Hello everyone! Sorry for the rather long delay, but just so you know, I am still writing and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I still have a lot planned for Ilos, so I don’t think I’ll be quitting any time soon haha

Anyway, after three parts featuring Aria, it’s time to go back to Tasalin and Corvid for a bit (Who’s last appearance was in Part 9, just so you know). Hopefully you all enjoy this part :)

As always, comments are highly appreciated, they keep me writing and also give me ideas for future chapters!

NOTE THAT THIS IS THE OLD VERSION, WHICH I AM KEEPING ON HERE TO SAVE THE COMMENTS (and I don't know how to delete it -.-).

THE EDITED VERSION IS POSTED AND THIS OLD VERSION CONTAINS NOTHING NEW TO THE STORY.

-Tas

 

 

 

Part 13

 

 

Chapter 6: Ilos, Day 11

 

Tasalin leaned forward in his tall wooden chair, his attention taken with the large hand-drawn map he was overlooking that took up most of the floor. There were paperweights holding down the corners where the pieces of the stupid thing kept trying to roll back up into tubes, and over a thousand small figures and disks littered the collage of rough parchment. One of the women standing next to the map used cir as solid air to remove one of the figurines, burning a tiny X there with fas, signifying a small group of monsters, now dead, and moved a pair of small disks. Each disk represented a party of four of Sweet Dreams’ guild members, and were colored, one side green for good status, one side red for injured or in need of help, with both sides numbered or named.

He scrubbed his hand through his hair, eyes flickering over the movements of the battle as people moved the little pieces around with magic, responding to telepathic communication. “Have groups 325 and 413 move to support the southern flank and join up with Natalia. Breaker needs to stop advancing; he’s beginning to make gaps in our line. Groups 516 and 34 fall back and recover, they’re out too far. Get Farscope to support the groups just to the north of him.”

Without the tactical overhead map he was used to in all of the Real Time Strategy games he’d played, the battle was proving much more annoying than he’d anticipated. Of course, the sheer scale of the conflict was beyond anything he’d dealt with before, but then he wasn’t directly commanding most of the guild’s power either. Every party out there had been working autonomously for over a week, and while some were more powerful than others, they could all generally take care of themselves. Stack that on top of the fact that everyone out in the field had significant experience in all sorts of videogames, especially MMORPGs, and Tasalin actually had little to do with most conflicts. However, he was the eye that watched over the entire battlefield, responsible for keeping everyone out there alive and more or less working together.

Out of the 4234 champions who ended up joining Sweet Dreams, only a little more than half were currently participating in the battle to defeat the corruption that threatened to take over the Western Forest. The guild was now divided up into a number of divisions that had established themselves over the past week or so, each with its own head that reported directly to himself and Corvid, who was sitting next to him in another really tall chair and observing while primarily maintaining the Spirit magic telepathic net that connected all the party leaders and command staff together. There was a lengthy list of divisions, including what were basically sub-guilds for merchants, craftsmen, researchers, warriors, scouts, mages, and a whole bunch more. The one thing that Corvid had drilled into them as the divisions were first forming was that they all belonged to Sweet Dreams, and therefore had better work together, and made sure that most people belonged to more than one division and each division had ample friends and connections with all of the others. Even the Nightmares, the elite of the battle oriented guild members, were no exception, and despite the growing gap in power between them and the rest of the champions, there was very little hostility towards them, instead being looked up to as respected combat leaders.

Everything had so far gone better than Tasalin had planned it. The days of training against the monsters lured out by Oakheart’s followers had gone by rapidly, the already combat seasoned champions making short work of anything thrown at them, pushing deeper and deeper into the forest in search of stronger enemies. As the days went on, they’d had to move their base camp further west several times, using some of the guild members that weren’t fighting to deliver food and drink as well as get some items prepared for battle, including the materials for the maps, the disks, and the figurines.

There were of course some that stopped after a few days when the divisions began to form, more inclined to do other things to help the guild than just fight, but a good portion still kept at it. Of course, as people were drawn to different things, the initial parties they’d started in broke apart, and while no one enforced having four members to a party, it was still strongly recommended by both Tasalin and Corvid, so almost everyone ended up reforming new groups with the same number.

The second day word came in about the first death and the man’s subsequent revival at the plaza in the center of Ilos. The entirety of the champion population breathed a collective sigh of relief to have the doubt of a revival system still existing erased, and the members of Sweet Dreams began taking more risks while leveling.

