Marissa

  The last bit of the [Scenario] actually wrapped up quickly after the reinforcements took the walls. Evidently keeping the city gate in good shape while keeping the top of the wall completely clear was enough for the [Scenario] to be considered complete. Marissa wasn’t quite sure how much damage [Spio] would have done to the gate had they not successfully managed to stop his first charge, but after he bounced off the gate that first time and took Bisky’s [Master’s Shot] between the eyes, he simply opted to leave.

  Marissa briefly considered whether that meant they would fight him later as a more controlled boss fight, but at this point, she really had no idea what to expect. When the commander of the reinforcements called their team over, her focus shifted and she moved on.

  “[Uathach] has called for you all. Her contingent is being deployed shortly as a strike force, and she wants you all to report to the field command base by the main gate,” he said, then surveyed the area, which was fully under the city’s control. His NPC comrades had taken up spots on the wall, unleashing a barrage of arrows down on the Fomorians while the rest of the city’s defenders went about dealing with other tasks like reinforcing the gate or assisting the actual fighters.

  “You’ve all done remarkably well here, holding off until we arrived. [Uathach] is sure to provide you with some form of payment for your services rendered here. Now, go!” He saluted and waved the party off, before running toward the wall himself, pulling his bow from a little hook on the back side of his armor.

  That left the party still standing in the circle, without a [Scenario Clear] alert yet.

  “Great. We’re not done yet?” Jazz whined. “I swear, if we have to do this again, I’m gonna be pissed. Playing Ebon at a range isn’t exactly interesting.”

  “Well, let’s make tracks then.” Ash said. “I imagine given our current situation, the end of this scenario is when we meet back up with Uathach, and she gives us the rewards for this part.”

  “That makes sense.” Evan said.

  “Then let’s go.” Evie prompted. “No point in hanging around here for everything to go wrong.”

  “True.” Kieran said, and Caoimhe shot off in the direction of the main gate. The rest of the party flowed after, as they began the trek through the city.

  While the run wasn’t necessarily going to be too long - maybe a few minutes - Marissa was surprised that the devs were going to make them run through the city in an instance like this. But once they were running, it became more clear why.

  While [Gorias] hadn’t been overrun, or even breached, the signs of active warfare were all over the city. Outside of the instance, the area used as a staging zone for the raid was showing signs of the coming battle, with people running around and prepping for the battle. But inside the instance, the streets were eerily silent, aside from the sound of battle that echoed everywhere.

  Buildings were boarded up, stopping access. Outside of the occasional company of troops moving through the streets to get to their assignments or relieve others, no one was around. It made their trek oddly solemn, hurried, and somewhat depressing.

  As the group got closer to the main gate where [Uathach] waited for them, the sound of battle got louder. And by the time they had eyes on the command tent that they were being told to report to, the shouts and clanging of metal was oppressive.

  “They didn’t need to do that.” Kieran muttered.

  “What? Send us running through an empty city? Yeah, no, they didn’t.” Nyx agreed.

  “I didn’t expect it to be so…depressing.” Firo added. “It’s hardly the first time I’ve run through an empty area like that in a game.”

  “I’m not sure, either.” Ash agreed. “My best guess is the soundscape they used is what made it stand out.”

  “They did have that weird, oppressive headphone silence going at full blast.” Evan said. “That might have been it.”

  “Well, whatever. Uathach is right there.” Evie said.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “And I see our little blue circle. Nice.” Marissa said, driving Bisky in that direction. She half expected the gate to explode open and for them to suddenly be in another battle, but they arrived at the little circle safely.

  Once everyone crowded into the area, [Uathach] looked up from the maps on her table and addressed them.

  “Great, you’re all here. I suppose your speed arriving means that the defense at that gate has gone particularly well - great job.” [Uathach] motioned to her side where there were crates, chests, boxes, and weapon racks. “We’re going to be riding out shortly. Take your pick of the gear here if you need anything before we go. Some of it is well crafted, but it may take you some digging to find the good pieces.”

  With her lines said, the woman faced back toward her maps and the other leaders who were planning some kind of tactic for the battle. It left the group once again able to leave the little blue circle, and the storage area [Uathach] had motioned towards now shone with loot.

  “All you, Nyx. The winning strategy was yours.” Ash said, and agreements from everyone else followed.

