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Dragon Lance
~Prelude~
Three Years Prior
A door slammed behind hurried footsteps as they rushed toward their destination. Through the foyer, they entered a small walkway that divided two rooms in the home. Turning to their right, after a few steps, they flung open another door revealing a flight of steps that descended to the basement. With heavy footsteps they bolted down into the depths of their home, jumping to the platform as their feet missed the last four steps. Their body twisted, turning to their left and jetted off through another room, only taking a second to stop and open yet another door as it flung open and a young boy of twelve stood firmly with his hand lifted high over his head, a bag in his hand.
“I finally got one, Ash! A full year of my paper route, lawn work, and dog walking and I finally got one!”
A young girl of fifteen turned in her chair and looked at the young boy, her little brother. His eyes danced with excitement as he looked on at her as she sat at her desk where she was doing her essay.
She chuckled lightly with a bright smile. “That’s great Jeffery, but I really have to finish this. It’s due first thing Monday morning.”
“But it’s Saturday.” He lowered his arm back to his side. “You can take a small break can’t ya? I want to play Dragon Lance with you,” Jeffery informed her as he walked toward her.
Ashley sighed and pushed up from her chair, her hand going to the top of her brother’s head as she looked down at him. “You know if you let me finish this we will have the rest of the day to play and all day tomorrow.” Ashley smiled warmly as she ruffled her brother’s hair atop his head as he looked up at her with his bright, milk chocolate colored eyes, his short, unkempt, jet black hair framing a sweet innocent face. He was a boy genius at the eager age of twelve. Though he was easily excitable be it with joy or anger, and he did not like if people opposed him. At times he could be short-tempered, but no matter how annoying he got to be he was still her little brother.
“But...” Jeffery growled as his hands clenched at his sides as the bag he held crinkled in his tight grasp. “I want to play now . I have waited for a whole year to play, just listening to you talk about Dragon Lance.” His hand with the bag lifted as he shoved his hand and the bag toward her. “You said once I got an AmuSphere you would play the game with me.”
His older sister, Ashley Kass, had a good three or four inches in height on him with a thin, toned build to her, or as some of the guys would tell him, a sexy figure which pissed him off. He hated when the guys talked about her like she was some object to be admired because she wasn’t. Yes, she was a very pretty girl with her long raven hair and soft hazel eyes, but she was smart, very smart, and she cared about the people around her if she knew them or not. Her heart was so big at times he wondered how it fit in her chest. Though he knew he was only thinking metaphorically on the subject because her heart did indeed fit in her chest. Though he still wondered how his sister could be so kind with so many jerks in the world. Though he would admit she could be quite sarcastic at times, and she had a fire to her worse than his own if you upset her. At times she was hard to read, not knowing if she was joking or serious over things, but it did not stop him from pursuing something he wanted. Even if she could kick his butt, he was not giving up just yet.“And I told you we would, Jeffery but I have to finish this. If I don’t, it will never get done,” Ashley stated firmly.
“How long will it take?” Jeffery asked her.
“I should be done in another couple of hours,” Ashley reassured him as she turned and stepped back to her desk.
“But in a couple of hours, it will be dinner time.”
“So we eat, clean up and then we have the rest of the night to play. That’s a good four or five hours. Long enough for me to teach you everything about the game and then tomorrow we can spend it playing.”
Jeffery smiled nodding his head. “That will work.”
Ashley took her seat and turned back to her desk and her homework. “Alright then,” she told him picking up her pencil to get back to work. “Now get lost so I can finish this.”
Jeffery nodded as he turned to make a path toward the door, but before he could exit his sister called to him.
“Jeffery…”
His head turned as he looked at her. “Yeah?”
“Go download the game while you are waiting on me and get everything set up. So after dinner, we can get started without any hang-ups.”
He nodded with a bright smile and a quick nod as he darted out the door, it closed behind him as he was off to his room on the second floor to get everything set up to play Dragon Lance after dinner.
---
It was after dinner, Ashley and Jeffery returned to their rooms. During dinner and clean up after, Ashley had explained to her brother what he needed to do before he would spawn into the world of Dragon Lance. She told him to choose wisely when it came to his avatar and username because once it was made it could not be changed unless he deleted it and started over. She also informed him that the avatar he picked also determined what provenance and hemisphere his avatar would spawn in to. He nodded in understanding, and she moved on in explanation of the VR game he was about to take part in. As she explained everything to him, she told him that once he spawned in he should PM her and let her know where he was. That way she could retrieve him and take him to Whitehaven, the provenance in which she was located.Once all the initial information needed for signing-in and entry of the game was out of the way the two parted ways with a simple, “See ya in Dragon Lance…”
Ashley spawned in first as her human avatar, Tanya, appeared in the provenance of Whitehaven. It was in a little village called Dawnmeadow located in the Central region of Tarragonia, the world within Dragon Lance.
Designed on the Western side of the river of the Central region of the map, Dawnmeadow was home to both Players and NPCs. The village itself looked mundane with its blackened rooftops, half rotten walls and ominous scarecrows out in the fields and held a desolate atmosphere. The main attraction though was the church, which supposedly was one of the oldest buildings in the world of Tarragonia. Though it too was falling apart like the rest of the village.
Dawnmeadow though, even with the Pubs, Inns, and Merchants, had a poor economy, which was mainly supported by armorsmithing. Which was not saying much since the village was so centralized, making it to where it didn’t see much in the way of work. Though no matter the overall economy or the appearance of their village, the villagers were cheerful with uplifting spirits.
Waving at a few villagers she knew, Tanya made her way to the Crystal Pub in the center of the village. She walked in making herself comfortable as she waited for her brother’s PM.
“Hey Tanya, can I get you anything?” A friendly voice called to her.
Taomar was the keeper or well, owner of the Crystal Pub. He was one of the many in the village that accepted her with open arms when she first started playing her avatar, Tanya about five months ago. He was a real sweetheart with dark brown hair that he combed back over the top of his head and soft brown eyes. He was not human though, like her. He was a Wood Elf, and his Pub reflected that with the Earthy and nature like setting inside. All the tables looked as if the tabletop was cut out of the center of a tree trunk and the chairs look as if they were woven together with twigs, branches, and vines. There were plants and greenery throughout the Pub and the floor was dirt.
Tanya turned toward the familiar voice with a wide smile. “Hello, Taomar. Yeah, iced tea would be wonderful. How have you been by the way?”
Taomar nodded as he stopped by her table. “So nothing but an iced tea? And I have been doing great.”
Tanya nodded slowly. “Yeah, I am waiting for someone to sign-in, so we can go out and level up. Don’t want anything too heavy to weight me down or something I can’t finish, and it goes to waste.”
“Going out to grind, are you? And without me.”
Tanya looked the way of Aaron who walked into the Pub. She smiled with a soft chuckle. “I would not call it that, but you’re more than welcome to join us. You could even be a big help with teaching them.”
“So you’re waiting on a N00bie, huh?” Aaron questioned as he took a seat at the table with her. He looked to Taomar with a bright smile. “Hey Taomar, how about a Pint.”
“Got it,” Taomar replied as he turned to go and retrieve their drinks.
Tanya looked back to Aaron as Taomar walked away. “It’s my little brother. He has been waiting for this day for months.”
“You got one of those too, huh?” Aaron chuckled.
Tanya nodded chuckling softly. “Yeah, he is a pain in the butt, but I don’t know what I would do without him.”
Nodding, Aaron smiled. “I hear ya. Same with my little brother. Though mine is too young to be playing Dragon Lance. He still has a few more years.”
“Mine is three years younger than me and has been saving for the last year to get his headgear.”
“So he just got it today I guess,” Aaron asked with a soft chuckle.
“Mhmm,” Tanya hummed with a chuckle of her own. She looked to Taomar as he walked up with their drinks. “Thank you, Taomar.”
He nodded his head in recognition as he handed them their drinks.
“So do you know what Avi he will be taking?” Aaron asked.
“Nope, I just told him to read over each one and make a good choice. Because he would have to delete it and start all over if he did not like it once he got in to play with it, and he would lose everything with deleting it.”
“Yeah, I did that when I first started this VR,” Taomar added jumping into the conversation.
Aaron chuckled lightly. “I think everyone has. If I would have been paying better attention Aaron would have been a Moon Elf, but Aaron was too far advanced and there was no way I was deleting him.”
“Speaking of Moon Elves. Celty was here the other day.” Taomar swooned with a dreamy look in his eyes making Aaron and Tanya chuckle softly.
“What?” He retorted. “She has to be the most beautiful Elf in existence.” He looked to Aaron. “Right? You have seen her, you know.”
Aaron shook his head still laughing. “You won’t get me to lie about that one. She is by far one of the most attractive of that Species.”
“I love her hair,” Tanya stated as she looked at the two lovesick males at the table. “I don’t think I have ever seen that many blues together and it is so long. I don’t know how she fights with it. It has to get in the way.”
“They say her partner Creed has hair just as long.” Taomar sighed as he looked off into space. “Too bad she is a Moon Elf. She would never give an Elf like me a second glance.”
“You never know, Taomar,” Tanya said encouraging him.
Aaron laughed aloud as he sat his beer to the table. “Just don’t make a move on her when Creed’s around or the Crystal Pub might be looking for new management.”
Tanya reached across the table and smacked Aaron playfully as the three of them shared a chuckle. The three sat in conversation as Tanya waited for the message from her brother.
---
Standing in front of the sign-in panel, Jeffery flipped through the choices of avatars he could pick from in the game of Dragon Lance as he sighed softly.
“They got some pretty cool avatars in this game, but I don’t know which one I want.” He sighed again with a short pause in movement. Suddenly he then started swiping at the screen taking it back to the beginning of the avatars.
“I want something cool, and I have to make sure I spawn in close to Ash.” When the screen stopped at the first avatar he started reading the description to give him a better idea of the character.
“Well, other than the Human species, it looks like the Elven species are first.” He let his eyes scan the details on the first Elf in the list. “Moon Elf: These Elves have no real location that they belong since they travel throughout. Though the elders of the Clan have settled high in the mountains of the North. Moon Elves tend to be more impulsive than the other elves and dislike remaining in one place for any length of time. They are happiest when traveling, especially across the expanses of untrodden wilderness. They are drawn to adventure through sheer wanderlust, desiring to see and do everything possible during their long lives. They are mysterious and elusive creatures that are connected to the magical energy of the Moon. Their natural abilities in stealth and speed make them well-suited to the work of assassins. ... On the night of the full moon, Moon Elves are at the height of their power -- and can become nearly invisible.” Jeffery’s head bobbed. “They sound cool.” He moved on to the next one reading it aloud as well.
“Sun Elf: These Elves are mostly found within the East, West and Central Provenances. The most arrogant, haughty, and patient, believing they are the true elven race, the builders and leaders of the elven realms. They feel the other elves fail to live up to the solemnity and dignity of their ancient stock. They also feel rushing a job or finishing a project with anything less than perfection is betraying the elven ideal. As a result, they tend to have a much narrower range of skills than other elves, but they are the unrivaled master of the skill, art, or craft to which they turn their efforts… They sound pleasant. Not.” Jeffery replied moving to the next Elf in the list.
“Wood Elf: These Elves are mostly found within forest areas of the North, West and Central Provenances. They are calm, serene, and difficult to surprise. They are at one with the world of nature, using what naturally occurs in the world to shelter or defend themselves, and thus are uncomfortable in cities. They have lost the urge to build and replace nature with walls and palaces. Even the cities built by their elven kin seem foolish to the wood elves, who have come to believe that buildings of stone are transitory in nature and that in time, the forest returns to overgrow the greatest of cities… Nope, not a Carpenter. Next.” He swiped the screen.
“Sky Elf or Avariel (Winged Elves): These Elves are mostly found within the East, South and Central Provenances. More delicate than their earth-bound cousins, with hollow bones to aid their flight. They have pale, often porcelain white skin, and white, black, brown, or speckled wings. The Avariels’ society is split into two groups that coexist together: Warriors - geared towards war and power, answering to war chiefs who govern Avariel society equally with the religious leaders who live by a complex code of honor and spend their lives defending their race. Scholars, philosophers, and artists - intellectuals who believe in solving problems through reason and diplomacy. The Avariels spend much time researching magic and history, contemplating religion and worshiping their gods… Another cool sounding Elf, but I really don’t think I want to be an Elf.”
He moved on to the next group as a heavy sigh escaped him. “I really don’t want to be a Fairy.” He swiped through them reading to himself, just grazing the descriptions starting with the Water Fairy.
These Fairies are mostly found within the Eastern Provenances. Water-talent fairies can manipulate water in astonishing ways. They are able to control it, forming it into various shapes or using it to create fountains. Water fairies are also able to create bubble messages. Water fairies are often found exploring waterways. These fairies also have a knack for divining and can seek out hidden sources of water. Only water-talent fairies can make bubble messages, which burst open only for the one who is meant to hear them. They have more water in them than other fairies, and as consequence tears and other fluids run more easily. Although water fairies cannot swim, they find ways to frolic near water. Many water fairies spend time near the Babbling Brooks.
Nature Fairy: These Fairies are mostly found within the Northern, Western and Central Provenances. Nature fairies spend most of their time outdoors. If there is a colorful garden around, you can be sure there is a nature fairy around somewhere. Nature-talent fairies can sense what a plant needs and have an intuitive understanding of how to care for plants, and with a bit of fairy dust, they can make plants grow and blossom in an instant.
Nature fairies occasionally work with animals. They sometimes train earthworms and ladybugs to help them, and they are highly respectful of bumblebees.
Tinker Fairy: These Fairies are found anywhere within the Provenances. Tinker-talent fairies fix everything using a strange array of tools. Tinker-talent fairies are curious, love metallic colors, and use their magic to aid in the repair of objects and things that might need fixing. They also invent and create special tools to help the nature fairies. Every tinker has their own talent mark and will always stamp their work with it.
Animal Fairy: These Fairies are found anywhere within the Northern, Western and Central Provenances. Animal-talent fairies have the unique ability to speak with any animal in its native tongue. They are extremely sensitive and can "read" an animal's thoughts or emotions. They know when an animal is frightened or sick and can tend to its needs to help it feel better. Like the animals they work with, animal-talent fairies have a keen sense of smell and excellent hearing. They are skilled trackers and are frequently called upon to help find people who have lost their way in the woods. All animal talent fairies are deeply integrated into the animal world and strive to keep it harmonious.
Making it to the end he swiped to the next species. “Really, Imps.” He started to chuckle loudly as he read the Imp’s description. “Imps are found anywhere mischief can be had. Imps are mischievous more than seriously threatening, they are usually lively and having a small stature. Imps are not the best on the battlefield. They are more likely to moon the enemy then wound them… That’s great.” Jeffery still chuckled. He looked at the next species as his eyes widened slightly. “Oooh, this might work. Magic Wielders.” He read on. “A magic wielder can be found within any Providence within Tarragonia. There are three groups in which the Magic Wielders can fall. Light: Practice done with all things pure. Specializes in healing and protective arts. Dark: Uses things born of malice and corruption. Used to harm. Specializes in dark arts. Elemental: Uses the elements in their practice and can summon/cast these elements to fight, heal, and protect… Cool.” Jeffery swiped to the first magic wielder.
“Mages: Deal with curses, talismans, charms, healing, divination, mediumship, astrology/astronomy. All three types can use mediumship, divination, and astrology/astronomy but must perform them within the parameters of their type. Sorcerers: Deals with spells and typical magic. Can do some of the same things Mages do, but with spells and incantations rather than chants and rituals. Alchemists: Crosses the border between magic and science. Uses materials and catalysts in their magic and cannot create something out of thin air but can ‘bend’ the laws of science with magic.” Jeffery thought long and hard before he swiped to the last avatar on the list.
“Fathach (Giant): Fathach are mostly found high within the Mountains of the Northern Provenances. They are beings of human appearance, but of prodigious size and strength. Giants loom large in the world, frequently representing the most ominous of foes... Nope.”
He swiped back to the Alchemists and picked the Elemental group. “Now a name.” He stopped in thought as he cast his eyes upward. “I got it. C-e-r-b-e-r-u-s. Cerberus. Cool Alchemists name if I do say so myself.” He then dressed him in a blue hooded trench coat with gold trim, black pants and a black blouse like shirt for men that laced up the front. It reminded him of something he saw the Three Musketeers wearing. He then put him in a pair of black boots that came up to his knees.
“Hmm, now I need a weapon…” He rubbed his chin and looked at the list coming a crossed a Quarterstaff, embellished with silver tips. “Nice. I like this. Mine.” He chose the Quarterstaff as his weapon. After a few more things to check off in the creation of his avatar he tapped ‘Accept and Save’ and the game spawned him into Tarragonia.
He looked around the mundane village with its blackened rooftops, half rotten walls and ominous scarecrows out in the fields. “Wow, this place could use some help.” He shook his head and opened his panel, looking at the map before he messaged his sister. Once he learned where he was he PMed her.
---
As Tanya, Aaron and Taomar sat there laughing at their conversation, a soft chime went off causing Tanya to open her game panel. “About time…” She mumbled opening the message and reading it. “Rock on.”
“What?” Aaron asked looking her way.
“He spawned in here in Dawnmeadow,” Tanya told him.
“Cool, no running around to go get him.”
Tanya nodded as she messaged her brother back telling him where she was. Closing the panel, they waited for his arrival. It was no time and he walked in the door. Tanya was surprised when she saw an Elemental Alchemist walking toward them.
“Cerberus?” Tanya asked standing from the table.
“Sis… I mean Tanya?” He asked stepping up to her.
The three chuckled lightly as Tanya nodded her head. “You’re fine.”
“Wow! I can’t believe how much you look like you. Well, all but the blue eyes.” He reached out and played with a lock of her hair that hung over her shoulder. “I like your hair like this. You should do it in real life.”
“It’s not long enough IRL,” she told him as she lightly pulled her lock of hair from him.
“IRL?” Cerberus questioned.
“In. Real. Life.” Aaron replied standing offering his hand.
“Ahh,” Cerberus replied nodding his head as he looked to the tall guy sitting with his sister. He had short dirty blond hair and green eyes. He wondered if this is what he looked like in real life. He then turned to his sister. “Do I look the same?”
“Don’t be rude,” Tanya scolded him, giving his arm a smack and gesturing with her head to Aaron’s hand.
“Oh, sorry,” he replied shaking Arron’s hand. “Cerberus. Tanya’s little brother.”
“Aaron, and I was informed of this.” He chuckled lightly. “Have a seat and we will fill you in on a few things before we go out.”
Taomar stood quickly and offered his hand next as Cerberus shook it taking a seat next to his sister. “Taomar. I am the owner of this fine establishment. Would you like something to drink?”Cerberus looked to his sister as she nodded her head. “Do you have coke?”
“Sure do, we are not set too deep into the dark ages here,” Taomar replied as he turned to go get his soda. “Be right back.”
“So what do you want to cover first?” Aaron asked Tanya as Taomar walked off.
Tanya shrugged. “I guess the basics and move on from there. He can ask questions as we explain things.”
“Sounds good to me,” Aaron agreed as he looked over at Cerberus. “First off. Please tell me you read all the character details?”
“You mean the Avis you can pick from?” Cerberus asked as Aaron nodded his head. “Yeah, I read them all.”
“Good so there is one less thing we have to cover. You at least know the ones that can be friend or foe. Now what you do not know are the ones that are nothing but foe. Those are the ones we go out and fight to level up, and they can be found anywhere.”
“And they are?” Cerberus asked.
Aaron’s hand lifted as he counted them down on his fingers. “The Fomorian: Hostile and monstrous beings who come from the sea or underground. They possess the power over certain natural phenomena in particular destructive elements. The Banshee: The spirit of a woman who acts as a messenger of death. The Doppelganger: A faceless creature that always appears as an anti-thesis of the person who fights it. If it kills them, it claims their appearance until their next encounter. The Basilisk: A very large serpentine lizard resembling a king cobra that can petrify and kill those it looks at. Its fangs carry a fatal poison that dissolves whatever it touches. The Chimera: Beast with a body of a lion, a snake for a tail, the head of a goat. The Goblin: A grotesque, troublesome little creature with a strong greed for gold and jewels. The Wraith: Evil spirits of the dead who could not pass on. And last but not least the Wendigo: An evil spirit that possesses humans.” Aaron paused in thought as he cast his eyes upward, recounting and renaming the creatures under his breath, making sure he had them all.
“One Fomorian, two Banshee, three Doppelganger…”
Taomar walked back up to the table with Cerberus’ drink looking to Aaron, then to Tanya and Cerberus. He slid Cerberus his drink as he looked to Aaron once more. “What is he doing?”
“Trying to make sure he named off all the creatures we fight to level up and get treasure from,” Tanya informed him.
“Ahh,” Taomar looked to Aaron. “You get the Bosses?”
“Not yet,” Aaron replied after rattling off the last couple of creatures.
“So there are Bosses too?” Cerberus asked.
“Well, of course, that’s where the big prizes come from.” Taomar grinned madly at the boy.
“What are they? The Bosses that is, not the prizes.” Cerberus asked him.
“We have Medusa and her sisters, the Thunderbird, the Kraken, the Valkyrie, the Centaur, the Hydra, and the Minotaur. And ain’t none of these guys pushovers.” Taomar chuckled. “Plus, you got the Dragons if you piss one of them off. Though they are fairly friendly since this VR is to protect them.”
“But if a Dragon does come at you and you kill it you have to report it,” Tanya added to their conversation.
“Huh, to who?” Cerberus asked. “And why?” He looked to his sister.
“Any breeder. They are the ones that keep track of the dragons in the Tarragonia world. If you don’t report it, you are marked as a Dragon Slayer for the life of your Avi.” Tanya explained to him.
“For just one dragon?” Cerberus questioned.
“Yep, this VR is all about the dragons. Though there is an upside to this.” Aaron said quickly.
“There is an upside to being a Dragon Slayer?” Cerberus asked as he took a drink of his soda, they snickered softly at his question.
Aaron shook his head still chuckling lightly. “No, to reporting the Dragon.”
“Oh,” Cerberus replied.
“If the Breeder is not in need of the Dragon they will pass it on to the person that reported it,” Taomar told him. “Or at least split it with them.”
“Ok, and what is someone going to do with a dead Dragon?” Cerberus asked.
“Believe it or not quite a few things,” Aaron spoke up. “The bones, scales, talons, skin, and the gems and crystals of a dragon can be used to make potions, armor, weapons, and medicinal medications.”
“And the flesh of a dragon is a delicacy. You can make a fortune off that alone if you sell it to someone with a Pub or Eatery. Not to mention the Inns that serve food would buy it, Markets and even individuals.” Taomar added his bit of enlightenment.
“Can you own a dragon?” Cerberus asked.
Aaron nodded his head as he set his beer to the table. “Sure can. I have one. His name is Un. I found him a little over a year ago, give or take a month. Poachers killed his mother. He was only a few months old. Poor little guy was so scared.”
Tanya smiled brightly as she sat listening to them explain things to her little brother. Her chin was resting on laced fingers as her elbows were propped to the tabletop. She tilted her head slightly as she looked to Cerberus. “He is so awesome.” Her looked drifted to Aaron. “Un is an Obsidian dragon, right?”
Aaron nodded slowly. “Though you can’t just go out and pick one. The ones that are adults are not so easy to obtain. You have to find them as an egg, infant or adolescent. At that point, the real work starts.”
“Oh, fun,” Cerberus mumbled. “So I guess you have to train them and all that good stuff?”
“There are two reasons for someone to have a Dragon. Breeding and Battle. They can’t be used for mounts until you have Mastered your Dragon skill, and that comes in five stages. The second you have obtained a dragon and it attaches to you, you will be prompt that you are about to be marked with the Dragon Acquaintance skill. Once this happens, you’re then asked where you want this mark. For the women its upper thigh or shoulder blade. For the men, it's forearm or bicep. You can pick left or right after you pick the location. The first mark is teal and of course the Acquaintance level. As your skill grows the color and level changes, the next level is Friend, its blue. Then the next level is Comrade and its red. Master is the fourth level and its white, and the fifth and final level is Familiar. The marking then changes altogether and is the color of the dragon with a lighter or darker outline. Once you reach this level your prompt that you are about to be marked with the ‘Noble and High Honor’ of Dragon Familiar, this, of course, being the highest marking from a Dragon. Some call it the Dragon’s Kiss. If you are marked as a Familiar, you have finished all five stages. Once marked with this high honor by the Dragon you're bound to the beast till death.”
“Sounds simple enough,” Cerberus replied confidently as he lifted his glass taking a drink.
Aaron chuckled. “You think so? I have had Un for a little over a year and just leveled up last month to Friendship Status. I have been reading up in the Dragon Lance Forum on the Dragon Control skill, and it only gets harder with each passing level. I dread the Comrade level. There is more training involved with it then there is in training yourself to be a Knight or Warrior.”
Tanya chuckled as she sat up, lifting her drink to take a sip. “I think it would be fun. Definitely a challenge.”
“More like Mission Impossible,” Taomar chimed in with a chuckle. “I don’t have time like that to spend it with training a Dragon.”
Tanya nodded slowly. “It would be hard with the things we might have going in real life but think of the payoff. How many people can say they have a Dragon for a companion.”
“None,” Taomar rebutted with a chuckle. “Because they don’t exist IRL and if they did I doubt they would be as friendly as the ones they have here.”
The four of them shared a laugh then settled as Tanya looked to her little brother. “Any questions?”
He thought for a second as his head started to shake. “I don’t think so but let me get going in this and see what comes up.”
Tanya and the others nodded their heads as they turned to their drinks. “Did you explain the origin of the game to him?”
“What I could remember, yeah. I think I covered the biggest part of it.” Tanya confirmed.
“Why don’t you go over it again,” Cerberus responded. “It was a while ago she told me. Refresh my memory.”
Aaron chuckled nodding his head. “Can do.” Aaron went silent for a second taking the last drink of his beer.
“The title, Dragon Lance, refers to us. We as the players are the protectors of the dragons. We are their lance. With over thirteen known Elemental Dragons in existence--we have been chosen to protect and help the existence of the Dragons flourish. If even one of them goes extinct we have lost an important link within their existence. Though out of fate there is a chance that the lost breed could be reestablished, but it could take hundreds of years before that could take place.”
“How is that?” Cerberus asked.
“With the Divine Dragon. There are only two left in existence and they are as important to the Dragons survival as air is to us to survive. The Divine Dragon is the origin of all dragon kind. All dragons’ powers begin with the Divine Dragon and end with it. The Divine Dragon, like any dragon, can live for thousands of years. It lays one egg every hundred years and one Divine dragon egg is laid every thousand years. The normal eggs hatch within six months, but the Divine egg takes one year to incubate and hatch. However, it cannot be told as of what type of Dragon will be hatched from the egg until the baby dragon is at least one month old. The power of the Divine Dragon is that of all dragons born into existence. Including their own divine power. This power is that of Aether, the raw, untainted energy that is the origin of all dragon powers, also known as Divine Energy. It is said that this was the power that gave birth to the first Divine dragon, which in turn gave birth to all generations of dragons now in existence. A Clan of Spirit Dryads protects the Divine Dragon since there are only two, and they have entrusted the others of this world to be protected by us. In doing so our job is not only to make sure the dragons are safe and go unharmed. We are to hunt and do away with anyone that might do harm to the dragons or go searching for the Divine Dragon.”
“Wow, and what is the name of this world the dragons live in and how big is it?” Cerberus asked.
Aaron shook his head. “It’s epic in size. I don’t think anyone knows how large it really is. As for what the world is called, you are now part of the world known as Tarragonia. There are the four hemispheres, the Northern, Southern, Western, and Eastern. Including the Central region in which you are right now. The Northern hemisphere is that of the mountains, the Southern hemisphere is that of the flatlands and deserts, the Western Hemisphere is that of the forests and hills, and the Eastern hemisphere is that of the seas and oceans. The Central region is a mixture of it all but the seas and oceans.”
“Are there Guilds here?” Cerberus asked.
“Of course there are, but they’re small ones. Nothing to really boast about. I don’t think I have ever seen a large Guild in Tarragonia.” Aaron explained.
“If you asked me I think there needs to be. If each region had a large force ruling over it things might shape up. The Villages are so run down not even the NPCs want to live in them.”
Tanya chuckled. “That’s a bit of a stretch don’t you think, Taomar?”
“No,” Taomar spoke without hesitation. “There are thousands of players in this VR. If we could get even half of them to start pulling together and working on the quality of life around here. Tarragonia would be a beautiful world.”
“That would take, five, rather large Guilds to pull that off,” Aaron replied.
“But it could be done,” Taomar voiced.“I’d like to start a Guild,” Tanya spoke up as the two looked at her. “What? I would.”
“But nothing that big, right?” Cerberus questioned.
Tanya shrugged. “Who knows. Maybe. Either way, we could be based out of Dawnmeadow and at least help out this village. With building it up maybe others will see, and it will catch on. You never know.” She shrugged again. “All it takes is one person to get the ball rolling.”
“Very true, Tanya.” Aaron smiled at her.
Drinking the rest of his soda Cerberus looked to his sister and Aaron. “Well, I am ready to head out as soon as you two are.”
Tanya and Aaron nodded standing from the table, Cerberus joining them. Bidding Taomar goodbye after paying for their drinks, the three of them headed out to do a little leveling up.
---
One and a Half Years Later
It had been two years since Ashley had started playing Dragon Lance, and so much had happened since she started, and it all started a year and a half ago when her little brother, Jeffery, finally got his headgear to play VR games and it just so happened he wanted to start off with playing Dragon Lance with her.
She remembers it like it was yesterday…
It all started with setting her brother up in the game and teaching him the ropes, from there things only progressed and the best part, it was all for the better. Not just on her part but for everyone that got involved…
Stumbling as she entered the Conference Hall of their newly refurbished castle, Tanya looked down to see a small black dragon dart under her feet. “Musashi,” she scolded the year-old dragon as he jumped to the top of the large meeting table of the Knights.
She chuckled softly walking over to him, dipping her hand into a small leather pouch on her hip. The small dragon turned in circles in excitement then stopped suddenly when her hand withdrew from the pouch. Her hand was balled in a loose fist.
Tanya chuckled softly as Musashi’s head tilted to one side and he looked at her hand then started nosing it with his muzzle. Opening her hand slowly, a small shimmering cube sat in the palm--a sugar cube.
“Gentle now,” Tanya told him as she lowered her hand more, so he could lap it up.
“You’re going to spoil that dragon, Lady Tanya.”
In hearing her being addressed she turned to see Aaron walk in with two other Knights. Second Knight, Sir Crelan. He was the Judge of Dawnmeadow Village. He had dark brown hair and slate gray eyes. His hair neatly slicked back and was wearing a proud and stoic expression. The other was Third Knight, Lady Zirathie. She was a tall woman with long, thick strawberry blonde hair that bordered on a pinkish red and she had hazel eyes. She was a curvaceous woman, though a bit of a flirt. She was from Silkfall Village, another of their proclaimed villages that rested within their jurisdiction of Whitehaven. They were two of the seven Knights that belonged to their Guild, Knights of the Mystic Dragon. The very Guild she talked about over a year and a half ago with Aaron, Cerberus, and Taomar.
“You know he is right, Lady Tanya. He will be the first dragon known to be a pampered pooch,” Lady Zirathie added.
“Vice Master Aaron always tells me I am going to spoil Musashi.” She looked from Lady Zirathie to Aaron.
“I think Vice Master Aaron is just jealous, Lady Tanya.” Sir Crelan chuckled as he elbowed their Head Knight. “Isn’t that right, Vice Master?”
Aaron flushed slightly as he combed his fingers through his hair, quickly he changed the subject. “Are you ready to go, Lady Tanya? The men have our horses readied and we can leave at any time.”
Tanya nodded. “Yes, we need to be on our way. The ride to the South is long and hard.” She then turned and looked to Musashi once more stroking under his muzzle as she leaned over him and kissed the top of his head.
“You be a good boy for Cerberus. I don’t want to come back and see he has changed you into a toad.”
Lady Zirathie and Sir Crelan chuckled lightly as they shook their heads. Quickly Musashi jumped down off the table and scurried across the floor and out the doors of the Conference Hall.
“I guess he is off to find Cerberus.” Arron chuckled looking to Tanya as she stepped toward him. “You are going to have to stop bringing him into the castle, my Lady. He is going to think he belongs in here, and when he gets bigger he is going to destroy the castle with trying to get in.”
“He is still a baby, Vice Master Aaron. I am sure he will learn when he gets too big to get in the door,” Tanya said defending Musashi.
“Dear Lord, let’s hope so,” Aaron replied as he and Tanya turned and walked toward the doors to leave. Lady Zirathie and Sir Crelan falling in behind them as they followed.
Exiting the castle moments later, a few of Aaron’s men, along with half of Sir Crelan’s troop, waited for their appearance. Tanya stopped and looked at Aaron. “Vice Master, don’t you think this is a little much just for a treaty signing?”
Aaron’s head shook. “If you remember when we went to the North to sign the treaty with them, we were attacked.”
“And we faired just fine with the men we had with us,” Tanya reminded him.
“Only because of the swords Aaron had forged from Musashi’s parents,” Sir Crelan rebutted.
Tanya nodded as she listened to Sir Crelan speak. It was a sad thought about Musashi’s parents, but their bodies were indeed used to forge the very swords they fight with. To protect themselves, the dragons and the people of Tarragonia. It could even be said that the Mystic Dragon leads them in their endeavors to make their world a better place.
“Not to mention the Southern terrain is much riskier than the Northern, my Lady. We are out in the open with no cover as we move further South.” Sir Crelan finished.
“Lady Tanya.” Lady Zirathie bowed to her, her arm crossed over her chest. “You gave us this position because we are the best of your men and women. You trust our judgment. So please, trust our judgment now. This is not a waste of manpower.”
Tanya looked to her with a sigh as she nodded her head slowly. “I do trust you. All of you. I just don’t want to overwork the troops. Everyone has been working so hard at rebuilding or just building our Provenance.”
Hearing the men in the troop voicing their opinion on the matter, she turned to them. We are fine. Don’t worry, my Lady, and We are well rested. Were a few of the comment she had heard come from them.
Tanya nodded her head as she turned back to Aaron. “I guess we should be on our way then.”
She turned back to the troop looking to the men and women as she crossed her right arm over her chest, her hand balled into a fist at her left shoulder.
“Then on our journey, May the Strength, and Wisdom of the Mystic Dragon be with us.”
A loud resounding “HOORRAAH!” was heard from the troop throughout the courtyard. Tanya smiled brightly and mounted her horse as she and the others road off to the South to treaty with them as they did the North.
Things were moving along great within their VR world. They had come such a long way in just the last two years she had started playing. She could not wait to see how far another year and a half would take them.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter One
A Year and a Half Later
It was a beautiful spring day in the late afternoon, as Ashley and Jeffery, walked toward the door of their home after school. Jeffery bouncing excitedly at Ashley’s side giving her sad begging eyes. It was all an act on his part, but he did not like what she was going to be doing later that evening.
It was not her he did not trust. It was her friend Kurt--the one she was going to help--that Jeffery did not trust. Kurt had been trying to get Ashley to leave Dragon Lance for some time now, but Ashley would not have it. However, now, Kurt had found a way to get Ashley to at least come check out the VR game he was trying to get her to switch over to. He told her he was trying to build a Guild and failing. With Ashley’s big heart, she agreed to it.
She gave him a side glance shaking her head. “I told you already. I am going alone.”
“Aww, come on Sis!” Jeffery stomped his foot, looking down at the ground. “That’s not fair! I want to go!”Turning at the door before she opened it she stopped and looked at her little brother. His bright milk chocolate eyes still beamed with life, even after three years of starting the Guild, and he had grown so much. He was now about her height, so it was not hard to look him in the eyes when she talked to him, though he was still a pain, as her little brother and as her advisor in the Guild.Her hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Jeffery, I told you. I need you to watch over the Guild.”“But that’s what your Vice Master is for. I am just a ‘pee on’.” His arms crossed over his chest as he let out an exasperated breath. His intense eyes fixed with hers.She laughed softly at his expression. “You're not a pee on, Jeffery. You’re a Master Elemental Alchemist and my advisor. You're far from a pee on.” She turned and opened the front door to their home walking in. “Look,” She dropped her backpack to the floor in the entryway, turning to look at him, putting both hands to his shoulder’s.
“Musashi needs you. He won’t let anyone else near him when I am not around but you.” She turned and looked at him. “Do you want to come back to a full dragon and no Guild?”Jeffrey chuckled at the thought, combing his fingers through his scruffy jet-black locks. “I guess not.” He looked up at his sister a pouty face still in place. “But how long are you going to be?”
She shrugged as she turned to grab up her backpack once more. “I don’t know, but I will be checking in from time to time. I don’t want Musashi thinking I abandoned him. You saw what happened with Aaron and Un and he was only gone for a few days.” She started her path through the foyer, her brother running up behind her.“But he found Un as an adolescent. You raised Musashi from an egg.”“All the more reason I will be dropping in from time to time.” As she descended the stairs to her room in the basement, she stopped, looking back at her brother. “After all, I am the Guild Master. I have to make sure no one is slacking off and they're doing their job.” She started back down the stairs. “I worked too hard to build Knights of The Mystic Dragon. I am not about to ignore it just because I am helping out a friend build his Guild.”Reaching the threshold at the bottom, she turned the corner going to her room as she heard the loud footsteps of her little brother running down the stairs after her. “Kurt is an idiot,” He belted out on his way down. “At his intelligence level, you will be helping him for the next decade.”She chuckled shaking her head as she turned seeing Jeffrey standing in the doorway of her room now.
“I just don’t see why I can’t go this time. I won’t ask again if you take me this trip.”“Hmm,” she hummed as she dropped her backpack at her desk.“I won’t. Really. Just take me this once.” He stood rigidly and erect like a soldier in front of his commander as he lifted a hand in front of him, his index finger at a pointing position over his heart. “Cross my heart.” He made an X motion over his heart. “Take me this time and I won’t ask again. I will stay behind and watch the Guild with Vice Master Aaron.”
She walked over to her brother with a heavy sigh placing both her hands to his shoulders. “Not this time, Little Bro.” She turned away from him walking over to her bed.Jeffery’s hands balled into fists at his sides as he looked at his sister. He could not believe it had been three years since he started playing Dragon Lance with her. It felt like only yesterday he was running down the steps to her room to announce he had finally gotten his own AmuSphere to play VR games with her. It was amazing how far both his sister and himself had gotten in playing the game. At first, he thought making his Avi an Alchemist was a bad move, but as time went on he grew to not only like his Avi but to love it. And with the decision his sister made over a year and a half ago to start a Guild in the provenance of Whitehaven, it helped him grow even stronger.
However, it was not just him it helped. It was everyone that lived in that provenance. They all thought it was going to be a rough start for them when it first came about, but it caught like a wildfire. And the next thing they knew, the Guild she created the Knights of the Mystic Dragon, and the provenance of Whitehaven flourished and grew. Becoming the largest and most respected Guild in the world of Tarragonia. As of today, a year and a half later, there was not a player within Tarragonia that did not seek out either membership in the Guild or residency within one of their villages in the Whitehaven provenance. He was so proud of his sister for what she had accomplished in their VR world, but right now he felt a little betrayed with her running off to another VR game just to help Kurt. Kurt did not help Ashley out when she built hers. As a matter of fact, he told her she was a fool for even trying. So why?
“Damn it, Ashley!” Jeffrey blurted out.She turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. “You are fifteen! And you will not curse at me!” She turned and stepped toward him as he cowered and stepped back from her.“Sorry Sis,” He said hurriedly as he cringed, lifting his arms in front of him hoping not to get struck by her.“Go on. Get out of here,” She scolded him shooing him out the door. “We have homework, and less than an hour to do it in if we want to get some gaming in before dinner.”He nodded quickly as he turned from her to leave. “Jeffrey?” She called to him before he stepped from the room completely. He turned to look at her. “I know why you want to go.” His eyes widened as she continued. “You have nothing to worry about. I am coming back. I would never walk away from what we all built in Dragon Lance. It means far too much to me.” She smiled warmly to him. “But if you really want to go with me just to check out the game…” Her head nodded. “I will take you tomorrow night.”
Jeffrey shook his head. “No. I am fine with staying behind, but you tell Kurt if he even thinks about offering you a members spot in his Guild. Not only will I come to kick his ass. I will bring every Knight of our Guild with me to help.”Ashley chuckled, shooing him off again with a wide smile. “Go get your homework done.”
He turned quickly and ran from the room, heading up the stairs as he announced back at her. “I will!”
She chuckled shaking her head closing the door to her room. “I am sure you will, pain in my butt.”---It was a little less than an hour later as Ashley closed her Math book. She stretched out, arms above her head and her legs extending under the desk as a loud groan slipped from her.
“Ugh, I hate Math.” She grunted and stood from the desk pushing the chair back in place. She looked at the clock nodding slightly. “Good, I still have a little bit before dinner. That means I can check in on the Guild, then head over to see Kurt in his game after dinner.”Turning she walked over to her bed and lifted the AmuSphere from the shelved headboard. She pulled her long raven hair back over her shoulders, placed the headgear over her head, and turned it on, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She then laid back, her head on her pillow and stretched out on the bed.
“Link start,” Ashley called out activating the headgear.
At that, a white background with shooting colors whizzed by her eyes giving her the effect of being in the middle of a meteor shower of colors. As the colors faded she appeared in a large courtyard with different sized Dragons, and Knights dressed in white, trimmed in blue and silver.
The women’s uniform was a white miniskirt with blue trimming on the bottom, a white corset top with blue trimming and a spade-shaped tail in the back. Around their shoulders was a long-sleeved, white swallow’s style tailcoat with blue trimming. Their boots were white with silver trimming, as were their thigh high stockings. On the sides of their stockings were silver embroidered dragons. Fastened around their waists by white belts were their swords.The men were dressed in long, white and blue trimmed trench coats with folded collars. Their shirts underneath were white with blue trimming and high collars. They wore white pants with white boots that had silver trimming and buckles at the top. Their trench coats, emblazoned on the back was the coat of arms, the Silver Dragon, and on the upper sleeve the device of the Knight in order to identify the knight in battle.
Seeing her Vice Master’s dragon, Un, across the courtyard, she smiled brightly pulling the hood of her white and blue trimmed cloak from over her head. Un’s calm obsidian, bronze flecked eyes looked to the men below him as he tossed his majestic four horned skull. Two enormous central horns, and two shorter horns at the side of the larger horns atop his head, both just above his large, round ears. The onyx-like crystals following his jawline sparkled as the light from the early evening light caught them. His head reared, his rounded nose with two thick, slits for nostrils and small tendrils on his chin raised high above the men in front of him. A few sharp teeth showing out from the sides of his mouth gave Un a fierce looking appearance.His head turned as his broad neck flexed down from his head to a golden slim body which gave his thick scales a warped look. A row of thick armor plating trailed his spine. One of the men rubbed his gloved hand across Un’s belly covered in massive scales, the coloring much darker than the rest of his body. His four slim limbs carried him carefully around the men below him, allowing Un to stand elegantly and dignified among them. The men below the beast were careful where they moved since each of Un’s feet bore five digits, each of which ended in keen talons seemingly made of bone.
Un’s huge wings suddenly opened as his hundred and thirty-eight-foot wingspan extended over the men below him, showing off all their beauty from his shoulders, ending at his shoulder blades. From body to tip, his wings were curved, the edges of the skin inside the wings were tattered from battle, and small sharp tips grew from each ending like tiny spears. His thick tail ended in a gentle point and covered in the same warped scales as his body as it flicked behind him.“Lady Tanya, welcome back,” a few of the men replied pulling her attention to them as they kneeled in front of her. Their heads lowered as one of their arms crossed over their chest, fist balled at their opposite shoulder.
She smiled at the three of them and nodded. “Thank you.” Her eyes went back to looking for the Vice Master. “Have any of you seen--”
She was stopped abruptly, as a hot heavy gust of wind from an annoyed huff blew her a few steps forward. She froze in place. The hood of her cloak back over her head.
After a second, her hand rose to remove the hood once more as she turned to look behind her. There hovering over her was a massive dragon with tranquil yet deadly ice blue eyes bearing down on her. The dragon reared his wide, horned skull, giving him a very ominous looking appearance with his two horns that sat atop his head, just above his small, warped ears. Twin rows of small powder blue crystals on his chin ran down the side of his jawline on either side. His nose stubby with two narrow, angular nostrils. His sharp ivory fangs extended from the sides of his mouth. He lowered his head, his strong thick neck flexing down from his wide head to his thick muscular body, covered in smooth scales of midnight black. A row of small spikes ran down his spine. His belly was covered in smooth curved scales slightly lighter in color than his body; they contorted as the beast snorted again. He stepped back from her on four huge thick limbs that allowed the creature to stand poised and proud, as his twenty digits clicked from the keen talons seemingly made of onyx, like the horns atop his head. The base of his wings started from his shoulders and ended at the middle of his back and when expanded, from tip to tip, was a hundred and forty-two foot of demonic looking wingspan. The inner sides of the wings were smooth, and the bone structures ended in a curved sharp tip like a talon. His thick tail ended in a smooth point and covered in the same smooth scales as his body.
Tanya looked up at the majestic beast before her as it looked down its nose at her. “I know. I am sorry... I forgot.”
She reached into her cape, her closed hand pulled back out. “I promise, I won’t forget next time.” She turned her hand over, palm up and opened her hand. There in the center of her palm sat a tiny sparkling cube. A sugar cube. The dragon seemed to smile at her as it lowered its giant horned head, and gently removed the sugar cube from her hand with its long pearl white teeth.“You spoil that beast, Tanya,” The voice of her Vice Master rang out.
She turned her body slightly to look at him. Like everyone else, Aaron had changed so much. He had grown to be a tall handsome man with shoulder length dirty blonde hair, that he sometimes pulled up in a tight ponytail. His eyes seemed to be greener, reminding her of a finely polished emerald. His build was tone, with broad shoulders with a deep stern voice to him, but his heart was solid gold. A Knight of valor and honor to the bitter end. He was the perfect Vice Master and she could never ask for a better man at her side to help rule the Guild.
“Maybe you should try that with Un, Aaron.” She wrapped an arm around the beast's muzzle from below, her other hand resting to the large bridge of its nose as she stroked it tenderly. “He might learn to forgive you faster when you disappear again.” Her warm blue eyes met his deep green ones.
“I doubt that,” her second in command replied as he reached out to stroke the beast’s nose. It reared its head to avoid his touch, its wings expanding to full length in warning to back away but was careful not to do harm to its Master. “And you have made him a man hater.”Tanya chuckled reaching up as the dragon lowered its head once more. “Musashi does not hate you. And if he does hate men then you will never have to worry about one touching me. Because he will eat them.”Aaron smiled coyly, folding his hands behind him as he looked up at the beast Tanya so properly named Musashi. “Reason one for why I try to become his friend.”Tanya released Musashi with a kiss to the side of his muzzle as he then took flight over their Guilds castle. “Are you saying you have other motives with me other than being my Vice Master, Aaron?”
Aaron quickly looked down from the sky where he watched Musashi flying off to check the perimeters of their land. His cheeks were flush, eyes wide. “Of course not! You should know better! I only serve as your Vice Master!”Tanya chuckled as she walked toward the castle her hand waving over her shoulder. “Mhmm,” she hummed.A few of the men were laughing at Aaron with his bright red cheeks as he turned to them giving them the evil eye. “Get back to work slackers!” He yelled at them. He then turned and followed his Guild Master into the castle, his short white cape flapping behind him as he walked away in a huff.Entering the Conference Hall, Tanya removed her cloak draping it over her chair. She turned hearing Aaron enter the hall.
“I can’t believe you, rattling off with that nonsense in front of the men.”
“Oh, get off your high horse. I was only joking with you.”“Like they knew that,” Aaron retorted. “Some of the new men here don’t know when you're joking or serious.”
He stopped on the other side of the long, wide table leaning down on it with both hands and looked at her as she looked out the large paned window behind the table. She removed her long fingerless white gloves, her eyes fixed on the dragons flying above the castle. The sun shining down on her made her look so regal in her Guild Master uniform. Her long raven hair pulled back at the sides and clipped to the back with a silver dragon he bought for her from one of the merchants on her eighteenth. Tanya’s uniform consisted of a white corset with a white belt skirt around blue short pants. Panels of blue cloth decorated in the Guild’s crest draped down from her belt skirt, showing off her legs. Covering her bust and her hips was silver armor. Around her shoulders was a blue cape with a silver dragon on the back that hung from silver rounded shoulder guards with white trimming. Her boots were white with silver trimming, as were her thigh high stockings. On the sides of the stockings were silver embroidered dragons. At her side the weapon forged from the Mystic dragon: the beautiful Mystic Sword of Whitehaven--a full heavy tang sword, dressed in a smoky blue, matching the color of their uniforms. He shook his head slightly with a wide smile. It was hard to believe she came this far in three and a half years.
She was fifteen, he was eighteen when they first met. She was a greenhorn and did not know a fencing sword from a broadsword. A jousting lance from a javelin spear. She was frail and was lucky if she weighed ninety-eight pounds sopping wet. Her raven hair was shorter than and her body yet to fill in from her teen adolescence to womanhood. However, she had an air about her that drew not only him to her side, but others as well and her bright blue eyes filled with life and a positive go-getter attitude that would not quit. Though she had a fiery bite to her when needed, she also had a kind and fun-loving side to her as well. He could not help but take her under his wing and teach her everything he knew. He watched her grow and become what she was today.Then the day came when she came to him talking about starting a Guild. For the life of him, he never believed it would grow the way it did. He was astonished when it took off like a wildfire, but then again, he should have expected it with all the people that admired her from her first year from playing Dragon Lance. He pushed up off the table and walked the length keeping his eyes on her as long as he could. He chuckled softly, stepping around the table and started down the back side of it, his eyes back on Tanya.
Three and a half years later a beautiful woman stood in front of him. A Guild Master of the Knights of The Mystic Dragon. The largest, strongest and richest Guild in the Dragon Lance VR game. Their dragons far more powerful and tame than any other Guild. No one left the Guild. Only joined. They were all happy, even the villagers that live in the small villages at the base of their castle and within their territory, and it was all because of one person. Guild Master Tanya.He stopped in front of her lifting his hand as his fingertips rested under her chin. She turned to look at him as he smiled at her. “I thought you had to go meet up with a friend in another game?”“I do,” she said turning from him as she lay her gloves to the table. “I just wanted to stop by and see everyone before I took leave of you all.”Aaron chuckled stepping toward her. “You mean you wanted to stop by and see Musashi before you took off.”Tanya smiled shaking her head. “No, I wanted to see everyone”“So what are your orders in your leave of absence, Guild Master Tanya?”Tanya looked to him and laughed. “No need to be so formal when it is just us Vice Master Aaron.”They both chuckled softly as Tanya took a seat, Aaron helping her pull her chair out, he sat down in his rightful chair to her right and looked to her.
“You're worried about something. What is it?”“No, not really worried. Just thoughtful,” She replied.“What’s the difference?” Aaron chuckled lightly. He looked at her as she looked away toward the window. “Are you worried I won’t be able to take care of things here?”Tanya looked back to him quickly. “No! Not even! I know you can handle this. Probably even better than me.”“Pft, in your wildest dreams. They love you here. Even the NPC.”Tanya laughed out loud. “That’s going a tad far there. NPC have no emotions.”“So what is it?” Aaron asked her again.
Tanya shook her head. “I guess going into a whole new world. I have never been out of Dragon Lance. I will be starting all over. No skills. Minimum HP. No experience.” Her eyes widened. “No inventory. No money. No food.” Her head fell forward to the table with a thud as she gave a muffled whine. “I’m going to die.”
Aaron shook his head chuckling softly at her then lifted her head from the table. “You will do fine. It’s not like you are going over there to help him take over. Just help him build his Guild. Not only that. I heard all that follows you now with the new set up in the VRMMO’s.”
“Really?” Tanya questioned as she looked on at him.Aaron shrugged combing his fingers through his shoulder length dirty blonde hair. “That’s what I heard. I have not been to any other worlds since I came here. So I don’t know firsthand. Just going off hearsay.”Her brows raised, her eyes growing wide. “Great.” She paused with a sigh. “But you’re right. I am not going over there to help him take over. Though it feels odd being his advisor and having no experience or skills at all in the world.”
“Well then just be glad no one can see your information. They will never know how experienced or inexperienced you really are.”She nodded. “True.” Her eyes wandered back to the window.“We will take care of him. Both of them,” Aaron told her as his hand went to her shoulder.She looked back to Aaron with a soft chuckle. “Sometimes I think you can read me too well.”
Aaron stood as he stretched, a light groan emitting from him. “I would be a horrible Vice Master if I could not read my Guild Master. After all, we are supposed to be able to read one another. That’s how we know the others move in battle and know when to go in for the kill.”
Tanya smiled with a light chuckle as she looked up at him then stood. “True.” She looked back out the window shaking her head. “I won’t be gone long I promise, and I will be stopping by from time to time. Not sure if I will catch you online when I stop in, but I will let you know if I was here.”Aaron smiled back at her shaking his head as well. “Musashi will let me know when you have been here. There is no need for any other type of notice, but if you really want...” His smile grew. “You can always send me a love note PM style.”Tanya laughed and smacked him playfully on the arm. “Whatever…”With that, she and Aaron sat and talked a little longer until she finally had to take her leave for dinner IRL. When it was time for her to leave she told Aaron to keep reassuring Cerberus she was coming back and not switching games.
As Aaron chuckled nodding his head, Tanya told him good day once more and signed out returning to the real world.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Two
It was a couple of hours later and Ashley was done with dinner and helping her mother getting things cleaned up after. She headed to her room after the text from her friend Kurt, he informed her that she could message him when she arrived to let him know when she spawned in. He gave her his gamer name, Satyr, she laughed softly when she read his name.“The old goat man of Greece.” She nodded slightly. “Fits him well.” She chuckled again and pushed on into her room. After memorizing his location, she put the AmuSphere on her head, turning it on, and laid back on the bed.
“Link start,” Ashley called out.
The white background with the meteor shower of colors zipped past her again until she was in the main menu of the game to pick out her character and name. She flipped through the many choices looking at each one. Starting with the Cait Sith.“A clan living toward the west of the World Tree, Cait Siths are skilled beast tamers with the best eyesight and high speed. They are recognizable through their cat ears and tails. Hm…” Ashley hummed flipping to the next clan.“Gnome?! Really?” She wrinkled her nose and continued, not even reading their bio or traits. “Imp… A clan living in the Alpine areas of the Southeast, the purple-styled Imps are the masters of the night and are blessed with great night vision. Nah…” She moved on.
She laughed at the next one. “Really? A Leprechaun fairy?” She read the bio and traits just to see what it said. “A clan living at the Frost areas of the North, Leprechauns are the blacksmith race and are blessed with mechanical wings. Mechanical wings…” She shook her head and chuckled some more flipping to the next one.“Pooka? Dear lord where did they get these names.” She read on. “The Pookas are from the Northwest, specializing in using music in combat to confuse and attack opponents and support allies.” She laughed again. “What are they going to do lull them to sleep with a lullaby? Come on. Get real. Give me a good strong fairy at least if I must wear wings. Geesss.”
She kept looking. “Salamander…” her nose wrinkled again. “Oh, that’s just what I want to be associated with. A slimy lizard. Moving on !”
“Now this one doesn’t sound too bad. The Spriggan. A clan from the Ancient Runes area of the Northeast, the black-styled Spriggans are masters of Illusion Magic and excel in treasure seeking. Not too bad. I guess. Let’s see what else they got first.” She flipped to the next fairy clan on the list.“Sylph, a clan from the Grassland area of the Southwest, the green-styled Sylphs are considered to be the fastest race and are masters of Wind Magic. Dang, they put all the good ones at the end so far. Looks like one more let’s see what they have to offer me.” She flipped to the next clan.“Undine… Oooo a water fairy! A clan from the Wetland area of the East, the blue-styled Undines are masters of Healing and Water Magic. I like… ”
She selected the Undine fairy as the next step popped up. “Pick a name? Hm,” She hummed in thought. “Should I go with the gamer name I have always used?” She thought for a few seconds. “Yeah, I think I will.”
T-a-n-y-a, she typed in and pressed enter. She made a few more selections in the modification of her avatar and hit submit. She then found herself being transported into the game as they told her she was being spawned over the Undine’s province. Appearing in what she guessed to be the East side of the world she looked around, not even aware that she was hovering over a large body of water. A beautiful enchanted forest surrounded her, bright lights off in the distance. A large city she guessed.
“It’s beautiful,” She spoke softly as her eyes started to settle in closer to where she was at.
Her eyes caught the water spread out in front of her. Her head started to lower as her eyes followed the water. Her heart started to race the closer her vision got to her own person. When she looked straight down she saw nothing but water under her. She panicked and looked slowly behind her at her bright blue wings as they fluttered steadily. “I’m...Flying…” Her panic grew as she started to lose her balance.
“What idiot…” She exclaimed being cut off as she splashed down in the water going under.When she came up she gasps for air slapping at the water. “Spawning over water! What moron thought of this bad joke! IDIOTS!!”“You may want to stop thrashing about. You might attract unwanted company. Come on.”She looked up to see a young man with short messy black hair, he was about her age and he was hovering over the water in front of her, his hand extended to her. She did not take his offer at first just looked at him. He was a Spriggan, or at least that’s what she gathered with his black attire and wings from the bio she read.
“Thanks, but I will swim to shore,” She told him as she started to swim away.“You sure about that,” he asked her, as he flew beside her. “I was not kidding about the unwanted company. There are monsters in the lake.” He slid his hands in his pockets. “I am just trying to help out a new member is all.”She kept swimming as she spoke to him, “What makes you think I am a new member?”He shrugged. “Well, I was not sure at first when I saw you. You were hovering so gracefully over the water. Then all of a sudden you were gone.” He chuckled softly then cleared his throat as his gently fisted hand covered his mouth and he looked away from her. His eyes then slowly drifted back to her. “Sorry, but it was rather funny watching you freak out like you did then taking a dunk.”“Oh, haha. Laugh at the noob. I see how it is.”“So you are new?” He offered his hand again. “Come on let me help you out.”
She stopped swimming and looked at his hand again this time taking it. “Are you sure you can fly with me?”\“Sure.” He told her lifting her from the water as he took altitude. “My wings are strong, and I don’t think you can be all that heavy. You looked rather shapely from the distance I was, but I doubt you’re heavy.”
She blushed at his statement about her figure, wrapping her arms around his neck. Taking her up in his arms bridal style, he flew toward the shore.
“It must have been a glitch in the generator. It normally doesn’t spawn new members in dangerous areas. It must have thought you had a high experience level.”
He landed on the shore, gently placing her to her feet.
“Yeah, must have been a glitch,” She replied looking away from him. “Thanks, I owe you one.”“Nah, it’s all good. Just happy to help.”
She nodded slowly as she lifted her hand and dragged her finger from left to right. She blinked and tried again. “Great. My panel is not working.”
“Try top to bottom,” He told her.She looked his way then back in front of her doing as he said as her panel opened. She shivered slightly. “It’s cold here at night.”“Huh?” He asked her, his look dumbfounded. “You’re cold?”
“Well of course,” She told him looking his way, “I am wet.”“But...you shouldn’t be able to feel anything.”Still looking at him she blinked a couple of times then wiped away a few drops of water trickling down her face. “Oh, I get it. You don’t have your sensory turned up.”His eyes widened. “Why would I?!”She looked away from him back to her panel and smirked. “So you’re a pans--”
Her eyes widened as she went silent when she saw her experience and skill levels. “No way!” She exclaimed at a whisper as a huge smile crossed her face. “Aaron was right about the hearsay.” She chuckled softly and quickly went into her inventory.“I would rather be a pansy than a masochist,” he replied crossing his arms over his chest.She looked quickly away from her panel to the boy. “Who’s a masochist?”
“You are apparently.”“Huh?” She tilted her head at him a confused look on her face. “How do you get that?!” She asked with a growl.“You’re one of those people that like to feel the pain of the game.”She chuckled lightly and in a sarcastic tone replied. “Oh yeah. I just love the feeling of getting cut with a blade or feeling an attack from one of the demons. It feels wonderful .” She shook her head with annoyance. “Idiot. I do it because it makes me quicker.”
She continued looking through the inventory as she heard him exclaim.“Quicker!!”
Ignoring him, she noticed she still had all her items from Dragon Lance they were just unusable for the game at hand. Though with the new Avi, she had acquired a new sword and a bow with arrows and the armor and clothing of the Undine. She smiled wide and pulled a cloak from her inventory as it appeared on her person. She closed her panel and looked to the guy once more as she pulled up her hood.“Yes, quicker.” She turned from him and started a path toward the Southwest and Sylph territory. “Thank you, but I think I have it from here.”
He huffed as he watched her walk away, running up behind her, he grabbed her arm stopping her in her path. She turned on him out of instinct grabbing his arm and flipped him over her shoulder before she could stop herself.“Oh! I am so sorry!” She exclaimed covering her mouth with her hands as she looked down at him. He blinked a few times as he looked at her from the ground.“You’re quick,” He informed her, his eyes wide.“I’m so sorry.” She offered her hand as he took it and she helped him up.He dusted himself as he looked at her a few times. “You’re not a noob, are you? You might be new to ALfheim, but you are not new to VRMMO’s.”She stood erect pulling her arms inside her cloak as she turned slightly away from him. Biting her lower lip, she shook her head. “No, this is not my first VRMMO. I have been playing another for about three and a half years. I am just here to help a friend out in his Guild.”“Do you know where you’re going?”“Well, of course, I know where I am going. He gave me his coordinates…” she hesitated. “Oh crap!”“What?” The guy asked her as his eyes widened slightly. “Are you alright?”She nodded slowly as she opened her panel again. “Yeah, I am fine. I just forgot to message him when I spawned in.”
He chuckled softly as his throat cleared, “Hmm, sorry again. Though that might have been kinda hard since you took a dip in the lake.”She looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Hush…” she told him as she went back to her message to her friend.
He smiled remaining silent until she was finished. “So where are you from? Game that is?”She closed her panel and turned toward him. “Dragon Lance and I live in the States IRL.”
“The United States?” He asked, his tone shocked.“Well yeah. Is there any other?”“Well no, but I have yet to meet someone here from the States.”“Oh, I am sure you have. They just haven't told you where they are from. I have a few friends from school playing this game. And I am sure there are plenty more.” She watched as he nodded his head, a silence falling between them, but it was not uncomfortable. “So,” she started then turned toward him offering her hand. “I’m Tanya, and you are?”He smiled and shook her hand. “Kirito. Pleased to meet you, Tanya.”
Her hand slowly moved back from him as she looked into his eyes. “ The Kirito? The SAO, Kirito?”The look on his face went blank and he looked away from her as his fingers combed through his hair on the back of his head. “Yeah. The same.”“Oh... Wow...” She replied slowly and silently from the shock of who he was. She then fell silent.
He looked her way with her tone. “Wow... I don’t know if I can handle all this excitement from you. Might want to calm down a little there.”His tone was snippy and sarcastic as she turned to him with a dumbfounded look. “Well, what do you want me to do? Jump up and down and be a fangirl? I figured you had about enough of that and I am sure it’s something you don’t like talking about.”
“Sorry…” He looked to the ground. “I guess I'm just so used to people getting all excited and carrying on when they meet me. You caught me off guard.”
“It’s fine. I understand… I mean... I know it’s much different between the two, but I have fans as well in Dragon Lance. They can get annoying sometimes, but then when someone doesn’t react to you it’s like ‘ Really? Did you hear who I said I was? ’.”
Kirito chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so.” He looked her way again. “So. Where you headed?”She looked up at him and smiled. “Southwest.”“To Sylph territory?” Kirito replied.She nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. Kur--,” she quickly corrected herself. “Satyr said that’s where I would find him.”“Satyr, huh. So he is a friend of yours?”“Mhmm, I have known him since grade school.” She pointed to her head. “He’s not the brightest crayon in the box, but he is a real sweetie.”Kirito laughed. “Well, that was a nice way to describe him.”“Do you know him?” Tanya asked.“I met him once or twice. My little sister knows him well enough. He is trying to start a Guild and was having issues with it. She was trying to help him, but the time difference got in the way. Now I know why.” He chuckled softly.
“Yeah, it's kind of hard when you live halfway around the world from one another.”
“Mhmm,” Kirito hummed. “Well let’s go then.”“Huh?” Tanya replied with a shocked tone as she watched him turn from her to the Southwest.“I will take you to him. It’s a pretty long walk and with your wings being wet you won’t be able to fly for a while. Not knowing the area and being a new member, I don’t think you want to go it alone.” He turned to look at her again. “And when your wings dry I will teach you how to fly so you can get around faster.”“I...well...I mean.” Tanya drew her hand to her head. “Are you sure about this? I don’t want to take up your time. I am sure you have other things to do.”“Nope~” he turned from her again and started walking. “Just hanging out.”
Tanya nodded and quickly caught up with him as they traveled along a path to the main road headed Southwest. They followed a cobblestone road for a few miles making small talk between them as Kirito filled her in on different aspects of ALfheim. Tanya found there were quite a few differences between their games. Not just in gear and weapons but in safe zones and bosses. The familiars of the fairies and who and what not to trust in the world. Their walk was rather peaceful as they moved along the way, only running into a few challenges. Kirito letting her handle them so to get used to her gear and weapons. After a few more miles their talk drifted to her game, Dragon Lance. Kirito fell silent for a few moments as he looked over at her with curious eyes.“What is it, Kirito?” Tanya asked him.“I was wondering. You said something back at the lake.” He chuckled. “Well, you said a few things back at the lake I wanted to ask you about, but this first. If you don’t mind me asking that is?”“Shoot,” Tanya told him with a bright smile.“You said you understood, but the reasons were different.” His questioning eyes fixed on her. “What’s your reason for having fans? You save the gaming world too?”Tanya laughed aloud. “Not even close.” She kicked at a pebble on the path. “It’s my Guild.” She looked over to him.“Must be some Guild if it made you popular,” Kirito replied.“Mhmm, well not to toot my own horn here, but it is ranked number one in the Dragon Lance world and it has only been around for a little over a year.”“What’s your Guild called?”“Knights of The Mystic Dragon. We are the largest, strongest and wealthiest Guild in Dragon Lance. I was sixteen when I started it.”“Wait!” Kirito exclaimed waving his hands in front of him then looked quickly her way. “When you said your Guild. You meant your Guild?”Tanya nodded blinking a few times as she looked at him. “Well yeah. I’m the Guild Master. I started with seven people a year and a half ago and if we were lucky three hundred gold pieces to our name and not a treasure to speak of. Now we have well over a thousand members in our Guild alone. Over eleven billion in gold pieces. Our treasure room is so full we need another to catch the overflow. I have thirteen Noble Knights under me, fourteen if you count my Vice Master. Eight Templar Assassins. Four Advisors. Two hundred and fifty Archers and I lost count on the footmen. Last count I heard from my Vice Master the count was up and over a thousand. And that’s still not counting our dragons and villagers. And members are still waiting for authorization to join the Guild or just to move into the villages in the area, and none of these are NPC. Well except the Dragons.”Kirito wavered, his hand going to his forehead, his other hand to her shoulder as his knees slightly buckled under him. Tanya grabbed his arms, a worried expression on her face. “Kirito! Are you alright?!”“I need to sit down,” He said weakly.She walked him over to a stone wall and helped him take a seat. “Are you light-headed? Take deep breaths and exhale slowly. It will help.”He chuckled softly as he looked up at her, “No it’s not that. It’s your Guild. That’s amazing. I don’t think I have ever heard of a Guild being that well off.”Tanya shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t like to toot my own horn, but my Guild is rather good.”“Good!” Kirito laughed. “People would kill for a Guild in a VRMMO that successful.”Tanya shrugged again. “There are older Guilds out there and I am sure just as successful.”“Not to my knowledge, and I am sure they have a large turnover rate. Also, you have to look at the activity of the Guild members.” He looked at her and smiled warmly. “How active are your Guild members?”“Very,” Tanya replied. “We’re not all on at the same time most of the time, but I would say a good half of us are logged in at all times. One goes off another one comes on, and vice versa. The most I have seen on in our Guild was if we are going into battle, but that has not happened in a long while. At least a good six months or more. Having the most powerful Army sorta detours challengers or attackers.”Kirito chuckled. “I would say so.” He patted the stone wall next to him for her to sit. “So how long have you been playing VRMMO’s?” He asked her not remembering if he had asked or she even told him.She sat down next to him. “Three and a half years now. The Guild a year and a half.”“So I am guessing your XP, HP and skill levels are out there,” Kirito questioned.“Well…” Tanya replied rather sheepishly. “I don’t know if it’s from the game differences between Dragon Lance to ALfheim,” she looked his way. “But my XP, HP, Sword skills and a few others are maxed in this game.”Kirito’s eyes shot open as did his mouth. “No way?”Tanya only nodded. “They’re not that way in Dragon Lance. They’re high but not maxed yet. I have not even mastered my Dragon Control yet in Dragon Lance, but there is a skill bar titled Familiar and it’s maxed. So I am guessing it took the place of my Dragon Control from the Dragon Lance game.”
“So are the dragons in Dragon Lance NPC’s or are people allowed to play them?” Kirito asked her.Shaking her head, she replied, “They are NPC’s. It makes them trickier and the skill a lot harder to acquire, but if a dragon marks you it’s for life.”“Marks you? What do you mean by that? And where do they mark you?”Tanya brushed her skirt aside showing Kirito her upper thigh, then turned beet red covering her leg once more as she looked away. “Sorry. I forgot this is not Dragon Lance, but anyway. Yeah. Upper thigh or shoulder blade for the women and forearm or bicep for the men.”“That’s alright.” He chuckled lightly. “And nice legs by the way,” Kirito said with a wide smile.Tanya shook her head trying to keep a straight face as a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Anyway. The mark of the Dragon varies in color for what the marking is for. You have five types of markings. Familiar is the color of the dragon with a lighter or darker outline. Master is White, Comrade is Red, Friend is Blue, and Acquaintance is a Teal. Familiar, of course, being the highest marking from a Dragon. If you are marked as a Familiar, you have passed each stage of winning a Dragon over for life. Once marked with this high honor by the Dragon you're bound to the beast till death.”
“Can you be Master of two?”Tanya nodded. “You can, but if you are, it is best for them to be mates or siblings. The mystic dragons are the hardest to come by in any fashion. If you are lucky enough to obtain one of them and are able to have them mark you as Master, you are one lucky player.”“I am sure you have one since you were willing to show your marking off.” He chuckled slightly as she blushed. “Is it a mystic?”Tanya nodded. “I was very lucky in finding Musashi. He was still in his egg, but that did not make him any easier to train and win over his trust. I had no clue he was a Mystic Dragon until his eyes opened.”“Oh, and what about their eyes tells you they are a Mystic Dragon?”“They’re ice blue.” She paused and went into thought as she talked about her dragon. “He’s bigger than a single-story house, his body as long as two buses. Five if you add the length of his tail.”She held up her hand with her index finger extended. “His talons alone are longer than my index finger.” Her hands then went to her hips. “His head is as big as two of my entire body and his horns are as long as my legs.” One of her legs lifted.
“I would say if I got my measuring tape out his height would be about twenty-four to thirty feet. His body length between thirty to thirty-seven feet and his wingspan about a hundred and forty-two feet.” She paused, “but he is only three years old and still has a lot of growing to do still. He is as black as my hair,” she pulled a lock of her hair from over her shoulder looking at it then chuckled lightly, it was blue. "…Well as black as my hair in Dragon Lance -- and he has a heart of gold.” She snickered softly thinking of Aaron and Musashi together. “As long as he likes you.”
“I guess there is someone he doesn't like?” Kirito asked with a soft chuckle as he listened to her talk about her dragon.She nodded slowly. “My Vice Master. And I am not sure what it is with them. I have seen them together before and Musashi was fine with him, but when I am around he is all standoffish with Aaron.”“Maybe he is jealous,” Kirito offered.Tanya looked to Kirito and giggled again. “Which one?”Kirito laughed with her as he stood from the stone wall and stretched with a groan. “That’s a good question.” He turned to offer his hand to her. “Ready to learn a new skill?”“And what might that be?”“How to fly of course. Your wings should be dry by now.” He took her hand in his and pulled her to a standing position. “If you feel like you owe me after this. You can partner up with me one day when you're here and we can go hunting or go take out a few Bosses in Aincrad. I would like to see those skills of yours.”Tanya was looking at him wide-eyed. “Aincrad? You want me to go into SAO with you? I thought SAO was closed down.”Kirito shook his head. “It is but when the new world seed was set into place I had Aincrad moved into ALfheim.”“You what?” Tanya asked as he placed his hands to her shoulders and turned her South. His arm extended over her shoulder as he pointed off in the horizon.
“See those lights floating above the trees?” She nodded. “That’s Aincrad.” He felt her tremble under his hand on her shoulder as he turned his look to her. “Are you cold again?”
She shook her head. “I have always dreamed of playing Aincrad. A hundred floors of pure adrenaline pumping fights.” She turned quickly and looked at him. “You have conquered all the floors, haven’t you?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, a couple of years ago.”“I would love to go there. Yes, whatever it is yes. I will show you all the skills I have if you take me there to battle.”Kirito laughed. “All of them?”“All of them. I will even cook for you if you want,” Tanya blurted out.Kirito extended his hand to her. “You got a deal.” She took his hand and they shook on it. “Let’s get busy then.” Kirito turned them around as he started to explain to her how to fly. How long she could fly and how long she would have to rest before she could fly again. He told her of the speeds they could fly and the best wind currents to catch to help her stay in flight longer. He even taught her how to land without breaking her neck. After about an hour of flight lessons, the two took off to the Southwest once more for Sylph territory.“Tanya?” Kirito called to her as they flew along. She looked over to him a bright smile across her lips. “I forgot to ask you. You said you turn your sensory up on your avatar because it makes you quicker. How?”“Because I can feel the pain,” She told him.“But how does that make you faster?”“Because I don’t want to feel that pain. It makes me more aware of what is going on around me, so I avoid the attack or learn to block it. I stay alert and watch everything. I don’t want to hurt or die so I make sure I am fast enough to avoid it,” Tanya told him.Kirito fell silent for a moment then asked. “Does it--” He fell silent again as his mind flashed back to the time when his pain sensor was turned all the way up.“Does it what? ... Hurt?”“I know it hurts, but how do you get used to it?”Tanya laughed. “You don’t. I look at it as a fact of life type thing. We hurt IRL. What’s the difference if we hurt in the game?”Kirito looked to her an odd look on his face. “Because IRL we are not getting stabbed or munched on by monsters.”Tanya chuckled. “True. It hurts like Hell, but like IRL we learn to keep from getting hurt. The same here. You sharpen your skills and XP to keep it from happening. You get quicker you get smarter and you get stronger.”
“Good point.” He looked ahead of them again in thought. “I think I will turn mine up and start training with it.”“Well don’t jump in with both feet. Do it slowly. The type of pain we suffer in the game will put your body in shock IRL so turn it up slowly. Very slowly ,” Tanya told him. “When you start getting used to the pain at that setting turn it up a little more, and so on and so forth. So far I have mine at fifty percent.”Kirito wavered in flight as he looked quickly back at her. “Fifty percent?!” She nodded her head to him as he shook his head and looked forward again mumbling to himself. “Damn! Fifty percent. She can feel everything at that percentage.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Three
It was not long after their conversation that they had landed in the center of town in Sylph territory. With the message Tanya sent her friend Kurt, aka Satyr and the message he sent in return, he told her he would meet her at a fountain in the middle of town. Kirito stayed with her until Kurt arrived. Well... Kirito and a few other fairies. Leafa which he introduced as his kid sister, she was also a Sylph Fairy like Satyr, Lisbeth a friend, which was of the Leprechaun clan and a guy named Klein, also a friend, he was of the Salamander clan. They chatted cheerfully, Klein hitting on Tanya a few times, and getting dirty looks from Kirito for him doing so. It was not long, and Satyr showed. He did not look too pleased that she was hanging out with them, but Tanya did not care, she was always for making new friends.After a quick introduction of everyone, Tanya said her goodbyes, thanking them for their hospitality, she then turned and walked away with her friend Satyr. However, she did not get too far when Kirito called out to her.“Tanya, wait a minute.”She turned watching him come quickly toward them. “What’s wrong, Kirito?”“Nothing. I just wanted to know if you want to partner up tomorrow for a trip to Aincrad?”“Yes!” Tanya exclaimed softly.“Tanya! Really, Aincrad? That place is dangerous,” Satyr expressed.Kirito looked to Satyr with a ‘mind your own business’ look as he replied, “She will be safe. She will be with me. I have conquered every floor, most twice.”Satyr shook his head. “I object to this. You're supposed to be here helping me. How can you help me if you're off winning battles with this Spriggan?”Tanya looked to Satyr and sighed then perked up as an idea came to her. “What is a good time for you Kirito?”“Well,” Kirito stated as he opened his panel to look at something. “It’s twelve twenty-five in the afternoon where I am.”Tanya opened her panel and looked at the time. “It’s nine twenty-five, Thursday evening for me.”Kirito smiled at her. “It’s Friday afternoon for me.”“Ah, future boy,” Tanya poked fun at him.Kirito chuckled. “So you have school?”She nodded. “I am out at two, home about two thirty. Then homework. So about three, I am free as long as the Instructors don't pile it on us.”Kirito went into thinking mode. “Three… three... that would be four in the morning for me.” He nodded swiftly. “That’s good for me.”Tanya blinked at him. “Kirito, that’s rather early.”“I am good. It’s only an hour earlier than when I normally get up.”Tanya’s body went limp like she was a rag doll as her shoulders slumped, as she groaned. “Ugh… I don’t want to think about it. I have to be up at five in the morning for school as well.”Kirito smiled at her. “Alright then, go do what you need to do, and I will meet you at three your time where we met tonight.”Tanya blinked. “Over the lake?!”Kirito grinned at her. “What’s wrong? Afraid you will take another dip?”Tanya drew up her hands resting them on her hips, giving him a cocky look. “Not on your life. I know how to fly now, thanks to you.”“Great,” Kirito replied as he turned from her as he waved over his shoulder. “See you tomorrow, Tanya. I expect to see great things from you in Aincrad. Don’t let me down, Dragon Master.”Tanya giggled at Kirito when suddenly Satyr grabbed her arm jerking her attention to him.“You told him about Dragon Lance and that you were a Guild Master?”Tanya pulled away from him with ease, an odd look on her face. “Yeah, what’s wrong with that? It’s Kirito. The Kirito. I don’t think I have to worry about him.”“How do you know it is the Kirito? Just because he tells you he is him don’t mean he is,” Satyr informed her. “You need to be careful with what you tell people in here. You don’t know any of them. You don’t know if they are lying or telling the truth.”Tanya sighed with a nod just to shut him up. He was starting to remind her of her parents. She knew the rules of the web and she was no fool. But she also knew someone was not going to go around pretending to be a kid that was trapped in a VRMMO for two years. She blew him off and just agreed with him. Finally, they started on their way to his place to talk about the creation of his Guild.---It was the weekend, a week and a half later, and Ashley pretty much had the day all to herself to do with as she pleased. Kurt was busy for the day, so he did not need her help. Kirito had a family thing and would not be free until her evening time, better said as his morning of the next day. As for the others in her Dragon Lance game, besides her brother, she was not sure what they were doing, so she just relaxed for the moment on her bed thumbing through one of her Gamer magazines. She was trying to read up on some of the new VRMMO’s coming out, but her mind would not stay focused on what was in front of her, it kept running through the events of the past week.It had been a little over a week since Ashley started helping Kurt out with his Guild, and things were moving along well. In that week alone, he doubled his numbers for Guild members going from twelve to twenty-four. Sure, it was nothing major, but it was better than the progress he was having. Before she started helping him he was getting no recruits at all. His small count of twelve was what he started with and stayed with for months. So it was a step in the right direction, which made Ashley happy. Kurt on the other hand, not so much. He wanted results now, yesterday even, but that was not going to happen. With his impatience, he started getting pushy and offering outlandish things if they joined his Guild. She told him he could not do that. Finally, she got him to understand how things worked. Seeing that if he did not stick to his own laws and guidelines of his Guild, his members would see him as a bad leader and would start dropping or just become inactive and that is not what he wanted for a successful Guild. He finally went back to the way she had things and his member count went up a few more members.Her personal life, or aka VRMMO life was moving along great. Her and Kirito hung out a lot, hunting, and doing battle in Aincrad… Which was amazing! She could not believe the challenges and how hard they were, but thanks to her Dragon Lance game she was doing rather well. Her sword skills were really paying off. They had just made it to the third floor yesterday. It took them, or well… her, three days on each level to finally get there. Not too bad, or at least in her book, it was not too bad. If it had not been for Kirito being with her she was sure she would have still been on the first floor. When they were not doing battle within Aincrad they were hanging out with Kirito’s friends and his little sister. Which Ashley enjoyed way too much. His friends were really nice and pretty cool, and she was starting to make friends of her own while she was hanging out in ALfheim.After a while longer in thought, Ashley started to grow bored and she closed her magazine setting it to the headboard of her bed, retrieving the headgear for her game. Placing it on her head she slid down on the bed and laid down getting comfortable. She crossed her arms over her stomach.“Link start…”It was a beautiful sunny day in Dawnmeadow Village as Tanya stood in front of Whitehaven's Castle gate, home and stronghold of her Guild. With her eyes cast over the village, she smiled warmly. It was hard to believe how beautiful Dawnmeadow had become. Still, on the Western side of the river, the now metropolis of Dawnmeadow was home to hundreds led by the Guild’s second most Noble Knight, Sir Crelan. This metropolis was rebuilt by Sir Crelan and the Villagers themselves, and filled with spiritual significance, which is of great importance to the people of Dawnmeadow and its now success. The metropolis itself looked delightful. With its ebony wood rooftops, marble walls and silent mountain range that gave them a beautiful backdrop to their village, Dawnmeadow had gone from a desolate atmosphere to a captivating atmosphere.The cathedral was still the village's main attraction, which was built years ago but was refurbished by the Holy Knights of their Guild. Besides the cathedral, Dawnmeadow now had a prospering economy, which was mainly supported by engineering, blacksmithing, farming and wood production. But their biggest strengths were their sophisticated cooking and weaponsmithing. However, Dawnmeadow still lacked skill in battle. It was not that it did not have any, it just had very little. This made it a target for thieves and attacking Guilds that were not allied to the Knights of The Mystic Dragon. At times this proved a little adventurous for the Knights of The Mystic Dragon with Dawnmeadow’s prospering economy.
Despite its strengths and weaknesses, Dawnmeadow was now one of the most favored villages to live in with its clean rivers for fishing, crisp, fresh mountain air and thriving forests with ample amounts of vegetation and huntable wildlife. It was nothing to find the population climbing every day, but it was not their only village. Nor was it their only village that had rose from the ashes into glory. There were eight more that surrounded them under their jurisdiction, Dawnmeadow was just the biggest and most thriving at the moment. With the castle being so centralized in the world they were surrounded by many things. Mountains to their North; the sea and volcanic range to the East; the Western plains with ample lakes and their flora and fauna, green forests; and the South with their desert flatlands. They even had treaties with the four other larger Guilds in the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western hemispheres of the world.They had it all. They were the highest Guild relied on, looked upon and sought out when something or someone was in need. To the ones with power in the Guild, it was no longer a game. It became a full-time job. A job they all loved and because of their love for the Guild and the VRMMO they stayed strong and flourished. Though others gave the credit to Tanya and her fairness and kindness toward the others no matter their rank. Tanya fought for her people, their property, shared the wealth and treated everyone as an equal. It was not just the Guild she favored. It was everyone associated with it that she protected. And it was not just her that cared; it was also her ranking officers. From the Noble Knights to the Privates in her Army. They all helped the townspeople in any way they could. Be it something as simple as sweeping and cleaning up litter to hard labor like farming or rebuilding after a battle. They all looked out for one another. To some Tanya was not a Guild Master, but the Queen of their world and their Royal Court of the realm. She was loved and admired by all. She and her Guild, the Knights of The Mystic Dragon were their Guardian Angels of their VRMMO world.With a final glance across her Guild’s land, she turned with a bright smile still spread across her lips as Tanya walked toward the gates of the castle.“OPEN THE GATES! LADY TANYA APPROACHES!” A watcher called out to the men at the gates helm.“OPEN THE GATES!” Another man cried out. “LADY TANYA REQUESTS ENTRY!”The gates opened with the clatter of chains and the loud groan of turning metal cogs as they slowly opened outward toward her as she stepped toward them. She nodded at the men and women on the wall controlling the gate, keeping watch and protecting the stronghold they called their home. They bowed and waved all wearing bright smiles across their faces. Some wished her a good day, others a cheerful hello as she passed by them into the courtyard.
Once well into the courtyard a strong wind whirled about as the sound of wings echoed in her ears. Her hood fell from her head revealing her dark raven hair, her cloak dancing behind her in the steady breeze from the beast's wings. It landed behind her, the earth trembling from the weight of the mighty creature as it reverberated through her body. Her hand came from inside her cloak and stretched above her head, in her palm four tiny sugar cubes rest. The beast lowered his head removing them gently from her palm. Then lowered his head back to her hand as her palm tenderly stroked his lower jaw.“I have missed you, my friend. Have you missed me?”The creature snorted softly, his head bobbing slightly as his comrade and soon Master tilted her head back and looked up at him with a bright smile.“I was told you have been behaving. I have a treat for you for your fine behavior while I have been gone.” Tanya told him as the two stopped at the stairs at the base of the castle.She stepped up on the stairs taking a few more and turned to look at Musashi. She extended her arms upward as he lowered his head between them. Her hands gently rested to either side of his head as Musashi lowered his head more, his Master gently pulling him closer to her. Once close enough she kissed the flat of his nose and rested the side of her head against it.“It’s good to be home even if it is only for the day.” She lifted and looked into Musashi’s eyes. “Ready for your treat?”Musashi bobbed his head softly in her arms as she released him.“Alright then,” she went to open her panel as a Herald walked out of the castle behind her calling her name.“Lady Tanya,” he went to one knee and bowed his head, his arm drawn across his chest, hand balled into a fist at his shoulder.She turned from her panel to the man behind her. “Alickath, is there something wrong?”“Vice Master, Sir Aaron. He needs you in the Conference Hall…” He paused and looked up at her with serious eyes adding with an urgent, but calm tone. “Now, my Lady.”Tanya turned back to Musashi and quickly gave him his treat of Venison. His favorite. Patting his nose with a tender kiss she turned back to the Herald as he too turned to lead her into the castle as she called back to her Dragon.“I will be back Musashi. Don’t go anywhere…”She disappeared into the castle as Musashi laid down where he was and ate his treat, waiting for her to return to his side when she finished.---
Approaching the Conference Hall, Tanya could hear the muffled voices of Aaron and another talking about something. The voices were low so she could not make out the second voice, but she could hear the tone in Aaron’s voice well enough to know he was growing upset at the person in there with him. The Herald pushed open the door further as she heard Aaron speak.“We will discuss this further when Lady Tanya arrives, Grandmaster Freiveth.”Both men looked her way when they heard her booted footsteps enter the room. Raising from his seat Grandmaster Freiveth stood and bowed deeply to her. “Lady Tanya. I am honored you could grace us with your audience.”Seeing who it was Aaron was speaking with, Tanya looked at Grandmaster Freiveth with annoyed eyes. “Yes, I am sure you are, Grandmaster.” She replied in an annoyed tone as she walked around the table where her Vice Master was standing.“What is he doing here?” Tanya whispered to Aaron as she stepped past him to her chair. She removed her cloak draping it over the back of said chair.Aaron turned facing her as he stepped past her, back to his chair on her right. His head was lowered slightly as he replied. “The Westward Guilds are causing them issues again.”Tanya smiled the best she could at the man as she turned to face him. “So the same old song and dance is it Grandmaster Freiveth? If you would have listened to me--”“If you would have assisted like we requested last month this would not be happening,” Freiveth demanded, cutting her short, his tone slightly rising with her.Tanya removed her gloves tucking them neatly into her belt as she then leaned forward to the table and looked to Freiveth. “First off, Grandmaster Freiveth. You will refrain from interrupting me while I am speaking. It is common courtesy to let the person finish speaking before you return comment and secondly, you will not raise your voice to me.”Freiveth narrowed his eyes at her with a soft growl his gloved hands tightening around the chair’s armrests as Tanya continued. “As I was saying. If you would have listened to me and took control of the Guilds in your surrounding area you would not be having this issue. You did not have to put a leash on them as you believed, but to keep order you need some sort of control over them. We have no issues at all with the smaller Guilds in our order, nor do the Guilds of the Northern, Southern or Eastern hemispheres have issues with their smaller Guilds.”
Freiveth crossed his arms over his chest with an ‘if you’re done’ look, as he sat in the chair looking at her. “They are calling themselves the Dragon Slayers and they have so far killed three Mystic Dragons.” He paused for effect, watching Tanya’s eyes widen. He then continued, “One was just an infant. His eyes were not even opened yet. The other two, the mother and then a random mystic. I am sure they just stumbled across them. They have banded together with four other small Guilds.”Tanya narrowed her eyes at the man sitting in front of her as her hand lifted and slammed down to the tabletop. “I blame their deaths on you! If your Guild would have listened to me, they would still be alive!”Aaron placed a hand to her shoulder calming her some as she stood erect. Her body was trembling from rage and the fight to hold back her tears for the poor creatures that suffered this fate. He looked from his Leader to the man sitting in the chair as he wore a smug grin across his lips. Aaron’s hand tightened into a tight fist at his side. He looked back to Tanya his hand on her shoulder tightening slightly as her look jerked his way. Aaron nodded slowly as his hand dropped and he looked to Freiveth.“Grandmaster Freiveth. Will you please excuse me and Lady Tanya?” Aaron requested as Aaron gestured toward Tanya.Freiveth nodded, linking his fingers together in front of him as he looked to Tanya. “Take all the time you need, Lady Tanya.”Tanya looked to the Grandmaster with narrowed eyes her stomach sick, not with just his news but sick of his smug look. She turned and started a path toward a door at the other end of the room, Aaron following behind.Once in the room with the door closed, Aaron heard Tanya sniffle, her back still to him as he watched her hand lift, rubbing at her cheek lightly. His hand wrapped gently around her arm as he turned her pulling her into his arms. One arm wrapped around her waist as his other lifted, his hand going to the back of her head as he caressed her hair.“Let me take a small group to the West and stop this madness. I will disband this Guild of rogues and put a stop to their killing of the Dragons.” Aaron told her still consoling her.Tanya shook her head. “It won’t help. They did not listen to me when I told them what to do. If they do not do what is needed more rogue Guilds will rise up under them in the West and we will be back at square one.”He released her placing both hands to her shoulders. “Then we do what we should have done eight months ago instead of signing a treaty with the Illusions of the Serpent Guild.” He gave her a serious look. “Conquer the West and the unchartered territory to the North and South of them.”“But Aaron…”Aaron shook his head. “I knew with the way things were going in the meeting to sign the treaty, something was up. They were the smallest and weakest and still are. They have not grown in any way since they took over the Western Plains. The North, South and the East have doubled in size since they took their places. The only reason the West signed this treaty with us is that of our hospitality with the others. They are using us is all they are doing. Ever since that treaty has been signed all they do is stand there with their hands out. Money. Fight our battles. Find us Dragons. We need--”“Aaron…” Tanya spoke up again, cutting him off as he turned right around cutting her short once more. He was mad, and she could see that in his eyes.“No Tanya. I will go to the West with a small army of men to the Illusions of the Serpent Guild, and I will tell their Guild Master exactly how this works. Once the Knights of The Mystic Dragon remove this threat they are to take hold of the smaller Guilds in the territory as you instructed. If they do not and an incident like this occurs again and we have to come save them. It won’t be the rogues we will be rising against.”Tanya looked into his eyes and sighed. “You know you can’t make a call like that, Aaron. Even if you are the Vice Master. We have to call the Noble Knights together and discuss this. This has to be placed to a vote and if all the Knights agree then that is what we will do.”Aaron growled slightly, he knew she was right, but he did not want to admit it. “Fine, I will call them all together for a meeting,” he paused opening his panel looking at the time, then looked back to Tanya. “Will two hours from now work for you for the meeting?”Tanya nodded in agreement that that would be fine. “I will have the Steward place Grandmaster Freiveth in a room, so he can rest before the trip back to the West.” She walked past Aaron to let the Grandmaster know of the plans as Aaron gently grabbed her arm.“Tanya, do you think I am wrong for feeling this way?”She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled shaking her head. “No, I don’t. I have always trusted your instincts and you did make a call on this during, after and every time in between after the treaty was signed that their Guild was up to no good. I saw the same thing as you. I guess I just wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt in this. I guess I was too hopeful.”Aaron chuckled softly. “I guess I wanted to believe the same thing. Let’s just hope we are nipping it in the bud before it gets too bad.”Tanya nodded. “Let’s hope.” Aaron’s head then tilted slightly with a questioning look. “What is it?” Tanya asked turning to face him fully.“When did we get a Steward?”Tanya giggled softly. “Stewards are NPC’s like the Heralds.”“Ah, makes sense.” Aaron’s hand went to the back of his head scratching it. He wore a goofy smile. “I never had to summon one so…”
Tanya smiled warmly at him and nodded. “We don’t have many stay over. So it is understandable. I forgive you for not knowing.”“Oh, you think?!” Aaron said playfully as he grabbed Tanya and started tickling her. “I will make you think you forgive me.”Tanya squealed gleefully as she laughed aloud. “Aaron. Stop. Stop…” She continued to laugh until he finally stopped a few seconds later. “You, big lug…” she teased him as she straightened her uniform.Aaron chuckled softly at her pet name for him. “You want me to call the Steward?”“No, I got it,” Tanya said looking at him still smiling. She lifted her hand opening her panel, summoning a Steward. She then looked to Aaron again. “Well let’s get this over with.”“What are you going to tell him?” Aaron asked her as he watched her turn and walk toward the door, he fell in behind her following.“You will see.” She gave him a side glance with a bright smile opening the door as the two exited the room, back into the Conference Hall where the Grandmaster waited for them.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Four
“Sorry for the delay, Grandmaster Freiveth.”His hands were still folded in front of him and it looked as if he had not moved from his spot. “That is quite alright, Lady Tanya.” He lifted from his chair as he turned to face the two. “So what is the verdict? Do I return alone or will your Guild step up and help us out--”“Again…” Aaron finished his sentence with a growl under his breath his eyes narrowing.Tanya stopped walking as Aaron walked into the back of her an audible, ‘umph’, heard from Aaron as she elbowed him in the ribs. She looked to the Grandmaster and smiled coyly, even though she wanted to choke the breath out of him.“We have decided to help you out once more, Grandmaster Freiveth. However, I am sorry to inform you that you won’t be leaving for a few hours.”He cocked his head and looked to her. “Why might that be, Lady Tanya?”“We have to gather the forces together to do this. It will be at least three hours before you will be able to return home.” Just then a soft knock echoed through the large room. “Enter,” Tanya called out as the Steward entered the room. “Arrangements have already been made. A room here in the castle is already set up for you. I am sure you are tired after your long ride to meet with us. A good rest before the return ride will be refreshing for you. Feel free to request substance if you are hungry.”The Grandmaster looked from the Steward back to Tanya and nodded curtly to her. “Thank you, Lady Tanya. It will be refreshing to relax for a bit before we return.”Tanya nodded slightly. “Good. I am glad to hear you do not object to this. I promise we will work as fast as we can in getting the group together we need for this sort of mission.”He nodded again as he turned from Tanya and Aaron walking toward the Steward. “I will be waiting for confirmation on our departure. Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Tanya.” He left the room with the Steward as the doors closed behind him.Aaron growled looking to Tanya. “Can I have my blade miss the head of the rebel scum and take his instead?”Tanya chuckled covering her mouth with one hand as she softly patted Aaron’s chest with the other. “I know he is a pain, but be nice.” She grinned as she turned looking out the large paned window behind the table. “At least for now.” Her eyes then widened a shocked look on her face as she uttered a single name.“Klein…?”“Huh?” Aaron asked, as he too looked out the window with her.She blinked a couple of times as the two watched a guy that she thought looked like Klein from ALfheim. Aaron, on the other hand, had no clue who this person was. Just someone trying to get into the castle.“Well, he’s got balls. That’s for sure,” Aaron stated with a halfhearted chuckle as he watched the guy trying to maneuver around Musashi that was lying at the entryway stairs.The guy was wearing mostly browns with a white shirt, a leather armor breastplate and leg guards over his brown pants and leather brown boots. Around his head over his auburn hair, he wore a wide, maroon colored bandanna with streaks of white through the material. Attached to his belt at his hip hung a broadsword, and on his hands, fingerless brown leather gloves. Fluttering behind him in the light breeze a short cape of red.
Musashi stood, his ice blue eyes on the stranger, his head down and close to the man as the man had his hands up at shoulder height, a worried look on his face.“Halt!” One of the three guards that ran up to the man yelled. Two of them taking hold of the visiting man’s arms.“Hey! It’s cool! I am here to see Tanya. That’s all. I know her. We’re friends even. Really…” He told the guards as they took hold of him.“What Providence are you from?” One of the guards asked him.“I… well…” Klein stammered as he looked between the two guards. “I'm new. So, I don't have a Providence yet. I just started today.”“Right, and I'm the Queen of Tarragonia,” One of the guards smarted off.“You really expect us to believe this? I don't like the way you’re acting! We're taking you to see Vice Master Aaron. He can decide on what to do with you.”Not believing him from his suspicious mannerism, they escorted him into the castle. The third guard quickly making his way inside before them to go announce the intruder to their Vice Master. The guard’s actions against the man caused Musashi to withdraw as he curled back up in his resting spot.Tanya turned facing Aaron with a cheerful smile. “It seems Klein has come to visit.”Aaron’s eyes widened at the name, but before he could say anything to her, one of the men knocked at the Hall doors. “You may enter.”Entering the room with Aaron’s permission. He bowed to them both. “Lady Tanya. Vice Master Aaron. It seems we have someone asking for audience with Lady Tanya. He claims to know her.”Before Tanya could confirm this, they heard running in the hall. Tanya hearing the familiar voice of Klein yelling out. “I am telling you, dudes! I know her!” They heard a scuffle as he yelled out again. “UHHGG! COME ON! AND GET OFF ME YOU’RE HEAVY IN THAT ARMOR!”Tanya chuckled and walked toward the doors stepping out into the hall. She looked down the hall to see Klein under the two men that grabbed him outside. Her hands went to her hips her expression turned serious as she decided to have a little fun with Klein from all his flirting with her in the past.“What is going on here?” She demanded to know. Aaron now walking out behind her.The two stood quickly jerking the man off the floor and forced him into a bow as they bowed to their Guild Master. “We are sorry, Lady Tanya but--”Klein tilted his head as he looked at her then cut the speaking guard off. “Tanya? Is that you? Damn, you look good in that uniform!”He was hit in the stomach with the hilt of one of the men's swords causing him to double over slightly. “Shut up you! You will not talk to Lady Tanya that way.”Tanya could not help but smile brightly as the man continued, her head shaking slightly. “This man got away from us. We were taking him to see Vice Master Aaron. This man is insistent that he knows you.”“I do know her, you jerks!” He struggled against their hold then looked to Tanya. “Tell them, Tanya. Tell them I know you.”Tanya shook her head and turned away from them as her hands fell from her hips. “I have never seen this man in my life.” Her hand waved over her shoulder as she gave her next order. “Toss him back to Musashi. He is hungry.”“TANYA!” Klein screamed as the two guards nodded and started dragging him down the hall back to the front entrance. “TANYA!! COME ON! IT’S ME KLEIN!!”Tanya could not hold back her laughter any longer as she burst out laughing and turned back to the men. “Stop.” The men stopped and looked back at her. “Let him go.”They looked at one another then Klein. “Are you sure, Lady Tanya?”“Yes,” she continued to chuckle softly stepping up to them. They released Klein as he pulled on his clothing to straighten them.As the men walked away, Tanya looked to Klein, Aaron stepping up behind her. “What are you doing here?”Klein looked to Aaron oddly as he spoke to Tanya. “Is he going to knock me out if I hug you?” He pointed to Aaron standing behind her.Tanya looked over her shoulder seeing Aaron and shook her head. “No, he is a pussycat.”“He doesn’t look like any pussycat I know,” Klein replied hugging her.“Well?” Tanya asked as they parted from the embrace.“Well, what?” Klein questioned. “Oh, oh yeah. Why am I here?” His hand went to the back of his head as he gave her a goofy grin. “I could not sleep. I knew there would be no one I knew in ALfheim this time of day, so I thought I would come check out your game. But if I knew there would be a Dragon waiting to eat me, and two jerks to beat me up. I would have given it a second thought.”Tanya chuckled. “You should have messaged me first. I would have rolled out the red carpet for you.”“Shit…” Aaron mumbled softly as Tanya and Klein looked to him strangely. “Sorry,” Aaron replied looking at Tanya. “With all the excitement I forgot to send out messages to the other Knights.” He bowed to her. “Excuse me please while I do this.”Tanya nodded as she watched Aaron walk away from them back into the Conference Hall. Tanya looked back to Klein and smiled. “Come on, I will introduce you to the Dragon you thought was going to eat you.”“Ehh…” Klein expressed with a worried look, scratching the back of his head.Tanya giggled softly. “I think you will be safe with me there.”“You think!?” Klein exclaimed as he walked beside her. She giggled at him again as the two walked back down to the entrance of the castle enjoying light conversation. Once on the steps, Musashi rose to greet them his head turning as he looked at Klein, Klein stepping behind Tanya and she laughed.“Klein, Musashi.” She looked to Musashi, reaching up he lowered his head into her hand nuzzling it with his nose. “Musashi. This is Klein and a good friend of mine from another world.”Klein looked at the massive beast standing before him shaking his head. “How?” He looked to Tanya. “How did you tame this beast?”Tanya only looked to Musashi as she spoke to Klein. “I have had him since he was in an egg, but it did not make it any easier. He was just smaller.” She smiled and looked to Klein. “A lot smaller. I have been working with him for three years and I have still not mastered him.”“So…” Klein looked to Musashi. “Once you master the Dragon… does that mean no matter what Dragon you are around you will be able to control them?”Tanya shook her head. “I wish.” She stroked Musashi’s nose. “Every Dragon is different. So with each new Dragon, it is a new challenge.”“But does being the Master of one help you with the others?” Klein pondered.“Yes, it does. With the other Dragon’s seeing me with Musashi they learn to trust me faster. They watch us interact and learn faster from watching Musashi and I together.” Tanya explained to him. “With breeders it is different.”“So breeders don’t have to master the Dragons?”“Not for battle, but they have to master the Dragons to a point of them trusting them. It’s, of course, a different type of mastering toward the Dragons, but they still have to master them if they want a successful breed out of their Dragons.” She shook her head, “I have yet to get into breeding. I want to. I have been researching it for the last year now, but the Guild takes up a lot of my time and breeding takes more time than running a Guild.”“Hm…” Klein hummed as he rubbed his chin.Tanya looked to Klein with inquisitive eyes. “What are you thinking?”“Eh, nothing really.” Klein looked her way. “Just thinking.”Tanya chuckled shaking her head. “So what do you think of our world?”Klein looked up quickly and looked around. “What I have seen of it, it’s pretty cool. I really like the medieval look with the Knights and castles and whatnot.” He looked around the courtyard as he spoke. “I did a little reading on it after you told me about it and found out it was all for saving the Dragon’s. I thought that was pretty neat and it made me want to check it out even more.” He looked to Tanya with a wide brimming grin with his eyes closed. “So what does it take to join your Guild?”“You have to walk across hot coals with your pain sensor turned up to a hundred percent.”Klein with wide eyes and Tanya with a snicker looked the way of Aaron as he walked out behind them, a smirk across his lips.Klein’s head shook like mad. “That’s crazy talk!” He looked to Tanya. “Do you really?!” He asked in a panic.Tanya laughed at him. “Of course not.”Aaron walked up to Klein clasping his hand to his shoulder as he chuckled and offered his hand to him. “I am Sir Aaron. Vice Master and personal Knight to Lady Tanya. I am sorry I was so rude to you up in the hall. I was dealing with a nasty problem a few minutes before you came knocking.”Klein smiled at him shaking his hand. “That’s alright Sir Aaron. I totally understand. I have heard some of Tanya’s stories about a few of the people you guys have to deal with here. I would be a little on edge myself.”Tanya looked to Musashi and sent him away then turned back to Aaron and Klein. “So were you able to get ahold of any of them?”“Luckily enough. Yes,” Aaron said looking to Tanya. “They will be here within the hour and we can get this moving.”Tanya nodded. “Good I am glad to hear that. The less time the man is here the better off I will feel.”Klein was lost to what they were talking about, so he asked again when he believed their conversation was over. “So really; and no jerking me around this time. What does it take to get into your Guild?”Aaron looked to Klein crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at him sizing him up. “You don’t look like much. Why are you asking? You want to join?”“Well I would not be asking if I didn’t, and what do you mean I don’t look like much? I will have you know I could wipe the floor with you.”“WHOA!” Tanya exclaimed as she watched the two of them send out a challenge to the other. Her hand went to the center of their chest’s pushing them back as they stepped up to one another.“You beat me in a sword fight right here. Right now, and I will make you Grandmaster Knight.”Tanya’s hand quickly covered her face.“Grandmaster Knight, huh?” Klein repeated with a very interested tone as he nodded his head slowly.“Wait a minute!” She exclaimed.“You’re on!” Klein took his offer, turned and started a path down the steps to the courtyard. Aaron following behind him.“I SAID WAIT A MINUTE!” Tanya cried out.They both turned on the steps and looked at her. “What?” Aaron asked. “You know we need a Grandmaster Knight.”“I know this, but this is not how we do this,” Tanya reminded him.Aaron smiled at her and drew his blade. “Let me pick the Grandmaster Knight the way I want. That way I know we got a good one.”“But Aaron you don’t understand…”Aaron nodded. “Yes, I do. I know exactly who this guy is. I do read and watch the news.”Tanya smiled shaking her head. “As long as you know he is going to kick your butt I am fine with it.”“Hey! Have a little faith. I am your Vice Master after all,” Aaron replied.
“I have all the faith in the world with you, but this is Klein. He has lived this. His skill goes much further than just a number.” Tanya told him.Aaron looked to Klein and smiled, then looked back to Tanya. “Why do you think I want to fight him?” His smile grew as he pulled back his hair, putting it in a ponytail. “Just don’t go giving him my position when he kicks my butt.”Tanya looked into Aaron’s eyes. “Not in a million years.”Aaron gave a stern nod to her as he turned and the two started their path down the stairs once more. The two then drew their blades and faced off. The men and women in the courtyard backed away, circling around them so to watch them do battle.Aaron opened his panel and sent a challenge request to Klein.As the request opened in front of Klein he looked to Tanya and smiled. “Promise I won’t beat him too badly.” Klein accepted the challenge and the counter started counting down.Aaron smirked. “Don’t underestimate me, Klein. That’s how people get their asses handed to them while fighting me.”Klein chuckled, his hands tightening around the hilt of his blade as a foot slid slightly forward. “Unless you were an SAO veteran I am not worried.” Klein’s tone carefree.Just before the counter hit zero Aaron winked at Klein.“Fight!” A generated voice commanded them.Klein was hesitant with Aaron’s wink, this causing Aaron to get the jump on Klein. Klein was quick to recover and blocked his attack, the ring of metal echoing around them.Klein pushed him back and chuckled. “Damn! You're a strong one.” He looked at Aaron’s stance, the way he held his sword with one hand. “You use a shield, don’t you?”Aaron smirked. “Good eye, and yes I do. I could use it if you like, but it would put you at a great disadvantage.”Klein shook his head and smiled. “I’m good then.” He lunged at Aaron, spinning his sword up and coming down in a diagonal sweep. Aaron turned his body to the side bringing his sword under Klein’s and sweeping upward. The swords clashed again as both men then separated.“So one good hit or three?” Klein asked.“One,” Aaron told him.“Well then I guess I had better get serious,” Klein replied with a wide grin.The men lunged again locking blades as they were face to face. “Why rush things? We have at least thirty minutes before we are needed for the meeting.” He shoved Klein back attacking again Klein blocking him once more.“We? As in the Royal we , or are you adding me to that little statement?” Klein chuckled going in for a hard counter as Aaron drew back slightly.“Well you have not beaten me yet, but I think I have already made my decision on this,” Aaron told him.
“Oh!” Klein questioned loudly as he spun again, his sword coming down, faking out Aaron as it moved across his midsection. “I can’t let it happen that easily!” Klein grunted as his sword changed direction and came upward catching Aaron’s sword arm from the bottom.“Game point!” The game generated voice rang out. “Winner! Klein!”The ones in the courtyard cheered and clapped for Klein as he rested his sword over his shoulder looking at Aaron. Klein offered his hand to Aaron with a wide smile. “Good fight, Boss. What do you want me to do first?”Aaron chuckled and clasps hands with him after sheathing his blade. “It’s an honor to have such a fine swordsman as yourself on our team. Grandmaster Klein.”Klein chuckled and sheathed his blade after their handshake parted. “Thanks, I will do you proud.”Tanya walked out and looked at Klein and then Aaron. “He needs the proper clothing and armor for this.”Aaron nodded. “I will take care of that. He will be properly uniformed and informed before the meeting.”“Good.” Tanya nodded. “I will leave you to that then.” She turned and walked back up the stairs leaving the men to do what was needed, but before she took her leave she turned back looking at the two of them.“After you return from the mission, we will have the Induction Ceremony to welcome Klein to the Knights of the Mystic Dragon and to the Noble Knights.” She bowed her head slightly to Klein with a bright warm smile.“Congratulations Klein, and welcome to the Knights of the Mystic Dragon.” She turned and started her path once more back into the castle.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Five
The time had come as Tanya sat behind the large conference table of the Knights, she was a little early, so it was no surprise she was in there alone. She was going over different scenarios in her mind, for questions she believed might be asked as Aaron and Klein walked in the room.
“Wow! Is that really you Klein?” Tanya asked watching Klein walk toward the table. He was wearing the normal white and blue Knight’s uniform, except one added extra. He wore a white, trimmed in blue bandanna, with a silver dragon embossed on the front.
“Yes, it is,” Klein replied rather proudly pulling lightly on the front of his trench coat. “Aaron filled me in on what was going on as well. This Freiveth guy sounds like a real jerk and a user.” He looked to Aaron. “Where do I sit for this?”“You sit to Tanya’s left. I am to her right. The others will sit around the table in the order of their Knighthood. Be sure to address them as Sir or Lady and their given name. Some can get really butthurt if you don’t,” Aaron explained to him as he pulled his chair to sit down.Klein chuckled. “Butthurt, huh?” He then pulled his chair and sat down next to Tanya. “Guess I have to call you Lady Tanya around the others?”“Yes,” Aaron replied leaning forward as he looked around Tanya. “I call her Lady Tanya any time we are around others as should you.”Klein nodded sharply. “Got it.”After a minute or two, the doors opened once again, and the other thirteen Knights filed in and took their seats in the proper order. As they did so, Tanya and Aaron pointed each of them out to Klein.The Knight that sat opposite of Klein had dark brown hair and slate gray eyes. His hair was neatly slicked back and he wore a proud and stoic expression. Klein imagined him to be one of the ones that got ‘butthurt’ over his title. He also looked to be the kind of man that was also butthurt over his position as ‘second best’. He practically leaked aspiration. This worried Klein.
“Second Knight, Sir Crelan, he is also Burgess of Dawnmeadow Village,” Tanya told him.
“Burgess?” Klein asked with a confused look.
Tanya nodded. “He is a person with municipal authority or privileges, in particular. He bought and inhabits the village Dawnmeadow. We have quite a few Knights like this.”Klein nodded in understanding, as he did so, a tall woman with long, thick strawberry blonde hair that bordered on a pinkish red and she had hazel eyes, sat down next to Klein. “And this is Third Knight Lady Zirathie. She is the Burgess of Silkfall.”The curvaceous woman smiled brightly--albeit a little seductively--at Klein and nodded, adjusting her uniform and crossing her legs as she sat down. She folded her arms underneath her large bust and waited patiently for the others to seat themselves. Then suddenly she pointed across the table at a seat further down.“And that little one over there is Sir Theicien, the Tenth Knight from Honeyfrost. He’s very fun to mess with,” Lady Zirathie said in an amused tone.
“He’s the Burgess of Honeyfrost,” Tanya added.Said Knight, had longish white hair that stuck up at the top and fell over his eyes towards the front. He kept the back in a short ponytail. His eyes were two different colors; the left being blue and the right being a bright honey color. He rested his head in his hand, wearing a bored expression. He appeared to be very young. Once he caught sight of Zirathie pointing at him, he clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. Zirathie laughed and lowered her hand.
“Don’t mind him,” another man at the very end of the table said with a warm smile. He had short blond hair and green eyes. On his chin was a short, well-kempt goatee. “He just hates meetings. He’d rather be out doing work in the field than pushing papers.”“Don’t lie, Thirteenth Knight Sir Dalehar,” Zirathie laughed again. “One day I dropped by for the hell of it and he was neck deep in paperwork that he didn’t even have to do.”“Both of you shut up,” Theicien grumbled with a small growl. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”
As Klein stared at the three of them in awe, Aaron leaned forward and said, “Sir Dalehar the Burgess of Deerhallow, by the way.” Amongst the jokes between the Third and Thirteenth Knights, Aaron’s informational tidbit sounded rather like an afterthought.
After a few more minutes, two other gentlemen walked in. Both about the same height but one was much thinner than the other. “Sir Luthien is the Knight on the right. He is the Eight seated Knight of the Guild.” Tanya said pointing to the Knight with fire red hair and soft blue eyes.
He had a bright smile across his lips and was laughing at something the other Knight was telling him. The Knight to his left was stout with black, shoulder length hair that looked like he had not combed it all day then walked into a wind storm for more added...mess. His eyes were a dark brown and he seemed like the joker of the bunch.“The other is Ninth seated Knight, Sir Daurith. He is a little bit of a clown, but don’t let his joking personality fool you. He can be very serious as well.” Tanya continued.
Bingo… Klein thought to himself. I nailed him.The next few filed in rather quickly as they sat down Tanya pointed them out and told Klein who they were and their ranks. Though Klein was figuring out the rank rather quickly with the way they were seating themselves around the table.“Fourth Knight, Sir Adoth. He is the Burgess of Grayminster the second largest village in our territory. He is a real hard case strictly by the book. So watch yourself around him.”
Klein looked to the guy and smiled with a stern nod in greeting him. He was tall with a lean tone build with long pale blue hair and matching eyes. He returned Klein’s greeting with a nod of his own as he sat to the table, his arms resting atop it his hands folded together.
He looked to the two men and the woman that walked in with the Fourth Knight. The one gentleman sat down between the Tenth and the Twelfth Knight. The Eleventh Knight, he was sure of. He had short honey blonde hair with bright blue eyes. His build rather average, though he looked strong. He said nothing as the Knight to his left spoke to him, he only nodded. The other guy sat to the left of the Fourth seated Knight. He was number Five. He was also of average build. Short strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was feminine looking and carried himself in the same manner. Then there was the only other female besides Tanya and the Third, her hair long and was such a pale blonde it was almost white, her eyes a jade green. Her build was tone and she seemed to have a chip on her shoulder. She sat down next to the Eight seated Knight. Knight number Seven was her rank.
Tanya smiled at Klein, he seemed to be taking the information in rather well. “This is not too much is it?” Klein looked her way with a bright but serious smile shaking his head slightly. “Good. I am sure you won’t remember them all in one day, but in time.”Klein nodded again as the last two stepped in the door and took their seat at the table. He nodded to them as they looked his way. Two more men, Knight number Six, and Knight number Twelve.
Tanya smiled and started pointing them out and naming them off. Giving him a little bit on each one without overkill. “Eleventh Knight, Sir Tirav, he is the Burgess of Summerbrook.” Looking his way Klein nodded. “Fifth Knight, Sir Adoadus and Seventh Knight Lady Adiv, she is the Burgess of Lakefalls village. Sixth Knight, Sir Kedieg he is the Burgess of Dragonwarf and one of the two Knights that breed Dragons within our Guild.”
Klein looked from the woman to the massively beast man with soft brown eyes and a head as bald as bald could be. He wore a soft smile and had a loud booming voice. He seemed prideful, loving, protective, and very energetic with the way he was interacting with the others.
“And last but not least. Twelfth Knight, Sir Aekin. He is a family man. Married with two kids. He is the other Dragon breeder of our Guild.”
Klein looked to the last Knight as he sat down at the table. He was chatting cheerfully about his kids and lovely wife with the two sitting next to him. He was a large man of good build. His hair short and dark brown with soft green eyes. He had a calm soft look in his eyes and his smile.At that, Aaron stood taking the floor as the doors closed soundly to the room. “Thank you for coming on such short notice, but this was a last-minute issue. However, before I start.” Aaron looked Klein’s way and smiled proudly. “I would like to announce that we have finally found a Grandmaster for our Guild. Sir Klein.”
Klein stood and nodded to the group as they clapped, welcoming him to the Guild. “Thank you, I know it will take me some time to learn all of your names and ranks but know my duties as your Grandmaster will not fail in that way. I have led Guilds in the past so this should not be any different. I will do you proud and I will fight to the end with each and every one of you.”
The group seemed happy with his announcement as they gave nods of approval and clapped again. Klein then took his seat pleased with what he told them and their reaction. He had to admit, he was a little worried about it all. Once he was seated again Aaron turned back to the group.
“Now, for the reason I gathered you all here today on such short notice.”
Aaron started with going into detail about the day's events with the Grandmaster from the Western Guild. Some of the Knights spoke their mind immediately about it going back as far as when the treaty was signed. Some complaining about how every time something came up the West always came around with their hand out and never returned the favor or offered to help when a Guild or others were in need. It was a rather loud, and long meeting. After the first hour, they were still sitting in the Conference Hall still discussing the route they should take with the Western Guild, Illusions of the Serpent.
“No matter the route we take with the Western Guild,” Sixth Knight, Sir Kedieg spoke up. “Their blatant actions toward the Dragon’s has to be stopped. This not only affects the West but all of us.” His heavy fist came down on the table as the solid oak table creaked under the force.“Easy there, big guy,” Klein told him with a soft chuckle. “Don’t go breaking the table in half. Save that hammer power for the bad guys.”
Aaron chuckled softly and nodded. “Agreed Sir Kedieg. We will do just that, but in turn, I will deliver a message to their Guild Master, Thoin.”“And what might that be? Take care of your own for once and stop bugging us. Their Guild is plenty capable of handling this.” Sir Crelan spouted, his arms folded over his chest.Klein shook his head and looked to the man. “From the information I have gathered in just the short time I was made Grandmaster. Their Guild is not capable of handling this. Illusions of the Serpent have been around one month less than Knights of The Mystic Dragon. Where you and your other three allied Guilds have grown in size and strength. They have not. To be able to destroy an adult Dragon you have to have some major skill and strength under your belt. Illusions of the Serpent doesn’t have that. Therefore, they will not be able to handle this rogue Guild.”
“So we go fight their fight then in another month we let them come knocking again?” Seventh Knight, Lady Adiv asked looking from Klein to Aaron.“No,” Aaron stated shaking his head. “I am going to the Guild Master and informing him as such.” Aaron paused and looked at the men and women seated around the table. “We will disband the Guild that calls themselves the Dragon Slayers. In return, the Guild, Illusions of the Serpent will step up and do as Guild Master Lady Tanya instructed and get a hand on the smaller Guilds in their territory. If they do not, and another incident like this arises or they come to us over foolishness as they have in the past. It will not be the rogue’s they are reporting we come after. It will be the Guild, Illusions of the Serpent.”Sir Kedieg smirked. “So we break the treaty they are abusing and take over their territory.”
“Exactly,” Aaron replied looking at him.“I am all for that.” Sir Kedieg spoke up.Heads started to nod around the table as they talked amongst themselves for a few minutes. After they started to quiet Tanya lifted to her feet and looked around the table as Aaron and Klein took their seats.
“I have sat here being silent, listening to all your spoken thoughts on this matter. You have been presented with the dilemma and the route we want to take with this. You have heard the message Vice Master Aaron wants to deliver to their Guild Master, Thoin. Now I asked.” She looked around the table again as she continued. “Think thoroughly on your decision. Are you in favor or disagreement with this action? For if they do not step up as we are sure they will not -- Since they have not in the last year and a half. This will put the Knights of The Mystic Dragon into war with the West.” Her eyes still looked around the table as the men and women sat in silence. After a few moments of silence, hands started to lift from the table. Tanya looked around at all thirteen Knights. Then looked to her Vice Master then her new Grandmaster. She nodded her head slowly.
“The vote is unanimous,” Tanya told them as she sat back to her chair, Aaron standing once more.
“I need one more Knight to ride with me and Grandmaster Klein to the West. Which one of you would like to take the offer?”
Sir Kedieg’s hand lifted high above his head. “I will go. How many of my men will you need?”“I will need your best of the best, Sir Kedieg,” Aaron told him. Aaron then turned and looked to the others around the table. “Thank you and you all are dismissed.”
With that, the doors to the Conference Hall opened and all the Knights started to flood out. All that was, but Sir Kedieg, Vice Master Aaron, Grandmaster Klein, and Guild Master Lady Tanya.
---They were well into their ride to the West. The troops of a little more than a hundred and fifty men and women spread out along the winding road, some on horseback some on foot. Aaron and Klein rode toward the front of the troops keeping watch as two scouts rode further ahead watching for rogue Guilds and bandits that might try to ambush or attack them on their journey. They kept the Grandmaster of the West toward the center of them so to keep him safe.
As they rode along, Klein admired the landscape around them, a bright smile crossing his lips as they cleared a wooded area and came upon a large lake to their North. A group of Dragons was flying overhead a few more just walking along the lake's shore. He looked to Aaron shaking his head.
“I was starting to think the landscape around here reminded me of a few floors in SAO, but then I see the Dragons and start rethinking myself,” Klein told him turning back to the scenery as he listened to Aaron chuckle softly and return conversation.“I know what you’re saying. When I first started playing Dragon Lance I thought the same thing.”
Klein slowly turned to look at Aaron with a shocked look. “You were part of SAO? You were there?”“I was not there for the two-year takeover, but I was a Beta tester. The day they released the game I got called into work like twenty minutes before they launched.” Aaron looked out over the lake going back in thought that few years past. “I was pissed. I wanted to be there for the launch, but I figured Hell I could play it after work. Then the broadcast hit the airwaves about the ten thousand that got locked into the game and the thousands that died because the people did not heed the warning of Akihiko Kayaba. I don’t know what pissed me off most at that point. Not being in there with them to help them through or the fact Kayaba did this.” Aaron fell silent shaking his head his eyes drifting to the road before them.“Be glad you were not there. It was Hell watching all those people go through that. Some of the kids were not even old enough to be there. Away from their parents.” A sadness filled his voice as he spoke about everything. “A lot of them gave up, took up homestead in the towns and let the stronger ones fight for them to get them out. A fight for your life and thousands of others. Literally. It was two years of pure Hell.” Klein himself went deep into thought as he shook his head. He then quickly looked to Aaron. “So did you know Kirito?”Aaron shook his head. “We were acquaintances. I only knew of him in passing in the game. Nothing more. He was a solo player like me.” Aaron shook his head. “I just feel I could have helped out in there.” Aaron’s hands tightened around the reins. “There was not many of us, but as a Beta tester I could have helped.”Klein shook his head looking down the road. “It wouldn’t have helped. From what I was told only parts of what you guys went through in the Beta testing was in the new programming. The attacks of the bosses changed as did their weapons. Rooms that you could not transport out of started appearing. A lot of the Beta testers died because of all the misleading facts. They would rush in thinking they had it and ended up losing their lives.” He looked over to Aaron. “And a lot of the players rose against the Beta testers. Kirito stayed quiet about being a Beta tester because of it. He let them believe he was a hacker of some sort.”“Damn…” Aaron replied softly as his head lowered.“You were spared for a reason, dude.” Klein smiled and punched him playfully in the arm. “Just think if you would have been in SAO you may not be here now, and you would have never had the chance to meet Tanya and the rest of us. You would not be here today saving the Dragons.”Aaron chuckled softly. “True. My mom used to tell me I was spared for a reason. God had other plans for me and to take it as a blessing,” his head shook again. “But it just seems so unfair that I was spared and so many others die because of that.” He looked to Klein a weak smile across his lips. “They owe a great deal to the ones that fought and lost their lives to get them out, and Kirito needs a medal for what he did.”Klein chuckled. “Kirito? Even if they offered him one he would not take it.”“On the proud side, is he?” Aaron replied as he chuckled. “I guess I wouldn’t take it either. Even though everyone would be set free I would be fighting to get myself out. That’s what I would be thinking anyway. With the weight of thinking I was saving everyone, I would have fucked up and got myself killed.”
Klein laughed. “At least you're honest. And I know I would’ve if I had to bear that thought. Being the savior of myself was hard enough.”
The two laughed together as Aaron looked up to the setting sun. “We need to find a good place to make camp for the night.” Aaron whistled loudly as he looked to the sky.Klein slipped his pinky finger into his ear and wiggled it around. “Damn! You whistling for someone on the other side of Tarragonia?”“Un,” Aaron chuckled as he replied pointing upward.
Klein looked up seeing a Dragon dropping in altitude the closer it got to the troop. It swooped down over them, then turned coming quickly back at them. Klein ducked thinking it was coming in again, but closer. Aaron laughed as he looked at Klein, the ground shaking under them as the Dragon landed a few feet away from the horses.
“Klein, Un.”
“You got one too?” Klein asked with a pouting expression as he looked to the Dragon. “I want one.”Aaron laughed. “We can do that.”“Really!?” Klein perked up.
“Sure.” Aaron led his horse off the road to the side and dismounted, Klein following him. Walking over to Un, Aaron lifted his hand as the Dragon lowered its head. “We need a place to make camp, Un. Fly ahead and find a good place?” Un bobbed his head, his wings extending once more as he took off into flight again.
“Can you ride them?” Klein asked as he watched Un disappear into the horizon.
“You can, but it is not recommended. A Dragon likes to show off in flight. You could easily fall off and if you have not Mastered your Dragon skill you're as good as toast.”
Klein chuckled as the thought of that crossed his mind. “Understandable.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Six
It was later in the evening as Tanya entered the city of Swilvane, Sylph territory. When she entered the town, she did not see anyone she knew, and it would be hours before Satyr would be there. With that going on she decided to go do some hunting on her own. As she turned she found herself face to face with Kirito his hands on her hips stopping her from running into him.
“Kirito!?” Tanya started her hand resting over her heart.He chuckled softly looking into her eyes. “Hey, Tanya. We missed you today. Where you been hiding?”
She chuckled softly, slowly taking a step back as his hands slipped from her hips. “I spent the day in Dragon Lance. Rather glad I went to pay a visit to. There were issues with the West again. We had to send a troop out to their territory to do away with a rogue Guild that was killing Dragons.”Kirito tilted his head in confusion as the two started walking. “Don’t you have a treaty with the Western Guild?”Tanya nodded. “I guess I need to rephrase that. The Western Guild came to us again with an issue.”“When you say again, you mean they’re abusing the treaty, don’t you?”“Mhmm,” Tanya nodded with a hum. “They are the smallest of the four we have treaties with, and one of the last we signed with. It has been about six months since we signed the treaty with Illusions of the Serpent,” she looked over to him as they walked. “The Western Guild comes to us at least once a month for some kind of help or hand out. If not twice a month.”“Wow!” Kirito slid his hands into his coat pocket. “Yeah, sounds like they are abusing this slightly.”Tanya sighed looking his way quickly. “Don’t get me wrong. We don’t mind helping them or any of the Guilds, but not even the Guilds that are struggling come to us like the Western Guild does.”“I understand,” Kirito replied as he looked to the ground. He looked up at her and smiled. “And I was not thinking that you were being selfish. I have gathered that much just from getting to know you in the last week. I don’t think there is a selfish bone in your entire body, Tanya.”Tanya giggled. “That’s because you never tried to take my mint cookies away from me.”Kirito laughed. “So you’re selfish with your cookies, huh?”“No no. I am selfish with my mint cookies.” Her hand waved carelessly. “You can have all the rest. Just don’t touch my mint cookies. A person could lose their hand over that act of treason.”He continued laughing as his head shook. “Well, thanks for the warning.”“You’re welcome.” She tilted her head with a bright smile as she looked at him.“So do you think they are up to something?” Kirito asked her, going back to the topic at hand.“I don’t know.” Tanya stopped walking and opened her panel when the message icon popped up. “It’s from them. Hang on and let me check this.” Kirito nodded as he stopped as well waiting for her to check the message. “Good. They are all safe and have made camp for the night. Aaron said he would message me in the morning when they start moving again.”“That’s good to hear.” They started their walk again. “So can the--” he paused in thought. “Illusions of the Serpent, right?” Tanya nodded as Kirito continued. “Can they hide their stats from you?”Tanya looked to him, “What do you mean? Like their HP, XP, and skills?” Kirito nodded as Tanya shook her head. “Not to my knowledge. As long as we have a signed treaty with them all of that is visible to me. I know the powers and strengths of every one of their Guild members.” She sighed. “And in the six months we have been allies with them none of the members of their Guild has improved even an inkling with any of their stats, and the North, South, and East have more than double theirs.”“Hm,” Kirito hummed his hand going to his chin as he looked to the ground before them.“What are you thinking, Kirito.”
“Well…” He looked over to her. “Just thinking here, but the treaty or treaties you have signed with the four hemispheres, are they just the normal everyday treaties that are logged in the game panel?” Tanya nodded. “And what of the treaties they sign with the smaller Guilds in the territory? Are they the same?”Tanya shook her head. “Yes and no.” She looked to Kirito, he was giving her a look of ‘which is it’. “I guess you want me to explain?”
He nodded his head slowly. “Yes, please.”Tanya chuckled and went into better detail. “Let’s say you have a Guild and I wanted to treaty with you. We both would open our panels and send a treaty request. In accepting the request, it would log it under ‘Signed Treaties’. At that point, if I tap your Guild name in the panel it will open a list of every member you have in your Guild, as you can do the same with mine. However, you can only see the Guilds you have signed treaties with. So since my Guild has a treaty with the North, South and the East. I can see all their members, HP, XP and skills, but you can’t. Unless you too had a treaty signed with them. However, if we were to go within the said Guild’s information, there is a tab marked ‘Allies’ Treaties’. In there we can see all the other Guilds, said Guild has signed treaties with. Though it only tells you how many members are in said Guild and it only gives a grand total of HP, XP, and skill.”
He looked to the ground again. “So there is no way to keep accurate track on the outside Guilds under your allies unless you have a treaty with them as well, or you just have to go check on them.” He looked to her again. “Is that what I am understanding?”
“Mhmm,” Tanya replied.
“Hm, so if they are using you and they keep coming to you guys for gold, supplies and whatever else they might be needing... They could be using this stuff to buy other Guilds off to do their dirty work.”She tilted her head as Kirito started putting two and two together as he spoke and thought aloud. “Do you think…” Her heart skipped a beat, her hand going to her forehead as her eyes widened. “If this is true. They are making verbal treaties with outside Guilds, so they can use them to do what they can’t because of the treaty they have with us.”Kirito shrugged slightly as his brows raised, head tilted slightly. “It’s just a hunch, but it’s worth looking into.”
Tanya nodded as her mind still raced in thought. “But in that case why would they call on us to help them out in battle against them?”“Think about it, Tanya. If they are doing this, they are going to keep it hidden. They don’t want others to know what they are doing. Taking up arms against another Guild without real cause marks you as a PKer or raises suspicion. So they are going to stay under the radar.” Kirito offered. “This so-called rogue Guild that is killing the Dragons might have been one they took on a verbal treaty with and they turned on them. So to keep from being marked or getting their asses kicked. They get an outside force. Your Guild.” He looked to her with questioning eyes. “Can you tell if a player is a Dragon killer? You know like if a player is a PKer?”Tanya nodded. “Yes, if a player kills a dragon their player stone turns pitch black. Unless it is in self-defense.”
Kirito nodded. “Does it change slowly like the PKer’s?”“Oh no…” Tanya’s head shook. “The Avi is marked permanently even if you only killed one Dragon, but it has to have been for a malicious reason. That’s why you have to be very careful even if you kill one out of self-defense. You can still be marked as a Dragon killer if you don’t do the right thing after you kill the Dragon.”
“So what're the rules if you kill one out of self-defense?”“The Dragon has to be taken and reported to the nearest breeder. You can’t remove a single crystal from the Dragon or even the ivory. If you do you’re marked.” Tanya told him.“So what does the breeder do with a dead Dragon?” Kirito asked with an odd look.“The crystals are removed, crushed and turned into potions the breeders can use to help ensure breeding in other Dragons. Their ivory and horns are made into medicines created for the Dragons and even the players if they have an injury or get sick. The scales and bones can be used for armor. Even the meat of the Dragon can be used. Anything that can’t be used is then burned. In actuality, there is not much of a Dragon you can’t use, and every part of the Dragon is very versatile for what it can be used for.”
“So I am guessing that is why some of the players hunt the Dragons? Those potions and remedies must be hard to come by for the players.”“They cost a fortune since we don’t have many Dragons pass on. The good part is; Dragon’s do shed or lose their crystals, scales, and horns. Either from fighting other Dragons or to be replaced with new ones, and the Magic Wielders can conjure up what is needed if nothing is available at the time. It is not the best like coming straight from the source, but it does the job. Just takes a bit longer.” She looked to Kirito and smiled. “We manage, and we keep the Dragon’s as safe and healthy as we possibly can.”
Kirito nodded slowly as he looked around where they were. It seemed they had made a complete circle in the town square and ended back where they started. He looked around a little more, seeing a few people he knew. It then dawned on him they had not seen or heard from Klein. He looked to Tanya.
“Have you seen Klein?”
Tanya nodded quickly. “Yeah, he--” she stopped abruptly flashing back to their conversation just before they left Whitehaven Castle.
“I will message you when we make camp for the night,” Aaron informed her.
Tanya nodded. “I will be on. I have to go to ALfheim later tonight.”
“Well if you run into Kirito or the others don’t tell them about this,” Klein told her.
Tanya looked to him confused. “Why not? Are you ashamed you’re over here playing Dragon Lance?”
Klein’s smile was wide. “Hell no! I just want to be the one to boast about it. If you tell them it ruins the fun.”Tanya chuckled shaking her head. “You’re such a goof, but if that is what you want. Fine. I won’t tell them, Klein.”Kirito looked on at her waiting for her to continue as she shook her head and smiled softly. “I can’t tell you.”Kirito blinked. “What? Why can’t you tell me?”“Because he wants to tell you. I promised I would not say a word,” Tanya told him.Kirito nodded. “Well as long as he is alright. I guess I can wait.”“Yes, he is fine, and I am sure we will be seeing him here soon,” Tanya explained.Kirito nodded as he looked around the town square across the way he saw his sister and a few of her friends. He waved to them with a smile as they came their way. Kirito grabbed Tanya’s hand as they too started walking their way as well.As they greeted one another Tanya’s eyes were covered from behind. “Guess who?”Tanya turned. “Klein…” She smiled brightly as he dropped his hands to his side and chuckled. “So is everything going well?”“Smooth as a baby’s bottom.” He draped his arm over her shoulders when she turned back to the group. “I got to meet Un today. I told Aaron I wanted one.”Tanya chuckled softly. “So you want a Dragon now?”“Hell yeah! Could you ask for a cooler companion?” Klein confessed.They both looked to the group at the same time. Klein and Tanya both started to chuckle from the looks on their faces.“When did you two become so buddy-buddy?” Leafa asked them.“Yeah. Inquiring minds want to know,” Lisbeth added.Kirito was just too shocked to say anything as he stood there looking at them. Klein chuckled as his arm slid down off Tanya’s shoulders and looked to Tanya.“I guess I should tell them, huh?” Tanya nodded with a wide smile. He nodded and looked back to the group. “Well it’s a long story so I will make it short. Tanya and I got married."The group went so silent you could have heard a pin drop at that moment. Just then, a stern backhand hit Klein across the center of his chest as the group started objecting and/or congratulating them. Klein grasped at his new injury and doubled over slightly, groaning aloud as the group fell silent once more.“That hurt… Damn Tanya. I was just trying to have a little fun.”“Then don’t lie to them.” She looked to the group. “Klein was jerking your chain. We did not get married.”They looked at Klein with narrowed eyes some with their arms crossed over their chest. “You lied to us?” Lisbeth growled.“It was a joke. Not a lie.” Klein stood still rubbing his chest. “The facts are I am playing Dragon Lance with Tanya and on my first day in the game, I was made Grandmaster Knight of her Guild.” Klein got a proud grin across his lips. “Grandmaster Knight, Sir Klein of the Knights of The Mystic Dragon. And I look awesome in their uniform.”
Kirito looked to Tanya. “Did you knock your head on something?” He pointed at Klein. “Did you really make this goofball your Grandmaster?”Tanya chuckled. “No, I did not, on both facts. My Vice Master made him Grandmaster Knight. Aaron tested his skill, and when Klein made the cut better than any other he had tested, he could not pass up the opportunity.” She looked to Klein. “Plus, he wanted in.”
Klein looked to her and smiled. “And who wouldn’t. The game is wicked awesome. The castle of the Knights of The Mystic Dragon is huge and beautiful. As is their villages and the land around them.” He looked quickly to Kirito. “It reminds me of SAO, but with Dragons you can tame, fight with side by side and even breed.” He looked quickly back to Tanya then back to the group. “Musashi and Un are wicked awesome. Tanya hugs and kisses on hers. Aaron whistles and his comes like a well-trained pet. You guys have to come check out this place.” He paused. “But wait for a few days. I am off on mission to the West to stop a rogue Guild of Dragon Slayers.”Kirito looked to Tanya then back to Klein. “You’re on that mission?”“Mhmm,” Klein hummed. “Riding a horse off to the West into battle.”Kirito looked to Tanya again. “Should we tell him about our hunch?”
“Huh?” Klein asked looking at them both as Tanya nodded.With that, the group moved to Leafa’s place to talk in private. When they were finished explaining to Klein what they thought the West might be up to, Tanya told Klein what she wanted to do to try and prove their hunch. Klein agreed and asked her to message him once she got rock solid evidence for them. She agreed to do that. When their conversation was over Tanya had to leave. It was time for her to meet up with Satyr. Actually, she was late by about twenty minutes, so she said her goodbyes and left them to their own.
---It was the next day and Ashley was up early. She needed to do a little research on the Western Guilds and there were two ways she could do this. One was to check the logs for the many Guilds in the world of Dragon Lance. There she could learn of the Guilds in the West and how many had come about since the Knights of The Mystic Dragon signed the treaty with the Guild, Illusions of the Serpent. She would not be able to get individual skill, XP and HP levels, but she could get the total levels and how many members were in the Guild. From there it was all a matter of a little math. The other was to go in as a spy and see what she could find out on the players themselves.
Luckily, Ashley could do both. Thanks to her second Avi, Celty. She created her back when she first started playing Dragon Lance three and a half years ago. Celty was a nobody. Well, she can’t really say she was a nobody. Celty had a bad reputation, just the way Ashley wanted her for times like these. She was marked as a thug, a bandit, a drifter. Perfect for gathering information without people thinking she was out looking for incriminating information to use against them. She had not been on Celty’s account for many months. The reason being was things were going all too well, so she just had her disappear until she needed her again. Finally, that time came and Celty was pulled out for play once more.
The best part about Celty. Nobody, not even her little brother knew she was her. Nobody was any the wiser that Tanya and Celty were controlled by the same player. She did not belong to a Guild, so to say, so it made it even easier for her to just disappear without consequence to the other members if something came up, but she did run with a small group that was controlled by a tall Moon Elf that called himself Creed. She was sure he was mad at her for disappearing as she did, but if she came across him she would think of something to tell him to keep him from going off the deep end with her. Either way, he might be the best person to talk to about all that’s going on in the West. Creed always had his hands in places they did not belong. Though what worried her, was what if he was behind this whole mess of the Dragon Slayers. Creed was crazy OP like her other Avi Tanya, and Creed was always out for a fast buck. The Unseen, the name of the little group Celty ran with was never for killing the Dragons, but like everything else in their world. Things change.Ashley was surprised at the information she found from her research after checking everything out. Gathering it all together, she transferred all her found information into a message to Aaron and Klein and told them she was going to dig a little deeper and see what else she could find. She got a message back from Aaron rather quickly telling her that Klein filled him in on their hunch and to be careful. If the Western Guild was up to what they believed they would go to great lengths to keep it hid. Especially from the Guilds they had signed treaties with. Messaging him back she agreed with him, but she could not let the Western Guild continue using them or the others in this manner. It was wrong for them to think they could take advantage of them like this. She then went on to inform him that if they messaged her back she might not get the message for a bit since she would be away. However, she would check back in time before they got to the Guild of the Illusions of the Serpent. That was if she found anything that might help them in their mission in looking for the Dragon Slayers or helping them understand what the Western Guild was up to. She wanted them to be ready. Not walk in blindly and they lose half their troop.
Finally, Ashley was getting ready to sign out of Tanya’s account, but not before she got a new message. She decided to check it just in case. When she did she was shocked to see it was from Kirito, and it was not from the ALfheim world. It was from Dragon Lance. She thought for a moment before messaging him in return. When she did she ask him where he was and what his Avi looked like. He returned her message quickly with his location and told her he was an Elemental Alchemist, his attire all black. She messaged him back telling him to stay put and that a girl with long blue hair and teal eyes, dressed all in black, all but the teal shirt under her long trench, would be approaching him, adding that her name would be Celty. She signed out of Tanya and into Celty.
When she appeared in the Dragon Lance world she was shocked to see where she spawned in was not too far from where Kirito was. She opened her panel and plucked out her horse. She then whistled as the white stallion came into view. He stopped in front of her as she grabbed his rein and stroked his nose.
“It’s been too long Cloud. I have missed you.” The Horse whinnied bobbing its head. She smiled and patted his neck.
