and started burning everything down.”

“I wasn’t freaking out,” Alan defensively grunted in embarrassment, “I was just caught off guard by those players transforming into tentacle monsters.”

“Dude, that was a freak-out if I’ve ever seen one,” Kevin groused as Samantha nodded in agreement.

“I’m surprised Startum here was able to get you to stop spamming out Scorching Shots.”

“Um, yeah, about that,” Alan embarrassedly said, looking down at his feet, “I kind of sort of ran my mana dry when I was-”

“Losing your shit?” Kevin asked, letting out a bark of laughter.

“Um, Startum,” Laura interrupted her surviving teammates ribbing of the Fire mage, “How did your companion fix me up?”

“She’s a Water Shaman,” I explained with a shrug as Helgath quietly stepped over to me, “they have different spells to deal with monster infections than a Priest does.”

“Hmm, well thanks for the save,” Laura said with a thoughtful grunt, “Though, I don’t know why you just didn’t let me die and then try Resurrecting me.”

“I really don’t think Resurrections are exactly possible once your body is transformed into a Cheliferidae Risso Breeders,” I said, nodding to their two teammates who’d been hacked to death and the other team’s players that had been burnt to ashes.

“So, what?” Kevin asked, looking at me accusingly, “we only get one shot at doing this dungeon?”

“Probably,” Töten said, purposely interrupting our discussion as he jerked his chin towards the main avenue where the Ghouls were slaughtering the Cheliferidae Rissos by the dozens, “Not to interrupt your little powwow here, but we need to get moving to the next boss before we’re overrun.” He glanced towards the Zombie Walls and the loud crunching coming from the far side. “Any idea how long those will hold out?”

“Not really, this is my first time casting the spell,” I replied, after following his gaze, “The spell will last an hour and as long as the Zombies in the wall have enough corpses to counteract the damage being taken, they’ll be able to hold out for the full length of the spell.” As the big guy nodded at my explanation, I grunted as I thought over his first comment. “Any ideas where the second mini-boss might be?”

“Yep, I saw him while we were fighting those Cheliferidae Risso Breeders,” Töten grunted as he turned to look toward the center of town, “The fucker is standing in the center of town just outside of some large two-story building.”

“Oh, that’s the pub slash inn where we first met the big boss in her Grandma Drea Dmaw disguise,” Zeven said as I saw Samantha, Kevin, Alan, and Laura nod in agreement, “I bet you that’s where she’s hiding out waiting for us.”

“Makes sense,” Phoenix grunted in agreement, “it’s not like there’s all that many places for the bitch to be hiding in a small hamlet like this.”

“That’s gonna suck though,” Byrnwulf said as he glanced towards where the Ghouls were in an all-out battle with the monster swarm.”

“It’s just going to get worse,” I unhappily said as I turned to study the main avenue to get an idea of how far away the center of town was from our present location.

“What do you mean?” Samantha asked as she stopped warily eyeing the Priestess like she was suddenly going to transform and start eating people.

“The hatchlings are eating each other to level up,” I explained, nodding towards the houses around us, “The only reason the further away juvenile hatchlings are bigger than the hatchlings just crawling out of the houses around us is because they’ve had a chance to eat more of their brothers and sisters. If we don’t move quickly, they’re going to be-”

“A swarm of high-level monsters,” Byrnwulf finished for me.

“Fuck, we’ll never be able to fight off something like that,” Kevin exclaimed fearfully.

“Hence the time limit,” Töten agreed as his face turned serious, “How many of those Zombie Walls can you cast?”

“As many as we need,” I answered without hesitation, already having thought of the same thing, “but we’re going to need something more than that to keep these fuckers busy and to thin their numbers down.”

“What do you mean?” Zeven asked as everyone’s eyes turned to me.

“I’ve got a plan that should work to get us in close to the center of the hamlet,” I said, ignoring the dubious looks on everyone’s faces. Quickly, I laid out my idea and what we’d need to do to get in close. As I talked, I saw everyone begin to nod as I laid everything out. Warning them that once we started, there’d be no turning back. That, and we’d have to get control over the open space in front of the inn as quickly as possible before the swarm figured out what we were up to.

“Just in case if you haven’t already figured it out,” Phoenix said, meeting everyone’s eyes, “If you see any half-naked women begging for help, do not try to save them!”

“Fuck that shit,” Alan said, nodding his head excitedly.

“No problems there,” Kevin agreed.

“You really think they’re all monsters?” Samantha asked as a conflicted look came to her hard face.

“Do you see anywhere on the quest where it says how many townsfolk are left alive to rescue?” Zeven asked as he pressed his black lips together in disapproval.

“Can’t you save them like you did me?” Laura asked, looking back and forth between Helgath and me.

“That only works before you’ve completely transformed,” Helgath answered for me in a quiet voice.

“So, if you get infected by one of those fucker’s tentacles,” Töten said, giving everyone a meaningful look, “make sure to let them know about it as soon as possible.”

“We ready?” I asked, looking around the circle of resolute faces. Getting nods back from everyone, I nodded to Alan and Töten, “then let’s do this.”

Kneeling down, Töten laced the fingers of his hands together to make a cradle. Without hesitation, I put my foot between his interlaced fingers as he nodded and said, “On the count of three.”

“Three, two, one,” Töten said as I leaped up onto his hands with one foot while he suddenly stood up and threw me.

Damn, did I catch some air, I thought as I flew up over the roof of the nearest house. I landed easily enough on the peak. As my eyes scanned the darkened house around us, I looked towards the center of town where the two-story building that Töten, Zeven, and the others had said was the inn. Out in front of the large building, I saw a mini-boss that was even larger than Toxic Stalker had been. Looking around the large space the fucker was guarding, I understood just how much this was going to suck. As I tried to think of what all we could do to block off the space to the rest of the horde, Helgath flew through the air to land beside me.

‘Ready,’ she sent as soon as she caught her balance.

‘Let’s rock and roll,’ I replied as we both began sending Pyroblasts at the nearest buildings around us.

There was no need to wait for Alan to join us. His Scorching Shot spell was twice as powerful as our lower-level Pyroblasts but that didn’t matter for this part of the plan. All that mattered was that we got a fire burning amongst the houses to keep the swarm busy. It only took a minute for the two of us to drain three-quarters of our mana, but by then, the roofs of the houses on either side of the main avenue we were going to be traveling down were burning brightly.

By then, Alan had finished his own job which was firing the houses on the outer edges of the open space as far as he could get his magic to reach. The effort had drained his mana in about thirty seconds. That was because of his lower-level and the fact that his higher-level Scorching Shot spell was a major mana drain. Still, between the three of us, we’d managed to get a good portion of the hamlet burning. Returning Alan’s wave, we jumped back down to join the rest of the group.

“Is that it?” Samantha asked as we hurriedly sat down on the ground to start regaining our mana.

“It doesn’t look like it’s burning all that much,” Byrnwulf grunted as he studied the houses to either side of the main avenue.

“Maybe not, but trust me,” Alan said, between swigs from his waterskin, “they set the roofs on fire good.” Seeing the dubious looks on his teammates’ faces, he jerked his chin towards us. “They got a full two rows knocked out.”

“Let’s just hope that we have enough time to reach the center of the hamlet before the fire starts to really rage,” I said after taking a large swig of water, before handing the waterskin over to Helgath.

It was funny. Most players thought that I could only do Dark magic and control pets. The whole idea that I might have other magic that was just as effective was messing them up somewhat on what role to put me into. Then again, that was how most players looked at classes in MMOs. Even if they had a class that could fulfill multiple roles, they typically only played the one they associated with the class. It was just another reason why I disliked playing with pick-up groups or people who couldn’t think outside the box.

“You ready to go?” Töten asked, keeping an eye on the timer, “We’re down to fifty minutes.”

“Let’s get to it,” I said, climbing to my feet with Helgath as Alan looked at us in surprise. I gave the Fire mage a wink as I poured a bunch of soul stones into the Half-Orc’s pouch at her waist, “We have high Spirit.”

“Must be nice,” Alan grunted, letting out an annoyed sigh as he tiredly climbed to his feet.

“Just keep back and let your mana recover,” Samantha said, clapping her teammate on the shoulder, “While we plow the field.”

“Byrnwulf, Igtra?” Töten called out.

“Ready,” the pair chorused.

“Okay, I’m ordering the Ghouls forward,” I said as the melee team formed up around the pair of Red Draconian-Humans, “while we’re raising more Zombie Walls.”

The Cheliferidae Risso Adolescent Hatchlings were now mostly the size of small ponies and nearly filling the entire main avenue with their bodies. Even as the Orc Warrior Ghouls braced their thick bronze shields in front of them and began wading into the feeding frenzy, it was like trying to push back the tide. As soon as they smashed one of the large monstrous insects aside, another gaping maw and fleshy poisonous tentacle monster were eagerly leaping forward to rip chunks of the Ghoul’s undead flesh. When it looked like the undead couldn’t push any deeper into the churning mass, Byrnwulf stepped directly behind the Ghouls.

Byrnwulf’s Flame Strike shot out five seconds later covering everything in a swath of flames. It reminded me of a Marine Firebat from StarCraft frying a line of Zergs as the Cheliferidae Risso swarm let out fearful chittering shrieks as they were bathed in fire. Though the Breath Attack hurt the larger Cheliferidae Rissos, it wasn’t strong enough to kill the larger-sized monsters outright, especially since he wasn’t attacking with Igtra. Even so, he tried to adjust the spray to cover as much of the main avenue as possible, setting the Ghouls on fire.

When his Flame Strike finished, Byrnwulf staggered back to recover as the Ghouls pushed their way further into the burning swarm. As their heavy bronze axes, swords, and maces pummeled the monstrous insects, the Ghouls’ still burning bodies caused even more chaos amongst the insects as they reeled back in fear from the fire.

While all of that was going on, Helgath and I continuously began putting up Zombie Walls. It had quickly turned into a task much harder than I’d initially thought it would be. Before we could even start securing the street, we had to make a safe area inside the intersection and work out from there. Kitano and Shadow Fang were hard pressed to keep the larger Cheliferidae Rissos off of us, while Kevin, Neristhana, and Nahimana did their best to protect us from the stragglers that made it past our pair of furry defenders.

It was touch and go at first. The problem was that numerous smaller hatchlings and juvenile hatchlings kept slipping into the intersection to munch on the players’ and Cheliferidae Rissos Breeders’ remains while our guards were busy fighting. More than once, Helgath and I found ourselves Backstabbed by one of the little bastards that had snuck in and leveled up within a minute or two of feeding.

Luckily for all of us, Laura was on the ball. She’d taken over keeping everyone healed up and was doing a respectful job of it. Without her hard work, I doubt we would’ve been able to handle closing off the intersection and keeping the melee classes pushing forward down the main avenue. That’s because, even with the twenty Ghouls wailing at the horde, enough of the smaller monsters were getting through to cause some serious damage to the melee line. More than once shouts for heals were called out as they tried to keep up with the monsters that managed to flank us from between the houses.

We’d made it about three-quarters of the way down the fifty-yard stretch of cobblestones to the center of the hamlet when the raging fire going on around us started to become a real problem. By then, gouts of smoke were billowing into the air around us as the outer walls of the houses started to burn. I could barely hear the chittering shrieks of agony coming from the monsters over the roar of the crackling flames as their flaming bodies would come blindly charging at our tight formation.

Kitano and Shadow Fang stayed with us as long as possible but the intense heat washing over the avenue was simply too much for them to handle. When a group of Cheliferidae Risso Breeders came charging out of the fire to stop Helgath and me from throwing up the next set of Zombie Walls, the pair used their bodies to shove the large monstrosities into the nearest burning house. I heard the Cave Bear’s triumphant last roar just before his burning body disappeared into a mass of green sparkles. As tears ran down my soot-covered face, a large armored hand dragged Helgath and me out of the smoke.

“Holy shit, man,” Töten shouted in my ringing ears, “I was starting to think we weren’t gonna make it out of there!”

“Gah, where are we?” I gasped while blinking the soot and smoke from my eyes.

“We made it to the center of the hamlet with all hands,” Töten shouted back as I hurriedly began scanning the area through bleary eyes.

From the look of things, my plan had worked out better than I’d hoped. Nearly three-quarters of the homes ringing the center of the hamlet were burning brightly. From the look of things, the fire had forced the swarm in on itself and had cut off the hatchlings on our side of the hamlet from escaping, or at least, not without going through the gauntlet of their larger siblings. That meant we had a mostly clear shot to the mini-boss, and if we played this smart, a way to cut off the rest of the swarm while we went for the Matriarch.

My eyes flicked to the massive Cheliferidae Risso standing in front of the inn as I automatically cast an Identify. This ugly fucker was a good quarter larger than Toxic Stalker had been and had two odd fleshy sacks growing out of the back of its neck. They laid over the monster’s chitin-covered back almost like bulbous wings. As I contemplated what the fleshy sacks might be, the name VaporStrike the Ravenous, level 61, Cheliferidae Risso appeared over the monstrous creature’s head.

That’s not good, I mentally grunted, realizing that the fleshy bags were probably something like poison sacs. With a name like VaporStrike, I could only imagine what those sacs might contain, especially after our experiences with the Matriarch and Toxic Stalker. Though, if we were lucky, this might actually work out for the best, I thought as my eyes swept over my friends and the pick-up groups we’d been saddled with.

Everyone looked like they’d been through the wringer. Seeing a mostly unaffected Byrnwulf and Igtra standing warily on guard, I mentally corrected my initial evaluation as I eyed Töten critically. Everyone, except the three fire-resistant assholes, looked like they’d been through the wringer.

“Hey, man,” Töten said in a concerned tone as I hit the group with a Healing Breeze, “Are you okay, man? You kind of zoned out there.”

“Better now,” I spat as the healing magic cleared my eyes and lungs of the last of their damage along with removing the toasty feel from my exposed skin. As Laura gave a wave of thanks, I spat the last of the soot from my mouth, “that I don’t feel like a crispy critter.”

“Good, because we’re down to thirty-eight minutes,” Töten impatiently said as he began eyeing the mini-boss.

“I think this guy shouldn’t be too bad,” I tiredly said, cutting the big guy off as I stood to my full height and rolled my shoulders.

“Says the heal-bot who’s not gonna be tanking him,” Töten sarcastically said, giving me a dismissive snort, before getting down to business, “So, I was thinking-”

“That it would be best if you guys only attack this asshole from a distance,” I said, cutting him off mid-sentence. Doing one last look over the courtyard area, I sent the Ghouls charging in with a thought as I began rebuffing everyone, “while we send in the Ghouls?”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Töten shouted as he whipped around to watch the Ghouls suddenly take off for the mini-boss.

“Oh my god!” Samantha hollered in alarm as she sprang to her feet along with Alan and Kevin, “you just wiped us!”

“Shit man,” Byrnwulf swore as he watched the Ghouls go, “really?”

“We didn’t even discuss a plan beforehand,” Zeven angrily growled as he shot to his clawed feet next to a worried Bright Claw and Nahimana.

“That’ll work,” Phoenix said, glancing over her shoulder as she watched her Ghouls running off with mine. Seeing the angry glares at her indifferent reaction, the Barbarian just shrugged and unslung her short bow, “I don’t know what crawled up all of your asses and died, but if you want to get in on the fighting, just use a ranged weapon.”

“We literally have twenty Orc Warrior Ghouls,” I said with an indifferent shrug as Neristhana kept quiet behind me on guard while Helgath and I buffed everyone up, “This should be a piece of cake.”

“And if it’s not?” Töten asked, somewhat calming down.

“Then we’ll send another twenty in until the job’s finished,” I answered with an indifferent shrug, “Though, it’ll probably help to make it go faster if you give some ranged support.”

“I’m a Defensive Warrior,” Samantha grunted in annoyance, “I don’t do ranged attacks.”

“Why the fuck not?” I asked, not holding back what I thought about that in the least. “You should always have a ranged option for pulling monsters or doing a little extra damage to help you hold aggro when the monster reaches you.” I let out a snort of disgust as her face turned red. “There are numerous reasons that you should have as many ways as possible to deal damage if you need to.”

“Oh, fuck you, Mr. I’m-the-best-at-everything Ironwolf,” Samantha swore as she began stomping off towards the mini-boss.

“You’re not planning on doing any range attacks on the mini-boss?” Töten asked, nervously eyeing the fighting going on between the Ghouls and the mini-boss.

“Naw, Helgath and I are going to focus on closing off the far side of the courtyard around the inn that’s not on fire,” I said, glancing over at the anxious Gnomeling standing beside me as Kevin began sending arrows at the mini-boss, “but maybe Neristhana can throw some Enhanced Shadow Bolts at the bastard while we work.”

“I can do that,” Neristhana said in a tight voice while her eyes continuously swept the line of burning buildings behind us.

“I’m gonna join Samantha and get some whacks in on the mini-boss so this goes a bit faster,” Töten grunted as he began jogging towards the fighting.

“It’s your hide,” I said, watching the big guy go. As he shot me a bird over his shoulder, I hollered back, “and try not to pull too much aggro from the Ghouls.”

“We’re with Töten!” Byrnwulf laughingly said as he jogged past me with Igtra following behind him.

“I guess we’re going in too,” Zeven said as he began jogging after the two Red Draconian-Humans, “Come on, Bright Claw.”

“Don’t you think we should stay back and guard Nahimana?” I heard Bright Claw ask as he reluctantly followed after the Badger kin.

“Sorry, Star,” Phoenix called out as she shouldered her bow and began jogging after the rest of the melee team, “but I may as well join them.”

“Seriously, you’re gonna do that with a mini-boss named VaporStrike?” I demanded as she turned around while running backward to point at the large amulet around her neck.

“I do have this nifty new Poison Resistance amulet,” Phoenix tauntingly replied, flashing me a broad smile.

“It’s for one type of poison only,” I called back as she gave me an innocent shrug, before turning back around to catch up with the others.

I really didn’t know what to say to those idiots. While I understood they wanted to get in on the action and mostly didn’t have any ranged attacks, there was no doubt in my mind this was gonna go south really quickly. Whatever, I thought, giving Helgath a nod as I called out to the rest of the group that had stayed behind.

“Try to keep up with us as we’re throwing up Zombie Walls,” I said as we strode off along the outer edge of the courtyard so we could get into the twenty-five-yard range needed for casting the spell.

“As long as you stay in the range of the melee players, that shouldn’t be an issue,” Laura said as she anxiously followed after us. Glancing back at the Badger kin female sticking to her side, it looked like Nahimana had taken it upon herself to keep an eye on the Priestess’s back.

“You want me to work on burning down more of the town or start hammering the mini-boss?” Alan asked as he nervously followed, while Kevin gave an indifferent grunt as he silently kept pace with us firing his bow.

“It would be cool if you could get the area that we’ll be working on starting to burn ahead of time, that might help us not get swarmed if any of the monsters figure out where we are,” I said, pointing towards the area we were gonna start on first, “Otherwise, I’d make sure to throw some love towards the mini-boss.”

“I can do that,” Alan agreed as he studied the arc of houses we were headed towards. Though, he stopped for a moment to throw a few Scorching Shots at the mini-boss, before hurrying to catch back up to us.

“Do what you can to watch our backs,” I said to the Gnomeling at my side, “but if you need us to step in to give you a hand.”

“I’ll let you know,” Neristhana said in a no-nonsense tone.

“Good, now let’s get to work,” I said, increasing my pace to a jog.

It took only about thirty seconds to get to the end of the line of burning houses. Signaling for Helgath to put a wall up here, I kept going with the rest of the group. As the Half-Orc got to work, I stopped at the other end of the house and got to work on the next gap. Seeing what we were doing, Alan began setting fire to the house we were in the process of blocking off along with the next few houses further down the line.

As the Scorching Shot set the front doors aflame, I heard chittering shrieks come from within the houses. Neristhana, Laura, and Nahimana nervously braced for an attack as the rest of us worked, but none came before we were done with our work. I completed my cast just as Helgath ran up. With a wordless nod, we hurriedly moved over to the next house to repeat the process.

These small Zombie Walls were a lot easier to put up. The gaps between the homes weren’t more than four yards wide, so it only took a maximum of two soul stones per cast. That saved on the mana expenditure big time.

“Gah, Töten keeps pulling the aggro from the Ghouls,” Laura complained behind us as we ran to the next set of homes.

“Yeah, but that’s because of the massive damage that he’s pushing out,” Alan grunted as he gulped down another Mana potion.

“He’s having to keep aggro off of Byrnwulf and that Igtra chick, because those flaming enchantments on their weapons are pissing VaporStrike off big time” Kevin explained as he trailed behind us while sending arrows slamming into the mini-boss from range, “I still can’t believe we’ve already got the bastard down to thirty percent health in only five minutes.”

“Thirty percent!” I exclaimed, eyeing how much further we needed to go to seal off the courtyard with Zombie Walls.

‘It’s gonna be close,’ Helgath agreed as she ran ahead to the next gap.

“Whatever it is, all that I can say is that keeping him healed up is a bitch,” Laura groused as she stopped behind us to cast another heal on him, before running to catch up with us.

“Pretty cool, right,” Kevin excitedly said as he let several special glowing shots off in a row, “Seriously, I swear this guy is even easier than the first mini-boss.”

“You weren’t even a part of that fight,” Neristhana irritably grumbled as she ran over to a burning adolescent hatchling that stomped out of the flames in front of us and buried her hand axe between its eyes.

The monster was one of the handfuls of horse-sized adolescent hatchlings that had been making their way out into the courtyard from the areas we hadn’t closed off yet. I figured they were probably fleeing from one of the bigger suckers that had to have been winning further inside the burning hamlet. If Alan hadn’t managed to set the rest of the houses around the courtyard on fire, I’m sure Neristhana and Nahimana would’ve been hard-pressed to keep up with the adds otherwise. Though, with the adolescent hatchlings being disoriented from the smoke and down to half-health from the fire, the pair were kicking its chitin-reinforced ass.

Not that I was paying too much attention as my Zombie Wall grew out of the ground to seal the hole the adolescent hatchling had just come through. Helgath was already racing past me for the next gap when the monster let out an enraged chittering shriek and chased after the Gnomeling. I had to give it to Neristhana and Nahimana, they were taking their guard duties like a champ.

My big concern was what was going to happen when VaporStrike the Ravenous hit twenty-five percent of its total health. If the mini-boss was anything like Toxic Stalker the Noxious, he’d put out a call for help that would leave us buried by the swarm. Looking ahead, I hurriedly counted how many more holes we still had to block off. Just eight more left and we’d be golden, I anxiously thought, as the Badger kin female jumped into the scrum.

Lunging from the side, Nahimana smashed the adolescent hatchling’s bulbous head with a Toxic Chitin-Spiked Knuckled fist. The punch sent the monster lurching to the side as the Gnomeling began blasting away at its nearly point-blank range with Enhanced Shadow Bolts. Even as the monstrous insect tried to reorient on its new attacker as the necrotic magic rotted its face, the Badger kin female stepped in close as her other fist came in with a powerful uppercut that sent the monster reeling back on its spiky legs.

As I ran to catch up to Helgath, Neristhana was using her hand axe to peel away the monster’s mouth tentacles and hacking away its pincher claws as Nahimana continued pounding it in the side of the head. Once she had both severed, the Gnomeling hammered her hand axe down on the same gash from before. I didn’t need to run an Identify to know that the fight was nearly over. Looking back over my shoulder at the crunching sound of the shattering chitin, I saw Neristhana shove her fist into the gaping wound and began blasting the monster’s innards with Enhanced Shadow Bolts at point blank range while Nahimana pummeled its head until the adolescent hatchling crumpled to the ground.

That works, I thought, sliding to a stop as I hurriedly started my next cast of Zombie Wall. I was nearly finished with the spell when a terrible chittering wailing suddenly rang out behind us.

“To me little brothers, to me!” VaporStrike the Ravenous cried out to the swarm across the hamlet.

As I looked back toward the mini-boss in horror, I saw the fleshy flaps that had been laying across its back suddenly raise up and begin expelling gouts of noxious green-looking cloud as an answering chittering chorus rang out from the hamlet. This was very bad, I anxiously thought, when group chat was suddenly filled with the agonized wordless screams from the melee team. As one, I saw my friends and teammates flop to the ground to claw at their faces and throats.

“They’re all dying!” Laura’s alarmed shout snapped me into action.

Before VaporStrike went back on the offensive, I cast a Healing Breeze while ordering four of my Orc Warrior Ghouls to break away from the combat and drag the melee team out of the poisonous cloud. It was the best I could do as the Priestess struggled to keep the melee team alive. That might sound cold, but I didn’t dare take any more time away from securing our position. If Helgath and I didn’t get these Zombie Walls up, this was going to be a wipe.

I let out a dismissive snort as the Ghouls began grabbing my friends by a foot to drag them out of the poisonous cloud. Then again, if the mini-boss continued aggro’ing after Töten and came any closer to us while we were working, it would also be a wipe. All that I could do was hope that VaporStrike wouldn’t leave his guard position before the inn’s double doors to chase after us.

“Why aren’t you doing more to help them?” Nahimana screamed at me as I raced after Helgath to the next house, “Their skin is melting off their bodies!”

“I’m already doing what I can,” I shouted back to the Badger kin female as I slid to a stop and cast another Healing Breeze, before sealing up the gap with another Zombie Wall, “If we can’t close off the courtyard to the swarm, then we’re all dead.”

“Holy shit!” Kevin exclaimed as he turned around to stare at us in horror. Obviously, he hadn’t understood why we’d been running around like maniacs to seal off the hamlet from the courtyard until just that moment, “That’s what you’ve been doing this whole time!”

“Oh my god … oh my god,” Alan began to anxiously chant as the chittering chorus around us took on a new meaning to him. I saw his eyes swivel to the gaps we still had left to close up, “There’s no way you’re going to make it in time!”

“Probably not,” I agreed, taking off running for the next house with Helgath as pounding started coming from the closest Zombie Walls behind us, “but if we can get enough walls up, maybe we can hold the gap if we can get the melee team back up long enough to seal off the courtyard.”

“Uh, how can I help?” Alan nervously asked, looking back and forth between the burning holes and the mini-boss.

“You and Kevin just keep hammering the mini-boss with the Ghouls,” I said without stopping my cast, “the quicker we take that asshole down, the better chance we have of taking out the boss before our time is up.”

“By the dark!” Nahimana cursed under her breath as the reality of our situation dawned on her.

“Don’t try to weigh the odds, just do the best you can,” I hollered as Helgath and I began casting Zombie Wall again.

“What about Zeven and Bright Claw?” Nahimana worriedly asked, seeing the Ghouls trudging towards us with the dying melee players being dragged behind them like sacks of potatoes.

“The Priestess is working to keep them alive,” Neristhana assured the Badger kin female as she stepped up beside her, “Our job is to keep Lord Stinky and Helgath alive so they can do their part. Okay?”

That seemed to get the Badger kin female back into gear. Without another word, the two females jogged over to catch up to us. It was perfect timing since another burning juvenile hatchling was just stumbling out of the flaming hole in front of us a second before I managed to get my Zombie Wall up.

Luckily, before the juvenile hatchling could attack me, the Zombies in the wall behind it grabbed ahold of the monstrous insect with their clawed hands. Its chittering call for its brethren was cut off as Neristhana and Nahimana began hacking and punching it for all they were worth. As I hurried to the next gap with Helgath, the Priestess called out in group chat.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with them,” Laura anxiously said as continuously tried casting heals on the group.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that the Ghouls had managed to escape the poison cloud with our teammates. One look at the bubbling mass of skin sliding down their undead faces let me know this was some kind of consuming poison that acted like an acid. It would have to be neutralized before our heals would work like with Toxic Stalker. The only problem is that none of these guys had been part of that fight and didn’t fully understand why it had been so difficult to keep everyone on their feet.

“Hit them first with a Minor Cure Disease,” I hurriedly explained to the stressed-out Priestess, “and then start healing them.”

“Okay … okay, that makes sense,” Laura nervously chanted as she simply did what I said while talking to herself out loud, “The heals aren’t going to do much of anything if the poison is still eating them alive.”

“What’s the mini-boss’s health?” I called out as I started the next cast of Zombie Wall, “And are those Ghouls doing enough damage to finish the job?”

“Um … twelve percent,” Kevin said after a moment, “I think so. It’s slower, but not that much.”

“That’s working!” Laura exclaimed triumphantly behind us.

“Good,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief as I took off again for the next house while calling the four Ghouls over for backup.

As we began raising the Zombie Walls, to my horror more adolescent hatchlings begin staggering out of the flames from the last house in front of us. Even though the monstrous insects immediately moved to attack, the Ghouls simply stood guard in front of the openings as they began calling more of their brothers and sisters to the opening.

The response was nearly instantaneous. Even as Helgath and I finished the Zombie Walls we’d just cast; more adolescent hatchlings began pouring through the remaining two openings through the fire. Though they were disoriented and at half-health, the flood of monstrous insects began tearing into my Ghouls with a berserk-like intensity. As Neristhana, Nahimana, Helgath, and I paused in horror at the number of monstrous insects breaking through, a massive two-handed war hammer suddenly blasted one of the adolescent hatchlings back through the gap as it let out a chittering shriek of agony.

“We’ve got this!” Töten shouted as he charged past us with his heavy demon-headed shield leading the way, “Get those walls up!”

Behind him, I saw Phoenix, Zeven, and Bright Claw beside him, while Byrnwulf, Igtra, and Samantha were a half-step behind them on the opposite side. All of them were still recovering from the poison cloud but they had regrown enough of their flesh and muscles to be back in the fight. The group split as they neared the last house with the first group joining the big guy at the closest hole while the rest of the melee team joined the Ghouls fighting to hold the far gap.

Without hesitation, I shoved Helgath after my friends while I raced for the last hole with Neristhana and Nahimana at my side. If we didn’t get these openings locked down, this was going to be a short fight. Though my mana was recovering quickly, I only had around five hundred points to play around with. Even so, I went ahead and hit the group with an extra-wide cast of Zombie Hands to help my lower-level teammates out. Hitting the far side of the gap with a Light Word of Censure, I began casting Zombie Wall as a chorus of enraged chittering shrieks filled the air.

All around me, the fighting was intense. Byrnwulf, Igtra, and Samantha were bashing and slashing the higher-level adolescent hatchlings with a ferocity born of desperation. If not for the Ghouls that were taking the majority of the beating and my Zombie Hands that were holding the three monstrous insects in place that had made it through the gap, they would’ve been swept out of the way. As it was, I barely had time to get the Zombie Wall cast before a wave of claw pinchers began trying to tear down my undead flesh and bone creation.

Luckily, I hadn’t skimped on the soul stones for this Zombie Wall. While the spell said I could add additional soul stones to the spell to lengthen the wall, it hadn’t said anything about adding soul stones to reinforce the thickness of the wall and make it more deadly to attackers. So, in the four-yard gap, I used ten soul stones to block the final hole.

Immediately, enraged chitter from the swarm filled the air. Through the flames and smoke, I saw the Orc Warrior Zombies within the half-formed wall begin dragging the closest juvenile hatchlings towards them. As their chitin armor cracked from the strength of the undead claws gripping their flesh, the monstrous insects’ shrieks of agony and fear rose to a crescendo as the Zombies within the wall began eating them alive.

It was gruesome as hell to watch. Not that I was overly concerned about the nature of their deaths. As far as I was concerned, it was the same thing these Cheliferidae Risso monsters wanted to do to me and my friends. So, fuck ’em, they got what they deserved, I thought as the massed swarm behind the captured juvenile hatchlings chittered in outrage and burned from the raging fire as their brethren were consumed before their eyes to strengthen the Zombie Wall.

“Watch out!” Byrnwulf shouted as I turned away from the fully formed Zombie Wall.

“Fuck!” I cursed as one of the nearest juvenile hatchlings launched itself at me. My Bone Shield burst into white sparkles as it took the hit, while my Bone Claws tore gashes through the monstrous insect’s chitin-reinforced claws. Sliding my Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender off my shoulder, I brought it up in time to catch the juvenile hatchling’s follow-up hit. As its mouth tentacles bounced off my Enhanced Mage Armor, I blasted it with Enhanced Shadow Bolts with my free hand and fell back.

“Die you disgusting insect!” Igtra shrieked as her spiked mace pummeled the monster from behind while Byrnwulf’s two-handed axe severed a hindleg.

Screaming incoherently, I stepped forward to bat the juvenile hatchling’s pincher claws aside as I ripped the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden from its sheath and slashed, severing the mouth tentacles that were reaching for me. As I parried the follow-up strike from its second pincher claws, a system window popped open before my eyes.

Congratulations! You have killed VaporStrike the Ravenous!

Dismissing the window with a thought, I drove my dark blade into its open maw as Byrnwulf removed the last of its legs on one side. The combination sent the monstrous insect dropping to the ground as my blade ripped through the back of its head, opening a massive wound. The juvenile hatchling’s claws weakly tried to batter me away, but I was too close for them to do much more than move me to the side as Igtra leaped on the monster’s back and began bashing in the back of its skull. It died as I yanked my sword out of its gaping maw for a follow-up strike.

“Thanks for the save!” I shouted, bringing the Dark Blade of Lord Kayden up in a salute to the two Red Draconian-Humans.

“Same back at you,” Byrnwulf good-naturedly shouted, returning the salute with the haft of his axe.

“What else did you expect?” Igtra dismissively shouted back, before turning and leaping after the remaining juvenile hatchling that was being hacked to death by Samantha and the remaining two Ghouls.

“She never stops with the attitude, does she?” I said, shaking my head as I watched her bring her fiery spiked mace down on top of the monstrous insect’s head.

“It grows on you after a while,” Byrnwulf said as he turned around to scan the battlefield for any immediate threats.

“So does a fungus,” I replied with a grunt as I stepped up beside him to scan the courtyard.

“Dude, that’s messed up,” Byrnwulf exclaimed, taking a double look at me as I saw that Helgath had finished the Zombie Wall and was helping the guys take down the last juvenile hatchling with her daggers.

“Chill out, Byrnwulf,” I said, holding up my hands to stop his outburst as the monstrous insect collapsed into a heap that Samantha, Igtra, Neristhana, Nahimana, and the two Ghouls were finishing off, “I know you’re not talking about her striking personality, but I’m telling you right now, she takes some getting used to.”

“It’s something that I’ve been working on her and the rest of my people about,” Byrnwulf grudgingly admitted as we realized at about the same time that all of the immediate threats had been taken care of.

“Now that, I can respect,” I said, giving him a friendly clap on the shoulder as I saw the rest of the Ghouls that had been hurrying over after finishing off the mini-boss simply formed up into a defensive ring around us.

“Good job, everyone,” I called out in group chat as I began striding across the courtyard to VaporStrike’s corpse, “that was one crazy ass battle.”

‘Our Zombie Walls won’t hold out long,’ Helgath warned as she came jogging over to me, ‘and if they find the openings we didn’t seal on the opposite side of the courtyard-’

‘We’ll be screwed,’ I agreed while glancing at the timer for the quest on my HUD, ‘Hopefully, that won’t happen within the twenty-one minutes we have left to take out the dungeon’s main boss.’ I felt more than saw the droll look the Half-Orc shot my way as I mentally shrugged. ‘Look, I’m not disagreeing, but we’re out of time to secure the courtyard any more than we already have.’

‘That’s true,’ Helgath agreed, not liking the situation any more than I did, ‘At least, if they come through those larger burning areas, they won’t have much fight left in them.’

‘We can only hope,’ I agreed.

“I can’t believe that cheese move you pulled worked to take down a mini-boss,” Töten groused as he caught up to me, “Summoned Pets shouldn’t be that powerful in an MMO like this.”

“Star’s always pulling cheezy stunts like that to take down enemies,” Phoenix said with a chuckle as the rest of the team jogged to catch up with us.

“I don’t know what you and Beta Boy are complaining about,” I shot back unperturbed, “If that hadn’t worked, all of you would’ve been left to tank VaporStrike with your skin sloughing off your faces.”

“Gah, don’t remind me of that,” Zeven said with a visible shudder.

“You guys, sort of, reminded me of burnt marshmallows in a fire,” I said, letting out a bark of laughter.

“Why do you say that?” Byrnwulf asked as a disturbed look came to his face.

“You know, like when the burnt outer shell pulls away from the soft sticky center from the weight of the marshmallow?” I asked as the melee team traded guarded looks before Töten asked for them.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, that’s how your faces looked when the Ghouls were dragging your bodies out over the cobblestones to be healed,” I said, smiling at the instant groans that came from everyone at my words.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Samantha gagged as she looked away to clamp a hand over her mouth, “that’s why too descriptive.”

I didn’t really blame her either. One look at the Orc Warrior Ghouls marching around us said it all. The poison cloud had eaten most of their skin and flesh away so that there were only bubbling oozing muscles clinging to the undead bones left little to the imagination. They almost looked like walking cooked meat bones with gooey centers that you’d give to your dogs for a snack. I shivered at the thought of how horrible that had to have felt for the melee team.

“Now that you mention it,” Laura thoughtfully said as an evil grin came to her lips, “that fits the visual almost perfectly.”

“Dude, that’s fucked up,” Zeven muttered as he turned slightly green while Bright Claw unhappily agreed behind him.

“He likes to play the asshole at times,” Phoenix agreed with a harsh bark of laughter.

“Whatever,” Töten grunted, elbowing me in the ribs as he increased his stride to get ahead of me, “I’m gonna grab the loot.”

“Make it quick, because we’re running out of time fast,” I said, before calling over my shoulder to the Gnomeling, “Neristhana?”

“I’ll give him a hand,” Neristhana automatically answered as she began jogging ahead to catch up with the Anti-Paladin.

“Aren’t you just going to send your Ghouls in after the boss?” Töten dryly asked over his shoulder.

“I figure it couldn’t hurt.” I said with a shrug as I ordered the Ghouls towards the inn, “Besides, I don’t really wanna be the first through those double doors.”

That comment put a thoughtful look on the players’ faces around us as Töten and Neristhana got to work. As the big guy began pulling whole chunks of chitin off VaporStrike the Ravenous, the Gnomeling drove right into the corpse looking for loot. By the time the Ghouls reached the inn’s double doors, the first item popped up in a system window to be rolled on.

Ring of the Toxic Ranger

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .05 kg

+30 Agility

*Adds a thirty-point poison effect for ten seconds to all ranged attack projectiles.

“No need to roll on that,” Kevin happily chortled as soon as he read the stats, “I’m the only Ranger in the group.”

“The hell are you going on about?” Samantha said, letting out a harsh bark of laughter, “a plus thirty to Agility is a plus thirty to Agility.”

“Dude, you don’t even have a bow to get the range attack bonus,” Kevin heatedly argued.

“It doesn’t matter if it says it’s for a specific class or not,” Töten said in a no-nonsense tone as everyone’s names were listed below the item and the roll automatically started, “the group roll is automatic. If you want to buy the item from the winner, then talk to them privately on your own time.”

“What’s with the NPCs being included in the rolls?” Alan asked in an alarmed tone.

“The World automatically includes all of them as members in the group,” Töten said in a harsh tone, “You don’t like it, you don’t have to team up with us.”

“If The World does the rolls that way automatically, then just leave it be,” Laura hissed to his teammates, “Cause without their help we wouldn’t be rolling on anything.”

“There’s that,” Samantha sourly snapped.

Whatever, I thought as the roll automatically went from player to player. Kevin grunted as if he’d been kicked in the balls as he rolled a three. Samantha’s angry hiss wasn’t much better when she rolled a five. Alan, on the other hand, let out a whoop when he was announced as the winner.

“That is such bullshit,” Kevin grunted as Töten flipped the ring to the Fire mage.

“You’re not in a guild-only raid,” Phoenix said with an indifferent shrug as Neristhana tossed Töten the next item, “this is a pick-up group.” She jerked her chin towards Samantha who had already sidled up next to the Fire mage and was already trying to make a deal. “If you want the Ranger item, offer your teammate something worth giving it up.”

“Fucking A!” Kevin snarled, stomping over to the pair as the next item popped open in another system window.

VaporStrike's Pouch of Toxic Slugs

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Projectile

Quantity: 50

Damage: 60-80

Weight: .3 kg

*Adds fifty points of poison damage for fifteen seconds in a two-yard radius centered on the target.

No one seemed to care one way or another about the next item as the Ghouls finally busted down the double doors and stormed into the inn. As I nervously eyed the open doorway, Kevin and Samantha were arguing loudly trying to outbid each other on the ring with silver, gold, and other loot they had saved up in their inventory. Not that either of them had anything a mage would particularly want, I thought, as I heard a familiar creepy old woman’s voice call out from inside the inn.

“Welcome to my lair precious meat sacks, I will make sure every part of your delicious bodies is fully used for the betterment of the swarm,” I heard Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch enthusiastically begin to say, when she stuttered in confusion, “Wh-what are you decaying creatures doing here? Where are my delectable meat sacks?” The boss suddenly let out an enraged shriek as the Ghouls began to attack. “You’re nothing more than tainted meat!”

It was curious to see that the rest of the group barely acknowledged the boss’s outraged screams as the final battle began. I wasn’t sure if that was due to the Helm of Inaxidor translating her monstrous chittering or if she’d said that in common. Not that it really mattered one way or another, I thought with a shrug as Laura won the roll. Even though no one really seemed to want the poison slugs, the Priestess mockingly raised her hands above her head to cheer her win as Töten tossed her the bag.

A win was a win, I sagely harrumphed, as the coins the mini-boss had was suddenly distributed to everyone in the group. Fifteen gold, twenty-silver, and one hundred-twenty coppers suddenly clinked into everyone’s pockets automatically. Not a bad haul for having so many people on the team. The battle seemed to be heating up inside the inn but no one paid any attention to it as a pair of goo-filled leather boots came up for the next roll.

Goo-Filled Leather Boots

Item Quality: Inferior

Item Type: Common

Slot: Feet

Defense: 10

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 11/25

Weight: 1.07 kg

- 10 Charisma

*Slug trails - The goo has wet the leather of the boots to the point where they leave gooey wet spots on the ground.

-Description - The goo looks like it’s from the digested remains of the last wearer of these basic boots and smells like it.

Now that’s disgusting, I silently chuckled, as the coins that dropped got the bidding really going between Kevin and Samantha, while the roll for the boots started. I wasn’t paying any attention to the roll as I focused on the bidding war between the Warrior and Ranger when the Barbarian let out a bark of laughter.

“Dude, you’re on a roll!” Phoenix chortled as I jumped when a pair of boots hit my chest.

“The big winner for junk in today’s dungeon is Startum,” Töten laughingly congratulated me as a look of pure disgust came to my face.

“That’s not even fair,” I complained while trying not to breathe as I upended the knee-high leather boots as a questionable goop poured out of them.

“Dude, that shit is rancid,” Zeven grunted, hurriedly covering his snout with a clawed hand, “It smells like half-digested meat that was left to rot.”

“If you can get a matching shirt, you’ll really be styling,” Byrnwulf joked as he began to singsong, “I’m nothing but a hobo-gigolo.”

“Dick,” I jokingly said, flipping the Red Draconian-Human off as more random items began to be rolled on automatically. By now, my bad luck at loot rolls was legendary amongst my close friends.

The drops were the normal smattering of stuff you’d expect to get off of a boss: copper and tin ore, something called loadstone iron ore that I won the roll on, Neristhana won the roll on the cobalt ore to a few grumbles, and Alan won the roll on the mana accumulation crystal the size of my fist that dropped, which I promptly offered to buy off of him for ten golds. As we made the deal, Kevin ended up buying the ring for nearly all his money.

“Winner’s keepers, loser’s weepers,” Kevin singsonged as Samantha flipped him off when a purple item popped up in the next system window.

Venomous Long Bow of the Executioner

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Special

Attack: Ranged

Weapon Type: Bow

Damage 160-180

Weight: 3.0 kg

Durability: 300/300

+20 Haste

+15 Strength

+15 Agility

-Toxic Sting (Type: Poison) Adds twenty-five points of poison damage for five seconds to all arrows shot from the bow.

Now that was pretty damn sweet, I thought, silently hoping to win the roll as everyone’s names began popping below the item.

“Ohmygod … ohmygod,” Kevin giddily chanted as the automatic dice began to roll, “that’s the best bow that I’ve yet to see in-game!”

“Mama needs a ranged weapon,” Samantha exclaimed in the same tone as the Ranger.

I swear Kevin nearly busted out in tears as he rolled a two. Not that my roll of one was any better. C'est la vie, I thought with a silent shrug as the Ranger began swearing up a storm. It would’ve been funny if I didn’t understand where he was coming from, but this wouldn’t even be the thousandth time that I missed out on good loot. There was a joyous shriek from the defensive warrior as she won the roll for the bow while Kevin let out a sick groan.

“Ha, it’s not a plus thirty to Agility, but I’ll take this instead,” Samantha chortled as she turned to the pissed-off Ranger and singsonged back, “Woohoo, winner’s keepers, loser’s weepers.”

“God, you’re such a bitch,” Kevin angrily grumbled as the rest of us laughed at his reaction. Before he could say anything more, another blue item popped open before our eyes.

Cheliferidae Risso Spear of Leeching

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Unique

Attack: two-hand piercing

Weapon Type: Halberd

Damage: 140-160

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 1 kg

+10 Stamina

+10 Agility

+10 Spirit

*25 points of health leeched per second for 15 seconds on each successful strike.

That unique weapon immediately got everyone’s attention. Health Leeching bonuses weren’t common in The World from what I’d seen so far. Even if you weren’t a spear user, it was a damn sweet weapon. This time, it was Samantha that was excitedly looking forward to the next roll. I almost laughed when Kevin rolled a twenty-one. That was an automatic win and he was automatically announced as the winner.

I wasn’t surprised in the least to see Samantha sidling up to him to offer up the bow in exchange for the spear. As Neristhana stood up and tossed the last item to Töten, I barely noticed the exchange or the turquoise-colored text in the system window that popped open before my eyes.

Rune Stalker Chitin Reinforced boots

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Special

Slot: Feet

Defense: 460

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 1.07 kg

+15 Stamina

+15 Intelligence

+15 Agility

*Removes all root effects to the wielder and their summoned creatures.

*Silent Step - Regardless of the surface the wearer is crossing, they have a ninety-five percent chance not to make any sound when walking or running regardless of the terrain.

Instead of checking over the latest item, I was focused on trying to figure out what was happening to my Ghouls. From our shared link, there was something drastically wrong with my pets. A jolt of alarm ran down my spine when several of my Ghoul’s icon’s suddenly turned red on my HUD.

Around me, I peripherally heard the cheers from Neristhana and Nahimana as Helgath won the roll on the boots. Luckily for the rest of us, Kevin and Samantha were still deep in the middle of trying to make their trade and didn’t seem to care one way or another about the boots. From the sounds of it, the Defensive Warrior was trying to get the ring and the spear for the bow since it was such a high-quality item. Otherwise, they’d have probably been bitching. As it was, Alan was grumbling under his breath while Laura didn’t seem to care one way or another. Byrnwulf and Igtra were also indifferent to the Half-Orc winning. That was probably because Igtra had won a roll on the last boss.

“Umm, Star,” Phoenix worriedly said as she stepped up beside me, “What does it mean when my Ghouls’ icons turn red?”

“I don’t know,” I said just as confused as the Barbarian.

“It’s like they’re not listening to my commands anymore,” Phoenix muttered as she began messing with her interface.