  “Yeah, alright.” Nyx said, as she stepped up to the gear and paused. “There are literally four interactables, but there’s no way we get four pieces of loot, right?”

  “I guess your choice matters now, Nyx. Don’t screw it up.” Evan laughed.

  “That’s not nice.” Nyx responded, then made her choices. The loot notifications popped up, and Marissa took a look at what was available to them.

  [Higher Ground]

  [War Bow]

  [Strength : 22]

  [Accuracy : 13]

  [Speed : 3]

  [Invested Effect : Deal bonus damage based on elevation over target]

  [Bombardier’s Gloves]

  [Leather]

  [Defense : 2]

  [Slash : 2]

  [Pierce : 1]

  [Blunt : 1]

  [Nature : 2]

  [Invested Effect : Throw throwable items 25% further]

  “Huh.” Nyx said a moment later, “It seems like what we got is related to the loot I picked - the weapon rack and the gear chest.”

  “It could’ve just been a coincidence though.” Evie said.

  “I guess we’ll find out next time?” Ash said. “But I think these two pieces of gear are pretty obvious who they go to.”

  “Mello and Evie, yeah.” Kieran said, matter-of-factly.

  “Uh-huh. Yup. Mello and Evie get the bow they can’t use, and the leather armor they can’t wear.” Marissa said exasperated.

  “‘Scuse you, I can wear the leather gloves, thank you.” Ash said, pretending to be insulted.

  “But yes, they should go to Bisky and Nyx, yeah?” Kieran asked.

  “I think so.” Evie said. “The bow feels pretty obvious. The gloves are a little less so, because they’re presumably there to help with the firebombs from the last section.”

  “The firebombs we didn’t use to clear it.” Firo added.

  “Yes, those firebombs,” Evie continued. “But I think they may get more use with Nyx’s throwable items from Alchemist?”

  “I just want to be clear,” Nyx said, “throwable Alchemist items are pretty bad, and not usually worth the ingredients that go into them. And it’s not because they’re short range.”

  “Do you use any of them?” Jazz asked. “Because at the very least, I don’t think anyone else uses thrown items at all.”

  “In solo play? Sure.” Nyx said. “There’s a few useful throwable bombs with special effects. But they’re pretty useless in group play.”

  “So it’s between letting Nyx have a solo play buff, and maybe letting a tank or healer take them to help with firebombs on reclears.” Kieran said.

  “If it’s alright, I’d like them if Nyx doesn’t want them.” Jazz said. “Swapping my spec over to this ranged bastardization of Ebon felt nasty. My range is still short, and I think I would be better off throwing bombs next time instead of whatever this was.”

  “Nyx? You’re the MVP for this one, you decide.” Ash said.

  “I don’t think I’ll use it, so it’s all yours, Aleister.” Nyx said finally. It took another couple seconds for everyone to select their loot rolls, but once everything was said and done, the pieces of equipment were stored for next time.

  With the loot settled, the party reconvened in the little blue circle, which was still there. Once everyone was inside it, the [Scenario Cleared] message finally popped up, and the option to leave the instance appeared. There was a collective sigh of relief, seeing that they had successfully reached a checkpoint.

  Once everyone left the instance, Marissa had her camera pointed toward [Uathach, Shadow’s Daughter], who had the quest marker over her head.

  “How’s everyone doing? Do we need a bathroom break?” Marissa asked, walking Bisky in front of the map table. She only glanced at it, but was impressed with how detailed it and the little miniatures on it were.

  “I’m good.”

  “Quick water break for me, please.” Ash said. “I need a drink.”

  “Oh, can you grab me a soda, hun?” Jazz asked, turned away from her mic; the sound barely came through.

  “I’m gonna grab a drink and check on the girls.” Kieran said. “B-r-b.”

  “Alright, that’s like half of us. Take a fiver.” Evan said, followed by the rustling of pulling a headset off.

  Marissa shrugged and stood up, stretching out a bit before walking to go get more tea.

  “So how’s everyone feeling about stuff so far?” She asked, hitting the button on her electric kettle to reheat the water, while dumping out the remnants of her last cup, which had been sitting for a while.

  “I think good.” Firo said. “I’m having a good time, and you guys are a nice group.”

  “Aww.” Evie said, “That’s sweet.”