“Well then, let’s get this show on the road there is someone we need to meet.” She quickly mounted her ride pulling the reins to the left as the horse turned and they took off toward the West and a small village called Slycrest. There she would find Kirito waiting like she asked him to.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Seven
About twenty minutes later, Celty was dismounting and leading her horse through the small village of Slycrest. She thought with the way Kirito explained it he was at the East entrance, but apparently not. Then again, he could have gone to check something out or ran into trouble. She hoped that the latter of the two was not the case, not that she had to worry about Kirito he could very much take care of his own. She just knew the type that hung out in the village and she did not want to draw too much attention to herself with her long absence. She was sure some people might be looking for her. One in particular. Creed.She walked slowly through the village heading to the other end. If he was not at the East entrance he had to be at the West entrance. There was only one road in and out of this village, and she was on it. There was no way she would miss him if she kept her eyes on the lookout for him.As she walked down the street some of the villagers’ gasp, some whispering her name then quickly made their way indoors. Others that did not know her smiled and some waved. Though there were more whispers and gasps then smiles and waves. Thus, meaning their village had not grown much in the few months she was MIA. She sighed as another softly called out her name, turned and made themselves scarce to her when she turned to look who it was.The whispers and gasps did not bother her much anymore. At first, she hated it, she did not understand why some disliked her so much. It’s not like she was a bad person. Some of the things she has done even helped the people, but in time she grew used to it. She had made the name for herself she needed and with it, she could find things out that Tanya or the others could not.By the time she got to the other end of the village the street was almost barren compared to what it was when she started down it. Celty just shook her head and pushed on. There in the distance, sitting to the stone wall she saw Kirito. She picked up her pace as a warm feeling washed over her. At least someone here did not hate her.“Kirito?” She called out to him. He looked up from the object he held in his hand. She had to admit he looked good as an Elemental Alchemist, dressed all in black. She chuckled lightly. His normal game attire .“Celty?” He asked as he looked at her blinking a few times. A Moon Elf? She nodded, smiling brightly she walked up to him as she offered her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Tanya has told me a lot about you.”Kirito looked around the girl. “She did not come with you?” His eyes widened as his other hand came up and he pointed behind her. “Hm, we got company, and he doesn’t look happy.”“CEELTTYYY!”Kirito watched as the woman turned to see who it was that called out her name. Her attacker, another Moon Elf, already had his blade up over his head ready to come crashing down on her. Reaching to her hip she grabbed for her weapon that was not there, or at least, Kirito thought was not there. She quickly went into a defensive block as metal against metal cried out around them. A fully formed sword shown in her hands for a split second.
“What the--” Kirito blinked and watched the two as the guy growled out the woman’s name again.“Ceellty! How dare you!”“Creed. I’m sorry. I had other things I had to take care of. I didn’t mean to be gone so long. Honest.”“BITCH!!” The guy, apparently called Creed, turned his blade and pushed down sending Celty into the stone wall behind her.She grunted with narrowed eyes. “Fine, you want your ass kicked, then so be it.”She pushed up off the wall with great speed and countered his attack pushing him back, her blade coming into view again for only a second. Kirito blinked as a bead of blood trickled down the guys face over his dark purple eye.“How?” Kirito looked to the woman. “She is fast.” His eyes flashed back to the guy as he was laughing.“You have gotten stronger and faster.” He continued to laugh as he lowered his blade and looked at Celty. “Where the hell have you been?”Four others then ran up behind the male Elf, calling out his and the woman’s name. Celty lowered her blade, remaining in her stance to block if the guy decided to attack again. Kirito only watched in silence as they talked.“I told you. I had things to take care of IRL and to the East.” She shrugged. It’s not a total lie. She thought to herself. “Are you done trying to take my head?”Creed laughed sheathing his blade as he stepped toward her. Celty sheathing her blade as well. He smiled warmly at her as he quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug.“I thought you were dead,” Creed told her.The other four that ran up to them all excited were all talking at once, asking her questions of where she had been, how she was doing, and why was she gone so long. They told her how much they missed her and how badly they could have used her or needed her.Celty smiled brightly and hugged each one as they laughed and shared a little light conversation. After a few minutes, they were pulling her away to wherever they had appeared from. Celty looked back at Kirito.“Guys. Wait. I can’t. Not right now. I am in the middle of a job,” Celty told them.Creed looked to Kirito then back to Celty. “What? You need him dead? That’s easy enough.” He looked back to Kirito starting a path toward him. “Give me a sec.”Kirito’s eyes widened, and he drew his blade as Celty ran up and grabbed Creeds arm. “No. I don’t need him dead I need him alive.”Creed stopped walking and looked at her as Kirito sighed in relief, his shoulders slumping and his sword dropping to his side.“I have to transport him to the Central Guild. The Guild Master of the Knights of The Mystic Dragon is waiting for him,” Celty explained to Creed.His hand lifted as he combed his fingers through his long dark hair. “So Lady Tanya wants him.” He grinned madly. “You must have gotten paid a handsome price for this job.”Celty shrugged with a small smirk. “Good enough.”Creed chuckled and tossed his arm over Celty’s shoulders turning them back toward their path as he looked back to Kirito. “Come on kid. You’re with us for now. Can’t travel that distance without a full stomach.”Kirito hesitated for a moment then moved forward when Celty looked to him and nodded. He didn’t know why, but he followed them to a nearby Pub called ‘The Eatery and Inn’. Apparently, this was where the rag-tag group was sitting around eating and drinking when they heard that Celty was in the village. He guessed he followed because Celty said Tanya was the one that asked her to retrieve him for her, but why would Tanya pay the girl to do this, and why would a high-ranking Guild Master be associating herself with thugs like them? He shook his head and sat down at the far end of the table letting them all talk and eat. Celty made sure he ate as well. He guessed she was making sure he was cared for because if he wasn’t she would not get paid for delivery.After an hour past, Kirito seemed to be getting annoyed as they sat and laughed and talked of old times and what happened while Celty was gone. He was here to see Tanya not sit around and listen to these thugs talk about their crimes and mishaps. He stood quickly as his chair scraped loudly across the stone floor. All eyes at the table went to him as his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his black trench.“I am not here to sit around all day while the bunch of you reminisce about old times.” He stepped away from the table. “I’ll find my own way.” He growled.“You're not going anywhere. You think after the few months she has been gone, we are just going to let her walk off that quickly?” Creed returned with his own growl as he stepped in front of Kirito.“Creed! No!” Celty exclaimed as she quickly stood as Kirito laid his hand to the hilt of his own blade. “He is right. We need to get moving. Lady Tanya is waiting for him. I can come back after I get him dropped off.”Creed growled as he looked on at Kirito. He towered over him a good foot as Kirito looked up at him, the two exchanging some dirty looks.“Hey! I know!” A small, dark blue haired boy sprung from his seat. “Why don’t we go with Celty? Then we don’t have to break up the reunion.”Creed looked to the boy and grinned as he slapped him on the back the boy almost falling over the table.“That’s a great idea Eowyn!” Creed bellowed. “I will pay the bill. Everyone go get their things together.”Celty was trying to object as they all scampered around the table gathering their things. As they all disappeared her head dropped with an exhausted sigh. “Great,” She replied. She looked quickly to Kirito then gathered up their leftover food that would not go bad on the trip. She looked to Kirito again and motioned with her head for him to follow. As they walked out she buzzed past Creed.“You will find us outside with Cloud.” Creed nodded to her as she exited the Pub in a rush, Kirito right behind her.Out in the street, Celty whistled for her horse as he walked around from behind a barn into view. “Come on,” She told Kirito as she started toward her horse.When they walked up on the horse Celty motioned for Kirito to come closer. When he did Celty started rattling off what he believed to be a spell.“Mystic Hands of Silence I invoke you.” She looked to Kirito and spoke, “Don’t move too much. The field of silence is not very large, and it only covers the three of us.”Kirito looked at her horse then back to her as his hand rested to the horse's neck. “What’s this all about?”“Kirito.” She looked into his eyes. “It’s me Tanya’s player. My real name is Ashley. I have two avatars.” He blinked a few times as he went to step back, Celty catching his wrist, keeping him in place. “I am telling you the truth.”“I believe you, but why?” Kirito asked her.“To find out information like we talked about last night. No one would dare tell Tanya anything I need to know. Celty is a great cover for that.” She looked the way of the Pub then back to Kirito. “You can’t tell nobody, and I mean nobody about this. Not even Klein or the others from ALfheim. If this gets out Celty will be an outcast and what I use her for, will be worthless.”Kirito nodded. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”She nodded and quickly dropped the barrier around them just as Creed and the others walked out of the Pub. She watched them as fond memories of her rag-tag Clan of The Unseen walked toward her and Kirito. There were six in the Clan counting her, and they had been together for three and a half years. They were one of the very reasons she decided to start the Guild, Knights of The Mystic Dragon. However, once she started it she could not get them to join. No matter how much she talked they just would not do it. Though it was probably for the best, if they did join, Celty would have to be retired. Because Tanya was the one that ran the show within the Guild. Pulling her from her thoughts as Nema giggled, Celty watched Karith playfully bumped into Nema. Celty chuckled softly as she watched them.Karith was the second male to join The Unseen, and one of the two humans in the group. He was around seventeen give or take a month or two. He was the true prodigy among them. Always, keeping them out of harm's way when they got themselves in too deep. His unfortunate past made him very protective of his Clansmen and he had to be the most patient person in existence. He had blonde, curly hair that clumsily hung over a thin, time-worn face, and small gray eyes, that could tell stories of the life he lived. And his well-trimmed goatee beautifully complemented his eyes and cheekbones. He stood towering above others, despite his subtle frame. Nonetheless, people tend to befriend him quite easily.Then there was Nema, the second female of the group and the third to join The Unseen. She was a Tinker Fairy. She was about sixteen years of age, her shoulder-length straight pink hair hung over a soft cheerful, comforting face. Glistening silver eyes set appealingly within their place as she playfully bumped back into Karith. Her fair skin handsomely complemented her nose and mouth and left a delightful memory of her fortunate survival of this world. Nema was a true daredevil amongst them. Always rushing into things head first without thinking of the consequences at hand. Not to mention always fixing and creating things. There was something bizarre about her though, perhaps it was her persistence or perhaps it was simply her good will. But nonetheless, people tend to ask her to tell stories, while thinking of ways to top hers.Legan was the third male, and the fourth overall to join The Unseen, he was the other of the humans. He was nineteen with chestnut colored short hair, neatly coiffured to reveal a strong lived-in face and sparkling black eyes, set gracefully above his high cheekbones. Though, he had a scar stretching from just under the right eyebrow and ending on his right cheek. It left an unpleasant memory of a battle with a Sorcerer that struck him down with a fire whip. Legan was a true warrior among them like their leader. He stood common among others, despite his bulky tone frame. Though like the others in the group he was different, perhaps it was his presence or perhaps it was simply his sense of humor. But nonetheless, people tend to share local gossip with him, while helping him out in any way they can.Eowyn was the baby of the Clan and the first to join, he too was a Moon Elf like Creed and Celty. If he was lucky he was a total of fourteen years and even luckier if he was four and a half feet tall. He had short messy dark blue hair with a streak of light blue toward the front in his bangs, his eyes so golden in color you would swear he was the spawn of a demon. However, his sweet, loving personality told you he was all human. The others loved picking on him but thank goodness Eowyn knew it was just them playing around and did not mean it. Even though he was the youngest and the smallest Eowyn was not one to be taken lightly on the battlefield. His levels in skill and power sat just under Creeds. Making him the second strongest in The Unseen Clan.And last but not least; there was Creed. The leader of The Unseen, with long dark blue hair that pulled back at the sides to reveal a long, stoic face and dark purple eyes. His smooth skin delightfully compliments his eyes and warm features of a fascinating memory of his luck in battles. He was an amazing leader, and there was something inexplicable about him, perhaps it was his sense of camaraderie or perhaps it was simply a feeling of sadness. Whatever it was he could not be more loved than he was by their group. He stood towering above others, despite his thin but, brawny frame.It had been months since these memories and people had entered her thoughts, and she had to admit. She missed them very much. It was she and Creed that started The Unseen. The group being named after the sword she wielded. Celty was not sure of this, but Creed insisted, saying to her.
“Like the sword, our Clan would be unseen unless in battle.”
Creeds words echoed in her mind. The sword in question was granted to her by a Water Dragon in the East when Celty protected its baby from poachers. The Dragon, so grateful to Celty she granted her with the possession of The Unseen Sword. One of the many swords Dragons can bestow upon people they deem fit to wield such an elite weapon. The weapon was an amazing sword and held more power than any blade she had held in her hands as Celty or Tanya. The hilt of the blade was made of solid white ivory with silver and teal inlays of waves from the sea. The star-shaped guard was pure silver titanium. It had a silver pommel. The blade, even when not in the wielder's hands was virtually invisible and made of the crystal possessed by the water dragon. When in the wielder's hand the sword was completely invisible until struck by another object and then it would only be seen for a split second. The scabbard was pure white ivory like the hilt. It held powers of the sea and could be called on whenever in need by its wielder.“Celty?”A softly spoken voice pulled her from her thoughts as she looked to Kirito now standing beside her horse. She had to look slightly down to see him since she apparently had mounted Cloud at some time while she was deep in thought. She smiled warmly at him and offered her hand.Kirito looked at the horse then back to her. “You want me...To ride that thing?”“It’s not a thing. It’s a horse, and yes,” Celty told him. The look on his face was unsure as he looked to Cloud again. “You’ve never ridden a horse before have you?”Kirito looked back up at her as the others were putting their packs on their horse and getting ready to go. “Yes, I have. It just…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it just didn’t turn out too well.”She smiled gently at him and grabbed his hand. “Come on, you will be riding with me, so it will be easy peasy.”Her foot moved from the stirrup as he slid his foot in and pushed up with his one leg, swinging the other over Clouds back. He was shocked to see how strong and coordinated Celty was as she helped him balance and she herself stayed on the horse. Once Kirito was sitting behind her, Cloud neighed, sidestepping slightly as he quickly wrapped his arms tightly around Celty. Celty chuckled, her arms slightly lifting as she looked back at Kirito.“Easy there, fella. That’s my woman there you got a hold of,” Creed told him leading his horse their way. He stopped beside them and grabbed a handful of Kirito’s jacket. “Your hands go anyplace I don’t like, and I will cut them off. Got it?”Kirito blinked a few times looking at Creed. “Hm, sure. Sorry.” He loosened his grip on Celty relaxing some as Cloud stood in place.“Creed! Knock it off,” Celty told him slapping the flat of her hand down on the hindquarter of his horse causing the animal to jolt forward. This causing Cloud to sidestep again and causing Kirito’s arms to tighten around her torso as well. Celty softly chuckled again shaking her head as she clicked her tongue and got Cloud walking.“Come on Kirito, I need to breathe here. If you keep this up I will pass out before we get to the other end of the village.”Kirito’s grip loosened up slightly. “Sorry, this is just all new to me.”“It’s fine. Just try to relax.”“Right.” Kirito looked slightly back over his shoulder as Creed and the others came quickly toward them. “I got your boyfriend wanting to kick my ass every ten minutes.” He heard Celty chuckle. “And you got me on the back of a horse. Something I have never been on before.”“It’s no different than being on the back of a bicycle and Creed is not my boyfriend.”“A bicycle doesn’t have four legs and a mind of its own,” Kirito retorted making Celty chuckle again. “Well, it doesn’t.”“Just relax…” Celty repeated.Kirito tried the best he could to relax as they rode through the village. By the time they reached the East end, Kirito was a little more relaxed. His hands now resting to her hips rather than him crushing her ribs with his arms. At first, when the group left the village, they rode in a clump of a mess as they talked and caught up a little more on lost time. After about a mile or so out from the village, they broke up in a uniformed pattern. Two staggered in the front riding a few yards ahead. The three in the middle also staggered slightly and spread apart and one in the back a few yards behind. Celty and Kirito were the ones in the back. They were traveling through a rather large wooded area. Their staggered riding formation was a good thing so to keep a lookout for attackers. Be it wild animals or humans.
This helped with Celty needing to talk to Kirito. They were far enough back that when they talked, they could talk rather normally without the others in front of them hearing what was said between them.“So what are you going to do? We are kind of going the wrong way to get the information you need,” Kirito informed her.Celty’s head turned and looked to Kirito her eyes holding an annoyed look. “Thanks for playing, ‘State The Obvious’, Kirito.” She turned back watching ahead of them. “I am trying to figure that out.”“Well hopefully, something comes to you sooner than later. The longer it takes you the further away we get from the Western Guilds.”Celty flicked the reins slightly, causing Cloud to side step, rearing his head slightly. Thus, caused Kirito to spook and wrap his arms around Celty tightly again. Celty grinned with a mischievous look in her eyes as she looked to Kirito.“Not nice,” Kirito told her.“Then stop telling me things I already know.”About ten more minutes past on their ride as an idea finally came to Celty. “I got it.”Kirito looked to her from the landscape. “What is that?”“I need you to message me.”“And how do you propose I do that with us on horseback? I need room to open my panel.”Celty thought for a second then pulled Cloud to a stop. “Hold up guys! Kirito needs to use a tree.”“I what?!” Kirito spoke softly with his head hung behind her.As the others turned and looked at them and without moving her lips, she spoke to Kirito. “Just get off and go hide behind a tree like you need to go pee. From there message me.”Kirito blushed at the thought of the others thinking he had to go to the bathroom as he slid off Cloud and looked up at her. “And what is this message supposed to say?”“It doesn’t matter what it says, I’m the only one that is going to see it. Just go.” She spoke softly as she shooed him off. “You’ll see what I am going to do once I get it.”Looking from Celty to the others, he combed his fingers through his dark hair. “Sorry guys this will only take a minute.”They all nodded as he disappeared behind a small grove of trees and bushes as Creed road up beside Celty.“What’s he trying to pull? No one has to take a piss in a VR.”Celty looked to Creed and rolled her eyes. “He needed to use it IRL. With him riding behind me he can’t open his panel to sign off.”Creed sighed. “True. Fine, we'll wait then.” He rode back up to the front of the formation.After a few seconds, a soft chime sounded as a small window popped up in front of Celty. Kirito waited a few more moments before he stepped out from behind the tree. Celty now checking her message. She looked to Kirito then to Creed.“Creed, how far is it to the Guild of the Illusions of the Serpents?”“It’s about a three-hour ride that way.” Creed pointed the opposite direction they were traveling. “Why?”“We got a shorter ride ahead of us now. Lady Tanya wants me to drop my cargo off with a troop traveling to the Western Guild.” Celty looked to Kirito. “I was told you have a friend, Klein. He is in this so-called group moving toward the West.”“Yes, I do. Why?”“I was told to tell you to message him and find out their whereabouts, so I will know where to meet them to hand you over.”Kirito nodded. “I will message him then.” With that Kirito opened his panel and messaged Klein. He told him in detail what was going on. Leaving out the detail that the woman Celty, was actually Tanya, he did tell them that he would explain more in detail when they met up. When Klein finally messaged back he looked to Celty and told her what he had to say.“He said they are still a good three and a half hours to four away from the Guild’s stronghold. They are traveling on the main road coming from Whitehaven Castle.”Celty nodded. “Tell them we will meet them on that road about a quarter of a mile from the Guild.”Kirito nodded in return and messaged Klein back. His return message was answered rather quickly. “He said that would work fine and they would meet us there.”Celty extended her hand to Kirito. “Get on so we can get moving again.”Kirito grabbed her hand as he was hoisted onto the back of Cloud once more.“Hang on,” Celty told him as she tapped her heels into Clouds sides and he took off at a run. The others falling in behind her as their horses took off in a run as well.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Eight
Three hours later with a short break to water and rest the horses as well as themselves, they found themselves at a crossroad waiting for the troop from Knights of The Mystic Dragon. They dismounted stretching their legs as a lone horseman rode toward them a moment later. He stopped his horse a few yards back from them the horse seeming a little on edge as it sidestepped, neighing and pawing at the ground.“It’s the scout from Knights of The Mystic Dragon,” Celty spoke looking toward the man. His horse still acting edgy. “Something is wrong with that horse.”Kirito looked to her then to the man as he noticed the horse was acting slightly strange as well. At that moment Creed walked past Celty and Kirito.“Dismount!” Creed demanded of the scout.“Creed?” Celty questioned him as he walked past, and she lifted from her sitting place on the ground.“Who are you?” The scout questioned the man that demanded he dismounts his horse.“It doesn’t matter who I am! I told you to dismount!” Creed repeated still walking toward him.“Creed what are you doing?” Celty questioned.Creed ignored her still walking forward as the scout drew his blade. The scout’s eyes narrowing at the man coming slowly toward him.“Identify yourself or I will have no choice but to attack.”“No!” Celty called out to the scout as his horse moved toward Creed. Celty grabbed Creed’s shoulder, stopping him as he looked back at her. “What are you doing, Creed? You're going to get yourself killed.”Creed laughed. “That will be a cold day.”Celty shook her head. “Don’t be a fool. He is a scout from the Knights of The Mystic Dragon.
There is a troop following him. If you kill him, they will come after you. After us. Not to mention this is where I have to hand him off.” She reminded him as her head motioned to Kirito behind her.Creed laughed again. “I am not going to kill him. I’m not even going to rob him. His horse is in pain. As long as he is mounted on the poor creature it will remain in pain.” Creed looked to the scout again. “I told you to dismount. Now do it.” Creed pointed at the horse. “Look at his left hind leg.”Celty looked to the scout’s horse as blood was running down the animal's leg. “Do as he said, your horse is hurt and needs medical attention.”As Creed started moving toward the scout again the sound of thundering hooves was moving toward them. Celty looked down the road as she saw the large troop coming toward them quickly. Her arm lifted as she pointed behind him. “Here come the rest of your men. If we were lying, we would be mounting our own horses and getting out of here. Please get off your horse so he can help him.”The scout turned to look behind him as his troop was coming quickly toward them. The Grandmaster Knight pulling away from the rest as he now led the troop. His horse sped past the scout and came to a quick stop in front of Kirito. He dismounted grabbing Kirito’s shoulders with a wide grin. Releasing him he turned and looked to the scout as Sixth Knight, Sir Kedieg and the others stopped behind the scout.“It’s alright. They’re not a threat.”Creed turned and looked to Klein. “Tell the idiot to dismount, his horse is hurt.”Sir Kedieg and Klein looked to the horse as they heard the man announce the issue at hand. “Left hind leg.” Looking at the leg, Sir Kedieg grabbed the reins of the horse holding him still.“Dismount, soldier,” Sir Kedieg told him.The scout slid off the horse as Creed stepped up to them. His hand going to the horse’s neck as he stroked it gently and talked softly to it. He looked to the man who had the reins. “Can you hang on to him?”“Yeah, he is not going anywhere,” Sir Kedieg told him.Creed opened his panel retrieving a healing salve from his supplies. Working some into the wound he found a thorn stuck in the horse's leg. He growled, shaking his head as he pulled the thorn, tossing it off into the grass. Once he was finished doctoring the horse he looked to the scout. “Take better care of your mount or you will be walking. Not everyone is as nice as me.”The scout nodded and bowed to Creed. “Thank you and I am sorry I was so quick to judge.”“I don’t blame you for that. Not everyone can be trusted.” Creed smirked as he walked away, a thought running through his mind. I am one of them. Celty walked up to Kirito and smiled. “I guess this is the end of the trail for us. It was nice meeting you.”Klein smiled at her. “Thanks for meeting us here to drop him off.”“Not a problem,” Celty replied.“Do we owe you anything?” Sir Kedieg asked her as his horse walked up behind her and he dismounted.Celty turned toward him still smiling. “No, Lady Tanya already took care of me, but thank you for asking.” She turned back to Klein and Kirito still smiling. “Good luck on your mission.” She bowed to the Knights then turned walking back toward her horse.Kirito watched her walk off as he then turned to Klein. “I’ll be right back.”“Huh,” Klein questioned as he watched Kirito dart off toward the girl, Celty. “Uhh… Well…
hurry up we have to get to the Western Guild.”“Yeah yeah,” Kirito called back. “Celty,” He called to her as he trotted up behind her. “Can I talk to you for a second?”Celty turned to look at him as she took hold of Clouds reins. “Sure, what is it you need?”Kirito took hold of her arm and started leading her away from her horse and the others, this causing Creed to dismount.“Hey! What the hell are you up to?”Kirito looked over his shoulder at the man. “Chill. I know Celty IRL. I just need to talk to her about something before I forget.”Klein blinked a few times with a very confused look on his face as he scratched the back of his head. He does? He thought to himself as he watched them walk further away.Not walking off too far from the others, Kirito spoke not looking to Celty as he did. “Can you use that spell you used in the village, so the others can’t hear us?”“Mhmm,” Celty confirmed then came to a stop as Kirito faced her.
“Mystic Hands of Silence I invoke you.” She paused for a second as the field wrapped around them. “We got a little more room since Cloud is not in here with us, but don’t get too far away from me.”Kirito nodded as he looked around them the others watching them closely. His head shook as he looked back at her. “Are you going to be at the castle when we return?”“I am going to try to be, but I don’t know where my research is going to lead me.” She looked over at the troop when something dawned on her. Aaron was not with them. “Hm, something must have come up.” She mumbled softly.“Huh?” Kirito questioned as he looked toward the troops as well.“Aaron, my Vice Master.” She looked to Kirito. “He is not with them.” She fell silent for a second and opened her panel. “Do me a favor.”“Yeah, what’s that?”“Open your panel and play around with it for a second then message Klein. Ask him where Aaron is.” Celty told him. “Tell him Tanya messaged you and was trying to get a hold of him and he has not responded back.”Kirito nodded and did as she asked of him. While he did this, Celty watched Klein open and read the message then start to reply. She looked back to Kirito so not to raise suspicion. “You know,” she started, “If you’re going into battle with them you need something to distinguish you as an ally and not the enemy. And I don’t know what kind of weapon you have, but I can guarantee it’s not as good as what the members of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon have.”“PFFTT!” Kirito expressed as he looked to her. “Don’t underestimate my knowledge of weapons.”Celty chuckled. “I am not. I just know the types of weapons you can buy in this game, and none of them can stand up to the Mystic Sword of Whitehaven. The swords the Knights carry were forged in game from a dragon.”“You mean like the one you have on your hip now?” Kirito asked.Celty looked down letting her hand rest to the hilt. “No, this sword is the pure power of the dragon it came from. The Mystic Sword of Whitehaven was forged by an Armorsmith but was created from items of the dragon. They’re stronger, not magical.”“You mean like how you explained to me about the crystals, horns, and scales can be used for potions.”“Mhmm, the dragons can be used for many things from potions to weapons and armor, and medical usages. They’re very useful both alive and in death. It’s the reason they must be watched over very closely. Poachers would kill them all off just to gain riches from what can be created from them.”Before Kirito could respond to what she told him a soft chime sounded. Opening his panel again he read Klein’s reply. “It seems Aaron got called off to work this morning after they talked to you. Klein said they are just biding their time until he gets off in another hour.”Celty nodded slowly as she started pushing buttons on her panel and swiping things left to right and back again. After a few minutes, she looked to Kirito as his inbox chimed again. “Put that stuff in your inventory. That’s the best I can do for you right now, but it will work for this little battle you’re getting drug into. Do not let that sword get away from you and if anyone asked Tanya sent it to you.”Kirito looked at what she sent him as he placed it in his inventory. It was the white and blue trench coat of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon Guild and the Mystic Sword of Whitehaven she had sent him. “Do I want to know how you got your hands on this stuff?”“Ehh, might not.” Celty chuckled. “Just use them and be safe, and I will see you guys in a few hours. As Tanya, of course.”Kirito nodded. “I guess we are done here then, and you be safe as well out gathering information.”“I will,” Celty told him with a confident smile as she dropped the barrier around them. The two turned and walked back toward the group, Celty stopping at her horse, mounting it and Kirito walking over to Klein.“Again. Be safe and good luck in your battle.” Celty told them as she looked their way. From the troop, a few nodded at her, others giving her a wave of hand as she pulled Cloud’s rein to the right and the six of them road off further into the West.---It was hours after the Knights of the Mystic Dragon had come and gone. They delivered their message to Guild Leader Thoin, thoroughly hitting a nerve with the man. After their announcement, the Knights of the Mystic Dragon then took their leave to find the Clan of Dragon Slayers.Within a couple of hours of locating them, their troop, the men and women of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon made quick work of them. The Knights of the Mystic Dragon suffering little to no casualties from their battle with the Dragon Slayers. However, the Clan of Dragon Slayers were all but wiped out. The ones left standing were arrested and locked away for their crimes against the dragons, the Clan now officially disbanded by none other than Vice Master Aaron.When the Vice Master and the Grandmaster Knight of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon reported back to Guild Leader Thoin and Grandmaster Freiveth, they both acted relieved that the Clan of Dragon Slayers were wiped out. They thanked the Vice Master and the Grandmaster Knight graciously for their help, but Aaron could tell Guild Leader Thoin and Grandmaster Freiveth were fuming on the inside, ready to explode. They hid it well but could not hide it from him nor Klein. However, neither was going to stand there and try to learn why. They had other more important things to contend with. So they took their leave, leaving them to their own.However, little did they know they did not leave them as alone as they believed. They had a visitor hiding in the shadows waiting and wondering what type of information might be gathered by remaining behind, spying on the Guild Master and his Grandmaster. She hid in silence, waiting and watching in the depths of the shadows within their castle walls.Pacing the floor of his Conference Hall after the Knights of the Mystic Dragon had gone, Guild Leader Thoin waited, knowing that at least two of the men that led the Dragon Slayers were still alive and walking free. Suddenly, and making the Grandmaster flinch. A loud ‘thud’ echoed through the room.“HOW THE HELL DO THEY DO THIS!!” Guild Master Thoin bellowed as his hand came down on the tabletop.Freiveth pulled on the hem of his robes. “They are not the Central Guild for nothing. Their Guild members are strong and skilled. Most are at the height of their levels in HP, XP, and skills and are soon to level up. So far the game has the ceiling as Level 75. Lady Tanya is wrapping up level 70 and Sir Aaron is completely maxed. The rest of the Knights are in the sixties. Even most of the lower ranking members are in the upper fifties. Compared to them we are flies on the wall waiting to be swatted.”“That comparison really sucks, Freiveth. I would like to think I am stronger than that since I did survive this little skirmish,” Cerrakor said walking in with Seveani at his side.“Yeah thanks, asshole. I have been here too long to be called weak,” Seveani, Cerrakor second in command boasted.“Where have you been?!” The Guild Leader belted out. “I was starting to think you were dead!”Cerrakor looked to Seveani with a disgusted look. “Their Vice Master and new Grandmaster Knight decided to leave a few Scouts behind.” He looked to Thoin. “We could not get anywhere close to being out in the open or we would have been caught.”“So, in other words, you were hiding like a couple of scared rabbits,” Freiveth said with a smug smile.Suddenly Seveani’s sword was at his throat. “Would you like to say that again?”“This is treason!” Freiveth growled looking at the Guild Leader.“Go complain to the Central Guild. Maybe they can help you out there because I don't give a shit.” Cerrakor chuckled. “We might work for you, but we are not your fucking lap dogs.” He looked to Thoin. “They killed or arrested every one of my men.”“You think I don’t know that?!” Guild Leader Thoin growled as he continued to pace the floor. “We are just going to have to recruit more men. Stronger men. We have to get our hands on that egg before it hatches.”Cerrakor laughed aloud. “If the rumors are right about that egg, we don’t have much time.”“If you would have found reliable men and women that could fight. We would not be in this mess.” Thoin growled.“Reliable! You two are the ones that wanted to test them to see how strong they were. Putting them against one of the strongest Guilds in Tarragonia. We fight dragons, not armies.” Cerrakor reminded them.“If you cannot stand up against the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. Then there is no way you could stand against the Divine Dragons and the Clan of the Spirit Dryads that protect them.” Freiveth informed him.“Pfftt… You just keep your little acts going, and we will take care of the rest. That egg will be ours soon enough.” Cerrakor told them.Thoin looked to the two men. “We need to find a way to eliminate the Central Guild. They are too powerful and will only remain in our way, foiling our endeavors.” His hand slammed down on the tabletop once more. “Blast their Noble and Righteous acts to protect the Dragons!”Seveani chuckled as he walked toward him. “If you're going to remove the Central Guild you will have to take out the North, South, and East as well.”“There are just as many that stand against as there are with the Dragons,” Cerrakor replied. “It’s just a matter of finding them.”“Which takes time. Time is something we do not have. That egg will be hatching soon!” Thoin bellowed.“Yeah yeah, so you have announced already,” Seveani said sitting down at the table next to Freiveth, lacing his fingers as his arms rested to the tabletop. “You know there might be a way to do this if we can get some dirt on Tanya. She can’t be as much of a saint as everyone believes.”“How can you say that about Lady Tanya? She is an upstanding person in the Tarragonia world,” Freiveth rebutted.Seveani patted Freiveth’s cheek still chuckling. “Of course, that is what she wants everyone to see. However, I’m sure there is another story behind that pretty little face of hers, and it could probably bring her Guild crumbling down.” He grabbed Freiveth’s chin between his thumb and index finger looking into his eyes. “We just have to find out what her dirty little secrets are. Her Guild rose to fame all too quickly. There has to be something there to explain why. No Guild I have ever known has ever done as well as hers in such a short time, nor do as well as it continues to do so. Somebodies dick is being sucked.”“And it’s not ours,” Cerrakor replied chuckling hardily.Seveani laughed. “Exactly.” His arms folded in front of him as he sat back in his chair.The three men then looked across the room as a loud ‘thud’ echoed in the room. At the other end of the large table sat Cerrakor, his booted feet to the tabletop as he examined his nails.“You two just keep Illusions of the Serpent on the up and up with the Central Guild. We will take care of disbanding the Knights of the Mystic Dragon and finding more men for the cause.” He looked up at the two. “And I think I might know the first group I might go and recruit.”“And who might that be?” Thoin questioned curiously.“The Clan of The Unseen,” Cerrakor told him.“You know Celty is back, right?” Seveani asked Cerrakor.“Yeah,” Cerrakor answered as he examined his nails again. “I saw her with that guy dressed all in black down at Xeskese River.”“A guy dressed all in black? Did he have dark, short hair? About this tall?” Freiveth’s hand gestured.Cerrakor nodded to all his questions as Freiveth chuckled lightly. “You do know who that is, don’t you?” He asked Cerrakor.“Nope,” Cerrakor replied like it was no big deal. “Why the hell would I care about this one dude? He doesn’t look like he could beat his way out of a wet paper bag.”Seveani shook his head. “Agreed, he is only one guy.”Freiveth grinned wide. “I think the two of you need to go home and study up on your enemies. That so-called ‘dude’ is Kirito, he is a survivor of SAO.”
“So what, and my name is Cerrakor, a survivor of life,” Cerrakor rambled in the background as Freiveth spoke.“The --Kirito? The SAO--Kirito?”Freiveth looked to Seveani. “Do you know of another, dumbass?!”Freiveth looked to Cerrakor. “This guy is seriously OP!”
“So what? So am I.”Thoin chuckled shaking his head as he looked to Cerrakor. “You’re dragon shit compared to Kirito, is what you are.”Cerrakor’s chair slid back quickly screeching across the hard marble floor, he stormed toward Thoin, Seveani stepping between him and Thoin before he could get to him.“He is right. There is not one of us in this room let alone one person in the Dragon Lance VR that could beat Kirito.”Cerrakor threw his hands in the air and laughed. “So what if this Kirito is OP off the wall. Every man has a weakness. All we have to do is find it.”Freiveth shook his head. “He has none. At least not in the VR world.”Cerrakor started to laugh softly as it grew louder. “You don’t think so?” He continued to laugh. “I think you’re wrong. I overheard him say he knew Celty IRL.” A wide smirk crossed his lips as his hands rose from his sides. “We found his weakness, Gentlemen.”
Seveani pointed at Cerrakor as he looked to Thoin and Freiveth. “See? A man that knows how to use his head for something other than a hat rack.”Cerrakor chuckled, turned and walked back toward his chair.“Kirito is not the only one we have to worry about, Cerrakor. Their Grandmaster Knight is Klein. He is as beast as Kirito, and I know for a fact that man has no weaknesses.”Cerrakor threw his hands up again. “We will deal with him then when the time comes. Until then we keep pushing forward.” He sat down again and looked to Seveani. “I am sure we can find something to hold over his head.”Seveani smirked. “So when do you want to go talk to The Unseen?”Cerrakor opened his panel and looked at the time. “It’s getting late. I say tomorrow about noon. I am sure we will catch them in Slycrest.” He grinned like a Cheshire cat. “It’s been a while since Creed has seen his woman. I am sure he will bed her well tonight.”“Hopefully she will be able to ride after. It’s a long ride back,” Seveani told him smirking as well.Cerrakor looked to Thoin and Freiveth once more. “We will get that egg and shut down the Central Guild, and we will do it all within a month’s time. Plus, give them all a few obstacles to hurtle in the process.”“I hope you are right, Cerrakor,” Thoin told him as he turned swiftly and walked toward the doors of the Hall. “I do hope you are right.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Nine
Once Guild Master Thoin left there was not much talking, or well, nothing that was of importance that was. It was then Celty determined she could leave without missing anything that might be crucial to what she had already found out, so she took her leave of the Western Guild.
After a good run and putting herself a good distance away from the castle, Celty whistled for her horse, mounted it and rode off toward her village putting Cloud at a full run. It was going to take hours for her to get to Slycrest and like their enemies, that was something she did not have. She had too many people to talk to, too much information she needed to pass on. It was times like these she wished she had a dragon like her other Avi, Tanya. She knew she would only be able to keep Cloud at a full run for no more than forty-five minutes to an hour. She was just glad it was night time and cool, so Cloud would not overheat too quickly, but she would still have to stop and walk Cloud and let him cool down and rest.
She decided at that point she would message Tanya. She was contemplating on messaging Creed but decided it might be best to talk to him face to face. She just hoped she got to him before Cerrakor did. She trusted Creed to tell Cerrakor to take a dive off a cliff, but she did not trust Cerrakor.
So much was on her mind as she rode along, and she did not understand. Why did they want the egg of the Divine Dragon? How did they know if it was a Divine Dragon? They must have been keeping a good watch on the egg that was laid, but that stems off to yet another question. How? From her understanding of the game, the Divine Dragons were not obtainable. So how and why? Her thoughts then drifted to their conversation about Tanya and the Knights of The Mystic Dragon. There was no dirt on Tanya. The only thing there was is Celty, and if she was breaking any rules with having Tanya and Celty then she was sure the administrators would have said something long before now. Though it still worried her in what they might try to trump up on her and the fact of what Celty is used for. She was an outside source to get information. She was a spy that was not affiliated with the Knights of The Mystic Dragons, so it made her hard to be traced or even recognized by anyone. Even the ones within the Guild she worked for, and how was that wrong. Every Guild has spies if they are affiliated with them or not. The only issue that that might bring up is the ones that were close to Celty and the fact that she used them to get information. The downfall of being a spy and getting close to anyone around you.So deep in thought, Celty did not realize how long she had been running Cloud, that was until she was caught by a low hanging branch that knocked her off Cloud’s back. It had barely caught her right-side slamming into her shoulder, but it was enough to knock her backward, placing her to the ground as she withered under the pain coursing through her shoulder and arm.“Fuck that hurt,” Celty growled as she rolled to her left side as she clutched her right shoulder, a tear rolling down her cheek. As she laid there letting the pain subside, Cloud walked up to her sticking his nose in her face.
“Hello… Cloud,” She told him, her pain reflecting in her voice.
He whinnied in her face and nosed her shoulder causing Celty to wince in pain as she gritted her teeth. “Alright alright, I’m up!!” She growled.Still clutching her right shoulder, Celty sat up with a loud groan and a few curse words, she looked around noticing she was in the forest. “Damn it,” She grumbled as Cloud nickered softly at her. “I know I know.” She looked at him releasing her shoulder. “This is not good.” She took ahold of his reins with her left hand as Cloud started backing up slowly as Celty pulled her legs under her to stand.
Once to her feet, she stepped up to Cloud as they both looked at one another. “Alright big guy. I only have one arm to do this with, so you are going to have to stand still.”Cloud neighed as he bobbed his head quickly. In her left hand, she took hold of the reins and the saddle horn, her right arm hanging limply at her side. Lifting her left leg, she placed her foot in the stirrup, hopping slightly as she kept her balance next to Cloud. “This is going to hurt like hell.”
Cloud neighed again his head bobbing slightly as Celty gritted her teeth. Hopping slightly on her right leg, pushing up with her left as her body lifted so she could mount her horse, swinging her right leg over Cloud, trying to keep her right arm as close to her body as possible. She bit back a cry of pain as she fell forward on Cloud burying her face in his long white mane.
She whined taking a few deep breaths. “I think my shoulder is really messed up, my friend.” She whined again as she pushed up to a sitting position. “I know we are in a dangerous spot and at the wrong time of day, but let’s take it nice and slow for right now. I think if I stay silent we should be alright.”Cloud snorted as he pawed the ground then started moving forward. Celty gritted her teeth her jaw growing tighter and tighter with each step Cloud took. The impact through her shoulder and arm was excruciating. Never had she felt a pain as bad as this, but she had to stay silent. There was no way she could fight off an attacker, NPC or otherwise. She was just pleased she had not run Cloud to the point of exhaustion, causing them to be stranded in the forest but because of her negligent actions, she was hurt, and badly. Now all she could do was hope they made it through the forest with no more casualties, and that was going to be rather hard with at least another hour and a half ride.---Arriving back at Slycrest, Celty was slumped over across Cloud, resting against his neck. Her good hand tangled tightly to his mane as her injured arm dangled at the side of his neck. It felt like it took forever for them to finally make it to Slycrest at the slow pace Cloud was taking with her being injured, but they finally made it. As Cloud made his way through the village, Celty noticed he was taking her to the livery stable she normally boarded him at when she was staying in town.
When Cloud stopped just inside one of the stalls, Celty untangled her hand from his mane and slowly slid off his back. When her feet hit the ground she stumbled, falling back into a large pile of hay. Her jaw was so tense from clenching it for so long she could only muster a soft whine as she rolled to her left side. She could not take this pain any longer she had to stop it. Rolling to her back once more she opened her panel and signed out of Celty’s account.
When the account closed Ashley quickly sat up on her bed knocking her headgear off and grabbed her right shoulder. It hurt. Almost as badly as Celty’s hurt. Why? Why was she feeling such intense pain? The sensory on Celty was not turned up any higher than it was on Tanya, so why? Why all this pain? She calmed herself as she rubbed her shoulder, reminding herself it was only virtual reality. It was not real, nor would it ever be real. It was a game and nothing more. After calming herself she picked her headgear up off the bed, slipped it over her head and laid back down on the bed. She was signing in as Tanya now and she was hoping everyone was still on.
Opening Tanya’s account, she spawned in, in the courtyard of Whitehaven castle. She was shocked to see that the troop that went to the West was barely arriving themselves as the last few men and women rode through the courtyard toward the stables. She turned quickly and started up the steps, only to stop in her path to grab her right shoulder. It hurt, but not a hurt like she was feeling with Celty or even as herself in real life. It was stiff like an old injury or a pulled muscle.“What the Hell is going on?” She mumbled to herself, taking a deep breath she started back up the steps once more. She had to talk to Aaron and Klein.
Quickly making her way to the Conference Hall to wait for them to come to her, she made her way around the table to look out the large windowpane watching the troop make their way inside. While standing there she must have gone into deep thought again, but she was startled when a hand went to her shoulder. Wincing she turned quickly and looked at who touched her. It was Aaron and with him was Klein, Sir Kedieg and Kirito.
“Are you alright, Tanya?” Aaron asked her a concerned look on his face.Tanya looked at the ones with him as she nodded her head, paused, then shook it. “I have information I need to share with everyone. Though I don’t know if I want to wait to gather the other Knights or announce it now and we can share it with the other later.”“If it is that urgent maybe it would be best to tell us, and we can gather the others tomorrow and fill them in,” Klein told her not liking how she was acting.Tanya nodded her head slowly as she gestured for them to come closer and take a seat at the table. Once they were all seated and comfortable she relayed to them the information Celty overheard. The five of them talked and sorted things out the best they could with the information Celty gathered.“I knew those bastards were up to something,” Aaron growled low in his chest. Klein only nodded as he looked down at the table, Kedieg grumbling under his breath.“I know someone that might be able to help out in this. The bad part is… even if I contact him this very second I don’t know how long it will take for him to get back to me.” He looked around the table as the four of them looked at him.
“I would say try that’s all that can be done right now,” Kedieg told him with a grumble.Klein nodded as he looked to Tanya. “And Tanya, don’t worry about them finding dirt on you or anyone else in the Guild. If there was foul play the Admins would have already disbanded the Knights of The Mystic Dragon.” He looked between Aaron and Tanya. “I would be more worried about them making false accusations against you with the other players within Dragon Lance than I would about anything else.”Tanya sighed as her head nodded slowly, her eyes drifting to Kirito. She needed to talk to him about what happened to Celty and if he had any ideas as of why. Knowing it was getting late and sure that they all would probably like to sign out and get home, so placed both hands to the arms of her chair and pushed up only to nearly fall over because of the pain in her right shoulder.“Tanya!!” The four males at the table exclaimed as they all jolted up out of their chair to grab her. Aaron catching her first since it was his direction she toppled.Aaron stood her up and looked at her noticing she was holding her right shoulder. “Are you alright? What's wrong? Did you get hurt today?”“No.” Her head shook. “No, I didn’t, and I am fine. My arm just fell asleep.” She told them. “I am tired though, and I am sure the rest of you are too.” She looked at the others there with her as they nodded their heads slowly. “What do you say we call it a day and meet back here tomorrow around two. I will message the other Knights and let them know to be here.”The three men nodded their heads as they started pushing their chairs in and walking toward the doors of the Conference Hall. Tanya and Aaron making their way around the table. As Aaron stepped past her she stopped and opened her panel and messaged Kirito with three words.-- Need to talk.--
She then sent out a group message to all the Knights of The Mystic Dragon.-- There will be a mandatory meeting at two, at the Whitehaven Castle. This meeting is of the uttermost importance as is your presence. --
Lady Tanya_
While she sent the message out to the Knights, Kirito messaged her back and told her he would meet her in Dawnmeadow when she was finished. He departed the Hall leaving the others to their own.
Checking her messages, she did not reply to him, she just waited for everyone to take their leave. Aaron being the last to sign out as he waited for her, walking her down into the courtyard where she normally spawns in and signs out. The two signed out together, only for Tanya to sign right back in and take her leave into Dawnmeadow to meet up with Kirito. Walking into the village she saw Kirito right where he said he would meet her. In front of the church.
“Thank you for meeting me, Kirito. I really needed someone to talk to that knows--” She fell silent as a couple walked passed them. She wanted until they were far enough away, and she spoke again, “That knows my situation.”Kirito gave a stern, short nod, crossing his arms. “So does this have to do with you know who?”“Mhmm,” Tanya hummed. “On her way back from the West she was so deep into thought she was not paying attention and was taken off her horse by a low hanging tree limb. It hit her across here.” Tanya gestured across the right side of her chest and shoulder. “Kirito…It hurts. Right now.” She let her hand rest to her right shoulder.Kirito looked at her with a raised eyebrow, though his eyes held concern. “Really? Even though that incident was a separate issue?” When she nodded, her eyes tinted with pain, he narrowed his eyes, looking at her shoulder. His hand went to his chin, humming. “But how? I’ve only ever used one. Did she tell you how high her sensitivity was?”“The same as Tanya’s, when she signed out, the pain was as intense in-game as out. She had to take a few minutes to collect herself IRL. She said she does not even want to log back in as her, in worry of the pain she is in…” Tanya paused and looked around then back to Kirito. “…And it followed her. She’s left her at the livery stable.”
“But if her sensitivity was the same as it always was, there shouldn’t have been such a reaction,” Kirito shook his head, his brows knitted together in confusion. “Maybe it’s… sympathy pains? Like when someone tells you they had a dentist’s appointment and your teeth start hurting. But if the pain was the same in-game and out… that’s a huge reaction to it.” He looked back up at her again. “Are you sure she didn’t max her sensitivity and forgot about it? Like maybe she hadn’t played as her for a while and forgot?”Tanya shook her head. “No way. That’s too dangerous. She said it was so intense that she thought she was the one that hit that tree limb not her Avi, and the ride back to the village on her horse was excruciating. She said she was even crying IRL and her pillow was soaked from perspiration.” Her head shook. “This doesn’t make any sense, Kirito.”Kirito thought for a long moment before reaching out and gently pushing on Tanya’s shoulder with his fingertips. When she hissed and recoiled back, grabbing her shoulder, he sighed and shook his head. “Sorry, Lady Tanya, but I think I have to go with my gut on this one. The simplest answer must be the right one, no matter how improbable. I think before the two of you go trying to cook up some outlandish answer, your friend needs to sign back in and check her settings just to make sure. Once she does that, she’ll know how to proceed. If you want, I can go check on her if it will make you feel better. I have a healing potion with me. I’m sure that will help. At least on this side.”He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “As for real life, well that would be a feat of extraordinary talent, even for me.”
Tanya sighed shaking her head. “I know it’s not. I know for a fact it’s not. The headgear is directly in line with the neuro-pattern. It would not only be stupid but dangerous. I explained that to you the first night we met.”Kirito shook his head and raised his hands in self-defense. “Hey, I don’t know why it would be maxed out. Maybe it’s a glitch or something. I don’t know. But what I do know is that if she had that bad of a reaction IRL to something in-game, we need to contact the game Admin.” He smirked at her and laughed. “Unless she’s got a house guest that likes to punch the hell out of her while she’s using the AmuSphere.”Tanya huffed crossing her arms over her abdomen as she looked at him with narrowed eyes. She did not find it funny that he would joke about Jeffery hurting her. “I don’t find that funny, Kirito.”
Again, he raised his hands, stepping back several steps. “H-hey. I was kidding, okay? We’ll figure it out.”
As Kirito stepped back, he stepped in front of one of the church windows. Suddenly and out of nowhere, a wooden box came flying out of the window with a crash. The box barreled into the side of Kirito’s head, sending him crashing to the ground. The box split open and scattered dry rice all over the place, landing in Kirito and Tanya’s hair and all in their clothes.
A woman dressed in a white wedding dress came bursting out of the church doors, crying her eyes out. “YOU ASSHOLE! YOU TOLD ME YOU LEFT HER!”
Following her was the groom. “I-I was going to! Honest!” He went chasing after her.
“Ugh…” Kirito groaned, his head throbbing like someone threw a knife straight through his head. A sharp pain shot through his skull. He stumbled up to his feet, swaying as the ground spun. “What the hell?”A bead of blood trickled down the side of Kirito’s face as Tanya quickly went toward him her hand on his shoulder, worry in her eyes. “Kirito! Are you alright?!” She pulled her white handkerchief from her pocket and placed it to the temple of his head.“I… I don’t know… Damn that hurt way more than it was supposed to.” He looked at the handkerchief, seeing blood on it. “Blood? What hit me?” He looked down at the ground, seeing the box. He leaned down to pick up the box but the world around him spun and he stumbled to his knees, holding his head.
“Kirito!!” Tanya’s voice rose as she grabbed his arm.
Getting him to his feet she helped him over to a nearby bench and sat him down. Sitting down next to him, her hand lifted and took the place of his hand holding the handkerchief at the side of his head. “Get your healing potion out. You need it to stop the bleeding.”“R-right…” Kirito managed to open his menu and go to the inventory screen, tapping on the icon that said Large Restorative. He drank the potion when it appeared in his hand, feeling his health return to the normal levels. On his player icon, he saw the red ‘bleeding’ effect marker disappear. “What happened?”“I don’t know,” Tanya confessed falling silent for a few seconds in thought. “Kirito.” She looked to him, her hand moving from his wound since it stopped bleeding as she looked at it for a few seconds. “Open your panel again.”
He looked at her confused for a few seconds then opened it. “I don’t have any more healing potions if that is what you’re looking for.”Tanya’s head shook as his panel opened and she slid closer to him to be in front of it. Going to the controls on their right she swiped up as a list of controls scrolled in front of them. At the bottom was a ‘Setting’ control. She touched the word ‘Setting’ as her finger drew back, another window opened. With the flick of her finger against the screen the list of settings scrolled from top to bottom. Halfway through the list, she stopped it from scrolling. There in the list of settings was the control for the avatar’s sensitivity settings. She sighed with a side glance to Kirito, hesitating in touching it in worry in what she might find within the setting. If this was a glitch within the programming a lot of people could get hurt from this, but she had to find out. This glitch had to be fixed and fixed quickly before someone really got hurt.Though it was not just that, there was something more behind this. What, she was not sure, and she did not want to think about it, but her gut would not let her head turn away and ignore it. With a shake of her head to discard the thought, she let her finger tap on the folder named ‘Sensitivity’ as her eyes closed tightly praying for the best-case scenario.“What the…” Kirito uttered causing Tanya to open her eyes. “There is no way.” Kirito’s hand lifted as he tried to turn down the sensor level by tapping on the minus button to the side of the level bar. “I have never touched this…” He kept tapping at the adjustments trying to get it to lower. He even tapped the plus button a few times, jumping back and forth between the two buttons.Tanya grabbed his hand stopping him, she was shaking her head slowly as he turned slightly to look at her. “I need you to sign out and make sure your body IRL is alright.”“What?” Kirito belted out with wide eyes.“Just do it, please. If not for your curiosity. For my peace of mind. Please.” Tanya nearly begged of him.Kirito nodded looking into her eyes. “First, I want you to check your settings, then I will sign out and if I am injured IRL I want to go to Celty.”Tanya shook her head quickly as her eyes widened. “She is in too much pain. I don’t know if I can handle that right now.”Kirito turned to her putting them face to face as his hands went to her shoulders. “We can take healing potions and anything else we might think could help her.”“But it is going to take hours for us to get there on horseback,” Tanya stated, her head shaking again.“Not if you can get your hands on a couple of Transport Stones.” Kirito told her, “We have to help her, Tanya.”
The two of them fell silent as Tanya’s head started nodding slowly. “Fine, I will get a couple of Transport Stones. Go check on your body IRL.”“You first,” Kirito told her gesturing for her to open her panel.Tanya’s hand lifted, opening her panel and making her way to the setting where the sensitivity for her avatar was located. When it was opened they both saw that her sensitivity was maxed out like his. She tried turning it down with failed attempts, Tanya looked to Kirito.
“Your turn.”Kirito nodded and signed out of Dragon Lance. While Kirito was gone Tanya went to the closest alchemist shop and purchased four Transports Stones and a few healing potions. When she left the shop, she also spoke to a few of the villagers asking them to check the sensitivity settings of their avatar. They looked at her oddly, but because she was the Guild Leader of their Providence they humored her. When they checked, they were just as shocked as her and Kirito when they saw it was at its max level and they could not get it to turn down.
Tanya reassured them she was taking care of it, but they needed to be careful until everyone was informed that it was fixed. She told them to keep a close eye on the Community Bulletin Board on the progress and to spread the word about the glitch. After talking to a few more of the villagers and confirming that it was not just a few of them, Tanya then messaged the game Administrator. As she was messaging them Kirito ran up to her.“There you are.” He jogged up to her. “What are you doing?”“While you were gone I talked to a few of the villagers and had them check their sensitivity level.” She looked up from her message panel to Kirito. “Their sensitivity is maxed as well and won’t turn down.”“Damn,” Kirito mumbled as his hand lifted and combed through his hair. “It has to be a glitch.”Tanya nodded. “I am informing the Admin now, so they can look into it.” She looked back at her panel. “What did you find out?”
“Well, I was not bleeding IRL but I had a real tender spot on my left temple where I was hit with the box.” His hand lifted to his left temple where he was hit, touching it gently but still winced.Tanya added Kirito’s incident to her report to the Administrator as well. Sending the report, she then opened her friend's list and sent Kirito two of the four transport stones and the healing potions. “Grab those,” She told him as she grabbed one of the two stones for herself out of her storage.Once he had his stone in his hand Tanya informed him of where they were going. Kirito looking at her confused. “Why don’t you sign out and then sign in as her and I will meet you there. Save the stone, these things are not cheap.”Tanya nodded slowly as she looked at her transport stone, her eyes then lifted from the stone to Kirito. “Hurry, please. Her pain is bad. I don’t know if her arm is broken or her shoulder is dislocated. I just know the pain is unbearable, for her and for Ashley.”Kirito nodded. “I will go now.” He lifted his stone then looked to Tanya once more. “You said she was with Cloud, right.” As Tanya nodded her returned the same and told the transport stone where he wanted to go. “Slycrest Livery Stable.”Tanya watched him transport as she opened her panel and signed out. As her eyes opened in real life she took a deep breath. “Link start,” She announced signing in as Celty once back in the game. The pain was instantaneous the second the link locked into Celty’s account.“Kir…Kirito…” She bit out as she rolled to her left side, hot tears rolling down her cheeks. She did not see anything because of her blurred vision and her ears rang and head pounded from the sheer pain that coursed through her body. “Kir…Kirito. Please… you have to be here.” She whined as she held on to her right arm.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Ten
“Celty I’m here,” Kirito called out to her. “But Cloud won’t let me close to you.” He informed her as he tried to step around the white stallion once more. The horse only stepped in his way blocking his path once more.
“Cloud…” Celty called out his name as the horse turned to her long enough for Kirito to get around him.Quickly Kirito made his way next to her as he dropped to his knees beside her. “Celty,” He spoke calmly as he touched her leg to let her know he was right behind her. He looked down at her, his eyes focusing on her shoulder and arm. “Your shoulder looks deformed. I don’t know if it's dislocated or broken, and I don’t want to go pulling on it if it's broken.” He moved slowly around to the front of her.“You’re going to have to bear with me in this. Because I have to get you to a doctor.”
“No!” Celty cried out shaking her head. “Please. I don’t want to move anymore.”“You have to Celty. If it is broken, we need to be in his office, so he can set it. Here in the stable, he can’t do that. Now come on. Roll to your back so your good shoulder is against me.” He started sliding his hands under her so to pick her up.Slowly, Celty rolled to her back once more. As Kirito picked her up she let out a loud cry of pain from his hand resting on her shoulder blade.“I’m sorry,” Kirito announced hurriedly resting her back to the hay and letting his hand slide further down on her back. He lifted her again, this time only a small whimper escaped the girl. “Alright, now where is the doctor in this village?”“He lives to the East of… Slycrest. Go…” Celty cringed gritting her teeth, taking a deep breath she spoke again, “Go and I will tell you how to get there. It’s not a far walk from here.”Kirito nodded and started his way out of the stable, Cloud following behind him. “Your horse is following us.”“Of course, he is. He wants to make sure I am going to be alright,” Celty informed him with a very muted chuckle.“Which way?” Kirito asked stopping at the road and looking both ways.“To your left, cross the bridge and make another left. Follow the road to the first house on your right. You will find Doctor Edor.”
“That has to be an NPC name,” Kirito pondered as he pushed on to the doctor’s place.Celty nodded her head slowly. “And it is going to cost me a small fortune for him to treat me. There goes all the gold I made for delivering you to the Guild.”“Sorry,” Kirito told her. “But I don’t think the potions I have are going to help this injury, and I don’t want to put you in more pain than you already are.”
“It’s fine,” Celty reassured him. “I can make it back from the information I still have to send to Tanya.
“Even after she already announced it to the others?” Kirito questioned.“Mhmm, for the game to recognize this information as malice it has to be logged and my message to her will do that. From there Tanya can pay me, and the Guild can act on the information with good cause and the game not see it as ill intentions.”“Ah, I think I get it now.” Kirito nodded his head as they crossed the bridge. Hearing her whimper, he let his eyes cast down at her. “Are you alright?”“Mhmm,” She hummed softly as her head hung then rested against his shoulder. “I am hanging in there the best I can.” She fell silent for a moment taking a deep breath. “God, I am going to feel this in the morning.”“Well, if you don’t come on to game tomorrow, would you at least sign-in to send me a message to let me know how you’re doing?” Kirito requested as he looked at her.“I have to come on. No, if’s and’s or butts. We have that meeting tomorrow with the other Knights and I still have to message Tanya with the information. If any of the Knights act on what Tanya tells them without confirmation, they could end up marked.”Kirito nodded. “Makes sense. Well, I will be there. I mean…” he looked down at her as she lifted her head. “If you want me there.”Celty nodded her head. “I need you there for at least the findings we have on the Sensitivity settings.”“True,” Kirito agreed. “I will be there at the time of the meeting then.”“Thank you,” Celty replied resting her head to his shoulder once more. “Are we almost there?” She asked in a defeated tone.Kirito chuckled lightly seeing the house not far off. “Yeah, I would say another five minutes. Maybe less.”
“Good,” Celty said as her eyes closed slowly a tear rolling down her cheek. “It hurts so bad, Kirito.”He sighed letting his head tip to the side, his cheek resting against the top of her head. “I know but hang on we are nearly there, and you can get the help you need to stop the pain and get your shoulder fixed.” She said nothing only letting her head nod slightly as it rested against him. Cloud’s big white head popping up over his shoulder on the other side as he snorted in Kirito’s ear scaring the life out of him.“Cloud, damn it! I could have done without that!” Kirito voiced as his heart pounded in his chest. Cloud nickered as he reared his head bobbing it quickly, his long white mane wafting through the air. It was like he was laughing at him. Kirito could not help a soft laugh at the horse as he shook his head and moved on toward the home of the doctor.
Once they were at the door, Kirito set Celty down to her feet, so he could reach out and knock on the door. “Doctor Edor!”
It only took a couple minutes before the NPC doctor opened the door. He was an older man with grey hair that reminded Kirito of Einstein. A pair of small glasses sat on his nose. He wore a white lab coat over a blue dress shirt and black slacks.
“Yes? Can I help--Oh my!” The doctor exclaimed when he saw the young woman’s shoulder. He opened the door wide, gesturing for them to come in. “Please, come in quickly! I have to get her shoulder examined right away!”
“Wow. That’s some great AI they’ve outfitted this NPC with,” Kirito noted as he led Celty to an examining table in the back of the room. “Usually you have to tell a doctor NPC what’s wrong with you or let them examine you first.”The doctor’s house was two stories. The first floor had the main room and a secondary room. The main room looked as if it were designed as an intake room of sorts. There were a couple of nurse NPCs examining two other players. One with a nasty broken arm, and the other with a gash in his stomach. Both were moaning and wailing as if they were experiencing the worst pain of their life. In addition, there were three other players besides the two on the other examining tables, all with equally as bad injuries.
“The developers use us doctor NPCs as safeguards against this sort of thing, as you can see,” the doctor helped Kirito move Celty up onto the table then pulled up a rolling chair. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and grabbed a pair of latex gloves, which Kirito found to be an amusing touch from the developers. “After the Sword Art Online and ALfheim Online fiascos, developers of VRMMOs are doing all they can to avoid lawsuits, which means turning certain NPCs like me into monitors.”“Monitors of what?” Kirito stepped back to let the doctor do his virtual job.
“Look around you,” Doctor Edor said as he took a potion from a table. “Many players have come into my office for serious injuries. Which in itself is not uncommon, but the problem is that they all can feel the full effect of these injuries. Upon analyzing their game settings, I’ve found a common problem with all of them.”“Their sensitivity settings are all maxed out and unable to be lowered,” Kirito nodded.
“Precisely. This potion is a painkiller, dear. You won’t feel any pain for about an hour. Drink it so I can help you with your shoulder unrestricted. You have a dislocated shoulder and your humerus is fractured.” The doctor placed the potion in the hand of her good arm.
Celty took the potion looking at the doctor. “Just from getting clotheslined by a tree limb?”“If you were riding that stallion I saw out there” --he turned in his chair rolling back toward her-- “at full speed, yes. You do realize a horse can run up to 55 miles per hour, yes?” He watched as the young girl nodded her head. “Then be glad the impact was to your chest and arm. If it were your head, you could have gotten your neck broke.”The doctor looked to Kirito, peeking over the top of his glasses. “As for you, young man, I don’t know what you got struck with, but it would be in your body’s best interest if you saw a real doctor. I can’t determine damage to a player’s body, but I can advise you that the human brain is a very sensitive organ. Even a small bump can cause dangerous problems.”Kirito nodded to the doctor, touching the tender spot on his temple. “I logged out earlier and checked myself out. There was no major damage. Just a nasty bruise and a headache.”“You mean no damaged that you can see with the naked, untrained eye.”
The doctor stood up and prodded at Celty’s shoulder. When she made no display of discomfort, he nodded to himself. He lifted her arm so it was straight out and wrapped his around hers, placing his other hand on top of her shoulder.
“As a monitoring NPC, my programming demands I advise you of the symptoms of a concussion. Such are listed as lapses in memory, confusion, drowsiness and fatigue, changes in vision, headache, nausea and vomiting, sensitivities to light and sound, vertigo, and slowed reaction times. In addition, the human body may not always display these symptoms immediately. In some cases, symptoms can develop hours or even up to months following injury.”
He looked down at Celty. “What is your stallion’s name?”“Huh?” She looked at the doctor in confusion. “It’s Cloud--AH!”
In the middle of Celty’s response, the doctor gave a hard pull at her shoulder and it snapped back into place with a loud, POP! He looked back up at Kirito. “Distraction is also helpful in medicine. As I was saying, although there can be no bruise on your brain from being struck in the head in-game, your brain can still think you were hit in the head and display symptoms of concussion, even though no concussion is present. Please consider seeing a medical provider to be sure of your body’s health.”Kirito chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “Boy, they sure spent a lot of time on your programming, didn’t they?”Celty gave a small smile and a soft chuckle as her head nodded and she worked her shoulder slowly.“What are you doing?!” The doctor scolded her. “I did tell you your humerus was fractured, didn’t I?”“Ye…ye…yes sir, you did,” Celty stammered her eyes widened. “But it’s only a fracture.”The doctor looked to Kirito. “And he only has a bump on the head. However, both of these conditions can turn very serious very quickly if not looked after.”Celty let her arm hang back at her side. “So what are you going to do?”“I am going to put your arm in a sling and that shoulder of yours in a brace.” He told her as he stood from his chair and stepped up to her opening a game panel. “You are to leave them on until these issues at hand are nullified.”“But it will heal, and much quicker than if it happened IRL,” Celty retorted as the objects the doctor said he was going to use on her appeared on her person. She sighed rolling her eyes.
“Where this is true, it does not solve the issue of you, the player, being in pain until it does. Until the Administrator and the programmers fix the issue at hand with the sensitivity being maxed, any player that is injured will be treated as if this were real life.” Doctor Edor informed her as he proceeded to tap on a few more things in his panel. “I have sent you both a few potions for any pain that may arise. You only need to take a small sip, about 5mLs is all.”Celty sighed once more as Kirito looked from her to the doctor. “So, I guess with the sensitivity being maxed our healing is slowed as well and none of the potions are working.”“Right now, as things stand the healing potions are only restoring a player's HP. It will not heal any injuries they withstand.” Doctor Edor told him. “Which means, the player in real life will suffer the same pain as their avatar until the avatar is fully healed.”
Kirito’s heart skipped as a realization dawned on him. He looked to the NPC. “Doctor… Would it be farfetched to say that if you experience an injury, fatal or otherwise, painful enough, it could kill the player’s body IRL?”The NPC doctor pulled his glasses off of his nose, looking sternly at Kirito. “Can you imagine what it feels like getting stabbed in the heart, or the head? Can you summon an image or a ghostly sensation of what that kind of pain feels like? VR systems connect to the nervous system of the human body. If you can’t imagine what it feels like to be stabbed in the heart or the head, do you think your brain can handle that kind of pain? If physical therapists can heal amputees who have phantom pains with illusions and mirrors, it is not beyond comprehension to think that the brain cannot be tricked into believing the body is dead. And even if the injury is not fatal, the mind and body can only take so much pain before it goes into shock.”
Doctor Edor turned and peeled his gloves off, tossing them in the wastebasket. “For your sake, Kirito and Celty, I hope that neither of you meet your virtual demise at the hand of a dragon. Being ripped and torn in half and eaten alive is yet another thing no one can fathom.”Kirito’s mind flashed first to his fight against Oberon in ALO, then to his time in Gun Gale Online. He had experienced the pain of in-game injuries on high sensitivity settings and the fear of dying IRL. Twice. Both terrified him. He never wanted to live through either ever again, though he supposed his unwillingness to quit VRMMOs for good made that next to impossible. VRMMOs attracted trouble of all kinds. But the question was, was this just a glitch… or someone like Oberon or Sterben and his brother? Was this an honest mistake during development, or someone’s sick idea of a game?Kirito backed up until the back of his knees hit a rolling chair. He sunk down onto it, the chair rolling back a bit at the force of him sitting down. “So… I’m stuck in another death game… Only this time, logging out doesn’t save you.”
He sighed heavily, leaning over and letting his face fall in his hands. “Why does this keep happening?”Celty looked over at Kirito shaking her head. “It’s a glitch, Kirito. Calm down. I am sure they will have it fixed by the end of the day, and if they don’t I am sure they are smart enough to shut down the NPCs that can cause real damage, or just close the game down altogether.”“That don’t stop the players from attacking and trust me some of the players are just as dangerous as some of the NPCs.” Kirito explained.“I know that,” Celty retorted. “But I am sure they will figure something out.” A wide yawn then escaped her as she covered her mouth with her good hand.“You need to get some sleep young lady. The first step to a speedy recovery is rest. Second is eating well,” Doctor Edor told her.“Is there a third?” Kirito asked standing from the stool he was seated on.“Yes, listen to your doctor,” Doctor Edor told them both.
They both chuckled lightly as Celty slid off the examining table. “Thank you, Dr. Edor. What do I owe you?”“Fifteen hundred Scala, young lady.” Doctor Edor told her.Celty’s stomach turned over as she sighed heavily. “Like I said, this is going to cost me a small fortune.”
Just then, a small panel opened in front of her and she pressed her hand to it. From there the fifteen hundred Scala was removed from her account. She sighed again looking to Kirito. “You ready to go?”Kirito nodded his head slowly looking to the doctor next. “What about my charge, Dr. Edor?”The doctor shook his head. “The young lady took care of it.”Kirito looked to Celty with a sigh of his own looking back at the doctor. “Well, thank you then.” He commented as the two walked toward the exit.“Yes, thank you Dr. Edor,” Celty replied as they walked from the room hearing the doctor call behind them.“The two of you be careful out there.” He watched the two nod their heads as they exited the clinic.
Once outside Cloud walked up to Celty as he rested his head over her shoulder and she stroked his neck with her good hand, resting her head against his. “Thank you for watching over me, Cloud.”Cloud neighed bobbing his head as he stepped back and turned so she could mount him. With a pat to his hindquarters, Celty shook her head. “It’s a short waaalk…” She looked behind her seeing Kirito hoisting her up to get on Cloud. “Kirito…”“You’re exhausted. Get on,” He told her as her leg slid over Cloud’s back and he climbed on behind her taking ahold of the reins.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t walk from here to the Village. We are lucky if it’s a quarter of a mile,” Celty retorted.
Kirito’s head shook as he nudged Cloud gently in the sides to get him walking. “You heard Dr. Edor. You need to rest if you’re going to recover properly. Walking is not resting.”
“A short walk is not going to hurt me,” Celty informed him.“It’s not going to help you either in the state you’re in,” Kirito fired back hearing Celty sigh in defeat. “Good. Now, do you want to stable Cloud when we get to the village or place him in your inventory?”“Stable him. I still have a little cash, so I’m staying at the Inn until this is over with,” Celty informed him.“Until this mess is over?” Kirito questioned as he leaned into her looking over her shoulder at her. “Do you mean the mess with the Sensitivity being maxed or your injuries healing?”“Aren’t they both synonymous?” Celty questioned.“Celty…” Kirito shook his head. “No… Ashley, listen to me. That’s not safe, you have to sign out. You have to eat, get up and move around get something to drink and use the restroom. Who knows how long this could take. Not to mention you remaining in one place for too long of a time IRL it’s not good for your body or health. Believe me, I know that first hand, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
“I understand what you’re saying, Kirito but right now with the pain Celty is suffering I can control that in game, but IRL I can’t control the pain I am feeling there. I know what I felt like when this happened.” Her head shook. “I don’t want to feel that pain again.”“One night then, and I am staying with you to make sure you sign out when we get up. If you’re hurting when you wake up, you can drink some of the potion Dr. Edor gave you.” He leaned into her again looking at her over her shoulder. “But you’re signing out directly after and relaxing in the comfort of your family home before you have to sign back in as Tanya for the meeting.”Celty sighed heavily. “Yes, daddy. As you say, daddy.”Kirito’s eyes widened as he sat up erect behind her. “Excuse you? Did you just call me daddy?”“Yes, I did. If you’re going to act like one I might as well call you that,” Celty replied as they crossed over the bridge back into the village.“I am only looking out for a friend. I know what it is like to lay on your back for long periods of time with lack of food, drink or movement. Trust me. Just the few hours you will have spent in here will make you stiff,” Kirito explained to her.With another defeated sigh Celty yielded in her conversation with Kirito. “You’re as bullheaded as the two males I already deal with on a daily basis in this game.”Kirito smiled triumphally. “Your brother and Aaron and if that is the case you had better add Klein to the list as well. Now you have four of us to deal with.”Celty’s head shook as they stopped in front of the stable and Kirito dismounted Cloud, then helped her off. “No, Creed and Aaron.” She took hold of Cloud’s reins and led him into the stable to his stall as Kirito followed in behind them.Quickly stepping around Celty and Cloud, Kirito opened the gate to the stall as Celty removed Cloud’s bridle. “We just don’t want to see a friend get hurt is all.” Cloud entered the stall on his own as Kirito closed the gate behind him making sure it was latched tightly. He then turned to Celty gesturing toward the front for them to exit.“I know what you are doing, but I also know how to take care of myself,” Celty replied as she turned and walked toward the entrance of the stable.
“We all do, but at times we can get so caught up in things we forget what is important for our own needs. That’s why we have friends, so they can remind us of these things,” Kirito enlightened her.“Oh really,” Celty replied with a shocked tone as she looked to him. “I always thought it was to be a royal pain in the backside.”Kirito chuckled lightly as his fingers combed through his dark hair. “Well, we can be that too.”
The two shared a chuckle as they exited the stable and headed off to the Inn. Once at the Inn and checking in they discovered there was only one room left, but thankfully it had a full bed. Agreeing that that would be fine they purchased the room for the night and the Innkeeper gave them the room key. Preceding up to the room Kirito seemed a little nervous.“What’s wrong, Kirito?” Celty asked him. “Don’t tell me you’re worried about this now after we paid for the room?”“No…I mean…Well, yeah a little,” Kirito replied.Celty sighed. “You know, two people of the opposite sex can share a bed without something happening.”“I know that,” Kirito responded.
“Then what is the problem?” Celty asked him as they topped the stairs and started down the hall to their room.“It’s just, people can talk, and I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want any of this getting back to Asuna.”Celty chuckled lightly. “She doesn’t even play Dragon Lance,” Celty reminded him as they stopped, and Kirito unlocked the door. He let her enter first. “I think you would be more worried about Creed than her.”Kirito closed the door behind him with a heavy sigh and locked it. “At least with Creed I can defend myself. When it comes to Asuna…” He shuddered. “Regardless of the fact that she’s a girl, she’s still strong as hell.”
Celty chuckled lightly. “I am sure everything will be fine.” She patted his shoulder then turned to go to the restroom to change. “I am going to change into my bedclothes, and don’t worry they cover more than what I have on right now. You might as well get changed as well while I am in there.”
Kirito nodded. He changed into a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Once he moved to the bed to pull back the covers, Celty came out in sleep pants and a t-shirt.
With a brush in hand, she walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, her long blue hair pulled over her shoulder as she brushed through it carefully. “Do you know how to braid?” She asked Kirito turning slightly as she looked back over her shoulder at him.“I do actually,” Kirito nodded, climbing up into the bed. “I used to help my sister with it when she had long hair, and then while in SAO I helped Asuna braid hers every morning.” He looked up and down at her extremely long hair. “With hair that long, I’m guessing you’d like some help.”“I normally do it on my own, but with a lame arm I can’t right this moment.” She looked back at him smiling. “So, you would not mind helping, would you? If you would rather not I understand. It is a lot of hair.”“It’s no bother. Besides, braiding hair would only aggravate your injury,” Kirito shook his head. He moved behind her, lifting her hair out of the way so he didn’t sit on it. “Any particular way you want it braided? Or just one long braid?”“Just one long braid for sleeping,” She replied sitting with her back to him. “I tried sleeping with it unbraided one time.” She chuckled lightly. “Biggest mistake of my life. I woke up tied up in my own hair.”Kirito laughed and shook his head. “Or you could just cut it. I hated my long hair in GGO. Worst avatar ever.” He blinked, thinking back to the game as he separated Celty’s hair into three parts. “Well, maybe not the worst.” He grinned to himself. “It was definitely useful in its own way. Especially for coercing the other male players into doing what I wanted."His thoughts landed on Sinon, remembering how pissed she was that he had tricked her. “Well, not everyone. It did come back to bite me in the ass sometimes,” he chuckled sheepishly. “Otherwise it was useful. Most players underestimated me cause they thought I was a girl.”Celty chuckled covering her mouth. “You had a feminine Avi? I bet you were just adorable. As for cutting my hair… No way. You think Creed will be mad if he finds out we camped out together. Pft… Let me cut my hair.”
“Well, to be honest, I didn’t think most girls gave a crap about what guys want from them. Especially Asuna. If I told her to cut her hair or grow it out as long as yours, she’d probably slap me.” He braided about a quarter of her hair before he had to pause to stretch out his hands and crack his knuckles. Her hair was thick, and he was sure his hands would be cramping in real life too after this. “Your Avi does have pretty hair though. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone here or even in ALO with hair this long. Doesn’t it get in the way when you fight?”“At times it can, but it was not this long when I got this Avi. Her hair barely sat at my waist. Celty was my first Avi in Dragon Lance, so I have had her for a little over three and a half years,” She informed him.
“So, Tanya was not your first?” Kirito asked her.
She refrained from shaking her head as she spoke. “Nope.”“So does that mean…” Kirito hesitated knowing the answer as he went back to braiding her hair.“Yep, that is what it means. Celty is the strongest of my two avatars, and she is pretty OP if I do say so myself. Why do you think I use her for the things I do? She has advanced as far as I can take her in everything she needs for her profession. All I am doing is waiting for updates, so I can take her further.”“So…Creed is not the strongest of The Unseen,” Kirito pondered.“To his knowledge. Yes, he is,” Celty told him as he finished her hair and she pulled it over her good shoulder. She turned to look at him smiling brightly. “Thank you.”He nodded slowly as he looked on at her. “So how strong is Tanya?”“She sits at level 70, about to roll over to 71. All her skills as a Knight and Leader are maxed at the moment. Once she rolls over to Level 71 it will add more needed XP points to my skills. I believe it’s like 71,000 more that I will need to gain to max them out once more.”“What is the highest level one can achieve here?” Kirito asked her as the two adjusted themselves to lay down in the bed.“So far only 75, but the on the World Bulletin Board the Admin was talking about their next update, and they were going to add like another 25 levels,” Celty informed him as she laid down on her back.“Sounds about right,” Kirito stated turning off the small light at his bedside table, then laid on his side facing her as he reached down pulling up the sheet covering them both. “Mind if I asked how strong Aaron is?”Celty shook her head as she turned looking at him. “Arron has been maxed for some time now. He has even maxed unneeded skills just for something to do.”“How long has he been playing?” Kirito asked her.“Since the game was released I believe. So about a year or two longer than me I think,” Celty explained.“So why did you create Tanya if Celty was working out so well for you?” Kirito asked her, resting his head on a bent arm.Celty blushed a soft shade of red. “Aaron…” She looked up at the ceiling. “I guess you could say I have had a crush on him since day one. He did not seem to be interested in Celty and since he was human and Celty a Moon Elf. I made a human girl. Tanya.”
“Did it help?” Kirito asked her as he folded his arm under his head resting his head back down on the pillow.Celty nodded. “Tanya sees him more than Celty ever has.”“Do you think he returns your feelings?”She shrugged. “I would like to say yes with some of the things he does, but that could be written off as he is just a good, close friend that cares.” Her head turned to the side once more looking at Kirito. “Like someone else I know.”“Creed seems to like you. A lot ,” Kirito expressed. “Do you like him at all? I mean…Like you like Aaron.”Celty shrugged. “He seems a little too possessive for my taste. I do care for him; he and I have been friends for a long time. But there is nothing there other than friendship.” She fell silent looking back at the ceiling shrugging once more.
“I don’t know. I am sure under the right circumstances and if he dropped the possessive attitude… I'm sure something could happen between us.” She looked over at Kirito once more. “But not until I'm sure Aaron only sees me as a friend. I would not two time either of them. Their too good of people to hurt that way.”Kirito nodded his head slowly. “Well, I guess we need to get some rest. The sun will be up soon. We don’t want to sleep the day away and miss the meeting with the Knights.”Celty nodded her head slowly as a wide yawn escaped her. Slowly her eyes closed. “Good night, Kirito and thank you for everything you have done for me tonight.”Kirito smiled warmly as he watched her eyes close. “Sweet dreams and you’re welcome, Celty.” He spoke softly in the dim light of the room as he watched her fall fast asleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Eleven
“Dammit!” A black-haired Spriggan slammed his fist down on the oaken bar counter of a coffeehouse known as the Ebony Teacup.The Ebony Teacup coffeehouse took up residence in the village of Marten on Floor 57 of New Aincrad. It matched the color scheme of the other buildings and restaurants around it, though it sat alone rather than being connected to a longer structure of buildings. It was a corner building, giving it plenty of room inside. The inside was decorated in warm browns, oranges, reds, and golds with warm lighting. It was just bright enough to keep you from falling asleep, but not so bright that it gave you a headache. The furniture was made of oak, the floorboards were wooden as well in a light brown, and the walls were a burnt orange color with maroon baseboards and accents. The entire coffeehouse smelled of slowly roasted coffee beans, sweet syrups, and mouth-watering pastries and sandwiches. It was the perfect location for players either stopping for breakfast before heading out to grind or coming in during the afternoon after a long morning of grinding. During the night, the coffeehouse became meeting space for several small guilds and even held some music, poetry, and literature sessions. It was one of the hottest spots in Marten, despite having plenty of competition in the area.And the whole establishment was owned by one person: the said Spriggan at the bar counter who was clenching his fists, known as Moonshine in the world of VRMMOs.Moonshine was a veteran of the original Aincrad in Sword Art Online along with his younger brother, known as Okamishiro, and his girlfriend, known as Murasaki Kitsune. Though she was simply referred to as Kitsune, Kit by her close friends. None of them were frontline players, as decided by Moonshine, though they were not merely lazy shadows either. Moonshine’s priorities were his family--his brother and girlfriend. He knew there were several skilled players on the frontlines, namely the one called Kirito whom he often was mistaken for. So he stayed away from the front lines and instead enjoyed his time in the ‘death game’ known as SAO.And then he was free before he could bring his dream, The Ebony Teacup, to fruition. But now that dream was realized. In two places as a matter of fact. Its original location Marten and in Alne City in ALfheim.Though his coffeehouse was not what concerned Moonshine at the moment. Kitsune, a busty young Cait Sith with long, purple hair, turned to her boyfriend with a sigh, shaking her head. “You’re going to scare your customers away.”“Pardon my French, but I really don’t give a fuck about that right now,” Moonshine growled, clenching his fists tighter. “Shiro needs to hurry up and get here already with that intel he promised me. Those bastards could be long gone by now. I need to get Imera’s pieces back.”Kitsune sighed, wiping down glasses and placing them on the shelf underneath the counter. “And you will. You know you will. You won’t let those DKers get away with killing her so easily.”Moonshine’s royal blue eyes flashed with a bright blue glow for a split second. He stared down into his cappuccino. “I’m going to rip them apart when I find them. There won’t be anything left when I get my hands on them.”“You wanna be labeled a red player?”Moonshine clicked his tongue, turning his gaze away. “Worth it.”Kitsune huffed and swatted at him with her damp towel, catching him across the cheek. He jerked back, grabbing his cheek. “You love your dragons in DL, I get it. They’re like family to you. You’re one of few players over there who actually feels something for their dragons. But you can’t go ruining your reputation for revenge. I get why you want to but think about all you have to lose by earning yourself a brand as a red player.”Moonshine looked up at her sternly, rubbing his cheek. “I won’t just let them get away with it though! They didn’t just kill her, Kit! They poisoned her! A poison made specifically for killing dragons! She died in agony! And I’m just supposed to let them get off with a slap on the wrist? Fuck that!”Kitsune narrowed her eyes at him, placing her hands on her hips. “You keep cussing like that and the admins will put a strike on your account.”He clicked his tongue again, looking away and placing his chin in his hand. Suddenly the familiar chime of the door rang out. Moonshine immediately turned in his seat to see his mint green haired Sylph brother come in wearing a bright smile. In reality, Okamishiro’s hair was white, but the both of them agreed that a Sylph was the best choice for his avatar, so his normal fluffy white hair was a no-go for him in this game.Shiro rushed through the shop to his brother’s side. “I got it!”“Where the hell have you been?! What the hell took you so long?!” Moonshine slammed his fist on the table once more, earning him another swat from Kitsune’s towel.“The Knights of the Mystic Dragon have been on the offensive recently. They took out the Dragon Slayers. Well, most of them. It took some digging and investigating, but I found out that the three players you’re looking for were not among those they captured or killed. They escaped being arrested but are still close to the Province of Whitehaven. I imagine they’ll be within several miles of Whitehaven for the next couple of days before they escape further away.”“Still. That means I have to go through the Mystic Dragons to get them,” Moonshine sighed heavily, crossing his arms. “And they’re not going to stand idly by while I help myself to kicking the slayers’ asses.”“Nope. So you’ll have to use your trusty Moon Elf stealth mode to get around them. No way they’re going to let you snoop around their searching grounds without explaining yourself,” Shiro shook his head.“Did you find any leads as to where their last location was?”Shiro smiled widely and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get the words out, there was another chime at the door.“I’m telling you, Asuna, he is in Dragon Lance. Since Klein has made it as one of the Knights over there, they have been hanging out a lot with the Guild he is part of,” Leafa explained as the other three girls followed her into the coffeehouse.“I told him I was going to be back online this morning,” Asuna sighed as they walked up to the counter.“You know how those two are when they are playing a new VR. They lose all track of time,” Lisbeth giggled.“And boys will be boys,” Sinon grinned with a chuckle.
“Dragon Lance does sound like it has a lot of cute animals though,” Silica smiled, Pina sitting on her shoulder.Shiro turned and smiled at the five girls who were regulars at the Ebony Teacup, along with the red-headed samurai and the one and only black swordsman. Though thankfully and out of pure coincidence, the two guys usually only came in when his brother was gone. He’d rather not imagine his brother coming face to face with the player he had a grudge against.“Hey, it’s the Spice Fairies!” Shiro smirked at them. “Where’s Mickey and Goofy?” Kitsune swatted her towel at him, giving him a stripe on his cheek to match his brother’s.Asuna giggled covering her mouth. “You’re getting good with that towel, Kit. You’re going to have to keep her away from the whips, Moonshine or you are really going to be wearing stripes.”Moonshine leaned back away from the counter as he watched Kitsune roll the towel up by its corners with a smirk. He gave her a weary frown. “Too late. She’s been using whips since the OG Aincrad. Thankfully that weapon of choice hasn’t crossed over into reality.”In unison Leafa and Lisbeth announced. “TMI, MOONSHINE!!”The other three just laughed as they looked to Kitsune behind the counter. “What’s fresh this evening?” Sinon asked.“I just pulled our jumbo blueberry muffins from the oven about 7 minutes ago,” Kitsune told them.The five girls looked at one another with raised brows. “Give us five blueberry muffins and…” Asuna looked to the girls to see what they wanted to drink. “I’ll have a butterscotch latte.”“Hot chocolate for me!” Silica beamed.“The usual green tea cappuccino for me,” Leafa added.Lisbeth raised her hand high in the air. “Mocha frap for me!”“Chai tea, please. With extra cinnamon,” Sinon added her order last.Kitsune giggled at the five of them. “Alright. Sit tight and I’ll get all of it together. You dining-in or heading out?”“We’re sticking around,” Leafa replied. “We are going to have a seat at our usual table.” Leafa pointed to the table off to the side next to the windows. “Just give a shout when you have the drinks done and we can come up and get them.”She turned to see Lisbeth walking off with the muffins.“I will get napkins, butter, forks, and knives.” Silica looked back over her shoulder as she moved toward the condiment counter. “Anyone need anything else while I am over there?”“A little sister as cute as you,” Moonshine sighed, his cheek in his hand. Shiro smacked him upside the head with a glare. “Ow! What was that for!? You think the same thing!”Hearing the two squabbling over what Moonshine had said Kitsune looked over at them. “You’re both a couple of slackers.” Kitsune snapped watching the two goofing off. “Get to work and help me make their drinks.” The door chimed again. “Or wait on the new customers.” She looked quickly toward the door with a bright smile.“Welcome to the Ebony Teacup,” Kitsune greeted them.When Shiro stood up to go wait on customers, Moonshine grabbed him by the collar, dragging him back. “Hey! You haven’t told me where the dragon slayers are!”“I’ll message you the location,” Shiro pulled out of his brother’s grasp.“What?! No! Just tell me now!”“Relax! It’s pitch black in Dragon Lance now. You’ll have to wait a few hours to go out slayer hunting anyway. Chill out here for the time being. Or you can sign out and go take out your anger in GGO,” Shiro trotted off to tend to customers.Moonshine growled, hopping off of the bar stool to circle around to the back with Kitsune. As he did, Sinon turned to him with a surprised look. “You play Gun Gale?”Moonshine nodded to her, making her chai tea with extra cinnamon. “Yeah. I play for money though. And sometimes fun. Though I took a break after that crap with Death Gun. I wasn’t going to lose my life over some stupid game. I felt that way about SAO, and I felt like that about Gun Gale too.”Sinon shuddered, remembering the events of the third Bullet of Bullets she experienced with Kirito. “I… I see.”Moonshine noticed her change in mood and set down the pitcher of tea, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. “My bad. You were involved with that with Kirito, weren’t you? You’re the sniper chick, right? That was insensitive of me to bring it up.”Sinon blinked and raised her hands to Moonshine. “No, no! It’s not your fault. Actually, I guess I admire your outlook on the situation. Instead of giving into fear and acting irrationally, you did what was best for yourself.”“Still,” Moonshine finished off her tea with a sprinkle of cinnamon. He capped it off and handed it to her. “That doesn’t make me any less of a jerk for speaking so carelessly.” He grinned at her. “But hey. You’re one hell of a shot. I saw that shot you took at Sterben. Maybe you can teach me how to be a better sniper.”Sinon blushed and turned away from him. “W…well, it’s not easy! You can’t just become a good sniper overnight, you know! It takes hours and hours of practice! And if you don’t have the money to get a good model, then forget it!”Moonshine laughed then let out a cry of pain as Kitsune whacked him on the head with an empty pitcher. “Be nice to your customers for once!”“Ow! Dammit! Why is everyone taking shots at me today?!” He glared at her, rubbing his head.Asuna giggled looking at Moonshine. “Maybe because you’re being a smart-butt?” She gave him an inquiring look with a soft hum, “Hmm?”Moonshine started on her butterscotch latte, sticking his tongue out at her. “Whatever Miss Touchy Touchy! You can have a pretty smart mouth yourself too.”“Of course! That’s because I am smart,” she grinned and returned his gesture, crossing her arms underneath her breasts.Moonshine pointed the nozzle of the bottle of butterscotch sauce at her. “Hey! Watch it, or you’ll be getting a face full of butterscotch.”“And I would hate to have to show you up inside your own coffeehouse by kicking your butt if said incident took place,” Asuna informed him with a cocky grin.“Ha! Please! I’d like to see you try!” He placed her latte in front of her. “Your little copycat boy toy may not like to fight girls, but I’m no stranger to it. I’ll take you on any day, anytime, anywhere.”Asuna got an appalled look on her face as her eyes widened. “Copycat? If anyone is a copycat it’s you. Not to mention you can’t claim the Avi style you picked. It’s there for anyone to use. Did you create it? Is it your design?” She grabbed his arm and jerked him forward then flung his arm to one side causing him to do a 180 as she looked him over. “I don’t see your name on it.” Her arms crossed over her abdomen again.Moonshine turned around and opened his mouth to reply when an order slip invaded his field of vision. He took it, looking at his brother’s smug smirk. “I think you’d better quit while you’re behind. You know there’s no winning with Asuna when it comes to battles of wit. That’s the order for table six by the way.”Moonshine grumbled as he turned away to start on the next order. “On second thought, shooting people in the head sounds really good right now.”The girls giggled at him and Shiro trotted off. Kitsune smiled at her boyfriend as she delivered the rest of the items to the girls. “Don’t mind him. He’s just been a sourpuss for the past three days, though I can’t blame him.”“What happened to make him so grumpy?” Silica asked.“He acts like someone killed his dog,” Asuna mumbled.Silica pouted as she looked from Asuna to Moonshine. “That would be so sad if someone did that.” She reached up and nuzzled the side of her face into Pina. “I know how I felt when I lost Pina. That was the worst day of my life.” She looked back to Kitsune. “Did someone kill his dog?”“Moonshine has been playing Dragon Lance for the past two and a half years. He found it a few months after we started playing ALO. He’s in love with it. Especially the dragons. He has two dragons… Well… he had. One of them was murdered three days ago. He’s been trying to track down the killers, so he can avenge her. He’s the closest he’s been so far.”Kitsune looked to Pina on Silica’s shoulder. “Nychta and Imera are to Moonshine what Pina is to you. They are like his pets, but so much more. They’re as real to him as someone’s dog IRL is to them.”“What about a dog IRL?” Klein asked walking up behind the girls standing at the counter. The girls spun quickly as Kitsune smiled brightly at him.“Hello Klein, or should I call you Sir Klein now?” Kitsune giggled. “I heard you were Knighted in DL.”“Yep, and not just any Knight,” Klein grinned like the Cheshire cat. “The Grandmaster of Knights.”“Well then, Sir Klein. What could I get for you this evening? We have your favorite, fresh out of the oven.”“Oh yeah! Hook a Klein up!” Klein told her with a wide grin.
“Seriously, Red?” Moonshine raised an eyebrow at him as he brought over table six’s order. Shiro swung by to pick it up. “You’re such a dork. Nobody but wannabe protagonists refer to themselves in third person.”With a perturbed expression and not missing a beat in the conversation, Klein looked to Moonshine and fired back. “A hundred thousand sperm cells and you were the fastest?! What a pity.” Klein gave him a disappointed look. “Now I know why you stayed off the frontline.”As his expression changed to a warm smile, Klein looked to Kitsune as she slid his drink and pastry across the counter to him. “Thank you, Kitsune.” He picked up his things and walked over to the table where the girls were sitting.Moonshine growled with narrowed eyes, he was about to turn and go give Klein a piece of his mind but was stop when Kitsune spoke.“You deserved that for what you said to him, so don’t go starting trouble.”Moonshine sighed and cleaned out the machines used for the drinks. Afterward, he tossed the towel he used onto the back counter and turned to walk through the swinging dividing door. “Then I’ll take Shiro’s advice. At least in GGO starting trouble is rewarded.”He glanced over his shoulder at the others as he walked towards the door. “Don’t expect me around for the rest of the evening. I’ll be in Dragon Lance later. Shiro, don’t you dare forget to message me that info.”“Y…yeah,” Shiro sighed, bringing empty dishes up to the counter.Moonshine stepped out of the coffeehouse, off to the Inn to save and log out.Kitsune sighed as well, turning to the girls and Klein. “Sorry about him. Once all this mess with the slayers is resolved, he’ll be more amicable.”Klein nodded slowly as he looked down at the table. “Tanya is just as heartbroken over it, and if it were Musashi, Un or even Dueler I could see their owners being just as testy as Moonshine.” He looked up at Kitsune and gave her a reassuring smile. “If anyone can find these bastards it’s the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. They won’t rest until they have every one of them captured or dead.”“He wants them dead,” Shiro sighed, shaking his head. “He doesn’t care about rules or laws or arrests. He wants them slaughtered by his own hands. My brother loves those dragons to death. He won’t forgive or let off anyone who hurts dragons.”“If he kills them no one but the game programming will care. But he will be marked as a PKer if he does that. He needs to let the ones that are authorized to do this, do it. If he wants to help all he needs to do is talk to the Guild. I don’t see them telling him no.” Klein informed Shiro. “Also, you may want to make your brother aware of the fact, that if he does kill this Dragon Slayer without going through the proper channels, everything Dragon the Dragon Slayer scavenged, even his dragon, will have no decisive labeling when it’s dropped. So he will not be able to tell what belonged to his dragon.”
Shiro’s eyes blew up wide at Klein’s words. “You’re kidding! That’s crazy! That would make it pointless trying to get Imera’s resources back.”“With the way, he is doing it yes. I also believe there is a way to revive said dragon if all the pieces are recovered and you have a high magic skill. That or you have to have a Magic Wielder do it. I heard Cerberus talking about it one day with one of the Mages of the Guild.” Klein rubbed his chin. “At least I think that was what they were talking about.”He looked to Shiro. “Tell that bullheaded brother of yours to go to the Whitehaven Guild and talk to them. They can help him out. If he doesn’t, he has no one to blame but himself if things go awry. They’re there to help, not make things worse.”
Shiro nodded with a sigh. “I will explain things to him. He will listen more if it is me or Kit. He’ll spiral further into this madness if he ends up taking a wrong step with this and losing Imera forever.” He placed a hand on his chin, humming. “I’ve always thought that the resurrection of a dragon was just a rumor. But if it’s actually true, my brother will definitely want to look into it. He misses Imera very much.”Silica hugged Pina who chirped softly. “I hope Moonshine can resurrect Imera. Kirito helped me get Pina back, so maybe he can help him get Imera back.” She looked to Klein with hopeful eyes. “Kirito is in Dragon Lance, right?”Klein nodded his head slowly. “But he is only been playing for a little over 24 hours. I know his skills are beast, but he has no magic skill other than what he had with being a Spriggan here in ALO. That’s Fairy magic, I doubt that will help him in being an Elemental Alchemist.” He looked at Silica and gave her a warm reassuring smile. “But don’t worry, the Guild has a Master, Elemental Alchemist. I am sure they will help Moonshine get his Dragon back.”“He’s a what?” Asuna questioned as she looked to Klein blinking a few times.“He is an Elemental Alchemist,” Klein repeated looking at Asuna.Asuna was silent for a few minutes as she looked on at Klein. “Why?”Klein chuckled. “It was the only Avi that would give him the look he wanted. So he is a sword-wielding Magic man. If he can’t beat you with Magic, he will most definitely do it with his sword.”
Lisbeth laughed, clutching her sides. “Kirito a magic user?! He doesn’t even use magic here in ALO! He picked his Avi in Dragon Lance the same way he picked Spriggan! He just never changes!”“I can’t say Moonshine isn’t the same,” Kitsune smiled. “He picked his avatars based on his past preferences too. He picked whatever suited his desired image and skillset. But then again, I suppose most players are like that. They pick an Avi that is similar to what they know best.” She looked to Klein with a smirk. “Isn’t that right Samurai-san?”Klein chuckled as his head nodded. “Guilty as charged. My Avi was picked on the bases of protecting, morals and honor. Hence the reason I had to be made a Knight. Oh! Which reminds me. The date has not been set yet.” He looked at everyone standing or sitting around the table.“But my induction will be coming up to make it official. I want everyone to be there.” He looked to Kitsune and Shiro. “You two as well…and Moonshine if he behaves.”
“Don’t worry, Klein. We’ll make him behave and apologize to everyone,” Shiro grinned. “He’ll definitely be getting a stern talking to!”“And that’s the truth,” Kitsune frowned, crossing her arms and nodding.Silica looked to the group her eyes stopping on Shiro and Kitsune. “Just don’t scold him too harshly. I know it’s just a VR Dragon, but they're still very real to the players that own them. It just means he cares, and that is a good thing.”The group nodded with warm smiles as Klein patted her on the head. “We understand, Silica, but even then, the one that is hurting still has to realize the ones around them are not the ones that did it, so why treat them badly.”Silica nodded in understanding as the conversation was dropped. Kitsune and Shiro going back to work as the others enjoyed their food and light conversation. It wasn’t long, and the girls finished up then headed out to tackle quests for the evening, Klein tagging along and bragging about his accomplishments in Dragon Lance so far. Shiro sat at the counter thinking about Klein’s words. He definitely had to convince his stubborn brother to think before he created an even worse situation for himself.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twelve
Tsukiro Ashimitsu, the person behind the online persona known as Moonshine, logged out of his account on Gun Gale Online. He had spent about three hours on a tournament that he managed to join just minutes before it started. He won, of course, but he was a bit bummed that Sinon was playing on ALO instead of GGO. He would have liked to pick her brain about sniping. Or better yet, compete against her. Or even better than that, compete with her.No matter. He’d catch her next time. He took off his AmuSphere and pushed a hand through his medium length black hair that fell to mid neck. He looked almost identical to his Avi Moonshine except his hair was longer. After being freed from SAO, he didn’t get his extremely long hair cut until after he finished his physical therapy. By then, it had grown on him and he cut it just short enough to stay out of the way. He got it layered just enough for it to be wispy like Moonshine’s. In the end, he loved the hairstyle. His eyes in real life were bright blue, in contrast to Moonshine’s navy ones.Straightening his long-sleeved navy-blue V-neck shirt and black jeans, he moved from his and Kaori’s bed, who had apparently logged out of ALO and left somewhere as she usually laid down on the bed next to him when they played VRs. Kaori Shizuna was Kitsune’s player and his real-life girlfriend of seven years now, having already dated her for two years prior to Aincrad. Now that they were out of high school they lived together in their own apartment. Ryushiro Ashimitsu, Tsukiro’s brother, lived on the campus where he went to college.Walking over to the desk where the computer sat, he went to the web browser and logged onto his bank account. There, under recent transactions, was his deposit of 56,438 Yen ($500) labeled as “Credits to Cash Conversion – GGO.”Before the tournament, he had 643,800 Credits in-game. The tournament’s grand prize had a currency prize of 5,000,000 Credits, three exclusive weapons only available during that tournament, three dyes in limited edition colors, and a tournament-exclusive outfit that was designed in black and had the appearance of a military uniform. There was a black, long-sleeved shirt; a fitting, black jumpsuit with pockets on the chest and legs; black boots; a tactical belt that increased the inventory weight limit by 100 points; black fingerless gloves; a black patrol cap; a bulletproof vest accessory; and armor plating accessories for the arms, elbows, knees, and shins. One of the three weapons was an M82 Barrett 50 Caliber sniper rifle in green camouflage. When he won the weapon, he had hit the store to compare its specs with Sinon’s signature rifle, the PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II.The Barrett was visually and dimensionally similar to the URH2. It was even the same caliber: .50. Both were anti-materiel rifles. However, the Barrett was substantially stronger and had several key features the URH2 did not. The Barrett was a ten-round mag, whereas Sinon’s was only seven rounds. The Barrett was a semi-auto and the URH2 was a single shot. Its damage stat was through the roof. It was a hell of a lot lighter than the URH2 and slightly smaller. He had tapped on the field test footage panel of the Barrett and saw it blast a hole through a silicon dummy the size of a bowling ball. His jaw dropped when he saw the doll fall to pieces.It was then that he knew he had to give it to Sinon. He had no need for a sniper rifle like the Barrett. It wasn’t his style, but he knew it most certainly was Sinon’s. He absolutely had to give it to her. The next thing he did was convert his entire Credit balance to cash. His three hours in GGO left him feeling a hell of a lot better than he had in ALO.Before logging back on to head to Dragon Lance, he headed out into the kitchen to find Kaori had left him a late dinner of fried rice, fried tofu with sautéed veggies, and miso soup. There was also a note letting him know she was out doing some last-minute errands. He ate quickly then headed back to the bedroom to log into Dragon Lance.“Link start!”It was just at the break of dawn in Dragon Lance. He spawned in at the Inn he left his body at. The village the Inn was located in was called Deerhallow. It sat in the middle of Deer Grove, which was the Whitehaven part of the Wandering Woodland Forest that spanned from Whitehaven to Shroudland in the west. Deer Grove was also where Imera was killed.Moonshine in Dragon Lance was a Moon Elf and also a veterinarian of sorts for dragons. He healed and rehabilitated injured and/or abandoned dragons then released them back into their natural habitat. He was also well known in Tarragonia and was often called out to villages far and wide to help dragons in need. He loved the dragons in Tarragonia more than anything. So much so, he had developed two skills that aided him in his care of dragons. Tamer of Dragons and Summoner of Dragons.Tamer of Dragons allowed him to achieve a Friend status with any dragon, even a dragon that was hostile or already paired with another player, for the purposes of healing, training, and rehabilitation. This allowed him to easily gain the trust of the dragon in order to help them.The Summoner of Dragons skill allowed him to summon one of his befriended dragons per day to aid him in battle, journeying, or with resources. Dragons that could be summoned held a Comrade level with him but couldn’t be leveled up higher than that. These two skills helped him become one of the best dragon healers in the land.He also had a third skill that few knew about. And by few, he meant Kaori, Okamishiro, and Sir Aekin, the Twelfth Knight of the Mystic Dragons, and the breeder of Honeyfrost where Moonshine took many of his dragons to be bred. That skill was Animal Telepathy. He kept it hidden due to the fact that the dragons, and many other animals, had many secrets to tell that needed to be kept from the wrong hands.Moonshine was so adept with dragons, that two of them even chose to stay with him permanently. These two were a darkness dragon named Nychta and a light dragon, the late Imera. These two had been with him for most of his time in Dragon Lance and he had very nearly maxed out his bonds with them both. They went everywhere with him. He found both of them in their late adolescence, injured from an encounter with a poacher. He got them back to full health, and in the end, they stuck with him, pledging their loyalty to him in their own dragon ways.He sighed and ran his hand through his dark, midnight blue hair that was almost black. Like in ALO, his hair was shortish but longer in the front. His eyes in Dragon Lance closely matched his real-life eyes. He wore a sleeveless, black shirt with a low-rise turtleneck collar; black sleeves that started at his lower biceps and ended at his wrists; black pants; and black boots. He also wore a black short sleeveless jacket with a high collar and silver buckles. There was a matching swath of fabric around his waist that acted like the bottom of a trench coat. This bound to his pants by a black leather belt with a silver buckle. On his forearms, shins, and chest were silver armor plating. At the small of his back were two short swords and strapped to his belt were five throwing knives.Checking that he had everything, he sighed and opened his panel. He went to his friend's list and found his brother’s name. He messaged him quickly.“Tell me the location.”Three minutes later as he was walking out the front door of the Inn, he got a reply.“First I have to tell you something important.” The message read.He growled, walking and typing at the same time. “Brother, I love you dearly, but I need you to stop jerking me the Hell around. Tell me where they are.” He sent the message only to get a return message moments later.
“If you go on a manhunt for them, not only will you be branded a red player, the dragon items they drop will have no labels. You won’t be able to tell which items are Imera’s.”
Moonshine froze, someone behind him cursing as they had to swerve to avoid colliding with him on the street. Before he could respond to Okamishiro, his brother sent him another message.
“Also, if that’s not enough to convince you if you gather all of her parts together, you might be able to revive her. But you need her parts and a strong magic wielder. The only way you can do all this is to go to the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. They can help you. Please just go there first.”
“Who told you all this? Or did you find all this out yourself? When did you find this out?” Their next few messages came in rapid succession.
“Klein told me after you left.”
“Where are the slayers?”
“Tsuki-nii.”
“Just tell me!”
“… They were last seen in Deephallow, in the Shadow Thicket in Shroudland.”
Moonshine sighed. Shadow thicket was at least a day to a day and a half from where he was. Dawnmeadow was only a couple of hours. Then again, if he rode Nychta it would take no time at all to get to either village. And then there was everything else Okamishiro told him. He clenched his fists and cursed, resuming his walk to the edge of town. When he reached the exit, he traveled about half a mile south to a large clearing, so he was far enough away from the village for Nychta to land.A gale of heavy wind announced his arrival first, causing the trees surrounding the clearing to shake and the branches to shed their leaves. The grass rustled. When the dragon landed, the ground shook under Moonshine’s feet. Nychta was a monster of a dragon with pitch black, leathery scales; spines down his back and tail; pronged horns pointing back away from his head; blood red, glowing eyes; and huge bat-like wings with hooks on the radius.To anyone else, Nychta was a harbinger of death and destruction. An evil omen and a demon. But to Moonshine, he was his best friend, his protector, his partner, and part of his soul. He liked to think of Nychta as his dragon reincarnation. If he were dead that was.He approached Nychta with his hand outstretched. Immediately, the dragon lowered its massive head. Moonshine placed his hands underneath the dragon’s head and leaned his forehead against the spot between its eyes. Both of them closed their eyes. The dragon rumbled contentedly. Moonshine scratched the soft spot between either side of his jaw.“I don’t know what to do… If I go after her killers, I could stand to lose a lot more than I would gain. But if I seek out the Knights, I might be chasing a rumor. But if there’s even the slightest chance I can bring her back…”Which would you regret the least, Master? Nychta’s deep, gravelly voice announced in his mind.Moonshine was silent for a moment. That was an easy decision. “I want her back. I miss her.”As do I, Master.Moonshine lifted his head and opened his eyes with a nod, looking into Nychta’s crimson ones. “Then we go to Dawnmeadow. I will speak with the Knights of the Mystic Dragon.”He went to his inventory and pulled out a wicker basket. The basket fell to the ground. Next, he filled it up with all of Nychta’s favorites: King salmon, porterhouse steak, venison, and lamb. He knew he had been spoiling Nychta for the past three days since Imera was killed, but he couldn’t help it.He smiled up at Nychta. “Here you go, big guy. Eat up. I’ll be in the village for a while. We’ll leave in a couple hours.”Nychta nosed Moonshine’s cheek and snorted in his face, which was the dragon’s favorite way of showing affection. Moonshine coughed and gagged, waving his hand in front of his face. “I really need to find out if there are breath mints in this game. Damn, dragon breath is rank.”Nychta made a rumbling noise deep in his chest, laughing at his master. Moonshine rolled his eyes and rubbed the dragons head as he ate. “I’ll see you later.” He turned and headed back to the village entrance, leaving Nychta to eat in peace.---While in the world of reality, Jeffery stepped up to the bedroom door of his sister, Ashley. He had gotten a PM from Aaron asking if he knew when Ashley was signing into Dragon Lance. He was not sure when she was doing this so before he messaged him back, he went down to her room to ask her. It was already ten in the morning for them, and she was still in bed. Or at least he believed she was still in bed. He had not seen her out of her room since he got up at seven this morning. So to verify his thoughts he went to investigate.Knocking on her door he waited for her reply for him to come in. When she did not respond he slowly and quietly opened the door seeing her laying in her bed, she was still wearing her headgear. His eyes drifted from her to her computer sitting at her desk. It was on. She was still in the game, but what game. Quietly he stepped into the room and snuck over to her desktop taking a seat as he woke up the monitor. Sitting erect as he blinked a few times.There on the screen was a village map. Looking to the lower right corner of the screen he saw the village was Slycrest.“What is she doing in Slycrest?” He mumbled to himself as his eyes drifted to the top right corner of the screen. “Who the hell is Celty?” His hand covering his mouth when he spoke a little louder than he expected, he turned to look at his sister that still remained silent on her bed. He turned back to the monitor just as it dawned on him who Celty was as he quickly looked back to his sister. “You’re Celty?!” His words were at a whisper.Turning back to the monitor once more, he panned the map to see where Celty’s location was. As he moved the map around, he saw a small red blinking dot appear on the map. Hovering the cursor over it, a small window opened.“She is sleeping at the Slycrest Inn and Eatery?!” He blinked a few times when he noticed a ‘plus one’ that was staying in the room with her. He covered his mouth and snickered. “Aww, how sweet, she is with Creed.”After he found out what he needed, he exited the room as silently as he entered, returning back to his room to message Aaron back.---It was a little after ten-thirty in the morning as Celty stirred in bed next to Kirito. As her eyes opened, the first thing she saw was the dull brown of the ceiling as the soft glow of sunlight beamed through the small window in the room. She must not have moved in the slightest while she slept. As she went to push up in the bed, she realized Kirito’s arm was resting across her abdomen, looking over at him she chuckled softly when she saw him next to her. He was face down in the bed with the pillow over his head, one leg hanging over the edge. He was still fast asleep. Suddenly out in the hall of the Inn, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps and the Innkeeper informing someone that they could not go banging on the doors of the patrons. Celty’s head shook with the thought of ‘how rude’ crossed her mind. That was until she heard Creed’s voice.“I know she is in one of these rooms, and if knocking on every door here is what I have to do then I will. I will find her!” Creed growled.Just then, a heavy hand fell to their door as Celty’s heart skipped a beat and Kirito sprung up in bed, the pillow over his head getting flung to the floor as he sat back on bended knee and one foot to the floor. He mumbled something incoherent then fell face first back into the bed. Sitting up as her feet slid to the floor, Celty looked back at Kirito, hearing him mumbling as he patted the bed as if he was looking for something. As his hand touched her pillow, his hand clenched around the casing and pulled it over his head. Creed’s heavy hand pounded the door once more.She sighed and pushed up off the bed walking toward the door. “Stop trying to knock the door in. I am coming.” She heard Creed growl and the shuffling of feet as she unlocked the door, slightly opened it and stepped out in the hall with him, closing the door behind her.“What are you doing here, Creed, and what do you want?” Celty asked him.He stood frozen as he looked at her standing there with her arm in a sling and a brace on her shoulder. “Wh…what happened?” Creed asked his tone changed from anger to worry. He reached for her going to set his hands to her shoulders but hesitated with the right shoulder as he let his hand gently rest to the side of her arm.“I was clotheslined by a tree limb while riding Cloud.” She looked to her shoulder that was now starting to ache. “I dislocated my shoulder and fractured my arm.”“How the Hell fast did you have him moving?” Creed questioned.“He was at a full run, and with the mess of the Sensitivity being maxed it really messed me up. In game and IRL.”Creed nodded his head slowly. “I saw the announcement when I signed in this morning.” He fell silent as a guilty feeling washed over him as his hands fell from Celty’s person. “I’m sorry I was not here to help you.”“It’s fine, I was able to reach Kirito. With the time differences, we both live in he was still on, so I messaged him. He took me to the doctor and stayed with me last night because I demanded to remain in game because of the pain. He was worried about me since I had been signed-in for the biggest part of the day.”Creed lifted a hand combing his fingers through his long dark blue hair as he looked to the floorboards. “I’m sorry Celty, I am such a jerk.”“I know you are,” Celty replied with a smirk as she looked on at him. “I know what you thought when you came up here to bang on the door.” Her good arm lifted as she let it rest to the center of his chest. She patted Creed’s chest lightly. “I am glad you care Creed, but you care a little too much. At least for me,” she sighed softly as she let her eyes lower from his.“I have feelings for another, Creed.” She looked quickly back up at him. “And no, it is not Kirito. It’s someone I have known here in Dragon Lance for a very long time. And until I know if he shares the same feelings for me...” She paused as her hand moved to cup his cheek. “There can never be anything between us.”Creed nodded his head slowly as he let his hand rest over hers that was to his cheek. “You can’t like… ask him to move this along.”Celty chuckled lightly. “I wish it were that easy, but you know how it is.”Creed nodded his head as he took her hand in his and lowered it between them. He looked at their joined hands, then looked up into her eyes. “I will wait for you. No matter how long it takes. I will wait for you, and if this other guy treats you any other way than like the Queen you are. I will rip off his head and stick it on a pike.”Celty chuckled lightly as she looked away from him shyly. “Thank you, Creed.” She let her hand slide from his as she wrapped her good arm around him and gave him a tender hug. “I am so glad you’re on my side.”“Always,” He told her wrapping both his arms around her hugging her as tightly as he could without hurting her.Breaking from the hug she looked at him still smiling. “I need to take my medicine and log out. I need food in a bad way and I am sure a shower.” The two shared a chuckle as she looked back at the door of the room, then back to Creed. “Could you do me a favor?”“Sure, what do you need?” Creed asked her.“Kirito needs to be at a meeting the Knights of the Mystic Dragon are having at 2 today. Could you make sure he is awake and headed that way in time, so he is not late? I don’t know if I will be coming back today, and I would not want him to miss the meeting.”“Sure, not an issue. I will wake him about noon, so he can clean up and maybe return to reality for a bit before he has to be there.” Creed told her.“Thank you, Creed,” Celty said giving him another hug. Stepping back from the embrace once more she opened her panel and removed the potion the doctor gave her. Taking a sip, she returned it back to her inventory. She looked over at Creed with a warm smile. “If I come back on, I will message you if I see you’re on.”Creed shook his head. “Stay home. You need to rest, you have had a rough two days and I have things I have to do IRL today. I will hang out until I have to wake Kirito then I have to take off.”Celty nodded her head slowly. “Thank you again, Creed and I will see you tomorrow then.”“Bye, Celty,” Creed told her leaning in a kissing her cheek before she signed out of the game.Creed then took his leave of the hall going down to the Pub to grab a bite to eat and wait for twelve o’clock to roll around.---Tsukiro woke up to a buzzing underneath his pillow. He yawned and detached himself from his hold he had on Kaori, who was fast asleep still. He fished out his phone and looked at the time. It was two in the morning. Which meant it was time to log back into Dragon Lance to go meet with the Mystic Dragons. He grunted as he lifted himself out of bed. He went to the computer and woke it up, fiddling around with it until he opened the Dragon Lance game.“Tsuki?” He heard Kaori say sleepily.He turned around to see her sitting up. “Hey. Sorry, I woke you.”She shook her head. “Dragon Lance?” He nodded, turning back to the computer. “I’ll go with you.”Tsukiro turned back to her. “No, you don’t have to. Go back to sleep if you want.”“No, I want to,” she said as she pulled out her phone and leaned over the side of the bed to pull out her laptop. “I’ll text Ryushiro and tell him to hop on too. I’m sure he’ll want to be there too. And he doesn’t have any homework due yet and neither do we.”“Alright. I’ll meet you two in Dawnmeadow in an hour. I’m in Deerhallow, but I’ll be riding Nychta there. It won’t take me long to get there.” Tsukiro started up the game then turned on his AmuSphere. He led the cord over to the bed and set it down on his pillow before going back to the desk to get Kaori’s.Kaori nodded, taking her headgear from Tsukiro. She hooked it up and started the game’s login screen. She texted Ryushiro and told him the details before putting her phone under her pillow with Tsukiro’s. The two of them put on their headgear and laid down on the bed. They took each other’s hand, lacing their fingers like they always did. When they first started playing SAO, they had laid next to each other and held hands. And so it became their game time ritual. A good luck charm of sorts, and a way to link them together, even when they weren’t in the same game or the same space.“Link start.”About ten minutes after he returned to Dragon Lance, Moonshine made his way back to the clearing where Nychta was. The dragon was sleeping soundly, the wicker basket broken and the meat gone. He was curled up with his head on his massive paws. The dragon’s snoring sounded like the rumbling of a volcano mixed with the growl of a lion. He walked up slowly to Nychta and crouched down on the ground near his head. He ran his hand down the leathery scales on his snout. The dragon snorted and flicked open one eye.“Hey, sleepyhead,” Moonshine grinned at him. “Enjoy your nap after your meal?”Nychta raised his head and opened his maw to let out a huge yawn, blowing hot, dragon breath at Moonshine like a scorching summer wind. Moonshine closed his eyes tight and backed up, putting his hands in front of his face. He coughed and gagged the same as earlier. He bent over, placing his hands on his knees.“You really need a breath mint! Your breath smells like straight up death!”Nychta rose to his feet, stretching his body and cracking his joints. Do you not remember Fiera? The fire dragon with rotted teeth you treated four months ago?Moonshine put his hand to his mouth, shaking his head. “Don’t remind me. It was then that I learned what a dragon with truly rotten breath was like. You just like smelly meats. Fiera’s breath smelled like a mixture of rotten eggs, sulfur, decayed corpses, and burnt flesh. I didn’t even know that was possible for a dragon.”Dragons always regrow their teeth. The problem becomes when their old teeth do not fall out fast enough to make room for the new ones, Nychta grunted. Animal bones usually keep our teeth clean.“Speaking of which,” Moonshine opened his inventory and dropped several animal bones he had scavenged from hunting a while ago. “Eat up. I don’t want your breath anymore revolting than it already is.”Nychta let out a rumbling laugh and gobbled up the bones, crushing them with his teeth until they were splinters, then dust. He gave a satisfied hum, deep in his chest. Mmm. Marrow.Moonshine rolled his eyes with a smile. “Well, then. If you’re done, we have some Knights to see.”Nychta lowered his body to the ground and folded his wings up tight, exposing his neck to his master. Moonshine took out a climbing rope with a hook at either end from his inventory. He spun one of the hooked ends of the rope in his hand before tossing it up and around one of Nychta’s horns. He caught the hook and locked it around the length of rope, giving it a tug so the loop he created was tight around Nychta’s horn. He took the other end and wrapped it around his waist and locked that end as well, tying himself to his dragon’s horn. He tugged on the rope, making sure it was secure before he climbed up Nychta’s neck to the spot on his head between his horns.He knelt down on one knee, placing his hands on the dragon’s horns, the rope still connecting them both. “Alright. Let’s fly! To Dawnmeadow!”Nychta rose up from the ground to his full height, unfurled his wings, and with an earth-shaking roar, took to the skies with a powerful beat of his wings.---“Thank god he listened to me!”
Okamishiro
sighed as he and Kitsune walked through Dawnmeadow towards Whitehaven Castle. “I was afraid he was too far gone in his quest for revenge.”“So was I,” Kitsune nodded.In Dragon Lance, Okamishiro was a Sky Elf and Kitsune was an animal fairy.
Okamishiro’s Avi aided him in his personal style of playing that he adapted from their SAO days.
Okamishiro’s favorite way to play was to learn as much as he possibly could about the game. He was a scholar of sorts, traveling around so he could learn whatever he could about the world of Tarragonia. He recorded those findings in books and journals and sold them to stores and donated them to libraries. If someone wanted to know something, they usually came to him. His brother included.Unlike in ALO, Okamishiro was able to keep his natural snow-white hair color and his violet eye color. His hair was about as long as Moonshine’s in-game but thicker and a lot wispier. He wore white and powder blue robes fitting of a traveling scholar.Kitsune’s animal fairy Avi helped her aid Moonshine’s work as a veterinarian. She could speak to animals as well and could even shapeshift into them. She, like Moonshine, was a beastmaster, and while her boyfriend specialized in dragons, she specialized in everything else. Which meant that she could speak to all animals except for dragons.Kitsune’s hair as an animal fairy was a burnt orange color with white tips like a fox. Her eyes were yellow with cat-eye pupils. She wore a brownish-orange crop top that was off the shoulders with long, trailing sleeves. Her skirt was folded in several places and matched in color, falling down to about her knees and trailing down to her calves in the back. Her feet were wrapped in white cloth, leaving her mostly barefoot. Shimmering golden wings were folded downwards on her back.Neither of them had dragons. Kitsune had gotten her fill of dragons from Moonshine, and for Okamishiro, they would have just been a nuisance to him. He would just end up neglecting them, which would piss off Moonshine to no end. And so they both remained dragon-less.Okamishiro
looked up at the sky, casting his eyes around as he hoped to spot the black dragon. “I don’t see him yet.”“It’s only been about fifteen minutes. He should be here by the time we get into the castle grounds,” Kitsune looked up as well.“Knowing him, he’ll probably show up fashionably late and make a grand entrance,”
Okamishiro
sighed, raising his hands, though he was secretly amused.“Does he ever not do that?” Kitsune laughed.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Thirteen
It was twenty minutes after two, as Tanya stood at the large oak table in the Conference Hall. The meeting was well on its way as she relayed the information she had received on the Western Guild, Illusion of the Serpent. She was drawing to a close with the information as the Knights sat around the table with keen ears taking it all in. The emotions they were displaying were a mix of anger, annoyance, and outright rage and they were running high.“This is an outrage!” Sir Theicien bellowed as he shot up out of his chair.“Agreed!” Lady Zirathie spoke up next. “I motion that we move before they have a chance.”“Their blatant threats against Lady Tanya is enough to set my blood to boiling,” Sir Luthien growled.Aaron stood, his hands motioning in gesture for them to calm and quiet down. “Listen, I understand that every one of you has a right to be in an outrage over this. Illusions of the Serpent has done nothing but use us in the last 7 months, and trust me it will come to an end.” He looked around the table. “Though right now, we have an issue with the Dragon Slayers they have appointed to try and get to the Divine Dragons. They are taking free reign in killing any dragon they come across. They have to be stopped before they can kill more.”
Klein raised his hand and stood up. He stood tall amongst the knights. “If I may interject. I have something to add.”“Is that so?” Aaron nodded to Klein. “Then continue, Grandmaster Klein.”Klein nodded. “Some odd hours earlier in the game known as ALfheim Online, I chatted with a fellow veteran of SAO. He has been very dedicated to this game for the past couple of years. You may even know of him. His name is Moonshine.”There were murmurs of recognition around the table as people recalled the player Klein spoke of.Klein continued. “As you may or may not know, Moonshine has two dragons. Well, he had two. A darkness dragon named Nychta, and a light dragon named Imera. Three days ago, three of the members of the Dragon Slayers guild led him into a trap with reports of an injured dragon. They took advantage of this and poisoned and killed Imera. Since then he has been on the hunt for these three slayers.”“I myself am familiar with this,” Sir Aekin sighed, shaking his head. “I am an acquaintance of Moonshine myself. He brings many of his rehabilitated dragons to my ranch in Honeyfrost for breeding. He is a very, very skilled veterinarian specializing in dragons. He has quite a way with them. I dare say he loves dragons more than Lady Tanya.” Aekin smiled sheepishly and chuckled at Tanya. “No offense to you, Lady Tanya. Moonshine is hellbent on revenge. Even to the point of risking his reputation to avenge Imera’s death. No, her murder.”Klein nodded firmly. “Yes, and I warned him against that exact thing. He should be coming to us, not risking everything on his own. As such, his brother, Okamishiro the Sky Elf scholar, has tried to convince him to ask for our help. If Okamishiro was successful in convincing his brother, he should be on his way here, if not here already.”Aekin laughed loudly, tossing his head back and slapping the table. “Oh, you’ll know when he’s here! That Nychta is a beast alright. He looks like a god of death, but he’s surprisingly gentle for a monster.” He chuckled and shook his head. “God awful breath though.”Tanya looked to Sir Aekin with a warm smile. “I do hope he does come to us for assistance. I would hate to see him risk his reputation when there are ways around this and he can still achieve his goal.” She looked to Klein when she felt his hand rest to her shoulder.Motioning for her to come closer he whispered in her ear. “You might want Kirito to take leave if he does show up. I heard rumor that Moonshine has some sorta beef with him.”Tanya gave Klein a confused look with a tilt of her head. “This Moonshine will behave himself in my court or he will deal with me.”Klein chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. “Good luck with that one. He is more bullheaded than Dueler.”Before Tanya could reply to that statement and knock echoed through the Hall. She looked to the doors as their Herald, Alickath, entered the room bowing to his leader and the Knights.“Lady Tanya, please forgive the interruption, but there is a party of three. Two Elves, a Sky and a Moon Elf, and they’re traveling with a female Animal Fairy. They request audience with you and the Knights.” Alickath informed her and the others.“That would be Moonshine and his group,” Aekin spoke up as he looked to Tanya.Tanya nodded as she looked back to Alickath. “Send them up, Alickath.”“Yes, Ma’am,” Alickath replied as he backed out of the room closing the door behind him.Tanya looked around the table. “Are there any other prying questions you want answered before our visitors arrive?”When the room remained silent, Tanya nodded her head slowly. “Alright then, we will cover the rest of business once we have spoken to our visitors.” As Tanya took her seat next to Aaron. She looked to him as the two talked of what their next course of action might be against the Western Guild, Illusions of the Serpent.---Moonshine followed the Herald closely and quickly as he led him, Okamishiro, and Kitsune through the castle to the meeting hall. He was prepared to do whatever he had to in order to get justice for Imera. He much rather would take them out himself, but if this could lead to Imera’s resurrection, it was a minuscule price to pay.The hall doors opened, revealing all of the knights, including Klein and Aekin. The three of them walked in and the doors closed behind him. Moonshine took a deep breath and pushed all of the anger and bloodthirst deep down inside him.He bowed to the knights. “Knights of the Mystic Dragon. I thank you for seeing me on such short notice and so unannounced.” He rose up straight and continued. “I’m sure you all were made aware of what transpired three days ago.”Remaining seated Tanya looked to Moonshine and the other two with him. “Yes, as a matter of fact, we were just talking about you before you were announced. I am sure I already know what you are seeking from us.” She looked to the other two with him. “But I am afraid that I can only grant your request for the one that owned the dragon.”
“That’s all I need,” Moonshine nodded. “Imera was mine and mine alone. She and Nychta are two halves of my soul. Nothing would make me happier than if those murderers died by my hand and my hand alone.” He clenched his fists tight, his body shaking with rage. “Also… I was told that your guild may hold a secret. The secret to reviving a dead dragon. If you know of such a thing…”Moonshine lowered himself to his knees, placing his hands on the ground and groveling. “Please… Name your price. I’ll pay anything… I’ll give you anything you want. I just want her back. Nychta and I both do. Please, if there’s a way such a thing is possible… please help me.”Cerberus looked to Tanya as she nodded her head and he stepped up to the Moon Elf. “There is away, but if the Slayer has used or disposed of any part of her it will not work…” He fell silent for a short second. “And we will need her body. Be it ash or whole.”Moonshine stood to his feet and grasped the alchemist by his arms. “I have her body!”Kitsune whacked him on the back of the head. “Calm down, dummy! Let him go before you scare the hell out of the poor boy.”Moonshine released the alchemist and stepped back. “S-sorry. I haven’t cremated her yet. I wanted her entire body cremated together to make sure her soul was put to rest properly. That’s another reason why I wanted her parts back. I wasn’t even going to make armor or weapons or potions out of them. I just wanted her put to rest. But if we can bring her back…”Okamishiro spoke up next. “I don’t imagine those slayers would be able to find blacksmiths and weaponsmiths willing to craft items for black players so quickly. Surely not in three days. There are not many who would help out DK players. They’re probably still looking for smiths strong enough to craft dragon items and who wouldn’t care about their status. Nor would they simply discard such valuable parts.” Okamishiro shook his head. “No, I imagine they still have Imera’s parts untouched.”Aaron stood as he looked to the white-haired boy. “I am sorry to announce that there is a possibility that there could be a Smith out there that will or has helped them out. Maybe even a Magic Wielder of some kind.” Aaron fell silent with the look of rage that crossed the Moon Elf’s face.Aaron’s hand lifted slowly in his defense. “Hear me out, Moonshine. I do not want you getting too worked up over this news on reviving your dragon. Information has come to us that the Western Guild has broken the treaty with us. They are the ones that have banded the Dragon Slayers together. With this bit of information, there is a good possibility that they have acquired Smiths and Magic Wielders just as immoral as they are.”“All the more reason for us to do this now!” Moonshine said with urgency. “My brother told me the last location of the slayers responsible for Imera’s death was Deephallow in Shroudland. I can get there relatively quickly by riding Nychta, but the more time we waste, the more opportunity they have to defile Imera’s parts.”Tanya stood quickly shaking her head. “I am sorry Moonshine, but none of my Knights will proceed into battle until the glitch of the Sensitivity problem is fixed. It puts the player into danger IRL if they are injured too severely. I understand your impatience and wanting to end this as quick as possible, but I will not risk the lives of my Knights.” She fell silent for a brief second remembering a tidbit of information she learned about Moonshine. “I am sure as a veteran SAO player you understand my decision here.”
Moonshine laughed humorlessly. “Pardon my rudeness, Lady Tanya, but what a stupid thing to say.” He ignored the grumbles of displeasure from the knights. He looked up at her. “Yes, you are right. I know better than most that no video game is worth someone’s real life. I refused to fight on the frontlines in Aincrad because of that simple fact. I was not willing to risk my life, not my brother’s life, and not the love of my life for a stupid game. If I were to ask anyone else to risk their life for me regardless of that fact, I would be the most undeserving VRMMO player in the world.”He shook his head at all of them. “I’m not asking you to risk your lives for me or my dragon. Hell, some of you may think I’m a damned fool for wanting to risk my own life for a ‘virtual pet.’ Not many in this game, despite the game’s theme, care too much about the dragons. They’re just NPCs to them. But like many of the NPCs in this game, their intelligence goes way beyond basic AI. They are not just ‘pets’ to me, but I don’t expect anyone else to fight for that belief on my behalf.”Moonshine looked back to Tanya. “If it so concerns you, I will fly ahead to Deephallow. I will send Nychta back, and when you all are content that your lives are no longer in jeopardy, he will carry whoever needs an express ride. That is my offer to you, Lady Tanya.”Tanya looked around at her Knights as Kirito stood and looked at her. “I will go with Moonshine to fight with him and the Knights you send to do the same.”“Kirito, to do that you will have to be one of the Guild members,” Tanya told him.“Then make me a member,” Kirito told her.Tanya froze in place as she looked on at Kirito, but before she could speak, two other Knights spoke up to volunteer.“I will go,” Aekin spoke up.“Count me in as well,” Klein announced as he stood.Tanya looked at the men that spoke up and nodded her head. Her eyes then moved around the table again. “Are there any others that would like to go along. There are three Dragon Slayers still out there to our knowledge. I don’t want any surprises. I want a group of at least 6 men on this mission.”“I will go, Lady Tanya,” Ninth Knight, Sir Daurith, a stout man with black, shoulder-length messy hair and dark brown eyes spoke up.Aaron looked to her and smiled as he took her hand in his and stood. “Lady Tanya and I will be accompanying you as well, Moonshine.”“Aaron…” Tanya spoke softly with a surprised look in her eyes as his head turned to look at her.“I can see it in your eyes, my Lady. You want this bastard done away with just as badly as Moonshine does.” Aaron informed her as he continued. “And I know if the final man does not step up you would take that last position. However, I will not allow you to go without me.”“If I may,” Cerberus stepped up as he looked to their leader. “I would like to leave ahead with Moonshine. If this is what he truly wishes is to bring Imera back to the living, there is much he and I need to discuss.” He looked to Moonshine and nodded his head. “If he does not mind the company that is.”Tanya looked to Moonshine waiting for his reply on Cerberus’ request.
Moonshine grinned at the alchemist. “I’d be delighted to have you. If you don’t mind riding a three-story beast that is. Don’t worry. No mid-air tricks. Though you won’t be in a saddle.”Cerberus’ eyes lit up as he looked to Tanya then back to Moonshine, he tried to keep his excitement in check but failed. “I can’t wait! I have never ridden on one before! I can’t wait to get Dueler to that level.” When he heard Tanya clear her throat, he composed himself and bowed to Moonshine. “That will be fine. I will retrieve what is needed and meet you in the courtyard of the castle.” Cerberus then turned to Tanya, Aaron, and Klein and bowed, turned again and made a path toward the large double doors of the Hall to exit.Tanya looked at the man that called himself Moonshine. She was worried about her little brother with the Sensitivity settings still being a mess. “Moonshine,” she called his name as he turned and looked at her from one of his companions.“Take care of my little--" She stopped speaking suddenly as she covered her mouth with a loosely clenched fist and cleared her throat. “Take care of my Advisor; Cerberus means a lot to me and the others here at the Knights of the Mystic Dragon.”
Tanya’s slip up did not get past Moonshine. He knew what she was going to finish with. After all, he was an older sibling as well. He smiled confidently at her, placing his fist over his heart. “Don’t worry, Lady Tanya. Your beloved alchemist will be safe with Nychta and I. Though I can’t say the same for his excited heart.”Moonshine bowed and turned towards the door. “Thank you for your help. I will see those of you staying behind in Deephallow.”After exiting the hall, Okamishiro turned towards the Knights. “I will stay behind as well if you don’t mind. I would like to take notes and gather all the information I can from this meeting if you’ll so allow me.”“I will stay as well,” Kitsune nodded.Alickath looked at the three as his head nodded slightly as he held the door for them. “Lady Tanya would be honored to have you remain, Sir Okamishiro, Lady Kitsune.”The two nodded and took a place along one of the side walls, away from the door.---In the courtyard, Moonshine waited next to Nychta, leaning against the dragon’s neck and scratching the side of his face. He wasn’t sure what the alchemist Cerberus was going to tell him about the possibility of resurrecting Imera, but he hoped it was good. He sighed as he looked up at the sky.“I hope everything turns out well. I don’t want all of this to be for nothing.”Nychta snorted in agreement but was otherwise silent.When Cerberus trotted up to Moonshine all he could do was look up at the beast called Nychta. “WOW! He is like 10 of my little Dueler!” He looked to Moonshine with a wide smile. “He is one of the largest of the Species, right? The Dark Dragon?”Moonshine grinned and stood up straight. “He sure is.” He looked back at Nychta. “Nychta. Say hello to the tiny alchemist.”Nychta stood up to his full height and craned his neck around to look at Cerberus. He gave him a toothy smile then snorted in his face.Cerberus wrinkled his nose, waving a hand in front of his face. “They need to make dragon toothbrushes. Though,” he looked at Moonshine. “My sister, Lady Tanya? She gives Musashi a branch off a Sassafras tree to chew on and it works great for him.”Moonshine scratched his cheek with a hum. “Sassafras, huh?” He turned and looked up at Nychta. “Think we’ll pass up a sassafras tree on the way there?”The dragon gave a throaty rumble and opened his maw, running his tongue along his razor-sharp teeth.Moonshine laughed, shaking his head. “Well then if we pass one up, you can dip down and rip off a branch, okay?”Nychta turned his head again and stuck out his tongue, licking up the side of Cerberus’ face, causing his hair to stick up and a thick string of dragon saliva to drip off his face. Nychta laughed at the kid’s horrified expression, the sound coming as a loud rumble that sounded like boulders tumbling off a cliff.Moonshine bit his lips in an effort to keep from laughing. He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Cerberus. “Aw… He likes you.”Cerberus chuckled softly as he wiped off the Dragon drool. “So I see.” He chuckled a little more and handed Moonshine back his handkerchief. Moonshine only shaking his head with a disgusted look on his face as he waved a refusing hand at him. Cerberus laughed as he handed it off to one of the men standing around.“Get rid of that,” Cerberus told them.“Yes, sir,” The Soldier reply as he ran off to throw the handkerchief away.Cerberus looked back to Moonshine with a bright smile. “I am ready when you two are,” He told him as he patted down his hair.Moonshine nodded and pulled his climbing rope out of his inventory. Nychta lowered himself back down to the ground. Moonshine tossed the rope up and around his horn and secured it. He wrapped the other end around Cerberus’ waist and secured that end.“Alright. I’ll climb up first, then you follow my lead. Keep that rope around your waist until we land. If you slip off, the rope will catch you. Though most often Nychta will catch you before the rope does. He’s a good catch, so don’t worry. The spot between his horns is the safest. Don’t move around too much. Keep hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times.”Nychta turned around and snorted in annoyance at Moonshine. “I’m kidding! Jeez.”Moonshine turned back to Cerberus. “Any questions?”“Yeah, Nychta won’t attack Dueler if he tries to follow us, will he? If Dueler smells my scent traveling off or sees me leaving, he might try to follow.”
“Dueler will be fine. Nychta’s a good boy. He recognizes friend from foe. He’ll smell that the two of you are connected. Nychta only attacks when I tell him to or when someone attacks me, himself, or someone I’m close to,” Moonshine shook his head.He turned towards Nychta and grabbed the rope. He climbed up to his usual spot then turned around and looked down at Cerberus. “Alright, come on up.”Cerberus scaled the rope getting up to where Moonshine was and did as he did to secure himself for the ride to Deephallow. When he was done, he looked to Moonshine. “Did I do it right?”Moonshine smiled and nodded. “Yup, you did good. Now hang tight. Since this is your first time riding a dragon, you might want to get friendly with his horn. That’s the best place to hang on to.”When Cerberus nodded and hung onto Nychta’s horn, Moonshine reached down and patted the top of Nychta’s head. “Alright, let’s go!”In one smooth motion, Nychta rose up beating his wings to send them airborne. He gave a few more powerful beats of his wings until they were high enough to soar across the tops of the trees. Nychta turned west and sailed off like a jet through the sky. Moonshine and Cerberus’ hair flew back wildly at the wind as Nychta flew.Moonshine turned and smiled at Cerberus. “Better than a plane huh?”“This is amazing!!” Cerberus yelled out excitedly as his hair plastered back against his skull and he clung tightly to Nychta’s horn. “WOOOHOOO!!” Cerberus cried out as he started to laugh, looking over at Moonshine with a huge overjoyed grin across his face.He heard Moonshine chuckle as they flew off toward Deephallow gaining altitude the further they flew West.---Back at the Whitehaven castle a couple of the Knights, at Tanya’s command, had retrieved a couple of chairs for Okamishiro and Kitsune. Tanya offering them a place at the table with them. Once they were settled at the table Tanya picked up where they had left off.“Back to business, shall we?” The Knights around the table nodded as she continued. “As I am sure you are all aware… the Sensitivity Settings has a glitch. It has been maxed out since sometime early evening, yesterday.” She looked around the table at all the Knight that served her Guild.“I know I can only request this of you, but with the information, I have gathered on this incident and the severity that this can cause on the body IRL. I am asking all of you to please refrain from any type of activity until this glitch is put behind us.”She looked over to Kirito as he stood with a nod of head. He looked to the Knights around the table. “My name is Kirito and though I am still a noob here in Dragon Lance. I have a few good friends that play this game. One of them the Grandmaster Knight within your Guild, the other an informant that I am sure more than a few of you have used to find or get information when you could not.” His eyes slowly worked around the table. “Last night the informant, my friend, was hurt as she was coming back with the information that was given to Lady Tanya about the Western Guild and their betrayal. She was injured badly enough that it caused her intense pain IRL. The NPC doctor I took her to, to have her examined relayed concerning medical issues this glitch could cause to the player even though it is their Avi that is injured.”