From the sounds of fighting coming from inside of the inn, the battle was really heating up. Oddly enough, my handful of remaining green-colored Ghouls seemed to be alarmed at something but I couldn’t figure out why. None of them were taking any notable damage. Turning towards the double doors of the inn, I ordered the Ghouls to fall back and drew my Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty from my belt while unslinging my Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender.

Congratulations! For completing fifteen common structures your fortress has reached Settlement Level I.

As a reward, a Town Stone has been formed and must be placed inside the settlement. Town Stones automatically create a Town Hall when placed. Town Halls are important for your community. Depending on the level, Town Halls allow for the establishment of diplomatic relations with other civilizations, species, cities, clans, the formation of formal alliances with non-players, the establishment of trade routes, and the ability to officially declare war. Further information is now available to you in the in-game wiki.

Additionally: Once you’ve reached Settlement Level I, you can see other Settlements and their Town Stones. To take over a Town Stone, you have to have been granted ownership of the Settlement or remove it from the town. Upon the removal of the Town Stone, upper-level diplomatic relations, extra bonuses, and other special features and builds unique for that Settlement will be unavailable until the mana and resources needed to construct a replacement Town Stone have been gathered. These penalties will remain until the Town Stone has been replaced. Also, the loss of a Town Stone can demoralize the Settlement and make it easier to conquer. Acquired Town Stones can be used to upgrade your own Settlement, increase your stronghold or keep level, the ability to establish a new town, or add unique buildings or special features. Further information is now available to you in the in-game wiki.

*If you raze or steal a Demi-Human, Humanoid, or player’s Town Stone, your people and players will be marked purple over their names for a week. This mark is similar to that of the red PKer mark players get when initiating PVP, but will only be visible to other Settlement owners. If another Settlement Owner attacks you during this period of time, they will not be similarly marked if they successfully take your Town Stone.

“The fuck,” I grunted, waving my axe to dismiss the pop-up window that suddenly blocked my vision as Phoenix glanced my way. With a dismissive snort, I explained, “Pop-up window.”

“Hey, Star, there’s something strange going on with my Ghouls,” Neristhana said, hurrying over to my side, “All of them just turned red!”

‘Mine too,’ Helgath sent with a tense undertone to her thoughts. As she finished putting on her new boots and rushed to my side, everyone else began glancing our way wondering what was up.

“What’s wrong?” Töten asked in alarm as he noticed the four of us facing the double doors to the inn with our weapons drawn.

“Is there something going on with the boss fight?” Zeven asked, defensively bringing his polearm across his chest. As Bright Claw swiveled his mass around to face the doorway, the pick-up members of our group glanced at each other worriedly.

Before any of us could explain, the three Orc Warrior Ghouls that I’d recalled suddenly crashed into the doorframe. As the rest of the group nervously backed away from the entrance in alarm and drew their weapons, I saw the red-tagged Orc Warrior Ghouls struggling to hold the green-tagged ones in place. What the hell was going on? Why weren’t the green-tagged Ghouls using their weapons to attack the red-tagged ones? I wondered, even as I tried to order the red-tagged Ghouls to stand down when a clawed hand urgently grabbed my shoulder.

‘Look at the sides of their heads!’ Helgath mentally shouted.

I immediately saw what the Half-Orc meant. There was a thick fleshy tentacle sticking in the sides of the red-tagged Orc Warrior Ghouls’ heads. Not only that, the tentacle seemed to wrap completely around the red-tagged Ghouls’ necks. Had those tentacles somehow taken control over my undead pets? Was that why my green-tagged Ghouls were not fighting back? As I commanded my Ghouls to slaughter the red-tagged ones, I saw what must have happened to my undead pets as the Matriarch’s grotesque face suddenly appeared behind the struggling Ghouls in the doorway and rammed her mouth tentacles into the three-remaining green-tagged Ghouls’ heads.

“That fucking hag is taking over my undead pets!” I shouted in outrage as the old woman’s head atop the monstrous gaping maw gave me a hideous grin.

“If you lovely meat sacks refuse to come into my lair,” Dread Maw the Ravaging eerie human voice playfully called out as I quickly cast an Identify, “then I’ll have to send my new toys out to bring you to me instead!”

“Ah fuck,” Byrnwulf cursed, “I fucking hate intelligent bosses!”

“What the hell!” Samantha swore as the remaining last green-tagged Ghouls on my HUD turned red.

Not that I was listening to the Defensive Warrior bitch as I saw the Matriarch’s information appear over her head before she could step away from the doorway, Dread Maw the Ravaging Matriarch, level 63 Elite Cheliferidae Risso. Not only that, I saw that her health was down to sixty-five percent. At least, the old hag didn’t take over my Ghouls without taking some serious damage, I savagely thought. As the Ghouls came charging out through the double doors, I pointed the head of my axe at the group and dropped a Light Word of Censure on top of the stairs leading up to the double doors.

That worked like a charm, I laughingly thought as the Ghouls hit the golden runes and instantly crumpled. Due to the combination of their velocity and the flight of steps, the whole mass came to a crashing stop on the ground before the stairs in a dogpile. While the ground here wasn’t part of the Light Word of Censure area of effect, Helgath had been perfectly in synch with my plan and was already dropping Zombie Hands. Before any of the Ghouls could climb to their clawed feet, undead claws pushed up through the ground to grab a hold of them as I stepped forward with my Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty swinging.

“Focus on chopping their heads off,” I shouted as the Decapitation Special proc’d, beheading the first downed Orc Warrior Ghoul with one hit.

Next to me, Neristhana’s hand axe was already chopping through another Ghoul’s neck. Phoenix didn’t hesitate either as she leaped into the scrum with her two-handed battle axe swinging. As I was hacking through the next helpless Ghoul’s neck, Zeven, Bright Claw, Neristhana, and Töten joined the slaughter. We had fifteen seconds to drop the twenty Ghouls before they could climb back to their feet.

After slaughtering the undead on the top of the pile, we began going after the ones deeper down. Even though it was somewhat difficult to get a clear swing through the corpses and grasping limbs, we were whittling the pile down quickly, when a shout from Samantha and Kevin sent a spike of fear running down my spine.

“The swarm found a way through the fire!” the Defensive Warrior warned as the sound of fighting came from behind us.

“Ohmygod!” Alan shrieked, “the entire swarm is pouring into the courtyard!”

“I’ve got this!” I shouted to my friends, seeing that there were only five Ghouls left in the pile, “Go help the rest of them-”

My voice instantly faded away as I glanced over my shoulder to see the rest of the team being assaulted by the still-living mouth tentacles. Töten was fighting against five of the yard-long slugs as they tried to get underneath his armor. Phoenix already had two burrowing into her chest as another latched to the side of her head, while Neristhana was struggling against two others. Zeven and Bright Claw weren’t in any better shape. Four of the suckers were already eating into the Badger kin’s legs, while another two were assaulting his head. The Grizhawk had another five chewing into his exposed furry hide.

I didn’t even bother looking to see where the worms were on me as I saw Helgath fighting off the three that were struggling to burrow into her green flesh. If not for her magic shields, they would have already invaded her body. Knowing that she was probably the only one that could save us, I ignored the worm-like slugs that were already crawling under my helm and began launching Pyroblast at my soulmate.

‘Save us,’ I urgently sent as agony shot through my neck and throat.

Ignoring the pain and the worm-like slugs that began attacking my face, I cast Bone Fangs and turned back around, focusing on decapitating the remaining Ghouls. The agony was intense. It felt like the mouth tentacles were eating me alive. If not for the Helm of Inaxidor protecting my head, I had no doubt they would’ve easily taken over my body. As I decapitated the last Ghoul in the pile, I felt the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty slip from my numb fingers as I collapsed to my hands and knees while my health bar began to shrink.

Fuck, I gagged, feeling a monstrous presence invading my thoughts. It felt like I was a prisoner in my own body as my arms and legs stopped responding. I swear, I could hear Dread Maw the Ravaging Matriarch’s hideous laughter echoing in my mind as the worm-like slugs’ tentacles dug deeper into my skull.

Blood ran from my eyes as I defiantly lifted my head to see Neristhana, Töten, and Phoenix who were still in my line of sight. All of them but the big guy were laying on the ground convulsing in agony as the worm-like slugs burrowed deeper into their bodies. As I caught the rebellious look in Töten’s red cat-eyes, a feral grin came to his bloody lips as he managed to cast one last spell.

The results were instantaneous. Instantly a hellish-red glowing aura appeared around all of our bodies. A split second later, the magic pulsed as the worm-like slugs were suddenly set on fire. Even though it felt like lava had been poured into my open wounds as the monstrous parasites went berserk trying to tear themselves out of my flesh, I relished in the agony shooting through my body. Their bodies burned so hotly that my hit points dropped another four hundred points as a howl of agony ripped from my lips.

Even as my vision blurred, I saw the yard-long tentacle slugs writhing and flopping around in agony on the ground visibly burning. There were twenty of the fuckers in all. One for each of our Ghouls. As the hellish-red aura pulsed again, the worm-like slugs turned to black ash before my eyes as the spell incinerated them. Before I could collapse on the ground, a refreshing wave of healing energy washed over my abused body as tender clawed hands cradled my head into leather-clad breasts.

‘It’s over,’ Helgath softly murmured again and again as my head began to clear, ‘Töten’s Abyssal Ground aura cleansed the monstrous parasites from our bodies.’

‘Neristhana?’ I croaked out, hugging the Half-Orc to my chest with one arm while my other began blindly searching for the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty that had slipped from my grasp.

‘She lives,’ Helgath assured me as the sounds of the Red Draconian-Human’s Flame Breath attack roared behind us over the chittering shrieks of monstrous insects and the sounds of battle.

“Fuck,” Phoenix painfully grunted, climbing to her hands and knees next to me, “Did anyone get the plates of that truck that ran me over?”

“No time for jokes,” Töten groused, lifting Phoenix up to her feet with a forearm, “We’ve gotta move!”

“Gah,” Phoenix wordlessly moaned as she puked the contents of her stomach out onto the ground.

“Those insects are everywhere,” Zeven painfully groaned as he climbed to his clawed feet beside the pair with a moaning Grizhawk, “If we don’t get moving, they’ll eat us all.”

“At least, they’re all burning,” I grunted as my hands wrapped around the hilt of my axe. As Helgath helped me to my feet, my eyes swept the courtyard trying to get a handle on the situation.

Standing behind us in a semicircle, the rest of the team was doing their best to stanch the monstrous swarm that was pouring through the roaring flames but there were too many of them already loose in the courtyard. From the look of things, once the adolescent hatchlings had found the portions of the courtyard that Helgath and I hadn’t been able to seal off during the mini-boss fight with VaporStrike the Ravenous, they’d begun to flood through en masse.

Watching the shrieking monsters force themselves through the raging fire, it was almost like they were being forcibly summoned by the Matriarch. Every adolescent hatchling coming through the flames was already half dead even as Samantha, Byrnwulf, Igtra, and Nahimana advanced to meet them. And while Kevin’s and Alan’s ranged attacks were momentarily keeping the swarm’s numbers down enough for the others to hold them back, once Alan ran out of mana or the Ranger went through the last of his arrows, it would be game over.

“Any ideas where we should fall back to?” Zeven called over his shoulder as he hurried forward to give Nahimana a hand with Bright Claw.

“I wouldn’t recommend the front door again,” Phoenix said, pushing away from the big guy to stand on her own. Shouldering her battle axe, she switched to her short bow and groused, “Not unless you want tentacles shoved into your head again.”

“Not on your life,” Neristhana moaned as she weakly climbed to her feet next to me.

“We have fifteen minutes left to take that bitch down,” Töten said, glancing back at the inn, “or we’re all dead.”

“Maybe we can set fire to the front of the inn and then climb up the backside by the kitchen,” I said nodding to the one-story addition sticking out from the side of the building as Helgath and I began rebuffing everyone in the group, “and try climbing in through the second story’s windows.”

“If you and Laura could keep us healed, my fire resistance is high enough that could work,” Töten harrumphed as his eyes studied the outside of the building and the slanted roof that ran to the top of the inn, “and I might have a better way to enter the main room.”

“Especially if Byrnwulf and Igtra give you a hand,” I thought out loud while casting as quickly as I could.

“What can those lowbies do to help me against a high-level boss like the Matriarch?” Töten asked, letting out a bark of laughter, “but die.”

“Be a distraction,” I honestly said not batting an eye as the big guy looked over at me in surprise, “Look, if they can take a hit or two meant for you, then they’ve done their part in tanking the boss, right?”

“Cold but true,” Töten agreed, clapping me on the back. “If you start firing up the front of the inn, I’ll start getting everyone on the roof.”

“You’ve got it,” I said, finishing up my personal buffs as we both went to work.

“Alright everyone, come to me,” Töten called out in group chat as Helgath and I started blasting the front of the inn with our Pyroblasts using the last of our mana, “we’re falling back to the inn now!”

“What about the swarm?” Samantha argued, unwilling to follow his lead.

“You can hold them off from the rooftop of the kitchen while the rest of us take out the boss,” Töten shouted back, “Let’s go, we’ve got fourteen minutes to take this bitch down before we’re all dead!” The rest of the group was momentarily caught off guard as the big guy started jogging away from the battle. “Byrnwulf and Igtra, you’re gonna be with me tanking the boss.”

Byrnwulf, Igtra, Zeven, and Nahimana made the decision for the rest of the group. As the four of them turned around and headed for Töten, the rest of the players fell in line. It went from a coordinated attack to nearly a complete route. Without Kevin’s and Alan’s ranged support, the number of adolescent hatchlings entering the courtyard seemed to swell in numbers.

Töten simply snatched everyone that came running up and threw them up onto the inn’s kitchen roof. The man’s strength was crazy, I thought, watching him manhandle even Zeven without batting an eye. One heave and whoever he had in his hands were sent arching up to the rooftop. The real feat was when he grabbed Bright Claw and simply threw the massive Grizhawk up with a loud bellow.

I’m not sure who out of us all was more surprised, Zeven, me, or Bright Claw as he bellowed while flying through the air. I could only shake my head incredulously as I watched the Grizhawk scrabble his mass over the edge of the roof with Zeven’s help. As the big guy got down to Samantha, Helgath and I hurried over to the Anti-Paladin as the courtyard behind us filled with chittering adolescent hatchlings.

“I can’t believe I’m letting you throw me,” Samantha screamed as she flailed through the air to land roughly on the roof.

Helgath didn’t say a word and simply jumped up high into the big guy’s waiting arms as he threw the Half-Orc high up into the air. “Same thing,” I called out as my ungainly ass tried the same leap that Helgath had managed. It didn’t work. Nonetheless, Töten easily shot me up with just one arm boosting me from behind. Landing adroitly on my feet, I dropped my pack and gear next to Helgath.

‘Keep an eye on my gear.’ As she wordlessly acknowledged, I snapped at Zeven, Byrnwulf, Phoenix, and Samantha, “Hold my ankles! Everyone else, do your best to give whatever covering fire that you can!”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Byrnwulf stuttered in confusion as he hurried over to my side.

“Why me?” Samantha asked in surprise as she scurried over to help.

“Probably because you’re a Defensive Warrior that focus’s on Strength,” Phoenix snapped, pushing for her to join Zeven as I flopped down on my stomach.

“Oh,” Samantha said, somewhat taken aback at both Phoenix and my reaction to her.

I’d done something like this before in the Explorers. As groups went, it was a hell of a lot more fun than the time I’d spent in the Boy Scouts. Mostly because the group’s mission was to prepare men and women for joining the military and was the next step after the Girl and Boy Scouts. Even though I eventually decided not to go the military route, I still enjoyed the officer training courses the Explorers put us through in preparation for ROTC.

“Ready?” I called out.

“Go for it!” Phoenix shouted.

“We’ve got you,” Zeven agreed.

With that, I let my body slide over the lip of the roof. I didn’t know what Töten’s plan was to climb up after us, but a look of surprise washed over his face as he saw me dangling over the edge and holding my arms out to him.

“Jump up,” I shouted down to the big guy, “and use my body like a ladder.”

“Dude, there’s no way you’re gonna hold me with all of my gear,” Töten automatically said.

“Fuck, then toss your shit up first!” I shouted back.

One last glance at the shit-storm headed his way was enough to get Töten to make the right decision. I passed up his weapons, rucksack, and shield as he quickly tossed them up. When it was just him, he leaped up and grabbed the back of my breastplate.

For a second, I thought he was gonna strip it right off, but thankfully, he quickly reached up to my equipment belt. We lurched for a moment as everyone did their best to hold us both up. I had a great view of the adolescent hatchlings swarming under us as Töten pulled himself further up by using my legs. It was just in time too because the fucker’s tentacle mouths were nearly able to reach his dangling legs.

“Take my hand!” Igtra shouted as Töten scrambled up higher.

“I’ve gotcha,” Nahimana called out as she did her best to pull up on the Anti-Paladin’s breastplate, while Bright Claw’s jaws locked around the big guy’s helm to help.

There was a chorus of shouts as Töten was pulled completely over the edge of the roof. For a moment, I was staring face-first down at a sea of chitinous monsters hungrily trying to leap high enough to eat my face. I was just beginning to wonder what was taking everyone so long when I was hauled back up with my heart still in my throat.

“We need to move now,” Töten barked as he picked me up and shoved me towards my gear.

I didn’t blame him in the least. We were getting down to the last ten minutes. As soon as I got everything back on, the big guy was pushing all of us towards the inn’s roof.

“Let’s move … move … move!”

“Don’t we need to be heading for the windows?” I shouted back, hurrying after him.

“Naw, I’ve got another way in!” Töten confidently shouted as he came to a stop while the rest of us traded confused looks. His red cat-eyes swept all of us as he hurriedly continued, “This is gonna suck, but if it works like I’ve planned, it’ll fuck that Matriarch up.” Before any of us could ask him what the fuck he meant, Töten braced his feet apart and lifted his two-handed hammer over his head.

“I don’t care how big you think you are,” Byrnwulf laughingly said, “but there’s no way that’s gonna work.”

“Oh really?” Töten asked, pausing in the pose as he gave the Red Draconian-Human female a wink, “Hey Igtra, why don’t you hold my beer for a second.” Before any of us could wonder what the hell he was up to, Töten brought his hammer swinging down as his body exploded into the size of a small giant.

“The fuck?” I managed to choke out.

It was the craziest thing that I’d yet to see in The World and that was saying something. In the blink of an eye, Töten’s size doubled. Not just his size, but his equipment, shield, and weapons too. I swear his two-handed war hammer was nearly the same size as my entire body as it smashed into the inn’s central beam that was supporting the entire roof. Between the Anti-Paladin’s immense weight, the rest of the team including the Grizhawk, and the immense impact of his war hammer being brought to bear, the beam snapped with a loud crack as the inn’s entire ceiling seemed to implode in on itself.

Everything seemed to happen at once. As we slammed into the floor of the second story, I saw Töten’s second swing already coming down with the same level of force as the first. As the immense war hammer shattered the central crossbeams beneath our feet, the Oni-Fire Giant began shrinking back down to his normal size as the entire second floor collapsed in on itself like the roof had done.

As the screams of the group came to my ears, I caught a glimpse of Dread Maw the Ravaging Matriarch as the entire weight of the second floor and roof came crashing down on top of her. The horrified look on the old woman’s part of the monstrous boss’s face was a thing of beauty even as a thrill of terror ran through my veins at the sensation of falling. In the mass of debris plunging down with us, I saw parts of large, shattered beams piercing her fleshy bulbous body as furniture, beds, tables, washbasins, and wardrobes rained down atop her.

A second later, I crashed to the wooden floor hard only to have Helgath land on top of me a second later. Gasping for breath, I somehow managed to roll over and scoop the Half-Orc to my chest, before covering her up with my body as part of the second floor that was still connected to the sides of the inn slammed into the ground nearly on top of my head. If that part of the floor had directly hit us, we would’ve been nothing but a bloody smear on the wooden floor and a tombstone.

‘War Leader!’ Helgath anxiously sent as heavier chunks of wood and debris clattered against the back of my helm and shield, ‘You’ll be killed!’

‘It’s not a problem,’ I confidently sent, shushing her as we were covered in broken furniture and roof tiles, ‘My armor is thicker than yours.’

When the roar of the collapse finally subsided, I painfully pushed myself up as Helgath cast a Healing Breeze while squirming out from under me. I could barely move due to being half buried by the contents of the second floor. Between the two of us, we cleared out a large enough hole to shove the rest of the debris off of us and climb free. As we did, a monstrous voice bellowed at us in outrage.

“I will crack your bones to eat the marrow! I will flay your skin from your battered bodies! I will slaughter every last one of you for the agony that you have put me through!” Dread Maw the Ravaging Matriarch eerie human-like voice shrieked in outrage.

“Are you threatening me!” I heard Töten roar as a large portion of the roof was roughly shoved away with a small avalanche of smaller debris. As we climbed atop the pile of rubble and stood up, a wave of heat washed over me as I saw the Anti-Paladin’s armored form rise up to its full height like a vengeful wraith. As a wet bloody cough wracked his body, he slowly bent down to retrieve his two-handed war hammer and demon-headed shield before facing the monstrous boss, “I believe Last Rites will have something to say about that.”

“You!” the Matriarch accusingly shrieked in agony as her mouth tentacles angrily waved at the air while she weakly raised her broken claws, “You did this to me!”

This wasn’t going to be much of a fight, I thought, seeing the Matriarch’s health was already down to twenty-one percent and shrinking before my eyes. That’s because the boss was forcibly being held against the front wall of the inn that was currently on fire by the other half of the second floor that was still attached to the far wall. Without hesitation, I began hitting buffing him up to the gills as the big guy swung his two-handed hammer back over his shoulder to throw.

“Eat this you nasty hag!” Töten bellowed as he whipped the hammer forward. It flew through the air to smash through the upper portion of her jaw shattering everything in its path.

In truth, Töten could just let her slowly burn to death, but instead, he was going to end her. Since there didn’t seem to be any need to preserve our mana, Helgath and I began blasting her with Enhanced Shadow Bolts as Zeven, Igtra, and Byrnwulf began climbing out of the debris. When Töten’s hammer returned to his fist, the big guy started forward with a purpose as both Red Draconian-Humans hit the boss with their Flaming Breath Strike.

As the Matriarch shrieked in agony, Zeven began chopping the monster up with his polearm as the rest of our group began climbing to their feet. Scorching Shots, arrows, and more Enhanced Shadow Bolts began hammering the boss as Töten stepped up to her and began pummeling the grotesque monster to death. Byrnwulf and Igtra joined in as soon as they finished their breath attack. Samantha managed to join them as the time remaining in the dungeon clicked down to two minutes.

Not that the bitch lasted that long. As the timer hit a minute and a half, the shrieking Matriarch suddenly collapsed in on herself as a message popped up before our eyes.

Congratulations! You have killed Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch!

Congratulations! You have successfully completed the unique dungeon of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Infestation. You have gained 10,000 Experience Points. You have gained 1000 Reputation with the city of Lodenburg and the Kingdom of Kader. You have gained the title, Hero of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Infestation. To receive your monetary reward, present yourself to Lady Aalsala Perlar in Lodenburg’s castle.

Even as I read the system window that popped up before my eyes, a horrendous chittering roaring seemed to be coming from the courtyard of the inn. It was deafening. I’d have sworn the entire swarm had gone insane as the sounds of cracking chitin and rending flesh came from outside the burning in. Before any of us could figure out what was going on, Töten’s war hammer shattered one of the beams holding the top of the front wall of the inn.

“What are you doing?” Phoenix worriedly demanded as the entire front wall began to sag outward away from the building.

“I think we’re fine,” Töten dismissively said as his war hammer appeared back in his fist.

“You think we’re fine?” Zeven grunted as the big guy blasted out the beam holding the front wall somewhat in place.

“It’s a closed beta player’s hunch,” Töten laughingly said as Phoenix and I groaned while the burning wall collapsed outward on top of the swarm of adolescent hatchlings.

Looking around, I was relieved to see that the remaining monsters had gone completely insane. The entire courtyard was carpeted with the dead corpses of the swarm as far as the eye could see. From the look of it, they’d gone insane and simply slaughtered each other to the last. It was an easy fix for the dungeon, I thought, letting out a relieved sigh.

“No complaints here,” I said, plopping down on top of a pile of rubble, “because I really didn’t feel like trying fighting through the rest of the swarm.”

“You’re telling me,” Phoenix said, plopping down where she stood.

“That was a pretty impressive trick, Töten,” Byrnwulf said as he tiredly sat down next to the Barbarian.

“It really was,” I agreed as a smirk came to my lips, “but I never want to hear either of you complaining about my cheesy tactics after that.”

“What are you talking about?” Töten argued, “that was Grade A tactics.”

“No, Star’s right,” Phoenix agreed without hesitation, “that was premium cheese at its finest.”

“Though, I’ll give you points for creativity,” I added, fishing out a wineskin from my rucksack, “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone take out a boss by dropping most of a building on top of it.”

“Not that any of us are complaining,” Phoenix added with a smile.

“It really was impressive,” Byrnwulf agreed as his companion let out a snort of disgust and abruptly stood up.

“I’m gonna start looting the beast,” Igtra gruffly announced, after giving Phoenix a distasteful look.

That woman can hold a grudge, I amusedly thought as Neristhana got up to help after giving me a questioning glance. As the Gnomeling walked past, I whispered under my breath, “Try to recover those poison sacs if you can.” Her only response was a barely perceptible nod of assent as I handed my wineskin over to Helgath who took a long pull from the flask.

“I didn’t really want to announce my special ability like that, but I figured there wasn’t any other choice if we were gonna take that old hag down,” Töten tiredly said as Igtra tossed him the first piece of loot she came across.

That basically ended any further discussion on his special ability as a purple text system window popped open before our eyes.

Matriarch Black Chitin Breastplate with Pauldrons

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Unique

Slot: Chest

Defense: 680

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 7.6 kg

+20 Strength

+20 Stamina

+20 Agility

*Removes all root effects to the wielder and their summoned creatures when caught in any web or sticky trap.

*Neurotoxin Immunity - Due to the nature of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso chitin this breastplate is crafted from, the wear is immune to paralysis poisons.

That got everyone’s attention real quick. While it was impressive, I wasn’t about to give up my current chest piece since it buffed my pets. Still, I wouldn’t mind getting it for Helgath As the rolls went, I heard an aggravated groan from Samantha and Kevin as Byrnwulf won the item.

Without a word, Töten tossed it over to the unhappy-looking player. That just confirmed my suspicion that there was some restriction on his race that didn’t allow him to wear any armor. As Byrnwulf tried to figure out what to do with the breastplate, I stood up and made my way over to him as Neristhana tossed over the next item.

“I’d be interested in buying that from you if you don’t need it,” I said under my breath as a blue text system window popped up before my eyes.

Spittle-Strand Reinforced Chitin Belt

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Waist

Defense: 280

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: .8 kg

+15 Intelligence

+15 Spirit

*Friction Touch - Potions and equipment can be pressed to any part of the belt to be held in place.

-Once a day the belt will grow a spittle sack with a Lesser Antidote Potion.

“It’s not like I have much use for gold right now,” Byrnwulf unhappily grunted in reply as we watched the automatic roll progress.

“What do you mean?” I asked, not quite getting what he meant, “I figured everyone could use gold.”

“You have to have a high-enough reputation to be able to enter a city and spend it,” Byrnwulf snapped in obvious annoyance. Seeing the confused look on my face, the tension left his shoulders as he let out a frustrated huff.

“It’s my Nightmare Red Draconian-Human race start. My reputation with the Humanoid races started at Hated,” Byrnwulf explained, letting out a snort as he took a moment to call up something on his HUD, “I mean, Hostile. It’ll take another two over-the-top quests like the one we just did for me to reach Neutral with the Kingdom of Kader.” He shook his head. “And I only got that much Reputation because the dungeon’s level increased for all of you guys.”

“Holy shit,” I said, shaking my head in commiseration, “and I thought it was bad just being a Halfling.”

“I didn’t even think about that,” Byrnwulf said, realizing that I must’ve gone through some shit for my mixed race too. “Huh, I thought that was something just with my odd choice.” He lowered his voice. “They fucking dropped me on the monster side of the Isolde Line.”

“Woohoo, Zeven is the big winner,” Töten announced, tossing the belt to the Badger kin as Kevin and Jennifer glowered at not winning the roll. Before he could pause, Töten was tossed another item of loot. I perked up again at the turquoise texted system window that popped open before my eyes.

Savage Hand-Axe of Maiming

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Special

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Axe

Damage: 160-200

Durability: 250/250

Weight: 14 kg

+40 Strength

+40 Stamina

*50% Chance on Hit of a limb to sever from the target.

“Damn, that had to have been rough,” I agreed, before explaining my own situation, “My reputation starts out across the board as disliked. Meaning, it’s tough to enter most towns until I’ve built up some reputation, but they won’t attack me on sight.” I gave him a wink. “Makes sense, I guess, since my land is basically right on the edge between demi-human and humanoid lands.”

“It’s probably because I chose such a power base race,” Byrnwulf said, giving me a self-deprecating grin, “but how could I say no to being part Red Dragon?”

“I guess I should’ve perused the other mix races options more,” I said, appreciating where he was coming from, “but I was shooting for flexibility and the best set of bonuses.”

“Seems to have worked out well for you,” Byrnwulf said in reference to my level and my obvious ability, “the no external armor thing has taken some time to get used to.”

“And the big winner is Laura,” Töten announced like a wannabe bid caller at an auction.

“Great, just what I always wanted,” Laura sarcastically said as she held the wicked-looking axe by the end of the shaft like she was holding a dead rat by the tail, “a hand axe for close-up fighting.”

“What a surprise, a Priestess who doesn’t want to get in close to the fighting,” Töten jokingly said as the next item was tossed to him. There was a noticeable stir amongst everyone at the red text system window that popped open.

Lesser Amulet of Transformation

Item Quality: Rare

Item Type: Unique

Slot: Neck

Durability: 330/350

Weight: 2.06 kg

Charge: 500 Mana

-The amulet allows the wearer to transform into an intelligent Demi-Human or Humanoid race.

(Some intelligent races cannot be emulated due to the base limitations of this enchanted device.)

-This amulet is able to transform the wearer into a race of similar size or up to one size larger or smaller than their base form once a blood sample for the specific race has been acquired. Additionally, each transformation requires energy to perform and maintain for the length of one hour. Mana costs are as follows:

Equal-sized form: 20 points.

One-size smaller or larger. 40 points.

-The wearer will automatically be transformed back to their original form when the available energy pool is completely consumed to the minimum energy level required for the wearer's final transformation.

-Upon transformation, the wearer does not automatically acquire knowledge of the new form's language or culture.

-The Lesser Amulet of Transformation charge is automatically refilled at the end of twenty-four hours.

(Important Note: The wearer's visualization of the form they are changing into is necessary for an exact transformation. Otherwise, physical variances will occur.)

“Anyway, sorry for the sob story,” Byrnwulf said, straightening his shoulder, “I don’t mind selling the chest piece.” A conflicted look came to his face. “Not that I know how much something like this goes for.”

“Me neither, I haven’t really gone shopping for premium gear since I’ve started playing,” I admitted as he pointedly eyed my custom Black Coral armor set. “That was freely offered for the completion of a quest and was made by my own vassal.”

“Yeah, that’s not exactly the same thing,” Byrnwulf agreed still at a quandary as to what to do.

“I’d offer a hundred gold for it,” I said after a moment of thought. Seeing his raised eyebrows, I explained, “I might not have bought any armor, but I have seen the prices of the magic items in the mage towers when I picked up my Fire and Frost magic trees. For an item with as many attribute buffs and specials as that, I figure it would be worth a pretty penny.”

“Sure, it’s better than something I can’t use at all,” Byrnwulf said after a moment of thought.

Though it was a quick exchange, I noticed Kevin and Samantha paying the two of us a little bit too much attention, especially when the gold exchanged hands. It looked like their eyes were going to come out of their heads. What really got their goat was when I handed the chest piece to the Half-Orc. The idiots should’ve been watching the roll and not what I was doing.

Not that I blamed them on one level. The unique rare amulet was more or less a worthless artifact as far as I was concerned. I’m sure it could have its uses in the right situation, aka like sneaking into an enemy area. Really though, something like that was only helpful if you were an Assassin or Rogue hunting down a specific item or target. It’s not like the rest of your group would be able to transform with you, I thought with a dismissive snort. Besides, I wasn’t about to give up the plus five to my maximum number of allowed summoned pets for nothing.

‘It’s an impressive chest piece,’ Helgath sent as she inspected the item, ‘Light-weight, high quality, with a good overall defense, and an impressive boost to Agility, Strength, and Stamina, it should serve you well.’

‘Good, it should be a proper upgrade for you then,’ I sent as the Half-Orc’s body went taunt in complete shock. I ignored Kevin angrily pointing as I continued tenderly, ‘I should’ve done this earlier, but we’ve been kind of busy for the last few days.’

‘I can’t accept this, War Leader,’ Helgath exclaimed, trying to push the breastplate back into my hands, ‘It’s better than your own armor!’

‘You’re wanting to keep me safe, right? How are you going to do that if you’re not geared up properly?’ I sent in a no-nonsense tone while pushing the breastplate back into her chest, ‘So, put it on and stop arguing, unless it’s not something you’d use.’

‘No, this is amazing,’ Helgath stuttered, realizing the truth of my words, ‘I’ve just never worn anything so.’ She paused as a rush of conflicting thoughts flooded my mind through our link when she felt the strength of the feelings that I had for her and how important it was to me that she was adequately protected. Her emotion-filled yellow cat-eyes looked up at me in understanding as she acceded to my request and simply said, ‘Thank you, War Leader.’

‘Good,’ I sent back when I noticed everyone looking at me oddly. Trying not to be irate, I raised an eyebrow, facing the group as Helgath began wiggling into the armor, “What, do I have some gore or something on my face?”

“Naw man, you won the roll,” Töten said, tossing me the Lesser Amulet of Transformation, “I called out to you twice.”

“Sorry, I was somewhat distracted there for a moment,” I grunted, catching the large amulet with a frown. Holding it up, I studied it with a frown, “Talk about something that’s next to useless. It doesn’t even come with any attribute buffs.”

“Seriously, man,” Alan exclaimed as he looked at me in confusion, “it’s a unique rare!”

“You wanna trade it for your amulet?” I asked as the Fire mage clutched a hand over the amulet around his neck.

“Hell no,” Alan said, “this thing gives me plus twenty-five to Intelligence and a fifty-point boost in damage to all my Fire spells.”

“My point exactly,” I snorted at the look of outrage on his face, “my current level twenty-five amulet gives me five additional summoned pets.” I held the amulet up to emphasize my point. “This might be useful in very specific and limited situations. Otherwise, it’s gonna sit in my inventory taking up space.”

“You could always sell it,” Alan helpfully said.

“There’s always that,” I agreed with a shrug while tucking it into the pouch at my belt.

“If you don’t want it, I’m sure one of us could sell it for some decent gold,” Kevin meaningfully harrumphed as he angrily eyed the Half-Orc, “It’s obvious you’ve got plenty of coins already.”

“Hardly,” I said, giving him a hard look.

“That’s bullshit you fucking gave our loot to an NPC of all things,” Samantha angrily spat.

“What I do with the gear I buy is none of your concern,” I said, including the Defensive Warrior in my glare, “Is it?”

“This is such bullshit,” Samantha angrily stormed.

“Why’s that?” Phoenix exclaimed, letting out an ugly bark of laughter as she turned on the Defensive Warrior, “Because he’s won every roll up until now? Because he didn’t let you roll on any loot? Or, is it, because he didn’t pull his weight on the team?”

“Fuck you, none of that shit matters,” Kevin groused, stepping up next to his teammate, “Look at him. He’s geared up better than any of us.”

“So, what about it?” Töten asked, turning around to look down at the pair, “He’s also twelve levels higher than you and worked hard to get where he is. Are you jealous about that too?”

“The fuck are you going on about?” Samantha angrily demanded, “What has any of that to do with rolling on loot?”

“That’s exactly my point,” Töten grunted with a disgusted shake of his head, “What he has or doesn’t have isn’t any of your business. All that matters is that you get a fair shot at rolling on the loot.”

“But he’s giving our loot to an NPC!” Samantha whined, pissed that no one else seemed to be on their side.

“Once again, what part of all that did you not understand?” Phoenix asked in exasperation, “It’s not your loot! It stopped being your possible loot when you lost the roll! Whatever he or anyone else in the group does or doesn’t do with their loot once they win it is none of your business.”

“All of you are the same,” Kevin complained, pointedly looking at Töten, Zeven, Phoenix, and me, “You’re all geared up to the hilt but still rolling on our loot.”

“I wish I had some cheese to go with all of this whine,” I said with a dismissive snort. As both players glowered at me, I jerked my chin towards the Priestess’s, “Hey Laura, might you be interested in selling that Savage Hand-Axe of Maiming? I was planning to ask you later, but I figure now is as good of a time as ever.”

“You’re such a fucking asshole,” Kevin angrily snarled at my audacity.

“Don’t you dare sell him that axe, Laura,” Samantha demanded as she glared at the Priestess, “or you’re out of the group!”

“Now I understand why you didn’t want me calling the Barbarian a complete imbecile,” Igtra announced to Byrnwulf as she crossed her arms below her immense breasts to glare at the pair, “Otherwise, it waters down the insult for the true morons of The World.”

“That wasn’t exactly my point at the time,” Byrnwulf dryly said unable to stop the shit-eating grin that came to his face, “but the truth of your words can’t be denied.”

“I don’t get it,” Samantha heatedly said as she angrily whirled on the pair of Red Draconian-Humans, “You two don’t have anything in the way of gear and should be on our side about this!”

“We might not have much in the way of gear and equipment, but everything we have was won fairly in battle from our enemies, not bullied from honorable allies,” Igtra said not bothering to hide the loathing she felt towards the pair, “Why would either of us support a pair of greedy jealous twats wanting to take everything for themselves whining that it’s not enough?”

“Sure, if it’s for a reasonable price,” Laura sweetly said, ignoring her teammates’ threats as they looked at the pair of Red Draconian-Humans in shock, “and if you don’t mind escorting me to Lodenburg.”

“That works for me,” I happily said, before continuing with a smile, “Does twenty gold work for you?”

“Normally, I’d push for twenty-five,” Laura said as she left the other team, “but we’ll call it even for a safe escort back to Lodenburg.”

“I did use your newfar slur of twat properly in this instance, correct?” Igtra asked Byrnwulf a little too loudly as he covered his face with the palm of his red-scaled hand.

“Hey, mind if I get in on that too?” Alan asked, leaving the team as well while Laura and I made the trade.

“Sure, the more the merrier,” I replied, not blaming the Fire mage one bit. I wouldn’t have wanted to travel back with those two greedy idiots either after seeing their jealousy. I’m sure they would’ve reasoned themselves into believing that they shouldn’t have paid the Fire mage gold for the drops he’d won and tried to get their money back in any way possible.

“You gave me twenty-five gold anyway?” Laura asked in surprise.

“Consider the extra five as thank you for not being an ass like your ex-teammates,” I said with a shrug.

“We’ll never team with you losers again,” Kevin stormed as the Defensive Warrior nodded in agreement beside him.

“Do you think I’m worried about that being a Priestess?” Laura demanded of the pair as an unsure look flashed across their faces, “As a healer, I can get a team whenever I want. You, on the other hand, have lost access to one of the few healers in the region,” a nasty look came to her sweet face, “and more once I start telling everyone back at the Church of Light the bullshit you tried pulling about rolling on loot.”

“Here’s the last of the loot from the boss,” Neristhana said, interrupting the argument as she stood up to hand Töten the items.

“Catch your new hand axe,” I shouted to the Gnomeling, tossing the Savage Hand-Axe of Maiming over to her as multiple system windows popped open before our eyes. With the first being a blue-text box.

Bag of Holding

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Uncommon

Weight: 2 kg

*The bag is considerably larger on the inside than on the outside. It can hold up to a thousand pounds without ever exceeding its two pounds of weight. The limit of items that can be placed inside the rucksack is only limited by the opening of the bag. Due to the nature of the item being a sack, it can be carried in the hand or placed in another bag or backpack as long as it’s not another type of Bag, Pouch, or Rucksack of Holding.

As the roll automatically started, I scanned the other system windows. There were two Black Onyx gems, fifteen Azura Agates, two Grey Tigerseyes, two Purple Amethyst, and eighteen gold, twenty-two silver, and a hundred-twenty copper to go around. It was a nice haul especially when Neristhana let out an excited shout as she was listed as the winner of the Bag of Holding. The Gnomeling also got one of the two Black Onyx, while Helgath won a Grey Tigereye and I won the roll on one of the Purple Amethyst.

Even after winning several gems and getting all of that coin, Samantha and Kevin flipped us off as they left the group and headed off on their own. I wasn’t too bothered by the pair of idiots. I’d met plenty of assholes like that throughout my time gaming. No matter what they won or how much they had, it was never enough. If you didn’t give them everything, it was never fair and they were angry. That was because, in their minds, they deserved it all.

They reminded me of those friends you’d suddenly find hanging around you that always wanted to mooch a meal or twenty dollars but never once paid you back or picked up lunch. I’d run into plenty of people like that after I’d graduated high school and had my own place. You know the people that I’m talking about. They’d always acted like your best of friends, but never work a day in their lives and simply took from everyone around them. It was hard at first, but I’d learned to remove those types of parasites from my life.

A sour taste formed in the back of my mouth at the memory. Why did people call you an asshole for standing up to abusers but never once called the abusers’ bullshit out when they were mistreating you? Feeling a clawed hand grip my bicep in concern, I put my hand over Half-Orcs in thanks and pushed the bad memories away. It wasn’t worth wasting any more time thinking about those using and abusing assholes.

“Well, I guess that’s it,” Byrnwulf said as he stood up next to Igtra, “Thanks for the dungeon run and being cool.”

“Same to you,” Töten said with a stiff nod.

“It was mostly a pleasure,” Phoenix agreed as she meaningfully glanced toward Igtra.

“You know,” I hurriedly said before Phoenix and Igtra could start anything, “I might have a way to help increase your standing with the Kingdom of Kader.”

“How’s that?” Byrnwulf tiredly asked, not holding out much hope in the least.

“Currently, the fortress city of Palnisdale is under siege by the Orc horde and Queen Isolde is fighting for the survival of the Kingdom of Kader and the southeastern kingdoms,” I explained as Byrnwulf nodded along with me.

“We know about that insane invasion force,” Byrnwulf gruffly said with a faraway look in his eyes, “It’s why we had to flee our lands and how we ended up on this side of the Isolde Line.”

“We’ll, I’m planning on coming back with a large force to break the siege. Whoever helps me is bound to get a shit-ton of reputation with the Kingdom of Kader along with the other southeastern kingdoms,” I said meeting his thoughtful gaze, “If you’re interested, I can let you know when and where we’re landing and bring you in as allies.”

“That better be one big fucking army with some major firepower,” Byrnwulf said with a laugh, “Otherwise, it’s going to be one short fight.” His eyes scanned Töten, Phoenix, and me thoughtfully. “Look, guys, I know you have some damn impressive gear and abilities, but I’m telling you right now, that Orc horde is like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”

“Dude, that’s who we’ve been fighting pitched battles against for most of last week,” Phoenix said, letting out a bark of laughter as the two Red Draconian-Humans looked at her in surprise.

“You really need to check out Startum Ironwolf’s Twitch Stream for the end of last week,” Töten grunted in agreement, “Even as a closed beta player, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone take out a horde’s push without turtling up inside the walls of Palnisdale.”

“No one can fight off a horde that strong,” Igtra unbelievingly accused, looking back and forth between us as if we were lying.

“Look, I won’t deny it was a fighting retreat with a lot of luck and timing to take down the horde’s push,” I said, holding my hands up to stop any further disagreement, “but we weren’t ready for the Orc horde’s invasion either.” My face hardened with determination. “When we come back to break the siege of Palnisdale, I’ll have my entire force with me and they’ll be fully geared up for the fight.”

“Not to be a dick or anything,” Byrnwulf said, the doubt clear in his eyes as he tried not to laugh in my face, “You’d have to a massive army and,” he shook his head momentarily at a loss for words, “even then, it wouldn’t be enough.”

“Before you make any decisions, check out my Twitch Stream starting Wednesday of last week,” I said not batting an eye, “If we could manage what we accomplished on the run and ambushed, think what we could do with a prepared and geared up force.” Realizing that he’d have to see the streams before he’d believe anything I was saying, I wrapped my offer up, “While I’d like to get some other guilds to help out so they can help reestablish the Isolde Line, I’ll be prepared to do this on my own with my friends and allies. I’m just offering you a slot if you’re interested when we make our move.”

“Fair enough, I’ll at least check out your stream and add all of you to my friend’s list,” Byrnwulf said, offering me a hand.

“Same,” I said, shaking his hand as I added both of their names to my friend’s list, “It was a pleasure.”

“If you’ll excuse us,” Byrnwulf said, offering a two-finger salute to the rest of the group, “we really need to get back to our Clan.”

“I’m sure they’re wondering what’s taking us so long to return,” Igtra agreed with a nod as she thoughtfully eyed our group, “This was much longer than the quick scouting mission we’d originally planned on when we left the encampment.”

“I guess it’s time to start heading to Lodenburg,” Töten said as he stomped out of the debris while the Red Draconian-Humans began jogging away.

“Hopefully you guys don’t mind running back,” Phoenix said as she began following the big guy out.

“Naw, it’s how we traveled here,” Alan said as the Priestess nodded in agreement.

As I went to follow the rest of the group out, a glow beneath the shattered wooden floor caught my eye. Was there something hidden beneath the floorboards? Wondering if this might be some sort of secret loot, I crawled underneath the broken second-floor beam and fished out a glowing granite stone that had been tucked away in a hidey-hole. As soon as my hand wrapped around the ornate rune-covered stone, a system window popped open before my eyes.

Congratulations! You have captured the Town Stone for the Hamlet of Hardfall!

Crawling back out from under the debris, I thoughtfully studied the stone in my hand as I left the destroyed inn to join the rest of the group. Already, Töten, Neristhana, Zeven, and Phoenix had recalled their mounts and were climbing into their saddles, when I realized Neysa should’ve already been back. I was just calling up my HUD to see where she might be when Phoenix called out to me.

“Hey Star,” Phoenix said, eyeing the stone in my hand, “you looting bricks now that Neristhana has a Bag of Holding?”

Neysa was alive and well, I saw from the HUD. If that was the case, then why hadn’t she returned to me?

‘She’s outside the hamlet’s boundaries,’ Helgath explained, sensing my concern.

“Maybe you can collect all of the roof tiles that aren’t broken too,” Töten humorously added as I looked at them both in surprise.

“Hey, Töten, catch,” I called out to the big guy as I threw the brick at him, before adding to Helgath, ‘It’s probably something unique with this dungeon.’

“What in the hell do you want me to do with this?” Töten asked, looking at the brick in confusion.

“Nothing, I just wanted to see what happened when you picked it up,” I thoughtfully said as I pulled up the system message that had popped up to actually read it this time. Seeing Töten go to toss the brick away, I raised my hand up to get his attention, “I’ll take that back.”

“Sure thing, man,” Töten said, chucking the brick back to me as Helgath and I started walking towards the edge of the hamlet, “Do you always take souvenirs of the towns you destroy?”

“Very funny,” I said, flipping him off over my shoulder as we headed in the direction where I felt Neysa waited.

“Hey, isn’t that what serial killers do to their victims?” Phoenix teased as Neristhana clucked her reins for her mount to catch up to us.