  Nyx giggled in response. “I’m hooked, not gonna lie,” she said, then sighed. “I’m pretty sure the next week or two worth of work is gonna be rough.”

  “Same.” Marissa said. “I had to, like, actively work to keep myself focused this morning. Singing along with music, keeping my hands and mind busy, that sort. If I let my mind wander, I completely lost focus.”

  “Didn’t you say you own a bakery? Is that kinda thing safe to deal with while distracted?” Evie asked.

  “No, thus the trying really hard.” Marissa chuckled. “I was going over my closing checklist today and got distracted half way through. Almost forgot to lock the door.” It was an exaggeration, but that was fine. It was what she was actually worried about, after all.

  “Yikes. I don’t like having that sort of pressure.” Evie said.

  “It’s why we’re just mindless customer service drones. Yeah.” Nyx laughed. When Marissa’s kettle played a little tune to say it was heated, Nyx asked, “What was that?”

  “My kettle. Refilling my tea.” Marissa said.

  “Oh, whatcha drinking today?”

  “Green tea. Jasmine.” Marissa said.

  “Huh? What?” Jazz asked, sounding distracted.

  “Oh, sorry. I’m drinking jasmine tea, not looking for you, Jazz.” Marissa said, setting the tea leaves to steep.

  “Oh, gotcha. I wasn’t paying attention; Mello needed me to help in the kitchen for a minute.”

  “No worries. How do you feel about the raid so far?” Marissa asked, trying to get the conversation away from real names, just in case Jazz was uncomfortable with it. Marissa doubted she would be, but still.

  “I’m not playing ranged Ebon again, I’ll tell you that much. It sucked. Which reminds me, I should go swap back.”

  “Oh, yeah, go do that so we can start when everyone else gets back.” Nyx said.

  “On it…opening a portal to the Courtyard if anyone needs it.” Jazz said, as Aleister began casting.

  “Think I’m good.” Evie said.

  “I’ll take the ride.” Nyx said. “I like Tenebrae well enough, but it’s no Shroud.”

  “Caoimhe is going to want the ride too, I would guess.” Marissa said, as she settled back in her seat, gently placing her tea mug on the warming plate.

  “Roger. I’ll keep it open, then.”

  Ten minutes later, everyone was resituated and ready to go. Evan was held back a little bit to change a diaper, but by the time he returned, the group that needed a trip to the Courtyard for [Path] changes had returned and were ready, including Caoimhe.

  Marissa also decided to swap Bisky over to [Keeper] for the next fight. While [Seeker] was great at boss fights, there had been so much fighting crowds that she was second guessing her choice - and [Keeper] would give her much better AoE damage options.

  Once she got the “OK” from everyone, they stepped up to [Uathach] to trigger the next quest.

  A cutscene started rolling, with the camera focusing in on [Uathach] as she started to go over the situation.

  “We’ve gotten word from our scouting magic about most of the enemy placement and encampments.” She said, motioning at the map table. Hibiscus and the rest of the party gathered around while other soldiers moved about in the background, preparing.

  “My mother - [Scathach] - thinks we should strike early, and at the heart of the enemy.” She pointed at a place on the map a little ways off from the city, in the woods. It looked like a clearing in the trees that stretched in a long rectangle.

  “There’s a patch of open ground in the middle of the woods that was tainted ages ago, where things refuse to grow. Apparently, the Fomorian bastards have set up a major camp there, with at least one or two of their commanders stationed there.”

  The woman sighed. “It’s a good spot,” she admitted, “close enough to the battle for relaying quick orders, but secluded enough for relative safety. Or at least I imagine that’s what they’re thinking.” [Uathach] slammed her fist into the table at the far end of the clearing on the map.

  “My mother and Cu Chulainn are both capable of creating large [Fae Circles]. The plan is for my company to make a cavalry charge straight through a portal on the far end of the clearing.” She traced a path from where she slammed her fist all the way across the long rectangle, length-wise. “And we charge straight over their camp. We rout them from there, then return back through the [Portal] afterward.”

  [Uathach] gripped a red, glowing crystal pendant hung around her neck. “On the off chance I fall, this pendant is used to send the signal for the return portal. Keep that in mind.”

  When she finally raised her head to look straight into the camera, she grinned, looking excited. “Now, mount up. Prepare to ride.”