After a week they were drawing close to the ruin that Oakheart had indicated was the source of the corruption, and rather than break camp to travel there directly, Tasalin had just decided to keep with the current course of training and slowly force their way toward their goal. The scouting division had begun their excursions into the heart of the infested area at that point, bringing back large pieces of map that detailed everything they could spot in each small area. By the time the main force had managed to get to the ruin itself, the entire castle and surrounding land was mapped out in great detail and information on the enemies’ movements and numbers were fairly accurate.

Oakheart’s constituents had long since stopped actively fighting the creatures mutated by the corruption, instead leaving the members of Sweet Dreams, who were immune to whatever affected the animals, to take care of the issue. The animals of the forest would still draw the corrupted out, but not at the risk of their own lives. It was on the tenth day that the main force of the guild arrived at the ruin, and a battle meeting was called that night. Tasalin had gotten up in front of everyone and relayed the strategy he, with the help of many of the members who had leadership or extensive RTS experience, had come up with. To keep everyone on the same track, working together, and alive, he and a number of other handpicked people would stay at the base camp and coordinate the 591 parties of champions in order to keep everything coherent in the face of the thousands of enemies they would be facing. It was far from an even matchup even though the corrupted still outnumbered the Dreamers about seven to one, the champions being much more powerful than the mutated creatures, but the catch was they couldn’t let even one of the creatures escape the area to possibly begin the corruption anew.

The plan required the forces of Sweet Dreams to sweep forward in a line, the edges advancing forwards and wrapping around the ruin as the middle began encountering resistance, eventually creating a noose that would slowly tighten and crush the corruption inside, allowing none to escape. The trick and purpose of having a command center would be to maintain this strategy even in the thick of the forest where groups could easily get separated or lost. However, with the use of a telepathy network, it was possible to keep track of everyone’s movements in relation to each other and various landmarks, aided significantly by the efforts of the scouting division, who could spot out different locations and keep the large map they pieced together fairly accurate while also being able to quickly assist any groups that may be in need of immediate assistance.

As dictated, there would be twenty four operators in the command area, each in charge of keeping track of the positions and status of up to fifty parties, as well as relaying directions to them as Tasalin gave them. It was left up to the groups to figure out which coordinator they wanted out of the men and women selected, and up to the command staff how many parties they wanted to take on, to a limit of fifty.

They had some information on the layout of the ruined building that was the center of the clearing, but the upper floors on the inside were only rough estimates based on the previous floors and the outer structure of the castle. The task of moving into the unmapped rooms would be the responsibility of the Nightmares as the strongest fighters and therefore the ones most able to react to a situation. Tasalin and Corvid themselves would lead the sixteen mixed parties of men and women that belonged to that group, and the rest of the guild would follow a little bit behind to make sure none of the creatures escaped.

There was a little bit of dissent at that, some of the groups speaking up in their desire to be with the Nightmares when they investigated the source of the corruption and inevitably fought the ‘boss’. That was the culture of the guild, everyone was free to speak their minds just like they were playing some online game rather than trapped in Ilos and their words would be listened to and given thought. Rather than field these mild complaints himself, he let Corvid take over from that point, who easily settled any who wanted in on the action.

Such was his power. The handsome easygoing man might have been only a middling tactician and fighter, but he was truly an exceptional leader. The force of his charisma was incredible even when he wasn’t using Spirit magic to affect those around him, and his words swayed even those almost completely opposed. After settling the minor disputes, Corvid gave a rousing speech explaining how not only was Sweet Dreams gaining significant rewards for such a massive undertaking, they were also protecting their new home and gaining new allies. He made it sound as though the extermination of some enemies was a glorious undertaking to help the noble leader of an ancient people, and viewed in the correct light it was. With the guild master’s words, Tasalin and Corvid’s encounter with Oakheart the first day became something that people only read about in fiction, the scene almost visible as Corvid described it.

By the time he’d finished there wasn’t a single person that wasn’t fired up and ready to get to battle the following day, the camp filled with a cheery atmosphere that lasted until people began dosing off, only to come back full force the next morning as Sweet Dreams set out for their first massive raid.