“I think it’s called something different when you do that to a town or village,” Töten joked as they both laughed it up.

“Uh, where’s your mount?” Zeven suddenly asked as he helped Nahimana up behind him when he realized Helgath and I were walking out of town.

“Um, yeah,” Phoenix said, looking around the burning hamlet for the Silver Dire Wolf, “Shouldn’t she have been back long before now?”

“She’s probably locked out of the instance,” Töten said, after a moment of thought. As he sent his mount after us, the rest of the group followed, including our two stragglers, “but I’ve never heard of that happening before for a random dungeon like this.”

It didn’t take long for us to catch up to where we’d first run into Byrnwulf, Igtra, and old lady Drea Dmaw. Strangely enough, I couldn’t see or mentally reach her through the shimmering field that seemed to surround the entire hamlet. When we crested the last ridge, my girl suddenly appeared directly in front of me waiting patiently.

‘You’re safe!’ Neysa mentally shrieked even as she launched herself at the two of us.

‘We’re good,’ I sent from on my back as the Silver Dire Wolf tackled me to the ground and began eagerly licking my face.

‘I was so worried!’ Neysa excitedly continued, not letting up one bit on the tongue, ‘I appeared in the graveyard and no one else was there!’

‘I made sure to keep him safe,’ Helgath assured the Silver Dire Wolf as she happily patted her flank.

‘Helgath!’ Neysa shrieked, leaping off me to tackle the Half-Orc to the ground next while I climbed back to my feet, ‘I missed you so much!’

“Where did all the gravestones come from?” Alan suddenly asked as he came to a stop behind us with the rest of the group.

“From Pyralis and Ron, it looks like,” Laura said with an indifferent grunt as she read the nearest gravestone markers, “What would’ve killed them all the way out here so many times?”

‘Oh, yeah, you might want to loot those corpses,’ Neysa eagerly said, jumping to her paws as Helgath leaped onto her back, ‘There were two losers who kept trying to kill me when I was waiting, so I killed them a bunch of times until they stopped coming back.’

“Don’t tell me,” Phoenix said, shaking her head incredulously as I began going around and looting the corpses, “Tweedledee and Tweedledum were pissed at being killed so they tried to gank your Combat Mount to be dicks?”

“It doesn’t look like it worked out too good for them,” Alan said with a gulp as I looted the Ranger’s bow and looked over its stats.

Royal Army Assault Bow

Item Quality: Fine

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: Ranged

Weapon Type: Bow

Damage 110-120

Weight: 5.2 kg

+10 Agility

+10 Spirit

+15 to Critical Strike

+10 to Armor Piercing

Not bad for free, I thought, changing it out with my Elven Long Bow, which I tossed over to Neristhana for her to store.

“I wonder where they headed off too?” Laura nervously asked as she watched me loot her ex-teammates corpses.

“They probably headed back to Lodenburg for the night,” Töten said as I looted a halfway decent ring, “or rage-quit.”

Lesser Ring of Flame

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .03 kg

+10 Intelligence

*Adds plus fifty points of damage to all Fire magic spells cast by the wearer.

“Why aren’t you marked red for PVP’ing?” Laura finally got up the courage to ask.

“Probably because they attacked his Combat Mount first,” Alan answered for me.

“That’s what Neysa said happened,” I agreed while climbing up behind Helgath.

“She explained to you what happened?” Laura asked in an unbelieving tone.

“Sure,” I replied deadpanned, “Though, her exact words were two losers kept trying to kill me when I was waiting, so I killed them a bunch of times until they stopped coming back.”

“Damn, remind me not to randomly attack another player’s pets,” Alan grunted as if he’d been punched in the gut while the Priestess’s mouth snapped closed with an audible click.

“Is that something you need to be regularly reminded not to do?” Zeven asked in a tempered voice as Bright Claw bellowed in agreement next to him.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Alan hurriedly tried to walk back from the comment.

“We ready to head out?” Töten asked. Getting nods from everyone, he glanced over to Alan and Laura, “You guys set the pace and we’ll follow.”

“I really don’t understand why we can’t ride double like the Beast kin girl,” Laura complained, giving us a frown as Alan tried to shush her.

“It’s not nearly as comfortable as one might think if you’re too low of a level to ride,” Nahimana painfully grunted from behind Zeven.

“You are level forty,” Laura pointed out, “isn’t that a high enough level to be able to ride.”

“It is now,” Nahimana agreed, “but it wasn’t that way when we initially rode here, nor have I built up any actual riding skill as of yet either.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that,” Laura admitted, before countering, “Still, it has to beat running back.”

“It would be quicker at least,” I agreed, before jerking my chin at the Gnomeling, “Neristhana, do you think you can handle letting the Priestess sit behind you?”

“Should be easy enough,” Neristhana said with an indifferent shrug.

“I guess that means you’re with me,” Phoenix grunted to the Fire mage as the Gnomeling brought her mount over to the Priestess’s side.

“Um, how do you do this?” Laura asked with wide eyes as she stared at the large horse’s flank.

“That stirrup is really high up,” Alan agreed, trying to hitch his robes up enough to get his foot into the saddle as the rest of us glanced over at Töten expectantly.

“Ohmygod, really,” Töten exhaled an explosive breath in annoyance, “I have to do it?”

“You’re sort of the biggest one here,” I said with a shrug.

“Hell, you even managed to get Bright Claw up on the inn’s roof,” Zeven added, shaking his head as the Grizhawk let out a complaining bellow.

“Gah,” Laura screamed as the big guy dismounted and lifted her into the saddle like a small child.

“Um, thanks,” Alan managed to squeak out as he was set behind the Barbarian.

“If you dare squeeze the Charmin, I’ll cut your head off at the neck. Understand?” Phoenix warned as the Fire mage nodded his head in alarm.

“What’s the Charmin?” Alan mouthed to the Priestess as he tried not to tip from his saddle.

“Her tits you idiot!” Laura mouthed back, putting her own palms over her chest to emphasize her point, nearly falling off the Gnomeling’s mount in the process, “Fuck!”

“I told you to hold on,” Neristhana said as she had her mount follow Töten’s.

‘That’s pretty funny,’ I sent to Helgath with a mental laugh, when I froze in alarm as I suddenly realized where my own hands were resting.

‘Seems like a reasonable enough place for someone to grab onto,’ Helgath replied without a second thought, ‘That’s usually how you hold onto me when we ride.’

‘Um, y-yeah,’ I stuttered feeling quite self-conscious as I tried to nonchalantly move my arms lower around her waist, ‘I’m sure most females would consider that a little bit too personal for a stranger to casually do.’

‘It’s nice to know that’s not an issue with us,’ Helgath happily sent as she reached up to press a clawed hand against my forearms. The innocent move just happened to stop me from shifting my arms down to her waist, ‘I personally enjoy the closeness we share when riding together.’

‘Me too,’ I mentally squeaked while trying to ignore the reaction her firm breasts were causing to my nether regions. With an effort of will, I tried to think of anything else but what my hands were holding onto, ‘By the way, you were great tonight. Without you’re quick thinking, I fear we would’ve wiped and lost Neristhana to that random dungeon.’

‘Everything I do is for you, War Leader,’ Helgath happily replied while leaning her head against my shoulder as we rode through the night.

Every time Helgath said something like that, I found myself just caring about her that much more. She was an amazing female that had passed through all of my emotional defenses like they weren’t even there. The only thing that held me back from pushing our relationship further was my desire to never use her like the Orcs had when she’d been enslaved.

Fighting for my life with someone I cared deeply about, trusted completely, and considered sexy as hell was definitely pushed all of the right buttons, I thought with an amused snort, while carefully adjusting my hard-on so it wouldn’t poke the Half-Orc in the back. Even though I was exhausted, my body was ready to go whether I wanted it to be or not. I could only tiredly shake my head at that.

Taking a deep breath of chilled air, I tried to focus on the scenery around us instead of the warmth tucked into my arms. Lodenburg was approaching surprisingly fast. Probably because Töten had decided on heading to the city at an all-out gallop. It made sense since the city was so close. That and it would make the short ride ultimately easier on our three passengers who were riding double.

As my eyes scanned the slope, I was unsurprised to see so many groups of players busy leveling up. They must be busy running local quests even this late at night. Unlike the people of The World, there were players logging in from multiple time zones across the United States and other countries around the world. The Krasnyy Volki and Mates guilds were a good example of players that had gotten into the Kickstarter even though they’d been overseas.

Except for a few curious looks and fingers pointed in our directions at our mounted group, most of the players didn’t give us a second glance. That was good on multiple levels. I was somewhat uncomfortable about standing out with my negative reputation across the server. It made me self-conscious about being around large groups of strangers. Probably because, in my experience, it was inevitable that some idiot would think they could take me with numbers alone and cause a scene that would just make me look even worse in the eyes of the player base. Not that such concerns would stop me from defending myself, but it was an issue weighing on the back of my mind.

Pushing those ugly thoughts away, I focused on the city ahead of us. Lodenburg looked to be much bigger than either Telrain or Palnisdale and surprisingly less defensibly built. Instead of the heavy thick stones and towering walls the other cities had, Lodenburg’s defenses reminded me more of Darom’s newer construction. The walls were only fifteen yards in height and not particularly thick from the looks of it. Additionally, there didn’t seem to be any presence of patrols walking the ramparts either. As we drew near the open gates, I was relieved to see there was at least a squad of what looked to be city guards on duty.

Was the city so far away from what was going on in the rest of the kingdom that they felt no need to increase the number of guards on duty? Did they not have any major issues of violence with so many newfar being in the city? As I was mentally considering those questions, Laura snapped me out of my thoughts.

“You can let us off here!” Laura painfully shouted as we rode up to the open gates.

“Are you sure?” Töten ask, reining his mount to a stop as the city guards became noticeably alert at the presence of our group, “We can take you all the way into the market area.”

“Naw, here is good,” Alan grunted in agony as he waved a hand to make sure the big guy heard him, “I can’t believe how much my muscles are killing me.”

“That’s only because you’re too low of a level to be able to ride,” Töten assured the pair as I saw one of the guards take off at a run inside the gate.

‘That’s not anything to be concerned about,’ I mentally grunted to the Half-Orc in my arms as I began refreshing everyone’s battle buffs.

‘Do you think we’re gonna have any problems entering the city?’ Helgath asked as she automatically joined me in buffing everyone.

‘Let’s hope not,’ I replied, trying to shake away the lethargy that weighed down my limbs as the Priestess tried to dismount.

For some reason, Laura decided to lay down across the horse’s rump on her chest to slide off onto the ground. It was obvious that she didn’t have any clue how horses or riding worked, I incredulously thought as she haphazardly let go. The move just sent her sprawling across the cobblestones on her ass as several players passing through the gate busted out laughing. It was funny as hell. A glance towards the alert guards let me know they were snickering in good nature too.

“Gah,” Laura indignantly squawked as she quickly popped back to her feet and started rubbing her tailbone, “Fuck, that was my tailbone!”

“Aa-ah!” Alan screamed next as he somehow flopped onto the ground on his stomach.

“That’s gonna leave a mark,” Töten commented under his breath.

“Have you guys never been on a horse before?” Phoenix asked not even trying to hold back her laughter.

“Give me a break,” Laura defensively said still hopping around in pain, “I’m a city girl from Detroit!”

“New Jersey here,” Alan groaned as he painfully climbed to his feet, “and never seen a real horse before in my life.”

“It’s not like wearing a dress helps any,” Zeven innocently said as Nahimana busted out laughing behind him.

“It’s not a dress,” Alan irritably snapped, “it’s my mage robes.”

“If anything, it looks more like one of those nineteen-sixty moo moos than anything,” Phoenix gasped out between guffaws.

“I was actually talking to Laura,” Zeven countered while trying not to openly laugh as I covered my mouth and looked away.

Those robes really did look like moo moos, I thought, even with his equipment belt.

“Not funny, man,” Alan grumbled as the Priestess cocked her head to the side to look at her friend.

“Now that you say it-” Laura began as the Fire mage immediately cut her off.

“Don’t you dare say it,” Alan warned, huffingly putting his hands on both hips as Zeven and Laura busted out laughing.

That’s when I realized Alan was just hamming it up for the group. It really was pretty funny. Seeing that he could take a joke raised my opinion about his character too. Before I could rib him that the mage robes weren’t necessary to cast magic, the Priestess spoke up.

“Thanks again for the escort, loot, and level boost,” Laura said, coming to stand beside the Fire mage, “but I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

“Me too,” Alan said, turning serious once again, “like she said, thanks for being cool.”

“Right back at you,” I said, stifling a yawn as they both left the group.

As everyone else started wishing them a good night, a commotion at the gate interrupted our parting. Turning around, I saw a platoon of twenty guards forming up to either side of the entrance. A sinking feeling began growing in my stomach when an officious-looking guardsman came marching up to the backend of the formation. As I hurriedly cast an Identify, the man came to a stop in the middle of the gate with the name Jack Wilson, level 40 Duelist, Gate Guard Leader of Lodenburg.

“Guards, ten-hut!” Guard Leader Wilson bellowed as the entire platoon snapped to attention with their polearms held before them at the ready. I saw several players nervously stepping away from us in confusion as the man continued, “Present arms to the Protector of the Kingdom of Kader!” As one, every guard present turned towards me and snapped their fist across their chest in a salute.

“The hell is going on?” I heard a player whisper to his friends in confusion.

“Who is the Protector of the Kingdom of Kader?” another player asked.

“This must be some sort of event,” a woman hissed to her teammates behind us.

“Are these guys here for you?” Laura hissed as Alan looked back and forth between the guards and our group with wide eyes.

“It’s for Star,” Phoenix whispered back, rolling her eyes dramatically as I dismounted with Helgath and Neristhana a step behind me.

Not having a clue what was expected of me, I simply walked within five steps of the first guard in the formation and came to attention or at least my best resemblance of what the guards were doing. Facing Guard Leader Wilson across the distance, I brought my fist to my chest in salute like I’d do with General Dell. I was still debating whether or not I should say something back when Neristhana gave me a discreet pop in the thigh.

“Thank you for your respect and honor, guards of Lodenburg,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

“It’s our pleasure,” Guard Leader Wilson said as he and his platoon dropped the salute. The officer quickly made his way over to me as he hurriedly spoke, “If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll send a runner to the keep to officially announce your arrival to Lady Perlar. I’m sure she will want to greet you in person even at this late hour.”

“If you don’t mind holding your runner, Guard Leader Wilson,” I said, dropping my voice low enough so that the players watching the small ceremony couldn’t hear what I was saying, “I’m on a secret mission to acquire supplies and unique gear in preparation for breaking the horde’s siege of Palnisdale and would rather keep my presence in the south on the down-low if you know what I mean.” My voice dropped to a whisper that was just loud enough for his ears only.

“No sense having any newfar spies who might be in collusion with the horde knowing of my plans or presence in the south.” I raised my voice back to a more normal tone again as I joked. “Besides I’m sure Lady Perlar would rather not be disturbed at such a late hour.”

“There’s more truth to your words than not, Protector,” Guard Leader Wilson conceded with a respectful nod. “If you would like to keep your presence unannounced, I can have Squad-Leader Brawn quietly take you to the Thirsty Troll Inn for the night, or at least, what’s left of it.” His voice lowered to a whisper that only I could hear. “There’s also a strong off-duty guard presence on most evenings which should make it difficult for any newfar colluders to interfere with your mission. It’s also near a guard post that I’ll put on alert about your presence in case there’s any trouble this evening.”

“That’s perfect, Guard Leader,” I said, offering my sincere thanks to the man as we gripped wrists, “I appreciate your understanding of the delicate nature of my mission.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Guard Leader Wilson assured me, before raising his voice, “Squad-Leader Brawn!” A tall Human guardswoman came hurrying over to us. As she snapped to attention, I cast a quick Identify on the guardswoman.

“Guard Leader,” the guardswoman sharply said with a fist salute as the name, Terry Brawn, level 38 Expert-At-Arms, Guard Squad-Leader of Lodenburg appeared over her head.

“Please take your squad and escort the Protector and his party to the Thirsty Troll,” Guard Leader Wilson said out loud, before dropping his voice so that only the two of us could hear his next words, “And inform Team-Leader Pulver to be on alert for any trouble tonight.”

“Trouble?” Squad-Leader Brawn asked as a wary look came to her pretty face.

“The Protector is concerned there might be newfar who are colluding with the horde in the city that might cause him and his people some trouble if they discover his whereabouts.”

“I’ll make sure to pass the word on to Team-Leader Pulver and the other guard posts nearby,” Squad-Leader Brawn promised in a no-nonsense tone as her eyes curiously swept over my companions. To my surprise, I didn’t see any disrespect reflected in her eyes for our Halfling group.

“Excellent,” Guard Leader Wilson replied, before giving me a respectful nod, “If you’ll mount up with your companions, Squad-Leader Brawn will get you squared away tonight.”

With a final polite nod to the Guard Leader, I turned around to see that Neysa was already patiently waiting behind me. Ignoring the gaggle of players gathered around us taking screenshots of our group, I nodded for Helgath to mount up first. With one last scan of the players around us, I leaped up behind the Half-Orc as my friends formed up behind us.

“That was different,” Töten quietly said in group chat.

“What’s up with all that stuff about possible newfar colluders with the horde and being on a secret mission?” Zeven asked, his ears twitching as we followed behind Squad-Leader Brawn and her squad who’d headed off at a fast jog through the main gate.

“Dude, you really said that?” Töten asked in alarm. “If a noble or officer catches you in a lie like that, you can lose reputation points big time.”

“Eh, it’s not really a lie,” I said with a shrug as both of them gave me unbelievable looks. “The Chaos Storm Alliance was actually colluding with the horde to take over the Kingdom of Kader and one of their alliance members could be here in the city.”

“Or some pissed-off players from the forums out to get you for being the bad guy on the server,” Phoenix helpfully added as I nodded in agreement.

“That too,” I said with a shit-eating grin.

“I guess that’s believable to a point,” Töten grudgingly admitted. Giving me a pointed look, the big guy did air quotes, “And this secret mission down south?”

“Well, isn’t that what this basically is?” I innocently asked, “I’m heading to the Kingdom of Cadarea to get a bunch of needed supplies for my people while picking up my Class.” As Töten and Zeven gave me incredulous looks, Phoenix just chuckled.

“I forgot you hadn’t picked up a Class yet.”

“Both of which are essential for ultimately breaking the siege of Palnisdale,” I said, wrapping up my reasoning nicely as Töten let out a loud snort.

“Isn’t most of that going to be for stopping the Hobgoblin invasion?” Phoenix pointed out, deciding to play devil’s advocate.

“Same thing,” I disagreed still smiling, “without stopping the Hobgoblin invasion, there’s no breaking the siege of Palnisdale. Also, the same weapons and armor being prepared for the first battle will be reused in the second. So, again, nothing but the truth. Right, closed beta man?”

“It’s your story,” Töten grunted in amusement as we rode through the twisting streets of the town, “Who am I to disagree?”

“Exactly,” I agreed as my friends traded amused looks behind my back.

“All that I can say is that this is the first time that I’ve ever entered a non-Beast Kin city without any problems,” Zeven said, changing subjects, “so no complaints here.” An eager grin came to his furry face. “I’m actually looking forward to washing up with warm water for a change and sleeping in an actual bed.”

“That’s something I think we can all agree on,” Töten said with a tired sigh, before adding under his breath, “now that I have my stronghold back.”

Maybe it was bad of me, but I really hadn’t been paying too much attention to the city itself as we rode. Mostly that was because I was tired and simply wanted to log out, especially since we’d been close to logging out when we’d gotten stuck inside the special dungeon. Though, from what I could see as we were led down the main street deeper into the city, the design of the city wasn’t all that much different from Darom, I silently thought as Squad-Leader Brawn came to a stop in front of a large inn. The sign out front of the stairs that led up to the double doors had the painting of an ugly troll holding up a large stein of ale with the words, The Thirsty Troll in faded red script.

“Here we are, Protector,” Squad-Leader Brawn announced as her squad came to a stop, “If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to send a messenger to the front gate.”

“Thank you, Squad-Leader Brawn,” I politely replied, after dismounting with Helgath, “I appreciate your professionalism and assistance tonight.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Squad-Leader Brawn said without batting an eye, “I’ll inform Team-Leader Pulver to be on alert for any issues.” She pointed towards a sturdy brick building about five houses further down the street where a squad of guards stood on duty. “The main guard post and barracks for the outer defensive ring are just down the street.” With that, she snapped to attention with her squad, giving a fist salute.

“Excellent,” I said, returning their salute with one of my own, “when you and your squad are finished with your duty tonight, please swing by so I can buy you a round of ale.”

“I doubt you’ll still be awake, Protector,” Squad-Leader Brawn said as a grin cracked her stern visage, “Our duty doesn’t end until first light.”

“Then, I’ll leave a few silvers with the barkeep under your name for when your squad comes off duty,” I countered as the rest of the squad traded grins with each other at my words.

“That would be most appreciated,” Squad-Leader Brawn said in a much friendlier tone as she headed off with her squad for the guard post.

“What was up with that?” Zeven asked as he dismounted with Nahimana and watched the guards trot away.

“I think you have some brown shit on your nose,” Töten joked as everyone dismissed their mounts, except for Bright Claw and Neysa.

“Star is always kissing up to the guards wherever we go,” Phoenix sarcastically explained.

“Eh, being nice is a small thing to promote a little goodwill,” I said not minding their teasing. As my friends scoffed at me, Zeven cleared his throat.

“It never hurts in my experience either.”

“Ah, come on, Zeven,” Phoenix complained, “We’re supposed to be picking on Star not defending him.”

“I need an ale, food, and bed,” Töten said, opening the inn’s front door, “in that order.”

“Word,” I agreed climbing the steps with Helgath and Neristhana to either side of me.

As we piled in behind the big guy, I saw that we were in a large foyer. From the heavy oak wood paneling and subdued lighting, it was obvious that this was a step above what I’d been in before. Not that The White Unicorn inn in an out-of-the-way frontier town like Delonshire was all that special of a place. The main room was a short way up ahead and nearly packed full of eating and drinking patrons, while off to either side of the foyer, there was a male and female washroom for travelers to clean up in.

“I’ll meet you at the table,” Zeven suddenly said as we headed for the main room, “I wanna wash up first.”

“Should I bathe too?” Bright Claw asked in a Chewbacca voice.

“I’m too tired to wash you tonight,” Zeven said to the Grizhawk.

“Actually, that sounds like a good idea,” I said, looking down at my dirty armor. Even though none of the gore remained, it was still sticky and smelled from the night’s activities.

“I was trying not to say anything about that, Lord Stinky,” Neristhana said with a smile, “but that would definitely make dinner more pleasant.”

“Agreed,” Nahimana said under her breath a little bit too loudly.

“Yeah, count me in on that too,” Töten grunted, after taking a sniff of his underarms.

“Cool, we’ll grab a table and order while you guys are doing that,” Phoenix said still walking towards the main room as Nahimana and Neristhana followed.

‘War Leader?’ Helgath asked in alarm.

‘It’s fine,’ I assured the Half-Orc, ‘just keep a watch on Neysa so she doesn’t get into any trouble.’

“Um, yeah,” Zeven grunted uncomfortably as he headed for the nearest door, “this reminds me of a bunch of girls going to the bathroom together.”

“Yeah, no,” Töten said as he gave the Badger kin an odd look, “Dude, wrong door.”

“What, can Beast kin not read common?” I asked as Zeven froze with his clawed palm on the door.

“I can read common,” Zeven unhappily snapped, “I’m just tired.”

“Whatever,” Töten indifferently said as we headed into the room.

Looking around, I unhappily grunted at the small space. The room was surprisingly small. There was a trough of water like you’d use for domesticated animals and places for five people to stand if they were more my size. With Zeven and Töten, it was standing shoulder to shoulder at a too-tight trough urinal.

“I guess this place isn’t really set up for large people,” Töten grumbled as he removed his helm.

“Sure, it is,” I said, removing my own helm.

Turning the spigot on, I ducked my face under the icy cold water to wet down my face and hair. Not that there was any kind of water pressure, I thought, standing up and shaking the water from my hair and face. That was probably because the water was coming from some large barrels of water on the roof. Using one of the available rags, I began to scrub the worst of the stickiness from my armor, when I noticed that Zeven was just standing next to us not doing anything.

“Are you okay?” I asked with a frown coming to my lips.

“Uh, yeah,” Zeven muttered as he began copying us, “I just wished there was something more like a private hot bath available.”

“You won’t see anything like that in most of these big cities,” Töten said, doing his best to clean the worst of the stank off his armor. It made me think of Big Bird from Sesame Street trying to take a sponge bath in a normal-sized bird bath. “Best you’ll get is some male and female group bath houses in each ring of the city.”

“Wonderful,” Zeven grunted as he ducked his furry head under the spigot.

“Just think of it like being in the changing room at a gym,” I said with a shrug. As the Badger kin started washing down his armor, I glanced over at the big guy, “Ring of the city?”

“Yeah, Lodenburg is a big city with three defensive walls before the main keep,” Töten explained as he ducked his head under the water again for a final rinse, “usually referred to as the inner, middle, and outer rings.”

“Good to know,” I said indifferently. While we weren’t planning on hanging around the city, information was always good to have. Drying off my face, I gave Töten a sideways look, “Think that’s clean enough.”

“Probably, but you might want to check your current status effects on your HUD just in case,” Töten said with an indifferent grunt.

“Current status effects?” I asked not understanding what he was talking about as Zeven curiously listened in.

“Do you see that plus and minus at the top left of your HUD near your currently active buffs and debuffs?” Töten asked, drying himself off, “Just open that and you’ll see any current status and how it affects your stats. Usually, it goes from smelly to stinky, to putrid, and beyond.”

“That little shit,” I groused, suddenly realizing the reason for the Gnomeling’s cutesy name for me.

“What little shit?” Töten asked not understanding why I was bitching.

“Neristhana is always calling me, Lord Stinky,” I said in annoyance.

“Ha, that’s pretty funny,” Töten scoffed as he washed.

“Funny my ass,” I muttered under my breath trying to think of a way I could get Neristhana back. Though, I guess being stinky in itself was payback enough.

“And you never once wondered why?” Töten asked, looking at me with water dripping down his face

“I just thought she was being cute,” I said, flipping him off.

“Females here aren’t like they are back on Earth,” Töten said with a snort of derision, “especially Gnomelings.”

“Um,” Zeven said while doing his best to thoroughly dry the fur on his face, “What’s the, and beyond?”

“And beyond?” Töten asked, drawing a blank at the Badger kin’s question.

“You said the status effects go from smelly to stinky, to putrid-” Zeven quickly recalled.

“And beyond,” Töten finished as he ran an embarrassed hand over one of his horns, “No clue. I’ve never gone past Putrid myself.” He shrugged. “Though, I came pretty close this last time.” Seeing our questioning looks, he explained, “I refused to heal all of my injuries or clean up until I recovered my stronghold.”

“Is that why you have all of those arrows sticking out of you still?” I dubiously asked.

“Um, more or less,” Töten agreed with an embarrassed shrug.

“Turn around, you big dope,” I said, shaking my head as I began pulling the arrows out of his backside.

“Gah, careful,” Töten gasped as he leaned against the wall with both hands.

“Don’t be such a pussy,” I snapped while continuing to work.

There was no doubt that removing the arrows like that sucked ass big time. It wasn’t like I was being particularly careful since I’d just heal him once we were done. Nonetheless, it took some time to work the arrowheads and shafts out through his armor. Ten minutes later, Zeven and I managed to get the last arrow out. I finished up a second later by hitting him with a Regeneration to help speed up his natural healing.

“Now, I’m gonna have to spend some time repairing my armor,” Töten complained as we headed out the door.

“Ah, poor baby,” I mockingly teased, when we heard angry voices coming from the direction of the main room.

“Why are the doors closed?” Zeven wondered out loud as the big guy tried the door only to find that it was locked.

“This can’t be good,” Töten unhappily grunted. As he glanced back at Zeven and me, a look of alarm flashed across his face as he did a doubletake, “Dude, your name just turned red!”

Chapter Thirteen

(Tuesday, May 13th / Day 23 of The World.)

(Phoenix Sonata, Nahimana Tor’Narc, Neristhana Lightouch, Helgath Ironwolf, Bright Claw, and Neysa ten minutes before in the Thirsty Troll Inn inside Lodenburg)

“Here you go,” the barkeep said, plopping a fist full of large steins down on the table, before setting a bucket of water in front of each Combat Pet, “seven ales and two buckets of water.” Pushing a lock of brown hair out of her face, her blue eyes scanned the odd group of females, before settling on the striking Barbarian woman, “Will you be wanting anything else this evening?”

“Once the guys finish up washing, we’ll want to order dinner and get a room for the night,” Phoenix politely said, before eagerly raising the large stein to her lips.

“It’s a little late to be ordering dinner,” the barkeep harrumphed as a frown came to her lips, “or to rent a room for that matter.”

“Funny, Guard Leader Wilson assured us that neither would be a problem for the Thirsty Troll even this late in the evening,” Phoenix said, pointedly arching a meaningful eyebrow at the other woman, “something about the city guards frequenting this inn throughout their shifts.”

“Oh, Jack recommended that you come here,” the barkeep exclaimed in relief as her wary body language changed completely, “I’m sorry, it’s just that we don’t usually get too many demi-humans and halflings coming to visit the Thirsty Troll.”

“Probably because they don’t usually get along with the city guards,” Nahimana grunted under her breath as she took a pull on her own ale.

“And it’s difficult to build one’s reputation when you’re an outsider and a Halfling,” Neristhana unabashedly added, meeting the woman’s eyes directly.

“That’s all too true,” the barkeep agreed, not catching the irony of either the Badger kin’s or Gnomeling’s words as she introduced herself, “Janice Thorne, barkeep and owner of the Thirsty Troll.”

“Phoenix Sonata,” Phoenix said, giving the other woman a mostly friendly nod as she introduced her other companions in turn, “Neristhana, Nahimana, and Helgath.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” Janice said still smiling as she nodded at their worn and dirty armor, “It looks like you ladies had quite the night this evening.”

“Yeah, we just finished cleaning out a nasty Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Infestation in the hamlet of Hardfall,” Phoenix explained, not really expecting any reaction from the other woman to the unique quest.

“Oh my, Hardfall is just outside the front gates,” Janice exclaimed, covering her mouth with a hand in consternation, “No wonder Jack bade that you come here for the night. That’s quite an accomplishment. Monster infestations can grow to threaten the entire area if not taken care of quickly.”

“Um, yeah, it was pretty intense,” Phoenix neutrally agreed, surprised at the barkeep’s reaction as the Gnomeling spoke up next to her.

“We stopped the infestation but not before all of the townsfolk were taken over,” Neristhana explained as she sipped her ale.

“Those are never easy quests,” Janice said with a knowing frown, “My Adventuring group helped stop two different infestations before I took an arrow to the knee and bought the inn.”

“Took an arrow to the knee?” Phoenix choked, spewing out the mouthful of ale that she’d just gulped.

“What?” Janice laughingly asked as the Barbarian hacked and coughed to clear her lungs, “Do you newfar not have a similar saying for when you retire from adventuring?”

“Something like that,” Phoenix admitted between gasps of air, remembering the old Skyrim games where every city guard had taken an arrow to the knee and had to stop adventuring.

“It’s a universal term across the Nordic region,” Neristhana said, tipping her mug to the barkeep in respect.

“Well, all of you are true heroes in my book,” Janice said, giving their group a thoughtful once over before continuing, “Once your men arrive, I’ll swing by to take your dinner order.”

“Our men,” Neristhana chortled in mirth at the woman’s words.

“Appreciate that,” Phoenix said, barely containing her laughter, “but I don’t swing that way.”

“I didn’t mean any insult,” Janice hurriedly said as both Neristhana and her waved the barkeep’s concern away.

“It’s not an issue,” Neristhana assured the woman.

“As I always say, each to their own,” Janice pleasantly said, flashing a smile before heading back to the bar.

“Now that hits the spot,” Phoenix sighed to her companions.

“It definitely clears away the dust of the road,” Nahimana agreed, taking another deep pull.

“Though, one’s not gonna be enough after a night like tonight,” Neristhana contently said as she happily settled back in her oversized chair with her stein in her lap.

“I have to admit,” Phoenix said, leaning with a sigh, “that I’m looking forward to a good meal and crashing for the night. What do you think Helgath?”

“It was a productive evening with lots of good loot,” the Half-Orc distractedly said as her yellow cat-eyes intensely studied a group of players on the far side of the room, “but more importantly, we didn’t lose anyone on our team.”

“Here … here,” Neristhana happily cheered, holding her stein up to the others.

Phoenix distractedly toasted with the others as tried to understand what had Helgath so uptight. At first, she’d assumed it was the Half-Orc’s normal reticence to talking with other people besides Star. That was until she saw a group of players quietly closing the doors to the main room and turn to stand guard. That’s not good, she thought, taking note of the sideways looks the rest of the players around the room were giving them.

As Phoenix began casting Identify on the players around them, the sounds of screeching wood came to her ears as a group of ten players suddenly stood up from their tables all at once. Glancing over the group, her anxiety eased as she quickly realized that none of them were higher than level 28. An amused grin turned up the corners of her lips as she leaned back further into her chair and erotically posed, throwing a leg over the arm of her chair.

“How are you ladies doing this evening?” the Warrior of the group tried to suavely ask as they came to a stop in a half circle around the table.

“Great,” Phoenix replied as all eyes turned to her. Just as she’d thought, her erotic pose threw the crew off as their eyes locked onto her spread crotch. Not bothering to remember the idiot’s name, she mentally labeled him Chump One as she obnoxiously continued, “until you idiots decided to walk over.”

“The fuck?” a Rogue-looking player angrily spat.

“What a bitch,” a Ranger type grunted.

“Why are you even bothering to be nice, Rocky?” the Priestess next to him demanded as the Warrior angrily shushed their friends.

“I was trying to be nice and then you had to act like that,” Rocky tried again, struggling to keep his cool as he turned back to the table. He gave a pointed nod towards Helgath and Neysa as a cruel smile came to his lips, “Why don’t you tell us what we want to know before this turns ugly?”

“It can’t really get much uglier than your face already is,” Phoenix replied without any concern as she set down her stein. Next to her, she felt Nahimana’s nervousness as she unobtrusively slipped her Toxic Chitin-Spiked Knuckles over her hands under the table. As Chump One opened his mouth, she cut him off without batting an eye, “I don’t really give a rat’s ass what it is that you want to know, but if any of you had half a brain, you’d turn your asses around and act like this discussion never happened.”

“Oh, my,” the Priestess exclaimed in amusement as Rocky’s face darkened in anger, “you’re a special kind of bitch!”

“She does have a mouth on her,” the other Priestess in the group agreed.

“One that needs to be taught a lesson,” another Warrior unhappily grumbled.

“Don’t let her psych you out, Rocky,” a mage type of player snarled.

“Yeah, tell her we’re not going to put up with that PKing bastard being in our town!” a female player groused.

“As you can see, that’s not going to happen,” Rocky said, puffing out his chest as he nodded towards the rest of the players in the room, “None of us are going to sit back and let Starfairy pull any of his bullshit in our town. So, why don’t you and your Beast kin girlfriend tell us where that asshole is hiding, and we’ll let all of you go on your way without any fuss.”

“You’ll let us go without any fuss!” Phoenix repeated, howling as she slapped the knee resting on the armrest of her chair. Catching her breath, she managed to gasp out, “And what, you think Nahimana and I will just leave Helgath, Startum, and Neysa to your tender mercies?” Looking back and forth between the players’ pissed-off faces, she lost it again, letting out another long guffaw. “And the guards are going to just let you get away with all of this?”

“No one will be getting the guards until we’re finished explaining to him the facts of life in an MMO community,” Rocky said through gritted teeth as the rest of the players in the main room angrily rose to their feet, “We’ll keeping killing him and his companions until he gets the message to keep out of our city.”

“What are you doing?” Phoenix heard Janice angrily shout out, “Why are you blocking my doors?”

“Sit down and shut up before we have to hurt you,” one of the players guarding the doors snarled, shoving the barkeep roughly back towards her bar.

“You’ll have your place back once we’re done handing out justice,” an angry woman next to the man spat as the Barmaid hurried over to help her boss up.

“Oh, I get it now,” Helgath suddenly spoke up in a tone that sent a spike of fear shooting down Phoenix’s spine, “You’re threatening my War Leader’s life within my presence!”

As the Half-Orc eagerly sat forward in her chair, Phoenix saw the confused looks on the players’ faces standing around their table. It was like none of them had expected the Half-Orc to speak up on her own accord, let alone the deep rumbling growl that started reverberating in the Silver Dire Wolf’s chest sitting next to her. Phoenix was just reaching a hand out to warn Helgath to hold off a bit longer, when her dark green lips pulled back from her pointed teeth as she held up a glowing clawed hand and snarled, “Then fall on your knees and beg for forgiveness!”

To the shock of everyone in the room but Phoenix, the results were instantaneous. Moaning as one, the ten players in front of their table collapsed to the ground and began retching their guts out. The sounds of viscous black fluid splatting onto the wooden floor seemed to echo around the room as everyone watched on in horror. Before anyone could react, the handful of players keeping the door closed was blasted off their feet as the double doors suddenly burst open.

Chapter Fourteen

(Tuesdy, May 13th / Day 23 of The World.)

(Startum Ironwolf and friends in the Thirsty Troll Inn inside Lodenburg)

“What the fuck is going on in here?” Töten roared as we piled into the main room behind him.

As my eyes took in the situation, I saw why I’d been flagged for PVP. In front of the girls’ table, there was a group of ten players writhing in agony on the floor from one of Helgath’s Cleansing spells. While that by itself was alarming, what really got my ire up was the room full of players that guiltily whipped around at our sudden entrance. Though, one look at the ugly bruise on the barkeep’s face from where she’d been laid out on the floor and the anxious look on the barmaid trying to help her to her feet more or less told me everything that I needed to know of what was going on here.

‘They were threatening to kill you, War Leader,’ Helgath sent in the way of an explanation, ‘along with Neysa, Neristhana, and me.’ Even through the Half-Orc’s fury, I could feel the slight hesitation in her thoughts, ‘I hope that I did right.’

‘Perfectly,’ I assured my soulmate as Phoenix stood up in the corner of the room.

“This roomful of noobs was wanting to spawn camp your ass until you got the message that you’re not welcomed in their city,” Phoenix announced as she crossed her arms underneath her large chest, “and were wanting to start with your girls here first.” She nodded towards Helgath who was still Cleansing the players without mercy, “Helgath made the right call.”

“Fuck you,” a woman angrily swore at me, “We’ve all seen what you’ve done to the towns in your own area!”

“No one wants that shit here,” a teammate of hers shouted next.

“We’re willing to stand up to your bullshit to make sure you go away!” a pissed-off man shouted at me from a table further back.

“We’ll make your life miserable here,” another woman yelled at me.

“You won’t go two minutes without being arrested by the guards,” the woman’s partner threatened, “Once we inform the rest of the players in the city about you being here, they’re sure to make your life a living hell.”

“We can police our own town from jackasses like you,” an older man grunted.

“So, let me get this straight,” I loudly said to the roomful of angry players as they drew their weapons. “You’re gonna take the word of a bunch of PKers who have made everyone’s life miserable across the starting areas because you read it on the forums.”

“If it’s on the internet,” Zeven groused next to me, “it must be true.”

“Now, you’re going to hunt me down with a mob of noobs everywhere I go in the city in the hopes that you’ll bully me out of The World,” I said, shaking my head at their twisted logic.

“Doesn’t that basically make them a bunch of PKing assholes?” Töten asked with disgust for the mob of players in front of us clear to hear in his tone.

As the room erupted with angry shouts from the fifty or so players I’d just dressed down, I began casting Identify to get a feel for what we were up against. In my heart, I knew that whatever I said wouldn’t make a difference one way or another. These players were too hyped up in their righteous indignation to listen to reason.

If I wanted to get through to them, I’d have to try doing it another way, I angrily thought. One that left a mark on their psyche and blew up the forums as a warning to anyone else who wanted to fuck with me. Otherwise, I’d be dealing with shit like this everywhere I went.

“What do you want to do about these idiots?” Töten asked, keeping an eye on the mob who was working themselves up to attack us.

“No weapons and no killing at first,” I said as both Zeven and Töten shook their heads.

“Dude, that’s not gonna work,” Zeven said.

“You’re already flagged as a PKer,” Töten agreed.

“Naw, we’re good on that point,” I said, waving their concern for that away, “I want to make sure we pound these idiots to within an inch of their lives.”

“What will that help?” Zeven asked, not getting what I wanted, “It’s not like they can be hurt.”

“Actually, most of those guys are Advance start players,” I said, scanning the group again.

“They’ll feel the ass-whopping in that case,” Töten grunted as he nodded to himself. I could picture the ugly smile coming to his lips as he eagerly slammed his fist into his palm, “Getting pounded to death is a lot different than getting stabbed, especially if we take our time with it.”

“That’s kind of fucked up,” Zeven said in an unsure tone.

“You have a better idea to make sure we don’t run into this shit everywhere we go?” I asked as he grudgingly shook his head no.

“There’s nothing like getting punched in the face to make you think twice about what you were doing that brought you to that point,” Töten knowingly said as the Badger kin nodded in agreement. It was a simple truth that any man, who’d ever been in a fight, knew all too well.

“To drive the point home,” I said, cracking my neck and loosening up my shoulders, “We’ll make them pay for the lesson on top of it.” As my new friends traded an amused look, I caught the barkeep’s attention and waved her over, “First though, we need to get the barkeep and barmaid out of here so they don’t get hurt. We owe Guard Leader Wilson that much.”

“Go get Team-Leader Pulver from the local guard station,” I said to the barkeep as the two women hurried over, “while we take care of this.”

“You go, Nauncy,” the barkeep hurriedly said to the other woman as she pushed her out of the main room, “I can’t leave my inn to these hoodlums.”

“If you stay, I can’t guarantee your safety,” I warned the older woman as Nauncy worriedly paused, “not with the lesson I’m about to give them.”

“Go Nauncy,” the barkeep ordered. As the barmaid ran through the doors, I heard the mob jeer at us even more.

“What, you think the guards are gonna save you?” I heard a player scornfully shout.

“You’re the one flagged for PVP!” another ridiculed.

“Lock the door,” I said to the barkeep, “only open it when the guards come.”

“Once I do that, I’ll stay behind the bar with my cudgel,” the woman assured me.

As we turned to face the crowded room, I saw the confused looks on the shouting players’ faces as they watched the barkeep hurry towards the double doors. When she started shutting them, the mob began to quiet down in confusion. It was even funnier when she took the large ring of keys out of her apron and threw the heavy lock. If not for the players still puking their guts out on the floor, I swore you could’ve heard a pin drop hit the floor as everyone silently watched the barkeep scurried behind the bar to snatch up her cudgel.

‘Let them up and protect yourself, we’re gonna teach these dumbasses a lesson,’ I sent to Helgath, before raising my voice to the room. “Now that that‘s been taken care of, you have one of two choices,” I said as my eyes scanned the defiant faces staring back at us, “Either you can apologize to my ladies, pay for our dinner, and we’ll call it a night or we can do this the hard way.”

“What the fuck are you cowards still waiting for,” the Warrior on his hands and knees managed to gasp, “take these assholes out already!”

“Excellent,” I giddily said, a cruel edge coming to my voice as I began striding forward, “you’ve chosen the hard way.”

“I think I’m going to enjoy this,” Töten said, slamming his fist into his palm with a ringing metallic clang.

“Let’s just get this Blanket Party over with before the guards come,” Zeven grunted in a no-nonsense tone as he cracked his knuckles.

The closest groups of players didn’t quite understand what we were up to. It was obvious we were coming after them but the whole “not pulling any weapons” was freaking them out. Some of the groups backed up to be close to the larger mass of players behind them, while two of the closest groups decided to simply go for it and charged forward.

Batting away the blade of the hand axe the leading Warrior sent chopping down at my face with an armored forearm, my chainmail leather encased gauntlet smashed into his face, flatting his nose, and busting a few teeth loose. The low-level player tried to stagger back from the overpowered blow, but I didn’t let him as I smashed my helmeted forehead into his face with a sickening crunch.

As the man crumpled to the ground stunned, I grabbed the two Rogues by the throat who were hammering my magic shields with their daggers and short swords. The look of shock on their faces when I brought their heads cracking together was priceless. It was even better when I kept it up, slamming them into each other again and again.

Next to me, I saw the other group that had attacked being crushed by Töten. His first kick between the man’s legs had driven the Warrior up into the ceiling hard enough to cause a concussion. When he’d fallen back down, the big guy had punched him mid-air, sending him blasting into a group of Rangers further back. A backhand smashed the Rogue that was trying to find a gap in his armor. The overpowered blow blasted him off his feet to slam into another group of casters. Before they could recover, Töten lunged forward to bury his immense bronze-covered fist into a Priestess that sent her flying.

On my other side, Zeven was being just as brutal. Taking a two-handed axe to the shoulder like it was nothing, he grabbed the Warrior by his face and yanked him off his feet as he commenced to use the man’s head as a mace to smash the rest of his teammates into submission. Terrified shrieks filled the air as players were smashed into bloody, broken pulps. When the Warrior’s health became too low, Zeven grabbed a Fire mage who was blasting us with Pyroblasts and began using him as an impromptu club.

As I moved on to the next group, I lunged forward with my arms outstretched to either side, clotheslining a number of them as I kicked a heavy wooden table into a screaming Priestess’s face. Though the blow didn’t bust her Holy Shield, the woman went windmilling backward into another group of players. Ignoring the Pyroblasts, Flurry spells, and arrows hitting my shields and armor, I began kicking and punching the group I’d taken down with a berserking fury.

I didn’t try to target anything in particular. The ferocity and viciousness of my overpowering strikes broke arms, legs, and ribs with ease. Before moving on to my next target, I made sure to get a couple of good crushing blows on the downed players’ heads and faces until they stopped moving. It was brutal in the extreme and before we’d made it halfway through the group, we were swarmed by the enraged mob.

In the massive scrum, I caught flashes of Töten physically destroying anyone he hit, while Zeven was now using a heavy wooden chair to smash swaths of the mob in one swing. Towards the backside of the mass of players, I heard Phoenix’s patented shrieking battle cries as she joined in the beatdown with the rest of the girls and our combat pets. Unsurprisingly, the fight was over relatively quickly after that.

One second, I was brutally ripping away the Holy Shield of a shrieking Priest and beating him to a pulp, and the next, the main room was clear of anyone standing but me and my friends. For a second, we just stared at each other in surprise that we’d taken out the entire mob of asshats. Scanning the carpet of bruised and beaten players, it looked like nearly all of them were still alive too.

“Damn, that felt good,” Phoenix said as she scooped up a stein on its side and drained the last dregs of ale from it.

“What, you didn’t get enough action during the infestation of Hardfall?” Töten asked as he looked around in disgust at the moaning mass of players at our feet.

“Naw, that was a dungeon where we could lose people, while with this,” Phoenix said, tossing the stein away and looking around at the room full of groaning players, “I could focus on getting my hate out from the last week of bullshit we went through.”

“It was surprisingly very therapeutic,” Zeven quietly agreed, clapping a hand on Nahimana’s shoulder.

“I could do that again,” Nahimana admitted with a grin. Glancing over at the taciturn Badger kin female, I could still see the cold fury burning in her eyes as they swept over the beaten and bloody bodies around us, “it’s like the crushing fist wrapped around my heart loosened a bit.”