Sir Adoth, the fourth knight, grunted, his arms crossed. “You speak as if this is a matter of life or death. This isn’t Aincrad. This is Tarragonia. Two completely different games. The fear of SAO has come and gone.”Sir Dalehar nodded. “Agreed. Games can’t kill players anymore. Those incidences were resolved a long time ago. There are too many safeguards in place nowadays.”Lady Adiv laughed half-heartedly. “You can’t honestly think that humans are perfect. Humans are the most imperfect beings. They screw up, and they screw up often. A glitch isn’t completely out of question. One wrong code and the whole system gets fried. Or worse.”Kirito looked at the fourth Knight. “Have you ever turned up your sensitivity, Sir Adoth?” He looked around the table. “Have any of you ever turned up your sensitivity?”As he looked around the table, he saw all their heads shake, only Tanya’s was nodding. “Lady Tanya, would you like to explain to them what it feels like to have it turned up in game.”Tanya stood again as she looked to her Knights. “My sensitivity is at 50% at all times. So if I am stabbed, bitten, thrown across two football fields or dropped from a five-story building or higher. I feel the pain that comes along with it. It’s not as intense as if it were real life, but it’s not the dead dull feeling that all of you experience when you have been hurt.”As Tanya explained, whispers circled around the table with the same question. ‘Why would she do this?’Before she could explain further, Kirito stepped back into the conversation. “With the sensitivity maxed out. Any injury your Avi suffers in game, your body will suffer IRL. IRL, you won’t bleed, you won’t suffer broken bones, you may not even suffer as much as a bruise, but that is not the issue here. The issue is what your brain believes to be true, and if the injury is too severe it could place your body into shock, which in turn can kill you if not treated immediately.”A clamor rose around the table as Tanya pounded the hilt of her sword to the tabletop. “Now that you understand why I requested this. I ask again, please refrain from any activities. At least dangerous ones, until this is fixed.”After the talk of the glitch situation, the meeting came to an end with Tanya informing them of the Dragon Slayer mission once more. “Once the glitch is in order, I will contact the ones that are involved. There will be Transport Stones readily available for our quick arrival and departure once the situation is under control and the three remaining Dragon Slayers are captured or done away with.”As heads nodded, the Knights cleared out of the Hall rather quickly. Except for Tanya, Aaron, Klein, Kirito, Okamishiro, and Kitsune. With that, the six of them gathered around at one end of the table.“Now that I can do this,” Tanya walked up to Kitsune and Okamishiro and offered her hand. “It is nice to meet you.” She smiled brightly at the two as she shook hands with Kitsune then offered her hand to Okamishiro.“I am so glad you could help Moonshine. He was about to drive us all crazy with the death of Imera,” Kitsune sighed with a shake of her head.“He really is very attached to his dragons, as I’m sure you can understand,” Okamishiro smiled sadly. “Thank you so very much for helping him, even though you didn’t have to.”Tanya nodded her head slowly. “If it were Musashi, heads would roll. So yes, I can understand his heartache and frustration over this.” She gestured back to the table for them all to have a seat.As they all sat back down and got comfortable the sound of wings disrupted the sound of chair legs scraping across the stone floor. Everyone looked up to see if a bird flew in the room. All of them, except Tanya and Aaron. When they heard the small screech of a young dragon, they knew exactly who had flown into the Conference Hall.It was Shee, the newly born Iridescent dragon to the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. She was snow-white and glistened like new snow in the sunlight. The insides of her wings were pearl iridescent colored. Her eyes a sparkling teal with slightly twisted ears with tufts of fur on the tips. She was only two weeks old, but you could already see evidence of where her stones would grow in along her jaw and the top part of her eye sockets, as well as from the base of the back of her ears to the tips. When they did, they would be like iridescent opals. She also had two long horns on her head between her ears that were slender and smooth like bone, but clear like ice made from pure water. Her talons had the same icy appearance.“Shee,” Tanya called out to her as she flew around the large room. After a few more seconds the dragon landed on top of Tanya’s head. She was no bigger than a small house cat, and you could tell she was still very young.The ones in the room chuckled lightly as Shee gave a very soft growl that sounded more like a purr. Her long neck then stretching out as she looked at Tanya. Tanya looking slightly up at her. “Well, now. I see your wings are now cooperating with you and where might the Stable Master, Ocarep be?”“Not looking out for the new baby dragon apparently.” Aaron chuckled lightly as he reached up and took the dragon from the top of Tanya’s head and sat her to the tabletop. When he did, Shee crept up to Tanya and nuzzled against her as she stretched out her long neck and pressed her head up into the curve of Tanya’s neck just under her ear.“I think you have a new Dragon, my Lady.” Aaron chuckled as he watched Tanya circle her arms around Shee as she sat to the tabletop.“It appears I should not have been there when she hatched, but I could not help myself. I wanted to know what breed she was.” Tanya explained.“And because of your curiosity, you now have a second dragon.” Klein chuckled his chuckle turning to a pout. “And I am still dragon-less.”“There is still Rangi, he hatched only a month ago. I am sure you and him will hit it off perfectly. He is as red as your hair.” Aaron informed him chuckling lightly.“We will have to go check him out when we are done here. I really want a dragon and one that is red is even better.” Klein smiled brightly.Watching the baby dragon, Kitsune reached across the table and stroked Shee’s tiny head as she heard her purr. “She won’t get very big, will she?”
Okamishiro shook his head with a bright, interested smile. “No. She won’t get much bigger than about half the size of a one-story house. A little smaller than Musashi is now. Moonshine will want to see her too. Iridescent dragons are one of his favorite breeds. He reunited one with its mother one time.”He turned to Kitsune. “Their gems are very, very valuable. More valuable than freshwater pearls. Many poachers kill them just because they’re so beautiful. Some skin them and make leather armor out of it. Killing an iridescent dragon is definitely a status kill, as well as a money-making kill. There’s no honor in it. Only money and wealth.”He turned back to Tanya. “Where did you find her, if I may ask?”“Her egg was in one of the Dragon Slayers’ inventory. I am guessing the dragon parts that were found with her egg were her parents.” Tanya sighed as she wrapped her arms around Shee and hugged her tenderly. “I hate Dragon Slayers,” Tanya replied as she let Shee nuzzle into her hair and temple.Resting his hand to Tanya’s shoulder Aaron spoke up. “I guess we can add Shee’s parents to the creations of protection as well.”“Huh?” Kitsune and Okamishiro questioned causing Tanya and Aaron to look their way.
“Musashi’s parents were also killed while he was still in his egg. The very swords the Knights carry at their hips were created from his parents. We named them after the dragons.” Aaron explained to them.“The Mystic Sword,” Kitsune replied. “I heard the swords were blessed by one of the Divine Dragon’s. Is this true?”“We did get a visit from a Divine Dragon after all the swords were created, but for what reason, we have no idea. Our Guild has yet to be blessed with a Beast Master to speak with the Dragon’s.” Aaron informed her.“I thought the Divine Dragons stuck to the Divine Spiritcrest in the Northern Mountains?” Klein asked jumping into the conversation.“They can come out to the players, but so far no one has ever been able to get to the peak of the Mountain where they live with the Spirit Dryads. A lot of the players believe the Divine Dragon is generated to show when it is needed, but there is no real way to get to it.” Aaron explained.Klein shook his head. “Then how in the Hell do Illusions of the Serpent think they are going to get to the Divine Dragon and the egg?”Okamishiro blinked. “Divine Dragon… egg? Sorry, but where did you hear such a thing?”Kitsune nodded. “Yeah, I’ve never heard anything about an egg. Especially one by a Divine Dragon.”Aaron looked to their two guests. “It’s rumored that the Divine Dragons have laid an egg of their own kind. This is a very rare situation since a Divine egg is only laid every thousand years. However, no matter how rare the situation if it is possible for someone to get up to the Divine Spiritcrest we have to stop them. The Divine Dragons cannot be messed with and if a Dragon Slayer were capable of doing this, they could end all Dragon existence as we know it by killing the Divine Dragons.”Okamishiro’s eyes went wide as he opened his inventory and pulled out his journal. As he quickly scrawled notes with a feather quill, he spoke to the both of them. “Your guild has been working quite diligently to rid Tarragonia of the dragon slayers. More so in the past few days. Is this the reason why? To prevent them from finding out where the egg is and destroying it?”“Well, of course, it is. Lady Tanya created Knights of the Mystic Dragon for that very reason. We are here for the Dragons. Sure, we help the people of Tarragonia as well, but if you think about it. Without the Dragons what use is it for any of us to be here?” Aaron spoke out as he looked to Okamishiro.Okamishiro nodded repeatedly as he kept writing. “Of course! Which is why you need a Beast Master who can talk to…” Okamishiro stopped writing and looked up at Aaron and Tanya, realization dawning on him. “… Dragons…”Tanya and Aaron looked on at Okamishiro as Aaron’s head nodded slowly. “Yes,” Aaron spoke slowly as he looked slightly over at Tanya wondering where the boy was going with this. “A highly skilled Beast Master within our ranks would be wonderful, but we have yet to have one apply with such skills. They were all mediocre at best.”“Mediocre, huh… That’s… a shame…” Okamishiro fiddled with his feather pen as he tossed his thoughts around in his mind like a salad bowl. “So that means… if you guys had a Beast Master who could do such a thing… you’d effectively be saving all of dragon-kind. Which is quite literally the premise of this game.”Tanya blinked at Okamishiro. “Yes, that’s exactly right. Are you feeling well, Okamishiro?”Okamishiro jumped in his seat, smiling nervously and waving his hands around. “Ah! Um! Yes! Well, that is… Uh…” He scratched the back of his head. “Well, you see… Moo--AGH!”Kitsune grabbed Okamishiro by the ear and dragged him up from his seat. She smiled sweetly at Tanya and Aaron. “Excuse us for a moment.”She dragged him out of the Hall, so they couldn’t be overheard. She bopped him on the head with her fist. “You idiot! Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking about ratting out Moonshine to them without telling him first!”“B-but, they’re trying to save the dragons! That’s the whole reason Moonshine is playing! He loves the dragons, and if he joins them, he’ll help save them! If not, the slayers could get to that egg first!”“Then just message him and ask him if you can tell them!”“But I can’t type out all of what they said in a message! And what if he says no?! You know he’d help them anyway once he gets back and hears the whole thing!”Kitsune sighed, shaking her head and placing her hand on her forehead. “Alright, fine. Whatever. Tell them if you want to. But if he gets pissed off”--she stabbed him in the chest with her finger--“it’s your fault!”Okamishiro sighed and nodded. The two of them went back inside and took their seats again. “Apologies for the interruption, but I have something to tell you. Something I have been confided in about. I shouldn’t be telling you without permission, but I believe telling you is much more important than his privacy.”“Okay,” Tanya nodded. “If it’s that important, then let’s hear it.”Okamishiro took a deep breath and continued. “My brother, Moonshine, is a Beast Master. Kit here is as well, but she can’t speak to dragons. Only other animals. My brother, on the other hand, specializes in dragons, as you know. He can speak to dragons. That is how he rose to max bond levels with his dragons so quickly, in addition to two other skills. So essentially, Moonshine is the Beast Master you’ve been looking for.”He shook his head. “I’m telling you this against his wishes to keep this skill secret. He keeps his skill secret to keep from people like the slayers finding out secrets about the dragons that don’t need to be known. And for all we know, he’s the only player we’ve ever met that has this ability. To be quite honest, he’s more ‘Dragon Master’ than ‘Beast Master.’”Tanya looked over at Aaron as Shee poked her head up between them and looked at them both, causing both Tanya and Aaron to chuckle lightly.“If this is true. He could be our key to all of this,” Tanya uttered as Aaron nodded his head. Looking back at Okamishiro, Tanya spoke to the boy.“Okamishiro, since this was something your brother asked you to keep silent. We will not say anything outside this room on the matter, but I would like if you would speak to him on our behalf and of the facts here. I will leave it to you if you want to tell him you have already spoken to us about his skills, but if you do tell him. Please, inform him that our Guild is in need of him and his skills, to help the Dragons. We could do so much more if there was a line of communication between us and the Dragons.”“And of course, both of you are welcome to join the Guild as well. We can put you where your skills are best suited,” Aaron told them.“We have no objections to joining your guild,” Kitsune nodded. “However, Moonshine may not desire as such.”“Uh, yeah,” Okamishiro laughed and scratched his cheek. He looked over to Kirito. “My brother is confused with Kirito for more than just one reason. Even since SAO, he’s only ever been with one guild. And even then, it took him a while to join. Even to this day, Kit runs his guild more than he does. He just can’t sit still.”“Nor does he like the color white,” Kitsune sighed. “I don’t think he owns a single solid white piece of clothing IRL.”Tanya chuckled shaking her head. “If he joins. If… he joins, we would put him in the field. He would need to be with the Dragons but being based out of Whitehaven Castle it would give him a place to not only return to but a place to do his research and studies.” She chuckled lightly. “He is a Moon Elf. I would never try to lock down a Moon Elf. That’s just looking for trouble.”
Okamishiro laughed nervously, turning to look out the windows. “If you only knew him IRL.”A moment later, everyone’s PM notifications chimed. Okamishiro opened the message to find that it was from the administrators.“The sensitivity… It’s been fixed.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Fourteen
Nychta landed in a small clearing that was just big enough to fit him. Moonshine and Cerberus slid off down to the ground, both of them smoothing down their windblown hair. Moonshine turned to Cerberus.
“Alright, now to find those three assholes. They’ll most likely be in town hiding somewhere. We’ll go in and find them, then wait for the others,” he said to the alchemist.Still smoothing his hair Cerberus turned to follow Moonshine. “Not that we can’t handle them if things go bad, but you think that would be wise?” Cerberus stretched out his arms presenting himself to Moonshine. “I am like a dead giveaway as of why we are here.”“Look, I won’t force you to--”Suddenly their messages dinged at the same time. They both opened them up. Cerberus cheered excitedly as they read the contents. Moonshine chuckled. “Well, ain’t that some timing. In that case, we don’t have to do anything. With the settings restored, they’ll be here any minute. I’m sure they have our location and they’ll see Nychta, so we’ll stay put.”Cerberus nodded his head slowly as he read further in the message. “It seems they will have a few new game updates for us in a few hours as well. Cool, let’s hope they are adding the other 25 levels they have been promising us for months now.” He closed his panel as he watched Moonshine take a seat on a nearby fallen tree trunk.Walking over next to him he took a seat as well, turning as he drew up his leg folding it in front of him. “While we wait, I will tell you how to resurrect Imera if you like.”Moonshine nodded with his eyes wide. He grabbed Cerberus’ shoulders with a serious look in his own eyes. “Yes! Please tell me. Tell me everything you know.”Cerberus chuckled. “That might take a little longer than the time we have allotted, but I will tell you how you can bring your dragon back.”The two shared a chuckle as Moonshine nodded his head. “Well, we already covered the fact that you needed to have her remains, her body, and the taken items by the Slayers, but what you don’t know is this…”Cerberus continued, explaining every detail to him.“There is a quest. One that not many have found, and those that have failed. There is an old man NPC in the port town of Fareport. Many players just think he’s just some crotchety old man because he spouts nonsense about unicorns and resurrection all day. He sits in the Drunken Schooner Tavern all day and drinks.”Moonshine gave Cerberus a deadpanned expression. “I’m starting to think you’re spouting nonsense. Unicorns? Really?”Cerberus waved his hands and shook his head frantically. “No, no! I’m serious! It’s not a joke. You see, when you actually sit down and talk to the man, he tells you to buy him a drink and he’ll tell you his story. He tells you about the time he was up in the Riverwood Forest hunting with his dog. I won’t tell you the whole story, but after you finish talking to him, it triggers a quest named ‘Kiss of Life.’ The quest takes you up the mountains to that same forest. Word is, there’s a village up there. And that's not all. Apparently, its rumored that there are two other NPCs somewhere in Tarragonia who speak of similar stories, but no one has ever finished their quests. It's believed that those other two quests are the same quest under different names, meant to throw off players.“Each time someone takes on the quest, it’s different, but usually you have to save a unicorn from something or do something to earn the unicorn’s favor. When you do, you receive its blessing. You can choose from three rewards: a bottomless bottle of elixir that heals HP, SP, and all status ailments; a set of armor that gives you 200 points of defense against all elements; or you can bring back a deceased familiar provided you have the things I mentioned.”“And you think this is all true? I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Moonshine sighed.“Yes. It is true. I know it is because one of our guild members has the armor to prove it. He even took a screenshot of the unicorn. It does exist.”“Then if that’s the case, I’ll need all the help I can get,” Moonshine nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”“Just make sure you take players that are looking to land the same goal as you because I don’t think they reward more than one player for this quest,” Cerberus explained to him.Moonshine laughed. “Well then, I have all the help I need from you and everyone else that’s coming.”Cerberus blinked a few times sitting back some. “Us…” his finger jutted between the two of them. “Me…” he pointed to himself. “Us…” his hand lifted as he pointed out East. “Us, like the Knights of the Mystic Dragon us.”Moonshine shook his head with a grin. He patted Cerberus’ head. “Don’t think too hard kid. You’ll give yourself an aneurysm.”Cerberus huffed shaking his head. “Aneurysm…” He chuckled lightly as the first couple of Knights appeared from Whitehaven. “Great timing,” he replied as he stood from his sitting position as Klein and Kirito appeared next, looking their way he continued with what he was telling Sir Daurith and Sir Aekin. “We just got done talking about Imera and how to bring her back.”“Good, they are things he will need to know,” Daurith replied as his hand clamped to Cerberus’ shoulder. “The others should be here shortly. Lady Tanya had to find a sitter for Shee.” He chuckled lightly. “I never knew an Ice Dragon could be so warm and gentle. Though it is not hard for any creature, two or four legged to fall for Lady Tanya. She has a heart of gold.”Moonshine’s eyes lit up as he heard the knight mention a dragon. “An Ice Dragon? Really? What type? A snow dragon maybe? Or a crystalline one?”Aekin laughed at Moonshine’s enthusiasm. “She is an iridescent dragon. An infant too. Only two weeks. Lady Tanya was there when she hatched, so Shee has imprinted on her.”“Iridescent!” Moonshine grinned. “I haven’t seen one of that type in some time. Has the dragon had a checkup? A dragon that young and with no mother to receive milk from. Definitely something I should look into once my business with Imera’s killers is done.”“I’m sure Lady Tanya would appreciate that very much,” Aekin nodded.Cerberus chuckled shaking his head as it quickly whipped around to see Aaron and Tanya as well as Kitsune and Okamishiro. “Seems the gang is all here.”He looked over at Moonshine and smiled as Aaron spoke up walking toward Moonshine, he had a map in hand.“We got word the Slayers had moved from an underground tavern in Deephallow putting them on the move.” He unfolded the map and spread it out on a nearby tree stump. His finger landing on the map in the middle of the forest. “Here!”Moonshine looked at the location on the map. It was the Blackwood. The heart of the Wandering Woodland where the trees were so thick you couldn’t see the sky. Even in the daytime, it was dark and gloomy. And at night, it was pitch black and dangerous.“So they’re trying to run. The Blackwood is the perfect place to hide in this massive forest. Easy to ambush players. We’ll need lots of light,” Moonshine crossed his arms. He looked around at each of them. “Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t care if you box them in or corner them or wound them, but the last blow on all of them is going to be dealt by me. To be perfectly honest, I’d actually prefer it if you all just stood by and watched the show and let me do what needs to be done. All I need is the permission to carry out the kills so that I won’t be branded and lose Imera’s parts.”Tanya walked over to Moonshine as her panel opened and she sent him a pact request. “First you have to accept the Bounty Pact. We will put them wherever you want them. Have fun taking your revenge. Just don’t drag it out.”Moonshine nodded and opened the request. Without hesitation, he pressed accept. Instantly, a ring of white light opened at his feet and flew up and over his head. He noticed a similar white ring formed a border around his icon on his panel screen. A label popped up under the Avi icon. ‘Bounty Pact Active’. A sinister smile slowly crept over his face. He turned back to the map and scanned the Blackwood until he found what he was looking for: a single, solitary pond with a small clearing around it, just big enough to fight in. He tapped the spot on the map.“Here. Blackwater Pond. That’s where I want them. Corner them there. Injure them if you have to, but do not kill them. Just make them think you mean business. I’ll be waiting there. When they arrive, stand back and enjoy the show. Any questions?” He looked around at the group.Everyone there nodded their heads as Aaron rolled up the map. “Everyone, lock the location on your map.” He looked around as everyone opened their panels, going to their world maps. “Blackwater Pond is where we’re going to box them in. I want everyone here to team up in pairs. Once you have them in your sights get them to Blackwater Pond however you can.”He looked around the group as they all nodded their heads and took their partner. Sir Daurith paired up with Okamishiro and Sir Aekin paired up with Kitsune. Klein and Kirito stayed together as did Aaron and Tanya, along with Moonshine and Cerberus.“Sir Daurith, Okamishiro, Klein and Kirito I want you four to move around the West side of the forest. Sir Aekin, Kitsune, Tanya and I will come around on the East. “Moonshine,” Aaron looked to the man as he stood next to his dragon as he looked over at him.“You and Cerberus can cut straight through the forest. With Nychta above the canopy to see if he can spot them.” He looked around the group once more. “If anyone sees them. Stay out of sight and message the rest of us letting us know your location. Make sure your messages are set to mute and keep watch for the Message Icon to turn orange. Are there any questions?”“What if they try to fight us?” Kirito asked.Moonshine turned to him. “If they do, try and lure them to the pond with as little damage as possible. If that doesn’t work, message me an SOS and I will come to your location.”Everyone nodded then was silent. No one else spoke up.“Alright, mount up!” Aaron commanded as they all opened their inventory and plucked out their horses. He turned to Moonshine. “Tell Nychta that if he spots any of them, roar. That will be the signal.”Moonshine nodded and watched as all but Cerberus mounted their horses and left. He turned to Nychta. “Did you hear that?” Nychta snorted with a nod of his head. “Alright. Fly off then.” He patted Nychta’s neck.The dragon snorted again and waited until Moonshine and Cerberus were clear of his wingspan before taking off. Moonshine turned to Cerberus. “You ready?”“Ready as I will ever be,” Cerberus replied as the two of them took off into the thick of the forest to track the slayers down. Behind them, they could hear the thrusting beat of Nychta’s wings as he took flight over the top of them.---It did not take them long to spot them, or well… It did not take Nychta long to spot them once they got to moving in their search for the slayers. The second they heard the roar of the Dark dragon they knew they were well on their way of finally finishing this group of slayers off. They all moved quickly in the direction of the sound of the dragon as they closed in on the slayers themselves. However, it was not so simple of a feat to get them to the location they derived at to box them in for Moonshine.Thankfully the slayers were more cowardly than they expected. They had them on the run the entire time. They communicated with each other to swiftly, corralling them towards Blackwater Pond. When they ran off in the wrong direction, one messaged the other to direct them back on track. Even Nychta circled around and flew close to the trees to scare them into staying within close proximity to the pond. Every time Nychta circled around, a huge black shadow raced across the forest below like death was coming for them.Cerberus waited with Moonshine at the pond, the two of them taking position behind a gathering of large boulders near one side of the pond. Moonshine turned to the alchemist.“When they burst through the trees, I want you to raise a wall to keep them from running, then let in the others.”Cerberus nodded. “Got it.”Waiting and watching the first two jetted into the clearing, the third running in from the East. Cerberus did as Moonshine requested as he erected a wall around the outer perimeter of the pond blocking them from the forest. The wall jutted upward quickly pushing them inward as it closed in around them. Once all three of the slayers were in the water, Cerberus stopped the spell, the walls crumbling down around the slayers’ feet, letting Moonshine take over and the others of their party in to partake in the show.Moonshine leaped up onto the top of the rocks. He was only about twenty feet away from them. They immediately spun around fear in their eyes. Moonshine pulled out his twin short swords and leaped at them, his arms crossed and the swords pointing back away from him.“Oh shit! It’s him!”“Run!”“You’re too slow!”Moonshine growled as he came up behind one of them and slashed him across the back with both swords in an X. The first slayer was blond and carried a longsword with a shield. He stumbled forward and Moonshine saw his HP bar fall down a bit. These slayers wouldn’t go down quickly, but they would go down easily. They were stronger than he expected, but they still were no match for him.Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the second slayer, a younger man with long brown hair, trying to run. Moonshine whipped out one of his throwing knives and threw it with precision at the center of the man’s back. He fell down face first into the wet grass. A yellow lightning bolt appeared over his health bar, indicating he was paralyzed. The first slayer lashed out at him with his longsword. Moonshine sidestepped the blade easily and tripped him. The slayer landed on his back but defended his body with his shield. Moonshine scoffed and brought his foot down on top of the shield hard, crushing the slayer’s body underneath. It barely did any damage, but he knew it probably hurt. On top of that, the player couldn’t move. The slayer attempted to slash up with his sword arm but Moonshine grabbed his arm and twisted it until he heard his bones and joints crack and snap. The slayer screamed, either in pain, or surprise and for a moment, Moonshine wished that the sensitivity level hadn’t been turned back down.The slayer dropped his sword and the shield in favor of cradling his destroyed arm. Moonshine stepped back long enough to let the man roll and stumble to his feet. He too attempted to run, but Moonshine only scoffed and took two wide steps before landing a swift kick to the slayer’s back. He too went face first into the dirt. Moonshine walked up to the slayer and planted his foot into the top of his head, crushing his face into the ground. His health bar dropped into the yellow.“You know it’s funny,” Moonshine said with a blank expression as he grinds his foot into the player’s head. “When I was stuck in Aincrad, I always despised players who killed other players. Then again, there will always be death in real life. But here? Strangely I find myself relating to the black guilds of Aincrad. Now I understand why guilds like Laughing Coffin took so much pleasure in killing.”He removed his foot and knelt down, yanking the slayer’s head up by his hair. He wrapped his arm around the slayer’s throat giving his head a quick firm twist as his neck snapped. The HP bar dropped to zero and the player exploded in a burst of blue pixels. “Murder doesn’t feel like murder when it’s a game.”Suddenly his panel popped up with the rewards screen. It read ‘Slayer NPC: Defeated’ with a long list of rewards that were added to his inventory. There were several dragon items, large amounts of money, weapons, armor, and rewards attributed to the kill, not to player drops. He blinked.“You’re kidding me…” He turned and looked at the slayer who was still paralyzed. He walked up to him slowly. “All that trouble… and you three are NPCs? I could have killed you hours ago!”He took out his short swords again and stabbed one through the NPC’s head. The second one burst into pixels as well. The same rewards screen flashed. He turned to the third and final slayer, an NPC no doubt, with short black hair.“Never mind the trouble. Enjoying my revenge is meaningless when you’re just a bunch of fucking NPCs!” Moonshine roared at the slayer, running at him as the NPC raised his claymore. “That means I was stupid enough to lose Imera to a bunch of dumbass computer programs!”Moonshine ducked underneath the slayer’s claymore easily. He dodged every strike just as easily and countered with his blades until the NPC’s health was chipped down to yellow. When the slayer swung his sword once more, leaving yet another opening, he thrust forward with his swords, stabbing him through the throat. The NPC dropped its sword and grabbed Moonshine by the wrists. Moonshine raised his foot and knocked him down to his back, pulling out the swords simultaneously. With a roar, he raised his swords and stabbed them down and through the slayer’s chest. Blue pixels scattered, leaving Moonshine and the rest of the group alone in the clearing. The final rewards screen popped up.Moonshine sighed and sheathed his swords then waved his hand at his discarded throwing knife. It shot out at him and he caught it in his hand, returning it to its slot. He opened his inventory screen, taking note of all the items marked ‘New’. Killing the three NPCs had netted him 50,000 Scala, several pieces of armor, a few weapons, potions, and dozens of dragon parts. And among the dragon parts were those marked with Imera’s name, untouched.Moonshine fell to his knees and started to laugh, quietly at first then louder until he was clenching his sides.Cerberus was the first to join Moonshine at his side. “NPCs or not that was wicked awesome. It’s sad though we did not know they weren’t part of the Dragon Slayers.”“They still could have been very much part of the group that calls themselves the Dragon Slayers. Guilds can have NPCs in them.” Daurith informed anyone that was listening as he walked toward the two men. “Since Dragon Lance was built on a very sophisticated AI program there is not much an NPC can’t do in game, or at least this game, nowadays. Since all the crap that has gone down years past, VRs have advanced in ways that are mind-blowing. You can’t tell anymore if someone is an NPC or player by just looking at them. You honestly have to kill them to find out. Well…”Sir Daurith paused to correct what he said. “Some you can tell right out of the gate, but if the programmers created them to fool us you won’t know until you have killed them or spent some time with them.”Moonshine stood up with a sigh. “Still… I lost Imera to NPCs. I suppose the only good thing that came out of this was that there was no way they would be able to use Imera’s parts, so they remained untouched.” He looked around to all of those standing at the pond clearing with him. “Regardless, thank you to all of you for your help.”For the first time that day, Moonshine’s eyes landed on Kirito. He narrowed his eyes and marched up to him, pointing at him. “And you!” He growled. “You piece of crap!”The group looked around quickly at one another as Moonshine bellowed out. Kitsune covering her face as she hung her head. “Really, you really have to do this here and now?” She mumbled to herself.Without a word Tanya walked quickly over to Kirito where Moonshine was standing in front of him, his index finger poking Kirito in the chest as Kirito looked on at Moonshine in complete confusion.“What the Hell did I do?!” Kirito questioned knocking Moonshine’s hand away from him.“You have no idea the trouble you’ve put me through since that damn game! Every single time someone saw me they thought I was you! And you know what they did when they thought I was you?! They either attacked me or hounded me to join their guild! Every. Stinking. Time! Oh, and that’s not even the worst of it!” He poked Kirito in the chest once more. “Do you have any idea how long it took me to save up the money to buy that damn shop?! Nine months! Nine! And the very day I went to buy the damned thing, you beat the fucking game!”Kirito was speechless for a solid minute. “Wait… so you’re mad… because I beat Aincrad and saved everyone?”Moonshine’s face went red and he threw his arms up in the air. “You didn’t even beat Aincrad!!! I don’t know what the hell you did, but the front-line forces were nowhere near Floor 100! Last I heard they were on Floor 75! So unless you gained some super fucking special magical powers that let you leap up twenty-five damn floors, I should have had at least another six months! I had the money in my hand! I was three feet in front of it! Then POOF! ALL OF IT GONE!”Moonshine turned and stomped away from Kirito, still ranting and raving. “ALL THAT PROGRESS! ALL THE MONEY AND THE SKILLS AND STATS! UP IN SMOKE! JUST FOR IT TO BE REINCARNATED IN A FUCKING FAIRY GAME!!!”The game chimed a heart rate monitoring alert in front of Moonshine as he huffed and puffed, trying to catch his breath. He growled and waved it out of his face like swatting a fly.Tanya blinked a few times as she stood there in shock and awe at what just happened as she watched Moonshine walk away from Kirito. “You’re…” Her hand lifted as she rubbed her temple. “You’re an odd one, Moonshine.” She looked over at Kitsune and Okamishiro. “Please tell me he is not like this out of game?”Both shook their heads and replied in unison. “No, no. He is worse.”“To be honest,” Okamishiro smiled sheepishly, moving over to his brother and patting his back. “He’s been bottling up the Kirito thing for at least four years now, so give him just a teensy bit of credit there. As for everything else, now that he has Imera’s parts back and can try and revive her, he can rest easy.”“Speaking of resting easy,” Kitsune walked up on the other side of Moonshine. “We need sleep. All three of us. It’s probably about five in the morning where we are. We all could use a nice long rest outside of VR.”Moonshine sighed, placing his hand over his face. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m exhausted now.” He let himself fall down into the grass, sitting cross-legged and hunched over. “I’m probably gonna sleep for at least ten hours.”Okamishiro looked up at Tanya and Aaron. “If you don’t mind, may we stay in the castle and when we’re all rested we can log back in and discuss the issue of my brother working with your guild.”Moonshine blinked and perked up. He stared straight ahead, his tired brain processing what just came out of his brother’s mouth. Slowly, he turned his head around and up to glare at his brother. “Excuse me? What was that?”Okamishiro flinched and backed away from his brother with his hands held up. “Uh… N-nothing. You’re tired, remember? We can talk about it in the morning. You know. When you’re less… uh… irritable.”Tanya chuckled lightly as she walked toward the two males. “That is fine Okamishiro.” She patted his shoulders. “The three of you are welcome at Whitehaven Castle whenever you’re in the area. If you’re part of the guild or not. Though having you three as part of our dragon saving family would be very nice. Though no pressure.”Moonshine stood up and turned to face his brother. He stepped up to him and grabbed him by the top of his head, squeezing firmly. “What. Is she. Talking. About?”“Uh… I… Uh…”Kitsune put her hand on Moonshine’s shoulder. “Sorry to use your first name in-game, but Tsukiro, you need sleep. You’ve had enough gaming for today. All of us have. You got what you wanted today. Sleep on the victory and push on tomorrow.”Moonshine looked to Kitsune then sighed. “Fine. Let’s just head back to the castle so we can crash.”Okamishiro sighed in relief as his brother let him go.Tanya smiled shaking her head as she opened her panel to message a fellow guild member as she spoke to Moonshine, Okamishiro, and Kitsune. “I will contact Ghost and have her advise Alickath that the three of you will be staying at the Castle.” She stopped typing as she turned and looked at Moonshine and Kitsune. “Sorry for the personal question, but are the two of you married. I would hate to put you two in the same room if it will cause issues.”“Not yet,” Kitsune gave Moonshine a pointed look.Moonshine sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning his head away. “Look, I said I would get you a ring after we got out of college, okay? Mom doesn’t want us using that settlement money from Argus for anything but college and living expenses. Hell, I can’t even use it to buy video games. That’s the whole reason I play Gun Gale.”Kitsune smiled and kissed his cheek. “I know.”“As for the issues, that could still happen. Just not of the fighting kind,” Okamishiro smirked.Moonshine glared at his brother, pointing at him. “Hey! You watch it! I know where you live, remember?”Tanya chuckled with a bright smile. “It’s fine, I just figured they were a couple at least. So putting them in the same room would not cause issues with them being roommates.” She turned back to her panel and started typing again. “I just wanted to make sure I only needed two rooms set up and not three.”As Tanya messaged Ghost, Aaron walked over to the three. He looked pointedly at Moonshine. “Will you be riding Nychta back? If not, we have extra Transport Stones for you and Cerberus. It will be a little quicker in the means of traveling.” He smiled brightly as he looked from Moonshine to Kitsune. “I am sure you are ready for a good rest after today’s adventures.”“I would appreciate the quick trip back.” Moonshine looked up into the sky where Nychta was circling. “Nychta has flown me around enough today. He deserves a good long rest as well.”Aaron nodded. “So we figured.”Moonshine lifted his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. Nychta looked down into the clearing and descended quickly. He waited until the group cleared a path for him before landing carefully in the tight squeeze of a clearing. He shuffled around until he was facing the pond, which he took a long drink from.Moonshine walked up to him and opened his inventory, taking out a whole chicken he had been saving for him for that night. He tossed it up into the air and Nychta caught it whole between his jaws. With a loud crunch, the chicken was gone. Nychta lowered his head into Moonshine’s hands who rubbed his snout.“Thank you for all your help today, my friend,” Moonshine hugged the dragon’s head. “Tomorrow we get Imera back. For now, head back to Whitehaven Castle and rest. We will be there for the night.”Nychta nosed Moonshine’s cheek instead of snorting in his face then took off once more, the water in the pond splashing everywhere.Tanya turned to look at the group once more. “Arrangements have been made for our four guest--”“Four?” Cerberus questioned looking at Tanya.“Yes,” Tanya’s head nodded. “Four. Did you forget Nychta? He will need a place to rest as well and I am sure he is hungry. One small chicken is not going to suffice a Dark Dragon. Ghost informed me that dinner will be served and the rooms ready by the time we arrive.”Moonshine laughed. “Especially not Nychta. Though you don’t need to spare food for him. I have more than enough. The one chicken was to tie him over until he returned to the castle. Though I will reimburse you for his meal. He definitely has quite the appetite.”Tanya shook her head. “There is no need for that. We are here to help the people of Tarragonia. You assisted us in obtaining the slayers. If they were part of the guild Dragon Slayer or not, they were still dragon slayers and needed to be removed for the safety of the dragons’ sake.” She bowed shortly to Moonshine. “We thank you for your help as do the dragons.”Moonshine nodded. “Agreed.” He bowed back to her. “And thank you for all your help in retrieving Imera’s parts.”Tanya smiled at him warmly. “Anything for a fellow dragon lover. Just remember. If the day ever comes that I might need your help for the same…God forbid… I might come calling.”
“Of course,” Moonshine grinned. “And I’ll be there when you make their heads roll.” He looked to Okamishiro and Kitsune who nodded. He turned back to Tanya. “We’re ready if your group is. Let’s head back.”Tanya nodded as the group gathered around as Transport Crystals were passed out. Within the next couple of minutes, they were gone.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Fifteen
Tsukiro woke up from his long sleep and rolled over to grab his phone from off the nightstand. When he turned it on, he discovered it was one-thirty in the afternoon. More so, he smelled green tea, salmon, eggs, and croquettes. Which meant Kaori was cooking.
He sat up and stretched his muscles then stood and made his way out into the kitchen where he saw Ryushiro sitting at the dining table and Kaori standing at the stove. His brother often came over for meals so they could eat as a family. And of course Kaori was an incredible cook. It looked like she was making one of his favorite morning meals, despite the fact that it was already the afternoon. She was making salmon chazuke, tamagoyaki omelets, and potato and cheese korokke. She already had the salmon and the korokke cooked, the rice made, and the green tea brewed. All that was left was the tamagoyaki and assembly.Tsukiro ruffled his brother’s hair as he walked past him, the boy barely acknowledging him since he had his nose in a book. When Ryushiro ignored him, he turned back and grabbed his ear, pinching it.“Oi. Respect your elders.”“Ow, ow, ow! Good morning! Jeez!” Ryushiro pouted at him.Tsukiro smiled triumphantly, and his brother grumbled, turning back to his book. He moved over to Kaori and gave her a tight hug from behind, kissing her cheek. “Morning.”“Good morning,” she turned and smiled at him. “Feel better?”“Definitely,” he nodded, burying his face in her shoulder. “Did you sleep well?”“Yes, but we all have to do a hard reset on our sleeping hours tonight. We have classes the day after next.”“Meaning early to bed tonight and tomorrow,” he sighed, releasing her and moving over to the counter space. “I was always a night owl. Which is why I hate scheduling my classes earlier than noon.”“I’m right up there with you, but our sleeping schedules are more out of whack than our class schedules.” She turned and looked at Ryushiro. “And we’re rubbing off on him.”Tsukiro hummed, looking at his precious baby brother who got on his nerves occasionally. He himself may have been able to rock the “raccoon bags” on more than a couple handfuls of occasions, but Ryushiro definitely did not look good with them. Tsukiro nodded in absentminded agreement.“Brunch is done,” Kaori announced, turning off the stove and transferring the long, rolled omelet to a plate for cutting. “Ryushiro, book away. Set the table. Tsukiro, help me put the chazuke together.”“Yes ma’am,” both boys said simultaneously.Within five minutes the table was set, and their meal was placed upon it. Tsukiro sat at the head of the table with Kaori on his right and Ryushiro on his left. They put their hands together and recited, itadakimasu, before grabbing croquettes and omelet pieces to fill their plate with. They ate happily together.After a few minutes of eating in silence, Tsukiro spoke up. “Shiro. What were you and the knights talking about last night? What did you mean I would work with them?”Ryushiro flinched slightly, despite his brother’s soft tone. “Uh… well… I kind of, sort of… blatantly told them that you could talk to dragons and that you’d help them out.”Tsukiro hummed and nodded, lifting his bowl to drink the green tea broth. It took about a full minute for his brother’s words to process in his mind. When it did, he blinked and jerked his head around to look at him wide-eyed. “Wait, you did what? You told them the one specific thing you both promised not to tell anyone?!”Ryushiro always found it amazing how intense his brother could sound even when not yelling. On the contrary, just after waking up was when Tsukiro was the quietest. “I had a legitimate reason for it! If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have told them!”“Oh, you did, did you?” Tsukiro set his bowl and chopsticks down, giving his brother a pointed look. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Then let’s hear it.”“It was because of the dragons…” Ryushiro said with a sigh. Tsukiro blinked and lowered his arms, listening intently now. “Tanya and Aaron told us that the Illusions of the Serpent guild was the one who formed the Dragon Slayers guild in the first place. And not only that, but they had intel that they were looking for a Divine Dragon egg.”Tsukiro’s eyes widened. “That’s… that’s impossible. The Divine Dragons only make themselves seen and interacted with when they want to. They’re not a normal dragon. They’re not NPCs created for the purpose of interacting with on a normal basis. Hell, you can’t even go near the village where the Spirit Dryads are. So how the hell do they expect to find a dragon egg?”Ryushiro shook his head. “I don’t know. But you realize what this means, don’t you?” He leaned forward, his gaze intense. “If you work with the Knights of the Mystic Dragon, you can help them save the dragons once and for all! That egg is laid only once every thousand years! If you help them find and protect this one, then we win! And to do that--”“They need my skills as a Beast Master who can talk to dragons,” Tsukiro sighed. He nodded and picked up a croquette. “I will talk to them when we log on. I can’t make any promises that I’ll be joining their guild, but I will see what I can do.”Ryushiro sighed heavily in relief, smiling up at Kaori across from him. She gave him a look of ‘you dodged a bullet’.---Tanya sat out in the grass in the courtyard of Whitehaven Castle with Shee curled up in her lap, Musashi curled up behind her as she rested against him. It was well past midnight making it Sunday morning for her. She decided to hang out in Dragon Lance to wait for the updates. She knew they would be putting them into effect soon since it was after midnight, that was the normal announcement time for their game and most games. Also, it was a better alternative from hanging out in the real world. At least in Dragon Lance, there was always something to do, even if it was hanging out with her dragon, now dragons. Plus, there was rumor that they had some really good updates coming their way and she wanted to find out what they were before she ended her day. Even her little brother, Cerberus and a few others stuck around to find out what they were.Luckily, they did not have to wait much longer.“Tanya!” Cerberus called out to her as he ran toward her. Thus, not only getting her attention but the attention of Shee and Musashi as the three looked his way. “Did you see them yet?” Cerberus asked her as he quickly opened his panel and plopped down beside her in the grass as she shook her head. “They not only updated they added four new features that are really cool. Especially the dragon update. Look…”Tanya looked at her brother’s panel as he pointed out the new features and updates. She sat there reading them silently to herself.
Hello to all of our Dragon Lancers, today along with our Updates we have 4 new Features to offer the players of Dragon Lance. We thought they would be a fun added extra with the way we have seen things progressing in our VR world.
Our first 2 features are Arrest Interactions against characters:
Black Warrant: A warrant that is issued by Guilds with good standings in the Tarragonia world and associate themselves with protecting the Dragons. For a Guild to be authorized to grant the Black Warrant to individual players their member count must be over 500. Black Warrant is taking place of an individual having to make a Pact with said Guild to go out and pursuit Dragon Slayers without damaging their status and being marked a red player. Only green players are allowed to obtain a Black Warrant.
Player Killer Bounty: A Player Killer Bounty is a warrant for any character that is a Player Killer, red or orange. These Bounties are issued on reported PK characters, which in turn generates a, ‘A Most Wanted List’. A Player Killer Bounty can only be granted by the Judges of the Villages, and the Bounty payout is determined on how many players the offender has killed. The payout is 1,000 Scalas per death. All players are able to obtain a Player Killer Bounty, but be warned. If you are on that wanted list or are a Dragon Killer, you may be the one getting collected on. Once the offender is captured, they are to be turned over to the nearest Guild with a prison. Their captor* will then collect the Bounty for said offender and the offender will serve two days incarcerated.
*You cannot turn yourself in to collect your own bounty.
Tanya chuckled lightly at the footnote on the Bounties as she spoke and pointed at the screen. “I could see some of the idiots in this game doing that.”Cerberus chuckled nodding his head. “Agreed…” He fell silent letting his sister finish reading.
With the features on Arrests we have also added a Bribe feature:
Prison Bribes: The only way to get out of prison early is to find that one particular NPC in the prison that accepts bribes*. However, if a player successfully comes into contact with this NPC and is successful in bribing them to be set free, the offender will be placed on a Wanted List and when captured again could serve a more severe length of time in jail. Bribing the wrong NPC will result in 3 extra days added to their sentence.
*Please note the NPC that is able to be bribed changes at random once they have been bribed.
Our final new feature is on the Dragons where 23 new Dragon Breeds have been added to the game:
Hybrid Dragons: Hybrid Dragons are now available! Hybrids can be seen in the wild and obtained through breeding. Information on Hybrid Compatibility can be found in our tutorials. For the complete list of Hybrid Dragons, see our official website. www.dragonlance.org.
Tanya’s eyes lit up as she looked to Cerberus. “Awesome! 23 Hybrids.”Cerberus’ head nodded quickly. “I am sure the Breeders of the Guild are excited.” He chuckled lightly. “Not to mention Moonshine.”The two shared a laugh at the thought of Moonshine being excited over this new addition to the game.“I really hope he decides to work with us. Even if he doesn’t join the Guild. His help will be greatly appreciated and needed.”“Well, it seems his only real issue is with being locked in one place. He likes to move around, and of course, the color of the uniforms.” Cerberus chuckled again as he combed his fingers through his dark hair.“He doesn’t have to wear the uniform, especially if he is out in the field, and I would never keep him in one place. His work is out in the field with the Dragons.” Tanya spoke up. “He will just need a way to identify himself as a Knight of the Mystic Dragon, and that is not hard with giving him a Knight of the Mystic Dragon coat of arms.”“True…” Cerberus replied pointing at the panel. “Finish up. I think you will like the rest too.”Tanya nodded as she turned back to the panel to read.
New Updates:
Interactions against your character will now affect your characters Experience Points:
In the past, it did not matter if you were a green, orange, red or black player. The XP your character lost in times of battle was the same, 15%. With the growing force of the game and watching it unfold in the many different ways, we decided to take a spin on that. Here are how things will be handled with the characters and their status.
Green Player: When a normal player dies or is killed, they lose 15% of their stat progress from the past month. If they gained inventory items and had not saved those items, they lose those items. If they gained inventory and saved all of it, they lose only their stats.
Orange Player: If you are an orange PK player, you lose 20% of your stat progress and any inventory you received from players you killed if it is saved or not.
Red Player: If you are a red PK player, you lose 30% of your stat progress and any inventory you received from players you killed if it is saved or not.
Black Player: If you are a black Dragon Killer player, you lose 50% of your stat progress plus any and all dragon related items, even if they are saved. In addition to losing stats and inventory, DK players are sent to a prison and serve time that is determined by the rarity of the dragon they killed, ranging from 3 to 7 days per Dragon. Therefore, if a player kills 3 high rarity dragons, they will serve 21 days in prison (the max for their 3 offenses). While in prison, all of their skills and abilities are deactivated to prevent escape. All inventory except for money and valuables (items you sell to get money rather than use) is also deactivated.
Inventory Weight Limit Increase: Weight level was maxed at 300 points/pounds. It has now been adjusted to start at 300 pounds for level one players and increased by 50 points/pounds for each level the player gains.* Please note that even if you have enough space/limits to carry a dragon, it will slow you down greatly. If the weight limit is exceeded, you will be unable to run, perform certain attacks, or travel in certain ways such as using Transport Stones, boats, horses, etc.
*At current level caps, the max amount at level 100 is 5,300.
Streamline App: For your enjoyment, we have added the Streamline App. Now you are able to accept and make calls via your cell phone (International calls viable within this App with no extra charge) within game once they are synced. This works whether both parties are in-game or one of the two is in game and the other is out of game. Another added feature is you are able to upload a playlist of 50 songs into the residence or business in which your character solely owns in which to listen to your favorite music. (Available for all phone make and models).
Levels Added: 25 NEW levels have been added to Dragon Lance. Capping the game at 100 levels. As our VR world continues to grow, more and more levels will be added.
We hope you enjoy the new features and updates. If any bugs or glitches arise please report them to the Moderators or [email
protected].
We thank you for your support,
DL Administrator --
“So, you saw the updates,” Moonshine’s voice came from beside them. The two of them looked his way to see him standing with his arms crossed. He looked well rested and a lot less high strung than he was hours ago. “You’d better be ready to issue me plenty of Black Warrants because I’ll be needing them more often now.”“And the Hybrid dragons?!” Cerberus leaped up excitedly.Moonshine grinned. “After I get Imera back, I’ll be planning on going out to find some of these dragons they’re talking about. I want to learn as much as I can about them as fast as I can. Which means Shiro is coming with me of course.”He looked up at Musashi then down at Shee in Tanya’s lap. He looked around, wondering where his own dragon had gotten to. “Where’s Nychta?”“I think he is out chewing on one of Musashi’s sassafras branches,” Tanya confirmed as she stood cradling Shee in her arms. “I saw him nosing through them when I was looking for Musashi earlier.” She stepped toward him stopping a few paces in front of him.“You know, not to pressure you or anything, but we would not have to waste either of our time in getting a Black Warrant if you just join the Guild.”“I--” Moonshine was about to protest as Tanya quickly lifted a hand and stopped him short.“I know why you don’t want to do it, but in all honesty, I never expected you to stick around like most do. You’re a field operator, you’re hands on. Which is understandable.” A wide smile crossed her lips as she looked down at Shee as she looked curiously between her and Moonshine. “I mean look at what your job entails.” Tanya stroked Shee’s neck. “I love spending my time with the dragons.” She chuckled lightly. “Hence the reason I play this game.”She looked back to Moonshine. “Also, I would not make you wear the uniform. Well…” Her head bobbed slowly. “You would have to wear the uniform during a formal event. Other than that, you’re free to wear what you're wearing right now.”
Moonshine gave her a long look before sighing, rubbing the back of his neck. “Before I say anything, I know that my brother told you about my abilities as a Beast Master. I understand why he told you. After all, a Divine Dragon egg is something to be concerned about. An egg like that in the hands of dragon slayers. You and I both know the damage that can do. So I get why you want me to join your guild.”He looked up at Musashi, then down at Shee. “That said, I was planning on helping you even without joining your guild.” He looked back at Tanya. “But I have to agree. We both have much to gain and nothing to lose with me joining. It’s convenient for both of us if I join. I get the prestige, the resources, and the expedited warrants, and you have the peace of mind of knowing that I’m on your side.”Moonshine reached down and gently stroked Shee from head to tail. “Though I have one request. As your resident Beast Master and dragon caretaker, I will require all of your clan’s dragons to form a bond with me. It’s one of my skills -- Tamer of Dragons. In a nutshell, I can immediately form a bond of Friend level with any dragon, even if they are already bonded to another person. The bond does not dissolve any it already has in place, such as with you. It allows me to work better with dragons for the purposes of healing, training, rehabilitation and so on. I cannot ride them or have them join me in battle. I can only heal, train, and collect resources from them. Nor can I level up the skill.”Tanya did not hesitate as she nodded her head quickly. “Deal,” She looked to Musashi as her hand lifted and she pointed a finger, shaking it softly at the dragon. “That means you have to behave and make friends with Moonshine.”An almost whining sound escaped Musashi as he lowered his head covering his head with his large paw. Tanya looked back to Moonshine. “Vise Master Aaron says he is a man hater. The only man I think I have ever seen him get along with is--”“Me,” Cerberus cut in with a wide smile.
Moonshine grinned, putting his hands on his hips. “I’ll be the judge of that.” He walked over to Musashi and looked up at him. He was very similar to Nychta but smaller and more slender with blue eyes. While Nychta’s gems were black onyx gems with white bands, Musashi’s were sapphires. “I hear your favorite treat is venison.”Musashi took his paw off his head and perked up with an interested noise. His ears twitched. Moonshine smiled ear to ear and opened his inventory. He took out a whole shank of venison, bone and all. It was bigger than Moonshine’s body and he had to hold it up with both hands.“I’ll tell you what, Musashi. If you form a bond with me, you can have all the venison you want. And all the best cuts too. What do you say? Can we be friends?”Musashi looked at the venison his snout drawing closer to it as he gave it a good sniffing then quickly turned away lifting his head high above Moonshine. “And why should I?” Musashi’s deep voice rumbled. “Mistress Tanya treats me with the love and kindness all creatures deserve. No other could top that.” Musashi’s head turned back and lowered as he got in Moonshine’s face.
“Also, if I let them get close to me, she will get close to them and if they hurt her. I would have to eat them, and Elves give me indigestion.”
Moonshine merely smiled at the dragon, not flinching in the slightest. “I’m not trying to outdo or win out over your mistress’ affection. That is not my intent. I am a caretaker, not a thief. If you and Lady Tanya have that strong of a bond, then she would want to make sure you remain healthy and strong. That is my job. And to do that, I have to earn your trust.”Moonshine set the venison down underneath Musashi’s nose and stepped back several feet. “I have no intention of betraying or hurting Lady Tanya. But if I do, intentionally or unintentionally, you have permission to devour me in revenge. It is only fair that there be consequences to my actions, would you not agree, Musashi?”Musashi snorted harshly at the man standing in front of him the hair on his head blowing back from around his face. “I will give you the chance you seek, Moon Elf, only because Nychta speaks so highly of you. However, betray us and your existence will fade quickly.” Musashi’s head tilted as he opened his mouth and devoured the venison set before him.Moonshine smiled happily and bowed to the dragon with a flourish. “Thank you, Noble Musashi. I will not make you regret the chance you’ve given me.” He turned to Tanya with a grin. “You’ve got quite possibly the most loyal and protective dragon I’ve ever seen. Even Nychta isn’t that protective. Then again, as big as he is, he doesn’t need to be.”Tanya smiled warmly. “He is my boy, and I love him dearly. He is another I raised from an egg.” She looked down at Shee. “I am guessing she will be the same.”Moonshine leaned over onto his knees, smiling down at Shee. “Hello, Shee. I’m Moonshine. You’re a very pretty girl indeed.”Shee lifted her resting head from her surrogate mother’s arm blinking a few times as her head tilted slightly, and she looked at the dark headed Elf in front of her. “Hello Mr. Moonshine, are you a friend of mommies.” Her sweet soft innocent voice asked as she tipped her head back and looked up at her surrogate mother.Moonshine smiled and patted her head, nodding. “Yes, I am. And I am also the new caretaker for the dragons of this guild. I’d like to be friends with you, is that okay?”Shee’s head bobbed quickly as her eyes lit up with excitement. “Will you play with me?”Moonshine laughed, giving her head another pat. “Of course I will. I’d be happy to. I’ll tell you what. Since you’re only a couple weeks old, I’d like to give you a checkup as soon as possible, so how about we play after I give you your checkup. Sound good?”Shee’s head bobbed again as she lifted from her cradled position in her surrogate mother’s arms. As she went to stretch out toward Moonshine, he helped her out lifting her from her resting place. Seeing the look on her surrogate mother’s face, she let off a few shrill calls, confused as to why her surrogate mother did not understand her. Shee’s head cocked as she looked up at Moonshine.
“Please, tell mommy not to be sad. I am not leaving her.”
Moonshine nodded and looked up at Tanya. “She says not to be sad. She’s not going anywhere.”Tanya nodded with a smile as he patted Shee’s head tenderly. “Are you looking for anything in particular, Moonshine? Or just checking her over because she is so young?”Moonshine shook his head, looking down at Shee and stroking her sleek body. “Just making sure she is healthy and growing properly. Not only that, but the gems are the main part to watch for in young dragons. Some dragons have problems growing in their gems when it’s time. It’s like teeth for a human baby. You have to make sure they grow in properly and that they’re not causing the dragon distress. Same with their teeth and talons. Not to mention their horns and spines.”He looked back up at Tanya. “Dragons are more like humans than you might think. There’s a lot to watch for. The most at risk dragons are young ones and the elderly. Especially when it comes to skeletal structure and density. You have to make sure the bones of young dragons are developing properly, and the bones of elderly dragons are remaining strong even in their old years. Since Shee is so young and you did not have a caretaker here, it’s important to get a snapshot of her overall health and progress, even after just two weeks.”Tanya nodded and stayed back so Moonshine could do his job, but she watched carefully in what he was looking at, so she could keep an eye on at least the external health of Shee and Musashi. “So what do I look for in the way of the gems growing in?”“Mistress Tanya keeps a good eye on my health. She even brushes my teeth and makes sure I have plenty of sassafras branches for me to chew on.” A deep voice cut into their conversation as Musashi watched the Moon Elf as well.Moonshine turned and smiled at Musashi. “I need to take a page from her book then. At least concerning Nychta’s breath. As far as the health of dragons, a good master or mistress is a knowledgeable one. However, just as humans need doctors, so do dragons.”He opened his panel and went to the screen that listed his Dragon Bonds. There at the bottom of the list were Musashi and Shee listed as Friend. He smiled up at Tanya. “Well, I have formed the bonds with both of these two. I will leave it up to Shee as to whether she wants to accompany me on my rounds or wait with you until I come back for her. I also have to check on Nychta. I’m sure he’s either stuffing his face or chewing on bones and branches somewhere still.”Tanya chuckled. “I am sure the stablemen are feeding him if he is not chewing on something. He is a big dragon they would not want him to get hungry.” She then looked to Shee as Shee then looked up at Moonshine.“Please tell mommy I am going with you. Her touch is cold which tells me she is tired, she needs to rest.”Musashi’s head nodded as he looked away from the tiny dragon of their clan to their mistress. “Yes, Mistress Tanya needs to rest. She has been here all day.” His deep voice confirmed.Moonshine looked to Tanya with a grin. “It seems both of your children advise you to go get some sleep. They can tell you’re tired, so I have to agree. If you’ve been here the whole time, then you need to log out and get some rest. Your dragons are safe with me. If I need you for anything, I can give you my number and we can use the Streamline App.”Tanya could not help a small chuckle as she looked at Musashi and Shee. “Hey now, I am the one that is supposed to be looking out after you two, not the other way around.”The two dragons only looked on at her with soft caring eyes. “Alright alright. I will go home and rest and be back in a few hours, but before I do.” She opened her panel and sent a confirmation to Moonshine that he was now part of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. She disabled the uniform just having it placed in his inventory along with his sword and the Guild’s coat of arms. Once completed she closed her panel and offered her hand to Moonshine.“Welcome to the Knights of the Mystic Dragon, Moonshine.” The two shook hands then parted as Tanya continued.“There is a lab in the castle you are welcome to. It will work well for you to keep all your research safe, do any testing or a place to keep otherwise needed materials for your job at hand. If you page the Herald, Alickath. He will be glad to show you where it is located. The room you and Kitsune and the room Okamishiro are yours to stay in whenever you stay in game or just need a place to spawn back into.”Her smile widened. “I am sure when they sign-in, they will be looking to be added to the Guild. Vise Master Aaron or Grandmaster Knight Klein are capable of doing so. Since you are not in uniform, I am sure you will get stopped a number of times. So have your coat of arms handy. Though I will generate an announcement letting everyone know of your addition.”
Moonshine bowed lightly, holding onto Shee in his arms. “Thank you, Lady Tanya. Enjoy your rest.”Tanya nodded her head slightly to him as she patted Shee’s head giving her a soft kiss. She then moved over to Musashi as he lowered his head, wrapping her arms around his neck the best she could giving him a hug and a kiss to the tip of his nose. “Alright you three, Behave, have fun and I will see you in a few hours.”
Moonshine watched as Tanya logged out, her Avi going soulless before disappearing a few seconds later. He turned to Musashi with a warm smile.“So, big guy. You coming with me on my rounds, or would you rather stay here?”“I think I will follow you. With Mistress Tanya gone and Vice Master Aaron nowhere to be found, someone will have to show you around the castle grounds so you do not get lost.” Musashi informed him as he turned slowly and carefully so not to do harm to anyone or anything close to him.The dragon craned his head around at the Elf and looked down at him. “Plus, it will keep you out of trouble with the others since you are new here."A tsundere dragon,” Moonshine laughed, mostly to himself, as he followed Musashi. “Didn’t know there was such a thing.”Musashi snorted at the Elf’s statement as his long tail came around behind Moonshine and gave him a quick, sharp snap on the bottom causing Moonshine to jolt and step quickly forward. “You will mind your tongue with me, Elf.”
“Hey, hey!” Moonshine rubbed his butt, pouting up at the dragon. “That was a compliment! You may be hard on people other than your mistress, but you’ve got a good heart. I can tell.” He smiled as he thought of someone similar. “You kind of remind me of my dad, honestly.”Musashi looked to the Elf as they walked toward the stables to find Nychta, the Elf’s dragon. “You compare me to an Elf?”Moonshine laughed loudly, shaking his head. “No, silly! My real dad. My human one, you know.” He smiled as he thought of his dad. “He can be pretty strict and upholds me and my brother to some high standards, but he’s a kind man. He loves his family very much.” He looked back up at the dragon. “And he would do anything to protect us. Like you with Lady Tanya.”He grinned. “And of course he doesn’t tolerate backtalk.”“Hm,” Musashi hummed as he lifted his head again and looked out before them. Walking a little further Musashi spoke again. “When you have found Nychta will you be looking in on the other dragons of the Guild?”Moonshine nodded. “Yes. I need to form bonds with the other dragons as well, though I would prefer it if their masters were there with them. With dragons that are already bonded, it usually works out better that way if their masters are there.”Musashi’s head swayed slightly in agreement as he spoke to the Elf. “We have only seven dragons in the Guild. Shee and I, you have already met. Then there is Vice Master’s dragon Un. Dueler, which is the Alchemist’s dragon. Grandmaster Klein has just made acquaintance with his dragon Rangi. Neither Kaen nor Meuma as claimed a master. Though they have acquaintance status with Mistress Tanya, the Vice Master, and Cerberus.”He craned his head to look at the Elf once more. “Then, of course, your dragon or dragons, once she is resurrected, will be part of our family.”
“I see,” Moonshine nodded. “Then I will start with Kaen and Meuma after I’ve tended to Nychta. The others I will meet officially when I see--” He blinked. “Wait a minute. Speaking of Cerberus. Where did he run off to anyway? I thought he was with us earlier.” He opened his friend's panel to see that he was still on and still in the castle. “I’ll message him and see if he’s busy.”He sent a message to Cerberus, requesting his presence at the stables before they moved on. Once there, he saw Nychta lounging outside the stables gnawing on sassafras branches. He seemed to be loving it. He reminded Moonshine of a cat with catnip.“Pfft. That dork. He’s already making himself at home,” Moonshine shook his head with an amused grin. They walked up to him and Nychta raised his head, licking his teeth.
“Master. Welcome back. Did you sleep well?”
Moonshine nodded. “I did. And you look happy, to say the least.”
“The stablemen gave me these branches to chew on after they brushed my teeth.”
Moonshine laughed. “They brushed your teeth?”“I made one of them puke,” Nychta seemed pleased with himself. “Though I don’t think I can use my breath to your advantage anymore.” “Let’s see.” Nychta craned his head and snorted in his master’s face. “Hey, what do you know. It smells… almost manageable. Definitely not gag-worthy anymore though.”Nychta reached out back to his master, though this time he sniffed at the baby dragon. “I see. So you have made a bond with her using your tamer skill.” “And with Musashi, though it was not unearned,” Moonshine smiled back at Musashi. He turned back to Shee in his arms. “Shee, this is Nychta. He’s my partner.”Shee started to tremble as her head darted quickly between Moonshine’s arm and body as the large dragon lowered his head down in front of her. “He’s scary… Please don’t let him eat me.”
“Don’t worry, Shee,” Moonshine spoke softly to her. “He won’t eat you. He’s like a big, black… leathery, scaly… teddy bear…” He looked up to Nychta.Nychta pulled back his lips into a white, toothy grin that he probably meant to be funny, but honestly just looked downright terrifying.Shee peeked out slightly seeing him as her head buried deep into Moonshine’s side once more. Musashi chuckled lightly at the tiny dragon’s actions. “It seems your attempts to befriend her have failed, Nychta. Maybe when she is older, and you do not look like such a mountain compared to her.”
Nychta whined and lowered his head to his paws. “I am sorry.”Moonshine smiled sheepishly, patting Nychta’s head. “Don’t worry, big guy. It’s not you, it’s… well, just a little bit of you. She’s a baby still. And we both know children are not your strong suit.”“I understand,” Nychta sighed. “I am too big for my own good.” The dragon stood up and stretched. “Since you are here, I will go fly around and stretch my wings.”“Would you like to eat first?” Moonshine asked him.Shee quivered hearing Moonshine’s question to the large dragon. “Not me not me…” Her trembling voice cried out to the Elf.“No, not you Shee,” Moonshine stroked her gently.Nychta lowered his head, whining once more. “No. I will go and return when you are done.”“Nychta--”Before Moonshine could finish his sentence, the dragon shuffled back and took off in a gale of wind. He sighed, looking up as Nychta soared across the sky.“Poor guy. He really is too big for his own good. His heart is bigger than his body though,” Moonshine sighed.Musashi nodded slowly as he craned his neck to look at Shee, nosing her gently she lifted her head and looked to Musashi. “She will warm up to him in time. Then he will never get rid of her.”
Moonshine smiled and lifted Shee up in front of him like a cat to kiss her nose. “Don’t worry. The big lug won’t hurt you. He’s a big softy. Promise.”Before Shee could respond, he turned to see Cerberus trotting up to them.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Sixteen
“So what are you going to do with Dueler?” Cerberus asked Moonshine as the two walked into the stable where Dueler was sleeping.They had just finished with Kaen and Meuma who were out in the fields when they found them, and Cerberus was not too sure what Moonshine had done other than talk to them. Slowly Dueler lifted his large head as his amber-colored eyes opened. He was a smoky gray color, like ash. His eyes sat elegantly within the creature's thorny, hard skull, which gave the creature a vicious looking appearance. Several small tendrils sat atop his head, just above his enormous, dog-like ears. A row of small orange clinohumite crystals followed the sides of his jaw line. His nose was stubby and had two narrow, angular nostrils. A few large teeth showed out from the side of his mouth.His strong neck ran down from his head and into a huge body. His body was covered in small scales and a row of small crystal growths ran down his spine. His belly was also covered in scale-like skin and colored much lighter than the rest of his body. Four thick limbs carried him, allowing Dueler to stand illustrious and sturdy as he gracefully rose to his feet. Each limb had four digits, each of which ended in sharp talons seemingly made of the same crystal.His giant wings started from his shoulders and ended at the end of his shoulder blades. His wings were somewhat triangular, the inside almost entirely see-through, especially when viewed from a distance, and sharp hooks grew from the endings of each bone. His narrow tail ended in a point and was covered in the same small scales as his body.“A Volcanic Dragon!” Moonshine gawked in awe at Dueler. “He is one of the earth types I had expected to be a Hybrid. I’ve only ever seen one, and I nearly lost my life trying to get to it. The one I saw, I had gotten reports that the dragon’s clinohumite crystals were overgrowing and causing him pain in his jaw, preventing him from eating. The dragon lived on the volcano in its natural habitat, which acted as a catalyst for his gems to grow at an accelerated rate.”Moonshine walked carefully up to Dueler, raising his hand out that had a thick turkey leg in it. “Usually the dragons knock off or shed excess gems, but some dragons’ gems don’t fall off so easily. Especially the more resilient gems.”He blinked and turned to Cerberus. “Oh! Sorry. I didn’t answer your question. To clarify, I’ll be forming a bond with him. It will be different from the one you share with him. I cannot take it further than Friend and it only allows me to better help him as a caretaker. Which means no battling and no riding. Only healing, training, rehabilitation, if needed, and collecting resources from him. It won’t affect your bond either.”Cerberus nodded his head as he walked up to Dueler who had his head lowered to sniff the turkey leg that was offered him. Cerberus then reached out and scratched the dragon behind the ear like he was a dog as Dueler’s head tipped to one side his eyes rolling back into his head.
The ground shook as Dueler’s leg pounded on the ground like a dog. Moonshine laughed, tossing the turkey leg at the dragon’s feet when he grew tired of holding it up. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dragon act like a dog.”“Are dragons not allowed to enjoy a good scratching behind the ear, Moon Elf?” Dueler questioned.Moonshine laughed, shaking his head. “That’s not what I meant at all. I thought it was rather cute, to be honest. Though I am definitely glad Nychta does not shake his leg when I scratch his head, otherwise he might end up creating an earthquake.”“Hm,” Dueler hummed as he lowered his head and snatched up the turkey leg. “Thank you for the treat, Elf.” He looked to the Moon Elf and lowered his head. “My name is Dueler and who might you be?”Moonshine bowed to the dragon. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mighty Dueler. My name is Moonshine. I am Nychta the Dark Dragon’s master and the Mystic Dragons’ new Beast Master and dragon caretaker. It will be not only my job, but my pleasure to help the Mystic Dragons care for all of you. In order to better serve that purpose, I would like to form a bond with you using my Tamer skill.”Dueler looked to his master as Cerberus nodded his head slowly. He then looked to Moonshine. “Can Dueler understand me at least, or do I need to tell you to tell him, what I want to tell him.” Cerberus facepalm. “That’s almost as bad as he said she said.”Moonshine laughed and shook his head. “No, no. Dragons can understand us perfectly. But in order for us to understand them, you need an Animal Telepathy skill which you only get from being a Beast Master. Even then, you need to gain that skill in relation to dragons, not all animals. For example, I can speak to dragons, but Kitsune can speak to all animals except for dragons. The animals you can talk to depends on your specialties as a Beast Master.”“Ahh~ I get it…” Cerberus looked to Dueler a confused look on his face. “I think.” He chuckled lightly and patted Dueler. “Well my friend. This here will be your new health provider. He is more LTTP than MST, so you will get the best care a dragon could find.” Cerberus and Dueler looked to Moonshine. “So he can be trusted.” Cerberus told Dueler with another pat to the head.Moonshine blinked rapidly at Cerberus. “Uh… Is that a compliment? What is LTTP and MST?”Cerberus chuckled. “LTTP: Listen To The Patient. MST: Mad Scientist Type. So yeah, it is a compliment.”Moonshine laughed and shrugged. “Well, considering I can literally listen to the patient, I sure hope I am.” He turned to Dueler. “In any case, do your gems cause you any pain or discomfort? I know some gems can embed themselves pretty deeply. If they give you trouble, please let me know.”Dueler shook his head as he looked to the Elf named Moonshine. “They have been growing rather well. Though the other day I snapped off one of my back talons.” Dueler lifted his hind leg bringing his foot around for Moonshine to look at it. “It does not hurt any longer, but it did throb the biggest part of the day when it took place.”Moonshine moved closer to the dragon’s hind leg, inspecting the toe with the broken talon. He knelt down next to it, running his fingers around Dueler’s toe. What was left of the talon was jagged and sharp. It had just barely grown out enough so the sharp ends weren’t touching the dragon’s skin.“It seems that when it broke off the talon broke behind the quit. That’s why it caused you pain.” He opened his inventory and pulled out a bag filled with tools. He plucked out a large file, like one you’d use on a horse. “I will file it down flat for now, then when it grows out long enough I will sharpen it up.”Moonshine took out a piece of paper and held it underneath the nail. As he filed the crystal talon down, dust from the nail sprinkled down onto the paper. Once the nail was flat he took out an empty bottle and poured the dust into it. Corking it, he held it up. The orange dust glittered in the light.“Do you mind if I keep this? Or would you prefer to have it?” He asked Cerberus and Dueler.Cerberus shook his head as his dragon spoke.“You are welcome to it, Elf. As a dragon, I have no use for it. Only the mortals of this world seek objects as such,” Dueler confessed.Moonshine bowed to the dragon. “Thank you, Dueler. It will be put to good use.” He turned to Cerberus. “Lady Tanya told me there was a lab that was available for use. Does the lab have a set up for basic alchemy readily available? There are some potions and elixirs I would like to make with this once I have seen the other dragons.”“It’s got everything you need for a Mad lab or otherwise,” Cerberus told him as he looked at Dueler’s talon. “I’ll show you where it is.” He looked to Moonshine. “Just say the word when you’re ready.”
Moonshine nodded. “Thank you. For now, I was hoping that either Sir Aaron or Grandmaster Klein were around. My first duty is to the dragons, not to alchemy. If they’re not available yet, then I’ll retire to the lab until they arrive.”Cerberus nodded as he stood then patted Dueler on the head. “Well then, let’s head to the castle.”Cerberus walked past Moonshine to exit the stable as Moonshine fell in behind him. “I’m not too sure when those two will be on, but I do know they check to see who is on when they arrive. If Aaron and Klein see me on, they will come looking for me. So if we stick together you will come across them in time.”
“Sounds good to me,” Moonshine nodded. Leaving Shee with Musashi, the two made their way into the castle.---The lab was on the main floor in the east wing of the castle, facing the courtyard closest to the nearby lake. The lab sat on a corner so it had lots of windows, as was needed for research and experiments that created lots of fumes or smoke. The view from the lab was beautiful and nearby was a garden with fruits, veggies, herbs, medicinals, and many other things used in alchemy and magic. There was a main set of double doors and a single side door on the other side. There were also several indoor plants growing in the lab. There were ceiling high bookshelves with books and scrolls and notebooks. There were shelves and cabinets filled with flasks and bottles and boxes of ingredients and mixtures. There was a stone oven on one wall and a cauldron along another. What space wasn’t filled with equipment and supplies was filled with tables and desks, though there was also clear floor space for laying things out.“Wow!” Moonshine gawked at the setup, walking around and spinning around the room. “Tanya wasn’t kidding when she said it had everything. I’ve never seen a lab this complete. This is better than most magicians’ guilds.”“Yeah, Lady Tanya made sure all of the magic users in the guild had a place to do their work. The lab has everything you could ever need, even for non-magic users,” Cerberus moved over to Moonshine where he was setting the bottle filled with Dueler’s gem shavings on a table. He watched as he pulled out a couple of ingredients then moved over to the shelves and cabinets to look for something else. “What are you going to make with it?”“A fire resistance elixir,” Moonshine said as he pulled out a few more ingredients from the shelf, moving them over to the table. “When I received gems and shavings from the last Volcanic Dragon I met, I used half to practice alchemy, and the other half I sold. I found a few recipes that worked, but not all of them. It was only after I sold the rest that I looked up a list of potions and elixirs that used clinohumite as the ingredient. Since then I’ve been waiting to find another so I could complete the list.”He pointed over to an alchemy set up over on another table. “Could you bring that equipment over here please?”Cerberus nodded and went to transfer the equipment. He brought the bag of tools as well as the scale. Once all of the equipment was in front of Moonshine, he took a seat next to him and watched.Moonshine took out a piece of paper and set it over the top of a ring holder that held the paper in place, allowing it to dip down in the center just a bit. He took out a notebook from his inventory and flipped it open to a page labeled ‘Clinohumite Elixirs’. He followed the recipe listed under ‘Small Fire Resistance Elixir’.“For now I can only make one, but when Dueler’s talon grows out and I file it down to sharpen it, I’ll be able to make more and much stronger elixirs with it,” Moonshine said half to himself and half to Cerberus as he took a tiny measuring spoon and scooped out the exact amount of the shavings needed.He placed them on the paper then corked the bottle back. There was less than a quarter of a teaspoon left. Not enough to make anything with, but he would save it for when he acquired more from Dueler. Next, he took a blossom from a Scarlet Sun zinnia, which was a flower that only grew in extremely hot climates. He plucked off the petals then took out the filaments, grinding the filaments into a powder and adding it to the gem shavings. He set aside the petals then took out a sprig of Sun Spearmint, a type of mint leaf that also grew in hot weather and had a taste that was often described as "hot cinnamon and peppermint". That too was ground up and placed with the powdered ingredients.The liquid ingredients were next and were placed in a flask. There were three ingredients: salamander’s blood, potion of resist fire, and Burning Blade.“Woah! Wait a minute! Burning Blade is a poison!” Cerberus reached to stop Moonshines hand from pouring it into the mixture.“Yes, I know. Don’t worry,” Moonshine smiled at him and added it to the mixture. The mixture frothed and bubbled until he poured in the powdered ingredients, sliding them off the paper and into the mouth of the flask. He took a stirring stick and stirred the mixture until the rest of the froth and bubbles settled. Once the mixture was clear, he stuck the petals in one by one and stirred it once more.A timer appeared above the flask, counting down from 30 minutes. Next to the timer was a button with a crystal icon and the number 25. “Normally, I’d let the timer run, but for the sake of time, I’ll finish it now.” Moonshine tapped the crystal icon and the bar on the timer filled all the way up before flashing ‘Complete’. The potion turned from thick and blood red to thinner and more of a lighter scarlet color. He poured the elixir out of the flask into a proper holding bottle and corked it.He handed it to Cerberus. “Dueler is your dragon, so you should have the honors. Drink it.”Cerberus swirled the elixir around in the bottle watching the clear red liquid mix with a bright orange and yellow. It looked like liquid fire in the bottle. Looking at Moonshine, he smiled and lifted the bottle in a toasting like manner. Placing the mouth of the bottle to his lips Cerberus tipped the bottle and drank it all down. Hearing a notification chime, Cerberus opened his panel seeing he gained +10 fire resistance points.He chuckled lightly. “Just what I need to be. Flame retardant.”Moonshine laughed and nodded. “And it’s permanent. Unlike the Potion of Resist Fire, which only gives you five temporary points.” He lifted up the Burning Blade poison. “As for the poison, the petals of the Scarlet Sun zinnia absorb and nullify the poison in the Burning Blade, leaving only the heat properties. That plus the gem shavings and the salamander’s blood make it permanent. The other ingredients boost the effect.”He began putting away the ingredients now that he was finished. “You’d think that as an earth type dragon, the Volcanic Dragon would have only earth properties, but it has both earth and fire, and yet it’s not a Hybrid type. My guess is that they made too many Hybrids and instead of releasing the Volcanic Dragon as a Hybrid, they just labeled it an earth type and left it at that. Either way, resources from the Volcanic Dragon are very useful because of it having both earth and fire properties.”“So I have a question for you,” Cerberus commented as he played with the empty bottle. “What kind of dragon is Musashi? There is absolutely no information on him in the Dragon Lance website except that the Mystic Dragon is the protector of Dragons and his general attributes. Size, color, attitude.” His hand waved mindlessly. “You know all that rigamarole.”
Moonshine turned to walk back over to the table to grab more stuff to put away as Cerberus tossed the bottle to him, catching it he listened to the boy talk.“I always thought he was a type of Dark Dragon, but after the research I have done on him I realized I was wrong. He is strong as f--” Cerberus cleared his throat. “Yeah, he is strong. Even with only being a little over 3 years old, but there is no information on his element or otherwise.”Moonshine hummed, trying to recall everything he had learned about the Mystic Dragon. Once everything was put away, he returned to the table and took a seat. “I have met only one other Mystic Dragon. A female. And she was no less or more sociable than Musashi. I found her egg and returned it to her. In return, she left me six of her gems. I used up four of them trying to figure out what to do with them, but the last two…”He went to his inventory and unequipped his prized twin short swords. He set them on the table in front of him. Embedded in the base of the blades were pale sapphires. “IRL, sapphires represent loyalty, wisdom, truth, good health. Things like that. They’re also second in hardness only to diamonds. These two sapphires gave my swords enhanced durability, 1000 extra HP points, and allows me to see weak points, weaknesses, and strengths of my enemies, as well as see their HP numbers, not just their bars. And all that from one single gem. I have that on both swords. Before I met the Mystic Dragon, these swords had been repaired twice. After placing these gems in the blades, I haven’t had to repair them once. There’s also one last skill listed for the gems, but it’s in question marks and it won’t tell me how to unlock it. I’ve maxed out my skills with these blades, reinforced them with duplicates and stronger blades, and still they won’t unlock.”Moonshine sighed, shaking his head. “The four most precious gems in the world are diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies. And they are also the most rare in this game. Only one group of dragons each have those gems. Sapphires come from Mystic Dragons, rubies come from Titan Dragons, emeralds come from Gaea Dragons, and the diamonds…” He turned to look at Cerberus. “I have no idea. But my best guess is that they come from Divine Dragons. I only have the sapphires. I was working on finding a Titan Dragon, but I don’t have the fire resistance or armor needed to visit the Devil’s Crest volcano. I came close to finding the Gaea Dragon, but in order to enter the domain where it lives, you need to have a bond of a Master level with a dragon of the nature type.”Moonshine took out one of his journals and turned to the section with his notes on the sapphire gems. “Judging by the fact that I got no elemental boons from the sapphires, I believe that the dragons that hold those gems do not actually have elements. Rather they represent a certain skillset gained from those gems. Or ‘virtues’ or ‘values,’ if you will. Like in most legends. Blue is water, but it is also wisdom. Red is fire, but it’s also power. Green is earth and courage.”“So then what’s diamond?” Cerberus asked.Moonshine closed his journal and looked back at him. “Everything… Or nothing. Truthfully, I don’t know. But if the diamond really does belong to the Divine Dragon, then the most likely answer is everything. It represents all dragon-kind. All abilities. All elements. The raw, pure energy that the Divine Dragon is supposed to be able to wield. The alpha and the omega of dragon magic.”“So what does this mean for Musashi and the Mystic Dragons?”“Well, think of Musashi’s personality.” Moonshine counted on his fingers as he listed traits. “He is fiercely loyal to your sister and to you. He is protective. He won’t hesitate to kill those that hurt the ones he loves, but he is not evil. Despite his black scales, he holds no tainted energy like Nychta does. He’s completely pure. He is the guardian of this guild, a guild which is dedicated to truth and wisdom and protecting dragons for the sake of them and all of Tarragonia. My hypothesis is that the Mystic Dragons, the Titan Dragons, and the Gaea Dragons are guardians. Of what, exactly, I’m not sure. But I bet you they have something to do with the Divine Dragons. If we want to know more about the Divine Dragons and the true lore of this world, we have to get Musashi to open up and find the other two dragon guardians.”He put away his journal and re-equipped his swords. “Also, given my ideas on this, it’s probably safe to say that this guild owes its success to the resources of Musashi and his parents. At least in part.”“Oh, we know we do!” Cerberus replied sitting up. “Musashi was what brought Tanya to naming the Guild after his kind. When she found his egg, we did not know what kind of dragon was going to hatch out of it. If the egg would have been found with his parent's deceased bodies, we might have had a better idea, but his parents were at the nest and his egg was found with a Slayer. It was when he hatched, we put two and two together.”Cerberus leaned over the table his elbows propping him up as he looked at Moonshine sitting across from him. “It was then Aaron decided to use the resources from Musashi’s parents to create the Mystic Swords of Whitehaven. There was even enough to create the shields and as the years past with what was left over and what Musashi has dropped and has shed in the last 3 years, the armor was created.” Cerberus smiled brightly. “So I guess you can say Musashi is our mascot. We honor him by living by the Dragon Code. Loyalty, Honesty, and Courage, and we follow the 10 Laws of the Dragon.”“Oh?” Moonshine looked at the boy as he propped his elbow to the table and rested his chin in his palm. “And do you know them at leisure?”“Damn right I do!” Cerberus announced proudly as he shot up off his stool and stood at attention, drawing his arm across his chest a fisted hand at is left shoulder. His eyes were focused on Moonshine and the look on his face was very earnest.
“I, Cerberus, Elemental Alchemist and Head Advisor for Lady Tanya of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. Stand true to the Dragon Code and so solemnly swear to always abide by its wisdom and laws…“One: Your duty is always to yourself, your family, and your Clan. Never neglect your family, your Clan, or your friends. Have the fierceness of a Dragon in their defense and always be certain they are provided for before starting any endeavor, and in all that you do; consider its benefit or harm to yourself, your family, and your Clan.”“Two: Be honest with yourself and others and let them know you will not accept anything but honesty in return. You should always be above reproach or criticism in the eyes of the world. Dignity, a gracious manner, and a good humor are to be admired and cultivated. They will aid you to bring honor to your family, and your Clan.”“Three: You should always strive to be kind to others, or, should kindness prove impossible, strive always to be just. Offer forgiveness only to those who are truly repentant of wrongs committed against you, your family, your Clan or your friends. And when you offer forgiveness, do so with honesty, for to do so grudgingly is not forgiveness but deceit.”“Four: Give your bond only after great consideration as to how it may affect your duties to yourself, your family, and your Clan. And when you do give your bond it should carry the weight of a signed blood oath. Pledge friendship and your assistance only to those who are worthy and honorable. Work to strengthen those of your family, friends, and your Clan, and they will strengthen you.”“Five: Do not pass on anything you have not personally witnessed or verified. Never give unproven hearsay the weight of truth. Never reveal the secrets entrusted to you by your family, your Clan, or your friends without permission. For possession of a wagging tongue marks you as a fool. The only exceptions to this are when keeping the secret would endanger an innocent, bring unjustified dishonor to another, bring shame or dishonor to your family, your Clan, or friends, allow a criminal to go unpunished, or seriously violate the laws of the land. In this matter let common sense prevail.”“Six: The laws of the land should be obeyed whenever possible and within reason for the protection of yourself, your family, and your Clan, for in the main they have been chosen with wisdom.”“Seven: Always remember that the fury and excitement of the moment can play havoc with the truth. To keep one's head in any situation is a virtue.”“Eight: Have respect and honor for all Dragons and the Dragons of the Land. For they will assist you in your endeavors if you do. Respect yourself as a child of the Dragons. Have pride, but not arrogance, in yourself, your appearance, and your position in the Clan. Do your best in all things. Be gracious with self-praise, without bragging, and self-forgiveness when warranted.”“Nine: When you gain authority, use it carefully and with wisdom. Remember that authority will grow with experience, and as a Leader of a Clan, you should exercise it with care and dignity. Power does not come with authority but can be given. Be wary of how you use any power given to you, for power over something does not always give you the authority to control it.”“Ten: Try always to be prepared for whatever the future may bring. Life with all of its joys, sorrows, and secrets is to be embraced and experienced to the fullest, for this is how one gains wisdom. And when your time in this life is done, return to the Dragons, and stand before them with pride, not arrogance. For a life lived with dignity, respect, and honor is one to be prideful of.”
Moonshine sat up and clapped softly. “Good job! I don’t even think I could have done that. I have them written down, but I haven’t had time to memorize them.”“Better learn them because the Knights around here like to keep us all on our toes and quiz us on them.”“We like to quiz you on what, Cerberus?” Aaron questioned as he walked into the lab. Seeing Moonshine, he smiled, nodding to him in greeting. “I do hope that seeing you here in the Mystic Lab is a good sign and not a bad one.” Aaron chuckled as he walked over to Moonshine and offered his hand.“Welcome to the Guild, Moonshine.”The two men shook hands as Aaron turned back to Cerberus.“The Dragon Code,” Cerberus quickly slipped in.“Aw, yes. All Mystic Knights have to know them. It’s the foundation of our Guild. It’s what leads us and keeps us united, keeps us strong.” Aaron turned again and walked toward a large cabinet on the other side of the room. On either side of it were other cabinets about a fourth of the size of the cabinet Aaron approached.Moonshine watched as Aaron stopped in front of the cabinet, swiping his hand downward as a small, pin pad like panel opened. There were four small squares in a straight line above a numbered keypad. Once Aaron entered the four digits, a soft click sounded and the double doors on the cabinet slowly swung open.Aaron did not look back at the Moon Elf when he made a sound of astonishment. “You’re welcome to use anything within this cabinet. Just make sure whatever you use is logged that you were the one that commandeered it.” Aaron pushed open the cabinet door further pointing at a chart. “You enter it here. This is the cabinets inventory. When we see things getting low, me or Lady Tanya will replenish it. If you don’t log what you use, and we run out, it makes things difficult when something is needed immediately.”Aaron grabbed a bottle of what looked to be Dragon scales from the electric dragon. He then logged the taken item on the inventory sheet. Leaving the doors open so Moonshine could look at said items in the cabinet, Aaron slid the bottle into his inventory. “You’re welcome to store the items you do not need in the field in a cabinet of your own.” He gestured to the other smaller cabinets, which in reality were not really that small.“They lock just as this one does, and only the magic wielders of this guild have access to this cabinet,” Aaron informed him.
Moonshine nodded, looking through the cabinet. “Thank you, Sir Aaron. I will log the materials I used for the elixir I just made. Also…” Moonshine opened his inventory and pulled out half of what he had collected from Nychta in the past couple of weeks, as well as resources from Imera from before her death. He placed them in the cabinet alongside the other resources. “Consider this my contribution. I’m sure Nychta and Imera’s gems and scales will be very useful.” He closed the cabinet once he was finished.He turned back to Aaron. “How do the cabinets work, exactly?”“Pick one you want to store your things in and set up a PIN for it. Once that PIN is set…” Aaron paused for a second opening his panel swiping and flipping a few panels, he then scrolled a small list and nodded his head, closing his panel looking back at Moonshine. “The PIN you use to open your cabinet will open this cabinet.” Aaron pointed at the community magic cabinet.Looking around the room Aaron spoke. “All common items are stored pretty much throughout the room. You will just have to get used to where everything is. The community magic cabinet now is for all rare, unique and expensive items. Oh,” Aaron shook a finger at no one in particular. “If you try to put something where it does not belong. It won’t allow it. Lady Tanya has marked everything in this room with placement tags. That way nothing can be missed placed.”Moonshine nodded. “That’s good to know. Means I’ll spend less time looking for things and more time researching. And of course, I have a place to unload my excess inventory.”He went to an available cabinet and opened the panel. He set his pin to his default number for everything: his and Kaori’s anniversary date of October 28th -- 1028. Once the pin was set, he opened the doors and began unloading everything he wasn’t using at the moment. He had to admit, it was extremely useful to have a place to store extra items. He would definitely be making good use of the extra inventory space.As Moonshine put his unneeded inventory into the cabinet storage, Aaron walked around the room gathering a few more needed items. “Tanya is very organized. It makes me wonder what she is like IRL.”Moonshine chuckled lightly. “The opposite I am sure.” He turned to look at Cerberus as he sat at the table with wide eyes shaking his head. “Not even close?”Cerberus’ head continued to shake as he spoke. “I would say she is nearly OCD for organization. She absolutely hates to go searching for things and if she has to… everybody in the house hears about it.”Moonshine chuckled turning back to his task at hand as he remembered he needed Aaron. “Oh yeah, Aaron? Are you about to run off and do something?”“Yeah, I am taking my troop out toward the Northern Mountains to defeat the Valkyrie. Why?” Aaron looked to Moonshine. “Did you need something?”
Moonshine nodded. “Yes, I wanted to fill you in about my role and skills as this guild’s Beast Master, which includes meeting your dragon. If you’re too busy at the moment, I understand. We can plan to talk it over at a later time.”“I got a few minutes. How long is this going to take if you don’t mind me asking? Reason being is I have to take these things into Dawnmeadow to get a lance forged.” Aaron turned, still talking to no one in particular. “That bitch has another thing coming if she thinks she is going to defeat me this round. I have been researching how to beat her nearly all morning. I will defeat her this time.”
Moonshine smiled tightly, wondering who he was talking about in the back of his mind. “It won’t be long. About ten minutes, give or take. Depending on Un that is. We can walk and talk if you like.”“Sounds good,” Aaron replied as he grabbed a small bottle of crushed white flower petals. The label under it read Steel Magnolia. He dropped it in his inventory and turned looking at Moonshine. “Let’s go my man.”Aaron turned again stepping toward the door. “You’re welcome to come if you want, Cerberus.”Cerberus looked to Moonshine as the two stepped quickly toward the exiting door of the lab.---As they walked back over towards the stables, Moonshine explained his Tamer of Dragons skill to Aaron as he had to Tanya and Cerberus.Once they came to the stables, he stopped and turned to Aaron. “Of course it all depends on you and most importantly Un. If he doesn’t like the idea, then that will be the end of it.”“Un is rather easy going believe it or not. I rubbed off on him, I guess. He is a little over 6 years of age, I think. He and I have been through a lot together since I have found him.” Aaron confessed. He looked over at Moonshine then the stable keeper as he shook his head.Aaron then turned to look around them, his eyes turning to the night sky. When he did not see Un he whistled loudly causing Cerberus to clap his hands over his ears.“Please! Aaron, warn people before you whistle for that beast your whistle is deafening.” Cerberus complained.
Moonshine laughed and watched as Un descended into the courtyard in front of the stables.Un was a golden color and had calm obsidian, bronze flecked eyes sitting lightly within his scaled, four horned skull. Two enormous central horns sat on his head with two shorter horns at the larger ones’ sides, just above his large, round ears. His jaw had a row of obsidian glass gems following his jaw line. His nose was rounded with two thick, slited nostrils and small tendrils on his chin. A few sharp teeth showing out from the sides of his mouth gave Un a fierce looking appearance.A broad neck ran down from his head and into a slim body. The top was covered in warped scales and a row of thick armor plating ran down his spine. His belly was covered in massive scales and was colored much darker than the rest of his body. Four slim limbs carried him, allowing Un to stand elegantly and dignified. Each limb had five digits, each of which ended in keen talons seemingly made of bone.Un’s huge wings started from his shoulders and ended at his shoulder blades. His wings were curved. The edges of the skin inside the wings were tattered and damaged. Small, sharp tips grew from each ending like spears. His thick tail ended in a gentle point and was covered in the same warped scales as his body.“An Obsidian Dragon. They live at the base of volcanoes where their gems are found abundantly. Not especially useful for weapons or shields because the gems are technically glass, but they excel greatly when used in jewelry and magic.” Moonshine tilted his head as he moved closer to Un, wanting a closer look at the gems on his face. “But of course, since they’re glass, that means they’re prone to breaking. Even internally.”He bowed to the dragon. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Un. I am Moonshine, the new Beast Master and caretaker of the guild’s dragons.”“Are you now, and from what I have heard from Musashi you want to inspect the Guilds dragons to make sure we are in top health.” His neck craned as he looked down his nose at the tiny Elf below. “Did I get my information correct?”Moonshine smiled warily, swallowing hard as he nodded. “Yes, that is correct… Hopefully, you only heard good things from Musashi. I have a lot to prove to him to gain his complete trust.” He stood up straight with a sigh. “In any case, I would also like to form a bond with you via my Tamer skill, if you’ll allow it.”“I don’t see why not, and Musashi speaks ill of no one unless they derive to that conclusion with him.” Un tipped his head to one side as his great head lowered slowly his snout getting in the man’s face. “Have you done something to deserve him to speak ill of you?” When the man shook his head quickly, Un lifted his head as he spoke. “Good, then you have nothing to fear. Musashi is indeed the youngest of the two of us, but he is wise beyond his years. Make friends with him and you have made a friend for life. Master or not.”Moonshine nodded with a smile. “Thank you, Un. I greatly appreciate your advice. If I may, I’d like to inspect your gems. Have your obsidians been giving you any trouble? Any breaking or fracturing?”Un shook his head carefully as he lowered his head to the Elf to look closer. “None, though they do like to itch.”“I see. That’s good then.”Moonshine ran his fingers over and around the obsidians on Un’s jaw. All of them were intact and only had surface cracks. None that went deep into the gem to the internal part that laid below the skin. He gently pressed in between them, feeling underneath the tough skin to the internal parts of the gems. There were no jagged or sharp edges that he could feel. They all seemed smooth underneath.“The itching is most likely from them growing. A wire brush around the skin surrounding the gem should do the trick. Though I definitely don’t recommend scratching them with your talons. They’ll break easier that way. I definitely want to check the gems once a week, though.”He turned to glance at Aaron. “It may seem excessive, but obsidians are the most fragile and very brittle. Broken obsidian shards embedded in the skin and muscle is not pleasant. For master, caretaker, or dragon. I’ve seen my fair share of them. And the worst part is that they’re like human teeth. Once they crack and break, they’re done for good. Broken obsidians aren’t much use for anything except selling for chump change. Worse than that is the damage they can do to the dragon if they’re not removed soon enough.”Moonshine turned and smiled at Un, scratching him underneath his chin. “Thankfully, your gems all look shiny and in good shape.” He pulled out three whole quails and tossed them to Un one by one. “I will check in with you next week, though please let me know if anything changes before then.”Un chuckled low in his chest as he looked to his Master. “We are going out to do battle with the Valkyrie, and Master Aaron is having the Armorsmith forge him a Lightening Lance. You might want to check in with me after that battle. Last attempt we did not do so well.”
Moonshine laughed and turned to Aaron. “After your battle, both of you come see me, and I will make sure Un’s obsidians are still intact. I would take them out now, but that’s a long and careful process when the gems are healthy. It would be better to just keep an eye on them and if they get damaged in the battle, then I will take them out if necessary.”Aaron nodded as he looked to Un. “Stoolie,” His eyes then drifted to Moonshine. “Un should be fine. The bitch focused on us last time unless I sent Un in. However, I am hoping this time I won’t have to. The Lightening Lance should end her quickly.”
“Well, let’s hope so,” Moonshine smiled. He checked his bonds list and confirmed that Un was listed. “Alright. That about sums it up. I’ll let you two get to it. Have fun.”“So you got everything you need with us?” Aaron asked Moonshine. As the Elf nodded his head, Aaron extended his hand. “Thanks for looking out for our guys, Moonshine, and again welcome to the Guild.”Moonshine shook his head with another nod. “It’s my pleasure. Thank you for everything the guild does.”He watched as Un took flight once more and Aaron made his way off to the front of the castle to head into town. After he was gone, he turned and headed back towards the inside of the castle.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Seventeen
While sitting at a table within their stronghold, Bloodmoon Fortress in Deephallow, Cerrakor sat mindfully as his men sat around drinking, eating and enjoying conversation. In front of him set an open notebook with a quill pen resting next to it an empty mug of beer and a plate with a half-eaten sandwich. His fingers drummed on the tabletop as he looked aimlessly at the page he had scribed notes in.Within the room, a door closed with a loud thud as heavy footsteps moved slowly across the floor. So deep into his own world, Cerrakor did not even realize the one that entered the room had taken a seat at the table with him. “I am sure you have seen the World Board.” He lifted a hand to the one serving the group. “Hence the open notebook.”Cerrakor’s eyes lifted from the page as he looked on at his long-time friend and comrade, Seveani, as he sat across the table from him. “Yes, I saw them,” his voice grew more annoyed, “And I saw that they fixed what they believed to be a glitch in the sensitivity setting.”“So what now,” Seveani questioned as he looked up at the server with a slight nod as his beer was set down in front of him.“We move forward. What else,” Cerrakor rebutted.“Agreed, but they will be watching the programming closer with the new features and updates,” Seveani added to their conversation.“Indeed,” Cerrakor grinned. “Which means we will have to hide our hacks much better.“What about the coding for opening the Divine Spiritcrest in the Northern Mountains?” Seveani questioned. “Without it, there is no way we will get the Divine Dragons or their egg.”Cerrakor nodded slowly. “The coding for the Divine Spiritcrest is already active. I have it set to open in a few weeks. Well into the release of the new features and updates. It will not be seen as a glitch or a bug and no one will be any more aware of it than they ever were.”“So you’re not worried about anyone finding out that the Divine Spiritcrest is now obtainable?”“There is no need for anyone to go checking,” Cerrakor grumbled as he adjusted in his seat, propping his feet atop the table as he leaned back in his chair. “It’s believed that the Spiritcrest is a domain that can’t be entered, and the Divine Dragons only generate when they are needed in game.”“You mean like when one showed up at the Whitehaven Castle to bless those damn swords Aaron had forged from the parents of that demon named Musashi.” Seveani gave a growl. “Between that dragon, the swords and their Armor they’re damn near invincible.”“And their growing numbers don’t help either.” A familiar voice chimed into their conversation as he stepped up to the table pulling a chair to take a seat. He set his beer to the table as he looked at the two sitting there.Cerrakor looked to the male with fire red hair and soft blue eyes. Most of the time he was in a good mood, laughing and joking about something. A beer in hand and slapping the females on the bottom. This time he wore a long frown and his eyes looked dead.“Well well, Sir Luthien. Long time no see. How’s life in the Knights of the Mystic Dragon?” Seveani asked him with a light chuckle.“Up yours, Seveani, and don’t call me that. It’s Luthien. Drop the Sir shit.” He shook his head with a huff. And the shit is getting mundane as Hell. They have added four new members.” He looked pointedly at Cerrakor. “A couple you might be really interested in.”“Oh, do tell,” Cerrakor requested.“They’re SAO surviv--”“We already know about Klein, so--”“If you’d let me finish, Asshat!” Luthien growled cutting Seveani off as he did him. His attention moving to his beer as he lifted it. “I was not talking about Klein.” He took a drink of his beer sitting it back to the table.“It’s Kirito and some guy called Moonshine. It seems this Moonshine guy is a Beast Master and his specialty is communicating with the dragons,” Luthien informed them.Cerrakor nodded his head, his feet dropping from the edge of the table where they were propped, they hit the floor with a loud thud. “I have heard of this Moonshine character, but I was not aware that he could communicate with the dragons.” Cerrakor looked to his notebook picking up his quill and jotted down the new information. “How strong is this guy?”“You’d better take damn good notes on this bastard because if you don’t, you’ll be eating his blades for breakfast!” Luthien finished off his beer and shouted at the server for another. “After that bitch, Tanya made him a member, I took a good long look at his skills and stats. He’s level sixty-five, his weapon of choice is twin blades, sapphires in their gem slots. His stats are just as high as the rest of the damn knights. And on top of that, his armor is outfitted with both onyx gems from his dark dragon, and white moonstones from his light dragon that your members killed.”The server sat down his next beer in front of him and he picked it up, taking a long swig from it. “Those onyx gems enhance the stealth skills he has naturally as a Moon Elf as well as give him the ability to phase in and out like smoke. And the moonstones give him the abilities to create illusions of light and enhance his strength against dark beings. It’s the perfect yin and yang balance. He has three skills related to his Beast Master title: Tamer of Dragons, Animal Telepathy with dragons, and Summoner of Dragons.”“Summoner of Dragons?” Cerrakor raised an eyebrow at him.“Yeah! The bastard can summon dragons to fight for him!” He slammed his fist down on the table. “He’s got more bonds with dragons than you’ve had girlfriends! The only good thing about it is that he can only summon one dragon per day. If he could summon all of them, we’d be straight screwed in a fight with him. Hell, the bastard is pretty much on par with Kirito. So much so people kept thinking he was Kirito. He even has the same dual wielding skill!”“What about the others? Anything special about them?” Cerrakor asked as he jotted the information down.“Yeah, his brother is a Sky Elf. And not just any Sky Elf. He’s a scholar. In real-world terms, it means he knows enough about the game to write a fucking guidebook. He’s extremely well practiced in magic and alchemy at least to the point that the game will allow him to be without being a magic user. He’s not physically strong, but he’s not to be underestimated. He’s a master strategist and has written more books in this game than pornstars have--”A panel popped up in front of Luthien with a language warning. He growled and swatted it away. “Back the fuck off!” He sighed and raised his beer once more. “You’d better keep Okamishiro and Cerberus separated if you come across them. Don’t expect to win if you don’t. They’d be an unstoppable strategizing force. Better than any supercharged AI this game can conjure up.”Cerrakor nodded his head slowly as he wrote things down. “Anything on the fourth one?” Cerrakor asked sitting back in his chair.“She’s a feral little bitch. Stay the hell away from her and you’ll be fine unless you like getting your eyes clawed out. I’d say there are not many animals in this world she can’t turn into except for dragons. She’s a Beast Master too, however, she has no connection to dragons. She doesn’t pose much of a threat, though she would make excellent bait.” Luthien sneered behind his beer. “Murasaki Kitsune and Moonshine are inseparable. Though they’re not married here in DL like they are in SAO, and ALO, from what I understand, but get between them and you're looking to get into a world of hurt.” Luthien chuckled. “Use her, and you’ll have Moonshine under your thumb, provided you can keep him from going berserk on everyone to get to her.”Cerrakor chuckled as he lifted his own beer noticing it was empty. He set it down hard against the table and waved the server over to refill it. “Well, then it seems our newest members of the Mystic Dragons are in for a big surprise when I hack the Dragons of this world. Their little Moon Elf might find himself getting chewed on by a few.”Seveani chuckled. “Damn Dragon lovers need to be ripped apart by the dragons. They were not meant to be kept as pets and comrades. Plus!” Seveani grunted as he shook his head. “Something that always bothered me about that guild! Whose bright idea was it to name it Knights of the Mystic Dragon? Knights slay dragons! Not keep them as fucking pets!!”Cerrakor chuckled as his new beer was set on the table. “You can blame Aiden Reid for that lovely bit of programming. He wanted to make a world with creatures’ people would love to interact with, and it was not a bad idea. Tell me who in the Hell would not want to own a Dragon. Thing is, this world went dragon crazy. You can’t even badmouth one without getting punched in the mouth and serving 40 days and 40 nights in the clink.”“Hyperbolic much, Boss,” Luthien chuckled. “Though I agree on the Dragon Crazy. We need them to create a lot of things in this world and if we can’t harvest them from the dragons, we have to purchase them at an ungodly price from the shops.”“It’s like they jacked up the price to make us want to go out and get them from the dragons,” Seveani replied sitting his beer down.“Reid knew he would get both Slayers and Protectors in this game. It’s the reason he created the NPC Slayers. He knew it would promote them, and of course, other games and VRs have dragons, but the interaction is nothing like it is in DL.” Cerrakor informed them. His look going pointedly to Luthien.“So is there anything else you want to fill me in on before I take my leave of this shit hole?”“Yes, I saved the best for last.” Luthien grinned madly. “First I want to ask you. Did you talk to Creed of The Unseen?”“No, I haven’t. I need to but haven’t had the chance with IRL getting in the way. Why? What’s going on there?” Cerrakor probed.Luthien chuckled as he lifted his beer to his lips, before taking a drink he replied. “Well, you might want to rethink asking them to join the Dragon Slayers.” He took his sip of his beer lowering it with a wide smirk. “It seems Celty is an informant for the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. And it seems she was spying on you after that attack the Dragon Slayers suffered from the Mystic Dragon guild.”“She what?!” Seveani bellowed sitting up as both his hands went to the tabletop.“Spying on me when?” Cerrakor asked with narrowed eyes.Luthien looked to Seveani then to Cerrakor. “The night the two of you were talking to Thoin and Freiveth.” He watched Cerrakor’s hand that rested to the table ball into a tight fist. “I was not sure at first when they started talking about what their informant overheard, but after putting two and two together I realized it was Celty.”“So she used her Moon Elf abilities to spy on us?” Cerrakor growled.“Seems so,” Luthien confirmed. “She heard everything from what Tanya was telling all of the Knights.”“You want me to take care of the bitch, Cerrakor?” Seveani asked him.Cerrakor chuckled as he looked to Seveani. “No offense Seveani but compared to Celty you’re Dragon shit. No, you’re worse than that. You’re the horseflies that feast on dragon shit.”Seveani growled sitting back hard in his chair as it scooted back slightly on the hardwood floor, his arms crossed over his chest. “Fuck you, Cerrakor.”Cerrakor chuckled lightly. “Sorry, you’re not my type, Seveani.” He looked over to Luthien. “It seems we have a conundrum on our hands. With the Knights of the Mystic Dragon knowing our plans we will have to watch the Spiritcrest closer than I first thought.”The two at the table with him nodded their heads slowly. “I am going to put the Sensitivity hack back into effect, but first.” He looked to Seveani. “Get a group of men together, about six, and go after the little Tinker Fairy, Nema, of The Unseen. Don’t hurt her. Just capture her. We will use her to call Celty out. The Moon Elf doesn’t have many weaknesses, but if you mess with her clansmen it’s a cut that runs deep.”“You want us to bring her here?” Seveani asked as he watched Cerrakor shake his head.“I will set up a place to hold her. I will message you with the details tomorrow. Do not act until I give the say so. Once we have her, I will activate the hack on the Sensitivity and hopefully, Celty will react quickly and we can take a little revenge for her interference.”Seveani and Luthien chuckled as Seveani nodded his head. Cerrakor then stood from the table as he closed his notebook sliding it back into his inventory. Stretching with his arms over his head he looked at the two still seated.“It will be a work in progress for about the next month or so with the new features and updates keeping the Mods on the lookout for glitches and bugs. But in time, Dragon Lance will be no more.”The two at the table smirked as Cerrakor knocked on the table as he walked away. “Good night, gentlemen. I will be contacting you soon enough.”With that Cerrakor left the two men on their own for the rest of the evening.---Kirito walked into the stable with a curious look on his face as he looked around for the young dragon Klein was talking about before they logged out of ALO earlier. He told him that the dragon still had not claimed a Master and that he was rather unique looking with her bronze and green coloring.He was not sure about getting a dragon, but he figured since he was now part of the guild Knights of the Mystic Dragon it would be worth the effort to acquire one. Not to mention they were handy in the way of battle if ever needed. The dragon was still fairly young, only a year old so befriending her would not be too hard. His only issue was it was a female. He had enough females in his life with an attitude. He just hoped the female dragon did not take after the other females in his life. Though he was happy to see that the stalls were conveniently labeled with the dragon’s name.Walking around the corner of the huge stable to look at the other dragons, Kirito ran straight into Moonshine causing him to drop a notebook from his hands. Shee, that was apparently riding on Moonshine took flight within the stable.“Whoa!” Moonshine regained his balance, attempting to catch his notebook before it went flying and loose papers scattered everywhere. It was to no avail and the contents were skewed across the ground. “Hey, watch where you’re--” He cut himself off when he saw who it was. “Oh, it’s you. You’re the last person I expected to see in the stables.” Moonshine lowered to one knee to pick up his notebook and papers. “You looking for someone?”“Sorry,” Kirito replied as he helped pick up the papers that were dropped, careful not to do damage to them. “Yeah, I was looking for the dragon Meuma. You would not by chance know where I could find her do you?” He handed Moonshine the papers he picked up.Moonshine took the papers with a nod, slipping them back in and standing up. “Yes, she’s back this way in her stall. I’ll show you to her since I’m done with Shee’s checkup.” He looked up to the rafters of the stable and raised his hand up in the air. Shee flew down into his hand and crawled back up to his shoulder. As he turned back and led Kirito back to Meuma’s stall, he looked back at him. “Are you thinking about bonding with her?”“I am going to try. Not too sure how far it will go.” He looked over at Moonshine as they walked toward the dragon’s stall. “What is your opinion on her? Think she will be a good companion?” He shrugged as Moonshine looked his way. “I figured you being a Beast Master you were the best one to ask about this. I guess it was a good thing I ran into you.”He chuckled lightly. “Sorry that it was literal.”Moonshine hummed and stopped. He gave Kirito a stern look. “A few words of wisdom. Your opinion of her influences her opinion of you. A bond between dragon and master--contrary to what you might think--is entirely up to the dragon. If she has any doubts about you, there will be no bond. That said, if you have any doubts about her, that in turn causes her doubts about you. A strong bond is a sure one. If you truly want to be bonded to a dragon, you must be confident in that decision. Also, you must want the bond for the bond itself, not for the benefits it offers.”He turned and continued walking down the aisle to the end of the stable. “I know you play for power. It’s the style you developed in Aincrad because you had to. Only the strong and the protected survived in Aincrad. But that style doesn’t always fly in this game. The dragons are like real animals. They sense and smell everything about you. Who you are, where you’re from, your feelings. Everything. This isn’t like adopting a pet. This is like forming a connection with a wild animal because that’s exactly what it is.”He grinned at Kirito over his shoulder. “So the answer to your question on whether or not she would be a good companion is that the real question is whether or not you will be a good companion for her.”“Well…” Kirito replied as he watched the massive dragon lift from the floor where she laid, towering over her containment. He combed his fingers through his dark hair nervously. “I guess we are about to find out.”The two stepped up to her stall as Kirito’s eyes widened. She was beautiful. Just like Klein had told him. She was a dark golden color with streaks of emerald green coursing down her body. Her majestic head supported two large center horns with three smaller ones on either side of her head. At the back of her jaw sat one more horn on either side and at her chin were two smaller horns. They shined like newly polished metal, her scales sparkled just as brightly, and her eyes were the deepest green he had ever seen. Slowly he stepped up to the stall and extended his hand upward for her to get his scent.“You’re even more beautiful then what I was told, pretty girl.”Meuma tilted her head at Kirito then leaned forward to smell his hand. Pulling back, she turned in her stall and looked to the Moon Elf. “Is he a friend of yours?” Her emerald eyes gave the new man a side glance. “Or is he of the guild?”Moonshine smiled at her and stroked her nose. “He is with the guild. His name is Kirito. As for friends, we are more like comrades. He is a good man though, despite being new to Dragon Lance. He is as loyal as they come.”“I see,” Meuma commented as she looked back to the one called Kirito. “I can sense a good heart within him.” Her head came forward as she nosed his hand that was still lifted high above his head. She could sense he wanted to touch her, so she lowered her head down lower for him to stroke her muzzle and head.Kirito’s heart leaped in his chest as she nosed his hand, but it was not out of fear. He smiled brightly as he let his hand course over her cool smooth scales. “This is amazing,” Kirito chuckled lightly, hoping that she would except him as her master.Moonshine chuckled. “I’m glad you’re impressed. Bonding with dragons is always an amazing experience.” Suddenly there was a rumble and a snort as a gust of wind blew at their backs. Moonshine turned to see the large window filled with a big black snoot. The dragon muzzle disappeared and was replaced with a big red eye peering in. Moonshine laughed, shaking his head and walking up to Nychta to rub his head through the window. “And what are you doing?”“I saw your rival walk into the stables, and I came to see if you won,” Nychta said with an almost excited tone.Moonshine rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t worry. There was no fight.”“So your rivalry has been settled then?” He tipped his head at the window.“No! Well, yes…” He blinked in confusion then waved his hand. “That’s not the point. Anyway, I was introducing him to Meuma.”“Ah, I see.” Curiosity satisfied, Nychta disappeared from the window.Moonshine shook his head and moved back to the stall where Kirito was still petting Meuma. “And of course, with a dragon companion, there is never a dull moment.”Kirito smiled wide as he looked over his shoulder at Moonshine. “What kind of dragon is she? Klein did not tell me that, and I noticed she does not have gems like Musashi and the others.” He turned his attention back to Meuma still smiling warmly, now petting her with both hands.“She is a Titanium Metal Dragon. Metal Dragons don’t have gems. Instead, their horns, talons, scales, and wing spines are all metal alloys. They require the least amount of maintenance and care. Despite being metal, they do not rust. Their talons and horns require almost herculean force to break. Their scales fall off naturally. I’d say the only tedious part about caring for metal dragons is the fact that you have to trim their talons and horns down by grinding them. It’s a difficult and long process, and you need special equipment, but the metal resources you get from it are invaluable.”Moonshine pulled out one of his throwing knives and handed it to Kirito. “These throwing knives are made with titanium from a dragon-like Meuma. They do not rust. They do not break. They hardly ever have to be sharpened. And they can cut through almost anything. So if you’re looking for a sword that can rival that of the Elucidator and Lisbeth’s Dark Repulser from SAO, then you want one made with dragon metal. Though you don’t want to enhance it with anything other than other swords make with dragon metal or any dragon resources. If you do that, you’ll weaken it, and it will never be the same again.”Kirito only nodded to what Moonshine had to say. He heard him, but he was so mesmerized by Meuma it was like an afterthought that he had heard from the Moon Elf. “I’ll remember that,” Kirito mumbled as he looked into the dragon’s eyes. There was a few second pause as Kirito spoke up again. “I think.”Meuma snorted a low rumble in her throat like she was laughing. “I think I like him, Moon Elf.”Moonshine smiled and nodded. “Good! I’m happy to hear it. I have no doubts that the two of you will be very happy together.” When Kirito turned and looked at him wide-eyed, Moonshine nodded. “She likes you.”When Kirito got a bright, glowing look in his eyes, Moonshine moved closer to the stall and opened the gate. He opened it wide so Meuma could walk out, then moved over to one of the multiple sets of double doors and opened them out into the courtyard.“I’ll leave these open in case the two of you want to move out into the courtyard where there’s more room.”Kirito nodded still smiling brightly. As he moved back to let Meuma pass, a soft chime sounded, and a small window popped up in front of him that read ‘Dragon Acquaintance.’ Kirito’s smile grew wider, if that were possible, as he looked to Moonshine then quickly accepted the request.Kirito was so obviously happy that it honestly surprised Moonshine a bit. He had assumed the guy just wanted a dragon for strength, power, and the resources that came with it. A lot of players did. However, he was happy to be proven wrong. It seemed this was the start of a long and prosperous relationship between dragon and master. Just that thought put a smile on Moonshine’s face as well.He moved closer to Kirito as he sat with Meuma, giving her as much attention as she wanted. Moonshine opened his inventory and pulled out a potion that was colored violet with magenta swirls in it. He handed it to Kirito.“Here. Normally I don’t give these out, but I trust you, so I’ll make an exception. This is a potion called Sixth Sense. It’s made from the scales of a Psychic Dragon. It will allow you to speak to Meuma telepathically. Since we’re in the guild, it’s not a problem, but it works for about half an hour, so don’t go anywhere before that. Not many people know about this potion and those that do don’t realize it works on dragons, and I’d like to keep it that way.”After Kirito took the potion, Moonshine crossed his arms over his chest. “You seem to already have chemistry with Meuma, so I imagine you’d like to get to know her better. So I’ll give this to you just this once. I still have some errands to finish, so after the potion runs out, come and find me. We’ve got things to do now that you’re the master of a dragon.”Kirito nodded taking the potion as he looked at it. “Good, it will give me time to get to know her before the others get here. Asuna, my sister, and the others are coming in to check out the game. Klein should be here any minute now. He will be happy to hear me and Meuma bonded.”Moonshine nodded and unfolded his arms. “Alright, I will be off for now then.” He waved to Kirito as he walked off. “Have fun talking to the new woman in your life.”
Kirito smiled and looked to Meuma then the potion as he uncapped it and drank it down. It took seconds and the effects kicked right in. A soft chime sounded as he opened his panel, seeing a Telepathy ability skill bar at the top of his skills, along with a timer that was counting down from 30 minutes.“Hello, Meuma. I am Kirito. How are you today?”Meuma gave a content rumble, tilting her head at Kirito. “I am well, Master Kirito, and you?”Kirito chuckled nervously as his hand lifted, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “A little nervous. I have to say this is the first time I have ever talked to a dragon, or well… any animal.”“Don’t worry. Dragons are the easiest to talk to, provided those who talk to us mind their manners. Most dragons do not take kindly to those who are ill-mannered. Though I do not sense such things from you. You are a noble soul.” There was a smile in Meuma’s voice.“T…thank you, Meuma.” Kirito nervously scratched at the back of his head. “I guess it comes from wanting to protect the ones I love.”“A noble quality, even for a dragon,” Meuma gave a nod of her head. “Dragons protect their own, no matter what.”Kirito nodded. “As it should be with any species, breed or race. I remember a time I was not like that. I fought for myself and no one else.” He smiled warmly. “My friends have taught me a lot in the years past.”“The most important thing is that you learned and changed your ways. Even water becomes tainted when it is stagnant for too long. The purest water is the water that continues through its cycle of life, never once staying in the same place for too long. Let your knowledge follow that same path, and you will always be wise.”“Thank you for that bit of wisdom, Meuma. I will follow it always.” Kirito told her. “Is there anything you would like to know about me that you might not be able to sense?”“I would like to know about those close to you. The family you spoke of to the Moon Elf. I believe you mentioned a sister and one named ‘Asuna.’ As your dragon, I must protect not only you but those you hold dear.”“Asuna is the love of my life, the one I hold dear to my heart and would die for. She is my wife. My sister is Leafa or at least I believe she will use the same name when she creates an Avi here in Dragon Lance. If not I will introduce you to her when they arrive. They are both very important to me as well as your Grandmaster Knight, Klein. He is a good friend to me.” Kirito explained to her.
“I see,” Meuma rumbled. “I will remember those names. A dragon never forgets.” Meuma rested her head on her giant paws. “What is your mate like? Is she as noble as you?”Kirito nodded his head slowly as he thought of Asuna. “I believe more so. Though she has a mean bite if you upset her.” He chuckled lightly and rubbed his chest from ghost pains.Meuma grinned with a playful growl, her teeth flashing. “Show me a female that does not, and I will make you a rich man indeed, Master Kirito.”He could not help a soft chuckle as his head nodded slowly. “So were you born into the clan, Meuma or did they find you as an infant?”“They found me as an egg. According to Lady Tanya and Sir Aaron, a clan of dragon slayers had captured my parents to use them for their metals to make weapons, armor, and anything else they could think of. They tied them up, tortured them, and broke off their talons and horns and stripped off their scales. Then when they healed, they did it all over again. The guild took them out, but it was too late for my parents. Months of torture and forced harvesting had left their bodies weak and unable to recover any longer. They entrusted me to them before they died.”Meuma let out a soft whine as she told him what the leaders of the guild had told her.Kirito’s heart sank at her story an anger rising up inside of him. “How can people be so cruel.” He leaned into her, giving her a tight hug, or at least a tight hug for someone other than a metal dragon. It did not matter though, he was sure she understood the gesture very well. “I will never allow that to happen to you.”
Meuma was smiling on the inside. Though Kirito could not see it, she was sure he felt it. She let out a low growl that sounded more like a tiger’s purr, leaning her head into his small chest.“I trust you, Master Kirito. With my life. That is what it means for us to be bonded.”“I am honored that you saw me worthy enough to be your Master, Meuma and I promise to uphold that to my very last breath,” Kirito confessed as he wrapped his arms around her the best he could, resting his head against hers.Meuma gave another growling purr. “And I promise to protect you and your loved ones until mine.”The two sat talking for a few minutes when a soft chime sounded. At first, he was worried that his time was up with being able to speak to her, but that worry was set aside when she spoke to him.“Is there something the matter, Master Kirito?”He shook his head and smiled warmly at her. “No, it just seems I have a notification.”
As he opened his panel he noticed his acquaintance bar with Meuma was a little more than half full giving him 550 Dragon Bond skill XP. “Wow! That potion boosted our acquaintance level rather quickly. Though I am going to be sad when it wears off and we can’t communicate with one another any longer.”Meuma gave a rumbling chuckle. “It will be alright, Master. Learning to communicate and understand dragons without being able to talk to us is part of what it takes to become a Dragon Master. The more we learn about each other, the easier it will be for you to understand me without the aid of potions. Though admittedly, talking to dragons through telepathy does increase the rate at which the skill improves. That is how the Moon Elf became a Familiar of two dragons in such a short time. It is useful, but may not always be best. Everything has an advantage and a consequence.”“Well, I promise to be very vigilant to your wants and needs.” A light chuckle escaped Kirito. “If I don’t, I give you permission to give me a whack like Asuna does when I ignore her and don’t mean to.”“I don’t think you want me to whack you,” Meuma laughed. “You might go flying.”The two of them laughed as they talked a little longer before long Klein came strolling through with Asuna and the others in tow.
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Chapter Eighteen
Asuna watched as Kirito rose to his feet the large golden and green dragon turning to face them as well. Kirito smiled and looked up at Meuma.“Meuma, this is my wife Asuna,” he watched as Asuna bowed to the majestic dragon. “My little sister, Leafa, and our friends. Lisbeth, Silica and Sinon.” The others bowed to the dragon as Silica stood there with wide eyes looking on at Meuma.“She is so big! All of them are! I thought the dragons over here were tiny like Pina!” She pouted. “I can’t carry one of these guys around on my shoulders or head!”Leafa laughed at Silica and patted her on the head. “I don’t think you’re supposed to, Silica. I think you’re supposed to ride them.”“I could see everything from all the way up there,” Sinon gaped, looking up at the sky where she saw a huge black dragon soaring around.“I have not ridden on one yet but you can get the low down on that tidbit from Moonshine and Cerberus. Cerberus got to take his first ride on one the other day.” Klein chuckled. “I don’t think the kid will ever be the same again.”“No one ever is,” Moonshine announced as he walked up behind them, his arms crossed, a big grin on his face. “Forget flying around on fairy wings. Dragons are a hell of a lot more fun. And faster.”He looked up at the sky and placed his fingers in his mouth, whistling loudly for Nychta. The dragon looked down and descended down to the stables. Everyone shuffled back quickly, including Meuma to make room for the massive dragon. The ground shook as he landed. He folded his wings and swung his head around to look at the newcomers.“More recruits for the guild?” Nychta tilted his head. He leaned his head forward and sniffed around at the crowd of people.“They are friends of Kirito’s,” Moonshine told him.“More rivals?” He tilted his head the other way.“Oh geez,” Moonshine facepalmed. “No, they’re not rivals. Chill out. Nobody is fighting anyone.”“That’s a shame. You’d win anyway,” the dragon plopped down and crossed his front legs.Moonshine shook his head and walked over to him. He patted Nychta on the head and turned to the others. “Everyone, this big lovable dork is Nychta. He may look like a man-eating monster, but the most he’ll do is lick you until you drown in dragon spit.” Nychta gave an amused rumble and flashed his teeth at them.Silica blinked as she looked at him. “He is bigger than my house IRL and VR!”The group chuckled a few shaking their heads. “It would seem the tiniest one is not use to seeing such large dragons,” Meuma pointed out.Kirito nodded his head as he looked to her. “Her dragon, Pina, in ALO is tiny like Shee. She can carry her around on her shoulders, and she will never get any bigger than she is right now.”Silica spun and looked at Kirito. “So they do have tiny dragons here!” She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “Where, where?! I want to see them!”Moonshine smiled and patted Silica on the head. “Until recently, there weren’t any small dragons. But I did see in the update that there is a Nature and Spirit Hybrid dragon called a Sprite Dragon. They are tiny like Pina and don’t get any bigger. Apparently, as babies they’re no bigger than a teacup. Maybe one day soon we can go out in search for one. However, I have a quest of my own I need to accomplish before anything else.”Silica nodded her head quickly with a wide bright smile. “I would like that. So you were able to get the things you need to get your dragon back?”Moonshine smiled wistfully and nodded, turning and stroking Nychta’s head. “Yes, I did. It was by a stroke of both luck and stupidity on my part that the slayers turned out to be NPCs.”Nychta looked up and gave Moonshine a sad whine. “I know, buddy. We’ll go complete the quest when Tanya and the others come back on. They need their rest. And you do too. If all goes well, we should have Imera back with us by tonight.”Moonshine looked down at Silica with a smile. “I think you will like Imera. She is feathery like Pina, but she is white and large. She’s very sweet.”
“I know that big black one at the front entrance looks really scary,” Leafa commented.“Oh, the one Klein said was named Musashi?” Asuna replied.Leafa nodded her head. “He is beautiful just like Tanya said, but really scary looking. I don’t think he liked us being here either.”“Well, we’re here to see friends. He will just have to get over it,” Asuna barked with her hands on her hips.With her words, Nychta and Meuma’s heads drew back slightly. Nychta looking to Moonshine and Meuma looking at Kirito.Moonshine sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, I’m not saying this to be rude, Asuna, but you’d better not let Musashi hear you say that. I just barely got him to let me bond with him. He is fiercely loyal to his master and this guild, and he’ll protect her and it with everything he has. Words like that will earn you a place on his shit list faster than you can spit at him.”“Not to mention that kind of attitude will make it hard for her to bond with any dragon,” Nychta snorted.
“Agreed,” Meuma let out a similar sound.Kirito rubbed the back of his neck as Asuna huffed and looked at him. “Don’t look at me. What Moonshine said is true.”Klein nodded his head quickly. “Musashi is not one to mess with. If you had seen him with Lady Tanya you wouldn’t think he was so mean and scary. He is so devoted to her and follows her around like a lost puppy dog. There is no one that could get in here and do any of us harm with him and the other dragons here. I doubt we would have time to re-equip before they had them all dead.”“Still! We have a right to be here to visit,” Asuna retorted.“Not if the dragons deem you unworthy.” A new voice joined the group.As everyone looked to see who it was, Klein, Kirito and Moonshine greeted Aaron. “Hello everyone,” he looked to the five new young ladies. “My name is Vice Master Aaron, and not to be rude, young lady.” He gave a pointed look to the tall bluenette.“If any of the dragons here find you unworthy you will not be allowed on the grounds.” He looked at Kirito who was looking away sheepishly. “Kirito’s better half or not, and I suggest you mind your tongue. With my Knights and the dragons of our guild.”“That’s the least of it,” Moonshine leaned back against Nychta’s neck, crossing his arms over his chest. “Respecting dragons is the line that separates those who succeed and those who fail in this game. Granted, the game requires both those looking to save the dragons and those who want to kill them, but if you’re not set out to be a dragon slayer, then respecting the dragons is your best course of action to progress in this game. If not, then you will have a very difficult time here.”He gave her one last pointed look. “Dragons are not some stupid, dumb animal. They are not pets. They are not accessories. And they are NOT some resource waiting to be harvested. You respect them the same way you would respect your parents and grandparents and your great-grandparents.”Nychta made a chuffing noise. “I’m not that old.” Moonshine let out a soft chuckle and patted his head. “That’s not what I meant.”“They’re NPCs and you're letting them rule the game. That’s the player's position!” Asuna reminded them.“They’re not just NPCs.” The voice of a female rang out as she walked up with a young boy at her side. “They are AI and they are the backbone of this game. Their wisdom alone is far beyond that of any one of us standing here. As far as letting them rule the game, it is ruled between both the Dragon NPCs and the Players. In a united effort, we keep them alive and help others in need.”Asuna blinked in confusion. “Keep them alive? They’re dragons. What could possibly kill them off? If players and NPCs could kill off all the dragons, then the dragons must not be all that powerful.”Tanya was about to speak as the five newcomers stepped back with wide eyes. She only smirked when she realized they were looking behind, her seeing none other than Masashi. “What was that about not being powerful?” Suddenly a gust of hot wind blew past her as her cape and long dark hair thrust forward from the force. “Yes Musashi, I know you’re there, and I did not forget. Please be patient while I educate this girl.”Tanya’s attention went back to the bluenette. “The Dragons are the most powerful creatures here in Dragon Lance. However, with enough Dragon Slayers or a strong enough person with the right equipment, all they have to do is whittle the HP of the dragon down like any other NPC and the dragon is just as vulnerable as a newborn.” Tanya looked around at her clansmen standing there as her hand gestured to them all. “We are here to prevent that.”“Dragon Lance is to preserve the Dragon species not eradicate it,” Aaron added.
Moonshine watched and judged Asuna’s reaction, choosing not to speak any further. Tanya and Aaron had said all there was to say. He closed his eyes and turned away.Silica frowned and shook her head, placing her hands to her chest. “I don’t want all the dragons to die! No matter how big and scary they are!”Kirito placed his hand on Silica’s shoulder and nodded. “And they won’t. With all of us fighting for them, the slayers won’t win.”Lisbeth smirked and clenched her fists. “And I’ve always wanted to make more weapons from dragon resources after making Dark Repulser!” She narrowed her eyes and glared at Kirito. “Which someone went and broke!”Kirito backed up, putting his hands up in a defensive position. “Hey! It broke when I was fighting Heathcliff! It’s not like I broke it on purpose.”Lisbeth sighed and turned away. “I suppose that’s true. Still, I’d like to become a blacksmith in this game too! The best dragon blacksmith!”Tanya smiled brightly at the Tinker Fairy with soft pink hair. “We have a master Smith in Dawnmeadow Village. I am sure he would be happy to train you. He makes all of the guilds equipment from the Knights to the Dragons.” Tanya brought her hand across her chest and bowed slightly to the girls.“My name is Lady Tanya and I am the guild master here. I am guessing you are friends of Klein and Kirito?”“TANYA!!” Leafa, Silica, Lisbeth, and Sinon shouted in unison. The four of them ran up to her like they had not seen her in years. Giving her hugs, turning her and looking at her outfit she was wearing, which was the guilds uniform.“You look amazing!” Sinon, the Moon Elf announced as she lifted Tanya’s cape looking at it.Lisbeth was eyeing her sword as she agreed with Sinon. “Can I please hold?” Her hands cupped to her cheeks with dreamy eyes.Tanya chuckled and drew her blade handing it to Lisbeth. “Knock yourself out but be careful. It is very sharp and very heavy compared to the ones over in ALO.”Lisbeth squealed as she snatched up the blade and went to admire it. “It’s balanced perfectly. So sleek, not a flaw one in the blade and the gem stones are beautiful…”
Chuckling lightly at her Tanya heard Musashi snort as she turned Lisbeth’s rambling about her sword faded into the background. There she saw Silica, the Animal Fairy, trying to touch him as he backed slowly away from her. “It seems she is not so scared of you anymore now that she knows who I am and knows so much about you, big guy. Why don’t you stand still and let her pet you.”“I would rather not,” Masashi growled softly causing Moonshine to chuckle.Moonshine smiled and pulled out a leg of venison. He took Silica’s hands and placed the venison in them. “Here. Hold it out to him. He’s not so great with strangers, but he’ll warm up to you eventually.” He lifted her hands up to him.“It’s okay, Musashi. She’s a good girl. You can trust her,” he said to the dragon.Musashi looked down his nose at the Moon Elf and the Animal Fairy. His head lowered slowly as he sniffed the venison carefully, he saw the Elf pull it from his inventory and give it to the girl for an offering, so he knew it came from him and was safe. “She has a little too much energy in that small body of hers.”Moonshine chuckled nodding his head. “But she is a good girl. She has a Dragon of her own in another game she plays with us. So if anything you will get an overload of loving from her before you would get anything else.”“Hmm,” Musashi hummed as he took the venison from the small, young animal fairy.“He took it!!” Silica squealed clapping her hands overjoyed with excitement.The group chuckled lightly as they watched the overexcited Silica with Musashi. “I can’t believe you did not know it was us,” Leafa replied.Tanya looked back at the girls. “Well, you didn’t know it was me.”“Because you look so different,” Sinon confessed.“And so do you guys. I mean given your fairies but you look totally different. Well, except you Sinon. You’re a Moon Elf, but still,” Tanya countered as her eyes drifted to the blue haired girl. “I guess that is Asuna?”Leafa and Sinon nodded slowly as Tanya stepped Asuna’s way. “Excuse me,” Tanya told the two talking with her.She stepped up to Asuna with a warm smile and offered her hand. “Hello, Asuna. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I do hope your thoughts on Dragon Lance are just because you are not familiar with it. It’s a rather fun game. It’s just some of us take it very seriously.” Her smile widened. “As you have seen.”Asuna shook the girl's hand. “So you’re the Tanya, Klein and the girls keep talking about?”“Yes, I met them the night I went into ALO to help a friend with his guild over there. You have quite the colorful group of girlfriends,” Tanya informed her.Asuna smiled warmly. “Thank you, Tanya. They’re all very important to me.”“As they should be,” Tanya confirmed. “I am glad you guys finally decided to come visit. I know Klein made comment about getting you guys over here for his Knighting ceremony, but with all the commotion we have not had a chance to set a day or time to do this. I hope he doesn’t think we forgot about him.”“Naha!” Klein butted into their conversation. “I know what’s going on, and it will happen when we get the time.”“Sure, you say that,” Asuna smiled at him. “But you’re actually really impatient about it.”Klein chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe a little. It’s not every day I get Knighted.”Tanya chuckled. “I will try to get it set up, Klein. I promise. The question is do you want it in the evening or the day?”“Evening here would be great. It will put us at 6 or 7 in the morning if you set it about 5 or 6 in the evening your time,” Klein explained to her.Tanya’s head nodded as Cerberus walked over to her, wearing a smile. “Hello,” he said to Asuna. She smiled warmly at him nodding her head in greeting. His attention then turned to Tanya. “Moonshine was wondering when we were going to head out for the Quest?”“Now there is a man that is impatient, but I can’t blame him. He is about to get his dragon back,” Tanya chuckled.“If he clears the Quest, he will get her back,” Kirito replied.“I am sure he will he is very strong and has a good heart,” Tanya confirmed.“Oh I’ll clear it,” Moonshine said sternly and with determination. He looked around at the crowd. “And as insurance, I’m bringing anyone here that wants to come with me.”“And us of course!” Kitsune said as she and Okamishiro ran up beside him. Kitsune laced her fingers with Moonshine. “Sorry, it took us so long.”“Time to get Imera back!” Okamishiro raised his fist into the air.Moonshine looked around at the group again. “Alright, so who else is going with me?”Kirito stepped forward. “I am. I haven’t seen much of this world yet, and it would be beneficial for me to see how quests in this game work.” He smiled and crossed his arms. “Plus, I want to see you get your dragon back.”Klein looked to the girls next to him. “The girls don’t know enough about this game yet, so I’ll stay behind and show them around. Then we’ll all party when you get back with Imera,” he grinned.”Cerberus nodded to Klein then looked to Moonshine. “Well you know I am going. No way you’re leaving me behind. We already talked about this.”Tanya chuckled again nodding her head. “I am in. I have been wanting to travel back to the East anyway to get a few supplies I can’t get in our region.” She looked to Aaron as he was nodding his head.“I’m going as well, so I will get the horses ready. Everyone meet me back here and we will leave from here.” His eyes shifted to Tanya once more. “We will need Transport Stones to get to the East. I don’t think everyone wants to ride for the next three days on horseback.”“Agreed,” Tanya nodded. “I will go retrieve what we need and see you all there in a few minutes.”Moonshine looked to Kitsune and Okamishiro, kissing Kitsune on the cheek. “Go ahead and gather everything you need. I’ve had everything ready since this morning, so I will be waiting here.”Okamishiro nodded and stepped up to Cerberus. “Can you show me the lab? There are a few things I want to make before we go.”Cerberus nodded and the two of them trotted off to the lab. Kitsune turned back to Moonshine. “I have everything, so I will wait here with you.”“Okay,” he smiled and kissed her cheek once more. He turned and walked up to Kirito. “Since we didn’t have time to head into Dawnmeadow, we will gather some of the things you’ll need on our journey. We’ll be in a port town for the first portion, so you’ll have the opportunity to look around and do some shopping. Most towns have supplies for dragon masters.”“Sounds good, though I think we might have an issue with the horses. I don’t know if I am going to have the inventory size needed to place him for travel to the East with traveling with the Transport Stones,” Kirito made comment.Moonshine shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. Between me, Tanya, Aaron, and Cerberus, we have more than enough room for all of our horses. Even with Imera in my inventory, I have enough room for mine and one other horse. Shiro and Cerberus can carry their own, and either Aaron or Tanya can carry theirs plus one other.”“That’s good to know. I have to say I am kind of excited to be going to the East. Tanya says it’s beautiful there--so green and the ocean is so blue,” Kirito shared with him. “But I am sure you know that already with being a veteran of DL.”Moonshine laughed and nodded. “That it is. It’s one of my favorite areas. It’s glorious. Then again, this whole world is beautiful.” He smiled brightly and looked up at the sky. “It’s like… Like Breath of the Wild, only so much bigger and so much more real. It’s incredible. Even more so than Aincrad.” His smile fell into a frown. “It’s strange… Even after Sword Art Online, I wish I could live in this game. It’s so much more beautiful than reality…”He turned to Kirito, his brows knitted together in confusion and maybe a bit of guilt. “Do you ever feel like that? Even after being stuck in Aincrad for two years? Or am I just crazy?”“I have to admit if the circumstances would have been different. I would have had no issues living in any of my VR worlds. They’re nothing like RL. The people are friendlier, the environment is cleaner. No stress of the hustle and bustle of life. It’s just easy, laid back, and relaxing. So yeah,” his head nodded slowly. “I could see it. Too bad it is not possible IRL.”“I know. Still, nobody would play VRs if they didn’t make them so much more appealing than real life,” Moonshine laughed, raising his hands to fold them behind his head. He frowned once more. “Earlier, when Meuma asked if we were friends, and I said we were comrades…” He looked to Kirito with a serious look. “I regret what I said. We are comrades, but I do consider you a friend. I regret not telling her we were. I’m sorry for that.”Kirito smiled warmly at him as his hand clasp to Moonshine’s shoulder. “It’s alright. Times are different now. Back then it was fight and survive. There was not really any time for anyone to really make a friend and if you did you were very lucky. We were all too busy looking out for ourselves or the ones we loved and cared about.” Kirito looked off into the afternoon sky. “And thank you.”“For what?” Moonshine questioned.“The gift to talk to Meuma. You did not have to do that, but you did. So thank you, it was an amazing feeling to be able to talk to her,” Kirito told him.
“Nah, don’t mention it,” Moonshine waved it off. “You were giving Meuma the biggest googly eyes I’ve ever seen.” He smirked at him. “It was love at first sight for you. There was no way I couldn’t indulge that kind of a look.” Kirito laughed and blushed. “Say, I was wondering, what’s your real name? I mean, my brother already used my first name yesterday, so there’s no point in claiming privacy now.”Kirito smiled at him. “Sure. It’s Kirigaya Kazuto.”Moonshine blinked at him, going silent for a minute. He lowered his arms, gawking at him. “Okay, first off, that’s the most uninventive username ever! I mean come on!” He punched him in the arm. “And second of all, I can’t believe you were Kirito the whole fucking time! I sat next to you in Japanese Lit for five whole months and I never figured it out! That’s even more embarrassing than your username!” He pushed his hands into his hair, pulling on it by the handfuls. “Aagghhhh! I can’t believe I’m so stupid!!!”Kirito chuckled and took a shot in the dark realizing he might get punched for it, but Moonshine had left himself wide open for it. “Well, you are the one that let NPCs outsmart you with your dragon.”Moonshine grabbed Kirito by the collar and yanked him forward, balling up his fist in his face since he couldn’t brandish his sword at him, due to the safe zone. “Watch it, Copycat! I still haven’t forgiven you for cutting my dream short in SAO! From now on, I’m charging you double at my coffeehouses!”Kirito blinked a few times in Moonshine’s face as he stood in front of him with Moonshine’s hand tangled in his jacket. “Hey, you’re the one that walked into that comment.” His hand lifted and waved off the comment about being charged double at the coffeehouse. “And if you need the money that badly at the coffeehouses, I have no issues with you charging me double, Ashimitsu Tsukiro. It’s not like I can’t afford it.”Moonshine gaped at Kirito once more, only this time his eye twitched. He ground his teeth and released his grip on his coat, turning away from him. “Ugh! You were such a fucking goody-two-shoes in class! Jeez! I can’t believe you of all people are Kirito!”“Sorry, but I am,” Kirito commented, he then grinned straightening his jacket. “What do you say next time we are in ALO together we hit a few floors on Aincrad. I think we would make a kick-ass team. No Boss would stand a chance against us.”Moonshine turned and grinned at him. He held his fist out to Kirito with a smirk. “Hell yeah! Forget a few floors! We’re taking it all the way to the top! Floor 100! We’ll be the two strongest players in the game! The Black Swordsman, Kirito, and the Shadow Assassin, Moonshine!”Kirito bumped fists with him and chuckled. “All the way.”Kitsune sighed as she moved over next to Asuna. “We’ve created a monster, Asuna…”“Boys will be boys,” Asuna giggled as her arms crossed over her stomach and she watched the two guys chatting. “At least they’re friends… Kinda~” She looked to Kitsune. “Right?”Kitsune laughed sheepishly. “If you can call it that. Which I’m sure they would.” She held her hand to Asuna. “Well, since they know who the other is and I know your name by default because of your username and Kirito, I might as well tell you my name. It’s Shizuna Kaori.”Asuna took her hand a shook it. “It’s nice to meet you Kaori. We will have to get together IRL and do something one day. Of course, with the guys. I doubt they would let us do anything without them.” She giggled softly.“Unless it’s some guy thing,” Kitsune laughed. “Heaven forbid we do double dates. That would be either the best idea ever or the worst.”“I would hate to see where they would drag us off to. Probably some crazy Arcade room in the mall.” Asuna’s eyes lit up and she chuckled. “Well, at least we could ditch them and go shopping.”