The plan had gone off with only a few small glitches, but the corrupted creatures that managed to get through the initial loose circle were swept up by the scouting division, who were no pushovers in combat themselves. The rough ring of circular green pieces slowly narrowed as Tasalin continued to issue orders, tediously rotating out any disks that flipped to red to heal and recover before allowing them to rejoin the fight. There were a few parties that tried to keep fighting even when injured without telling anyone, but with the noose tightening they were quickly found and pulled out by concerned guild members.

There had yet to be a single casualty among any of the Dreamers in the ten days since they were pulled into Ilos, and Tasalin was determined to keep that number through day eleven. The ring of champions crossed the dilapidated wall that surrounded the castle, and with the foliage thinning, most groups could now see each other clearly and were able to collapse inwards to meet any new enemies in sets of three parties or more.

As the last circle flipped from red to green and moved to rejoin the lines, Tasalin tapped Corvid on the shoulder and hopped down from his chair, striding over to a nearby tent with a number of players relaxing under it on large blankets. “Taktik, you’re up. Keep us informed if anything happens.”

Taktik, the man with the most extensive RTS and strategy combat experience as well as appointed strategist stood with a sigh. Standing a few inches shorter than Tasalin, he was a good bit wider and none of it fat. With a short red beard on his face and grey eyes, he looked like he belonged in flannel and jeans with a wood axe, but he had a winning streak a mile long and a mile wide in every strategy game anyone challenged him in, his only losses to Tasalin himself, and he even then still won most of the time. The man gestured with his large mug, filled with a sweet red juice produced from the sugrid fruit that grew to the south of Ilos, a beverage that many a champion favored, somehow managing to make the motion convey both his minor annoyance and that he was actually joking. “Damn it Tas. I leave the map for five minutes for a drink of sugrid and a seat and here you come. You couldn’t have done this in a couple of minutes?”

“I just like to torture you Tak.” Tasalin replied, grinning as he filled his own mug, “Now get over there.”

“Alright alright ya slave driver.” Taktik laughed, bumping his mug with Tasalin’s and taking a swig before strolling over to the map tent, greeting Corvid and exchanging a few words on his way over.

“Is it our turn Tas?” A silky voice spoke from Tasalin’s flank.

Resisting the impulse to flinch from the sudden sound, Tasalin turned to face the most dangerous player currently in Sweet Dreams. At just under six feet, the undisputed leader of the Nightmares sported black hair that just touched her shoulders and black eyes that seemed to drink in the light. Wearing light leather armor that was also dyed black, Tasalin mused to himself that Solani was really starting to overdo the whole black motif, Shadow magic user or not. As beautiful as her namesake of nightshade and just as deadly, she was easily the strongest fighter in the guild and likely the most skilled. Unfortunately, she was also one of the few who didn’t seem to fit in to any party, and almost always soloed. Most of the guild feared her a small bit or at least found her somewhat unnerving, likely due to her tendency to go unnoticed until she spoke, usually behind you. She was highly respected, but not exactly welcomed with open arms, and that seemed to drive the shy woman away from others. Thankfully the Nightmares didn’t share that stigma and just sort of accepted her as is, the respect they had for her small scale tactical command and combat prowess positioning her as their unofficial leader.

Tasalin smiled as he regarded the black clad beauty. “It’s time to end this quest. You ready Solani?”

“On your call Tas. The Nightmares stand ready.”

His smile deepened, and he opened his inventory and pulled out the shield he’d recently commissioned the crafting division for. A massive kite shield in the shape of an elongated diamond, it was as tall as Tasalin himself was, and sunk several inches into the ground from its sheer weight as he strapped it to his arm. “Then let’s go crush us a boss.”

 

ZZZ{=--=}ZZZ

 

As Tasalin made his way towards the castle with Corvid and Solani’s party, the rest of the Nightmares began to appear and fall in with them, and by the time they reached the entrance to the ruins the entire group had joined them. As leader of the Nightmares, Solani had charge of the tactics for the raid, utilizing a smaller telepathic network that Corvid set up to include only the present guild members. She didn’t have a touch for larger tactics, but with only a small number of people to coordinate she was pretty good.

The trip up through the castle was standard fare, Tasalin stood up front with the tanks to take the first blows and draw aggro while the damage dealers killed off the enemies. The only difference between this trip and most training battles was the lack of magic. Mana, as the hardest resource to replenish, was to be preserved for the boss fight that was sure to come, so those that regularly used magic in combat were holding it in reserve. Regardless, the corrupted creatures that appeared were no match for the strongest coordinated group of champions Ilos could currently field.