“What are you going to do with these morons now?” Neristhana asked as her eyes coldly swept the group, “This isn’t going to stop them alone.”

“No, it won’t,” I sadly agreed, seeing the hate-filled looks as the players slowly started to heal from their injuries. As Helgath and Neysa made their way over to my side, I pulled the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty from my belt and walked over to the Warrior that had encouraged the mob to attack us. In a loud voice, I said loud enough for the entire room to hear, “So, the fee for ruining our dinner is twenty silvers. Pay up freely or pay up with your head.”

“I’m not giving you shit,” the Warrior slurred through swollen lips, “and you can’t do shit about-”

The loud thunk of the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty chopping into the floor cut the Warrior off mid-sentence. As his severed head rolled away, I looted his corpse in front of the shocked group of players, “Hey, he gave up a gold as a tip along with a green malachite.”

“Nice, why don’t you see what that nasty bitch next to your left foot has?” Phoenix said, indifferently meeting the Priestess’s glare.

“So, what about you?” I asked, roughly kicking the woman onto her back.

“You won’t dare kill a woman in cold blood,” she snarled, spitting a bloody glob in my face, “the forums will eat you up and spit you out if you lift a finger against me.”

“Lady or man,” I laughingly said, meaningfully raising the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty to my shoulder, “I don’t know or care who the fuck you are in real life, all that matters is that you’re a PKer who tried to kill me and my friends.”

“You think we’re the bad guys here?” the Priestess barked through bloody lips like I was crazy.

“I know you’re the bad guys,” I said without batting an eye as the woman scoffed at my accusation, “You didn’t watch the actual video of what happened in Darom and Telrain, or whatever event that got your panties twisted in a knot. No, just like the rest of the sheeple here, you simply watched a known PKer’s highly edited and dramatized version of the events and called that good enough.” I jerked my chin towards my friends and companions. “Then, you and your friends decided you were going to teach me a lesson by hurting the people I care about and are shocked when it doesn’t work out the way you envisioned.”

“Now, just like the original PKers who lied to get you worked up enough to attack me and my friends in the streets the first chance you got, you’re telling me your gonna do the same shitty thing to get the community behind you because we dared to defend ourselves,” I spat in the Priestess’s face as I brought the Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty down on her neck, “Fuck you!”

“You got that all on video,” Zeven said in approval, “Nice.”

“It won’t matter, most people will just read her post on the forum and won’t look at anything else,” Phoenix grunted as she looked around at the quickly healing group, “This is taking too long.”

“Then, let’s get to work,” I said with a shrug as I looted the Priestess and turned to the next player when a loud banging started coming from the doors to the main room.

“Open up in the name of the Guards of Lodenburg!” a gruff voice bellowed.

“What do you want to do?” Töten asked as the barkeep hurriedly rushed over to the doors while pulling her keyring out of her apron.

‘We can cut most of them down if we hurry!’ Helgath sent as she yanked her daggers out.

“Naw, let it be,” I said with a shake of my head as several of the players began laughing at our predicament.

“You’re in for it now,” a Rogue slurred through split lips.

As Helgath reluctantly sheathed her blades, I slid the axe into my belt and turned to face the doorway. Around me, the rest of my friends and companions began making their way over to me. As the doors were violently forced open, I saw the barkeep step back as a large group of heavily armed and armored guards burst into the main room with their weapons drawn. At their lead, I saw a handsome-looking officer-type with a stern face quickly take in the situation at a glance, before his eyes turned to focus on me.

“Protector of the Kingdom of Kader,” the officer said in a clean crisp tone as he snapped to attention and gave me a fist salute, “I’m Team-Leader Pulver. Guard Leader Wilson warned that you might be in need of assistance tonight,” a grim look came to his lips as he shrewdly glanced around at the shocked players’ faces looking up at us, “but it looks like you have the situation well in hand.”

“Well enough,” I agreed, returning the man’s fist salute, “but we’re glad to see you and your unit nonetheless.” I nodded towards players who were painfully climbing to their feet all around us. “These newfar are colluding with the ones that helped the horde to take down the Isolde Line.” Ignoring the protest that arose at my words, I continued without skipping a beat. “I’d appreciate it if you could show them the errors of their ways.”

“That won’t be a problem, Protector,” Team-Leader Pulver assured me with a sharp nod. Turning to the Squad-Leader next to him, he swept his sword at the confused players protesting their innocence. “Arrest them under the charge of treason and,” his eyes glanced towards the overturned tables and chairs, broken plates, and steins scattered across the room, “fine them for the damage they’ve caused to the Thirsty Troll.”

“Yes, sir,” the Squad-Leader smartly saluted. Immediately, he began ordering the guards to arrest the stunned players.

“What the hell is going on?” I heard a Priestess protest in outrage, “That asshole is the one that attacked us first!”

“Look at his name tag, it’s red,” a Warrior angrily bellowed as he violently shoved the guards away from him.

“We’re the victims here!” a Fire mage angrily protested as he was clapped in irons.

“You’re already losing one level for treason and being fined half a gold each for the damages you’ve caused to the Thirsty Troll Inn,” Team-Leader Pulver bellowed as the mob of players began to get unruly, “Don’t make it worse by resisting arrest and assaulting the city’s guards.”

“But we didn’t attack first you dumb NPC!” an angry woman shouted as she was tackled to the ground.

“Janice?” Team-Leader Pulver called out to the barkeep who had started cleaning up the mess with her barmaid, “Do you mind responding to this woman’s accusations? Who started the fight tonight in your opinion?”

“Of course, Laurence,” Janice said, glaring at the group of players being arrested around the room as she pointed to the purple bruise on her cheek, “These thugs forcibly took over my inn, assaulted me when I tried to stop it, and then threaten to slaughter this man and his companions.” Her face scrunched up in anger as she nodded toward my friends. “They even threatened his friends not to interfere or they’d kill them too.” She spat in the woman’s face that had protested her innocence. “The only reason he’s marked as starting the fight first was that his companion was defending herself from these ruffians.”

With each part of the barkeep’s story, Team-Leader Pulver’s face darkened in anger along with the guardsmen and guardswomen that were arresting the players. When they heard the newfar had assaulted their favorite barkeep, their handling of the newfar became violent. Anyone who protested or fought back was quickly pummeled into submission.

“None of this makes any sense,” the same woman wailed as she was forcibly dragged towards the exit, “Why do you keep calling this evil dick the Protector of the Kingdom of Kader when he destroyed Telrain and Darom and slaughtered all of the men, woman, and children in those cities?”

“Are you completely daft as to everything that has been occurring within the Kingdom of Kader?” Team-Leader Pulver demanded of the shocked woman as he nodded to the guards to hold so he could address the newfar. “Even the city of Lodenburg has heard of Protector Ironwolf’s many accomplishments.”

“First off, he carries the title of the Scourge of the Dishonorable which was given to him by the people of Darom for his role in saving the townsfolk from the newfar Dread Pack guild. While that is no small accomplishment in and of itself, it pales to the title of Protector of the Kingdom of Kader. That was earned from rescuing the citizens of Telrain when the Chaos Storm Alliance destroyed the city, saving the city of Palnisdale, and his accomplishments in fighting against the horde’s invasion of the kingdom.”

The confusion on the players’ faces as Team-Leader Pulver spoke was a balm to my agitated nerves. I was getting tired of these idiots on the forums constantly trying to cause problems for me. Not that I really expected any of this to sink into these sheeple’s minds. Few people had the strength of character to question their own beliefs even in the face of evidence to the contrary, but at least, some people knew the truth within The World.

“And that doesn’t go into how he earned the titles of Champions of the Royal House of Isolde, the Scourge of the Dil-Hilth Race, or that of Overlord.” The contempt in the man’s eyes for the players as he finished his spiel was the icing on the cake. “And that says nothing of his most recent accomplishment for the city of Lodenburg, which earned him the title of Hero of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Infestation.” The man swept a withering gaze across the group.

“So, when Protector Ironwolf accuses you of instigating this assault with eye-witnesses to back up his claim to the crime of assault and colluding with those that support the horde’s invasion of our kingdom, I’ll take his words over yours any day of the week.” With that, Team-Leader Pulver jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Now, take them to the dungeon so they can be prosecuted for their crimes against the city of Lodenburg and our kingdom!”

“Dude, if those guys haven’t been doing quests to build up their reputation this whole time they’ve been in the city,” Töten said in a hushed voice as the players were dragged off, “they’ll be lucky not to be exiled from the kingdom.”

“Sucks to be them,” I said with an indifferent shrug, “How much you want to bet they start causing a shitstorm on the forums once they log out?”

“No bets there,” Töten grunted.

“I guess they’re gonna learn real quick that they’re responsible for their own actions,” Phoenix humorously said watching them go.

“That’s gonna be a system shock for some of them, I bet,” Zeven speculated, when he suddenly realized, “Huh, they must’ve had a lot more guards outside than I thought.”

“Looks that way,” Töten agreed.

“So, what’s the plan for tonight?” Phoenix suddenly asked, switching gears.

“What do you mean?” Zeven asked, giving the Barbarian a confused look, “I thought the plan was for us to get a room here.”

“And what?” Töten asked, following Phoenix’s logic, “Have all these guys and their friends waiting for us to leave so they can get some payback?”

“We went through them easily enough,” Neristhana said as Phoenix, Töten, and Zeven glanced at the Gnomeling in surprise. Frowning at the trio, she put her hands on her hips, “What’s wrong with what I said?”

“If that happens, we’ll be tied up for hours if not days if they focus on taking out our mounts,” I unhappily explained while shaking my head. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a bunch of angry asshats trying their best to troll us and reporting our whereabouts on the forum every step of the way. I grinned as an idea suddenly hit me, “Though, a little misdirection might solve our problem nicely if Team-Leader Pulver and the other guards are down with covering for us.”

“Did you need something, Protector?” Team-Leader Pulver asked at the sound of his name.

“Misdirection?” Zeven asked, giving Töten and Phoenix a questioning glance.

“No clue,” Töten shrugged just as clueless.

“Not another one of your plans, Star,” Phoenix muttered under his breath.

“Yeah, as I explained to Guard Leader Wilson earlier tonight, we’re on a secret mission to the Kingdom of Cadarea and know the horde colluders are seeking to stop us,” I nodded towards where the players had been dragged away by the guards. “And those newfar will only be held for what, two hours?”

“Maybe four if I have a talk with the advocate prosecuting their case,” Team-Leader Pulver thoughtfully said. Seeing my surprise, he explained, “They did resist arrest and assault some of our guards, so multiple concurrent crimes require different lengths of time in the dungeon.”

“That won’t be of much of any help for us,” Töten groused as he considered the problem, “They’ll be waiting for us when we leave the Thirsty Troll in the morning.”

“I’m sorry,” Team-Leader Pulver apologized, “but there’s not anything more I can do to hold them longer.”

“It’s not a problem,” I said, waving the man’s chagrin away, “We’ll be leaving Lodenburg shortly.” I ignored the exclamation of “We’re leaving?” from my friends as I hurriedly continued, “Though, what I would ask as a boon from the guards of this city, is that they tell anyone who asks that we’re staying in the keep visiting with Lady Perlar.”

“While that wouldn’t be an issue,” Team-Leader Pulver thoughtfully agreed as he considered the issue. A second later, I saw a gleam come to his eyes as he flashed me a grin, “but with a little bit of planning, I think we can manage something better than that.” Turning to the guardswoman quietly standing by his side, he gave her a wink, “Squad-Leader Hackly, do you think it might be possible for two of our guards to accidentally discuss Protector Ironwolf being invited to stay with Lady Perlar at the keep in front of our new guests?”

“I think that would be easy enough to arrange, sir,” Squad-Leader Hackly said as a matching grin came to her lips. “It’s not our fault if the Chofe-ka just happens to overhear the wrong bit of information at the right time.”

“Perfect, then I’ll leave that little accident up to you and your squad mates to organize,” Team-Leader Pulver happily replied, before turning back to me. “If I might be so bold to suggest, I can have Squad-Leader Hackly and her squad quietly lead you through the back alleys to one of the postern gates so that fewer people see you leaving the city.”

“That’s an excellent suggestion and will hopefully allow us to escape any pursuit,” I said, giving him a nod of thanks as I reached in my pouch and pulled out two golds. “I’d appreciate if you would buy the guards who assisted tonight at the Thirsty Troll a round of drinks on me.”

“Two gold will buy more than just one round of drinks,” Team-Leader Pulver hesitatingly admitted, unsure if he should take the proffered coins.

“That’s not a problem,” I assured the other man as I pushed the gold coins into his palm as Squad-Leader Hackly silently watched and listened, “then, do the evening up right. It’s the least I can do to express my gratitude for all of your hard work and support this evening.”

“It will be as you’ve asked,” Team-Leader Pulver assured me as we shook hands, “And if you’re ever in Lodenburg again, I hope you’ll join us at the pub for a round.”

“It would be my pleasure,” I said as we stepped back.

“If you’ll follow us out of the rear of the inn,” Squad-Leader Hackly politely said, after accepting a large ring of iron keys from her boss, “then we can get you and your friends on your way.”

“Lead the way,” I said as we followed the guards out the back of the Thirsty Troll.

Passing through the kitchen, my stomach growled at the divine smells from the meat rolls that were laid out in the kitchen prep area. That lovely smell was quickly spoiled as I got a whiff of burnt food. A quick glance towards the large wood-burning stove showed that the large pots of vegetables had all been ruined while the platters of potato-like spiced halves had been burnt to a crisp during the bar fight. What a shame, I thought, as we hurried out the backdoor.

To my surprise, we piled out into a small alleyway that ran behind the inn and other shops along the main avenue. It stank to the high heavens and was cramped, only wide enough for us to file down in pairs. As we hurriedly followed after the squad of guards at a fast jog, I curiously studied the alleyway, surprised that I hadn’t noticed it earlier on our way to the Thirsty Toll.

Did these alleyways even meet up to the main streets or were they dark mazes within the city that could only be accessed at certain locations? It would make sense to hide the delivery of supplies to a point and make for an interesting underworld-type area for players that got into that kind of thing, I silently contemplated, as my eyes thoughtfully studied the walls and rooftops.

After a number of twists and turns that got me thoroughly confused, we were led out near the outer wall. Unlike Darom, the buildings of the city brushed up against the outer wall without a kill zone in case the outer wall was breached. Once again, I realized this left a lot of covert possibilities for those players choosing to play Thieves and Assassins. Though in the area, there only seemed to be warehouses nearby.

As the squad of guards took up defensive positions along the alleyway and street that led to the warehouses, Squad-Leader Hackly silently waved us over to a nondescript portion of the wall. Pulling out a small blue-glowing light stone from her pouch, she used its dim light to search the wall. Finding the spot that she wanted, she pulled out the large iron ring of keys and, to my surprise, slipped it into a hidden keyhole that I hadn’t seen while standing behind her. A few quick turns and she flashed me a smile, before using her shoulder to get the door to slide a few inches open.

“Mind giving me a hand?” Squad-Leader Hackly quietly whispered, “These postern gates don’t get used all that often.”

“Sure thing,” I whispered back. Before I could give her a hand, Töten leaned over us both and easily shoved the thick block of stone open like it was nothing.

“Uh, thanks,” Squad-Leader Hackly said, giving Töten a thoughtful once-over. The look that flashed across her face made me raise an eyebrow. Instead of addressing my unspoken comment, she blushed and stepped back away from the doorway, “This door will let you out on the northwestern side of the outer wall not far away from a nearby clump of trees. If you travel through the grove without any lights, you should be able to make your way unseen from the city without too much of a problem.”

“We’ll have to be careful that no one running quests sees us mounted or this won’t be of much help,” Zeven muttered under his breath.

“There shouldn’t be any newfar running quests in the area,” Squad-Leader Hackly disagreed with a curt shake of her head. “As long as you reach the treeline without being seen, I doubt anyone will be aware of your exit from the city tonight.”

“We’ll just have to make sure we’re not seen,” I said, unobtrusively pulling five silvers from my pouch and cupping them in my palm before holding my hand out to shake, “I appreciate all of your help tonight.”

“It was my pleasure, Protector,” Squad-Leader Hackly sincerely said, gripping my hand warmly. I saw the brief flash of surprise in her eyes as I pushed the coins into her palm.

“The first round of ale tonight is on me,” I said as she hesitated at the gift.

“But you already thanked Team-Leader Pulver-” Squad-Leader Hackly began to say as I gently cut her off.

“And your squad went out of your way to secretly lead us out of the city and will be swinging by the dungeon later on to misdirect our enemies,” I said, looking her in the eyes, “I think that’s more than worth a few silvers.”

“Thank you, Protector,” Squad-Leader Hackly relented as she slipped the coins into the coin purse hanging from her waist, “I’ll be sure to let the squad know who bought the drinks for tonight.”

“Excellent,” I replied, giving her a friendly clap on the shoulder. Turning to the hidden door, I looked back over my shoulder and gave her a nod of farewell, before heading through the doorway.

Behind me, I heard my friends offering polite goodbyes before following after me. A few seconds later, those of us that could trigger Stealth did so before dashing for the clump of trees about fifty yards away. It only took us about fifteen seconds to clear the distance which wasn’t too shabby for being loaded down with armor, weapons, and a backpack. As we hit the treeline, I waved my friends and companions deeper into the grove as my eyes swept the top of the wall and the area around us. Not seeing anyone observing our departure, I took up the position of tail-end Charlie with Neristhana as we passed deeper into the trees.

“We should be far enough away now,” Töten grunted about five minutes later, “Let’s go ahead and mount up.”

Whistles rang out as Phoenix and Neristhana called their mounts. As their horses trotted from seemingly nowhere, Töten paused to cast a silent spell. A moment later, his Combat Mount showed up. I was somewhat worried the flaming mount would give our position away, but instead of burning brightly, the Nightmare now burned with an almost entirely black flame that didn’t let out any light or disturb my Darkvision. As I mounted up behind Helgath, Zeven’s odd warbling horn echoed around the woods as he called his Mountain Strider.

“Dude, could you be any louder?” Töten asked, glaring daggers at the Badger kin.

“It’s the way I call my mount,” Zeven snapped, throwing his arms out to either side, “What else can I fucking do?”

“What did you do, Töten?” Phoenix sarcastically asked as she urged her mount between the two men, “Forget how he called his mount when we were outside of Hardfall?”

“I just figured he’d ride the bear instead,” Töten irritably grumbled as Bright Claw began complaining to Zeven about being called a bear.

“That’s because I’m riding Bright Claw,” Nahimana apologized as she climbed up onto the Grizhawk’s back. Seeing the surprised looks on the rest of our faces, she blushed in embarrassment, “I just got my riding skill up enough to ride on my own.”

“Good for you,” Neristhana complimented the Badger kin female who gave her a quiet nod of thanks.

“It’s nothing about you, Nahimana,” I gently said, while Töten let out an exasperated sigh, “we’re all just tired and want to log out for the night.”

“I thought we weren’t gonna talk about this until after we made camp for the night,” Phoenix groused, giving me an unhappy look, “Otherwise, we might get a little too loud while we’re supposed to be silently sneaking away from the freaking city that we’d planned to stay the night in.”

I opened my mouth to argue the point with the irritable Barbarian but decided it was best not to get into it yet. We were still a little too close to Lodenburg for my liking, and as she said, there was a good chance the discussion was going to get loud. As Zeven climbed up onto his Combat Mount, Neristhana spoke up before anyone else could say anything, “Let’s wait to have this discussion once we set up our camp for the night.”

After giving the Gnomeling a nod of thanks, I asked the big guy, “How far do you think we need to go to be safe?”

“Maybe a half hour now that we’re mounted,” Töten said after a moment of thought, “There’s only a few high-level players who probably even have mounts in the area, so I can’t see anyone from Lodenburg questing that far out on foot.” He jerked his chin towards the west. “I’d say that we ride for fifteen minutes before cutting directly west for another. That should be far enough away to set up camp for the night.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I said as the big guy glanced at everyone for confirmation.

I thought Zeven was going to say something, but he decided against it after a moment. Not hearing any dissent, Töten clicked his heels to his Nightmare’s side and took off into a gallop. Without a word, the rest of the group fell in behind the big guy as I took up the rear again. Well, Neristhana actually took up the rear, I annoyedly thought at the look that she’d given me when I’d waved her to go in front of me.

Galloping through the trees at night was surprisingly still a rush with Darkvision. That’s mostly because the thick trees and underbrush cut down our visibility to only a few yards ahead. While it helped to be following after everyone else, it took intense focus to not clip a tree or get knocked off of Neysa’s back by a low-hanging branch.

You’d have thought that would’ve been enough excitement to keep me awake, but I quickly found myself dozing off every five minutes or so. If not for Helgath keeping a close watch on me, I’d have fallen from my place on Neysa’s back and probably killed myself by slamming head-first into a tree. When I startled awake for the sixth time, Töten was leading us into a small clearing. As we dismounted, I heard Phoenix grumble next to me.

“I can’t believe it’s nearly two-thirty in the morning.”

“I swear, it’s like we can’t log out at a decent time to save our lives,” I tiredly complained as we began setting up camp.

“It’s the name of the game,” Phoenix said with a tired sigh as we began laying out our sleeping hides.

“You better now?” I asked, giving the Barbarian a sideways look as we helped Neristhana, Helgath, Zeven, and Nahimana begin building a campfire from the big log that Töten had dragged over.

“Yeah, I was looking forward to hot food, good ale, and a soft bed in that order,” Phoenix grunted in frustration, “Now, I’m gonna get cold jerky.”

“And the hard ground,” Zeven added, sighing disappointedly as I got the campfire started with a Pyroblast.

“Sorry for being touchy earlier,” Töten apologized to Zeven as we sat down around the campfire, “but my body is starting to ache.”

“Your body is starting to ache?” Phoenix asked while the rest of us traded confused looks.

“Yeah, I need to log out and take my pain meds,” Töten dismissively said, “even with the medical pod I’m using, the pain from my real-world body comes through at times.”

“That’s from getting rear-ended by the tractor-trailer?” I asked, remembering his story from earlier that morning.

“Yep, but only when I’m completely exhausted,” Töten explained, waving everyone’s concern away with a flick of his hand as he removed his helm, “Usually, being logged into The World is how I get a break from the chronic pain that I live with from day-to-day.” Rubbing his hands together, he changed topics, “So, then, what’s on the menu tonight?”

“Water,” Phoenix sadly grunted, pulling a waterskin from her backpack.

“Hardtack,” Zeven unhappily added, holding up a wrapped bundle.

“Cuttle jerky,” I said holding up the smoked meat bundle that the Gnomeling had given me earlier.

“How about garlic, herb stuffed boar tenderloins, and ale instead?” Neristhana asked as everyone stared at her in shock. With a shit-eating grin, she pulled out a small keg of ale from her Bag of Holding and set it between her legs.

“You’re amazing Neri!” Phoenix practically moaned as she hurriedly fished out a cup from her backpack and tossed it over for the Gnomeling to fill.

“A saint and a scholar,” Zeven agreed as Neristhana topped his and Nahimana’s cups next.

“Now that hits the spot,” Töten sighed, taking a deep gulp of ale.

“That’s damn good,” I agreed, savoring the taste as I leaned back on my elbows.

Next, Neristhana started handing out the stuffed tenderloins. I recognized the meat rolls from the large wooden skewers in the Thirsty Troll’s kitchen. As the Gnomeling handed a skewer over to me, I arched an accusatory eyebrow at her.

“I hope you didn’t just steal this from Janice after her night was ruined by those assholes,” I said, somewhat worried that this was going to mess up my reputation with the guards of Lodenburg.

“Not exactly, all of the food that the inn had cooked up for the night’s rush was basically ruined,” Neristhana said with an indifferent shrug, “As far as the guards would be concerned, paying for the inn’s damages will include the ruined food and drink that wasn’t sold for the evening.”

“Ha,” Phoenix let out a bark of laughter between stuffing her face, “so they basically ended up paying for our meal and drinks anyways.”

“Along with spending the night in the slammer,” Zeven agreed, tipping his cup of ale in salute at the Gnomeling who smiled back happily.

The meal went quickly and I was honestly surprised at both the quality of the cooking and the ale. It was too bad we couldn’t have stayed the night and had it hot and fresh. As I was finishing up my meal, Töten was the first to speak up.

“While that was good, I really need to log out and take my meds. What time does everyone want to meet up?”

“It’s what, three in the morning now,” Zeven thoughtfully said, looking at his HUD, “nine or ten works for me.”

“Four and a half hours,” Phoenix groaned as she glanced at me.

“Why do you say that?” Zeven asked quickly doing the math in his head, “It’s more like six or seven hours.”

“Dude, it’s nearly three in the morning now, right?” Phoenix asked as the Badger kin nodded, “Unless you’re not gonna wash your stank ass and eat before hitting the sack, it’ll be another hour until you’re actually in bed.”

“So, that’s what?” Zeven asked, “Five to six hours of sleep?”

“Are you gonna eat breakfast in the morning or take a few minutes to wake up first before logging in?” Phoenix pointed out as the Badger kin rolled his eyes.

“Okay, I guess you’re right,” Zeven grunted as he held up his hands in surrender, “So, it doesn’t have to be nine then.”

“Naw, that’s fine, it’s not you that’s the problem,” Phoenix grunted, before giving me a mocking glare, “it’s that slave driver over there.”

“I’m on a deadline,” I said, giving the group an apologetic shrug, “if we don’t keep to the schedule, there’s no way I’ll be able to reach Tulduroc and get back to Dolurn by Saturday for our ride.”

“It’s not like Hollysharp would have the balls to leave without you,” Phoenix joked.

“I wouldn’t bet money on that,” I disagreed, matching her smile before turning serious again, “The crux of the matter is that any time wasted is time that I’m not defending BrokenFang Hold from the Hobgoblin invasion.”

“There’s that,” Phoenix tiredly agreed, “So, nine it is then.”

“Works for me,” Töten agreed without complaint.

“Speaking of Dolurn,” Zeven uncomfortably said, meeting my eyes, “I hope you don’t mind swinging by Aeroch Nor on the way.” Seeing everyone’s questioning looks, he explained, “I need to pick up my Nightmare quest’s weapon. It snapped while I was taking on an area World Boss last week.”

“Wow, I didn’t know those could break,” I said in surprise.

“Yep, and even more annoying, it stops any progression in your Nightmare class until you can get it repaired,” Zeven unhappily agreed.

“So, we swing by Aeroch Nor on our way to Dolurn,” I said with an indifferent shrug after checking out the map.”

“If that’s settled, I’m logging,” Töten said as he lay back on his sleeping hides and covered himself with his cloak, “Later.”

“That’s it for me too,” Zeven said as the big guy disappeared, “I’ll see yeah in the morning.” With that, the Badger kin laid down and blinked out too.

“I’m outie,” Phoenix agreed, laying back on her furs and logging a few seconds later.

“You should go too,” Neristhana said with a note of concern in her voice.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said, laying back on my own sleeping hides.

“See you in the morning,” Neristhana said, nodding to Helgath before she headed out into the woods.

Seeing the surprised look on my face, Nahimana laughed as she crawled into her own sleeping hides, “Neri has first watch tonight.”

I was just triggering the logout sequence when Helgath crawled into my arms. As I froze in surprise, Neysa plopped down on my other side and laid her head on my shoulder. Not that I was paying any attention to the Silver Dire Wolf since the Half-Orc had removed her chest plate and was now pressing her curvy leather-clad body against my chest. My pants became instantly tight as she snugged up into my shoulder.

‘Leave your body logged in so I can sleep against your chest,’ Helgath tiredly murmured in my head.

‘U-uh, sure, I can do that,’ I sent as she twisted around to pull my arm over her shoulders. As I took a deep breath and triggered the logout sequence, the Half-Orc happily snugged tighter into my shoulder as I silently gulped at how good she felt in my arms.

Thankfully, before Helgath could pick up my desire, my vision turned dark. A second later, the egg’s door was opening to my dark computer room with its red lava lamps. Taking off the helm, I set it to the side and reached for the glass of water on the desk as I tried to settle down my racing heart.

Helgath is just too sexy, I silently thought, trying not to think about her firm body pressing against my chest. Yeah, that didn’t work at all. Drinking down the last of my water, I got up and made my way to the guest bathroom as I began taking off my suit. Tossing it into the shower, I tried to ignore how bad I stank as I sat down and took care of business. It’s amazing how the smell of BO and the bodily wastes that had built up on the suit could ruin a good hard-on, I thought with a snort.

Cleaning up, I jumped into the shower and thoroughly washed my gaming suit, and emptied out its receptacle containers. It was disgusting as usual but went quickly enough. By the time I stepped out of the shower and laid my suit over the curtain rail, I was yawning uncontrollably. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I hurried to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat.

Throwing a tub of mac and cheese in the microwave, I dropped two slices of bread in the toaster and began pulling everything out that I’d need for a sandwich. Spicy mustard, check; tomatoes, onion, and jalapenos, check; cheese and sandwich meat, you bet. By the time the crock of mac and cheese was finished, I’d made a pretty impressive sandwich.

Grabbing a bottle of Paulaner, I sat down and slid into the kitchen stool as I quickly began wolfing the food down. The cold sandwich was a perfect counter to the scalding hot mac and cheese. If I ate too quickly, I’d just cool everything down with a swig of beer. Even so, by the time I’d polished off the last of the mac and cheese, I was back to yawning uncontrollably.

Feeling happy and full, I cleaned up and grabbed my phone, heading to bed. Making sure my alarm was set for seven thirty, I switched off the lights and curled up in my blankets, feeling like I’d accomplished a lot today. Zeven was teaming up with us. We’d managed to recover Töten’s castle and he now seemed interested in becoming part of the alliance that I’d been trying to build. Even the bullshit we’d dealt with in Lodenburg with those assholes from the forums had worked out fine. I was really enjoying the status of being the Protector of the Kingdom of Kader.

Who knew a title from a quest reward would have that much pull when dealing with bullshit from other players? And while it sucked that we couldn’t spend the night in the Thirsty Troll Inn, I’d really dodged a bullet for tonight. Otherwise, I would’ve had to deal with Helgath crawling naked into bed with me when I was exhausted, and there was no way I’d have been able to hide my physical reaction from her. While I knew the situation would have to be confronted at some point in time, that was future Jason’s problem. Hugging a pillow to my chest, I lost consciousness with pleasant dreams of holding Helgath in my arms.

Chapter Fifteen

(Tuesday, May 13th / Day 23 of The World.)

(Alanah Valadhiel and the Brat Pack on The Doon approaching the Gnome Capital port city of Tulduroc.)

“That was the best one yet,” Ayda cheerfully called out as the last notes of the Battle for BrokenFang Hold died away in the crisp night’s air.

“Does that mean we can finally call it a night?” Alanah practically groaned as her hand unconsciously rubbed at the connection point between her stump and the runic metal arm.

Ever since they’d started working on the song of how Lord Ironwolf had wrestled BrokenFang Hold back from the Goblins Invaders, she’d been finding it difficult to concentrate. Having to sing about the Goblin Raid when Lord Ironwolf had saved her from being eaten alive was almost more than Alanah could handle. If not for the need to increase his reputation so that he could enter Tulduroc and complete his Class Quest, she would’ve fought tooth and nail to never have relieved those memories again.

“Yeah, I think we can call this a wrap for tonight,” Ayda softly agreed, catching a glimpse of the emotional turmoil in Alanah’s eyes, “Why don’t you take a break while the rest of us pack away the gear?”

“Thank you, Ayda,” Alanah exhaled in relief as she traded a quick hug with the older Half-Elf, “I think that might be for the best.” Sniffing her nose hard to stop it from running, she turned towards the hatch for the main deck when she saw the worried expression on Tavon’s face. Taking his hand in hers for a moment, she whispered “I’ll be at the bow once you’re finished.”

“I’ll be up in a moment,” Tavon whispered, giving her a hand a quick squeeze as she rushed past.

As soon as the hatch closed behind her, Alanah let the tears she’d been struggling to hold back run freely down her cheeks as she rushed for the bow of the ship. The weight of emotions from having to relive the trauma of losing her arm had almost been too much for her to bear. She’d tried to explain that to Ayda, but the older female had simply said that the best performances come from personal experiences. If she wanted this song to resonate with her audience to give Lord Ironwolf the best chance of entering the city unmolested, then she needed to push through the trauma and use it to make her song the best it could be.

Blinking away the tears, Alanah’s hands clutched at the ship’s railing as ragged choking sobs shook her body. As the salty chill breeze of The Doon’s passing blew across her face, she dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead against the ship’s weathered wood. Even now, she could remember every detail of the evil Goblin’s hateful face as it gleefully chopped her arm off and ate it before her eyes.

Bleeding out on the frozen snow, Alanah had known in her heart that they were all dead. There was no one left to come to their aid. In those last few seconds when she had given up all hope, the impossible happened. From out of the snowstorm, Lord Ironwolf suddenly appeared like a hero from legend and saved her from being eaten alive. Not just her, she thought as her eyes gazed out at the mountains passing by the starboard side of the ship, but all of them.

Wiping away the tears with the sleeve of her tunic, Alanah took a shuddering breath while thinking back to the performance that she’d helped to create with the rest of the troupe. Even though she hadn’t been there to see all of the battle for herself, she’d heard all of the stories from Theric, Ulia, Keela, Brenna, and even her childhood friend Elidyr about what had happened. From that, she’d been able to make the song come alive while Ayda, Norrid, and Zinn enhanced its telling with their illusion magic.

The show they’d created had everything. How Lord Ironwolf had saved her from being eaten alive on that first day along with the entire fight against the Goblin Raiders. His fight against Turok Ahjin of the Plague Spreaders on the slopes of Fang Pass to save Ulia and Keela, before rescuing the rest of their friends. The trios crazed end-run to BrokenFang Hold through hordes of feral undead and an army of Goblins. How Lord Ironwolf saved the children and slaughtered Warlord Grutgrak Skullcrusher and the rest of the Goblin Tribal Leaders to save the House of Kayden. Lastly, their flight back to Requiem and the final battle at Delonshire that shattered the remains of the Goblin’s invasion force.

It had been hard enough coming up with the words for her song, Alanah silently thought, but seeing those illusions bringing her nightmares to life had almost been too much for her to handle.

“Are you alright?” a hesitant voice suddenly asked, making her jump.

“Ahh!” Alanah screamed in shock as her head whipped around in surprise to see the gaunt face of Valith Celaraldor huddled next to her at the prow.

“My apologies for startling you,” Valith apologized as he formally bowed his head with quiet dignity, “I thought you knew I was here.”

“If anyone should beg-pardon, it’s me,” Alanah tiredly exhaled as she turned around to put her back to the railing and slid down to sit on the deck. Giving him a polite nod, she continued softly, “I was somewhat lost in thought and didn’t see you here.”

“Don’t you know,” Valith croaked as a rueful smile momentarily flashed across his face, “I’m always here since no one needs my help.”

For a second, they sat in silence staring at each other without saying a word. What the ex-Sea Elf Knight Commander said was one hundred percent true. After being exiled from Auris Shaeras for his crimes, no one on the ship had been willing to give the male another chance. Over the last few days that they’d been sailing, Alanah didn’t think that he’d moved from the prow even once. Before she could think of something polite to say in response, Valith continued politely.

“If I might be so bold, the song that you were singing earlier was quite beautiful.” A faraway look came to Sea Elf’s silver eyes. “It reminded me very much of the Sekolahian Empire’s invasion of my homeland,” a frown momentarily came to his lips, “only I wasn’t as successful in my efforts as Lord Ironwolf.”

“From what I’ve seen and lived through,” Alanah said in a haunted tone as Valith glanced toward her in surprise, “I think few leaders are.”

“That’s kind of you to say,” Valith said after considering her words for a moment, “Though, for the life of me, I haven’t been able to think of anything that I could’ve done differently to protect my home.”

“Sometimes, that’s the way it is. Bad things happen to good people all the time,” Alanah said, remembering the words that Lord Ironwolf had said to her while they were sailing to Darom, “All that you can do is your best, and hope it’s enough.”

“That’s a surprisingly philosophical perspective for one so young,” Valith said in an amused tone.

Even so, Alanah swore she could see him quietly weighing the truth of her words. Not that she blamed him. Lord Ironwolf’s causal sayings tended to replay in her head often enough. At times, they seemed to be the only thing that helped her deal with all of the tragedy that she’d been through. Feeling somewhat bad for the Sea Elf, she gave him a warm smile.

“Too bad you don’t play a musical instrument,” Alanah said, offering him a kind smile, “or you could join our troupe in spreading the word about Lord Ironwolf’s accomplishments.”

“That’s kind of you, Alanah,” Valith coughed, before letting out a bark of laughter, “but I doubt my abilities with the Shell Horn would be of interest to a professional like Ayda or Norrid.”

“You play the Shell Horn?” Alanah asked in surprise. It was hard for her to picture the stern ex-commander learning something so delicate and non-combat oriented.

“It sounds a little odd when you say it like that,” Valith self-consciously laughed at the stunned look on her face, “but even Red Coral Knights are people too.” A desolate look came to his eyes as he continued softly, “I learned the Shell Horn in my desire to woo Therona’s hand when I was a much younger Sea Elf.”

“It sounds like you were pretty good,” Alanah joked as the ghost of a grin played across the ex-commander’s face.

“Good enough to win Therona’s attention,” Valith admitted, before disconsolately hanging his head between his bent knees.

“I take it she didn’t survive the invasion?” Alanah hazarded a guess as a silent sob momentarily wracked the male’s shoulders.

For a long moment, Valith said nothing as he tried to get a handle on his grief. Alanah wasn’t sure if he’d shut himself down again or not. The emotional agony radiating out from him was almost palatable to her enhanced senses from her own recent trauma. Before she could apologize for her comment, the ex-commander let out a ragged breath.

“She died shortly before Lord Ironwolf and his Half-Orc started healing the impregnated females in the Hall of Storms,” Valith said in an almost strangled cry, before clamping an iron fist over his emotions once more. Taking another deep breath, he continued softly, “Not that I fault him for that. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”

“What do you mean?” Alanah said, not understanding why he felt that way.”

“That’s because, I’m the one that chose the path that led to her demise,” Valith desolately muttered in a half whisper as his anguished eyes met her own, “I honestly don’t know why he chose to save my miserable life after everything that happened.”

Alanah felt the agony clenching her heart drain away in the face of such intense suffering. While she’d lost her arm, she still had her life. The thought of having her actions cause the death of someone that she loved was almost too much for her to conceive. How did you face every new day alone knowing that it was all your fault? Climbing to her knees, Alanah did the only thing she could think to do. Not worrying about how he might react, she wrapped the scarred Knight into her arms and hugged him to her chest.

At first, the Sea Elf stiffened in alarm, but after a moment, he sagged and began to cry. It was like a dam had released as the Knight’s body shook from the force of the sobs wracking his body. All that Alanah could do was ride through the emotional storm and hold him as he let his pent-up grief out. She had no idea how much time had passed when the ex-commander finally pushed her away and began wiping the tears from his eyes.

“I think Lord Ironwolf took you as his companion because he believes everyone deserves a second chance,” Alanah whispered in a choked voice. The raw emotions that they’d shared had seemed to clean out much of her own lingering agony, “And there’s a difference between making a bad decision and not learning from your mistakes.”

“That would explain much of Lord Ironwolf’s decision,” Valith agreed between coughs to clear the phlegm that had built up in his throat from weeping.

“In that case,” Alanah hesitantly said as she gave him an embarrassed grin, “Why not go ahead and join our troupe?” She shrugged at the look of surprise that flashed across his face. “It’s as good of a place to start as any.”

“That it is!” Valith agreed, throwing his head back and laughing to the night’s sky at the thought of joining a traveling demi-human troupe of Bards.

His large hands began to clumsily fumble inside the sack sitting on the deck next to him until he found what he was looking for. With quiet reverence, he pulled out a spiral curved sea shell that was nearly half the size of his head. Holding it up for her to see, the ex-commander’s eyes glinted in the moonlight with unshed tears as he met her gaze.

“If Norrid and Ayda agree,” Valith said with the same seriousness he’d have sworn over his blade, “it would be my honor to join your quest to spread the word of Lord Ironwolf’s accomplishments throughout the Nordic Region.”

“Excellent,” Alanah said, clapping her hands together in excitement when a voice bellowed from behind them.

“It’s about time you decided to choose a course to follow in your new life.”

“Captain Deepwater!” Alanah exclaimed, scrambling to her feet along with the Sea Elf. “My apologies, I didn’t hear you walk up.”

“That’s not a problem,” the proud Trade Master said, waving for them to relax as a twinkle came to her green eyes, “I felt like the two of you needed a moment to come to an agreement.” Her face turned serious once again as she turned to the ex-commander standing behind Alanah, “Now that you have a direction, Valith. How about you get some sleep in your cabin so you’re fresh for the morrow?”

“I was hoping to get some time to freshen up my skills and practice the-” Valith hurriedly began to explain only to be cut off.

“I’ve seen you following the troupe’s songs every day since all of you boarded,” Captain Deepwater loudly said in a tone that overrode his protests, “A few hours of practice before you join them on stage should be more than enough time to knock off the rust.” She brusquely waved towards the deckhouse, “Now, get!” As the Sea Elf began hurrying toward the hatch in confusion, she called to his retreating back, “I’ll make sure to send a sailor to wake you first thing in the morning.”

“Excuse me,” Valith muttered in apology as he nearly collided with Tavon who was just clopping onto the deck.

“Captain Deepwater, Alanah,” Tavon politely greeted the pair as he came to a stop. Glancing over his shoulder where the Sea Elf had disappeared, he lowered his voice as he turned back to the two females, “What’s with him?”

“Valith is getting some sleep so he can be ready to join your troupe in tomorrow’s performance,” Captain Deepwater announced as the Centaur’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

“Do-does he even play a musical instrument?” Tavon asked in disbelief as he looked back and forth between the two of them.

“A shell horn to be precise,” Alanah said in an amused tone as his eyes widened in shock.

“Have you told Ayda or Norrid-” Tavon began to stammer as Captain Deepwater waved his concerns away.

“I’ll talk to them myself,” Captain Deepwater assured them as she suddenly looked past Alanah toward something ahead of the ship, “after we drop anchor in the bay of Tulduroc.”

“Tulduroc!” Alanah excitedly claimed as she turned around to follow Captain Deepwater’s gaze.

Up ahead in the distance, Alanah saw the massive glowing capital of the Kingdom of Cadarea come into view. It was incredible. Even from this far away, she could tell this city was much larger than Myathlune. It was truly an awe-inspiring sight. One that she’d never imagined seeing, let alone performing in when she was growing up as an orphan back in BrokenFang Hold under the old Dark Lord of Kayden. As the wonder of it all washed over her, Tavon spoke up as he came to stand beside her.

“We’re not docking at a pier?” Tavon asked, curious as to the change from when they stopped at Londshos.

“It’s too late in the evening for the port master to guide us in,” Captain Deepwater began to explain to the intelligent Centaur. “They start pulling the newly arrived ships into the harbor at first light and then everyone can start putting the word out about Dark Star Rising joining the festival this afternoon.”

“If mother could only see me now,” Alanah sadly thought as she half-listened to the conversation going on around her.

*** the story continues in book 12 ***

For Sneak Peeks on book 12, you can check out my Patreon page here:

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23281087

Appendices and the Post Credit Scene

A note to the reader. The various appendices are put here for those readers who enjoy the technical aspects of Star’s Character Sheet, Equipment, gaming terms, the various people in The Word, and whatever else that people ask me to include because they’re interested in the mechanics. This is not taking away from the story. It is in addition to the story for those people who enjoy such things.

There are some people who want to spam pages of this information throughout their stories instead of placing it within an appendix at the end of the book where it belongs. While that would increase my page count for the monies earned for pages read by Kindle Unlimited and would match how many of the other authors in the genre, GameLit and LitRPG, are adding this information into their stories, I personally will not be doing that. As a reader, I hate such information being needlessly spammed throughout the body of the book. From conversations with my fans, they feel this way too. For myself, such senseless spamming of tables and gear takes me out of the story and is frankly annoying in my personal opinion. How do people on the audiobook even handle that? For my own series, I will add in the base information that has changed and allow the reader to choose if they want to look up the pages and pages of Character Sheet or whatever other information they are interested in at the back of the book.

As to the Post Credit Scene, well, it goes after all the credits and other information like any Post Credit Scene in any Marvel movie you’ve ever enjoyed. It’s a short fun addition to the main story. Sadly, due to its location, I receive no additional remuneration from adding such a scene, since Kindle Unlimited doesn’t count anything after the end of the main story. The Post Credit Scene is simply here because my geeky gamer side loves the idea and so I’ve started adding such scenes into The World series starting with book 5. I hope you enjoy them. At the same time, not reading them doesn’t make you lose any important plot points to the story.

Sincerely,

Jason A. Cheek

Character Sheet

Startum Ironwolf: Level 51

Difficulty: Nightmare Start

Half-Elf: House of Kayden

Class: Empty

Profession Title: Warlock Baron

Titles:

First Settler

First Village

Hero of Delonshire Mine

Leader of House Kayden

Lord of BrokenFang Hold

Wyrm Slayer

Tribal Leader

Mine Boss

Noble Warden

Ship’s Captain

Protector of Auris Shaeras

Orc Bane

Sekolahian Bane

Beastkin Brother

Noble Defender

Scourge of the Dishonorable

Protector of the Kingdom of Kader

Overlord

Champion of the Royal House of Isolde

Scourge of the Dil-Hilth Race

Honorable Noble

Scourge Bringer

Hero of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso Infestation

Statistics:

Hit Points: 2,670

Mana: 4,010

Endurance: 2,670

Attributes:

Strength: 114 (+91)

Intelligence: 224 (+186)

Spirit: 138 (+81)

Agility: 141 (+31)

Stamina: 160 (+87)

Charisma: 80

7 Unassigned Attribute Points.

Racial Ability:

Adaptable Survivability (Passive) – All defenses increased by 5% and total hit points are increased 10%.

Darkvision (Passive) - Grants ability to see in dim-lighting conditions up to 100 yards and the ability to see in complete darkness up to 60 yards.

Ambitious (Passive) - Receive 5% experience bonus when gaining experience.

Racial Modifiers - +2 points to any stat of choice per level.

Abilities:

Frost Magic – Level 40

Light Magic – Level 50

Fire Magic – Level 20

Dark Magic – Level 50

Water Shaman – Level 13

Nature Magic – Level 37

Shadow Magic – Level 3

Warrior Monk Jutsu – Level 12

Unarmed Combat – Level 28

One-hand edge – Level 46

Two-hand edge – Level 25

Shield Block - Level 45

Shield Bash – Level 45

Riposte – Level 45

Lunge – Level 46

Parry – Level 47

Dodge – Level 48

Archery – Level 13

Riding – Level 45

Riding Exotic Beasts – Level 45

Spells:

Frost:

Frost Blast (30 Mana) – 2 sec cast – Launches Blast of frost at enemy. Damage is 200% of Spell Power. Slows target by 50% for 15 seconds. Range 60 yards.

Frost Nova (50 Mana) – Instant cast - Blasts enemies within 10 yards of the caster for 100% Spell power and freezes them in place for up to 8 sec. This spell does not affect friendlies within range of the AOE. Damage caused may interrupt the effect. 30 second cool down. Requires frost magic skill level 5.