“At least until Tsukiro follows us. I’ve never seen a boy who loves to shop so much. I swear, sometimes I wonder if he loves it more than I do,” Kitsune laughed.Asuna chuckled. “Never seen a guy that liked to shop. Especially with a female.”“Welp, that settles it. You and Kirito are coming shopping with us,” Kitsune smirked.Soon after, Tanya and Aaron returned with the horses and Cerberus and Okamishiro returned from the lab. It didn’t take long before they all were ready to set off. Klein taking the girls out to look around the village of Dawnmeadow, and the horses for the others stored away and their transport crystals were taken out. Before the turn of the hour, they were gone.
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Chapter Nineteen
The transport crystals brought the group straight to the docks of Fareport, one of the port towns in the eastern province of Silvermore. Stretching out from the docks was the huge lake known as Silver Lake, named after its glittering waters. Fareport was a bustling, busy and prospering city with many bridges and waterways. Ships sat docked in the ports while canoes and smaller passenger ferries sailed up and down the canals. The buildings were designed like a medieval town with brown roofs and white sides with brown wooden parts. Some parts of the town were built on higher levels than the rest with staircases leading up and down each level in different areas. It seemed like Fareport had a shop, merchant stall, restaurant or inn around every corner. It was definitely worthy of the high praise it got from game critics.Moonshine checked the time, finding it was only about one-twenty in the afternoon. “It’s still pretty early in the day. The Drunken Schooner Tavern where the old man NPC is will probably be open for quite some time. If we want, we can split up and explore and meet back there in two hours or so. After I talk to the old man we can decide on an inn to stay at if it gets too late.” He turned and looked around at the group. “Any objections?”Heads shook as they all agreed to go on their way to get needed shopping done or just sightseeing. “I know where I have to go so I won’t be long,” Tanya informed them.“Would you like company?” Aaron asked her. “I am not too sure what you have to get in a whole but we need to be mindful of the cargo we are carrying to get back home via the Transport Stone.”Tanya nodded with a bright smile. “If you want to tag along I have no issues with that.” She looked to Cerberus. “Are you going off on your own or coming with me?”“I thought I would tag along with Moonshine, Kitsune, and Okamishiro if it is alright with you,” Cerberus told her looking to Moonshine. “And of course Moonshine.”Moonshine crossed his arms behind his head. “Fine by me. I won’t be buying anything until after I revive Imera. I’ll just be showing Kirito around and helping him gather supplies for himself and Meuma.”Okamishiro grinned and pointed to himself. “Me and Kit will be the ones doing all the shopping.”“Don’t matter to me,” Cerberus replied trotting up to them. “I just don’t want to go to any Magic shops. They’re drab and boring and all she is getting is herbs, gems and medicinal she can’t get or find back home.”Tanya and Aaron chuckled. “And to think he is an Alchemist.” She shook her head and looked to Moonshine. “Is there anything you might need or want that you did not see in the lab?” Her hand came up quickly remembering who she asked that of. “Things I can only find in this area and not back home.”Kitsune chuckled. “She is learning you rather quickly, Moonshine.”
Moonshine laughed and smiled at Tanya. “Anything you can find here that you don’t have in stock at the lab, no matter what it is. I can always find a use for something. Buy whatever you can find, and I’ll compensate you for it if need be.”“No need. It will be community property in so the Guild pays for it. We made our riches as a group, we share it as a group,” Aaron told him. He looked to Tanya and offered his arm. “Shall we Lady Tanya?”She nodded and gave him a shy smile as she linked her arm with his and the two walked off down the street.Shaking his head Cerberus turned looking at the group he stayed behind with. “I like Aaron. He is a good guy, but I really wish he would stop leading Ashley on. She has a crush on him so badly it hurts to watch sometimes, and Aaron is either blind as a bat to not see it or he is playing her. It kinda pisses me off sometimes.”Kirito nodded. “She told me about that crush the night we spent at the Inn.”Cerberus and the others looked to Kirito and blinked a few times. Suddenly Cerberus’ expression turned from shocked to enraged as he quickly stepped toward Kirito.Moonshine quickly stepped between the two and shoved them both back with a hand to the chest. “Okay! Cerberus, you go with Kitsune and Okamishiro. Kirito is coming with me! Besides, you’ll probably just be bored with our errand running. You’ll have more fun with those two. Okay? Okay!” Moonshine grabbed Kirito by the back of his coat and dragged him off. “Let’s go, Kirito! First stop, the butchers! Chop, Chop! No pun intended!”As Kirito was being drug by the back of his coat down the street, he watched as Cerberus was ranting at Okamishiro and Kitsune--about him nonetheless. “What did I do?” Kirito questioned. As he then grew tired of Moonshine dragging him along and jerked them both to a stop.“I am not a damn kid!” He jerked away from him and straightened his jacket with a huff. He looked back to Cerberus then back to Moonshine. “What the Hell did I do? I only said she told me about that.”Moonshine gave him a dull look, then put his hand in his face, his thumb holding down his middle finger. He flicked him in the forehead hard enough to leave a red mark. “For a VRMMO genius, you can be pretty damn dumb sometimes, Kirigaya. It’s not that she told you. It’s what you said after that. You’re a brother, aren’t you?”“Hey! What gives!” Kirito glared at him, holding his forehead. “Of course I am! What are you getting at?”Moonshine crossed his arms at him. “How would you like it if I told you I slept in bed with Leafa?”Kirito sighed when it dawned on him and he palmed his face. “Damn it! That did sound bad didn’t it?” He looked quickly to Moonshine. “But nothing happened. I was helping her out, she could not be alone. I was worried about her after she got hurt that night when the sensitivity was glitching.” He recalled that night clearly explaining it to Moonshine. Hoping he was not getting the wrong idea and went off telling Asuna.“Ashley was in really bad shape. She had been in game over 12 hours as Tanya and came on as Celty to collect information. After she was hurt she decided to stay in game because she did not think she could handle the pain IRL. She said when Celty got hurt she was in so much pain IRL. She signed out, coming back on as Tanya looking for help. She was even hurting as Tanya.”Moonshine shrugged, raising his hands as he gave Kirito a dull look. “Hey, I’m not the one you have to explain things to. She’s not my sister. Hell, I don’t even have a sister. Though Okamishiro does make a pretty cute girl, judging from that time he cross-dressed for a school play.” He turned and kept walking, Kirito following behind him. “The only time you have to answer to me is if my girlfriend ends up as part of your flirty little harem.”“It’s not like that! They’re my friends!”“Sure, sure. I believe you. You and Sinon were just keeping each other warm in that cave, right?” When he looked back, Kirito had stopped walking again, his hands clenched and his face red. Moonshine sighed and patted his shoulder. “Chill out. I’m just messing with you. You’re a good guy. A loyal one too. You had no obligation to continue your relationship with Asuna IRL after you both were freed, yet you did. Your feelings for her are genuine. Me and everyone else in that school could see it. I mean, hell, she made you lunch every single day.”He gave him a stern look. “That’s not the kind of woman a man cheats on. Unless he’s a piece of shit. And you’re not. So it doesn’t matter what anyone else wants to believe. What matters is that you know nothing happened, she knows nothing happened, and Asuna believes in you. Anything beyond that is pointless.”Moonshine was about to walk off when he stopped cold in his tracks. Realization hit him like that time he got whacked by a dragon’s tail. He turned back to Kirito, wide-eyed. “Wait… Did you say Tanya and Celty are the same person? The Moon Elf Celty? Celty of the Unseen guild?”Kirito stood shaking his head. “Yes, and if you speak a word of this to anyone I will deny every word of it. That’s why I can’t let a word of this get out to anyone. Because I am sworn to silence. If this gets to Asuna I am screwed because I will never be able to tell her the truth. I should not have even told you but with that slip-up, and you knowing Asuna I had to, to keep this quiet.”Moonshine placed his hand on Kirito’s shoulder, giving him a stern look. “I’m a Tsundere, not an asshole. It’s not my secret to tell. It has nothing to do with me. As far as I’m concerned, you never told me a thing.” He turned and kept walking once again. “I don’t get involved in other couples’ business. Gossip ain’t my thing.”Kirito growled turning as he watched Moonshine walk away from him. “That’s not the only thing that worries me here. You can’t say anything about the other either.” He quickly stepped up behind Moonshine and grabbed his arm bring him to a stop once more as he jerked him around to look at him.“If you do, Tanya’s world will come crashing down around her with who and what Celty is. Do you get that, you Tsundere dumbass.”Moonshine rolled his eyes and made a sound of annoyance, turning his head away from Kirito. “Ugh! What the hell are you on about?! I already told you I didn’t hear a damn thing you said, alright? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t go mouthing off secrets that aren’t mine to tell, get it?” He turned back and gave Kirito a pointed look. He yanked his arm away from him. “Anything else you don’t want to tell me?”Kirito growled in annoyance. “How the Hell did anyone confuse you for me? You’re as about as warm and understanding as an iceberg.” He stormed off ahead of him.Moonshine stood in place, raising an eyebrow as he watched Kirito walk off. “Him and Asuna are perfect for each other. What a couple of children.” When it looked like Kirito wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, he sighed, shaking his head. He put his hands to his mouth. “Hey, Mister Grumpy Gus!”Kirito spun around, red in the face and yelled back at him. “What?!”Moonshine deadpanned and pointed to the left down a side street. “Butcher shop is that way. You coming, or should I let you get lost and blow off some steam? I think there’s a fight club in the Red Light District. I hear you can win 50 thousand Scala if you beat the champ.”“Bite me!” Kirito grumbled as he stomped back toward him then turned walking down the side street Moonshine referred to.Moonshine wanted to laugh, but he held it in, figuring it would put the already pissed off bipolar swordsman in an even worse mood. “So, to change the subject, did you happen to find out what Meuma’s favorite food is? Every dragon has a favorite food or treat. Giving it to them will give you a big boost in XP. So you’ll want to carry lots of that item with you if you want to level up your bond quickly.”With the mention of Meuma’s name, Kirito calmed, slowing his steps and calming his mood. “Yeah, she likes liver.”Damn, that was fast, Moonshine thought to himself as he nodded. “Makes sense. Liver is high in iron. Metal dragons need foods high in iron to form their scales, horns, and talons. Though be careful. If you give her too much, it will make them grow too fast. Of course, that means more metal ore for you, but it’s hard on the dragon. And you’re in luck. Liver is cheap since hardly anyone uses it for food. It’s only useful to dragons and in potions.”Kirito stopped walking as he turned and looked at Moonshine who was coming up slowly behind him. “I will remember that, thanks.” He sighed heavily shaking his head as he looked to the ground. “Look, I am sorry for all that.” He looked up from the ground to Moonshine.“It just really worries me that something might get talked about. For both me and Tanya’s sake. I would hate to see all of her and Aaron’s hard work with the Knights go up in smoke. They do a damn good job of keeping the dragons safe, and after the Dragon Slayers boasting about finding dirt on her it's the last thing that needs to spring a leak.” He sighed again. “In reality, I am more pissed at myself for saying what I said to Cerberus than I am at you. This is something I will never be able to explain to him.”Moonshine looked to Kirito with pity. He sighed and faced him. “Kazuto. When I gave you the Sixth Sense potion, I told you I didn’t normally give it to anyone but Shiro and Kitsune and that I wanted to keep it as secret as possible. Do you know why?”Kirito started walking again when Moonshine got next to him. He looked his way as his hands slid into his jacket pockets. “Because you trusted me with its secret?”“Yes, but do you know why I wanted to keep it a secret in the first place?”“To keep the dragons safe, DUH! You’re more Dragon Crazy than Silica.” Kirito expressed.Moonshine smiled briefly. “Yes, that’s right.” He moved closer to Kirito. “I know things about the dragons of this world that would put all of them in danger, simply because my two dragons, plus a few others, have entrusted me with this knowledge. I am a Beast Master. And not just any Beast Master. I’m a Dragon Beast Master. I have a responsibility to keep the secrets of the dragon's... secret.”He placed his hands on Kirito’s shoulders and squeezed. “And if I had a loose tongue, I would not deserve to be the Dragon Master that I am today. So whatever you tell me stays with me unless you tell me otherwise. I’ve had slayers in this game try and torture me into telling them things because they found out I was a Dragon Master. One even threatened Nychta and Imera’s life if I didn’t turn up my sensitivity level. There’s some really messed up players--not just in Dragon Lance or Gun Gale or Sword Art Online--but everywhere. You and I know that. So have confidence that if nothing else, I can keep my mouth shut.”Moonshine released his shoulders and stepped back. “And if need be, I’ll give you a good punch in the gut to keep you from being a big mouth.”Kirito chuckled shaking his head. “It’s safe with me. Though I might come asking for more one day. I really enjoyed talking with her and her the same with me.” He smiled warmly. “You did not hear this come from my lips, but I think I am going to enjoy Meuma’s company the same if not more than Asuna’s.”“Pfftt!” Moonshine snorted. He doubled over in laughter. “You’d better not let her hear that! She’ll go RYNO on you!”“She’ll what?” Kirito blinked.“Rip you a new one!” He laughed, holding his stomach. He took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. “But I get it. It’s someone and something different to talk to. Still…” He shook his head. “I couldn’t handle a woman like Asuna. Her and Kaori are similar, but they’re more different than one might think. In any case, everyone needs something they can do without their significant other. For me, it’s Gun Gale. Maybe Dragon Lance is yours.”“Maybe, because I don’t think Asuna likes it too much, but you never know she might change after hanging out with me and the others here. I think Silica and Lisbeth are going to fall in love with the place. Sinon not sure yet nor am I with my sister. I guess only time will tell with them.”Kirito looked ahead of them seeing the Butcher a few more buildings down. “Seems we are almost there.”Moonshine looked down the road, nodding. “Yep. Let’s get going since we have some other stops to make. We already wasted enough time bickering,” he laughed as they started walking once more.When they opened the door to the butcher shop and stepped in, the NPC running the store shouted at them with a huge smile on his face. “Hey! It’s Moonshine! My best customer!”The NPC was a tall, burly human man wearing a red tunic and a white butcher’s apron. He had scruffy brown hair and an equally as scruffy beard.“Hey, Russell. How are ya?” Moonshine walked up to the counter, looking at all of the cuts of meat in the glass counters.“I’m just dandy now that you’re here! You here to feed those two hungry beasts of yours? I got a special on a combo pack just for you! 85 Scala for a fifty-pound pack. Whaddaya say?” Russell beamed, leaning against the counter.“I think I’m good for now. I might hit you up on my way back from the mountains. Actually,” Moonshine turned to Kirito who stood next to him, examining the choices as well. “My friend Kirito here just became a dragon master. Well, more like dragon master in training.”“Ahhh, I got ya!” Russell nodded in understanding. “He needs to get his hands on some fresh cuts. Don’t worry, I got ya covered! What kind of dragon you got?”“She’s a Titanium Dragon,” Kirito told him.“Of course! Now I know why you brought him in,” Russell nodded and went into the back where the butcher station was located.He came back out with a cold storage cardboard box labeled ‘Pork Liver’. He set it down on a table against the wall and put on a pair of gloves. Russell opened the bag inside the box that was packed with dry ice and took out several pieces of individually wrapped pork liver.“Pork liver has the most iron. Almost 14 milligrams per 2 and a half ounces. And...” Russell slapped a piece on a scale, still in its wrapping. It registered as half a pound. He typed on the panel on the back side of the scale and the price popped up as 5 Scala per pound. “It’s the cheapest.”“Wow!” Kirito gawked at the price. “When you said Metal Dragons were low maintenance, you weren’t kidding!”“Told you,” Moonshine laughed. “Metal Dragons are the best dragons for first-time masters.”“So, how much can I get you?” Russell asked Kirito.“Well, I guess I could carry about… fifty pounds?” Kirito looked to Moonshine, unsure of how much to carry for Meuma.Moonshine nodded. “Sounds about right. That should last you a while. You’ll also want a mixture of other meats.”“Right,” Kirito nodded. “You said not to give her too much. In that case, how about some chicken and fish?”Russell nodded. “What kind of cuts can I get you?”“He’ll take two of your packs of twenty-pound mixed cut chicken and ten of your five-pound fillets of salmon. Also, ten of your whole cod,” Moonshine ordered.He turned to Kirito as Russell set about gathering Kirito’s order. “That should be good to get you started. It’s a good mix and the amount will last you about a month. And don’t worry about the price for now. This purchase will bump you up to at least occasional customer. Then you’ll be able to get discounts of five percent. The more you buy at shops, the higher your ranking with them and the higher your discounts. Then, once you reach platinum status with a shop, they’ll even offer you special deals on items you buy most often when you come in. They’ll even send you messages advertising specials before they offer it to anyone else.”“Wow! So when he said he had a special when you came in, that was because you have platinum status at this shop?” Kirito’s eyes widened.Moonshine nodded with a smirk. “Yep. I come to this town a lot. I’ve got platinum status with several stores and merchants here. I’d buy the items for you, but as you can see, it’s better to front up a good chunk of money to buy things.”“Because in the long run, the more you spend, the more deals and discounts you get,” Kirito nodded with a grin of his own. “I get you.”“Yup. Which is why I’ll be stopping by again on our way back once I have Imera out of my inventory. She’s not as big as Nychta, but she still takes up a chunk of my space. And I’ll be hitting up this store specifically since I’ll be feeding multiple dragons other than just Nychta and Imera now that I’m the caretaker for the guild.”It wasn’t long and Russell had the order completed. The bar that had been over his head with a timer now said ‘complete’. He stepped up to the counter and typed in the order to the cash register. “Alright! All that comes up to 987 Scala.”Kirito blinked and tapped accept and pay on the purchase panel that popped up. The items were moved into his inventory. “That’s… surprisingly cheap.”“Dragon Lance is an American made game,” Moonshine explained. “So the Scala are translated from USD. One Scala is one USD in the States. Which means the price you paid for this order would be about 113,000 Yen.”“O-oh…” Kirito rubbed the back of his neck. “Which means Scala go further than Col, so to say. And Credits too. GGO does currency conversion, so the numbers get all out of whack ‘cause they have to deal with multiple different currencies.”“Exactly.”Another panel popped up on Kirito’s menu, flashing that Kirito was now an Occasional Customer at Russell’s Lakeside Butchery and Deli in Fareport. The bar had been filled up one and a half times. “Awesome!” Kirito smiled as he closed the panel. “I’ll have to get used to thinking in smaller amounts of money.”“You learn pretty quick if you don’t think of it in terms of IRL money. Just think of it as another currency. Scala is Scala. Just take a couple zeros off of Yen, and you’ve got a fairly good estimate of Scala.”“Got it,” Kirito nodded. He looked up to Russell with a smile. “Thanks, Russell. I’ll definitely be back.”“Thanks a bunch! I’ll be waiting for you!” He waved as the two of them walked out.“So, where to next?” Kirito asked.“Next we go to the general store. You’ll need ropes and climbing hooks, along with a few other things,” Moonshine told him as they walked down the street.---Cerberus looked around the shelves in the Magic section, as Kitsune and Okamishiro went their own ways when they entered the Book Shop. Each were looking for their own genre. Cerberus had a lot of the magic books already that were published within DL, and not just the ones that covered the area of Alchemist, he made sure to touch down on the areas of the Mages and the Sorcerer's as well. After all, he was not the only magic wielder within their Guild. What he really wanted was a collection of in-game discoveries, formulas, potions, spells, recipes, and abilities and boons gained from gems.It was not uncommon for the players to publish their findings. Okamishiro did it all the time, but alas he did not think he had a book written with what he was looking for. He knew there was probably a few that were repeats, but to get his hands on one that was complete would be an amazing feat.“There has to be one somewhere. Hell, there are as many Magic Wielders in DL as there are Fairies in ALO,” Cerberus stated as he shrugged knowing it was a hyperbolic statement, but he also knew that DL had a lot of Magic Wielders and that there was no way one Magic Wielder has discovered all the possibilities within their Magic world. Seeing a book he had not seen before he let his fingertips slide up the spine of the book as he hooked his fingertip at the top of the spine and pulled it from the shelf. He stood there thumbing through the book looking at its contents.
Okamishiro noticed the book in Cerberus’ hands and walked up to him with a smile. “I see you’ve found the first edition of The Sorcerer’s Codex.”“How long has this been out?” Cerberus asked as he flipped to the front page where the credits were placed.“About a year. I should know,” Okamishiro grinned. “I wrote it.”“You did?” Cerberus asked giving him a quick glance then looking back to the credit page. He chuckled lightly and pointed at Okamishiro’s name. “You sure did.” He looked back at him once more. “So if this is the first edition, where are the others?”Okamishiro scanned the shelf and pulled down another book whose spine and cover were similar to the first one but nicer looking and with different designs. “This is the most recent one. The Third Edition.” He handed the book to Cerberus. “Every time I get enough new information, I submit a revised edition to the publisher and a new edition gets put out. That way there aren’t dozens of volumes. Though if the book gets too thick, I might have to publish a second volume.”Next, he pulled down a different book. “This one is The Explorer’s Guide to Tarragonia. This one is in volumes and a new one is released every three months. It’s kind of a journal of all my exploring, but also a guide for other players to follow. And it’s easy to read and understand, even for new players.”
“That’s cool,” Cerberus replied as he took the offered book cracking the spine. He looked up from the book and smiled at him looking back to the page. “You know, we need to get your written book collections into the library at the castle. The Magic ones, of course, would be in the lab, but at least we would have them.”Okamishiro nodded with a smile. “I will get ahold of my publisher and let them know the guild needs a full set of all my published works. They can get it there fast and free of charge since the request would be from me.”“Well, you are part of the Guild now, so it would only make sense you would want to supply the guild you are part of with your written knowledge.” Cerberus chuckled poking fun at him. “I mean it falls within that Brotherly Love, Pact thingy, Blood Oath, stuff guilds share, right?”Okamishiro laughed and shrugged. “Sure, if that’s what you want to call it. In any case, my books are about as close as you can get to a complete work of all things magic in Tarragonia. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I do spend a lot of my time exploring and learning things in games. It’s how I played SAO and ALO too.”“So you think your books are the best within this world do you?” the voice of an old woman spoke to the two boys as she walked from
around the large bookshelf. Her eyes drifted between the two boys, stopping on the taller, dark-haired boy. “A book of Tarragonia Magic is what you seek. Hidden away for thousands of years, it waits for a Magic Wielder wise and strong to finally claim its spoils.”“Tarragonia Magic? Is there really such a thing?” Questioned Cerberus.Her hand lifted pointing at the two boys then gestured to everything, but nothing at all as she looked off in a hypnotic gaze. “A book you seek with spoils untold to fill the gaps with wisdom old.” Her look turned to the boys once more. “Seek a door bound in chains. Locks with spells, you coax their form. With seven keys thou must forge... To unlock its mysteries from behind said door.”Okamishiro and Cerberus turned and looked at each other in confusion. They turned to look back at the woman, who they were almost certain was a witch. “Um… I’ve never heard of such a thing. What kind of magic book is this?”“It is the master key to the world’s magic,” the old woman told them, hunched over with her hands behind her back. “Those who claim it knows no secrets.”Cerberus nudged Okamishiro in the side. “I think she’s trying to get us to sell our soul for a magic book. I think I saw this in a movie one time.”“Yeah?” Okamishiro looked at him. “And what happened?”“... The book burned the man alive because it deemed him unworthy to read it…” Cerberus gulped.“Great.”“Will you accept the challenge?” The old woman asked them.Okamishiro looked at Cerberus once more. Cerberus shrugged. “I mean… It’s not like we’ll actually die if we fail.”“Let’s save just to be sure,” Okamishiro sighed and opened his panel, hitting save before hitting accept on the quest screen. Cerberus did the same.Once their progress was saved Cerberus looked to the old lady once more. “So where is this door?”The old woman pointed at the back wall of the Book Shop, he looked to Okamishiro and nodded as he tapped the accept button on the Quest panel. As soon as they did they both took off from their location to the back of the Book Shop. There, like the old woman stated was the door bound in chains, but there were no visible locks. Both the boys looked at one another recalling her ramblings.“Seek a door bound in chains.” Cerberus looked to the door once more. “Well, we got that.” His mind drifted to her next bout of words. “Locks with spells, you coax their form.” He looked to Okamishiro. “Coax their form.” It was not really a question it was more of a statement as he thought.“A materialization spell?” He looked to Okamishiro once more then stepped up to the door to see if his conclusion was correct. “I only know a basic one, and I believe there are a quite a few more.”Cerberus turned back toward the door lifting his hand slowly as he spoke clearly. “Vanishing evidence, materialize that which I wish to discover.” He thrust his hand forward toward the door as it creaked and shook, the chains rattling then fell silent as two locks appeared on the door. He turned quickly and looked at Okamishiro. “It worked!”Okamishiro hummed, rubbing his chin. “I don’t know. That just seemed too easy…”“Huh? What do you mean? The locks showed up.”Okamishiro turned to Cerberus. “Yes, but this doesn’t seem like some easy peasy quest. There has to be more to it than just make the locks appear, find the keys, open the door and take the prize. That’s something you do during your first ten levels when the game won’t let you accept any harder quests. And the way she talked, this book that’s supposedly here seems like an extremely rare item. It might even be the only item in the game.”“So a quest that only one person or one group of people can complete. And once it’s complete, no one else can trigger it,” Cerberus speculated.“That’s my thought.”“Well, if that’s true, then what do we do next?”Okamishiro hummed once more, examining the door. “Two locks to protect a door that hides a magic book? No way.” He raised his hand to the door and recited a spell of his own. “Erode the hidden veil, pull back the curtain, and cast aside their doubts. Strip them of their secrets!”The door shook once more, its chains rattling. When it became still again, two more locks appeared on the door. Okamishiro turned and smiled at Cerberus.“Know any more? We’d better use all we can think of so we know for sure that we have all the locks revealed.”“Well,” Cerberus rubbed his chin in thought as he started to pace in front of the door and Okamishiro. “The old woman said, A book you seek with spoils untold, to fill the gaps with wisdom old. Seek a door bound in chains.” Cerberus looked to the door with four locks bound to the chains.“Locks with spells, you coax their form.” He looked to Okamishiro and shook his finger quickly as he exclaimed and bounced forward. “With seven keys thou must forge!” He touched the door and finished the last verse. “To unlock its mysteries from behind said door... We have three more locks to make visible and we don’t seek the keys we have to forge them. Make them ourselves. The seven of them.”
“You’re right,” Okamishiro nodded with a grin. “It’s a good thing one of us was paying attention to what she was actually saying. I was too busy being confused by what was going on.” He laughed and raised his hand.“I know one more. Though if this shows only two more, we might have to use one last one to get the last lock,” he surmised before reciting the next spell. “The new moon veiled in darkness. Let tomorrow come and begin the cycle anew. Reveal your face once more.”Just like he thought, the spell showed only two more locks.“Yup. We need one more spell,” Okamishiro nodded.“I know one more, but I doubt it will work. It’s a powerful one that invokes Bosses that like to play hide and seek with you.” Cerberus looked at the door and sighed as he stepped up to it once more.
Lifting his hands, he concentrated on the spell, it had to be right, not a single word overlooked.
“All my soul within me boding, strip the unseen cloaking, and reveal that which lurks! Shadows fading, light forsakes, show the one that evades my sake. Manifest!”A purple light jetted forward and slammed into the door making the whole building shake, as well as the door as it groaned and quaked the chains rattled loudly and pulled against the locks as the metal cried under the force of the spell.Thinking the whole door was about to explode, including the wall it was attached to the two boys darted behind a tall solid oak bookshelf.“Shit!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty
"I think that was a little too much!” Cerberus exclaimed cupping his hands over his ears as the noise grew louder.“You think?!” Okamishiro covered his head with his arms.Suddenly the commotion was silenced. The two blinked and looked up at each other. Slowly, they crept to the edge of the bookshelf and peeked around the corner cautiously. Nothing. The door was fine and there were still six locks.“Well, looks like we freaked out over nothing,” Okamishiro sighed and stood up. “And we still don’t have the last lock revealed.” He turned and looked at Cerberus. “What do you think we should do? Forge the first six then worry about the others after, or focus on getting all seven locks revealed first?”Before Cerberus could answer him Kitsune hurriedly walked over to them from around a bookcase and grabbed both their ears.“Ow ow ow ow ow ow!” The boys cried in unison.“What are you two doing!?” She exclaimed at nearly a whisper as she pulled them down to her level. “Do you realize you chased everyone out of the Book Shop with that stunt?”“B-but we were--”“But nothing! You’re just as bad as Moonshine! And now you’re influencing Tanya’s brother too!” Kitsune narrowed her eyes at them, her hands on her hips.“But the quest!”“What quest?!”“The door!”“What door?!” Kitsune spun around to see a door in chains with locks on it. She blinked at it. “What the…?”“We told you! It’s a quest!” Okamishiro moved over closer to the door. “Some old woman NPC said there was some magic book behind it and we had to make keys for the door to open it. But there are seven locks and we can’t figure out where the seventh one is or how to reveal it.”“So you had to use a powerhouse spell on it to get the last lock to appear?!” She growled with her hands on her hips as she looked to Okamishiro.Quickly Okamishiro’s hand shot up as he pointed at Cerberus. “It was his spell. I didn’t do it.”Kitsune sighed looking to Cerberus with a scolding look as he hung his head. “Cerberus?”“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would react that way. If had known I would not have used it.” Cerberus confirmed. “Really, and I am truly sorry. Please, don’t tell my sister she will tear me apart over this.”Kitsune sighed again shaking her head as she walked up to Cerberus and patted his shoulder. “Well, no real damage was done to the Book Shop. You two only chased out the customers, but still be careful.” She turned and looked at the door again. “So there is supposed to be a powerful book of magic behind this door, huh?”“So said the witch in her own weirdly witchy way,” Okamishiro laughed. “Anyway, we’re not sure what to do. Try and figure out how to get the last lock or do the other keys first. Either way, there has to be something good behind this door. I want to know what it is.”Cerberus looked to Okamishiro as he lifted his hand combing his fingers through his dark hair. “Well, maybe we need to make the keys now since the last lock has not appeared. Maybe it is one of those deals where you have to complete the first few steps, and then you can invoke the rest in later steps.”Okamishiro nodded. “Makes sense. So we just have to figure out how to forge the keys.” Okamishiro examined the locks, humming to himself. “Maybe if we use the locks as a mold? Fill the lock with metal ore and it should form a key.”Cerberus looked over at the locks. “I think that would cause more issues than not. Not to mention we would have to draw 6 transmutation circles, one behind each lock. I say we make a blank key and wrap the end in clay and take a mold of each lock. From there I can draw one transmutation circle to make all 6 keys.” He looked at Okamishiro and Kitsune. “But we need more than just the metal we have to make the keys as you know. Because in alchemy you can’t get something for nothing. We need an equal exchange.”Okamishiro nodded. “I have two iron pieces total.”“And I have one,” Cerberus checked his inventory. “We might have to go to a blacksmith and buy more.”“Buy more what?” Moonshine’s voice came from behind them. They turned around to see him and Kirito standing there. “What’s with the door?”“It’s a quest!” Okamishiro turned to his brother. “An NPC told us there was a magic book behind it! There’s supposed to be seven locks, but we’ve only found six. We have to forge the keys to the locks.”“Ahhh, I see,” Moonshine nodded, moving over to look at the door. He looked at it with a hand on his chin. “Must be something good if it’s got seven locks on it.” He turned back to his brother and Cerberus. “I’ve got three pieces of iron if you need them.”“Awesome! That makes six!” Okamishiro grinned. He turned to Cerberus as well. “Let’s forge the base keys.”Cerberus went back into his inventory and retrieved a piece of chalk. With chalk in hand, he started looking around the Bookshop for the best place to draw the transmutation circle. He did not want it where everyone would be walking on it, so he walked over to a table clearing the books that were on top of it and started drawing the circle. When he was done, he took the piece of metal from his inventory placing it in the middle of the circle. His hands then were placed on the outer ring, and within seconds a blank skeleton key appeared in the center. He picked up the key and looked at them as he lifted it up.“Anyone got a small piece of clay or putty?” Cerberus asked them.
“I think I do,” Kitsune checked her inventory. When she saw she had clay listed she nodded. “I thought so. I was making stone pots last time I logged on. I have two pieces left. You can have them both.”As Kitsune and Moonshine transferred the items over to Cerberus, Kirito hummed, putting a hand on his chin. “This game really is versatile in the items you can acquire and the purposes you can use them for. Clay, metal ore. Just about anything it seems.”Cerberus nodded his head. “The creator of this game, Aiden Reid, wanted this game to be as real as possible even though it was a Fantasy game. So the best way to think of this VR is real life with Dragons.”He took the small piece of clay and pressed to either side of the blank skeleton key and handed it off to Okamishiro. Okamishiro took the key and pressed it into the lock. He moved it around, trying to twist it to get a good imprint of the position of the tumblers inside. However, when he pulled it out, the clay had no imprint on it.“Huh? What kind of lock is this?”“It’s a padlock, duh,” Cerberus retorted as he looked over at Okamishiro from his place at the table with the transmutation circle. When he saw the look of confusion on his face he stepped toward him. “What’s wrong?”Okamishiro showed Cerberus the key. “The clay. The mold failed. There’s no imprint. Like it didn’t even touch the tumblers inside of the lock.”“What? That can’t be. Did you move it around enough?” Cerberus took the key.“Of course I did!” Okamishiro huffed.Cerberus put the key back in and moved it around. He twisted it back and forth a few times then jiggled it around. When he pulled it out, there was still nothing.“See! I told you!” Okamishiro sighed, shaking his head. “What are we supposed to do now?”Cerberus sighed combing his fingers through his hair as he went into thought, suddenly his eyes lit up. “I need a book of keys. Or about keys. Just something that tells me how many types of skeleton keys there are in existence for padlocks.” Turning he stepped quickly over toward the bookcases and disappeared within their book littered shelves. Though he couldn’t be seen, he was heard.“Everyone spread out and help me find one.”Moonshine laughed and turned to Kirito. “Welp. Let’s go. The sooner we help them with this, the sooner we can get to the tavern.”“Right,” Kirito laughed.They all scattered throughout the bookstore, searching every section they could think of that would have to do with keys. They looked in the blacksmithing section, the metalworking section, and even in the books about locksmithing. It got to the point where Kirito, Moonshine, and Kitsune were beginning to think this whole quest was a joke. Even the books in the obvious sections only had a few references in them. Even combining all the most useful ones didn’t produce enough material to work with.Moonshine sighed as he walked upstairs, leaving Kirito to search through the “by title” section. He walked past some of the raunchier sections of the bookstore that had some material that had Moonshine seriously doubting the PG-13 rating of the game. Then again, this was an American game. Not to mention VRMMOs had some questionable content in the first place. Censorship and age restrictions were nearly non-existent in the grand scheme of things. Especially since the ‘intimate relations’ function was left unrestricted in SAO. Both he and Kirito had learned that within their two years trapped in Aincrad.“Pssst!” He heard what sounded like Kitsune whispering at him.He blinked, turning around, but not seeing her anywhere. “Huh? Where the hell?”“Over here!”Moonshine walked back and looked down all the aisles until he saw Kitsune. She had a book in her hands and a big grin on her face. Her tanned skin was painted rosy on her cheeks. Confused, he looked up at the genre label on the top of the bookshelf. It read ‘Adult Non-Fiction’.His jaw dropped as he looked back at his girlfriend. “Kaori! What are you doing!? This isn’t the time to have your mind in the gutter!” He quickly strides over to her side.“Well…” Her cheeks flushed more. “When we could not find what we were looking for in the obvious places, I decided to look elsewhere and believe it or not I found it. Here. Of all places.” She held the book up and showed it to him.When he looked at the cover, he damn near dropped it and jumped back from surprise like it was on fire. Slowly, he looked up at her. “Bondage… Really, Kaori? Is there something you want to tell me?”Drawing back her arm, she smacked his arm as a loud ‘POP!’ echoed through the room. “Don’t make me beat you with that book Tsukiro.”
Moonshine laughed and flinched at her hit. “Okay, okay. I’m kidding. But no, seriously though. A book on bondage? Really? Of all the books for this game to put the needed information in. America really has a messed-up sense of humor. What if some twelve-year-old did this quest and found this?”“I doubt a twelve-year-old would’ve completed the quest because the adult material is locked down for those who are underage. I doubt Cerberus would have even found this because he walked right by me like I was not even here. Like there was a barrier around me.” Kitsune explained.Moonshine blinked. “Really? That’s surprising. Given how lax VRMMOs are with restrictions.” He smirked as he imagined Kirito finding the book instead. That was if he even considered coming down this particular aisle in the first place. “Pftt. Too bad Kirito didn’t find it.”“Find what? Did you find the book?” Kirito peeked his head around the corner as he walked by.Moonshine smirked, and although Kitsune knew he was up to something, she didn’t have the time to stop him. “We sure did! Come take a look!”Kitsune shook her head. “You can be such a child sometimes.” She told Moonshine as she walked from between the bookcases coming face to face with Kirito. She handed the book off to him as she walked passed. “Knock yourself out, Kirito. Maybe you might learn something.”She then went off looking for Oakmishiro and Cerberus to let them know she found what they were looking for.“Huh?” Kirito blinked and looked down at the book. The cover displayed a nude girl wrapped up in ropes with a gag ball. “Gah!” He jumped, the book falling from his hands. “Wh-what the hell?! What makes you think this is the book!?”Moonshine laughed, picking the book up. He flipped to the pages Kitsune showed him with the different types of keys and locks. “See? I guess the producers of this game have some twisted sense of humor.”Kirito made a noise of disgust and shook his head, putting his hand in front of his face. “That’s just wrong.”“Yeah, bondage ain’t my thing either,” Moonshine put the book in his inventory, not wanting to carry it around through the store. He especially didn’t want to be waving it around in front of his brother, though since this was his and Cerberus’ quest. However, he doubted he had a choice. “Let’s just go tell them we found their keys.”Kirito nodded. “You know if Tanya finds out her little brother had a book like this in his possession someone might get hurt. It might be best not to even show him the book, or Shiro. Just open it to the page they need and set it down close to them.”
Moonshine scoffed, shaking his head. “Oh, believe me, I’m going to. Except Shiro has a nose for everything. And by everything, I mean everything. He can sniff out a secret faster than a bloodhound can sniff out prey. Speaking of x-rated material, he ratted Kaori and me out to our parents when I was fifteen! After that, I learned you can’t keep anything from Ashimitsu Ryushiro.”“Keep what from me?” Okamishiro ran up to them as they descended the stairs.Moonshine gave him a deadpanned look, grabbing him by the nose. “Your big fat nose. It always finds itself back to you. It’s like a homing missile. You shoot it out towards anything that looks or sounds interesting and it comes back with anything it can find.”“Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!” Okamishiro grabbed his brother’s wrist until he let go. He pouted up at him, rubbing his nose. “Geez. You never tell me anything.”“That’s cause you always find out anyway. And worse than that, you suck at keeping secrets. Or rather, you’re good at keeping them but you’re a bad liar,” Moonshine gave him a pointed look and took out the book, quickly opening it to the required page and setting it down on a table nearest to the locked door. “There. There’re your keys. This is the only page that’s useful, so don’t bother flipping through it. I already checked.”Okamishiro pouted at his brother again, giving him a glare. “You don’t have to treat me like a child, you know. I’m nineteen.”Moonshine poked him in the forehead with a stern look. “Child, no. Baby brother, yes. Now hurry up with the quest so we can get to the tavern.”Cerberus walked down the stairs with Kitsune as he looked over at the group standing around the door. “Finally!”He bounded over to the book and looked at the keys on the page. He propped his hands to the table top when all of a sudden his arms buckled, and he fell forward, his head near inches from hitting the tabletop as Kitsune gasped.“Cerberus!” She called out his name.“What’s wrong?” Moonshine asked him with concern in his voice. He really didn’t want to deliver Tanya’s brother back to her traumatized.“There’s… fifteen different keys and locks… We only have six pieces of iron ore. Which means to make all of them we need nine more pieces.”“Or we have to guess them all correctly. But then we’d still be short a key. We still haven’t found the seventh lock yet,” Okamishiro sighed.“Well, the blacksmith is down the street by the boardwalk,” Moonshine told them. “I’m sure you both have enough to purchase more.” He opened his panel to look at the time. “It’s been an hour and ten minutes since we got here in Fareport. I have no idea how long it will take us to get through the Kiss of Life quest. I’d rather not try and complete it in the dark. Not to mention I’m sure Tanya, Kirito, and you Cerberus have school tomorrow.”“What about you three?” Kirito asked him. “Don’t you three have classes tomorrow too?”Moonshine shook his head. “No. We usually don’t schedule classes on Mondays if we can avoid it.” He turned back to Cerberus and his brother. “Is this quest time specific?”Okamishiro opened his quest panel and scrolled down to the name of the quest. He shook his head. “No. It’s open until we either complete it or forfeit.”“Then why don’t you give the quest a break for now, so we can complete mine. After that, you two are free to spend as much time as you want on this. Besides,” Moonshine looked to Cerberus. “You said I needed a magic wielder for this quest.”Cerberus’ head nodded slowly as he looked back to the door. “I don't want to leave the door unattended. What if a stronger Magic wielder comes along? We will lose the chance of getting the prize behind the door, and if that old witch was right, this is something we don’t want to lose out on.”Cerberus turned and looked at Moonshine with an idea sparking in his eyes. “Do you need all of us on this quest?”Moonshine shook his head. “Nope. I just need you. Kirito doesn’t know enough alchemy or magic to aid in this quest. So you’re the only one that can do this. If you want, Shiro or Kit can stay behind and watch the door.”“Well, I figured they would want to be with you in this quest. I was thinking more of my sister and Aaron could stay behind. Plus, the two of them would have no issues defending the door if need be.” He looked to Okamishiro and Kitsune. “Sorry you two, it’s not that I think you’re weak. I just know with my sister and Aaron here, a single soul doesn’t stand a chance in getting close to this door, no matter how strong, magic wielder or not.”“Hey, don’t sweat it,” Kitsune patted him on the shoulder. “I’d rather be out questing than sitting here in this old shop. And either way, someone is going to be sitting here bored.”Moonshine nodded and opened his panel. “I will message Tanya then and let her know what’s going on so they can come over. Then the rest of us will head to the tavern instead.”Within a few minutes, Moonshine had messaged Tanya with the details. A minute after that, she replied letting him know the two of them were heading over to the Book Shop.It was not long, and Tanya and Aaron were walking into the Book Shop and making their way to the back where Moonshine said they would be. When they came around the solid oak bookcase Tanya blinked a few times.“Well now, that’s some door you got there Cerberus and Okamishiro,” Aaron confirmed before Tanya could speak.“Are you sure there is a rare item behind that door?” Tanya asked the two boys.“That’s what the old witch said,” both the boys replied in unison.Tanya nodded slowly as she looked to Moonshine. “Well, I guess it’s babysitting time. Good luck with your quest, and not to rush you or anything. But I would like to be home and in bed by 10. It’s finals week.”Moonshine’s eyes widened and rushed up to her, shaking her by the shoulders. “How dare you speak the F word! We speak not of the vile F-word in this game!”Kitsune and Okamishiro groaned in both exasperation and empathy. Kirito just laughed and scratched the back of his head, his expression also conveying understanding.“Sooorrry~ but it is and if I don't pass. I don’t graduate next week, and if I have to take summer classes because of all of you”--she looked to Cerberus and Okamishiro--”shit is going to hit the fan.”Moonshine stumbled back and into a bookcase. He turned and grabbed his chest, his other hand leaning on the bookcase. “P-please… Make her stop…”Kitsune rolled her eyes, even though she was amused by his antics. “I’m still not sure how you’re surviving college with a 3.75 GPA.”Okamishiro laughed. “Miracle of the century.”Kitsune hummed, shaking her head with a smile. She turned to Tanya. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back before eight at the latest. Maybe earlier if we get lucky. Classes or not, we still have to actually be in bed at a decent time tonight too, and I’d rather not push our luck with gaming today.”“Isn’t it like 3 in the morning there already?” Aaron asked them as he looked to the group.Tanya nodded her head as she looked to Kirito. “You did say there was like a 13-hour time difference between us, right?”Kirito nodded his head. “Mhmm,” he hummed. So it’s actually like 4:45 in the morning in Japan.”Tanya looked to Kitsune. “I think you overshot your bedtime there.”
Kitsune turned her head slowly and glared at Moonshine. He swallowed hard and took her by the shoulders, turning her and pushing her towards the door. “Don’t worry! You look sexy with panda eyes! Besides, you being only half Japanese means your tan skin will hide them! It’s me I have to worry about. Come on, everyone! Let’s go!”Kirito turned to Okamishiro as they followed them out the door. “He’s good about digging himself into holes, huh?”Okamishiro laughed behind his hand. “Yeah, but he’s also fairly good about digging himself out too. Or at least bringing a ladder. I can’t remember the last time they actually fought. Aincrad maybe? But nothing major since then. They’re the kind of couple that has a hard time staying mad at each other.”“Lucky them,” Cerberus scoffed.
Tanya shook her head as she watched them all walk out of sight. “Be careful Cerberus.”“Will do, sis,” he called back to her with a wave of hand over his shoulder. The group was soon out the door of the Book Shop and headed to the tavern.---The Drunken Schooner Tavern was decorated with models of ships and just about everything nautical one could imagine, from the paintings on the walls to the furniture. There were stools shaped like ship steering wheels. Each table in the tavern had a ship in a bottle or a bottle filled with seashells on it. The support pillars around the place were reminiscent of those seen below deck of a ship. Just looking at the place made Moonshine want to scan through the VROnline download page to see if someone had created a pirate-themed VRMMO. He was sure someone had, it was just a matter of finding it.He looked around the tavern once more, this time paying attention to the guests, both player and NPC alike. In the corner towards the back, he spotted an old man with tanned, weather-beaten skin, salt and pepper hair, and eyes of a soft gray, and wearing an old, tattered shirt with trousers that were in the same condition. He was swaying in his seat, mumbling to himself. Moonshine couldn’t hear what he was saying from this distance, but he was sure it was nonsense about unicorns and resurrection like Cerberus had said. The old man lifted his wooden mug to his dried and cracked lips, but a moment later he stared blankly into the mug and sat it down. He tried to wave down one of the waitresses, but she just yelled at him and called him a useless old drunkard.“Well. They certainly made it obvious. Though I can see why some players would stay away from him,” Moonshine said half to himself and half to the others. “He’s your average, everyday bar-goer. VRMMO style.”“Ugh. He reminds me of my uncle,” Kitsune turned her head away. “And not the fun one.” She placed her hand on Moonshine’s back and pushed him in the direction of the old man. “You go talk to him and trigger the quest. I’ll be over here on the complete opposite side of the room.”Moonshine nodded and gave her a sympathetic smile, kissing her cheek before she ran off. Okamishiro looked at his brother and shook his head, plugging his nose. “I can smell him from over here. I think I’ll pass too.” He ran off as well, following Kitsune.Moonshine laughed and turned to look at Kirito and Cerberus. “What about you two? Bailing?”Kirito shook his head. “Nope. I’ve smelled worse. Besides, no NPC is gonna scare me off from a quest.”“Yeah, same here!” Cerberus nodded with a confident smile.Moonshine nodded and the three of them walked closer to the table the old man was sitting at. The table was a small one that sat two people. When they came close enough, the ramblings became clearer… or as clear as they could be.“Eyz tellin’ yas… it to… touched em wif itz horn… and den...” He waved his arms limply. “Poof!”“Really?” Moonshine said to him, sitting down across from him. “And then what?”The old man looked up at him with glossed over grey eyes. “Wh… who’re yew?”“Just a traveler who heard something interesting.”The man grunted and leaned forward, shaking his crooked finger at him. “So… yous wanna… hear me out… Iszat so?”Moonshine nodded. “I do.”“Den why don’ yas prove it,” the old man sneered. “Buy an old man a drink.”Moonshine turned to the NPC waitress who had yelled at the man. He jerked his head in the direction of the old man. “Give him what he wants. On me.”The waitress--a blonde with curves and blue eyes--sighed, shaking her head. “It’s your lucky day, old man.”It only took a minute for the waitress to fill up a mug with beer and set it in front of the old man. A panel popped up in front of Moonshine, asking for a payment of 7 Scala. He pressed accept and the man picked it up, taking a long swig from the mug. Beer trickled out of his mouth and ran down his chin.“It was thirty or so years ago…” The man started.Moonshine noted his sudden lack of slurring like he had sobered up from just one drink of his next beer. Probably something the programmers decided on to prevent the players from misunderstanding him. He was grateful for it. He’d rather not spend half an hour trying to dissect drunken ramblings when he should be following the quest.“I was up in the Riverwood Forest, I was. Doin’ some huntin’. I wasn’ alone though. I had my partner. Old Blue. Handsomest, best, damn ol’ Blue Tick hound any man ever saw.”Moonshine slowly turned to Cerberus and blinked rapidly in confusion. Cerberus leaned down and whispered into his ear. “That’s the dog. It’s a hunting dog. Just pay attention.”Moonshine shook his head and turned back to the old man. “And then what happened?”“A wild boar!” The man slammed his hand down on the table, knocking over the empty mug from his previous drink. Moonshine set it upright. “That damned beast attacked Old Blue! Killed my dog dead! I tried to shoot it dead, but it done ran off! I chased after the damn thing for probably a mile. And then…” The old man looked around the tavern, leaning closer to Moonshine, causing him to lean away from him. “That’s when I saw it.”“It?” Moonshine asked him.“It’s hide glittered like diamonds! Its hooves were silver! And on its head”--he poked himself in the forehead, the creases in his skin deepening--“an ivory horn. It was a unicorn, I tell ya!”“You didn’t see no damn unicorn you old fart!” The blonde waitress huffed at him, her hands on her hips. “Stop tellin’ lies! Ain’t nobody in this place believes you! Not now and not ever!”“You be quiet!” The man shook his finger at her. He turned back to Moonshine. “That wasn’ all. The unicorn had its leg caught in a bear trap. Its blood was silver! It glittered like its hide! I went up to it and freed it. And it ran off back the way I came. By then the boar had been long gone, so I followed the unicorn back to where I came. And there I found it. Standin’ over my dog.”“What did it do?” Moonshine asked him.The old man pulled out a tattered old picture from his pocket, holding it up in front of Moonshine. “Look! Look here! This is me an’ Old Blue! Twenty years ago!” Before Moonshine had a chance to look at it properly, he shook it in his face. “That thing healed my dog! Old Blue was dead, I’m tellin’ ya! He was dead an’ that thing brought ‘em back to life!”“You don’t actually believe this drunk’s bullcrap, do you?” The waitress crossed her arms at Moonshine. Both she and the old man had their eyes trained on him.Moonshine looked back to the old man and nodded. “I do.” The old man smiled with rotted teeth and the waitress gave a scoff of disbelief and exasperation, throwing her hands up and walking off.The old man shook his finger at him again. “I knew ya would. If you believe me, then you probably want to go see that thing for yourself, do ya?” He leaned forward yet again. “Tell me, boy. You got someone you want returned to ya? Huh?”Moonshine nodded, his expression somber. “Yes… I do.”The old man nodded slowly back. He tapped the table with his finger in front of him. “Then ya gots to go prove yourself.” The old man sat back in his chair and picked up his beer.Suddenly Moonshine’s notifications chimed. He opened his panel to see a screen that read, “Kiss of Life. Do you accept this quest?”Moonshine smiled widely and hit accept.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty-One
It had been a good 45 minutes since Tanya and Aaron had been left in the Book Shop to watch over the door for Cerberus and Okamishiro. Both sat there reading a book of choice, both in their own little world of the book they were reading. Turning a page Tanya spoke without looking up.“I wonder if they have talked to the old man yet?”“I’m sure they have. It doesn’t take long to get the story behind the quest. It’s the quest itself that takes the most time,” Aaron replied as his eyes lifted from his book. He watched as Tanya nodded her head slowly. “You’re worried about something.”He closed his book, setting it to the tabletop they were sitting at as he slowly turned facing the table and her. Lacing his fingers together he rested his arms to the table. “What’s on your mind, Tanya?”She looked up at him from her book. “A lot of things. This quest.” Her eyes looked to the door they were watching. “The one Moonshine is on. The Guild--”“Which one?” Aaron intervened with a chuckled.Tanya chuckled lightly closing her book. “Ours... and Illusions of the Serpent. I wish I knew what they were up to.”“No good,” Aaron chuckled softly. He lifted from his chair and moved over to the one closer to Tanya as he patted her hand that rested to the table. “It will work out in the end. Our Guild is strong and closely knit. The West doesn’t stand a chance against us, and if they do by some odd chance get a force together to rise against us, we have our allies. And the North, South and even the East are nothing to sneeze at.”“Aaron,” Tanya started then fell short as she looked down at their hands on the table. Moving her other hand over the top of his that rested to hers she looked up at him. “What happens if they find something on us? On me. It seems they are targeting me. So what happens if they find something?”Aaron smiled despite knowing what she was asking. He knew she was worried about news getting out that she was Celty, but he was not going to lead her to believe or even know that he knew this. “We deal with it. Do you have dirt out there you don’t want to be found out?”Tanya shook her head. “I don’t know. So much has happened in 3 and a half years, and we climbed to the top very quickly. Who knows whose toes we stepped on, on the way up.”“Everything we have obtained for the Guild has been in earnest. Never have we robbed or pillaged to get our wealth. It was earned with hard work, quests, and integrity. How we obtain information has nothing to do with any of that. Lives are not lost, and dragons are never harmed.”“I understand that,” Tanya stated.“Then what is the issue, Tanya? There is nothing out there that is so bad that it is going to hurt our Guild. I promise you that,” Aaron reassured her.She patted his hand that was on hers. “I wish I was as sure as you, Aaron.” She sighed softly. “I guess I just worry too much.”“Or maybe it’s just the in-game issues and IRL issues are getting to be too much for you. Finals are enough to weigh on anyone. Especially when it's your final year. A lot rests on this last week for you.” He smiled warmly at her as she looked back up at him. “So when do you graduate?”“This coming weekend. Thursday is my last day and Saturday is the big day,” Tanya informed him.“So we won’t be seeing you all day Saturday,” Aaron replied as his head nodded. “Well then, I guess I will have to steal you away Friday all day until you have to go,” Aaron confirmed.Tanya chuckled. “And what will we do?”“I don’t know, but there are plenty of things for us to do here. It will be just a day for us. We can do a picnic, grind, take out a dungeon. Whatever you want to do. It’s your day. Hell, I might even get everyone together to celebrate. It’s not every day our Guild Master graduates.”“Aaron, that is not necessary,” Tanya chuckled as her head shook.“Why not? The only time we use the Grand Hall is when we are inducting a Knight. We need to start throwing Balls. The courtyard we use in the Spring and Summer for Carnivals,” Aaron complained.“And that is something we need to get to planning. Poor Klein is starting to think we forgot about him,” Tanya explained.“Then we can start planning it when we return home. I heard the two of you talking about it, so we have a time of day. We just need to get this set up.”Tanya nodded her head slowly as she smiled warmly. “Then maybe after my graduation ceremony Saturday. Klein did say about 6 or 7 in the evening. It will be the weekend for us all.”“That would work, and with all the new recruits we can have a party after.”Tanya chuckled heartily as her hand lifted and covered her mouth. “What is it with you and wanting to have a party?”Aaron laughed. “Because it’s been a long time and long overdue.”“It has been a long time. I will agree with you there,” Tanya confirmed. “Alright then, a party it is after Klein’s induction. However, this is your respons--” Tanya was about to finish with telling him that the party would be his responsibility, but before she could, a bellowing voice echoed across the Book Shop. Another shortly following as they fired back with a snarky reply.“I am telling you she said it was back here!”“Like you heard a word she said. You were too busy looking at her… watermelons.”Just then, two well-built guys walked around the solid oak bookcase. Tanya stood from her chair, thinking they were looking for the door that belonged to Cerberus’ and Okamishiro’s quest. She blinked a few times when they looked her way standing there staring at her.Aaron lifted slowly as he looked at the two men. One was blond with shortish hair that was a darker, more orange-y blond at the tips. His attire was that of a white button-up shirt, black waistcoat and black trousers that had clean pressed lines in the legs. Hanging from his shoulders was a long, black trench coat with white trimming and sewing and black belts with silver buckles. The inside of the coat had white vertical pinstripes. On his feet were canvas boots that stopped just underneath his knees. On his hands were black leather gloves. His eyes were as blue as the sky reflecting in the ocean.The second had tanned skin that was several shades lighter than Kitsune’s. His hair was long and white with green tips, falling down to the small of his back and was frankly pretty gorgeous for a guy, though it didn’t make him look feminine in the least. He was shirtless except for a brown jacket with green on the inside and white strips around the chest and down the arms. Around his neck was a silver talisman necklace that was bound together by a string of green, white, and brown beads with a green feather on the end. His tanned chest seemed to have white striped tattoos. His trousers were more casual than the first man and a lighter shade of black. His belt was light brown leather and had another attached set of belts that was white leather. The belt was the only thing keeping the jacket closed at the bottom. The rest of the jacket was left open, flashing part of his chest. His boots matched his jacket, brown on the outside, green on the inside, and his gloves were the same shade of brown with brown leather belts and silver buckles wrapped around his forearms. Around his thighs were white leather holsters that held what looked like daggers with chains on the end. His eyes were a mix between crimson and maroon.“May we help you, gentlemen?” Aaron asked them as he leaned forward on the table with his hands firmly to the top.The white-haired man grinned, flashing pearly white teeth and trotted up to the two of them. “You sure can!” He wrapped his arms around their shoulders like they were best buddies. “See, we’re looking for the staircase. The ‘adult-eyes-only’ section, if you know what I mean, is supposed to be upstairs, but we can’t find the damned staircase! It’s like they’re tryin’ ta hide it from us or somethin’!”The blond sighed, placing his hand on his face and shaking his head. “You’re going to get us kicked out if you keep bothering all the other customers. Just like the last bookstore, we walked into.”Aaron removed the arm’s from over his and Tanya’s shoulders as he pointed to the staircase that was located a few yards behind Tanya. “Over there. From there I can’t tell you where to find that section of genre.”The white-haired man’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?! It’s that good, huh~? Oooh, I’ve been waiting to see just how explicit this game can get! I mean, come on! It’s an American game for crying out loud! Know what I mean?!” He clenched his hands into fists, grinning.The blond walked over and grabbed his buddy by the hair and dragged him towards the stairs. “Excuse him. He’s a social idiot.” He gave a pointed look at his friend. “And I’m pretty sure he meant he didn’t know where it is.”“That’s fine. We have a few guys like that in our Guild,” Aaron replied as he watched Tanya take her seat back. He looked to the two men once more as they walked up to the staircase. “Good luck finding your book, or books.” He sat back down with Tanya. “What were you going to say before we were interrupted?”---It was about two hours later. Moonshine and his group had transported as far as they could before mounting their horses and traveling through the Riverwood Forest. They had ridden for a while before they found the village Cerberus mentioned. They spent a while talking to the locals and checking out the shops before they found an NPC that mentioned a Griffin that was taking their cattle and destroying their fields. They talked to a few others before finding out the approximate area where the Griffin was last sighted.As they roamed the forest, heading to the area, they had encountered a Forest Sprite that was lingering in the trees. The Sprite told them of the Unicorn, saying that the Griffin had been terrorizing it for several weeks. The Sprites that looked after the Unicorn could no longer protect it. And that brought them to their current position: standing just outside of a clearing that was protected by a magic barrier. And inside the clearing was the Griffin, resting while the Unicorn laid in the grass as far away from it as possible.Moonshine placed his hand upon the barrier. Ripples scattered out from where his hand was. He turned to Cerberus. “Alright, Alchemist. Your turn.”Cerberus looked to Moonshine before opening his inventory. “You had better be ready to take this beast down the second the barrier comes down because he is not going to be happy with us.”“Oh, trust me. No one is more ready than I am,” Moonshine pulled out his twin swords.Behind him, Kirito pulled out two Longswords, his brother pulled out a Staff, and Kitsune pulled out a pair of Sais. Cerberus took out a Crystal Orb from his inventory, keeping it firm in his hand.“Take it down on three,” Moonshine told Cerberus as he watched him turn and face the barrier. “One… two… three!”At the count of three, Cerberus lifted the Primal Spirit Crystal Orb, scribing the alchemic ruin ‘Shatter’ next to it as the Orb came to life. A static electric force then covered the barrier in seconds as the barrier exploded, small crystal-like fragments filled the air. Just as Cerberus said, the Griffin awoke immediately, raising its head with a grunt. It spotted the group of five and rose to its feet, letting out a ferocious screech. The Unicorn, disturbed, rose to its feet as well and took off into the trees.“Let’s go! Time to beat this thing!” Moonshine shouted, charging forward. “Shiro, you’re on healing! Kit, you distract it! Cerberus, you back all of us up!”“And me?” Kirito looked over at Moonshine, grinning.Moonshine grinned back. “You’re on offense with me of course. Unless you’d rather take a back seat.”“Hell no! Let’s do this!”As Kirito and Moonshine charged at the Griffin and the others took their positions around the clearing, Okamishiro called out to them. “It has several attacks depending on the range! Long range attacks it uses its wings, flying into the air before stomping on the ground! When you’re about halfway to it, it will use its front talons and its tail! And when you’re close, it uses biting attacks!”Kirito blinked as he listened to Moonshine’s brother. “Jeez. He would have been helpful in Aincrad’s frontlines.”“Yeah, well,” Moonshine sighed. “His life came first.”“Understandable.” Just then Kirito saw the Griffin move its wings to take off before they got too close. “Look out! It’s going to stomp the ground!”Cerberus shook his head as he lifted the Primal Spirit Crystal Orb and drew the ruin for ‘Bind’, the Griffin’s wings were then drawn tightly to its body. “GO! Attack now!”“My turn!” Moonshine dashed forward, up to the Griffin. He attacked its chest and head as many times as he could before his SP meter ran out. When it did, he fell back and called out to Kirito. “Switch!”“Here I come!” Kirito shouted as he came around Moonshine and took his position next to the Griffin. He slashed with one blade, then the other, chaining his attacks together quickly before finishing off with a heavy attack, crossing his blades and coming down with both over the Griffin’s chest.The Griffin cried out and thrashed around before breaking the bindings, its wings spreading out wide. It looked down at the two with angry red eyes before lashing out with its beak.“Get back!” Okamishiro shouted to them. He saw the two of them jump back just in time to avoid the bite. He saw its tail twitching. “Spin attack coming!”“It’s that quick?!” Kirito looked left and right, unsure of which direction the beast would spin to lash out.“Look out!”Moonshine grabbed Kirito by the collar and tossed him backward out of the path of the attack. However, it didn’t give him time to avoid the beast’s tail. He ignored the cries of the others and turned back to face the Griffin. However, the Griffin’s tail phased through him like he wasn’t there.
“Wh-what the hell?!” Kirito gawked at him. “How did--”“Switch!” Moonshine shouted at him.Kirito blinked and rushed forward to attack again, yelling switch when his SP ran out. Moonshine ran back and unleashed his own attacks. When it raised its claws to strike out at them, they jumped back.With a quick switch out of Orbs, Cerberus replaced the Spirit Orb and retrieved the Wind Orb. As his comrades stepped quickly back, he lifted the Primal Wind Crystal Orb and scribed the ruin for ‘Twister’. Quickly a gust of wind rushed past his comrades and took hold of the Griffin spinning him around in a complete 360° more than a few times.When the Griffin stopped spinning, it shook its head and screamed at them. It pawed at the ground angrily.“It charges when it’s angry!” Okamishiro called.They scrambled in an effort to avoid it, but it stretched out its wings to cover more area as it ran forward, catching Kirito and Moonshine before Cerberus sent a gust of wind at it, sending the Griffin flying backward through the air when the wind caught its wings. The Griffin screeched and landed on its back.“It’s stunned! Everyone now!” Moonshine called as he and Kirito climbed to their feet and ran forward.Okamishiro flew into the air with his wings until he was right above the Griffin. He held out his hands and chanted a spell that sent shards of ice down at it. Moonshine and Kirito hacked away at it with their swords as Kitsune did the same with her Sais. Cerberus again changed out his Crystal Orb for the Primal Storm Crystal lifting it high in front of him.“GET BACK!” He scribed the ruin for “lightning” as a spark formed at his fingertips. The second everyone was back he flung his hand forward and zapped the Griffin with lightning. As it surged through the beast, it electrified the ground around it. The Griffin screeched flinging his head back, his wings opening wide as he tried to take flight, but the electrical current kept him grounded.“Let the electrical charge pass then go in and finish him off,” Cerberus yelled as he pointed to the HP bar at the top of the Griffin’s head.
The bar was in the yellow zone, indicating it had less than half of its health left. Moonshine looked to Kirito who grinned and nodded. When the charge dissipated, they ran forward, Moonshine attacking first, then Kirito next. When the bar decreased and switched to red, they waited until their SP replenished before letting out their final attack.Moonshine turned to Kirito, his blades raised. “Skill Link, now! Use your strongest skill at the same time as me!”Kirito nodded and recalled the strongest skill he saw listed when he first joined the game: Dancing Rage. It was a barrage of attacks using both his blades, giving him up to fifty hits. When he saw Moonshine make a move, he initiated the skill.Likewise, Moonshine used his own strongest skill: Mystic Wave. It was a series of five hits, each sending forth a shockwave of pale blue energy that dealt devastating damage. He had gained it for his Short Swords after using the Sapphires gained from the Mystic Dragon.The link between his and Kirito’s skills doubled the damage each of them dealt to the Griffin in exchange for using up half of each of their SP bars. That was all that was needed before the Griffin screamed and burst into a cloud of pixels.Kirito and Moonshine’s panels both chimed as a list of items added to their inventory appeared. Kirito looked at it wide-eyed. “We both get drops?!”“When the finishing attack is a Skill Link, yes,” Moonshine grinned and nodded. “It doubles the drop and we each get the same thing. Though it doesn’t always happen. It’s got about a fifty percent chance of doubling. Otherwise, it just divides up the drops randomly.”“Cool!” Kirito smiled as he scrolled through the list. “Noble Moon Elf…” Came a disembodied female voice. They all blinked and turned to see the Unicorn standing before them. “You have freed the land of the mighty Griffin,” she bowed her head as her leg folded under her, the other extending. “We thank you.” She stood in all her glory as she looked to the band of travelers then back to the Moon Elf.
“For your deed, I will grant you one of three rewards: a bottle of Healing Elixir that will never see end; a set of Blessed Armor; or the Kiss of Life.”
Moonshine stepped forward towards the Unicorn before turning left and moving to a more open space. His heart pounded in his chest. This was happening. Actually happening. He hadn’t lost Imera forever. He opened his inventory, combined her parts with her body, and hit ‘drop’. She appeared before him as a huge mass of white fur.Imera was much smaller than Nychta and had a long, sleek body. She wasn’t entirely serpentine, but she was slender and lithe. Her head was small enough to lay on his lap comfortably but was still huge. Her horns were long and branched. If her eyes were open, they would be a beautiful sky blue. Her tail was fanned out and webbed at the end, and her wings were the softest part of her white, furry body, stretching out behind her as she lay lifeless in the grass. The fur feathers were like wisps of cotton. Actually, rather than fur, ‘down’ was more accurate. She was the softest thing he’d ever felt in his life. Real or in game. Her white moonstone gems were buried beneath the fur on her face along her jaw and eye sockets.Suddenly a gust of wind blew from the sky. They all looked up to see Nychta descending down into the clearing. He landed behind Imera’s body with what little space he had. He craned his neck down to sniff at her body, nosing at her back. A low whine escaped him.Moonshine knelt down next to Imera’s head, pulling her head into his lap. “I know...” He turned to the Unicorn. “Bring her back to me… please…”The majestic creature looked to both the Moon Elf that sat beneath the head of the Light Dragon and the Dark Dragon that stood next to her body. Silently she stepped up to the deceased dragon, pawing at the ground as her head lowered slowly and touched the body of the Light Dragon with her horn. A silver light lit up the still body and encircled the ground around her and the two that loved her dearly.When the light faded, breath filled her lungs, her chest raising. Her wings and tail twitched, and her eyes fluttered before opening. Moonshine stared down into her blue eyes with awe. He sat there speechless for a moment before grasping at words.“... I… Imera?” His voice shook as he called to her quietly.The Light Dragon let out a sighing breath. “Master… Thank you.” Moonshine’s lips trembled as he bit them in an effort to hold back the emotion, but he knew he would fail even before he did so. He leaned over and buried his face into her down fur, hugging her tightly as the sobs came involuntarily. Nychta moved closer and lowered his body to the ground, curling his body around them and laying his head down next to his master. Imera let out a loud purring noise, causing Moonshine to sob even harder into her fur.Cerberus was grinning ear to ear as he watched the three of them in their reunion. His heart so filled with happiness that Moonshine finally got Imera back. He looked over at Okamishiro as he too was standing there with a goofy smile plastered to his face and a few tears rolling down his cheeks. Cerberus slowly walked over to him and elbowed him gently to get his attention. When he looked over at him Cerberus grinned.“Are you going to cry when we finish our quest too?”
“Oh, shut up! Don’t ruin the mood!” Okamishiro sniffled, rubbing his eyes and nose with his sleeve. Kitsune giggled, wiping her eyes as well.“ Cherish each other for as long as you may live. Live life to the fullest,” the Unicorn said before turning and galloping off into the forest.“Well,” Kirito smiled, rubbing his neck. “It was a bit cliche, but it did what we needed it to. All’s well that ends well.”Kitsune opened her panel to check the time. It was six-forty-five in the evening. She sighed. It was seven-forty-five in the morning their time. Though she wasn’t too upset. It couldn’t be helped. This wasn’t just any quest they were doing. And now that Imera had been returned to Moonshine, she knew everything else would fall back into place. Life would be back to normal and the long nights would end.And Tsukiro would be happy.She smiled and walked up to Moonshine, kneeling down and petting Imera while also rubbing his back. “Let’s get going. We don’t want to keep Tanya and Aaron waiting any longer.Moonshine sat up and rubbed his face dry, wiping Imera’s fur as well. He nodded. “Y-yeah,” he responded with a thick, hoarse voice. “Let’s go home.”He stood up and backed up to let Imera rise to her feet. She shook her fur out and stretched her wings out before folding them. Moonshine took out Imera’s favorite treat: King Salmon. He set the fish down and let her devour it, stroking her head.“I’m so sorry, Imera. I’m such a fool for letting that happen to you. You must have been terrified,” he sighed as the guilt welled up inside of him.Imera raised her head and nosed Moonshine’s cheek. “It is not your fault, Master. And you did not give up on me. You did everything in your power to bring me back.” Moonshine hugged her around her neck tightly then stepped back. “You eat. We will be in Fareport. After that, we will be going to Whitehaven Castle.” He turned and looked at the others. “Everyone ready?” They nodded.Transport Crystals were handed out and back to Fareport
they went.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty-Two
While Tanya and Aaron sat talking the two men they had the pleasure or unpleasure of meeting just moments before came tromping down the steps. Or at least one of them was rather heavy footed. Aaron looked their way with a rather annoyed look.“I’m tellin’ ya, it will work,” the one with the long white hair with green tips said shoving the other one lightly in the back as they walked down the steps.“And I am telling you that book is full of shit,” the two-tone blond retorted.Aaron sighed, shaking his head. “I am guessing you didn’t find what you were looking for?”
“Sure did!” The white-haired man grinned ear to ear, holding up his thumb, a book in his other hand.“Hell no,” the blond said at the exact same time. He turned to his friend. “And you’re a damned fool if you actually buy that thing.”Aaron chuckled shaking his head. “I would not put too much stock into the literature books in this game. Most are all horseshit.”Tanya nodded her head as she chuckled lightly. “The only books here you can rely on, are books of Magic and Weaponry.”“Well, ya don’t know till ya try,” the white-haired one shrugged.“I’ll remind you of that when you end up with a five finger discount to the face,” the blond rolled his eyes. He turned to the woman and who he was assuming was her boyfriend or husband. “Oh, I don’t think we introduced ourselves. Sorry for being rude. My name is Eizen. This knucklehead here is Zavied.”“Nice to meet ya!” Zavied did a two finger salute.Tanya stood smiling warmly as Aaron shook their hands. “I am Vice Master Aaron and this is my Leader Lady Tanya. We are of the Knights of the Mystic Dragons. It’s a pleasure to meet you, gentlemen.”Tanya extended her hand and shook their hands as well. “A pleasure.”
The two of them froze, gawking at the two of them. “Did you say…”“Mystic Dragons?!” Zavied took two steps back. “No shit?! Are you serious!? We’ve been trying to get into that guild for months! And you two are its leaders?!”“I think I need to change my username,” Eizen chuckled. “Cause this is a pretty damn lucky moment if I’ve ever seen one.”Tanya smiled with a soft chuckle. “And what would you change it to? Lucky?”Eizen chuckled again, waving his hand before stuffing both in his pockets. “Nah. I’m pretty bad with names actually. I named my first dog Bob. I think that poor animal hated me.”“Well at least you did not name him Dog,” Aaron chuckled.While Aaron and Eizen talked about the poor dog, Tanya opened her panel and looked at the recruitment list. There she saw both their names within the next top 10 they were going to contact. She looked to both Eizen and Zavied.“Well it must really be you guys lucky day,” Tanya told them both.
“Huh?” Zavied blinked. “Really? Is this the day I finally land myself a gorgeous woman in this game!?” He took Tanya’s hand and held it up with a smile. “Don’t you worry your pretty head, Miss Tanya! I’ll take good care of--GAH!”Eizen struck him on the head with a hard fist. Zavied fell to his knees, holding his head. “You really need to learn how to tell when a woman is taken!” He turned to Tanya and bowed to her. “Apologies for this idiot’s ignorance.”Tanya’s cheeks were slightly flush as she looked to Eizen. “It’s fine, but I am not taken. Vice Master Aaron is my right hand and nothing more.”Zavied perked up, looking up at Tanya with a hopeful grin. “Then--Ugh!”Eizen wrapped his arm around his neck, putting him into a sleeper hold. “Shut it! That’s not what she meant!” He gave a polite smile to Tanya. “So, what was it you were saying about us being lucky?”Tanya could not help a small chuckle at the two as her head shook and looked to both the men. “You were both on my list for the next 10 to contact for the Guild recruitment.” She fell silent for a second as both men stood in silence as well and gawked at her.“Uh… Soooo, does that mean we get an interview, or we get the pleasure of being turned down to our faces?” Zavied chuckled nervously. “Cause I don’t think I’m ready for either.”“Not to mention you kind of already blew your first impression,” Eizen rolled his eyes.Tanya shook her head. “Neither. At least not at this point in time. Members are recruited through an interview and the interview is with the Guild Leader, the Vice Master and the Grand Master of the Guild. Right now you have two of the three. So I wanted to set a time with you gentlemen that we can meet and get you interviewed.”Aaron stepped up standing beside Tanya. “Are you going to have time for this, Tanya, with finals and all? Also, you have to remember we have yet to go over this formality with Klein.”Tanya looked from Aaron to the two men. “Well, Zavied said he was not ready at this time to go through this procedure.”
“Yeah, I’m only 1,500 points away from level 70!” Zavied laughed, rubbing his head. “At least then I’d look a little better. Though I am gonna miss good ol’ sixty-nine.” He dodged an elbow from Eizen.Aaron chuckled softly looking at Zavied. “I would figure a guy like you would want to be at level 77. After all, you get 8 more.”When Zavied’s face lit up in what could only be expressed as pure joy, Eizen slapped him over the head. “Don’t you dare open your mouth again! At this point, us being in the top ten is pretty much useless! You’re gonna make them think we’ll harass all the female members!”Tanya stood there with a daunted look on her face as she looked between the men. They got it, but it went right over her head. “What are you talking about, Aaron?”The group chuckled lightly as Tanya looked at them still confused. “What? Will someone please explain this so-called inside joke to me because I don’t get it.”Aaron shook his head as he looked at her, Eizen remaining silent, but Zavied went to speak up. As soon as his mouth opened Eizen elbowed him in the ribs as Aaron stomped his toes on his left foot.“Shut. Up.” Both men expressed.Zavied chuckled sheepishly. “S-sorry…”Eizen turned to the two of them. “In any case, regardless of the outcome, it seems to me that we all are in a position of convenience. Now would be as good a time as any, even if it is impromptu. For better or worse.”“Jeez, are we getting into a guild or getting married?” Zavied scoffed.Tanya shook her head again at the two as she turned and gestured to the table. “Well then, lets to do this and get it over with. Have a seat gentleman.”“Alright!” Zavied cheered, throwing his hand in the air that still held the book from earlier. The title “100 Easy Ways to Pick Up Women in a VR” flashed before them. He flushed scarlet and cleared his throat, tossing the book somewhere random. “Okay. Now I’m ready,” he smiled.Eizen face-palmed. “We’re doomed.”It was a few hours later after the four of them became immersed in their conversation that the rest of the group walked in. Aaron and Tanya had found out many interesting things about the two of them, aside from their polarized yet quirky and somehow greatly compatible personalities. They both were extremely strong, despite their oddballish nature.Zavied was even a Beast Master who could talk to dragons like Moonshine, though he wasn’t an expert on them like the Moon Elf was. Zavied was a master at whips and chained weapons. He was an Elemental Mage, though his specialty was wind. He had a Forest Dragon named Shaze, whom he had reached Master level with.Eizen was an Elemental as well, though he had picked Sorcerer instead. He preferred to fight with his fists or as close to his enemy as possible, and so he used brass knuckles and short blades like daggers and knives. His preferred element was earth. He wasn’t a Beast Master, though he wasn’t missing out on much, given Zavied could translate for him. This came in especially helpful with his own dragon, a hulking Earth Inferno Dragon named Thieron--a dragon that was similar to the Volcanic Dragon but fell on the more fire based side than the earth based. He too had reached Master level.Once the interview of their personal traits was established Tanya paused and looked to Aaron, she nodded her head as he then looked to the two men.“I have a rather odd question to ask the both of you and we wanted your honest opinion.” Both the men looked at one another then looked back to Tanya and Aaron with a nod of head. “There have been some issues brought to our attention as of the last couple of days and we have to make sure certain bases are covered in this matter.” He paused looking at both men. “What are your thoughts on the Western Guild, Illusions of the Serpent?”Eizen crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “They’re a bunch of pansy asses. Nothing more, nothing less.”“Agreed,” Zavied took on an air of seriousness that seemed slightly strange for him. He leaned forward onto the table, placing his chin in his hand. “We saw a couple of those bastards beat a baby dragon with a mace. Safe to say those bastards won’t be doing anything like that ever again.”Eizen nodded. “Yup. We gave them their deserved karma. They definitely didn’t like being beaten with their own weapon. Why do you ask?”“Because if what we heard is true, there will be a war waged on their Guild, and the Knights of the Mystic Dragon will be leading the brigade,” Tanya responded as she looked to the two men.“Is that so?” Zavied hummed. He turned to Eizen with a stern look. “Looks like we’ll get our chance to give that half-assed guild a piece of our mind. Make them understand what it means to truly play this game.”Eizen nodded once more, punching his hand into his palm and squeezing. “I can’t wait to sink my fist into their rotten heads. Serpent is right. They’re all snakes looking for handouts and power, biting anyone they have to in order to slither their way to the top.”“So do you believe they might be baiting their members to join?” Aaron questioned.“Wouldn’t doubt it,” Eizen scoffed.It was then that Moonshine and the rest of the group walked in, making their way towards the back where the door was. However, what they found was Aaron and Tanya sitting at a nearby table with two random men. And those men looked like--“Uhhhh, Shiro…” Moonshine stopped in his tracks. “Am I just seeing things cause I’m exhausted, or are those two…?”“No… I see it too,” Shiro blinked, rubbing his eyes. “Those two look like…”“The two from the Tales series,” Kirito finished. “Zavied and Eizen right? I loved that game. But, I didn’t know Dragon Lance did a crossover with Tales... Did they?” He looked to the two brothers.They shook their heads. Moonshine replied, “For all I know, Aiden Reid doesn’t even have any contacts with Bandai, or any huge game producers in Japan aside from what’s needed for translating and global production. Dragon Lance isn’t affiliated with Bandai as far as I know.”Moonshine ran up to the four of them. He didn’t even give Aaron and Tanya time to speak when he dragged them out of their chairs and over behind a bookcase. The others followed. Moonshine peeked between the gaps between the books on the shelf, seeing the two blinking at them.“Where the hell did you find those two?!” Moonshine hissed at them.Aaron chuckled. “You mean Eizen and Zavied?”Both brothers, Kirito, and even Cerberus and Kitsune were blinking at the two of them.“You’re kidding! That’s their names?!”“Dragon Lance actually made NPCs from the Tales series?!”“No way! You know how much money they’d have to pay to do that?! That’s like an anime putting Pepsi or Coke on a billboard!”Aaron chuckled hardily. “No, that’s not it at all. They’re not NPC’s. They’re actual players.” Even Tanya was chuckling since she knew of the game since her little brother played it.Moonshine leaned in and whispered to him. “How do you know?”“Huh?” The two of them blinked this time.“ How do you know ?!” He said louder, putting his hand up to his mouth.“Um…” A voice came from beside them. They turned to see the two look-alikes peeking around the corner of the bookcase. Zavied grinned at them. “Is this a bad time? Should we come back?”“No, sorry,” Tanya snickered. “These guys are just being weird. They think you’re NPCs meant to look like the actual characters from the Tales series.”Zavied grinned and looked up at Eizen who wore a similar grin. “See! I told you we were the spitting image in this game! We even fooled them!”“Alright, alright. You win the bet then,” Eizen scratched his head.Tanya looked to the two new recruits than to her newest members and her little brother. “Eizen, Zavied. I would like you to meet Moonshine the guild’s Dragon Caretaker; Okamishiro our guild’s Scholar; Cerberus, my Advisor, and Elemental Alchemist; Kitsune, the guild’s Familiar Specialist; and this is Kirito, our… well, he’s Kirito.”Eizen and Zavied looked at each other then back at the group. “Kirito?! THAT Kirito?!”“Ah, y-yeah,” Kirito said sheepishly. “The very same.”“Dude… I didn’t think I’d ever meet you in person,” Zavied put a hand on his forehead. “Wow!”“Yeah, no kidding.” Eizen sighed and shook his head. “Actually, if not for us graduating the day SAO came out, we would have been stuck inside that game too. We had bought two copies, but we loaned them out to two friends when we found out we wouldn’t have time to play. Those two…”“They never came back,” Zavied looked down at the ground.“I’m sorry for your loss,” Kirito bowed to them.“It’s okay,” Zavied shook his head. He laughed humorlessly. “At least we’re alive… right? At the expense of our friends.”Eizen set a hand on Zavied’s shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t think like that. We can’t go back to that mentality, remember?”“Y-yeah…” He sighed and looked back up at the others with a smile. He put his hands on his hips, puffing his chest out. “But hey! You guys thought we were the real deal! How awesome is that!? That’s some A-Level cosplay goals right there!”Moonshine laughed. “Yeah, that’s for sure. Even I wasn’t that great cosplaying Rokuro. And I had Kitsune tie me to a chair for two hours while she did my makeup.”“Worst. Day. Ever,” Kitsune cringed.“Hey! At least you didn’t spend two months trying to get blond hair dye out of white hair!” Okamishiro pouted at her.“Who did you cosplay?” Eizen asked him.Okamishiro smiled, clasping his hands. “Laphicet. The Malak that is. Not Velvet’s brother.”“I did Velvet,” Kitsune said with a proud smile.“Wait, wait, wait!” Zavied waved his hands and pointed at Okamishiro. “You have white hair IRL?! Dude, so do I! Old Man Club!” He raised his hand to give him a high five which Okamishiro gave reluctantly.“Old man?” Okamishiro pouted.Tanya patted Okamishiro’s shoulder as she chuckled lightly. “I think white hair is very nice, and I don’t think it belongs to old men. They have gray hair.”“Yeah, all the men she likes with white hair are badasses or sweethearts,” Cerberus chuckled.Aaron looked to Tanya with a shocked looked. “No wonder you don’t like me.”Tanya looked quickly to Aaron with a confused look. “I like you!” She exclaimed. Suddenly she was elbowed in the side.“I don't think he means like that,” Zavied whispered to her. “I think he means you don’t like,
like him.”Tanya looked quickly to Zavied then back to Aaron a soft blush covering her cheeks. “Don’t we have a quest to finish?” She quickly changed the subject walking back to the table and picked up the book with the keys showing on the page. Suddenly she went to thumb to a new page.“NOOOO!” Moonshine lunged at her, snatching the book away from her, holding it out away from her in the opposite direction. When she gave him a blank look of surprise, blinking slowly, he flushed scarlet. “Uh… I mean…” He sat the book down with its cover facing down. “It’s a very delicate book. I almost ripped out a page when I was flipping through it myself. You break it, you buy it you know?”“Whatever,” Tanya retorted as she walked over to her chair and took a seat as she looked to the two boys. “Let’s do this boys. Bedtime is 10 for me. I have the dreaded ‘F’ word tomorrow.” She gave Moonshine a side glance.“D-don’t give me that side eye!” Moonshine glared at her. “I don’t even know how you can live with yourself speaking such a vile word in-game!”Zavied turned and smirked at Eizen. Eizen glared at him. “Don’t. You. Even.”“They’re talking about finals,” Okamishiro laughed.Zavied, Eizen, and Moonshine all gasped at the same time, backing away from Okamishiro and Tanya.“How dare you?! And you call yourself my brother!” Moonshine collapsed into a nearby chair.“Alright, I take it back,” Eizen shook his head. “That is the dreaded ‘F’ word.”“Sh-shellshock,” Zavied leaned over onto his knees, visibly trembling.“Alright, alright,” Okamishiro shook his head. “Let’s get on with the quest like Lady Tanya said.Cerberus started crafting the keys as Okamishiro took them one by one and tried them out on the padlocks chaining the door closed. While they worked away on the keys and locks Tanya, Kitsune, and Aaron went to get food for the group. When they returned about 45 minutes later, they only had two more keys to make and one lock left to try them on. As they pressed on the food was handed out, Tanya looking at the two boys.“Before you go any further I want you both to eat. Because I know for a fact if Moonshine and Kitsune haven’t eaten neither have you two.”“Come on, sis! We’re almost done. I can eat when I get home.” Okamishiro nodded his head agreeing with Cerberus.Moonshine narrowed his eyes at the two of them, crossing his arms. “You know what keeps your bodies from starving to death while you’re sleeping?” When they shook their heads, Moonshine leaned over in their faces. “Fasting mode. Your body conserves energy while it sleeps, which is not something that happens while we’re here playing a VR. Why do you think it was so hard to recover after we all got out of SAO? Our bodies were only sleeping when we were sleeping in game.”He grabbed their heads and steered them over towards the food. “You will eat now, and you will also eat when you log out too. No buts! Gaming isn’t worth your life or your health!”Cerberus sighed heavily as he nodded his head. “Fine, we will take a break. We need to collect our thoughts on the spells we used earlier on the locks and narrow it down to what ones we think might work best to get the last lock to appear.”“Well, the one that chased everyone out didn’t work,” Okamishiro laughed. “And we used some of the stronger ones on the others. So maybe we need the weakest one. Like, maybe it’s some kind of trick. We think it should be a strong spell since it’s the last lock, but actually, it’s a really simple one.”“Maybe,” Cerberus said thoughtfully as the two boys sat down at the table with the others.While they ate Cerberus scrolled through the Dragon Lance site on the Forums to see if anyone had tried and or failed the ‘Quest of Magic’ quest. When he found nothing he moved to the DL Chat room. From what everyone was telling him, no one had ever heard of it or even knew such a thing existed. He sighed heavily as he looked over to the door.“Find anything out,” Tanya asked him as she looked up from her food.“Nothing. No one has heard of this quest.” Cerberus sighed heavily again.“Don’t get discouraged, little dude,” Zavied told him as his hand clasp to Cerberus’ shoulder. “You know how the programers like to throw surprises in with the updates and New Features. As far as we know this is one of them surprises.” Zavied looked to the door next. “I am sure if the old bat told you there was a powerful Magic Book behind that door, then there is a powerful Magic Book behind that door.”
Eizen stepped up to the door, placing a gloved hand on his chin. He examined the door closely. “What if the last lock isn’t on the door at all?” He turned to look at the boys. “What if the lock is located somewhere else in the shop? Like a magic switch or something. Or an artifact that you have to touch to the door. Lock may not mean a literal lock, even if there are six other locks that are literal. If that makes sense.”Okamishiro nodded with a hum. “Yeah, it does. Maybe that’s it. If it’s a switch, the last lock could be something internal, or something on the inside of the door. Like a latch or a lever.”“Ooh! Maybe it’s one of those book switches!” Zavied said excitedly. “Like in the movies! You pull the book off the shelf and click !”“I don’t think so,” Kirito shook his head. “A book lock in a bookstore. That’s a needle in a haystack. The developers wouldn’t do something like that. It would take players days if not weeks to pull every book off the shelf in here. People would get bored and quit before then. This is still a game. They have to think about the difference between engaging challenges and en raging challenges.”“Very true,” Eizen nodded. “Make something too hard, and players will start to value the challenge less and less. No player likes an impossible challenge.”“And I doubt it would be behind the door. That would be another impossible feat,” Aaron chimed in as he took a bite of his food.“It’s on the door. It has to be,” Cerberus said sitting at the table looking at the door as if his eyes were going to bore it down.
“Well stop staring at it like it is going to move or something, and eat. That door is not going anywhere. You still have time to figure it out and with all of us here we will figure it out soon enough,” Tanya scolded him, her eyes drifting to Okamishiro. “You too young man.”Okamishiro looked over at her with a puzzling look. “Excuse me? You do realize I am older than you, right?”Tanya narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t make me say it.”Okamishiro blinked a few times wondering what she meant. “What?”“Old--”“Alright alright!!” I am eating!” Okamishiro exclaimed as he picked up his fork and started eating.Moonshine chuckled, grinning when his brother turned and growled at him. “Oh, hush. I would have told you the same thing.” He picked up a fried chicken wing. “Maybe the lock is actually there, but it’s invisible. Invisible doesn’t always equal hidden. Materialization spells make something that’s supposed to be there but isn’t appear. Whereas if it’s invisible, it’s already there but it’s camouflaged. So maybe what you need is a spell that removes cloaking charms.”“Also a good theory,” Eizen nodded, sitting down at the table and removing his gloves to pick up his burger.“What if…” Zavied said, trailing off to dig into his own box of chicken wings. “It’s right under your nose? Like something really obvious? Like, so obvious it makes you feel like a dumbass when you figure it out?”“Like what?” Kirito asked.Zavied shrugged and raised his hands, a chicken wing in his right one. “I have no idea! I’m just throwing ideas out there. Puzzle quests ain’t my thing. That’s why I got this guy with me.” He wagged his chicken wing at Eizen.“Nice to know I’m the brains of the operation,” Eizen rolled his eyes.Now it was Tanya’s turn as she sat staring at the door with what Zavied had mentioned. Her eyes scouring the door looking for the obvious, but not so obvious. She was so deep into a trance looking at the door that Aaron snapped his fingers in front of her face.“Tanya...Tanya. Woo hoo, Earth to Tanya…” Aaron called to her snapping his fingers again. Suddenly she shot up from her chair and started laughing as Aaron sat back with a puzzled look on his face.“She done went and lost her mind,” Moonshine replied blinking a few times.Tanya’s hand lifted as she pointed at the door. “It’s right there. The other lock has been on the door the entire time and no one, none of us even noticed it.” She looked to Zavied. “You’re right, I feel like a complete dumbass.” She laughed some more as she slowly stepped away from the table as everyone's eyes looked to the door looking for the other lock.“Has anyone found it yet?” Tanya asked them.
Eizen looked at the door for all of ten seconds then laughed. He whacked Zavied on the shoulder. “Look at that! You solved the puzzle!”“I did?” Zavied blinked. He stood up straight and crossed his arms with a proud grin. “I mean… Yeah! Of course I did! I’m not a total idiot!”Kirito hummed, looking at it for a few seconds longer before he laughed as well. “Yup. That’s an ‘I feel dumb’ moment if I ever saw one.”Moonshine scanned the door then grinned, going back to his wings. “Puzzles sure can be cruel.”“Tell me, tell me!” Kitsune leaned forward for Moonshine to whisper in her ear. When he cupped his clean hand around her ear and whispered to her, she giggled. “That is so obvious it is almost cruel.”“Ugh! Why does everyone get it but us!?” Okamishiro huffed, grabbing an onion ring and chomping on it in annoyance.Cerberus looked at the door then suddenly looked to his sister that stepped up to said door. Her arms were crossed under her chest as she looked at the two boys. “Well?!”“Well what? This is your quest. Figure it out.” She looked to Okamishiro as he sighed.“Aww come on!!”“I will give you one hint,” Tanya told them both.“Seriously? A hint?”“Now you’re just picking on us,” Okamishiro pouted.“It’s too simple and you too are too smart is why you’re not seeing it, but here is your hint. You find me in a door, a simple place I hide, and if you look at me close enough, a view is on the other side. What am I?”“A riddle…” Okamishiro stared at her blankly. “Your hint is a riddle?”Cerberus threw his hands up in the air. “Great! Now we got two quests to figure out!”“Like Tanya said,” Moonshine finished off his wings and sat the carton aside, moving onto his fries. “You two are smart. Use those brains to solve the riddle instead. That should prove to be much easier than trying to find the last lock. Especially you, Shiro. You’re good at this.”Okamishiro sighed and nodded. “Okay.” He stood up and moved over to sit in front of the door cross-legged. “You find me in a door. A simple place I hide. So that means it’s a part of a door that can be easily seen. If you look at me close enough, a view is on the other side. That means if you look at it, you can see through it…” He leaned forward, putting his chin in his hands.He thought for a long minute, looking at each part of the door and trying to match the words of the riddle to the different parts. It took him only about half a minute to figure it out. When he did, he groaned, falling back onto his back. He put his hands over his face.“I’m gonna go jump off a cliff! I can’t believe this!”Tanya chuckled as she looked from Okamishiro to her brother. The second her eyes found him his eyes lit up and he shot up out of his chair.“OH! MY! GOD! REALLY~ REALLY!!” He fell back in his chair, turned to the table, and banged his head against it as everyone grabbed their drinks. Kitsune and Aaron grabbed theirs and the two boys’ as Moonshine grabbed hers and his own.Tanya chuckled as she walked back over to the table. “I think they got it.”“Yup,” Moonshine smirked. “To think it was the actual lock on the actual door that was there the whole time.”“Finding a new quest, 10 Scala. Spending hours trying to figure out said quest, 50 Scala. Feeling like an idiot after realizing the super obvious solution. Priceless, Zavied grinned.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty-Three
With the finding of the last locks, the rest of the quest went rather smoothly. There were only two keys possible to use to unlock the door. When they found the key needed the two boys stood nervously at the door with the key in hand and the door unlocked, looking at one another. It was like neither of them wanted to open the door to see the spoils within.“Well, what are you waiting for,” Aaron asked them.“Yeah, open the door. Let’s see what rests behind it after God knows how long this took,” Tanya spoke up as she and Kitsune cleaned the table from their dinner leftovers.“I just hope all of this was worth it,” Okamishiro sighed.“Agreed,” Cerberus nodded. He turned to Okamishiro. “Together.”Okamishiro nodded and they both grabbed the doorknob and twisted, pushing the door open. The room inside was like a small broom closet and was dark, though there was a chain to turn on a single light bulb. Cerberus pulled the chain to switch the light on. When the room was illuminated, it showed a book stand along the back wall with an open book on it. The book was thick like an old world Roman Catholic Holy Bible.Okamishiro walked up to the book with Cerberus next to him. The room was just big enough for them to stand shoulder to shoulder. They looked over the book, examining its contents. It was turned to a page that depicted high-level alchemic calculations and transmutations. They flipped the book over to its cover. The cover read “The Tarragonia Compendium of Magic.”Cerberus’ grin was so wide across his face his cheeks were starting to hurt, he looked over at Okamishiro which had almost the same look on his face. The two suddenly spun and did a high five as a loud ‘POP’ was heard in the other room. The two then started to whoop and holler as they swept up the book and come running out of the room with it in their hands, one holding one side the other holding the other side as they presented it to the others of their Guild.“It was exactly what the old witch said it was! I can’t wait to read through it!” Cerberus exclaimed excitedly. “This is amazing!!”Okamishiro flipped through it for a bit before returning to the cover. He flipped it to the first page, which was a note from the author, whoever it was. He read it out loud.“To whoever finds this tome: This is my life’s work. Here thus scribed on these pages is a complete codex of all magical knowledge known to man, elf, and fairy kind. With this book and its vast knowledge comes great power, both for good and evil. I trust that it finds company in good hands. Use it well, Master or Masters of the Compendium. -Anonymous.”Tanya smiled proudly at the two boys. “You two did great, congratulations on your find and the payoff. That’s quite a rare find.”Aaron looked at them both. “I know you both want to look through it, but we really need to be getting back to Whitehaven so a few of us can log out and get some rest. There is always tomorrow, so slip it into one of your inventories and let's go home.”“Agreed,” Okamishiro nodded, putting the book into his inventory. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw the book took up 50 points of inventory weight, equal to 50 pounds. “You’re kidding! I wouldn’t even be able to carry this IRL!”Cerberus chuckled, “I guess we were so excited when we saw it was what the old witch said it was, we did not even realize how heavy it was.” He looked pointedly at Okamishiro. “Glad you’re carrying it.”Aaron looked to Tanya. “Think I should grab the bookstand it was on?”Tanya nodded her head. “Might not hurt, a book that heavy will need a good sturdy stand, and it held it fine for who knows how long.”Aaron turned and walked into the room where the book was kept secret and took up the bookstand placing it in his inventory. He walked out and looked at the others then to Eizen and Zavied. “Are you two coming with us or will we be seeing you Saturday at 7 in the evening for the induction?”“Huh?” Moonshine blinked at them. “Induction? You invited them?”“I sure hope so,” Tanya smiled. “They’re our newest members now.”The others stared at her and the two guys in awe. Zavied grinned and gave his two-finger salute. “Nice ta meet cha! Glad we can all be friends!”“You can count on us,” Eizen smirked, placing one fist into his other hand.“Wow,” Okamishiro rubbed the back of his head. “Congrats!”“In any case, we’ll be going with you. No point in taking the long way around or wasting time,” Eizen answered Aaron’s question.“Well let’s get going then,” Tanya replied as she turned and walked toward the front door of the Book Shop. The others followed behind filing out single file into the street then walked over out of the way of the front door so not to be in the way. Retrieving their Transport Crystals, Aaron handing one each to Eizen and Zavied as they looked at them oddly.Tanya looked at them both. “If you are going to Whitehaven Castle with us, you want to use that crystal. It will take you to the Whitehaven grounds. Yours will not.”“So these are special just for Whitehaven, huh?” Eizen questioned as he looked at the softly glowing blue crystal in his hand.“Exactly,” Aaron confirmed. “Your Transport Crystals will get you to the front gate and that is all. These will put you right in your room of the castle. Well, given you have a personal room in the castle.”
“Sweet!” Zavied exclaimed. “You guys got valet service too?”“Nope, but we have a stable for your dragons,” Aaron chuckled.“Ah, yeah… about that,” Eizen scratched his head. He pointed up at the sky just as a huge shadow fell over the town. “ That’s my dragon.”The dragon was just as huge as Nychta, except it was a rusted brown color and its scales were more like spikes across its entire body except for its soft belly, which was a light cream color. Its wings were spike-scaled at the top and covered with a creamy membrane across the rest of it. Its talons were black and sharp like blades. Its eyes were the same color as its scales, though they had a golden shine behind them. Its tail was spiked as well and shaped like a tree trunk at its thickest part, slimming down to a point. It was just as ferocious looking as Nychta.“Holy--!”“Shit!”“That’s not a dragon, that’s a demon!” Cerberus hid behind his sister.“Damn,” Moonshine looked up at the dragon in awe as it circled around the town. “It’s almost as big as Nychta.” He turned to Eizen. “Is that an Inferno Dragon? Another earth type with fire attributes as well? Its gems are red jasper.”“Yup, that’s Thieron. He’s a vicious old man too. But don’t worry. He only eats people we don’t trust. And we trust you guys,” Eizen smirked.“Did you ride that beast here?” Aaron blinked up at the dragon.Eizen laughed. “Oh, God no! That would hurt like a mother. He doesn’t have a soft spot on him except for his belly. I can barely climb him. Forget riding him.”“Unless you wanna end up with a bunch of spikes up your ass,” Zavied grinned. He shook his head. “Nah, we rode mine here.” He pointed up at the sky as another dragon came up behind Thieron.This dragon looked like a flying tree. It’s wing bones looked like woodgrain and the membranes were like giant leaves. It’s four slender legs were wood-grained, as well as its horns. Instead of scales, it had leathery green skin with leaves on its face and wood-grained horns. Its tail was leathery but ended in a branch at the tip with small leaves branching out and a single green, tri-point leaf at the end. Its pupiless eyes were yellow. Its underbelly was mixed with pale green and pale yellow with swirly lines. Its talons were wood colored bone. Its ivory teeth jutted out from its pale green lips. The dragon looked only slightly smaller and more slender than Musashi.“A Forest Dragon!” Moonshine’s eyes lit up.“That’s my baby girl, Shaze!” Zavied smiled and puffed out his chest proudly. “She may be on the small side, but she can hold her own.”“Even with us heavy asses on her back,” Eizen joked.“Well,” Aaron started with a pause. “I guess we need to get to a clearing so you guys can either place them in your inventory or send them to Whitehaven. It’s your call what to do with them.”“Where did you guys park those beasts when you got here?” Cerberus asked them. He looked at his sister and Aaron. “Maybe we can go there to meet up with the Dragons.”Tanya nodded as she looked to Eizen and Zavied waiting for their reply.Zavied pointed through the buildings to a stretch of beach down off the port that was out of the way of buildings and civilization. It was a part of the coast that players only frequented when they wanted to level up, as it was often ridden with monsters the further you went.“Out there. That’s really the only place nearby that could fit them. Especially Old Man Thieron. We can meet them there. All we need to do is head over there and they’ll follow,” Zavied told them.“Let’s do it then,” Cerberus proclaimed.Tanya nodded as did Aaron and the others as they turned the direction they needed to travel and went on their way down the street to the beach. It was not long of a walk and it was a beautiful night to take one so no one even mentioned how long it might take. Moonshine and Kitsune walked hand in hand as Cerberus and Okamishiro walked between Tanya and Aaron who brought up the rear. Eizen and Zavied led the group since they knew where they were going. Kirito walked beside Aaron as those two talked about the festivities that were taking place Saturday night.Once they reached the beach, Shaze landed first, going first to the water for a drink. As she drank, the veins in her leaf-like wings glowed pale blue as if they were actual leaves taking in water. Her tongue slithered out to lick her lips as she trotted up to Zavied. Zavied smiled like a kid in a toy shop and took her head in his hands, scratching her head and underneath her jaw.“You tired, Baby? Don’t worry, I got somethin’ for ya when we get to where we’re going.”The dragon let out a trilling sound and the leaves on her face shuddered.A couple of seconds later, the shadow over them grew larger then smaller as Thieron landed a ways away, then came closer. When he saw the strangers, he dug his talons into the sand and gravel, bearing his teeth as he let out a growl. Smoke billowed out from his mouth and nose. Eizen rushed up to him just as the dragon opened its maw.“Whoa! Chill out, Buddy! It’s okay! They’re friends!” Eizen held his hands up in front of him, looking up at the dragon. “Relax. We trust them. They’re from the Mystic Dragons.”Thieron tilted his head as he looked to the group. “ The Mystic Dragons, you say ?”Moonshine stepped forward and bowed to the dragon. “Yes, we are indeed members of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mighty Thieron.”Thieron stretched out his head until he was looking the Moon Elf right in the face. “ A Beast Master like Zavied? You can hear my voice? ”Moonshine bowed to the dragon once more. “I can. I am the caretaker for the Mystic Dragons. It is my responsibility to care for the Guild’s dragons. My name is Moonshine.”“ And you are the master of the Light Dragon and Dark Dragon we encountered in the skies? ”“Yes, Lord Thieron,” Moonshine nodded.To be honest, he was slightly nervous around the Inferno Dragon. The last encounter he had with one did not go so well. They were extremely temperamental and did not take kindly to bad manners or disrespect. They were one of many dragons that carried themselves as what some might describe as ‘kings’ or ‘nobles’.Thieron snorted smoke and ash in the Moon Elf’s face, watching as his eyes watered and he held back a cough. The Elf didn’t even make eye contact with him. When he was satisfied, he raised his head and gave a rumble of content.“Alright then,” Thieron said as he lowered his body to the ground, the sand crunching under him. He crossed his paws and laid his head on them like some mountain-sized
cat.Zavied snorted and laughed. “Wow. You really are on a different level than me as a Beast Master. Even I had trouble earning this Old Man’s favor.” Zavied flinched when Thieron growled. “That is because you lack manners and speak before you think,” Thieron said with scolding in his voice.“Eh heh heh,” Zavied laughed sheepishly, scratching his cheek.
Moonshine smiled sheepishly as well, shrugging. “I’m a veterinarian. I have to be good with dragons. If not, I get eaten. Simple as that.”While Moonshine and Zavied talked, Tanya and Aaron walked up to the mighty Inferno Dragon. Both kneeling to one knee and their right arm drew across their chest, their heads bowed.“Lord Thieron, I am Lady Tanya, and the man to my right is Vice Master Aaron. We are the leaders of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon, and we welcome you and your master to the Guild. I am sure Musashi will be honored to have a Dragon of your stature working at his side.”Thieron raised his head and looked down at the two humans. He lowered his head just enough to take in their scent. He was always skeptical of the humans in the realm of Tarragonia, but if his master trusted these two, then their race didn’t matter. Besides, he knew about the guild well enough to know that if a Mystic Dragon was their guardian dragon, then they were just as trustworthy as his master Eizen. He did not speak, knowing they could not understand him anyway, and he did not want to disturb Zavied or Moonshine as the former was introducing the latter to Shaze. Instead, he lowered his head to the ground and used one talon to pry off two loose jasper gems on the right side of his face. The two gems fell into the sand and he pushed them forward with his talons, giving a satisfied rumble to the two leaders of the guild.“Wow,” Eizen gawked at the scene before him. “As far as I know, he’s only given his gems to two people. Me and Zavied. He must really like you two.”Tanya looked to Eizen and smiled. “I think it is his way of letting us know he will step up in alliance with us. Though his trust is limited, as it should be until we have proven ourselves to him.” She looked back to the mighty dragon Thieron still smiling warmly. “Which in time, will come.” She bowed to the dragon again as she and Aaron made their way over to Shaze, Zavied’s dragon.Zavied turned to Tanya and Aaron with a big smile. “Ah! You two! Meet my gorgeous lady, Shaze! She may look mean and nasty, but she’s a real sweetheart.” He looked up at the dragon with a goofy grin. “Right, Babe?”Shaze trilled, her leaves shaking as she leaned forward and nosed Tanya’s cheek. “Hello! Pleased to meet you!” Zavied laughed, shaking his head. “Shaze, Babe. They can’t hear you, remember?” “Oh, right,” Shaze whined in embarrassment. “I’m used to you talking to me.” Instead, she did the same as Thieron, prying off two of her green garnet gems. “There!” She trilled happily.Tanya and Aaron had bowed to the dragon in the same manner as they did to Thieron. Welcoming her and her master to the Guild. When she removed her gems for them, Aaron had collected them the same as he did Thieron’s and thanked her. When all welcoming and introductions were clear and Eizen and Zavied had done their thing with their dragon, Eizen sending Thieron off to the castle and Zavied inventorying Shaze, Tanya turned to the group, looking at the time.“I have ten minutes and it’s off to bed for me. I want to be well rested for my finals--” the second that words slipped from her lips Moonshine, Eizen and Zavied went Drama Queen on them cutting her sentence short. “Really?!” Tanya said glaring at them.
“We have the F word too you know!” They screeched at her.“Yeah! Well, now you have the F word here.” She told them as they gawked at her. “Since you guys want to give me such a hard time about this…” She smirked malicely. “For the induction, you three will memorize the Dragon Code and recite it Saturday night before the Knights and the guests.”Cerberus snickered quickly straightening as they gave an evil eye his direction. “What?!” He retorted. “Should have behaved yourself.”“But I thought only the Knights had to memorize the Dragon Code?” Okamishiro questioned.“Everyone has to learn it, but yes only the Knights have to recite it the night of the induction.” Aaron answered him with a wide smile.
“I’m not even that worried,” Moonshine sighed. “I need to learn them anyway. For my own morals.”“I am. I’m not good at memorization,” Zavied sighed.“I just don’t want to have to study this and 3D mechanics at the same time,” Eizen rubbed his temples.Tanya shrugged. “Consider it your first lesson.”“Lesson in what?” Zavied asked.“Why not to pick on your Guild Leader,” Aaron informed them with a chuckle. “Because she will find a way to punish you that you will not enjoy.”“Instead of a student, she should be a teacher,” Moonshine sighed. He looked back at Tanya. “Are you sure you weren’t created by a teacher?”“Huh?” Tanya blinked.“Nevermind,” Moonshine turned his head away, looking at nothing. “Let’s go home and get to bed with what’s left of the morning. For us at least.”The group pulled out their Transport Crystals, and once Zavied had Shaze stored in his inventory, they headed back to Whitehaven.---When they returned back to the castle, Tanya finished her last piece of business before logging out, which was building the larger stable for Nychta and Thieron. It required 150 units of straw; 1,500 units of wood; and 800 units of metal to build and 50,000 Scala to begin the building process. If they waited for the building to finish, it would have taken three full days to complete. However, Tanya paid the 2,000 crystals required to complete it immediately.She, the entire group, and several of the guild members stood and watched as the building put itself together, the wood appearing in layers along with the metal, and then finally the layers of straw for bedding. When it all finished in about sixty seconds flat, the finished structure was revealed in a cloud of dust.The stable for the large dragons was now connected to the original stable, which was shaped like two Ls with their bottoms connected. There were four stalls on the bottom parts of the Ls that connected, and three on each of the longer parts of the Ls, extending in opposite directions. Musashi and Un stayed in the front two at the entrance at the bottom part, followed by Rangi on the right next to Un. The stall next to Musashi was empty, but reserved for when Shee became too large to fit indoors. On the left wing of the stable was Dueler, followed by an empty stall, followed by Meuma. The right wing held Kaen, followed by the stall now occupied by Imera, and then Shaze’s new stall at the end. The corners of the two wings in front, next to Rangi and Shee’s stalls were storage areas for extra straw. The back wall of the two wings, which had previously been windows and doors, was now the wall that connected to the large stable. There were now windows in the back wall that allowed the large dragons to look into the regular stable area, but did not allow them to come through. Each stall also had its own window to let sunlight and air into the stall.The large stable was shaped like a square with four stalls, one on each corner. The walkways were shaped like a cross, separating each stall. Each large stall also had its own window facing the outside. There were two doors leading outside: one on the left and one on the right at the end of the walkways. The end of the walkway at the back was the storage area for the large stable. The ceiling heights for the regular stable and the large stable respectively were two and a half stories and four stories.Nychta swished his tail around and lowered himself to the ground, snorting in excitement. He pawed at the ground, itching to get inside and look around.Moonshine laughed, stroking Nychta’s nose. “I know, big guy. I’ll take you inside in a minute. Let Eizen get Thieron in first.”Tanya chuckled lightly. “It seems they’re excited about their new home. Even Thieron seems excited. That makes me very happy.”“It’s good that they have a place to call their home now,” Aaron replied. “Everyone needs a place they know they belong, are safe and protected from foe and from mother nature.”Tanya nodded her head slowly as she watched Eizen led Thieron into his stall and fed him. She looked up at Nychta and smiled brightly. “Looks like you’re next big guy.”Nychta rose up to his feet and pawed the ground once more, snorting in excitement. Moonshine walked over to the side entrance and waved him in. “Let’s go. You’re is this one here on the right.”Nychta walked in quickly, though carefully, turning and crawling into the stall. Once he was inside, he laid down on his belly and rolled around onto his back, his legs sticking straight up with his tail curled around him. He sighed in contentment.“Pfft,” Moonshine laughed, shaking his head. “You big dork.” He pulled out a basket and filled it up for Nychta as well. “Eat and rest. I’m not sure how often I’ll be around for a few days, but I’ll be sure to check in.”He walked out and closed the gate to let Nychta eat and roll around in peace. After exiting Nychta’s stall, he turned right and walked through the doors to the regular stalls, turning left to the right wing where Imera was. She was laying down contentedly in her stall, nosing the fresh straw. When she heard him coming, her head perked up.“Hi my sweet girl,” he said to her, walking into the gate. He knelt down beside her and hugged her tightly. “You hungry?” She purred, rubbing her head against his chest. He chuckled softly and pulled out a basket for her, filling it to the brim with salmon fillets. He sat next to her and watched her eat silently.He still could barely believe she was there with him again, well and alive. He had checked earlier and saw that his progress had been reset to the beginning of Master level. It was a small, trivial price to pay for what had happened. The EXP didn’t matter. What mattered is that she was returned to him.While Moonshine tented to his dragons, Tanya set up rooms for the two newest members. Seeing Eizen walking out from the larger stable into the smaller one she called out to him. “Eizen!” He turned and looked at her as she gestured for him to come her way.“What can I help you with?” Eizen asked politely as he walked up to her. Suddenly he flinched back, raising his hands. “This isn’t about the F word thing again, is it?”Tanya chuckled shaking her head. “No, I set up yours and Zavied’s rooms. I tagged them since I was not sure if the two of you were sticking around or logging out as well. So once you learn where they are you can turn the tag off. Both rooms are on the second floor overlooking the grounds toward the back. I am sure you will find the view up there somewhat amazing.”“Oh! Great! Yeah, we’re in Japan as well, so Zavied and I have to be getting to bed to get at least a few hours of sleep in. Thankfully all we have left are Tuesday and Thursday classes,” he sighed. “Oh well. Such is the life of a gamer. We knew it would be like this when we got involved with them.”“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Tanya smiled. “My parents told me the second my grades dropped they were stripping my games away. Thank God they never did. Straight A’s all the way. I just hope it stays that way with this last week.” An exhausted sigh escaped her. “Too much is riding on this week so I doubt I will be seen much.” She looked down the walkway of the stables seeing Aaron. “But if you need anything Aaron will be here as will Cerberus and Klein. All of them know how to get a hold of me if push comes to shove around here.”“Yeah, I hear ya,” Eizen nodded. He placed a hand on Tanya’s shoulder and grinned, giving her a thumbs-up with his other hand. “But, hey. You got this! If any of us can conquer the F word while sleep deprived, it’s you.”Tanya smiled. “Thanks, I hope you’re right on that fact.” The two shared a chuckle. “I will most definitely see you Saturday if I don’t see you anytime this week.” She watched as Eizen nodded. “Good night Eizen and again, welcome to the Knights of the Mystic Dragon.”With that, the two bowed to one another and Tanya took her leave meeting her brother outside the stables. “You ready to go home?” Cerberus yawned nodding his head as she went to open her panel, two soft chimes sounded, she and Cerberus looked to one another. Both opened their panels seeing they had a message.Opening hers she saw it was from Moonshine as she looked to Cerberus and smiled. “Moonshine?” He nodded slowly.“He is thanking me for the help in getting Imera back.”Tanya nodded with a soft warm smile. “Same. I am glad we could help him and bring her back. I have to say I was worried.”“I wasn't. I knew he would get her back,” Cerberus replied with a confident smile.Tanya chuckled lightly shaking her head as she remembered something. “Oh! Where did you and Okamishiro put the Magic Book you got tonight?”“We locked it in Shiro’s cabinet. We were not sure if it would be safe in the community cabinet at this point and time. We did not want someone thinking it was just a common magic book.” Cerberus explained.Tanya nodded. “Good thinking. Until we can explain to the others what it actually is, it’s best to keep it locked up somewhere out of others’ hands.”Cerberus nodded. “Let’s go home. I am getting tired. I worked my brain too hard today. Time to put it to bed.”Tanya chuckled again as the two opened their panels and logged out of Dragon Lance.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was about one-thirty when Kaori and Tsukiro woke up, giving them a grand total of five hours of sleep. Both of them were tired and achy from the all-nighter, but neither of them were planning on logging on that day. They weren’t even planning on doing anything for their Monday date night. The plan was to just stay in and relax, order take out, then get to bed at about ten so they could head to classes for their first round of finals. Ryushiro had texted and said he wasn’t even planning on coming over, not wanting to drive or take public transportation while sleep deprived.And so Tsukiro and Kaori were sitting on the couch, cuddling and trying not to fall asleep while they watched anime. They knew if they slept any longer, they wouldn’t sleep that night. It was best to just ride out the afternoon until late evening.That was until Tsukiro’s phone rang. Both he and Kaori groaned at the disturbance. Tsukiro reached up onto the end table and grabbed his phone. When he saw the picture and name on the ID, irritation rose quickly in him.“That bipolar little fuck,” Tsukiro cursed.“Huh?” Kaori looked up at him, blinking. “Who is it?”“Kazuto. That punk.” He answered the call and put the phone to his ear. “Oi! When I gave you my number this morning, I didn’t think you’d have the balls to call me today.”“Ah, heh,” Kazuto laughed sheepishly on the other side. “Sorry. Were you sleeping?”“No, but I want to be, but I can’t because if I do, I won’t sleep when night rolls back around. What do you want?”“Well, I was hoping you, Kaori, and Ryushiro would want to go out to dinner.”Tsukiro was silent for so long that Kazuto ended up saying “Hello?”“You’re tired, Kirigaya. Go back to bed.”“No, no! That’s not what I meant! What I meant was there’s a cafe I wanted you three to come to at about five. As a celebration for completing the Kiss of Life quest, you know?”Tsukiro blinked. “Are you paying?”“Tsuki!” Kaori smacked him.“What?! He wants us to go outside after that hell of a time we had in DL! The least he can do is pay.”“Actually it’s on the house this time,” Kazuto laughed. “The owner of the cafe is an SAO vet. A friend of mine.”“Oh? Well, in that case, I can’t pass up a free meal offered by someone from SAO,” Tsukiro hummed.“Great! I’ll see you guys then! I’ll text you the address.”When Kazuto hung up, Tsukiro tossed his phone back onto the end table. He groaned and let his head fall back down to Kaori’s shoulder. “We’re taking the bus. No way in hell am I driving.”Kaori laughed at him and patted his head. “Don’t forget to text Ryushiro.”---“Couldn’t we have done this later?” Ryushiro yawned as they walked down the street.“It’s a free meal. Don’t complain,” Tsukiro sighed.“Are we even in the right place?” Kaori looked around at the surrounding buildings. They were all simple and inconspicuous. “This doesn’t look like much of a place for a cafe.”“This is where the address is,” Tsukiro looked at his phone.Suddenly they came to what looked like a small shack with a red door. Boxes and crates were stacked up on the other side of the only window in the place. Tsukiro walked up to the door to read the small plaque on it. It was a small metal sign with two dice and the name Dicey Cafe.“Well… this is it,” Tsukiro turned to the others. “Let’s see what it looks like.”“Or get murdered. Or kidnapped. Or both,” Ryushiro looked around them. “Are you sure Kazuto was actually Kazuto who is really Kirito?”Kaori turned and blinked at Ryushiro. “Do you even know what you just said?”“Not entirely,” Ryushiro shook his head, yawning again.“Well, for dead or alive, let’s go inside,” Tsukiro put his hand on the wooden handle.He pushed the door open to reveal quite possibly the smallest cafe he’d ever seen. It was smaller than his and Kaori’s apartment and had a dark color scheme similar to his Ebony Teacup in ALO and New Aincrad. There were only four tables and a bar counter, and the only chairs in the place were stools. The back wall behind the counter was filled with bottles and a small fridge that had cold bottles in it. Over all, the place was actually pretty nice looking.And in the cafe was Kazuto Kirigaya, Asuna Yuuki, and several other people they recognized. Leafa, Silica, Klein, and Lisbeth were there, and behind the counter was the tall, dark, bald man Tsukiro recognized as Agil. And there was also a girl who looked like Sinon but with brown hair. They all had some sort of drink--be it tea, coffee, juice or soda--in their hand.“Hey! There they are!” Lisbeth, who looked strange with her natural brown hair, waved at them. “You’re alive! You made it!”Agil grinned at him with a wave of his own. “Hey! Moonshine! Long time no see!”“Agil? You own a cafe IRL?” Tsukiro blinked as he walked up to the bar counter with his brother and Kaori behind him. He pulled off his leather jacket and sat it on a stool.“Yup! And call me Andrew here. The name’s Andrew Gilbert Mills,” he smiled warmly.Tsukiro blinked and gave him a dead stare. “You’re just as unoriginal as Kazuto.”“Hey!” Kazuto narrowed his eyes at him. “Okay, then what does your handle mean?”“It’s an old nickname,” Tsukiro grinned. “People called me Moonshine because I looked harmless but could kill you in a heartbeat if you’re not careful.”“Hopefully you mean in video games and not in real life,” Asuna backed away from him.“Depends on the situation,” Tsukiro smirked.Andrew laughed. “In any case, since this is your first visit and we’re celebrating, your orders are on the house like Kazuto told you. So what can I get you?”“Coffee,” all three of them responded, making the others laugh.As Andrew turned to prepare the coffee, Silica walked up to Tsukiro with a black and gold gift bag in her hands. “I’m Ayano Keiko IRL, by the way,” she smiled and held up the gift bag. “I got this for you! Well, actually there are two things. I hope you like them!”Tsukiro flushed scarlet, looking down at the small and adorable player of Silica. She was just as cute as her Avatars. He took the bag from her. “Th-thank you.”He looked into it and pushed aside the black tissue paper to see two stuffed animals inside. One black and one white. He was confused at first until he pulled them out. They were stuffed versions of the Dark and Light Dragons from Dragon Lance. He dropped the gift bag in shock, holding up the stuffed animals in front of his face. His eyes were wide, his hands shaking.Keiko looked up at him with a worried frown. “Do you like them? Asuna and Rika told me they were too girly, but I figured since they look like--”Tsukiro set the stuffed dragons down on the counter then scooped up Keiko into his arms, lifting her in the air and spinning her around in circles. “I love it I love it I love it! Thank you thank you thank you! You’re so adorable! Please be my little sister!”“Put her down, dummy! You’ll make her sick!” Kaori put her hands on her hips.Tsukiro set her down on her feet but continued to hug her, rubbing his cheek on her head with a big smile. “You’re so sweet and pure! I’ll cherish them forever! Don’t ever grow up, okay?”“Stop, that tickles!” Keiko laughed, trying to push Tsukiro away.Kazuto shuffled over to Ryushiro, pointing at his brother. “Um… Is this really Moonshine? He’s different than I remember in high school.”“Yeah,” Ryushiro sighed with an almost embarrassed smile. “He’s a sap for cute things. Girls and stuffed animals alike.” He leaned in and whispered to Kazuto. “Don’t tell him I told you this, but he loves shojo anime. Especially the moe ones.”Kazuto snickered behind his hand. “So much for tsundere.”“By the way,” Tsukiro asked as he released Keiko from his death grip. “Who’s Rika?”“That would be me!” Lisbeth pointed to herself with a smirk. “Shinozaki Rika! Aka Lisbeth!”“It’s weird seeing you with brown hair,” Kaori smiled at her, lifting a strand of her hair. “I’m used to seeing you with pink hair.”Rika giggled, running a hand through her hair. “True. After two years in Aincrad, I almost forgot what my actual hair looked like.”“Yeah, same here!” Klein laughed, scratching his head. “I thought my hair was red, but when I looked in the mirror after we got out, it was light brown! But it’s got a little red in it at least. Or at least I think it does. I could just be seeing it cause I want to.” He held his hand out to Kaori. “Tsuboi Ryoutaro! Nice to officially meet ya!”Kaori giggled, shaking her head. “Shizuna Kaori. And I agree. Your hair is slightly red. And you have the same headband!”“That’s cause I bought it online after we got out,” Ryoutaro chuckled sheepishly. “I missed it so bad I went and bought a look-alike!”Ryushiro turned to who he assumed was Leafa. “You look the most different from your avatar, Leafa.”“Call me Suguha. Or Sugu for short,” Suguha smiled. “And yeah, though I guess it could be because I wasn’t in SAO. Kazuto told me the game changed your avatars to your real appearance, so it would make sense for SAO players to want their avatars to look like them after all that.”“Definitely true,” Ryushiro nodded. He ruffled his white hair. “Though my hair is already game-ready. White is a common color in games.”“I like it! It’s too iconic to get rid of or change,” Suguha laughed. “I mean, not everyone can pull off white hair and not look like an old man.”“You don’t think I look like an old man!?” Ryushiro clasped his hands, his eyes filling with happy tears.“No! You have white hair, not grey!”Kaori laughed at the two of them.Sinon walked up to them, her hands behind her back. “Why do you have white hair anyway, if it’s not too rude to ask,” she asked them. “I’m Asada Shino by the way.”“Our mom has white hair,” Tsukiro answered instead of his brother. He reached behind him and waved his hand around, as if trying to reach below his butt. “It’s really long. So long she almost has to carry it in a basket. Longer than Suguha’s avatar in ALO. We don’t know why they have white hair. They’re not albino, though.”“Really?!” Asuna gasped. “Her hair is that long and white!?”“She must look like a snow fairy!” Keiko smiled with bright eyes.“A yuki-onna!” Rika grinned. “That’s so cool!”Ryushiro laughed and pulled out his phone. He turned it to a picture of him and their mother. She was very beautiful with violet eyes like Ryushiro. “This is her. Her name is Aoitsuki.”“She’s gorgeous!” Shino gasped.“You look just like her!” Asuna gaped at the picture.Ryushiro flushed scarlet, looking to his brother who laughed. “Th-thanks.” He changed to a picture of just their mother, who sat in the formal style, wearing a violet and white kimono with plum blossoms. Her hair trailed all the way down her back and pooled on the floor near her feet as she sat on her ankles.“Wow! That’s a lotta hair!” Ryoutaro whistled as he peered over the girl's’ shoulders. “Tsukiro must look like your dad then.”“Yup,” Tsukiro showed them a picture of their father, a man with bright blue eyes and black hair like him, though their father’s hair was more wispy and stuck out a little more than Tsukiro’s. It was also shorter.“He looks like Noctis!” Kazuto snatched Tsukiro’s phone from him. He showed the picture to Ryoutaro. “Look! He looks like Noctis Lucis Caelum!”“Dude!” Ryoutaro looked to the two brothers. “You two are Noctis and Lunafreya’s love children!”“Tell us something we don’t know,” the two of them looked to each other with a grin.Soon after, Andrew handed out Tsukiro, Ryushiro, and Kaori’s coffees along with plates cheeseburgers, sides of fries and onion rings and pickles on the side. Once everyone had drinks and food, they took seats around the cafe, either at the bar counter or at the two closest tables.Tsukiro turned to Shino who sat next to him. “Hey, Shino. I wanted to ask you, but I didn’t get the chance. When do you think you’ll be on GGO next?”“Hmm,” Shino hummed, dipping a waffle cut fry into ketchup. “Probably after finals this weekend, like everyone else in our group. Why do you ask?”Tsukiro smirked at her. “I got a surprise for you! Something I won from a tournament, but I don’t need it. I think you’ll really like it.”“Really?” Shino blinked. “What place did you get in the tournament?”“First, of course!” Tsukiro smiled proudly.“Oh, congrats!” She stuck the fry in her mouth then picked up her grilled chicken sandwich. “It must be a really great item if it was part of the first place prize.”“Yup! Which is why I’m giving it to you,” he smiled.Shino blushed, dropping her sandwich. “W-what does that mean?!”Tsukiro laughed. “You’ll understand when I give it to you.”“Geez,” Shino huffed with a pout, turning away from him. “Don’t say things like that!”He smiled and picked up his burger, taking a huge bite out of it. When he swallowed, he spoke again. “Also, I was hoping we could do a tournament together. I bet we’d make a great team!”“You think so?” She turned back to him, her cheeks dusted pink. “Why do you say that?”“Well, you’re a ranged shooter, and I’m a close range shooter and a trick shooter. I fight like Dante Sparda and you fight like Riza Hawkeye. It’s a perfect combo if you think about it! I mean, I’m okay at sniping, but you’re brilliant at it!”Again, Shino blushed, her cheeks even redder this time. She pulled apart her fries, not meeting eye-contact with him. “I… I don’t know about that.”“You kidding me? Of course you are! You shot Sterben from that far away with no scope! And you took out that Gatling gun user with no leg! You’re incredible!”Shino dropped her fries and covered her face. “S-stop…”Kaori grabbed Tsukiro by the ear. “You’re embarrassing her.”“H-huh? But I’m just telling the truth!”Kaori rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’re clueless when it comes to girls.”Tsukiro huffed and turned back to Shino. “Sorry. I don’t mean to embarrass you.”“I-it’s okay… I appreciate the vote of confidence,” she nodded.Just then, the door chimed as a tall man with quite possibly the sweetest baby face walked in. His face was soft and round. His eyes were small and almond shaped and brown. His pale peach lips were full, and his cheekbones were high, making everyone assume he was Korean. He definitely did not look Japanese. He looked like a Kpop idol--gorgeous and perfect with an air of politeness but also playfulness. Even his hair was reminiscent of the Kpop idol culture, being almost all platinum blond except for a few streaks of maroon red on the front right side of his hair. His hair was swept back over his head, showing his gorgeous face.The entire room went silent as they watched him walk in and smile around at the room. Every single girl in the room flushed bright red. The guys stared with their jaws hanging open.“Uh… W-welcome to the Dicey Cafe,” Andrew was barely able to get out.“Hey,” he said has he lifted his hand from his jacket pocket and swept his fingers through his hair at the side of his head. He side eyed the way of the ones staring at him. “I...I was told this was a great place to grab a bite to eat, so I thought I would try it out.”“Really?” Andrew blinked. He flinched and smiled. “I-I mean, yeah, you heard right! Not to toot my own horn that is. Who did you hear it from, if I might ask?”He smiled warmly hearing a couple of the girls in the room squeal softly. From the girl's reactions, he chuckled lightly shaking his head lowering it slightly in embarrassment as his cheeks flushed slightly. “A buddy of mine from a game I play.”
“Yeah? Anyone I would know? Or just a random customer?” Andrew smiled proudly. Maybe word of his cafe was starting to get around finally. And not just to his inner circle and people from SAO. Maybe then he’d be busy in the day and not just at night.“Maybe. He is known as Klein in-game. His real name is Tsuboi Ryoutaro. You know him? He plays Dragon Lance.”Ryoutaro popped up in his seat suddenly, the stool falling over behind him. “Aaron Tanaka?! Is that you, man?!”Aaron looked the guy's way as his eyes widened. “Kle--” His head shook. “Ryoutaro?!” He started to laugh as he walked toward him. “Is that really you?!”“Dude, what the hell!?” Ryoutaro walked over to him, taking his hand and clapping him on the shoulder. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were a freaking pretty boy IRL?! You look nothing like your Avatar! Really, dude! You’re smokin’! No homo!”Aaron busted out with a hard laugh. “Which is the reason I did not set up my Avi to look a thing like me. I would be fighting off the women and not monsters.”Ryoutaro threw his hands up in the air, looking at Aaron like he lost his mind. “ You say that like it’s a bad thing !” He blinked, standing up straight. “Oh! Right!” He turned and gestured to the others. “This is… uh, everybody else.”He began introducing each other one by one with their usernames and real names respectively.Aaron shook hands with each one of them, greeting each one with a smile, a few of the girls turning bright red when he took their hand and shook it. “It’s great to finally meet all of you face to face. Too bad the rest of the Guild can’t be here. Jeffery and Ashley are going to be jelly.”Tsukiro smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Boy, if you’re this hot, I can only imagine what Ashley looks like. If she ever saw you, she’d turn into a big ol’ puddle of fangirl goo.”Aaron chuckled. “Well from what Jeffery says she looks a lot like her Avi only she has hazel eyes in real life. And her hair…” He paused. “Well, her hair is longer. Maybe even as long as Celty’s.”Kazuto nearly jumped out of his skin. “Whoa! Wait a minute! How do you know about that?! Did she tell you?!”“I found out the day after she was hurt in game. When the sensitivity was all wacked. Jeffery knows too, and yes that was me that woke you that afternoon at the Inn.” Aaron revealed.
Kazuto nearly fell out of his seat as he grabbed the table all wide-eyed. “Y--y-- you're the Moon Elf, Creed?”Aaron nodded his head slowly. “One in the same.”Ryoutaro pulled a stool over from another table offering it to Aaron. “I think you're going to be here a while from that bomb you just dropped.”Aaron looked to the ones giving him the ‘deer in headlights’ look as he took a seat at the table with them as he looked to Kazuto. “I know she told you not to tell anyone, so like you, me and Jeffery are keeping our mouths shut. We figured if she wanted us to know she would tell us.”“And I guess you want us to keep our mouths shut about you being Creed,” Tsukiro interjected, his arms still crossed over his chest as he lounged back in his chair.“That would be nice. I plan on coming clean but in time. I know the Western Guild is up to no good, so I plan on coming clean before they start digging too deep. I don’t want no surprises when all this comes to a head, and I am hoping Ashley will do the same.” Aaron explained.“S-so your personality as Creed…” Kazuto dared not finish that thought. He had no idea which personality was really his: Aaron the Vice Master, or Creed the Moon Elf from Unseen.“Meaning he wants to know if you’re actually an asshole, or just playing at being an asshole,” Tsukiro smiled.“Tsukiro!” Kazuto exclaimed.Aaron chuckled as he looked between the guys. “That’s a fair question, and the answer is I am a little of both. It’s just no one has given Aaron a reason to be an asshole. Everyone in the Mystic Dragons is rather cool.”Tsukiro rested his elbows on the table, putting his chin in his hands. “And for Creed?”“Who hasn’t pushed his buttons? Not many like him, or the Unseen,” Aaron replied sighing softly.Tsukiro shrugged, finishing off his coffee. “I’ve never met him… you…” He set down his mug with a look of confusion and distress. He leaned forward, putting a hand on his face. “Ugh. This is confusing. My head hurts. I need more coffee.”Aaron smirked at Tsukiro. “It’s fine, you have had a rough go of it the last few days.”“So, how old are you, if you don’t mind me asking,” Kaori asked him.“I’m twenty-two,” he smiled at her.“Really?” She blinked with her cheeks slightly pink. “You seem so much older.” She flushed harder, holding her hands up in front of her. “Th-that’s not to say you look old! I just mean you have a mature personality!”Tsukiro looked at Kaori with a suspicious and confused expression.“What?!” She leaned away from him.“You’re acting like a fangirl…” He said simply. He turned away and stuffed a few fries in his mouth. “You never acted that way towards me.”She rolled her eyes and punched him. “That’s cause we’re childhood friends! I know everything about you, so there’s nothing to fawn over.”“Not to mention you’re not exactly idol material,” Rika smirked at him.Tsukiro growled, pointing a fry at her. “Hey! I could be an idol if I wanted to!” All of the girls started laughing at him, making him growl even harder, blushing in embarrassment. “Forget all of you!”Aaron shook his head with a light chuckle as his stomach rumbled in complaint of lack of food. His hand covering his stomach as he flushed slightly, and chuckled again. “Sorry, I guess meeting you guys made me forget the main reason I came here.” He stood, pushing in his chair as he turned and looked at the ones still sitting.“Well, I guess I will let you get back to your little soiree, it was nice meeting you all,” Aaron told them.“You don’t have to leave,” Asuna chirped as Kazuto looked at her oddly. “What? My voice cracked, so what.”“Yeah, we are just celebrating Tsukiro and Imera’s reunion. You’re welcome to stay and party with us,” Ryoutaro told him.“Yeah, no need to run off,” Tsukiro nodded. “Unless you got somewhere to be.”Aaron shook his head. “Not really, I was just going to grab a bite to go and head home, maybe touch down on a few other of my games I have been ignoring.” He pointed at the counter. “Let me order and I will be right back, I mean if you guys really want me to stick around that is. I don’t want to intrude and all.”“No, you’re not intruding at all,” Rika smiled at him. “We’re happy to have you.”Aaron smiled with a slight nod of head. “I will be right back then.” He walked from the table over to the counter and ordered his food and drink and returned to the table with the others. “So how long have you guys been gaming? I know the biggest part of you were part of that mess with SAO, but what about before.”Tsukiro looked to Kaori and Ryushiro. “The three of us played MMORPGs. The regular kind. No VR. And console games. Anything we could play together.”“I played just about anything I could get my hands on,” Kirito pitched in. “And I beta tested.”Shino shook her head. “Other than Gun Gale, I was a complete noob. I only started playing GGO for personal reasons.”“I have heard a lot about GGO some good some bad, but never played it.” He looked up at Andrew when he set his drink to the table and nodded, turning his attention back to the group. “What are you guys thoughts on it?”“I only played it long enough to dispel that issue with Sterben and his brother,” Kirito shrugged. “But I enjoyed it anyway. I haven’t played much since then. I might have to get back into it.”“It’s wicked cool!” Tsukiro grinned. “And the best part is the better you play, the richer you get. I mean, yeah, it glorifies gun violence, but only idiots don’t know the difference between a game and RL.” He looked to Shino. “Shino and I were planning on playing this coming weekend.”Shino blushed and nodded. “It is definitely a lot of fun, even if it didn’t do what I needed it to.”Aaron looked to Shino with a half chuckle. “Gunplay don’t fulfill your inner murderer?”Shino’s eyes went wide and she stood up quickly, nearly falling back over the stool. Tsukiro jumped to his feet and caught her around the midsection before that happened. She shook her head quickly, her body trembling as she clenched her chest. “Th-that’s not it! That’s not it at all! I didn’t--I’m not…”Kirito stood up and reached out a hand to her. “Shino, it’s okay. He didn’t mean it like that.”Tsukiro, although he had no idea what was up with her, set her down onto the stool carefully. “Calm down. Deep breaths.” He rubbed her back gently. Andrew suddenly came over with a glass of water. Tsukiro took it and handed it to Shino. “Drink this. Slowly.”Shino took the glass, but her hands were shaking too bad. Tsukiro held it still for her while she drank. She took a deep breath, her head hanging low. “I… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… Dammit, I thought I was over this!”“Sorry about that,” Aaron replied with a concerned look on his face. “I did not mean anything by it. Are you alright Shino?”Shino nodded slowly. “Y-yes… I’m fine… Or I will be.” She took another drink then sat the glass down. “Since you are a part of our group now, it’s only fair that I tell you. Everyone else knows already.” She looked to Tsukiro, Kaori, and Ryushiro. “You three as well.”“We’re listening,” Kaori said softly.Shino took another deep breath and began her story. “When I was eleven, I was with my mother at a post office… A man came in and attempted to rob the place at gunpoint… He was waving his gun around at everyone, including my mother. I ended up getting the gun away from him and shooting him. I shot him several times before he died… After that, I developed PTSD. I couldn’t even look at a gun, much less hold one, without going into an in intense panic attack and throwing up. When I was introduced to GGO by Sterben’s brother, whom I thought was my friend, I thought that playing the game would help me get over my trauma, but really what I was doing was running away from it by using Sinon.”She lifted her head and looked at Kirito with a smile. “And then I met Kirito. And after the events of the third Bullet of Bullets tournament, he helped me take that first step to recovery. Since then I’ve been practicing with air pistols, which has helped a lot.”Tsukiro looked at Shino with a stunned expression. He frowned deeply then placed a hand on her head, rubbing gently. He turned away, looking down at his plate. “No one should have to go through that. Especially not a little girl. That’s what police are for.”“Not to mention it’s not your fault,” Ryushiro shook his head. “He broke the law, he should have been prepared for anything that may have been a result of that. Even if it was his life.” Kaori nodded silently.Aaron nodded slowly agreeing with the two. “I am sure this is hard for you, but you can also look at the bright side of this--which I am sure you have--look at all the lives you saved. A life was taken, yes, but so many more could have been lost that day and you saved however many that could have been.”Kirito nodded. “After the tournament, I found one of the women that was working at the post office that day. Turns out she was pregnant. The robber pointed his gun at her. So if Shino hadn’t saved everyone, her life and her daughter’s life would have been lost.”Tsukiro rubbed her head again, giving her a gentle hug. “You’re a good girl, Shino. If you weren’t you wouldn’t be so torn up over it. Evil people don’t feel guilt over the loss of a life, especially one like that one.”Everyone nodded, humming quietly in agreement. Shino sniffled, taking a napkin and removing her glasses to wipe her eyes. “Th-thank you, everyone.” She turned to Tsukiro with a smile. “And I will definitely play a tournament with you in GGO this weekend.”“Awesome!” He smiled back. Suddenly he leaned back in surprise. “W-wait a minute! Does that mean you were going to bail on me?!”Shino giggled and the others laughed in turn. “You’re too easy to tease.”“Don’t we know it,” Ryushiro and Kaori said in unison.Aaron chuckled. “Then keep him away from Jeffrey. He will have a hay day with him.”Ryoutaro smirked widely. “Oh, tell me about it. That kid is as sharp as a tack he will take every opportunity given to pick on someone, and God forbid you do something stupid--”“He will nail you to the wall,” Ryoutaro and Aaron stated at the same time as they laughed.They all laughed and enjoyed their meal together, talking and getting to know each other’s real-life selves better. After everyone was finished, they all packed up and headed home to rest and relax for the rest of the day.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tsukiro walked into his and Kaori’s room Saturday morning after breakfast. Finals were over--and hopefully passed--and their lost energy and brain power had been replenished with sleep the previous day. Which meant today was their first official day of summer break. Neither he, Kaori, nor his brother did summer classes, on account of wanting a break and wanting to do all the video game related events that popped up during summer. It was about ten in the morning now, which meant pretty soon he would be meeting up with Shino in Gun Gale Online.Sitting at the computer, he took out his phone while the laptop booted up. He went to Shino’s contact in his phone and texted her.