Hours passed as the raid cleared each floor thoroughly, making sure there were no enemies left to attack them from behind or take any of the other guild members by surprise as they moved upwards. Any wounds were treated by application of healing salves immediately, making sure everyone was in top shape was a priority when you didn’t know what lay around the next corner. Many other players may have kept going with small injuries until they were hurt enough to get the most efficient use out of their potions, but these people were the best, and they knew any injury, no matter how small, could cost them everything if they were hit by something they had trouble with.

And on the second highest floor, that trouble did indeed appear.

The raid was walking along a long hallway when another group of corrupted appeared at the end. Tasalin and the rest of the heavily-armored frontliners made their way forward to intercept the creatures, meeting their charge head on. As the twisted animals collided with the wall of metal that was the Nightmares’ defensive line, the stone to their left exploded into the hallway.

Tasalin’s ears rang as he climbed back to his feet. The corrupted that had attacked them were little more than smears against the stone floor, crushed by the rubble that had blown out from the now mostly collapsed wall. Fleshy appendages whipped out of the dust, grabbing Tasalin and throwing him again, this time past the origin of the explosion and back towards where the raid had come from. He glanced off the wall and tumbled down the hallway, his armor and shield taking most of the damage, though he lost his sword in the wild tumble.

*Tanks, do what you can to draw aggro. DPS, focus on avoidance and any adds that appear.* Solani’s ‘voice’ came through over the telepathic network, calm despite the sudden ambush. *Anyone heavily injured pull back and let the healers get to you.*

Tasalin began to pick himself up off the ground, but his right arm gave out from under him, depositing him back onto the stone. Damn! No wonder I lost my sword, I can’t feel my right arm at all! He rolled to the side, using his shield to lever himself to his knees and then to his feet, stumbling for a moment as he tried to move forward, his eyes taking in the situation in front of him as blood dripped into his vision.

The boss had driven directly into the middle of the raid, cutting off the tanks from those they were supposed to protect. Having been thrown by monster, he was the only defensively oriented champion on this side of the thing, but he was injured and bleeding heavily, not to mention his sword arm was completely useless. Normally the other members of the Nightmares would be able to handle themselves by avoiding any attacks that came for them, but there wasn’t enough room in the hallway for everyone to get out of the way there wasn’t anything else he could do but try to take the hits in place of those who couldn’t. That was his job as a tank.

*The boss is Plague Messenger.* Corvid, following his role as the observer, began relaying information. *It has eight arms that are capable of moving independently, are strong enough to pick up and throw several hundred pounds, and seem to be able to stretch to reach the ends of the hallway at least. The main body a thick blob of flesh and is supported by three legs that allow for what appears to be only limited movement. There are two eyes, one on each side of its head and watching both sides of the hallway.*

With arms that strong I can’t take a hit unless I use Fortify. I just have to hope the healers will back me up if I’m going to be using all my mana to keep them safe. Tasalin reached the front just as a pair of arms swept towards his side and slammed his shield into the ground, casting his spell and pouring mana into it. “Reslos!”

BA-BAM!

The arms crashed into his shield just as the weight of his Fortify spell pulled down on him, anchoring him in place. Leaving only a thread of mana open for his spell, Tasalin banged his massive shield against the stone, sending echoes reverberating down the hallway and, hopefully, drawing the monster’s attention.

*Ranged attackers, target the eyes, make it defend itself or lose them! Melee, go after its legs, take out what mobility it has!* Solani commanded. *Tanks, block together when possible, this is a boss level monster!*

*Confirmed.*

*Aye aye, Nightshade.*

*You got it!*

Acknowledgements poured in as the Nightmares gathered themselves, recovering from the sudden ambush and reorganizing. Arrows and bolts of different elements struck past Tasalin, each driving directly at the creature’s eye as he advanced. The close combat damage dealers kept line with him, jumping forwards to attack the legs but staying close enough get behind him when the arms lashed out.

Within seconds of taking the first strike, feeling began to return to Tasalin’s arm as those that had healing magic began to restore his health, but that wasn’t the issue. As the creature continued to attack he began using less and less mana to withstand each hit until he began sliding backwards and taking a good bit of damage due to the force, but he was still having to use too much. Even extending his mana by only using it just as he was struck, in forty three - his shield shook and his feet slid a few inches backwards - forty two more hits, he would run completely out of mana and be thrown down the hallway when he tried to block, and without a tank the rest of the raid on his side would be easy targets for the Plague Messenger.