Ice Lance (40 Mana) – Instant cast - Deals 400% Spell power to an enemy target. Ice Lance damage is doubled against frozen targets. Slows target by 50% for 15 seconds. Requires frost magic skill level 10. Range 40 yards.

Flurry (60 Mana) – Instant cast – Hurls a flurry of ice shards at target that strikes enemy 3 times for a total of ((400% of spell power) * 3). Each shard slows target by 50% for 5 sec. Requires frost magic skill level 15. Range 40 yards.

Ice Barrier (30 Mana) – Instant cast – Shields caster for 1 minute, absorbing 1400% ranged spell damage. Melee attacks against caster reduces the attacker’s movement speed by 50% for 5 seconds. Armor Class is not increased. Requires frost magic skill level 20. 20 second cool down.

Ice Barrage (100 Mana) – 4 sec cast –Releases a storm of ice on targeted area. Spell power is 1600% Spell Power. All targets in area of effect have movement slowed by 50% for duration of cast or an additional 5 seconds if they leave the area of effect. 30 second cool down. Area of effect is 10 yards. Requires frost magic skill level 30. Any direct damage will cancel the cast. Range 100 yards.

*Special Attack – (600 Mana) - Can be continuously channeled for up to 30 seconds for continuous 1600% spell damage every 5 seconds. 30 second cool down.

Light:

Heal (50 Mana) – 10 sec cast – Ray of golden light that heals target for 500% Spell Power. Range 60 yards.

Quick Heal (30 Mana) – 5 sec cast – A pulse of golden light that quickly heals target for 300% Spell Power. Requires healing magic skill level 5. Range 60 yards.

Restore (40 Mana) – 3 sec cast – A flash of golden light that instantly heals target for (50% of Spell power) and then (300% of Spell power) over 15 sec. Requires healing magic skill level 10. Range 40 yards.

Minor Healing (60 Mana) – 5 sec cast – A ray of golden light that instantly heals target for 800% Spell Power. Requires healing magic skill level 15. Range 60 yards.

Minor Mend Bones (80 Mana) – 10 sec cast – A healing energy that heals target of minor debilitating debuffs 200% Spell Power. Requires healing magic skill level 15. Range 60 yards.

Minor Dispel (60 Mana) – 5 sec cast – Removes one beneficial magical effect on enemy target, or removes one negative magical effect on friendly target. Requires healing magic skill level 15. Range 60 yards.

Holy Shield (80 Mana) – 3 sec cast – Absorbs 350 points of damage. Requires healing magic skill level 20. 10 second cool down. Expires automatically after a half an hour. Range 60 yards.

Light’s Blessing (200 Mana) – 120 sec cast – Gives an additional 500 Hit Points to target when cast. Requires healing magic skill level 25. Expires automatically after one hour. Range 10 yards.

Regeneration (100 Mana) – Instant cast – An aura of light that continuously heals target every second for ten seconds at 800% Spell Power. Requires healing magic skill level 30. Range 60 yards.

Minor Cure Disease (80 Mana) – Instant cast – Cures one poison on inflicted target. Requires Light magic skill level 35. Range 60 yards.

Light Word of Censure (150 Mana) – Instant cast – Creates an aura around target in a five yard radius that unleashes the judgement of light for 600% spell power. The affect also stuns the target for five seconds. One minute cool down between casts. Requires Light magic skill level 35. Range 60 yards.

Resurrection (1000 Mana) – 60 sec cast - Brings a dead player back to life with 25% health and mana. Cannot be cast when in combat. Range 40 yards.

Enhanced Resurrection (3000 Mana) – 30 sec cast - Brings a dead player back to life with 25% health and mana. Spell is able to regenerate internal organs such as eyes, kidneys, and similar internal organs. Cannot regenerate heart, brain, or missing limbs. Three day time limit on resurrecting targets using this spell. Cannot be cast when in combat. Range 20 yards.

Fire:

Flame Blast (40 Mana) – 2 sec cast – Launches Blast of fire at enemy. Fire damage is 200% of Spell Power. Burns target for an additional 20 seconds for 5 points of damage every 5 seconds. Range 60 yards.

Fireball (60 Mana) – 2.5 sec cast – Hurls a fiery ball at enemy. Fire damage is 300% of Spell Power. Burns target for an additional 20 seconds for 10 points of damage every 5 seconds. Area of effect is 5 yards. Requires fire magic skill level 10. Range 40 yards.

Pyroblast (80 Mana) – 3.5 sec cast – Blasts a fiery ball at enemy. Fire damage is 1200% of Spell Power. Burns target for an additional 15 points of damage every 5 seconds. Area of effect is 7 yards. Requires fire magic skill level 15. Range 100 yards.

Dark:

Summoning Tree:

Soul Stone (20 Mana) – Instant cast – Used to capture the soul of a creature upon death. Once activated, the spell is always on for the caster to capture the souls of their vanquished enemies. These soul stones are then used to raise the dead as their undead pets.

Raise Zombie (25 Mana per soul level) – 1 minute cast – Requires a soul stone per cast. Raises captured soul as an undead pet of the same level upon death that will serve the caster until released or dead.

*Number of pets available to caster is determined by caster’s intelligence level. **50 points of intelligence required per raised pet.

Undead Resiliency – Activates upon command – Summoned creature can recover health by consuming the dead. Based on level of corpse in comparison to level of summon creature. Corpse cannot be skinned after this skill has been used. Requires dark magic skill level 5.

Touch of the Grave I (80 Mana) – 10 sec cast – Raises the damage of the summon creature’s natural weapons by 150 points per attack (Aka: slashes and bites). Requires dark magic skill level 10. Expires automatically after one hour. Range 60 yards.

Monstrous Vitality (80 Mana) – 10 sec cast – Raises summon creature’s life by 300 points. Requires dark magic skill level 15. Expires automatically after one hour. Range 10 yards.

Grave Flesh – 5 sec cast - Raises the summoned creature’s armor points by 200 points. Expires automatically after one hour. Requires dark magic skill level 20. Affects all pets within a 10 yard radius.

Leeching Touch I – 5 sec cast - Summoned creature receives 1% of damage dealt back as Hit Points. Expires automatically after one hour. Requires dark magic skill level 25. Affects all pets within a 10 yard radius.

Elemental Resistance – 5 sec cast – Add a 25% elemental resistance to all summoned pets. If summoned undead already has a natural resistance, the spell’s resistance is added to that natural resistance. Expires automatically after one hour. Requires Dark Magic skill level 40.  Affects all summoned undead when cast.

Raise Ghoul (50 Mana per soul level) – 1 minute cast – Requires a soul stone per cast. Raises captured soul as an undead pet of the same level upon death that will serve the caster until released or dead. Unlike zombies, Ghouls have 25% of their original intelligence along with being able to utilize the skills, abilities, and spells that they had during life. A Ghoul’s intelligence is more of that of a calculating monster’s that has a ravenous hunger for the essence of the living but has no knowledge or thought as to their previous life. They also have the ability to issue simple commands to allied zombies with the ability to use basic concepts of strategy to complete their objectives. Additionally, their bite and claw attacks deliver a rot-effect in targets that are not killed that can only be removed with a cure disease spell or potion. If not treated within a week, the affected individual will die from the affliction. *Number of pets available to caster is determined by caster’s intelligence level. **50 points of intelligence required per raised pet. Requires Dark magic skill level 50.

Destruction Tree:

Shadow Bolt (50 Mana) – 2 sec cast – Launches a shadowy bolt of Dark Magic at enemy. Requires dark magic skill level 5. Damage is 600% of Spell Power. Range 60 yards.

Enhanced Shadow Bolt (60 Mana) – Instant cast – Launches a shadowy bolt of Dark Magic at enemy. Damage is 1200% of Spell Power. Requires dark magic skill level 15. Range 100 yards.

Corpse Explosion (80 Mana) – Instant cast – Any selected corpse explodes causing 600% Spell Power damage. Area of effect is 3 yards. Requires Dark magic skill level 25. Range is 60 yards.

Amplify Damage (100 Mana) – Instant cast – Amplifies all incoming damage by 25% in a 5-yard radius of target. Requires Dark magic level 35. Range 100 yards. Expires after 10 seconds.

Dark Lance (160 Mana) – Instant cast – Launches a shadowy shaft of Dark Magic in a direct line that does 800% of Spell Power to all targets within a half-yard radius of the shadowy shaft’s entire 100-yard path. Requires Dark Magic level 45. Range 100 yards. *Does half-damage in full-sunlight.

Life Tap Curse (100 Mana) – Instant Cast – When cast on an enemy, the AOE continuously affects all enemies within a five-yard radius of the original target. The caster or any allies that attack the affected enemies gain 50% of all physical damage dealt back as life. Requires Dark magic level 45. Range 100 yards. Expires after 10 seconds.

Corpse Transmutation (100 Mana) – Instant Cast – When cast on an enemy, the AOE continuously affects all corpses within a 10-yard radius of the caster and transmutes the life essence into Mana. Restores 50 points of mana per corpse within range for 15 seconds. Corpses used in this way cannot be raised as an undead, or used for corpse explosion, and consumes the corpse’s soul stone. Requires Dark magic level 50. Range is 10 yards radius from caster. Expires after 15 seconds.

Torment Tree:

Life Leech (80 Mana per sec) – 30 sec channeling – Drains life from target, causing Dark magic damage. Damage to target is 2400% of Spell Power for every second of spell activation and returns 5% of the damage back to the caster as health. Requires dark magic skill level 15. Requires caster to be touching the target.

Bone Shield (40 Mana) – instant cast – Forms and orbiting shield around caster that absorbs up to 500 points of damage. Requires Dark magic skill level 20. Can only be cast on self. Expires after 1 hour.

Bone Fangs (50 Mana) – instant cast - Upgrades bone shield to cause 200% Spell Damage to all creatures within a three yard radius around caster. Requires Dark magic skill level 25. Can only be cast on self and when Bone Shield is in effect. Expires after 1 hour.

Zombie Hands (200 Mana) – 3 sec - Targeted location erupts with Zombie Hands that will attempt to hold all large, normal, and small creatures within the area effect of the spell for fifteen seconds. Held creatures can still attack and defend themselves, but all attack and defense actions are taken at a negative 15% due to balance. Spell casting takes 50% longer. 30 second cooldown after cast. Area of effect is 5 yards. Requires Dark magic skill level 40. Range is 60 yards.

Zombie Wall (250 to 750 Mana) – 1 sec up to 5 sec – Creates a two-yard-long, five-yard-high zombie with a pair of arms and biting heads with the use of a single soul stone. This wall can be increased in size and lethality by adding up to three soul stones. This can either lengthen the Zombie Wall up to 15-yards in length or compress into a smaller length with the arms and heads more closely packed together. The spell does not take up a pet slot. The spell will expire after an hour or if enough damage is inflicted to destroy the wall. The zombies will not attack caster, caster’s party, or allies. Requires Dark magic skill level 50. Range is 25 yard.

Shaman:

Water:

Detect Liquid (5 Mana) – 10 sec cast – Most liquids are essentially water. The spell enables a shaman to detect liquids. Requires Water Shaman skill level 0. Range 40 yards.

Draw Liquid I (10 Mana per sec) – 30 sec channeling – Most liquids are essentially water. The spell enables a shaman to draw liquids to caster. If used in combat the damage to target is 200% Spell Power per second of spell’s activation. Requires Water Shaman skill level 5. Range 40 yards.

Alter Liquid I (20 Mana) – 5 sec cast – Most liquids are essentially water. The spell enables a shaman to alter the composition of a liquid. Can be used to remove contaminates from liquids. Can be used to separate liquids from other liquids. If used in combat the damage to target is 200% Spell Power. Requires Water Shaman skill level 10. Range 40 yards.

Nature:

Zap (10 Mana) – instant cast – Shoots a bolt of concentrated natural energy at enemy doing 50% Spell Power damage. Requires Nature Magic skill level 0. Range 100 yards.

Manifest Giant Squirrel (100 Mana) – 60 sec cast – Manifest a level 10 giant squirrel to protect caster for a day or until creature is destroyed or dismissed. Requires Nature Magic skill level 10. Cooldown of 24 hours.

Enhanced Shocking Grip (60 Mana) – instant cast – Sends out a chaotic force of natural energy into target that deals 800% Spell Power. Requires Nature Magic skill level 20. Range touch.

Manifest Large Wolf (200 Mana) – 60 sec cast – Summons a level 20 large wolf to protect caster for a day or until creature is destroyed or dismissed. Requires Nature Magic skill level 20. Cooldown of 24 hours.

Enhanced Magic Armor (40 Mana) – instant cast – Creates a shield of Nature Magic that acts like armor giving wearer plus 800 to armor class against physical attacks and 800% protection against Spell Damage. Requires Nature Magic skill level 25. Range 10 yards. Cooldown of 30 seconds.

Healing Breeze - (60 Mana) – instant cast – Sends the wind of life force into target area that heals all friendly teammates and allies for 1200% Spell Power. Requires Nature Magic skill level 25. Range 100 yards. Target area 40 yards radius from the point designated.

Homing Zap (120 Mana) – instant cast – Shoots three bolts of concentrated decay force at enemy doing 500% Spell Power damage each. Requires Nature Magic skill level 30. Range 100 yards.

Manifest Cave Bear (300 Mana) – 60 sec cast – Summons a level 30 Cave Bear to protect caster for a day or until creature is destroyed or dismissed. Requires Nature Magic skill level 30. Cooldown of 24 hours.

Shocking Wave (60 Mana) – instant cast – Sends out a chaotic force of natural energy in a radius around caster that deals 800% Spell Power to all targets. Requires Nature Magic skill level 35. Range 5 yards.

Shadow Magic:

Slip Into Shadow (200 Mana/50 Agility/25 Spirit/25 Intelligence) – Instant cast – Allows caster to enter Stealth when being observed. Does not function if under attack. Three second cool down between casts. Requires Shadow magic skill level 0. Range is self only.

Warrior Monk Jutsu:

Arcane Speed (20 Mana/20 Stamina/20 Spirit) – instant cast – Increases casters movement, attack, and cast speed by 25%. Duration is a half an hour. Range self only.

War Leader:

Level V – High Strategist:

-Plus 5% Increase to magic healing for team or raid when outnumbered.

-Plus 5% Increase to magic damage for team or raid when outnumbered.

-Plus 5% Increase to range damage for team or raid when outnumbered.

-Plus 5% Increase to melee damage for team or raid when outnumbered.

-Plus 3% Increase to melee defense for team or raid when attacking a fortified position.

-Plus 3% Increase to range defense for team or raid when attacking a fortified position.

-Plus 3% Increase to magic defense for team or raid when attacking a fortified position.

-Plus 2% Increase to melee damage for team or raid.

-Plus 1% Increase to melee defense for team or raid.

Skills:

Stealth I

Sneak Attack I

Backstab I

Concentration I

Quick Shot I

Overpower I

Kick Back I

Knockdown I

Gouge I

Duel Wield I

Power Attack I

Execute I

Dual Cast I

Multishot I

Perception I

Focus Casting II

Extended Magic

Sweep Takedown (unarmed)

Crafting:

Skinning Level 19

Jury-Rigging Level 5

Lumberjack Level 30

Wood Working Level 9

Construction Level 18

Architecture Level 8

Mining Level 16 (+2 when Pickaxe of Earth is equipped)

Herbalism Level 25

Enchanting Level 1

Smithing Level 54

Alchemy Level 112

Cartography Level 10

Exotic Animal Handling Level 15

Beast Companion:

Silver Dire Wolf, Neysa, level 50

Manifested Pets:

Giant Squirrel: Tengsly (Gray Flying Squirrel - level 15)

Large Wolf: Shadow Fang (Shadow Wolf - level 33)

Cave Bear: Kitano (Demon Bear - level 39)

Soulbound Companion:

Helgath (Half-Orc), Water Shaman, level 50

Available Pets:

Available slots: 4 (+9) = 13

Currently Summoned: 13

Reputation: 11,710

Special Awards:

-Permanent 3% increased damage to all attacks for all members of any team or raid you are a member.

-Permanent 3% increased defense for all members of any team or raid you are a member.

Additional Special Attacks and Abilities:

Vampiric Touch (Type: Dark Magic) temporarily transfers 20% of damage per hit to wielder’s hit points for thirty seconds. The effect stacks with each hit and resets the 30 second time limit upon each successful hit.

*when Vampiric Bastard Sword of Slaughter is equipped.

-Deals double damage on targets under twenty-five percent health.

-Rend, causes the target to bleed with every successful hit for an additional 25 points of damage for 15 seconds.

-100% decapitation when struck against the neck of any large or smaller incapacitated target.

-Deals double damage on targets under twenty-five percent health.

-Rend, causes the target to bleed with every successful hit for an additional 25 points of damage for 15 seconds.

-100% decapitation when struck against the neck of any large or smaller incapacitated target.

*when Vicious Executioner’s Axe of Cruelty is equipped.

-Removes all root effects to wielder and all summoned creatures.

-Increases the chance of dropping Soul Stones by 12%.

-Summoned creature has 3% chance of receiving one of killed creature's special attacks or skills.

-Summoned creature has a 30% chance of keeping one of its special skills.

+200 Attack Power to Summoned Creatures

+5 to the maximum number of Summoned Creatures.

+3 level increase to all Summoned Creatures

+50% Resistant to Elemental magic.

-Ignores target’s armor.

-5% of maximum health leeched per second on successful strike until dagger is removed.

*When Leeching Dagger of Piercing is equipped.

+10% Haste to range attacks.

*When wearing Delonshire Guard quiver.

-Renders lesser undead creatures such as zombies, skeletons, spirits and etc. neutral and unable to attack first.

Permanent 3% increased damage to all attacks for all members of any team or raid you are a member.

Permanent 3% increased defense for all members of any team or raid you are a member.

Startum Ironwolf’s and Helgath’s Gear

Startum Ironwolf’s Gear:

Rockjaw Chopper (for cutting wood)

Item Quality: Inferior

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Axe

Damage 23-31

Durability: 25/25

Weight: 4 kg

Black Coral Iron-reinforced Defender

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Armor: 2000

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 14 kg

+10 Strength

+10 Stamina

-40% increase chance to block.

-Resistant to elemental magic +5%

-Waterproof

*This item has been magically grown from black coral

Pickaxe of Earth

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Unique

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Pickaxe

Damage: 30-50

Durability: 180/200

Weight: 4 kg

+2 to Mining

Vicious Executioner's Axe of Cruelty (Purple)

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Axe

Damage: 160-185

Durability: 287/300

Weight: 15 kg

+30 Strength

+30 Stamina

-200% increase of pain inflicted with every successful hit.

-Deals double damage on targets under twenty-five percent health.

-Rend, causes the target to bleed with every successful hit for an additional 25 points of damage for 15 seconds.

-100% decapitation when struck against the neck of any large or smaller incapacitated target.

Leeching Dagger of Piercing

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Common

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 34-41*

Durability: 100/100

Weight: 2.3 kg

-Ignores target’s armor.

*20 points of health leeched per second for 15 seconds on each successful strike.

Dark Blade of Lord Kayden

Item Quality: Epic

Item Type: Unique

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Sword

Damage: 110-130 (upgraded to 185-205)

Durability: 400/400

Weight: 7.5 kg

+20 Strength (+29)

+20 Intelligence (+29)

+20 Stamina (+29)

-Soulbound on pickup.

-Lord’s Dark Blade of House of Kayden. The wielder of this blade is the rightful owner of BrokenFang Hold and the surrounding lands.

-Grants the owner the mastery of Dark Magic along with all related spells and skills, including the ability to teach the profession of Dark Magic to others.

-Renders lesser undead creatures such as zombies, skeletons, spirits and etc. neutral and unable to attack first.

- This weapon is scalable. The weapon’s stats will increase as owner’s character grows in level.

Vampiric Bastard Sword of Slaughter

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Special

Attack: Two-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Sword

Damage: 190-215

Durability: 190/200

Weight: 15 kg

+20 Strength

+30 Stamina

* Vampiric Touch (Type: Dark Magic) temporarily transfers 20% of damage per hit to wielder’s hit points for thirty seconds. The effect stacks with each hit and resets the 30 second time limit upon each successful hit.

Greatsword SoulBreaker (Star being used by Ulia)

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Special

Attack: Two-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Sword

Damage: 160-185

Durability: 113/200

Weight: 14 kg

+15 Strength

-15 Spirit

- Blight (Type: Dark Magic) Reduction of all enemy attributes by 50% for 60 seconds, unless successful save vs Spirit. Area of Effect: 10 Yard radius from caster. Cooldown - 5 minutes.

Brutal Bracers of Summoning

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Wrist

Weight: .04 kg

+200 Attack Power to Summoned Creatures

*Color is dark iron grey with intricate designs of various monsters worked into the metal.

Royal Army Assault Bow

Item Quality: Fine

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: Ranged

Weapon Type: Bow

Damage 110-120

Weight: 5.2 kg

+10 Agility

+10 Spirit

+15 to Critical Strike

+10 to Armor Piercing

Delonshire Guard Quiver (Star)

Soul bound upon pickup.

Item Quality: Fine

Allows up to 500 arrows to be stored in quiver.

-Gives +10% Haste to range attacks.

10 Ring Slots Available:

Ring of Wolf

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+20 Agility

Ring of Bear

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+30 Stamina

Ring of the Owl

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+20 Spirit

Minor Ring of Monster Power

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+3 level increase to all Summoned Creatures

Ring of Peaceful Thought

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+30 Spirit

Ring of Ox

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+20 Strength

Ring of Water Breathing

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

*Allows wearer to breath underwater.

Ring of the Elemental Shaman

Item Quality: Rare

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Ring

Weight: .06 kg

*Gives wearer +25% resistance to elemental magic.

Ring of the Elemental Shaman

Item Quality: Rare

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Ring

Weight: .06 kg

*Gives wearer +25% resistance to elemental magic.

Lesser Ring of Flame

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .03 kg

+10 Intelligence

*Adds plus fifty points of damage to all Fire magic spells cast by the wearer.

Stuffed in inventory

Black Cuttle Leather

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: General Clothing

Defense: 800

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 12 kg

+10 Strength

+10 Stamina

+10 Agility

-Waterproof

Goo-Filled Leather Boots

Item Quality: Inferior

Item Type: Common

Slot: Feet

Defense: 10

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 11/25

Weight: 1.07 kg

- 10 Charisma

*Slug trails - The goo has wet the leather of the boots to the point where they leave gooey wet spots on the ground.

-Description - The goo looks like it’s from the digested remains of the last wearer of these basic boots and smells like it.

Half-Digested Brown Leather Pants

Item Quality: Inferior

Item Type: Common

Slot: General Clothing

Defense: 0

Armor Type: None

Durability: 8/25

Weight: 1.3 kg

-5 Charisma

-Description – Too thin rancid leather pants that smell like rotten food and digestive juices.

Black Coral DarkCuirass Weave with Pauldrons

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest

Defense: 800

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 12 kg

+25 Intelligence

+5 Strength

+5 Stamina

-Summoned creature has a 30% chance of keeping one of its special skills.

-Resistant to elemental magic +5%

-Waterproof

*This item has been magically grown from black coral and crafted to bind with a Bonereaver DarkCuirass. The undercoat has been reinforced by Cuttle leather. It has taken on the elements of the items it has been crafted from.

Black Coral Savage-poleyns

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Legs

Defense: 700

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 9 kg

+25 Strength

+5 Intelligence

+5 Spirit

-Summoned creature has 3% chance of receiving one of killed creature's special attacks or skills.

-Resistant to elemental magic +5%

-Waterproof

*This item has been magically grown from black coral and crafted to bind with a Bonereaver Savagewraps that have been reinforced with Cuttle leather. It has taken on the elements of the items it has been crafted from.

Black Coral Soul-gauntlets

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Hands

Defense: 280

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 1.28 kg

+15 Spirit

+5 Intelligence

-Increases the chance of dropping Soul Stones by 6%.

-Resistant to elemental magic +5%

-Waterproof

*This item has been magically grown from black coral and crafted to bind with a Bonereaver Soulclaws that have been reinforced with Cuttle leather. It has taken on the elements of the items it has been crafted from.

Black Coral Gore-belt

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Waist

Defense: 280

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 197/200

Weight: 2 kg

+15 Stamina

+5 Intelligence

-Increases the chance of dropping Soul Stones by 6%.

-Resistant to elemental magic +5%

-Waterproof

*This item has been magically grown from black coral and crafted to bind with a Bonereaver Goreplate that has been reinforced with Cuttle leather. It has taken on the elements of the items it has been crafted from.

Cuttle Leather Corpse-boots

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Feet

Defense: 260

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 5.07 kg

+3 Intelligence

+1 Spirit

-Removes all root effects to wielder and all summoned creatures.

-Waterproof

*This item has been magically combined with Cuttle leather. It has taken on the elements of the items it has been crafted from.

Helm of Inaxidor

Item Quality: Epic

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Head

Defense: 400

Armor Type: Light mail

Durability: 320/400

Weight: 2.5 kg

+100 Intelligence

- Allows the wearer to comprehend and speak all spoken and written languages.

- Once a day has the ability ‘gift common’ to all creatures within a 50 yard range.

Description - Lorsan Inaxidor who created the helm was an Archmage of great renown for furthering the peace between the races of The Word and his scholarly pursuits of magic inscriptions. He went missing in The Straight of Icelus during a trip to the Isle of Doom and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Bracelet:

Fortifying Charm of the Defender

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted

Location: Inventory

Durability: 250/250

Weight: 0.2 kg

Charges: 3

-When triggered, the trinket stops the next incoming attack from affecting the durability of the wearer’s gear. The wearer still takes damage as normal.

1 Amulet Spot Available:

Dark Amulet of Summoning (Star)

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Neck

Weight: .06 kg

+5 to the maximum number of Summoned Creatures.

Inventory:

Talisman of Yeenoktu

Item Quality: Epic

Item Type: Crafted

Location: Inventory

Durability: 400/400

Weight: 0.5 kg

+10 Strength

+10 Stamina

*Token from a Gnoll Priest of the Demon Lord Yeenoktu the Soul Crusher.

**When activated by a non-believer, makes wearer invulnerable to all elemental spheres of magic, melee and ranged attacks, poisons and mental attacks for ten seconds. Can only be activated once every seven days.

**When activated by a Gnoll true believer, first effect: makes wearer invulnerable to all elemental schools of magic, melee and ranged attacks, poisons and mental attacks for ten minutes. Second effect: casts aura of the berserker on entire group or raid. Can only be activated once daily.

Helgath Ironwolf’s Gear:

Black Cuttle Leather

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: General Clothing

Defense: 800

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 12 kg

+10 Strength

+10 Stamina

+10 Agility

-Waterproof

Toxic Fang of the Cheliferidae Risso

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Unique

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 120-130

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 1 kg

+15 Stamina

+15 Agility

-Venomous Touch (Type: Poison) Target suffers a poisonous effect that slows movement and reaction speeds by 20% for thirty seconds on each successful strike.

*5% Chance on proc to inflict a five-second paralysis on each successful strike.

Rune Stalker Chitin Reinforced boots

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Special

Slot: Feet

Defense: 460

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 1.07 kg

+15 Stamina

+15 Intelligence

+15 Agility

*Removes all root effects to the wielder and their summoned creatures.

*Silent Step - Regardless of the surface the wearer is crossing, they have a ninety-five percent chance not to make any sound when walking or running regardless of the terrain.

Matriarch Black Chitin Breastplate with Pauldrons

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Unique

Slot: Chest

Defense: 680

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 7.6 kg

+20 Strength

+20 Stamina

+20 Agility

*Removes all root effects to the wielder and their summoned creatures when caught in any web or sticky trap.

*Neurotoxin Immunity - Due to the nature of the Gigantic Cheliferidae Risso chitin this breastplate is crafted from, the wear is immune to paralysis poisons.

Blue Steel Bracers of the Fortitude (red script)

Item Quality: Rare

Item Type: Crafted

Location: Inventory

Durability: 350/350

Weight: 0.8 kg

-Resistance to elemental magic +15%

+15% increase to dodging ranged attacks.

+15% increase to evading melee attacks.

*Has a 5% chance to cast a protect wearer in a protective shield when wearer is struck in combat by melee and ranged attacks.

Ring of Ox

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+20 Strength

Pugio of the Honorable Centurion

Item Quality: Epic

Item Type: Unique

Attack: One-hand Edged

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 160-185

Durability: 400/400

Weight: 3.8 kg

+50 Strength

+50 Spirit

+50 Agility

+50 Charisma

-Sharpened Edge: Durability Erodes more slowly and increased Critical Chance.

-The owner of this dagger automatically receives a “friendly” reputation status with the Asterion Empire.

*This item will scale with the owner’s level.

During his many travels before he became king, Harald Isolde was traveling through the southern continent when he came across a group of Minotaurs in a desperate fight. Jumping into the fray, he and his adventurers helped to turn the tide of battle. Later, Harald learned that the young bull that he’d saved along with the ninth legion was Prince Corona Borealis of the Asterion Empire. Due to his timely rescue, the prince gifted this dagger to Harald as a sign of honor and friendship.

Zeven Al'Zaric’s, Bright Claw’s, and Nahimana Tor’Narc’s Gear

Zeven Al'Zaric’s Gear:

Dirk of Torrac Tor’Narc

Item Quality: Rare

Item Type: Unique

Attack: One-hand Edged

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 54-65

Durability: 320/350

Weight: 2.8 kg

+100 Spirit

A dying gift left by a true friend. This dirk has a part of Torrac Tor’Narc imprinted into the blade.

-Soulbound - can only be held or used by owner or a member of the House of Bruic Diongmhalta. Anyone else picking up this dagger will take damage equal to its maximum damage for every second in their possession.

-Nullifies psychic and magic incapacitating attacks, when combat is initiated, to owner and their group or raid.

-Warns of evil intent towards owner within a 10-yard radius.

Silver-Bladed Sgian-Dubh (hidden in Kilt hose)

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Ceremonial

Attack: One-hand Edged

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 20-30

Durability: 100/100

Weight: 0.8 kg

Silver-Bladed Mattucashlass (hidden under the arm)

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Ceremonial

Attack: One-hand Edged

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 40-50

Durability: 100/100

Weight: 1.9 kg

Rucksack of Holding

Item Quality: Unique

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Back

Weight: 3 kg

*The bag is considerably larger on the inside than on the outside. It can hold up to a thousand pounds without ever exceeding four pounds of weight. The limit of items that can be placed inside the rucksack is only limited by the opening of the bag.

Beithir Hide Jodhpurs

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Legs

Defense: 500

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 5 kg

+25 Strength

+20 Stamina

+15 Spirit

-Plus 15% resistance to all Piercing Weapons.

-Plus 15% resistance to all Slashing Weapons.

-Plus 20% resistance to all Lightning Type of Elemental Air magic attacks.

-Plus 15% resistance to all Air, Fire, Earth, and Water Slashing/Piercing spells below level 45.

-Waterproof

*This item has been crafted from the rare hide of the World Boss Warptooth the Thunderstrike. Due to the Journeyman Leather Worker that worked the hide, many of the original resistances from the Elite Beithir's hide were transferred to the armor.

Beithir Hide-Gauntlets

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Hands

Defense: 200

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 1.05 kg

+5 Strength

+4 Stamina

+2 Spirit

-Plus 5% resistance to all Piercing Weapons. (Not Cumulative)

-Plus 5% resistance to all Slashing Weapons. (Not Cumulative)

-Plus 5% resistance to all Lightning Type of Elemental Air magic attacks.

-Plus 5% resistance to all Air, Fire, Earth, and Water Slashing/Piercing spells below level 45.

-Waterproof

*This item has been crafted from the rare hide of the World Boss Warptooth the Thunderstrike. Due to the Journeyman Leather Worker that worked the hide, many of the original resistances from the Elite Beithir's hide were transferred to the armor.

Girdle of Stone Giant's Fortitude

Item Quality: Epic

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Waist

Defense: 400

Weight: 2 kg

+60 Strength

+60 Stamina

Melmor Smelttoe was a Dwarf from the Smelttoe Clan captured by Mountain Trolls in the Dwarven Mountains and had all of the hair on his head burned off during the fighting. To his surprise, he was rescued by Stone Giants who took him in to be a part of their tribe, thinking that he was an injured baby giant. When it was discovered that he was not as strong as other Stone Giant children, his father crafted a magic girdle to give his adopted son the same fortitude and power as that of other Stone Giant children. Melmor Smelttoe was the only Dwarf to ever be friends with a Stone Giant tribe and was considered by some Dwarves to be a traitor to his species when he returned home to is Clan.

-Crafted from plates of brown granite and bound together with braided gray strands of Stone Giant hair. The large buckle in the middle is crafted into the shape of a hammer.

-Allows the wearer to speak, and write Jötunn, the language of giants.

-Allows wearer the ability to catch and throw stones like a Stone Giant.

-Temporary grants the wearer the universal hardiness of a Stone Giant. When activated, the wearer's Armor Class is increased by a thousand points, is immune to all poisons, elemental resistance is increased by fifty percent, and hit points are increased by two thousand. Duration is for five minutes. Can be triggered once every twenty-four hours.

BlackGuard Velvet Frock Coat

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted (Social)

Slot: Chest

Defense: 100

Armor Type: Very Light

Durability: 250/250

Weight: 2 kg

+35 Spirit

+35 Charisma

-The quality of this item gives the wearer a "Well Dressed" buff for eight hours.

Camouflage Mountain Great Kilt (Traditional)

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Accessory (Unique Overslot - Can be used over regular leg and chest armor)

Defense: 150

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 6 kg

-Plus 25% increase to Stealth in wooded areas.

-Plus 35% increase to Stealth in mountainous areas.

-Plus 15% increase to Stealth in darkness.

-Plus 50% resistance to effects from inclement weather.

Mountain Wool Wear Cap (Traditional)

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted (Social)

Slot: Head

Defense: 10

Armor Type: Very Light

Durability: 250/250

Weight: .3 kg

+5 Spirit

+5 Charisma

-The quality of this item increases the wearer's "Well Dressed" buff by one hour if they have it.

Gabhail-Anam Shrunken

(Nacario Deathreaver)

Number of Active Shrunken Slots: 1 of 5

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Unique

Location: Belt

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 0.3 kg

+10 Agility

*Captured soul fragment that’s active when displayed on outer clothing or armor.

*Adds an equal negative stat to the original owner whenever they fight against the Gabhail-Anam Shrunken’s owner. Can only be nullified by winning the fight and recapturing their lost head.

Gabhail-Anam Shrunken

(Xxnos Copexx)

Number of Active Shrunken Slots: 2 of 5

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Unique

Location: Belt

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 0.3 kg

+10 Agility

*Captured soul fragment that’s active when displayed on outer clothing or armor.

*Adds an equal negative stat to the original owner whenever they fight against the Gabhail-Anam Shrunken’s owner. Can only be nullified by winning the fight and recapturing their lost head.

Gabhail-Anam Shrunken

(Stannis Dickatheon)

Number of Active Shrunken Slots: 3 of 5

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Unique

Location: Belt

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 0.3 kg

+9 Agility

*Captured soul fragment that’s active when displayed on outer clothing or armor.

*Adds an equal negative stat to the original owner whenever they fight against the Gabhail-Anam Shrunken’s owner. Can only be nullified by winning the fight and recapturing their lost head.

Gabhail-Anam Shrunken

(Carebear Slayer)

Number of Active Shrunken Slots: 4 of 5

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Unique

Location: Belt

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 0.3 kg

+9 Agility

*Captured soul fragment that’s active when displayed on outer clothing or armor.

*Adds an equal negative stat to the original owner whenever they fight against the Gabhail-Anam Shrunken’s owner. Can only be nullified by winning the fight and recapturing their lost head.

Gabhail-Anam Shrunken

(Muhrder Piehole)

Number of Active Shrunken Slots: 5 of 5

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Unique

Location: Belt

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 0.3 kg

+9 Agility

*Captured soul fragment that’s active when displayed on outer clothing or armor.

*Adds an equal negative stat to the original owner whenever they fight against the Gabhail-Anam Shrunken’s owner. Can only be nullified by winning the fight and recapturing their lost head.

Spirit Lochaber of Chieftain Diongmhalta (Broken)

Item Quality: Epic

Item Type: Unique

Attack: two-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Halberd

Damage: 165-180 (+24)

Durability: 389/400

Weight: 13.5 kg

+21 (+8) Spirit

+21 (+8) Intelligence

+21 (+8) Charisma

-Soulbound on pickup.

- Spirit Lochaber of the House of Bruic Diongmhalta. The wielder of this halberd is the rightful owner of Blaidd Ogof Hold and the surrounding lands.

-Grants the owner the mastery of Spirit Shamanism along with all related spells and skills, including the ability to teach the profession of Spirit Shamanism to others.

-Renders lesser spirits such as ghosts, wraiths, spectre and etc. neutral and unable to attack first.

- This weapon is scalable. The weapon’s stats will increase as owner’s character grows in level.

Hand Axe of True Aim (2)

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Common

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Axe

Damage: 40-50*

Durability: 100/100

Weight: 4.3 kg

*True Aim means the hand axe will hit the targeted location only when thrown. Hand axes will automatically return to brace in five seconds.

Mountain Dwarven Bardiche

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: two-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Halberd

Damage: 135-145

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 16.5 kg

+30 Strength

+30 Stamina

-Knockback, knocks any Humanoid or smaller-sized target ten yards back when triggered upon a successful hit. Cooldown is five minutes.

-Rend, causes the target to bleed with every successful hit for an additional 30 points of damage for 5 seconds.

* Modified with a steel hook that can be used to dismount riders.

Beithir Hide Long-Sleeve Shirt

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest (under armor)

Defense: 600

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 4 kg

+15 Strength

+10 Stamina

+5 Spirit

-Plus 10% resistance to all Piercing Weapons.

-Plus 10% resistance to all Slashing Weapons.

-Plus 15% resistance to all Lightning Type of Elemental Air magic attacks.

-Plus 10% resistance to all Air, Fire, Earth, and Water Slashing/Piercing spells below level 45.

-Waterproof

*This item has been crafted from the rare hide of the World Boss Warptooth the Thunderstrike. Due to the Journeyman Leather Worker that worked the hide, many of the original resistances from the Elite Beithir's hide were transferred to the armor.

Beithir Scale Breast Plate

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest

Defense: 1200

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 300/300

Weight: 6 kg

+30 Strength

+25 Stamina

+20 Spirit

-Plus 25% resistance to all Piercing Weapons.

-Plus 25% resistance to all Slashing Weapons.

-Plus 30% resistance to all Lightning Type of Elemental Air magic attacks.

-Plus 25% resistance to all Air, Fire, Earth, and Water Slashing/Piercing spells below level 45.

-Waterproof

*This item has been crafted from the rare scales of the World Boss Warptooth the Thunderstrike. Due to the Adapt Smith that crafted this armor's scales, many of the original resistances from the Elite Beithir's hide were transferred to the armor.

Mountain Strider Horn

Item Quality: Epic

Item Type: Crafted

Durability: 400/400

Weight: 0.5 kg

Snaldrugret Orebuckle was a Dwarven adventure that spent most of her life wandering in the search of new ores for crafting. During one of her many adventures, she was traveling in the northern hinterlands of the far frozen wastes, when she was captured by Frost Giants. Instead of being slaughtered for sport, Snaldrugret was taken as a slave once it was discovered that she was a Dwarf. One day, during her many years of captivity, she ran into a herd of Mountain Striders while she was out gathering ore outside the capital city of Jötunheimr. The entire herd was trapped on the side of the mountain from a massive avalanche that had cut off their path to safety after angering a spiteful Frost Giant Princess who wanted the herd for her garden. Knowing her decision would mean death, Snaldrugret still chose to secretly clear a path along the side of the mountain so that the herd could escape its death sentence. Due to her selfless act of defiance, the lead stallion chose to offer its own life in service to free Snaldrugret from her own imprisonment which allowed her to return back to Aeroch Nor.

*Instantly calls a Mountain Strider mount to serve the owner of the horn. The Mountain Strider base speed is equal to that of a level one mount. The Mountain Strider can carry up to two humanoid individuals and comes with the following attacks: Bone Horn charge, fanged bite, front hoof strike, and rear hoof kick. Additionally, the owner of the horn can fight while mounted without any negative effects. Called Mountain Strider will return to horn if too much damage is taken. Mountain Strider can be recalled after a minute cooldown. The owner of the horn must be at least level 40 to call Mountain Strider.

*This item will scale with the owner’s level.

Description: A Mountain Strider looks to be a combination of a mountain goat and a plains horse. They have the special ability to climb like that of a mountain goat with a series of harden horns that travel from the forehead back to the base of the neck. While they have no mane, they do have a thick tuft of fur around the base of their neck that functions like natural armor against physical impacts and cold attacks.

Brutal Bearded Axe of Slaying

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Special

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Axe

Damage: 160-200

Durability: 157/200

Weight: 14 kg

+30 Stamina

+30 Agility

*Causes the target to bleed when hit for an additional 50 points of damage for 15 seconds.

*50% Chance on Hit of a limb to sever from the target.

*Increase wielder's movement and attack speed by one percent with each successful hit. The effect caps out at one hundred percent. This speed boost will end if a target has not been struck after thirty seconds.

Mountain Half-Calf Black Ghillie Brogue Boots with Silver Buttons (Traditional)

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted (Social)

Slot: Feet

Defense: 25

Armor Type: Very Light

Durability: 250/250

Weight: 2.5 kg

+10 Spirit

+10 Charisma

-The quality of this item increases the wearer's "Well Dressed" buff by two hours if they have it.

Patent Leather Belt with Cross-Shoulder Strap with Silver Buckles (Traditional)

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted (Social)

Slot: Waist

Defense: 15

Armor Type: Very Light

Durability: 250/250

Weight: 3.1 kg

+10 Spirit

+10 Charisma

-The quality of this item increases the wearer's "Well Dressed" buff by one hour if they have it.

Black Kilt Socks with Mountain Tartan Flash (Traditional)

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted (Social)

Slot: Feet

Defense: 0

Armor Type: Very Light

Durability: 250/250

Weight: .3 kg

+1 Spirit

+1 Charisma

-The quality of this item increases the wearer's "Well Dressed" buff by half an hour if they have it.

Arm Bands of the Wolf

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted

Location: Inventory

Durability: 250/250

Weight: 0.2 kg

+30 Agility

+10% increase to dodging ranged attacks.

+10% increase to evading melee attacks.

Torc of the Bear

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Neck

Weight: .04 kg

+30 Strength

Ring of the Wisdom

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+20 Spirit

Ring of the Stamina

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+25 Stamina

Ring of the Recovery

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .04 kg

+25 Spirit

Bright Claw’s Gear:

Mountain Watch Steel Bear Breast Plate with Pauldrons

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest

Defense: 800

Armor Type: Heavy

Durability: 175/200

Weight: 16 kg

+10 Strength

- Special Enchantment: Monstrous Vitality – gives plus 500 to max Hit Points.

Mountain Watch Steel Bear Helm

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest

Defense: 200

Armor Type: Heavy

Durability: 175/200

Weight: 12 kg

+10 Strength

- Special Enchantment: Dark Vision - Grants ability to see in dim-lighting conditions up to 100 yards and the ability to see in complete darkness up to 60 yards.

Mountain Watch Steel Bear Claws (4)

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: One-Hand Edge

Weapon Type: Claw (4)

Damage: 103-113 (x4)

Durability: 175/200

Weight: 6.5 kg

+10 Strength

- Special Enchantment: Adds 20 points of Bleed Damage to each slash for five seconds.

Mountain Watch Steel Bear Fangs (4)

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: Bite

Weapon Type: Piercing (4)

Damage: 207-212

Durability: 175/200

Weight: 2.5 kg

+4 Strength

- Special Enchantment: Adds 5 – 10 points of Piercing Damage to each bite.

Nahimana Tor’Narc’s Gear:

Toxic Chitin-Spiked Knuckles

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Unique

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 40-60

Durability: 250/250

Weight: 7 kg

+10 Stamina

+10 Agility

-Venomous Touch (Type: Poison) Target suffers a poisonous effect that slows movement and reaction speeds by 3% for thirty seconds on each successful strike or pierce against the target's dermis, scales, chitin, etc.

Light Brown Leather Pants

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Legs

Defense: 200

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 37/100

Weight: 1.3 kg

-Description – These leather pants are common to the Beast Kin clans and are well constructed.

Sturdy Dark Brown Leather Boots

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Common

Slot: Feet

Defense: 50

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 32/100

Weight: 1.07 kg

-Description – These boots are common to the Beast Kin clans and are well constructed basic boots.

Spittle-Strand Reinforced Chitin Belt

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Waist

Defense: 280

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: .8 kg

+15 Intelligence

+15 Spirit

*Friction Touch - Potions and equipment can be pressed to any part of the belt to be held in place.

-Once a day the belt will grow a spittle sack with a Lesser Antidote Potion.

Coarse Raw Wool Peasant Blouse

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: General Clothing

Defense: 0

Armor Type: None

Durability: 21/100

Weight: .3 kg

-Description – These raw woolen shirts are common to the Beast Kin clans and are well constructed.

Dark Brown Leather Vest

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest

Defense: 75

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 51/100

Weight: 2.4 kg

-Description – These leather vests are common to the Beast Kin clans and are well constructed.

Neristhana’s Gear

Neristhana Lightouch’s Gear:

Bag of Holding

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Uncommon

Weight: 2 kg

*The bag is considerably larger on the inside than on the outside. It can hold up to a thousand pounds without ever exceeding its two pounds of weight. The limit of items that can be placed inside the rucksack is only limited by the opening of the bag. Due to the nature of the item being a sack, it can be carried in the hand or placed in another bag or backpack as long as it's not another type of Bag, Pouch, or Rucksack of Holding.

Tharbolt’s Crossbow of Accuracy

Item Quality: Fine

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: Ranged

Weapon Type: Crossbow

Damage 110-130

Weight: 4.8 kg

Durability: 127/150

+40 Chance to Hit

+5 Agility

Geartrop’s Quiver of Unerring Bolts

Item Quality: Fine

-Allows up to one hundred bolts to be stored in quiver.

*These bolts will hit the designated target as long as the bolthead is within a fifteen-degree angle to the intended target.

-Bolts remaining: 67/100

+25 Agility

Light Beige Leather Leggings

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Legs

Defense: 300

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 189/250

Weight: 2.1 kg

+30 Agility

+30 Charisma

-These are stylish Gnome leggings that are usually worn by traders. They is resistant to punctures and slashes, reducing damage by such attacks by three percent.

-Water Resistant

Dark Brown Leather Thigh-High Boots of Speed

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Feet

Defense: 200

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 243/250

Weight: 1.2 kg

+25 Agility

+25 Charisma

-These are stylish Gnome boots that are commonly worn by sailors. They are resistant to punctures and slashes, reducing damage by such attacks by two percent.

-Water Resistant

Dark Brown Studded Leather Gloves

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Hands

Defense: 280

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 137/250

Weight: .8 kg

+10 Agility

+10 Charisma

-These are stylish studded leather gloves are commonly worn by melee fighters and sailors. They are resistant to punctures and slashes, reducing damage by such attacks by one percent.

-Water Resistant

Savage Hand-Axe of Maiming

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Special

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Axe

Damage: 160-200

Durability: 250/250

Weight: 14 kg

+40 Strength

+40 Stamina

*50% Chance on Hit of a limb to sever from the target.

Leeching Hand-Axe of Severing

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Axe

Damage: 130-160

Durability: 112/200

Weight: 12 kg

+20 Strength

+20 Stamina

*15% of damage inflicted recovered as health per successful strike.