“Morning Hecate! You awake? Today is D-Day!”
About two minutes later she replied, “Yes, I’m awake, though you are much too excited considering we all finished our last five days of school.”
“I had yesterday to sleep in and replenish. College means no class on Fridays if I don’t want to. Xp”
“Lucky you. -_- Anyway, you’d better be ready! I won’t have you holding me back!”
“Oh I won’t! Just wait till you see my gunslinging skills!”
“I hope you own up to your confidence.”
Tsukiro laughed as he set his phone down and went to the GGO game, starting it up. As he brought his phone over to the bed along with his AmuSphere, Kaori walked in. “Hey, are you going into GGO?”“Yeah, I’m about to. Not sure how long we’ll be gone.”Kaori nodded. “Well, be sure to finish up before we have to go to the induction ceremony. Do you have your Dragon’s Code memorized?”“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry. I don’t plan to flop on stage. Though I can’t say the same for Zavied and Eizen,” Tsukiro laid down and put his AmuSphere on.“Alright, well, I’ll be in Dragon Lance helping them set up and what not. See you later. Good luck! Make a fortune!”“Will do,” Tsukiro smirked. He stared at the title of his account on GGO: Shadow Demon. “Link start!”Shadow Demon--or more commonly called just Shadow--entered into his apartment in the residential area of the SBC Glocken city. It was the fifth floor of the apartment building. It had just enough in it for Shadow to store what he didn’t need at any particular time, both weapons, armor, accessories, and other useful things needed to survive in the kill or be killed world of GGO.Currently, he was wearing his typical attire: a long sleeved black tactical shirt, black combat pants, black boots, a gun holster around his shoulders and chest, and a black leather trench coat with red on the inside, customized by him to look like that of Dante Sparda. Though the coat did get him a few insults that it was modeled after the “reboot reject” version of the character. He didn’t really care though. It gave him the look he wanted and it offered a fair amount of protection when he needed it.His eyes were the same color as IRL and his hair was about the same length. He kept it mostly swept back over his forehead and in a loose ponytail with part of his fringe falling out over his face. He had tried cutting his hair in game to the same style as Dante, but it just looked weird on his face, so he grew it out again. He looked at himself in the mirror and grinned. He had to admit, this was one of his favorite Avi looks, aside from Dragon Lance.He swiped open his panel and messaged Sinon that he was on, then looked at his equipment screen. Just as he suspected, he had the same equipment from his last tournament equipped. Twin Desert Eagles, a Remington M24, two Beretta 93Rs, and a Kagemitsu G4 with a black hilt and blue blade. Usually his Kagemitsu was blue with a violet blade, but he owned two and liked to either switch them out or use them at the same time.Several players hated Shadow’s fighting style. Number one because he used such a useless yet cliche gun like the Desert Eagle with only nine magnum rounds per clip, and yet he used them to their maximum potential. The trick was to “line ‘em up and knock ‘em down” as he liked to say. That just pissed them off even more.Number two was because he used the Kagemitsu photon swords, and he was great at using them. Well, not as great as Kirito, but he was practicing. It pissed people off to no end that he could use them similarly to Kirito and succeed. Sometimes even two of them, brandishing them like they were glowsticks--which he was actually proficient in IRL, and yes, it helped a lot.And the biggest reason players hated his style was because he was a trickshooter. He took down his enemies in the most confusing and flashy ways, but they worked. And when the players tried to copy him and failed, it pissed them off even more. He incorporated everything he had learned from his favorite gunslingers in both video games and anime, using their moves in ways that left his enemies stunned and open to attack. He combined all of these skills into a triple threat crazy enough and captivating enough to send anyone that lost to him into hysterics.But of course he had his fans. He wasn’t an evil player after all. He just simply had a style that no one else could copy, just like Kirito. And that style just so happened to be reminiscent of several of people’s favorite gunslinging characters from other media. Some hated him for it, and others idolized him. Either way, it made no difference to him. He was here to make money and have fun while doing it.“Let’s see,” Shadow hummed as he scrolled through his inventory. The items he had won from the last tournament were still listed as “New.” The first thing he did was put on the outfit he had won from it.Tapping the equip icon on all of the pieces, he changed into everything; the shirt, the jumpsuit, the gloves and boots, the patrol hat, and everything else it came with except for the bulletproof vest--all in black. He looked like a cross between an Air Force pilot and some stealth patrol soldier. It almost looked like Sonya Blade’s uniform from MKX, except the male version. He smirked into the mirror.“Hell yeah! This was made for me!”He took off the hat and held it in his teeth long enough to take out the pony tail and adjust his hair into a style that suited the patrol hat better. He moved his fringe to one side and pulled the rest into a tight ponytail. Sliding on the hat and pulling the tail through the hole in the back, he fit it on snugly. Opening his panel and going back to the equipment screen, he noticed his agility stats were lower than before, but his strength and vitality were up compared to his usual outfit.“Looks like the Kagemitsu blades won’t be fully ideal with this uniform,” he hummed, scratching his chin. “Probably should carry only one until I test it out to see how fast I can move.”He removed all of his weapons, deciding to start clean. After changing things out to see what all he could carry without restricting his movement, he decided on keeping his Kagemitsu and filling the rest of his space with two Beretta 92 pistols with 30 round mags, the two Beretta 93Rs, and his Remington M24.Suddenly his eyes landed on the other sniper rifle in his inventory. “Oh! Right! The Barrett!”He went back in and filled up half of the rest of his space with the Barrett M82 he was planning on giving to Sinon. The final thing he grabbed before turning towards the door was the 10,000 in Credits he always kept stashed away in his apartment, that way when he cashed out everything he had on him, like last time, he wouldn’t be left with nothing.Just as he reached the lobby of the apartment building, his messages chimed. He opened it and read while he walked outside. It was from Sinon. “ You’re Shadow Demon?!” Shadow laughed and replied back, “Yup! The one and only! So, you a hater or a fan?”
“... A little of both actually… Your style is crazy but also impressive. Reminds me of another certain sword wielding GGO player…”
“Lol! Kirito wishes he could play GGO like me!”
“Ugh, whatever! Just meet me at The Chopping Block in Avalon Circle.”
“Alright, see you there.”
Shadow ran down the street to the shuttle stop that would take him to the place Sinon mentioned. He paid his fare at the kiosk at the stop, selecting his destination and placing his hand on the panel until it flashed ‘PAID’. It only took about five minutes before the shuttle appeared. He stepped onto the vehicle that was somewhat of a cross between a trolley and the trains in Japan. Except these shuttles had scanners at the doors that made sure passengers had their fares paid. He had seen several players try and board them with no fare. The result was a painful electric shock the moment they put even one leg through the scanner. It always amazed him how stupid some players could be. He took a hold of an available safety ring on one of the bars and held tight as the shuttle moved.Twenty minutes later, he arrived at Avalon Circle, which was a sort of mini shopping district in the shape of a cul de sac. There was a weapon’s shop, an armor shop, a rations and accessory shop, a gambling den, and The Chopping Block, which was a bar and restaurant that also streamed tournaments and battles from all around the GGO world. This bar was where he himself watched Sinon take out Behemoth and then the Bullet of Bullets tournament back in winter of 2025. It had been two years since then, and he had come far in this game.Now he was finally getting to meet the famous sniper.He walked into The Chopping Block, scanning the busy crowd for Sinon’s iconic blue hair and green and white outfit that was skimpier than he took her for liking. The bar was like any other. Busy, filled with tables and billiards and other games with booming music and lots of booze and waitresses in uniforms that showed off their ample assets. There were tons of holographic screens showing different tournaments and battles. Nothing particularly big was going on yet, so each one had something different, and each table had its own mini screen for the patrons to pick what they wanted to watch.“Geez,” Shadow sighed, crossing his arms. “How am I supposed to find her in this mess? It’s so busy you would have thought Bullet of Bullets was this week and not next week.”“Don’t you know?” A player dressed like a spec ops officer grinned at him. “There’s going to be a Team Raid tournament in an hour and a half. Biggest one this year so far.”“A capture the flag event?” Shadow hummed. “When do sign ups close?”“An hour and fifteen minutes from now. Should give you enough time to get a quick bite to eat and get over to the sign up office,” the player nodded. “Hope you got some good partners. Teams are two to six people.”“Oh, I can think of one person in particular,” he smirked then sighed and looked around again. “If I could find her…”“Back off!” Suddenly rang out over the music and noise of the bar as Sinon shoved some guy back that was harassing her.“Aww, come on cu”--the guy hiccuped--“tie. Let me buy you a drink.” He went to wrap his arm around her again.Growling Sinon shoved him back again. “I told you no! Now leave me alone!” She turned to try and walk away from the guy as he grabbed her wrist and jerked her back causing her to stumble and fall to the floor on her back side. She landed with an ‘Omph’.When she looked up she saw Tsukiro, or well... Shadow, with a handful of the guy’s jacket clenched tightly in his hand as he jerked the guy toward him. Shadow made a gun with his index finger and thumb and pressed the tip of his finger to the guy’s forehead, giving him a chilling glare.“If we weren’t in city limits, I’d shoot you right now,” Shadow pressed his finger into his forehead further. “But I can beat your ass with my bare fists. So you have two options. Leave, or I’ll make you leave . You got me?”The drunken player nodded quickly, whimpering as he looked up into Shadow’s face, his features darkened by his patrol hat. The player stumbled off, trying and failing to run out of the place as he bumped into just about every other player and piece of furniture on his way out.Shadow turned to look at the crowd of players who had started staring at the spectacle. “Next?” The crowd flinched and turned back to whatever it was they were doing before. “Yeah, thought so.” He turned to Sinon and lifted his hat with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. You good?”“Yeah,” she said dusting herself. “I hate drunks they have no aspect of personal space and don’t know the meaning of the word ‘no.’”Shadow nodded as they walked over to a booth towards the back. “Agreed. And combine that with VRs and people start thinking they’re invincible and their actions have no consequences. I hate VRs and alcohol. That’s a bad combination and the developers know it. But do they care? No! They’re just as bad as the drunks who play the game. Hell, some of them even get drunk IRL then come here and get even drunker .”Sinon nodded as she took a seat once they reached the table. “It’s amazing how the AmuSphere works and tricks your mind into believing fictional things. Which is why I find it amazing that some of these games have a sensitivity setting.” The two got comfortable at the table as she looked over at Shadow. “Thanks by the way.”Shadow smiled, taking off his hat so he could see better in the dim lighting of the bar. “No need to thank me. Saving girls in distress is one of the things I do best.” He laughed at the blank look she gave him. “I’m kidding… kind of… Anyway! I have to give you the surprise!”He opened his inventory and scrolled down to the Barrett M82. He tapped on it and selected the ‘gift’ option, then selected Sinon’s name. A couple seconds later, her messages chimed.Sinon opened her panel, then went in to her messages, opening the PM from Shadow Demon. When she opened it her eyes almost bugged out of her head. “NO WAY!! And you got this from the tournament last weekend?!”“Yup!” Shadow smirked. “As far as I know, the only thing stronger than it is the Silent Assassin Sterben had. Right under this one is yours, the Hecate II. I got this among the hefty haul of prizes last weekend and knew you had to have it.”“But why?!” She exclaimed, looking up at him. “I didn’t do anything. Wouldn’t you want to keep a powerful and rare weapon like this? Why give it to me?”Shadow smiled, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms behind his head. “Nah, I don’t need it. I’m not a sniper. I have one sniper rifle. My Remington M24. It’s got five shots and shoots between 250 and 1,500 meters. That’s all I need. A rifle like that doesn’t fit my style, but it does yours, so I want you to have it.”Sinon smiled warmly. “Well, thank you. I will use it well in honor of you.”“Heh heh,” Shadow laughed in embarrassment. “Well, you don’t have to do anything like that. Just use it well period. I’m sure you’ll be even more badass with that now. In any case, I heard from someone that there’s a Team Raid tournament closing in about an hour. Do we want to grab something to eat here then head over?”“Sure we can do that,” Sinon said with a bright smile. “You sure you will be able to keep up with your partner?”“Of course I can! Have you seen me fight? Granted, I’m no Kirito, but I can hold my own for sure. Plus, with the best sniper in the game as my partner, we’re pretty much guaranteed to win!”Sinon giggled softly. “If you say so.”The two grabbed a menu and gave it a quick once over then ordered their brunch. When it finally made it to the table they quickly ate and made their way to the Governor's Office to sign up for the Team Raid tournament.As they walked into the large building, they looked around, taking note of the large amount of players gathered. It seemed that there were quite a number of players interested in the tournament. And not only that, but most of them seemed to be larger teams.“Well, at least it looks like we’ll have some competition,” Shadow sighed as they made their way around the lobby to the sign up kiosks.“I can’t tell if you’re optimistic or just lying to yourself,” Sinon frowned.As they weaved through the crowd, Shadow ended up bumping into a slender figure with long black hair. “Oh! S-sorry! I didn’t mean to--”“Huh?” The person turned around to reveal a baby face with black eyes. The person--seemingly a girl--wore all black.“Are you okay?” Shadow asked the--“Kirito!” Sinon gaped at the person.“Oh! Sinon!” Kirito smiled, his voice higher than normal. He looked up at Shadow. “Then you’re Tsukiro.”“Kirito!?” Shadow gawked at him. “Holy shit! I knew your avatar was girly, but… it’s even better in person!” He laughed, doubling over and grabbing his stomach. “Oh, my God, the game really did think you were a chick! That’s hilarious! You’re adorable !”Sinon giggled softly at Shadows laughter as she covered her mouth trying to hide it. Her eyes drifted to Kirito which was giving them both the evil eye with his hands on his hips. Suddenly Sinon smacked Shadow on the shoulder as he was still chuckling. “Straighten up, soldier. Now is not the time or place.”“No, you’re right,” Shadow wiped his eyes dry. “We can pick on him after the three of us win.”“Three of us? Huh?” Kirito blinked. “What do you mean? Were you going to join this Team Raid they’re talking about?”“Okay, first of all,” Shadow pointed at him. “I can’t take that voice of yours seriously. Second of all, yes, and you’re going to be our third partner!”“Huuuuh?!” Kirito pointed at himself. “Why me?! I haven’t played this in months! Who knows if I can even remember how to play it!”“Oh, don’t even try and downplay yourself,” Shadow shook his head. “You’re a prodigy at everything you play. Even a game like this. So yes, you’re joining with us. And we plan to win first place. So you’re welcome in advance for the cash you’re about to walk out with.”“Are you optimistic or just dumb?” Kirito sighed.“Maybe a little of both!” Shadow grinned. “But we’re going to win, like it or not. Sound good?” He looked to Sinon and Kirito.“Sounds like a deal to me!” Sinon chirped as she gave the old heave-ho to them both pushing them toward the kiosk to sign up. “If I leave it to you two we will miss the deadline. So move it or no one or at least no one in this group will be winning anything.”“Yessir!” Kirito and Shadow saluted.“Ma’am! Don’t call me a guy!”“Yes, ma’am!”---Aaron walked into the banquet hall where Kitsune, Silica, Leafa, Lisbeth, and Asuna were decorating. He stopped and looked around the hall, they had been at it for about an hour and he had to admit the place was looking great.“Damn!” Aaron exclaimed as he looked over at Kitsune and Asuna as they were hanging streamers above one of the doors that led out to the garden. “Next time there is a party planned IRL, I am calling you girls to decorate for me.”
“Really?” Kitsune smiled happily. “You think it looks that good? We just did what felt right.”“Yeah, this is a pretty easy space to decorate,” Asuna giggled. “Easier than Agil’s cafe.”Aaron chuckled lightly. “How is Agil’s place not easy to decorate? A couple of streamers and three or four balloons and call it a day.”“That’s exactly why it’s hard to decorate!” Lisbeth pouted as she and Silica fanned out table cloths. “It’s small and dark and so brooding! It’s like Agil took Kirito and turned him into a cafe!” The other girls snorted and laughed madly at her comparison.“I don’t think Kirito would like to hear that,” Asuna giggled. “He prides himself on being Mr. Brooding Lone Wolf.”“And mine is a hyperactive panther,” Kitsune laughed. “Lots of energy but could just as easily kill you with it. Hence ‘Moonshine’.”Aaron gave her a confused look as he shook his head and walked toward the girls. “Well, at least you girls got your hands on some good guys. Now we just need to find a good girl for Klein.”“Klein?!” Leafa said giggling as she came down the ladder from hanging the Guild’s color banners. They were long strips of cloth that led from the corners of the room the center where the large chandelier hung. “Klein is a sweet guy, but it’s his eagerness that scares the girls off.”Aaron chuckled as he stopped at the ladder, holding it as she climbed down. “So what’s my excuse?”“You have the classic ‘I haven’t confessed my feelings yet because insert lame excuse here’ syndrome,” Kitsune smirked at him. “Moonshine and I never went through that. We just told each other how we felt and poof! We save all that beating around the bush and long drawn out romance stuff for the books and anime and rom coms. Just tell Tanya how you feel.”“Well, ‘poof’ don’t work for me, and I have told her. She just don’t like the me that told her,” Aaron told Kitsune.Kitsune sighed as the other girls shook their heads. She walked up to him and took his hand, patting it. “Aaron, you may be hot as hell, but you’re just as clueless as every other guy I’ve met.” She turned and went back to help the others.“What’s this about hot guys and cluelessness?” Zavied asked as he walked in shirtless, his jacket slung over his shoulder.Aaron turned to the familiar voice seeing Zavied walk into the room. “It seems, not only am I hot, but clueless as a man when it comes to women. And hello, Zavied.”“Aaron, Aaron, Aaron,” Zavied tsked his tongue, leaning against Aaron’s shoulders. “Let me tell you something about the ladies--”“NO!” All four girls turned and gave him pointed looks.“But I didn’t--”“NO!”Aaron smirked and patted his shoulder. “I think it’s best to accept defeat on this one, my friend.”Zavied smiled and shrugged. “Ah well. At least we both still got our smokin’ good looks! Eh, ladies?”Kitsune rolled her eyes with a smile. “You are hot, Zavied, I’ll give you that. And I do like a man with good hair. Hence Tsukiro.”Aaron chuckled patting Zavied’s shoulder once more. “Be glad she stopped there.” He turned back to the girls with a bright smile. “Either way, I am hoping to tell her tonight how I feel. If I get that chance. Today was an amazing day we spent together. We laughed and talked, did a little asskicking, shared a picnic, and a long walk through the garden.” He sighed. “And then she left me to log out. I wanted to tell her then, but the right time never came.”Kitsune giggled softly. “Any time is a good time for a girl that is crushing over a guy. All she wants to hear is that the guy she likes feels the same way. Just tell her. Don’t wait for the right time. Just say it.”Aaron nodded as he handed and end of the streamer to Asuna. “You’re right, I just need to tell her.”“Tell who, what?” Tanya asked walking in with Cerberus as she looked around the room. “WOW! You guys are doing a wonderful job.”Hearing her voice Aaron started sweating bullets then relaxed when her attention was caught by the beautiful job the girls had done with the Hall. “They did didn’t they? I told them they were going to be our official decorators from here on out.”“You did not!” Silica scolded him with a soft giggle.Aaron looked her way with a ‘I am trying to change the subject’ look on his face. “Well, then I am telling you now.”Kitsune suddenly got an idea and grinned. She turned to Asuna who instantly knew what she was thinking. Kitsune turned to face Tanya and Cerberus. “Hey! Cerberus! Shiro was looking for you! I’ll take you to him!”“Huh? O-okay, sure,” Cerberus followed Kitsune out of the Hall.Asuna smiled sweetly at Aaron. “Speaking of official decorators, these decorators need a break. We’ll take fifteen then be back later, okay~?”“Huh?” Silica looked at Asuna. “But I’m--”“Let’s go~” Asuna grabbed Silica and Lisbeth’s hands, pulling them towards the door as well. Leafa, thankfully, followed suit. “See you two later~!”And that left Tanya, Aaron and Zavied in the banquet hall. Zavied blinked at the two then looked out the door. “Um… Well… This is awkward. So I think I’ll just…. Yeah.”He backed out of the room with a curt wave, not saying another word and whistling as he turned and walked out the door.Aaron stood there and watched all of them file out one by one or two by two as now he and Tanya were standing there alone. He looked over at her as she walked over to one of the tables and fidgeted with one of the centerpieces.“They really did a wonderful job, didn’t they?” Tanya said looking over at him as he stopped a few feet away from her. His head nodded slowly as she watched him nervously lift his hand and combed his fingers through his hair.“Yes they did,” he said trying to break the unease that hung over him. A few seconds passed before he spoke again. “Uh, Tanya. There is something I have been wanting to tell you.”“Oh,” Tanya replied as she turned facing him. She gestured to the chairs for them to take a seat. As she went to pull out her chair Aaron grabbed her hand quickly but gently as he lifted it in his. She turned to look at him slightly shocked at his actions, her heart racing as it pounded in her chest. The look in his eyes was not the normal playful, confident man she normally faced.“What’s wrong, Aaron? You’re starting to worry me.”He chuckled nervously shaking his head. “There is nothing to be worried about. I just wanted to tell you--” He paused looking into her eyes taking a much longer pause than necessary.Kitsune, the other girls, Cerberus and even Zavied were all stationed outside of the door, keeping it cracked just enough for the game to allow them to hear them. Zavied, who had struggled to keep his mouth shut, was now being gagged by his hair by Kitsune, his long white hair wrapped around his head and in his mouth. They all grew antsy as they waited for Aaron to spill the beans. So long that they felt like they were going crazy.Zavied sighed and pulled his hair out of his mouth. “Just do it, man! You got this!”“ Zavied !!!!” They all shouted at him, then clapped their hands over their mouths.Tanya and Aaron both looked the way of the voices as Tanya chuckled lightly. “What is he talking about?” She asked turning back to look at Aaron.Aaron standing with a wide bright smile on his face finally spoke. “Tanya, we have known one another for sometime, and within that time I have become very fond of you. So fond I want to ask you to be my girl.”Tanya’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest when he told her that, she looked down at their hands still linked together as she felt her face heat up and a tingle dance up her spine. She was just about to answer him when Cerberus piped up from behind the door.“Ugh! Come on, sis! Just say yes already! You even talk about him in your sleep!”Tanya’s cheeks turned an even brighter red as she lowered her eyes from Aaron’s. “You did not hear that,” she spoke softly to Aaron. Her head then turned slightly in the direction of the door. “And later I will be an only child.”“Worth it!”She heard Aaron chuckle as she looked back at him still smiling. “Yes. I will be your girl.”Aaron gave a near silent ‘YES!’ as he stepped into her and wrapped his arms around her giving her a tight hug, turning them in a circle where they stood. When he put her down he looked toward the door. “She said yes. You can come out now.”The door flew open and they all flooded in to throw their arms around Tanya and Aaron, Zavied spitting out strands of hair.“So, by the way,” Kitsune smiled sheepishly at them as they all parted from the group hug. “I’m gonna do you two a favor and speed things up a bit. Aaron is Creed and he knows you’re Celty because Cerberus told him cause he saw you on when you were hurt... the end.” She said all in one breath.“Hey!” Aaron and Cerberus said at the same time.“Uh, I don’t get it, but I’ll just say congrats,” Zavied smiled.Tanya looked to Aaron from Kitsune with wide eyes. “Y--you’re,” She pointed at him. “You’re Creed?”Aaron nodded his head. “I was just as shocked when I found out you were Celty.”Tanya face plamed and started to laugh remembering their conversation in the hall at the Inn. She then turned and looked at Aaron with a wide smirk. “So does that mean Celty and Tanya now belong to you?”“Hell, yeah it does!” Aaron confirmed with a smirk. “And let one man come near you and both Aaron and Creed will have their head on a pike.”“WHOA! A little extreme there,” Tanya confessed.Aaron chuckled taking her in his arms again giving her another hug and a kiss on her forehead. “Thanks guys. I am so glad that is out in the open now,” he said looking at the ones still standing around them.Kitsune smirked and slapped him on the chest. “See?! Stop holding things back and it will save you all a whole lot of heartache and stress! Just confess, kiss, and get to knocking boots! Put it all out on the table!”Aaron and Tanya looked at each other then back to her. “Everything?” They said in unison.“Well… Not everything. People eat there, you know.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty-Six
It was an hour and a half later and the Team Raid tournament was almost at an end. There were fifteen out of one hundred teams left and they were tied for first place with another team that consisted of four people.In the Team Raid capture the flag event, they used the same field that the Bullet of Bullets event used. Each team had a flag that was worth five points. The object of the tournament was to defeat a team to gain their flag and the five points it was worth. Meaning most teams had six people. Win the most flags and you won the game.Shadow’s team had captured twenty-five flags for a total of 125 points. The other team had the exact same amount. With fifteen teams left, including his and the other leading team, that meant thirty-five teams were divided up between the other thirteen teams that were still in play. In order for Shadow’s team to win, they had to defeat seven of those teams, plus the other team. And if they won those seven teams then got defeated, then the game would end in a tie. And if they won six or less, they would win second place. And that wasn’t even accounting for the last thirteen groups taking each other out.Shadow and Kirito sat behind a large section of rock in the mountainous region of the ISL Ragnarok island. They had cleared the last team in that area and were stopping to reload. Shadow pulled out his empty clips and put in fresh ones, sighing lightly.“How are you doing on bullets?” He asked KiritoKirito dropped the empty clip to his FN Five-Seven and put in a new one. Afterward, he counted his magazines. “I’ve got five twenty round mags left. So one hundred shots.” He looked up at Shadow with a sheepish smile. “That’s good, right? Considering how well we’ve done up till now.”Shadow grinned and nodded. “Yup. You’re good. I’ve still got plenty of ammo too, considering my style eats up the most ammo out of the three of us. I always make sure I’m carrying as much as I possibly can. To the point of overkill even.” He pressed his headset into his ear. “How about you, Sinon? You good on ammo?”Sinon, who was making her way down from the higher elevations of the mountains, opened her inventory and counted her ammo. “I’ve got five ten round mags. I’m going through my ammo at a much better rate than I would have if I were using my Hecate II. This Barrett you gave me is incredible, Shadow. I’ve never used anything like it before.” “Good,” Shadow grinned. “How long till you meet up with us?”
“Three minutes at most. I’m almost there.”
“Alright. We’ll wait for you.” As the line went quiet, Shadow turned to Kirito. “The last I saw of the map, most of the players who are left are in the Lost City. They’re mostly large teams. Our team, Triple Threat, is the smallest that’s left, with the Minesweepers right behind us. Everyone else is five and six-member teams.”“So they’re centralized where it will give them the most cover,” Kirito nodded. “Makes sense.”Suddenly the map flashed again from their device. There were six teams in the Lost City; one team in the forest, heading their way; three teams in the Rural area; and four in the Desert area. One of the four in the desert area was labeled Minesweepers.“There they are,” Shadow pointed them out. “They’re going after the three teams in the Desert. After that, they’ll most likely be heading to the Lost City. This one here closest to us is coming after us. So our best bet is to take out this team first then head to the Lost City before the Minesweepers can get there.”“The more we take out in the city, the more likely we’ll win, since to make up for their losses, they’ll have to head to the Rural district instead,” Kirito nodded in understanding.“Exactly,” Shadow confirmed, straightening his hat as he stood up. Just then there was the crunching of boots. They turned to see Sinon coming up to them. “Did you hear all that?” Shadow asked her.Sinon nodded and moved over to where the rocks were shortest. She knelt down and pulled out her Barrett, stabilizing it on the rocks. She peered down the scope, down into the trees below the mountains. “If we’re lucky, I should be able to see them now.”She turned to Shadow. “Get your Remington out. With both of us, we should be able to take out the whole group before they get to us.”Shadow nodded and equipped his own rifle, setting it next to Sinon’s and kneeling down next to her. “If they’re between two-fifty and fifteen hundred meters, I’ll be good. Five hundred is my sweet spot.”Sinon nodded as she searched the trees. When she spotted them, she grinned. “Good, because they’re about four hundred meters away from us. Down there. Do you see them? Towards the northeast.”“I see them,” Shadow said as he trained his scope on the one in front. He looked at the guns they held. “There are five. Three have blaster rifles. They’re in front. The two in the back have assault rifles.”“Then we take them out first. They pose more of a threat,” Sinon decided. “I’ll take the one on the right, you take the left.”Shadow nodded, silently paying attention to the wind and the trees below. He could feel the wind on their backs and the trees’ branches bent away from them. “Wind is behind us. That’s an advantage.” He turned and looked at Kirito. “You head down first. You’re the best at deflecting bullets, and you can rebound the blaster shots with the Kagemitsu. Plus you’ll distract them so it won’t give them a chance to dodge our shots if they see the bullet lines.”“Right!” Kirito nodded and ran down the mountain path that took him below them, his long hair flying out behind him.“They’re moving slowly, so if they spot him within three minutes, we’ll take them out then, if not, we shoot first,” Sinon turned to Shadow.“Got it.” He glanced at his watch that was displaying the top five teams in the tournament. “We’re still tied with the Minesweepers. Below us and them are…” He looked at the group below them. “Those guys. Team Bullet Time. Once we take them out, Team Magnum will overtake them if they take any flags.”Through their scopes, they saw Kirito coming down the last part of the mountain. Immediately, the group saw him. They raised their guns to start shooting.“Now!” Sinon hissed quietly.Both of them trained their crosshairs on the rifle holders, took a deep breath to shrink the area down, then shot. Shadow nearly flinched and missed his shot from the sound of Sinon’s M82 firing. It was very loud at first, then went to deafening, then ended like a loud clap of thunder. The first time she had shot it at the beginning of the tournament, he and Kirito had both flinched and hit the deck in fear, even though they were in the middle of shooting and being shot at. Neither of them was prepared for it.This time though, both he and Kirito kept their wits about them. Both rifle users went down after the bullets connected with their heads, their icons displaying ‘Dead’.Shadow reloaded his Remington, but by the time he readied another shot, Sinon had already shot another--causing him to flinch--and Kirito had reflected the blaster shots back at the other two, killing them. Shadow’s watch flashed and their name, Triple Threat, raised to 130 points then moved up a slot so they were above Minesweepers at 125. Bullet Time went grey and became listed as ‘Eliminated’.“Yes!” Shadow stood up and packed away his rifle, rubbing away the ringing in his ears. “Let’s go before the other team gets another kill.”“Right behind you!” “Nice shots!” Kirito’s voice sounded over the headsets. “We’ll move through the forest and come into the city on the southeast side.”“On our way,” Sinon replied to him.Ten minutes later, they had met back up with Kirito and made it to the Lost City. One of the teams in the Rural area had been taken out, but not by their competition. Now the other two teams were duking it out. The Minesweepers had defeated one of the teams in the Desert and seemed to be working on taking out the other two. In the Lost City, one team had fallen to Magnum, putting them in third place. That meant that the Minesweepers now had to take out the four left on their side of the map, then take out at least one in the Lost City plus them to win. And their team had to beat all of those in the Lost City, plus the Minesweepers.“Do you think the Minesweepers will still go after those in the Rural area?” Kirito asked them.Shadow shook his head. “No. Too risky for them. Their best option would be to head to the Lost City like us and claim as many of the five teams in that area as they can.”“Which means we’ll most likely be meeting them there after they take out the rest in the desert. The two in the Rural will fight until one of them is taken out, then that team will head to the center too,” Sinon thought out loud as they moved through the streets quietly.“But if that happens, there will be six teams. And if each of us claims three of those, we’ll still be tied by the end,” Kirito rubbed his temples.“Exactly,” Shadow nodded. “Either way, both of us are determined to win to the point where it will most likely end up in a tie at the end. It will be us versus the Minesweepers for first place. Everyone else is fighting for second right now, and they probably know it.”“Jeez, this is way too stressful,” Kirito sighed. “But I can’t deny that it’s at least somewhat fun.”“It’s definitely both,” Sinon nodded.The map flashed once more and it confirmed their suspicion. Minesweepers had taken out their two in the desert, and the team called Kamikaze had taken out Team Warmongers. Both teams were heading to the city as they spoke. Thankfully, no one had taken anyone out in the center yet, still leaving Magnum and the other four teams. However, this meant Minesweepers had 140 points and were ten points ahead of Triple Threat.“We need to step it up and quick,” Shadow sighed. “We need to go after Magnum. They’re our biggest threat right now, aside from the Minesweepers. They’re here, by the capitol building. They’re fighting another team of six. If we can sneak up on them, we can claim both.”“If we don’t get shot to swiss cheese,” Kirito scoffed.“We don’t have a choice if we want to win,” Sinon looked to Kirito. “It has to work.”“Yeah, I know,” Kirito sighed. “But the strategy we used on Bullet Time won’t work. It will have to be Sinon sniping by herself while you and I try and survive the firefight.”Shadow nodded. “The good news is, if you and I are defeated, the only way we lose is if they find Sinon and beat her. And I know that won’t happen.” He turned to look at her.She nodded. “If you two are defeated, I’ll hide out and take down as many as I can until it's me versus them. I can’t guarantee a win like that, but it will be better than nothing. We can’t let any other teams steal points from us.”Shadow and Kirito nodded. They picked up the pace and parted ways with Sinon who made her way to a building taller than the rundown capital but close enough to see the firefight. Once she was in position on the fifth floor, she set her rifle on a desk and watched the scene unfold, the muzzle of the rifle inside the window so she wouldn’t be spotted.Down below, Shadow and Kirito made their way through the back of the capitol building, via a hole in the back wall. They figured the best way to sneak up on the carnage was through the building itself. After all, the fight was unfolding right on the steps and in the courtyard of the building. The closer they got, the louder the fire became.Once they were in the lobby, they hid behind a set of desks and peered out the windows as best they could. Shadow turned to Kirito, leaning in so he could hear him over the gunfire.“Most of them are live rounds. But there are several blasters too. I’d say about five of the twelve that are out there from both teams.” Shadow pulled out his Kagemitsu and handed it to Kirito. “How are you at glowsticking?”“That’s that rave thing right? But you use it to butterfly swords too,” Kirito nodded, taking the second photon sword. “I’m pretty good at it. I practiced for a bit when I saw you use them that way, but I’ve only practiced with one.”“That’s good enough because I want you to go full on Jedi out there, got it?” Shadow pointed at him. “You have seen those movies, right?”“Of course I have!” Kirito narrowed his eyes at him. “What do you take me for? A hermit?”Shadow grinned. “Just making sure.”“And what are you going to do?”An evil, almost demonic grin washed over Shadow’s face. He equipped his black and silver customized Beretta 92s. He held them up in front of his face. “Ever seen Soul Eater?”Kirito blinked, confused for a moment before realization dawned on him. “No! NO! There’s no way! Nobody shoots guns like that! You can’t do that!”
“Calm your tit’s Kirito-chan,” Shadow smirked at him. He called out to Sinon on the headset. “Alright, Sinon. Give me the breakdown on the heavy weapons.”“ Aside from the five blasters, there are two assault rifles and the rest are machine pistols and regular pistols. Except the ones using pistols are magnums. Hence their name, probably. ”“Tch,” Shadow shook his head. “So they made it this far by flexing their proverbial muscles, huh? Now
who’s optimistic or stupid?”“ Definitely them, ” Sinon replied.“Alright, Sinon. Whenever you’re ready, take out the rifles.”“ You got it .”Five seconds later, there was the insanely loud clap of thunder that was the Barrett M82. The sound reverberated through the entire city, making it impossible to determine where Sinon was. The people outside screamed and the firing stopped. Sinon shot again.“Holy shit! Holy shit !!!”Suddenly the doors of the capitol building burst open and five guys all ran in. It was the remaining members of Team Magnum. Meaning one of the rifles was their guy, and the other was the other team’s.“What the fuck was that?!”“I have no idea, but I’m not going back out there!”“You dumbass! Do you know anything about guns?! That was a .50 caliber sniper rifle! That was a Barrett M82! That thing will turn your brains into applesauce!”“Y-you’re kidding me! But… but didn’t Shadow Demon win that thing in the PvP tournament?! That bracket-style tournament that was offering bigger rewards than BoB?! That was the only time they ever offered those items!”Kirito looked over at Shadow with wide eyes. Shadow wasn’t paying attention to him. Instead, he was focused on listening to what Team Magnum was saying. So they thought Shadow was the sniper.“Which means the one shooting at us was… Shadow!? There’s no way! That demon is a trick shooter, not a sniper! I mean, yeah I heard he uses a Remington, but that’s a long shot from a Barrett M82!”“Maybe he’s been practicing?”“No. No way. That’s not it. A buddy of mine told me he saw Shadow walk into The Chopping Block earlier before the signups closed. He sat down with Sinon.”“ Sinon ?! Hecate, Sinon?! They’re friends !?”“Apparently, because he saw Shadow give something to Sinon. And now Shadow Demon, Sinon, and even that girl Kirito from the third BoB are all on a team together.”“We’re fucked! If Shadow gave Sinon the Barrett and has her and Kirito on his side, we’re done for!”Shadow turned to Kirito with a grin. Kirito glared at him, but a moment later Shadow put his finger to his lips. He pointed at the ground, letting him know to wait there. Shadow took a smoke grenade out of inventory and hooked it to his belt. He raised his Beretta 92s and stood up from behind the desk.“You’re damn straight you are,” Shadow shouted at them, grinning. The five members spun around and raised their guns at him. Shadow shook his head. “Tsk tsk. Don’t you know not to bring a magnum to a firefight? They’re all for show.”“You shut the hell up! You use magnums too! You won the PvP tournament with Desert Eagles!” A team member with blond hair yelled at him, pointing his Smith & Wesson 500 at him.Shadow laughed so loud it was like he was laughing in the guy’s face, even from that far away. “Do you really need a gun that big in a Team Raid? Is that your primary ? Seriously, man, you have got to be compensating for something .”The blond growled, his face red with rage and probably embarrassment. “You shut your fucking mouth!”The red bullet line from the blond’s gun appeared at Shadow’s forehead. His teammates tried to talk him down, knowing that Shadow was goading him into shooting. However, it was too late. Shadow tossed the grenade at them, right in the line of fire, and when the blond went to shoot, the bullet hit the grenade, sending smoke everywhere. The coughing and panicking ensued, bullet lines appearing out of the smoke.“Shadow!” Kirito yelled from the desk.“Keep your head down!” Shadow yelled as he ran to the left, around the lines and into the smoke as magnum bullets whizzed through the air, smacking into desks and chairs, destroying anything that was in their path.He remembered the placement of the five members, which made shooting them easy, even in the smoke. He kept his eyes closed and raised his guns. He pointed his right gun in the direction of the blond, shooting five rounds. A half-second later he heard him grunt several times then fall to the ground. The familiar ‘bleep’ of the “Dead” icon sounded. He heard a guy beside him click his next magazine into place. Shadow lifted his left gun and felt the muzzle brush against him. The guy gasped but before he could react, Shadow filled him with lead. The ‘Dead’ icon bleeped again. Three more , he thought to himself.“Damn you!” He heard a third guy shout from in front of him, his voice broken from coughing.“Yelling in the cover of smoke?” Shadow mocked as he shot him too. “You guys really are dumb.”When he opened his eyes, the smoke was almost cleared and the two guys who were left came rushing at him. Shadow ducked as they swung the butts of their guns at his head, he did the same to them, smashing each gun into their stomachs. They doubled over and fell to their knees. Without looking back, Shadow reached back and shot them both in the head. They fell to the ground and Shadow’s watch flashed, letting him know his team had claimed another flag. He turned around to look in the direction of the desk he and Kirito were hiding behind.“Alright, Kirito-chan, you can come out now,” Shadow called out to him with a smirk.“Why am I here again?” Kirito asked standing and looking around at the now empty room. He didn’t even pay attention to the fact that Shadow tacked on ‘chan’ after his name.“Because you’re the best at deflecting bullets, of course,” Shadow grinned. Which is why the blaster guys outside are yours.”“Are they even still there?”Shadow walked up to a broken out window and crouched down. He peeked outside, seeing the five members of the blaster team cowering behind broken down cars, stone pillars, and other rubble that laid around the courtyard.“Yup. Five little-frightened chickens with only blasters to protect them,” Shadow smirked. “Cakewalk. You’re up Kirito.”Kirito nodded as he walked up to the large double doors and pushed one open, peeking out into the street. It was vacant, not a soul in sight. Though a few heads that popped out from around a building and from behind parked cars. He counted four that he saw but the fifth was nowhere to be seen. Where was he? Kirito let his eyes scan the area looking at each car carefully, the corner around every building, but still nothing. Only the four he spotted from previously. Either he was with one of the others or he was staying low so to take out whoever might walk out of the capitol building first.“Cover my ass, Shadow. There is one unaccounted for.”
“You got it,” Shadow moved behind Kirito, keeping one Beretta 92 up near his head, pointing up, and the other down by his legs.Kirito nodded as they slowly stepped out of the capitol building when he noticed one of the guys looking nonchalantly to his and Shadow’s left and nod his head ever so slightly. Kirito only looked straight ahead acting as if he saw nothing. Suddenly he spun to his right lifting his blades, kicking Shadow in the chest, knocking him back into the building as the guy appeared from around the front side of the building. Kirito slashed at the guy with both swords, one catching him at the neck, slicing his neck open. The other cutting his arm off. Kirito then dived back into the capitol building as the others quickly opened fire on him.He looked over at Shadow as he laid on the floor beside him. “I found the fifth guy.”
Shadow coughed, rubbing his chest. “Yeah, I noticed.” He sat up and pulled out a flashbang. “I’ll throw the flashbang out and shoot it before they have a chance to react. Once it goes off, go and take out as many as you can. I’ll be right behind you.”Nodding Kirito got up from the floor after the firing ceased. He opened his panel and equipped himself with a pair of sunglasses. Walking back over to the door he looked out seeing the other team members were still in the same place as before. He looked back at Shadow with a slight nod. The two then burst out the door like the devil himself was chasing them. Shadow tossing the flashbang up in the air and shot it.Kirito charged forward as groans, grunts, and cursing was heard around them. His first target was the ones closest to him hiding behind the cars. He took out the first one that charged toward him as the other two opened fire. Spinning his Kagemitsu and blocking their fire as they ricochet and bounced off his blades.Shadow raised his gun and just as the guy behind the corner of the building poked his head out, he shot him point blank in the head. “Just like the console games. They don’t know when to keep their head in their shells.”With a quick step forward Kirito slashed with his swords taking both the guys out. He stepped back as they fell to their knees and face first into the street. He turned and looked at Shadow.“Thanks. I nearly forgot about that one.” Kirito opened his panel and put his sunglasses back into his inventory as their headsets came to life.
“That’s everybody in this section of the city. The map just came up. There are two teams left in the city beside us and the Minesweepers. They took out Kamikaze and another team. The team closest to us is The Brotherhood. They’ve got six. Team Hell’s Angels are closest to the Minesweepers, also with six. The good news is neither of us can get both teams.”“Tiebreaker it is then,” Shadow reloaded his guns and put them in their holsters. “After we take out The Brotherhood.”“Let’s just hope they’re a bunch of thugs, and not The Brotherhood of Assassins,” Kirito sighed. “I’d rather not get stabbed to death in a gun game.”“No, no, no. One does not simply stab when you’re an assassin,” Shadow grinned as they ran off towards the building Sinon was in. “You shank .”“‘Shank’?” Kirito gave him an unamused look.“Yeah! You know. Hidden blades. ‘Shank shank’.” When Kirito gave him a dead-eyed look he sighed, shaking his head. “Eh. Whatever. I think it’s more fun that way.”“ Both of you are weird ,” Sinon said over the headset.---It was not long and the three had found the group that called themselves the Brotherhood. They were holding up on a dead-end street, waiting for someone to come to them, and they did. Triple Threat was now knocking on their door. The Brotherhood had themselves pretty strategically placed, watching the street, just waiting for the unexpecting team to come strolling down it, thinking that since it was a dead end, it would be vacant. However, Shadow, Kirito and Sinon were a few steps ahead of them taking to the rooftop of a building at the dead end. There Sinon scoped them out as they slowly picked off each member with a single shot by each of them. Each member of Triple Threat taking out two apiece of the Brotherhood.
“Jeez, either we make the perfect team, or all these teams made it to the end on a fluke,” Shadow sighed. “Now to find the--”The map flashed, cutting him off. As they looked at the map, they noticed the red dot that represented the Minesweepers was right behind Sinon, meaning the group, or at least the leader, was right behind her.Shadow yelled to her over the headset. “Sinon! Behind you! They’re here!”Sinon froze as she laid to the rooftop, her head lifting slightly from looking through her scope. She rolled over slowly, seeing the leader of the Minesweepers right behind her. She closed her eyes as he lifted his gun and pointed it at her with a nasty grin plastered across his lips.“Looky who I have in my sights,” he quipped.Sinon reached for her pistol but the guy slammed his foot on her hand, preventing her from grabbing it.“Uh-uh. I don’t think so,” he sneered at her, pointing his Glock at her head. He placed his finger on the trigger, the red line appearing and aimed right between her eyes. “You’re the pesky one out of the three of you with that Barrett. So you’ll be the first to die.”Down on the ground, Kirito was fending off the other three members of the Minesweepers who had appeared on the ground around them. Meanwhile, Shadow was camped out behind a tipped over truck. He pulled out his Remington and rested the muzzle on the side of the truck. He pointed it up at the guy on the roof who was pointing a gun at Sinon. He knew he had to shoot fast and without the guy realizing it. The guy hadn’t shot her yet, which meant he was toying with her. He was one of those players. One just like himself. One that knew they would beat their opponent no matter what and so they took their time in killing them.“Not today, bastard,” Shadow took a deep breath.What he was about to do, he’d tried several times and failed. He’d seen it done on Squad Jam. A sniper shot an opponent without the use of the bullet line or bullet circle. It was a near impossible feat. Something only real life snipers could do. And he was most certainly not one of them. But if he could just get a random hit or close enough to scare the guy, Sinon could do the rest.“Please, please, please work,” he said before holding his breath and aiming his shot.He paid attention to the wind. It was blowing in from the right. He aimed the crosshairs right between the guy's eyes then moved it over to just about his left eye. He was hoping at this distance the bullet wouldn’t drop too much. At fifty yards he was pretty damn close by sniper’s standards. His rifle wasn’t the strongest, but it sure as hell wasn’t that weak either. He was just worried about the wind. He probably wouldn’t hit where he wanted, but he just hoped he wouldn’t completely miss either.Shadow immediately pulled the trigger, not letting it take enough time to form a bullet line. The bullet dropped, but a little too much to Shadow’s liking as it grazed his left cheek. The guy flinched and grabbed his cheek, cursing. However, Sinon did not let the phased man take time in realizing where the shot came from as she quickly drew her pistol and shot him between the eyes. It may not have been the intended bullet to find his head but he was still defeated.Shadow, seeing the whole thing from his scope, sighed and turned, leaning back against the truck as he put his rifle away and pulled out his 92s instead. He leaped from the cover of the truck and tucked and rolled as he shot several rounds from each gun, catching one guy in the heart through the back another through the stomach while the third was caught in the leg.“Kirito, now!” Shadow called out to him. “Finish them!”Kirito charged forward with both swords drawn as he darted passed the one that was shot in the leg. He slashed at him through the midsection cutting him in half. Turning quickly he lifted his sword and darted toward the other one, spinning his blades so quickly it deflected every bullet he shot at him. Kirito leaped, bringing both blades up then down over the top of the guy’s head, cutting down the center. The guy groaned and fell back, sprawled out on the ground in front of him.“All clear,” Kirito said tapping his headset bringing it to life.
A banner popped up from their watches, flashing a green sign in gold letters that read, “Winners: Triple Threat! Congratulations!”Shadow grinned and fell to his knees, throwing his hands up into the air in tightly clenched fists.“Hell yeah!!!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Finishing up the last bit of their decorating, Tanya looked around the Hall once more. “Wow, girls. I must say, you have done a wonderful job. Definitely, something to write home about.”Tanya turned to the table she was standing at as she placed the centerpiece she had in her hands in the center of the table.“Thank you, Lady Tanya.” Sicilia beamed as she looked over at her.“I am just glad we had a place to decorate. Even if it was in VR. Most places are so tiny it only takes a few things to make it kinda pretty and we are done.” Lisbeth giggled as she started to fold up her ladder.“Let the guys get those Lisbeth. Those things are not easy to move around by yourself.” Asuna told her.“Agreed,” Kitsune nodded. “I’ll go get Zavied and Eizen and have them move them.”“I think I heard Zavied say he was going to the stables,” Leafa let her know.Kitsune nodded again and turned to head out the door. It only took her a few minutes to get to the stables. She went in the large stable first, petting Nychta’s nose as he stuck his head out over the gate. She saw Eizen in Thieron’s stall with him, sitting and reading a book, which she found a bit surprising. Not only that, he had on a pair of reading glasses.“You read?” She asked as she walked up to the stall, resting her arms on the gate.Eizen looked up, taking the glasses off with a smile. “Sure. I enjoy it. Well, I enjoy it when I can find the right books.”She nodded with a smile. “Been there. You seem kind of young for reading glasses though.”“Oh, these?” He chuckled, folding his glasses. “They’re just a prop. I don’t need them and they’re just plain glass. They’re for the character, not me. Though to be honest, I probably will need them in a few years. Both my parents have bad eyes.” He put the book and the glasses away and stood up, stroking Thieron’s head. “So did you need something?”Kitsune nodded. “Yup. We’re about done decorating. Would you mind going over and helping put things away?”“Sure, no problem. Zavied should be with Shaze too if you’re looking for him as well,” Eizen stepped out of the stall.“Thanks!” She trotted off to the doors to the regular stables. She turned left down the wing with Kaen, Imera, and Shaze. She saw Zavied standing outside Shaze’s stall talking to Moonshine. She smiled brightly and ran up to them. “Hey!”Moonshine turned to see her running up and smiled. “Hey. How are things going?”“We’re about done. Zavied we need you over in the hall to help put things away.”“On it!” Zavied clapped Moonshine on the shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later. See ya in the lab!”“Yeah, later,” Moonshine waved to him.Kitsune blinked, looking at Zavied as he ran off then turning back to Moonshine. “What was that about?”“We were talking about being Beast Masters. He wants to be a better Beast Master, so I offered to teach him everything I know as a caretaker of dragons. Once he learns enough, I’ll have him help me with my work here around the stables.”“Oh, so you’ve got an apprentice now, huh?” Kitsune grinned.“Something like that,” Moonshine laughed.Kitsune looked up at him with a smile. Her thoughts drifted to what had happened with Tanya and Aaron earlier while Moonshine was off as Shadow Demon in GGO. That meant there were three couples now. Tanya and Aaron, Asuna and Kirito, and the two of them. Not to mention Asuna and Kirito were married in both SAO and ALO, and the two of them were married in those two games as well. In fact, the first thing the two of them did when stuck in Aincrad was get married. There were two reasons: their shared inventory was a huge advantage for them, and they had no idea if they would even make it out in the first place. So to her, it was like they were actually married, even if they had no legal documentation in the real world. Their wedding in SAO had been emotional for them both.“What are you staring at?” Moonshine tilted his head at her with a grin. “Do I have Imera feathers in my hair?”She giggled and shook her head. “No, I was just thinking.”“About what?” His smile turned into a frown of curiosity.Kitsune wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, surprising him as it took him a minute to hug her and kiss her back. When they pulled away, she looked up at him. “Why aren’t we married here in Dragon Lance?”Moonshine blinked. “I don’t know… I guess cause I’ve been so busy doing my thing as a Moon Elf and a caretaker and you’ve been doing your own thing. We never really got around to it. Why? Is that bugging you all of a sudden?”She shook her head. “No. Just thinking.”She was silent for a long while until Moonshine broke it. “... Do you want to get married here in DL?” He asked in a strange tone, as if he was questioning if she wanted to at that time or period.“Well yeah, I do,” she shrugged. “As for right now, there’s already enough ceremonies and stuff going on… But yeah.” She hugged him tighter. “I want to.” She poked his nose. “But I also want you to propose to me. That’s still not up for debate. You did it in SAO, you did it in ALO. You have to do it here, too.”Moonshine laughed and nodded, giving her a kiss. “Okay, okay. I will soon. Promise.”She smiled brightly and grabbed him by the hand, dragging him off to head back to the Hall. As they headed for the exit, Kirito came from Meuma’s stable.“Oh yeah! How did your tournament with Sinon go?” Kitsune asked Moonshine.“Our tournament,” Kirito looked at the two of them as he walked along with them back to the castle. “He roped me in with him.”“Hey! Don’t complain when we won first place!”Kitsune laughed. “What was the prize?”“One-point-five million credits to each member, Kel-Tec KSG shotguns for each of us, a limited edition dye, and team outfits for all three of us,” Kirito told her. “Sinon’s is really cool. She even said she was going to start wearing it from then on. Apparently, they’re from the console game version America developed.” He glared at Moonshine. “Except Moonshine got the cooler one between us. Mine has a pair of shorts of all things.”“Oh hush! Your normal GGO outfit has capris! Besides, you checked out the armor vendors nearby and found you an even better outfit.”“Still! I wouldn’t have had to if they had just given me a better prize!” He ran his hands through his short hair. “Or better yet a better avatar!”“Don’t give me that,” Moonshine grinned. “You love teasing guys with that adorable ass avatar, Kirito-chan ~”Kirito growled and clenched his hands into fists. “Stop calling me that!” He blushed furiously.“Hey, if you don’t want it,” Moonshine said as he opened the door to the Hall. “I’ll pay you for it. Make me an offer.”“And I’ll tell you what I told the last guy that said that. I can’t sell it! It’s a conversion avatar!”“A conversion what?” Aaron asked as he walked past them with a ladder in hand, Klein at the other end.“Conversion avatar,” Kirito repeated. “When you convert over from a different game, the avatar it gives you can’t be sold. Unlike when you begin a new game, you can change your avatar and sell your original one. At least in GGO that is.”“Ah,” Aaron said following Klein out with the ladder. “Be right back.”“So what do you think?” Tanya asked as she turned to look at them and present
the Hall with outstretched arms.“It looks amazing,” Kirito stated as he looked around. “But you don’t do the Knighting in the Hall do you?”“Tanya’s head shook. “No, that is done in the Throne room.”“You have a Throne room here?” Moonshine questioned with inquiring eyes.“Of course we do.” Tanya chuckled. “This is a castle after all. Just a castle without a
King or Queen. Only Knights.”Aaron walked back in with Klein as he walked up to Tanya and gave her a soft peck on the lips. “Give it time and you and I will be the King and Queen of this castle.”“Yeah right. A Knight I will always be. I don’t have a bone that proper in my entire body to pull off being a Queen.”Moonshine and Kirito stood there in utter silence, their mouths agape as they stared at Aaron and Tanya. “Uhhhh,” Kirito said at a loss for words.“What the hell did we miss?” Moonshine blinked at them.“Nothing much,” Aaron said as he looked back into the Hall as his arm slid around Tanya’s waist. “We just decorated is all.”“Mhmm,” Tanya and Kitsune nodded with a hum.When Moonshine facepalmed, Kitsune got a look of surprise on her face and looked to Aaron and Tanya, pointing at them. “OH! You mean with them?”
“No shit!” Moonshine and Kirito said together.“No, no,” Moonshine waved his hands. “Actually we were wondering what kind of fabric you used for the tablecloths. Is that silk? I mean look at that shine !”Kirito facepalmed at his comment, though also trying not to laugh at the amount of sarcasm Moonshine forced into it.Aaron chuckled shaking his head. “Smartass Elves, I swear.” He looked back at the table then to Moonshine and added his own assholerly to the mix. “Actually it’s cotton, but the lighting in here is magical and makes them shimmer like that.” He then punched Moonshine in the shoulder. “I finally grew a set and ask Tanya to be my girl. You got a problem with that?”Kirito’s eyes widened as he looked at Tanya as a wide smile spread across his lips. “You got your wish finally, huh?”“Yeah, and by his standards, he owns me twice,” Tanya explained.“Excuse me!” Kitsune narrowed her eyes at Aaron, crossing her arms. “Who grew a set?! I didn’t realize you did such a thing all by yourself.”Moonshine looked slowly from Kitsune to Aaron, a look of “what the hell did you do” on his face.“Hey, just because you guys all left us in here alone and decided to spy on us after the fact, does not mean I had to ask her.” He pulled at his cape hanging over his shoulders with a cocky look. “So yes . I grew a set.”Kitsune gave him a growl, but Moonshine cut off whatever she was going to say by grabbing Aaron’s arm. “As her boyfriend, I highly suggest you take the L on this one. It will save everyone the aches and pains.”Kirito chuckled in sympathy. “I can’t say I disagree with him, Aaron. What’s that parents always say? Happy wife, happy life? Even if it’s not your wife?”“I don’t think that last part is included, but it’s a good extension,” Moonshine laughed.Aaron chuckled. “I get ya, but she belongs to you so your the one that has to deal with her. Not me.” He looked to Kitsune and bowed slightly to her. “But I do thank you for the push to get it moving.”Moonshine gave Aaron such a wide-eyed look, Kirito thought his eyes would pop out of his skull. He put his hand over his mouth, snickering as he tried to hold in the laughter. He was thinking ‘thank God it wasn’t Asuna instead’, but dared not saying in front of her, considering she was still in the room.“You cold-hearted piece of crap,” Moonshine muttered, half to himself.Kitsune laughed at Moonshine, patting his back. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t chew you out when it’s not your fault.” She turned back to Aaron with a smug smirk. “I’ll just remember that thank you the next time I need a favor~”“And it will be paid back a 100 times fold.” Aaron looked to Tanya with a warm bright and overjoyed smile as he continued. “Because in this case, I came out on top as the King that got his Queen.” He looked back at Kitsune. “I don’t think I could ever repay you for that extra push to help it along in making it happen.”Kitsune smiled genuinely at Aaron, folding her hands behind her back in a girlish way that Moonshine couldn’t ever remember seeing her do. “You’re welcome. I’m just glad you two are happy.”Moonshine promptly turned and walked over to one of the tables, grabbing a chair. “Man’s got a freaking girlfriend now and he still gets googly eyes from freaking Kaori of all people. I need to sit down,” he grumbled to himself.Tanya turned to look at Moonshine as he sat at the table. She only heard part of what he said, but she got the idea of his complaint. “Well, Aaron is a good looking guy. A lot of the girls around here would love to be in my shoes. Not to mention he is a sweetheart.” She then chuckled as she looked to Aaron once more. “Though Creed could use some work. He is still that diamond in the rough.”Kirito and Moonshine both looked to Tanya like she had grown two heads. Neither of them said anything, only looking at Aaron.“I spilled the beans,” Kitsune smiled with a sheepish giggle. “I took the ungiven liberty of solving all their problems in less than ten minutes. Happily ever after, the end.”“S-so… that means…” Kirito put two and two together. He grabbed the chair next to Moonshine and sunk down into it, leaning over defeatedly. “I don’t have to keep secrets anymore…”“Oh yes you do,” Aaron voiced. “Not a word of this is to leave the Castle grounds. And in the next meeting of the Knights, it will be announced to them.” He looked to everyone standing around them. “This has to be handled properly. The Unseen are not model citizens around here.”Kirito rolled his eyes. “Well, that part is obvious. I meant I didn’t have to keep it secret from the people who really should know about it.”“In reality, it’s nobody's business but ours. If we want to play different sides of the fence we can as long as we don’t let one influence the other. And we never have. Nor have we ever used one to make the other rich or more noteworthy,” Tanya added her two cents.“Everyone has their own way of playing, no matter how squeaky clean or underhanded. At the root of it, we’re all just a bunch of humans with a hobby that takes up too much damn time that we don’t have. No one has a right to trash anyone else’s playing style. Even the dragon slayers. Their style is to kill dragons. Ours is to help them. Both are equally valid and equally as important,” Moonshine added his as well.“Unless you’re Laughing Coffin,” Kirito sighed.“True,” Moonshine nodded. “They and the other murder guilds were the exceptions. Though to be honest, SAO was just one whole big exception on its own. All of SAO’s rules went out the window the day we all got locked in there.”The group nodded in agreement. “Either way. It’s a game and for the ones that worked hard to get where they are, they don’t want it all to disappear in a single breath. So this news will be handled by Aaron and I in how we get the word out to everyone.”Aaron nodded agreeing with her. “We will inform the ones that need to know. All others can piss off.”“Fine by me,” Moonshine shrugged. “Like I told Kirito. Not my secret to tell. Kiss and tell ain’t my thing.”“Oh really?” Asuna smirked at him, putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward slightly. “And who are you kissing?”Moonshine leaned back in his chair, giving her a daunted look. “Other than Kitsune, nobody.”The other four walked up joining the conversation as they looked around the group.“Well everything is put up, Tanya,” Leafa told her.“Thank you, Leafa.” Tanya turned to face her. “Actually, thank you to the five of you. You girls did an amazing job tonight, and while I have the four of you here.” Tanya looked to Leafa, Asuna, Silica, and Lisbeth. “I wanted to extend the offer of joining the guild. I won’t be offended if you say no, but I wanted to put that out there if any of you were thinking about joining, and have not brought it up yet because of all the commotion going on.”Asuna smiled brightly as she folded her hands behind her as she spoke up first. “I think I will pass, Tanya but thank you for the offer.” She looked to Kirito. “Kirito needs a game he can escape into without me looking over his shoulder every second of the day.”“Since this is an American game, I plead the fifth,” Kirito smiled tightly.Moonshine turned and smirked at Kirito. “Yeah, and since we live in Japan, she reserves the right to beat your ass when you log out.”Kirito gave Moonshine a look that was half glare and half smile. “You’re the most annoying friend I’ve ever had.”“Thank you,” Moonshine smirked wider. “And you’re the most fun to pick on.”After everyone was finished laughing at the two, Silica raised her hand excitedly. “I want to join! I want to be a Beast Master that can talk to both animals and dragons!” She looked at Moonshine with hopeful eyes. “Is that possible?”Moonshine hugged her tightly and patted her head. “If it isn’t then I’ll bug the hell out of the admins to make it possible!”“Sap,” Kirito stuck his tongue out at him.“Hush! Cute girls get whatever they want!” Moonshine stuck his tongue out back at him.“I hope I don’t have a girl when we have kids,” Kitsune sighed. She knew Moonshine was going to chime in about ‘denying him a cute daughter’ but thankfully Lisbeth spoke up before that.“I’m in too! I’m going to be the best dragon blacksmith in the game!” She paused then smiled, scratching her cheek. “Legitimately of course. No murdered dragons allowed.”Leafa looked around at the ones standing there her eyes stopping on her brother. He could see she wanted to join but she still had that doubt in her eyes. The others knew what they wanted to do in game, but she had nothing.“Come on Leafa. Join with us. You could be a Sorcerer for the guild. I am sure they could always use another strong magic wielder,” Kirito urged her.Leafa smiled and looked to Tanya. “I guess put me on that list too.”Tanya nodded opening her panel as did Aaron, between the two of them they had the girls signed up with their uniforms and placement in the guild.“I also want to put up a note on the Guild Board about music. I was going to make a playlist for the castle but did not want to just put all American music on it considering the cultural diversity of the Guild’s players.” She looked around at everyone. “If I make a post you guys think I will get enough ideas from everyone?”
“Definitely,” Moonshine nodded. “Music is one of only a few things that everyone understands, regardless of language. Especially with the rising popularity of international music. Language is no longer a barrier when it comes to music.”“Well, I am only allowed 50 songs per playlist. So if I get a lot I will make as many mixed playlists I can and then just switch them out weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Whichever works best.”“Sounds good to me,” Aaron replied. “I got a few I can send to you to add to the playlist. A few I think I have already sent you.”“I got a few JPop and KPop you have sent me.”“Between us three, you’ll have a lot more,” Kitsune laughed. “A good sixty percent of our songs are KPop.”“Hey, we have a lot of American songs too,” Moonshine said.Tanya chuckled. “I think just between us in this room we could make a few playlists with just our music. I can’t even begin to know how many songs I have on my computer or Laptop.”“When it takes a week to play all the songs on either… I say, too many,” Cerberus stated, walking into the Hall with Klein, Eizen, Zavied, and Okamishiro in tow.“A week?!” Aaron questioned in shock as he looked at her.Tanya chuckled and shrugged. “I like music so sue me.”“I think ours is three days long?” Okamishiro laughed, trying to remember the time counter on their joint playlist the last time he looked at it.“About that long, yeah,” Kitsune nodded.“Well, I will get the post up on the guild’s board and see where it takes us.” She looked around the room once more. “Tomorrow evening is a formal gathering which means”--her look went pointedly at Moonshine and Kirito--“you must wear your uniform.”Both the guys grunted and groaned but nodded their heads in agreement as a few chuckles sounded in the room.Tanya smiled warmly as she looked around the Hall once more, her head nodding slowly as she checked everything out. “I think we are good to go. The Hall looks wonderful. The castle has been cleaned. The guest list doubled checked. Menu in place. I polished the Accolade--”“The whaaat?” A few of them questioned.Tanya looked their way as she and Aaron chuckled lightly. “The Accolade is a dubbing or adoubement sword. It’s used only in the central act in the rite of passage ceremonies conferring knighthood.” Aaron explained.“Ahh,” the questioning few nodded.“Well I don’t know about the rest of you but I need to get moving. Busy morning for me before the graduation ceremony,” Tanya informed them. “And I still need to take care of a couple of things as Celty before I sign off.”“Mind if I go with?” Aaron asked. “I want to tell them the news about the two of us.”Tanya shook her head with a soft chuckle. “I don’t mind at all. Though I am sure they knew it was going to happen one day.”Aaron wrapped his arm around Tanya’s waist and grinned madly as he looked to her. “You sure? Creed and Celty did not exactly get along all that great.” He chuckled lightly as he looked to the others. “We will see you all tomorrow.” He turned himself and Tanya as they walked toward the double doors of the Hall. “Try not to burn the castle down while we are gone.”“Oh! Tanya! Wait!” Asuna called to her.Tanya turned and looked at her. “Hm,” she hummed softly in question.“For the ones of us not part of the Guild what should we wear? Other than something formal that is.” Asuna asked. “And should we wear the same outfit to both the Knighting and the Ball?”Aaron looked to Tanya as all the girls looked to her. “You know I think for the Knighting we, the guild members, need to be in uniform, but for the Ball, we should be able to change into formal attire.”“Well, that is all good if you’re a guild member, Sir Aaron. However, I am not nor is Sinon, and
I know not all your guests are members of the Knights of the Mystic Dragons.” Asuna stated.Tanya smiled warmly as she looked to her little brother. “Cerberus, are you staying here a little longer?”“Mhmm, I have a few things I want to get done since I have been so busy IRL this last week,” Cerberus replied.“Can you do me a favor then?” she asked as he then nodded his head. “Can you take Asuna and the girls to the Dress Boutique in Dawnmeadow so they can find a dress for the Ball tomorrow evening?” She looked to the girls and smiled, then back to her brother. “Take a few hundred Scala with you just in case they need the extra cash to get the dress and accessories they want.”
“Tanya,” Kitsune rebutted, but Tanya only shook her head.“No, you guys are new to all of this, so if extra Scala is needed it’s there. No arguments,” Tanya explained.“So does that mean we can change into formal attire for the Ball?” Lisbeth asked slightly excited.“If that is what you wish is to wear a Gown for the Ball. I have no issues with that,” Tanya told them.Cerberus sighed, “Do I really have to go dress shopping with a bunch of girls?”“What?! Do you want to go dress shopping with a bunch of guys?” Kirito asked.“Noooo, and that is not what I meant. I hate shopping for clothes. Especially with a bunch of girls,” Cerberus retorted.“Then get a few hundred Scala out of the Guild Account and give it to Kitsune. Take the girls to the boutique and you can go on your merry way.” Aaron told him.Tanya looked to Kitsune. “Will that be alright, Kitsune?”Kitsune looked at the others as they all nodded their heads. “Sounds good to us. I will be sure to keep individual running totals for each of us if we need to use any of the Guild’s money.”“Don’t worry about it,” Aaron told her with a wave of a carefree hand. “Just go have fun shopping and get what you want to wear to the Ball.” He looked to Tanya. “What about you? Are you going to wear a gown tomorrow night?”“I might,” Tanya said smiling brightly. “Sinon will still need to go shopping for a dress. So if I find anything when we go... I might.”
“What about us guys? We don’t have to climb into a monkey suit do we?” Moonshine questioned.Tanya looked toward Moonshine. “Well, you have the choice of your so-called monkey suit or your white guild uniform. Either way, you’re not getting out of wearing your guild uniform, that is a must for the Knighting.”Moonshine huffed as his hand lifted and his fingers combed through his hair. “Damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”The group chuckled as Tanya looked at them one last time. “Any more questions before we leave?”“Just making sure I have this right,” Eizen spoke up next. “For the Ball, us guys can wear the guild uniform or formal attire, but for the Knighting, we have to wear the guild uniform. Did I get that right?”Tanya and Aaron nodded slowly causing Eizen to nod as well.“Alright then, now that I have that straightened away in my head.”Tanya looked around to see if anyone else had a question. When no one spoke up, only looked at one another Tanya and Aaron said their good nights once more and left the Ballroom. Out in the courtyard, they stopped and looked at one another and smiled.“Where did you sign out last?” Aaron asked her.“The Stable. I was with Cloud,” Tanya replied. “And you?”“The Inn,” Aaron said with a smile. “I will come to you. So stay with Cloud.”Tanya nodded slightly. “See you in Slycrest.”“See you on the other side,” Aaron told her as the two turned to their panels and signed out together.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Standing outside the stable, Celty waited for Creed. She could see the front door of the Inn where they normally stayed when they logged out or stayed in game over 24 hours. Though she had to admit it felt odd that she was feeling giddy while waiting for him. Her feelings for Creed were normally just that of friends. Now she felt like a star-struck female. When she saw him walk from the Inn her heart leaped. She chuckled lightly as her cheeks flushed slightly. For the first time, she was seeing Creed in a whole new light.He was far from ugly, on the contrary, he was very good looking with long dark blue hair that sat just below his shoulders and was pulled back at the sides revealing a long, stoic, but warm face with dark purple eyes. His smooth powder blue skin delightfully complimented his eyes and warm features and his tight purple, sleeveless top hugged his brawny frame, as did his form-fitting pants that showed off his long legs that put him at a good six feet in height.As he walked closer to her, she waved shyly, he chuckled and stepped quickly toward her wrapping his arms around her midsection and pulled her close. “You are so beautiful.”Celty leaned slightly back looking at him asking quietly. “And as Tanya, I am not?”“Well of course you are, but you wear Moon Elf amazingly~ I don’t know what it is about this Avi on you... it’s just incredible and I am not the only one that thinks that.”“So I have heard that from a few,” Celty chuckled as she wrapped her arms back around his neck.
“Like from Taomar, your long-time love,” Creed poked fun as he stepped closer to her.Celty chuckled. “Taomar is sweet, but I like my men tall.”“Oooo, well ain’t I the lucky one,” Creed grinned as his head tilted to one side, moving closer to her to give her a kiss.“Get a room,” a joking voice called out to them.Celty flushed as she looked downward, Creed looking the way of the person poking fun at them, but to his surprise, there was more than one person. The 8th Knight, Sir Luthien of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon and Seveani the second in command of the Dragon Slayers.“Sir Luthien. What a surprise. What brings you this far West?” Creed questioned without trying to sound too prodding, thus causing Celty to look Sir Luthien’s way. She tried hard to hide the shock on her face, but Creed was sure she was thinking the same thing he was. ‘What was a Knight of the Mystic Dragons doing in Slycrest and with none other than a Dragon Slayer?’“Nothing much,” Luthien replied with a drunken smile. His hand then lifted and clasped to Seveani’s shoulder. “Just hanging out with an old friend.” He looked to Celty and smiled, then looked back to Creed. “So where have you two been hiding out as of late?”Creed looked to Celty pulling her closer to him. “Real life shit. You know how it goes. Celty here has been dealing with finals at school, her last year and all.”Luthien nodded slowly as he took a few staggering steps forward and looked to Celty once more and smiled. “So this is your last year too, huh? Our Guild Leader is graduating tomorrow.”“Tell Lady Tanya I said congratulations next time you see her,” Celty told him.“I can do that,” Luthien replied giving her a drunken wave of hand as he and Seveani walked into the Tavern that was next door to the Stable.Looking over at Celty, Creed quickly pulled her into him and kissed her. He kissed her for a long while, knowing that the look in her eyes meant she was about to start going off about what they just witnessed. Feeling her much more relaxed then when he started kissing her, he pulled back from the kiss, moving back slightly.“Shhhh,” Creed quieted her softly. “We will talk about this in private later. This could be totally innocent. Just two friends hanging out. As far as we know they could be friends IRL. We can’t jump to conclusions without facts.”
“But what if someone sees them? Do you know how this looks for the Guild?” Celty hissed silently.“That could be the reason they are hanging out here in Slycrest. No one really knows the Knights unless they are in uniform, and Luthien was not in uniform,” Creed explained trying to calm her.She sighed as she turned to face him, a worried look in her eyes as she sighed again and her head fell forward, her forehead resting to his chest. “I hope you’re right, Creed. I hope you’re right.”Creed wrapped his arms around her shoulders pulling her into him as he held her close to him, her arms wrapping around his midsection. “Me too, Celty.” He kissed the top of her head as they heard two very familiar voices.“OH! MY! GOD!” Nema and Eowyn squealed, running toward them. Lagan and Karith chuckling as they lagged behind.Celty chuckled softly as she was grabbed by Nema and hugged tightly. “I knew it was only a matter of time and you and Creed would be a couple.” She jumped over to Creed and hugged him next. “Congrats!”“You sly dog. When did this happen?” Karith asked him.“This evening actually,” Creed looked at Celty as she was being hugged by Eowyn. “We have been a couple… if we are lucky… for about 2 or 3 hours.”“Lucky dog,” Lagan grunted with a soft punch to Creeds arm.“Thanks, guys,” Creed replied as he ruffled Eowyn’s hair.Eowyn chuckled as he smoothed his hair back down and looked up at Creed. “Now people are really going to think I am yours and Celty's kid.”“Like you have any issues with that,” Celty poked playfully at Eowyn as she hugged him from behind. “I don’t know how many times I have heard you tell people we are your parents.”Eowyn chuckled as his head turned to look at Celty as he kissed her cheek. “You know I love ya, Mom.”The group chuckled as Celty let Eowyn go and took Creed’s hand. “Want to go get a small bite before I have to log out?”“You’re logging out already? You just got here!” Karith exclaimed.“Well, I have my graduation ceremony tomorrow, so I can’t hang out too long tonight,” Celty informed them.“Makes sense,” Lagan spoke up. “And congrats, Celty.”“Yeah, congrats,” the others replied.“Thanks all of you. It was a long hard road that I am glad is finally over,” Celty stated as she chuckled.“Well come on!” Eowyn exclaimed as he grabbed her free hand. “Let’s go get ice cream or something to celebrate.”The group nodded as they moved across the street to the Inn where there was also a convenient Pub alongside it.---It was hours later, and nearly three in the morning when Luthien and Seveani walked into the Bloodmoon Fortress in Deephallow Village. To their surprise, Cerrakor was still there sitting at his usual table in the back.“Guess who’s back in game?” Luthien questioned Cerrakor as the screech of chair legs echoed through the room as he pulled his chair out from the table to take a seat with him, Seveani doing the same.“Your mother?” Cerrakor replied as he sat his empty beer mug to the table and chuckled lightly.“Smartass,” Luthien growled. “No, it’s the busybody Moon Elf.”“Really~” Cerrakor lifted his hand waving over the server for another beer. “So is she around to stay or is she going to disappear for another week?”“She had finals this last week that’s why she was gone,” Seveani interjected.“Yeah, well thanks to her leave of absence my plans have had to be pushed back… Again.”“Well
now we can grab the girl and get this over with,” Seveani claimed.“Only one issue with that,” Luthien stated.“Yeah, what might that be?” Cerrakor asked as his beer was sat to the table.“Creed and Celty are an item now, so you fuck with her you have pissed on the Devil himself,” Luthien informed Cerrakor.Seveani laughed. “Pissed on or pissed off?”Luthien looked Seveani’s way. “Does it matter which one it is, Fucktard? You’re messing with the wrong guy here.”“But we are not messing with Creed. We are messing with Celty,” Seveani reminded Luthien as he was then suddenly smacked on the back of the head.“Dumbass,” Luthien looked over at Cerrakor. “Is it because he is drunk or has he always been this stupid?”“Both,” Cerrakor replied with a chuckle.“Fuck both of you,” Seveani growled as he got up, his chair scraping harshly across the floor.“Sit the hell down,” Cerrakor told him. He looked at them both as Seveani sat back down. “Tomorrow we grab Nema. I want to get this out of the way. The sooner we put Celty out of commission the quicker we can move without worry of her spying on us and reporting back to the Central Guild.”Seveani nodded. “Tomorrow evening around seven, game time, it will be done. I will message the ones that were going to help with this. Is the place we were going to hold her still available?” He watched as Cerrakor nodded while taking a drink of his beer. “Then we are good to go.”“Good,” Cerrakor said as he set his mug to the table. “Don’t fuck this up. Be vigilant. Remember this is Celty you’re dealing with. You underestimate her and you’re as good as dead.” He grinned at Seveani. “And if that happens you won’t have to worry about Creed killing you. Celty will have already beat him to the punch.”Seveani huffed shaking his head as he stood once more. “Whatever!” He started a path toward the bar. “The job will be done and done right the first time.” He mumbled under his breath as he walked away.“Well, I am giving you an hour after you get your hands on Celty’s clansmen and I will hack the sensitivity.” Cerrakor grinned as he looked at his beer on the table. He then looked Seveani’s way as he walked toward the bar. “And if you’re lucky maybe I will give your Avi an extra boost, so you stand a chance against this demon elf.”Seveani chuckled stopping at the bar and ordered a beer, then looked Cerrakor’s way. “A boost is always a plus, no matter what you’re fighting.”“So what happens if Celty beats your men senseless or better yet... Gets away with taking one of your men as captive. The Unseen is more than capable of getting information through means other than spying.” Luthien questioned. “If they talk, we’re all going down.”Cerrakor chuckled. “You do remember who I am, right?”Luthien scoffed shaking his head as it dropped slightly. “No. No, I remember who you are.”“Good,” Cerrakor grinned as he lifted his beer to take a drink. “Then leave those details to the master and you just keep playing loyal Knight to the order of your leader Lady Tanya.”Luthien growled grabbing up his beer mug. He said nothing more to Cerrakor as the man watched him walk away from the table and join Seveani at the bar.---The busy day that was Graduation Day finally wrapped up for Ashley as she walked into her room and collapsed on her bed. The huge milestone that marked her freedom from the public-school system had finally been passed. It was about three in the late afternoon as she laid there wondering if Aaron was able to get ahold of Sinon. She needed to find out if Sinon was going to the Knighting and the Ball, in game, later today. She had not heard back from him since she contacted him. So she decided to see if she could get ahold of him again.He said he would be in game most of the day making sure things went smoothly and nothing was forgotten since she was going to be busy with her graduation. She was just glad everything was done and over with in time to do what she needed to do in game and not have to rush. Reaching for her phone on the nightstand she logged into the game server and messaged Aaron.Hello handsome, were you able to reach Sinon about tonight, and if so what did she say?
<3As she rolled over to lay back on the bed her phone chimed with a return message.
Hello Love, yes I was able to get ahold of her and she said she would not miss it for the world. She will meet you here at the Whitehaven castle at 3:30 so the two of you can go shopping. Are you done with the festivities for the day? I am really missing you <3 (;
Ashley smiled warmly as she messaged him back. Yeah, all done here. I am just trying to catch my breath and I still have to get out of this dress before I sign in.Hitting send she got up to change as her phone chimed again. She picked up her phone and chuckled softly as she read the message.
Ooooh~ send me a pic I want to see <3
Positioning herself in front of the full-length mirror in her room, she fixed her hair some and took a selfie before she changed into something more comfortable to game-in. She then sent the picture to Aaron.Sitting her phone back on her desk she pulled out the clothing she was going to wear while gaming and changed into them. She walked back over to her desk and picked up her phone looking at it. Aaron still had not messaged her back. She looked at the message to make sure it had sent when she saw the two blue check marks that indicated he had received it and had seen it. Slowly she sat down in her desk chair just looking at her phone. It had been a good 5 minutes since he saw the picture she sent and within the few seconds she had sat down, 50 different scenarios ran through her head. Her heart sunk as she looked at her phone screen.Still nothing...Aaron had never seen her IRL before. Actually, none of the people she gamed with knew what she looked like. They had an idea thanks to her little brother, but that was about all. What if he thought she was ugly, or even too fat? Maybe he did not like her hair or her smile. Maybe he thought her eyes were too close or her nose was too big.After sitting there a few more seconds without a message, she stood and shook off the feelings she was having. If any of that, or all of that, was the case for a no return message, then it was not worth her time to dwell over it. She would just move on. After all, it was just an online fling it was nothing she would shed tears over. Grabbing her headgear off her desk she turned and walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge. She looked at her phone one last time before sitting it to her nightstand once more. She placed the headgear on her head and laid down. Her words came softly spoken as she commanded the game to start.“Link start…”---Sinon arrived a couple of minutes before 3:30 as she walked through the front gates of Whitehaven castle. She was shocked to see all the people that were there that day, and they were not all NPCs. Standing there she watched as they scurried around. Some Knights, some Merchants, some visiting from Dawnmeadow, the village that sat just below Whitehaven castle. She had only been to the castle a couple of times, but each time she had she was always overwhelmed, in a good way of course, but overwhelmed, nonetheless. It amazed her how beautiful the Central Guild was. It was like stepping into the middle of a fairytale.The castle was pure white and huge, set atop a hill that was just outside Dawnmeadow. To get to the castle you had to follow the long winding dirt road that years of travel carved into said hillside. On either side of the road, the hill was covered in tall green grass and beautiful wildflowers of every color one could imagine. A wide river to the castles East made everything green with tall trees, beautiful flowers and lush green grass and the mountains set to the North gave the castle a beautiful backdrop, be it day or night.The people that visited and the ones that lived in the castle were cheerful and happy. Always wishing you well, smiling and waving, and the children giggling and playing in the courtyard around the large fountain while their mother shopped in the Castle’s Market. The people of the Central providence were loyal to the Knights as well as the Dragons and their fellow villagers, helping however they could and it was something you could see, there was no guessing about how happy and safe the people of that area were.Anyone could see that Knights of the Mystic Dragon had a good thing here and they worked very hard to get it that way. Not for just them, or their Guild members, but for the other players of the game as well, and for the Dragons. And it was not hard to see that with the people of the Providence, or the Dragons that roamed the prairies that spread out below the castle, and just outside Dawnmeadow. It was no wonder so many people wanted to be a part of their Guild or settle in one of the many villages of Whitehaven providence. It was exactly what they named it -- a haven -- for dragons and people alike.With a spring in her step and a bright smile across her face, Sinon made her way to the courtyard, waving at her passer-bys and patting small children on the head as they smiled up at her.Once to the courtyard, she saw Aaron, Kirito, Klein, Eizen, Zavied, and Moonshine huddled together looking at a small screen. The Streamline App, the new feature that was added not long ago, it was rather cool, the creators had made it a small panel screen -- about the size of a large cell phone. When you got a call or even a text from an outside cell phone, a small transparent target like icon appeared to the right of your vision. When you tapped the little icon, the small screen would open. Only the person receiving the call could hear the caller and even though the screen was transparent only the receiver could see the text. One thing that was really neat about the app was -- Calls and text could be shared. All you had to do was flip the screen so others could view the screen or place the call on speaker. It was a fun App they added, and everyone was really enjoying it.As she walked closer, she noticed they were all looking at a picture. Tucking her hands behind her she poked her head into their little huddle with a wide smile. “Whatcha lookin at?” Sinon asked them. “Can I see?”“Hey Sinon,” a couple of them greeted her as a couple more startled from her sudden appearance.“Sure,” Aaron told her as he turned the image toward her. “It’s Tanya’s player. Ashley. She was still in her graduation dress.”Sinon’s eyes widened as she stood erect and looked on at the picture. “Wow… Sh..she’s beautiful...” She blinked a few times and looked slowly to Aaron.“I think so,” Aaron grinned ear to ear as he turned the picture back to look at it again. “I got really lucky. A girl not only beautiful on the inside, but with outer beauty as well.”“You got lucky?” Sinon questioned with a pondering look on her face.Aaron looked to her then snapped his fingers, gesturing to her with a pointed finger. “That’s right, you were not here. Yesterday I asked Tanya to be my girl. She said yes.”Sinon giggled with a bright smile. “That’s great Aaron! Congratulations! To you and Tanya.”“Thanks, Sinon,” Aaron smiled warmly at her. “Oh! And congratulations to you as well. I heard about the GGO tournament.”Sinon’s smile grew. “Thanks, we had a lot of fun and the prizes were not half bad.”“That’s great,” Aaron stated as he then looked around the courtyard. “Tanya should be here soon. She had to change out of her dress before she signed in.”“That’s fine. I will just hang out with you guys until she gets here. I PMed her when I signed on and told her I would meet her in the courtyard. So at least I am in the right place.” Sinon giggled softly as she joined the guys in their huddle.“Hey Aaron, send me that pic of Ashley,” Zavied asked only to get cuffed in the back of the head by Eizen. “HEY! What did I do?”Eizen just gave him that look of annoyance as his head shook.“I will do no such thing,” Aaron said giving Zavied a strange look. “My girlfriend.”“But she was my friend before she was your girlfriend, so I should be able to have a pic of her too,” Zavied protested as the group laughed.“Well if that is the case, I should get one before you,” Klein interjected.“Haha, you two. Try again,” Kirito informed him. “And I knew her before any of you, but I am not asking for one.”“That’s because if you had a pic of another chick; Asuna would kick your ass,” Klein stated as he chuckled along with the others.Eizen just shook his head. “Both of you are a lost cause. I don’t even know why we try.”The group chuckled as they looked at Klein and Zavied.“So are you guys ready for tonight?” Sinon asked them.“Hell yeah, I am ready. I have been studying the Dragon Code since Aaron made me the Grandmaster,” Klein said proudly.“What about you guys?” Sinon looked to Eizen, Zavied, and Moonshine. “You three have to recite it as well, right?”Moonshine combed his fingers through his hair and grinned. “I got this. I already knew the Dragon Code, just forgot a few parts, but I am good to go.” A hot breeze shot past him as he heard a voice.“You had better hope so, Moon Elf or your arrogance will be biting you in your proverbial backside tonight.”
Knowing who was behind him and wondering when the dragon would start addressing him by his name, Moonshine turned slowly, facing the dragon. Bowing deeply to the mighty Mystic Dragon with his right arm crossed over his chest, Moonshine spoke aloud to the dragon, “There is nothing to fret, my Lord. I will make the Knights proud to have me as their comrade.”Musashi snorted as his head craned high above the Moon Elf. “Humans are easy to impress, Moon Elf.” He looked down at him. “Make the Dragons proud…” Musashi took a long pause. “Make me proud. Then and only then can true respect be earned.”Moonshine’s head nodded sternly with closed eyes, his head lowering slightly into a bow, his arm still crossed over his chest. “I will.”Musashi turned slowly and started a path down the side of the castle so not to disturb the people in the streets. Some of the children that were not afraid of him called out his name and ran toward him. Carefully he laid down in the grass with his head across his paws so the children could pet him.“What was that all about?” Aaron questioned Moonshine when he turned back to the group.Moonshine sighed, his hand lifting as he combed his fingers through his hair. “It seems Musashi finds me arrogant.”“Imagine that,” Eizen quipped.Moonshine looked to Eizen with narrowed eyes. “It’s confidence, Jerk.”“Says the arrogant one,” Eizen snarked.“You know you have no room to talk,” Moonshine shot back.“True, but I am not the Caretaker of the beasts that could eat me alive, if, they don’t like me,” Eizen informed him.Sinon lifted her hands and interjected before things got out of hand between the two guys. “Maybe he just doesn’t like the way you portray your confidence. Maybe he thinks you should be a little more modest. After all, overconfidence can be the destruction of oneself.”Moonshine nodded as he looked to the ground. “I don’t boast, so I am not sure why he thinks this.”“Maybe it’s the way you carry yourself. Your outward portrayal of yourself. Dragons can sense that stuff. It doesn’t have to be spoken words,” Aaron explained.“I guess so,” Moonshine turned and looked at the dragon laying in the grass letting the children play on him. “I guess I will have to step up my game and watch what I am doing if I am ever going to earn Musashi’s trust and respect.”“His breed
is the keeper and protector of all Dragons. It would be best,” Zavied added, he paused and looked toward Musashi as well. “I wonder what he thinks of me?”“You’re a dumbass,” Eizen poked fun at him.“HEY! I don’t need your input,” Zavied barked as he turned quickly and punched Eizen in the arm.The group chuckled softly at the two.“So what are you guys wearing to the Ball?” Aaron asked. “Anyone going formal or is everyone wearing the uniform.”
Moonshine shook his head with a grimace. “I don’t want to be stuck in that uniform any longer than I have to, so I will be heading into town to get something formal, that way I can at least choose something for myself.”“Same here,” Kirito nodded in agreement. “White doesn’t suit either of us. At least not in game.”“I can’t say I disagree,” Zavied nodded as well. “I’ll be going with you guys.”“Count me in,” Eizen added. “If I could, I’d wear what I usually do, but I’ll have to make do with something else.”Sinon looked at the group, her eyes stopping on Aaron. “You’re not tagging along with them?”Aaron shook his head. “I already have something, and if Tanya gets a dress for the Ball, I will change into it. If not, I will stay in my uniform to match my Commander. It only seems appropriate to do it that way. After all, I am her Second in command.”Sinon nodded her head. “I have to agree.” She then smiled brightly. “I will try to encourage her to get a dress. I am sure being in uniform all the time is not fun.” She blushed slightly looking away from Aaron. “Even if you do look good in it.”Moonshine raised an eyebrow at him, his eyes blank. “Boy, you just don’t have an off switch for those pheromones, huh?”“And where the hell did you get them?” Zavied crossed his arms over his chest, huffing in frustration.Aaron chuckled shrugging his shoulders. “My dad? Or maybe it was my mom.”“Lucky,” Klein pouted.“I have to admit,” Kirito grinned. “It’s impressive when you can get even Sinon to gush over you just a little.”“Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?!” Sinon glared at him, flushing red with embarrassment.“Just saying that boys usually aren’t on your mind is all,” Kirito laughed sheepishly.“I think about boys,” Sinon confessed.“I would hope you do,” Tanya announced walking up to the group. “Hot, sexy ones are the best to think about.”Sinon turned beet red as she covered her face with her hands and squeaked incoherently. Tanya chuckled placing a hand to her shoulder.“Sorry, did not mean to embarrass you, Sinon.”The girls head shook quickly, her hands still over her face. “Hi guys,” Tanya said looking to the group.
“And you! Little miss!” Zavied pointed at her dramatically, as if accusing her of something. “You neglected to tell us you were so highly gifted in all areas of life!” He waved his arm and hand at her.Tanya gave him an utterly confused look. “Huuuuh?”“Yeah! You and Aaron together are like prom King and Queen!” Moonshine added his hands on his hips. “It’s so perfect it’s almost sickening!”Klein put an arm over his eyes and fake sobbed. “To think I missed my chance again! And with a real hottie this time!”Absolutely confused she looked to Aaron for him to help her make sense of what they were saying. “What are they talking about? Are they high?”Aaron laughed shaking his head. “Only on your beauty.”Tanya stood there silent, blinking a few times, her cheeks then turned red and she felt like she was an inch tall. “I...I feel like such an idiot.”Aaron looked at her confused. “Now I am confused. Why do you feel like an idiot?”Tanya looked to him with a warm bright smile. “Don’t worry about it. Just me being a dumb girl.”Aaron’s head cocked to one side and gave her an odd look. “Oooh-kay.”She chuckled lightly stepping up to him and kissed his cheek as she patted his chest. “Thank you.” She whispered to him. Stepping back, she looked at Sinon. “You ready to go shopping?”Sinon nodded as the two girls said their goodbyes and left the guys to their own.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Ugh, I really hope I can find something that’s at least somewhat comfortable,” Moonshine complained as they walked through town to head to the boutiques.“Something tells me I doubt it,” Kirito sighed.“I just hope I can find something loose in the chest area,” Zavied punched himself lightly in the chest.“I wouldn’t go revealing that chest if I were you,” Eizen warned him. “Tanya and Aaron might not appreciate that.” Zavied only grunted with a pout.“Keep it classy guys. This is a formal Ball. Not some Bonfire or Kegger. We all might be young but going OOC for your character will not go over well with some.” Klein informed them as his head turned so his eyes could follow the pretty girl that just passed them.“If it’s black and looks good, that’s all I need,” Moonshine shoved his hands in his pockets.“Same here,” Kirito agreed.They entered the most popular boutique in Dawnmeadow that sold both male and female outfits and even some unisex outfits. It was pretty large with two halves split left and right. The left side was the men's and the right side was the women's. There was a cashier on either side and in the back of each half was a hallway that led to dressing rooms.“I’ve never been in here,” Moonshine made comment as he looked around. “So I won’t be getting any discounts from this place.”“Yup. Looks like it’s full price for all of us,” Eizen sighed. “Hopefully the prices aren’t too atrocious.”Just then a girl with long strawberry blonde hair wearing a Renaissance-style dress walked up to them with a bright smile. She bowed to them.“Hello gentlemen, my name is Heidi and I will be tending to all of your needs today.” She giggled softly covering her mouth. “Well, your shopping needs that is.”Eizen covered Zavied’s mouth before he could even think of something to say. Eizen smiled warmly at the girl, most likely an NPC. “Thank you, Miss Heidi. We’re looking for formal wear for the Ball at the castle tonight.”“Oh, perfect! You’ve definitely come to the right place!” Heidi clapped her hands together with another bright smile. “Anything specific you’re looking for? A color or style perhaps?”“Black,” Kirito and Moonshine said together.“Red all the way!” Klein grinned.“Something that will compliment my eyes,” Zavied was finally able to say.Eizen chuckled, shaking his head at his friend. “Just find me something to wear and I will be pleased.”Heidi giggled and nodded. “Okay! Right this way!”For the next few minutes, she helped them get acquainted with the layout of the store, showing them where things were and how things were organized. They could choose from full sets or piece together a set of their own. Some sections were organized by color and others by style or size. She went to each of them once they had each found a section to look through and helped them pick out things to try.Moonshine and Kirito stood in the section with full sets ready to buy. This section was organized by both color and style. They both looked through the sets that had black as their main color.Kirito sighed in frustration. “I’m not really finding anything I like. These are all super flashy. I’m not really the flashy type.”“Maybe you could put together something? It’s pretty basic. Just pants, a shirt, a coat, shoes, and any accessories or special pieces like a waistcoat or cummerbund.”“A what?” Kirito gave him a weird look.“The belt things you wear with a tux. Hides the waistband of the pants.”“How the hell do you know that?” Kirito shook his head.“My dad. He’s got at least a gazillion suits,” Moonshine said as he flipped through the suits on the rack. He slid them back one by one, looking carefully at each before moving on to the next.Eventually, he got to one and grinned, looking back at Kirito. “I think I found mine already.” He took it off the rack and walked off to find Heidi.Kirito shook his head watching Moonshine walk off. “Must be nice.” He slowly walked over to the separate pieces, looking at different things as he made his way. “Find anything yet?” He asked Klein as he stepped past him.
“Well,” Klein said as he lifted up what looked like a leather, short sleeved coat with buckles on the front. It was red of course. “I found this really cool coat, but I’m looking for a shirt and pants to go with. It’s very Knight-like. I wanted something similar to the uniforms, but in red.”Nodding, Kirito walked on not adding anything more to the conversation. He then saw Eizen and Zavied looking through the racks. “Find anything good over there?”“Yep! I’m all good here!” Zavied held up a suit bag with a big grin. “Mean, green, pheromone machine!”“Mine is a work in progress,” Eizen held up several pieces, all seemingly with a sort of pirate theme, which made sense for his character. “Just trying to find a way for it to not be as flashy. I don’t want to be a sore thumb at the Ball.”Kirito blinked a few times at him. “Sore thumb? What does that mean?”“Meaning I don’t want everyone in the room to be looking at me cause I look like a pink flamingo in a flock of penguins,” Eizen laughed.Kirito chuckled shaking his head as he moved along looking at the items. “Well good luck there.” He then moved over to a rack with coats and started pushing item after item passed as he shook his head or wrinkled his nose.Heidi walked up to him, sensing that he was having a tough time. “Do you need any help sir? If you tell me what you have in mind, I can try and find something to match it.”“Something black,” Kirito told her making her giggle.“Can you be a little more specific, sir?” She asked him.“I wish I could. I have never been very good at this kind of stuff. I need something formal for the Ball. I have never dressed up in my life. So what I might pick out would probably not be appropriate. The only thing I know is I want it black.” Kirito tried explaining to her.
Heidi giggled and nodded. “Okay. Then how about this. I’ll ask you some questions and you can answer the best you can.” When Kirito nodded, she began. “Do you want something flashy, or classier?“I would have to say classy. I am not one for flash. I like to blend in.” Kirito told her as a couple of the guys chuckled in the background.“And how about patterns? Do you like a lot of them, or do you like something plain? Or do you like a balance between patterns and solid colors?”“Hm?” Kirito hummed as he looked at the rack of coats again. Just then his eyes widened slightly. “Something like this,” he told her lifting the coat off the rack.The coat was, of course, black, but it was very classy with patterns on the cuffs and collar in grey. It had silver buttons down either side and the tail of the coat was shorter in the back and became longer in the front in two points, ending a few inches above his knees. The coat was cinched in the back at the small of the back.“Ooh! A great choice! You’ll look amazing in this!” Heidi beamed and clapped, taking the coat. “Yes, yes, I can definitely help you find something to go with this. First, we need a shirt to go underneath. Something silken so it’s comfortable.She turned to the shirt rack and took a black silken shirt with ruffled sleeves at the wrists. “How about this? It should fit very comfortably underneath your coat, and the sleeves will make the cuffs look very sophisticated.”Kirito looked at the shirt and nodded his head. “I don’t want my pants to cut me in half, so something loose but not baggie.”She nodded and moved over to the pant rack. She flipped through the black pants until she found a pair with laces down the sides of the pants, a high waist, and decently roomy legs. She turned to him with a smile. “I think these will do nicely? What do you think?”“They look rather comfortable and I think they will look great with the jacket,” Kirito replied as he took the pants from her and looked at them. His eyes trailed down the pant leg as he chuckled lightly.“What’s so funny?” Moonshine asked him stepping up behind him with his purchase.“I think I am going to be wearing more lace than Asuna,” Kirito smirked.Heidi giggled, placing her hand to her mouth. “Should I find something with less lace? Or if you like, I can have them removed. It will only take a few minutes and it won’t ruin the look either.”“Nah, we can leave it. It's not really noticeable unless you’re paying attention,” Kirito confessed.Heidi nodded and handed him the pieces. “Alright then. If you would like, you can try them on in the dressing room to see how they fit and look. I’d also suggest a cravat or a string tie for the shirt. We have many to choose from, and we have plenty of jewelry in case you want anything extra.”Taking the pieces Kirito nodded. “Get me whatever you think will look good. Boots for shoes. I am a size 5 and a half. In a boot maybe a 6.” He walked toward the dressing room and pulled the curtain.
“Aww, such cute feet!” Heidi giggled then nodded. “I’ll get them right away!”After the guys got their suits and all the needed accessories, they paid their bills and moved out to the street once more. A few opened their panels and placed their items in their inventory, and a few just carried them.“Hey look!” Zavied exclaimed as he pointed across the street.Through the shop window, they could see Sinon and Tanya still shopping for dresses. He looked over at the others and smiled. “Should we go protect the ladies.”Eizen looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Protect them from what? Trick mirrors? Ripped seams? Fake jewelry?”“Well… you never know.”“I’m with Zavied on this one,” Klein smirked. “Man, those trick mirrors are tricky!”“You guys can go on ahead if you want to,” Moonshine turned to head back to the castle. “I got stuff to do. Both in game and out.”“Same, I need to go over the Dragon Code once more before the Knighting. I know I don’t have to recite it, but I want to make sure I know it just in case one of the Knights wants to quiz me on it,” Kirito explained as he fell in behind Moonshine.Eizen looked to Zavied and Klein. “I think that is a good idea. The three of us are on display tonight. We had better know that Code better than our Name, Rank and Serial Number.”Zavied grumbled. “Geez. What are we, soldiers? Hitmen?”“Nope, we just pissed off the wrong person,” Moonshine called back as he walked away.Klein sighed, shaking his head. “This is just like writing sentences in middle school.”“Oh, hush. You’re not even the one who got in trouble,” Eizen slapped him on the back. “You’d have to do it regardless.”Zavied chuckled and threw his arm over Klein’s shoulders as they turned and started walking back to the castle with the other two. “Welcome to the ranks, Grandmaster Klein.”---Back at the shop where the guys had spotted the girls, they were trying to decide on the dresses they had picked out. Sinon had picked out 3 she really liked, and Tanya had picked out 2, that she really liked.Sinon hummed as she looked between the three that she had in the dressing room. One was white with some poufy sleeves, one was a pine and mint green with a hood, and the other was a sky-blue color with a cape in the back.“I just can’t choose. I like all of them,” she said half to herself and half to Tanya who was in the next dressing room. “What about you, Tanya?”Tanya chuckled. “Same. I love both the dresses I have here.”She looked at them both as she was getting dressed. One was blood-red velvet, with a gold rope that wrapped around her midsection, the sleeves off the shoulders that were form fitting around her arms then bloused out as they moved down to her wrists. It was classy, to say the least, but she did not think it would really make the cut for a formal Ball. The other was far more regal and the colors of the guild. The front panel of the dress was silver coursing down to the bottom of the skirt, and the rest of the bodice was a beautiful blue. It also had a hood attached that was the same color blue on the outside, and silver on the inside. The front part of the dress had corset ties across the front panel of the torso and the sleeves were three different lengths. Quarter length, that fit snugly around her arms stopping above her elbows. From her elbows to the heels of her hands the sleeve turned to white lace that hugged her forearms. The third part of the sleeve was blue with silver lining like the hood, and they attached just above her elbows where the lace attached to the sleeve of the dress. The third part of the sleeve flowed well past her fingertips, and swaths of white lace fabric with pearl-like beads were sewn into the hems.“I think I am going to get them both, but I am going to wear the blue one to the Ball.” She pulled on her boots then reached up taking them both down off the small hook that they hung on and draped them over her arm. “What about you, have you made up your mind yet?” Tanya asked her sliding the curtain that concealed her in the dressing room.Sinon hummed again, her eyes gravitating towards the white one again. It had a V-neck but was protected from showing cleavage with a piece of fabric underneath the V. It also had gold on it down the middle of the dress and on the poofs on the sleeves. The poofs were at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. It was plain, but not too plain. It was just enough to be cute but also left room for her to dress it up with jewelry and not look like a clown.“Yes, I think I’ve made my choice. This is definitely the best one,” she nodded and picked up the white dress than the other two. When she dressed in her own clothes and stepped out, she placed her rejects on the rack for returns and placed the white one over her arm.She turned to Tanya with a smile. “If you’re hungry, we can get a quick bite to eat after this.”Tanya opened her panel and looked at the time, it was five. They had two hours before the festivities. “As long as it does not take us much longer in here with getting our shoes and accessories… Sure, but we can’t take too long. I have to get ready for the Knighting and getting into full uniform for that ceremony is a hassle. Far too many pieces involved there.”
“We can take something to go. I’d just rather not wait until all the song and dance is over to eat,” Sinon giggled. “Otherwise I’ll be too focused on food rather than the festivities. Not to mention I don’t want my stomach growling up a storm. Gosh, that’d be embarrassing!”Tanya chuckled lightly as she handed off her dresses to the girl that was helping them. “I understand but don’t eat too much. There will be a dinner at the Ball after the Knighting. We don’t want to upset the cooks.”Sinon nodded. “Oh believe me. I want to save room to see what they cook up. No pun intended.”After they gathered the rest of their items and checked out, they headed a little way down the road and picked up some fruit and custard tarts from a bakery. There were ones with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. They were small, about the size of your palm, and just enough for snacking on.When they made it back to the castle it was about five-fifty. They had an hour and ten minutes to freshen up and get ready. They split apart from each other and went their separate ways back to their rooms to get ready.---It was seven in the evening and in the Throne Room, Lady Tanya along with Vice Master Aaron sat in two of the three chairs that displayed on a low platform with three steps promptly before them. Overhead, spread out over the platform, hung a canopy with the guild colors of blue and silver, the Guilds Crest smithed in silver, hung on the wall above the canopy. The room was completely white with a marble floor and a blue and silver rug that led from the large double doors of the Throne room to the platform where the Thrones were displayed. The ceiling was high, and a large crystal chandelier hung in the center with small white candles that illuminated the room. In the larger center chair sat Tanya, Aaron sat to her right and on her left sat an empty chair. This chair would be the Grandmasters once Klein was Knighted. On either side of the Vice Master and the Grandmaster’s chair stood the Second and the Third Knights. Sir Crelan on the right and Lady Zirathie to the left. Cerberus, Tanya’s Advisor and the guilds Master Elemental Alchemist stood to the right with Sir Crelan. The five of them were in full dress of the Knights uniform and the Accolade was resting on a white silk pillow that rested to a pedestal before the guests and Tanya’s Throne.As they waited, the room filled with witnesses of Knights, guild members, and their guests. They all had gathered for the induction of the new Grandmaster, Sir Klein. Entering, the guests took their places on the left and the right side of the room, clearing a path for the Grandmaster to walk down when he was called upon to approach the Throne. Once everyone had entered, the large double doors were closed, and the room fell silent as Tanya stood before them. Everyone bowed to her as she stepped slightly forward.“Welcome esteemed Knights of the Mystic Dragon, members, and guests. Tonight, we have gathered here to not only welcome our newest members”--Tanya lifted her right-hand gesturing to the left of the room as Moonshine, Zavied, Kitsune, Eizen, and Okamishiro walked out. She then turned doing the same, gesturing to the right of the room as Lisbeth, Silica, Leafa, Sinon and Kirito walked out--“but to induct our new Grandmaster and First Knight of the Mystic Dragons”-- Tanya lifted a hand toward the Throne rooms double doors--“Sir Klein.”As she announced his name the large double doors opened again and Klein entered the Throne Room, his head was held high and his long white cape flowed behind him as he approached the throne where Tanya was standing. She could not help but smile warmly at him as he walked toward her. He was really getting into the part as he swaggered across the blue carpet that led him straight to her.When he stopped in front of her, he bowed his head with his right arm crossed over his chest and lowered himself to his left knee, his hands resting to his right. His head was still lowered. Tanya looked down at him and smiled, letting her hand rest to his shoulder. She stepped around him and addressed the crowd once more.“For nearly four years the Knights of the Mystic Dragon have ruled over the providence of Whitehaven, proudly, bravely, and without reserve. When we started, we had nothing -- a handful of people and even less gold. We gathered in the streets and we fought with old rusted swords and armor. But today... because of everyone’s hard work and dedication, we prospered. We are the largest, the strongest, the wealthiest, and by far the most respected guild in Tarragonia, and why is that?”“The Dragon’s Code leads us,” the Knights announced in unity and harmony.Tanya nodded her head and smiled. “The Dragon’s Code leads us in everything we do. We live for the Dragons. We die for the Dragons, and in return, the Dragons bless us with their wisdom and strength, and like all the others before us, we will continue to follow the laws of the Dragons. And in doing so we will continue to prosper, and as long as I am your Leader you will prosper along my side.”The crowd erupted into applause and cheers as Tanya spoke. The crowd’s morale was obviously high. They spoke amongst themselves as the ceremony went on.“I hear Sir Klein is our most capable knight now!”“Well, of course! They wouldn’t make him Grandmaster if he wasn’t.”“I heard he’s a SAO vet. You know he has to be strong if he survived that game! We’ll be able to win any battle with him on our side!”“This definitely spells the end of the slayers!”“Or any others that try to stand against us.”Moonshine stood with his brother on one side and Kitsune on the other. The other recruits, besides Klein, were all divided equally on either side of the three steps that led up to the thrones. Moonshine looked to the crowd, listening to their whisperings and chatting about Klein, all of which were pleased. There was static in the air from the excitement. It was almost enough to not notice how uncomfortable he was in his uniform.“I haven’t seen a gathering of this many people in a game since SAO,” Okamishiro commented quietly. “It’s nice that it’s a good reason and not an announcement that we’re all in danger of dying should we fail.”“Yeah,” Moonshine said equally as quietly. “It’s nice to enjoy VRMMORPGs instead of fearing them.”“You never gave me the impression you were ever afraid of SAO, though,” Kitsune gave him a confused look.“Oh, believe me, I was just as terrified as everyone else, but I had you two to think of. No room to let fear overtake you when you have your family to think about.” He cast his eyes back up at the ceremony.Kitsune and Okamishiro leaned back slightly to smile at each other before casting their eyes back as well as Tanya finished up her speech.
“With that, I would like you all to bow your heads in prayer.”The group that had gathered all bowed their heads, closing their eyes as Tanya led them in the Dragon’s prayer…
O Lord, who made the dragon, and the dragon’s open sky,
And give to me a dragon’s soul; A dragon’s urge to fly--
Let me dance within your cloudscapes, far beyond Earth’s chain,
Let me rejoice in my grandeur, let me not grow vain!
Let me vindicate my honor with my fang and claw,
Let my raging heart show mercy, let that show no flaw!
Let me have the joy of all the shining gold I’ve stored,
Let no pauper-dragon go forth starving from my horde.
And, Lord, should the need arise and I be called to fight,
Dragon-Maker, make me the victor! And Godspeed to my Knight!
As the prayer ended a soft resounding ‘Amen’ was heard around the throne room. Tanya then turned and walked over to the Accolade, lifting it from its resting place and stepped in front of Klein as he still kneeled in place.“Ready to get this over with?” She whispered to him softly.“Yes please,” Klein whispered in return. “My legs are falling asleep.”Tanya almost lost it as she fought back a chuckle and only nodded her head. Lifting the Accolade over Klein’s head she announced.“For your services to the Mystic Dragon, your bravery that shines above all others. I, Lady Tanya, Guild Master of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon”--she lowered the Accolade and tapped Klein’s left shoulder--“I hereby Knight you Sir Klein, Grandmaster and First Knight to the Mystic Dragon. Rise Sir Klein and be welcomed to your new position as Grandmaster and First Knight.” She tapped the sword to his other shoulder and left it to rest there for a moment before letting him stand.As Klein stood, the crowd burst into cheers once more, chanting Klein’s name. Those standing on the sidelines and up with Tanya and Klein applauded him with bright smiles. Klein stood at his full height, brimming with pride. Looking to Tanya and seeing her nod, Klein stepped forward.“I, Sir Klein, Grandmaster and First Knight of the Mystic Dragon hereby solemnly swear to abide and uphold the laws and rules of the Dragon’s Code.” His right arm came up quickly crossing over his chest.“In all that you do consider its benefit or harm to yourself, your family, and your Clan.“Your duty is always to yourself, your family, and your Clan.”“Be honest with yourself and others and let them know you will not accept anything but honesty in return. You should always be above reproach or criticism in the eyes of the world.”Klein continued with the Dragon’s Code as all listened to him recite them…---
Slycrest: 7:20PM
In the shadows, four men waited for two members of the Unseen to return from grinding. The two were like clockwork. Every Saturday at seven in the evening they returned to their village. They grab a bite to eat, hanging out for a couple of hours at the Pub or the Inn then return to the forest to grind for a few more hours. They have been doing this for years, or at least that's what the sources reported. Tonight, however, was proving their sources incorrect.“Do your sources even know what the hell they’re talking about? They should have been here by now.” The stocky, dark headed guy grumbled softly as they hid behind a mass of brush just outside the village.“Shut the hell up, Krator!” the short strawberry blond complained. “My sources are as good as any others that come through the guild. So they're running a little late, big deal. They’re out grinding. It’s to be expected.”There was only one road out of Slycrest into the forest, and the four men waiting for their victims was there.“Could it be possible they came in another way?”“There’s no way, Maxsim. They were reported to be seen in the thick so they have to come this way.” A tall blond confirmed.Just then, footsteps, soft laughter, and talking cut through the silence on the road. The tall blond turned and looked to the strawberry blond as he whispered. “Nado, you hear that?”Nado nodded his head slowly as he made a few hand gestures and three of the four hunkered low and spread out, surrounding the two walking their direction. When they were close enough the four attacked the Unseen members, a young boy known as Eowyn and the young girl known as Nema.Both were beaten, the boy Eowyn was much worse than the girl, but her time was coming, and that time rested solely in the hands of the one they were targeting. To make sure their target came to them, they took the young girl as insurance. Leaving the young boy to deliver their message.As Eowyn laid in the street barely conscious, he clung to the message they forced into his hand. Their words echoing in his mind.
Make sure only the Moon Elf, Celty, receives this note. Tell her if she doesn’t show by sunrise, Nema will be severely hurt.
Tears stung his eyes and streaked his dirty and blood-stained cheeks as he mustered all his strength and pushed up off the ground. He had laid there long enough. He had to get help. He had to find Celty. He had to save Nema. No matter what it took, he would make sure Celty got the message. He knew if anyone could get Nema back unhurt it would be her or Creed, but they did not want Creed, they wanted Celty. So off he staggered to find the only one he knew could stop this.---After the Knighting and the reciting of the Dragon Code, Tanya returned to her seat before the court, Aaron taking her place standing before them. He lifted his hands above his head and quieted everyone down.“Your welcoming of Sir Klein to our ranks is wonderful, but I would also like you to give a warm welcome to our newest members.” Aaron gestured to the group on the left of the room first, individually announcing their names and titles to the court. “Moonshine the Caretaker of the guild’s Dragons.”Moonshine walked up, bowing to Aaron and then to the court. He then turned and returned to the place where he stood with the others of his group.“Zavied, Assistant Caretaker of the Dragons.”Zavied, with a proud smile, walked up and followed suit, bowing to Aaron and the court before returning to his spot.“Murasaki Kitsune, the Caretaker of Familiars for our guild’s members.”Kitsune did the same, only curtsying instead of bowing. She grinned at Moonshine as she walked back. Moonshine smiled and shook his head, thinking how uncharacteristic it was for her IRL.“Eizen is our Antiquarian and Treasurer.” When the court murmured in confusion, Aaron smiled and elaborated. “i.e. he is in charge of appraising, recording, and safekeeping all of our treasure and antiquities.”Eizen had to hold back laughter as the court let out an audible ‘ahhh’ of understanding. He did his song and dance and returned to his spot, only for Zavied to elbow him with a smirk. Eizen rolled his eyes.“And lastly on this side, but certainly not least, we have Okamishiro, who has joined us as a highly respected and very knowledgeable Scholar and assistant to Advisor Cerberus.”After Okamishiro took his turn, Aaron turned to the other side of the room. As he called out their names, they came up and bowed.“With us on this side, we have Lisbeth, a promising Blacksmith… Silica, a promising Beast Master… Leafa, our Botanist and Caretaker of the Grounds… Sinon, a rising Master Archer. And among these lovely ladies, we have our newest Advisor and Elemental Alchemist in practice, Kirito.”As expected, the murmurs and chatting were even more pronounced than with Klein’s presenting to the court.“Kirito is here too?! The Kirito!? From the Knights of the Blood Oath in SAO!?”“He’s the Black Swordsman? I thought that other guy was the Black Swordsman in SAO? The dragon guy.”Moonshine growled from his spot, causing Kitsune to stomp on his foot. He frowned and bit his lip.Kirito couldn’t help but smirk at Moonshine from the other side of the room. He could tell he wanted to speak, but the Moon Elf didn’t dare. He just glared daggers at him.Returning to his seat next to Tanya, Klein now to her left as the Second and Third Knight stood to their left and right, Aaron sat down and leaned into her and whispered. “I don’t know if they are impressed that we have Klein and Kirito in our guild or appalled.”“Why would they be appalled?” Tanya questioned only to see Aaron shrug his shoulders than sit back in his chair as Sir Crelan the Second Knight walked out to stand before the court.His hands were folded in front of him as he addressed the crowd. “The time is now 7:45, promptly at eight this evening, dinner will be served in the Royal Ballroom. We hope you will grace us with your presence for dinner and dancing.”Crelan bowed to the crowd as the double doors were opened and the guests started exiting the Throne room as Tanya and the others stayed behind.Once everyone was out, the doors closed, and Tanya stood looking at her friends with a bright smile. “You guys did great.”
Some of them, mostly the guys, let out sighs of what sounded like relief mixed with anxiety.“Let’s never do this again. At least not on our part,” Moonshine sighed, pulling at his uniform. “As crazy as it sounds, I can’t wait to get into my suit.”Kitsune giggled. “Really? Either you really hate that uniform, or you really like your suit.”“A little of both.”“Same here to be honest,” Zavied straightened his collar. “My suit is roomy. This is just suffocating.”“Considering you mostly live life shirtless IRL, anything that covers your top half is suffocating for you,” Eizen raised his eyebrow at Zavied.“Hey, what can I say?!” Zavied grinned. “If you got it, flaunt it!”Everyone chuckled as Tanya walked toward the back entrance of the Throne room. “Everyone go do what you need. I will see you in the Grand Hall in a few minutes.”With that, they all parted ways to change or just hang out until it was time for dinner.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Thirty
The Ball was moving along well, everyone was finished with dinner and the Hall was cleaned up of the dirty dishes by the servers. Everyone was up walking around meeting the newest members of the guild and of course talking to the other members as well. But poor Kirito and Klein looked as if they needed a break from the questions.As Klein and Kirito stood talking to a few of the villagers of Dawnmeadow, Tanya walked up to the small group. Her hand rested to Kirito’s shoulder, she felt him tense up and look quickly her way.“Hello Rosanna, Timothy, Clair. You would not mind if I stole these two gentlemen away from you, would you?”
“Aww,” Rosanna pouted, clinging to Kirito’s arm. “Do you have to? We were having such a good time!”Clair did the same to Klein, smiling up at him and batting her eyelashes. “You have to promise to come entertain us again later!”“Ah-ha, I will if I get the chance,” Klein said nervously, rubbing the back of his head. The girl really was a cutie, but a bit too clingy for his tastes. His arm was going numb from lack of circulation. She hadn’t let go of it since they started talking.“Come on, girls,” Timothy said with a hint of embarrassment in his tone. “The Knights have work to do. Social work that is. They can’t stand here all night indulging us.” He bowed to the three of them. “Apologies for the inconvenience. Thank you for speaking with us.”“Our pleasure,” Kirito plastered a smile on, which was hard, even though he was grateful to Timothy.The three of them walked away, leaving the three behind.“Too much,” Tanya asked them as they turned and started walking back to their group of friends.“It’s not so bad until they start on the questions about SAO. It’s not really something I want to talk about.” Kirito looked over at Klein as he nodded in agreement.“Then just tell them.” She looked between the two. “I am sure they would understand and if they don’t, they can get over it.”“Tell them to read the newspaper. Hell, Quickscope dedicated their entire magazine to the SAO story in the month of June ‘25,” Eizen claimed, overhearing their conversation as the three walked up to the group he was standing with.Zavied, next to him, nodded with an uncharacteristically grim look. “Yeah, I remember that issue. Issue number 700. I kept it in my room on my desk for at least six months before I made myself throw it away.” He shook his head with a sigh. “It could have been us being talked about in that issue.”Eizen clapped his hand over Zavied’s shoulder. “I know. It should have been us.” He looked back at the others. “In any case, you’d think--or at least wish--that most of these bozos would have at least a shred of decency to not ask vets about SAO. That’s like asking a shell-shocked soldier to tell you their worst war story.”“I have the same magazine, untouched and in a sleeve to preserve it. I wanted to read it to find out what happened, but I could not bring myself to do that. So I just put it away knowing one day it would be worth a lot of money.” Tanya shook her head. “I know enough bad stuff about VR’s. Let’s change the subject.” She looked around their little circle of friends. “This is a party after all, and the type of conversation I went and rescued Kirito and Klein from, to begin with.”Aaron walked over slipping behind Tanya wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. He looked over her shoulder at the others. “Agreed. Let’s talk about something Tanya brought up to me over dinner.” He looked pointedly at Moonshine.
Moonshine crossed his arms over his black and red patterned waistcoat and dress coat and leaned back. “What’s the look for?! What did I do?!”“Take your pick,” Kitsune smirked up at him.He frowned down at her. “Oi. I thought I was earning brownie points for all those compliments and that slow dance I did earlier.”Okamishiro smirked at his brother with a snicker. “Yeah, brownie points that you can redeem when we log out.”“My points. My decision on how, when, and what to redeem them on,” Moonshine tilted his head up proudly. “And we ain’t gotta log out for that. That’s for damn sure.”Aaron’s head nodded knowingly as he chuckled lightly. “And you’re not in any trouble. On the contrary, we will need your help even more if we do this.” Aaron smiled looking to Tanya. “You want to tell him?” She nodded her head and looked at Moonshine as well.Moonshine’s eyes went wide, his arms dropping to his sides. “I’m not?” He blinked then put on a smirk and put his hands on his hips, puffing his chest out. “I mean… Of course I’m not.”Kitsune laughed at him and hooked her arm through his. “Yes, you’ve been surprisingly well behaved tonight.”“Oi…” He said with a small pout. “Give me some credit at least…”Tanya chuckled shaking her head at him. “Aaron and I talked about something I have been wanting to do since I started DL, but instead I became a Guild Leader.”“And that is?” Moonshine questioned.“I wanted to be a Dragon Breeder,” Tanya confessed. “I want to start up breeding for the Guild.”Moonshine blinked in surprise and pointed at himself. “And you want me to spearhead the breeding for the guild? Or just be your on-hand veterinarian.”“Excuse me?” Zavied gave him a weird but amused look. “You’re gonna do what to the dragons?”Eizen shook his head and facepalmed. “Spearheading something means you’re in control of it and it’s your responsibility to ensure its success.”“Ahhh.” Zavied nodded slowly then gasped. “Waitaminute! In that case, I want in on this! That’s been a goal of mine too. Except I haven’t really gotten around to it.”Moonshine thought for a solid minute before looking back up at Tanya. “I have to say, it’s definitely the wisest choice if I were the one in charge of that aspect. I have the most knowledge and the highest capabilities when it comes to dragons. Not just my own. While most players dedicate their careers in this game to fighting for the dragons, I’ve dedicated my DL campaign to the actual dragons themselves. Hence the skills I’ve developed.”He crossed his arms and nodded. “Not that I would trust anyone other than myself to lead such a thing. No offense to anyone here. But it’s like they say, if you want something done right…”“Do it yourself…” Tanya finished his sentence. “And yes, I need your help, but…”“Why is there always a but?” Moonshine stated as he looked at her.“Because shit happens,” Zavied and even Eizen said together with smirks on their faces. They high fived each other like it was something they had been waiting their whole lives to say. The other boys in the group snickered.Tanya ignored the two as she looked on at Moonshine. “I want to be as much a part of this as you. Partners. We will both head this up, of course you will have to teach me what I need to know, so I will be leaning on you for a while, but I learn quickly. So I promise I won’t be a burden for long.”Moonshine laughed and put his hands back on his hips. “Well then. I guess I have two apprentices now. Three if you count Silica. I’m sure she will want a piece of this too. Consider me your man for the job. Though I will most likely be starting out easy with this. And by easy, I mean with my own two.”He opened his panel and went to his PM screen where he had a long list of PMs from himself. It was sort of his own little ‘Notes to Self’ feed. He scrolled until he found what he was looking for. A picture of one of the new hybrid dragons. This one was half black and half white on its torso. Its wings were bat-like and white on the underside but pitch black on the top side. Its legs were black on the top half but white on the forearms and claws. It had white fur on its neck and tail, but the rest of its body was covered in black scales. The eye on the black side of its head was red, and the eye on the white side was blue. Its head was pointed but wide and it looked fierce--ready to kill. The horns on the top of its head were long and crooked. One was white with black stripes curling around it, and the other was the exact opposite. The caption on the picture read ‘Yin-Yang Dragon’.“I’ve been thinking about this one since the update.” He turned the panel around so the others could see the picture. “I’m just glad they made them compatible.”Tanya looked at the image nodding her head slowly as she read the caption wrapped around the image. “I could see this working if the two dragons were already familiar with one another.” She looked to Moonshine. “The dragon is very beautiful.”Moonshine smiled and nodded. “It is. It’s perfect. Both in looks and concept. But I’m not going to be a selfish asshole gamer. If Imera and Nychta don’t wish for it, then I will let my dream stay a fantasy. They are most important.”He looked back up at the others after putting his panel away. “In any case, when were you expecting to start this project?”“As soon as the Breeding Den is built. Aaron and I were looking at the architecture of a few of them, and the one we like the most to accommodate all sizes will take a week to build. I would finish it off quickly with the gems, but I think that week would give us time to sit and draw up a plan of action.” She paused and lifted her hand. “Would you like to see the one we chose?”
Moonshine nodded as Tanya opened her panel and showed him the image in the section marked ‘guild expansion’. He blinked in surprise. “Even more than that, I’m wondering where in the world you’ll find space to put this.”It was huge. In addition to the spaces for the actual dragons, there was a laboratory right next to it that had anything and everything they needed for dragon breeding. From incubators to examination space. It was like a medieval style veterinarian’s office for dragons. It was something Moonshine only dreamed of seeing used in play.“Tomorrow Aaron and myself--and you if you would like to come, since you are going to be a big part of this--are going to the Dawnmeadow branch of the Whitehaven Land Brokers. You know the plot of land between the river and the castle?” Moonshine nodded his head. “We believe that is large enough with extra space for the dragons to get outside for exercise and still have space for expansions if needed in the future.”
Moonshine nodded once more. “Yes, I’d be happy to tag along.” He turned to Zavied. “You should come along too if you’re going to be a breeder as well.”Zavied grinned, flashing his teeth, and pointed at himself with his thumb. “Count me in! I’m all over it!”“I’ve always wanted to study dragon eggshells,” Eizen put his hand to his chin. “They’re widely used in jewelry and adornments for weapons and armor. As such, they’re very valuable.”“Nerd,” Zavied grinned at him. Eizen punched him in the arm, but he just laughed.“They can also be used for medicines and potions for the dragons. More for the babies and elders then the adults, but I am sure if this is something you want to do, we can share.” Tanya told Eizen. “I am sure there will be more than enough if we are successful.”
Eizen opened his mouth to speak, but instead, they were met with surprised screams and shouts. All of them jumped and turned around in the direction of the screaming. Suddenly they spotted the source of the commotion, though it wasn’t hard considering large numbers of people were pointing at the windows leading outside.There was a huge red eye peeking inside through the windows. And through the other nearby windows, you could spot the rest of the dragon’s large black, scaled head and white, sharp teeth. The dragon blew hot breath from its nostrils onto the windows, steaming them up. Several children in the ballroom started crying.“Oh God,” Moonshine groaned, facepalming.“Yup, that’s yours alright,” Okamishiro laughed.“What is he doing?” Cerberus gawked at the windows.“Who knows!?” Moonshine said as he hurried off towards the windows, shouting at both the crowd and Nychta, telling one to please remain calm and the other to knock it off.Tanya chuckled as she turned to Aaron wrapping her arms around him and resting her head to his chest. “He is like a puppy. Curious and always wanting to be the center of attention.”“He is as sweet and lovable as a puppy too,” Aaron replied wrapping his arms around her as they watched Moonshine go talk to his dragon and see what he wanted or needed.“Yeah, Nychta is an odd one for his breed,” Kitsune giggled.“He even plays fetch!” Okamishiro laughed.“Really?!” Most of them exclaimed in disbelief.“Yup. Though Moonshine has to use a crossbow to launch whatever he’s tossing, cause he can’t throw it very far compared to Nychta’s size,” Okamishiro explained.Suddenly there was more screaming as they saw Nychta try and stuff his massive head through the open glass doors that led out into the courtyard. Moonshine was waving his hands and screaming for Nychta to stop as they watched the dragon crack and crumble away the surrounding glass and pieces of the wall. The crowd that could see the spectacle gasped so loud the sounds echoed off the walls. Moonshine froze in place with his hands in his hair, messing up his neatly groomed locks. The crowd gasped once more as Nychta whined and pulled his head out, furthering the damage.They watched as Moonshine slowly turned toward the group, specifically Tanya and Aaron, with his hands still in his hair. His face was almost ghostly white.“I’m so sorry…” He mouthed quietly at them, his expression distressed and panicked.Aaron looked at Moonshine with a straight face. “It’s fine we will just take the repairs out of your paycheck.”They didn’t think it was possible for Moonshine to get any paler, but he did. They saw him sway to the side for a moment before regaining his balance. Slowly, he lowered his hands, turned and walked through the crowd back towards the inside of the castle. The crowd parted to let him through, all watching him leave as they did so. His face was blank and stark white the whole way.“Um…” Kirito hummed in concern. “Is he gonna be okay?”“Maybe?” Kitsune grimaced. “I hope.”They heard a loud whining noise as they turned to see Nychta laying outside with his head on his front claws. He looked like a beaten puppy, knowing full well he was in trouble.“And Nychta?”“... Also maybe…”Aaron chuckled lightly shaking his head as his arms around Tanya dropped and he trotted off to stop Moonshine. Coming up behind him he clapped his hand to his shoulder stopping him. “I was kidding, dude. It’s cool. Go find out what the big guy wants. If he wants us to move the party out with him”--Aaron looked around the Ballroom--“I am sure some of us will move out to the garden.”
“... He… he just wanted attention…” Moonshine said in a dumbstruck manner as they shuffled back to the group. “I asked him what he was doing, and he said he just wanted to look... He wanted to know what a Ball was like... He saw the kids playing with the other dragons earlier and he wanted to play… So I opened the doors and… and he shoved his big ass head through the opening…”Aaron chuckled. “It’s fine.” He looked around the room as he spoke. “In reality, I am shocked Shee has not made her way in here.”“Is this what it’s like to have a pet…?” Moonshine said almost in a terrified manner. “Shiro and I wanted a dog when we were younger… but Dad always told us no cause they’d just destroy the house…”“More like this is what it’s like to have children,” one of the older women in the crowd whispered to her friend next to her as Moonshine and Aaron walked past.Moonshine groaned like he was going to be sick.Aaron had to take a double take, looking at the old woman as he mumbled under his breath. “I ain’t never having kids.”“Oh God! What if my kids are just like me?! What if they’re just like Kaori?! Ughhh.”Aaron looked to Moonshine then looked up at the group seeing Kitsune as he thought to himself. She doesn’t seem too bad. Just then, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a guard walk up to Tanya, lean in and whisper to her. The smile she had on her face disappeared instantly. She then turned without a word to anyone she was standing with and walked away. Aaron patted Moonshine’s shoulder to get his attention as he took a couple of quick steps forward, his eyes on Tanya and the guard as they walked toward the Ballroom doors that led out into the hall toward the back of the castle.
Moonshine wasn’t really engaged until he saw the urgent look on Tanya’s face. Then he sobered up and followed Aaron more intently, but without alerting the guests that anything was wrong.“What do you think is wrong? Trouble in the castle? Or in town? Maybe the Slayers are here to pick a bone,” he said quietly to Aaron.“They would be fools to attack us now. Damn near our entire guild is signed on.” Aaron grabbed the door handle and pulled open the door not seeing Tanya or the guard. Suddenly Moonshine tapped his shoulder.“There,” Moonshine pointed as Tanya and the guard was walking toward another part of the castle. “Where are they going?”“The Guardhouse,” Aaron informed him as he quickly headed that way. “What the hell is going on?” Aaron’s voice laced with concern.Moonshine shook his head. “I don’t know...” He opened his panel and went to his equipment screen, then to his preset outfits. He changed into his main preset. The image of him flashed white as a blue circle scanned down from head to foot. When the light faded away, he was dressed in his everyday attire and weapons. He was happy to be out of his suit, even if he did look damn good in it. “I’m ready to find out though.”The two rounded the corner into an adjoining hall. It was rather short, and after a few steps, Aaron was opening the door to the Guardhouse. In the room Tanya stood next to the table, leaning over it with four other guards standing around it as well. When the guards stepped aside, turning to see who entered, Aaron saw Eowyn laying on top of the table. He was a bloody and beaten mess.“EOWYN!!” Aaron exclaimed as he stepped quickly toward the table.“What the hell?!” Moonshine ran up with them. “What the hell happened to this kid?!”Tanya looked to Moonshine and shook her head. “I don’t know. He is too weak right now. I gave him a healing potion, but it’s not working.” Her head shook as a tear rolled down her cheek, her mind went to the worst-case scenario.Moonshine shook his head, wedging himself in between the guards so he could get closer to Eowyn. He looked the boy over. His wounds had indeed healed from the potion--or as well as they could be without a stronger potion--but he was still just as bad in terms of lucidity. It was as if…He looked up to Tanya and Aaron, opening his own panel. “Check your settings. Now.”Both Aaron and Tanya opened their panels going to their settings. “What are we looking for?” Aaron questioned.“The sensitivity setting,” Tanya sniffled as her head shook. “Why would someone do this to little Eowyn?” Once to her sensitivity settings, her face went blank. “It’s maxed out…”Moonshine sighed and growled in frustration. “Potions and painkillers won’t work unless we can get his brain in real life to think he actually took something to help. Even then, it will only last so long.” He leaned over the boy and took him by the face gently. He tapped his cheek gently. “Eowyn? Eowyn can you hear me?”When the boy didn’t respond, he looked up to Tanya and Aaron. “Do either of you know his real name?”Aaron and Tanya nodded their heads as Aaron answered. “Nathan. We call him Nate.”Moonshine turned back to the boy. “Nathan. Nathan, I need you to wake up. If you can hear me, say something.”Eowyn moaned softly, his lips moving slightly as he tried to speak, but no words came out. His head then turned side to side very slowly. He moaned again calling out his clansman’s name, but it was so silent no one heard it. “Celty…”Aaron moved closer. “What did he say?” He looked to Moonshine, who was closest to him. “What the hell did he say!?” Aaron almost yelled at him.Moonshine lifted his hand to Aaron, then calmly looked at the guards. “Leave us. Please. Go stand watch at the ballroom doors.”They looked to Aaron and Tanya for confirmation. When they both nodded, they left, closing the door behind them.“He said Celty,” Moonshine told them. He turned back to Eowyn. “Nathan, if you can understand what I’m saying, I want you to nod. Even slightly.”Eowyn’s head nodded ever so slightly.Moonshine opened his panel and pulled out two potions. “Nathan, I’m going to give you something to help the pain. You should feel at least some relief, okay?” He didn’t give him time to respond before pouring a high-level healing elixir into his mouth, and then a painkiller he purchased for emergencies after the first sensitivity glitch.Eowyn swallowed the first one, then choked on the second, but was able to swallow it all. Tanya, while waiting, changed into her uniform and gathered a pan and a rag. She poured hot water from the kettle that was on the fire from the fireplace into the pan, mixing it with a little cold water from the pail next to the fireplace to cool it. She walked back over to the table. Soaking the rag in the water, she started cleaning Eowyn’s wounds.“Is this going to work with the sensitivity glitching again?” Aaron asked Moonshine.“Well, if you play on high sensitivity, then you have to work up to it. And in training yourself to do that, did you notice good food in this game tasted better, and gross food tasted worse?”Aaron nodded his head. “When I first started turning it up, I noticed a lot of things, but never did I notice if the potions were working faster or slower.”“That’s because sensitivity doesn’t affect the speed of the potions. It would affect how you feel after you take them. You don’t notice changes in potions because you don’t start actually feeling pain IRL until fifty percent or higher. And that’s only if you’re not used to it.” Moonshine waited for Tanya to finish nursing Eowyn while he spoke to Aaron. “If you think of it in real life terms, if you feel the same pain over and over, you get used to it. It affects you less. Just like medicine. Just like pleasurable things. Your body gets used to them. That goes for VR too. If your body is used to feeling the ‘pain’ of getting stabbed by a sword, using a healing potion will feel no different than drinking a glass of water IRL. Same for in-game painkillers.”He looked down at Eowyn. “But when you go from twenty percent to one hundred percent, everything you experience in this world is hypersensitive. Even breathing. I tried it once just to see what it was like, but from the safety of a town. I walked around all day experiencing the world from max sensitivity. It was like I was actually living in this digital world. It’s fucking terrifying and amazing at the same time when you’ve never felt it before. That’s because the sensitivity controls more than just pain. It controls all sensations and your real-life body’s reactions to those sensations.”He smirked at Aaron, trying to lighten the mood a little. “By the way, you should try doing you know what on max sensitivity. Boy is that a headrush.” When Tanya whipped her head around to glare at him, he raised his hands up in surrender. “Kidding! Kidding! … Well, not really, but sorry.”“Eowyn is a child. There will be no talk of that,” Tanya scolded Moonshine.“Tanya…” Eowyn called her name at a whisper his one good eye-opening slightly as he turned his head and looked at her.Quickly Tanya looked back to the boy. “Eowyn?!” She exclaimed softly. She let her free hand smooth his hair back away from his face as she moved closer to him. “Eowyn. Can you tell me what happens?”Eowyn fell silent again his one eye closing once more as his head lolled to one side.“Eowyn?!” Tanya called to him in a worried tone.Moonshine gently touched her shoulder as she looked up at him. “Let him rest for a while. When he wakes up, hopefully, he will be able to tell us something.”Tanya nodded slowly as another tear rolled down her cheek a small sniffle escaping her. “I swear I am going to kill the asshole that did this to him.”Moonshine patted her shoulder again as she started cleaning Eowyn up once more. He moved away from her to let her be alone with Eowyn.“We need to find out what happened,” Aaron said as Moonshine walked up to him.“I know, but we can’t rush this. He is young and I am sure he is in sensory overload IRL right now. The poor kid has probably never felt such pain.” Moonshine looked back over at Tanya and Eowyn. “None of the wounds were made by a weapon, so whoever did this beat him with their fists.” He looked back to Aaron. “We will give him a couple hours and see if he wakes up. If not, we’ll go to Slycrest and see if anybody saw anything.”Aaron nodded defeatedly as he walked past Moonshine and took a seat at the table. He leaned forward as he reached up and pet Eowyn’s head, brushing his hair back as Tanya cleaned the blood off his bruised and cut face. “Hang in there, little guy. We will find who did this to you and the bastards will pay for it.” Tanya looked over at Aaron with a stern nod, her cheeks wet from tears.After their shared look, Tanya continued to clean Eowyn up, removing his bloody, dirty and damaged clothes, putting him in a nightshirt and covering him with a blanket. When she was done, she had Aaron pick him up and take him to one of the rooms where he could be more comfortable and there would be more privacy than in the Guardhouse.Once there, Aaron and Tanya stayed with Eowyn as Moonshine went and reported the situation to their friends. He let them know that neither Tanya or Aaron would be returning to the Ballroom and why. From there, the rest of the night drug on waiting for Eowyn to finally wake.
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Chapter Thirty-One
The door to Eowyn’s room, opened and closed for the next three hours as anyone that decided to stay in game with Tanya--waiting on Eowyn to wake--walked in to check on the little Moon Elf. It was a long tedious night for them all and Tanya was barely hanging in there when three in the morning came around. She kept nodding and almost fell out of her chair a couple of times.Moonshine walked up to Tanya as she leaned sideways in her chair. He caught her by the shoulder and pushed her upright, startling her awake. When she blinked and looked up at him, he gave her a stern look.“You need to sleep. You don’t have to log out, but you need to sleep. Being this tired in game isn’t because of your character, it’s because of your body. Your brain has had enough IRL,” he warned her. “Don’t make your brain work any more than it has to. When he wakes up, I’ll wake you.”Tanya nodded as she slowly got up out of her chair and walked over to a small sofa in the room and curled up on it, it was only a few seconds and she was sound asleep.Moonshine replaced Tanya in her chair, crossing his arms and legs. Suddenly Aaron walked in with what looked like a mug of coffee. He looked to Tanya and smiled, setting the cup on the nightstand next to the bed.“I see you got her to rest,” Aaron nodded in gesture to Tanya as he pulled up a chair next to Moonshine.He nodded. “Yup. Thankfully she was too tired to argue. I told her I would wake her up when he did.” Moonshine reached over and grabbed the coffee mug, figuring it was for Tanya, but seeing as she didn’t need it anymore, he took it for himself. It looked as if it had a decent amount of cream and probably some sugar. He took a mouthful, but it went down hard. He grimaced and put the cup back, making a gagging sound. “Coffee taste even worse in this game with the sensitivity maxed out. I swear, nothing you do in this game can make that crap taste better. Which is surprising for an American game.”Aaron chuckled softly as his head bobbed slowly. “I hear ya there. You might as well be drinking motor oil.”“Eh, I didn’t need it anyway,” Moonshine sighed. “It’s only about four in the afternoon for us. Tanya is taking this the hardest. Or I suppose I should say Ashley is. Not to mention she had a long day already, then this happens.”“I am upset. I want the facts of what happened here. Eowyn is not a brat or a bully. So there is no logical reason for this to have happened to him. Which means it was intentional.” He looked over at Tanya, then his vision cast to the floor. “I know what she is thinking, and she is blaming herself for this.”