*Unless I get some help here my mana isn’t going to last until the boss falls.*

*Tanks, some of you break off and follow the hallway behind the boss, see if you can find a way around, or failing that, make one. Everyone else do as much damage as possible. We need to try and take this thing down before Tas falls!*

Alright, I just have to last until the other tanks get here. Tasalin thought as he heard boots hurriedly fading into the distance.

BAM!

Vibrations ripped through Tasalin’s shield and arms as he gritted his teeth against the blow. Warriors rushed past him on both sides, moving in to deal as much damage as they could before the creature could swing again as magical and ranged attacks rained from overhead.

Again and again the Plague Messenger struck against Tasalin’s sole defense, and the magic that streaked overhead slackened and then vanished altogether as the raid ran out of mana. The DPS at the front shifted so that those with the most damage output could attack while the rest did what they could with ranged attacks.

*There’s no way around, and neither physical or magical attacks work against this stone! We can’t even get up the stairs! It seems like there’s some sort of force field surrounding this floor and keeping everything in place and everything away, including the other guild members. Sorry Tas, there’s no backup coming.*

By this point, the Plague Messenger was badly injured, but not badly enough. It was bleeding from countless arrow and throwing weapon wounds, scorched from fire and lightning, pierced with ice, bashed with stone, and it had even lost all of its legs and three of its arms, releasing a smell like rotting corpses. Despite its injuries, it continued to flail at the champions on both sides.

BAM!

One more.

Solani met his eyes as she darted past, and he saw the certainty there. She knew too, yet just like the rest of the Nightmares, she would fight till her death. The raid would likely all die here, and if they succeeded it would be with significant casualties.

BAM!

Tasalin’s feet slid backwards three or four yards, the force almost toppling him before he caught his balance. Bereft of magic, he knew the next attack would throw him down the hallway, but he moved forward anyway. If I’m going to be going down, it’s going to be while keeping my allies alive. Even knowing it was hopeless, braced his shield with both arms against the next strike.

BAM!

The force of the blow sent Tasalin skidding backwards across the floor, his armor trailing sparks as he flew past the ranged guild members. If I hit head first… He slammed his shield into the ground, rotating just in time to hit the wall with his right side. A loud crack noise came from his right shoulder and he lost feeling along most of the right side of his body. Stars danced and blackness ringed his sight, a sure sign he was close to unconsciousness or death. He moved his shield hand past one of his quick gems, gripping the health potion stored there and draining it.

“Shit.” His voice came out faint, more evidence of his low but slowly recovering health.

As expected, without him at the fore to take the hits and trapped in a narrow hallway, the damage oriented champions of the raid were getting hammered. They were good enough to only take glancing blows, but when their opponent was a boss level monster, even partial hits took a huge toll. The minutes crawled by, and by the time Tasalin could turn to see the battle, most of the raid was severely injured, most trying to recover using potions, and even Corvid, the least combat oriented member of the raid, was out of mana and had taken a hit.

Solani and one of the other soloers were the only ones uninjured and still fighting, but even as he watched, Solani’s companion got clipped by the flailing arms and was sent spinning down the hallway, leaving her as the lone attacker on this side. He could only guess what was happening with the tanks on the other side of the disgusting pile of flesh, but if the damage dealers fell, it would likely only be a matter of time for them. Again and again she proved her title as the most skilled in the Nightmares, dodging a whirlwind of attacks and still dealing unbelievable damage with her pair of short blades.

Feeling began to return to Tasalin’s right side, leaving only his arm useless, and he climbed to his feet, ready to render any aid he could. Solani was doing a lot of damage, and if he could take even a single hit in her place it might give the others a chance to heal enough to rejoin the battle. As he moved forwards, the black clad attacker’s luck ran out, and she was clipped in the leg by the arm that had been guarding the boss’ eye, tossing her to the ground.

As the Plague Messenger raised an arm to deliver the killing blow, Tasalin was there in front of his ally. On one knee with his massive shield upraised, dripping blood from various cuts, and sword arm hanging broken and useless, he shouted his defiance in the face of his death, determined to withstand one more blow.