Trade Captain’s Leather Crimson Frock Coat

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest

Defense: 400

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 157/250

Weight: 3.2 kg

+30 Agility

+30 Charisma

-This is a stylish Gnome coat with many pockets that is usually worn by traders. It is resistant to punctures and slashes, reducing damage by such attacks by five percent.

-Water resistant

Light Beige Leather Crop Top with Long Cuffed Sleeves

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest

Defense: 50

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 240/250

Weight: 1.2 kg

+5 Agility

+5 Charisma

-This is a stylish tight leather crop top.

Studded Dark Brown Leather Pauldrons of Defense

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest (Shoulders/Arms)

Defense: 350

Armor Type: Light

Durability: 83/250

Weight: 5.2 kg

+30 Agility

+30 Charisma

-These are stylish Gnome pauldrons that are commonly worn by melee fighters and sailors. They are resistant to punctures and slashes, reducing damage by such attacks by ten percent.

Amulet of Jumping

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Neck

Weight: .03 kg

Increases Jump skill by 200 skill points.

+30 Agility

Ring of Clear Thought

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .08 kg

+25 Spirit

Rogue Shank

Item Quality: Fine

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 67-87

Durability: 150/150

Weight: 14 kg

+20 Strength

+20 Stamina

*15% Chance to Crit on a successful strike.

Phoenix’s Gear

Phoenix Sonata’s Gear:

Vicious Blade of Rending

Item Quality: Uncommon

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Long Sword

Damage: 210-260

Durability: 252/300

Weight: 11 kg

+30 Strength

+30 Agility

-Rend, causes the target to bleed with every successful hit for an additional 25 points of damage for 15 seconds.

Savage Battle Axe of Slaying

Item Quality: Rare

Item Type: Unique

Attack: Two-Hand Edge

Weapon Type: Axe

Damage: 210-285

Durability: 340/360

Weight: 15 kg

+40 Strength

+40 Stamina

+40 Agility

-Rend, causes the target to bleed with every successful hit for an additional 25 points of damage for 15 seconds.

- This weapon is scalable. The weapon’s stats will increase as owner’s character grows in level.

Blade of Piercing

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: One-hand Edge

Weapon Type: Dagger

Damage: 60-80

Durability: 72/100

Weight: 2.1 kg

+5 Strength

+5 Agility

-Piercing Attack – Ignores 15% of armor class on a successful hit.

Red Coral Belt

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Waist

Defense: 280

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 197/200

Weight: 2 kg

+15 Agility

+5 Stamina

+5 Strength

-Resistance to elemental magic +5%

-Increase movement speed through water by 5%.

Red Coral Boots

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Feet

Defense: 260

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 5.07 kg

+15 Agility

+5 Stamina

+5 Strength

-Resistance to elemental magic +3%

-Increase movement speed through water by 3%.

Mithridatum's Amulet of Fortification

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Neck

Weight: .8 kg

Makes wearer immune to paralysis-type of poisons. Instead of being paralyzed, the wearer's movements are reduced by seventy-five percent.

Red Coral Breastplate with Pauldrons

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Chest

Defense: 800

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 12 kg

+25 Agility

+5 Stamina

+5 Strength

-Resistance to elemental magic +5%

-Increase movement speed through water by 5%.

Red Coral Skirt and Vambrace

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Legs

Defense: 700

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 9 kg

+25 Agility

+5 Stamina

+5 Strength

-Resistance to elemental magic +5%

-Increase movement speed through water by 5%.

Red Coral Gauntlets

Item Quality: Superior

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Hands

Defense: 280

Armor Type: Medium

Durability: 200/200

Weight: 1.28 kg

+10 Agility

+3 Stamina

+3 Strength

-Resistance to elemental magic +2%

-Increase movement speed through water by 2%.

Short Bow of the Plains

Item Quality: Fine

Item Type: Crafted

Attack: Ranged

Weapon Type: Bow

Damage 60-80

Weight: 4.0 kg

Durability: 143/150

+20 Piercing

+10 Strength

+10 Agility

Hunter’s Quiver of Unending Arrows

Item Quality: Fine

-Allows up to 100 arrows to be stored in quiver. Takes a day to restore used arrows.

Töten Feinde’s Gear

Töten Feinde’s Gear:

Imbued Heavy Bronze Demonic Belt

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted by Töten Feinde

Slot: Feet

Defense: 300

Armor Type: Heavy

Durability: 231/250

Weight: 4.4 kg

+15 Strength

+15 Stamina

-Resistant to elemental magic +5%

- Infernal Armor Set Bonus - Chance for a rare magic item to drop from enemy increased by 3%.

*This item has been quenched in Orc blood during its creation which has imbued the essence of the demi-humans into the metal.

*Warning: This item design is based on the Infernal Armor Set. Due to inferior resources used in the item’s creation, many of the default bonuses and buffs are missing.

Imbued Heavy Bronze Demonic Visage Heater

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted by Töten Feinde

Armor: 3860

Armor Type: Heavy

Durability: 80/250

Weight: 22.3 kg

+25 Strength

+25 Stamina

-52% increase chance to block.

-Resistance to elemental magic +5%

- Infernal Armor Set Bonus - Reduces attackers’ morale by 2%.

*This item has been quenched in Orc blood during its creation which has imbued the essence of the demi-humans into the metal.

*Warning: This item design is based on the Infernal Armor Set. Due to inferior resources used in the item’s creation, many of the default bonuses and buffs are missing.

“Last Rites” Abyssal War Hammer

Item Quality: Epic

Item Type: Unique

Attack: Two-Hand Blunt

Weapon Type: Hammer

Damage: 280-300

Durability: 400/400

Weight: 18.5 kg

+56 Strength

+56 Spirit

+56 Stamina

-Soulbound on pickup.

- “Last Rites” Abyssal War Hammer of the House of Muspelheim. The wielder of this War Hammer is the rightful owner of Fortress of Mund-spilli and the surrounding lands.

-Grants the owner the abyssal mastery of Anti-Paladin magic along with all related spells and skills, including the ability to teach the profession to others.

-Renders all abyssal denizens’ aggression to that of what it would be to a full-blooded Oni.

-Upon being thrown, this weapon will automatically be return to owner after three seconds.

- This weapon is scalable. The weapon’s stats will increase as owner’s character grows in level.

Imbued Heavy Bronze War Hammer

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted by Töten Feinde

Attack: One-Hand Blunt

Weapon Type: Hammer

Damage: 250-270

Durability: 237/250

Weight: 18.5 kg

+30 Strength

+30 Stamina

-Resistant to elemental magic 5%

-Upon being thrown, this weapon will automatically be return to owner after three seconds.

*This item has been quenched in Orc blood during its creation which has imbued the essence of the demi-humans into the metal.

*Warning: This item design is based on an Infernal Weapon design. Due to inferior resources used in the item’s creation, many of the default bonuses and buffs are missing.

Amulet of Regeneration

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: 1.09 kg

+500 Hit Points

*Automatically regenerates fifty points of health every five seconds.

Iron Band of the Conquer

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .06 kg

+30 Stamina

*Adds plus 25 bleed damage to all melee attacks.

Orc Shaman Savage Band of Mana

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .18 kg

+400 Mana

*Restores plus forty points of mana while in combat.

Ring of Ogre Strength

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .27 kg

+80 Strength

Ring of the Frost Shrieker

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Ring

Weight: .3 kg

*Imbues wearer with 15% Frost Resistance.

Imbued Heavy Bronze Demonic Head Breastplate with Pauldrons and Vambraces

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted by Töten Feinde

Slot: Chest

Defense: 1300

Armor Type: Heavy

Durability: 130/250

Weight: 25 kg

+35 Strength

+35 Stamina

-Resistant to elemental magic +2%

- Infernal Armor Set Bonus - Reduces attackers’ morale by .7%.

*This item has been quenched in Orc blood during its creation which has imbued the essence of the demi-humans into the metal.

*Warning: This item design is based on the Infernal Armor Set. Due to inferior resources used in the item’s creation, many of the default bonuses and buffs are missing.

Imbued Heavy Bronze Helm of Demonic Visage

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted by Töten Feinde

Slot: Head

Defense: 400

Armor Type: Heavy

Durability: 180/250

Weight: 5.7 kg

+5 Strength

+5 Stamina

-Resistant to elemental magic +2%

- Infernal Armor Set Bonus - Reduces attackers’ morale by .3%.

*This item has been quenched in Orc blood during its creation which has imbued the essence of the demi-humans into the metal.

*Warning: This item design is based on the Infernal Armor Set. Due to inferior resources used in the item’s creation, many of the default bonuses and buffs are missing.

Imbued Heavy Bronze Demonic Cuisses with Greaves

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted by Töten Feinde

Slot: Legs

Defense: 900

Armor Type: Heavy

Durability: 161/250

Weight: 14.3 kg

+35 Strength

+35 Stamina

-Resistant to elemental magic +3%

- Infernal Armor Set Bonus - Reduces chance to be Knocked Down by an enemy opponent by 2%.

*This item has been quenched in Orc blood during its creation which has imbued the essence of the demi-humans into the metal.

*Warning: This item design is based on the Infernal Armor Set. Due to inferior resources used in the item’s creation, many of the default bonuses and buffs are missing.

Imbued Heavy Bronze Demonic Boots

Item Quality: Exceptional

Item Type: Crafted by Töten Feinde

Slot: Feet

Defense: 350

Armor Type: Heavy

Durability: 218/250

Weight: 14.3 kg

+10 Strength

+10 Stamina

-Resistant to elemental magic 2%

- Infernal Armor Set Bonus - Roots and other movement restrictive effects reduced by 50%.

*This item has been quenched in Orc blood during its creation which has imbued the essence of the demi-humans into the metal.

*Warning: This item design is based on the Infernal Armor Set. Due to inferior resources used in the item’s creation, many of the default bonuses and buffs are missing.

Handy Haversack

Item Quality: Unique

Item Type: Uncommon

Slot: Back

Weight: 4 kg

*The bag is considerably larger on the inside than on the outside. It can hold up to a thousand pounds without ever exceeding four pounds of weight. The limit of items that can be placed inside the rucksack is only limited by the opening of the bag.

Minor Bronze Band of Leeching

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Ring

Weight: .09 kg

*Leeches 25 points of health per second for five seconds on each successful strike.

Band of the Bear

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Crafted

Slot: Ring

Weight: .31 kg

+20 Strength

+20 Stamina

Band of the Wolf

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Crafted by Töten Feinde

Slot: Ring

Weight: .03 kg

+20 Agility

+20 Stamina

Bronze Ring of Magic Protection

Item Quality: Good

Item Type: Crafted by Töten Feinde

Slot: Ring

Weight: .21 kg

*Reduces all magic attacks taken by fifty points.

Character List

In-real-life People and Friends

Aegis Karrath: Kenneth (Julie’s boyfriend), Florida, Human, Warrior – male –

Akrix Ragen: Level 44, AJ, Florida, Dwarf Warrior – male – Florida, bald headed, short dark-brown beard, hazel eyes, 5’4” tall in-game, wide muscular shoulders. IRL he’s a bald head, brown eyes, 5’5”, big smile, shit talker, a little on the heavy side and dating Jill with regular threesomes with Krystal. He wore a heavy chain mail coat, leather armor pants with iron thighs-guards, knee-high iron-toe boots, and matching shin guards. And if that wasn’t enough, more plates of iron covered the chest and back to increase the chain mail’s protection. On top of that, he wore an ornate leather vest and a Viking-style iron helm with an eyes and nose guard. His weapons of choice was a kite shield that was almost as long as he was tall and an oversized hand axe. His manifest flying squirrel is named Shorty and was colored like a brown chipmunk. Combat Pet: Elite Earth Shock Wolf Brutus.

Anthony: male waiter at The Boynton Beach Ale House.

Aren Dargoth: LittleAsianGirl, LAN Party, Female Wolfkin, Fire Mage/Priest, male

Brenda: Waitress at The Gun Club Café

Bonnie Smash:Level 45 Bonnie Jean, Half-Orc Dark Elf –female - DPS Warrior, West Virginia, dark-brown shoulder length hair, green eyes, 6’6” in-game height, Grayish-black skin. IRL she’s a petite 5’ tall girl, gamer, likes to joke around and have a good time, interested in Hefe. Long-brown hair, green eyes and super thin. (Pookey Bear, Honey Bear and shnukums). Combat pet: Elite Molten Flow Strider, named Lava.

Daiza Karrath: John, Florida, Human, Warrior – male – cheated on Julie while we were dating,

Death Forall: Trivolt, LAN Party, Hacker, Human, Fire Mage – male (nightmare)

Denise: Regular inside bartender for the Boynton Beach Ale House.

Töten Feinde: Eric Quinn, Level 50, Half-Oni (Oni/Fire Giant), red cat-eyes, bronze skin, short-cropped red hair (ginger), full red beard with dual braids, 8’ tall. (Usually fire giants have red eyes and black skin.) two-handed war hammer is named Last Rites. Demon-head imprinted in the breast plate with ornate fang demon faces designed into the gauntlets. Father was a Fire Giant and mother was an Oni. Summoned Nightmare stead is named Lilin (abyssal flames attack from nostrils). She has a special ability called Expunge where she blows up in a fiery blast. House of Muspelheim, Fortress of Mund-spilli. (DOA) Disciples of Armageddon. Nightmare expelled dual jets of Abyssal Flames.

Fluffy Tomohiahya: Danielle, (Danny) Virginia, Human, Hunter – female, bear pet, Large Rock Bear

Hefe Beatudown: Level 44 Jeff (Hefe), Barbarian – male – Gnome, long-blond hair and matching goatee, blue eyes, 3’6”, muscular build. Florida, brown hair, buzz cut, clean shaven, blue eyes, 6’4”, large man with a natural muscular build, goofball, nice guy, shit talker, interested in Bonnie Jean. (Pookey Bear, Honey Bear and shnukums), Giant Spider Pet is called Webby. Small buckler shields on each forearm and katar-punch daggers in each hand. Leather armor. Combat Pet: Elite Earth Shock Wolf: Wolfy

Jelly Dman: JellyDonutMan, LAN party, Human, Fire Mage – male (nightmare)

Kim: Outside bartender at the Boynton Beach Ale House.

Kriminali Ragen: Level 45 FF, Florida, Dark Elf Arcane Mage – female – Jill, Florida, long-black dreads, black-skin, hazel eyes, stacked, 5’6. Wears heavy wool robes with leather pads and leather knee-high boots. Out of game wavy brown hair, hazel eyes, 5’6”, early twenties, gamer, sarcastic humor, has healthy curves, and is dating AJ. Sometimes does threesomes with Krystal, and AJ. Combat Pet: Wildclaw named Fang.

Laura: New bartender for the inside bar at the Boynton Beach Ale House.

Lena Stonehammer: Kitty, Texas, Dwarf, Priestess – female

Lora Lyn: Twitch Video Technician – female

Marge: Hostess at The Gun Club Café

Mike Eyedol: Mike, Florida, Half-Human/Dark Elf Shadow Assassin, Nightmare start, friend of Jason’s

Nuthar Inurface: Jimmy, Florida, Gnome, Priest / Bruiser - male

Philip Moore: Twitch Account Rep – male

Phoenix Sonata: Level 53 - Barbarian – Human female - red long hair and green eyes. Stands 6’2” with long legs and C cup. Wears knee-high leather boots, leather combat skirt, chain-mail vest with black leather armor underneath, arms are bare, and wears a black hooded cloak. IRL name is Matt. Large man, heavy set, 6'2" tall with red hair. Easy going personality and loyal to friends. Uses a two-handed battle axe with red armor. Flying Squirrel’s name is Eterna with red and black fur. (was kissing a Wolfkin named Eza in Darom in book 4)

Rain Maker: John Fay, LAN party, Human, Warrior/Priest – male

Rinaquenon Karrath: Julie (John’s daughter), Florida, Human, Fire Mage – female

Runartin Stonehammer: Glen, Texas, Dwarf, Warrior – male

Sarka Dazd: Level 45, Florida, Light Elf Warrior – female, Combat Pet named Freya and is an Elite Fanged Tarpan Strider. (Her NPC group is called Sarka Avengers)

Seb Chutzpah: Seb, LAN Party – male

Shirley: Local cashier girl at Publix, ex-cheer leader.

Tatheirel Irlanthien: Level 45 Krystal, Florida, Dark Elf Priestess – female – wavy long-white hair, blue eyes, Florida, long blonde hair, blue eyes, stacked figure, sweet personality, semi-threesome relationship with Jill and AJ, hardcore gamer. Combat Pet: Twin-Tailed Fox named Silver.

Tanya: Waitress at the City Café Diner in Chattanooga Tennessee.

Terry: Local bag girl at Publix. Gamer-Girl, just turned eighteen, and wants to one of the new pods for the summer.

Tinyr Nebril: Kevin, Charlotte, North Carolina, Level 45, Light Elf Rogue, male. Picked up combat pet: Elite Fanged Tarpan Strider named Arashi

Tony Tomohiahya: Anthony, Virginia, Human, Hunter, male, bear pet. Large Rock Bear

Unalia Nebril: Shannon, Charlotte, North Carolina, Level 45, Light Elf Ranger, female. Combat Pet: Elite Large Rock Wolves named Rex - silver quartz color.

Uthgaart Nightbane: Tony Lupus, Florida, Wolf Totem Barbarian Black Smith

Vengeance Burnslinger: Domenic, Florida, Paladin, Nightmare start, friend of Jason’s, Dwarf/Human Halfling. In game: 5'8 dark brown hair shoulder-length hair (Looks like Kili the Dwarf from The Hobit) and almond colored eyes, Pounce: Level (Same as Player) Male – Blink Lynx cat companion + eventually a mount.

Yun Dazd: Level 45, Florida, Light Elf Priest/Frost Mage, male – wavy brown hair, blue eyes, muscular build, clean shaven face, and 6’2”. Picked up combat pet: Elite Large Rock Wolf named Odr, black color.

Zilla Killer: Zilla, LAN Party – male

Dread Herd

Shadowspike the Dreadmare Matriarch – Level 61 – Mare -

Zror – Lead Dread Stallion of group with Ashley – Level 31

Rend - Dread Stallion – Level 31

Onyx - Dread Mare – Level 31

Shar Dread Mare – Level 31

Cora - Dread Mare – Level 31

House of Tuin’Dyrr from Duraddor Fortress, guild leader is called Head of Midnight or (shade = small raid / 185 members/ 4 NPC House Officers aka Sub-Leaders)

Mike Eyedol: Level 48, Mike, Florida, Half-Human/Dark Elf - Shadow Assassin, Nightmare start, friend of Jason’s, Guild Leader of House of Tuin’Dyrr, gray-blue eyes.

Uglorn Chuzedros: Level 42, Dark Elf, House Officer, Shadow Assassin, Sub-Leader of ambush group – female - black coarse hair in a crisscross short-braid cornrows, piercing green eyes, 6’2”, with a thick muscular body, paralytic poisons, bow, dual short swords and daggers. (Snuck into Domenic’s base to help us reach Dom to talk.)

Dhinzur Zuvnabod: Level 46, Dark Elf, House Officer, Shadow Assassin, Sub-Leader of main hunting group – male – bald head, dark-brown eyes, short goatee, 6’1”, slim muscular body, paralytic poisons, bow, dual short swords and daggers. (Job is to spawn camp the runners heading back to the battle field.)

Ruirze Keeshrer: Shadow Assassin that nearly shoots Tengsly.

Merodve Zisebil: Level 46, Dark Elf, House Office, Shadow Assassin, Sub-Leader of southern graveyard group – male,

Sardren Pevnuth: Level 46, Dark Elf, House Office, Shadow Assassin, Sub-Leader of eastern graveyard group – female, bald-headed, silvery-blue eyes. (nearly attacks Stars group with her raid due to Helgath and Fylreh)

Diothraid Ghemrah: Level 50, female, Dark Elf, Group Leader under Sub Leader Pevnuth,

Qhudromo Iarviagod: Level 45, male, Dark Elf, Group Leader under Sub Leader Pevnuth,

Nekzurn Vustrai: Level 45, female, Dark Elf, Group Leader under Sub Leader Pevnuth,

Plain’s Centaur Tribe

Drenall Iloxoeis: Level 40 Centaur Tribal Clan Leader – male - One of two surviving Clan Leaders – kind of a muscle dick when we first met – palomino coat – gray-white hair – pale blue eyes, golden-blonde hair, massive two-handed iron-shod staff, iron shield sheath of javelins on his back – early 30’s

Fylreh Ilyrall: Level 50 Centauride Chieftain’s Daughter – female - oldest daughter of Chieftain – Filly (aka unmarried – not a mare) – chestnut hair and coat, golden eyes, stacked – early twenties – long bow and dual scimitars with an iron-shod shield on back. Arbitrator. Reminded me of young Lagertha from Vikings. Father is Darrix Ilyrall. Combat Pet: Elite Earth Shock Wolf Rocky. Skirmisher Class.

Darrix Ilyrall: Chieftain of Clan Ilyrall, dead from worm that attacked Star in book 4 during a raid to rescue captured centaurs from the Orcs.

Naamro Xlantu: Level 39 Centauride Mystic Shaman (air & spirit) – female - Overo coat (jagged white and brown patches reaches half way up human abdomen) milf in mid-30’s, a little touched, shock of white long hair with a black lock running down the center, gray eyes, two-handed bone staff crafted from the spine of a battering ram (topped with the glowing blue eye sockets of sapphire and the skulls horns that create duel points like a spear) with three feathers hanging from the base of the skull colored green, blue and red. The bottom of the staff flared out in a weighted base with two blade-like protrusions. Staff was extremely ornate and carved with battle scenes of great beasts that the tribe had fought.

Pevral Dubrankm: Level 40 Centaur Tribal Clan Leader – male - Two of two surviving Clan Leaders – more thoughtful – tells Drenall to stand down and hear the Halfling through – bay coat (mixture of reds and browns with black highlights) – black hair, onyx-black eyes, powerful bow, scimitars and iron shield, with lance – gruff forty-year-old.

Tavon Ilyrall (Brat Pack): Level 25 Centaur Chieftain’s Son – male - youngest son of the Chieftain – blue roan coat, black hair and highlights – golden eyes – iron-wood staff and long bow, leather armor – 14-year-old. Like Ragnar son, Ivar the Boneless. Kopy-Katze, Silver Jolie (blue eyes).

Demaros: male – helping with construction.

Nikeall: male – helping with construction.

Hyraia: female – helping with construction.

Isonice: female – helping with construction.

Pherala Dubrankm: Centauride – Scout with Forrest Gimp and Vector for the Hobgoblin army. A member of the Dubrankm Tribe.

Iolia Xlantu: Level 45 Centauride, Advanced Smith and Smelter,

Semelle Ilyrall – Level 46 Centauride, Heavy Archer, Cook, dark brown hair in a long ponytail, Sabino coat (dark roan-colored back and flanks with bright white hooves and belly) dusty olive skin, green eyes, dame, mid-twenties, excellent cook.

Metite Ilyrall – Level 16 Centauride teenager, Piebald Tobiano colored (dark roan and white spots), and assisting in waiting tables.

Gnomeron Mining Company

Gafiz Quaros: Gnome Digger – male

Minny Bigrirry: Gnome Assistant Lead Digger – female, brown hair in pig tails on either side of her head, green eyes, friendly and super talkative, wields dagger and pickaxe, miner. Says hot diggity dog damn. Nickname little mouse.

Spog Addreonnyn: Gnome Lead Digger – male

Zafnit Rosadqua: Gnome Digger – male

Smorbist Clanzbig: Journeyman Gnome Miner and Smelter, Level 36 male, gruff, gray hair,

Deloneshire Town NPCs

Calada Thrilmadien: Light Elf Calada Metal Smithing – male

Dalilath Traovudd: Light Elf Sergeant of the Guard, Swordsman – male

Elal Throlad: Light Elf The White Unicorn Inn Keeper – male

Faelivrin Elayoe: Light Elf Faelivrin’s Alchemy Emporium – female

Folduin Naevyre: Light Elf Mayor’s Magister – male

Garang Ralith: Light Elf Guild Master – male

Ines Eruaistaniel: Light Elf Priestess of Light – old female

Master Isundir: Light Elf Master Frost Mage - male

Miya Faelwen: (level 42 book 7) Light Elf Captain of the Guard, Swordswoman – female - emerald-green eyes, long blonde hair, stacked-figure

Nettya Timiniel: Light Elf The White Unicorn Bartender/Server – female

Obeteliol Filmalad: Light Elf Frost Mage Apprentice Trainer

Rathal Faeberos: Light Elf Mayor of Delonshire – male

Tardo Ibohanydd: Light Elf Corporal of the Guard, Swordsman – male

Tion Solarian: Light Elf Solarian’s Enchanting Boutique – male

Urael Andelmore: Light Elf The White Unicorn Waitress – female

Devil Dog Guild (Most come from Nebraska / Central Time Zone)

Jerome Thompson: Level 50 Light Elf Priest – male – short spiked brown hair, hazel eyes, kind clean-shaven face, fit muscular build standing at 6’1”. Combat Pet: Twin-Tailed Fox female fox named Yuki. Thompson surprisingly enough ended up looting a talisman that turned him into a Great White shark for thirty seconds that put his damage output in the water through the roof. Somewhat similar to my Talisman of Yeenoktu.

Kenzie McMillan: Level 50 Light Elf Rogue – female – black shoulder-length hair, green eyes, golden tanned skin, 5’4”. IRL: Wounded warrior, missing right leg and about 20% of her skin on her right side. Scarred on right side of facing/skull. Tiger-stripped (black/charcoal gray) flying squirrel named Nightblade. Wildclaw combat pet named female Hanekawa. Wields duel short swords or long sword and dagger.

Matt Cobra: Level 50 Light Elf Warrior – male, Wildclaw combat pet male named Zuma

Matt Darkhorse: Level 50 Light Elf Rogue – male - Combat Pet: Twin-Tailed Fox female fox named Inari

Sara Cruise: Level 50 Light Elf Frost Mage – female, Combat Pet: Elite Grizzly Bear cub Flowers.

Terry Cobra: Level 50 Light Elf Warrior – female, Wildclaw combat female pet named Astra

Thomas Anderson: Level 50 Light Elf Warrior, Guild Leader – male – bald head – brilliant blue eyes, tanned skin, 6’4”. IRL: Gunny Sergeant, Wounded warrior, 80% burns on his body from an IED, missing both legs from the knees down. Midnight-black flying Squirrel named Blackhawk. Combat Pet: Meatball (Elite Crown-Bladed Eurasian Elk with granite bladed horns and stone-skin)

Zhou Li: Level 50 Light Elf Rogue – female, American-Japanese, 5’2” IRL, Combat Pet: Wildclaw combat pet named Blair

Orion Prakoli: Level 39 - Fire Mage/Martial Artist - (focuses on unarmed combat) – Light Elf male – brown short-cut hair, brown beard and mustache, blue eyes, 6’ even. Enjoys engineering and crafting. Miner, but not herbs or gathering. Combat Marine corpsman. Katar punch-daggers. Was the door gunner on a Ch46. Unit was HMM 268, aka the Red Dragons. Later on, uses Air Shamanism with Fire Magic and martial arts as an Elemental Martial Artist. (Or-re is Minny’s nickname for him.) Ex-Rachael, Chris Ell. “Wind Wave Blast!” (not “Wave Motion Fist” from Street Fighter)

Zyphonn Padaedus: Level 36 - Rogue/Frost Mage – Light Elf male - IRL Alek Truitt, ATSC is Egress, (now contracting) marines have fun giving him a hard time, (assassin or mage)

Blu3buck (Buck) Zackary: Level 34 - Ranger/Priest—Light Elf male – dirty-blond hair, hazel eyes – 5’8” - goatee, IRl name Zackary Boyd Buchanan, Nice guy, fits in easily with everyone. If pushed around, he can snap. Play’s Priest/Ranger combo. Doesn't drink. Designated driver. Married with a wife that doesn't like him gaming too much while he's trying to make money from gaming and bitches about it. Marine, worked as crew chief on copper with Orion. Has hots for Ashley who he met at the local VA hospital.

Killtet Duchenson: Level 39 – Rogue/Ranger – Light Elf male - IRL name Daniel (nickname Danny) Cook, Murderhobo rogue. Nature Chaotic Neutral, Dual Blades, short Swords, steals everything in sight, getting the party into trouble and making the party leader have to use diplomacy to get him and the party out of trouble. Army, cav scout, husband of Ashley. 6’, brown hair, almond eyes.

Ashley Duchenson: Level 38 - Warrior/Priest – Light Elf female - IRL name Nicole Cook, wife of Killtet, Army Reserves, support for cav scout First Sergeant, Defensive - uses long sword and kite shield. 5'6", sandy blonde hair, blue eyes. Works hard to keep her husband out of trouble.

Matt Mellon: Level 36 - Barbarian – Light Elf male - uses dual hand-axes or two-handed great axe, tall and thin, buzz cut brown hair, blue eyes. Marine.

Shelly Marie: Level 36 - Priest/Fire mage – Light Elf female - uses staff, short, light brown hair, hazel eyes, Marine (combat medic)

Marina Heart: Level 36 - Ranger/Priest – Light Elf female - bow and long sword/dagger, short, black hair, green eyes, Marine (ex helicopter pilot)

Allen Hiser: Level 36 – DPS Warrior – Light Elf male - David Hiserman, Walrus Mustache, 6‘1“, black hair, dark-brown eyes, that uses a two-handed sword and bow sometimes, Marine (ex helicopter gunner).

Daiki Musashi: Level 36 – Fire Mage / Priest – Light Elf male - IRL: Daiki Ono

Austin Montoya: Level 36 – DPS Warrior/Rogue – Light Elf male - Long and short sword, dual wielding, announces attacks like Death Strike, irl name Berry: Austin Mayberry Smart Ass extraordinaire that spouts a bunch of useless facts, kind of geeky. Saying 1: Hard to breathe when your throat is laying at your feet. Saying 2: You didn't need that arm anyways, you have another. Recently finished tour with the Navy and is now in college. Hates bullies and can have a sharp tongue. Also, good scrapper.

Santaz Krew: Level 36 – Frost Mage / Ranger – Light Elf male - IRL name Micah Sauer, active Navy on is the USS Ralph Johnson. I have blue eyes with green rings around my pupils and Rimrock, Arizona for the town and state.

Vector Fisher: Level 37 - Frost Mage / Warrior / Priest – Light Elf male - IRL name Keith Jennings. Still in the reserves. Spiked Mace and shield. Entered into the Army as active duty in Oct 2007, deployed to Iraq with the 1st Cav Jan ‘09 - Jan ‘10, my ETS was Oct 2014, and went straight into the reserves where I’m still a medic in the MP Company on the West Coast.

(Hobgoblin Scout) Forrest Gimp: Level 45 - Class: Ranger (focus on pets) wants to learn enchanting and weapon smithing, has long bow, dagger, and fiery long sword, and like Star loves pet combat but will fight to keep animals alive and safe. (Carries body of BMF double-barrel Hollysharp special with 50 round clip of bolts) Main pet: White Plain’s Wolf Bishop with green eyes (my IRL white German Shepard) although I have a small pack of them and a pit/jack Russell mix, 5’ 10” green eyes half/elf, Loner keeps to his pet stealth everywhere even in camp. Despises bullies and animal cruelty. Will do what it takes to save and protect those he cares about even to his own end. IRL name is: Tony McDonald. Scouting Hobgoblins. (Designed the BMF Double-Barrel Hollysharp Special) Also developed the Spear Fence. Pherala Centauride was traveling with them. Academy of Technomancy graduate.

(Hobgoblin Scout) Connor Mac: Level 47 - Warrior / Natural Druid / Hunter (Mix of Ranger and Druid abilities) – (carries tripod, hammer, stakes, and ammunition for extra-large double-barrel Hollysharp special), daggers (throwing and non-throwing), Shield and large bladed hand axe, - Connor in Gaelic means Concobar, meaning hound lover...which is fitting as I have a large Celtic cross surrounded by the hounds of war (it would be cool to incorporate that as a summoning spell for support pets?) IRL name Dennis Rooney (married to Amber) Service History: I spent 20 years as an infantryman and deployed 6 times, 3 to Afghanistan and 3 to Iraq. Over the course of all deployments, I was in one IED strike and multiple IDF attacks as well as numerous direct fire engagements. On my last deployment I was a Platoon Sergeant responsible for 40 other individuals. Preferred gaming fighting style is a bastard sword and Shield with a backup axe for my shield hand. I prefer a predominantly warrior build with some ranger/assassin/ambush styles to open up my fights. In Game appearance: 6'4" 230lbs of muscle with close cropped hair and full beard.  Preferably dressed in kilt and enchanted leather armor. Scouting Hobgoblins. Level 30 - Wraith Hounds (was from a pack of wild hounds) names: Ankou- God of death (longest dead and the pack leader of the group), Herne- God of the Hunt, Eammon- The hidden one, Torin- chieftain, Cormac- Legendary Irish king. (removed Gallagher- Eager helper- because there are only five) Pherala Centauride was traveling with them. Level 27 book 8.

(meets up in Delonshire with Jodi and Zeppy’s Heroes)

Tumms Darkbrew: Level 37 Light Elf (looks as if someone were trying to make a Light Elf look like a Dwarf), Priest- staff wielder, 5’2”, brown beard, wavy short brown hair, green eyes, prefers close combat over ranged when forced to fight, but would rather be planning and coordinating logistics. I'm flexible on the class, but prefer support classes.  Learning to enchant equipment. Expert logistician and easy-going guy, gets along with pretty much everyone. In game, bald with a long red beard. IRL name: Steve Gulick, Navy Supply Officer. Married to a girl from Philippines that he met while stationed in the Pacific. Plays mostly early morning and when he can sneak some time in.

Andy Murphy:

Zeppy’s Heroes (subdivision of Devil Dogs-20 in all) (mostly dress the same – brown leathers over chain mail, brown cloaks)

(meets up in Delonshire with Jodi and Zeppy’s Heroes) Grody Gotti: level 38, Rogue, Half-Troll (Light Elf-Troll), female (extremely thick and muscular, light-gray skin, bald head, saggy breasts and large belly, ugly face, large hooked nose, ape-like arms, red eyes) 6’7”, uses hand axes, IRL name John Weaver, male, 22 years Military Police, 26 years retired Police.

(meets up in Delonshire with Jodi and Zeppy’s Heroes) Zeppy Blau: level 38, Ranger Assassin, Light Elf (older looking-short cropped brown-hair), no beard, gray eyes, 6’3”, longsword and dagger or short bow, great at taking down castles IRL: Mark Zeppy, retired military police/and cop, slight narcissistic

(meets up in Delonshire with Jodi and Zeppy’s Heroes) Lylar Sierra: level 38 Priest / Ranger, male Light Elf, short cropped blonde hair, blue eyes, 6’1”, chainmail, shield, spiked mace, IRL name: Ron S - . Healer type player. Retired cop (he actually had to go out on a medical after he got hit by a drunk driver and it broke his back)

(meets up in Delonshire with Jodi and Zeppy’s Heroes) Sun Beam (Sunny): level 38 Essence Shaman, vine staff that ends in flower, blonde long hair, 5’8”, light blue eyes, IRL name: Vicki S (enter a happy hippy name), she always changed it. Ron’s wife. Healer usually Druid type with CC too. She is a cop too.

(meets up in Delonshire with Jodi and Zeppy’s Heroes) Warduke Notintheface: level 38 DPS Tank, 5’11”, brown hair, brown eyes, built like a brick house, IRL name: Rick H -.. tank or high dps. Current cop, military vet Air Force (friends give him shit for being so girthy)

(meets up in Delonshire with Jodi and Zeppy’s Heroes) Pheyed Toblack: level 38 Rogue/Ranger, 5’8”, black hair, blue eyes, scruffy stubble. IRL Name: Darren B.    Cop and military vet (Army)

(meets up in Delonshire with Jodi and Zeppy’s Heroes) ChopU Ginsu: level 38 Monk DPS Warrior, 6’5”, black hair, brown eyes, clean shaven IRL name: Don M.  like monk types or duel wield tanks. Cop

The Revenants:

Jodi Tempest: level 37, Ranger/Priest, Light Elf female, 5’9”, honey-brown mid-length hair, green eyes, and a slim compact figure. Thomas IRL sister. At his request, I invited her into the guild since she didn’t meet the DD requirements. Dark brown, straight-cut hair just below the shoulders, hazel eyes, 5’6”. Skilled in Exotic Animal Husbandry and Beast Taming skill, spears and shield, dual daggers (Legolas style), and a bow. Ranger/Priest, Light Elf. 38 Charisma. Has a snow-white Blink Lynx for a pet named Fiona with golden eyes (also necklace that causes freeze bonus to attacks), secondary combat pet named Blasto – an Elite Pyro Spitter (brown with darker streaks down its back, black nose, and golden eyes.) Married to John. Combat Mount is an Elite Battering Ram called Basher.

The Valkyrie Guild (39 players in all/talked about this in Elusive Prey)

Demonslayerz Valkyrie: Level 41 - Light Elf Warrior – male – second group leader & boyfriend of Lorelai.

Jorgen Valkyrie: Level 41 Light Elf Warrior – male –.

Ultra Valkyrie: Level 41 - Light Elf Warrior – male -

Julianna Valkyrie: Level 41 - Light Elf Frost Mage – female

Kyarina Valkyrie: Level 42 - Light Elf Priest – female - shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair, hazel eyes. PVP expert. Husband is Vardrid. Met at Delonshire Mine entrance that speaks up against Snufu for our group. Wife of Vardrid. Says hot diggity dog damn.

Lorelai Valkyrie: Level 42 - Light Elf Priest – female - Demonslayerz girlfriend

Lylirra Valkyrie: Level 41 - Light Elf Frost Mage – female, Jorgen’s girlfriend.

Torlandro Valkyrie: Level 41 - Light Elf Fire Mage – male

Vardrid Valkyrie: Level 41 - Light Elf Warrior, Guild Leader – male - Delonshire Mine entrance that speaks up for Startum and friends against Snufu for our group. Married to Kyarina.

Laya ShadowStalker: Level 42 – Light Elf Rogue

Lady Death: Level 42 – Light Elf Rogue

The Syndicate Guild – Pk’er Guild.

Blitzkill Syndicate: Light Elf Warrior - male

Cheezknife Syndicate: Light Elf Rogue – male

Desolation Syndicate: Light Elf Rogue – male

Eowan Syndicate: Light Elf Rogue – female

Genele Syndicate: Light Elf Defensive Warrior, Guild Leader – male – IRL name Kintaii

Glaildor Syndicate: Light Elf Warrior – male

Lamor Syndicate: Light Elf Frost Mage – male

Mebrin Syndicate: Light Elf Priest – male (Real name Joe/Genele’s brother)

Monzster Syndicate: Light Elf Warrior - male

Onepunch Syndicate: Light Elf Frost Mage - female

Lamaraldor Syndicate: Light Elf Fire Mage – male

Gougeous Syndicate: Light Elf Priest – female

PunkuGood Syndicate: Light Elf Rogue – male

Shankolots Syndicate: Light Elf Rogue – male

Snufu Sevenfive: Light Elf Warrior – male

Imkewl Yusuk: Human Rogue – male – Guild Officer on the Human side of the map - 28

The House of Kayden NPCs

Aidan Calanon: Level 50 – Half-Elf Blacksmith – male - blonde long braided hair, brown eyes. One of the half-elf’s saved in the mountain on the way to BrokenFang Hold. 6’,5”, with the sides of his head shaved with his hair in a thick braid down his back.

Alanah Valadhiel (Companion/Brat Pack): Level 20 – Half-Elf Priest – female child - had her arm chopped off during the Goblin Raid. Light-brown, long hair, comely, hazel eyes and thin as a rail. Metal magic arm, Kopy-Katze, gray Akito (green eyes).

(DOA)Aleia Talathiel: Level 44 – Half-Elf Necromancer – female - Chiara’s mother died in the BrokenFang and couldn’t be saved.

*Ara Loratris: Level 52 – Half-Elf Swordswoman Assault Leader – female - hard as nails, short blonde bombshell, green eyes, thick bones. Bronze breast plate, grieves, and gauntlets, reinforced with heavy brown leather and a forest-green cloak. Iron-Reinforced Bronze Shield and wicked looking savage blade with a brace of four throwing axes on her hip.

Athtar Jodan: Level 46 – Half-Elf Mason – male - short brown hair, muscular, short and stout, brown eyes, boisterous personality.

Ava Wynhana: Level 7 – Half-Elf Priest – female child

Ayda Keywarin: Level 55 – Half-Elf Bard – female - beautiful, olive skin, dark brown hair, smoky gray eyes, smart and smooth operator, fit, shapely body, plays lute (long sleeve peasant blouse, tight push-up leather vest, leather pants – uses a whip and dual daggers.

Bevin Thalion: Level 51 - Old Half-Elf Hunter – male

*Bialaer Holaynore: Level 52 – Half-Elf – Ranger Assault Leader – male - long brown hair, Viking braid on one side of head, unkempt medium length beard, almond eyes, serious personality, thin like a whip. (In charge of construction on Delonshire side of Fang Pass. Working with Elandorr Narona the rogue assault leader.)

Brenna Talathiel (Companion): Level 55 – Half-Elf Hunter – female - archer / huntress, sandy-blonde hair, sturdy build, short, olive-brown skin, almond brown eyes. Combat Pet: Elite Earth Shock Wolf named Crag

Chiara Ithilwen (Lady Chiara): Level 60 – Assistant Leader of BrokenFang Hold – old female - 80+ old that helps Ilana as an assistant. Now has taken lead position as Startum’s right hand woman in BrokenFang Hold.

Dalyor Gwirithiel: Level 46 – Half-Elf Warrior – male

Dan Hawkes: level 50 - Bounty Hunter -(Dan the Hu-man, if I can't get your target than no one can.) - bow, short sword, hand axe, dagger, shield, two-handed sword. Chainmail armor over thick wool padding. Easy going attitude that's comes off as overtly friendly and somewhat nerdy.

Darunia Xyrlen: Level 49 – Half-Elf Carpenter – female

Drannor Qinwenys: Level 50 – Half-Elf Miner – male - brothers, large stout man, boisterous, think of Russian, short hair, brown, brown eyes. Twin brother’s name is Filarion Qinwenys.

*Elandorr Narona: Level 51 – Half-Elf Rogue Assault Leader – male - smooth operator, dark black hair, pony tail, dusty brown eyes, tanned skin, black leathers. (Working with Bialaer Holaynore on the new fortifications on the Delonshire side of Fang Pass.) Met up with Jodi, Tumms, and Zeppy’s Heroes in Delonshire to escort them to BrokenFang Hold.

Elidyr Leodove: Level 9 – Half-Elf Priest – male child - young child rescued from BrokenFang Hold – asked to watch out for boss.

Elyskaen Vafir: Level 48 – Half-Elf Lead Alchemist – female – came in batch of NPCs from book 4.

Eriladar Caladwen: Level 50 – Half-Elf Warrior – male

Filarion Qinwenys: Level 50 – Half-Elf Miner – male - brothers, large stout man, boisterous, think of Russian, short hair, brown, brown eyes. Twin brother’s name is Drannor Qinwenys.

Galen Nestariel: Level 49 – Half-Elf Enchanting / Medic Fire Mage – female – young healer without magic.

Galvin Bruic: level 50 - Guardian Ranger - Badger Kin - male - Dark Gray, black high-lights, golden eyes - shield, sword, and long bow. Chainmail mixed with leather armor, wears kilt.

‘Hilron Wynstina: Leve 50 – Half-Elf Bard (Balladeer) (book 11) – male – blond long-hair, chiseled face, 6’,4”, plays a lute, drums, and flute. Armed with long sword, dagger, and bow.

Jaena Sidhiel: Level 48 – Half-Elf Carpenter – female

Jinlura Dorhorn: level 50 - Shadow Stalker - Half-Elf - female - light-brown hair, green eyes - lean - tall - two short swords and blow - leather armor mixed with chainmail.

Katalina Iellwen: Level 51 – Herbalist – old female - herbalist watching after the children.

Keela Moréfindiel (Companion): Level 54 – Half-Elf Dark Mage – female - female elf, milky-white porcelain skin, dark mage, black long hair, gray eyes. Combat Pet: Elite Earth Shock Wolf named Maul. Had a one-night stand with ex-skirmisher Legar.

Kei Taro: level 50 - Deadshot Archer - Kitsune Kin - female - Dark Red fur with black highlights - almond eyes, bushy tail - leather armor with black silk robe underneath - dual long daggers, bow, with multiple throwing knives.

Klaern Maerwen: Level 51 – Half-Elf Sergeant Warrior – old male

Laeroth Vircan: Level 50 – Half-Elf Blacksmith – male

Liluth Gilmys: Level 7 – Half-Elf Priest – female child

Lyndis Crathyra: Level 51 – Half-Elf Swordswoman - Sub-Leader – female – long-blonde hair in a ponytail, gray eyes, tall and muscular, statuesque, DPS Tank, two short swords and one two-handed sword on back.

Mariona Furtaeln: Level 43 – Half-Elf Head Cook – female - cook at refugee camp and now BrokenFang Hold.

Meira Liaxidor: Level 51 – Half-Elf Blacksmith – female - tall, long brown hair, muscular, shapely, brown eyes, serious, quiet, creative.

*Nalaea Heleyra: Level 52 – Half-Elf Priest Assault Leader – female - blonde, long hair, white skin, blue eyes, large breasts, innocent/friendly.

Norlar Urihorn: level 50 - Beast Tamer - Half-Elf - male - blonde hair - brown eyes - muscular build - normal height - easy attitude with animals and stern with humanoids - has two Dire Frost Wolves (Claw -m- & Fang -f-) as Combat Pets - both have black coats with silver highlights.

Nym Valhice: Level 46 – Half-Elf Carpenter – male

*Nycorel Liawynn: Level 50 – Half-Elf Heavy Lancer (Book 11) – male – black short-cropped hair, brown eyes, short beard, hooked-pike, lance, long sword, and dagger.

Ordan Gauss: level 50 - Predatorial Hunter - Wolf-Kin - male - Black-fur, brown eyes - scruffy and large - mountain man look - wears heavy leather armor, bow and dual hand axes.

Pharom Xyrroris: Level 47 – Half-Elf Mason – male

Rayne Nessima (Companion): Level 55 – Half-Elf Swordswoman – female - protected children during Goblin Raid. Green eyes, long brown hair, dusty freckles, long-thin face, exotic, white skin, good with sword, Ilana Daeralds is her grandmother (from mother’s side) Combat Pet: Elite Earth Shock Wolf Reaver.

*Saphielle Carzeiros: Level 52 – Half-Elf Fire Mage Assault Leader – female - long, black hair, coal black eyes, dark skin, fiery personality, emotional, slim small chest.

Rodinya Naroleen – Level 45 – Half-Elf Enchanter – female – came with 1st group

Ryu Shachu: level 50 - Arcane Ranger - Grimal Kin - male - Dark Gray coat - right ear is partly clipped from fight - scar down right eye - hard looking - blue eyes - sleek and toned muscled body

Taiah Nithiel: Level 47 – Half-Elf Leather worker – female - leather worker

Talia Beriadhwen: Level 43 – Half-Elf Construction – female - husband was skilled at construction, she helped him a lot with her work and learned the trade. Long brown braided hair, hazel eyes and built like a brick shithouse.