“Of course she is,” Moonshine nodded. “That’s what friends do. Someone gets hurt, they blame themselves. I do it. Kitsune does it. Shiro does it. We all do. Hell, I think Kirito does it the most. At least from what I’ve heard from him. There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are quick to blame themselves for everything, and those who are quick to blame someone else for everything.”Aaron sighed as his hands slid into his pockets, he turned slightly and walked over to the other side of the bed. “She always said the things we do as the Unseen will someday come back to haunt us.” He stopped at the side of the bed looking down at Eowyn. “I never believed it would be this way. Eowyn, Nema, Lagan, and Kerith are everything to us. Our first true friends here in Dragon Lance. The six of us have been to Hell and back in this game and we did it together.” He chuckled. “People use to claim Eowyn was Creed and Celty’s son,” he chuckled again, “and Eowyn would never deny it. There were more than a few times he would call Ashley, mom or me, dad.”Moonshine smiled and gave a soft chuckle. After a minute his smile faded. “Well, take my words with a grain of salt until we figure this out… but… this doesn’t feel like retribution because of your guild’s doing. There had to be a reason he came here of all places. He didn’t stay in Slycrest. He came three hours here to find the Mystic Dragons.” Moonshine looked up at Aaron. “Do your guild members know about you and Celty yet?”“No, not yet. We held back on telling them because of something we witnessed in Slycrest the other evening.” Aaron looked at Moonshine. “I know why he came here, and I have been trying not to think of the reasons why he did. Because if I start letting my mind wander you won’t be able to keep me here.” His eyes adverted to Tanya. “And right now, her and Eowyn need me here. Not out killing the bastards that did this.”Moonshine leaned forward in his seat, putting his elbows on his knees. “What did the two of you see?”Aaron looked back to Eowyn as he spoke softly. “One of the Knights was out drinking with a Slayer.”Moonshine’s eyes widened. “Which one?”“Sir Luthien, he is our eighth Knight,” Aaron told him.Moonshine couldn’t recall the man off hand, but he nodded anyway. “Then you need someone who can follow him around without being seen. Even if it was just two friends having a good time in game, it’s better to suspect and be wrong than to avoid investigating those suspicions and be right. Besides, the consequences of not investigating could be much worse than having to apologize for not having trust in him if it turns out he’s trouble.”He looked to Aaron with a stern look. “I know my job is to care for the dragons, and in a week become their breeder, but I’m not a Knight. Nor am I an assassin. I’m just a stable boy compared to the rest of your forces. But that’s exactly why it should be me. And it can’t be Creed or Celty. Not after this. You can’t just toss in any Moon Elf at something like this.”Aaron looked pointedly at Moonshine. “And what will you do if he is guilty and he spots you. He is a Knight and if he is dealing with the Dragon Slayers, you will be going into a dangerous situation. Yes, Moon Elves are excellent Assassins, the reason why all of our guild Assassins are Moon Elves. Not to mention we need you right now. We can’t afford for you to go down on us. Not right now.” Aaron’s hand lifted as he rubbed his temple. “No, we will think of something. Let's just find out what happened to Eowyn first and we will take it from there.”Moonshine hummed and nodded slowly, opening his panel and taking out a small, black gem that almost looked like a pebble if one wasn’t paying attention. He tossed it up and caught it several times. “Well, if you can’t think of anything, then I’ll suggest it to you again. After all, I’m no typical Moon Elf.” He tossed the gem at Aaron and watched as he caught it. “I’m a Moon Elf with a Darkness Dragon as a companion.”Aaron chuckled lightly as he held up the onyx between his thumb and index finger, looking at it in the low lighting of the room. “And boy don’t you stick out like a sore thumb with that huge lovable puppy of yours.”Moonshine frowned deeply with a heavy sigh. “Which is exactly why I leave him elsewhere when I need to be an assassin. For a dragon that can disappear in plain sight, he sure is… obvious…”Aaron chuckled again and tossed the onyx back to Moonshine as he caught it. “We will talk about Luthien and his extracurricular activities later. Until we can set a plan of action...in action.” Aaron looked pointedly at Moonshine once more. “We just keep him out of the loop for now.”
Moonshine nodded.About an hour and a half later, Eowyn started to stir in bed. As he groaned, Aaron and Moonshine shot up out of their seats, moving close to him. As Aaron called out to the boy, Moonshine went over to Tanya, shaking her gently.“Tanya! Tanya, wake up!”“Hmm,” Tanya hummed as her eyes slowly opened seeing Aaron helping Eowyn sit up on the bed. She shot up off the couch and made a quick path to the bed sitting down on the edge. “Eowyn,” She smiled brightly as tears of joy streamed down her cheeks and she adjusted his covers to keep him warm. “How do you feel?”“Like I was run over by a herd of stampeding Dragons and hung out to dry,” Eowyn complained, moaning as he pushed up in the bed.Aaron sat down on the edge of the bed on the other side as he chuckled lightly. “Think you can tell us what happened?” When the boy sat there like he was confused over the question Aaron patted his leg. “It’s alright, take a minute you did just wake up.”“Are you hungry, or thirsty? I can get you something to eat if you are.” Tanya told him.Eowyn shook his head as he looked between Aaron and Tanya. “I came here because Celty always told me that if I needed her to come here because you know her.” He looked pointedly at Tanya as she nodded her head.“I do, yes. Can I ask--”“Four guys jumped us on the road from the forest back to Slycrest. We were out grinding.”“Thieves,” Moonshine added.“No,” Eowyn started shaking his head. “Not thieves.”“Who is we?” Tanya asked.“They beat us and warned us. They wouldn’t stop...”Eowyn started to cry as Tanya leaned forward and took him in her arms holding him close, she rocked him slowly as she rubbed his back. “It’s alright Eowyn. It's over. You’re safe now, but we need to know who this other person is. As badly as you were beaten when you got here we need to find this other person and make sure they are alright.”The boy sobbed softly as she held him against her. Tanya looking at the two in the room with them. She shook her head as Moonshine went to speak, sighing he sat down in the chair next to the bed and let the boy settle before they asked any more questions.After a few minutes, Eowyn sniffled and spoke again. “They took her.”“Huh,” Moonshine said sitting forward.Tanya pushed slightly back looking at him as Aaron asked. “Who did they take, Eowyn?”Suddenly Eowyn sat up after looking down at himself and see he was in a nightshirt.“Where are my clothes?” He looked quickly around the room. “And my satchel!?” He quickly moved to get out of bed as the three quickly stopped him.“Eowyn stop, it’s alright I took them off of you when I cleaned you up last night. You were dirty and bloody. Your clothes were destroyed, there was no saving them. I am sorry.”Eowyn rubbed his head as it shook quickly. “I don’t care about my clothes. It’s my satchel. I have to have my satchel.”As the boy went on about his satchel Tanya, Aaron and Moonshine looked at one another shaking their heads. At this point, Moonshine was up pacing the floor at the foot of the bed.“Eowyn, listen to me. When I saw you there was no satchel on you,” Tanya told him.“No! No! That can’t be.” Eowyn moved around on the bed as his eyes scanned the room like he believed if he looked hard enough, he would see it. “If I lost my satchel and I can’t give it to her they will kill her.”Everyone’s attention went to Eowyn. “Eowyn. Stop,” Aaron said placing his hands on the boy’s shoulders and making him look at him.“Listen to me. You have to calm down.” When Eowyn made eye contact with Aaron he continued. “If you don’t tell us everything we can’t help. Now calm yourself and tell us what we need to know so we can help you.”Eowyn settled back on the bed and took a deep breath, after a few minutes Eowyn took one more deep breath and started explaining things in more detail.“I need the satchel because I put a note in there that one of the guys gave to me to give to Celty. When Nema--”“Nema?!” Tanya exclaimed cutting him off. Aaron touched her forearm shaking his head the look on his face told her ‘Let him finish’.“Yes, Nema was the one with me when they jumped us. They beat us up and took Nema leaving me to deliver a message to Celty.”“What did they say to you, you said earlier they warned you. Can you tell us what they said?” Aaron asked.“He told me -- Make sure only the Moon Elf, Celty, receives this note. Tell her if she doesn’t show by sunrise, Nema will be severely hurt.”The three looked at one another as Tanya quickly opened her panel. She did two things. Checked her settings and looked at the time. She then looked at Moonshine and Aaron once more. “Sunrise is in one hour and twenty minutes and the sensitivity is still maxed.”Moonshine looked quickly at the boy. “Are you sure you did not put it in your inventory. You were pretty out of it when you got here.”
Eowyn opened his panel and went quickly to his inventory and looked through it to see if he dropped it in there. Closing his panel his head shook. “No, it's not in there.”Tanya looked to Aaron and Moonshine. “Check the Guardhouse,” her head lowered slightly as she looked to the floor in thought, then back up at the guys. “At the front gate, check the courtyard and the road coming up to the castle.” She looked quickly back at Eowyn. “How did you get here?”“My horse,” Eowyn told her.“The stables,” she said looking back at Aaron and Moonshine. “Maybe it was left on his horse.”The two nodded as they quickly made their way toward the door. Moonshine turned to Aaron and placed his hand on the door. “I’m going up to the gate to check with them. If they don’t have it, I’m off to the stables.”
“As Moonshine went to open the door Eowyn called out to him. “Hey, Mister. I ride a brown and white Paint. She has a white mane and white tail.”Moonshine nodded his head. “Thanks, Eowyn.” The door opened and he and Aaron left the room with Tanya calling out behind them.“Please hurry! Time is of the essence!”Moonshine ran off outside, heading immediately to the gate. There were two guards on duty who looked tired, to say the least. He was hoping they were at least awake enough to recall whether anyone found a satchel.“Excuse me you two,” he grabbed their attention. “A young boy came in a few hours earlier on a horse. He was very badly injured. Did the boy by chance drop a satchel here at the gate?”The guard on the right hummed and shook his head. “No, we don’t have anything like that up here. I’d remember if we did. Especially since it wasn’t that long ago. We had a few lost items that we took to the Herald, but there wasn’t a satchel among those items. Unless by satchel you mean ‘bedazzled women’s handbag’.”Moonshine sighed and shook his head. “No, nothing like that. This would have been a typical leather satchel.”“Oh!” The guard on the left said all of a sudden. “If I remember correctly, there was something like a satchel on the boy’s horse.”“You’re sure?”“Surer than what I can remember I had for breakfast. The boy had a Paint, right? Cute little thing.”Moonshine nodded and turned towards the stables. “Yes, that’s it. Thank you.”He ran off to the stables where the horses were kept. At the very end in the last guest space, he saw the horse that Eowyn described. It wasn’t wearing anything, however. It’s saddle, bridle and everything else had been taken off. Thankfully, the items had been hung up on the hanging peg next to its stall. The small leather bag hung on the saddle horn as the saddle rested over the stall edging.“Got you,” he said absentmindedly. “This better have what we were looking for.”He made his way back to the room where Eowyn was.Aaron entered the room shaking his head with a defeated look as he walked toward the bed. Before he could sit down next to Eowyn, Moonshine walked in the room with the satchel held high in his hand. Audible sighs of relief filled the room.Moonshine walked over and handed the satchel to the boy. “Here you go. Special delivery via pony express. Don’t worry. I won’t charge you cash on delivery.”Eowyn took the satchel with a small smile as he dumped it out on the bed and looked through it all. As he moved his journal, he saw the small piece of paper with his bloody fingerprints on it. He snatched it up quickly holding it to his chest.“I found it,” Eowyn told them.Aaron smiled holding his hand out to the boy. “Let me read it.”Eowyn shook his head with a touch of fear in his eyes. “I can only give this to Celty.”“Eowyn if you want to help Nema we have to know what to tell Celty when we get ahold of her. With only an hour left till sunrise, there will be no time for her to come here then leave and go wherever the note tells her to go.” Tanya tried to get him to understand.“Celty can do it. Celty and Creed can do anything,” Eowyn boasted about his clansmen.Aaron sighed as his head fell forward and he combed his fingers through his hair. “Eowyn please, the longer you withhold the note from us the less time we have to help Nema.”“They told me to only give it to Celty,” Eowyn repeated shaking his head.Tanya sighed and looked to Moonshine and Aaron as she motioned with her head for them to follow her to the other side of the room. Once the three were across the room Tanya looked at the two males and spoke softly. “Maybe I should tell him I am Celty.”“No, I know he is one of our clansmen of the Unseen, Tanya, but he is still a kid he will not mean too but he will tell people,” Aaron explained to her. “Remember when Lagan told us his real name. Eowyn told everyone he came across.”Tanya sighed nodding her head slowly. “What else is there to do. There is no way I can sign out as Tanya, sign in as Celty, come here and then go to wherever the kidnappers are with Nema. I am not Wonder Woman.”Moonshine chuckled as he looked back to Eowyn. “He thinks you are.”“Not helping~ Moonshine,” Tanya mumbled.Moonshine gave a slight smile before sighing. “Okay, how about this. What’s the one thing Celty doesn’t have that Tanya does?” When Tanya blinked, he answered. “A dragon. And I know, you can’t send Musashi because they’ll immediately know who he is, but what if I send Imera to Celty. She can ride her here in just a few minutes, then ride her to wherever Nema is. It will shave quite a bit off of travel time. And as back up, I can ride Nychta and follow and hang around away from wherever they’re holding her. That way if need be Celty has backup. Sound good?”Tanya sighed shaking her head. “I am still going to be late getting to Nema by 15 to 20 minutes, but it’s the best we have. Let’s hope these assholes are not paying attention to the clock or the rising sun.” She looked between Moonshine and Aaron. “And you had better be at the gate when I get there.” She poked Aaron in the arm. “Because there is no way in Hell, they are going to let me in here on Celty’s word.”Aaron nodded his head. “I will be there. Now, no more wasting time. Both of you go. Do what you have to and get the ball rolling.”Tanya and Moonshine both nodded their heads and rushed out of the room. Moonshine went to the dragon stables and Tanya went to her own room to sign out.Aaron turned walking back to Eowyn as the boy watched the other two leave. “Where are they going?”Aaron looked behind him as the door closed behind Moonshine. “Tanya is going to contact Celty and Moonshine remembered he had to feed his dragon.”Eowyn’s little head bobbed as he scooted down in the bed resting his head to the pillow. There he waited for Celty to come to the castle.---Moonshine rushed into the dragon stables hurriedly but quietly so he wouldn’t wake the other dragons that were sleeping. He turned right and headed down to Imera’s stall. She was asleep but woke up immediately when he unlatched the lock on her gate. She lifted her head and blinked her eyes rapidly.“Master? What is wrong? You look stressed,” she said to him as he walked in.Moonshine took her head in his hands and stroked her face, kissing her nose. “I need your help Imera. Something has happened and a boy from Celty’s guild has been hurt. Celty needs your help to save one of her friends in time. She won’t make it in enough time without you.”Imera stood and followed her master out of the stall. “Is someone after them?”“Yes, but we’re not sure who. One of her friends has been taken hostage. I need you to go to Slycrest, ride back with Celty, then ride with her to wherever her friend is being held captive. Could you do that for me? Would you?”Imera nodded and nosed Moonshine’s cheek. “Yes. I will do my best to help her.”Moonshine smiled as he led her out the side door. “Thank you, Imera. I’ll let you take off and I will meet you at the gate when you return with Celty.”Once Imera was outside, she took off into the night sky, her body streaking across the sky like a cloud. He watched for a moment before turning back and going back in to wake up Nychta as well.While in Slycrest, Celty paced the road just outside of the village. Her anxiety level was escalating as she waited for Imera to appear. She had already been there for 15 minutes, time was slipping away and soon the moment would be crucial, they had to move quickly before it was too late.
Imera had flown as fast as she could towards Slycrest. She wished she could have made the trip faster, but any more and she would be too exhausted for the next two trips she had to make. When she reached the village, she looked down and scanned the ground for Celty. She found her rather easily since she was pacing. Imera descended quickly and landed a ways away from her. She made a throaty trilling noise and shuffled closer to her, lowering herself to the ground.Celty ran up to her wrapping her arms around her head and gave her a tight hug. “Thank you Imera. Once we get to the castle, I have something for you. It will help restore your energy quicker while I talk to Eowyn.” She quickly climbed to Imera’s back. “Cerberus sent it to me for you. So I will have to remember to thank him later.” She heard Imera trill as she slowly lifted to take flight, Celty patting her neck. “I wish I could understand you, pretty girl, but I can’t. So, for now, let's get a move on. Nema needs us.”Imera got a bit of a running start then took off into the sky once more, this time flying faster and straight for the castle at her top speed, hoping that it would cut down on at least some of the time it was taking to fly back and forth. She didn’t want Celty’s friends to get hurt. Especially if one of them was kidnapped.It took about ten minutes this time to return to Whitehaven, and when they landed Imera was winded. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she panted heavily. She wasn’t tired enough to collapse, but her wings were definitely tired. Her breath came from her nostrils in heavy, loud pants. Moonshine immediately went up to her and helped Celty down as she placed something in his hand.“Give this to her,” Celty told him before he cradled Imera’s head in his arms. He shushed her and stroked her face, kissing her nose.“Good girl. I’m so proud of you,” he said to her softly as Celty went up to Aaron and the guards.“Let's go. Imera flew her little ass off to get here so let's not waste that extra time she got back for us.” Celty barked as she took off in front of them.The guard looked at Aaron in confusion wondering why this Moon Elf took off without them. It was not like she knew where she was going or did she? Aaron shook his head and ran off after her leaving the guard and Moonshine at the gate.Once at Eowyn’s room Celty entered quickly, Eowyn leaping from the bed he darted toward Celty wrapping his arms around her.“Celty,” he sobbed into her chest. “I was so afraid you would not make it in time.”“It's ok, I am here now. Tanya told me everything.” She lowered herself to a squat in front of him taking him by the arms and moving him back slightly. “Give me the note so I can go get Nema. There is not much time before sunrise.”Eowyn nodded as he extended his hand with the note in it. Celty taking the note, she stood, unfolded it as she stepped back, turning away from him as she read it.
If you want to see your clansman, Nema, again, come to Rivermore Mill. ALONE. By sunrise, or you will never see her again.
Celty growled wadding the note up in her hand as Aaron looked at her. She forcefully placed the note in Aaron’s hand as she turned and took hold of Eowyn’s arms once more.“I want you to stay here with Aaron and Tanya. I am going to get Nema. Contact the others and let them know you’re here. Tell them to come here as well, and if anything happens to me.” She looked at Aaron after he read the note then back to Eowyn. “I want you to stay here.”“But Celty…what about the Unseen. You know Creed is not going to let them get away with hurting you. He will hunt them to the ends of this world and kill them all.” Eowyn sniffled. “We all will.”Celty shook her head. “I don’t know what these guys want. If they want me to take Nema’s place I will, just to save her. If that happens you have to promise me you will not let Creed come looking for me. He has to stay here and protect the rest of you.” She brushed his hair from his face. “Promise me.”Eowyn’s cheeks were wet from tears as his little head nodded. “I promise…”“Thank you,” she pulled him into a hug. When they parted from the embrace, she took his face in her hands and kissed his forehead. “I am going to try my best to get back here to you. Me and Nema both, but if it don’t work out that way I need you to be strong for the clan.” She looked into his eyes. “Can you do that for me?” His little head nodded slowly as Celty kissed his forehead again. “Good.”She stood from squatting in front of him as she turned looking at Aaron once more. “Take care of him.”“I will, I promise.” Aaron grabbed her by her elbow before she exited the room. He turned her gently so to look at her. “But you have to promise to come back to us.”“I will do my best,” Celty told him. She tugged her arm from his grasp as she turned and left the room.Going back to the gate were Imera and Moonshine were, Celty pulled Moonshine aside to talk to him.“They are holding Nema at the Rivermore Mill. We know there are four of them, but we don’t know how many more are with those four at the Mill. Move swiftly and move silently. I want to get all of us out of there pretty much unscathed. With the sensitivity still maxed out, any damage we take is going to hurt like Hell.” She growled with a pause as she reached up and rubbed her shoulder. “Take my word for it. I was hurt in the first glitch that took place and it was not pleasant in the least.”Moonshine nodded. “Will do. I filled in Kirito while you were on your way here. He’ll be coming with me. I’ll wait about five minutes then leave after you, that way we’re close but not too close.”Celty nodded and climbed up onto Imera, who was now much livelier and more refreshed after the energy boost. Moonshine patted her head before he watched them take off. As Celty and Imera left, Moonshine went to the courtyard where Kirito was waiting for him with Nychta.“You ready?”“More than ready,” Kirito nodded sternly. “Let’s do this.”
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Chapter Thirty-Two
Celty arrived at the old Mill with 10 minutes to spare as she took cover in the thick of the forest. Squatting down on a tree branch that she took high in the trees, she looked down at the silent mill, her eyes combing the area for any others that might be in hiding, waiting for her to appear. Shaking her head, she scoured the area well for others.The mill was dark and cloaked by the trees as the moon was nearly nonexistent in the early morning sky. Looking down at the typical wood-built mill with a huge water wheel attached, she looked around for anyone that might be looking for her, but also examining the area that she might be able to use to her advantage in this fight. There was a field of grass with tree stumps where trees had been cut down. The river babbled and gurgled as it flowed down towards Rivermore village. The water from the river turned the wheel at a moderate pace. Meaning that if she did by chance make it to the river to get away, she would have to do the swimming. Because the current was not going to carry her away fast enough. She could hear the gears clunking and clicking inside the Mill that moved the conveyor belts used for moving the wood from the river to the saw.There was moss and algae on parts of the water and the building where the water didn’t move much. The mill wasn’t beaten down, but it wasn’t anything overly noticeable either. She figured this was just a grinding area, except there were no monsters or other enemy NPCs, which meant the people who took Nema probably beat them all or cast a spell to keep them out.With ease, Celty jumped from one tree limb to another, getting closer to the mill. She was not going to show herself until she absolutely had to. She could not hear Nema screaming or crying, so that was one good sign at least, and they, the bad guys, had better hope they had not laid a finger on Nema. For if they did, it would only be more of a reason for her to slit their throats quicker than she had originally planned.Leaping to another branch, a shadow fell over the plains and forest. When Celty looked up, she saw Imera’s sleek white body circling over the forest. Then along came Meuma with Nychta who landed near the river, away from the mill. Moonshine and Kirito had finally made it there, but she did not see them only the two dragons as they dipped their heads down to drink from the river, Nychta training one red eye on her in the trees.She chuckled to herself when she heard noise below her, grabbing her attention. She saw two of the guys walk out of the mill and look around. Both were armed with halberds. But not just some weak halberds. Ones forged from dragon parts with sharp spears at the top and axes at the sides. They were dragon slayers.“Where the hell is she? She should have been here by now!”“Chill out, Maxsim. We beat that kid pretty bad. He’s probably still gathering his marbles back together.”“And whose fault is that, huh, Krator?! I told you that you went overboard! What if that kid can’t even remember what we told him!?”“Relax! He has the note! Remember?”“Hey! Wait!”“What now?”“Look. Look! Through the trees! Dragons! Those are dragons!”“Oh yeah, huh. Still, it’s not like we have the time or the empty space to kill them and pick them clean. If us fucking around, trying to kill and scavenge a couple of dragons costs us this mission, then we’re screwed. We might as well let the dragons eat us.”“Well, yeah, but… That looks like a Darkness dragon and a Titanium dragon. Seems like a waste to let them be.”Celty growled to herself when she heard them mention Nychta and Meuma. Don’t even breathe their way assholes or I will remove your heads. Celty said to herself. I swear if they move their direction… Suddenly an idea came to her. It was a slight risk, but with her and three dragons there...even if there were six Dragon Slayers...they could take them. At that moment, she stood and jumped down out of the trees.“Looking for me,” Celty called out catching the attention of the two. She was a good few yards away from the two she was eavesdropping on, so she had a good head start on them when she took off toward Nychta and Meuma. The two guys had not seen Imera since she was still airborne. So there in itself, she and the dragons had the element of surprise.Keeping the two guys close to her, but not close enough for them to catch her, Celty darted out into the clearing where Nychta and Meuma were drinking. The two guys were fast behind her. When they were far enough out of the forest, Celty whistled, calling out to Nychta.“Hey, big boy! I got lunch!!”She dared not call out Nychta’s name. She did not want them to know she knew any of the dragons that were there.Nychta craned his long neck as his red eyes bore down on the two guys that ran fast after the girl. Not realizing how fast Nychta could turn, Celty ran straight toward him as the huge black dragon turned on the two guys. Her eyes widened as she watched his massive body spin their way. To avoid getting stomped on, Celty sprung forward with a couple of forward handsprings, clearing the two front legs. Now all she had to worry about was the two hind. She danced around under him as he moved in for his attack on the two men. Meuma running over to assist the Dark Dragon.
She heard one of them scream as Nychta grabbed up one by one of his legs and shook him like a dog does his toy rope, then fling his body across the wide river. Celty could not help but laugh when they other one gawked up at the massive black dragon. Nychta flinging his head back around to grab the other one.The guy screamed like a little girl and darted toward the forest, but with one mighty step and extending his long neck, Nychta grabbed the guy by the arm and lifted him high above Celty. He still screamed, and she believed he was crying as well. He was most definitely begging for mercy.
Nychta growled and looked down at the Moon Elf named Celty whom his master informed was also the player of Tanya. He rumbled and leaned down so that the man was dangling in front of her. He snorted hot air onto them, but mostly the guy.Celty shook her head and waved one hand through the air, the other on her hip. “Nah, you can have him. I’m done with him.”Nychta gave a happy rumble and turned to Meuma. “Catch!”Nychta tossed the guy through the air to Meuma.Meuma opened her mouth to catch him as the guy screamed, seeing razor-sharp teeth about to bite down on him, and she was not gentle at all when she went to catch him. “Back at you, Nychta,” Meuma called to him as she flicked him back to the Dark Dragon.Celty looked up, blocking the setting sun as she saw Imera fly by, however this time she saw two bodies on her back. Moonshine and Kirito nonetheless. She waved her arms above her head to get their attention.Moonshine and Kirito were laughing their asses off at the spectacle their two dragons put on. When Moonshine saw Celty waving at them, he patted Imera’s head. “Alright, take us down, girl.”Imera trilled and descended gracefully, landing next to Celty. She went over to the river to drink but ended up fishing out the first guy. She lifted him up and showed him to the three.“I found a prize!”“Bring him here Imera. I need some answers before I enter the Mill,” Celty informed her. She looked up at Nychta and Meuma as they still tossed the one guy back and forth between them. She did not want to spoil their fun. So she would talk to the other play toy instead.Imera trotted over and dropped him from at least two stories up. He landed in the wet grass with a hard, wet ‘thump’. He coughed and gagged, choking up water and other things from the river. Imera shook her head with a disgusted look.“He did not taste good.”Moonshine laughed, shaking his head. “Dragon Slayers usually don’t.”Celty looked at Moonshine and wanted to ask what she said, but she had more important things at hand at the moment. She needed to find out if Nema was in the Mill or if this was some trap to get her there and neither of them would be set free. She also wanted to know how many more she had to face when she walked in there.Stepping up to the guy she looked down at him as he rolled over to his back a hand across his chest, Imera looming over them both.“Get up!” Celty slightly kicked him in the leg. His only response was an evil glare her direction. She kicked him a little harder. “I said get up, or do you want to be a dragon chew toy next.”Imera lowered her head and bared her teeth at him.“I’d listen to her,” Moonshine crossed his arms. “She may look big and fluffy, but you don’t want to piss her off. She could turn your avatar blind if she wanted. And not the temporary status ailment kind. Light dragons breathe a beam of light that’s just as strong as the sun in real life. Did you know that? One puff from her, and you’ll know what it’s like to watch a solar eclipse… from the sun that is.”Celty stepped back slightly as the guy rolled to his side and started to push up off the ground. Once he was standing in front of her she chuckled lightly and out of the blue he was on his back again. This time laying between Imera’s front paws. The large white dragon looked down at the man under her then back at the female Moon Elf. Her eyes then moved to her master.“Did she hit him?” Imera asked.“Yup,” Moonshine laughed. “Right in the schnoz too.”“Get up,” Celty ordered him.“Fuck you!” The guy groaned as he covered his bleeding nose.“Get up, or I will toss you a beating that will send your ass spawning back at headquarters.” She fell silent for a second, waiting for him to move. When he didn’t, she bellowed, “GET UP!!”
Imera growled and grabbed the guy’s head in her mouth, though not hard enough to bite his head off. He screamed from inside her mouth as she lifted him up to his feet. She then lowered her head, so her nose was right at his back, growling louder as her breath hit his back.“I think you made her mad,” Moonshine smirked.Celty stepped up to the guy as the other one fell to the ground at Nychta’s feet. She looked from the corner of her eyes then back to his accomplice. “How many more are in there waiting for me? And is Nema in there or you jerking my chain?”When the guy did not answer, Nychta’s head lowered placing him between the Dark Dragon and the Light dragons’ heads.“I won’t stop them if they want to eat you. No, no. I take that back. I would not allow them to eat something as disgusting as a Dragon Slayer. But I have no qualms with letting them rip your limbs off and toss you around like your buddy.” Celty explained to him.
The guy named Maxsim looked at the Darkness dragon before him. The black monster licked its lips and rumbled low in its chest. Its red eyes were like windows into Hell itself. He swallowed hard, trying not to imagine what it would feel like to be crushed between its teeth. He already thought the Light dragon was going to bite his head off.He looked to the female Moon Elf. “And how the hell do I know you’re not going to let them do that anyway, huh?! What the fuck is stopping you if I spill my guts?!”Celty chuckled softly shaking her head. “You’re right, I just might let them rip you to pieces. After all, in your little conversation I overheard, you confessed that you beat the life out of little Eowyn, and if Nema has one scratch on her, other then what I was informed of... I might rip you apart myself. Now talk.”Maxsim growled and took a step forward. “You bitch! You can’t talk to me like tha--”Nychta got right in his face so his teeth were touching the guy’s face. He snarled loudly, saliva covering his face. The color drained from his face and he backed up against Imera’s paws, falling over on top of them. A huge wet spot formed on the center of his pants. Imera let out a sound of disgust and tossed him off of her, turning and running over to the river.“Thanks for nothing!” Imera growled at Nychta as she splashed around in the water.“Oops,” Nychta sneered, flashing all of his teeth.It was hard for Celty to keep a straight face with Moonshine and Kirito snickering in the background at what they just witnessed, but she pushed forward. She grabbed the guy and dragged him to the river's edge. Both she and the guy stepped into the river as she tugged him behind her.“You sick freak!” She bellowed dunking him a few times in the water. The third time she held him under for a few seconds then jerked him up as he gasps for air.“DAMMIT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THE FUCKING RIVER!!”Celty dunked him again. “Then start talking or start spawning!” She held him under again.“OKAY! JUST FUCKING STOP!” He took a breath then started talking. “Yes, the little bitch is in there! Aside from us two, there’s three other guys. Two slayers and our Second in command.” He glared up at her. “And you might as well kill me now because when our boss finds out about this he’s gonna do a lot worse.”Moonshine stepped forward and grabbed Maxsim by the collar with both hands, raising him up in the air with a look just as dark as his dragon’s. “What’s your boss’ name? And the second in the mill? What’s his name? And if you don’t tell me, I’ll take you back to the Mystic Dragons, and we’ll do a lot worse than just kill you. Trust me, we’ll make you wish we sent you spawning back to your boss.”Maxsim shuttered in the male Moon Elf’s hold as he looked into his nearly slitted eyes. Remaining silent he rolled his tongue around in his mouth until he pushed a capsule that they all had in their mouths at all times over onto his teeth. He bit down into it and it burst with a bitter taste all over his tongue. He gagged and shook violently, causing the Moon Elf to drop him into the water. He seized up and his mouth foamed until he stopped moving. With a burst of blue pixels, he was gone.“FUCK!” Moonshine kicked at the water where the guy was. “Who the fuck are these guys?! The yakuza?! I didn’t even know they had shit like that in this game!”Celty growled and took off like a lightning bolt out of the river as she ran toward the Mill.“Celty hold up!” Kirito called out to her as she ran toward the forest.“I have to get to her! If he messages them, they will know I am coming!” Celty yelled back as she disappeared into the forest.Moonshine waved his hand at Kirito. “You have Meuma fly around above the mill. Imera will fly with her. Hide in the forest in case she needs back up.”“And what are you going to do?!” Kirito looked at him.Moonshine went up to the other guy and grabbed him by the face. He pried his mouth open and grabbed the poison capsule from his mouth, tossing it into the grass away from them. The guy screamed and protested, nearly sobbing as his only hope of salvation disappeared amongst the tall grass.“I’m gonna try my luck with this guy and take him back to the Mystic Dragons,” Moonshine looked down at the man with an evil sneer. “You and I are gonna have some fun. And you’re in luck. Since your buddy went all hara-kiri on us, you get all the fun to yourself.”Pulling out all the tricks of her trade, Celty armed herself with her blade the Unseen as she crept slowly into the entrance of the Mill. The closer she got the louder the voices became that were inside talking. Nema was silent. She hoped that was a good sign and not one that meant they beat her silent.“Where are those two idiots? They went out to check the area hours ago.” A tall blond grunted as he shifted where he stood.“Hyperbolic much, Zane?” Nado chuckled. “They have only been gone for...at most 30 minutes if that.”The two were standing at the entrance waiting for her to appear, that was obvious enough. Both armed with ax halberds and spears.Celty shook her head. What the hell do they think I am a demon of some sort? She said to herself as she crept slowly forward once more.Drawing closer she heard another voice, the third and their Second in command she was sure of it.“What the hell is taking so long?!”Just then, the guy appeared in the doorway. Celty nearly gave up her position when she gasps aloud, but she got lucky that the water wheel on the Mill gave a loud clunk at the same time.It was Seveani. The Second in command of the Dragon Slayers. He was a little taller than her, with olive skin, dirty dishwater blonde hair and green eyes, so green they even stood out in the dim lighting of the Mill. His attire was a pine green shirt with brown trousers and leather boots. His long, dark brown leather trench coat fanned out behind him as he quickly walked passed the two standing at the door.Celty paused from moving forward when her thoughts went back to when she saw him the other day in Slycrest with the Mystic Dragon Knight. Her mind was racing, but she was able to stay focused enough to overhear their conversation.“Maxsim and Krator are still out combing the area for the Moon Elf, Sir.” The taller one named Zane reported.“Bullshit! More like she found them and strung them up,” Seveani bellowed.The two grew wide-eyed as they looked at him. “Do you really think that happened?” Nado asked.Seveani turned slightly with a coy smile. “It’s Celty the Moon Elf of the Unseen. She levels higher than the four of you idiots put together. Her skills are off the chart, and her weapons are top of the line. If she wants you dead, you’re dead.”“Why thank you,” Celty replied as she walked out of the shadows facing the three men. “I didn't know I was so renowned around here.”Seveani spun quickly drawing his blade from his side as the two men behind him took their stand with their halberds. “Well now, I was wondering when we would get to meet face to face.”Celty shook her head. “I am not impressed.” She crossed her arms under her breasts striking a confident pose before them. “I am here for my clansman. Turn her over to me and I might let you out of here with a few bumps and bruises. Push your luck and I will send you spawning back to your headquarters, and I promise you with the sensitivity glitching again, it won’t be pleasurable.”
“Like hell!”The two guys lunged forward, the first thrusting his halberd at her while the other circled around and swung the ax at her back. Celty ducked, avoiding both attacks as the one that came up behind her nearly axed his comrade when she moved out of the way. Leaping to her left, their Second in command attacked next. She drew the blade of the Unseen and lashed back at him cutting into the sleeve of his trench coat. She turned on the other two cutting one of the halberds handles in two.Seveani sneered at her. “What an annoyingly useful blade you have there. Maybe I should kill you and take it from you?” He swung his blade at her then dodged when she went to counter. He kicked her legs out from under her then thrust his blade down at her to pierce her.“You can try, but you'd fail. This blade only works for the one that was blessed with it.” Celty kicked her legs up catching him in the side of the head with one foot and in the body with the other. He stumbled forward making it capable for her to roll out and get back on her feet as she spun quickly into a roundhouse and kicked both of the guards. One in the head and the other in the chest. Landing on her feet once more she turned on the Second in command.“Where is she?!”“In a hurry?” Seveani asked her with a smirk.“Most definitely. I don’t like keeping company with assholes.”As Celty battled the Second in command, Kirito made his way around to the back of the Mill where the water wheel was. He spotted an open window at the very top of the wheel. It was probably for observing the top of the wheel without going outside. He trudged through the water, grabbing the panels of the wheel when he got close enough. He lifted himself up quickly as the wheel spun, letting the panel carry him up to the top. When he was close to the top, he climbed up into the trough on the wheel and leaped at the wall, grabbing the windowsill. When he peeked in, he heard Celty fighting with the others down on the first floor. The second floor was empty except for tons and tons of planks and stacked up lumber. He climbed in and looked around seeing a door that led to a side room. When he moved closer, he noticed the sign on the door said ‘Foreman’.He peeked through the small window to see a young girl laying on the floor unconscious with her hands and feet bound. He glanced at the staircase on the other end of the floor. The others were much too busy to notice him or hear him. He opened the door quietly and stepped in.“Nema? Nema can you hear me?” He pulled out a knife and sliced the ropes that were binding her. He lifted her so her back was against his knee. “Nema, wake up.”Nema came to slowly as she lifted her head and it fell forward. “E...E...owyn…” She called in a weak tone thinking it was him since he was the last person she saw before she was knocked out.“Sorry, my name is Kirito. Eowyn is at Whitehaven castle. I’m here to take you back. Can you stand?” Kirito said softly.Her head lifted as she looked at the cute dark haired boy next to her. He had wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her and help her stand. She nodded slowly to him as she looked around her surroundings. “Where am I?”“Rivermore Mill. You were taken by players who are after Celty. They were using you to get to her. She’s downstairs fighting, but if I get you out first, then they have no reason to fight. They won’t have anything to use against her.” He led her out of the office and pointed to the open window. “I came in through there. The water wheel is right below that window. Think you can manage that exit?”
“Mhmm,” Nema hummed as her head nodded slowly. “It might be a little slow going, but I think I can handle it.”The two stepped over to the window as Kirito helped her up onto the sill and held tightly to her with her first step onto the wheel. She staggered slightly causing him to grab her and pull her back toward him.“You sure you got this?” He asked her quietly.She nodded her head with a determined look on her face. “I can do this.”“Alright,” Kirito confirmed.Suddenly, as Nema climbed up onto the windowsill again, the large, white head of Imera peeked up over the wheel. She was more than big enough to reach over the river and above the wheel so Nema could climb onto her head and neck instead of risking the climb down the wheel. Imera trilled quietly.“Don’t worry, she’s a friend. Climb onto her and she’ll take you to Whitehaven where Eowyn is,” Kirito told her.“What about you?”Kirito smiled. “I’m going downstairs to help Celty.”As Nema climbed onto the dragon, Kirito turned to go and assist Celty, but he was stopped when Nema grabbed his hand. When he turned and looked at her she smiled sheepishly at him. “Thank you, Kirito and be careful. These guys are dangerous. I heard them talking about killing Celty.”Kirito nodded with a stern look. “Don’t worry about me. They’re the ones who should be careful.” He turned and ran off as Imera took off with Nema.---Fighting the three, Celty had taken on more injuries than she had hoped for, but it was nothing compared to what she was giving in return. As the Second in command lunged at her she saw Kirito leap from the second level above the other two men, landing behind them with near to no sound.“About time,” Celty claimed with a chuckle. She was hurting, but she was not about to let it show.“Sorry,” Kirito smirked. “That water wheel is a doozy to climb.”He pulled out his two swords and joined her in battle, swinging at the man in charge with one. As he blocked his first sword, he swung the other at an opening, catching him in the side. The man grunted and stumbled back. Kirito moved over to Celty, pointing his swords at the man.
“Either way, your insurance just expired, and it doesn’t look like you have any way to pay up,” Kirito stared him down. “Give it up. This plan of yours failed. You got nothing left.”Seveani quickly looked at the other two gesturing with his head toward the area where they were holding the girl. The one named Nado took off toward the room as the other stepped up next to him. Seveani looked back at Celty. “Then there is nothing left to do than kill you. That was the whole plan anyway.” A sly grin crossed his lips as his eyes lifted looking at the Moon Elf. “It seems our boss is tired of you sticking your nose in places it don’t belong and running off and telling the only people that can stop him.”Seveani lunged forward causing Celty to block with her blade, but his blade slid down hers, the tip cutting into her forearm.Celty cringed with a few curse words and quickly drew back as blood spilled from the wound. “What can I say. Maybe if your boss paid better than the other guys, I might have been working for him... A girls gotta eat after all.”“Paid better? Please! Our boss could make himself the richest man in this game if he wanted to. All it takes is a few clicks and voila. His Scala is maxed out.”The bewildered look she held on her face as she looked at her new wound turned to pure rage as she looked up at the man in front of her.“You’re the bastards messing with the sensitivity.” She looked over at Kirito which wore a look of shock.
Once Kirito recovered, he gave Celty a stern look, hoping she would get the idea. He had to create openings for her. That was the only way they were making it out of this relatively unscathed. Especially with the sensitivity turned back up. With his dual wielding and speed, he could create openings and Celty could strike at him with her invisible blade.“If you want to kill her, you gotta kill me first!” Kirito glared at him. He ran at him and unleashed one attack after another at him. He blocked most of them, then Kirito lashed out with both at the same time. The man caught both blades on his. Kirito kept him in place, pushing his swords down onto his.As Kirito went after their Second, the guard came at Celty. However, alone, he was no match for her. With a swing of her blade coming down on his shoulder the guy screamed as if she had run him through with a hot blade.Upon the second floor, his friend returned just in time to see him fall to his knees clutching his shoulder, dropping his own blade. Celty scoffed shaking her head as she twisted her blade and removed his head.“ZANE!!” Nado bellowed as he watched his comrade bursting into a million blue pixels. Celty did not have time to worry about the other guy on the second floor as she turned quickly darting toward Kirito as he fought Seveani.“It seems they are not excluded,” Celty told Kirito blocking a few attacks Seveani threw at her.
“Really? So if we carve this guy up, he feels it too?” Kirito grinned. “That means the more we hurt you, the quicker you’ll tire out. Your brain won’t be able to think too well through the pain.”Seveani smiled slyly at him. “Oh? Then, by all means, show me. Let’s see if you can accomplish that.”As Kirito threw a barrage of attacks at him, Celty attack the enemy at every opening he gave her. However, he did not flinch when her sword made contact with his person, and his HP hardly moved even with the power hits she and Kirito were hitting him with.“What the hell are you!!” Celty screamed as she lunged her sword forward stabbing him in the leg.“He’s a cheater is what he is,” Kirito glared at him. “People called me a cheater because I was a beta tester for SAO, but players like him are the real cheaters! If they can hack the system and mess with the sensitivity, then who knows what else they can do?”He took a breath and considered their options as they both took a step back from Seveani. “We might have to swallow our pride with this one. It’s either that or we risk serious damage to our real bodies.”Seveani chuckled manically with a wide smirk across his lips as he looked at Celty. Gritting her teeth and shaking her head she bellowed. “Fuck that! He is going down one way or another!”Celty went in for another attack, cutting him across the chest. Seveani stumbled back as her sword then spun and she brought it up, cutting him across his left cheek. Her sword swung madly at him with precise accuracy cutting into him wherever the blade touched. He stumbled back as she pushed forward, rage in her eyes. When he fell to the ground her blade stopped at his throat.She glared down at him, the tip of her blade cutting into his neck as she pushed the blade forward. “I should kill you right here and now, but I like my status as a green player. Stay away from me. Stay away from my clan and stay away from my friends. Because if you don’t I will come after you with a Moon Elf that is twice what I am.”The hilt of her blade turned in her hand as she doubled her fist and punched him square in the nose, knocking him out. She turned darting past Kirito. “Let’s go before he wakes up.”“Remember what I said about swallowing our pride?” Kirito sighed as he put his swords away. “Forget I said anything.”Celty said nothing as the two of them left immediately.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Thirty-Three
As they made their way back to the river's edge where Celty saw Nychta and Meuma,
Meuma flew overhead, Kirito turned and looked to Celty.
“We need to head to Whitehaven Castle as soon as possible and see what’s up with Moonshine and that other guy.”“Other guy?” Celty questioned with a confused look on her face.“The guy Nychta and Meuma were tossing around. Moonshine took the poison capsule out of his mouth and took him back to Whitehaven Castle to get answers out of him. So you might want to come on as Tanya before too long.”Celty nodded her head. “Most definitely. I want answers from this asshole, Moonshine arrested.” She looked ahead of them as they walked along the path, a short silence falling between them, Celty soon breaking it with a worried tone.“However, I want to make sure Nema is alright before I sign out,” she sighed heavily. “And hopefully she might have some information that she might have overheard them talking about.”
“Then you’re in luck because I sent her to Whitehaven instead of Slycrest. Though that does leave you in the pickle of who to show up as.” He pulled out a transport stone only to be stopped by Celty as she placed her hand to his that held the stone.“Sorry,” Celty’s tone spoke true regret.“Sorry for what?” Kirito asked with a confused tone.“I lost it back there. At one minute I was ready to cut free of the fight, swallow our pride as you put it.” She chuckled softly, her tone then changing to anger as she growled her free hand clenching at her side. “But the second that bastard smirked at me... I snapped and I should not have. A real warrior keeps their composure, not throw caution to the wind.”Kirito shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder. “No, it’s okay. I get it. We all have our moments, and that freak was egging you on. I’d have been the same way. If it was my friend instead of yours, I’d have been singing a different tune. So don’t beat yourself up too much. We made it out, and that’s all that matters.”“Did we?” Celty’s head shook as she looked to the ground. Her head lifted looking at Kirito once more. “Or did we just delay the inevitable?” She gave a defeated sigh. “We have to stop these guys. They are risking everyone that plays Dragon Lance and they are risking a VR we all love.”“We’ll stop them. This helped us more than it did them. We’re going to get answers out of that guy. They made a big mistake. They just pushed themselves one step closer to being taken out.”Celty nodded her head slowly as her hand fell from Kirito’s. She looked to him with a warm smile. “Go. I will see you in a bit. If Aaron is wondering where I am let him know I am coming back on as Tanya. She will be able to get more done at Whitehaven than Celty.”“Will do,” Kirito nodded.Celty went to the river's edge to tell Meuma to return back to Whitehaven. Once the message was delivered Celty opened her panel and plucked out Cloud. She then whistled loudly as the white Stallion galloped into the clearing.Walking over to him, she mounted him and with a quick jab of her heels into his sides he shot off toward the village of Slycrest.---Moonshine watched as Imera came back from the west. When she landed, he had a tub of water and a basket filled with fish ready for her. She had the girl known as Nema with her. She was a little rough around the edges but was otherwise fine. He stroked Imera’s face as she ate and drank. While she ate and rested, he spoke to Nema.“How did things go?”“I guess alright. The guy Kirito got me out of there rather quickly. I didn't even get to see Celty.”“I see. Good. I’ll get more details from them. Rest for now. You’ve earned it,” he said to Nema then kissed Imera’s nose. “You both have.”Imera purred and headed towards the stables. Moonshine dismissed the notification he got for the XP added to his bond with her. Meanwhile, a guard led Nema to the room that Eowyn was in. Moonshine stayed behind to wait for the others. He was also waiting for Klein since he was third in the line of succession. He had texted Klein and let him know that they needed him back on for an emergency. Thankfully Klein had since eaten actual dinner and was not busy.
The Slayer who had identified himself as Krator was in the dungeon awaiting all of their arrivals. Aaron was waiting at the doors to the dungeon since Moonshine had let him know that he had taken a slayer into custody.He paced around the courtyard as he waited for Kirito and Tanya--or Kirito and Celty--to arrive. He was getting anxious. He wanted answers to this shitstorm, and he wanted them now. But he knew everyone else was just as anxious, and so he waited.Soon, someone arrived, but it wasn’t who he was expecting. Musashi, who had been out stretching his wings after playing with the children for so long, landed in the courtyard.Moonshine walked up to him and bowed. “Hello, Musashi. Did you have a good flight?”“Yes, I did.” Musashi fell silent as he looked to the guilds Dragon Keeper. “You seem on edge, Moonshine. Is there an issue? Other than Nychta’s antics.”Moonshine nodded, “Yes. I’m awaiting your master. Some unfortunate events took place earlier, and we have a visitor in the dungeon. Since I’m only the caretaker, I have no jurisdiction over prisoners. The most I can do is keep him in lockup. The vice-master is already waiting for me and Lady Tanya at the dungeon entrance.”“Did you bring this person in?” As Moonshine nodded his head, Musashi continued. “So the prisoner is your responsibility, correct?”“In theory, yes, but in practice, not so much,” Moonshine replied.“Why is that?” Musashi questioned.“There is a line of responsibility and protocol. A certain order that things have to go through to ensure things go smoothly. And if things go wrong, the fall won’t fall on everyone. It is part of my responsibilities as a member of this guild to follow those protocols.” He sighed and shook his head. “In addition to that. Lady Tanya also has business with this prisoner.”“Yes, that is understandable. Life as a dragon is so much simpler.” He craned his neck and looked to Moonshine. “Did this person do my master wrong?”“He participated in a plot to, yes,” Moonshine nodded. “He is here to answer for what he has done and to confess information to us that will protect not only us but all players and the game itself.”“Good, if someone breaks the law, they should be punished under that law to make an example so it will not happen again. My master and the leaders of this guild will make sure that takes place. No one is above the laws and rules of Tarragonia.” Musashi’s head bobbed slowly as he spoke.“I agree, Lord Musashi,” Moonshine nodded. “I have no sympathy for what these people are doing. Both in game and out of game.”Before the mighty dragon could reply a familiar voice rang out. “Yo, what’s up? I got your text.” Klein stepped up to Moonshine and the Mystic dragon as he looked around the courtyard then back to Moonshine. “Tanya make it here yet?”Moonshine shook his head. “Not yet. I’m still waiting on her and Kirito. It will probably take a bit longer. I’m sure they’re making sure everything is in order on their end. Once they get here, we’ll fill you in on the whole story.”Klein nodded and a few minutes later there was a flash. When the flash of light disappeared, Kirito was standing there. He ran up to Moonshine and Klein.“Where is she?” He left either name out of the question since they were in the guild headquarters.“She’s in Slycrest signing out. Everything is… better than what it could have been. But we’re okay.”“Good. Imera brought Nema back safe. When Meuma gets back, take time to give her food and water while we wait on them.”“Got it,” Kirito nodded, preparing water and food for her while he waited.It was not long after Klein and Kirito arrived that Tanya walked into the courtyard, coming from her room where she spawned in. Moonshine was sitting on the steps, his elbows resting to his knees and his head rested in his hands. He was looking down at the ground in thought. So much in thought, he did not even hear Tanya’s footsteps coming up behind him. Walking up to him, Tanya placed her hand to his shoulder, causing him to jump. He looked around quickly seeing Klein and Kirito talking. Tanya stood at Moonshine’s side.“Are you alright?” Tanya asked him.Moonshine sighed. “Just wondering what these guys have to gain by doing all of this. The sensitivity. Targeting you. What’s the point of all this? And what if they end up getting the game shut down? What if this whole game gets deleted because of this? We’ll lose everything we’ve worked so hard to create. And most importantly, the dragons.”“Not happening,” Kirito claimed as he walked up to Moonshine and Tanya with Klein.“Agreed,” Tanya stated as her head nodded. “But to stop this we have to have solid evidence against them. So more than one or two witnesses are needed here, and it would be best if they were not friends or clan members.”Moonshine nodded and stood up. “Absolutely. In any case, our ‘guest’ is waiting, and I’m sure he’s chock full of info waiting to be spilled. Aaron is there waiting for us too.”“What about the capsule that the other guy bit into?” Tanya asked.“Oh, believe me, I took care of that,” Moonshine grinned. “He’s not going anywhere and he’s not going to be harming himself anytime soon. I gave him a Delirium Draught. He’s high as a kite right now. It should wear off in about ten more minutes. And if he doesn’t spill anything, then I have a Draught of Honesty on hand.”“Well, let’s hope it works,” Kirito replied as he and the other stepped inside the castle doors into the grand hall. Aaron was waiting for them there instead of by the dungeon doors.“Got tired of standing by the musty dungeon doors?” Moonshine asked.“Something like that,” Aaron smiled, as he turned and led the way to the doors that would take them to the dungeon.The walkway in the stairwell was not very wide, but it was capable of having two people walk side by side as it spiraled to the depths of the castle. Subconsciously Tanya rubbed her arm where Celty was cut while fighting the so-called Second in command of the Dragon Slayers.Noticing her rubbing her arm, Aaron wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked beside one another. “Does it still hurt?” When she nodded her head, he leaned in and kissed her temple then turned to Moonshine. “So this guy you got your hands on, Moonshine. What is he? Does he have any power in his guild?”“I don’t think so. I think he’s just a pawn like the other guy,” Moonshine shook his head.
“The second in command was in the mill. We knocked him out,” Kirito sighed. “Or, Celty did. But I don’t think bringing him here would have been wise. He was no pushover, and he was using the system to his advantage. He had advantages over us he shouldn’t have had. His account had to be hacked. He was way too strong. I think we’re safer with him out there rather than in here. Not to mention if he is the one doing the hacking, he could potentially ruin us if we brought him here.”
“I can’t say I completely disagree,” Moonshine nodded. “Sounds like you two had a time with him.”Tanya growled under her breath. “I would rather he felt the intense pain I felt every time I cut him.” She said as they walked down the stairwell that led to the dungeon. She wanted to tell Aaron who the Second in command was, but it was not a name she wanted to blurt out just in case someone was listening.“Huh?” Klein questioned.She then turned her head and looked to the ones walking behind them. “The sensitivity is still maxed, so be careful if you go out.” She then looked to Klein. “He was not affected by the glitch.”
“Well then, I think that about nails him to the wall for the hacking,” Moonshine said.
“Maybe not,” Tanya shook her head. “He said his boss could make himself the richest man in the game and could max out his Scala with just a few clicks.”
“So it’s the boss? Or both of them?” Moonshine looked to her.“I don’t know, but I do know with who the Second in command is, we need to keep a close eye on one of our own Knights,” Tanya informed the group.Moonshine looked to her, then to Aaron. It was blatantly obvious that after this night, they all needed to sit down and have a long chat to gather together everything they knew.When they reached the cell where Krator was being held, they found him sitting against the back of his cell with his arms and legs bound. His eyes were glazed over, and he had a goofy smile on his face, but he was otherwise fine. Moonshine opened the cell and they all stepped in.
“Wakey, wakey, you piece of shit,” Moonshine grabbed a bucket of water next to a chair that sat in the cell.He tossed it on Krator. The splash of cold water made him jump and flinch, coughing as the water filled his mouth and nose. His eyes became more focused, but Moonshine pulled a potion flask out and grabbed his jaw before he could recover completely. He poured the contents in his mouth and plugged his nose, holding his mouth closed. He thrashed around a bit before swallowing and going still. As he coughed again, Moonshine spoke to him.“Welcome to the Dragon’s Den. You get three squares a day, no guarantee they’ll taste good; one-bathroom break of no longer than three minutes; and of course, some quality exercise running from the eleven beasts we keep in our stables. Be sure to leave us a five-star review on Yelp!” He smirked at the man. “But before we get to all that, you’re going to answer some questions for us.”“Like hell I am!” Krator coughed.“Do you have a girlfriend?” Moonshine asked as a test.“Fuck you!” Krator smirked.Moonshine blinked and walked up to Krator. He grabbed him by the throat. “Where do you live IRL?”“Your momma’s house!” He spat at him with a sneer.Moonshine growled and tossed him back against the wall, walking away from him. “Fuck!”“Why isn’t it working?” Kirito blinked.“I have no idea!” Moonshine threw his hands up. “I mixed that potion perfectly. I even tested a batch on myself when I made it. Kitsune had a damn field day with that one.”Krator laughed at them. “What a shitty ass alchemist you are!”“Well,” Aaron started, stepping up to the guy. “If a truth serum don’t work on him...” In a flash, Aaron pegged the guy in the gut with a tightly clenched fist as he gasps for air. Aaron looked at the others with a wide grin. “I guess the next best thing is the old fashion form of beating it out of him.”Aaron stepped away from the guy. “We just have to be careful and make sure we don’t kill him. If he spawns out, he won't be spawning back here, and after what he and his guild members did to Eowyn I think this is rather fitting. Plus, we have the glitch on our side so this is not going to be a tiptoe through the tulips for him.”He stopped walking and turned back to Moonshine and Krator. “We can take turns using him as a punching bag and asking questions.”Moonshine smirked and cracked his knuckles. “Ooh, this is gonna be fun. I bet he’ll break quick. He’s a gamer so he’s probably some fat ass who spends more time lying in bed than he does outside.”“Fuck you! You’re a gamer too!” Krator spat at him.Moonshine kicked him square in the jaw with a snap of his leg. “Yeah, and I’m sure I’m hotter than you, asshat. Now talk or it gets worse.”“I ain’t tellin you shit! Bitch!” Krator hissed as he spat blood to the floor.Aaron drew back and hit him again, this time his fist connected with his nose. “We don’t want to hear your foul mouth. We want answers as to why the Dragon Slayers want our friend Celty.”“Oh, I don’t know,” Krator shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe because she’s a nosey little bitch.”Moonshine dug his boot into Krator’s face, pushing it back against the wall. “Enough with the name calling. Why do you say she’s nosey? Did she find out something she wasn’t supposed to.”“Maybe,” Krator humphed with a mumble.“So is it your clan that wants her out of the way, or did someone hire you bozos to eliminate her?” Klein asked stepping up to him.“What the hell does it matter. Whoever it is I am sure she has more than one person that hates her bitch ass.” Krator informed him just before he was nailed in the side of the head with Aaron’s fist. “FUCKER!!” Krator growled as he glared at Aaron.“Stop with the name calling or you’re going to get beat twice as badly,” Aaron told him.“What guild are you with? Who is your guild master?”“Your momma!”Moonshine rolled his eyes. “This asshole must be some twelve-year-old American.” He looked at Tanya and Aaron. “No offense.”“Why are you looking at me? I am Japanese,” Aaron retorted gesturing to himself.
“Says the guy with an American name.”“Not my fault my parents liked the name,” Aaron walked up to the guy once more, getting in his face.“You know, we can make all this pain go away if you just tell us what we want to know. Not to mention we know a few of the Admins for Dragon Lance. You help us, we can help you. Maybe a little clemency for what you carried out against Celty.”“Yeah? And what proof you got? You tell them about me and I’ll deny everything,” Krator smirked. “Your word against ours.”“Then I guess the beating continues,” Aaron told him taking another hit at him.The prisoner’s beating went on for a good couple of hours with the guy telling them little to nothing and it was not the details they truly wanted. Finally, Tanya sighed shaking her head then walked up to Aaron tugging him toward the cell door, so they were far enough away from Krator. They talked at a whisper for a few seconds when she then motioned for Moonshine, Klein, and Kirito to come toward them. When they gathered around, she kept her tone softly so Krator still could not hear.“We are not getting anywhere with him. It’s like he likes us beating the snot out of him,” Tanya told them.“He is like a walking talking punching bag,” Klein added.Tanya nodded her head slowly. “Aaron seems to think he might have taken something to counter the truth serum. Which is the reason it did not work on him? Let’s let him sit here for a few days. Make sure it is out of his system. Then make a new batch of truth serum and try it again, but this…” Tanya looked back at Krator as he sat tied to his chair with his head hung, she continued. “This is not working.”Moonshine sighed and nodded. “Agreed.” He ran a hand through his hair. “What the hell happened to the serum? I swear I brewed it properly. It worked on me and that dose was from the same batch, so it had to be something they foresaw.”He shook his head. “Still. Maybe I should have Cerberus or Shiro brew it for us. Just to make sure. They have higher skills than me.”“That would determine the effectiveness of it?” Kirito questioned.Moonshine nodded. “Yes. If you try and make a potion that your skill level can’t handle, it may brew successfully, but the effects will be slim to none. I have a level high enough to make the draught work, but maybe it didn’t pan out this time. He might have a high resistance to it or it might have lost its effectiveness over time.”Klein couldn’t help but snicker a little. “So your little bottle of stuff expired?”Moonshine gave him a deadpan look and pulled out a second draught bottle. “I don’t know. You want to try it and find out? This is the last dose from that batch. Though I have to warn you, some potions do expire and the effects if taken are not pleasant. I hope you’re wearing brown pants IRL.”Klein gently pushed Moonshine’s hand back that held the potion. “I’ll pass. Thanks anyway.” The group then turned when they heard Krator moan from his position in his chair.“Let’s get him out of that chair and into bed. We will pick this up in a couple of days.” As the guys walked over to Krator to untie him, she leaned toward Moonshine who stood back with her.“I think I am going to have Cerberus and Shiro look through The Tarragonia Compendium of Magic and see if they can find a stronger truth serum and/or see if there is a potion that can counter it. If there is, I am sure there is a time lapse on it. That will give us an idea of what we are up against.”Moonshine nodded sternly. “Definitely. That book is our best option right now.” He sighed and shook his head, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Certainly better than what I had planned, anyway. Dammit! What a fucking flop! I can’t believe this! First that damn poison and now this! It’s like these guys have an answer for everything, and it’s pissing me off!”Tanya turned to face him as she patted his back with a sigh. “If they are hacking the game, they do have all the answers. You should know that by dealing with the crap from SAO.”“Ugh,” Moonshine groaned at the memory of it. “Let’s just hope these guys can’t make themselves immortal like Kirito said what’s-his-face could. God save us all if they can hack into the game’s master controls.”He sighed and crossed his arms. “Maybe I should log out for the evening and get a hold of those friends of mine. The quicker we can beat them at their own game, or at least get some info, the quicker we can deal with this and be done with it.”Tanya nodded her head as she watched the guy put Krator into his bed and restrain him to it. “Just make sure they get screenshots of anything abnormal if they do find anything. We have to have rock hard proof that there is something truly going on. Once we have that then we just have to find the one or ones doing this.”Aaron tossed a blanket over the guy and started a path toward Tanya and Moonshine. He turned as he watched Klein and Kirito walk toward them. “Let’s get out of here. I am sure Tanya is tired and I need a few hours’ sleep before I have to check in at work.”“Yeah, same,” Klein yawned.“Uh, so, will this guy be trapped here until we come back? As in he can’t log out?” Kirito didn’t want to keep him unrestrained, but he didn’t want the guy trapped in the game. That was taking it too far.Aaron, knowing what Kirito was thinking of, placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. “No. The game has a safeguard that if a player is in a prison for any reason, it automatically logs them out in twelve-hour cycles. Once at 10 AM and again at 10 PM game time. It won’t keep a player locked up and not able to leave the game.”“Good, cause he doesn’t even have enough room to open his panel,” Kirito sighed in relief.“He will be alright, or well, at least the player will be alright. His Avi on the other hand not so much.” Tanya added as they stepped out of the cell closing and locking the door behind them.“VR’s have gotten so advanced it is almost scary,” Klein replied as they started a path back up to the castle where they entered.Aaron’s head nodded. “As long as we keep him alive, he is stuck here for however long we want to keep his worthless ass.”“Let’s hope that’s not too much longer,” Moonshine stated as he opened the door in the dungeon that led back up the stairs to the castle.“I think with a little research between your brother and mine we will find a way to get him to talk. We just have to find it first,” Tanya said to Moonshine but was informing the group as well.The group agreed as silence fell around them as they made their way back to the grand hall. Once in the hall, Tanya looked to the four guys. She was needing to tell them something but could not find the right time to do it and she most certainly could not do it while they were interrogating Krator.“What is it, Tanya you have been sitting on something since you got back. Why have you not said something?” Aaron asked her.Tanya shook her head looking at the other three. “I can’t... not here.” She looked at Moonshine, Kirito, and Klein. “Do you guys have Discord or Skype?”Moonshine gave her a smirk and crossed his arms. “What gamer do you know that doesn’t have one or the other or both?”Kirito chuckled. “Yeah, all three of us have both. So we’re good on that front.”“Good, can we all meet up on one of the two tomorrow sometime. I prefer Discord but if it has to be Skype, I can live through it.” Tanya told them as she looked around the small group.“Discord will work for me,” Aaron chimed in.“Same here,” Moonshine nodded“Fine by me,” Klein smiled.“I’m okay with that,” Kirito nodded as well.Tanya nodded. “I will message you guys in DL with my username in Discord before I sign out. Now, all we need is a time to meet.”“Don’t you think it would be safer to text? If these guys can hack the game, who knows what other parts they can access and get their hands on. I’d rather not find out,” Moonshine shook his head. “We all trust each other enough. I think for now we should keep all sensitive information off of the DL servers. Especially if their goal is a real pain, not virtual pain.”Tanya nodded once more as she looked to Aaron. “I only have Aaron’s cell number. So I will send my information to him and he can get ahold of you guys since you’re all in Japan together.”“We can do that, and if they want once we are on Discord, they can share their numbers with you.” Aaron agreed.“That would be for the best,” Kirito agreed. “No one will have any way of tracing us or hacking us if we communicate via text and Discord. As for the Streamline App, we might have to do some research to see if the DL developers and admins have access to its records before we determine its security.”“Good idea,” Moonshine nodded. “I’m free anytime now that my classes are over. Though preferably after 9 AM our time or 10 AM. Kaori will definitely want to sleep in at least that long. I just might join her in that tonight. Especially if we need to pick each other’s brains.”“Same for me, but I’m always up early anyway, so I’ll go with whatever everyone else decides,” Kirito rubbed his neck sheepishly.“Yeah, Mr. Early Bird,” Klein gave him a pointed look and smile. “Though I can’t talk too much. I’m an early riser too, but that’s only because of work. Though thankfully I don’t have to work till 1 PM tomorrow, so I got the morning to goof around and stuff.” Klein looked to Aaron. “What about you? What’s your work schedule?”“I work with my father. I have my own office. I can do what I want when I want as long as my ass is in that office at 8 AM. So that time is good for me.”Tanya nodded. “That works for me I will be there.”In an agreement, the group parted ways as Aaron, Klein, and Kirito decided to sign out right there in the hall. Tanya turning like she was retreating to her room in the castle. Moonshine, however, before returning to his room to sign out, opened his panel to see if Kitsune was still on. When he saw her sign-in was dark he closed his panel and headed to his room. Reaching the adjoining hall to go to the rooms, he saw Tanya, but she was not going to her room; she was continuing forward.Blinking, he called out to her. “Hey!” When she turned to look at him, he pointed towards the stairs that led up to the rooms. “You’re not signing out after all?”Her head nodded. “Yeah, after I talk to Cerberus and Shiro. I want to get this over with as soon as possible.” She gestured with her head down the hall toward the lab. “Want to come with, or you need to get out of here?”He nodded and jogged to catch up with her. “I’m with you. Let’s see what our resident nerds have to say,” he grinned. “Well, one nerd is mine. The other is yours.”Tanya chuckled. “But they’re still the resident nerds.”Continuing on the two stepped up to the laboratory door and entered, finding Cerberus and Okamishiro hovering over The Tarragonia Compendium of Magic book. “Well well, looky there. Just the place I need your attention.”Both boys looked up seeing her and Moonshine walk in the lab. “What’s up, sis?”“We had a problem today. My Draught of Honesty didn’t work when I used it today. We’re not sure what the problem was with the potion,” Moonshine told them. “We need you to research everything about truth serums and their counters and anything else that might nullify the effects.”Cerberus tilted his head and looked on at Moonshine. “You came to the right place.”“Damn right they did,” Okamishiro quipped giving Cerberus a light punch in the arm.“When do you want this by?” Cerberus asked his sister and Moonshine.The two looked at one another then back to Cerberus. “Yesterday,” the two replied in unison.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Thirty-Four
Tsukiro’s eyes opened, though he had to blink them rapidly to blink away the blurriness. He slipped off the AmuSphere and shut it down with a sigh. Sitting next to him was Kaori who was reading a book. She had her back against the wall with a pillow between her back and the wall. Her legs were draped over his thighs. He looked down at her legs, then up at her with a smile.“Using me as a footrest?”“Yup. A very comfortable one. One that doesn’t move,” she smiled and closed her book after placing the bookmark. She set it to the nightstand along with his and her headgear. “How’d everything go? Pretty well, assuming you’re back before midnight.”“I’ll tell you in the morning. A lot of shit went down,” he rubbed his face then shoved his hands through his hair. “Tomorrow at ten I’ll be talking with Aaron, Tanya, Klein and Kirito on Discord. Though I guess I should say, Ashley, Ryoutaro, and Kazuto.”“Really? Must be bad if you’re using Discord instead of just logging in.” Kaori moved her legs off of him and crossed them. “But you’re right. You can tell me in the morning. Right now, you need real food. There’s some fried rice, chicken wings, and veggie tempura in the fridge. I made iced tea too.”Tsukiro nodded and sat up. “Thanks. I’ll eat then come straight to bed.” He leaned forward and cupped his hand behind her head, pulling her forward for a kiss. He pressed his forehead to hers. “Do me a favor. Please?”She took his face in her hands and nodded. “Anything.”“Stay out of Dragon Lance for a few days. Maybe even a week.” When she blinked and leaned back to look at him wide-eyed, he sighed. “I know. It sounds bad, but this is to keep it from being that bad. People are getting hurt. Ashley is being targeted. Her friends too. I don’t want people coming after you because of me.”“Why would they come after you? Or is that an ‘in the morning’ question?” When he nodded, she nodded back. “Okay. I’ll do as you ask then. I’ll spend some time in ALO and New Aincrad.” She smirked. “Or maybe I’ll find a new game. Something I can get good at before you.”Tsukiro laughed and kissed her again, then kissed both cheeks. “Sounds great. Can’t wait for you to show me up in whatever it is.” After one last kiss, he pulled away and smiled at her. “I love you, Kaori.”She brushed his hair back and smiled back. “I love you too. But what about Shiro?”Tsukiro sighed and swung his legs off the bed and stood up. He answered her as he stretched his body. “Unfortunately, we need him right now. But I’ll tell him to limit the time he spends in the game. But once he’s done what we need, you’d better believe I’m kicking him out too. I don’t need to be giving these assholes the opportunity to use anything against me.”Kaori nodded slowly. “Is Kazuto involved in all this too?” She scoffed and shook her head. “The hell am I asking. Of course
he is. He’s Kirito. So in that case, it’s a good thing Asuna isn’t feeling Dragon Lance.”“I’m sure he’s thinking that same thing,” Tsukiro nodded, turning around and putting his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. He took one hand back out to hand it to her. “Come on. Come sit with me and talk while I eat.”Kaori smirked and took his hand, letting him pull her off the bed and to her feet. “You want me to spoon feed you too?”Tsukiro smirked as he followed her out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. “Maybe~ What do I get for letting you?”“Letting me?! Ha! More like what do I get for letting you put me through the embarrassment.”“Well, try it and find out. Who knows? You might like the reward.”“Oh hush! It’s way too late and we’re both tired.”“I refuse to admit that you’re right.”“Uh-huh.”---Tsukiro sat down in the rolling chair at his and Kaori’s desk. Kaori sat behind him on the bed, brushing her hair out from their shower. He himself had a towel around his shoulders for his own hair. Kaori was dressed in a violet spaghetti strap tank top and white boy shorts. Tsukiro wore a pair of black sweatpants, a light grey t-shirt, and a black Assassin’s Creed hoodie with a hawk hood.It was about nine-fifteen. Breakfast had been finished and dishes were done. He had discussed everything that happened in Dragon Lance over breakfast. To say the least, Kaori was just as worried about him as he was about her. She didn’t really want him back in the game, but she knew he was a valuable part in what was happening. Not to mention with the dragons and the breeding coming up in a week, he would be needed even more. And so she had decided to do as she said last night and find a new game to occupy herself with.She pulled her laptop down from the shelf at the head of the bed and opened it up. Once it was awake and running, she opened the GamerFy app where they downloaded some of their games. She searched through the Full Dive VR games, scrolling past the ones they had tried in the past and grew bored of, and ones that they already currently played. She spent about ten minutes looking through the fantasy games before she decided if she played one more fantasy game, she would probably lose her shit. And so she looked at a different genre.School life games were excluded, including the stupid ‘realistic’ otome games people had developed. Mystery games
were set aside as a possibility. Simulator games looked interesting but were usually way too short to offer any real challenge.She sighed, coming to another category: “adrenaline junkies.”Games in this category were usually high-octane games that simulated real-life situations like BASE jumping, skateboarding, BMXing, and even games like Gun Gale Online. They were games for wannabe daredevils that didn’t actually have the nerve to do those things in real life. Some of them were decent and others were flops. Really the only good ones they had ever found in this category were GGO; a space game similar to Star Wars that they played on occasion; and a sort of Matrix slash SuperHot hack and slash game which was incredibly hard but also somewhat addicting.But she was looking for a new game, not one they had already played.Five more minutes of scrolling and she came to one that really caught her eye: SpeedRunner Online. A VRMMO of the non-RPG kind. Well, not in the traditional sense. The ‘role-playing’ in role-playing game often meant different things to different people. Some people saw it as a Dungeons & Dragons type thing, and others saw it as anything where you’re bringing a character to life.In any case, Kaori clicked on the game and scrolled through hundreds of in-game screenshots; dozens of official artwork; and dozens more videos, including a promotional trailer. It was an American made game and it was based on racing. Car racing. It had all forms of racing: NASCAR type, Formula One, and even street racing. The pictures and videos made it seem simple and straightforward like GGO, but she could tell there was a lot more to it.“Hmmm,” she hummed.Tsukiro turned around and looked at her. “Find something?”“I think so.” She paused for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. I think I’ll try this one.”“What’d you find?”She smirked at him as she placed it in her cart and went to check out. “Not telling~” After purchasing the game, she hit download.Tsukiro laughed and turned back to the computer screen. “Alright. Have fun with whatever it is.”By the time Kaori’s game was finished downloading and she started the AmuSphere, Aaron had texted him and the others good morning in a group text along with Ashley’s Discord username and number. He opened Discord and searched it, hitting the friend request button. Five minutes later, he was added as her friend and added to a private server room labeled ‘Issues with DL’. He saw that Kazuto and Ryoutaro were already added, along with Aaron.Kazuto’s username was BlackSwordsman, and Ryoutaro’s was RedSamurai. Aaron’s was DragonLord. Tsukiro’s username was Moonshine, of course, though he did have a second Discord under his GGO username. Ashley’s username was listed as MoonElf. She had also given them each a color. Tsukiro was purple, Aaron was blue, Ryoutaro was red, and Kirito was… still black.He messaged in the room first.
Moonshine: *huffs* WHY DOES KAZUTO GET BLACK?!
BlackSwordsman: Because it was my color first.
Moonshine: You asshat! It was not yours first! We both had it!
MoonElf: If you two don’t stop, neither of you will get it.
Moonshine: ….
BlackSwordsman: …
RedSamurai: PFFTT
DragonLord: The queen has spoken. XD
Moonshine: Oh shut up both of you.
There was a blip as he saw Aaron had entered the voice channel.
Moonshine: Wait a minute. Why are we calling? Ashley doesn’t speak Japanese and we don’t speak English, aside from you. At least with the messages, they have a translator.
MoonElf: I do too speak Japanese. I thought you knew that, Tsukiro? I speak and understand it rather fluently.
He entered as well with a shrug of his shoulders.
Moonshine: Alright then.
They then waited until everyone else was there as well. He hit the video icon and his own face popped up on the screen. One by one, everyone popped up on screen.Ashley giggled as she covered her face, her feet stomping lightly on the floor under her desk. “Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my god.”“What. In. de Hell. Is wrong. With you.” Aaron questioned as he watched her on the screen.“My dad came in here just before I started the video chat and told me that if touring Europe with my girlfriends was not what I wanted to do, I could do whatever I wanted with my grad money.” Her eyes widened as she got closer to the cam. “Do you know how much money that is?” She giggled and covered her face again.“Why don’t you want to tour Europe with your friends? I think that would be a blast,” Ryoutaro blinked in confusion.“Because Ryoutaro, I got better things to do for 6 months then go spend thousands of dollars on traipsing around a country I have already been to, twice.”Aaron chuckled. “Like play Dragon Lance.”“Noooo, not play Dragon Lance. I want a car, and there is another country I want to see, but I don’t know if my parents will allow it since I will be traveling alone.”“Where’s that?” Kazuto tilted his head.Ashley chuckled softly. “Japan…”Tsukiro laughed, shaking his head. “Eager to come to our neck of the woods so you can suck face with your new boyfriend, huh?”“Really, Tsukiro?” Kazuto gave him a raised eyebrow look.“Don’t ‘really’ me. You all know she’s thinking about it.”“I’m ignoring you now, Tsukiro,” Ashley told him as she spoke to the others. “I have wanted to visit Japan for years now. My best friends’ sister was an exchange student and she went to Tokyo. She lives over in Asia now. She loved it that much.”“Well, we look forward to seeing ya!” Ryoutaro grinned. “When you get out here, we gotta get a hold of Eizen and Zavied and see if they can show up. Then we all can have a party IRL with everyone here.”“Sounds like a great idea to me,” Kazuto nodded.“Hey, if there’s food, I’m up for anything,” Tsukiro said as he reached for a glass filled with orange juice.“Well, if you need help with the best places to stay for a good price let me know I will hook you up with links or phone numbers,” Aaron informed her.“Thanks, Aaron but I have to talk my parents into to this before I can go looking at anything,” Ashley confirmed as she fell silent for a few seconds. “Alright,” Ashley quickly said breaking the silence, “let’s get this rolling.” She wiggled up in her chair and sat up straight. “This morning when I was on as Celty trying to rescue Nema, Kirito and Celty went head to head with the none other than Seveani.”“So the Dragon Slayers are behind this,” Aaron replied as Ashley nodded her head. “So what the Hell do they want with the Unseen or more so, Celty?”“From what Seveani said its because she is spying on them and reporting back to the Mystic Dragons. She must have gotten her hands on some information that botched one of his plans,” Kazuto informed them.“But trying to kill her player?! That’s a little extreme don’t you think?” Ryoutaro expressed.“Humans are a little extreme,” Tsukiro sighed, putting his elbows on his desk and rubbing his face. He shook his head, shoving his hands into his hair. “I’ve already told Kaori not to log onto DL for at least a week.” He looked back at her motionless body as she laid on the bed in Full Dive with whatever game she found. “She’s keeping occupied with a new game for now, so that’s one less person I have to worry myself sick over.”“I’m glad Asuna isn’t interested in DL, in that case,” Kazuto sighed heavily.“Kaori said the same thing.”Aaron nodded. “Ashley and I signed on earlier as Celty and Creed and talked to the group. They’re staying out of DL until we get this settled. Ashley doesn’t want Nathan and Ava getting drug back into this mess. They’re just kids.”“It pisses me off they would target them or any of my friends to get to me. Gutless turds if you asked me,” Ashley growled. “Are they that scared that Celty will rip them apart they have to sink to this level?”“What I don’t understand is if their boss can hack Seveani’s Avi, making him superhuman why would they be worried to face off with Celty, Creed or even the Mystic guild?” Kazuto pondered aloud.“I was wondering the same thing,” Tsukiro nodded. “And if they’re that good at hacking, why don’t they just do something that will end it all in the snap of a finger. Like deleting Ashley’s account or maxing out all their stats and levels for all of their people. Unless they’re too afraid of getting caught by the actual programmers. But the big question is…”“Why are they doing this in the first place?” Ryoutaro nodded. “What is it they’re after so bad that they have to hack to do it.”“It’s because of the Divine Dragon. It seems they want the egg they laid. The rumor is it's a Divine egg. They want to kill both the Divine dragons and destroy the egg. From what I got from the conversation Celty was eavesdropping on, they are hacking the Divine Spiritcrest to make it accessible. Once they do that, they are moving on the Northern Mountains to attack and kill off the Spirit guards of the dragons and then kill off the dragons and the egg. If you know the lore of Dragon Lance, you know that can’t happen.” Ashley explained to them.
“Because once all of them are gone, the dragons are fucked,” Tsukiro sighed. “So then that’s it. They want to destroy the dragons.”“But why?! Doing that would destroy the game! The Divine Dragons aren’t supposed to die because that would end the game!” Ryoutaro shook his head frantically. “Why would they want to ruin the game?”“Take your pick,” Tsukiro answered. “We could probably write down every reason and motivation in the book on a piece of poster paper, throw darts at it, and anyone we land on could be the answer. Without finding out more about Seveani, his boss, and the slayers, we won’t know what the specific motivation is for them wanting the game actually destroyed.”“Maybe we could start with researching the game itself,” Kazuto suggested. “Maybe something in the game’s creation history and news stories since it’s conception could give us some reasons why. Maybe there was some scandal, or someone involved with the game did something wrong.”“There is not much on it. Only what is in the Gamer Mags and the websites. It talks about Aiden Reid and Aiden Reid only. There is no mention of a partner gone bad or corporate fallout. From what I have read he did this on his own and after years of research, graphic design and even creating his own coding to create this--” Ashley fell dead silent as she quickly jumped up from her desk and darted across her room.“Uhhh,” Tsukiro leaned forward and peered into his computer to the side as if he could see through Ashley’s screen and into her room. “You okay over there on the dark side of the planet?”“Hang on! I think I might have something!” She called back to them as she started digging through a box in her closet.“What is she doing?” Ryoutaro pondered as they heard shuffling of things like paper and books.“It sounds like she is looking through papers,” Aaron added.“Hmm,” Kazuto hummed. “At least turn your screen so we can watch you.” The guys chuckled at him. “What? It’s better than sitting here looking at nothing.”“I don’t know I think that poster of hers there”--Ryoutaro pointed at the poster on the screen like everyone could see what he was pointing at--“is rather interesting.” His head cocked to one side. “What is that anyway, Ash?”“It’s a black velvet black light poster I colored,” Ashley told him.“I see that, but what is it?”“It’s a mosaic,” Ashley replied as she finally found what she was looking for and walked back to her chair in front of her PC.“I’ve always wanted a blacklight,” Tsukiro mumbled as he sipped his orange juice. He saw she came back with a magazine. Game Informer in fact. She was flipping through it intently. “What are you looking for anyway? I thought you said there wasn’t any info on any scandals or deals gone bad or anything like that?”“There is not,” Ashley said as she continued to look at the pages she was flipping through. “But there is a major clue here that says there was someone other than mister Aiden Reid that was involved in creating Dragon Lance.”Finally, she got to the article she was looking for, flipping a few more pages she found the page where it was talked about. “LOOK!” She held up the magazine shoving it into the cam on her desktop.Aaron sat back in his chair like she was actually shoving it into his face. “Too close babe.”“That’s a… nice blob of… whatever it is,” Tsukiro squinted at his screen. “Is that a pair of fruit or a girl's--”“HUSH!!” Ashley barked as she moved the magazine back from the cam. “Right here!” She pointed at the article.“Still can’t see it,” Ryoutaro claimed.“Let me scan the page and I will send it to everyone.” Ashley turned to her printer and scanned the page, once she saved it she shared the file with the ones she was talking to. “Everyone have it open?”“Yeah,” the four of them replied in unison. “But it is written in English I can’t read this,” Ryoutaro claimed. “Sorry…”“Me either,” Kazuto said.“Same,” Tsukiro replied.Ashley sighed. “Alright, I will read it then.” From the fourth paragraph to the end of the interview Ashley read the article to them. When she was done the guys still remained silent.After a few minutes, Kazuto was the first to speak. “So he created his own coding to get the game to work the way he needed it to.” Ashley nodded her head quickly. “So that means…”“The person hacking this code has to know it. We are not dealing with an everyday hacker.” Ashley confirmed.“Okay… so…” Tsukiro said deep in thought. “That narrows it down to either an admin, a programmer or developer, someone involved with the game’s creation, or Aiden Reid himself… OR… someone else involved in the coding with him who wasn’t listed or mentioned…” Suddenly it hit him. “What if… What if the lack of info on the game is the exact reason this is happening?”“Come again?” Ryoutaro blinked.“Think about it. It happens all the time. A product is created. People get credit. Others don’t. And what happens when people don’t get credit for what they’ve done?”“They get angry,” Kazuto said quietly, but loud enough for them to hear.“And what happens when a person who feels cheated gets angry?”“Revenge,” Aaron nodded. “So you think there’s someone out there who was partners with Aiden Reid but wasn’t given due credit? And now they want to destroy the game for revenge.”“It’s a theory,” Tsukiro corrected. “Actually a hypothesis, because I can’t prove it… yet.”“But why destroy something you helped create? Why try and hurt or kill the Players. We didn’t do this to them,” Ashley stated.“Lawsuits,” Aaron replied. “It would be another way for this person that was not credited to get the game shut down.”“They are trying every possible way to ruin the game, and whatever way works first… well, you get the picture.” Ryoutaro said.
Tsukiro sighed and reached up into the storage shelf next to the desk. He grabbed a notebook from one of the cubby holes and a pencil from a cup near the monitor. He began writing down everything they knew and everything they needed to know. He filled up a whole page and part of the back of it by the time he was finished writing.“Can you read Japanese? Or Kanji?” Tsukiro asked Ashley.“Yeah,” Ashley nodded. “Don’t worry. Whatever you’re writing, I’ll be able to read it. So long as your handwriting isn’t chicken scratch.”“Ha!” Tsukiro laughed, rolling over to his own printer. “My dad would beat my hands black and blue if I did.” He scanned both sides of his notes and saved the files, sending them into the chat room so they could open them. “Whenever one of us learns something, we write it down and tell the others. That way we have a visual on all of this.”“Then maybe we should start a shared document somewhere,” Aaron suggested. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but loose notes all over my room would not be a good thing. The housekeepers would toss them, and I would be at a loss then.”
“I can do that too,” Tsukiro nodded. “I just think better when I write by hand with these kinds of things.”“Then you go right ahead, and hand write them but don’t forget to transfer them into the shared document,” Aaron chuckled lightly.“I can start one now in Google if everyone is alright with that?” Ashley told them as she heard them all agree on it. “I will need everyone's emails to be able to share it with you.”As soon as she said that she heard everyone start typing to send her their emails. “You know, something that came to me when I realized the coding of the game was not the average coding for games.”“What was that, Ash,” Ryoutaro asked.“How are Kazuto and Tsukiro’s hacker friends going to be able to help if they don’t know the coding?”
“I think our best bet is to try and find out if there was another programmer that was left out. I mean from what we just found I think that is our best place to start.” Aaron looked at Ashley’s image on his screen and started speaking English. “You and I both know a few of the Admins fairly well since we both have been playing DL since it released. Let’s try talking to them and see what they might know about the making of DL.”“In Japaneessse pleassseee~” Tsukiro grunted as he rolled his eyes.Aaron chuckled and repeated what he told Ashley, but this time in Japanese. “So what does everyone think? Should we start there?”“It’s our best lead,” Tsukiro nodded.“Agreed. I don’t know where else we would start,” Kazuto hummed. “I’ll start on my end and see what I can do while Tsukiro contacts his friends. While we do that, you two can talk to the admins.”“And what do I do?” Ryoutaro asked half-jokingly.“Sit still, look pretty?” Tsukiro shrugged.“Tsukiro be sure to tell them this is not the normal coding of the gaming world. I would hate for one of them to shut down DL.” Ashley told him.“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll tell them everything they need to know,” Tsukiro nodded.Ashley nodded. “One more thing before we get off subject. None of this is to be shared with any of the Knights or the members of Mystic Dragon. Only the ones we know without a doubt that we can trust. At least until Aaron and I can get to the bottom of something the two of us witnessed as Creed and Celty.”
“Speaking of the Knights,” Tsukiro segued. “Aaron told me about Luthien. I’ll tell you what I told him. Moonshine is no normal Moon Elf. He has Nychta’s onyx gems. Which means all of my Moon Elf powers are strengthened beyond normal means. On top of that, I can still use them to a certain degree even during a new moon. I can hide in plain sight a lot better than most. And if we’re going to figure out what he’s up to with them, we need to follow him around. I’m the best person for that.”He sighed then shook his head. “I agreed with Aaron that we should try other means first, but I still think our best chance is to tail him around. But I don’t plan on getting caught either if we do this. Nor do I plan on shirking my primary duties.”“You do realize that would mean you would have to be signed in 24/7 to do this. Luthien is one of those players with a very sporadic play schedule.” Ashley shook her head. “I can’t let you do this alone.”“Let him pick 3 of our assassins to help him out. They’re all highly skilled Moon Elves. With 4 of them on the job they can work 6 hours shifts a piece and not wear themselves out.” Aaron explained.Ashley sighed shaking her head. “There are only 2 of the Assassins I know we can trust without doubt. We would have to find a third.”“Do any of us have any trusted friends in the game who are Moon Elves? Or maybe the others do?” Tsukiro asked.“Raven and Jackal are Moon Elves and the two Assassins I trust. They are friends of mine from school. Other than them, Celty, Creed and Eowyn those are the only ones I know.” Ashley confirmed.“Same here,” Aaron confessed.“None here,” Ryoutaro said. “Well, I take that back I know two and I am sure you know which two.”“Yeah, me neither,” Kazuto chuckled.“I figured you two didn’t since you converted not long ago,” Tsukiro nodded. “Maybe Eizen and Zaveid know someone. Or Kaori or my brother. I’ll text Shiro and ask Kaori after she comes out of her game. Also, I have a couple of Nychta’s gems in my inventory, so it might be a good idea for a few of the other Moon Elves outfit a weapon or a piece of armor with one. It will at least give them a boost, especially if it’s a new moon.”“I am sure they will appreciate that. Anything to help in the way of spying. And dealing with this group we need to be very alert and very careful. Who knows what they are fully capable of,” Aaron told them.They all agreed with hums and nods as Ryoutaro looked to the clock on his wall then back at the cam.“Hey guys... and lady,” he smiled and winked at Ashley. “I got to get off here. I have work in another hour and a half and still have to get ready.”“Yeah, time for lunch here,” Aaron stated as he blew a kiss to Ashley. “Bye, sweetie. I will drop you a text later.”Ashley nodded, waving at the screen. “Bye, all. Have a good day.”“Have a good night, Ashley,” They all said almost in unison as they closed out of the call and chat.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Thirty-Five
It had been a couple of days since the capture of the young girl Nema and the failed attempt to capture Celty the Moon Elf. With the help of two unknowns and a few dragons, Celty was able to defeat the five that were on the mission to dispose of her. It angered Cerrakor to no end because he knew the help she had gotten had come from the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. This thought and the new information he had gotten from Maxsim had him in a nasty and foul mood.It seemed that the Knights of the Mystic Dragon had made his comrade and friend, IRL, a prisoner and were beating him relentlessly on a daily basis trying to get him to talk. This caused Cerrakor to have to turn the sensitivity down and close the Divine Spiritcrest making it unreachable. Reason being was because he was about to have Seveani contact the Admin of Dragon Lance.Sitting at his usual table in their hideout Cerrakor waited for Seveani to sign in and show himself. He had contacted him about an hour ago and told him he needed to speak with him, he had a new mission he needed him to fulfill. He gave him no details. As of normal in this case, but he did tell him to be ready for confrontation.When Seveani showed it was still rather early in the day, this made Cerrakor pleased because he knew this would move along quickly in this case and be ended before the coming day. Which meant he would be able to reopen the Divine Spiritcrest and max the sensitivity level once more, and with the new information he had he was going to add a new glitch. Making all Dragons the beasts they were meant to be. It was time to bring an end to the ones standing in his way.Stepping up to the table Seveani pulled a chair, the legs of said chair scraping a shrill screech across the stone floor. Taking his seat, he looked over at Cerrakor. “You needed to talk to me?” He lifted his hand waving the barmaid over to get a beer.“Yes, I need you to contact the Admin of Dragon Lance and file a complaint against the Knights of the Mystic Dragon,” Cerrakor told him as he lifted his beer.“Really~?” Seveani chuckled softly. “And why is that? Did they finally get on your last nerve?”Cerrakor smirked with a chesty chuckle, his head shaking slightly. “Maxsim came to me yesterday and told me a bit of interesting information.”“Oh, and what might that have been?”“They have Krator as their prisoner, beating him daily to get information on us. They’re holding him against his will and without a warrant. That is a no-no in Dragon Lance.” Cerrakor informed him.Seveani chuckled as the barmaid rested his beer to the table and walked off. He reached over and picked it up taking a large drink then set it back to the table. “You mean to tell me the ‘Holier Than Thou’, Knights of the Mystic Dragon is breaking a rule and not covering their tracks? Shame shame.” His tone was laced with sarcasm as he chuckled.“That explains Krator’s disappearance for the last two days.” Seveani lifted his beer again. “So I am guessing Maxsim talked to Krator IRL and found all this out?”Cerrakor nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Krator also got a little bit of information on the Mystic Dragons for us.” His smirk spread across his lips. “Just enough to put phase two of my plans into action.”Seveani smiled widely as he sat up in his chair. “Turning the Dragons.” He laughed sitting back in his chair as his hands lifted above his head. “GOD! I want to be a fly on the wall when this takes place. The looks on their faces will be priceless when their ‘so-called’ babies turn on them.”
He leaned forward across the table looking at Cerrakor. “How many you think we will turn into Dragon Slayers?”“Hopefully all of them,” Cerrakor laughed with him. “From my understanding, they have 11. And one, alone”--his smirk turned malice--“will destroy Whitehaven Providence if they do not kill him, and it will take all of them to put him down.”Seveani chuckled and opened his panel. “Well let’s get this ball rolling. The sooner we get them out of the way the better.”He opened a private message and messaged the Administrator panel of what was going on. Once he finished the message he hit submit and closed his panel. “Now we wait.” He lifted his mug of beer in a toast.“Here is to the beginning of an end.”“To the beginning of an end,” Cerrakor repeated as their mugs came together with a dull thud.---
Tanya stood just outside the cell as Aaron and Moonshine squatted down in front of the prisoner on either side. They had already taken a few swings at him reopening a couple of the old injuries from the day before. Tanya was not happy with the way they were having to get information from this guy, but it was the only way they had left open for them.It seemed there was a counter-potion for the truth potion, but it would only last 24 hours. It had been two days and still, no truth potion they were using--even the strongest that Okamishiro or Cerberus could create--was working on this guy. So they wrote it off as the one behind the hacking had hacked the guy’s Avi as well, making it to where none of the truth potions would work on him. Though this morning, or sometime that day--from when they had signed off--the sensitivity had been reset back to normal.
Moonshine walked over to Tanya, grasping the bars as he talked to her through them. “I hate to say it, but I think we’ve reached the end of this guy’s usefulness. Without the sensitivity maxed and with this guy’s hacker friends helping him out, we might as well be interrogating a brick wall.”“I think you’re right,” Tanya nodded, “But releasing him is a sign of surrender in my eyes.” Tanya turned to retreat from the dungeon. “So he stays.”As she walked away the guy started laughing. “Keep me if you want, but I will be out of here before the sun rises tomorrow.”Tanya stopped walking as the three turned and looked at him. “How so? Because you’re not killing yourself to spawn out. We have made sure that is not possible on your behalf.”Aaron stood and grabbed the guy by his shirt front. “What do you know? Have you talked to someone IRL that is in your little group?”The guy chuckled as he looked into Aaron’s eyes. “I don’t know shit.”Aaron backhanded the guy as his head whipped to the left and the chair rocked slightly from the force. “Same damn song just a different day. You’re like a broken fucking record.”The guy laughed again as his head lifted and he looked at Tanya. “Your days are numbered,” he looked at the other two as well. “All of you. None of you will escape what is about to take place. Not even your precious dragons.” He laughed again. “No one is going to come out of this unscathed. Dragon Lance is going down.”Moonshine turned and looked at the guy. He glared at him then stormed over to him. When he was barely a legs length away, he raised his right leg and planted his boot into his face. The chair rocked back, and his head smacked against the wall before he bounced back.“You fuckers even think about touching the dragons, and I’ll beat you so bad you’ll wish the dragons had eaten you alive,” he growled at him. “Whatever the Hell you pieces of trash are planning, I suggest you think long and hard about whether it’s worth the ass-whipping you’ll be getting after you fail.”The guy only laughed at him as he slowly lifted his head looking at them from a slightly hung head. “You don’t scare me. Because you can’t hurt me. Not now. Not ever.”Both Aaron and Moonshine were about to throw down on him. “NO!” Tanya called to them. Both the guys looked back at her. “Leave him be.” She turned again to leave. “We know enough with what he just told us. Just leave him here to rot.” She walked off leaving them there.Aaron looked back at the guy and gave him a hard pat on the cheek. “You got damn lucky.” He turned and left the cell with Moonshine following behind. Looking to the two guards at either side of his cell door he gave them their orders.“Lock it up, and no one is to talk to him unless it is one of the three of us that were just here.”They nodded and locked the door tightly behind Moonshine when he exited the cell. They then took their places back at either side of the cell’s door.---It was later that evening as Tanya, Aaron, Moonshine, Klein, Kirito and the members of the Unseen--minus Celty and Creed--all gathered in the hall where the Knights normally met for their monthly meetings.Tanya, Aaron, and Klein all took their normal places at the table the others just took a seat as they filed in for the meeting. Nema was the last to join them as she took a seat next to Eowyn.Aaron stood as she sat down and looked at everyone sitting around the large table. “I want to thank you for coming to this meeting. I know a few of you have already asked if Celty and Creed were going to be here, but unfortunately, they were not able to make it. The real world called them away. However, in their absence, they have given Tanya and myself permission to speak in their place. They have already expressed their thoughts and feelings on this matter to both of us. So if you do not agree with something we say. Please keep in mind not everything we are relaying is of our own personal opinion.”“That said, that doesn’t mean you have to keep your mouths shut,” Moonshine told them. “If you have something to say, don’t be afraid to speak up. And if you have questions, ask them. We’ll try to answer them as best we can.”The ones around the table nodded their heads as they looked at the others sitting there with them. Just then, Nema sat up straight in her chair with a surprised look on her face. It was almost like the urge to have to go to the bathroom crept up on her.“Are you alright, Nema?” Tanya asked her.“I...uh...It seems someone is trying to get my attention IRL. Can you give me a minute,” Nema asked as she looked at Tanya, Aaron, Klein, and Moonshine.Tanya smiled at her nodding her head as did the other. “Take your time, Nema. We will be waiting.”She smiled in return and nodded her head. “It should not take too long. My parents knew I had to be here for this.” She opened her panel and hit the suspend button in settings, putting her Avi in a soulless state. Her Avi’s body went limp in the chair like she fell asleep sitting up.“Ugh,” Moonshine shuddered, looking away from it. “God, I hate when people do that. It looks so damn unnatural.”Aaron chuckled. “It makes me think they fell asleep.”“If that’s what it’s like to have narcolepsy, then I feel really bad for people who have it IRL,” Kirito smiled tightly.It was a few minutes later and Nema’s Avi came back to life as she looked pointedly at Moonshine with an annoyed look. “I was told to tell you that my brother will be calling you via the Streamline App, here in a few seconds. He said to put him on speaker.”Moonshine raised an eyebrow at her. “Huh? What does your brother want with me? I don’t even know him. I didn’t even know you had a brother.”Suddenly, like Nema said, his phone rang via the app. He sighed and hit the green accept button then pressed the speaker button, putting the person on blast for everyone to hear.“Hello? Who is this?” The app translated perfectly between their phones, just as if they both were in game.“Sorry, Shadow or should I call you Moonshine since you’re in your other game? This is Grim Reaper aka Lee. I am Nema’s older brother. Your little brother gave me your number after he and Kit told me what was going on in Dragon Lance. I want details. From what I have heard there is some bad shit going on in that game.”Moonshine’s eyes widened in surprise. So Grim Reaper was Nema’s brother?“Yes, that’s right. I’m assuming Shiro and Kit told you the basics of it. There’s been hacking disguised as glitches regarding the sensitivity settings. We don’t know why, but we do know that they’re after Celty, who had witnessed something she wasn’t supposed to. In addition, they want something from this game that could possibly ruin it. I won’t bore you with the specific details, but we believe they want it to get the game shut down or to end it for whatever reason. We’ve been doing research on the game and its creator to try and find out who and why they’re doing this.”“Are Celty and Creed there because I would like to talk to them.”“Myself and my second in command are standing in for Celty and Creed here,” Tanya spoke up.“And who are you?” Lee asked.“I am Tanya, the guild master of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. We have been boarding the members of the Unseen since the incident. Celty and Creed are afraid since this attempt to get their hands on Celty failed they might try again. So they asked us to watch over the others until this is settled,” Tanya expressed to him folding her hands in front of her.“How much danger are we looking at here? I mean from what I understand about this sensitivity glitch, that there, is some serious shit in itself,” Lee made comment.“The glitch is maxing out players’ levels so that if they get hurt in game, they can and will get hurt IRL because of it. Look at it this way, if you got into a crash in SpeedRunner with the sensitivity maxed--if there were no safety features that is--you would feel like you were in a crash for real. Same thing for DL. You get stabbed in the stomach on max level, you’re going to feel like you got stabbed IRL too. The worse damage you take in-game, the more your mind will believe your actually hurt. Possibly leaving you in shock or worse,” Moonshine explained to him. “That’s why I told Kit and Shiro to stay the Hell out of Dragon Lance.”“Since an attempt was made on my sister’s and Nathan’s behalf, would it be best to keep them out of game as well un--”“NO!” Nema and Eowyn bellowed in unison. The two of them leaned forward and shot up out of their seats.Lee gave an audible growl. “Now you listen to me you little punkasses. You’re my baby sister and Nathan is like a little brother to me, and if they’re saying it’s dangerous you need to call it quits in this game until they find out what is going on and stop it. You get that?”“It would be for the best,” Moonshine turned and said to the two of them. “No brother wants their sibling’s death on their conscience.”“Agreed,” Kirito added with a stern nod. “I’ve told Leafa the same thing. The less loved ones we have in here, the better.”“He is right, Celty and Creed would not want any of you to be in danger.” She looked pointedly at the two in question. “Being here you’re safe but not as safe as you would be if you just did not sign in until we get this settled,” Tanya added to the warnings.“We don’t know what these assholes are capable of doing, nor how far they’re willing to go. We already know they’re willing to kill,” Moonshine made another point, narrowing his eyes.“Exactly. We don’t want anyone else to be an example of their violence,” Klein agreed with a sigh, shaking his head.“Listen to your brother Nema, and to us. Right now, anything could happen. And like Tanya said, you might be safe here, but if they find out the Knights of the Mystic Dragon are trying to stop them, we will be their next target. And things are not going to be safe around here when they do. The less people we have to worry about the better,” Aaron told Nema and the other members of the Unseen.“But we can’t just let you guys do this on your own! And who knows how long it will take to get these guys off the game?!” Nema retorted, slamming her hand down on the table. “And what if you guys end up in trouble and none of us are around to help you?!”“We have friends on the outside that knows what’s going on. They are trying to help us solve this. If they see a drastic change take place in the coding, they will alert the Admins and the authorities of what is going on. The less they have to keep an eye on the better chance they have in helping us bring this to an end,” Tanya explained.“Nema, I think we’re fighting a losing battle,” Eowyn said to her, placing a hand on her arm and shaking his head. “They’re not gonna back down on this.”Nema sighed. “Fine.” She plopped back down into her seat defeatedly.“Grim, is there anything else you want to know about? Any other questions?” Moonshine asked him.“No, but I might be able to help you guys out. My uncle works for the company that got Dragon Lance and SpeedRunner out to the WWW. He overlooks all the servers that host the online games, VR’s or otherwise. You get me as much information as you can on this, and I will turn it over to him and see what comes out of it. Including usernames of these guys you think are behind this, and he can get you actual names and even their home address.” Lee explained to them.“That would be a great help to us, Grim,” Moonshine said. “I’ll get that information to you as soon as possible. Once our meeting is over, I will PM you in game, so look out for it the next time you log on to SRO.”“Will do,” he fell silent for a second in thought. “Nate, me and Ava will be coming by to see you tomorrow. I will take the two of you out for lunch. Your choice.”“Really?! Awesome!” Eowyn cheered, throwing his hands up.“I don’t think that means, ‘go overboard’,” Nema laughed at him.Eowyn put his hands down and pouted at her. “I wasn’t gonna! … Well, I thought about it, but I wouldn’t!”Lee chuckled. “I guess that is it then. I will leave you all to finish your talk and good luck with whatever it is your doing in trying to get to the bottom of this. Nate, Ava. I want you both to sign out. Now. I don't want you any more involved in this then you already are. The less you know the better. It will keep your curiosity down and wanting to sign in and find out what is going on.” He fell silent then chuckled maliciously.“And don’t think you will get away with signing in and me not finding out about it. Because…” he paused and laughed again. “I am giving Moonshine permission to give everyone in that room that is trying to solve this… my number to contact me if they see your little asses in the game, and you know what will happen from there.”“Oi… don’t make me the policeman here. I mean, I don’t disagree with you, but don’t just volunteer me,” Moonshine said half seriously, glaring at the floating app panel. The others in the room laughed before he continued. “But he’s right. You two need to sign off starting now. It’s best for everyone involved. Please don’t take offense to that.”“Alright…” Nema said quietly as the two of them exited the room together.“Did they leave?” Lee asked after hearing a door close.Aaron hummed in confirmation as Lee then continued.“How are you guys getting your information on this? Do you have an insider or were you lucky enough to get your hands on one of their own?”“The latter and hopefully at some point the former as well,” Moonshine answered. “I took one of their pawns into custody a few days ago. We haven’t had much luck with him, but we’re slowly piecing things together. But we need to gain some leads on this sooner rather than later.”“Well, I won't be able to contact my uncle until tomorrow, but I will be sure to let him know that any information he gets we need A.S.A.P.”There was a shuffle on the other side causing Lee to fall silent.“She is out. I will let you guys get back to work...or play,” he chuckled. “Whichever you want to call it.”“Alright. You three take care. Don’t let them get too bored,” Moonshine said before ending the call.When the call ended, Aaron looked to Karith and Lagan who were still sitting in the room with them. “So what are the two of you thinking? You heard the concerns of Celty and Creed. Are you going to stick around and help us get to the bottom of this or do you want to heed the warnings from them and the rest of us and take a break from the game until we end it?”“Are you really going to be able to stop this?” Lagan asked him as he looked to Karith.“I have to agree,” Karith stated as his look turned to Aaron next. “If what you say is true and this person is out for vengeance, are you really going to be able to stop him? He knows this game better than any one of us on a good day.”“This is pretty much a suicide mission. Because this guy controls everything about this game, and we are powerless to stop him. Even the Admins are powerless. Hell, they can’t even stop him when he fucks with the sensitivity settings. It takes them nearly a full 24 hours to fix it, and what’s to say they are even fixing it. It could be he is setting it back to normal because they are getting too close to discovering it’s being hacked,” Lagan said speaking his mind over the matter.Lagan stood from the table as his head shook. “I am sorry. I do enjoy the game, but no game--no matter how much I enjoy it--is worth my life. If he wants it dead that badly I am out before I get taken down with it.” He looked to Karith as he shook his head.“I can’t man. I can’t leave Creed and Celty to fight this alone. They are trying to kill her. That’s not cool, and if I can help these guys stop it and keep Celty safe I am with them.” He shook his head again. “Go, I will keep you updated on what’s happening and if and when it’s safe to come back.”Lagan sighed and stepped away from the table. “Sorry guys.”Everyone around the table nodded as Lagan walked toward the door. “It’s fine Lagan. No one is judging you for this. Be safe and we will hopefully see you again very soon.” Aaron told him as he exited the room. He looked back at the ones at the table and sighed.“He is right, this is not going to be easy. We are fighting from the opposite side of the control panel. We have to be ready for anything. Without someone on the inside, we are fighting in the dark, and if our suspicions are correct, they already have someone spying on us here in the guild.” Tanya reminded them as she looked around the table.“We need to get some hints as to how the system works. If we can have a skilled enough hacker figure the system out, we can fight them on equal grounds,” Moonshine gave a thoughtful sigh. “Or, maybe if we’re lucky, we can find someone who used to work on Dragon Lance who would be willing to help us out. I’m sure there has to be some Admins or programmers that have quit or moved on to other things.”Aaron shook his head. “I have already talked to the Admin DarkDragon. He said everyone that has started with Dragon Lance is still there. Though he is still trying to see if my accusations are true. He said he read a few comments that the other Admin left in their chatroom and they are stating there is some weird shit going on in the coding, but they can’t say it’s the work of a hacker.”“So the hacker is clever enough to cover his tracks and make it look like a glitch. Smart bastard~!” Klein commented as he rubbed his chin.“Where do we even go from here? Wait until this Grim Reaper can dig up something for us? Or do we push on, on our own?” Kirito shook his head. “We can’t get anything from Krator. Who knows when these guys are going to strike back against us. We can’t stop the ‘glitching’, nor can we prove to the Admins or anyone else that keeps DL running that it’s actually happening. So what’s our next move?”“Well, DarkDragon is on our side. He knows something is wrong, but they can’t track it right now because the glitch or glitches have not been the type of glitch that has been an ‘in your face’ type of thing.” He looked to Tanya and Moonshine. “And he knows we have the one guy from the Dragon Slayers.”Tanya and Moonshine’s eyes widened. “Aaron!? Why did you tell him that? We are holding him without cause.” Tanya questioned him.“What the Hell are we going to do if we get booted from the game for this?!” Moonshine stood up from his seat. “And if they boot us, who knows how long it will be until we are let back in. What are we supposed to do? Sit on our asses while they get free reign of the game?”Aaron shook his head as he motioned with his hand for the two of them to calm down. “He is cool with it. He said he wouldn’t say a word to anyone, but that is not to say one of Krator’s clan members won’t.”Tanya sighed heavily. “I doubt any of them would say anything. That would mean they are drawing attention to their clan/guild as well as ours. Their boss would have to undo everything he has done in the way of hacks.”Aaron nodded his head. “That was mine and DarkDragon’s thoughts as well.”“But if he can hack the game as quickly as it seems he can, then who’s to say he won’t just do that? If he can get in and out without the Admins noticing, it’s not unreasonable to think he will undo everything he did just to rat us out, then redo all of the work once we’re out of the way,” Kirito shook his head with a concerned expression.The group nodded their heads as they all fell into thought. After a few seconds, Karith spoke up. “Hmm, I have an idea.”“If it will get us further along in this mess, then it’s more than welcome,” Moonshine raised his hand then let it fall again. “Please, share with the class.”“I have a second Avi that I have played over the years. He is very skilled. He’s a Wood Elf. I could use him to get into the clan of the Dragon Slayers.” As Tanya started shaking her head, he added quickly. “It will give us an edge over them!” He conveyed a little loudly.“Before we go agreeing to this one way or the other, why don’t you make your case a little better,” Moonshine waved Tanya down. “How do you plan to do this? Especially without making them suspect something is up. As far as I’m concerned, we have to operate as if they know everything. It would be better that way than assuming they only know some things.”Karith looked to Moonshine with a cocky look in his eyes. “If they knew everything. They would know Tanya is Celty.”The room fell dead silent as Tanya looked around the room quickly then to Karith. “How do you know that?”“Oh! Come on! Tanya, Celty.” His hand motioned to her as if shooing her away. “It’s as obvious as the nose on your face. Just like Aaron, there is Creed.” He looked to Aaron as Aaron chuckled softly. “When Tanya comes on, Celty is nowhere to be found, and when Celty comes on, Tanya is nowhere to be found. It’s the same with Aaron here.”
Moonshine looked to Kirito, and the two of them looked to Aaron and Tanya with looks of ‘we knew this was coming’.” Moonshine gave a short chuckle. “Well, now you don’t have to find a way to let the cat out of the bag without it scratching you. Though you will have to tell Lagan, Nema, and Eowyn.”“I have kept this secret of yours for about a year now. None of the others know,” he looked around the room at the others in the room. “So did they tell you guys or did you figure it out on your own?”Kirito raised his hand. “Celty told me she was both, and I believe I found out about Aaron IRL when we met at the Dicey Cafe.”“Same about Aaron, can’t remember how I found out about Tanya,” Klein replied.Moonshine pointed at Kirito. “He let it slip that you were Celty when we went to Fareport. Boy, he really got his panties in a twist then. As for Aaron, same as Kirito and Klein.”Karith chuckled shaking his head. “Now. Are you going to let me go in? They are still looking for recruits for their clan. I am guessing it’s for the whole mission about the Divine Dragons.”“If you’re positive you can do it without them making you for a mole, then be my guest, so long as it’s okay with these three,” Moonshine pointed to Tanya, Aaron, and Klein. “After all, they have a mole here in our ranks, so I guess it’s only fair that we plant one with them.”Karith looked to Tanya, Aaron, and Klein. “Well, what will it be?”A deafening silence fell in the room as Aaron and Tanya looked at one another as it was quickly broken with a bellowing Klein.“HEY! Why don’t I get looked at? Moonshine did say, Tanya, Aaron, and Klein.” Klein crossed his arms over his chest as he pouted in his seat. He then looked at Karith. “I say if you can do it, go for it. Because none of us are getting in there any time soon.”Aaron looked to Karith and nodded. “Yes, you can do this, but be very careful and you’re not to contact us at all as this Wood Elf. I don’t even want to know his name.”Karith sat up with a wide smile. “I will do you proud.”“We know you will,” Tanya told him with a wide bright smile.Moonshine took one of Nychta’s gems out of his inventory and tossed it to Karith. “Use this if you have to. It will help tremendously if you can gain even a little bit of skill with it. Also, make sure you don’t give them any reason to think you know anyone from the Unseen or our guild personally. Don’t say you know things that might tip them off. It’s better to play the person who doesn’t know anything than the person who knows just a little too much.”Karith nodded, clenching the gem in his hand before depositing it into his inventory. “Got it. Anything else I should know?”“Make sure you have a solid reason why you want to join them. Learn that reason and stick to it. Don’t forget your own lies. That’s the easiest way to get caught. Be as inconspicuous as possible but learn as much as you can. And whatever you do, do not keep record of your findings using any in-game features. That means journals, PMing yourself or any of us. Nothing. When you log out of your alternate account for the day, keep a journal IRL of everything that happened and that was said, even if it seems pointless. You might witness something that might not mean anything to you but could mean something big to us. And most importantly… keep yourself safe at all costs. Your life comes before your cover.”Karith nodded in confirmation and was about to say something else when an urgent knock came to the door of the Hall. Everyone looked to the door as one of the guards from the gate rushed into the room. He dropped to one knee and announced in a rushed manner.“Lady Tanya, Sir Aaron, Grandmaster Klein. Admin ClairVoyance and Admin DarkDragon are here with the Second in Command--”Before he could finish, the two mentioned walked in the door led by the guild’s Herald, Alickath. With them was the Second in Command of the Dragon Slayers, Seveani. Everyone in the Hall stood quickly with wide eyes.“What the Hell!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Thirty-Six
Admin Clair Voyance was an elegant Sun Elf with long flowing robes of silks and satins, colored with white and pale yellows, her hair a platinum blond and even longer than Celty’s, her eyes golden in color. Her presence led the ones that had ever met her to believe that she was of a noble breed of Elves and in high standing of her clan. Admin Dark Dragon was a dark sorcerer with dark grey and black robes. His hair was long and pitch black, looking like black silk as it fell around him. His ornamental necklaces and jewels all had black stones of some kind set in silver. His eyes were black with no whites or pupils--like someone took his eyes out and replaced them with smooth, black orbs. As Moonshine looked him over, he secretly thought to himself that he picked the wrong avatar when he first joined the game. He didn’t think the game had that dark of colors, especially for hair.Next to him, Kirito thought the same in the back of his mind, but he was too busy looking at the dragon slayer. His heart dropped to his stomach. It was the man he and Celty fought in the Mill. So if the second in command of the Dragon Slayers was part of it, then was the person doing the hacking the first in command?“What’s going on?” Moonshine asked them. “Is there a reason you’re bringing a dragon slayer into our guild’s headquarters?”
The female Admin looked to the Moon Elf. “It seems you are holding one of their members against their will.”
“Yes, we are, but for good reason, Admin Clair Voyance,” Tanya spoke up.“And that reason would be?” Admin Clair Voyance asked.Klein pointed at Seveani, “Because him and a few of his men tried to--”Aaron’s hand came across Tanya stopping Klein in mid sentence. “Enough Grandmaster Klein. I have this,” he spoke as he looked slightly to him. His eyes then adverted to the Admin’s before them. “It seems the Dragon Slayers have a grudge against one of our informants, and since she was far too skilled for them to face one on one, they ganged up on two of the informant’s clan members. They did this during the last sensitivity glitch, nearly killing the boy. If he had not made it to us when he did, I hate to say we would have lost him.”
“They also took one of the said clan members they beat as a hostage, leaving a message with the boy. Stating, that if she did not show before sunrise they would kill the hostage,” Tanya added.“The informant barely escaped with her own life after saving her clan member,” Moonshine pointed out. “So, if you’ll excuse my rudeness, I think taking one of their own is a hell of a lot better than nearly killing three other players. And not just in game either.”
“We are aware of what could happen to a player if severely hurt while the sensitivity is glitching,” Admin Dark Dragon expressed.“And they took full advantage of that, nearly killing a young boy,” Aaron spoke up again.“And trying to kill our informant,” Klein finally got to add crossing his arms over his chest with a stern look in his eyes.
“So if you’re going to punish us for this,” Kirito raised his chin. “Then they deserve equal punishment. They’re as wrong as we were, even more so.”
Admin Clair Voyance looked to Seveani who was not denying or admitting to these accusations. “Do you have proof of these said accusations, Lady Tanya?”Aaron opened his panel and retrieved the note that was given to Eowyn to deliver to Celty. When the piece of paper was in his hand, Aaron stepped around the table.Moonshine looked from Aaron to Seveani. The man’s face was beet red, probably both in embarrassment and rage. His lips curled and his nostrils flared in contempt. The man knew he had been caught. There would be no denying the note. Even if he said they forged it, all they had to do was demonstrate their handwriting and confirm that they were the only ones who knew about the incident. The slayer was trapped and he knew it. Moonshine couldn’t keep the smug look off of his face.
Stepping up to Admin Clair Voyance, he handed her the small, blood speckled piece of paper. “The blood belongs to the boy.” He told her as he noticed her examining the outside of the note when seeing the bloody fingerprints on the parchment.She looked to Seveani from the corner of her eyes as she slowly opened the folded piece of paper.
“This is bullshit!!” Seveani bellowed as he pointed at the ones in front of them. “Their guild is torturing our clan member trying to get information from him over something he knows nothing about!!”Aaron growled lurching forward as he grabbed Seveani jerking him forward until they were face to face.
“VICE MASTER AARON!!” Tanya screamed, though it did not stop him. However, the others that went to move forward to get in the mix did.“Then maybe we should take your superhuman ass down there and beat you senseless. Huh, Seveani? I wonder how much you know about all of this.”“Let him go Aaron,” a calm voice told him as a stern hand sat to his shoulder. It was Admin Dark Dragon. “It’s not worth the punishment when they are clearly at fault here.”
Moonshine nodded in agreement. “Don’t get us thrown out of the game when the evidence is on our side. You don’t curse at the judge when you’ve already won your case.”
Aaron growled again and shoved Seveani back from him as he let him go. He then turned and walked back over beside Tanya.“Lady Tanya,” Admin Clair Voyance spoke to her. “I need you to release the man you are holding in your dungeon. I will not punish you nor your guild for this matter hence the evidence and statements I have heard.” She looked between Seveani and Tanya. “But know I will have a close eye on both of your orders.”Tanya nodded in agreeance. “Yes, Ma’am.” She looked to Aaron. “With the orders the guards have you will have to go and release him.” Aaron nodded as she then looked to Moonshine. “Will you go with him please. I don’t trust this man.”
Moonshine smiled like the cat that ate the canary. And not just one canary, but a whole cage full of them. “I’ll have both of them plus me back in one piece, I can promise you that.” He walked forward and gestured to the door, looking at Seveani. “After you, slayer.”
Aaron stepped from around the table once more and stepped up beside Moonshine, placing Seveani in front of them. “He said go, Asshat.” Aaron shoved Seveani in the shoulder to make him move forward.“Pissing off a Knight is not a very smart thing, Dragon Slayer,” Admin Dark Dragon spoke softly with a smirk across his lips.
“Oh pissing off a Knight isn’t his problem right now,” Moonshine smirked. “His problem is that he pissed off a shit ton of Knights. And you’re lucky we don’t have to go outside to get to the dungeon, or you might end up as Nychta’s lunch.”Seveani chuckled as they walked out of the Hall and into the corridor as he spoke softly. “We will see who will be that beasts lunch soon enough.”
Aaron looked to Moonshine with what the man said, but made no comment as he shoved Seveani from the back. “Shut up and keep walking or you might be leaving as a bloody mess like your clan member.”“Actually no,” Moonshine smirked. “Keep talking. Maybe then I can really channel my inner Laughing Coffin. God almighty, you wouldn’t last five fucking seconds in that game. And if you were, then you were probably one of the people cowering on the first floor like a sniveling little baby… Actually, nah. There’s no way you’re an SAO vet. You’re too fucking sloppy for that. No one as twisted as you would make such a stupid mistake as to leave a note in the hands of the enemy. Not even Laughing Coffin was that fucking stupid.”
Seveani spun and cold cocked Moonshine knocking him back a few steps as Aaron grabbed Seveani from behind pulling him in a Full Nelson.
“You know you’re a real dumbass, Seveani.” Aaron chuckled in his ear as the man struggled to get loose. “Attacking one of us when you’re all alone and it’s two against one.”
Moonshine corrected himself and charged toward Seveani as Aaron held him in place. Moonshine grabbed him by the collar and shook him. “Come on, you stupid bastard. You gotta give me something after that. All that taunting and name calling and all you got is a weak ass punch? That right there tells me you’re no fucking SAO vet. My girlfriend punches harder than you. Hell, my pure as white snow brother punches harder than you. You’re just some wannabe laying at home in bed, trying to get revenge for something stupid, huh. So why don’t you do yourself a favor and log out for good? Better yet, just delete your account. You and your fucking boss.”
Seveani chuckled in his face as he stayed trapped between the two. “You’re knocking on the wrong door Moon Elf. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Aaron released Seveani and spun him around to face him. Grabbing ahold of the front of his shirt he looked to Moonshine with a malice smile. “I say we take him out back and let Meuma and Nychta play toss with him like they did his buddy.”Moonshine scoffed and shook his head. “Nah, fuck it. These bastards are obviously more scared of their boss than they are of us. No dragon will get them to talk. Not even Nychta. But you know what?” He walked past the two of them, continuing towards the dungeon’s door. “Imagine what their boss will do to him when he finds out the admins saw that note he left behind.”
Moonshine opened the door to the dungeon, holding it open.
Aaron was following behind Moonshine shoving Seveani as they walked along. When they reached the entrance to the spiraling staircase and Seveani took his first step Aaron shoved him hooking Seveani’s foot with one of his own.
Seveani fell forward trying to catch himself on the smooth stone walls with no avail as he then started tumbling down the steps until he reached the bottom.
“Well…” Aaron started to chuckle. “I guess he was in a hurry to see his clansmen. Who’d‘ve known they were so close?”
Moonshine chuckled back, shaking his head. “You’re gonna get us in trouble more than me, big guy. Finally I’m not the troublemaker for once.” He jerked his head down the stairs. “Come on. Let’s make sure the bastard didn’t break his neck.”
Aaron chuckled again as he followed Moonshine down the steps. “Like that would be a bad thing?”“Hey, like I said before. Don’t curse at the judge when you’ve already won your case. Or in this case, don’t keep punching your opponent when you’ve already won the match.”
“What?!” Aaron exclaimed. “I didn’t do anything. He fell down the stairs. Are you going to testify any different?”
“I plead the fifth, or whatever it is,” Moonshine waved his hand. “I exercise my right to remain silent and all that jazz.”
Aaron chuckled. “Good call, and I am just exercising my inner Moon Elf.”
The two rounded the last turn on the stairwell as they saw Seveani sitting at the bottom rubbing his neck and shoulder.
“Did you break your neck? If not, we can go back up to the top and try again,” Aaron asked him as he took hold of his arm and jerked him to his feet.“Let’s hurry up and get asshole number two out of here. The quicker your boss rips you apart for getting captured and leaving evidence, the better my day will be,” Moonshine said as he made his way towards Krator’s cell.
“Fuck you,” Seveani growled as he continued to rub his shoulder. “And who do you think sent me here? Your mama?”Aaron shook his head and looked at the guy oddly. “These guy’s got some real mama issues.”Moonshine snorted and laughed loudly. “Note to self, slayers all suck at insulting people. I think we’re looking at a bunch of twelve year olds, not adults.”
“I don’t know, but I think they got some real issues.” Aaron looked to Seveani. “Did your mama beat you when you were little? Did she wash your teddy bear, Mr. Wiggles Worth and ruin him? Did she give the last brownie to her Pimp and you got none?”
“Damn, Aaron. You kiss your girlfriend with that mouth?” Moonshine raised his eye at him.Seveani growled as he struggled to get loose from the Knight. “You’re both Fucktards.”“Ugh. Enough with the lame ass comebacks. You and Krator must be brothers or some shit,” Moonshine kicked him in the back. “Just hurry up and grab your lap dog so you both can get the fuck out of our faces.”Seveani stumbled forward as he grabbed the bars of the cell with both hands and looked to Krator. He looked as if they put his face in a meat grinder. Turning quickly he looked at the Knight. “You bastards!”Aaron grabbed Seveani by the collar and jerked him forward. “You call us bastards’--he turned Seveani and pointed at Krator-- “by doing this small amount of damage!” He then jerked Seveani’s attention back to him, grabbing him with both hands again and slammed him against the bars of the cell.
“But you tried killing three people.” He slammed him against the bars once more, releasing him as the door to the cell opened. “Take him and get the fuck out before I put you in there with him and beat you both to death.”Moonshine stood against the back wall with his arms crossed. “You got ten seconds. And believe me, I got enough elixirs to heal both of you after we’re done.”
The guard untied Krator as he stumbled toward the cells door almost falling a couple of times. Seveani catching him the last time before he hit the floor. He turned, not saying another word and stepped past them. As they started moving away, Moonshine lifted off the wall and started toward the stairwell. Aaron placed his hand to Moonshine’s chest stopping him as he lifted his other and softly spoke.“Walls of stone you are no more. I give you ears to hear whispers of wind as loud as a lion’s roar.”Moonshine blinked as suddenly everything from his spot within a five hundred foot radius sounded as if it was right next to him. He could hear the walls and floors creak, people talking above them, and more so, he could hear Seveani and Krator talking.
“So is everything in place?” Krator asked at a near whisper.“It will be when we get back to the hideout. Cerrakor is putting phase two into effect as soon as we return.” Seveani told him at the same tone.“He is turning the dragon’s already?”Seveani only nodded his head as they topped the steps and exited the stairwell.Once the door closed Aaron and Moonshine looked to one another. “What did he mean they are turning the dragons?”
Moonshine blinked, his eyes scrunched together. He thought for a moment, pulling up everything he knew about dragons to try and connect the dots. Turn them? Into what? What could they turn them into that would be worse than a dragon? He thought long and hard before he came to his conclusion.
Nothing. The dragons were the most dangerous thing in the game.
His head snapped up and he turned immediately and ran for the dungeon’s door. He heard Aaron shouting behind him, but he kept running. He barely registered that the two of them were gone when they reached the top. He ran as fast as he could towards the Knight’s Hall, ignoring Aaron’s screaming at him the entire way. When he reached the hall, he threw the doors open, standing at the entrance. The admins were still standing there talking to the others. He ignored them too.
“EVERYONE GET YOUR DRAGONS IN YOUR INVENTORY NOW! FIND CERBERUS, EIZEN AND ZAVIED!”
Without another word, he ran off and towards the stables. He needed to save his dragons. First of all Nychta. Not because he was more or less important, but because Nychta alone could destroy everything around them if he wanted to. More so than Thieron, despite the other dragon’s size.
When he got to the stables, he went into the large stable first. When he was at Nychta’s stall where the dragon was laying down, Moonshine purged all of his inventory without a second thought, not even remembering that his items wouldn’t disappear since he was in the safezone of his guild’s headquarters. He just dropped everything, regardless of value or weight.“Master? What are you--?”
He didn’t even give Nychta time to finish before he stored the dragon in his empty inventory. In his peripheral vision he saw Tanya, Aaron, Kirito, and Klein rushing in. As Moonshine ran into the smaller stalls, he saw Zavied talking to Eizen near Shaze’s stall.
“GET YOUR DRAGONS IN YOUR INVENTORY! THEY’RE GOING TO TURN THEM ON US!”The two of them looked at each other before Zavied ran to Shaze and Eizen ran off back to the large stables. Zavied had Shaze in his inventory before Moonshine got to Imera in her stall.
“I-I can’t… move!” Zaveid’s body shook as he leaned against the stall gate.
“Dump your inventory! Whatever you got, get rid of it! It’ll stay where you drop it since you’re a member of this guild, so don’t worry about what you drop, just get rid of it then fill your inventory with ONLY essentials afterwards.”
Once Imera was in his inventory, he went back to the large stalls, leaving Zavied to purge his own inventory. Tanya was already set to putting Kaen in her inventory, as well as Dueler.
“You too, Tanya. Dump your shit or you won’t be able to move. Then again, you’d better just stay in the stall until Cerberus gets here, cause with four of these beasts, you won’t be able to move even if you have nothing in there,” Moonshine said to her in passing, not caring if she knew already or not.
He went to the items he dropped, passing Kirito and Klein. He picked up only what he’d need to keep himself alive in a fight or the elements. Potions and elixirs and whatever else was light. Thankfully, his inventory weight counter was large enough to accommodate a fair amount of items, but he knew players like Kirito and Klein who were conversion players would not have enough space to fit much of anything.
Once he had what he needed, he went back to Tanya, who was sitting on a bale of hay near Dueler’s stall. Aaron stood next to her.
“I will take Kaen from her, since I only have one of my own,” Aaron told both of them. He turned to Tanya. “No one can carry three and survive, let alone four. I don’t even know how you fit all four of them in there in the first place.”“Shee’s a baby,” Moonshine reminded him. “Be lucky she is. I’m having enough trouble with just Nychta. I love him, but damn he’s a big fucker.”
Eizen walked up next to them. “And you think Thieron is much better?” He meant it as a joke, but he couldn’t match the tone. “What are we going to do until we know it’s safe to release them? None of us can fight like this. Most of us can barely walk. Forget riding a horse or teleporting. You two that have two dragons sure as hell can’t do much of anything.”
Standing behind them the Admin’s Clair Voyance and Dark Dragon stood at the entrance of the stable. She looked around at the ones placing their dragons in their inventory. “If what you say is true then we as Admins will increase your inventory for this state of emergency.” She looked to the Moon Elf. “But how do you know this?”
Before Moonshine could reply roars from dragon’s and screams from the villagers were heard from outside the stables.
“We have to help them!” Aaron bellowed.“How? There is no way we can fight like this, and are you really ready to become a dragon slayer?” Klein retorted.
Moonshine turned to the admins. “Aaron casted a spell on me that allowed me to hear beyond my normal capacity. Before Seveani and Krator left, I heard them say they were going to turn the dragons. Now you tell me, what creature could be worse than a dragon that they could turn it into?”
“None,” Tanya answered as she looked to the stable floor. Looking back up, she looked to the Admins. “You need to go up our inventory. We can’t help our fellow players like this.”They both nodded and opened their panels. “We will make it possible for the group here to carry their dragons comfortably and be able to fight. We will not be able to max your inventory with the levels you are, but we can make this more suitable for all of you. At least until this mess is placed to rest,” Dark Dragon informed them.They all nodded their heads as the two Admins disappeared and Cerberus ran into the stable.“What’s going on?! Why are the dragons freaking out,” he looked quickly around the stable. “And where is Dueler?!”
“Calm down, Cerberus. I have him in my inventory, and you have to keep him in your inventory. At least until this is over,” Tanya told him as she transferred Dueler over to her brother.“After what is over?! Will someone please tell me what is going on?!” Cerberus exclaimed, ignoring the chime that Dueler was now in his inventory.
“The slayers hacked the dragons’ code and turned them into beasts. They’ve all gone rogue,” Moonshine explained. “And given that they’re NPCs and they probably changed their coding completely with this, my tamer skills won’t work because they won’t have the proper coding to respond to me the way they should.”
Cerberus’ shoulders fell as he looked on at Moonshine. “What are we going to do? We can’t kill them.” He turned and looked at the many dragons flying over head. “We can’t kill the dragons.”
He sounded as if he were about to cry as he looked out at the dragon filled sky. “We know that Cerberus.” Tanya walked up behind him placing her hands to his shoulders. “We will find a way to stop them…. There has to be a way.”Just then a loud snap filled the stable as everyone turned and looked at Zavied. “The book.”“The book?” A few of them replied.“Yeah, The Comp… The Compen... The damn magic book him”--he pointed at Cerberus-- “and Moonshine’s little brother found.”“The Tarragonia Compendium of Magic,” Moonshine grinned and shook his head. “Just call it the ‘Super Secret Magic Book that No One Knows About.’”“That’s even longer!” Zavied grumbled.
Cerberus looked at his sister, nodding his head. “There might be something in there to stop them. Maybe a sleep potion or a spell. There has to be something.”Moonshine let out a scoff of disbelief. “Sure, like maybe two thousand doses of horse tranq. But it’s worth a shot.” He nodded in the direction of the lab. “Let’s hurry up and find something before half of Tarragonia goes up in dragon flame.”
Tanya looked to Moonshine as if he lost his mind. “You do realize if we leave this Stable we are a target, right? They don’t know we are in here. That is why we are safe right now. We go running out of here at the snail pace most of us can move right now”--her hands came up and slammed together-- “CHOMP! Dragon snacks.”Cerberus chuckled aloud as he shook his head. “We can use the Cloak and Dagger spell to hide us.”Tanya looked back to her little brother. “Not all of us in here are powerful enough to use that spell.”
“Then we hold hands,” Cerberus told her with a smile.“Kumbaya then,” Moonshine grinned, holding out his hand. “Let’s get this done so we can figure out how to stop the dragons without killing them.”
Tanya sighed then nodded her head. “Lets go,” she extended her hand to anyone that wanted to take it. “Godspeed to us all or we will never see the sunrise.”Moonshine took her hand first. Aaron took her other hand, soon they all were linked together, hand in hand.
Cerberus started reciting the spell. “Pull the veil, conceal their eyes.”“But let us walk within plain sight,” Aaron added.“In front of the enemy we dare tread,” Tanya spoke as she closed her eyes.“To put an end to this plight,” Moonshine finished it off.“Let’s go,” Cerberus told them. “But be quiet they can’t see us but they can still hear us.”Everyone nodded as they exited the stable, all of them looking up at the sky as dozens of Dragons flew above them. Tanya looked to Aaron as he shook his head. He could see she wanted to speak, but only a single tear trickled down her cheek.
As they followed Cerberus, he lead them around the back of the castle and through the garden to the entrance of the lab. It was the shortest and simplest path since the front doors of the castle were probably closed and locked. After making it through the garden with no one sneezing, Cerberus lead them up the walkway and to the door on the side of the castle. With a slow and steady turn of the handle and pulling of the door to get it open, he entered the lab, releasing Aaron’s hand as Aaron followed suit. Soon all of them were in the lab with the door closed and securely locked.“Get the curtains pulled, or if they see us in here, they will fly at the glass,” Cerberus told everyone as he went to light the candles in the room to give them light.
Moonshine moved around the room with Kirito and Klein, shutting all the curtains and making sure the windows were firmly shut. “Let’s make this quick before they decide to just destroy the castle for the hell of it.”
Kirito looked to Moonshine, his eyebrows scrunched together. “What kind of spell or potion would it take to knock out a dragon?”
Moonshine shook his head. “I really don’t know. Hopefully not something we need dragon parts for. I can’t think of anything that’s powerful enough to knock out a dragon.”
“There has to be something,” Aaron said as he lit the last candle in the room illuminating the lab even more.
“Let’s just hope we have what we need in the cabinet and it was not left in the Stable where we dropped our inventory.” Tanya commented as she peeked out the window hearing the roar of a dragon close by.The curtain was then slowly pushed closed as Aaron took her hand in his. “I know it’s hard not to worry about them.” He paused. “All of them. But we will stop this. I know we will.”“We have to,” Cerberus said as he lifted his hands over the book. It flipped opened as the pages started turning on their own.“”Damn!” Kirito exclaimed at a whisper as he watched Cerberus. “I want to be that strong as a Magic wielder.”The book then settled as the last page fell and revealed the spell they were searching for. Cerberus let his hands rest to the book as he read the words. He then sighed heavily as his eyes went closed.“I can’t do this alone. I need another magic wielder as strong as me.” Cerberus looked to Moonshine. “I need Shiro…”Moonshine narrowed his eyes at Cerberus. “Don’t even think about it! You think I’m gonna let him back into this game now of all times?!”
Cerberus growled and stepped forward toward Moonshine. “Then we sign out and all go home! Because I can’t do this alone! No one in this room is strong enough as a magic wielder! No one!”Moonshine clenched his fist and slammed it on top of a desk. “And how do you expect me to protect my brother and everyone in this town when I can barely protect myself, huh?!”“Stop treating Shiro like a child!” Cerberus growled with his hands clenched at his sides. “He can take care of himself. He is strong. You made sure of that from back in the days of SAO. You made him what he is today. You should be proud of that and trust his judgment when it comes to his life and what he wants to do. He is an amazing Magic wielder, fighter and so much more and you would see that if you would take off the blinders you are wearing when it comes to him.”Moonshine was about to speak as Cerberus cut him off. “No you don’t,” Cerberus barked at him like he knew what he was going to say. “You’re too busy protecting him and treating him like a child to know anything.”Moonshine glared at Cerberus. “I don’t need a child lecturing me about my own brother.” He poked him in the chest. “You want him that bad--no, you need him that bad--call him yourself. You have his number.” He turned away and walked towards one of the windows, crossing his arms.
Cerberus turned and did just that, as he opened the Streamline app and called Shiro.Stepping up beside Moonshine, Aaron stood in silence for a few seconds then spoke softly. “He asked you out of respect, but you call him a child. Though you know as well as I do, age has nothing on wisdom. Tanya did not make him her advisor because the boy don’t know what he speaks of.” He patted Moonshine’s shoulder as he turned and walked away. “Think on that.”Moonshine stood there seething. Contrary to what he was trying to do to keep his brother safe, he was being dragged right back in. After he finally got Ryushiro to agree to stay out and spend time in SpeedRunner, he was being pulled back in at the worst possible time.
“I don’t need to think on anything but keeping him safe.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The atmosphere in the lab was thick. Be it from what was going on outside, or what was going on inside, Cerberus did not really care, nor did he know. All he wanted to do was stop this. Hearing the screams of the people outside the castle, the roars and cries of the dragons that were being killed, and seeing his sister as a nervous wreck, was driving him over the edge. And the wait for Okamishiro to get there was bearing down on him as every second passed. He did not think he was going to be able to handle any more if Okamishiro did not hurry and get there.Hearing the door to the lab open, then close, he turned seeing Okamishiro walk toward him. “Shiro.” He nearly leapt out of his skin as Okamishiro walked toward him, as did he. His hands clasped to his friends’ shoulders.“Thank you for coming,” Cerberus told him. “Sorry for cutting your game time in SRO short.”Okamishiro shook his head with a smile. “It’s fine. I’m needed more here.”
“So how was your date yesterday?” Cerberus asked him.“Date?” Moonshine raised an eyebrow at his brother.“I’ll explain later,” Okamishiro grinned at his brother. He turned to Cerberus. “So, how can I help?”Cerberus walked toward the podium where the Tarragonia Compendium of Magic book rested as he motioned for Okamishiro to follow. “I don’t know if you looked out the window, but I am sure you can hear what is going on outside even without me explaining it to you when we talked.”He stopped at the podium and looked to Okamishiro when he stepped up beside him. “I need help casting this spell. I can’t do it alone if I want this to cover all of Tarragonia. One of us could do it if it were just Whitehaven, but it won’t stop the ones that are still awake from coming in after the spell is cast.”Okamishiro nodded. “Got it. How long will this last? Is this a permanent thing, or does it wear off depending on the number of casters?”Cerberus sighed. “One week.”“One week?!” Tanya retorted. “We get one week to solve this!? That’s it?!”Aaron placed his hand on her shoulder. “They can cast it again if it’s needed, Tanya.”“If the asshole that is doing this don’t hack it like he has everything else,” Tanya growled.Aaron looked to the boys. “Can this be cast over the spell if it is still in effect?”Cerberus looked at him slightly confused. “Do you mean can we cast the spell again oversleeping Dragons?” When Aaron nodded Cerberus hummed and looked at the book of magic. “I don’t know if that would work. In most cases of magic, you have to cast whatever spell it is over said object, person, or place in the state of whatever it is you are trying to change. If you’re trying to put something that is awake, asleep then it needs to be awake. Not already asleep. So I would have to say,”--he looked to Aaron and his sister--“no.”“Then we’re going to have to time it perfectly when the effects wear off,” Moonshine said, turning to look at each of them. “And if they cancel it out with hacking, then we’ll just have to try again if you two have the energy.”“Well, if we have the admins on our side,” Kirito added, “then they should be able to keep them from hacking again once they figure out how they’re doing it. They’re not going to just let the dragons go berserk.”“Or…” Klein hummed. “Maybe this will catch the attention of the boss man himself?”