Flesh connected with metal, and a hollow boom echoed out. Somehow, the sound swept away Tasalin’s injuries and granted him the strength to stand even under the pressure of the arm. A savage grin spread across his face, the impossibility of the situation swept away in elation as he realized he not only had full health, but full mana as well. He pivoted, allowing the arm to slide off his shield and then slammed the massive piece of metal down, the point at the bottom cutting through the monster’s flesh and coating his left side in blood.

Solani dashed past him, her blades coated in magical freezing shadow and mentally shouting through the newly restored telepathic network. *Everyone attack! Let’s take this thing down!!*

A wordless battle cry emanated from Tasalin’s mouth, joined by the rest of the Nightmares as spells filled the air above him and champions sprinted by with their weapons imbued with magic. The renewed onslaught took its toll on the monster in seconds, and with a last shriek of agony, the creature slumped, life leaving its tortured and mostly demolished body.

A rush of power from the experience gain filled Tasalin as he joined in the cheering that came with the end of the intense battle. There was a lot of back slapping and congratulations as people flexed and jumped around, reveling in their newly gained power. Similar sounds could be heard from the other side of the dead boss as well, signifying the tanks were still alive and well.

Of course, everyone wanted to know what exactly Tasalin had done to restore not only the entire raid’s health, but also their mana, to which he shook his head and replied he would tell them when he figured that out.

After a few minutes, Solani cut into the revelry. *Alright, let’s save the rest of the celebration for after we clear the last floor and can join up with the rest of the guild. We’ll debrief and distribute any loot afterwards as well.*

The corpse of the Plague Messenger decayed rapidly, leaving behind a pair of gems, one of which glimmered a lush green and one that was so black it seemed to eat away at the light around it.

“Elemental Gems!”

Awed murmurs flitted throughout the raid as Solani grabbed them and placed them in her inventory, and for good reason. Elemental Gems were the rarest of all Gems, even harder to come across than Spell Gems. Each Elemental Gem increased the power of or resistance to its element when worn on any piece of equipment, and as a general rule only dropped off of bosses when they were defeated the first time, so no one present had ever seen one.

As the raid formed up and continued forwards, this time with the tanks sticking with their own parties and the larger group, but only found treasure in the top floor, most notably five Repositories that were glowing an odd grey color. Tasalin had seen a few dead Repositories and had read some about how they worked on the forums set up by beta players before getting trapped in Ilos.

A Repository was a cylindrical stone holder of a new word of power for whoever used it, but each could only be used once. When a champion touched one with the intent to learn its secrets, he or she would be subjected to visions on not only what the word was, but also how to use it, a necessary component to magic in this world. Each element had its own color light that one of the floating obelisks would shine with, but this grey color had never been documented.

The Nightmares knew the piles of weaponry would be given to those who could use them best and the coin would be equally shared, so everyone watched and waited as Corvid went to each Repository, touching it for a moment before the glow faded and the stone cylinder floated to the ground, inert.

As the last Repository met the ground with a soft thump, Corvid addressed the guild as a whole over his telepathic network. *The castle is cleared and the corruption is gone! Well done everyone!*

Heads around the room glanced up as cheers filtered through the stone walls, and smiles widened around the room. Tasalin met Solani’s eyes, her grin matching his own as they listened to their allies celebrating outside.

*Thank you champions. You have done me and my subjects a great service. Know that nothing in the forest will attack any of those who call you ally, and should you ever be in similar peril, we will spare nothing in our efforts to assist you. It will take some time to recover from this disaster however, and my subjects and I will not regain a fighting strength for several months, but we will endeavor to help you in any way we can. Again, thank you, all of you, for your efforts.* Oakheart’s deep majestic voice filled Tasalin’s head.

Another rush of experience jolted through his body, just as big if not bigger than when the Plague Messenger was defeated, and one that looked like it was shared among all of Sweet Dreams.

*We’ve not only completed the quest given to us by Oakheart, but also gained five spells of a new element, though they seem to function more as system commands rather than actual spells. As most of you know, Repositories give the user mental images and basic knowledge on how to use a spell, but because only one person can ever use them, I'll explain what I’ve learned in words as best I can. Of foremost importance to the guild, we can now own land outside of Ilos with the spell claim. With enough of us all using the spell in the same area at the same time, we can create a zone that not only gives us high regeneration and movement bonuses while inside, but also eliminates the spawning of any monsters and allows us to construct our own buildings. I would suggest we use that spell on this place, because even if it's run down, it already has in place all of the basic things one could look for in a stronghold.*

Tasalin frowned, going over the structure of the castle in his mind, the image imprinted on his brain through hours of staring at that stupid map. The place was practically crumbling with age, but while whatever may have adorned the castle itself had long since withered away, the stone itself was in fairly good shape if you didn't include the walls surrounding it. The area enclosed by those walls was large and contained several underground springs, a clear and natural water supply. The castle was also fairly large, rivaling Ilos' Palace in size if not grandeur. It would be a lot of work to restore, but it could work very well as a place the guild could call home.