Terdian Sharidenum: Level 47 – Half-Elf Mason – male - silver long hair (braided on each side at the temples), blue eyes. One of the half-elf’s saved in the mountain on the way to BrokenFang Hold. 6’2” big guy.

Theric Farestrider: Level 56 – Half-Elf Swordsman, Leader of Combat NPCs – male - mid-aged, dark brown hair, brilliant green eyes, whipcord thin. Also in-charge of building defenses on the Plain of Atoll’s side of Fang Pass.

Xanth Farsight – Level 44 – Half-Elf Enchanter – male – part of 1st group

Ulia Dathielen (Companion): Level 55 – Half-Elf Swordswoman – female - lean, hard face, chestnut short-cropped hair, piercing blue eyes. Ran into on ridge towards BrokenFang Hold, took spear in back. Picked up a combat pet: Elite Molten Flow Striders named Blaze. Had a one-night stand with the ex-skirmisher Gregory.

Valith Celaraldor (Companion): Level 51 – Sea-Elf Ex-Red Coral Knight Commander – male - dark-blue skin, shock of white Yu-Gi-Oh! Hair style, silver eyes, beardless, haughty gray eyes and high cheekbones.

Vilshor Daeven: Level 41 – Half-Elf Assistant Alchemist – male – came in book 4 batch of NPCs.

*Vulmon Bryroris: Level 52 – Half-Elf Frost Mage Assault Leader – male - Precise man, short white hair, piercing blue eyes, light skin, blue-white robes.

Ex-Humanoid Prisoners

Cleftuf Fnirbier: Level 42 – Gnomeling Thief - male

Crux Blackaxe: Level 43 – Human Barbarian - male

Doom Hawk: Level 40 – Gnomeling/Dark-Elf Arcane Mage - male

Gray Jingo: Level 46 - Human Ranger – male

Hogar Orepike: Level 42 – Dwarven Warrior - male

Ex-Half-Orc Prisoners

Helgath (Soulmate/Companion): Level 35 – Slave Water Shaman – Half-Orc (Orc-Gnome-Goblin mix) - female - gave allegiance during Hall of Storm rescue. (When she met Star in book 4, she had stringy black hair, pointy teeth, yellow cat-eyes, black clawed fingers and toes, thin and sickly, has a greenish-gray skin tone with an odd, child-like voice / In book 6, she fills out due to Emergency Hot Fix attribute boost, fills out with muscle, skin becomes a healthy green and her hair turns Asian-like straight black, voice turns mezzo-soprano) She is soulbound from a rune on the chest that she shares with Startum Ironwolf.

Mugorlorth (Mügor or Mug) (Companion/Brat Pack): Level 27 – Slave Warrior – Half-Orc-Dwarf – male – warrior, shaved head, scarred face, yellow cat-eyes, gray skin. Kopy-Katze, gray Natsu (green eyes).

Gnomeling of the Wind Dancer

‘Mother Mylbim’ Lightouch: Level 45 – Cook – Gnomeling-Dwarf – female - Dark hair, short cut, brown eyes. Motherly with a sharp tongue. Wields a meat cleaver. 4 ½ foot tall.

Grahorn Lightouch: Level 48 – Trade Master / Captain – Gnomeling-Dwarf – male - head of family, serious, older, bald headed, white Van Dyke beard, green goggles, blue eyes (not being worn when met on boat as prisoner). A Warrior who fights with a wide-blade short sword and shield with hand axe hanging on waist. 5 foot tall

Ianfalcon Shortankard: Level 45 – Pilot – Gnomeling-Human - male - likes to run around shirtless with balloon leather pants, bald headed except for a long braid at the back of his head and a soul-patch goatee, uses a full-sized sabre, piercing blue eyes. 5 foot tall

I Shortankard (Jan): Level 46 – Trader – Gnomeling-Dwarf - female - Mother of Norda who was slaughtered along with her husband during takeover. Uses hand-axe, plays violin. Long brown hair, hazel eyes. 4 ½ foot tall.

Neristhana Lightouch (Neri) (Startum’s companion – saved from Morticians): Level 53 – Trader – Gnomeling-Dwarf - female - daughter of Grahorn (mother was a Shortankard), dark brown eyes, shoulder-length brown hair, almond brown eyes, black headband with runes, uses an axe, long dagger-like rapier, and crossbow. 4 ½ foot tall. Summoned Flying Squirrel - Wizzlebat (male/light blue with red stripes) Combat Pet: Elite Large Rock Wolves named Grim – gray in color. Had a one-night stand with the ex-skirmisher Hartley.

Prustine Hollysharp: Level 38 – Weapons Smith/Runemaster – Gnomeling-Dwarf – graduate of the Academy of Technomancy - cousin of Zinn. Pink hair in bushy pigtails, sky-blue eyes. 3 feet, 10 inches tall. More Gnome than dwarf. Father is Viscount Fendano Hollysharp the fourth - Gnome, GMT (Golem Magic-Tech) Assault Leader of the Eastern Region’s Imperial Forces), wife was a Dwarf, has lands and a mansion outside of Haldale (big farming and military city.)

Zinnaemita Lightouch (Startum’s companion/Brat Pack): Level 30 – Trader Bard – Gnomeling-Light Elf - female - long honey-blonde hair, pale blue eyes. Plays a Djembe hand drum or lute. Uses two long daggers, and stands 4 ½ foot tall. (Was used as a sex slave by Hyalag the Barbarian Leader of the Sword Flayers) Dressed in thigh-high, brown, open (Gnomeling) boots, loose baby doll dress made from soft gray leather with a low-cut cleavage that came down to the middle of her thighs, white leather glove-like sleeves wrapped around her middle fingers with a tie and came to a stop above her elbows where they strapped in place, and a gray half-cloak that hung from her shoulders. Soprano voice. Kopy-Katze, calico Nuri (gold eyes), Kopy-Katze, Kopy-Katze, silver/blue Miku (brown eyes).

Sub-Captain of Wind Dancer

Lornila Windcoat (Rescued from the Hall of Storms): Level 44 – Trade Master – Gnomeling-Human – female –Dark-brown hair down to her mid back, dark-brown eyes, slender, v-cut long sleeve blouse, undercut leather corset vest with long tails that go to the ground and slips over her shoulders like a leather trench coat, linen pants and knee length leather boots, with a wide sword belt and short saber on hip, large bastard sword strapped to back. 5 feet tall.

Slyrba Woldhand (Rescued from the Hall of Storms): Level 43 – Pilot – Gnomeling Rogue – female - black shoulder length hair, black eyes, black leather pants, black gloves and black leather boots, under-bust corset vest with v-cut long-sleeved blouse armed with a sabre and long dagger on her belt. 4 feet tall.

Captain of Orc Command Ship

Nirim Nighthand (Rescued from the Hall of Storms): Level 45 – Trade Master – Gnomeling-Light Elf – female - leather black armor, shield on her back and war axe at her waist, blonde long hair in tight dreads. Green leather pants and brown under-bust corset vest, linen open top that hugs the breasts off the shoulder with leather armored arms and black knee-high boots. 5 feet tall. Forced to dock first in Darom due to Princess’s demands.

Captain of The Doon

Femdi Deepwater (Rescued from the Hall of Storms): Level 40 - Trade Master – Gnomeling-Human – female - reddish-brown hair in a wavy bob, green eyes, brown gloves and bandana, open white short-sleeved shirt, brown leather pants and knee-high boots.  Armed with a long Saber and dagger. 5 feet tall. Sent to sell ships for mana accumulation crystals.

Ex-Beastkin Prisoners

Honey Mistborne (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 48 Silver Tipped Badgerkin Water Shaman – female - Silver coat with black highlights, 5’10” with blue eyes

Lara Moonshadow (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 40 Grimalkin Air Shaman (cat kin) – female – Dark blue (black) Panther, 6’2” with green eyes. From the Clan of Grim.

Zane Silverfang (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 45 Wolfkin DPS Warrior – male - black-gray fur, mane like silver hair around his head and down his back, 6’7” with brown eyes. Is given Marine Sub Leader position by Captain Windcoat.

Ex-Dwarven Prisoners (130 dwarves 1/3rd of them are females)

Brargroud Caskstone (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 47 Artillery Captain – older male - shaved head except for scruff on top, immense beard, stern vassalage and hard brown eyes, two-handed axe.

Norrid Silvercoat (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 34 Bard – male - short brown bushy beard, brown eyes, jolly smart ass, carries a lute, dagger and hand axe.

Sammaetrud Forgechest (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 46 Artillery Warrior - female – red long hair, blue eyes, white freckled face, two-handed hammer.

Ex-Iron Falcon Mercenary Prisoners (77 members)

(DOA) Milo Hawkin (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 45 Swordsman – human male - no non-sense dark haired man with graying temples from a hard life – Veteran of the Royal Army and the Orc Wars – 6’1” slim build, hard blue eyes, weathered face late twenties. Ended up being a corrupted by a Dil-Hilth.

(DOA) Edwin Ryder: Level 40 Swordsman – Human male – who’s friend I raised as a zombie to eat him if he didn’t tell me what I wanted to know.

(DOA) Orson Fletcher: Level 40 Swordsman – Human Male – man I killed to raise as a zombie to eat his friend so that he’d tell me what I wanted to know.

Ex-Dark Elves Prisoners

Nivirth Dherler (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 48 Shadow Scout Captain – male - green eyes, black skin, slim muscular build, long black hair, hairless face.

Zocuth Eevro (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 47 Shadow Scout – Sub-Leader – male – blue eyes, black skin, thin muscular build, short black hair, hairless face. (Working with Startum)

Gykac Ozisin (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 47 Shadow Scout – Team-Leader – male – brown eyes, light black skin, muscular build, mop of black hair, hairless face. (Working with Startum)

Lerissi Dheni (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 47 Shadow Scout – Team-Leader – male – hazel eyes, midnight black skin, muscular build, long black dreads, hairless face.

Ex-Light Elf Prisoners

Cyran Herneiros (Rescued from the Sea Orcs): Level 50 Strike Marine Commander – male – lank, long blonde hair, scars across body, haunted look, green eyes, no facial hair, 6’2”, short-sword, axe and shield.

Ex-Human Prisoners

Princess Reeva Isolde (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 50 Light Mage, next in line for throne – female - looks like Firiona Vie from the old EverQuest covers but is human instead of Elven, pale-white skin, long blonde hair, blue eyes and tall 6’2” physique.

Sir Alderman Merrill (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 46 Guardian Knight, Princess’ personal guard - male

Sir Briicot Curteis (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 46 Guardian Knight, Princess’ personal guard - male

Sir Jace Hemmet (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 49 Guardian Knight, Leader of Princess’ personal guard – male - hard dark-brown eyes (eyes look black), silver close cropped hair and silver beard, tall powerful looking man of 6’3” with tanned skin.

Sir Judd Beroldus (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 46 Guardian Knight, Princess’ personal guard - male

Sir Macey Degarre (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 46 Guardian Knight, Princess’ personal guard – male - muscular looking man, brown long hair in a ponytail, long sideburns, goatee, gray eyes and stands 6’2”.

Sir Terrance Anon (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 46 Guardian Knight Squad Leader – male – muscular looking, whip thin, black long hair with a rough-cut that hangs down to the shoulders, brown eyes, full-beard, dark skin and stands 6’1”.

Royal Army (ex-prisoner Sea Elves)

Morgan Dell (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 50 Swordsman General of the Kayden Troopers; male, light skin, dark brown hair, green eyes, 6’2”, trimmed full beard, muscular, serious. Was previously General Dell of the Royal Forces of the Kingdom of Kader, who’d been demoted to a Team-Leader when I met him in the Sea Orc rescue.  Dark-brown flying squirrel named, Blink. Old unit was Royal Voltigeurs. Daughter - Lexi Dell, tortured and mentally mind-controlled by the Dil-Hilth of Palnisdale.

**Lexi Dell – Arcane mage – green-eyes, light brown hair, pale skin, nineteen,

Ollie Burns (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 50 Swordsman Sub-Leader; male, olive skin, short black hair, brown eyes, whip thin, 6’1”, no beard but five o’clock shadow. Sent to secure the northern-central graveyard in Darom.

Liam Miller (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 50 Swordswoman Sub-leader; male, short blonde hair, blue eyes, goatee, average build, 6’1”. Sent to secure the southeastern graveyard in Darom.

Logan West (Rescued from Sea Orcs) – Dragoon Sub-Leader One (Logan’s Riders): Level 50 Swordsman Sub-Leader; male, long blonde hair in a ponytail, brown eyes, clean shaven, large man that’s 6’4”. Sent to secure the southwestern graveyard in Darom and falls during the attack. Also, leads Dragoon wing for Darom assault in book 10.

Trent Carnell (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 50 Swordsman Team-Leader; male, hazel eyes, dark tanned skin, muscular build, close-cropped black hair, trimmed goatee, 6’2”. (Working with Thomas)

Nuri Haag (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 50 Swordsman Team-Leader; male, brown shaggy hair, brown eyes, olive skin, muscular build, clean shaven, 6’3”. (Working with Thomas) Used in book 10’s Darom fight to hold the neck of the street at the end.

Lyle Runeschoff (Rescued from Sea Orcs) – Dragoon Sub-Leader (Runeschoff’s Slayers): Level 50 Swordsman Team-Leader; male, red long hair in cornrows, blue eyes, white skin, immense muscular build, long braided beard, 6’5”. (Working with Sarka) Red Flying Squirrel. Also, leads Dragoon wing for Darom assault in book 10.

Chris Fowle (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 50 Swordsman Team-Leader; male, blonde shaggy hair, green eyes, tanned skin, muscular build, clean shaven, 6’5”. (Working with Phoenix)

Haakon Harper (Rescued from Sea Orcs): Level 50 Swordsman Team-Leader; male, shaved head, brown eyes, tanned skin, lean build, clean shaven, 6’1”. (Working to collect the dead)

Darom Civilians

Elisa Cox (Rescued from the arena and The Dread Pack) (Dating Lyle Runeschoff): Level 18 Fighter (Swordsman in training) blonde shoulder-length hair pulled back in a ponytail, blue eyes, slim muscular body, olive skin, 5’10”. Wears adventurer’s leathers.

Sheila Carnell (Rescued from the arena and The Dread Pack) (Wife of Trent Carnell): Level 24 Journeywoman Armorer, two kids (Lillian 8 year old & Greg 6 years old) brown, natural-curly shoulder-length hair, green eyes, curvy body, white skin, 5’6”. Wears dresses.

James Fortner or ‘Old Man Fortner’ Darom City Elder (Companion): Level 44 – Darom City Elder – commoner – runs the market square and is a skilled trader, gray hair, stooped back, pale-blue eyes, white long beard, thin-grisly physique, wrinkled deep-tanned skin, 5’11”. A veteran of the Royal Army and born on a farm.

Global Brutality PK’er Guild (553 Guild members total)

Keychain Alternity: Level 24 – Light Elf Warrior – male

Noskulls Accost: Level 25 – Light Elf Rogue – male

Dwankbone Swaggir: Level 26 – Light Elf Rogue – male – Guild Officer in Delonshire area.

Dante Lynne: Guild Leader - Level 40 – Dark Elf/DPS Warrior – male – high-fade quiff-cut brown hair, clean-shaven, martial art build, face set in a permanent sneer, amber eyes, olive skin, 5’11”. Uses a two-handed sword.

Nykii Flores: Guild Officer – Level 32 – Dark Elf/Ranger – female - short-spiky brown hair, tattooed face, light-brown skin, voluptuous build, green eyes, 5’7”. Angry at being forced to watch the Uten Syn Keep and prisoners.

Tammy Sully: Level 29 – Priest – female – shoulder-length brown dreads, green eyes, tone athletic build, dark-black skin, 5’4”.

Islas Tortuga: Level 28 – Dark Elf/Rogue – male – buzz-cut brown hair, clean shaven, light-brown skin, slim-build, 5’6”. (Feels sorry once he realizes they a group of blind players and talks to Angie who uses him for information.”

Tomeo Narayan: Level 28 – Dark Elf/Rogue – male – stringy shoulder-length brown hair, brown anchor beard, light-brown skin, dusty-brown eyes, weight-lifters build, 5’8”.

Nathan Cohen: Level 29 – Dark Elf/Ranger – male – mane of long-black hair, black chin-strap beard, dark-black skin, weight-lifters build, 6’2”

Sarunas Dof: Level 26 – Dark Elf/Arcane Mage – male – short-cornrow black hair, black chin-strip, light brown skin, brown eyes, lanky-build, 6’2”. (IRL is 5’7” and is clumsy due to difference of in-game height)

Dalton Sevens: Level 31 – Dark Elf/DPS Warrior – male – long, braided black hair, clean shaved, cold blue eyes, hard faced, muscle bound, wannabe Conan, 6’4”. Wields long, two-handed axe as primary weapon. Leads the night shift.

Lucky Tess: Level 28 – Dark Elf/Ranger – male – short black hair, dark almond eyes, clean shaven, martial-artist build, 6’1”.

Lazo Jenkins: Level 29 – Dark Elf/DPS Warrior – male – bald head, beady dark-brown eyes, lamp-chop beard, big muscular build, two-handed maul.

City of Lodenburg

Aalsala Perlar: Lady of the city

Jack Wilson: Gate Guard Leader, level 40 Duelist,

Terry Brawn: Squad-Leader of the Gate Guard, level 38 Expert-At-Arms, female

Gina Hackly: Squad-Leader for Laurence Pulver.

Laurence Pulver: Team-Leader of local guard station outside of the Thirsty Troll Inn that comes to Startum’s aid, male.

Janice Thorne: level 40, female, Bartender/owner of the Thirsty Troll inn, blue eyes, mid-back length brown hair,

Nauncy Layman: level 20, female, Barmaid,

Russian Guild (Krasnyy Volki) (72 members (5 of those members are on Light Elf side) (Wolves are Great Saber-Fang Wolf 67 wolves)

**Demyan Volk: Level 38 – Human Ranger/Priest – male Dmitry – Guild Leader - dual short swords and long bow, short brown hair, 6-foot normal build, green eyes, (27) going for an IT security. Grew up together in St. Petersburg with Sasha, served in Red Army and later frequently visit your sister who moved to USA, Florida (lives in Orlando on the west coast) because of a job offer she took programming.) Combat Pet wolf is named Fenrir.

Anna Pantera: Level 37 – Light Elf Priest/Fire Mage – female – Ekateria’s IRL work friend - (IRL Anna Levieva)

Ekaterina Volk: Level 37 – Light Elf Rogue/Frost Mage – female - dagger/short-sword, brown skin-tight leathers, sister has auburn hair, usually dual braids, light brown freckles dusting cheeks, blue eyes, Russian thin body, tight b-cup, 29 years old, a little reserved. (Think of Anna from Frozen) Sasha tries to hang out with your older sister because he likes her, but is shy. She's waiting for him to ask her out, but difficult due to the distance.

Katya Volk: Leve 38 – Light Elf Priest/Fire Mage – female – Demyan’s IRL girlfriend - plays, blonde hair, long braided ponytail, blue eyes, model thin, c-cup, a bit of a party girl.

Sasha Nesti: Level 38 – Light Elf Warrior/Priest – male – Demyan’s best friend IRL - bow/2-handed sword or dual daggers - will be your typical blonde tank of a man, blonde short-hair, blue eyes, ex-military, knee injury IRL (26yrs) going for a business/accounting degree.

Zheleznyy Chelovek: Level 37 – Light Elf - Warrior Priest - (IRL Oleg Mashkov) – shield and war axe black shoulder-length hair and hazel eyes, 6 foot and wide.

Vlad Kuvalda: Level 37 – Light Elf Ranger/Priest – male

°Boris Novbade: Level 37 – Dark Elf / Gnome – male – Assassin / Ranger – short older man, with a thick body, short hair, dark-brown eyes (could almost be called fat), uses massive two-handed war hammer and carries two mining picks on his hips for weapons. Officer in charge of gathering and crafting. Short bow on his back.

°Natasha Talefa: Level 37 – Dark Elf – female – Dark Mage / Ranger (normal) tall and thin, middle age but beautiful, black hair, green eyes, dual daggers with a long bow strapped to her back. In charge of espionage.

Taras Smirnov

Aleksei Kuznetsov

Sergei Volk

Andrei Popov

°Ivan Makarov: Level 37 – Dark Elf / Dwarf – male - Ranger / Warrior – large man, shaved head, long-blond side burns, and beard, blue eyes, young and good looking, two-handed sword, long sword and shield and carries a mechanical crossbow. Officer in charge of the guilds’ tanks.

Aleksandr Vasiliev

Izvestia Morozova

°Mikhail Ivanov: Level 38 – Dark Elf / Human – male - Ranger / Priest – white short-cropped hair, older man, clean shaven, gray eyes, uses long sword and dagger along with long bow. Officer of the guild.

Anna Mikhailova: Level 37 - female, Ranger / Fire Mage

Yelena Volk: Level 37 - female Ranger / Fire Mage

°Olga Federova: Level 38 – Dark Elf / Human – female – Ranger / Assassin – silver braided hair, dark skin, purple eyes, dual daggers. Officer in charge of stealth operations for the guild.

Tatyana Sokolova: female

Roza Smirnov: female

Kira Petrova: female

Agniya Volk: female

Varvara Morozova: female

Pwnguin PK’er Guild

Alissa Comtumacious: Level 22 – Light Elf Fire Mage – female

Demon Pokemaster: Level 22 – Light Elf Rogue – male

Hadow Stabulots: Level 22 – Light Rogue – male

Rikopin Smash: Level 21 – Light Elf Warrior – male

Sourgamin Pikachu: Level 23 – Light Elf Rogue – Guild Leader - female

Staghollow Village of Myathlune

Ayla Wranydark: Filario’s young daughter

Elanil Wranydark: Old farmer’s wife killed by players – Mayor’s daughter.

Filario Wranydark: Old farmer’s son

Galather Krismenor: Mayor of Staghollow

Paeris Wranydark: Filario’s young son

Thalanil Wranydark: Old farmer

Guard Patrol - City of Myathlune

Arun Yllafaren: Level 20 – Light Elf Private Swordsman – male

Aymon Miamaer: Level 20 – Light Elf Private Swordsman – male

Darthoridan Cailamin: Level 25 – Light Elf Sub-Leader of Myathlune Patrol – male

Khatar Aehorn: Level 20 – Light Elf Private Swordsman – male

Mihangyl Heledi: Level 23 – Light Elf Sergeant Swordsman – male

Pelleas Fawraek: Level 20 – Light Elf Private Swordsman – male

Tannatar Keyra: Level 20 – Light Elf Private Swordsman – male

Toross Oritris: Level 20 – Light Elf Private Swordsman – male

City of Myathlune

Corpse Reavers Gang

Mortician Grungus: Level 40 – Elite Half-Orc – male

Mortician Assistant Gargatum: Level 38 – Elite Half-Orc – male

Mortician Assistant Gnormus: Level 38 – Elite Half-Orc – male

Simimar Virhice: Level 20 - Thug 1 – male

Gorred Dorven: Level 20 - Thug 2 – male

Sword Flayers Pirates

Beltalm Milltall: Level 34 – Human Rogue - male

Gurlynn Swordsteal: Level 35 – Human Fighter - female

Hyalag Lluddgalf: Level 40 – Half-Orc Barbarian Warrior – Leader – male

Marstine Moonshadow: Level 38 – Dark Elf-Human – Arcane Mage - female

Olatumal Warstout: Level 36 – Human Thug – male

Sekolahian Empire

Ghozuhs Riptide: Level 45 - High Priest

Priests (6x): Level 42

Grindylow

Warriors: Level 15 – tentacle goblins with armor and weapons

Meer-Lizards

Elite Shard Riders: Level 30 – two and four arm variants – males

Sea Elves

Princess Enania Naeris: Level 50 – Frost Mage / Air Shaman – Seal Elf female - light-blue skin, white hair piled on top of head in a complex romanesque style, silver eyes.

Queen Amlaruil Naeris: Level ? – Queen – died during Meer-Lizard assault

Red Coral Knights: Level 40

Tolith Waesfina: Level 43 – Red Coral Knight Sub-Commander – female

Oránn Énméarrul: Level 33 – Sea Elf Master Builder – short and spiky sea weed green hair, dark blue skin, green eyes, very thin and short for a Sea Elf, 5’3”. Water / Earth Shaman that can also work with stone.

Sea Elf Prisoners

Sea Orc Prisoners

Igtark Zugdar: Level 45 – Elite War Leader - male

Lurog Bloodfang: Level 40 Elite Orc Warrior/ Second in command  - male

Elite Orc Warriors: Level 40 on average

Human Realm

Lekroth Isolde: Level 30 - Priest of Light, Human Prince – male – shoulder-length blond hair, pale blue eyes, smooth shaven, soft features, 6’1”, looks like a rich pretty boy.

Tervan Isolde: Level 100 - Human King – male

Great(8x) Grandfather King Harald Isolde: Created the Isolde Line. Traveled the World.

Chaos Storm

Cristiane Sekhmet (Jason’s Ex-Girlfriend): Level 44 – Battle Priest - female – Guild Leader of Chaos Storm – mid-shoulder length blonde hair, hazel eyes, and pale skin. Completed Nightmare start with Lightning Spell Tree (Lighting, Shock Armor, Chain Lightning, AOE Natures Storm (Julie Bowen - Startum Ironwolf’s aka Jason Wolfe’s ex-girlfriend)

Evil Sandra: Level 44 – Battle Priest – female – Guild Officer for Chaos Storm – Julie’s best friend – IRL name is Sandra Moody, brown shoulder length hair, hazel eyes,

Kasey JoJo: Level 35 – Shadow Warrior – male – Executioner of Chaos Storm - large, muscular man, bald head, hooked nose, heavy forehead, heavy shadow-beard, mud-colored eyes, 6’4”, nasty disposition, fancies himself as the Executioner for Chaos Storm.

Noah Stanislas: Level 37 – DPS Warrior – male – Chaos Storm Officer – black wavy shoulder-length hair, icy-blue eyes, clean shaven, pale skin, always brusque and angry, stands and 6’2”.

Sodonon Yoshiyuki (Nickname Sodo): Level 37 – Shadow Assassin Rogue – female – Chaos Storm Officer – friends with Julie in-game, short black-curly hair, green eyes, harsh disposition, dark olive skin, and 5’4”.

Ruston Clark: Level 35 – Shadow Assassin Rogue – male – Chaos Storm Watch Officer – brown hair, blue eyes, clean shaven, white skin, 6’1”

Seamus Moore: 38 Priest, male – Chaos Storm Officer

TJ Harden: Level 15 – Warrior – human male – short, brown hair, hazel eyes, tanned skin, goatee, sword and shield, chain-mail and leather armor, 5’11”, wants to become a member of Chaos Storm, but doesn’t like being treated like crap. Still considered a PLEB aka plebeian to the guild. Normal start.

N3rd Amazonian: Level 20 – Rogue – human female –black spiky hair, brown eyes, white skin, dual short swords, black leather armor and clothing, 5’6”, blood-thirsty attitude due to desire to become a core member of Chaos Storm to make money. Still considered a PLEB aka plebeian to the guild. Normal start.

Shapo Xela: Level 38, Ranger – Chaos Storm Officer - at Domenic’s Siege, Evil Sandra’s right hand man, brown leathers, bow, long sword, and dagger. Short brown hair cut in a short bob, white blonde hair, green eyes, 6’2” with long legs and slim body. Call’s Evil Sandra ES. Human

Cap’n D’hoser: Level 38, teamed with Shapo, DPS Warrior, 2 handed axe, Dwarf

Chip N’dip: Level 38, teamed with Shapo, Rogue/Assassin, two short swords, Human

Roberto Rimaru (Butcher of Bucharest / Romperu): Level 38, teamed with Shapo, Ranger, Crossbow with five shots, two handed sword, Dwarf, Romanian in real life.

Gene Anthony: Level 38, teamed with Shapo, Priest, dual one-handed maces, Human

Heik PoPo: Level 38 Warrior, Human, Male, team that molests Fylreh. Two-handed sword as main weapon.

SBC DiEtor: Level 39 Ranger, Male, team that molests Fylreh.

Gar EtMar: Level 37 Rogue, Human, Male, team that molests Fylreh.

Benji Landespe: Level 38 Priest, Human, Male, team that molests Fylreh.

Val Ebannaw: Level 38 Rogue, Human, Male, team that molests Fylreh.

Evad94 Gray: Level 38 Rogue, Human, Male, sub-leader helps Evil Sandra after Shapo gets locked out.

Dicky Wankerson: Level 36 Mage at Domenic’s Siege.

Daniel Dingleberry: Level 36, Ranger at Domenic’s Siege leading group guarding

Jord De’Gregory: Level 12

Lisa Nohos: Level 17

Harding Noll: subleader for Evil Sandra

SirKink Neet: Level 38 Warrior, Human, male - subleader for Evil Sandra

Coven (Poison)

Brandon Phillipe: Guild Officer, Rogue, Level 41, male, Human,

The Legion of Vengeance (Light- Luminosity Knight/tree)

Unholy Josephine: Guild Leader, DPS Warrior, Level 40, female, Human, brunet, shoulder-length cut, dark brown (crazy) eyes, dark olive brown skin, 5’ 11”, a two-handed sword, tight light-brown long-sleeve leather corset that is high-quality armor, white lowcut peasant shirt, tight dark-brown leather pants, and knee-high boots, topped with a dark-green half-cloak over the left shoulder, and a single leather pauldron on the right shoulder.

Darom (Human Realm)

(DOA) Warden Laxjar Rohan: Level 45 – Defensive Warrior – Human Noble – male – gray tipped temples, black wavy hair, hard blue eyes, gray tinged black beard, stands at 6’2” Slaughtered by Dread Pack.

Darom (Royal Army Contingent)

Laurie Butcher (Rescued from Darom’s dungeon and The Dread Pack): Level 47 – Royal Army Team Leader (Promoted to Sub-Leader), Defensive Warrior – Human peasant – woman – parents were butchers in Darom, auburn hair down to the middle of her back, dark brown eyes, hard faced, dark-tanned skin, stands at 6’0”. Knows poverty and discrimination for being a commoner, highest level of Royal Army and a Team Leader left alive in dungeon.

Alex Carnell: Level 45 – Royal Army Team Leader – Swordsman – male - curly brown hair cut short, green eyes, clean shaved, thin muscular build, tanned skin. (recently promoted after leveling up from PVP battle – guarding Navy Officer corpses on docks)

Shaw Merrifield (Rescued from Darom Dungeon) Level 45 Swordsman Team-Leader; male, shaved head, hard-blue eyes, tanned skin, stocky build, blond beard, 6’3”, young.

Maxime Chace (Rescued from Darom Dungeon)Level 45 Swordsman Team-Leader; female, short-brown hair, green eyes, tanned skin, whipcord build, 5’6”, young.

Marks Milton (Rescued from Darom Dungeon) Level 45 Swordsman Team-Leader; male, blond hair, brown eyes, pale skinned, heavy-set build, long blond beard, 6’0”, young

Miller Goodman (Rescued from Darom Dungeon) Level 45 Swordsman Team-Leader; male, black rough-cut hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin, heavy-set build, black beard, 6’.

Derek Mollcoy (Rescued from Darom Dungeon)Level 45 Swordsman Team-Leader; male, shaved head, blue eyes, weathered skin, stringing build, clean shaven, 6’4”.

Erwin Vow (Rescued from Darom Dungeon) Level 45 Swordsman Team-Leader; female, long-blonde hair (ponytail), brown eyes, creamy skin, sturdy build, 5’5”.

Darom (Royal Navy Contingent - The Howling Wolves Squadron)

Anthony “Tony” Davis: Level 50 – Royal Navy Sub-Captain – DPS Warrior – male – Human (late twenties / Trader family), short-cropped black hair, gray temples, short full beard around two inches in length, blue eyes, tanned skin, stands 6’1”. Friendly disposition but a ruthless strategist in battle. (Missing his left hand upon being resurrected due to the Gull Hawks feeding. Beheaded by The Dread Pack for refusing to allow the slaughter of civilians. Ex Royal Navy Sub-Captain.)

Darom (Gnomeling Trader contingent)

Bellbor Stouthack (Last Survivor of Clan): Level 38 – Trader / Gearhead - Gnome/Human – male – broken goggles on his head, brown eyes, scraggily black hair and full beard, greasy blood-stained muscle shirt under a leather apron, rune tattoos on left arm, brown-leather overalls and knee-high boots. The last of his clan. Fought with a wrench and the runes of his left arm that gave him an electric shock attack on touch.

Henkkor Spikebar: Level 36 – Ship Hands / Engineer- Gnome/dwarf - male – blonde short hair with right side shaved, braided beard with three separate braids, no mustache, black leather vest with spiked shoulder and forearm guards, reddish-brown leather pants, black knee-high boots. Wields a short one or two handed scythe and short sword.

Clippar Smithpot: Level 37 - Smith Engineer - Gnome/Light elf - female – blonde shoulder-length hair, light blue eyes, reddish-brown leather halter top, bluish-brown baggy pants, loin cloth outside of clothing, heavy and wide gear belt, brown knee-high boots. Wields a massive smith’s hammer on battlefield, helmet is more of a faceplate for smithing with hot metals.

Nereedu Cranktok: Level 38 – Smith Engineer – Gnome/human - female – iron left arms that is strapped in place and can be used like normal due to rune magic and enchanting, shoulder-length blonde stringy hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin, ripped brown-leather overalls with a tube top showing, knee-high brown leather boots. Wielding a wrench and Fire magic.

Blolnat Irontouched (Last Survivor of Clan): Level 38 – Trader / Gearhead- Gnome/light elf - female – very short, light amber eyes, red hair pulled back into a tight single braid, very pale skin, blood stained face (retribution runes), dark-gray scale-mail robe, cream-colored heavy leather pants, angle-high boots. Fights with hands and feet. Traveling with the Brat Pack and bards.

Radbaic Domehead: Level 38 – Trader / Gearhead – Gnome/human - male – bald head, late twenties, mature face, short close-cropped brown beard, blue eyes, hard face, muscle t-shirt under a dark-brown leather overcoat (with white dirty fur on collar like a bomber jacket), wields large two-handed wrench and short sword, baggy light-brown leather brown pants, and dark-brown knee-high boots. Fought with an oversized wrench and had two long fighting-daggers strapped to his waist.

Darom (City Guard Contingent)

Justin Ridgely (Rescued from Darom’s dungeon and The Dread Pack): Level 43 – Darom Guard - Swordsman in-training – male – parents were builders – short-cropped brown hair, dusty brown eyes, dark-tanned skin, and stands at 6’. Team Leader of city guard patrol.

Troy Butcher (Rescued from Darom’s dungeon and The Dread Pack): Level 43 – Darom Guard - Swordsman in-training – male – younger brother of Laurie Butcher that Startum resurrected. Brown spiked hair, almond eyes, serious face, dark—tanned skin, stands 6’1”. Knows poverty and discrimination for being a commoner, highest level of Royal Army and a Team Leader left alive in dungeon.

Palnisdale (the Citadel)

Cedric DeKhayed: (Demoted by Star) Scout Leader of Royal Light Cavalry Scouting Unit (Royal Scouts), level 45, golden skin, dark-brown eyes, sandy blond hair, goatee mustache, toned muscles, 6’1” - assigned to the heavy cavalry unit from Palnisdale of 500 being led by Sir

Terrance Anon – Guardian Knight.

*Light Cavalry: leather and chainmail for the arms and legs with a light bronze breast plate that protected the chest and back. Their weapons were sabers and shields with a spear. On top of that, each had a red cape and matching blue tabards.

Jasper Warf: Lance Leader of the Royal Heavy Cavalry Unit (Royal Lancers), Level 48, blond long hair in a ponytail, muscular, blue eyes, full blond beard, 6’4”.

*Heavy Cavalry: chain mail with iron plate pieces similar to the Guardian Knights, gray iron, heavy sabers, iron shield and heavy lance.

Carter Brewster: Lance Sub-Leader of the Royal Heavy Cavalry Unit (Royal Lancers), level 46, brown short hair, brown eyes, clean shaven, large man, heavy-tanned skin, serious personality, 6’2”, sent to inspect General DeKhayed’s home.

Carlisle Cleaver: Guard Leader in Central Keep, level 45, pale skin, bond short hair, blue eyes, clean shaven, muscular but slim.

Valerie Trinder (Lady Trinder): Chamberlain to Queen Isolde, brown hair in a bun, gray eyes, older woman, severe bearing, used to having her orders followed. Level 32,

Helga Tanner: (Promoted to Scout Leader by Star) Sub-Scout Leader of Royal Light Cavalry Scouting Unit (Royal Scouts), level 46, female, dusty skin, blue eyes, straight-black hair, and strong face with high cheekbones, toned muscles with nearly no breasts, 5’9” - assigned to the heavy cavalry unit from Palnisdale of 500 being led by Sir Terrance Anon – Guardian Knight. Cedric DeKhayed has issue with Helga because her family came from Tanners, but her experience is so solid that she earned her current rank.

Marie Stonier: Royal Guard Leader, level 43, Swordswoman, 5’10”, Human, long brown hair in a ponytail, green eyes, high cheek bones, muscular, and fit with a moderate chest. Guards the main gates into Palnisdale.

Olin DeKhayed (Grimblood DeKhayed): General, level 40, Swordsman, (reborn as a Dil-Hilth level 50 (aka Brain Suckers)) Slaughtered family and nearly a hundred others, was able to get General Dell demoted

Zoe Gardner (nickname Zoey): Maid that brings us to the baths. Friendly, straight brown-hair, green eyes.

Godfrey Tasker: Male Chamberlain that runs out of the bath.

Giles Inman: Level 43 Guard Group Leader, male, gives Gregory Carter hard time, disrespects Fylreh.

Graham Cooper: Level 41 Guard Sub-Group Leader, male, laughs at disrespect.

Lillian Seales: Level 40 Royal Guard, female, argues for both idiots to stop disrespecting the men and Fylreh.

Angus Baker: Level 40 Royal Guard, male, calls Fylreh’s breasts udders.

Gregory Carter (Gregor): ex-Royal Skirmisher, Skirmisher Leader, level 48, male, human, was forgotten on the streets until Star ordered all the released Royal Forces to be rehired again, leader of the group. Short, ruff-cut black hair, piercing blue eyes, strong face, heavy five o’clock shadow, tanned skin, muscular figure, and stands 6’2”. Caught Iron Falcon Mercenary for Star to speak with. Had a one-night stand with Ulia. Old unit was Royal Voltigeurs.

Hartley Warner: ex-Royal Skirmisher, level 48, male, human, silver wavy hair down to his collar, green eyes, older (early thirties), goatee, light-colored skin, 6 foot, was forgotten on the streets until Star ordered all the released Royal Forces to be rehired again, sub-leader of the group. Caught Iron Falcon Mercenary for Star to speak with. Had one-night stand with Neristhana. Old unit was Royal Voltigeurs.

Legar Stoneguard: ex-Royal Skirmisher, level 48, male, human, 6’1”, brown eyes, shaggy dirty-blond hair, heavy full beard, swarthy complexion, heavy-set, was forgotten on the streets until Star ordered all the released Royal Forces to be rehired again. Caught Iron Falcon Mercenary for Star to speak with. Large man. Had a one-night stand with Keela. Old unit was Royal Voltigeurs.

Durneth Greensborough: ex-Royal Skirmisher, level 48, male, human, was forgotten on the streets until Star ordered all the released Royal Forces to be rehired again. Caught Iron Falcon Mercenary for Star to speak with. Spent night in barracks. Old unit was Royal Voltigeurs.

Jannoth Branock: ex-Royal Skirmisher, level 48, male, human, was forgotten on the streets until Star ordered all the released Royal Forces to be rehired again. Caught Iron Falcon Mercenary for Star to speak with. Spent night in barracks. Old unit was Royal Voltigeurs.

Telrain (Human Capital)

Misty Raventhorn: Level 50 Swordswoman – Assault Leader of the Royal Forces in Telrain - long-black hair in a ponytail, dark brown eyes, snow-white skin, 6’2”, statuesque woman, slim like a whip. Resurrected from the pit outside of Telrain by Krystal at Startum’s request. Upper class family, used to working with priests in Telrain. Sent to Darom.

Randel Tericius: Level 49 Swordsman – ex-Guard Sub-Leader of the lower city of Telrain – male – mid-shoulder length black hair in a ponytail, green eyes, clean shaven, sharp cheek bones, angular face, 6’2”. Sent to Darom.

Priests of Light (Temple of Light in Telrain)

Hugon Walt: Level 50 Reverent Priest of Light - old man – bald head, blue eyes, plump frame, friendly personality

Yasmina Silvarn: Level 50 Radiant Mage of Light – old woman – long silver hair, dark-almond eyes, olive skin, handsome older woman. Wields a two-handed staff.

Nard Fulrin: Level 50 Battle Priest of Light – old man – bald hair, dark-brown eyes, brown skin, very old. Wields and Ahlspiess spear and wears heavy armor.

Ger Luzanus: Level 50 Battle Priest of Light – old man – stringy white-hair, beady dark-brown eyes, leathery skin, 5’6”. Pompous asshole.

Gee Achronis: Level 50 Radiant Mage of Light – mid-forties woman – long-blonde hair, cold blue eyes, severe face with high cheekbones, 5’7”. Evil bitch on the council of light. Has cleansing spell used against her to get her compliance to save the Telrain townsfolks.

Mihel Alfonce: Level 50 Reverent Priest of Light (neutral councilor) – mid-forties old man – full-head of short-gray hair, dark-brown eyes, dark tanned skin, gray soul patch tuff on his chin, scruffy day-old stubble and stood 5’10”. Aggressive when fighting for what is right.

Priests sent to Darom and later to BrokenFang Hold:

Natalie Pilner: Level 30 Priestess – female – white blonde short hair, amber brown eyes.

Marie Nundra: Level 30 Priestess – female – dirty-blonde short hair, dark-brown eyes.

Toran Dirk: Level 33 Combat Priest – male – bald headed, brown skin, muscular but over weight.

Narri Lane: Level 32 Priest – male – white long hair in ponytail, thin beard, clear face. Healing the refugees and training.

Sean Ander: Level 32 Combat Priest (journeyman) – male – brown short hair, clean shaven, overweight. Healing the refugees and training.

Lonna Mawl: Level 34 Light Mage – female – long brown hair in ponytail, olive skin, staff

Alex Quaiel: Level 42 Battle Priest (Advance) – male – spiky black hair, clean cut, blue eyes, and olive skin. Early-twenties.

Dread Pack (1250 members)

Apoxsee Neoauspex: Guild Leader – male – DPS Warrior / Flame Shield Mage – level 37 by book 9 (level 31 by book 8 (level 21 / dropped to level 33 during fight with Star – lost x levels at graveyard)) – dressed like Detonado from the Devil May Cry 3 series. White-blonde spikey hair, pale-blue eyes, clean shaven, red padded-leather overcoat, bare chested, too tight brown leather pants and black boots with an oversized two-handed bastard sword.

Amron Bungholio (Raymond): Level 26, Rogue Nightmare start

Fellblade Panzerfaust: Level 28, Warrior Nightmare start

Shuuk D’Poke (Adam): Level 26, Warrior Nightmare start

Kit Kat: Level 26, Rogue Advance start

Cadwell Jake: Level 27, Rogue Advance start

Khul Kusmar: Level 26, Rogue Advance start

PokeU Pettman (Dave): Level 26, Rogue Nightmare start

Lurge Mario: Level 28, Rogue Nightmare start

Arthur Marcelino: Level 30, Rogue Advance Start, Barn Darom scene,

Rasmussen Jestes: Level 30, Warrior Normal start, Barn Darom scene, (also lead attack against Phoenix side)

Tigner BaneForU: Level 30, Rogue Normal start, Barn Darom scene,

Jfire Pokemee: Level 30, Umbra Priest

Paul De’Grief: Level 30, Umbra Priest

Fatal Midnight of the Chaos Storm Alliance – (buffs and debuffs)

Jacob Mister-Griefer Level 42 – Rogue - guild leader – (debuffed to level 35 during western graveyard fight at Domenic’s pull out – in charge of rogue ambush), Dark Elf, dual daggers and a short sword.

Ortiz V: Level 40 – Rogue – guild officer – (debuffed to level 33 during western graveyard fight at Domenic’s pull out) Dark Elf,

Disciples of Anarchy (demon-like summons)

Rowland Ripper

Sea Orcs’ Bosses

Wutgarek Bonecrusher: Level 50 - Elite War Leader - male

Orc Elite Warriors: Level 40 - 50

Orc Elite Shamans(2x): Level 47 - Water and Air

Orc Elite Fire Mages(2x): Level 45 – 47 - Fire

Aussie Guild (Mates) 260 players (93 logged in when we meet) (Mix of Beast Kin and Dark Elf halflings)

Dangas Khan: Level 37 Warrior, guild leader, Dark Elf/Human,

Rassilon Tardis: Level 36 Ranger/Frost Mage, guild officer, Dark Elf/Dwarf,

Steph FoxFire (FIrefox): Level 35 Arcane Mage, guild officer, Red-furred Panda/Human. IRL name is Steph Potter, 5’2”, dark brown hair and green eyes.

Toxi Croack: Level 35, Half-Orc male, Barbarian, boyfriend of guild officer Steph (semi-officer himself), big muscles, black dreads, clean shaven, massive two-headed axe with shield on back and four small throwing axes. 6’2”, IRL name is Sam, private person who likes to mess with asshats.

Perth Supernova: Male Priest,

JT Cummins: Ranger

Daniel McConnell (nickname Bogan): Ranger

James Ross-Munroe (Queensland): Ranger, took temporary charge of graveyard survivors and did his best to save the Dark Elves dead.

Kane Wiblen (Queensland): Fire Mage

Uten Syn (unique Nightmare start with Nature Magic - 68 members total/38 Druids and 30 Wardens)

Krishna Uknuselig: Level 50 - Moon Elf – Warden - male - Guild Leader – close-cropped black hair, dark blue eyes, dark bluish skin, slim build, clean shaven, 5’8”.

Angela “Angie” Vakker: Level 50 - Moon Elf – Druid - female - GL-girlfriend – silvery hair down to mid-shoulder, hazel eyes, bluish-pale skin, slim build, 5’6”. Combat pet: Elite Molten Flow Striders named Burn.

Lyeneru Caivyre: Level 50 - Moon Elf – Druid - Angie Vakker’s trainer – female - mane of silvery hair down to her mid-back, green eyes, blue-tinged skin, slim build with large breasts, statuesque face and stance, 6’.

Gaelin Caidove: Level 50 - Moon Elf – Warden – Krishna Uknuselig’s trainer – male - short-cropped black hair, clean shaven, blue-tinged skin, muscular broad shoulders, forest green eyes, 6’0” tall. Combat pet: Elite Earth Shock Wolves named

Franky Marcella: Level 50 Warden, learned Nature Magic up to level 20. Combat pet: Elite Earth Shock Wolves named

Amanda McClure: Level 50 Druid, black,

Sirena Carroll: Level 50 Druid, Spanish,

Juan Hernandez: Level 50 Guardian, man. Combat pet: Elite Earth Shock Wolves named

Julissa Cota: Guild Officer, close friend with Angie, Level 50 Druid, small Asian girl, black hair, Japanese ancestry. Ran into a group of players that acted like her friend but then used her friendship to find out where the castle was and what kind of forces would be needed to take it down.