Aaron could not help a soft chuckle. “Don’t we have his attention enough?”Tanya smacked his arm. “I am sure he is talking about Aidan Reid, not the asshole.” She then turned to the boys. “What do we have to do to get this going?”“We have to be outside to do this.”“AH HELL NO!!” Both Tanya and Moonshine rebutted.“Stop!” Cerberus retorted as his hands came up. “You”--he looked at his sister then Moonshine--“and you. As well as Aaron and anyone else that can cast the Cloak and Dagger spell efficiently will be shielding us from the eyes of the dragons. To get this across the lands of Tarragonia we have to be at the highest peak in the area.”Tanya looked at Moonshine then Aaron. “The tower on the castle is the highest peak in Whitehaven.”Aaron sighed. “We will have to climb to get there.” He looked to Moonshine. “And I don’t mean by way of stairs or ladders.”“Oh great. So we have to climb a tower while trying not to get eaten by dragons,” Moonshine sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “We’re in a regular fairy tale now.”Aaron chuckled. “Welcome to Disney Horror Land.”“Pfft…” Cerberus huffed. “We all will be cloaked by the spell. The hardest part will be trying not to gain their attention with the grappling hooks we will be using to get us up there.”Eizen and Zavied stepped forward. Eizen pointed a thumb at himself. “The two of us will help cast the cloaking spell, that way the rest of you can focus on getting to the top.”“Yeah! Count on us!” Zavied grinned.“Thanks, guys,” Aaron clasped his hands to each one of their shoulders. He looked at the ones around them. “Well, let’s go get the rope and grappling hooks.”As Aaron and Eizen walked toward the door of the lab Tanya turned and spoke not only to them but to everyone in the room that was going to be involved in this. “Are we going to be able to climb the ropes to the top of the tower with the new inventory weight we all have?”They all looked around at one another in silence, until Cerberus broke the silence. “There is a weightlessness potion, but it don’t last long. So you will have to climb the rope quickly and with two ropes and seven people climbing two ropes we won’t have enough time.”“So what do you propose we do?” Kirito asked Cerberus. “Will we have enough time if we climb two at a time, then each of us waits until the others are on the roof to drink our potion?”“The only issue with having two ropes is magic spells eat away at your energy. So each of us will be working away at that energy with climbing and holding the Cloak and Dagger spell in place. The bad part about more ropes is we take the risk of drawing the dragon’s attention with the grappling hooks as we set the lines in the tower's ledge.” Cerberus explained.“Not if we use only two grappling hooks but have extra rope. We set two lines and then two of us climb to the top. We tie off more rope and toss them down to everyone, one rope for each climber.” Aaron explains.“Do we have that much rope in the guardhouse?” Tanya asked.“If not, we do in the Stables,” Aaron told her.“Then if that’s the case, only a few of us should go to the stables and back. Too risky for all of us to go, unless we’re planning on going straight from the stables to the tower,” Moonshine suggested.Aaron looked to Moonshine. “Well if you and Eizen want to go to the Stables. I will hit the guardhouse. It will take two of you to carry that much rope back here. We have to go through the castle to get to the tower, so we will meet back here.”Moonshine looked to Eizen who nodded, then Moonshine looked back to Aaron. “We got it under control.”Aaron smiled and turned toward the door that led into the castle. “Good luck then and see you in a few minutes. You two get to work on memorizing that spell. Because there is no way in Hell that book is going up there with us.”Cerberus looked to Okamishiro as Okamishiro looked at him. The two then turned and started reading the spell, setting it to memory.The others then parted ways, going about their own missions to find extra supplies for their climb to the top of the tower. As Moonshine and Eizen made their way to the stables, Eizen recited the cloaking spell, keeping them hidden easily. When they arrived in the stables, Eizen lowered the spell.“I should have some rope here from my inventory I dropped,” Moonshine said to Eizen. “Go and check all of the stalls. There should also be some in the storage areas.”“You got it!” Eizen nodded as he rushed off to find the ropes and the grappling hook. It didn’t take long, and they had gathered all they could comfortably carry. “So, how you holding up with both of your dragons in your inventory?” Eizen asked him in concern. “I know Thieron is doing a number on my stamina. Even if it’s not affecting me as much as it would without the admins’ help, it still feels like a mountain is sitting on my chest.”“Yeah, same here,” Moonshine nodded. “None of us are used to carrying our dragons around. But we’ll have to endure the burden until we know they’re safe again.”Eizen nodded back as they deposited their items in their inventory. “Alright, I’m ready to go if you are.”“Let’s go then.”About ten minutes later, both teams had returned to the lab with their items where Cerberus and Okamishiro were still pouring over the spellbook. They looked over it for another five minutes before they turned to each other and practiced the spell out loud but without casting it. They recited it perfectly, then turned and smiled at the others.“Okay then,” Tanya said as she looked around the room. “Let’s free the dragons.”Once everyone was ready, they made their way through the castle to the tower. They climbed the tower from the inside as high as they could, stopping at the final floor as they all turned and looked at one another.“You ready to do this?” Aaron looked at the two boys.“I’m not going to get any more ready than I am right now,” Cerberus told him.“Same here,” Okamishiro stated.Aaron nodded as he recited the cloaking spell to conceal himself. He then tied the end of the needed rope around his waist. This was the rope that was needed for the others to scale the tower. It was nice that Klein thought of tying them all together so there were only two ropes--so to say--to deal with, the one he needed to climb with, and the six others that they tied together. Once he was on the roof all he had to do was pull up the remaining rope, untie them, anchor them and toss them down to the others. As he climbed up into the windowsill, Eizen, Zavied, and Moonshine anchored themselves on the other end of the rope to keep him secure. He looked at Tanya and smiled with a wink and blew her a kiss.“Wish me luck. This is a tricky throw.”“Good luck,” she said catching the kiss he blew to her.Moonshine watched as Aaron attempted to throw the grappling hook to the top of the tower. He missed the first time but managed to securely hook it onto the top the second time. He gave the others a thumbs up.“Drink your Weightlessness potion first or you’re not going to make that climb with Un and Kaen in your inventory, Aaron,” Cerberus called out to him without being too loud.Aaron stabilized himself on the windowsill once more and reached into his pocket for the vial. He removed the top and drank it down. He gave a small shove off the windowsill and started climbing the side of the tower. It was only a few seconds later and he was pulling the remainder of the ropes up that he needed to drop down. Another few minutes and the ropes started dropping down in front of the windows in the tower. There were five windows and seven of them. However, he had already made his climb to the top of the tower, so there were only six more to go.Moonshine took his brother by the arm and put him next to one of the windows. “I will go last. The rest of you go first.”“But--” Okamishiro started to protest before Moonshine cut him off.“Don’t but me. There are three of us that have the heaviest dragons. So if any of us three runs out of time before we get to the top, it’s better that you, Cerberus, Eizen, and Zavied get up there first. Tanya too. At least then if mine wears off before I get up there, I can hide myself with Nychta’s gems.”Cerberus nodded and looked to his sister. “If Aaron made it up there as quickly as he did with two dragons in his inventory, we should do fine.” He spoke to everyone but was looking at his sister. “Be careful.” He looked to each of them and smiled as he reached into his pocket, lifting the potion, he drank it after removing the cap. “Don’t forget to conceal yourself and don’t forget to drink your potion.” He grabbed the rope and stepped up into the windowsill.“Be careful,” Tanya said with a slight gasp as Cerberus stumbled slightly when he turned to step back off the windowsill. He only smiled as he kicked slightly off the sill and went to climbing the tower.Okamishiro quickly climbed onto the windowsill. Since he didn’t have a dragon stored in his inventory, there was no need for him to drink the potion, so he made it up the rope fairly quick. Aaron helped him up and Okamishiro looked down to see his brother peeking out from the window. His head ducked in only to reemerge after he drank his potion. Moonshine started to climb up as the others made their way up their own ropes.Once at the top of the tower, the group waited for Moonshine as Tanya turned to see Cerberus and Okamishiro looking out over the land. From the top of the tower, they could see the Providence of Whitehaven as far as the eye could see. Below they saw a few of the villagers battling it out with a Psychic dragon. They were being tossed around like rag dolls and the dragon was not even touching them, but that was not to say what they were doing to the dragon. It was bloody and bleeding from the injuries they had given it in return. Spears protruded from his thick hide and an Ax stuck in one of its legs. There were bodies of villagers laying around, in town and along the road, and an occasional dragon carcass was seen as well.She walked up behind them placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “Let’s stop this,” she told them as her eyes stung from forming tears.
“Kinda makes you think,” Moonshine said as he climbed over the ledge. He looked out onto the chaos. “If they want the game ruined so badly, why didn’t they just do this from the beginning? Seems a lot easier than messing with novice-level things. Why bother with any of what they’re doing if they can just create all this in a matter of moments?”Angered at what Moonshine was saying Tanya stepped up to him and got in his face, her head cocked to one side as she gave him all her anger and rage from what she just witnessed.“And I guess you would have killed Nychta, right along with Imera. Because without the warning we got”--her arm lifted quickly as she pointed out at what was happening below them--“that is exactly what you would have had to do. All of us would have had to turn on our dragons. The ones we raised as babies,” tears flowed from her eyes. “Ones we helped overcome injury from the assholes that are causing this shit! And the ones we found orphaned because those assholes killed their parents! Is that what you would have rather had?! HUH MOONSHINE!?” She shoved him back from her. “IS THAT WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE RATHER HAD?!!”She turned quickly only to be met by Aaron as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close and let her cry it out. “We’ll fix this, Ash. I promise. We will fix this.” He whispered to her.Moonshine sighed, lowering his head and shaking it before looking back at the carnage. “That wasn’t what I meant. Of course, I didn’t want this to happen any more than you. But we still have to think rationally about this, no matter how much it hurts. And the fact of the matter is that they’re fucking toying with us. Not just us in the Mystic Dragons. Not just the Unseen. They’re toying with everyone in the game.”He walked closer to one edge and placed each hand on one of the divots in the top edge of the wall. “We’ll give them what’s coming to them for this, but sometimes you have to get into your enemy’s head in order to catch them with their hands covered in blood.”He turned to Cerberus and Okamishiro. “You two ready for this?”They both nodded as Aaron pulled back from Tanya. “You ready to be their shield?”Tanya nodded as she dried her tears with a few sniffles taking a place in the circle the others had formed around the boys. As soon as they dropped their Cloaking spell the 5 standing around them put another up over the group. The two boys--one facing East and the other facing West--lifted their hands and started reciting the spell. Slowly they walked around back to back in the center of the circle their guild members created to keep them safe as they cast the spell throughout Tarragonia.
As the darkness grows deeper than the night can hold,
Sleep, Sleep, so you may live once more.
When the shadows of the past, pull us back,
Sleep, Sleep, so you may live once more.
Tears that melt and start to flow, When the soul can bear no more,
Sleep, Sleep, so you may live once more.
And the heart refuses, to be gentle and love no more,
Sleep, Sleep, so you may live once more...
Moonshine watched as the dragons that had been taken over by the hack, suddenly changed in demeanor. The ones that were on the ground stumbled around, ignoring their previous targets. The ones that had been flying in the air wobbled as if they were flying drunk before they landed wherever they could. Suddenly all the dragons collapsed in place. The screaming lapsed slowly until everything went deathly quiet.“Holy shit,” Moonshine said barely above a whisper, looking at all of the collapsed dragons.The group dropped the cloaking spell as they looked around Whitehaven Provenance. Most of them had to admit they were skeptical of it working, but it did, and like the others, they were relieved that it did work out as planned.“What time is it?” Tanya turned and looked at the boys as Cerberus opened his panel and looked at the time“Almost midnight, Sis. Why?”“Because we will have to be ready to cast the next spell at the same time in one week.” Tanya reminded them.“Ahh, yes!” Cerberus replied as he opened his messages and send himself a PM of the time and date this took place.Okamishiro looked to the ones around him. “So are we done here?” He smiled madly. “I have a special someone waiting for my return in SRO.”“Oh yeah, which reminds me,” Moonshine walked over to his brother. He leaned down and grabbed him by the head, digging his fingers in enough to make him uncomfortable, but not hurt him. He smirked down at his brother. “What’s this about a date? You went on a date and didn’t even tell me? Who was she, huh? Was it someone at the college? You meet her at a party? Nah, scratch that. No way you’d go to a party. You’re too goody-goody for that. I know? It was a girl down the hall from you?”Okamishiro flushed scarlet and swatted his brother’s arm away. “Oh shut up. It was not. I don’t even have classes with enough girls to get to know them anyway. And all the girls in the dorms around me all have noses for frat boys, not gamers.”“So you met her in a VR then?” Moonshine stood up and crossed his arms, still smirking. “No way it was ALO. We haven’t been on there since all this stuff started. So is she from here or… No, wait! She’s from SRO, huh?”Okamishiro shot up to his feet, his face even redder. He clenched his hands. “Sh-she is not!”“So she is,” Moonshine put a hand on his chin and hummed. “Is it someone random you met or… Do Kit and I know her?” When his brother’s face got even redder, he chuckled. “So we do know her. So then it’s one of the Thundering Horses. Is it… Torque?” When his brother huffed and rolled his eyes, Moonshine shook his head. “Nope. Not Torque. Maybe… Frogger? Oooh! That’d be fun! I heard Frogger is shy too! Definitely your type!”“Shy is not my type!” Okamishiro gave him a pointed look. “Besides, isn’t it you that says the quiet ones are the dangerous ones?!”“True, true… So then that leaves…” Suddenly Moonshine’s expression dropped to realization. His arms went limp at his sides and he gawked at Okamishiro. “No. No way. No way in hell you landed that girl!”
This time it was Okamishiro’s turn to smirk at his brother and cross his arms. “Oh? So you don’t think I could land a girl like Stallion, huh?”“You can’t be serious! That girl lowkey wanted to tie me into a pretzel the whole time I was around her! Actually no, not lowkey. She was very obvious about it! And you’re telling me you went on a date with her?! How the hell did that happen?!”Okamishiro’s smirk grew wider. “Who said it was just a date, Tsuki-nii?” He stuck his tongue out at his brother.Suddenly Moonshine’s expression turned blank. He stood there motionless, staring at his brother but not really seeing him. He didn’t say a word in response.“What? What’s wrong Tsuki-nii? Cat got your tongue?” Okamishiro laughed.Moonshine’s eyes rolled into the back of his head before his knees gave out. Aaron and Eizen rushed forward to grab him before he smacked his head on the top of the roof. Okamishiro watched him for a moment before laughing and turning to climb back down the tower.“Hey! Moonshine!” Aaron called out to him, shaking him.Moonshine groaned, his face twisted in pain. “M… my brother… my baby brother… No way… He didn’t even talk to me about it first… There’s no way he popped it.”Cerberus chuckled as he walked past Moonshine to climb down himself. “Way to go Shiro.” He commented to him as they both took their place at the edge of the tower. “How old is she? Is she cute?”“Oh, she’s more than cute,” Okamishiro smirked. “She’s the same age as me. She lives in the States in Florida, and she’s a racer. As in racecars. Street racing and bracket racing. I haven’t seen what she looks like IRL, but her Avi is gorgeous.”Cerberus chuckled softly again as the two pushed off and rappelled down the side of the tower. “Well, from dealing with my sister and her Avi’s I have to say they kinda stick with what they look like IRL. So you got yourself a hotty.”“Well, regardless, I don’t like her for her looks. And we literally just became a couple, so there’s still a long way for us to go,” Okamishiro smiled. “But we’re already making plans, so it’s looking up so far.”“Well, I would not think that you would date a girl or have a girlfriend without a brain and a personality. Who wants a brainless bore around them? The good looks are just a bonus.” Cerberus chuckled as he slipped into the window of the tower.“Very true,” Okamishiro smiled. “I can’t wait to meet her in person. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy around someone other than my brother and Kit.” His smile grew even wider and brighter. “I knew there was something special about having someone in your life. I mean, hell, I get to witness it every day with Kit and my brother. They may squabble sometimes, but they love each other so much. I always wanted the same thing with someone. So if I’m experiencing even a fraction of that right now, then I don’t think I need anything else in life.”“That’s awesome. I hope you guys are very happy together.” Cerberus told him as Eizen, and his sister climbed through a tower window.“Grab the ends of your rope. Aaron is tossing them down.” Eizen told the boys as he and Tanya were holding on to the ends of theirs.The two of them grabbed the ropes then gathered them up neatly when Aaron dropped the other end. Once they were coiled up, they set them on the ground next to the window until everyone had climbed down the tower. They went back in inventory and they were on their way.“So what is the next move here?” Cerberus asked. “We put the dragons to sleep, but that will only last a week. So we are going to have to move quickly if we want to even get halfway to solving this mess.”Tanya shook her head. “We need to get the information we have to”--she fell silent looking to Moonshine--“Grim Reaper?”Moonshine nodded. “Yes, that’s his name. I will write down everything we learned out of game then send him a message using the Streamline app on my phone.”“That would be best with what we have learned. The less this bastard knows of what we have learned, the better chance we will have in stopping him,” Aaron commented.“Exactly my thoughts,” Moonshine agreed. “Anything else I should make mention of or ask him?”“Just make sure you mention any usernames we have learned.” Aaron reminded him.Moonshine blinked as he searched his memory. Suddenly he remembered something. He looked up at the others. “Cerrakor.”“Huh? Who is that?” Tanya blinked. “Where did you hear that?”“Seveani said that name. He said that person was moving on to phase two. That must be their boss,” Moonshine said to them. “Cerrakor,” he said once more, committing it to memory.“If he is the mastermind behind this that would be awesome if Grim Reaper’s uncle digs up dirt on him,” Zaveid replied.“It would bring this to an end a Hell of a lot faster,” Eizen added his two cents.Moonshine nodded, crossing his arms. “My only worry is spelling it properly. I’ll think of a few different spellings just to make sure we give him more to work with.” He turned and smirked at Aaron. “Aaron, I think you gave us the best possible trump card with that quick thinking.”Aaron gave a weak smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I had been working on that spell for weeks. In reality, I am shocked it worked as well as it did. Every time I used it on myself, everything sounded like it was coming off a broken record.”“Well, it worked perfectly on me. I could hear everything clearly. As clearly as I can hear you now,” Moonshine smiled at him. “Well, I suppose that’s how games and TV works. Things always end up working perfectly when you need them the most.”“Thank heavens for that or we may have lost our dragons,” Tanya looked to the two with a pleased smile.“Yeah and thank God Tanya’s inventory was large enough to hold Musashi, Dueler, Kaen, and Shee,” Cerberus said looking at the ones he was walking with.“If Shee would have been full size and not a baby I doubt she would have been able to hold the four of them,” Eizen commented.“Very true,” Tanya replied.“Dragons are huge, no matter how you look at it,” Moonshine grinned.Aaron chuckled. “So you got sat on by one too, huh?”Moonshine laughed, shaking his head. “Nope, but I’ve been sneezed on, smacked with tails, licked half to death, drooled on, and almost shat on. Not to mention been covered in afterbirth.” When they all gave him horrified expressions, he laughed again. “Hey, I’m a vet. I’ve seen everything.”“Well, I was sat on by Un when he was an adolescent. Took me a minute to get him to get off me. I think he thought it was funny,” Aaron scoffed shaking his head.“I remember that,” Tanya chuckled. “You were sore for days after that.”Aaron’s head nodded. “It was just after we met.”“As Celty or Tanya?” She asked chuckling again.Aaron looked at her and grinned. “Tanya.”“You know.” Cerberus jumped in as he looked at them. “Not to change the subject”--he looked pointedly at Moonshine--“Since the Admin are on our side with this. You could probably ask one of them to check on this Cerrakor person to get a correct spelling on his username.”“Good idea,” Moonshine nodded. “I’ll make sure to do that. In fact, I’ll have them confirm any other spellings we’re unsure of.”Cerberus smiled and nodded his head. “So I guess we wait to see what Grim Reaper’s uncle finds out before we make our next move?”Tanya looked to her brother and chuckled. “Are you tired?”“Yes.”“I figured as much since you keep asking what are we doing next. You know it don’t matter what we might be doing next. If you’re tired you can sign out. You don’t have to stick around with us,” Tanya told him.Cerberus yawned as he spoke, “I know, but I hate second-hand information.”The group chuckled, all shaking their heads. “Sign out you big doofus,” Aaron told him.“I’m off too,” Okamishiro smiled. “I need some shut-eye. It’s been a long day for me. Or, well, night.”“Me too,” Moonshine nodded. “I’m sure Kaori is logged off by now. Or at least I hope she is.”The group stopped in the Grand Hall of the castle as they all looked at one another. “So should we set a time to meet back here tomorrow, or should we wait until Moonshine hears back from Grim Reaper about what his uncle found out?” Tanya looked around at all of them. “There is not much we can do in the way of playing the game right now since the dragons are out of commission. Though we could tend to the ones that are hurt and properly dispose of the ones that have passed.”
“I think it would do all of us some good if we gave this game a break until we have a new lead. We made good progress today because of that spell, even though we were on the defensive for the majority of today,” Moonshine voiced. “We need a break from this game. That way we’ll be more refreshed when we start on our new lead.”“I have to agree,” Kirito said as he walked up to the group. “I wouldn’t mind spending some time in a different game to refresh my brain. Logout time is just as important as in-game time.”“Hear hear!” Klein said from Kirito’s side with a grin.The group agreed to take a break until Moonshine heard back from Grim Reaper. From there they all said their goodbyes and signed out of Dragon Lance.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Thirty-Eight
It had been a full 24 hours, the day finding Cerrakor in the Dragon Slayer’s headquarters. He was livid as he paced the floor next to the table he was occupying. He was waiting for his second in command to show. He was not sure what was going on with this spell the members from Knights of the Mystic Dragon had cast, but whatever they had done--knowingly or unknowingly--he had to move his group and quickly.“Damn, who got your jockstrap in a twist,” Seveani poked at Cerrakor when he walked in, seeing the man in the wreck that he was in. He pulled a chair as the chair legs scraped a shrill sound across the stone floor as he sat down at the table. “What’s the issue, Boss?”“It seems the spell the Knights of the Mystic Dragon used has encrypted the coding of the Dragons,” Cerrakor informed him.“Is that even possible?” Seveani asked.“It’s very much possible,” Cerrakor growled. “Though I don’t think they knew what they were doing. This was Aiden Reid’s doing. He must have known I was going to retaliate so he placed a failsafe. He knew the diehards of this game would figure out a way to stop me even if they were just playing by the rules of Dragon Lance…” Cerrakor paused as he continued to pace the floor rubbing his chin in thought. “But how? Only the Admins would be at such a level to obtain a spell of this strength.”“I don’t know about that, Boss. The Cerberus kid for only being a player of three and a half years is a pretty strong magic wielder as is the Okamishiro kid.” Seveani’s fingers snapped as he pointed a finger at Cerrakor shaking it slightly. “The Okamishiro kid is a philosopher. I think he has read nearly every book in this game. Maybe he stumbled across it.”“I don’t think this spell came from just any book,” Cerrakor claimed.“Because it didn’t,” Luthien stated as he walked up to the table from the bar where he had been standing for the last thirty minutes. He stopped beside Seveani’s chair. “It’s a magic book that the two boys found in a quest.”Seveani looked up at Luthien as he stood beside him, Seveani’s head then turning as he looked at Cerrakor. “If they found the spell in this book maybe there is a spell to undo it.”Luthien chuckled. “Good luck getting close to this book of spells. It’s guarded better than their castle. No one but skilled magic wielders are allowed in the Magic Lab.”“Aiden wouldn’t be that stupid to put both the activation and the deactivation phrase in the same book. Let alone put both in-game. He would be too worried I might find it.” Cerrakor grumbled under his breath as he still paced.“So this spell they used was actually a spoken activation for an encryption. How clever of Mr. Reid to think of that.” Luthien commented. “So how does this affect us getting to the Divine Spiritcrest and its Dragons?”Cerrakor turned looking at Luthien. “That’s the only damn thing we have on our side right now. This so-called spell that was cast, encrypted everything but the Divine Spiritcrest.”“Why is that? It’s part of the game after all,” Seveani stated. “Right?”“The only reason I believe the encryption left it alone was that it is an unattainable area of the game,” Cerrakor informed them.“But I thought you made it obtainable?” Seveani questioned.Cerrakor looked to the man sitting at the table. “I had not unlocked it before they rattled off that spell.”“Thank God,” Luthien expressed.Seveani looked up at Luthien with a pondering expression on his face.“What?” Luthien asked.“Nothing, just wondering why you care so much about the Divine Dragon,” Seveani stated. “You do know we are killing the three. Mommy, daddy, and the baby, right?”Luthien chuckled, shaking his head. “Not before I get my hands on that baby dragon. I got business with it first.”Seveani chuckled. “Business with an infant dragon. And what type of business might that be? You going to wipe its ass? Bottle feed it? Console it over the murder of its parents?”“Fuck you, Seveani,” Luthien growled at him. “When it comes to this game you have to be the most ignorant person I have met. Even the noobs know more about this game than you.”“Stick it up your ass! I know enough to get me through, and what does it matter, in the next year the game will be as good as dead anyway. No one will want to play a game where they are fighting a losing battle to keep the Dragons alive.” Seveani retorted.Luthien pulled the chair in front of him, the legs of said chair screeching across the stone floor. He took a seat and looked to Seveani. “That infant dragon has just as much power as the adults. If we do this right that little bugger can bless me and make me the ruler of Tarragonia.”Seveani chuckled. “So you want to be King of the world do you?”“Would you rather it be that little Bitch Tanya and her lap dog Aaron?” Luthien commented. “If they rescue the Divine Dragon--even one--they will be blessed with not only the Staff of Origin they will be blessed to rule over the world of Tarragonia.”Cerrakor chuckled walking over to the table and sitting down with them as he looked to Luthien. “So you want to rule over Tarragonia do you?”“Why not? If I do, then we don’t have to listen to a nagging female and her yapping lap dog. With me at the helm, I can make Dragon Slaying an honorable act and not shunned.” Luthien grinned. “After all, all species need crowd control.”Both Seveani and Cerrakor chuckled, Luthien looking between them. “I can make you my second in command, Cerrakor, and Seveani here”--he pointed at him with his thumb--“the Jester of the court.”“Fuck you!” Seveani shoved his hand into Luthien’s shoulder as he and Cerrakor laughed. Growing even madder at their laughing, Seveani stood from the table, his chair screeching across the floor. “Fuck you both.” He turned and walked off as he shoved his hands in his pockets.Settling, Cerrakor looked to Luthien. “I am going to open the Spiritcrest again, but I need a team on their way up to that mountain”--he poked the table with the tip of his finger, emphasizing--“ within twenty-four hours . It’s a three-day journey, regardless of on foot or on horseback. There’s not a single horse in the game--or in real life--that can go that distance at a consistent pace of a full canter, so three days is the minimum. If my calculations are correct, we have six days before the encryption resets the entire game. Once that happens, I have no idea what will take place. As far as I know, it could be rewriting the entire coding of this game.”“Could it do that?” Cerrakor only nodded his head. “So you want me to lead a team to the Divine Spiritcrest?”“Not if you want to be blessed by that damn dragon, but you could gather up the best of the best this clan has to offer for this attack. Seveani can lead them up there and lead them through the attack. You stay out of sight. Once the parents are dead and we have the egg, you can take it. It should be hatching very soon.” Cerrakor informed him.“I thought you were giving the egg to Lord Thoin?” Luthien questioned.“That idiot!” Cerrakor shook his head pointing toward Seveani with his thumb. “I would rather give it to that idiot at the bar. Giving it to Thoin would be like giving it to the Devil himself. Tarragonia would turn into the underworld. I hate Aidan Reid, not Dragon Lance. I just want my fair share of the profit for helping create the game.”“But really Cerrakor,” Luthien spoke. “Damn near destroying the game. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just go public with what happened?”“I had no proof I helped and he, Aidan Reid, destroyed all the proof on his end,” Cerrakor grunted.
“Such a sweet man,” Luthien’s tone laced with sarcasm as his head nodded. “I will get the men together you need. I will have a list of participants for you within a few hours.” He looked at Cerrakor. “Quick enough?”Cerrakor nodded. “I will open the Spiritcrest a few minutes before they get there. So let them know to move and move quickly once they’re there. The second the Dryads sense anyone they will attack any that approach.”“Got it, but you better explain this to Seveani as well. Since he will be leading them into this shit storm.” Luthien stated.“I will, and all the men and women on this mission will have maxed skills and the HP of a Boss,” Cerrakor explained. “So they won’t go down anytime soon.” He sat back in his chair. “So make sure every man and woman you are enlisting knows I will be giving their account a booster shot.”“Got it. About how many you lookin’ at sending?” Luthien asked.“About a hundred and fifty,” Cerrakor replied.“Won’t that throw up a red flag to the Admin if a hundred and fifty accounts are boosted to boss level all at once?” Luthien questioned.“Not unless they are actively looking at every single player’s stats in the game. Tarragonia is quite literally a digital country. The world is populated with enough players to be an actual country. Imagine if a hundred and fifty people spread out all throughout China suddenly gained superpowers. In that situation, you would have witnesses to this, but here in a video game, the only ones who would realize it are the players who interact with those boosted players and the admins and devs who are hired to audit the game for cheating and hacking. And with the amount of hacking I have done to this game so far, if we were going to be figured out, don’t you think it would have happened already?” Cerrakor explained.
He continued. “The devs believe they are looking for glitches, so all of their manpower will be focused on that, not on cheaters looking to stat boost.”“Wouldn’t they have an algorithm to audit things like that for them?” Luthien asked.“They do have an algorithm. As does YouTube. And look how well that algorithm works for Google,” Cerrakor gave him a side-eye.Luthien’s head bobbed as he looked to the tabletop. “Good point.” He looked up at Cerrakor once more as both his hands came to the top of the table. “Well, I guess I had better get this moving. I said a few hours and your list would be ready.” He pushed his chair out and stood, turning from the table. “I will see you in a bit with that list of usernames.” He walked off, exiting the room.Cerrakor sat back in his chair once more, arms crossing over his chest and dazed off into thought. Soon it would all be coming together and with the ones that give the commands in the guild, Knights of the Mystic Dragon, gone. It was sure to go off without a hitch.---
Ashley couldn’t do what the others decided to do and take a break from Dragon Lance until they heard back from Lee, aka Grim, she could not leave the injured dragons to themselves. She couldn’t leave them to die. She had invested far too much time into the game, and she swore an oath to protect them, and that was exactly what she was going to do.It had been a full day, plus, since Cerberus and Okamishiro had put the dragons to sleep. Making it a Thursday, the 30th day of May. In six days on the 5th of June they would be right back on the tower roof doing it again. She just hoped Grim and Nema’s Uncle could find out the information they needed to stop this, if he could, they would not need to cast the spell again.At home still, Ashley slipped into some comfortable clothing and walked over to her computer, and turned it on. Once booted she clicked on the Dragon Lance icon and loaded the game. She then walked over to her bed, sitting on the edge she reached for her AmuSphere and slipped it over her head. Fluffing her pillow, she turned on the bed and laid back getting comfortable. She then reached up and turned the power on to the AmuSphere. She slowly closed her eyes.“Link start…”Bright colorful lights flashed before her, sending her through a warp as she entered through the log-in, bypassing the area, she then appeared in the halls of Whitehaven Castle.“Lady Tanya,” Alickath stated as she bowed to her.Tanya turned as she looked to the man that spoke her name. “Alickath. I did not know anyone was here. I figured with the dragons out of commission everyone would be taking a break.”“Like you, Ma’am?” Alickath commented with a slight smile, her direction.Tanya chuckled, shaking her head. “You know me, I am a diehard when it comes to this game.”“Exactly Ma’am, that is why I am here. I knew you would need my assistance in one manner or another.” Alickath informed her.She chuckled again as she walked toward him. “Thank you, Alickath.” He turned, letting his eyes follow her. “Follow me, Alickath. We have a mission to protect the dragons.”“What will we be doing, Ma’am?” Alickath asked as he followed behind her. “The dragons are sleeping at the moment.”“Yes, yes, they are, but they are injured, and they need to be tended to so when they wake, they will be nearly healed and not suffering from infections or worse... death,” Tanya informed him as she walked toward the laboratory. “We need to gather as many healing potions as we can carry and cover Whitehaven Providence in search of injured dragons and residents.”“You will be needing me to carry these, correct?” Alickath stated as he stepped up beside her.“Yes, I will. With Shee and Musashi in my inventory, I am not sure how much I will be able to carry.” Tanya explained. She looked to her right, where Alickath was walking beside her. “I know the vials are small, but we will have to take them all, and in the last inventory check we had over a hundred healing potions.”“Need some help?” Moonshine asked as he walked up towards them, his arms crossed. He walked closer to Tanya. “I couldn’t sleep knowing there were dragons who needed my help. And you could use a dragon expert right now. Not to mention more inventory space.”Tanya chuckled lightly when she turned her attention to the voice of Moonshine. “I see taking a break was not on your agenda either.” She continued her path toward him.“It seems the Moon Elf’s conscience got the best of him as well,” Alickath stated as he stepped up to them both.“So what changed your mind about taking a break? I thought you were out of here for the next few days after what happened the other day.”Moonshine sighed, shaking his head. “I thought about the dragons. I tried playing GGO, and I just couldn’t. I sucked at it.” He leaned forward and gestured to himself with his hands. “Me. I sucked at GGO! That’s when I knew I couldn’t just not log into Dragon Lance.”He looked around them with a sigh. “I’ve invested more into this game than I have any other game. Hell, even more than SAO, and I literally lived in that game for two years.” He smiled at Tanya. “Besides. I want Dragon Lance to be a place Kaori and Shiro can look forward to coming back to. Not be fearful of it. I’m not afraid though. I’ll do what I can here, no matter the risk.”Tanya shook her head and started her path toward the laboratory once more as she gave Moonshine’s sleeve a tug for him to follow. “I don’t think we have much to worry about with the dragons being asleep. So doctoring them should be rather easy.”Moonshine laughed, walking with her. “Yeah exactly. Try doctoring them when they’re awake and grumpy as all hell.” They went to the cabinets to retrieve potions and elixirs for the dragons. Moonshine himself gathered ingredients to make extra ones that would be helpful to the more difficult dragons.“Should we take the spellbook with us,” Alickath asked, he froze in place as Tanya and Moonshine turned and looked at him like he had lost his mind. “Not that book.” He lifted the default magic book from Dragon Lance.Tanya shook her head as her attention returned to the vials she was collecting. “I know all the spells in that book. At least the more pressing ones, and I am sure Moonshine knows them as well.”“Yeah, I do,” Moonshine nodded. “Between reading on my own and Shiro telling me everything else, I’ve got what I need memorized. Besides, we need to use our inventory wisely, even though the admins upped our storage.”Alickath nodded, placing the book back on the shelf. “Are there any herbs you need, Master Moonshine, anything that you can’t find over there?”“Anything that works on dragons. Herbs that are strong enough to heal a dragon. Ones you can’t find in stores,” Moonshine told him. “I shouldn’t need any dragon parts. Or at least I hope I won’t.”Alickath nodded his head as he looked through the vials for herbs they might need. He did not know magic, but from helping the others he knew the herbs and or elements they might need. After going through the cabinet, he turned to a large cupboard, going through it.After a while, they had finished going through all of the cabinets and cupboards, pulling out what they needed and leaving what they didn’t. When they were finished, they left the laboratory to head out on their dragon healing mission.“I won’t lie,” Moonshine smiled. “It’ll be nice to do my real job here in Dragon Lance for once.”Tanya nodded slowly as they continued their walk from the laboratory making their way out into the courtyard, through the gate, and out into the Providence of Whitehaven. When they exited the gate, the first thing they saw was an injured dragon on the path that led to the village, Dawnmeadow, that sat below Whitehaven castle.“A Wind Dragon,” Tanya stated as the three of them quickly made their way toward the injured dragon. Walking up on the dragon’s right she saw two spears that had been plunged into its thick hide, one in the Wind Dragon’s hindquarters, the other in its neck. “We have two spears over here, one in the hindquarter and one in the neck.” She let her hand glide down the dragon’s smooth scaly hide as she walked around to the other side of the dragon where Moonshine and Alickath were inspecting the patient.Moonshine looked at the dragon’s neck first. “The leg will be fine, but we need to get this spear out of its neck.” He placed a gentle hand on its neck, feeling around beneath the skin. He felt the hard point of the arrowhead. From what he could tell, it was about four or five inches in length. “It’s deep, but not too deep.” He moved his hands around slowly, looking for the dragon’s pulse. He found it about six inches away from the entry wound. “The dragon’s pulse is good, and the arrowhead isn’t pointing at the main artery from what I can tell.”He looked at Alickath and Tanya. “I’m going to pull the spear out. Me and Alickath will put pressure on the wound as hard as we can. You use a potion to seal the wound and stop the bleeding.”Tanya nodded as she opened her inventory and fetched a healing potion to use, so to close the wound. Once she had it in her hand she looked to Moonshine. “Ready…” She lifted the vial and removed the cork from the opening as a soft green mist lifted through the opening.Moonshine nodded then looked at Alickath. “On three. One… two… three!”Moonshine took a hold of the spear and yanked it out as quickly but as carefully as he could. It caught for a second before it came out clean. The dragon stirred causing Alickath and Moonshine as well as Tanya to step back slightly. The dark red blood bubbled up out of the wound. Alickath and Moonshine quickly moving back in place as they placed their hands on the wound and pushed hard and firm, keeping pressure on the wound that was about 3 inches in length. Compared to the dragon’s size it wasn’t that big, but it bled just the same. Thankfully, Tanya had the potion at the ready and the wound was closed before it could bleed too much.“Perfect,” Moonshine nodded. He looked to Tanya and pointed at the empty potion bottle with his bloody hand. “Take that bottle and gather up as much of the dragon’s blood as you can. Might as well put it to good use.”Tanya nodded as she waved her hand over the vial, cleaning it with a sterilization spell. She then did as Moonshine asked, nearly filling the small vial that held the healing potion. Opening her inventory once more tucking it back into her inventory and retrieving another healing potion for the injury on the dragon’s hindquarters. “Ready for the next one.”
“This one is easy,” Moonshine nodded, grabbing the spear. “Not many blood vessels here. Just lots and lots of muscles. The dragon will probably need some physical therapy afterward, but the leg will be fine.”He yanked out the spear in much the same way as the first then looked to Tanya. “Okay, heal and grab some more blood.”Doing the same to this injury as she did the other and gathering the blood, she placed it in her inventory as it fell into the same slot as the other, Blood of the Wind Dragon. She then turned and looked out over the Providence of Whitehaven. The dragons dotted the landscape, injured ones, and healthy ones, all across the land. She could also see others with skills of magic out doing the same as she, Moonshine, and Alickath. She turned back facing the two men with her once more.“It seems we have some help out in the fields,” Tanya informed them as she gestured with her head to the field behind her. She smiled brightly as she turned again to look out over the Providence. “It amazes me how everyone comes together in a crisis.”“Ah, yes, it is. A crisis ignites the emotion, salvation in people. Making them reach out to the ones in need.” Alickath commented as he stepped up next to Tanya. “But my Lady.” He looked over at her. “Your kingdom has always acted in this manner. They don’t need a crisis to reach out. It’s just something they do.” He smiled warmly at her. “Because that is how you are, and they follow your example.”Moonshine nodded, looking to Tanya. “He’s right. A benevolent leader creates benevolent people. That’s why we can’t let Cerrakor and his flunkies get to the Spiritcrest. If they get their hands on the Divine Dragons, whether it’s to destroy this world or ruin it, all of this will be for naught.”Tanya looked to Moonshine and Alickath and smiled with a soft chuckle. “Then let’s go out there and be benevolent.”Alickath gave a light chuckle. “Yes, let’s do that.”“Hell yeah,” Moonshine nodded with a smile of his own.They continued down the path to Dawnmeadow, reaching the next dragon, right at the entrance. It was an Earth Dragon. A simple type. There were a few villagers surrounding it, but they were all scratching their heads or looking at each other with concern. It was obvious they didn’t know what to do.Moonshine ran ahead, Tanya and Alickath following behind. “Excuse me, could you all back up a little?” He asked them as he approached. “I’m a dragon tamer/healer. I’ll help out the dragon. Does anyone know what injuries it might have?”He looked at the dragon who was laying on its side. Its scales were hard enough that spears and arrows shattered off its skin. It didn’t have any visible injuries, but those were usually the worst kind--the kind you couldn’t see.Tanya walked around the dragon, her eyes scanning it from top to bottom. Setting her hand gently to the dragon’s side she let it glide tenderly down its side. It caught a scale causing the dragon to stir slightly as everyone gasped and stepped back, all but Tanya, Moonshine, and Alickath.“It’s alright, they won’t wake. It’s just a sign of discomfort.” Alickath informed the villagers.Tanya then called out to Moonshine who was examining the dragon’s other side. “It seems this dragon fell out of the sky.” She examined the area a little closer, finding a few more loose scales. “We have a few loose scales over here.”Moonshine moved closer. The dragon was crumpled up, its head extended and its legs either spread out or curled underneath. He gently ran his fingers down the loose scales, then felt down the bones of its legs. They all were fine except for one. The front right leg appeared to be broken. It was bent oddly, and the dragon let out a guttural noise when he pressed on it.He looked at Tanya. “There’s nothing to do about the scales except disinfect them and keep them clean while they heal by themselves and fall off, but this dragon has a broken leg. I have to set it before it heals that way, or he’ll never walk again. I’ll need your help to set it.”Tanya nodded as she turned and walked toward Moonshine. “What do you need me to do? And be explicit I have never done something like this before. I would hate to bring the poor thing more pain.”Moonshine nodded. He took the bottom part of the dragon’s leg, near the paw. “Help me extend the leg. Don’t force it any which way. Just extend it and let it go where it goes. After that, I’ll tell you how we’re going to set it.”Tanya nodded as she took hold of the dragon's paw along with Moonshine and helped him straighten out its leg. The dragon stirred slightly until it was fully extended.“Okay,” Moonshine continued once the dragon’s leg was extended. He pointed to the leg. “See how it’s bent to the right? We want it to be almost perfectly straight. Their legs are almost straight but with a slight curvature inward, like ours but… you know, huge like tree trunks.” He grinned at Tanya for a second before his expression fell and he looked back to the dragon’s leg.“To set the leg, we’ll have Alickath and the villagers stabilize the upper half, then we’ll pull on the bottom half to set the bone. It will take a bit, but we’ll get it. From what I can tell, the bone broke at an angle, so we need to pull down and to the dragon’s left--our right--to set it properly. Make sense?”“Excuse me, sir,” Alickath commented as he stepped up to them. “There is a spell that can give you the sight to see within an object. It was created for the players that took on a skill like yours. It will assist you greatly in this case.”Tanya looked to Moonshine with questioning eyes. “That will help with setting it in the right position, but I was thinking instead of us”--she gestured at herself and Moonshine--"pulling on the lower half of the leg. We use a horse to do it.” When Moonshine looked at her oddly, she chuckled.“We tie a rope to the lower half of the leg, anchoring the rope to the horn of the saddle and let the horse walk forward. They have a lot more strength than the two of us put together. I can lead the horse so you can keep the spell of sight on the bone in the dragon’s leg.”Moonshine nodded with a smile. “I think that should work. And it’ll cause less damage if we can set it in one pull. Let’s set it up.”
Tanya nodded as she looked to one of the villagers. “Can you find us a good healthy strong horse?” The villager nodded and dashed off. While they waited Tanya retrieved a rope from her inventory and looked to Moonshine. I need you to activate the spell and see exactly where the leg is broken.”Moonshine nodded and stood over the dragon’s leg. He opened his menu and went to the section that listed all of his available spells. He found the one Alickath had mentioned: the ‘Third Eye’ spell. The words to the spell came to mind as he read the description. He had used this spell before, though he was surprised he hadn’t remembered it. He really had been away from his work for too long.“Alright.” He placed two fingers on his forehead. “Hidden eye within, open your sight and reveal to me thy vision.”His vision shifted and suddenly he could see through certain things if he concentrated hard enough. He looked at the dragon’s leg seeing its bone structure. Sure enough, there was a diagonal break through the radius and ulna between the elbow and the wrist. The break was in the middle of the two bones. He knelt and touched the dragon’s leg just below the break between it and the wrist.“Here. Tie the rope here. The break is several inches above it. If we pull it straight and slightly to the dragon’s left, it will snap into place perfectly. It’s a clean break with no fragments.”Tanya nodded and tied the rope where Moonshine suggested, tying it around the dragon’s leg just above the carpals if she had to make an educated guess, it would be the ankle of the dragon’s leg or wrist since it was the dragon’s front leg. She tied the knot tightly so it would not slip and become untied or loose. As she stood, the villager returned with the horse. Taking the other end of the rope, she tied a loop on the other end that would slip over the saddle horn. Stepping up to the side of the horse she slipped it over the horn. She then turned back to Moonshine and the villagers that he was putting into place to stabilize the top part of the dragon’s leg.Once it was stabilized and secure, Moonshine nodded to Tanya. “Alright, let’s do it.” Tanya nodded back and took her place in front of the horse with the reins in hand. Tanya clicked her tongue at the horse as it slowly stepped forward, the rope starting to become tight as the horse put space between it and the dragon. Once it was tight enough, the dragon’s leg started to move. The dragon made growls and whines of discomfort.“Alright, a little more!” Moonshine told her, watching the bone shift.Tanya clicked her tongue again as the horse pulled against the rope making it taught, the rope creaked under the strain. Suddenly the bone snapped into place. “Stop pulling but keep the tension on the rope.” Moonshine called out to Tanya. Quickly he stabilized the leg with two splints, one on either side of the broken leg, and wrapped the splints in place against the leg as he looked over to Tanya once more.
“You’re good! We did it,” he called to her.Giving slack to the reins the horse back stepped relieving the tension on the rope. She then stepped to the side of the horse unhooking the rope from the saddle horn. She took hold of the reins once more, walking herself and the horse over to the villager that brought the creature to her.“Thank you very much.” She replied to him as he nodded, turning and leaving with the animal. Tanya turned back to Moonshine as he smiled at her.“Now all we have to do is disinfect the wounds from where the scales got ripped up.” Moonshine reminded her.“All ready did that,” Alickath stated with a wide smile. “Shall we look for another in need?”Tanya nodded her head as she pulled her white gloves from her hands. “That’s what we came out here for.” She tucked the end of her gloves into her belt, so they rested at her back as she looked into the village. “It seems there is nothing inside the village, so we need to move out into the fields with the others.”Alickath and Moonshine nodded as the three of them continued their path past the village out into the farmlands and prairies. Their day had just started, and they knew it was not going to end any time soon.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Their path was long and tedious as they hiked the path out of Dawnmeadow, crossing the paths of sleeping, injured, dying, and past dragons. The injured ones, of course, they healed the best they could, but some of them were beyond their help, near death or already dead. So they did the right thing, euthanizing the dying ones that were in pain so as to put them at peace. They collected whatever they could from the dragons, the remains going to Sir Kedieg or Sir Aekin so they could dispose of the remains and use the parts of the dragons they could use for their breeding.They had traveled south out of Dawnmeadow after helping all they could there. They followed the Dragonfly River south to Honeyfrost, the village where Sir Aekin, who decided to come with them after disposing of the dragon remains, did his breeding. Since Moonshine and Tanya couldn’t ride a horse because of their dragons, Aekin hitched a wagon to the back of his horse and pulled them in it as he steered. It was better than walking, taking them only half an hour to reach the village. Once they reached Honeyfrost, a usually bustling village that was now in chaos because of the dragons, Moonshine and Tanya checked into the inn there while Aekin stopped at his breeding yard to drop off parts.
The two of them took the time to rest and place the heavy dragon parts from their time in Dawnmeadow in the room’s storage chests. They’d retrieve them later when they had helped the dragons in Honeyfrost, but for now, they were just weighing them down.
Moonshine sighed, sitting down on one of the two beds. “I’m already exhausted. Mentally and physically.” He growled and pounded his fist on the bed. “I’m going to kill them when we get our hands on them. Doing all this, and for what?! Money?! Recognition?! Power?!”“Greed and revenge are two very strong emotions, Moonshine,” Tanya commented as she stepped toward the small table they had in the room. She took a seat turning in the chair so to see Moonshine sitting on the bed. “Right now we need to figure out who they are more than what they want. Though given both are synonymous.”He sighed, laying back on the bed and crossing his arms, then one leg over the other. “Yeah, you’re right. Hopefully Grim gets back to us with something. Anything. Even if it's small. We need leads more than we need inventory space right now.”
He paused for a moment then turned his head to look over at her. “What are you going to do after all this is over? We gotta have something good to look forward to. Some motivation to keep us going.”
“I wanted to get the dragon breeding started for our guild.” Tanya gave him a tired but honest smile. “You do remember us working on that, right?”Moonshine laughed. “To be honest, I forgot about it.” He sighed again. “Breeding Imera and Nychta would be great. I also kinda want to open an Ebony Cafe here in Dragon Lance, but we’ll see what I have time for.” He smiled once more for a moment. “Outside of Dragon Lance, though, I’d like to play SpeedRunner with Kaori and Shiro more. And GGO with Sinon.”
He sat up and turned around to face her as she sat at the table. “And then there’s ALO. I can’t forget about my cafes there. And I’m sure Kirito is itching to play with Asuna again. But what about you? Any games outside of DL you want to play? ALO maybe? You haven’t had much time since before finals to play that.”
Tanya’s head bobbed slowly. “I liked playing ALO,” she giggled softly. “But everyone has been hanging out over here, and sorry, but Dragon Lance is in my blood. A day or two out of DL and I would start acting like an addict going through withdrawals. Not to mention I have never really looked for any other games to play. I am happy here.”
Moonshine nodded. “Makes sense. I guess I just get bored easily. Well not exactly bored just… restless. SAO did that to you. Some days you wake up hoping and praying someone unlocked a new level just so you’d have something new to look at. It was like a vacation.”
His smile grew wider and he let out a laugh. “I still remember mine and Kaori’s honeymoon. We went to this really beautiful city called Myujen. It’s a really urban city on the 49th floor, which you think wouldn’t make it a viable spot for a honeymoon,” he laughed. “But we got married in December and Kaori decided she wanted to go there. That’s because during the Christmas events there’s a huge tree in the city square and there are lights everywhere and the entire city turns white when it snows.”
Suddenly his smile fell. He shook his head. “Sorry, I have no idea why I’m telling you this. It doesn’t have anything to do with anything. Guess I just need to think about something other than all the crap that’s going on right now.”
Tanya stood and walked toward the bed where Moonshine laid down. She sat down on the edge of the bed at his feet patting his leg. “I get it. I am sure it was beautiful. I would give anything to be married in VR.” She giggled slightly, “but I doubt I would find a priest that would make an account just to come into DL and marry me and my fiance.”
Moonshine raised an eyebrow at her and grinned. “You’re kidding, right? I’m sure there’s a shit ton of priests who play VR. VR attracts all kinds after all.” His grin lowered into a calmer smile. “Eventually I’ll ask Kaori to marry me IRL. But right now our lives are too chaotic. Especially with DL right now. But maybe if we catch a breather soon I’ll ask her if she wants to get married here in DL. This is the only game we’re not married in.”
He smirked at her again. “So what about you? Thinking about virtual marriage to Aaron?”
“We have actually talked about it IRL, but with all this”--her hands lifted gesturing to everything around them--“going on it’s been just that, talk.” She smiled, shaking her head. “But if you did not know this. If a guild leader gets married their title goes from Knight to King and Queen of the providence they ruled over.”Moonshine’s eyes widened. “Really? I didn’t know that actually.” He hummed and scratched his chin. “Well, there’s always Celty and Creed if you don’t want to be king and queen.” He grinned at her. “Though I can think of quite a few people who wouldn’t mind you and Aaron being king and queen.”“There is also a lot of people that would make us a target. For one the Dragon Slayers, and I am sure there are many others.” Tanya stated. “I want to fix this mess we are in right now. So we can at least have fewer worries. I think being the King and Queen of Whitehaven could be a lot of fun.” She gave Moonshine a grin and poked him in the side.
“I will be sure to make you my royal jester.” She started to laugh and leaned back slightly when he shot up on the bed. “Of course, you would only have to perform when there was a laugh needed. So you will have plenty of time to play Vet.” She continued to laugh as she leaned back further nearly falling off the bed.
He scoffed and pushed her back by pushing his finger into her forehead. “We’ll see who’s laughing when I get Nychta to shove his big fat head through the ballroom doors again.” He smiled and let out a content sigh. “Well, we’d better get back out there. We still got a lot of dragons to help.”
Tanya collected herself with a soft snicker as she stood from the bedside. They took what they needed, leaving the rest, and headed out from the room, and exited the inn.
---The first dragon they came to was a spirit dragon in the fields around Aekin’s breeding grounds, and it was a female. There was nothing wrong with it physically. It hadn’t been in the air flying when the spell was cast. The problem with this dragon was that it was pregnant and it was about to deliver two eggs. The dragon’s belly was round and plump. It was asleep but obviously in tremendous discomfort from the way it whined and squirmed. Aekin came running up to them when he saw them.
“Hey,” he stopped beside Tanya. “I am here if you need me.” He lifted his hand and let it glide over the Spirit Dragon’s stomach. He looked quickly back to Moonshine. “She is with child. We need to get her moved into my stables.”Moonshine sighed, rubbing his neck. “You don’t think delivering the eggs first would be best? Plus, how would we move her without jostling her too much?”Aekin quickly opened his inventory as he spoke. “Well, then it is time to get our hands dirty.” He retrieved a pair of long gloves from his inventory. “Hope you got a set.” He waved them at Moonshine with a grin.
Moonshine gave him a grin back with a sigh. He opened his inventory as well. “You kidding me? I always have like ten pairs on hand.” He pulled out two pairs. One for him and one for Tanya. He handed the second pair to her.
“You’ll need these too,” he told her. “You’ll have to learn sometime if you want to breed dragons at headquarters. Remember what I said about being covered in afterbirth before?”Tanya groaned as she took the gloves from Moonshine. “I am changing out of my uniform before I do this. No way I am turning my white uniform to red.” She looked at the two men who were not objecting. “Good, I will be right back.” She stepped around behind the dragon for some privacy.
Moonshine laughed and shook his head. “I can’t blame her.” He went back into his inventory and switched out his usual outfit for a plain black shirt, black trousers, leather boots, and a black smock that covered everything from the chest to the shins. “This game has gotten me past a lot of fears. Childbirth being one of them.”
Aekin chuckled as he too removed a heavy apron from his inventory. “This is nothing until you delivered a live birth, eggs are nothing. Try helping a horse, cow or goat deliver their baby.”
“Hey. Small victories,” Moonshine pointed at him. “Let me have them.”
Aekin chuckled as he saw Tanya walk back around the resting dragon. She looked to them both as her hands went to her hips and an annoyed look on her face.“Excuse me. Where is mine?” Tanya asked looking at the two of them in long aprons.Aekin chuckled and with his inventory still open he grabbed another for Tanya and presented it to her. “Here. I was going to give you one. Just waiting for you to join us again.”“Hmm,” Tanya hummed as she took the apron from him. “Thank you.” She put it on and looked to the two of them. “You are going to have to walk me through this step by step. I have no clue what to do and I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Well,” Moonshine placed a gloved hand on his chin. “We have to be really careful not to break the egg. We can’t push on her stomach too much or it’ll break.” He walked over to the dragon and laid a gentle hand on her stomach. He felt the muscles convulse near her abdomen. “She’s having contractions, but they’re not that strong. Like I said, we can’t push on her stomach too much, so maybe it’s best to use the inducing potion to help with contractions. With the contractions, she’ll be able to push the eggs out on her own, even while asleep. Our job will be to guide the eggs out and make sure they come out easy and don’t break on the way out.”Aekin’s nodded. “Do you have a vial, if not”--he opened his inventory again--“I do.” He plucked the vial out and showed it to Moonshine.”“I have one, but use yours. I only have this one with me, and I’m sure you have some in your house,” he nodded to the house towards the front of the grounds.
“I have many,” Aekin chuckled. “Breeder and all ya know.”“I guess that is something we need to start storing up?” Tanya asked.“Only one of the things. There is a lot you will need in the way of potions and herbs when the time comes.” Aekin told her as he walked toward the dragon’s head. He uncorked the vial and poured it into the dragon’s mouth. “It won’t be long now so get ready.”Moonshine took Tanya’s hand and dragged her toward the tail end of the dragon. He noticed the panic in her eyes, so he gave her an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry. You’ll do fine. Just follow my lead and you’ll get the hang of it.”She only nodded as she stood where Moonshine placed her. She could not stop thinking of the life she was about to bring into the world. She just hoped they would get a chance to hatch and live out a happy peaceful life like their mother had. Breaking her thoughts she looked to Moonshine waiting for his cue on what to do next.
It wasn’t long and the dragon cried out in its sleep, its abdomen spasming and its back talons carving into the earth in pain. When Aekin gave them a thumbs up, Moonshine placed him and Tanya next to the dragon’s birthing canal. He took Tanya’s hand and placed it near where the eggs would come out. He pressed her hand against the skin feeling the firm egg against the canal.“Feel that? It should be soft,” Moonshine told her. He nodded at her. “That’s the first egg. If you wait a few seconds, you’ll feel the contractions and the egg will start to crown.”
Sure enough, the dragon cried again and thrashed its legs. The muscles in its back end contracted and the canal dilated more. They felt the egg venture closer toward the birth canal. Aekin came around with a large basin of water and several large towels swimming in the water.
“What are the towels and water for?” Tanya asked.
Moonshine looked to Tanya. “To clean up the blood once this is all over.”Her eyes grew wide. “B-blood?”
He shook his head. “There is not as much as live birth, but there will be some.”Tanya nodded, taking a deep breath. She could do this, she took another deep breath as her eyes closed when they opened she saw the egg cresting as it started to push through the birth canal. “It’s coming!” She shouted.
“Good, give the egg support so it does not hit the ground too hard. The angle she is laying the egg will not just slide out on the ground. We need to assist the egg so it don’t hit the ground and crack.”
Moonshine informed her.Tanya nodded as she placed both hands on the egg to give it support as it slowly started to escape the birth canal. As the widest part of the egg appeared Tanya realized that soon the egg was going to rush out at her as the dragon started to deliver the narrowest part of the egg. With this though she stabilized her footing into a better stance. However, she was not quick enough as the egg rushed toward her. Her eyes widened as she caught the egg in her arms and stumbled backward.The egg was wet and slimy with traces of blood across the shell making it hard to hold on to, but she held onto it for dear life. Which was not easy seeing how the egg was about three feet in length and about two feet around, it covered her torso from her waist to the top of her head. Though it was not as heavy as she thought it would be, and it had some good weight to it. She giggled all giddy with a small side step as she looked around the egg to Moonshine as he waited for the other egg to be delivered.
“Good job. Take it over to Aekin’s wagon and clean it up. He made a nest so we could transport them back to his Breeding Stable.” Moonshine explained.Tanya nodded slowly as she turned and walked over to the waiting wagon. When she got there Aekin was still filling the wagon with straw. “I was told to bring this to your wagon.”“Yep, I am ready for them,” Aekin replied as he threw another arm full of straw into the wagon’s bed.“So what are we going to do with the mother?” Tanya asked as she placed the egg carefully into the wagon.“One of my men is coming this way. He will put mama in his inventory so she can go back with us and be with her eggs.” Aekin explained as he stepped up to the side of the wagon resting his arms to the side as he watched Tanya clean the egg with warm water. “So what did ya think?”“I think a lot of things,” Tanya chuckled, giving him a quick glance. “Can you be a little more specific?”Aekin chuckled lightly. “Of your first delivery, of course.”
Tanya looked at the egg resting in front of her as she smiled warmly, her head starting to nod slowly. “It was amazing, scary, and exhilarating all rolled into one.” She looked to Aekin. “I can’t wait to get the Guild’s Breeding Stables built.”
“You liked it that much, huh?” Aekin asked.“I did,” Tanya stated as she finished cleaning the egg, she looked quickly back to Aekin. “You have to let me know when they start hatching. I really want to be there for it.”“Well,” Aekin stated as he lifted up off the side of the wagon. “That could be anywhere from 90 to 100 days before that takes place.”“So a little more than 3 months, give or take,” Tanya said nodding her head again as she turned back to the egg. “Good, we have time to fix this mess before they hatch. I want mama and the babies to be able to be together when they hatch.”“Good incentive, Lady Tanya,” Aekin replied as he patted her shoulder softly.
Tanya looked to Aekin with a warm smile. “They're not the only incentive I have, just another I am adding to the list.” She turned back to the egg, rolling it carefully and slowly, further, up into the wagon. Aekin then tossed more straw into the wagon, over the top of the egg to keep it warm. Tanya turned when she heard footsteps coming toward them. It was Moonshine with the other egg in his arms. She moved aside so he could put the egg down in the wagon.“How is mama?” Tanya asked.“She is doing good. The potion started wearing off in the last bit of delivery. I started to worry, thinking she would not be able to push this baby”--he softly patted the egg--“completely out, but she did wonderfully.”“That’s good, I was worried that might happen. Those potions were not meant to be used this way. Only to give mama a little extra umph , if she needs it.” Aekin stated with a soft smile. “Knowledge to add to our Breeding journal. Well,” He patted Moonshine on the shoulder. “I will go clean up mama while you clean up the egg.” He started walking toward the mama dragon.Moonshine nodded and gently started wiping down the egg. He looked at Tanya with a big smile. “You did great today. You definitely got what it takes to be a breeder. The dragons will be just fine with you, me, and Zavied as breeders.”“I agree,” Tanya nodded with a smile, helping Moonshine wipe down the second egg. “This experience just made me all the more excited.”
“Good,” he grinned, “cause you’ll need that excitement and motivation. We all do. Dragon Lance depends on it right now.”
“Especially with what is going on right now,” She sighed, going quiet as her hand with the towel slid off the egg. She turned and sat on the end of the wagon, her attention going to the ground. “Tsuki,” she looked back up and over at Moonshine.“If they succeed in getting to the Spiritcrest, what are we going to do? Everything we have worked for in the last 3 years will be gone. Well, not everything, but the dragons will be limited, and with people slaying them. They will be extinct before we know it. Especially the rarer ones.”
Moonshine looked down at his feet. He thought about Imera and Nychta. He thought about his skills, his money, his levels, everything. But then he thought of Aincrad and VRs and the concept of the crazy existence they lived because of VR.
He looked up at her with a sad smile. “Then we get the devs to rebuild it. We hope that they’ll recover and fix everything, and then we rebuild. Just like Kirito and everyone else rebuilt Aincrad. We take what’s left and start over. Because in the end…”
He knelt down and ripped up a handful of grass. He released it, letting it blow away with the wind. “All of this… it’s just a cluster of information. All of this. It’s just numbers and letters and codes. It’s not real…” He looked back at her. “But it’s real to us. We give the information meaning. So we’ll rebuild all of those numbers and letters and codes. It won’t be easy, but we’ll do it because we love this place.”She chuckled softly as she cast her eyes back to the ground. “We do, and you’re right. It won’t be easy, but the loss. I don’t know if I could handle the loss of Musashi. It would be like losing a child, and there would be no way I could replace him.”
Moonshine took off his gloves and hit the discard button for them in his inventory. He walked up to Tanya and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Me too. I feel the same about Nychta and Imera.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Hell, I did go through it. But I got very lucky because of you, your brother, and everyone who helped me. But if we lose Dragon Lance, I lose them both for good.”
He turned her around and grinned at her, holding up his fist. “So that’s why we can’t fail. We save Dragon Lance. No matter what.”
Her head nodded sternly. “Yes, we do.” She gazed into his eyes, a serious look on her face. “I think we should hike up to the Northern Mountains and set up one of our battalions. That or contact our allies near Forstford so they know what is going on and keep a watch.” She sighed. “But if the Dragon Slayers do show it will take our troops a full day to get there by horse, a day and a half on foot, and I am sure those will be the only way this asshole will allow us to travel. By then it will be too late for any of us to do something. I mean we know they are after the Divine Dragon.”
Moonshine crossed his arms, shaking his head. “Not to mention we can’t even ride horses or use transport crystals right now. We’d have to hand off our dragons to other people just so we could travel and fight. And we need to gather trusted allies to go with us and supplies.”
“Supplies will be easy to come by. It’s the Dragon handoff that worries me. I can’t honestly say after I gather all my most trusted that there would be anyone I would trust with my dragons. Though…” she paused in thought, her fingers quickly snaping. “I could transfer my babies to Creed and Creed could hand his off to Celty.” She smiled at Moonshine.“Eowyn or any of the other Unseen have large inventories. You could hand your babies off to them. As could Cerberus and the other guys. I know they will be safe with them.” Tanya stood from the wagon. “What do you think?”Moonshine nodded. “Sounds good to me. If you trust them, I trust them.” He thought for a minute before he sighed. “We’re… we’re going to need to bring my brother into this… aren’t we?”
Tanya chuckled. “You know for a fact you're not going to keep him out of it. Even if we chain him in a cell with Nychta guarding him. The second he finds out Cerberus is going he is going with as well.” She shoulder-bumped Moonshine playfully.“Not to mention he is a veteran of DL and a very powerful magic wielder. We would be crazy not to take him and Cerberus.”
“I know that,” Moonshine narrowed his eyes, casting his gaze down. “Believe me, I know he’s powerful. I made sure that he was in SAO too, but I still don’t want him getting hurt. In SAO he was careful. He knew the risks. But that’s in the past, and even I have to admit, SAO vets can sometimes take crazy risks in other games because nothing will ever reach that level of danger. And we don’t fully know what these hackers are capable of.”
He looked up and over towards the north. “But… if having my brother here will give us a better chance at solving this problem… then it will be worth the risk… for all of us.”
“Maybe--” she stopped suddenly. “Have you heard anything from your hacker friends?”
Moonshine shook his head. “Not yet. But I’m expecting a response soon. Why? Do you have an idea?”“Yes, I do. I was thinking if they can make heads or tails out of the coding they can boost the stats of the ones going with us and maybe”--she quickly opened her panel and went to the sensitivity settings a wide grin crossing her lips--“And lock our sensitivity setting so the asshole can’t turn them back up on us.”Moonshine grinned, nodding sternly. “Yeah, I was hoping that too. Hopefully, with a little luck on our side, we can beat those bastards at their own game.” His expression pulled down into a frown as he put a hand on his chin. “I just hope the coding of Dragon Lance isn’t too complex. I don’t know much about coding myself, that’s Kirito’s specialty, but for every genius in the world, there’s someone to match them.”
“Maybe you can contact Kirito too and have him look into the coding as well while he is taking a break. I will send out messages to the guild members I trust the most. Knights and villagers. I might even contact a few of the other guilds and see if they want to get involved. Our ally guilds are very strong and could add a lot to this battle.” Tanya explained.
Moonshine nodded and opened his panel, going to Kirito’s name and tapping the Streamline icon. “Good idea. That little genius can do anything. I’m sure of it.” Moonshine walked off, calling out as he did, “I’ll message Grim too and see if I can get an update.”Tanya nodded as she watched him walk away, she then decided that while Moonshine was contacting Kirito, she herself would do a quick message that she would be sending out to the ones they wanted to take on this venture. After she finished the message she started going through her friend list. She was truly ‘friend poor.’ She had every Mystic Dragon guild member, that alone was over 1,300 friends, not to mention the villagers of the Whitehaven Providence. Then there were just people she met in passing that wanted to stay in contact with her or her with them, but the fact of the matter was… She did not trust over half of them, and she needed people she could trust undeniably. She needed as many as she could gather, at least a 100 or more, and she nearly had all of the guilds militants. There may have been 15 of them she did not fully trust or just couldn’t trust.
After going through her guild list of friends, she started on the ones of other guilds. Only the larger guilds would work at this point. She was trying to raise an army and with the larger guilds that was very much possible, but she would only add the guild leaders and they could pick and choose their most trusted to join them. Going through she added only 4 other guilds-- Lord Rawyn the leader of Hunters of the Righteous from the North, Lord Astardodia the leader of Immortals of the Sea from the East, and Lady Dwalia the leader of Warriors of the Last Age from the South. She did not send the same message to them as she did the others. Theirs was very much different, explaining everything to them for the cause and effect so they fully understood the servery of their audience at the meeting.
Once everyone was grouped properly, Tanya sent out the messages. She had set the meeting for that evening and stressed how important it was for everyone to be there and not to share this information with anyone unless they could be trusted without a doubt. She also apologized for the last-minute notice of said meeting, but then stressed again on how important this was. Finally finished, Tanya sent out the PMs. She then opened a new message and sent one to none other than DarkDragon. As she finished up her last message, Moonshine joined her once more.“Really? Did you really have to send one to me too?” Moonshine asked her.“Yes, I did. You had to know what time and when we were going to meet, right?” Tanya proclaimed.“True,” Moonshine replied, stopping in front of her. “So we ready to get a few more dragons in before we have to take off for Whitehaven castle?”“Ready as I'll ever be,” Tanya stated. “We should be able to get at least 4 or 5 more taken care of as long as they are not special needs. If so maybe only 2 or 3.”“We will get as many as we can. There are others out taking care of the dragons as well so it is not like we are leaving the dragons to their own.” Moonshine reminded her.“I know,” Tanya said as the two of them turned just in time to see the guy that Aekin requested to pick up the dragon eggs and the mama Spirit Dragon to take to the Breeding Stables.After they helped the guy get everything in order, Moonshine, Aekin, and Tanya headed out to take care of as many dragons as they could before they had to head back to the castle. While they worked diligently with the dragons, Tanya had received the returned PMs from all that she had messaged for the meeting. All of them said they would be there, which put a smile on her face and boosted her confidence about them winning and finally being able to close down this guy and his team of Dragon Slayers.
When it was time for them to part ways the three of them were very pleased with their work that day. They were able to help 8 other dragons, two more than Tanya predicted, and none of them were seriously injured. With a quick ‘see you later’, Moonshine and Tanya parted ways with Aekin. They knew within the next two and a half hours they would be seeing him again at the meeting, so there was no reason to drag out their farewells or linger too long with idle chit-chat. With that, the three parted ways, Tanya and Moonshine chartering a carriage to take them home and quickly making their way as Aekin mounted his horse and took off toward his village.
The two arrived back at the castle within the hour, being greeted by none other than Alickath as he bowed deeply to them both.“Welcome back, Lady Tanya, Master Moonshine. Is there anything I can do for you?” Alickath asked them.“Yes, Alickath there is. Follow us please,” Tanya replied as she and Moonshine stepped toward him making their way into the castle. “We have a meeting about to take place here in another hour and a half. Please make sure the Meeting Hall is prepared, tables and chairs, and enough drinks and light snacks to serve at least 150 people.”“You sent out that many PMs?!” Moonshine exclaimed, his eyes wide.“Close enough. I just want to make sure there is plenty for everyone if they want seconds.” Tanya replied.“Yes, Ma’am. I will get on it right away.” Alickath stated as they entered the foyer, he bowed to them once more and disappeared into the depths of the castle.Tanya then turned to Moonshine. “I am going to sign out for a bit and get some real food before this gets going. You might want to do the same because this meeting might take a while.”He nodded to her with a small smile. “I will see you back here in about an hour.”She nodded to him as the two parted ways, going to their rooms to sign out and wait for the meeting to begin.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Forty
The hour was approaching for the meeting as Tanya walked around the Meeting Hall making sure everything was in order, and that she had all the information they had gathered. She wanted the meeting to be informative so everyone knew the dilemma, not only what Dragon Lance was in, but the dilemma they were in as well. She wanted to be sure they knew what they would be getting themselves into, and also what she had planned to help them get ahead of the people that were trying to ruin their game. As she straightened the papers she had gathered she heard the main doors to the room open with a soft yet eerie creak.“Thank you for getting all of this together, Alickath.” She responded as she thumbed through the papers hearing slow steady footsteps coming toward her. “What took you a matter of minutes to do would have taken me hours.”“I am sure he is honored to be at your disposal.”Tanya froze, looking up quickly with the familiar voice. “DarkDragon. What a surprise. I did not think you would be here.” She lifted her hands from the papers she was looking through, turning she started a path around the table to greet him. “You were the only one that did not reply back to my invitation.”Lifting his hands he took hold of his hood, lifting it slightly as it fell behind him, hanging to his shoulders. “I thought I owed this to you.”“You thought,” Tanya chuckled, stepping around the table, walking toward him. “If I remember correctly, you still owe me a few favors.”DarkDragon chuckled as he removed his gloves, tucking them into his long dark cape. A hand lifted, his index finger extended as it pointed at her. “If I remember correctly. I paid off two of those favors only owing a couple. Not a few.”Tanya was smiling widely as she stopped a few feet in front of him and bowed deeply to him as she spoke. “Well, this act”--she stood and looked into his pitch black eyes--“won’t be a repayment.”“Oh,” DarkDragon stepped closer to her as he reached for her hand, lifting it from her side. “Why do you say that?” His other hand lifted as he waved it over her hand that he held in his.
Tanya looked down at her hand which wore a silver ring with a half-carat trilliant cut Divine Dragon gem set to the center; a single fourth-carat teardrop cut Chalcedony gem just under it; and four, eighth-carat round cut stones, two to one side and two to the other sitting at the base of the teardrop gem, the five gems cresting the bottom of the trilliant cut Divine Dragon gem. The five gems represented the North, a Selenite gem of pearl white; the South, a Red Jasper gem of Burnt Red; the East, a Lapis Lazuli gem of brilliant blue; and the West, a Hematite gem of glossy black, and the center teardrop represented the Central a Chalcedony gem of sky blue.
“Wh...where did you get this?” She looked back up at DarkDragon.“The Ring of Providence?” DarkDragon shrugged slightly with a soft chuckle. “I found it laying around while I was on a quest in the North.” He turned, stepping away from her as she looked at the ring.“You do know what the ring symbolizes, correct?” He looked slightly back over his shoulder at her.
“I have heard so many rumors about it. I am not sure what is fact and what is fiction.” Tanya stated looking back at him. “I just know the ring is very powerful.”“Indeed. The fact behind the ring is... The wearer of this artifact will be the one that brings unity and prosperity across the land of Tarragonia.” He turned to face her once more. “But the ring has to find you worthy of such power. The Central region of Tarragonia already represents Unity and you and your guild have already united four of the five regions. If you win this battle you are about to face in the next day it will prove that the Knights of the Mystic Dragon are surely worthy of such power.”“So instead of Excalibur, we have the Ring of Providence.” Tanya chuckled lightly as she looked to the ring once more. “So why not use it yourself? You found it after all.”“I am an Admin. If I were to present something like this to the players of this game, they would think I obtained it unfairly.” DarkDragon explained to her.Tanya slightly tipped her head to one side with a raised brow. “Did you?”“Of course not. You have known me long enough to know I don’t play that way. I obtained the ring during my quest in the North. I have no use for it, but I knew one day a certain someone in my life would.”“Me?” Tanya questioned.“You’re the only one that is worthy enough for that ring. You have worked the hardest out of all the other guilds to bring the Provinces together.” He then grinned at her. “And when you and your Vice Master Aaron are wed and are made King and Queen of Whitehaven the ring will substantiate what everyone else already knows.”Tanya looked down at the ring once more, it was so beautiful and it shimmered like newly fallen snow that the moon shone down on. It actually made her a little nervous to be wearing it. Reaching up with her left hand she took hold of the ring between her fingers and started to remove it, but before she could, DarkDragon appeared in front of her and rested his hand gently over hers. She looked up at him as he stood there shaking his head.“Leave it. I gave it to you to wear. Not store, if that were the case I would have left it in my inventory.” DarkDragon told her.“But…” Tanya started as he only shook his head, she sighed heavily. “If someone cuts off my finger because they want this little bobble, I am coming to you.”
DarkDragon chuckled lightly. “That’s the only way they would get it off you.”
“That’s comforting to know,” Tanya commented.
He chuckled again, moving his hand under hers that the ring bore. “See how the Divine Dragon gem glows.” Her head nodded. “It has accepted you as its owner and master.”“Master?” She questioned with a confused look.
DarkDragon’s head nodded slowly. “The ring holds great power, other than the symbol of Unity for the land and people.”“And I am just supposed to know how to use this thing.” She expressed.“It will lead you and like all things, it is something you will have to learn to use,” DarkDragon explained.“Great~” She looked up from the ring to the dark sorcerer once more. “Also…” she paused for a brief second. “How in the world am I supposed to unite the Providences when the largest Western guild is run by a total asswipe. You know for a fact that he is not going to bend to my rule. He broke the original treaty ages ago.”“Then build anew or find a guild in the West worthy of being in control of the Western region,” DarkDragon explained, only to have Tanya sigh heavily once more. He chuckled as his hand clasped to her shoulder. “Have faith, Tanya. If anyone can do this it is you and your followers.”Tanya was not too sure of his confidence in her and her guild. Yes, they had done a lot of good things for the people and the land, but it just seemed he was expecting a little too much this time. Hearing the door open again Tanya and DarkDragon both looked toward the newcomers.
Moonshine and Kirito were the first to walk in and they walked in together. Moonshine stopped next to her with his hands on his hips. He smiled at her. “Ate your fill of greasy American food?”Tanya chuckled and shook her head, crossing her arms. “American, yes, greasy no. What about you two? Get your fill of Japanese food?”
“Hell yeah,” Moonshine rubbed his stomach. “Kaori cooked one hell of a meal. I’m stuffed and will be for the next four hours at least.”
Kirito laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “I ate at Agil’s actually. So I’m the one that ate the greasy American food.”
“Too bad I can’t eat your cooking except for in-game,” Aaron said as he walked in next and stopped next to Tanya. He kissed her on the cheek. “I hope you were able to rest while you could.”
Tanya nodded, smiling up at him. “Yes, I did. Physically anyway. Not much time for a nap when we have to plan our trip to the Spiritcrest.”
Moonshine looked to Tanya with a stern look. “My brother is in SpeedRunner Online right now, but I’ll be taking notes for him so he can be caught up when he is done there.” He gave a warm smile, looking down at his feet. “He’s on ‘vacation’ with his new girlfriend. He will be done Monday. Sunday for your side of the world. Once he’s done with his vacation, he’ll be free to help us out.”Tanya nodded her head slowly. “As long as he is up to speed on everything which I know you will make sure he will be.” She looked toward the door again as she watched her brother Cerberus, Eizen and Zavied enter the room next. Eizen and Zavied were being their usual selves.
“Please tell me you two are just getting it out of your system. Because if you're going to act like this during the meeting I am going to separate you,” Tanya told them.
Zavied grinned and went to open his mouth but Eizen put him into a headlock, covering his mouth with his hand. “Yes, ma’am. We’ll be sure to behave ourselves.” He glared down at his friend. “Won’t we?”
Zavied pulled his head out of Eizen’s arm and smirked at him with his arms crossed over his chest. “I never said I wouldn’t! Actually, you didn’t let me say anything.” He turned and bowed to Tanya with a flourish. “Don’t worry, Lady Tanya. The Z Man always knows when to behave himself.” When those in the room grumbled at him he glared at all of them. “Hey! At least give me a little backup!”
Aaron chuckled. “I do. Out on the battlefield anyway. At least there you’re too busy kicking ass to run your mouth.”
Zavied flashed his teeth in a big grin and put his fists on his hips, puffing out his chest. “Damn straight I am--” He blinked and scowled at Aaron. “Hey, wait just a damn minute!”Kirito laughed, shrugging and shaking his head. “Well, you’re nothing if not dedicated to your character. You’re definitely the best Zavied cosplayer I’ve ever seen. VR or topside.”Zavied grinned, crossing his arms again. “Also damn straight!”
Eizen laughed, shrugging and stuffing his hands in his pockets. “What can we say? We’ve put at least a thousand hours into both games between the two of us. We’ve had a lot of time to study and perfect our craft.”Zavied looked to Eizen then the others. “It helps that the two of them aren’t that different from the real us, too. Though we’re not as extra as they are.”
Eizen smirked at Zavied. “Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that, Xav.”
Zavied grinned and elbowed Eizen in the side. “Shaddup!”
Tanya chuckled, shaking her head as a few others from the guild walked in Ghost, Raven, and Viper from their Assassin squad, and Renier, and Oton of their Archers. Three of their Knights, Sir Theicien their 10th, and Sir Aekin their 12th, and one more of their Wizards Eveus.Aekin patted Moonshine and Tanya on the shoulders, grinning wide. “Good news. Mama is doing great and the eggs are safely incubated.”
Moonshine and Tanya smiled at each other and high-fived as Aekin took his seat. More of the Knights walked in including Lady Adiv their 7th, Sir Crelan their 2nd, Sir Adoth their 4th, and Sir Tirav their 11th. Some assassins arrived as well, who were Hawk, Phoenix, and Striker.They all found their places around the table as Alickath walked in clearing his throat. Everyone in the room turned their attention to him as he bowed deeply to them all. Standing erect once more Alickath looked out across the room and announced.
“From the Northern hemisphere, Honorable Lord Rawyn of the Hunters of the Righteous; from the Eastern hemisphere, Lord Astardodia of the Immortals of the Sea; and from the Southern hemisphere, Lady Dwalia of the Warriors of the Last Age.”Everyone in the room bowed to them as they entered the room, Tanya only bowing her head slightly in respect of her fellow guild leaders as they returned the gesture to her. She smiled warmly at them as she stepped toward them. “I am honored that you choose to attend this meeting. Your participation will be greatly appreciated and with the fight we are about to face it affects us all, so uniting like this only benefits us all in the end.”
Lady Dwalia was a tall and muscular woman who wore polished armor and always carried a sword at her side. She carried herself with pride and honor. Her hair was medium length and brown with waves and her eyes were a piercing green. She was beautiful in a fearsome sort of way.
“If it has to do with all the glitches and the dragons turning on us, then of course we’d come,” she said in a stern tone. “Anyone who decided not to come must not give a damn about this game. For most if not all of us here, this game has become a lifestyle, not a hobby.” She grinned.
“From what I have heard, only the most trusted would be here.” Lord Rawyn of the North commented. He looked to his left where Lady Dwalia stood. “At least from all the years that I have known Lady Tanya, that would be my educated guess.”
Lord Rawyn was a tall man with a slender yet toned build and broad shoulders. His attire was with whites and icy blues. As he walked forward, his long cape of ice blue as well as his long, snow white hair, tied back with an ice blue colored silk string, flowed behind him in soft whisps. He was a handsome man with feminine features and brilliant lavender eyes. His Estoc hung across his back.Lord Astardodia chuckled as he looked to Rawyn. “And as we all know, Mate. Yer a hi’ly educated man.” He looked to Tanya and the others standing around her. “It’s an honor to be ‘ere if it ‘ill stop this bloody mess.”Tanya looked on at the guild leader of the East. He was a handsomely rugged man who wore a black silk shirt that billowed and flared at the wrists. He left it open at the top so it showed off his toned, hairy chest. Sitting right on his chest was a long silver pendant of an anchor with a snake curled around it. His waistcoat was red leather, worn, and double-breasted. His trench coat was long and ornate, made of black leather and silver embellishments. The trimming around the sleeves and the collar and down each side was red like his waistcoat. His trousers were black and neat but also worn. His boots were black leather and reached his knees before folding over at the top. They had silver buckles across the tops of the feet. His beard wasn’t the classic long and unkempt beard of a pirate. It was short and well-groomed. His hair was brown and short with soft waves. His eyes, too, were a piercing green.
The rapier at his side was sheathed, but the hilt was ornate with a silver swept hilt that was decorated with fleur de lis and a nautical star. The grip wrapping was black and the pommel was plain silver and circular. The sheath was black with silver along the seam and rim and a nautical star towards the mouth of the sheath.
“That’s the plan, Lord Astardodia. Once we all have arrived I will explain more. I want to make sure everyone is well informed of the intention of our enemies and of ours.” She looked at the other two Leaders and smiled warmly. “United is the only way we are going to be able to defeat this threat.”“Am I to be correct in my assumption that Lord Thoin of the Western hemisphere will not be joining us?” Rawyn asked as he looked around the room.
“Exactly,” Aaron inserted himself into the conversation. “Lord Thoin cannot be trusted. From the intel we have gathered he is working with the group that is threatening the livelihood of the dragons and the people of this game. We have to stop them at all cost.”Dwalia stepped forward looking at the Vice Master of the Knights of the Mystic Dragon. “It sounds like you are declaring war.”“If it comes to that, yes, and I think I speak for everyone in our guild when I say. We will go to whatever lengths it takes to stop them.” Aaron informed not only Lady Dwalia, but the others in the room as well.“Whatever it takes,” Klein commented as he entered the room. “These bastards have hurt too many of our people, friends, and loved ones.”
All eyes turned and looked in his direction as he walked toward his guild members. “If we don’t stop them they will destroy everything about Dragon Lance that we know and love, and I for one am not about to let that happen,” Klein stated as he stepped up beside Aaron, and looked on at the other guild leaders.Voices of agreement sounded around the room as did nodding heads as the others that were invited to the meeting entered the Meeting Hall. The remaining archers, Rowley, Marioun, and Ariana. The last two assassins, Jackal, and Cipher, and the remaining Knights--minus Sir Luthien the 8th since he was under suspicion of betrayal--Sir Lady Zirathie their 3rd, Sir Adoadus their 5th, Sir Kedieg their 6th, Sir Daurith their 9th, and Sir Dalehar their 13th, following them in were also the last two Wizards, Ravia, and Isgaell. They all found their seats as Tanya, Aaron, Klein and the others returned to the head of the table to lead the meeting. Taking her seat, Tanya waited until everyone was settled in and then stood from her seat. The room fell silent as she looked around at everyone that joined them.“Before I start this meeting I would like to thank each and every one of you for joining us here tonight and I apologize for the last-minute notice. However, this could not be helped.” Tanya paused for a brief moment as her eyes looked around the room.“About thirty-two hours ago, everyone watched as our dragons as well as the dragons of Dragon Lance turned on us. All falling rogue and turning on us like wild animals. In that brief moment of panic and confusion...Two of our strongest Sorcerers…” she looked toward her brother and smiled warmly. “Cerberus and Okamishiro cast a spell that put them to sleep. Rendering them harmless for the next six days.” She looked back out into the room.
“Before that, everyone in Dragon Lance has suffered the fate of the fluctuating sensitivity levels, and if you have faced off with a member of the Dragon Slayers I am sure you have noticed that they are as strong as a Boss and nearly impervious to our attacks.” She looked over at Moonshine as she spoke. “The other day we had the displeasure of having one of the Dragon Slayers in our dungeon.” Her eyes started scanning the room once more. “We tried getting information from him with numerous potions and to our dismay, nothing was working.”
Moonshine stood up and spoke next. “This Dragon Slayer and his allies attempted to dispose of one of our allies by killing her with the sensitivity glitch. The glitch has been caused by hackers within the higher ranks of the slayers. Those same hackers prevented our interrogation from being successful and caused the dragons to turn against us. And now, they’re looking to do something even worse.”
“And you have proof of this?” Dwalia asked as she looked pointedly at Moonshine, then over to his guild leader.Tanya nodded her head. “Yes, one of our ally spies overheard a plan that guild Leader
Thoin and a few of the Dragon Slayers were planning on attacking the Spiritcrest and taking the Divine dragon egg.”Rawyn chuckled. “The Spiritcrest is unattainable, and even if it were obtainable, they would never make it past my army, not to mention the Dryads.”“Did you miss the part where Moonshine announced they were hackers?” Cerberus asked, looking pointedly at Rawyn. “If they can mess with the sensitivity and turn the dragons rogue and make the members of their guild as strong as Bosses”--he looked at the others sitting around them--“what makes you think they can’t make the Spiritcrest obtainable?”
Kirito nodded firmly. “If they can figure out the game’s unique coding enough to hack the settings and stats, then they have what they need to open the Spiritcrest. These guys aren’t looking to rule the game. They’re looking to destroy it. If we want to keep playing this game, we have to stop them. Even if we’re wrong, it’s better than doing nothing. Even if it’s not the Spiritcrest they’re after--which we know they are--there’s still the fact that they’re hacking the sensitivity. That can kill us and all the other players on this game.”
Tanya nodded her head as she looked to the other leaders. “Right now their motives are not completely clear to us, but we do know they are after the Divine egg. Which means they have made the Spiritcrest obtainable. And we all know that the mother and father are not just going to hand the egg over. The Slayers will kill the mother and father to get that egg.” She paused looking around the room as some whispered to the ones seated closest to them.“If they kill the mother and father, we all know what will happen,” Tanya added.The room fell silent as they looked around the room at the others, a few heads shaking. Suddenly the silence broke.“If only adult Divine dragons die. So will the other dragons in this land.” DarkDragon spoke standing from his seat, all eyes turning to him. “The Knights of the Mystic Dragon are correct in their action tonight. If the Dragon Slayers are not stopped they will destroy the game in time. Maybe not tomorrow or even a month from now, but in time, without the only two breedable Divine dragons to keep the other species of dragon from going extinct… Dragon Lance will die out and become an obsolete VR game.”Astardodia looked to DarkDragon. “If this be true, why doesn’ the Admin go an’ shut these groups down”--his arm lifted making a sweeping motion-- “strippin’ ‘em of the’r accounts or ev’n banishin’ ‘em.”
DarkDragon turned to Astardodia and answered his question. “Because from our side we have no solid proof. They’ve made these things look like glitches. We haven’t caught them in the act. And even if we did, there’s no guarantee we can trace it back to them specifically. Shamefully, we need the help of the players to solve this problem. Please, give the Knights of the Mystic Dragon your assistance. If you wish to keep Dragon Lance alive, they are our only hope.”Moonshine chuckled softly. “Yeah, what Leia said.” He ignored the dull look the admin gave him. “But it’s not just us. It’s all of us. Every one of us in this room. The Knights of the Mystic Dragon can’t do this alone. That’s why all of you are here.”
“As I said, the motives of this group are not clear to us at this point, only the one with the Spiritcrest. I am certain they are going to go in with an army.” She looked to Rawyn. “They have to face off with Rawyn’s army,” she then looked around the room at the others. “Then they have to face the Dryads and lastly, the Divine dragons to get their hands on that egg. To survive this we need an army twice... No, three times theirs.”
She looked over at Kirito, her eyes drifting to Moonshine. “If all goes well when Kirito and Moonshine log out tonight we will have a few hackers on our side. They are going to help us defeat the Dragon Slayers and put them back in their place, and an outside source is going to help us prove beyond a shadow of a doubt who the culprits are that are doing the hacking. Once we have that the Admin can lock them down and then find out why they are doing this.”“We can save Dragon Lance,” Aaron stated as he stood next. “We just need the unity of our fellow guilds to do this.”“This is our game,” Cerberus announced. “And I for one am not going to sit around and let some jerks with a vendetta or a greed complex take over or ruin it for us.”“And I’m sure you all have made bonds not just with your fellow players, but your dragons as well,” Moonshine continued. “Your fellow players you can find again, but if Dragon Lance dies…” He lowered his head, shaking it. “Our dragons go with it. We’ll never see them again. Some friends in this game can’t be found again or replaced.”
Aekin nodded, slamming his fist on the table. “Damn straight! Moonshine and Lady Tanya just helped me deliver two Light Dragon eggs a few hours ago. It only served to remind me just how unique every life in this game is. That’s why we love to play it! Cause it’s unique! It’s real! It’s tangible even though it’s just a VR game. But it’s so much more than that. Are we really going to let our friends--digital or otherwise--die because of some hackers?!”
Rawyn stood, his hands to the table before him. “I will assist in this endeavor. What do you need of me and my guild.”Sitting next to Rawyn, Astardodia and Dwalia stood next. “Coun’ me’in. Just ‘cause I sail the seas don’ mean I can’t kick ass on land.”Dwalia chuckled lightly nodding her head. “I will rise to this battle and assist as well. What do we need to do?”A wide proud smile stretched across Tanya's face as she looked to her guild members. They had done it. They had brought together four of the five hemispheres. She turned to face her fellow guild leaders. “Gather your most trusted for this battle. Create an army of at least a hundred and fifty, and tell no one else but the army you are creating. If word gets out we are doing this they could retreat and we might never get another chance to stop them.”“How long do we have?” Rawyn asked.“I got word from one of our spies that was lucky enough to infiltrate the Dragon Slayers, that they are leaving tonight for the Spiritcrest.” Tanya proclaimed.“So they will be on my front doorstep in three days. Give or take.” Rawyn stated.“Yes,” Tanya nodded. “So gather your men and women,” She looked at the three leaders. “And send me a list with their usernames. With this, I can make sure they are protected from the sensitivity hack and hopefully boost their HP. We need to move as soon as possible and as I get information on the situation I will message each one of you and let you know the details of this mission.” She looked around the room at everyone.
“I want to leave 48 hours from now. Two days. Even if we are still waiting on intel on the enemy. It will take them at least three days to get there and I want to be waiting for them when they arrive.” Tanya looked to the ones in her guild that had dragons in the inventory. “We will be traveling by porthole so you will need to find someone you trust to hand your dragon off to, to make this possible.”“Bring only the supplies you need,” Aaron told them. “Don’t weigh yourselves down unnecessarily. Bring your best gear. Even though your stats will be boosted, it’s still advisable to make yourselves as strong as possible. Hell, you can even go out grinding for a bit if you’re close to a level up, but don’t be reckless or wasteful. Equip yourselves with stones and dragon gems that best suit your skills.”
Cerberus looked at the ones associated with their guild. “I know most of us have the stones and gems that Vice Master Aaron speaks of, but if you don’t I can equip most of you with these resources. Just message me and I will get you what you need.”“Knights,” Tanya spoke to them. “Be sure your swords and armor are equipped with the Mystic Dragon gems you were given when Knighted into my services. Even though Musashi will not be fighting at our side this time, he will be with us in spirit.”“For Tarragonia!!” Sounded in the room from the Knights as their clenched fist shot upward.Tanya smiled proudly at the members of her guild. They were everything to her. Her friends, loved ones, and family, and tomorrow she was about to lead them into a battle with a group of enemies that were considered dangerous, and it was all to save and protect the game they all loved so dearly. She prayed they were able to do this and everyone make it out in one piece.“Are there any more questions before we wrap this up?” Tanya asked the group sitting in the room with her. Everyone remained silent as they looked around at one another shaking their heads then looked back to her shaking their heads again.Tanya smiled at them and nodded. “Alright then, I guess this meeting is adjourned. If you think of any questions after you leave here feel free to message me.” She looked to the guild leaders. “Please don’t forget to send me the list of members you choose to go on this mission with us.”Moonshine, Kirito, Klein, and everyone else in their group stayed behind until all of the others from the other guilds were gone. Once everyone was gone, Moonshine turned to Tanya and Aaron. “I will do what I need to, to prepare here, then I’ll sign off. I need to be available when my brother comes out of SRO. The sooner he knows, the better.”
Kirito nodded and looked around at everyone. “I will do the same. I better spend time with Asuna and tell her and the others what’s up before they start to worry.”
Tanya nodded back to both of them. “I will keep you updated while you’re out of game.” She looked around to everyone else. “Anything else we need to talk about?” They all shook their heads. “Alright then. I think we’re all good to go then.”They made small talk for a while before they all dissipated to go about their business before logging out or moving on to other things.
Tanya and Aaron stuck around after the others signed out. They had to do a little swapping over with their other characters, and they had to make sure they did it out of prying eyes. Making it easy on them, since their Avi’s Aaron and Tanya could not travel by way of Transport Stone they had Creed and Celty come to the castle. Before they signed out they both paid a visit to the guards on duty.“Lady Tanya, Vice Master Aaron,” The head guard commented with a bow as the two approached the gate. “Is there something wrong?”“No no, everything is fine,” Aaron stated with a slight chuckle. “Lady Tanya and I just needed to inform you of a couple of visitors that will be stopping by in the next few minutes.”“Yes sir, should we have Alickath announce them when they arrive?” The guard asked.Tanya shook her head. “That won’t be necessary. They know their way around the grounds and the castle. The ones arriving will be the Moon Elves Creed and Celty from the Unseen.”“Ah yes, allies of the guild. I understand. Should I inform them where you will be?” The guard asked.“Yes, inform them we will be in the laboratory,” Aaron commented.
“Yes sir,” The guard replied with a bow.Tanya smiled at the head guard nodding her head slightly to him. “Keep up the great work, Senior Guardsman Bailey.”“Yes, keep up the great work, Senior Guardsman,” Aaron commented as well as he and Tanya turned to take their leave, going back into the castle.Once back in the castle Tanya and Aaron headed to the laboratory and signed out. It was only a matter of minutes and the two, as Celty and Creed, were standing in front of the gates of the Whitehaven castle. The Head Guard did as he was told, letting them both pass after he informed them where Lady Tanya and Vice Master Aaron would be in the castle.Creed and Celty thanked the guard and started their path toward the castle then ventured indoors going to the laboratory. Once they were both in the laboratory Celty turned to Creed as he locked the doors behind them.
“Too bad we can’t program the NPCs to know who we really are.” Celty chuckled.“Yeah, it would make life a whole lot simpler when we have to do something like this,” Creed replied.
“Mhmm,” Celty hummed. “So do you want me to come on as Tanya first or you want to as Aaron?”
“You can go first,” Creed told her.Celty nodded her head as she opened her panel then snickered softly. “This is going to be weird.”“How so?” Creed questioned giving her a confused look.“Creed has never been alone with Tanya, nor Aaron with Celty,” Celty commented.Creed smirked and stepped up to Celty wrapping his arms around her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He closed the gap between them and kissed her tenderly. “Maybe I will have to plant a big wet one on her. See who gets jelly first.”Celty chuckled and smacked his arm playfully. “You’re such a goof.”“Hey, you never know. I hear Tanya digs Moon Elves; she might dump that square, the Vice Master, to be with me.” Creed commented playfully.Celty chuckled again and kissed him softly. “You can barely handle the Moon Elf you have. How are you going to handle a Knight and a Moon Elf?”He kissed her tenderly again. “Lucky for me”--he kissed her again--“they’re never on at the same time.”“Hmm,” Celty hummed, kissing him back. “Yeah, lucky for you.”The two chuckled softly, staying in one another's grasp, sharing a few more kisses, and enjoying each other's company a little longer. Finally, they parted from their embrace and finished up their business of passing their dragons off to their second Avis. Once they were finished, they told one another good night and signed out to rest until they had to be back on for the mission.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Forty-One
The next day, Friday, Ashley was on Skype with Aaron, Tsukiro, and Kazuto, it was 4 in the morning for her making it 5 in the evening for the guys. Moonshine was waiting for dinner to be fixed as the other two were already eating at their computers.“So were you able to get a hold of your hacking buddies?” Aaron questioned Tsukiro after taking a big drink of his tea.
Tsukiro nodded. “Yes, I did. I talked to them and they said they would try as hard as they could to crack Dragon Lance’s code. They told me if they couldn’t figure it out, they’d bring in some bigger guns. They’re also looking into instances of possible cheating scandals to see if anyone has found holes in the game. They’ll probably be patched by now, but they think they can undo the patch if they find any previous holes in the code.”
“That’s good to hear. Hopefully, they can get this figured out quickly. I got the PMs from Rawyn, Astardodia, and Dwalia. I didn’t do an actual headcount, but it looked that with them, and the ones we have going with us, we have around 475 to 500 people going on this mission.” Ashely informed the guys.“Is that enough for where we’re going and who we’re going up against?” Kazuto asked. “And is Admin DarkDragon really going to boost stats of all those players? Even if they are admins, won’t they get in trouble? Especially without a solid reason and proof of why.”
“That’s what he said he was going to do,” Aaron commented.“And it’s not like he is going to keep us boosted. It's just to level the playing field or we will get our asses handed to us.” Ashley added. “OH!” She looked at the video image of Tsukiro on the screen. “Have you heard anything back from Grim, or well Lee? Knowing who might help the why.”
Tsukiro shook his head. “No, not yet. I’m expecting it by midnight though. I texted him this morning and he told me he was compiling the information.”Ashley nodded with a hopeful smile. “Great, that will be a big help to us too. It will be nice to finally have some information on these people IRL.”
“Um, not to sound like an extremist or anything, but…” Kazuto frowned and placed a hand on his chin. “Grim Reaper said his uncle could get addresses too… if we get an address and get really lucky--lucky meaning the address is close to one of us--should we go there? Stopping the person IRL would stop the character in-game. It might be good as a last resort.”
“If it’s a possibility, then we have that move in our back pocket,” Aaron nodded. “But let’s not get our hopes up.” He gave a lopsided grin. “Also, I’m not planning on going to jail anytime soon. Or at all.”
“Same here,” Tsukiro sighed and closed his eyes, lowering his head. “My mom, dad, Shiro, and Kaori would all take turns killing and resurrecting me.”
While we are on the subject of informants.” Ashley looked at Aaron’s image on her screen. “Have you heard anything from Karith?”Aaron’s head shook, “No, nothing yet.”Before Ashley could reply, there was a chime and they all checked their screens to see who it was. It was Tsukiro’s.
“Aw hell yeah!” Tsukiro punched the air.
“Was that Grim?” Ashely asked him.
“Yup! He sent me a file. And a big one too! It’ll take a few minutes to download it,” Tsukiro hit the download button.
“Oh the agony of suspense,” Aaron chuckled.
“Coffee break,” Kazuto grinned, getting up to refill his cup.“Good idea,” Aaron left as well to refill his teacup.Ashley giggled and stood from her chair. “I guess we should grab a refresher ourselves, Tsukiro, while we have the chance.”
Tsukiro reached down with a smirk. There was a muted popping sound and some clinking before he raised his hand to reveal a bottle of juice. “That’s what I got this for.”
“A mini-fridge?” Ashley guessed. When he nodded and popped his bottle open she smiled and stood from her chair. “I need me one of those.”
“Gamer necessity number two,” Tsukiro grinned, sipping his juice. “Right underneath a comfy rolling chair with lumbar support.”
Ashley chuckled. “And here I always thought it was Hot Pockets and Monsters,” she chuckled again when Tsukiro gave her an odd look. “Not the ones under your bed, Tsukiro.”
Tsukiro hummed, taking another sip of his juice. “Well, we do need monsters for leveling up. RPGs would be pretty damn boring without them.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “And what the hell is a hot pocket? Is that slang for when girls put those bullet vibrators in their panties?”Ashely busted out laughing as her head shook. “O.M.G, Tsukiro!! NO! They’re like a chimichanga but baked.” She got close to the camera, staring intently at it like she was trying to look through it at Tsukiro. “You do know what a chimichanga is, right~ ?”
Tsukiro blinked and looked at her like she was crazy. He raised his hand in a “duh” manner. “A baked chimichanga? Seriously? If you bake a chimichanga then it’s not a chimichanga. It’s just a boring ass burrito. And would you serve Deadpool a boring ass burrito? I think not.”Ashley chuckled again. “I would send you some so you could try them, but I like need you in DL. Not sick in bed.”“And what would you be sending him to make him sick?” Aaron asked as he took his seat back in front of his computer.“A Hot Pocket.” Ashley and Tsukiro replied in unison.“OH GOD NO!! Don’t do that to poor Tsukiro. Those things are nasty. Whoever created them needs their food licenses revoked.” Aaron exclaimed with a wrinkled nose.
Kazuto hummed, stirring his coffee. “Agil gave me one a while ago. Actually, he gave me a few. They’re really weird, but in theory, they’re a great idea.” He smiled and waved his spoon around. “I just had Asuna make me a homemade one. That was great! It was like a calzone from this Italian restaurant we went to. So I guess pizza dough stuffed with sauce, cheese, and meat is more suited for home cooking and not processed cooking.”
“Woah woah woah! Wait a second!” Tsukiro held up his hand. “Did you just say a Hot Pocket is like an inside-out pizza!?”
“Uh, well, not in those words,” Kazuto gave a lopsided frown. “But yeah, I guess.”
Tsukiro pointed at Ashley even though it looked like he was pointing at everyone. “Ashley-chan! You have to send me one of these Hot Pockets! I wanna try one! I don’t care if I get sick! I’ll just get some antacid tablets or something!”
“Why don’t I just send you a recipe for them and you and Kaori can make them? Kazuto is right, the homemade ones are awesome because then you can control the ingredients and it’s all fresh.”
Aaron looked at her with a raised brow. “ Or ~ you can make them for all of us when you come to visit.”Ashley’s eyes opened wide. “I am going on vacation. Vacation means ‘Rest and Relaxation’. Not cook for Cox’s Army.”
“Who’s Cox?” Tsukiro asked as he finished off his juice and tossed the bottle in the recycling bin.Ashley chuckled lightly then explained. “Well, officially it’s the Army of the Commonwealth in Christ, its nickname came from its leader and was more enduring. It was the first significant popular protest march on Washington, and the expression ‘Enough food to feed Cox's Army’ originates from this march.”“Hmmm,” Tsukiro opened his fridge to reach for another drink. An iced tea this time. “Not sure I get it but it sounds like a lot.” He checked the download of the file Grim sent him. Of course it was done by that time. “Alright. Time to crack this baby open. Ready for the report from Grim?”
“Let’s hear it,” Aaron said as Ashley and Kazuto nodded.
Ashely waited on pins and needles as Tsukiro opened the file and did a screen share so everyone could see what he was seeing. The first part of the file was Lee’s uncle, Giovanni Arizzi, the name on the letterhead, talking about the maker, Aiden Reid, of Dragon Lance. However, it was not something that made it into publication. It was information that only the programmers and executives would know. As the four read the information the room was dead silent. It went into detail as to how the coding was created and considered one of the hardest codings to hack since it had its own encryption built into the programming. It was cutting-edge technology for game coding. It also explained the reason behind this coding, and of course, it fell into the reasoning of what took place with Sword Art Online. The report also mentioned the names of the other programmers that assisted with the coding, a rather long list of them as a matter of fact. A few of the names were very familiar in the VR gaming world, ‘geniuses’ of the tech world’ they were known as, but none of the names stuck out like a nail that needed to be hammered down. None of them were considered liabilities in their line of work and were always praised for their work and personal ethics.At least that was what the report was leading them to believe until she read a little further into the paragraph. It seemed there was one that Aiden Reid had difficulties with. A long-time friend, Vance Cooley. The report read that Vance and Aiden, together, worked on and created the encryption that protected the game from hackers. And that the two, Aiden Reid and Vance Cooley, seemed to have words, daily, over the programming of the game. There was a point in time that the two, Aiden and Vance had a physical fight in the computer lab. Damaging a few of the game consoles, laptops, and desktop computers. Not to mention bringing harm to the other programmers in the lab from throwing objects and one another around the lab. The report went on to say that the two were fighting over who actually could lay claim to the VR game, Dragon Lance. It finally came down to the CEO of the production company of the game sending Vance and Aiden off on vacation for a week just to cool down and get away from one another. However, Aiden had returned early after a call from one of the programmers reporting there was an issue with the coding locking the beta testers and the developers out of the game. With his return, they were able to work out the last of the bugs and send the game into production, releasing it to the public. During this time, however, somehow when credit was given to the creators of Dragon Lance, Vance Cooley was not mentioned.This did not go unnoticed by Vance. He filed a lawsuit against the production company, but the lawsuit fell through as he and his lawyers could not present sufficient evidence and Vance could not afford the continued court and lawyer costs. Afterward, he attempted to go to game news outlets about the scandal, but none of the outlets would publish his story without solid proof. Vance pursued this endeavor for nearly a year proving his every attempt fruitless. Finally giving up, Vance then disappeared off the grid and has not been heard from since.The group kept reading, each one keeping up as Tsukiro scrolled through the document that Lee had sent them from his uncle. Finally, they reached the end of the report that was undocumented, to the public at least, and found themselves looking at the list of usernames from Dragon Lance, that Tsukiro had supplied to Lee’s uncle. These were the usernames that they had overheard in conversation or knew of that were part of the guild, Dragon Slayer. There were not many, maybe a total of ten but among that list one stuck out like a neon light flashing in a pitch-black room.Cerrakor… AKA Vance Cooley.“Son. Of. A. Bitch.” Ashley replied just under her breath.“ASHLEY!!” Aaron exclaimed.Ashley sat up in her chair looking pointedly at the screen. “Sorry!” She replied quickly.“Relax, Aaron,” Tsukiro shook his head. “I think we’re all allowed to curse in this situation.”
“And now we have the missing piece,” Kazuto nodded. “Cerrakor, or Vance Cooley, wants to destroy Dragon Lance to get back at Aiden and the production company.”
Tsukiro shook his head, placing his chin in his hand. “No… no I don’t think that’s it… I just can’t see Vance Cooley destroying something he worked so hard on. Maybe he wants to ruin it just enough to get Aiden kicked out so he can take over. Maybe he wants control of ‘his’ game. Maybe it’s someone else with him that wants it destroyed…” He sighed and sat up straight. “Or maybe you’re right. Maybe he’s gone all yandere on it and decided if he can’t have it no one can.”
“Pick one. I am sure at least 2 if not 3 of your reasons are correct. Either way, I need to get this to DarkDragon. If Vance is watching the coding when he boosts our levels Vance will just knock us back down. It doesn't matter what kind of code he wraps around it to protect it. Vance can hack through it if he is one of the guys that wrote DL’s program.” Ashley disappeared from in front of the screen as she still spoke.
“Tsukiro, can you please send me the file.” She walked back into the camera's view with her phone in her hand as she started typing on her phone. She looked up quickly, then right back at her phone screen. “Anyone know what time it is in the UK?”
Tsukiro did a quick search on a separate tab and came up with the answer. “It’s one-forty a.m…” He gave her a half grin. “So it depends on whether this person you’re messaging is an early bird or a night owl. You might want to wait a few hours. And by a few, I mean at least eight.”
Ashley chuckled as she continued to type her message on her phone. “It’s DarkDragon and I am sure he is still up.”“You have DarkDragon’s cell number?” Aaron protested with a pouty tone.“Jealous much, Aaron?” Tsukiro questioned with a laugh.Ashley looked up from her phone to Aaron with a wide smile. “I told you I have known DarkDragon forever. I even got to meet him when I went to visit my aunt in New York City. He was visiting Central Park the same day we went there to hang out.”
Kazuto smiled at Aaron. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Aaron. Ashley is crazy about you and we all know it.”
“Yeah,” Tsukiro smirked as he perched his chin on both hands. “You both make it pretty obvious.”As the two of them grumbled at Tsukiro, Kazuto asked, “Where do you live anyway, Ashley?”“Cassadaga, New York. It’s a small little village not far from Lake Erie. I love it here, lots of country, tall trees, and wildlife. I am not much on the big city. I don’t mind visiting, but I don’t want to live there.” Ashley replied as she sent her message to DarkDragon.
Tsukiro chuckled, shaking his head. “Well then, Aaron, you’d better whisk her off to some small quiet village when you get married. Or just move to Cassadaga.”
“I have no problems with living in the States, though my dad might when I tell him I quit,” Aaron confirmed.“Or a small village in Japan will suit me. I just don’t want to live in the big city.” Ashley commented. Her attention was drawn to her phone when it chimed. “It’s DarkDragon,” she stated. She looked back up at the guys. “He wants to see this file. Have you sent it yet, Tsukiro?”Tsukiro nodded. “Yup. Check your messages again. It should be there.”
Ashley nodded and checked her messages again, finding the file Tsukiro had sent her. “Got it, thank you.”“Not a problem,” Tsukiro replied.“So what are we going to do about this?” Aaron asked.“Well,” she looked up at the screen, then back to her phone. “I am going to send this to DarkDragon and hopefully we will get some advice on what to do. I mean I know what I would like to do…” She looked back to the screen as her gaze at the guys lingered.
“Same,” Kazuto agreed. “I have a lot of pent-up stress I would like to release on these guys from the stunts they have been pulling.”“We will get our chance. We all know for a fact when they reach the Northern Mountains they are not going to let us stand in their way.” Aaron stated.“Well, we have until tomorrow evening to figure out a solid plan, because that’s when my brother finishes his vacation with his girl,” Tsukiro reminded them. “I talked to him during lunch and he knows what’s going on. He told me when he gets back from his vacation he’ll tell his girl and their friends that he’s taking a break from SRO.”“I hate that we have to pull him away like this, but he and Jeffery are the two strongest magic wielders we got, and it seems they are the only two that can understand the book they found,” Ashely stated.
Tsukiro frowned but nodded. “I know. And the sooner we get this fixed, the safer it will be. Then I don’t have to worry about him or Kaori or anyone else.”
“I feel the same,” Kazuto nodded as well. “Even though Asuna isn’t really into the game, I still want it to be safe for her and the others when they come around. And Ryotaro is in there too.”
“We all have people in Dragon Lance we care about,” Aaron commented. “Real or data. That’s why we’re doing this.”
Ashley sighed as she glanced down at her phone. “I just hope we can bring an end to this. Not to mention, get the program reset for the dragons to return them to normal.” She looked back up at the ones on her screen. “You know we might have to put them back to sleep. Which means if we have to do that... no assistance from our dragons.”“To be perfectly honest, I’d rather not have them help us,” Tsukiro shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare risk anything happening to them. We don’t know what’s going to happen and we don’t know what kind of hacks they’re going to use. They could end up killing our dragons easily.”
“True, but without them, this is going to be harder on us. I am just glad we have the other guilds with us for backup. If it were just our guild we would be toast.” Ashley stated.“I like toast,” Aaron commented.The guys chuckled lightly as Ashley looked pointedly at Aaron with a blank expression, her head shaking. “Really~ was that necessary?”
Aaron chuckled as he bowed his head, covering his mouth. “Sorry babe, just trying to take the edge off.”
“Egg and cheese on toast sounds good right now,” Tsukiro hummed. He sighed, despite trying to go with Aaron’s flow. “So, what’s our next move? Prepare to head to the summit? Finish unfinished business before we do?”Ashley shook her head again at the two, she was about to say something when Aaron interjected. “I got an email from Karith.”“Have you read it yet?”“What does it say?”“Well read it already.”Three of them spoke all at once as Aaron was opening the email. “Alright alright. I am opening it now, hold your horses.”The chat went silent for a moment until Aaron started reading the email.“Aaron, Karith here. I thought I should make haste and get this to you A.S.A.P. I hope you see this message before you head out to the Northern Mountains tomorrow evening.First off, before anything else. Don’t trust Sir Luthien. Not even in the slightest bit. He has betrayed the Knights of the Mystic Dragon and joined up with the Dragon Slayers. I am sure he is feeding them information on the guild. For the rest of my information--when Cerrakor signed back in this evening to meet up with Seveani and Sir Luthien for the list of men Sir Luthien recruited--Cerrakor told them the raid was being put off and was not sure for how long. When Seveani asked why--Cerrakor told him something important came up IRL and it needed his immediate attention. A return date was never mentioned even after they talked for an extended period, so I am at a loss with that information. I will stay in place as the mole and keep you informed when pressing information is revealed. Please pass this on to Lady Tanya and the others.”Tsukiro hummed and crossed his arms. “Well, on the plus side, we get more time to prepare. On the negative, this will take even longer to fix.”Kazuto nodded. “True, but that means Cerrakor won’t be online as much to cause trouble, so things should be a little calmer in-game… for now.”
“For now, but what about when he returns? If Karith can stay in hiding with them then it won’t be a surprise, but if he is found out… we’re dead in the water.”“Maybe sending the Assassins out to spy on them will help Karith out. It will also draw attention away from Karith if we have one of the Assassins let one of the Dragon Slayers notice them. Tomorrow is a full moon in the game so if we send the Moon Elves out on this, they will have double the cover for a more successful mission.” Ashley looked at Tsukiro. “Six in the morning for us is your evening 13 hours later, right?”“Yes, that would be seven in the evening of the same day,” he confirmed. “Did you want me to accompany them on the mission?”Ashley’s head nodded slightly. “I was thinking you could go with them and get them moving. Point out who they really need to be keeping an eye on. Telling them and showing them are two different things and if they have a visual of the person I think their reports will be more accurate.” She hesitated for a moment. “Be sure to appoint one of them as the one to be seen, but not caught .”
Tsukiro gave Ashley a firm nod. “Okay. Count on me. I’ll make sure they know who they’re looking for.” He looked down at his keyboard, scrunching his eyebrows together. “I can’t even think about what we’ll do if we fail. That fear is there, but I have to keep pushing it down.”
“Well, now with this new information, our anxiety levels are going to be going crazy. We also need to set up around-the-clock watches with the Assassins so the Dragon Slayers are being watched around the clock... When they move we need to move. So be ready to sign in at any time while this is going on.” She sighed, mumbling under her breath. “This is going to be such a pain… I also need to message the other guild leaders and let them know of the findings and tell them this could be an on-call situation as well.”
“I guess all we can do is be as ready as we possibly can be,” Kazuto said. “If we think it will help, we should prepare it. Better over-prepared than under-prepared.”Ashley nodded slightly. “The better prepared we are the better our success rate will be.” Her eyes suddenly widened. “I hope! With the Admin behind us and watching the grid, I think we'll be alright.”“We can hope, or we can hope and act at the same time,” Tsukiro added. “But until we act, we should also rest. And not just sleep.” He shook his head. “We’ll go crazy if this is all we think about.” He sighed and placed his chin in his hand. “I think I’ll play a console game for once. Get my head out of VR, figuratively and literally. Or maybe a walk. Something to de-stress.”Ashley’s head bobbed slowly. “Agreed, I think a long hot bath and a good book sounds awesome right now.”“Yeah, I think I will soak in the hot tub for a bit and unwind,” Aaron commented.Kazuto chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “Unplugging does sound like a good idea. Maybe I’ll grab a bite to eat at Agil’s and then do some Kendo with Suguha-chan.”
“Beating up girls is bad,” Tsukiro smirked.
Kazuto gave him a look and huffed. “You have done Kendo before, haven’t you?”“Yes, I have as a matter of fact,” Tsukiro raised his eyebrows at Kazuto. “And those bamboo sticks hurt like hell.”
Kazuto sighed and let it go, though Tsukiro was right about them being painful. “Anyway. I should head off now.”
“Same,” Tsukiro nodded.
The others agreed, saying their goodbyes, and started to sign off to do their own activities in their downtime. However, Aaron hesitated, waiting for them to leave and before Ashley could sign off he called out to her.“Ashley!”Ashley looked up at the screen seeing only Aaron left in the chat. She smiled warmly at him, making herself comfortable once more in front of her laptop. “I thought you were going to go soak in the hot tub?”“I will. In time,” he gave her a soft smile. “First I want to know what you're thinking.”Ashley shook her head slightly. “Nothing really.”“Bull. I saw the look on your face while we were talking. You got something on your mind.”Ashley nodded slowly. “I do, but nothing you need to worry about.”“I am your boyfriend. I am going to worry so get over it.” Aaron stated. “Now spill it. What’s on your mind?”Ashley sighed looking down at her keyboard. “You know Aiden Reid lives in New York City, right?” She looked back up at the screen at Aaron.Aaron sat up in his seat as his head started shaking. “Nonononono. You will not do what I think you are thinking!”“Why not? New York City is only a little over 6 hours away. It will take half a day to get there.” Ashley stated. “With a little research, I can find out where he lives and go talk to him.”“This is Aiden Reid, Ashley! It’s not like you're just gonna be able to walk up to his door and ring the doorbell and introduce yourself as his biggest fan.” Aaron informed her.“I can at least try. At least maybe get a message to him about what is going on in the game he created.” Ashley claimed.“Like he cares! If he cared he wouldn’t have done what he did to someone that was supposed to be his partner and friend! He made his millions off that game! He. Don’t. Care.” Aaron’s head started shaking again. “Don’t you dare go doing something foolish like this. Just forget all about that crazy idea jumping around in your head.”Ashley sighed. “But--”“No! No buts. This could be dangerous. If this Cooley character is really out to ruin Reid, he might not stop at just destroying the game.” Aaron warned her.She sighed again. “Over a game!? Why would someone kill over such a foolish thing?”Aaron looked blankly at her. “Please tell me that is not the first thought that entered your mind?”“Of course it was,” Ashley stated.Aaron chuckled lightly as his head shook and he cast his eyes to his keyboard. “I know you're not that naive, babe.” He looked back up at her. “It’s the money. Not the principle of what took place between them. Though I am sure it’s part of it, the money is the root of it. It always is.” He reached out, touching the screen as he continued.“Please babe. Do not do this.” He shook his head. “And even so, you don't have a solid plan for this. What could you possibly say to him that would get him to believe you?”“I would take the proof of what’s going on in the game. I am sure DarkDragon has files he could share with me over this.” Ashely countered, the look on her face annoyed as she reached out and started moving things around on her desk. She was not looking at the screen as she spoke. “There has to be something we can do IRL and not just in-game.”
Aaron sighed. “I know you're annoyed, sweetie. We all are, but we can do this. We can stop this Cooley guy. None of us want to lose our game data. We have worked too hard to get where we are.” He paused for a brief second as everything he had accomplished in Dragon Lance flashed through his mind. “The Guild -- its and our reputations, the providence, our level, and skills… our dragons .”A tear trickled down Ashley’s cheek as she thought about Musashi, Un, Dueler, and Shee. She lifted her hand and wiped away the tears. “I know they are only code, but our dragons are real to me and it would kill me to lose any of them.”“Same,” Aaron agreed. He looked pointedly at her on his screen. “We’ll stop them. We will. With the Guilds joining together like this and the Admins behind us. We will stop them. We are strong, not just our Guild, but all the Guilds.” He smiled at her. “Trust me… And yourself and the friends that are helping us out in this.”Her head nodded slowly. “I do, and I always will.”“Good. So does that mean you have put this idea out of your head?” Aaron asked her.Her head nodded again but did not look at Aaron. “Yeah.”“Ashley~,” Aaron said in a disbelieving tone. “Look at me.”She lifted her eyes to meet his. “I said yes.”“Uh-huh and I believed you about as far as I could throw Un,” Aaron commented.Ashley giggled, her head bobbing slowly. “It’s gone. No more.” She held up her hand with three fingers held up, her pinky tucked down as well as her thumb. “Scouts Honor.”
Aaron sat back in his chair as he looked at her, his arms crossing over his chest giving her a disbelieving look. “Promise…”Ashley giggled again. “Nope~”Just then, her bedroom door opened and Jeffery poked his head into the room.
“Mom wants you, Ashley.” He noticed she was talking to Aaron as he waved toward the screen. “Oh, hey Aaron.”“Hey little bro,” Aaron replied.Ashley turned, looking at her little brother. “Alright, tell her I will be there in a minute. I have to end the call with Aaron.”“Okay,” Jeffery commented as he turned to leave the room. “Later Aaron.”“Later,” Aaron called back to him. Jeffery closed the door and was gone.Ashley then turned, facing the screen once more. “Well, I need to go. I will text you later.”“Alright. Love you,” Aaron told her.“Love you too,” Ashley replied with a wide, warm smile on her face. “And don’t worry about me, alright.”Aaron nodded his head slowly as they both said goodbye and ended the video chat. Once the connection went dead, Aaron sat back in his chair once more and looked at the screen of his laptop. He lifted a hand combing his fingers through his hair. Sitting there in thought for a little longer his father walked into the room.“Your mother told me to come get you. It’s dinner time.”Aaron only nodded his head, not even looking his father's way as his father turned and walked back the way he came. Suddenly an idea came to Aaron as he stood from his desk, pushed in his chair, and darted after his father.“Dad! I need to talk to you. It’s important.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Forty-Two
Aaron was in his room, a suitcase on the bed as he packed enough clothes in it to keep him for a week's stay in the states. He was rather shocked that his parents were on board with this idea and agreed to let him fly to New York and stay for a week. Though they were a little concerned about where he was going to stay, Aaron reassured them that the town his girl lived in was a safe little town, and he would be sure to call them on a daily basis to ease their minds.
After shoving a few more items of clothing in his suitcase he grabbed his gaming tote and started loading his AmuSphere and laptop and the needed accessories for his game time while he was there. He turned and looked at the clock on the nightstand, it was nine in the evening and the private jet his father owned would not be ready for another hour. Grabbing his phone he walked over to his desk and sat down. He then proceeded to call Tsukiro. The phone rang twice before it was answered.“Hey. Must be pretty important if you’re calling me this soon,” Tsukiro said as he mashed on the buttons on his PS6. He was fully engrossed in his Final Fantasy XVIII game that had came out about a month ago, but had laid mostly unplayed as he spent most of his time either in school or in Dragon Lance.
“You could say that,” a silence fell for a second. “I am leaving for the states tonight.”Tsukiro froze for so long that he didn’t even notice the gorgon he was fighting used its petrification move, which was an instant kill. And like all FF-supporting characters, the AI put them all right into the path of the attack, killing him and his whole party instantly.
He growled and tossed his controller onto the couch. “DAMMIT! Fucking gorgons!” He sighed and stood up, wearing his wireless controller as he moved to the kitchen to grab a drink from the fridge. “Why the hell would you want to do that?”“Ashley. She has this crazy idea to go visit Aiden Ried in New York and I was not able to talk her out of it.” Aaron informed him as he stood from his chair and walked across the floor.“You’ve got to be kidding,” Tsukiro shook his head, though Aaron couldn’t see it. “Why the hell does she think that’s going to work? Also, she has no idea where in New York he lives. And even if she finds out, he can have her arrested for stalking and harassment. Not to mention trespassing.”
Aaron’s head nodded slowly as he agreed with Tsukiro. “Agreed, but I was more concerned about this Cooley character having a hit out on Reid. None of us know what this guy is capable of or what his true plans are, but she is determined to go talk to Reid about this.”
“Well, if you can stop her, then by all means, go ahead and get lost in New York. What do you want me to tell Un if you get kidnapped?” Tsukiro returned to the couch and plopped down, popping open the cap on his melon-flavored soda.
Aaron chuckled. “I am not going to get kidnapped and I will have my gear with me so you will see me. After all, we have to be in-game tomorrow to get this mission moving to the mountains.”“Well, so long as none of the dragons eat me once they find out you and Ashley got yourselves into trouble.” He took a sip, let out an “aahh” then spoke up once more. “And what if you still can’t talk her out of it?”“Then we are going to meet Aiden Reid, and hopefully not get taken to jail.” Aaron chuckled as he walked over to the bed and grabbed his pillow and tossed it to the top of his closed suitcase. “I just have a bad feeling about this and it's not the whole idea of something might happen to Ashley. I am worried she is going to be disappointed when she finds out Reid doesn't give two shits about Dragon Lance. He made his money off it. He is done.”“Welcome to the world of commerce,” Tsukiro snorted. “I believe there’s an old ass rap song from America that says ‘cash rules everything around me,’ or something like that. I think she should give that song a listen.”
“Don’t pick on her.” Aaron chuckled lightly under his breath. “She just believes in the maker of the game. The sad part is though, if Reid cared about it he would not have pulled the shit he did with Cooley.” Aaron’s head shook as he plopped down on the edge of his bed. “Reid must be a real lowlife to do that to a fellow partner and friend.”“Well, we don’t really know what went on. All we know is that there was a fight, they got sent home, and when they came back Ried had Xed him out. We don’t know either of their stories. We don’t know who was in the wrong, if anyone, or if no one was in the wrong. All we know is how Cooley is dealing with it now. The answer being very poorly.”
“Well we know for a fact that the coding belongs to Cooley and we know for a fact that his coding was used on DL. So that tells me one thing. Reid stole the coding for the game and Cooley got the short end of the stick. Other than that, the rest of the BS is just that. Bullshit.”“That very well could be,” Tsukiro nodded, setting down his soda and picking up his controller again. “In any case, what Cooley is doing now is equally wrong. If he wanted credit, he could have done it a better way than this. So he’ll have to pay for his actions just as well.”
Aaron’s head bobbed slowly, agreeing with Tsukiro. “True, and I am sure he will once someone brings him to justice, and I am guessing that someone will have to be either the developers or the production company. Hell, the way things are nowadays we might even be able to do it since it was our lives that were put into danger from all of Cooley’s hacking.”
“Different lawsuit,” Tsukiro informed him. “We could file a lawsuit for emotional damages. The production studio would file a lawsuit for financial damages and probably some other stuff. But he’d be buried just the same.”
“Emotional and physical damage is more like it, or did you forget what happened to poor Eowyn?” Aaron reminded him.“Yeah, that too,” Tsukiro frowned. “Sorry, I try not to think about the physical damages. Sounds ass backwards, but I kind of learned to focus on one or the other after SAO. It wasn’t easy trying to fix both at the same time.”
“I hear you. That was a messed up time.” Aaron commented. “I still don’t know how all of you pulled through that.”
“Instinct,” Tsukiro leaned back in his chair, spacing off and staring at nothing. “I haven’t been able to come up with any other answer that makes sense. So many people died. Of all ages. Younger and older. So many of us killed each other just to survive. So many of us killed each other simply because we thought our lives were already over. Murder didn’t have any consequences when everyone was already dead anyways.”Aaron’s head nodded slowly. “That was a sad time.” Aaron looked across the room getting the feeling he had forgotten something. “I just hope this is not what happens to DL.” He hesitated pulling his phone away from his ear and looked at it. “I mean I know the locked-in-the-game thing won’t happen, but it getting destroyed I can see happening.” He put the phone back to his ear.“I wonder if the program could be backed up and saved just in case we need it.”
“Of course. Are you kidding me? How the hell do you think New Aincrad was made? They didn’t just have some genius kid with an eidetic AND photographic memory recreate it,” Tsukiro chuckled. “The question is, how long would it take to accomplish that, and how do we do it? Or how do we convince the admins to do it?”
“Good question, but it’s something to bring up to DarkDragon next time we see him.” He grinned widely even though Tsukiro could not see it. “Hopefully I will get to meet the man one of these days.”Tsukiro laughed. “Yeah, good luck with that. Not even sarcastic about that. The admins are basically celebrities in DL. I wish I were as good as DarkDragon.”
Aaron chuckled lightly. “It will happen. What level are you sitting at right now?”“70. I’m halfway to 71. I’m hoping this next battle will bank me at least 3 level-ups.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m playing catch up with Tanya. I want to be as strong as she is so I can better protect the dragons.”
Aaron chuckled. “Good luck with that one. This new mission to the Northern Mountains will jump us all at least two to three levels. Some maybe even more depending on our participation in the battle.” He then smiled proudly, though Tsukiro could not see it. “And the Guild… Yeah…” he chuckled lightly once more. “This mission is going to give all of us a major boost.”
Tsukiro smirked. “Good. Then people will know we mean business. We win this, and no one will fuck with the Mystic Dragons. Hell, maybe even the West guild will finally give up their BS.”“One can only hope,” Aaron scratched the back of his head. “Though I heard through the grapevine that if they don’t Tanya can resign a new Guild to run that quadrant. One that might actually listen this time.”“That too,” Tsukiro hummed. “Though we all know her priorities after the upcoming war are going to be starting the dragon breeding. Then maybe overthrowing the west.” He laughed.
“Knowing her,” Aaron chuckled. “She will do both at the same time. One thing Tanya likes to do is wear herself thin when it comes to the Guild.” He paused for a second. “What I would like to do is have a wedding after we bring the Dragon Slayers down.”“Hmmm. A wedding huh?” Tsukiro smiled widely. “Would you be opposed to making it a double?”“Tanya and I would be honored to share the day with two friends, but I draw the line with the Honeymoon, dude,” Aaron commented with a chuckle. “Wouldn’t want to put you to shame.”Tsukiro’s jaw dropped in dismay. “Excuse you! You have no idea what my level of skill is!” He let out a “humph” and pouted, even though Aaron couldn’t see him. “I don’t know if I wanna share a wedding with you now. I think that deserves a hangup.”Aaron laughed heartily. “Just jerking your chain, but I do need to go. The plane should be fueled and ready to go, and if you by chance talk to Ashley before you hear from me… Don’t tell her I am headed her way. She has no clue.”“Like I told Kirito when he blabbed to me about Celty. Your secret is safe with me. I wouldn’t be a very trustworthy Dragon Beast Master if I couldn’t keep the dragons’ secrets a secret,” Tsukiro pressed load on his game and loaded up the file he was playing before Aaron called. “You want me to try and talk her out of it?”“Only if she brings it up to you. So far I am the only one that knows about this crazy idea of hers.” Aaron stated, he walked over to the bed picking up his suitcase and game tote.“Alright then. Hopefully you catch her in time, and if not, hopefully she doesn’t get tossed out on her ass.” He shrugged. “She probably will, but here’s to hoping.”“Yeah, here's to hoping,” Aaron repeated. “He adjusted his load and switched his phone to his other hand. “You have a good night Tsukiro and talk to you in about 11 to 12 hours.”“Enjoy the jetlag,” he said before hanging up and returning to his game.
Aaron laughed as he tossed his phone on his bed and continued packing. It didn’t take him long before everything was ready to go, both him and his belongings.
---It was hours later when Aaron was shaken to an awoken state, his name softly being called out. “Aaron-sama...Aaron-sama…”“Saneko…” a wide yawn escaped him as he covered his mouth and rolled over putting his back to her. “Are we there yet?”Saneko giggled lightly. “No sir.” She turned to exit the room. “We are about half an hour from reaching the Airport.”“Hmmm,” Aaron hummed as his eyes went closed again. “Thanks, Saneko.”She turned at the door before she exited. “Your welcome, sir.” She folded her hands in front of her and bowed. “Should I come back when we land?”Aaron’s hand lifted as he gave her a loose wrist wave and mumbled. “No. I am up.”Saneko smiled warmly and nodded, she then turned leaving the room, closing the door behind her.Hearing the door close, Aaron rolled to his back, his arm lifting as he laid it across his eyes. “I hate time changes.” He grumbled.
It was a long flight, or it would have been if Aaron would have been awake for it. However, since it was around ten in the evening when he boarded the jet and it left the ground, he decided to go to bed. Sleeping for most of the flight, or well...for at least the first eight to nine hours of it. The odd part was it was evening when he went to sleep and when he woke it was about to be evening again. Not to mention what should have been the next day for him, was still the same day.
With another yawn he rolled over, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed, and sat up. Leaning forward, he reached over to the small window next to the bed.“AGGG!” Aaron exclaimed, closing and blocking his eyes with his other hand as the bright sun poured into the softly lit room. It took a second for his eyes to adjust but once they did he looked out below them. It was the Atlantic ocean. Stretched out as far as the eye could see. Suddenly another yawn escaped him, but this time his arms extended over his head stretching out his still-resting muscles. After a good stretch, his eyes fell to the clock that sat on the nightstand.“Ugg, thirty minutes after six.” He stood from the bedside stretching out once more. A wide smile then crossed his lips. “I can’t believe I will be holding her in my arms in the next few hours.” He turned and walked over to the bathroom to get cleaned up for his departure and new adventure into an unknown country. Well, unknown to him anyway.---Aaron arrived at Ashley’s house around eight in the evening, the sun getting ready to set in about another hour. Walking up to the door he heard the sounds of yelling and arguing. Not the sounds he expected, though he wasn’t really surprised. He could hear Ashley yelling at someone through the door even as he pressed the doorbell. The bell chimed and the yelling came closer until it was right on the other side. Suddenly it was silent and the door flew open as a sour, red-faced Ashley answered the door.He smirked at her. “Well, that’s not the warm welcome I was expecting.”
So caught up in what was just taking place with her brother, it did not register who was standing before her as she looked them over with a look of “why are you at my door”. The guy was wearing a dark, navy blue button-up--neat and pressed with a stiff collar and cuffs and the top three buttons undone, tucked into a pair of black slacks that weren’t too dressy but still comfortable. His sleeves were rolled up to about his elbows. On his feet were a pair of black dress shoes. The man was tall, his face was soft and round. His eyes were small and almond-shaped and brown. His pale peach lips were full, and his cheekbones were high, he was gorgeous and perfect with an air of politeness but also playfulness. Even his hair was almost all platinum blond except for a few streaks of maroon red on the front right side of his hair. His hair was swept back over his head, showing his gorgeous face.
She blinked a few times as she looked at him, her head shaking slowly bringing herself back to the moment and time she was standing. Suddenly realization slapped her across the face as she slammed the door in his face and on the other side of the door a loud cry for her brother sounded out. She yelled again as her voice and footsteps descended from the door.
“What the hell…” Aaron mumbled under his breath as he knocked on the door once more. It was a few minutes later and he could hear soft whispers on the other side of the door then a set of quickly moving footsteps that moved deeper into the home. The door then opened one more time.A wide-grinning Jeffery stood in front of him. “Wow! What a surprise! My sister had to put her face on and destroy her closet to find something to wear. Hopefully~ she will be right back.” He gestured for Aaron to enter. “Come on in.”Aaron laughed, shaking his head as he stepped over the threshold. Out of habit, he stooped down to untie his shoes to take them off. “Well, I would have given warning before I arrived, but I was afraid she’d avoid me if I did. If I let her know I was coming, she’d have given me an earful as well.”
Jeffery chuckled, “It’s a no-win situation with girls. As my dad says--Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” He watched as Aaron removed his shoes. “So why are you here?”“Well, judging from the fact that you two were arguing, I’m assuming she told you about her plan,” Aaron set his shoes inside the shoe cubby and stood up straight. “But in case she didn’t, she’s planning on going to see Aiden Reid. I’m here to either stop her or go with her.”“You heard that, huh?” Jeffery replied sheepishly as his hand lifted and he scratched the back of his head. He saw Aaron’s head nod slowly. “Yeah, she told me about it. DarkDragon said he would go with her.”
“Huh? How is he going to do that when he lives in the UK?” Aaron blinked rapidly at Jeffery.“Apparently he’s here in New York for the summer semester. He’s studying abroad so he’ll be here for at least a couple of months. So he told Ashley he’d go with her to see Aiden.”“And when did that conversation happen?” Suddenly his plane ride came rushing back to him and he waved his hand, shaking his head. “Never mind. Dumb question. Anyway, did she say when she was leaving?”“Tomorrow sometime.” Jeffery started a path toward the living room as Aaron followed him. Once entering the room Jeffery gestured to the couch. “Could I get you something to drink?”
“Got iced tea? Or lemonade? Or both?” He chuckled as Aaron took a seat on the couch, crossing one leg over the other. “I’m fine with whatever. No need to whip up anything on my behalf.” He sighed in relief. “I’m glad she didn’t go while I was on the plane.”
Jeffery’s head shook as he walked toward the back of the house, through an archway that entered into a dining room. “She texted DarkDragon a few hours after the Skype call you guys did.” He turned right, walking into the kitchen. “DarkDragon got back with her just a little bit ago. That’s when she found out he was in the states.”Aaron nodded. “That’s good. At least now I can make the most of this visit.” He flicked his wrist to look at his watch, then glanced up the stairs. He expected her to take a while to get ready. He was sure she’d take more time than she usually did--however long that was--to get ready since he was here in person and not just on a computer screen.
“So what are your thoughts on her doing this?” He asked Jeffery.“I think she’s a taco short of a combo platter,” Jeffery grumbled as he emerged from the dining room. He walked up to the back of the couch and handed Aaron his glass of lemonade. Once Aaron had his drink he walked around the couch and took a seat in a chair across from him. “Let the police handle this. I mean I am sure Aiden is not dangerous, but if Cerrakor is watching him or has someone watching him and his place, it’s dangerous to just be around the area. The last thing this jerk needs to learn is who is behind the Avi.”
Aaron nodded in agreement, raising his glass in thanks to the boy before taking a sip of the cold, tart drink. “Absolutely. The last thing I want is for her to get hurt. I know this game is important to her--to all of us--but it’s not worth her getting herself thrown in jail or worse.”
“Well, from what I understand. DarkDragon can get her in to see Aiden. So there would be no harassment or invasion of privacy or trespassing going on. It’s just the whole idea of Aiden hearing them out.” Jeffery’s attention turned to the foyer when he heard the door close to the basement. Just then, he saw Ashley come around the corner from the hall. “Speak of the devil.”“Bite me, Jeffery,” Ashley spoke up.
Aaron chuckled and stood up from the couch, setting his glass down on a coaster on the coffee table. He faced Ashley and held his arms out to her. “Good to see you too, my love,” he smiled warmly at her. “You look beautiful.”“Thank you,” Ashley walked quickly up to Aaron wrapping her arms around him. His arms wrapped gently but firmly around her. It felt so good she thought she was going to melt into him. His hugs in VR were amazing, but here...here in real life, she could feel his warmth, smell his cologne, his scent. Feel his heart beating in his chest, his breath against her skin. It was heaven. Pulling back she looked up at him. He was not very tall, but taller than her, making him a good 3 or 4 inches over her.
“I wish you would have told me, but the surprise was nice.” She giggled softly. “All but the heart failure you gave me once I realized it was really you standing on my front porch.”
Aaron tipped his head back in laughter. “Did you think you were in VR? Or dreaming?”Ashley giggled again, her head shaking as the two took a seat on the couch. “No. I knew I was awake. I just never expected you to show unannounced.”“Well, I wouldn’t have had to if you’d done as you promised me,” Aaron smirked. “And not planning on going to see Aiden Reid. Good thing I know you well enough to know better.”
“Well if DarkDragon would not have told me he could get us in to see Aiden I would not have entertained the thought the second time around,” Ashley confessed. “But DarkDragon even said they had tried to get a hold of the man and he never gave them a return reply on this mess. So he himself is curious as to why.”“Hm,” Aaron hummed as he himself entertained the thought of why Aiden offered no response. “I hate to consider it but… what if it’s possible that Aiden Reid himself is in on this? Boost the game's sales with a publicity stunt? Or blame it on his ex-partner for some reason.”
“It’s possible, but would it really boost sales on the game? Especially after the SAO fiasco.” Ashley fell silent for a moment, her head then shaking slightly. “Whatever it is, we are going to find something out one way or another when we go see him tomorrow afternoon.”“You never know what these corporate types are thinking,” Aaron shook his head. “In any case, I’d rather make the most of my time here with you in addition to going to see him.” He gave her a smirk. “So start thinking of things you want to do while I’m here.”Ashley returned his grin, “You mean things you want to do while you're here? I have already done everything New York can offer.” She giggled lightly when Aaron gave her a look of ‘whatever’. “I will think of fun things we can do and it will still have the whole tourist allure to it. Don’t want you going back to the gang empty-handed on info. Be it American hospitality or all the fun things we have here to do.”“I don’t think you have to worry about that.” Aaron leaned in and kissed her cheek softly causing Ashley to blush.Jeffery laughed, shaking his head as his sister and Aaron looked his way. “Well, mark that day on the calendar, Aaron. It’s not every day someone can get Ash to blush.”“A bold one, huh?” Aaron’s attention turned back to Ashley.“I would not say bold”--her head was shaking--“just not much out there that gets to me. I am a New Yorker after all. I have heard and seen it all.”“God ain’t that the truth,” Jeffery chuckled. “New York’s state motto should be ‘Been There Done That’.''
Aaron smirked and shrugged. “Nothing wrong with experimenting and experiencing life. In fact, I’d argue it’s much easier to talk with someone who isn’t easily freaked out than someone who is.”