*Second is teleport, which allows you to port to any city, village, or claimed guild area you've personally visited, and is the only spell thus far that takes time to complete. Once activated by thinking of the place you want to travel to and speaking the word of power, the spell will drain mana based on how far you wish to travel and what or who you want to take with you. A ring will appear around everything porting with you and slowly fill in over a period of time relative to distance. If you or anything coming with you moves out of its circle, it won't be transported and you won't get the mana back.*

Well at least logistics will be easy with the aid of Storage Gems, and it'll make things a lot simpler to maintain contact with everyone even when exploring.

*Third is union, and is essentially a magic bound marriage system. Two people swear an oath together and gain a lot of advantages when working together, but the bond is unbreakable and if one dies, so too does the other. This isn't a spell to be used lightly. I ask that you be careful when considering it, and I won’t be explaining the details of the spell now either. The last two are arguably the most interesting: ID and status. ID displays basic information on the target depending on how much you know about them and how much they trust you with their stats. Status displays the character page, showing numerically your health, mana, both physical and magical experience, resistances, outgoing bonuses, buffs, titles, kills, deaths, associations, and special skills.*

Like most of the members of the Nightmares, Tasalin looked up at Corvid in surprise when he described the last spell, but before anyone could say or do anything, the guild leader continued.

*Before anyone goes off to try out these new commands, I’d like to announce we will be celebrating here tonight before we return to Ilos. We have plenty of sugrid to go around, though I suspect most of it has been or will soon be spiked, and we have food curtesy of the cooking branch of the crafting division. We’ve all trained hard to finish this quest, and we will be called upon again and again to protect this world of ours, but for tonight it’s time to celebrate! Tasalin, myself, and the rest of the Nightmares will be joining you shortly, so I’ll see all of you in just a little while. Well done everyone, Corvid out.*

 

ZZZ{=--=}ZZZ

 

Tasalin sat on his small lightweight bed, alone in his dark tent. Outside, the sounds of revelry filtered in, the flickering of the firelight shining through the cracks that marked the entrance to his temporary lodging. Solani had led a debriefing of the Nightmares, discussing and reviewing some of the tactics they could have or should have used during the raid so that they could have avoided almost being wiped out, then dividing up the loot amongst the group and the guild. It was a fairly short meeting, mainly deciding that when they next worked together that they needed to have a strategy that was more immediately flexible, keeping some members in reserve or in different places to keep the raid mostly balanced even when split up.

After the raid exited the castle to deafening cheers, he’d made his appearances, endured all the slaps on the back and the rejoicing, then slipped away as soon as he could. Normally he would have enjoyed such a party, but the events of the past eleven days weighed heavily on him. He rolled the small slightly glowing Nature Gem around in his palm, still a bit disbelieving that he was the one chosen to receive the Elemental Gem. He’d never seen one in all his time in the beta, and now less than two weeks in this world he held one in his hand.

The least pressing issue but the one that came to mind first was the absence of the seven leaders, famous in the beta for taking down the bosses guarding the Air Gates that lead upwards to the floating islands above Ilos before anyone else. They were the ones everyone wanted to be or meet, and were the only players up until this point who had possessed an Elemental Gem. He knew them all by name and the direction they had traveled from Ilos, as did most of the people in the beta and likely a good number on Earth. Markus Shaffner and Thanh, the ‘Cleric’ and ‘The Assassin’, had gone west, while the brothers Axel and Jerold Hopfer, known as ‘Marksman’ and ‘Knight’ had headed the opposite direction. ‘Rager’ Grabnar Tobos and ‘The Elementalist’ Rovian Shaffner had traveled south, and finally, the only strictly solo amongst the leaders, Cariss ‘The Calm’, had gone north.