Suman Kanuganti: Level 50 Warden – small man, silver hair, green eyes, dark blue skin, angry about sharing loot rolls for pets with people of The World. Added him to my watch list.

Noralys Chave: Level 50 Druid female,

Scott Shade: Level 50 Druid man

Valerie Gibson: Level 50 Druid, female,

Justin Ekis: Level 50 Druid man

Rohan Zaveri: Level 50 Warden man

Monica De La Cruz: Guild Officer, close friends with Angie, Level 50 Druid, has become aggressive, brown hair, Spanish ancestry.

Victor Francis: Level 50 Druid

David Brinegar: Level 50 Warden -

Hemal Jariwala: Level 50 Warden –

Rob Dunn: Level 50 Warden –

Krushi Desai: Level 50 Warden –

Ernesto Salas: Level 50 Warden –

Randy McBride: Level 50 Warden –

Sean Randall: Level 50 Warden –

Brandon Reed: Level 50 Warden –

Jeremy Gabel: Level 50 Warden –

Billie Jo: Level 50 Warden –

Justin Ekis: Level 50 Warden –

Midnight Sun Guild (old friends from Chaos Online currently 40 members – mostly family and IRL friends)

Zedic ZStat: Level 31 – Human – Ranger / Healer – (uses a bow and martial arts – iron-knuckles) – male - wavy short-blond hair, full beard, blue eyes, 6’2” sturdy build, animal companions is a Wild Dog (shaggy white fur coat) named ZTop.

Zyndi ZStat: Level 31 – Human – Ranger / Healer – (uses bow and daggers) – female – long dirty-blonde hair, hazel eyes, stacked figure, 5’4”, animal companion is a Lynx (gray fur with black tiger stripes) named Zweety.

Beastkin Player Zeven’s Group (800 ghost warriors and two hundred farmers – Mistborne is also a family name in the clan)

Zeven Al'Zaric: Level 49 – Badger-Kin – Essence Shaman / Warrior – (Spirit Lochaber of Chieftain Diongmhalta, dirk, throwing hand axes, and magic) – male - 6'2" Silver+Grey coat, silver-blue eyes, and black-tipped ears. Brown-leather peasant shirt, thick-wool kilt, leather armor chest and heavy wolf-hide tunic. Nightmare quest gives a type of Spirit Shaman tree. Current Title: Spirit Hunter. Focused on enchanting using runes. Blaidd Ogof Hold. Chieftain of House of Bruic Diongmhalta. Has Low-Light vision. IRL name Stephanie Weber, engineering officer (looking to get into research and development), medically discharged from Navy. Lives in Yorktown, Virginia. Had Loss of power from an April ice storm that kept her out of the game for a week after completing her Nightmare quest. (Combat Pet name: Bright Claw of the Azure Sky (nickname is B.C.) – Grizhawk – black fur and feathers with a silver star on forehead. - “Bbbwwwaaa gggrrr bbbaaaa … Bbbwwwaaa gggrrr bbbaaaa!”) Has a thousand ghosts from the clan in his chest. 200 farmers, four hundred warriors, two hundred archers, hundred mages, hundred various merchants and general workers. Called Ridire Zeven by the Clan of Hammertoe. Mountain Strider Mount is Prima.

Nahimana Tor’Narc: (companion of Zeven / Nicknamed Nahi) Level 40 – Daughter of village Elder - Hunter / Essence Shaman apprentice – female – 5’ 8” Silver fur with black highlights, green eyes. Low-Light vision.

Torrac Tor’Narc: Level 50 – Badger Kin – Tracker / Essence Shaman – (staff, magic, bow) - male – 6’5” Elder of tribe, father of Nahimana, friend of Zeven, died during attack. Low-Light vision.

Big Red: Level 25 – Red Wolf-Kin - Warrior – male – 6’ 1”. IRL name Tony Weber, brother of Zeven, from Fox River Grove, Illinois. Low-Light vision.

Beathan Bruic: level 38 – Badger Kin – Warrior – War Leader of the Clan’s Guards – died protecting the clan during their escape from AAA PKers.

Arcturus Guild (Guardians) / Norwegian group (32)

Arcturus Borknager: Level 38 – Wolf-kin, Warrior – male – Guild Leader - black fur with silver highlights and sky-blue eyes. Shield and Long Sword with Two-handed blade on back. Anders, Norwegian group, friends from Chaos Online

Bjørn Hansen: Level 37 – Wolfkin – Rogue – Officer – Bow and daggers. Brown and black Wolf-kin with brown eyes,

Liv Kristiansen: Priest – Officer – Silver Wolf-Kin with black highlights and golden colored eyes. Staff with glowing white gem topped by a blade. Pointed base to be used by fighting. Friend of Anders.

Triple “A” (PKer guild part of Chaos Storm -  Ice Nightmare Tree)

Leerianne Rastleer: Guild Leader – Light Elf-Human – female – Shadow Thief, blonde shoulder-length hair, green eyes, stacked, black leather armor with silver high-lights, black leather pants, white blouse crop top, thigh- high leather boots, dual short swords. 5’10”, IRL name Kuel Chokemiln/man.

Brent Cadenach: Guild Officer – Light Elf-Human – male – big boned – Shadow Warrior, blond crew-cut hair, blue eyes, two-handed sword, bronze breastplate and pauldrons, bronze poleyns that cut off at knee, leather-chain armor as padding, brown leather knee-high boots. 6’2”, IRL name Mike Chadfield/man

Aven Taurig: Guild Officer – Light Elf-Human – female – Dark Priest, brunette shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, slim build, single dagger, skull-headed staff, black-cotton pants, blood-red blouse, suede leather knee-length boots, 5’7”, IRL name Kathy Tyson.

SoDak Jilling:

Nacario Deathreaver: Level 40 – Rogue – Leader – Captured Head (+10 Agility)

Xxnos Copexx: Level 40 – Rogue  – Captured Head (+10 Agility)

Stannis Dickatheon: Level 39 – Rogue  – Captured Head (+9 Agility)

Carebear Slayer: Level 39 – Rogue  – Captured Head (+9 Agility)

Muhrder Piehole: Level 39 - Rogue – Captured Head (+9 Agility)

Lester McStealy - level 35 – (Group Leader of five that came from the Beast Kin area) – male -Human - Rogue – daggers – kidnapped

Biggee McGee - level 33 – (came from the Beast Kin area) – male -Human Ranger – bow, sword, dagger

Yochen Holzig - level 33 - (came from the Beast Kin area) – female – DPS Warrior – two-handed sword

Pheeltip Choker - level 33 – (came from the Beast Kin area) – male – Fire Mage - staff

Antye Barbour - level 33 – (came from the Beast Kin area) – male – Priest – mace and chain mail armor

Felix Teper - level 32 – (camping Töten’s stronghold) -

Becker McPecker - level 32 - (camping Töten’s stronghold)

Wischi Martin - level 31 - (camping Töten’s stronghold) - Team Leader – male – Human – Rogue -

Zwicky Holger - level 33 – (camping Töten’s stronghold) – Raid Leader - male – Human - DPS Warrior – dual wielding hand axes

Rochow Cadabum - level 30 – (camping Töten’s stronghold) – Team Leader - male – Human - Thief Ranger

Andrew Patrick - level 30 – (camping Töten’s stronghold) -

Vain Pruisen - level 31 - (camping Töten’s stronghold) – male – Human - DPS Warrior

Daniel Yantan - level 32 - (camping Töten’s stronghold) -

Sascha Rivolr - level 30 - (camping Töten’s stronghold) - Team Leader – female – Human – Ranger -

Gunther Sonoko - level 31 - (camping Töten’s stronghold) -

Ferry Crew between Lonsalindel and Tulduroc on the ship Paddlewhirl

Gokmit Clubelvest

Roadkill (PKer guild part of Chaos Storm)

Lizzie Short: Rogue level 43, 5’2”, short brown pixie haircut, human, pale skin,

Alliance Zero (PKer guild part of Chaos Storm)

Hazug Blackbane – Level 42 – male dwarf – artillery gunner – Warrior

Orc that made agreement with Julie: (yani is sex slave / grug is food)

Kug Bloodreaver:

V-MMORPG

Alon Müsk: The owner of V-MMORPG

Admin Team:

Beth Matters: V-MMORPG Online Help Representative – female

Doug Rudd: V-MMORPG Supervisor for the in-game Admins. Rani Lamkin’s boss. (Known in-game as Protectors of Nordin.)

Frank Whitfield:  V-MMORPG Lead Infrastructure Engineer that looking into the hacking that has affected the game. Finds Rani credentials used in the log files.

Jules Verne: V-MMORPG Admin that Captains the Nautilus flying ship.

Justin Mayfair: V-MMORPG crazy developer that always were going on about how the NPCs in The World were actually the first digitally created people ever made. A prodigy in AI development.

Laura Jones: V-MMORPG CIO

Niles Mulliner: the admin taking money to help Julie cheat in The World.

Rani Lamkin: Level 38 Swordswoman - Human – sub-skill – Rogue – ex-Royal Investigator – (Nordic Guardian) brown shoulder-length hair, hazel eyes, unremarkable face (girl next door) and stands 5’7”. Brown leathers and a charcoal gray cloak. (Star knows that she’s an admin.) Born in California.

Susan Suckles: V-MMORPG Admin Team Lead that’s looking into the respawn issue.

Tony Martinez: V-MMORPG Information Assurance Chief.

Les enfants Terribles (Canada):

Solivann, guild master of LET (Les enfants Terribles) (yeah its a metal gear reference and the guild my friends and I always run with). Cleric / Rogue IRL name Eryck Brisson. Canadian software sales rep. Solivann is too curious for his own good and likes to think he can talk his way out of anything, he also tend to talk too much and get his foot in his mouth. LET is a content clearing guild trying to achieve world first on dungeons and climb the leaderboard. They used to play in PvP servers of every MMO coming out, reveling in the open world PvP. The happening of The World quickly became a full time job for them, being an already cohesive unit. They aren’t your typical nice Canadians, they are out for blood and loot.

PixelBomb, Dark Elf, male, IRL Name Renaud Lavergne Mayer professional game designer, first officer of LET, is an elemental shaman, old afficionado of the ''boomkin’ ‘in wow. He has a mischievous attitude and tend to act before thinking, his luck getting him out of trouble most often then not. Watching him go makes you believe there’s a god for impulsive hot heads.

Adelya, Tiger Kin, plays as a female, IRL name Adelya Rosethorn (nickname Olsen),irl occupation construction tool salesman. In every game, he is the person that goes for the crafting system, supporting his team with all kind of gear and contraptions.  Adelya is also one mean grinding machine. He will put in more time in a game then anyone i know. He is the analyst he LET, in every game we play, he is the one that was looking for the most optimal path to take. He is positive guy, but tend not to be too loud, doing his own thing. Class wise, is there is a summoner or a necromancer in a game, he will build the meanest, biggest army of pets and let them roam.

Assen, IRL name Remi-Piere, occupation Sysadmin. He is the main tank of LET, playing a paladin. effortlessly charismatic and detail oriented, people tend to flock to him easily.  He is a bit short fused and does not tolerate idiocy and incompetence. For him, tanking is Both a science and his art. He wants to be recognized as the best in what he does.

Alocer, irl name Alexandre, Sysadmin. Alocer was the one to bring up The World to LET when it first came out. Alocer eats and breaths PVP. Jumping from game to game to try their pvp system, watching countless rotation videos to perfect his art. He lives for that adrenaline rush you get when you are facing other players on the battlefield. In the world, he finally found a place where he could live that rush. He is a really positive person and hype easily on every new things, contributing on the guild moral and motivation.

Nikina - Dark Elf - plays girl in-game, irl name Julien. Admin in the videogame industry. Julien is playing Nikina, a woman healing paladin. Nikina is always big on vanity gear and fashionable characters. He is probably the person amongst LET who has tried the most MMORPG and he always come back to this Nikina healer character. Nikina is a thrill seeker and revels in the healers role as each second is a crisis he must manage. Socially, he is a chameleon that will fit with everyone. Everyone loves Nikina.

Dwarves from the Mining Town of Kragrock

Male:

Borear Hammertoe - Blacksmith - gray beard, bald head, gray eyes, wields a large hammer (same one he uses to smith)

Savrulir Bristletoe - Mine Leader

Grobrut Cavebuster

Strokhot Coalshoulder

Nurakdrin Silverbraid

Kukuil Blackspine

Skorgaeth Kegjaw

Female:

Thilaelydd Flintgrog - Sub-Mine Leader

Dalofruni Smeltmane

Erirgrangrid Grimbelt

Olgilsia Redchin

Skonmeginn Bronzeback

Kuggulynn Flintgrog

Children:

Mutoline Hammertoe - female - Clan Hammertoe - Blacksmith's granddaughter - dusty-skinned, dark brown eyes, her long brown hair is set into five braids - two in front to either side of her head and one large main braid that ran down to her mid-back. A leather cap was tucked over her head that matched the simple dark-green leather pants and brown leather tunic she wore with Celtic-like designs woven into the sleeves and cuffs. A plaid tartan-like sash hung diagonally across her chest. Zeven guessed her at around 10 years old. Belt at waist with a small pouch and simple iron dagger. Now that her grandfather died, she is now the Tánaiste (heir apparent)

Doufalynn Flintgrog - female - Clan Hammertoe - Sub-Mine Leader's daughter - her long dirty-blonde hair was set into two braids that ran down the front of her chest and were intertwined with soft gray strips. She had very pale skin with blue eyes and rosy cheeks and was wearing a gray leather tunic and brown leather pants with similar Celtic designs on her cuffs and sleeves. A matching plaid tartan-like sash hung diagonally across her chest. Zeven guessed her to be between 6 to 8 years old. Belt at waist with a small pouch and simple iron dagger. (Zeven gave her The Devastator two-handed hammer from her mother's death)

Lokuth Kegflayer - male - Clan Hammertoe - an unruly mane of red hair roughly chopped short, dark-olive skin, green eyes, and wears dark-brown leather pants and a light-brown tunic. A matching plaid tartan-like sash hung diagonally across his chest. Zeven guessed his age to be that of Doufalynn, aka 6 to 8 years old. Belt at waist with a small pouch and simple iron dagger. (given Steel Blade of the Crusader that was owned by his mother. Has a baby Combat Pet named Tusky (Death Tusks) that's a Stone Tusked Boar Charger the clan uses for mounts.

Aeroch Nor:

Avna Hammertoe - level 48, DPS Warrior, female Dwarf - gray eyes, pale skin, loose shoulder-length auburn hair, freckles around nose, 5' tall, solid build, heavy armor, uses a two-handed war hammer, Blacksmith's daughter and new Chieftain for Clan Hammertoe

Belkar Kegflayer - Cavern Ranger - level 52 - male Dwarfling Dwarf/Gnome/Beast Kin - 3 1/2 feet tall, broad and muscular, bald head, brown short dual-braided old Dutch beard, dark brown eyes, casual morally ambiguous attitude about violence, dual wields spirit-edged daggers, mini-mechanized crossbows on each wrist, larger crossbow on back. (Watches over Zeven shopping) (Shrelark sister and Karbel brother)

Droman Dhonic Cragguard - level 67 - gray-beard Hammer Warrior, looks to be very old and decrepit, Steward of the home of Hammertoe Clan Chiefs, messy Viking grey beard with chin-braid, brown eyes, gruff but friendly, helps with cooking, rough-spun linen shirt, simple kilt with sash, dagger and hammer at waist, brown knee-high boots.

Therdac Warfury - level 46 - Captain of the Clan's Guards, Defensive Warrior, black hair, black Klingon beard, green eyes, heavy plates over chain, large heater shield, bearded one-handed axe, two-handed axe on back, leads five troopers.

Aeroch Nor Shops

Graymail's Superior Weapons and Armor -Ran by Skovreck

Graymail - Advanced Smith - Level 58 - balding forehead, wild black hair held back with a silver band, wild black beard, dark brown eyes, 5'1", boots, blue kilt, leather apron over it, sleeveless.

Grunhilda's Leather Boutique ran by Strorgouni Craghide - Girdler / Ranger - level 38 - right red braids down back, young face, claw scratch scar over right eye, blue eyes, dark-black fury-leather shoulder pads made from Shadow Fox, mid-dark ornate leather chest piece, mid-dark leather armor skirt with wide equipment belt, and leather boots, skull necklace, clan kilt around waist and shoulder.

Merryfinger's Exceptional Threads - ran by Girroc Silvertouch - level - 42 - Journeyman - Tailor - blue eyes, long bald head, snow-white beard, with silver bands handing from mustache, matching thin silver band around head, long white robe, vest and sash around waist is in plaid colors of clan, very effeminate, hates to be dirty, but good with dress shirts and jackets and kilts.

Lightbraid's Luxurious Leathers - ran by Lornurra Lightbraid - cobbler - long blonde hair, green eyes, thin 5'1" and classy looking, long kilt, white elegant long-sleeve shirt, wrapped in clan traditional ruana (wrap), Sgian-dubh dagger at waist, leather equipment belt.

Badruc's Beasties and Gear (catchphrase- Get Mounted Here) - Badruc Blazingbreaker and Groubihulda Steelbane:

Badruc Blazingbreaker - level 47 - Ranger / Beast Trainer - male Dwarf - reddish brown long ruff hair, full beard with three braids held with iron rings, brown hard eyes, weathered face, mix of steel plates, and plaid clan colors across chest, kilt, heavy leather boots, 5' tall, bow and two-handed war axe, one-handed bearded axe. He has a combat pet that's a Stone Gore Bear called Crusher.

Varfaline Steelbane - level 41 - DPS Hammer Warrior / Journeyman Smith - Dwarfling Dwarf/Human - brunette hair, wears in a bun, brown eyes, super muscular and thick bodied, immense chest and arms, 5'7", typically works in brown leather apron that barely fits around chest, no shirt, tight brown leather pants, and knee-high brown boots. Also likes to wear a brown leather choker. Has scar across bridge of her nose. No nonsense and gruff while on duty. She's good at armoring monsters. Treated poorly due to mixed blood but better than a slave due to her smithing.

Thongrewynn Wyvernbraid - level 33 - Hunter - Dwarfling Dwarf/Dark Elf mix - red long hair, green eyes, white painted war marks on face, leather chest piece (tub top), bone necklace, bone embedded in armor, leather shoulder pads, furry loin cloth, heavy leather gear belt, bow, one-handed bearded axe, two-handed bearded axe. She's treated like a slave due to her skill set and mixed blood.

Kotgrulim Caskgut - Squad-Leader - level 35 - DPS Warrior - dark-brown braided beard, dark-brown mohawk, green eyes, scared left cheek, large iron spiked shoulder pads, iron breast plate, leather gauntlets, belt, and pants, with iron shin guards, wields an oversized bastard battle axe.

Sits below Grabar Frostmour the Dwarven hero that is said that founded Aeroch Nor. This is Founder's Park. Statue is called "Grabar Frostmour bends the mountain to his will."

Mary's Gies - Serving the best Brat Pies and Blackberry Mead in Aeroch Nor - ran by Mary Firebrane and Nadealynn Firebrane.

Mary Firebrane - level 48 - DPS Hammer Warrior / Cook - Dwarf male - long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, full blond beard with single braid, bushy eyebrows, blue eyes, heavy with big belly and massive arms, leather kitchen apron, ragged dirty linen sleeveless shirt, kilt, brown leather ghillie shoes, plaid kilt hose.

Nadealynn Firebrane - level 27 - Essence Shaman / Waitress - Dwarf female - daughter reg long hair with two side braids, clan gold clasps on ends, Blue Essence Mark across right eye, smiling and pleasant, thick bodied but sexy, large breasts, loose white sleeveless top, plaid long kilt, Arisaid wrap around shoulders, brown leather ghillie shoes, plaid kilt hose.

Domina's Enchanting Dreams - Slashing Prices for your pleasure

Herbs, Flasks, and Things

Cavern Trekkers Emporium

Mountain Breakers

Jargaet's Gems Galor

Hilda's Hidden Trinkets

Thosgruri Oddities

Deep Hollow Plunderer's Guild - We get into all the tightest holes, adventuring guild.

Skagribela Butchery - you stab them we slab them.

Flintgravel’s Smithing Haven - ran by the Gravelcoat Clan.

Goldenmane Leathers - Flintlarmour Clan

Aeroch Nor ambushers

Clan of Slagsmith

Thrakulck Densehide - male - level 45 - Group Leader

Themragith Densehide - female - level 44 - Group Sub-Leader

Snagril Embergrain - male

Arroginn Embergrain - female

__Tries to attack Zeven in Aeroch Nor__

Grakhick Densehide - male - level 41 Leader DPS Warrior

Webithra Embergrain - female - level 40 Essence Shaman

Dimbraids Hilldelver - male - level 39 Mountain Stalker

Mungraeck Densehide - male - level 38 DPS Warrior

Brargolin Hilldelver - male - level 39 Mountain Stalker

Aeroch Nor Guards (Guardians of Aeroch Nor)

Nodraic Grimaxe - male - Guard Leader

Notmure Hetbrewer - female - Guard Sub-Leader

Bafoc Thunderbeard - Sergeant

King and Royal Family

Aralgoul Shatterfist

Spiral - massive column with ramps-roads that go up and down the center cavern of Aeroch Nor.

Guards that let Zeven go after the fight.

Krakhid Greatshield - level 55, Cave Defender

Clan of the Rautt Drekar (253 NPCs)

Byrnwulf Undaunted (Red Lord or Rautt Drottinn): Level 36 - Red Draconian-Human - Barbarian Berserker (upgrades to Riddara at 40, and Battlerager at 51, Battle Lord at 76) - long blonde hair in ponytail, blue eyes, reddish-tinged skin, red horns coming from forehead, red scales around neck and in the shape of a V down the upper middle of his chest, red scaled gauntlets that go up to his elbows and ends in clawed fingertip (natural armor part of Nightmare tree), 6'2". Short fangs. Coarse dark-brown leather boots, dark brown leather pants (not armor), dark-brown sleeveless leather vest (not armor), dark brown leather stripes wrapped around his upper arms, and wearing a coarse brown robe with hood. Wields a massive two-handed axe with dragon-wing spike (epic Nightmare weapon) Glows with heat and causes fire damage on successful hit. Has armor piercing effect. (named Great Axe of Rautt Drottinn) Clan of the Rautt Drekar. Mölbrotinn Horn Stronghold (Shattered Horn Stronghold). Grants 75% Fire Resistance. 10% Elemental Magic resistance. Short bio: Young guy (23 or 24) from Minnesota. As a gamer he likes PvP (not pking but more dueling and large scale fighting). Single. Is more interested in being a "champion" than a general. Past experience with MMOs involved running solo and joining pick up for dungeons and mostly going into "matched" and "ranked" PvP instead of being a PKer. Is pretty laid back and is usually the one who runs head first into dungeons and raids. Prefers mobile builds with a good amount of DPS. (Race features: maybe natural armor that scales with level equivalent to medium armor of that level. Can't wear armor as a trade off. Possible decent magic resistance?) (Nightmare magic tree: Draconic magic. Personal buffing such as enhanced strength, toughness, and speed. Nothing too strong just enough to give a slight edge to start, Area of effect elemental breath weapons, and possible flight.)

Igtra Raktizu: level 36 - Red Draconian-Human - Wild Shaman - green eyes, long dirty blonde hair in ponytail, reddish-tinged skin, red horns coming from forehead, red scales around neck and in the shape of a V down the upper middle of her chest, red scaled gauntlets that go up to her elbows and ends in clawed fingertip (natural armor part of Nightmare tree). Coarse dark-brown leather boots, dark brown leather pants (not armor), dark-brown sleeveless leather vest with bare midriff (not armor), and wears a coarse brown robe with hood, 6'2". Short fangs. Wields a spiked mace, round shield. Brusque attitude, supercilious, and thinks most other species are inferior. Spells - Burning Heal, Fiery Blast / Seeking Flame Strike, Fire Shield, Blazing Weapon, Phosphorus Web, Attribute Boosts, Primal Strikes, Scale Armor pieces.

Shadowfell Village - is on the northeastern edge of the Crevice of Shadows.

Dalton Thatcher - level 65, old Adept-level Adventurer that retired to the village. Widower, uses a massive long bow to fight.

Lucille Taverner - level 75 Professional Mayor - Professional Distiller / Alchemist

Carter Lorimer - Village Protector level 71 Champion BattleMaster

Giles Taverner - Level 55 Expert Defender

Jessica Purcell - Level 65 Adapt Rune Stalker

Helen Tasker - Level 68 Adapt

Claude Collier - Level 71 Professional

Hollow Cove Village that is on the northwestern side, but it too far away to help or warn.

Shadow Thorn Village that is on the southern side, but is too far away to help or warn.

Hamlet of Hardfall (outside of Lodenburg) Gigantic

Grandma Drea Dmaw: Barkeep of The Lazy Stag Pub

Cheliferidae Risso Infestation Dungeon.

Dreadmaw the Ravaging Matriarch – Boss - level 63

Toxic Stalker the Noxious - Mini Boss - level 58

VaporStrike the Ravenous - Mini Boss - level 61

The Goats Guild in Hardfell Hamlet

Basic Start Players

Gillam Goreman - lvl 32 / Warrior

Owen Robin - lvl 31 / Rogue

Anna Neville - lvl 31 / Frost Mage

Connor Forcinas - lvl 31 / Ranger

Shawna Jacobsen - lvl 30 / Priest

Advanced start players Random Group in Hardfell Hamlet

Pyralis Kirk - lvl 36 / Ranger / Human (complete ass - dies early)

Samantha Buller - lvl 35 Defensive Warrior / Dark Elf - (belligerent but gets better)

Kevin Beeker - lvl 37 / Ranger / Dark Elf (warry but fair)

Alan Vans - lvl 35 / Fire Mage / Dwarf (gruff but fair)

Laura Mac - lvl 35 / Priest / Human (too nice and gets eaten)

Ron Malone - lvl 34 / Fire Mage / Human (pyromaniac and big talker)

Advanced start The GOAT guild players in Hardfell Hamlet

Gillam Goreman – level 32 Human Warrior

Advanced start Raising Cane Guild players in Hardfell Hamlet

Andy Lambert – level 22 Human Priest

START OF DOM’s NPC’s (Domenic’s notes / 24 Paladins, 240 Dwarves at arms, 50 non-combatants, 1 Gnoll companion =315 NPCs (324 Domenic, Gnoll, NPCs and players / 270 Water and 270 Earth Elementals=540)/players: Daniella, Tony, Kat, Glen, Jimmy, John, daughter, and her boyfriend)

Tony Tomohiahya: Anthony, Virginia, Human, Hunter, male, bear pet. Large Rock Bear

Fluffy Tomohiahya: Danielle, (Danny) Virginia, Human, Hunter – female, bear pet, Large Rock Bear

Runartin Stonehammer: Glen, Texas, Dwarf, Warrior – male

Lena Stonehammer: Kitty, Texas, Dwarf, Priestess – female

Nuthar Inurface: Jimmy, Florida, Gnome, Priest / Bruiser – male, 3’2”, bald headed, brown eyes, long goatee,

Daiza Karrath: John, Florida, Human, Warrior – male – cheated on Julie while we were dating,

Rinaquenon Karrath: Julie (John’s daughter), Florida, Human, Fire Mage – female

Aegis Karrath: Kenneth (Julie’s boyfriend), Florida, Human, Warrior – male -

Bruddol Jadepike: Level 49 NPC Male Dwarf (CLASS TBD) Expert Miner / Architect

Gutirrg Rotfist: Gnoll Blood-brother.

Oksana Oakenstaff: Level 49 - Female – Half Dwarf-Human, Earth Shaman (Twin Sister of Iolas Oakenstaff) and love interest.

Gala Ranit: Level 49 NPC Half Dwarf-Gnome Bard (Will become my Master Scribe and a Lieutenant)

Madori Bryce: Level 49 NPC Female Half Dwarf-Dark Elf - Ranger - Blacksmith from Dwarven Capital Aeroch Nor - Lieutenant

Iolas Oakenstaff: Level 49 Male Shaman - Half-Dwarf-Human, Paladin (Twin Brother of Oksana Ironwood.)

Ferox Ironwood:

Gorran Carabineer: Level Sword Trainer – Half-Dwarf from Telrain.

Lexi Ngwen: Level Half Gnome Female Paladin from his clan.

Lorna Lightstorm: Level Human Female Priest at Telrain (sick of the Human Politics and left the Human area)

Kurin HellHammer: Level 49 - Male Dwarf – Guard Commander at Dwarven Capital Aeroch Nor.

Vudune Tortoris: Level 49 Male Dwarf Warrior (friend of Kurin’s 2nd in command ) at Dwarven Capital Aeroch Nor.

Pounce: Level (Same as Player) Male – Blink Lynx cat companion + eventually a mount

About the Author

Jason A. Cheek, the author of The World & The Last Paladin series, works in Germany due to his current job assignment. He lives with his wife and daughter, along with their two dogs Monty and Melow (rescue dogs from Greece). Originally from West Palm Beach, Jason lived most of his early life in Florida, except for when he was serving in the military or traveling for his job.

Always feeling like he was born out of time from an early age, Jason’s interested ran the gauntlet of martial arts, swords, archery, Dungeon & Dragons, the SCA (Society of Creative Anachronisms), reading Sci-Fi, and Fantasy. After leaving the service, Jason taught himself computer support and networking by his hobby of computer gaming.

Working eighty plus hours a week as a waiter, Jason put himself through college, studying to be an Occupational Therapist Assistant. In the end, he ended up becoming an Information Technology Professional due to his many hours of playing first person shooters and strategy games at LAN parties around the United States or logged into Anarchy Online and World of Warcraft leading his guilds.

Excelling in his career as an Information Technology Specialist, Jason was able to get a job traveling the world. During that time, he became interested in motorcycles, skydiving, white water rafting, scuba diving, and other extreme sports. Moving to Germany after meeting his Polish wife, he taught himself German and Polish, settling down in Europe with his current job and started writing books.

Connect with Jason Cheek

Please visit Amazon to discover other books by Jason Cheek.

The Last Paladin Series

Book One - Flight

Book Two - Destiny

Book Three - (In progress)

The World Series

Book One – First Login

Book Two – Mixing It Up

Book Three – You’re Going Down

Book Four – Helping A Friend

Book Five – The True Enemy Revealed

Book Six – That Wasn’t The Plan

Book Seven – Elusive Prey

Book Eight – Neck-Deep In It

Book Nine – Into the Breach

Book Ten – Escape from Darom

Book Eleven – Two Birds One Stone

Book Twelve – coming soon

Connect with Jason Cheek

Friend me on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-A-Cheek/1415815985327666

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23281087

Follow me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JasonACheek

Email me at: JasonACheek@gmail.com

Favorite my Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7799118.Jason_Cheek

Visit my website and blog: http://www.thecheekyfellow.com/

Epilogue

Post Credit Scene

(Tuesday, May 13th / Day 23 of The World.)

(Rani Lamkin meeting up with Justin Mayfair at the City Café Diner in Chattanooga, Tennessee.)

“Ring … ring … ring …,” there was a click as a low murmur mixed in with the clink of plates and silverware along with Justin’s voice sounding annoyed coming from her car speakers, “Where are you, Rani? I warned you that I only have an hour for lunch!”

“I’ve been driving up and down the street for the last ten minutes trying to find this place,” Rani irritably snapped, “but all that I can find at the corner of Bonny Oaks and Lee is a freaking Best Western hotel!” Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she impatiently continued, “Where the hell is this place, Justin?”

“Oh, good, you are here,” Justin said mollified as the edge left his voice, “just pull into the Best Western’s parking lot.”

“I thought you said we were meeting at the City Café Diner?” Rani asked in confusion.

“We are,” Justin assured her, “it’s on the Bonny Oaks side of the hotel near the corner.”

“Why didn’t you just say, meet at the Best Western hotel and not this City Café Diner?” Rani complained in an exasperated huff.

“Probably because I didn’t want a “Me Too” accusation of inappropriate behavior by my suspended colleague,” Justin said without hesitation.

“Justin, that’s-” Rani’s voice died away as it hit her how that might’ve come across if he’d told her earlier that he wanted to meet at a hotel.

Some women might just assume Justin was trying to pressure them to sleep with him for his help with a suspension. Hell, if she’d told any of her girlfriends about this situation, they’d assume that the two of them were more involved than they were. Sherry would definitely be teasing her about liking older men. How much more evidence would a human resource department need to simply suspend him too for inappropriate behavior with a coworker?

“Just give me a minute,” Rani said, letting out the breath that she’d been holding, “I’m turning into the parking lot now.”

Ending the call, Rani focused on driving as a pair of young children raced out in front of her car. Slamming her brakes, she stopped without a problem. Freaking kids, where were the parents?

A moment later, she saw the children’s mother come waddling out of the hotel’s main entrance. Instead of offering a wave of apology, the woman glared at Rani as if having her children nearly run over was somehow her fault. Swearing under her breath, Rani snorted at the woman’s back as she hollered at the children for them to get into the car. It was just another example of people not taking responsibility for their own actions, or lack thereof.

Turning onto the parking lot side of the hotel next to Bonny Oaks Drive, Rani saw the hidden entrance to the City Café Diner. It really was a separate restaurant, she thought with a snort, and surprisingly enough was open twenty-four hours daily. The only other restaurants in the area that she knew were open twenty-four hours were IHOP or Track’s End, which was where most of the V-MMORG night crew ended up on their lunch break. Finding a spot near the door, she parked and hurried inside.

Walking inside, Rani was surprised to see a display of freshly baked pies by the register. Coming to a stop next to the “Please Wait to Be Seated” sign, she looked around the small restaurant for Justin, noting the outdated kitschy red cushioned booths and black-backed chairs, when a waitress stopped in front of her with a large tray of food on her shoulders.

“How many guests will be in your party tonight?”

“I’m actually meeting a friend-” seeing Justin waving at her from a booth near the rear, she quickly apologized, “there he is.”

“I’ll swing by in a moment to take your order,” the waitress said, handing Rani a menu and a utensil wrap.

“Uh, thanks,” Rani muttered, somewhat taken aback as the woman headed off to another table to serve the food she was carrying. Distastefully glancing at the menu and utensil wrap that she’d been handed, she started making her way over to Justin’s table while muttering under her breath, “Not exactly the friendliest of service.” Then again, that was like most twenty-four-hour diners were.

“Hey, Justin,” Rani said as she sat down on the opposite side of the booth.

“Evening, Rani,” Justin politely greeted between sips of a large chocolate shake, “How are you holding up?”

“Um, fine I guess,” Rani unhappily said as a frown creased her face, “Thanks for agreeing to meet with me tonight because no one else from the Admin team would.”

“It’s not a problem,” Justin said with an easy laugh as he worked on scooping out his shake with a spoon, “as long as we’re not meeting up at IHOP or Track’s.” Seeing the hurt expression that flashed across the young woman’s face, he gave an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, that’s just the way it goes when you’re fired with cause.”

“I wasn’t fired,” Rani argued, looking at him in shock, “I was told this was a temporary leave of absence until they investigate the issue.”

“When it’s without a return date,” Justin pointedly said with a spoonful of shake, “it basically means you’re fired. They’re just waiting for the investigation to finish before making it final.”

“What do you mean, fired with cause?” Rani grunted, deciding not to argue the point.

“They’re worried about corporate espionage,” Justin explained, shoving the spoon in his mouth before the frozen lump of shake melted off, “someone with an Admin-level access has been resetting all of the regions’ settings, and it’s causing havoc within The World.”

“Why would they think I had anything to do with that?” Rani asked in confusion, “I don’t have any kind of high-level access like that with my account.”

“Are you ready to order?” the waitress asked, interrupting their conversation.

“Um, I’m not really-,” Rani began to say when Justin cut her off.

“She’ll take a coffee and a slice of that fresh pecan pie you were telling me about.”

“It’s really okay,” Rani protested as the old developer waved her objections away.

“Just bring it out with my dinner, Tanya,” Justin said, not taking no for an answer, “that way I’m not eating alone.”

“You got it, Justin,” Tanya said, making a note on her pad.

“I wish you wouldn’t be all patriarchal like that,” Rani fumed as the waitress walked away.

“Patriarchal my ass,” Justin snorted, shaking his head at her like she’d disappointed him, “We’re here to eat lunch together, not to have you watching me eat by myself. That’s just plain rude on a number of levels.” As Rani swallowed her pride, she had to admit that he did have a point as Justin continued in a more caring tone, “Besides it looks like you haven’t been eating all that much since Sunday morning.”

“Eh, going without food for a couple of days won’t hurt me,” Rani flippantly said, dismissing her colleague’s concern with a wave of her hand.

“That’s most definitely not true, Ms. Skin and Bones,” Justin said without a hint of humor in his eyes, “Did you forget the training briefs about the Egg’s effects on the physical body? A regular gamer burns so many calories in an eight-hour session that they require a minimum of four thousand calories a day to not continue losing excess amounts of body weight.”

“I can’t believe you’re calling the immersion rig an Egg,” Rani joked, trying to get him to get off the topic.

“It’s as good of a word as any,” Justin dismissively said, “Besides it’s what everyone else is already calling them.” Pointing his spoon at her chest, a look of concern flashed across his face as he continued. “Just looking at you, I doubt that you have an inch of body fat anywhere on your body. If you’re not careful, you’ll start burning muscle mass and having health issues.” Seeing the annoyed look in her eyes, his frown deepened. “Seriously, you need to start making it a point to eat large amounts of high-calorie and high-protein foods on a regular basis if you’re going to keep on playing in The World.”

“I’m an Admin, we don’t play,” Rani grunted in disagreement.

“No, you’re not,” Justin argued, “you’re just sitting at home doing nothing waiting to be fired.” Before she could argue the point further, Tanya came bustling up with a tray of food.

“Here you go, Justin,” Tanya said, setting down a plate in front of him, “Penne Shrimp Alfredo with garlic bread and a side of chili.” Turning to Rani, the woman set down an empty cup and a pot of coffee with a small chrome pitcher of creamer, before sliding a large piece of Pecan Pie with a heaping of freshly whipped cream. Pouring the first cup of coffee, she nodded to the developer, “If you need anything else, just let me know.”

“Justin?” Rani asked, eyeing the older man across from her, “Why does Tanya know your name? Do you guys have a thing going or something?”

“Why would you say that?” Justin asked as his face creased into a frown.

“Because she knows your name,” Rani said, thinking her logic was obvious.

“You do know that some people are just nice to be nice,” Justin dryly said, not bothering to look up as he dumped the chili onto his pasta. “I frequent this place regularly and I respect that she works hard at her job.” Seeing the doubtful look on her face, he shook his head in disappointment. “Does it need to be more than that to be nice to someone?” He gave her a pointed look. “Isn’t that basically what I’m doing here with you?”

“That’s different, we’re coworkers,” Rani disagreed. Before she could say more, a look of horror came to her face as she gagged watching him mix the chili with the pasta, “I think I’m going to be sick! Why did you-”

“It’s a poor man’s Jambalaya,” Justin happily said, eagerly taking a bite of the mixture.

“Isn’t Cajun cooking basically recipes from poor Swamp People that lived in the Bayou?” Rani asked while Justin’s eyes closed in ecstasy.

“Don’t spoil my meal by spouting logic,” Justin chastised as he took another bite.

Looking away from the gastric abomination, Rani focused on putting two creams and sugars into her coffee before taking a sip. While it might not be a Chai Latte from Starbucks, it was surprisingly good coffee. Taking a bite of pie, she couldn’t help the moan of pleasure that came from her mouth. This pie was amazingly good and she was suddenly starving. As she started eating with gusto, Justin began to quietly talk.

“The problem is that someone used your account credentials to reset all of The World’s monster spawn rates to wave in every region. This has resulted in weeks of monsters and demi-human populations expanding in numbers exponentially, which explains the number of Orcs invading the Kingdom of Kader.”

“My credentials were used?” Rani asked in shock, “I swear, Justin, I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

“It’s pretty obvious since you were logged in at the time and changes like that can only be made when you’re outside The World,” Justin agreed, “The only problem is that it was your credentials that were used to make the changes.”

“I don’t understand,” Rani paused with a forkful of pie halfway to her mouth.

“They’re concerned this is high-level corporate espionage,” Justin explained between bites, “For the right amount of money, anyone could be talked into ruining The World so that another tech company can buy the rights to our FIVR technology on the cheap.” He pointed an empty fork at her to emphasize his next point. “The problem for you is that there’s no way to prove that you’re an innocent victim, especially after all of that bullshit you tried pulling on that Ironwolf player.”

“But he keeps doing crazy shit that could break the game and-” Rani protested.

“And you had to go make it personal,” Justin said, cutting her off. Before she could deny the accusation, he pointedly continued, “I rewatched several of your fights myself. While I don’t think any of that was corporate espionage, I do believe it was most definitively a personality clash because he didn’t treat you with the,” he did air quotes, “authority you deserved.”

“So, let me guess, no one else agreed with your take on that?” Rani demanded after, swallowing that bitter pill, “So, they think that I’m on the take?”

“Without any evidence to the contrary, why wouldn’t they?” Justin asked without any malice. “This whole incident has upper management spooked.” He gave her an apologetic shrug. “There’s too much money on the line for them to take any chances without hard evidence.”

“I guess that means I’ll be moving back to California then,” Rani said, sagging in the booth. The Pecan pie suddenly felt like a lead weight in her stomach, “That’s if I can even get a job in the industry after this.”

“You could do that,” Justin admitted, cleaning up the remaining sauce on his plate with his last piece of garlic bread, “or you could try doing something about it.”

“What can I possibly do to prove my innocence?” Rani asked, completely dispirited, “I’m not a hacker.”

“No, I didn’t get that vibe from you,” Justin agreed as a smile momentarily turned up the corners of his mouth, “but you could login with your own character and hang out with that Ironwolf player these guys have been messing with so hard. Maybe, you could get some hard evidence that you’re not playing for the other team.” He shrugged. “It would at least be better than just giving up and moving back home as a failure.”

Could she actually play The World as a character? That question gave her pause. It was one thing to be an Admin, but it was an entirely different situation to be a regular player. The next question that popped into her mind was, did she want to? As an Admin, she’d been required to become familiar with the basics, but unlike the other Admins on the team, she didn’t go out of her way to level up her character any higher than what was absolutely necessary. That made her pause as she sat stewing over Justin’s proposal. Would Star even give her the time of day? It would really suck to go through all that leveling for him to tell her to go jump in a lake.

While that was true, it pissed Rani off, even more, to be fired from her job when she’d done nothing wrong. Well, nothing wrong like changing all of the regions’ monster and demi-human spawn settings or taking money for corporate espionage. The truth of the matter was that she’d be lucky if V-MMORG didn’t come after her legally.

“Okay, I’m in,” Rani said, letting out a heavy sigh as she straightened up in the booth and looked Justin in the eyes, “I worked too hard to throw everything away due to some jerkoff that hacked my account.” A grin came to her face. “Besides, it wasn’t all that hard to level up the first time around.”

“Ha, that’s the spirit,” Justin agreed, slapping his palm down on the table and making her jump as their dinnerware clattered from the impact. His face took on a pensive look while she poured another cup of coffee, “You do realize it’s going to be a lot harder to level up as an actual player, right?”

“Oh, come on, Justin,” Rani said with a nervous laugh, “can’t you get me one of those Admin rings that grants a plus 500% to all experience gained?”

“Are you insane!” Justin exclaimed looking at her like she’d lost her mind, “That’s exactly the kind of shit the Infrastructure Monitoring team is looking for.” He shook his head from side to side. “I don’t mind giving you a hand, but I’m not about to put my job on the line for you. That would just be professional suicide.”

“If that’s the case, this whole idea is a lost cause,” Rani depressively said trying not to cry, “If you can’t even help me with that, there’s no way that I can be guaranteed to spawn within the Nordic Region.” She shook her head in frustration. “I could wind up spawning in China or the Americas.”

“Actually, I know of a preprogrammed race that is set to spawn within the Nordic Region and only the Nordic Region that you could choose since they’re cold-based,” Justin thoughtfully said as he considered the issue carefully, “As far as I know, no one has chosen the race yet.”

“Okay, now that could work,” Rani excitedly said, “Why the long face? Are you starting to get cold feet now?”

“No, that’s not it,” Justin said with an uncomfortable cough as if weighing if he should tell her or not. Coming to a decision, he let out a sigh and shook his head, “It’s just that the race would require that you choose a Nightmare start and it’s a Beast kin.”

“Beast kin,” Rani said as her face twisted in disgust, “You know I’m not down with the whole furry thing, right?”

“It’s not so bad as all of that,” Justin said a little too quickly. “The race looks surprisingly humanoid for the most part and,” he nervously gulped, “you might even find it a bit cutesy.”

“Cutesy?” Rani deadpanned as he nervously looked away.

“Hey, Tanya, mind bringing over the check?” Justin called out, seeing the waitress walking by a few tables over, he called out.

“Sure, Justin,” Tanya said with a friendly wave.

“You know, maybe this was a bad idea,” Justin suddenly said, getting more nervous by the second, “Just forget that I said anything.”

“You’re shitting me, right?” Rani deadpanned, snatching the check from the waitress’s hand, and holding it hostage as she walked away. “What’s the race, Justin?”

“Lo-look, I do-don’t want you to be offended and think-” Justin began to stutter.

“Look, Justin,” Rani said in a conciliatory tone as she reached her free hand across the table to grab his frozen hand, “I’m not gonna be pissed at you. I really need your help. If this is the only way to make sure I can get within the same Region as Ironwolf, then I’ll do whatever it takes.” Her lips twisted in distress. “If not, that major that I got in Video Game Development and minor in Information Technology Administration will have been all for nothing.” She looked into his eyes with as much sincerity as she could muster in her current mental state. “Now, will you help me or not?”

“Give me the check first,” Justin resignedly said, holding his hand out.

“I invited you out for lunch, not the other way around. I’m paying and that’s final,” Rani said not blinking an eye, “Now, tell me the race.”

“Okay … okay,” Justin muttered under his breath as he came to a decision, “The race is called Death Lepus.” Seeing no recognition in her eyes, he hurriedly continued, “I came up with the concept when I was reading an old Russell Braddon sci-fi novel.”

“Death Lepus,” Rani repeated the name not recognizing the race at all, “so that means I’ll start in the Kingdom of Ocilimma-”

“Actually, no,” Justin disagreed, “they’re one of the few Beast Kin races that appear in the Kingdom of Larethien.”

“Okay, that’s good,” Rani said to herself, before giving Justin a confused look, “How will I find them in the Character Selection window if I don’t know how they look?”

“You can actually verbally search for a known species or combination,” Justin explained, getting more nervous by the second.

“Okay, that makes sense,” Rani grunted, before flashing Justin a warm smile, “thank you, for everything.” If you don’t mind, maybe we can meet up next Tuesday morning and I’ll let you know how my Nightmare start works out.”

“Uh, yeah,” Justin said, standing up abruptly, “a public place like this would be for the best.”

“What did you just say?” Rani asked, getting an odd feeling about this.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Justin anxiously said as he hurriedly walked towards the door, “Ha-ha, yeah, same time, same station, that’s a great idea. Now, I’ve gotta get back to the office. Later!”

“Later,” Rani mumbled under her breath as Justin flew out the door.

“What’s the deal with Justin tonight?” Tanya asked, coming up to the table with a curious look.

“No idea, but I’m afraid that I’m gonna find out shortly,” Rani said, silently shaking her head. Glancing up at the waitress, she fished her credit card out of her purse, “Is plastic, okay?”