“Oh, New York has its fair share of paranoid nut jobs and if you ask me, they are as dangerous if not more dangerous than the regular nut jobs,” Ashley confirmed.“Regular?” Jeffery chuckled. “Ain’t nothing regular or normal about the freaks around here.”The three of them chuckled as a new voice announced their arrival, “We are home.” The front door closed behind the newcomers.“Get your shoes on and help bring in the groceries.” A female voice spoke next.Ashley smiled looking away from the foyer back to Aaron as Jeffery groaned and pushed up out of the chair he was sitting in. “Our parents. As you probably figured out by now. They went shopping.”Aaron nodded as he followed Ashley to the front door. “I’ll help bring the things in.”“No need to do that. We got this.” Ashley replied.“The man is offering to help! Leave him alone.” Jeffery retorted.
“Shut up Jeffery and stop being lazy. And rude! You don’t ask guests to work in your home.” Ashley informed her brother.Aaron chuckled softly. “It’s fine, I don't mind at all.”“See, he wants to help,” Jeffery stated as he stepped into his other shoe.Just then, her father walked back out into the foyer and stopped in his tracks as he looked on at the stranger putting on his shoes. “Hello?”Ashley looked to her father, then back to her shoe as she stepped into her other flip-flop. “Oh, Daddy. This is Aaron Tanaka. Aaron, this is my dad, Jason Kass.”Aaron began to bow then quickly straightened up and offered his hand. “Hello, Mr. Kass.”“Aaron. Aaron? Where have I heard that name?” He looked at his daughter.“He is the young man your kids play that Dragon VR with. He is the Vice President of the country they all live in.” Their mother informed her husband as she walked into the foyer next.Ashley and Jeffrey were chuckling at what she said as she stopped next to their father and looked at them. “What?” She replied.“He is the Vice Master, not Vice President,” Jeffery told them. “It’s not like a government or a democracy. It’s like a medieval thing.”“Well regardless, he is the second in command, no matter what you call it,” their mother brushed it off.
Aaron patted Jeffery’s shoulder with a smile. He knew the kid meant well, but he also knew that most parents just didn’t care to understand what games or hobbies their children got into. His own sure didn’t.Ashley giggled at her brother’s exhausted sigh at their parents as the group walked out to get the things from the car, their father continuing the conversation.“I thought you lived in Japan, Aaron?” Jason asked him, he watched as the boy nodded his head.
“Yes, sir,” Aaron replied.“So what are you doing in New York? You're a long way from home. You didn’t run away did you?” Jason asked him with a stern look.“I think you mean swim, honey.” His wife commented with a chuckle.Aaron gave a soft chuckle. “No, sir. I came here on my family’s private jet. I apologize for dropping in unannounced.”
Both Jason and his wife stopped dead in their tracks as they looked from the boy, Aaron, to one another, then back to Aaron. Nothing was said as Jason only hummed and nodded his head. They turned as he and his wife both walked back toward the house with their arms full of grocery bags.The three kids only stood beside the car, watching the adults enter the house. “What was that all about?” Jeffery asked, looking at his sister.Ashley chuckled, “I think they either believe Aaron is jerking their chain or impressed that I have a boyfriend whose family is rich enough to have a private jet.”
Aaron rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I can’t say I’m not surprised. It happens more often than not. Though I suppose it doesn’t help that I don’t exactly make my upbringing known.”
“That’s for sure!” Jeffery expressed as he took another bag in his arms. “You definitely don’t act like you have a stick up your ass...HEY!!” Jeffery exclaimed as he hunkered down slightly, from his sister cuffing the back of his head.“Be nice, and not all rich people are pompous asses,” Ashley claimed.“No. Just most of them.” Jeffery added when he got further away from his sister.Aaron chuckled at the two siblings. “I’m actually surprised. The two of you don’t fight nearly this much in-game. Or is it just because of--you know what?”“You mean my little trip I want to take tomorrow.” She watched as Aaron nodded, the two of them grabbing the last few bags and closing the trunk on the car. “It’s part of it, but he has been a really big pain today. More like ever since I told him to stay out of Dragon Lance until further notice.”The two walked toward the house as Ashley continued. “I told him to find another VR to play. Maybe even get with Shiro and see about playing that one racing game with him and Kit, but all he wants to do is complain about how he wants to play DL.”
“Well, I guess now you have a sense of what Tsukiro is dealing with,” Aaron smiled. “We all want our loved ones out of Dragon Lance until things are dealt with, and just like the two of you, those loved ones don’t want to listen to our advice. They all want to do their part to fix it.”
“Well, they did their part in helping. Until we need them again to cast the spell”--she opened the front door--“they need to stay out. We have enough to worry about without having to worry about their safety too. It’s hard enough worrying about ourselves and the others we are with.” They slowly made their way down the hall to the kitchen to drop off the groceries.“I agree,” Aaron nodded. He turned and smiled at Jeffery. “You know your sister cares about you. She loves the game just as much as you. And once things are fixed, you can go hog wild. But until then, why not cooperate with her a little? It’s not the end of the world to be away for a while. There’s always worse things.” Tsukiro and his brother and Kaori came to mind, along with Ryoutaro, Kazuto, and all of their gang. “You could be stuck in the game with no way out.”
“Oh, I heard about that!” Their mother commented as she turned and looked at the kids standing at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. “Those poor parents and their children. I would have lost my mind if that would have been Ashley and Jeffrey.”“By the way Aaron. This is my mom, Ellen.” Ashley introduced them. “Mom, this is Aaron.”“Hello Aaron,” Ellen replied. “I have heard a lot about you.” She smiled brightly at him. “All good of course.”Aaron smiled warmly at her and bowed deeply, placing his hands together. “Thank you, Mrs. Kass. I’m pleased to meet you. Again, I apologize for dropping in on your home unexpectedly.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. You’re a friend of Ashley’s and Jeffrey’s. You're always welcome here.” Ellen informed him.“Thank you,” Aaron commented.“So where are you staying, Aaron?” Jason asked him as he put away the canned goods.“A quaint little Bed and Breakfast in town called The Paddle Inn. It’s on--” Aaron replied.“Heron Hideaway Island.” Jason finished his sentence, “We’ve”--he looked to his wife with a warm smile--“been there.”Ellen nodded, “For our 20th anniversary.”“Humm,” Jason hummed as he looked back at Aaron. “You will enjoy your stay there.”“I am sure I will,” Aaron replied as he looked at Ashley. She gave him a shy smile as she started helping with putting the things away she took out of the bags she and Aaron carried in.After putting everything away, Ashley, Aaron, and Jeffrey made their way back to the living room. There they sat for a couple more hours, just talking and laughing. A little after eleven o’clock Aaron said his goodbyes and headed back to the Bed and Breakfast. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day for them with a six-hour trip into the city of New York and the talk they needed to have with the man himself, Aiden Ried.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Forty-Three
It was early the next day, Saturday morning when Ashley, Aaron, and Jeffrey left the house to head into New York City. It was a six-hour drive and they wanted to make it there by noon to meet up with Adrien, aka DarkDragon, from Dragon Lance. That way they could possibly get some lunch and talk, then make their way to Aiden Reid’s residence. That meant they were up at 4 a.m and left the house a little before 5 a.m. It was not a bad drive--mostly countryside--and it was one Ashley had made more than a few times with family and/or friends. Though it was the first time she had driven it so early in the morning. Her worst fear on this trip was not the traffic once they made it into the city, but coming across a deer that could be crossing the road in front of them. During the trip they talked, listened to music, and of course, talked about future plans for their gaming days in Dragon Lance if/and when they were able to save it from the attack it was under from the ones hacking it.Finally, after the six-hour drive, they arrived at the outskirts of New York City, Aaron sitting up from his lounging position in the passenger seat as he retrieved his phone from the seat beside him.
“Do you want me to text, Adrien?”
“You can give him a heads up. From what I understand it won’t take him as long to get to Queens as it will us.” Ashley responded.“Queens?” Jeffrey commented as he slid up in his seat placing himself--while still sitting in the backseat--between the driver and passenger seat. He looked over at his sister. “That’s another hour drive and another two states.”Aaron looked over at Jeffrey. “ Two other states!? I thought Aiden lived in New York?”Jeffrey nodded, “He does, but to get to Queens--if we want to go straight as the crow flies--and not add another 30 minutes to the trip and deal with traffic. Maybe making it two hours to get there. Driving through Pennsylvania and New Jersey was our best bet. I-380 and I-80 both run through there.”Ashley looked at the clock on the radio as she commented. “Well, we have time. It’s only 9:30. So we will make it to Queens in time and still be able to get lunch and make it to Aiden Reid’s place by 1:00.”“That’s as long as DarkDragon don’t get caught up in traffic or subway drama,” Jeffrey stated as he sat back in the seat.“True, but I think we will do fine. We made good time getting here and I am sure Adrien knows the fastest route to Queens since he’s been hanging out in the city.” Ashley informed them.“Where exactly in Queens does Aiden live?” Aaron asked.“Malba,” Ashley answered.Jeffrey’s eyes went wide as he blinked a few times, mumbling under his breath. “Must be nice.”“Why’s that?” Aaron questioned.Jeffrey looked at Aaron. “Property in Malba sells for no less than $1.09 million.”“Damn!” Aaron commented as he turned looking back out at the road in front of them. “And I thought our estate was worth a lot.”Ashley, from the rearview of the car, saw Jeffery look Aaron’s way with a pondering expression. “Don’t you dare.”Both boys looked her way when she spoke. “Don’t you dare, what?” Aaron questioned at the same moment Jeffery exclaimed. “Why not?!”Ashley looked between her brother and the road. “Because it's rude to ask questions like that. Plus, it's none of your business.”Jeffery sighed heavily, falling back into his seat with his arm crossed over his chest. Aaron looked back at him from Ashley.“What were you going to ask?”“It was inappropriate, Aaron. Just leave it alone.” Ashley claimed.“Eh,” Aaron looked back at Ashley. “Shouldn’t I be the judge of what is inappropriate and appropriate?”Ashley looked in the rearview at her brother, who was still pouting in the backseat. “Trust me, Aaron, it was a question he does not need to be asking.” She looked at Aaron. “It’s none of his business.”Aaron sighed, turning to face forward once more as an uncomfortable silence filled the car. After a few minutes, Ashley’s phone chimed breaking said silence. She looked down where her phone rested on the console between her and Aaron. On the lock screen, she could see a text message from Adrien.
“Did you ever text Adrien?”
“No, we got into another conversation and I forgot,” Aaron replied.Ashley’s head nodded with a soft smile. “Been there, done that.” The two chuckled lightly at her comment. “Could you check that please?” She asked Aaron. “35 41 will unlock my phone.”Aaron nodded as he took up her phone and unlocked it to check the message from DarkDragon. Aaron read the message in question as he looked over at Ashley. “He wants to know our location and an E.T.A.”Ashley nodded and looked at the road signs on the side of the highway, indicating that they were approaching Dover, New Jersey. “Tell him we’re in Dover and it will be about an hour, give or take.
Aaron nodded and typed in the information before hitting send. “How insane did the colonial leaders have to be to mark the lines of the states so close together? Just hours ago we were in New York, then we went through Pennsylvania, and now we’re in New Jersey.”
Jeffery smirked at Aaron. “Yeah and for the past six hours you thought you were in New York the whole time.”
“Everything looked the same!”“Says the man who slept most of the way here,” Ashley gave a lighthearted quip.
“Okay, fine. I saw enough of it to know it all looks the same.”“It is mostly trees and countryside and small towns,” Jeffery agreed quietly. “Until you hit Newark and Jersey City.”“How do you know when you’re in New York?” Aaron asked.Both siblings laughed and replied, “When you see Lady Liberty.”
Aaron chuckled and shrugged. “Alright, fair enough.”
Aaron settled back in his seat once more, relaxing for the rest of the hour ride until they hit Manhattan and then Queens.
They got the location of a coffee shop and bakery in Queens from Adrien, traveling through the traffic to meet him there. Ashley was the one to find him, picking him out amongst the filled tables. She walked over to him and sat down at the table while Jeffery and Aaron ordered drinks and food for them.
DarkDragon, in contrast to his name, was a fair-skinned young man with curly red hair. He wore a white tank top with a light blue button-up that was left unbuttoned and a pair of light grey jeans. He had a cup with an iced coffee inside and a pastry.
“How was the drive?” Adrien asked Ashley.
“Longer than I liked.” Ashley commented as she rested her drink on the table, “Especially at 4 in the morning.” Covering her mouth she yawned.
“I could have driven if you did not want to,” Jeffery informed her.“Eh. No.” Ashley replied, giving her brother a pointed look.“I know how to drive.” Jeffery defended himself.“Ain’t you like 13 or 14 though?” Adrien questioned, looking not only at Jeffery but Ashley as well.
“Yeah~ so!” Jeffery rebutted.Aaron and Adrien chuckled softly. “You can’t even drive in Japan until you're 16 and that is only motorcycles under 400 cc, and to drive the size of car your sister was driving you have to be 18.”Adrien blinked as he looked on at Aaron. “Seriously!?” He watched as Aaron nodded his head. “Wow! That really sucks. Half my friends would not be driving right now.” He chuckled lightly, “though for some of them that might be a good thing.”Ashley added, “yeah and I bet Japan has less car accidents involving teenagers too.” She turned back to Adrien. “Anyway, how are you planning on getting us in to see Aiden Reid anyway? You got some sort of magic password?”Adrien gave her a sassy smile. “Yeah, it’s M-O-D.” He chuckled once more. “I was a beta tester before they released the game and was one of the first to learn all its secrets. Aiden was very much pleased to make me a MOD.”Jeffery’s eyes widened as he sat up in his chair looking pointedly at Adrien. “Awesome…” His attention turned to his sister. “Why couldn’t you have fallen for DarkDragon instead of Creed.”“Hey, I take offense to that,” Aaron thumped him on the head.
Ashley rolled her eyes at the two before saying to Adrien, “then you must be one hell of a special MOD if he’ll just let you into his home no questions asked. Are you sure it’s going to be that easy?”“Well, I do have one more secret,” Adrien told them.“What’s that?” Aaron asked.“He’s my Uncle.” As their eyes widened, Adrien quickly added. “By marriage only.”Aaron turned and gave a pointed look at Ashley. “Well, there you go. There’s the kicker.” He turned back to Adrien. “And you said he hasn’t answered any of your inquiries into this issue?” When Adrien shook his head, Aaron turned back to Ashley. “Then if he won’t answer his own nephew’s questions about this, then what makes you think he’s going to bat an eye in our direction.”
“Because he thinks I’m exaggerating the circumstances. ClairVoyance emailed him to inform him of the same things I have been telling him, but he has not even opened the email. I think it's because we are such good friends and he thinks I put her up to it.” Adrien looked between the three sitting at the table with him.“You guys are outsiders. I am hoping he will listen to you since he doesn't seem to want to listen to his own nephew.”“So do you know about everything that happened between him and his partner when they were making Dragon Lance?” Aaron asked him.“Not until Ashley sent me the file. I was always told Vance was trying to steal it from my Uncle. I was told he had no claim to the rights. That the encryption coding was all my Uncle's idea, but then I started thinking that if that were so”--his head cocked to the side--“how did Vance know how to break the encryption and hack into the program.”“Everyone’s got skeletons in their closet,” Aaron sighed.Jeffery hummed, sipping his iced tea. “Maybe he does believe you and Clair and he is just trying to hide the skeletons. Or maybe he doesn’t think Vance can actually do any damage?”“It could be both,” Ashley nodded. “In any case, if Aiden Reid wants no part of this, then worst case scenario is we’re on our own again.”
Adrien shook his head. “You're not alone. I know that game like the back of my hand. I know tricks that not even Clair knows. What worries me is Vance hacking the coding. It doesn't matter what we do, he can undo it in a blink of an eye.”Jeffery’s eyes widened again with a huge smile. “So you could make us Gods?”“I could,” Adrien grinned at the boy. “And your dragons as well.”“We don’t need that much power. We just need to be stronger than his group.” Ashley claimed.“So how are we going to play this?” Aaron questioned.“What do you mean?” Adrien asked him.“Are you going in with us when we get to your uncle’s, or are we doing this alone?” Aaron inquired.“You’re going in alone. I will take you to the front door so I can get you in. The housekeeper will tell him I am there to see him because she will see me with you, but you're going in alone to talk to him.” He looked to Ashley. “You got all the proof you need from the digging you guys and your friends did, right?”“Yes, I printed everything we would need to show him,” Ashley replied.“Not to mention statements from some of the players that have been hurt by Vance messing with the sensitivity settings,” Jeffery added.“Good,” Adrien said as his head nodded. “Make him listen to you. Even if you have to threaten him with a suit.”
“And what if he calls the cops?” Aaron posed the question. “What if it goes south? As in Antarctica south.”“Our parents would kill us!” Jeffery chimed in.
“Let him run,” Adrien told Aaron with a pointed look. “If he is going to abandon the game. Then we can take over and run things. And as far as him calling the cops.” His head shook. “Do you really think he will call them with all the evidence you have? All you would have to do is hand it to them when they walk in, and he knows that.”
“I don’t think that’s how the law works,” Jeffery said quietly to himself. “But I hope you’re right.”
Ashley giggled lightly. “It won’t work quite like that. We would still get arrested for trespassing. Then again”--she looked at Adrien--“since his nephew actually came with us, maybe not. Either way. Everything would have to be looked over and proven, yet again, then justice would be served to the guilty party. But who knows how long that could take, and Aiden could run in that time.”“Unless they told him not to leave town,” Adrien replied.Ashley giggled again. “It’s negligence on his part. Not murder.”
“But it could be because of his negligence,” Jeffery commented.“True, but I am not sure if he would get served with first or second degree. I mean we all tried to make him aware of it and he ignored us to our knowledge. Also, no one has died. So murder is out.”“Physical and mental anguish is still on the table though,” Aaron commented to Ashley.“Maybe we should just leave all that to the lawyers,” Adrien chuckled. He checked the time on his watch. “Well, if you guys are done, I think we had better be going.”
The three nodded, taking their last bite and or drink of their lunches. Paying their waitress the four of them made their way to the car and loaded up for their trip to Aiden Reid’s home.
It was a short trip, no more than 10 to 15 minutes and they were pulling around the large driveway in front of a beautiful home. It was a modern house with many rooms, or so they assumed from the myriad of windows. It wasn’t quite a mansion, but it certainly was no cozy cottage either. The outside was white with blue finishings and trim. The living room had huge French bay windows and one of the rooms upstairs had a decent balcony. The front porch was much larger than necessary and they didn’t even have to see the backyard to know it was wide and open with a large back porch for entertaining. Next to the house was a four-car garage.
Parking the car in front of the home the four climbed out and walked up to the front door. As they climbed the stairs to the double, mahogany front doors, Adrien spoke up.“I will get you in the house. Once the housekeeper goes to announce us to my uncle I will slip out the front door and go back to the car and wait for you.”“And what happens if the housekeeper or your Uncle asks where you are?” Aaron questioned.“Just tell them I forgot something in the car and will be back soon,” Adrien informed him.
The three nodded as they stepped up to the doors, Adrien’s hand lifted as he pressed the doorbell to the left of the doors. The soft, but highly audible chime echoed through the home. They waited for a few seconds before one of the doors opened and an older lady dressed in gray and white stood before them. Her hair was salt and pepper colored, but you could see traces of blonde peeking through when the sun touched the locks of her drawn-up hair.She smiled warmly as she looked at Adrien. “Well hello Adrien, it's been a long time.” She looked to the other three that stood there with him. “And who are your friends?”“Hello, Mrs. Wilson.” Adrien returned her smile and greeting as he went on to introduce his friends. “This is Ashley, Aaron, and Ashley’s little brother, Jeffery.”
She nodded, still wearing the same warm smile she greeted them with. “Well come on in.” She stepped aside, opening the door wider for them. “Your uncle has been expecting you.”“Huh,” Adrien replied in shock.She only nodded, her arm then lifted as she gestured toward an archway. “Have a seat in the parlor and I will let him know you're here.”Adrien only nodded as he steered the group toward the parlor. He was still a little dazed with what Mrs. Wilson said that his Uncle was expecting him.“Are you sticking with us?” Jeffery asked.“Huh,” Adrien replied, only catching bits and pieces of what the boy said. He shook his head.“He asked if you were staying with us,” Ashley repeated as they walked toward the parlor.“Oh,” He smiled and looked at Jeffery. “Yeah, I am curious now with what Mrs. Wilson told me.”“You think it could be from the email you sent him that he did not respond back on?” Aaron asked.“It has to be, or at least I hope it is,” Adrien replied with a chuckle.
They entered the room as he walked over to one of the chairs and took a seat. Jeffery sat on the couch across from the chair Adrien took a seat in as his sister and Aaron sat with him on the couch.“Did you get everything from the car, Ashley?”Ashley nodded her head as she patted the large manila envelope sitting on her lap. “I have everything we need.” She replied with a tone of confidence.
For the first time since she got the idea to come see Aiden Reid, the sinking feeling in her stomach was finally gone. She believed they might finally have a chance in getting Mr. Reid to hear them out.
Aaron was letting himself be just the slightest bit hopeful given that Adrien was now sticking with them, and that his uncle was expecting him. He held on to a shred of hope that this was a good sort of “expecting you” and not the bad kind. He figured there were two ways this could go: either Aiden Reid would ask his nephew more details about the situation and hear them out, or he would tell Adrien to stop meddling and let it go and then promptly kick them out. Aaron prayed it was the first one, otherwise, this trip would have been for naught.
It was only a few more minutes that they sat there and footsteps were heard ascending on the parlor. The footsteps grew only louder as they came closer. Ashley’s heart pounded harder in her chest with each step and there growing closer.An audible hum was heard then someone spoke, “Hello.”
Ashley was so deep into thought with how she was going to approach this conversation she startled badly as the manila envelope that sat on her lap slid to the floor, her attention went to none other than the man himself, Aiden Reid. She quickly leaned over and picked up the envelope and stood, her arm crossing in front of her holding the envelope tightly against her.“Mr. Reid, thank you for seeing us,” Ashley commented in a nervous tone.
Aiden Reid was tall but not towering with short and clean auburn red-brown hair and smoky green eyes. He was fair-skinned but not as fair as Adrien. He wore a navy dress shirt with black slacks and black loafers. The expensive kind, not the kind you’d find in your everyday shoe store. He approached them with his hands in his pockets, his body language relaxed and giving nothing away.
He gave them a slight smile and nodded, holding his hand out to Ashley as he came closer. “My pleasure. I was sure Adrien would be bringing guests when I received his email. It seemed like just a matter of time before all this commotion was brought to my doorstep in real life and not just virtually.” He gestured for her to sit as he sat across from them. “Please, have a seat.”“Hello, Mr. Reid. I am Aaron Tanaka.” Aaron introduced himself. “Can I ask you a personal question? Something that has been bugging me since we found out about it.” Aaron watched as Aiden only nodded his head slowly, but before Aaron could ask his question Aiden gave him an answer.“I did it because the coding that protects Dragon Lance was a joint creation between me and Vance. It was no more his own than it was my own.”
Aaron blinked rapidly, leaning back in his seat. He didn’t expect the man to know what he was going to ask right off the bat. Either he was a mind reader or he had been asked the question several times before…Or he had a guilty conscience.
“And yet Vance’s name is nowhere to be found in the credits. While your name is plastered on the back of the game box,” Aaron countered. “If that is true, then why not include his name, even if he had been kicked off the project? It doesn’t change the fact that it was a joint venture.”
Aiden’s head nodded slowly once more. “The coding was bought by another gaming company. Before Dragon Lance was even released, they made an offer on it.” He looked from Aaron to Mrs. Wilson, who was serving drinks. “Vance was nowhere to be found because we had taken a break from the project before we killed one another. It was a once-in-a-lifetime offer. Our lawyer informed me to take the offer and square things away with Vance after the fact.”“Then why did he never get his share? He even took you to court over it.” Jeffery asked.“He had already slandered our name and the company’s name that published Dragon Lance. Our reputation was damaged before it even mattered, so when it did matter, there was a lot of marketing and PR involved to get the game off the ground.”
“Okay, yeah, I get that,” Jeffery nodded slowly. “But… it’s still fishy.”Adrien chuckled. “I think what he’s trying to ask is how does that translate into Vance not getting his cut? Legally that doesn’t hold up. You know that. I know that. Vance knows it. That’s why he’s coming after the game. And you.”Aiden looked over at his nephew. “You know how lawyers are. Especially here in America. A good lawyer can spin a case any which way they want to get the desired result. The lawyers convinced the court that Vance’s cut should be taken as restitution. He could either take the money and then have to pay the company as well, or they could avoid the money juggling and his cut could be claimed as payment. The court took the easy way out.”
“And you let them ?” Ashley piped up at last. “It wasn’t like Vance was saying inconceivable things about you or the company. You two were at odds. Like any partner, you fought. You disagreed. It’s not like he said the game was bad or that it was ‘the next SAO’ or anything. You just let the lawyers take over and suck all of the money and opportunity out of it. You could have stopped them! You could have settled the case and been done with it but you let the lawyers turn Vance’s lawsuit into a cannon pointed right back at him. He tried to get what he was owed and instead he was left even more ruined than before!”
“Ash--” Aaron tried to interrupt her.
“NO! Don’t ‘Ash,’ me! If they”--she pointed at Aiden--“had just given Vance what he wanted--what he deserved --NONE of this would be happening! Eowyn wouldn’t have been hurt! I wouldn’t have been hurt! Our save games--OUR DRAGONS--wouldn’t be screwed up right now! If Vance gets ahold of that Divine Dragon egg, THE GAME IS OVER! All of this because these two couldn’t get along!”“And I took that into consideration while I was finalizing the coding for the game. I programmed it to have a failsafe.” Aiden lifted his drink to take a sip. “A reset button so to say.”“And how is that going to undo what has already been done? People could have lost their lives because Vance was maxing out the sensitivity setting. Not to mention resetting the game... everyone would lose their gameplay data. We’d all have to start over.” Jeffery stated, not pleased at the thought of either of those things he mentioned.Aiden smiled, shaking his head. “Not a hard reset, son. Though Dragon Lance does have one of those.”“But how does that stop him from doing it again, and yet again? He is not going to give up until he has ruined you and the game. All because you let the lawyers do what they wanted instead of doing the right thing.” Ashley said, she stood as her arm extended, handing Aiden the envelope. “Everything Vance has done to the game. Be it in hacking or trying to make everyone abandon the game because his cronies are harassing the players. Statements from other players that have either been threatened, hurt because of the settings, or lost gameplay data. Printouts of the coding with his hacking attached to it. Lists of usernames of people who have cooperated and worked with him. Burner accounts on the servers he has used.”“You have done your homework, young lady,” Aiden stated as he took the envelope from her. She sat back to the couch while he opened the envelope and looked through the papers. Reading the statements of the other players, looking at the coding with Vance's hacks attached. It took him a few minutes to look through all the paperwork, and when he had finished he set the papers to the coffee table between them, looking over at the young lady named Ashley.
“It seems you have found the failsafe to the game,” Aiden informed the group. When they all sat there looking at him with blank expressions he continued. “The Tarragonia Compendium of Magic.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Forty-Four
Jeffrey blinked several times, his mind looping the words he had just heard, trying to make sense of them. The Tarragonia Compendium of Magic was Dragon Lance’s failsafe. His jaw dropped. “That’s your failsafe? Seriously?!”
“So you’re telling me the dragon spell was not the only secret in the book?” Aaron asked him. “Because we found that one. It’s the only thing keeping the dragons from destroying everything and everyone.”
“Every spell in that book is a spoken code to reset one thing or another in that game.” Aiden stood and walked around the coffee table then around to the back of the couch the three guests were sitting on. Behind the couch sat a sofa table with drawers. He opened the drawer and lifted out a relatively thick book that was slightly larger than a 5x7 picture.
“Here,” Aiden replied. The three on the couch turned and looked at him as he then handed the book to the youngest.
Jeffery reached out and took the book from the man. “What is this?”
“Every cheat code, reset code, and an explanation of what each spell in the
Tarragonia Compendium of Magic
does and resets.”
“And what are we supposed to do with this?! Even if it is the Master Sword of cheat codes, we’re not programmers! How do we know what to reset and what to leave alone?!” Jeffery shook his head in disbelief.
“You have me remember,” Adrien chuckled and reached to take the book from Jeffery. “I can make sure we’re using the right resets.” He shook the book at them. “As long as we have this, we can fend off Vance until the authorities get involved. We can fix the game.”
“And how are we going to get them involved? Waiting until someone is seriously hurt or gets killed is not an option.” Ashley looked at Aiden. “Not to mention, when and if it gets that advanced”--she looked back to Adrien--“it's your uncle and the production company they’re coming after. Not Vance.”
Jeffery pointed to the envelope filled with documents. “Well, that’s what that is for right?” He looked at Aiden. “Can’t you sue Vance or something? His hacking has made people stop playing the game. Money talks, right? If you sue him then people will listen and hear what he’s done.”
“I’m not so sure,” Aaron shook his head slowly. “Most of that is circumstantial at best. He didn’t actually touch anyone. As far as I know, the kind of hacking Vance has done isn’t a crime.”
“But his hacking hurt people!” Jeffery argued. “He caused it! There’s got to be a law about that right? It’s his fault so he should pay!”
“At most, he’d be paying for their medical bills,” Aaron shrugged. “He didn’t actually lay a hand on them, so they can’t arrest him for assault. He didn’t intend to murder anyone, so they can’t get him for attempted murder. It’s tort law in play here, not criminal law. Like Ashley said, someone has to die for criminal acts to be in play here. Suing him wouldn’t do much. The laws just haven’t caught up with the advances in the gaming world. Even after SAO.”
Aiden’s eyes were cast down as he listened to the group talk. “There might be something I can do.”
The four looked at him as he still stood behind the couch. “You need to come clean with him is
what needs
to happen. Then there is still no guarantee that he will stop. There are five years of anguish, betrayal and being totally pissed off, churning in that man.” Ashley boldly told the man behind them.
“Yes, I am sure he is hurt deeply by this.” Aiden commented.
“Do you even feel bad about what you did to your friend and partner? Because what I see from you, it’s a no.” Jeffery stated point blank.
Aiden looked at the youngest boy with narrowed eyes. “Of course I feel bad about this. I have wanted to make this right with him for years, but I was advised not to because of all the legality and cost factor of it all. Admitting he, also, was a creator of Dragon Lance would have disrupted the release date. The production company would have had to do a complete remake of the credits on the disks and online. Not to mention all the reprinting of the covers and instruction booklets that came with the game. Millions of copies that were ready for debut would have had to be disposed of. That’s hundreds of millions of dollars wasted.”
“And so yet again it comes down to money. You let the lawyers feed you the bullshit of ‘giving him his rightful credit would cost us money, and God forbid we have to spend money to do the right thing,’” Aaron rolled his eyes. “Pardon my tone, but please, Mr Reid, spare us the half-assed excuse. I may have been born into a family of wealth, but I couldn’t even begin to relate to your situation, even if I were Jeff Bezos.”
“You’re a child yet. You know nothing of business or money. All you have to do”-- Aiden looked at the four--“including you”--Aiden looked pointedly at his nephew--“is hold out your hand to your parents. The real world does not work that way.”
“So you’re saying that wanting to do the right thing regardless of the cost is childish?” Aaron narrowed his eyes back at Aiden Reid. “Then if that’s the case, I would rather remain a child for the rest of my time on earth. I would rather be a child than a corporate.”
Adrien chuckled nervously and raised his hands in the air in defense. “Oookay. Let’s, uh, change the subject. Uncle Aiden, what was it you said you could do to help us?”
Aiden looked at his nephew. “Go talk to Vance.” He looked at the four. “Not a word of what I am about to tell you.” He looked intently at them. “Swear to it.”
Ashley and Jeffery exchanged glances, first with each other, then with Aaron, and finally with Adrien. "Who are we going to tell?” Jeffery asked, his gaze filled with curiosity.
“Well, Vance for one. And anyone in game who could get the information around,” Aiden explained. “I am working on a project… and I want Vance to help me finish it…”
“I… Excuse me?!” Ashley gawked at him. “What kind of ‘project?’ It had better be something good. Something that would satisfy his need for recognition. It didn’t work out the first time you two worked on a project together! What makes you think it would work out the second time?! Especially when you just called us childish for valuing doing the right thing over money! Did you have a sudden change of heart?”
“I called you children because you don’t understand the corporate world. Not for wanting to do the right thing.” Aiden informed them. “And the project is an expansion pack for Dragon Lance. It will add two new worlds for you to explore, new dragons for you to tame, and new characters. Harder Bosses, quests, and bigger and better awards.”
“And you really think that will satisfy him?” Ashley asked him. “You really believe that saying ‘hey come work on DL with me’ will satisfy a man who nearly killed several players by messing with the sensitivity levels of the game all because he was left out of the credits and didn’t get his name on the box?”
“What is your plan if he says no?” Aaron added to her question.
“I will also make amends to what happened 5 years ago.” Aiden shook his head. “I can’t get his name on the
box
as you so stated.” He glanced at Ashley. “However, I can write him a check, for his half, of the project.” Aiden’s eyes and thoughts wandered. “I just have to find him to be able to do this.”
“But what if it’s not the money he wants,” Jeffery shrugged and threw his hands up. “What if it
is
his name in the credits and on the box that he wants?! If you can’t or won’t do that, then he’s never going to be satisfied. So you can’t spend millions of dollars recalling every single box. Okay fine. But the credits are digital! The game doesn’t even play them unless you go to the credits button in the settings menu! All you’d have to do is pop his name into the credits coding and update the game. That doesn’t cost a thing!”
“Online is not an issue to add his name, and these are things he and I can discuss when the time comes. For now we need to concentrate on finding him. Even though I gave you the cheats for the game, it’s not going to deter him from continuing with his hacking, and in time he will figure out how to get around the resets.”
Ashley sighed and stood up. “Alright. Then I suppose there’s nothing else we can do here. We’ve accomplished all we can from this side. Thank you, Mr Reid, for allowing us into your home. We may not agree on everything concerning this, but I’m grateful for you hearing us out in the first place.”
“I don’t like this anymore than you kids do. Dragon Lance has been a dream of mine since I was a kid.” He smiled at the group. “When I got Adrien’s email informing me of the situation. I knew if it was something he and the other MODs could not handle and was as serious as he claimed, I would see him in person soon enough.” He turned to leave the parlor, showing the group to the door. “We will stop him one way or another, but for now the cheat book is our best friend until I can find Vance.”
“We might be able to help you in that area.” Aaron informed Aiden.
“Oh? How is that?” Aiden asked as the group walked toward the front entrance.
“In game we have a guy on the inside trying to get info. Not to mention our Moon Elves are doing reconnaissance.” Aaron stated. “Maybe our mole can get close to Vance and see if he can get at least an area of where he’s located.”
“Sounds good, but risky.” Adrien commented. “If Vance catches on, who knows what he will do.”
“We only need a town, heck even a state gets us closer than what we are now.” Jeffery announced.
Ashley’s head started to shake. “I don’t think Vance is out to seriously hurt anyone. The worst he might do is delete his character data so that way he can’t rejoin the group.”
Aaron hummed for a moment as they stood at the door. He turned and looked at Aiden. “You know… I have a better idea.”
Aiden raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? And what would that be?”
“Well, you know exactly where Vance is.” Aaron tapped the envelope in Ashley’s hands. “Right here. Why go looking for him in real life when you can find and talk to him in game? It’s not like he’ll end up getting amnesia. If you go into Dragon Lance, you’ll find him a hell of a lot quicker than you or us or anyone can IRL.”
They stopped at the front doors as Aiden looked on at Aaron. “So play my own game?” Aiden’s hand lifted as he rubbed his chin. “Being a new character, my status would be non-existent and my CP zero.” He looked around at the group. “Could you help me get to him?”
“You bet your ass we can!” Jeffery grinned at Aiden.
“Jeffery!” Ashley scolded him.
“What?! I’m just being honest and enthusiastic!”
“You’re being rude! You know Mom and Dad taught us not to curse at adults!”
Aiden chuckled lightly as his head nodded, his attention turning to Adrien. “The next time your group is on, call me and I will sign on and join you.”
Adrien chuckled, “Well, I am not part of the Mystic Dragons. That is Aaron, Ashley and Jeffery’s guild. The DarkDragon plays solo.”
“Antisocial are we?” Aiden replied.
Adrien’s eyes widened. “I...I am not! It just makes it hard to make friends when you're one of the top 5 game MODs. Other players think you're playing favorites, and either make things complicated for the ones you’re friends with or they are constantly complaining to the other MODs about your supposed transgressions.”
“Or asking you for favors,” Aaron chuckled. He turned to Aiden. “I will make sure we get into contact with you. But I can’t promise it will be at a reasonable time of day or night, so maybe you should get all the sleep you can. You never know what will happen and when in VR.”
Aiden nodded with a slight grin. “I will remember that. I look forward to it.”
The group stepped out the door, making their way back to the car as the doors closed behind them. Adrien went his own way and the others made their way out of Malba. Aaron paid for a hotel room for one night, preferring not to make the six-hour drive back in the dark while tired, and so the rest of their day was spent enjoying New York City and sitting in their hotel room conversing and discussing the day’s events.
---
The next morning, after an adequately early start when it was no longer dark, the three made their way back to Cassadaga following a hearty breakfast. They returned to the house in the evening, ensuring they arrived in time for dinner and some playtime in Dragon Lance.
“Man! I can’t believe we’re gonna get to play Dragon Lance with Aiden Reid!” Jeffery said as they settled in after dinner.
“We’re not ‘playing’ with him,” Ashley shook her head. “He is logging on anonymously so he can find Vance and hopefully end this. This isn’t so we can go grinding with him.”
Jeffery pouted and slumped his shoulders. “I know, just… It’s cool to think about.”
Aaron laughed and patted Jeffery’s shoulder. “It sure is bud.”
“You know,” Ashley intervened in the boys' bonding moment. “Aiden is going to enter DL in a shit storm.” She continued when they both looked at her. “We still don’t have the providence cleaned up. There are dead or sleeping dragons spread out across the land. Not to mention NPCs that got killed during all this.”
“Good. He can see the destruction all of this has caused,” Aaron nodded. “Then we’ll see what he thinks about that ‘corporate wisdom’ bullshit he got from his lawyers.”
“You really think he’ll care about what’s going on in a world that doesn’t exist?” Jeffery asked.
“He will if he loves his creation as much as he says he does,” Aaron gave a frown. “If not, then we’ll truly see how much the game means to him.”
“Not as much as it means to us and the others. I have 5 years of blood, sweat and tears tied up in DL. Just like a bunch of others that play this game.” Ashley commented as she entered her room and plopped down on the edge of her bed.
“Agreed,” Aaron said as he sat next to her. “Though we didn’t create the game like he did. Not in the same way anyway.”
“I would be pretty upset if I saw a game I created being destroyed from the inside out,” Jeffery nodded.
Ashley nodded slowly. “Well, are you two ready to enter the game?” She looked toward the alarm clock sitting on her nightstand. “Adrien said around 8 they would be on.” She looked back at her brother and Aaron. “We got just enough time to get set up and spawn in.”
The two nodded as her little brother did a quick 180 and darted out her bedroom door. “See ya on the flip side!” Jeffery yelled back to them.
Aaron chuckled softly as his head shook. “Excited much?”
Ashley giggled slightly as she looked up at Aaron from her seated position on the bed. “He has not been in game for about a week now. So yeah, he’s excited.”
“So where do you want me to set up?” Aaron asked her as he looked around her room for a location to put his laptop.
“This spot is the safest.” Ashley said while approaching her desk. She paused to remove a small stack of books and placed them on the floor beneath her desk, then gestured to the vacant space she cleared for him. “We can connect you to a plug and a hardline here.”
“Great,” Aaron replied as he laid his case on the bed, unzipping it. He lifted his laptop out of the case and walked it over to the desk. Quickly the two got his laptop plugged in and set up for their evening in Dragon Lance. Unzipping another bag, Aaron lifted out his
AmuSphere and looked at Ashley.
“Do you want me to take the chair?”
Ashley gave him an odd look, her attention drawn to the lounge chair in her room. It was comfortable, yes, but it was not a recliner, so Aaron would have to sit up the whole time they were in game. “Nooo~” Ashley commented as she looked back at Aaron. “You can camp out on the bed with me.”
Aaron looked toward her bedroom door, which was standing open. “Ar--are you sure?” He said nervously. “I mean. I don’t want to upset your parents or anything.”
Ashley giggled at him as she booted her own laptop. “It’s fine.” She stated, her attention still on her booting computer. With a couple of clicks, she stood upright, turned, and looked at the fretting Aaron. “I talked to my parents about this. Why do you think we went and picked up your things? If they were not cool with this you would be at the Inn and not here.”
“Oh,” Aaron said as he looked at the door once more.
“Stop freaking out. My parents are not going to come in here and watch us or anything.” She giggled once more.
“Stop laughing at me. It’s a legitimate paranoia.” Aaron grumbled as he turned and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
“I get it, but it’s fine. I promise.” Ashley told him, her attention on her laptop as she booted the game. “Want me to boot your game?”
“Yes, please.” Aaron replied. “And thank you.” He looked at the clock on the bedside table. “Three minutes til eight.” He looked Ashley’s way as she was now booting his game.
“We got this.” She commented as she quickly turned and stepped over to the shelved headboard on her bed where she kept her own AmuSphere.
She grabbed it up and quickly plopped down on the bed opposite Aaron. Leaning toward Aaron who was partially turned, looking at her, she gave him a quick peck on the lips. She then turned and positioned herself to lay back on the bed as she slipped her AmuSphere over her head.
Aaron could only smile at this point as he too slipped his AmuSphere over his head and laid back on the bed.
“Ready?” He heard Ashley ask him as he felt her hand touch his and their fingers, lace together.
“Ready.” Aaron replied with a wide smile across his lips.
“Link start,” the two said in unison.
Spawning in the two stood in the courtyard of the castle, Ashley looked around not seeing her brother anywhere. Finally, he spawned in, a few yards away from them.
“Cerberus,” She had to admit she was a little nervous having him there with everything going on, but DarkDragon said that there had been no signs of tampering with the coding for the last 24 hours.
“Sorry Sis, I had to go to the bathroom before I signed in.” Cerberus told her as he walked toward them. “So where is DarkDragon and…”--he stopped abruptly when he heard Tanya clear her throat, he looked around the courtyard--“yeah, the new guy.”
“You think they would have been here before us.” Aaron spoke up. “And I wonder about the others. I hope Tsuki got my text.”
“I am sure Moonshine will be here. You of all people should remember the time difference. I doubt he’s out of bed yet.”
“It’s nine in the morning there. He better be out of bed!” Aaron exclaimed.
“That’s assuming he’s on a normal sleep schedule right now,” Tanya giggled.
“I am, thankfully,” Moonshine said as he walked up to the three of them. “But just barely.” He tilted his head at them and opened his menu, going to his text messages synced from his phone. “So is this really happening? You’re not messing with me? You know who is actually playing Dragon Lance?”
“Yep,” Cerberus piped up with a huge smile. “It’s sooo
cool.
I wish Shiro was here. OH!” Cerberus looked to Moonshine. “Did they tell you the spell we cast on the dragons was a reset?” He looked quickly to his sister with an excited look. “Does that mean we can take our dragons out of our inventory?”
Tanya shook her head, “I don’t th--”
“Yes, you can. Though they might be sleeping like the others.”
The group looked toward the voice as they saw DarkDragon walking toward them with someone new. That someone they figured was Aiden Reid. He was a simple human, no flairs or identifying features. Perfect for staying undercover. In fact, he looked the complete opposite of his real-life appearance. Tanned skin tone, dark hair, and brown eyes.
“The reset was never tested with dragons that were inventoried then released.”
“So the dragons won’t try and kill everyone again?” Moonshine asked him. Aiden shook his head. “So what other tricks are in this book? Anything that can lock out a player or immediately reset hacking? Like the sensitivity levels or lower stat boosts?”
“It has individual resets from the smallest things like a username change to resetting the Divine Realm. It also has a reset code that will reset everything back to default.”
“The beginning? A hard reset?” Cerberus interjected with a fretting tone.
“Yes,” Aiden’s head bobbed slowly. “Everything would be set back to its original programming.”
Cerberus looked at everyone standing there. “Thank heavens me and Shiro didn’t do what we talked about that one day.”
“Let me guess,” DarkDragon finally spoke up. “You were going to rattle off all the spells in the book to see what they did, right?”
Cerberus only stood there nodding his head slowly.
“Well, now you know not to do that,” Aaron looked at Cerberus pointedly. “We will look through the guide and see which ones will be most helpful and THEN you can test them. Let’s not go playing Russian Roulette with the Compendium.”
“Well, the good thing is that we have the guide now so we don’t have to take shots in the dark,” Moonshine nodded. “Next time Cerrakor goes messing with the game, we can stop him.”
“Agreed, but first we need to find out when he plans on making a move on the Divine Spiritcrest.” She looked around the group. “After the news we got from Karith the other night, who knows when the Dragon Slayers will be on the move again.”
“I wonder though…” Aaron started then hesitated for a moment as he looked at the group. “Are the Dragon Slayers going to lay low until
Cerrakor returns, or is Seveani going to lead the group on a killing spree around Tarragonia.”
“The dragons are in the best position to be killed, unfortunately,” Moonshine sighed with his arms crossed, shaking his head. “They’re all asleep and helpless. The only ones able to defend them are the guilds like us. We can’t possibly protect every single dragon across the entire country.”
“So what do we do?” Cerberus asked. “We can’t just let the slayers do as they please to the dragons while they sleep.”
“And it’s not like we can lead an army to the Dragon Slayers and start an all out war against them. That would be suicide,” Moonshine added.
Tanya placed a gentle hand on Cerberus’ shoulder. “We will have eyes and ears on the Dragon Slayers at all times. When they move we will move and if we can’t we have the other guilds behind us.”
“Don’t worry little bro, the dragons only have a few more days of sleeping and they will wake.” Aaron reassured him with a bright smile.
“Well, let’s hope the slayers don’t get any ideas in that time,” Cerberus sighed. He looked over to Aiden. “So uh… how are we going to get you know who to you know who? Do we call Karith and have him escort him to the place? What do we do?”
Moonshine looked to Aiden and then to Tanya and Aaron. “I was wondering about that myself. How is this gonna go?”
Ashley’s shoulders rose and fell. “Good question, but that is not a bad idea. Karith and him could meet up and Kairth could take him to the Dragon Slayers as a new recruit.” She looked at Aiden. “What do you think?” She paused for a second. “And what is your username?”
Aiden gave a smile to the group and crossed his hands in front of him. “Call me Riordan. I’m an Elemental Sorcerer.”
“Sooo you made yourself into Percy Jackson,” Cerberus grinned. “Well, at least now we know you’re a real geek and not a poser.”
“Jeffery!” Tanya used his real name without thinking.
“What?! It’s true!”
Moonshine laughed. “At least your username isn’t an anagram. That would be way beyond foolish.”
“I agree,” Riordan nodded. “He is too smart for that. He would have figured it out right away if I had.”
“Please tell me you had DarkDragon give you some kind of skills and HP.” Tanya questioned both Aiden and DarkDragon.
DarkDragon chuckled as his head nodded, “Yes, I am not going to send a lamb into the lion's den without something to back him up.”
“Well hopefully you did not get too carried away with his skills and HP.” Moonshine commented. “We want this to look as natural as possible.”
“We doctored his character info.” DarkDragon said.
“Like how?” Cerberus questioned.
“Changed his register date so his skills and HP levels correspond with everything. That way he is not a noobie with crazy skill and power.”
“I mean, he might need the crazy skill and power once he starts talking to Cerrakor,” Aaron shrugged. “You know. In case things get ugly.”
Moonshine turned to look at Riordan. “How do you think this will go? Think he’ll be willing to listen or will the lightning bolts and tidal waves start flying?”
Riordan went silent for a moment. “Knowing Vance it will be lightning bolts and tidal waves. Though I am hoping I can ease into this with him, giving us a chance to talk.”
“Well at least you will have a little time to get familiar with what we have built here.” Jeffery looked at the group.
“True, who knows when Vance will be back in game.” Aaron added.
“No time soon.” A familiar voice spoke.
Everyone turned to see the admin, ClairVoyance walking toward them. “What is that supposed to mean?” Tanya asked as she continued on her path.
“We were finally able to track the IP address. I reported it and from my understanding, they dispatched an officer to check it out.”
ClairVoyance informed them.
“Are you sure it’s him?” Moonshine asked her. “He’s a hacker so for all we know it could be a fake IP. He could be hijacking someone else’s IP or creating a false one altogether.”
“We’re confident it’s him, but just in case, don’t get your hopes up too high. Be ready for anything,” ClairVoyance nodded at them.
“If it is him, then the hacking should stop,” Aaron sighed in relief. “Then maybe this won’t come to war and we won’t have to trek up to the
Spiritcrest
.”
“What if he sends his troops ahead of him?” Tanya shook her head. “He could still order his allies to move without him. We can’t count this as resolved until we’re absolutely sure.”
“Tanya is right,” Moonshine agreed. “If we consider this done and his men end up in the Spiritcrest and we’re not there to stop it, then we’ve still lost. We have to continue as if nothing has changed. That’s our safest option.”
Aaron opened his menu to the contacts page. “I will contact the other guild masters and get some updates from them. Another meeting may be in order.”
Cerberus nodded at Riordan. “Hey, we should… let Riordan sit in on the meeting before he… has to go.”
Tanya looked from Cerberus to Riordan, and then to Aaron. “That’s a good idea. It would be good for him to get some information on what’s been going on.”
Riordan smiled nonchalantly at ClairVoyance. “I’ve been away for quite a while. What a surprise to return to chaos.”
ClairVoyance nodded with a sigh, her shoulders slumping. “Yes, chaos indeed.”
“We’ll get this under control. Let’s just hope he don’t send his men out without him and his hacks.” Aaron commented.
“Well if he does we have means of finding out.” Tanya looked pointedly at Aaron. “We are going to have to keep a very close eye on our PMs.”
Aaron nodded in agreement. “I am thinking of dropping them a line and telling them to contact us through the Streamline App. That way we miss nothing.”
DarkDragon agreed, “Good idea, and everyone involved in the mission to the north needs to be aware that they could be called on at the drop of a hat.”
“It’s the summer so my schedule is free and my sleep schedule is primed for wrecking,” Moonshine grinned, crossing his arms.
“Ours too,” Cerberus laughed.
“We all are ready,” Tanya reiterated with a stern nod. “We move when they move.”
Aaron nodded as he sent out the messages to the three trusted corners of Tarragonia. “Well that’s done”--he closed his game panel--“now all we have to do is wait.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Forty-Five
As they waited in the courtyard, the group chatted idly, considering whether to continue their conversation indoors. However, Cerberus was determined to test a theory: if they retrieved their dragons from storage, would the creatures be asleep like the others, or would they remain awake, unaffected by the hack or the spell that had reset the dragons?Everyone except for Tanya and Aaron released their dragons, theirs being stored on their alternate accounts. While doing so, Kirito arrived and did the same with Meuma. All of the dragons were awake and acting normally. None of them had been affected by either Cerrakor’s hacking nor the sleeping spell. It seemed the hack and the spell were both limited to active dragons, not dragons that were inventoried.
The dragons bonded with their masters. Riordan thought in silent awe, a smile on his face watching his life’s work come to life.
Soon the guard from the front gate walked in with the other guild leaders in tow. “Guild Master Tanya. Vice Master Aaron. The others have arrived,” the guard announced, gesturing to the other guild leaders.
Tanya smiled with a slight bow to her fellow guild masters. Hunters of the Righteous, Honorable Lord Rawyn from the North; Immortals of the Sea, Lord Astardodia from the East;
and Warriors of the Last Age, Lady Dwalia from the South.“I am glad to see you could make it.” Tanya told them.“How is this possible?” Dwalia asked, watching the dragons interacting with them and not attacking.
Cerberus beamed at Lady Dwalia, practically bouncing with excitement. “The spell didn’t affect the dragons in our inventory! And the hack couldn’t mess with them either! So, like, anyone who had their dragons in their inventory before the hack and while the spell was being cast—those dragons are totally fine!”“Basically he’s saying that the coding was too simple and straightforward to affect different areas of the game,” Kirito chuckled.
“Somehow I don’t think that’s any easier to understand than how Cerberus said it,” Moonshine said under his breath.
Tanya chuckled lightly. “I am just glad it did not affect them.”Rawyn joined her in her excitement as a wide smile crossed his lips. “A few of my clansmen had their dragons in their inventory. They will be glad to know they can release them.”“How did you know they would not attack?” Astardodia asked them.“We didn’t,” Cerberus commented. “It was a toss up of whether they would be sleeping, or awake.” Cerberus smiled brightly as he patted his dragon's broad muzzle. “We took a chance.”“And it paid off.” Moonshine added.Tanya looked at their guests, gesturing toward the castle, “Shall we take this inside?”
Dwalia giggled softly, shaking her head as she watched Cerberus’ dragon lick his face. “I would hate to take you away from this joyous reunion.”“It’s fine. This is their time.” Tanya motioned to the ones standing next to a dragon or two. “A few of our dragons are still tucked away in inventory and Aaron and I are two of those people.”
“Let's remain outside, but away from the excitement.” Rawyn suggested as he looked around, seeing a good spot for them to talk. “Over there,” he pointed to the steps that led into the castle. “We can sit there.”Tanya, Aaron, and DarkDragon agreed as the 7 of them moved over to the stairs. ClairVoyance stepped away to take an important call, saying she would rejoin them as soon as possible.
“We have news,” Tanya started, beginning to inform the three other guild masters. “Admin ClairVoyance has informed us that Cerrakor is being tracked down by law enforcement.”
“Excellent!” Astardodia clapped his hands together. “Then that means all is well, does it not?”“I doubt it,” Dwalia shook her head. “His allies are still out there. I am sure we have not seen the last of them.”
Aaron nodded in confirmation. “Yes, you are right. We are taking all necessary precautions. We will not allow Cerrakor’s men to catch us off guard, whether or not they have their leader.”
“Myself and the guild members that have volunteered for this mission are prepared to pull out when you give us the word.” Rawyn informed them.“That’s good to know. Because that’s probably how it will happen.” Tanya said.“I can only imagine.” Astardodia pondered on their quick dispatching.
Aaron gazed over at the courtyard not paying attention to Tanya and the others talking, he was watching the others play with their dragons. Even Aiden, aka Riordan, was getting involved. He was sure Riordan was amazed and in awe with what he was witnessing. To see something he created from code come to life. To touch it, interact with it, and be a real part of it. With the expressions Riordan was wearing on his face, Aaron was sure the man had never tested the game himself before it was released.Aaron’s head started to bob slowly as he spoke softly, “this was a good idea. Now he can fall in love with DL as much as we have.”Moonshine walked up to Aaron, Imera trailing behind him as Nychta flew in the skies above them to give them more room, casting a dark shadow on the land that blotted out the sunshine in that area.
“I agree,” he responded to Aaron, even though he was only speaking to himself. Moonshine petted Imera’s muzzle. “Maybe if he had tested his own game, this would have been solved sooner. He’d be even more invested in the game’s welfare.”
Aaron shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll never know.” He looked up at Imera, then up further at Nychta. “In any case, now he will understand how much we care about this game and all of its creatures. Code or not.”
Moonshine hummed in agreement and looked over at Riordan. “You think he’ll play for fun after this? I think it’d be pretty cool if we actually got to play with him after everything is settled.”
Aaron laughed. “Now that would be an opportunity of a lifetime.”
“What are you two talking about?” Astardodia asked as he looked their way.“Riordan, the new guy.” Aaron replied as he looked over at him.Astardodia looked out at the new guy. “Oh, so he must have been a beta tester since you mentioned something about the game and him. That makes sense since he is with DarkDragon.”Aaron chuckled lightly. “Yeah”--his head nodded--“he was a beta tester.”
He lied, yes, but he figured it was for the best. The fewer people that knew that Riordan was actually Aiden Reid, the better this plan of theirs would go off without a hitch. He turned his attention to Tanya and the others sitting with them.“Whatever happens, we just need to go on with life--VR and real--as normal. We have eyes everywhere now and we know what we are up against. Any signs of foul play, no matter how insignificant, we contact one another. That’s the most important thing at this time in the plans we have.” Aaron informed them.“Agreed,” Tanya stated, watching the others agree as well.“What are we going to do about the Western Hemisphere’s guild leader?” Rawyn asked, “He is not a leader in any sense, and he is only hindering the union of the five providence.”“Yes, a goal we all have strived for since we took on the honorable role of being the keepers of the realm.” Dwalia stated.Tanya’s head nodded slowly. “I know, but I am worried if we move on the Western guild to overthrow Thoin, it’s going to get too much attention from the Dragon Slayers. The two are working closely together from the intel we have collected.”“I thought that was talked about in the meeting he had the other night?” Moonshine commented with a pondering look.Tanya looked up at Moonshine as he stood next to the sitting group. “We might have. We talked about so much and so much information has been passed around. I can’t remember what we have or have not talked about or who or whom I have not told.”“We should start recording our meetings,” Moonshine chuckled. “Not even to post content online, just so we remember what the heck happened.”
“Maybe in the future that would be helpful,” Aaron laughed. “In any case, we wait for the right moment to remove Thoin. If he is working with Cerrakor closely, then he will be punished accordingly by the admins. That will be when we replace him with a new guildmaster, or a new guild entirely.”
“That may be our best plan of action,” Tanya agreed. “It would allow us to reform the West without starting a war and attracting the Dragon Slayers. If we’re going to war with the slayers, we need to be more prepared. Having all five guilds together would ensure that. And when Cerrakor has gone down, the Dragon Slayers will have lost their leader. Then we’ll have even more of a fighting chance.”“What of the cities, towns and villages in the western province of Shroudland? Are any of them in league with Thoin and the Slayers?” Rawyn questioned.“That I am not sure of. I know one of the villages is not. So I am sure there are others that feel the same as Slycrest Village.” Tanya informed him.“That is the village of the Unseen, correct?” Dwalia commented.“Yes, Creed and Celty would never side with bastards like Thoin and the Slayers.” Aaron rebutted.“Well there are many other cities and villages in the west. Not to mention the even smaller settlements that aren’t officially on the map.” Rawyn expressed.
“I imagine it would depend on the demographics of each village,” Moonshine added, his arms crossed. “Villages and cities with a higher population of dragon slaying players will side with the Dragon Slayers guild. Those who are non-dragon slaying players will side with us in an effort to liberate Shroudland. We already have all of Whitehaven, Snowmaw of the north, Dawnlight of the south, and Silvermore of the east all unified against Shroudland of the west. Once Thoin and Cerrakor are out of commission due to breaking the rules, there will be minimal bloodshed. The leftover slayers and members of Illusions of the Serpent won’t be able to stand up to all four of the other guilds.”“And if we can get the villages in Shroudland who oppose Illusions of the Serpent and the Dragon Slayers to join us, then it will be even easier,” Dwalia hummed a tune of confidence.
“We’re playing the waiting game,” Astardodia smirked, rubbing his chin. “The ball is in Cerrakor and Thoin’s court, but we have the advantage.”Rawyn shook his head. “Let’s not get cocky. We still have the issue of Frostford and the Divine Spiritcrest in Snowmaw. No players are supposed to be able to enter. Even if Cerrakor doesn’t order his men to move into Forstford, if he opens it or has it open already, then we will have a mass exodus of players who will try and get in just for a chance to see those off limit areas. It could still upset the balance of the game.”
“Agreed,” Tanya nodded with a heavy sigh. “There will always be players who want to game the system and turn things on its head. We will have enough on our hands with Shroudland.”“I think a little campaign in the west would help us out in the long run.” Aaron suggested.Tanya sighed. “That is so boring, and so time consuming.” She looked at the ones sitting with her. “Do you know how long it took me to get as far as I am now with uniting the hemispheres?”“Yeah,” Aaron’s head nodded. “Four and a half years. I have been at your side through it all.”“Such a loyal Vice Master,” Dwalia commented. “Are you sure you won’t part with him, Tanya?”“No~” Tanya chuckled. “You asked me that same question 2 years ago--”“And your answer still has not changed.” Dwalia giggled. “Such a shame.”
“Then do it smarter,” Moonshine tapped his temple. “Have your allies--your most influential in each village--do it for you. Have your most trusted in each province an each village rally the people instead of making rounds yourself. The queen bee doesn’t do all the work herself. She has all the worker bees do the footwork so she can sit and do more important things. That’s why you have ambassadors.”Tanya paused in thought as she thought about what Moonshine just told her. “I guess that would be a way to do this, but don’t it hold more impact if the queen bee shows initiative? I mean if she is not delivering the message herself it seems as if she relies on others to do her job for her.” Her head shook, “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t want to follow someone that pushes their responsibilities off on another.”“And if you go parading your head all around the neighborhood, poking your nose into every flower,” Moonshine walked up to her and poked her in the forehead. “You’re bound to get bombed with bug spray. Parade around the country uniting people when it’s more safe to do so. And if you really want to unite people yourself with your own message, then how about this.”He gestured to the town below the castle. “Tell people all over the provinces that you will be giving a message in town in hopes of uniting the realm. Those who wish to hear your words of wisdom will come, and those who don’t will stay away. Then you can have your ambassadors going out to play evangelist to reach those who didn’t hear your message.”Tanya looked toward the town that rested below their castle. “I would have to extend my invitation to the west.” She looked back to Moonshine. “That’s the only hemisphere we are missing.”“Then do it,” Aaron said as he stood and stretched his arms about his head. “Like Moonshine said. If they want to come hear your words of wisdom they will come. If not then we just take our firm little backsides to them.” He paused and looked at Tanya, his eyes wide. “When it is safe enough to do so.”
“We can use the opportunity to explain the situation with the dragons to them as well,” Moonshine added. “People will be happy to know that the dragons will be fine.”Tanya nodded, “Good call.” She looked to Aaron once more. “Where are you going?”“Are you kidding!” Aaron looked at her like she had grown two heads. “We are Cerrakor free for at least today. I am taking advantage of it. I have grinding to do.”Moonshine turned an about-face and headed for the door. “I have things to do as well. I’m still a dragon caretaker. I need to go and see if anyone has discovered the same information as us regarding inventoried dragons, as well as check on the dragons that are still asleep.”
Without a second word, Moonshine was gone, not stopping to listen to anyone else’s plans. Cerberus hopped up out of his seat as well. “I need to go take a closer look at that book. We’re gonna need some of those spells. I’m sure of it. I wanna be as prepared as possible if we have to use another spell.” Cerberus left behind Moonshine.
Kirito stood and smiled at Aaron. “I will go grinding with you. I’d like to bring Meuma along as well. I’m sure she’d like to stretch out and hunt with us.”
“Great! Un will like the company.” He looked at Tanya. “Why don’t you come with? At least to retrieve your dragons. Creed and Celty I am sure are on.”Tanya looked at their guests. “Go! Don’t let us hold you back.” Dwalia told her.“Grinding sounds like a plan. If she doesn't want to follow along, I will go with you guys. It’s been a long time since I have grinded in the central region.” Rawyn said, getting to his feet.“I would like to stick around if you don’t mind.” Astardodia stated as he looked to Tanya and Aaron. “I have never explored the central region. I’d like to see what is so great about being landlocked and try my sea legs out on land.”The group chuckled at Astardodia as Tanya nodded at him. “That is fine. I see no issues with you hanging out in Whitehaven. You will find our people very friendly and warm.”“Good to hear.” Astardodia stated as he then turned and made a beeline to the entrance gate.“Hey! Wait up!” Dwalia called out to him. As she trotted off to leave with Astardodia she turned and waved to the ones staying behind. “I will be in touch. Hopefully with good news only.”“Bye, Lady Dwalia.” They all bid her farewell.
As Tanya turned she saw ClairVoyance walk up to the group. “That was a quick meeting.”“Yes, it went smoothly enough.” Tanya confirmed as she finally stood to her feet.“I guess everyone is off on their own little adventure now.” ClairVoyance stated.As everyone nodded she returned their nod. “I will be seeing you soon then. Have a good game play.” She turned and walked over to DarkDragon and Riordan walking back from what looked to be the stables.Walking over to Aaron, Tanya patted his shoulder. “If you would like, I can retrieve our dragons and send Un to catch up with you. That way you're not missing any grinding time.”“Sure. That sounds like a deal.” He looked to the others. “Give me a second I need to grab some of my inventory I had to dump to put Un in my inventory.”They nodded as Tanya started to follow Aaron inside the castle while Kirito waited outside with Meuma. “I will see you later. Have fun grinding.”
They waved as they watched Tanya and Aaron disappear indoors of the castle.---After Aaron and Tanya were finished retrieving inventory and their dragons, they and Kirito, along with Rawyn, set out with their three dragons, leaving Dawnmeadow to venture to the other villages and cities in Whitehaven, deciding not to leave the province in case they were called back early. They decided to ride their horses through Whitehaven instead of riding their dragons or taking a carriage. The view was nice and their dragons got to fly how they wanted, especially Un and Musashi. It was also since Kirito couldn’t ride his dragon yet. He would have had to hitch a ride with Aaron or Tanya with Rawyn taking a ride with the other.
The plains were still dotted with sleeping dragons, laying there like random mountains popping up from the land. Except these mountains were scaly and breathing. Tanya’s eyes chased the dragons as they raced past on their horses.
“I’m sure they’ll be okay,” Kirito reassured her with a smile. “And I’m sure Moonshine will be through here soon to check on them. At the very least you know he’ll try and get around to as many dragons as possible.”Aaron grinned and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we got the best dragon master in Tarragonia on our side. And on the dragons side. If anyone can help make sure the dragons are okay it’s Moonshine.”
“I agree,” Tanya stated as her eyes still gazed over the open plain before they got to Grayminster at the base of Wyvern Heights Mountain. She pulled her attention from the scene before she let it push her over the edge causing her anger to grow or tears to start falling. “What is this quest we are going to anyway? You never did say.”
“Not sure,” Aaron shook his head with a shrug. “I was just told that there were quite a few new quests scattered throughout each province, and one of them is in Grayminster. No one wanted to give any spoilers. Apparently we should just walk around and look for anything new or out of the ordinary.”“In a gigantic game like this,” Kirito chuckled. “We might be looking for a long time then.”“Maybe,” Aaron laughed in return. “You never know. That’s half the fun of it.”
“True,” Kirito nodded. “It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed questing. It seems like every time I start to actually have fun playing a game something happens that turns gaming into a job. It’s been like that since SAO.”“Really? When was the last time you played a game for fun?” Tanya blinked at him, leaning over to peer at Kirito past Aaron.
“When you first met me,” Kirito answered. “After that, everything went downhill.”“Oh so it’s my fault?” Tanya said with an air of sarcasm, giving a ‘hmph’.“That’s not what I meant! If anything it’s me the trouble follows,” Kirito huffed, his brows furrowing.Aaron peered over at Kirito with narrowed eyes. “So it’s your fault our game is under attack.”“I...I didn’t say that either.” Kirito sat up in his saddle defending himself.“So what are you saying, Kirito?” Rawyn questioned, with a raised brow.The three started chuckling lightly at Kirito as his shoulders slumped in defeat. “We’re just messing with you dude. No one is blaming you for anything going on in this game.” Aaron reassured him.
“I’m sure some people out there do. I’ve been called a bad omen before,” Kirito sighed. “Maybe I am. Or maybe I just have a nose for trouble. Like I can sense when something bad is gonna happen before it happens.” He turned his head to look at a nearby sleeping dragon as they passed by it. “Too bad I couldn’t predict this before it happened.”
“I don’t think anyone but Aiden Reid could have, and we know how that went. Absolutely nothing was done,” Aaron’s mouth turned down into a scowl.
“Well that’s going to change now that--” Tanya stopped short before she let the cat out of the bag.“Now that what, Tanya?” Rawyn asked.Tanya smiled nervously as she thought quickly. “Now that ClairVoyance has the authorities involved.”
Rawyn nodded firmly. “Agreed. Hopefully everything will get sorted out in the best way possible.”“But just in case it doesn’t, we’re ready,” Aaron looked over to Tanya with a pointed look and a raised eyebrow.
“That’s what backup plans are for,” Kirito gave a lopsided grin, internally sighing that Tanya almost gave them away already.
Their chat continued as they rode off to their quest that started in Grayminster. It was a good 30-minute ride, but a very enjoyable one--other than the scenery of dragons that dotted the landscape across their province. Given that Greyminster sat in the valley of Wyvern Heights, the land that it was built on was very hilly. The spot of land the town sat on was the flattest in the valley, but still hilly to where several roads offered a noticeable hike uphill or downhill. The village kid’s favorite pastimes often included races in various man-made vehicles down these hills. And in the winter when it snowed they made excellent sledding hills. The hills also made great plots of land for farming certain crops that couldn’t grow up in the mountains. The nearby rivers made the soil fertile and perfect for growing. Greyminster was a quaint town with marketplaces, shops, inns, and taverns. It was an essential stop for anyone heading further up into the mountains.
As such, many travelers made layovers there before continuing on. It was also an important rest spot for those looking to grind either in the mountains or along the valley and plains below the mountains. There weren’t many dragons around, but there were plenty of horses with one of Whitehaven’s biggest horse stables being located there--the biggest being in Dawnmeadow, of course. The dragons were more abundant further up the mountain in Dragonvale, which housed a dragon breeding stable. The Fourth Knight, Sir Adoth was charged with ruling over the village as its judge.
Riding down the road in the center of town, the children who were out playing ran out toward their horses as they called out to Aaron and Tanya. Tanya smiled warmly at them as the children ran alongside, calling out greetings and asking them how long they were going to be in the village. Riding into the marketplace, the group stopped and dismounted, tying their horses off at the nearby hitching post. Aaron looked around as Tanya squatted down to be at the same level as the children. She opened her inventory and took out a few bags of candy to share with them.Kirito smiled at the kids, watching Aaron and Tanya interact with them. He didn’t have anything to give them, so he just stood by and watched. That was until a young girl tugged at his jacket sleeve. He blinked and looked down at her. Her eyes were wide with curiosity, her mouth slightly agape. She pointed at him.
“You’re wearing a lot of black, Mr. Did you go to a funeral?”He heard Aaron, Tanya, and Rawyn snicker next to him. Kirito gave a lopsided smile down at the girl, shaking his head. “Nope. I just like black.”“Oh,” the girl seemed unsatisfied with the answer. She tilted her head. “Does that mean your favorite candy is licorice too?”
“Uh,” Kirito chuckled, giving a shrug. “It’s okay. I like red licorice more.”The little girl smiled wide up at him. “Me too! Black licorice is yucky!” She pointed over at the marketplace at a candy stall. “The old man there sells red licorice! It’s really yummy!”
Kirito opened his inventory and pulled out a handful of coins in a pouch. He handed it to the little girl. “Here you go. Go buy some.”
The little girl gasped in awe and snatched it from him, jumping up and down. “Thank you, Mr. Black! I’ll bring you some!” She ran off without another word to him.
Kirito gave a sheepish chuckle and scratched the back of his head. “Well that was easy enough.” He looked over at Tanya and Aaron. “Was… was that an NPC? That was an oddly specific conversation.”
Aaron gave a slight chuckle then shrugged, “Don’t ask me. I have a hard time telling them apart.”Tanya stood as she patted one of the blonde little boys on top of the head. “Unless they come right out and tell him their real name, Aaron is clueless.”
“Hey! I’m not that bad.” Aaron defended himself.Tanya only nodded her head slowly--confirming that Aaron was that bad--her brows raised and a wide smile as she looked on at Kirito.Kirito shook his head as well, taking a breath to respond. However, it was at that moment that he heard a commotion towards the markets.“I’m sorry, but I just can’t open yet!”“But why?! You’re always open at this time! What’s the hold up?!”“As I’ve said, my shipment of goods is being held up. I can’t open shop until I receive my goods!”“And when are they going to be here?”“I… I don’t know.”“In the name of--! You’re telling me you don’t even know when they’ll be delivered so you can open?! I might as well come tomorrow! Or next week!”Kirito looked to Aaron and Tanya who nodded to him in agreement. Together the three of them and Rawyn walked up to the vendor. There was a group of three people standing at the vendor’s stall--two men and a woman. Behind the stall was an older man wearing an apron and a bandana on his head. He held his arms up as one of the men at his stall started leaning in a little too close.With a firm but gentle touch, Aaron placed a hand on the man’s shoulder that was looming over the poor vendor. “No need to get in the man's personal bubble. If he said he can’t open, then he can’t open.”The guy turned and glared at Aaron, his eyes taking a quick glance at the armor he wore, grunting, he shrugged Aaron’s hand from his person. “Whatever! I’ll go elsewhere.”As the guys stormed off, Aaron turned and looked at the vendor giving him a warm smile. “Are you alright?” The guy nodded, returning Aaron’s smile. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
The vendor sighed and crossed his arms, shaking his head. “Unless you can magically make my goods appear before me, then no. I don’t suppose there’s anything to be done.”
“Well, I don’t think we can make them appear out of thin air,” Tanya smiled, but maybe we can help bring them to you. Do you know why your goods haven’t arrived yet?”“No, I don’t,” the vendor shook his head again. “Usually the goods are here by now, but if I had to guess, it’s because the trade route is closed. At least, that’s what I heard.”
“Why have they closed the trade route?” Kirito asked.
“Can’t say. No one has been to Dragonvale for the past few days. Anyone who’s gone up there before the route closed hasn’t come back yet.”“Is that where your goods are coming from? Dragonvale?” Rawyn asked him. The vendor nodded. “Are they letting anyone through?”“Only knights and those armed and protected. I haven’t the foggiest idea what’s going on up there. If only I were a dragon. I’d just fly over there and get what I need,” the vendor grumbled and looked up at the sky where the group's dragons were flying around.
“Then it’s a good thing you have us,” Aaron grinned and patted the vendor’s shoulder. “We’ll go get your goods for you and bring them back.”
“Well then,” Tanya smiled at her group. “Should we get a move on? I am sure the vendor would like his merch.”The three men nodded and they turned to head back to their horses, riding towards the gate out of Greyminster so they could be on their way up north to Dragonvale in the Wyvern Heights.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Forty-Six
The four of them rode along the path up towards the mountain range, the path becoming gradually steeper and steeper. Further up along the path, the land changed from mostly plains to trees dotted around. The further they traveled up the path, the thicker the trees became until they were on the edge of a forest. At this point, there was a blockade made from posts and carts, preventing anyone from traveling the path further, both towards the mountains and from them. At the blockade stood six armed guards, three on the Greyminster side and three on the Dragonvale side.
One of the guards on their side stepped forward and held his hand out to them. “Halt! This path is closed until further notice. It’s not safe to travel to Dragonvale or the Wyvern Mountains as of now. Please turn back at once.”
“Do you know who you're talking to?” Aaron spoke up.
NPCs
, Tanya thought to herself as she looked at the other two. “I’ve got this Aaron.” She spoke up, her attention moving back to the one that stepped forward. “What is going on to have the path closed?”
“Nothing to worry about, my Lady” The first guard shook his head. “It’s just a precaution to make sure no one is hurt along the trade route. Once things are safe and under control, the path will be opened again.”
“We’re pretty capable,” Kirito offered, holding his hand out in a suggestive gesture. “Maybe we can help with whatever it is.”
“I doubt it,” another guard responded this time. “Several have been sent to deal with the issue but none have--UGH!” The guard held his side from where the first guard had elbowed him in the ribs.
“You idiot! We’re not supposed to be giving out that kind of information!” The guard behind the second one on the other side of the blockade hissed at him.
Aaron stepped up to the guards and opened his inventory, pulling out a badge with the Mystic Dragons insignia on it. “I am Vice Master Aaron of the Knights of the Mystic Dragons, the protector guild of this province.” He gestured behind him. “This is Guild Master Tanya.” He turned back to the first guard. “If you tell us what is going on and let us through, maybe we can help get this trade route opened up quicker.”
“Uh, er--” the guard looked at the insignia badge, leaning back and holding his hands up. “M-my apologies, Sir Aaron. I didn’t know.” He looked behind him at the path up the mountain. “The trade routes are being targeted by monsters. We were informed by the local militia leaders to close the roads in order to protect the people until it could be dealt with.”
“We’re trying to get to Dragonvale,” Tanya told them. “If you let us through, we can handle the monsters on the way there.”
“From my understanding, the monsters are more spread out than just the road, but if you could handle the ones targeting the road, that would give us a head start. We still can’t open the road just yet but… we can make an exception for you four. But only you four. No one else,” the guard shook his head and made a sweeping gesture with his hand, cutting through the air in front of them.
“That’s fine with us. The less we have to worry about or deal with the better.” Tanya commented, looking at Aaron. “Do you think we should call in the dragons for help?”
Aaron nodded. “I think they could be helpful, but if the trees become too dense, then they might be more helpful in the air spotting for us than down on the ground fighting with us.”
“Not to mention they would literally set the forest on fire if they happened to use their dragons’ breath,” Rawyn chuckled.
The group mounted their horses once more and the guards directed them around the blockade so they could continue on the path up to Dragonvale.
The trees, of course, left a clearing on the road so Un and Musashi were in sight as they flew the sky above. Drawing her view back to the road and not the sky, Tanya spoke up. “He did say the creatures were attacking travelers on the road, correct?”
“That’s what it sounded like, yeah,” Kirito nodded.
“Then we need to stay on our toes.” Rawyn commented.
As they continued on the forest became thicker and thicker. The temperature cooled off considerably compared to the valley. The wind became stronger, rustling the trees around them. The further they went, the more they began to feel like they were being watched. Eventually, Aaron held up a hand, signaling everyone behind him to stop.
“Something wrong?” Kirito asked him.
“Maybe,” Aaron hummed, looking around them through the trees on either side of the road.
There were also thick bushes that obscured the view into the forest from the road. Even though it was daytime, the treetops were beginning to blot out the sun, casting dark shadows on the road and through the forest. Suddenly the bushes around them rustled, Aaron dismounted his horse and the others followed suit. The horses became restless, causing them to grab the reigns of their horses to keep them from running off.
Suddenly four dark masses jumped out of the bushes, blocking their path. They were wolf-like creatures with black, matted fur and sharp teeth, drool dripping from their jaws. Their eyes were bright yellow with black-slitted pupils. They snarled and crept closer towards them causing the horses to thrash around, trying to pull away but kept in place by their reigns.
“Fenrirs!” Tanya exclaimed, drawing her sword. “Let the horses go or they will drag you down!” She called out to the others as her horse reared, nearly lifting her off her feet. She and Aaron released the reins as their horses turned and bolted off in the opposite direction of the Fenrirs.
Kirito drew his two longswords as well, readying himself for a fight. “Any idea what these things are weak against?”
“Lightning elements,” Aaron explained to him. “So if you’ve got that element, use it. If not, then use fire. That’d be your next best thing.”
Kirito looked at his skill menu, seeing that he had several elements to choose from, courtesy of choosing an elemental character. All of the element skills were weaker than he would have liked, given that he hadn’t been playing the game that long, but they would do. He closed the menu and raised his longswords in an X above him.
“Infuse, lightning!” He called out and suddenly his swords flashed and crackled with yellow lightning dancing around the blades. He stepped up to the front of their group, holding out his swords. “Watch my back.”
Suddenly he heard Meuma let out an ear-splitting roar. They covered their ears and the fenrirs yelped, cringing back. The stun icon flashed over their heads on their health bars. Tanya cried out, “They’re stunned! Attack now!”
Kirito lunged forward and slashed at one of the four Fenrirs with his lightning-infused blades. The Fenrir howled and lept back, its health bar shrinking.
Aaron was the next to strike one of the Fenrirs, his sword coming up from his side and slashing upward, his sword cutting up the wolf's leg and across its chest. The wolf’s health bar shrank. However, the Fenrir charged, Rawyn charging forward as well. Rawyn bared down on his sword with both hands and continued to charge forward with a loud growl. Quickly he dropped down on his hip and slid under the Fenrir, the end of Rawyn’s sword slicing through the underbelly of the beast. The Fenrir’s health bar diminished rapidly as it burst into thousands of tiny sparkling pixels.
Tanya attacked the last Fenrir, slashing at its head as it growled and snapped at her. It yelped and cringed back, giving Tanya a second opportunity to attack it. She thrust her sword at its chest, causing massive damage but missing its heart by an inch. Kirito finished off the wolf he targeted then dashed over and finished off the one Tanya had severely hurt, sending both Fenrirs into blasts of pixels. Bringing his blade back around Aaron brought his sword down slicing off the Fenrir’s head. In its last attempt, the Fenrir nashed its teeth together at Aaron as its head rolled across the ground then burst into pixels as well.
Once all of the Fenrirs were dead, all four of them received notification pings to their inventory, letting them know that items had been looted from the enemy drops. Kirito opened his menu to see his experience and bond with Meuma increase. He scrolled through the list of item drops, seeing hide, fangs, and claws among the items along with money and some minor potions.
Tanya sheathed her sword as she looked around the group. “Is everyone alright?”
Aaron nodded as his attention went to Rawyn and Kirito, the two nodded as well as the three looked to Tanya. She smiled, then whistled for her horse. “Well then off to our next critter.”
Once her horse was beside her Tanya lifted her foot from the ground, her foot sliding into the strup of the saddle, and with a slight hop, she mounted her horse. The three men followed suit and the four were headed off toward their next challenge. It was not long as they rode along the path that another creature barreled out of the trees ready to attack. Rawyn and Kirito bolted forward on their horses, swords raised as a large, greenish-brown forest troll came at them, a club made crudely from the wood of the surrounding trees in its raised hand. It bellowed at them angrily, flashing rotting teeth. The ground underneath them shook as the troll, who was nearly half as tall as the trees around them, stomped along the ground toward them, moving frighteningly fast for its size.
Kirito and Rawyn both controlled their uneasy horses enough to continue their charge at the troll. They split, Rawyn going to the left of the troll and Kirito going to the right. They slashed out with their swords, catching the troll in the gut on either side as the troll missed its wide swing down with its club, the ground rumbling as the wooden club made contact with the earth in front of the troll. When their swords made contact, the troll roared and stumbled back, lashing out to either side with its club in an effort to catch one of them with it.
Aaron’s horse reared before lunging forward, its hooves striking the ground with force. In one swift motion, Aaron drew his double-bladed ax and hurled it toward the troll. The creature raised its club, preparing another brutal swing at Rawyn’s head. But before the blow could land, Aaron’s ax struck true, severing the troll’s arm in a single, decisive cut. The troll let out a deafening, ear-piercing cry of pain as Tanya’s horse sidestepped, retreating from the chaos.
The ground started to quake and the sound of falling trees rushed from deeper within the forest as two more forest trolls burst from the treeline at the side of the path. The two new creatures were even bigger than the one that attacked first.
“I think you pissed them off, Aaron,” Rawyn commented as he pulled back on his horse's rines.
“Mom and dad?” Kirito questioned as he looked at the two new additions standing in front of them.
“Or brother and sister,” Aaron tsked his tongue. “Looks like this quest isn’t gonna be so cut and dry.”
“So what element for forest trolls?” Kirito questioned.
“Fire, but do you really wanna light something that big on fire in the middle of a forest?” Rawyn answered him.
“Then how about I freeze them?” Kirito grinned, raising one of his swords. “Infuse, ice!” His sword glowed blue and whisps of condensation wafted off of the blade. He charged forward on his horse once more, weaving around the trolls, dragging his blade on the ground alongside him. As he did, a trail of ice rose from the ground and grew, spreading out until it surrounded the trolls and engulfed their feet in ice. After a second the ice started to spread up their bodies until it reached their chests. A snowflake icon appeared above the trolls along with a lighting bolt icon, indicating they were frozen and paralyzed.
“Now! The paralysis won’t last long, but their movement should be slowed down from the freeze effect!” Kirito shouted.
Tanya drew her blade with a smile and a soft giggle. She looked over at Aaron, then to Kirito and Rawyn. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get to removing heads.”
Her horse lunged forward, her sword lifting as she swung at the smaller troll’s neck. From the backside of the troll, Rawyn helped her out as their blades met in the middle passing one over the other. The troll’s head toppled from its shoulders as it rolled and bounced along the path. The first troll burst into a confetti of pixels and the second two attempted to move toward them as the ice started to crumble, however, their movements were severely slowed and limited, making them move almost in slow motion.
Aaron leaped from his horse and swung his axe at another troll’s neck, the blade burying deep in its flesh. He removed it then spun and slashed at it from the other side, connecting the two cuts like he was toppling a tree, and off came the troll’s head, the creature also bursting like a pixel confetti bomb.
The third and final troll slowly turned toward the treeline, it knew it was living on borrowed time. It lifted its large foot and planted it soundly on the ground under itself, but it was not able to take another step before Kirito and Rawyn cut its body into three pieces. Yet another burst of pixels exploded into the air around them. The four stedied their horses after the last troll was defeated.
Once the horses were calm they headed toward Dragonvale once more. It was about a ten-minute ride and a few more encounters with the monsters that were invading the path to the village before they finally started down the main street of the village. The villagers out on the streets rushed toward them like they were their saviors. Question after question was fired at them, but one question came from every one of them.
“How did they make it to the village alive?”
Tanya, Aaron, and Rawyn answered their questions the best they could when suddenly an elderly man parted the crowd and walked up to Aaron.
“You killed the beasts on the path. Did you destroy the den where they all live?”
“Theres a den?” Kirito questioned.
The old man looked to Kirito as he dismounted his horse, holding firmly on to the reigns. “In a cave a little over a mile from here.” The old man turned slightly as his arm lifted and he pointed toward the mountain. “It’s in the side of the mountain.”
Aaron and the rest of the group looked up at the mountain. It wasn’t terribly far. Another reason why Dragonvale had been blocked off, most likely. Aaron turned back to the elder. “We will deal with the monsters’ den, but we also had a purpose for coming here. There is a shopkeep in Greyminster who is unable to open his shop. His goods have been held up here.”
“Yeah, him and everyone else,” a new voice sounded from the crowd. A burly man cut through to the front, he was dressed in plain clothes with a leather apron over them, the sleeves of his shirt pushed up. He crossed his arms. “I’m one of the main suppliers of Greyminster. I haven’t been able to get my goods out to my buyers since they closed the trade route. We all got problems, bud.”
Tanya held a hand out to him in an offering gesture. “If we clear out the den, then you should be able to deliver the goods, correct?”
The man grunted and tilted his head, scratching his neck. “Yeah in theory. In practice, who knows how long it will take for the guards to open up the route officially. Protocol and clearance and whatnot. It could still take a full day or more before they give us regular people the go ahead.”
“Then we can take a small portion of your goods down the road to Greyminster. That should suffice until the path is opened officially,” Rawyn suggested.
“Hm…” the man stroked his scruffy beard. “I got no problems with that.”
The elder nodded slowly. “Very well then. Clear the den for us, and then you may assist in the deliveries for today.”
Tanya looked at the group that she was with as her head gave a stern nod then looked back at the villagers. “It will be done before the end of the day.”
Rawyn chuckled, “No more no less?”
Tanya looked at Rawyn with a confused look. “No faith?”
“Oh I have faith. I just don’t know what that cave holds for us. Who knows what is in there with all the crap that has been going on the last few weeks.” Rawyn looked at Aaron and Kirito. “Right?”
Kirito let out a puff of air and shook his head. “If there’s a rogue dragon in there, we might just have to call this one quits and take the L.”
“Well, hopefully there won’t, if Cerberus and Shiro’s spell worked on all of the dragons properly,” Aaron chuckled, though it came out forced. “Hopefully.”
“Any reason why it wouldn’t?” Rawyn asked.
“Same reason why games still have bugs and glitches years out from their drop date,” Aaron shrugged with a sigh. “Technology is only as good as the humans who create it.”
“Or as bad,” Kirito said under his breath, thinking back to SAO.
“That too,” Aaron muttered, thinking of all the things Vance had put them through in Dragon Lance the past few months.
“I am sure there are no rogue dragons, but if there is”--she pulled on the reigns, turning her horse--“I am sure between the four of us we can think of a way to get around him or her.”
“I got a little something that might help. At least knock it out for a few minutes so we can clean out the cave of the other monsters.” Aaron commented as he followed suit behind Tanya.
Rawyn and Kirito looked at one another then road off behind Aaron. The villagers and the children cheered, the children running beside their horses as they followed the road out of the village. Once on the main road to the mountain, the children stopped at the edge of town waving and calling out words of good luck and Godspeed. Tanya smiled brightly as she looked back at Kirito and Rawyn.
“Feels good don’t it?”
“What? Being coerced into riding off to your death?” Rawyn questioned.
Aaron and Kirito laughed aloud at Rawyn.
“Noooo!” Tanya exclaimed scrunching up her face. “To feel needed and to be someone's champion.”
“Is that what you call this?” Rawyn asked a clear smirk across his lips. “Cause I call it foolishness. We are riding off into the unknown. Most of the time we have clear knowledge of what we are rushing into in the quests and battles. Since all the hacking that has gone on we are flying blind here.”
“Well, if we’re talking in character, then it’s probably just more forest type monsters,” Kirito speculated. “If we’re talking about the meta, then most likely the monsters in the den are randomly generated within a certain subset of choices. So it could be any monsters native to this area, or the whole region. There’s likely a boss enemy so its possible the boss could be mismatched to the environment, depending on the dev team’s thoughts while plotting out this quest.”
“So you’re saying expect anything from mountain lions to centaurs?” Rawyn raised an eyebrow at Kirito.
“More or less,” Kirito shrugged.
“Maybe even a Kraken.” Aaron tossed in there.
“A Kraken?!” Tanya exclaimed. “We are land locked. Where might this Kraken spawn? A puddle?”
Aaron shrugged with a slight chuckle. “Maybe. Kirito did say things could be mismatched. Can’t get any more mismatched than
a Kraken in a cave
.” Tanya, Kirito, and Rawyn laughed at Aaron’s emphasis on ‘a Kraken in a cave’.
Kirito shook his head with a grin. “Bugs and glitches right? All it takes is for one little piece of code to be out of place. But hey, if we do get a Kracken spawned into the cold hard ground, then at least we can record it and post it online.”
“Top 10 Craziest Glitches in Dragon Lance! - You won’t believe number 6!” Aaron said in a condescending tone.
“Ok dude, that was a little
too
accurate,” Rawyn snorted. “Either you watch way too much YouTube, or you have a channel we don’t know about.”
Tanya giggled. “I would say the latter.”
“Don’t think so, but I have seen some pretty crazy stuff on YouTube.” Aaron confessed.
“Same,” Tanya agreed with a nod as her horse stopped suddenly in the middle of the road. She looked slowly around them, listening and looking deep into the forest around them. “Do you see or hear anything?” She asked in a whisper.
“Nothing,” Rawyn softly spoke in return.
Kirito and Aaron shook their heads, the four of them keeping a close eye on their surrounding area.
“This is not a monster,” Aaron said silently.
“Another guild?” Rawyn pondered. “The Dragon Slayers maybe?”
“You think they are controlling the monsters that are blocking the trade route?” Kirito mentioned.
Tanya shook her head as her horse suddenly sidestepped to her right. She quickly looked to her left, drawing her sword, knocking an arrow from midair as it sped toward her.
“Thieves!” Tanya announced as she jerked on her horse’s reins, causing the animal to lunge forward as a band of thieves exited from the forest.
“No wonder this area has had so much trouble,” Kirito exclaimed as he raced forward on his horse, lashing out with his blade to catch one of the thieves across the chest. The masked man fell backward, writhing in pain as he attempted to get up. Kirito sharply turned his horse around and raced back towards the thief. Too late, the thief realized he was about to be trampled. He curled into a fetal position, protecting his head, but Kirito’s horse swiftly and firmly planted its hooves into him, stomping on him and kicking him as Kirito rode by. The thief burst into pixels.
“Four-way split,” another of the thieves sneered at them as he pulled out a crossbow, aiming for Tanya’s horse. “One less means a bigger cut for the rest of us!”
“Four-way cut for us,” Aaron growled as his sword slashed down the thief's back. “Nothing for the likes of you.” He finished as the thief burst into light.
Behind him, Tanya was knocking arrows from mid-air as their first attacker kept sending a barrage of arrows their way. “Someone needs to take care of the ass hiding in the trees.” She told them as she knocked another three arrows from the air that were targeting Aaron.
Quickly Rawyn pulled a bow and a quiver of arrows from his inventory, he readied himself as he looked through the trees, waiting for another arrow to speed toward them. He needed an exact location so as not to waste arrows and now he had it as the thieves' arrow rushed toward the road. Rawyn released his own arrow and within a few seconds, a burst of light lit up the forest.
“Forget this, let’s get out of here!” one of the last two thieves shouted as he emerged from the bushes, running down the path.
“Don’t leave me behind you ass!” The other ran after him.
“I don’t think so!” Kirito turned his horse and went after them, catching up with the closest one. He plunged his swords into the thief’s back, sending him scattering across the ground in a shower of pixels. Over his head, several arrows flew, piercing the back of the thief ahead who was still trying to escape. He too fell to the ground in pixels.
“Well that was a pain in the ass,” Rawyn sighed, putting his weapon away.
“They weren’t that strong,” Aaron chuckled.
“I didn’t say they were.” Rawyn grinned. “I just said they were a pain in the ass.”
“The small fry always are, once you reach a certain level,” Kirito nodded.
“No challenge to them any more. Just an annoyance.” Tanya commented as she sheathed her sword. “But they seem to be able to drain your energy faster than a Boss.” She shook her head as she looked at her health bar. “One too many of these encounters and we will have to repair our health before we enter the cave.”
“It can’t be that bad, Tanya.” Aaron pondered as he took a look at his own, his brows knitting together. “Fighting them did drain our health more than I imagined it should have.”
Kirito and Rawyn looked at their own health. Rawyn shook his head, “This is not normal.”
“Ya think,” Kirito spat out. “It’s probably because of the Compendium spell. Those spells most likely have never been used before. I doubt they were even tested in beta or even alpha. Who knows what kind of glitches they’re causing.”
“Even though it was just the dragons that were reset?” Aaron asked.
“It’s possible. Everything is linked in some way. It’s coding. Even just a one letter typo can have a massive effect on the entire system. Changes, small or drastic, can cause shockwaves,” Kirito continued to explain. “We should be careful in that den. Who knows what kind of monsters are in there, let alone how powerful they are.”
The three nodded as they turned their horses and started up the road toward the mountain once more, thankfully their remaining ride turned out to be rather peaceful since no more enemies spawned in their path.
Following the road as far as they could on horseback, they finally had to inventory their horses and move forward on foot. Thankfully it was a rather short walk and they came across only one puny monster. That was until they were a few yards from the mouth of the cave. Two Erymanthian Boars charged from within. The boars were giant, with poison, fang-like tusks that foamed at the mouth. The four of them took a ‘u’ formation at the mouth of the cave, not letting the boars pass. Swords were drawn and they took on their foe, two-on-one.
The boars charged at the group as they readied themselves for the first wave of attacks. Tanya and Aaron defended against the one on the left while Kirito and Rawyn took care of the right. As the boars snorted and squealed in warning, Aaron returned their threat with a loud growl and ran toward the one closest to him and Tanya. The boar lunged as his strong legs lifted him from the ground sending him soaring through the air.
Aaron ran for the boar, sword lifted, he dropped down sliding under their attacker, slicing into the boar’s underbelly. It squealed loudly soring a few feet in the air when it quickly fell to its side, sliding across the ground and stopping only a few inches from Tanya’s feet. Before the boar could rise to its feet, Tanya lifted her sword and cut off its head. Thousands of pixels burst into the air. Turning to see if Raywn and Kirito needed assistance she witnessed their attacker bursting into pixels as well. The four of them gave one another a proud smile as they sheathed their swords. Kirito turned and slowly walked toward the mouth of the cave as Tanya helped Aaron dust the dirt from his uniform.
“Careful Kirito, you don’t know what else is hiding in there.” Rawyn called to him as he watched Kirito cautiously approach the cave mouth.
As Kirito crept up to the cave and carefully peeked inside falling eerily silent. He turned and looked at his comrades. “Uh, guys... You might what to come take a look at this.”
Kirito turned from looking at the rest of the group and started a path into the cave. Tanya looked at Aaron and Rawyn, a confused look on her face. “What is he doing?”
Aaron shrugged, “It must not be a threat or he would not have went in.”
Rawyn chuckled lightly as he, Aaron, and Tanya walked toward the cavemouth. “Maybe its your puddle Kracken, Aaron.”
Tanya and Rawyn chuckled softly.
“Ha ha ha,” Aaron commented sarcastically as they approached the mouth of the cave.
Eyes went wide as they saw the reason Kirito called them over. There in front of them lay a Dream Dragon.
Tanya gasped, her hand covering her mouth. She had never seen a Dream Dragon before, only heard about them. It was like something out of a fairytale, a dream. So beautiful.
The dragon was mostly blue, turquoise, and aqua in color, but the colors shifted like a kaleidoscope; its lower body was lighter than the top and wings. Parts of its belly were purplish-lavender in color and the tips of its wings blended into navy, dark violet, and then into black. Inside the colors was a constantly shifting image of the night sky with a golden crescent moon, white shimmering clouds, and gold and silver starbursts. Along the tip of its tail and in between its scales were flashes of gold light. Its chest appeared to have flowerlike designs in its patterning. What was even more insane was that its coloring and patterning made it look like it was wearing jewelry. There were images of magenta-colored stones laid in gold and a gold crescent moon pendant attached to gold chains hanging from its wings and head. But they, like the flowers were just an illusion created by its colors. On the top of its head were two filed-down stubs that looked as if there were supposed to be horns growing out of the dragon’s head. But there were no horns.
Suddenly her head tipped to one side as she stepped up next to the dream dragon. She watched it, closely, waiting to see the rise and fall of the dragon's chest. Her eyes trailed down the dragon’s body to its head.
She looked over at her friends. “This dragon has passed.”
“Huh?” Aaron expressed.
“What do you mean it’s dead?” Rawyn asked as he walked up next to the dragon’s head and placed his hand over its nose. He left it there for a few seconds waiting to feel its breath on his hand. He sighed as he pulled his hand away. “Poor thing.”
“Do dream dragons have horns?” Kirito asked.
Aaron with an inquisitive look on his face walked toward the dragon's head. His hand lifted rubbing the place on the dragon's head where their horns normally are. His head nodded slowly confirming Kirito’s question. “There were indeed horns on this beast.”
Tanya opened her panel and searched ‘Dream Dragon’, an image of said dragon loaded on the screen. “Their horns are like the horns of a deer and are known to grow nearly two feet in length.” She then started to read the information under the image. They watched her as her head moved left to right as she read the description. She stopped and looked at Aaron and Rawyn. “Their horns are made up of a mixture of opal and alexandrite.” Her head shook, “damn poachers.”
“They killed her for profit.” Kirito commented as he descended from the depths of the cave.
“How do you know its a girl?” Aaron questioned.
Kirito lifted a piece of an eggshell he had in his hand. “She had a baby and those asshats must have taken it too.”
Tanya looked around toward the back of the cave hoping to find some kind of hint that the baby dream dragon was still in the cave. “Did you find a nest?” She quickly asked as she brushed past Kirito.
“Yeah back that way,” Kirito pointed, “but there was nothing but pieces of egg shells in it. I already looked for the little guy. I found no traces of him. Or her.”
Tanya looked around frantically, but after a few minutes, she stopped with a heavy sigh. “I hate dragon slayers,” she growled as she spun in place to face the opening of the cave. “And I hate poachers even more.” Her voice raised in anger. Suddenly her gaze fixated on a set of glowing sky-blue dots in the darkness, behind the deceased mother dragon.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Forty-Seven
Slowly and cautiously, Tanya moved toward the glowing sky-blue dots in the darkness. She believed that between the deceased mother and the cave wall, the baby dragon took refuge. The closer she got the more hunched over and closer to the ground she became, putting herself at the level of the infant. Stopping just before she got into the darkness herself, she then extended her arm out toward whatever was hiding behind the deceased mother dragon.
“It’s alright. No one here is going to hurt you.” She spoke calmly and softly to hopefully coax the little dragon out.
“Careful,” Aaron stressed, “who knows how long that baby has been without food. You could go missing some fingers or that arm.”
Tanya looked quickly at Aaron. “That’s it.” She quickly opened her panel again and went into her inventory and retrieved one of the many treats she had for the dragons she interacted with. She waved the treat in front of her and started coaxing the baby out once more.
Rawyn blinked at the piece of meat she waved in front of her. It was a thick and fairly large piece of sirloin. “Damn! I want to be one of your dragons. They eat better then I do and I am the lord of my guild.”
The three of them chuckled softly, Tanya shaking her head but saying nothing in response to Rawyn. Instead, she focused on coaxing out what she hoped was the baby dragon. A few seconds passed, and then she noticed faint sky-blue dots moving toward her. Her heart quickened, but she stayed still, allowing whatever it was to come closer.
Slowly, Tanya began to step back, her movements careful and deliberate, avoiding any sudden actions that might startle the creature. Her goal was to draw it out into the cave’s dim light without frightening it. Another cautious step back, her eyes never leaving the glowing dots. She wanted to be close enough to see it but not so close as to provoke a defensive reaction.
Yes, it was a dragon—of that she was certain. And while it could attack if provoked, just like the other beasts they had faced, Tanya had learned during her time in this VR world that dragons weren’t their enemies. Even when scared or injured, dragons seemed to know. They could sense which humans were allies and which were threats.
Besides, she bore the mark of honor that came with befriending a Mystic Dragon—one of the greatest accolades anyone could achieve in the
Dragon Lance VR
. It was a bond that dragons recognized, a symbol of trust and respect among their kind. With that in mind, Tanya continued her careful approach, hoping the dragon would recognize her as a friend.
“Come on little guy.” She coaxed once more when finally, stepping out of the darkness a baby dream dragon emerged. “Awwww,” Tanya expressed as her free hand lifted and rested on her chest over her heart. It welled up and tears stung her eyes. He was adorable and he looked nothing like what she expected. Not a thing like his mother.
He was no more than a foot and a half or two feet from the ground to shoulder. His eyes were tear-drop shaped and yes, of course, sky blue. His horns were tiny bumps and barely protruding from the top of his head and his tiny ears were tucked back in a defensive gesture. His coloring was harsh, yet faded from one to another with midnight blue, black, deep dark purple, white, and a small amount of golden tan.
From the top of his head to the tip of his tail a midnight blue, deep dark purple, and black mane coursed his spine, the purpling of his color lightly kissed his ears and snout and his tiny black wings. That color quickly changed to a white that wrapped completely around him from his back, to his underbelly and slightly down his legs. Then a beautiful golden tan socked his feet fading into the white of his legs, and the entire of his coloring glistened like the surface of a pearl. He was adorable and Tanya’s heart melted with each step he took toward her.
The cave was eerie silent, no one even breathed, worried that the slightest sound would spook him and he would retreat behind his deceased mother. They watched with bated breath waiting for the baby dragon to feel safe and comfortable in their presence. Suddenly the baby dragon growled, lunging forward, and took hold of the sirloin, jerking it from Tanya’s hand. He did not retreat like she believed he would but stayed out in the open with them. She watched the little guy as he gnawed and ripped at the meat under his paws.
“You think he ran behind his mother when they tried to catch him?” Rawyn asks, his eyes on the eating dragon.
“It’s possible.” Tanya looked at the baby dragon. “He was wedged back there pretty far.”
“I want to know why he is awake?” Kirito blurted out.
They all looked at him, the same question rising in their minds. “Good question.” Aaron pondered some more as he looked at the baby dragon.
“Maybe he hatched after the fact.” Rawyn threw out there, not realizing he hit the nail on the head.
“That’s exactly what happen.” Kirito stated as he looked at the dragon. “The baby dragon suffered the same effect the guild dragons did when they were put in inventory.”
“Then how did he survive all this time?” Tanya inquired.
“Well this is a VR and not real life.” Rawyn reminded them.
“True, but this game is so close to being real it don’t make sense how the little guy survived all this time.” He pointed at the baby dragon. “His size suggest he is a little under a week old.”
Kirito shrugged, “maybe from eating small reptiles and rodents that wandered in here? That would be my only guess.”
The group watched as the baby dragon polished off the sirloin, tossing it into the air and snapping it up with his jaws. He chewed a few times before swallowing, then looked up at Tanya with his big, soulful blue eyes. He let out a soft, almost pleading whine and reared up on his hind legs, resting his tiny front paws on her leg. Tanya smiled down at him, unable to resist his charm. Opening her inventory again, she pulled out another sirloin. This time, the little dragon took it gently from her hand, then settled down at her feet to enjoy his meal, chewing contentedly.
“Well, however it happened it was only enough to sustain him because he’s starving.” Aaron commented. “Not even Un could eat two of those at a week old.”
Tanya giggled as her head nodded slowly. “It seems we have yet another to add to our family of the Knights of the Mystic Dragons.”
“How many dragons do you all have now?” Rawyn asked.
Tanya and Aaron shrugged. “Over 5, less than 20.” Aaron commented with a goofy smile.
“We have 11, now 12 with this little guy.” Tanya giggled.
Aaron’s head tilted to one side looking on at the baby dragon. “What are we going to name him?”
The group stood in silence waiting for Tanya to answer Aaron’s question. “Well. He is a dream dragon…” She fell silent in thought as she slowly squatted down and petted the baby dragon on top of the head. He looked up at her from his meal, his big blue eyes soft, content, and happy.
“Morpheus.” She claimed with a wide smile.
“Morpheus? Really? You do realize he is a villain.”
Tanya looked at Rawyn quickly. “He is not,” she defended the character behind the name. “He is just … Misunderstood.”
Aaron and Rawyn laughed. “Sure babe. We will go with that.” He looked at the baby dragon. “
Morpheus
.” he fell silent in thought. “Let’s hope he don’t have the same personality as the character.” He looked between Rawyn and Kirito. “We might have a lot of apologizing to do if he does.”
The three laughed again, Rawyn shaking his head. “You know what?” Kirito announced. “I have this feeling that the dream dragon here”--he pointed at the deceased dragon--“was protecting Dragonvale.”
“Makes sense,” Rawyn admitted, “and when the spell was activated, putting her to sleep-- all foes ran amuck.”
“Well then. We need to make sure we cleared out all the creatures, so the road can be reopened.” Aaron stepped toward the mouth of the cave.
“If you three want to go scout the area I will stay here with the baby and take care of the momma.” Tanya stood from petting Morpheus.
Aaron looked at the two guys, then back to Tanya walking toward her. “I know you’re strong and all, but if something or someone--ones--come in here you can’t defend
and
protect Morpheus at the same time. You know he is going to run if he gets scared.”
“I have Musashi, remember?” She pointed upward referring to the sky where he, Un, and Meuma were located flying above them as they spoke.
His head shook, “I would still feel better if you had an actual person here. You never know if things are going to go crazy again. It's only a hunch about Cerrakor being gone. He could pop back on and no one be the wiser until it's too late.”
“Fine,” she looked to Rawyn, “you stay with me and Kirito and Aaron can go scout.”
Aaron leaned in and kissed Tanya on the forehead, “thank you.” He turned and looked at Kirito. “You ready?”
Kirito nodded walking toward him. “Always.”
The two, Aaron and Kirito walked out of the cave leaving Tanya and Rawyn in the cave with Morpheus and the deceased mother dragon.
“So what are we going to do with the mother?” Rawyn turned toward the dead dragon.
“Inventory her.”
“She is too much to put into inventory.” He patted the dragon's side. “Your horse won’t be able to carry you. You’d have to walk.”
“No. You’re forgetting a crucial feature to our inventory.”
“Huh?” Rawyn questioned as he opened his panel. He touched the inventory tab, it opened as he looked at his inventory, a serious and concentrated look on his face. He rubbed his chin as his brows knitted together. “It doesn’t look any different. When did they add this feature?”
Tanya giggled, “they didn’t. It has been part of the inventory OS since day one.” She squatted down, picked up Morpheus in her arms, and carried him over to Rawyn where he stood, still dumbfounded at what she was trying to tell him about their inventory.
“Look,” she replied as she scrolled through his inventory looking for something she could use as an example. Coming across a couple of pieces of armor she stopped and pointed at a chest plate. “You want this?” She looked slightly to her right where Rawyn stood.
“No, It’s just a cheap chest plate. I was going to sell it along with its accessories to a merchant, but was never able to with all the crazy going on.”
Tanya only nodded as she tapped the chest plate icon. A drop-down box appeared under it. “Here,” she pointed at the word, ‘Process’. Tapping the word in the drop-down box another window popped up informing the owner what the item was and what it was processed into.
Chest plate armor disassembled and processed:
5 Silver Bars
1 Yard of Leather
“There you go,” she adjusted Morpheus in her arms. “You can get better items by processing within your inventory instead of trading or selling with the merchants.”
“Well that’s kinda unfair to the merchants. If you can do that how are they supposed to make their money?”
She chuckled softly as her head shook. “You can’t get everything from doing this. The merchants are still needed for special and rare items.”
“Ahh,” Rawyn expressed, going through his inventory and processing all his unwanted items.
As Rawyn went through his own inventory, Tanya opened hers and added the deceased mother dragon to her inventory. Once the dragon was there she tapped the dream dragon icon, the drop-down box opened and she tapped ‘Process’. It took a few seconds before the informative window opened. Her eyes widened when it finished.
“WOW!” She exclaimed as she looked at the list and the quantity of the items that were processed from the dream dragon. “Just so you know”--she looked to Rawyn--“I am sharing what I get from the dream dragon with you.”
“What about Sir Kedieg and Sir Aekin, are you not supposed to turn any and all deceased dragons over to your Provinces’ breeders?”
“Yes, in truth, but the other day while myself and Moonshine were out helping heal the dragons, Sir Aekin and Sir Kedieg approved our keeping the ones we found. We only have to report the ones we found and harvested, so they can log them.”
“Ahh,” Rawyn commented in understanding, still going through his inventory. “You know this is pretty helpful.” He looked toward Tanya with a wide grin. “Thanks for showing it to me.”
“You’re welcome, glad I could help.” She looked around the cave, then back to Rawyn as he closed his panel. “Well since we are all done here, want to head out and help Aaron and Kirito?”
“Sure, nothing to do in here but sit on our bums.”
Tanya nodded as she adjusted Morpheus in her arms and started a path toward the cave’s mouth.
“You’re going to spoil that dragon if you don’t put him down and make him follow us,” Rawyn shook his head.
“You know,” Tanya stated in a pondering tone, “I remember someone else telling me that about another dragon.” She looked up and saw Musashi flying overhead. “And he turned out just fine.”
Rawyn chuckled knowingly, “you and your damn dragons.”
Tanya grinned at him but said nothing as the two set off to find Aaron and Kirito. When they caught up, Aaron instructed her to head to the main road and wait for them, since she was carrying the baby dragon. Though reluctant, Tanya agreed and made her way down the mountainside, following the narrow, beaten path back to the road.
A few minutes later, she reached the main road and gently placed Morpheus on the ground, giving him a chance to stretch and do his business before they mounted the horses for the ride back to the village.
As she waited for the men to arrive, Tanya spent the time bonding with Morpheus. She played with the little dragon, earning his trust bit by bit. Her efforts paid off when a notification appeared, alerting her that she had reached acquaintance level with him—a small but significant step in their growing connection.
---
It was hours later when they finally rode back into Dragonvale, the villagers watching them and the children cheering and giggling loudly, running beside their horses as they rode toward the merchant who informed them of the issue with the monsters.
Riding up to the merchant's shop, he exited, wiping his hands on a white towel and giving them a pointed look. “Were you successful?”
Aaron grinned as he slid off his horse, Rawyn and Kirito joining him as Tanya stayed on her horse with Morpheus. “Of course we were.”
The merchant chuckled as he tucked the towel into his apron. “Good, good.”
The four opened their panels and transferred the teeth, talons, and horns they collected during the hunt. The merchant was pleased, nodding his head. He then turned and started back into his shop. “Give me a few minutes and I will ready the supplies for the merchants in Greyminster”--he stopped, turning at the shop’s door to look back at them--“you should be seeing the teams rewards soon enough.” As the merchant entered the shop, the team heard the chime alerting them that their experience had increased along with a shop boost, money, and a sample of his goods.
As they waited for the guy to get the goods ready for them to take back to Grayminster, the sixth Knight, Sir Kedieg stepped up to them.
“Sir Kedieg, what a surprise I figured you would still be out tending to the injured dragons.”
He smiled brightly at Tanya as he stepped around the children that surrounded her horse, they were looking at and petting the baby dragon she had with her.
“I ran short of supplies and had to return for more.” He reached up to the baby dragon and patted his neck. “And who is this little guy?”
“Morpheus. He is an orphaned Dream dragon.” She slowly dismounted with the baby dragon. Sir Kedieg assisted her so she would not fall.
“He is a handsome little guy.” Sir Kedieg proclaimed. “I guess his mother was killed during the dragon freakout?”
“I am not sure when she past, but when we found her her horns were removed.”
Kedieg sighed, “poachers.”
“Yeah, that's what we believe happened.” Kirito commented.
“So how did this little guy not fall into their hands?” He stroked Morpheus' head.
“Another mystery.” Aaron stated.
“We found him tucked behind his deceased mother. We believe they tried to take him and he darted behind her. Wedging himself between her and the cave wall.” Tanya explained.
“So you’re just one big mystery from beginning to end, huh little guy.” Sir Kedieg said to the baby dragon. He looked to Tanya. “So I am right in saying you took care of the mother.”
Tanya nodded her head as she slowly set Morpheus to the ground. “Yes, I did. I am glad we crossed paths so I was able to report this to you.” Feeling a tug at her cape she looked down at a child standing next to her. She smiled warmly at the little boy.
“Can we play with the baby dragon?” He asked her.
Tanya nodded her head. “If you promise to listen to me about him.” Tanya informed him and the other children standing around.
The children quickly nodded their heads as they looked around at one another. “We will. We promise.” They all told her.
“Alright then, first rule is not to crowd him. Let him move around and come to you.” She squatted down next to Morpheus putting herself at the same level as the children. “Rule two, no yelling, screaming or fast movements until he is comfortable around all of you.”
“How will we know when he is comfortable with us?” One of the children asked.
“He will let you know. If you do not notice it, I will tell you.” Tanya explained.
The children smiled and sat down on the ground making a circle around Morpheus. The circle was rather large and he had more than enough space to move, bound around, and open his wings to show them off. Frolicking within the circle Morpheus spun a few times like he was chasing his tail. The children giggled and laughed as they watched the baby dragon play.
“What is his name?” A little girl of about 6 asked Tanya.
“Morpheus,” Tanya replied.
“Morpheus,” the little girl repeated as she looked at the dragon.
No sooner than the baby dragon's name slipped from between her lips, Morpheus suddenly stopped spinning in circles and looked pointedly at the little girl. As quickly as he stopped he started running toward the child. Her eyes widened as the dragon that was more than half her size bounded toward her. Tanya gasped moving quickly as well to try and catch Morpheus before he bounded on top of the child. The little girl had raised her hands to try and stop him, but before Tanya could get to the child, Morpheus had tackled the child to the ground. She screamed then started giggling when he started licking her face.
The little girl continued giggling, her hands at Morpheus’ shoulders trying to push him away as Tanya scooped him up in her arms holding him closer to her. She laughed as he started licking her face next. Seconds later a strong gail blew over them and the earth under them shook. Everyone turned their attention toward their new visitor.
Musashi with his head craned high looked around the village, he was standing in a defensive stance as he stood there proud and regal. Everyone but Tanya, Aaron, Kirito, Rawyn, and Sir Kedieg gasped and took a step back, the children stayed on the ground and moved slowly toward Tanya. It was seconds later when Un landed as well on the other side of them. He as well, was checking out the village. His stance was as defensive as Musashi’s. They had them boxed in. Tanya looked at Musashi, setting Morpheus to the ground with the children once more. The 6-year-old, that Morpheus tackled, wrapped her arms around him holding him in place as Tanya moved toward Musashi.
She was not sure what happened, not sure why Musashi and Un landed in the village, but their appearance and outward attitude worried her. “Musashi,” Tanya said to him, her arm extended as she walked toward him.
“What a time not to have Moonshine with us.” Aaron commented a worried look on his face as he looked between the two dragons.
Rawyn quickly drew his sword as Sir Kedieg placed his hand on his arm causing him to lower it down. “They got this. You threaten them they could attack.”
“Musashi,” Tanya repeated as he finally looked toward her. His look softened as he looked on at her, his head lowering slowly. She stepped up, her arms extended upward to him as his head lowered right into her arms. “You’re scaring the villagers. Calm down, everything is alright.” She stroked his nose as he let out a huff of hot air.
Aaron watched as Un’s stance softened as well. Making his way toward his dragon Aaron spoke softly to Un. “What’s wrong big guy? Did you see or hear something?” He watched as Un slowly lay down resting his head on his paws. Aaron heard him whine softly like the times he would scold him for doing wrong. He moved toward Un to comfort him and let him know he was not in trouble.
Tanya looked in the direction of Un and Aaron as they stood next to their dragons consoling them. Once they seemed settled down Tanya and Aaron announced that it was safe and no one had to worry. They walked back toward Rawyn, Kirito, and Sir Kedieg glancing back at their dragons.
“What was that all about?” Kirito questioned when the two stepped up to them.
“Don’t know, but they were definitely unsettled.” Aaron commented.
Tanya was still watching Musashi as he lay down on the ground Morpheus then quickly started bounding toward him. Musashi did not move as the baby dragon bounded right into the side of his muzzle. It knocked Morpheus back some as he shook his head, then charged toward the large dragon once more. “Maybe it was because the little girl screamed?” Tanya offered, then chuckled softly when Morpheus grabbed hold of Musashi's lip and started tugging.
“Whatever it was it has seemed to pass.” Rawyn commented sheathing his sword.
Tanya and Aaron nodded with wide smiles as they watched Morpheus with Musashi. “I am going to have Moonshine ask Musashi when we return back to Whitehaven castle. I have a funny feeling it was because the child screamed out.”
The three guys nodded as the store merchant exited his shop. “It’s all ready.” The merchant’s arm lifted as he gestured toward an oncoming cart being pulled by a horse, the merchant's helper leading the horse and cart.
The four of them looked on at the cart with wide eyes. “Really?” Rawyn commented.
“That’s…That’s quite a bit.” Kirito added.
“Is that really what is owed to the merchant in Grayminster?” Aaron looked the way of the shopkeeper.
Tanya giggled softly when the guys sighed heavily. “It's alright. We are happy to take it to him.”
“Good. I threw in a little extra for the four of you. It’s in four different crates at the back of the cart. It’s for my appreciation of making sure the delivery makes it to my customers in Grayminster and for doing away with the monsters blocking the road.” The shopkeeper expressed to them.
“You’re welcome,” Aaron, Tanya, Kirito, and Rawyn said nearly in unison.
“I’ll have someone return your horse once we completed this job.” Tanya informed him.
“No need. Timothy is going with you, he will do that once he has dropped off the items.” The shopkeeper replied.
The four nodded slowly,
This is going to be a slow ride to Grayminster.
Rawyn thought to himself.
“We will inform the guards that the road has been cleared so they can remove the barricade. Then all can travel the road again.” Aaron informed the villagers who were standing around them.
“I will send four of my best men to protect the road and forest so this will not happen again.” Tanya proclaimed as she looked at Sir Kedieg, then to the villagers standing around.
“I am sure once everything is settled and the rest of the dragons wake everything should go back to normal.” Aaron announced.
“Should or will?” One of the villagers called out from the crowd.
Aaron looked to Tanya with a ‘your turn’ expression. Tanya smiled as she stepped up next to Aaron. “There are no promises at this moment. We are still trying to catch the hacker that has caused all the so called glitches. Until then we need everyone to be diligent when they are doing anything that might be dangerous, and to watch out for anything out of the ordanary, and report it as soon as they notice it.”
“Do we report it to you, Lady Tanya or someone else.” One of the villager's men asked.
“You need to contact the Admins DarkDragon or ClairVoyance. They are the two that are helping us in this conundrum. If you’re unsure of how to contact an individual Admin you can send any concerns via the Guild Leaders, me-Lady Tanya, Vice Master Aaron or Grandmaster Klein and we will forward it to the appropriate recipient. This is from now until you hear different from your Guild Leaders or see the announcement posted on the Community Bulletin Board via the Admins.”
“So announcements and updates will be posted on the CBB?” A woman villager questioned.
“Yes and also, if you would please spread this around to the rest of the villagers of our Province, I know some do not read the Community Bulletin Board and we want everyone to be aware of what is going on in Tarragonia. We want all of our clansmen, women and children to be safe.”
Tanya looked around the villagers, some looked content others still looked confused. “Are there any questions you would like to ask?”
Everyone started talking at the same time, Tanya’s eyes went wide as she lifted her arm, the heel of her hand going to her forehead.
I had to ask.
For the next hour and a half, the group stood there answering questions for the villagers.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter Forty-Eight
Finally, the group was on their way back to Whitehaven Castle as the children and other villagers bid them farewell as they exited the village. They rode along in silence for a few moments until Kirito spoke up.
“We could have been halfway back to the castle by now.” He side-eyed Tanya. “Why in the name of all dragons did you ask them if they had any questions?”
Rawyn chuckled, “That is like the worst question to ask when a conundrum is at hand.”
“We did need to address the situation at hand, but we could have done that another time,” Aaron added as he looked at Tanya.
“Alright. I’m sorry. I did not know it would get that out of hand.” Tanya confessed. “The second the words slipped from my lips I knew I walked into a shit storm.”
Rawyn and Aaron chuckled lightly, Kirito only shook his head. “Well lets not open our mouth in Grayminster”--he looked pointedly at Tanya. “Alright.”
Aaron looked at Kirito. “Lighten up, Kirito. Yes, it was bad timing, but it needed to be done.” He looked forward as they followed the road. “I think we need to run a campaign. Announce that there will be a gathering in Dawnmeadow and all that wish to come are welcome, but if not, to be sure to appoint a trusted informant to join us so they can relay the information to their villages.”
“I thought that was what the CBB was for.” Rawyn expressed.
“It is, but a lot of members don’t read it. Plus”--he looked their way--“its a good excuse for a festival. It has been a long time since we have had a festival and invited the entire province.”
Tanya pulled back on her horse's reins. “Do you really think now is the time for a festival? I mean there is still so much going on.”
“I think now would be the best time. Everyone is so uptight right now, and what could happen? Everyone will be having a good time? There is no danger in a festival.” Rawyn added his thoughts on the idea.
Tanya watched as the three guys stopped moving forward and turned their horses to face her. “Why are you adding your two cents, Rawyn you’re up north. You won’t even be there.”
Rawyn chuckled lightly, “Because I am thinking of doing just what Aaron suggested in my providence. You can get the word around with the extra warning and everyone can still have a good time.”
“Kinda yin and yang thing.” Kirito commented with a nod.
“Yeah!” Aaron exclaimed. “Exactly!” He looked pointedly at Tanya. “So what do you think?”
Tanya bumped her heels into her horse's sides to get him moving again. “I think I will think about it.”
Aaron pulled at his horse's reins turning him as Tanya rode past. “If that’s the best I can get at the moment, I am pleased. At least you’re thinking about it.”
The rest of the ride was silent as they made their way to the barricade and then to Grayminster.
When the group made it to the barricade, the guards were informed that the road had been cleared along with the forest. Also, they were informed that the Knights of the Mystic Dragon would be sending 4 of their best men to patrol the area until the glitches were straightened out.
“You can return to your respective villages and make your Magistrates aware of the situation.” Tanya told them.
The four guards nodded and the eight of them started taking down the barricade. Once they were done the guards headed toward their homes as Tanya and the three men started toward home by way of Grayminster to drop off their delivery.
Nearly to Grayminster, the horse pulling the cart spooked as it stopped and took a few steps back. The horse neighed rearing its head up and down as it stepped back trying to get away from whatever spooked it. Aaron rode forward to see if something was on the road as the others stayed behind the cart. They watched Aaron as he approached the front of the cart shaking his head.
Tanya’s attention then went quickly to the forest surrounding them as did Rawyn, Aaron, and Kirito’s. Swords were drawn and their horses moved into a formation to protect the cart’s driver and the delivery.
They remained silent and diligent as they waited for whatever it was that was out there readying itself to attack. Suddenly 6 thieves burst through the thick of the forest, yelling and making as much noise as they could trying to spook the horses so they would be uncontroable.
“They’re after the delivery!” Rawyn announced as he swung his sword at one of the thieves who charged at him to get to the cart.
From the corner of her eye, Tanya watched as the first thief burst into a million pixels. “Calm that horse!” she exclaimed to the cart driver.
“I’m trying the best I can, but the horse is being disagreeable!” Timothy exclaimed as he pulled back on the horse's reins.
Tanya shook her head in frustration moving forward quickly to take hold of the horse as she thrust her sword forward, locking swords with one of the thieves that charged toward her and the cart. Sparks flew and the clash of metal rang out among the commotion. Suddenly she spun her wrist bringing her blade to the top of the thief's blade and pushed downward causing the thief to stumble. She lifted her sword and plunged it into the thief's chest, taking out another thief. The delivery horse reared, its hooves pawing the air as Tanya came forward. She reached out, firmly grasping its halter while speaking softly, her soothing words working to calm the anxious animal.
As she worked on calming the horse, Aaron and Kirito were battling it out with thieves of their own. Rawyn fighting with another as the thief and his partner were in the back of the cart trying to get away with the delivery for the merchant. They were throwing bags out of the cart onto the road.
Tanya looked back just in time to see the thief lunge his sword forward at Rawyn as she pulled forward on the halter of the horse causing him to quickly move forward. The thief lost his footing and stumbled giving Rawyn the opening he needed to end the fight. Another thief burst into pixels. With the death of his partner, the second thief in the back of the cart spooked, turned, and jumped out of the back of the cart. Kirito simultaneously ended him and the other thief he was fighting. A rainbow of pixels burst around them as Aaron ended the sixth thief at the same time Kirito ended his two.
A chime sounded alerting them of their drops. None of them checked what they got as they looked around at one another.
Releasing the horse's halter with a heavy sigh, Tanya looked at her traveling companions. “This quest is getting to be a real pain.”
“Here here.” Rawyn agreed.
“Well we are not far from Grayminster. Another 0.8 kilometers and we’re there.” Aaron informed them as he dismounted to recover the bags thrown from the cart.
“We’re American, Aaron. We measure things in inches, feet, yards and miles.” Rawyn reminded him, his tone annoyed as he dismounted to help.
Tanya chuckled softly. “A half a mile, Rawyn. So not too far.”
Aaron chuckled as well. “Sorry Rawyn. I have played this game for five years and I still forget it's an American game.”
“It’s fine. I am just ready for this to be over with. I guess the hunger is getting to me.”
“IRL or in game?” Tanya asked watching him and Aaron put the bags back in the cart.
“Both,” Rawyn complained as he tossed the last bag into the cart.
“Here,” Aaron tossed him an apple from one of the crates that belonged to them.
“Hey! Yeah! I forgot those crates belonged to us. Toss me another.”
Aaron tossed Rawyn another apple as they mounted their horse and the group was on their way once more.
---
Taking his AmuSphere off, Aiden placed it on his night table, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He had not spent the whole day in full dive, but he spent enough time to learn all the crazy and weird things that Vance had been doing to the residents of Tarragonia.
His mind still in thought of the day's events, and his plans to help the Knights of the Mystic Dragon stay on top of any glitches and/or hacks that might contaminate the coding of Dragon Lance, Aiden pushed up off the bed making a path toward his computer.
He pulled out his chair and took a seat in front of it waking the monitor. He looked at the monitor, a beautiful landscape of Tarragonia laid out in front of him. A wide smile crossed his lips as he closed Dragon Lance, opened a new window, and started typing, but it was not a letter he was typing, not a memo, not a note. It was a single word.
‘Nyx’
A file popped up as Aiden clicked on it, the file opening as rows and rows of coding laid out in front of him. A coding he wanted to add to Dragon Lance for the Admin to use, but they would have to be in game playing the game for it to be used properly. However, the producers of the game decided it was something that might prove fruitless since there was no guarantee the administrators would be playing the game, once they became the monitors. So it was nixed. Hence the name of the file and the now program that would be added to the Dragon Lance coding.
Quickly going through the file and checking all the coding and changing the program's name, Aiden was finally able to transfer the file over to the original coding of the game in about two hours. Once he was done he closed his computer down, stood from his chair, and stretched out to relieve his tight muscles. He smiled madly as he thought to himself.
If Vance makes a move on the coding now, Nyx will detect it and let her master know.
He straightened his shirt smoothing it down as he went off to get a bite to eat. There was still work that needed to be done, he could not waste any more time just standing around.
---
It was hours later, the sun on the horizon sitting slowly in the west as Tanya, Rawyn, Aaron and Kirito were riding up the road that led to the castle. Approaching the gates they could hear the guardsmen calling out their arrival.
“It’s Lady Tanya and Vice Master Aaron!”
“Open the gates!”
“Open the gates!”
It seemed like an echo as they relayed the message to the gatekeepers. As the gate opened you could hear the turning of the gears and cogs. The chains rattled and metal ground against metal as the gates swung open.
“Think dinner’s done?” Rawyn made comment.
Aaron chuckled lightly. “If not it won’t take Alickath long to whip something up for us.”
“I need to see if I can contact DarkDragon and see if there’s an update on the Cerrakor deal.” Tanya commented. “I want to make sure Dragon Lance is safe from here on out.”
“Even if Cerrakor has been taken care of, we still have the Dragon Slayers to tend with and as you know Seveani is no walk in the park.” Kirito turned and looked at her as they followed the road to the stables.
“We also have to tend with Thoin.” Aaron reminded them.
“I say we deal with Thoin first and put a trust worthy leader in the Western hemisphere . If we do that they can bring the Dragon Slayers guild to an end and we can deal with the Slayers that are NPCs.” Tanya informed them.
“There are a few up standing guilds in the west we can talk to and see if they would like to step up as the western hemispheres lead guild.” Aaron stated as they dismounted their horses.
A stable boy walked out taking the horses two by two, taking Aarons and Rawyn’s horses first. Tanya stood there holding on to her horse’s reins as she waited for the stable boys' return.
“We need to discharge and excommunicate 8th Knight, Sir Luthien from the guild and the province before he betrays us even more.” Aaron growled slightly at the thought of his betrayal. “I can’t believe he turned on us. He has been with us since the beginning.”
“He will be dealt with in time. We can’t really prove anything unless we want to reveal the mole we have in the Dragon Slayers.” She heard Aaron growl. Lifting her hand stopping Aaron before he could speak, she looked over at him, then handed off her horse to the stable boy.
“I know we need to remove him, but I was hoping maybe we could use him to set up the Dragon Slayers.” Tanya explained.
“That’s a good idea if you think it will work.”
Tanya looked Rawyn’s way. “Well he don’t know we suspect him, so as long as we don’t lead him on thinking we know. I believe it will work.”
“What about the other Knights? They are aware of his betrayal. What if they confront him?”
Aaron looked on at Kirito. “They won’t. They will let us deal with him. Even if they are enraged at him for his betrayal they won’t engage him unless they are ordered to.”
“Let’s hope your right about that.” Kirito conveyed.
The four of them turned and started a path toward the castle. They continued their talk on their way inside, hoping to get a few things out of the way and moving in the right direction so they could sit and enjoy their meal and talk about something a little more pleasant.
Entering the castle and making their way to the main corridor the four were stopped by none other than Alickath, he bowed deeply to them.
“Good evening, my Lady. Gentleman.” He stood looking at the four of them. “Have you eaten?”
The four of them looked between one another shaking their heads, “Would you like for me to have the cooks preapare something for you.” Alickath inquired.
The three guys looked on at Tanya as she looked quickly at Alickath. “Yes, please Alickath that would be wonderful.”
Alickath nodded with another bow to them. “Right away my Lady.” He stood and looked on at them once more. They were filthy from their day out slaying monsters and protecting the province’s villages. He turned and started a path toward the kitchen as he spoke to them once more.
“Maybe you would like to clean up before dinner?” Alickath’s comment came out as a question, but sounded more like a recommendation, causing the group the look at one another more closely.
Tanya giggled, “he is right, we are a motley looking bunch.” She quickly looked in Alickath’s direction before he disappeared from view. “Alickath could you--”
“It is already done my Lady. Lord Rawyn’s room is awaiting him.” Alickath informed her as he disappeared down the corridor to the back of the castle.
“Well then,” Tanya turned with a shrug of her shoulders. “I guess that leaves us with only one thing left to do.”
“Yeah!” Aaron, Rawyn, and Kirito turned quickly making a beeline for the staircase that led to the second floor of the castle. “Clean up.”
Tanya stood there chuckling lightly as she shook her head. “Boys,” was all she said as she headed for her room on the second floor.
---
Making it to her room Tanya was greeted by two of her ladies-in-waiting. They approached her wrinkling their noses. “My Lady, this is so unbecoming of a lady.”
Tanya laughed. “Who said I was a lady? I am a Knight and will get dirty from time to time. I can bathe and become clean once more. No big deal and there is no need to get your panties in a bunch because I am dirty.”
“My Lady,” the two ladies in waiting grumbled as they led her to the bathroom.
Tanya managed to make it to the bathroom without tripping over herself, despite Sarah and Julia hastily stripping her of her armor as they walked. As she entered, she found Anna and Beth preparing her bath.
“Really, I need four of you for this?” Tanya remarked dryly, just as the last piece of clothing was removed from her.
“Shh,” Beth responded with her finger over her lips.
“Just relax and let us do our job.” Anna told her as she took Tanya’s hand and helped her into the tub.
Tanya sighed as she sank into the soothing warmth of the bath. The water was hot, but not too much so, and it felt wonderful against her sore muscles from hours of fighting and riding. She leaned back against the tub, allowing the heat to ease her aches while the ladies-in-waiting quietly left her to soak for a few moments of peace.
But it didn’t feel like she had long to relax before the four of them returned. Anna stepped in first, holding one of her dresses in her arms.
“What is that for?” Tanya asked as she sat up in the tub.
“Well for dinner of course. Are you not having dinner with Lord Rawyn?” one of them asked.
“Yes, of course I am, but I am also having dinner with Vice Master Aaron and Kirito.” Tanya explained. “There is no need for overdressing.” She stated when she saw the dress they laid out on the chaise lounge that was in the bathroom.
“Nonsense. You are the lady of the home. You should look the part.” Beth explained to her.
Tanya sighed, she knew she was not going to win this one. One they were NPCs and the other--they were right. She just hated the thought of having to wear such a fancy dress just to sit and have dinner with two of her close friends and her boyfriend. Surrendering, she let the girls do what was needed to get her ready for dinner.
After enduring a grueling thirty minutes sitting in a chair while four women fussed over her, styling her hair, doing her makeup, and dressing her, Tanya was more than ready to escape the room. Finally free, she quickly made her way to the staircase that would lead her back down to the main corridor.
As she rounded the corner from her room, she spotted Rawyn standing at the top of the stairs. He was dressed in a white shirt laced at the chest, a royal blue jacket with silver embellishments, and matching pants. His boots were black with silver buckles, his pants tucked into his boots. He tugged at the ruffled sleeve that peeked from his jacket as he looked up, his eyes meeting Tanya’s.
A bright smile spread across his face, and Tanya couldn’t help but return it as she stepped toward him.
“I think we had the same person style our hair,” Tanya stated.
Both of them, their hair was still down around their shoulders all but a small amount at the sides that had been twisted and pulled up on the sides and clipped to the back of their head. Tanya’s with the silver dragon clip that Aaron had gotten her for her birthday and Rawyn with a black leather clip. Of course, Tanya’s hair had been curled where Rawyn’s long sliver hair draped over his shoulders and back.
“Hmm,” Rawyn hummed as he looked at her hair better. He started to chuckle lightly. “So it seems. Though we do look good”--he offered his arm--“wouldn’t you say?”
She looked stunning in her long, flowing dress of royal blue crushed velvet, adorned with a marbled white silk pattern. The sleeves billowed gently, revealing her hands while trailing down the length of the dress. The bodice, crafted from the same white silk, cinched in like a corset, pulling in from the sides of the royal blue fabric. The skirt of the dress cascaded into a short train, trailing softly behind her. The neckline was square, flattering yet modest, complementing her figure without overshadowing her ample curves. A beautiful silver dragon insignia, the symbol of their guild, hung gracefully around her neck on a delicate silver chain, while matching silver earrings swayed gently from her lobes.
Tanya smiled warmly and nodded her head, “yes, we do.” She linked her arm with his.
“Shall we?” Rawyn suggested. “Dinner smells wonderful.”
“Yes, it does.”
Rawyn turned them and led them down the staircase taking them to the dining hall where the other two were waiting for them.
“Shock shock that the two with the most hair would join us last.” Aaron commented, the group laughing softly.
He started across the floor meeting them before they reached the table, kissing Tanya on the side of the cheek. “You look beautiful, my love.”
“Yes, she does.” Rawyn agreed as he handed Tanya off to Aaron. Aaron led Tanya the rest of the way to the table, pulling her chair at the head of the table for her to sit. Sitting, the three guys sat with her. Aaron to her right, Rawyn to her left as Kirito sat down next to Rawyn. Exiting from the back of the dining hall a young lady stepped up to the table with a pitcher of wine.
“Would you like me to pour your drinks now?” She asked Aaron.
“That would be wonderful, Mia.” Aaron confirmed.
Mia nodded in silence as she turned and poured a glass of wine for Tanya, she slowed the pour so as not to let any wine drip on the white tablecloth. She then stepped over to Rawyn on his right and did the same, filling his glass next. She moved to Aaron, then to Kirito repeating the action. Once she was finished she took the pitcher to the head of the table and sat it to Tanya’s right. She curtsied, turned, and left the tableside to let them talk.
Lifting her glass, Tanya reached the center of the group. “To a good quest.”
Rawyn lifted his glass to the center, “to a good, long quest.”
“A good, long, annoying quest.” Kirito added his glass lifting to the center.
Tanya looked to Aaron waiting for him to add his two cents as his glass lifted to the center as well.
“What,” Aaron retorted as he looked at her.
“Not going to add your thoughts on the quest?” She asked him.
“Why? Seems as if all bases were already touched down on.” He chuckled with a wide smile as they tapped their glasses together. The glass made a soft chime as they were tapped together.
Taking a sip of the wine Tanya set her glass to the table. “So,” she started as she folded her hands in front of her and looked at Aaron. “This so-called festival you want to have. What exactly are you thinking?”
“Well,” he said, perking up as he launched into his explanation. “I’m not sure what you’ve learned from DarkDragon or ClairVoyance, but I was thinking of something more like a campaign than a festival. We could send out notices inviting the Magistrates from across the province. Instead of holding an informative meeting in the castle’s Meeting Hall, we could host it outdoors in Dawnmeadow. Maybe make it more of a picnic—a hog roast or a barbecue. One of the pubs could cater the event, and the inns could provide lodging for the Magistrates so they wouldn’t have to travel back the same evening.”
Aaron lifted his glass tipping it slightly with a small smile. “It’s a win win for all parties.” He took a sip of his wine.
Tanya was sitting there listening to Aaron’s proposition; the steam of her wine glass between her index finger and thumb as she turned the glass slowly. “It would work and a good way to get the word out.”
“But I thought that was what the CBB was for.” Rawyn commented, his glass lifted as he tipped his glass their way.
“Though, like Tanya said earlier today. Not everyone reads the CBB, so it's a decent idea.” Kirito tipped his glass taking a sip.
“Also, I know some people that don’t take the Community Bulletin Board seriously.” Tanya lifted her glass to her lips. “They think the Admin make the issues out to be more than what it actually is.” She tipped her glass taking a sip. Lowering her glass she continued. “In this case they need to know what is going on right now is nothing to take lightly.”
“So have you heard anything from DarkDragon or ClairVoyance?” Rawyn inquired.
“I was able to send out a message to the both of them while I was getting ready for dinner. So far there has been no chimes alerting me of a message.”
“Well lets hope no news is good news, and the law nixed the bastard.” Rawyn commented.
Tanya chuckled softly covering her mouth so the drink she just took would not spill from her lips. She set her glass to the table once more. “I don’t think the police would shoot him or as you so put it ‘nix’ him for hacking, Rawyn.”
Suddenly to Tanya’s right, between her and Aaron a small orb of light appeared, it hovered between them bobbing slightly. Tanya and the other three stared at it intently.
“Hello, Lady Tanya.” The orb spoke startling the four at the table. “I’m sorry,” the small voice proclaimed.
“Who? What… Are you.” Tanya questioned as she reached toward the orb.
In a flash, Rawyn reached over grabbing her hand startling Tanya, she quickly looked to him. Rawyn slowly pulled her hand back. “Don’t be foolish.” He spoke softly next to her ear. “We don’t know what this thing is.”
“Where did you come from?” Kirito questioned the orb.
“My home,” the small voice replied.
“Where is home?” Aaron asked.
The orb could be heard humming softly. “Pretty much everywhere when it comes to Tarragonia.”
They fell silent looking at one another, confused at what was going on.
“Why are you here?” Rawyn inquired.
“Because Lady Tanya summoned me.”
The three guys looked at Tanya as she sat there with wide eyes, her hand came up resting on her upper chest and she shook her head. “I…I didn’t summon anything…or anyone.” She looked back at the orb. “What do you mean I summoned you?”
“You spoke my name.”
Tanya sat there and blinked a few times as she looked between the three guys. “Huh? Your name?”
“Nyx,” the small voice proclaimed with a soft giggle.
Tanya went into thought remembering what she said to Rawyn just moments before--Nyx-- appeared.
I don’t think the police would shoot him or as you so put it ‘nix’ him for hacking, Rawyn.
“Alright then,” Tanya stated as she looked back to the orb that claimed its name was Nyx. “So other than me summing you, what is your purpose?”
“I am an A.I. that monitors the health of Dragon Lance.” Nyx informed her. “If anything interferes with the coding of Dragon Lance I will know and I will inform you so you can alert the administrators… my creator. Aiden Reid.”
“Aiden…Reid…” Rawyn shook his head. “Where were you a week ago?”
“I was not added to the program until today.” Nyx informed them. “My maker told me to give this to you.”
Nyx flew down next to Tanya and opened a panel. Tanya squinted as she looked at the tiny screen. “Eh…” she looked at Nyx as she hovered beside her. “It’s a little small. Can you enlarge it.”
“Mhmm,” Nyx hummed as she landed on the tabletop.