There wasn’t anything he could do about their absence, but it was still worrying. When the goblins had attacked Ilos at the end of the beta, the leaders’ presence had been an enormous boon, each of them defending the gate they had gone through to start their journey and slaughtering thousands of goblins apiece, cementing their names and images in everyone’s minds. However, he hadn’t heard a single peep about any of them in the time since Ilos became the new reality, so what had happened to them? A guardswoman had asked him about The Calm a little over a week ago, Lorilee he thought her name was. He’d forgotten about the woman until now, but perhaps he could talk to her when he returned to Ilos. It might be interesting to get the opinion of an NPC.

Tasalin spoke softly, “Status.” Just like the past twenty times he’d done it, the stereotypical character screen appeared in front of him, shining softly in the darkness. A 3-D model of himself floated in the window, the items he had ‘equipped’ faithfully displayed around the hologram, each connected by thin but still visible lines to his virtual body. Below were his stats just as Corvid had described, the regeneration of health and mana shown in points per hour, though the numbers lacked any mention of specific things like Strength and Agility.

He trapped the skill name, causing another small window to appear.

 

Yggdrasil’s Blessing:

Fully restores the Health and Mana of all nearby allies and grants them the most powerful Fireproof (Resfas), Insulate (Respos), Clear Breath (Ressir), Iron Will (Ressu), Strengthen (Resde), Fortify (Reslos), and Immunity (Kasres) spells the caster can currently use.

 

Tasalin sighed and scrubbed a hand through his grey hair.

"What's bothering you Tas? You look troubled." A soft voice spoke from his left.

Before he could think, Tasalin was already on his feet, the small shield he kept in his largest Quick Gem in his hand as he whirled with magic on his lips to face...

"Solani." His arms dropped and he stored his shield. "Christ, don't do that, you practically gave me a heart attack. How did you even get in without me seeing you?"

She just smiled, the slightest curve of her lips, and patted the bed at her side. "Come on, sit down. Tell me what's troubling you."

Tasalin hesitated, unsure. It would be really nice to talk to someone, but...

Solani's face softened into concern and she stood, taking his hand and pulling him to the bed before sitting down again next to him. "Please, what's wrong?"

"Why are you so worried about me? You should be out enjoying the party."

"So should you." When he didn't respond she sighed and looked down, fiddling with her nails. "Look, you saved my life today at what you thought would be the cost of your own. No one's ever sacrificed for me, not the smallest thing, and when I went down I expected to die, but then you were there in front of me to take the blow in my place. So when you left so early looking so troubled, I wanted to see if I could help, even if that's just to listen."

Tasalin blinked, surprised. So she felt indebted to him? He'd never considered his actions anything but normal, but if that was the case... "It might be good to have someone listen I guess, maybe you’d have some thoughts on the subject that could help."

The way Solani looked up with a smile on her face told him that he'd said the right thing. "Really?"

"Maybe. See, I'm having trouble determining what exactly Ilos is. The NPCs, the wildlife, the terrain, everything is so real and so detailed that I'd decided that this was another reality or world, just with different rules. Then today happened and we got those new spells. With those, this place is too much like a game. Reality doesn't have a health bar, it doesn't have skill descriptions or a character screen, but Ilos does. Yet then why the opening speech by Xynus where he tells us 'the fate of two worlds rests in our hands'? I can only assume that means Earth and Ilos, and that they are both real, but he also tells us we can't log out, which is a gaming term. There are so many mixed messages and unanswered questions I don't know what to think." Sighing, he dropped his head into his hands. He hadn't meant to say so much, but the words continued to spill out. "What happened to the leaders? Why is it only the beta people that are stuck here, and why haven't we seen anyone that got the black headband? I can't believe that no one out of the almost a million other people would try to log in to contact us. What's happening to our real bodies? Or were we just transported here? I just don't know what to think, what to do!"

"Oh Tas..." He felt an arm around his shoulders. "You always seem so sure, so calm and confident in your path, but you're just as lost as the rest of us aren't you?"

Miserably he nodded, and for a minute all was silent except for the sounds of laughter and music filtering in from outside the tent.

"Tell me something, what you can do about all that right now, this minute? Nothing. Regardless of how Ilos actually is, everyone out there right now is real. Is this conversation any less reality if we are in a virtual world?"

He shook his head, and she continued. "It's good to think about these things, but not to let those thoughts hinder you. I've learned that no matter where you are, you need to make what you can of what you've got and not worry too much about what you can't control."

"But how can everyone just ignore all of this?" Tasalin looked up, meeting Solani's black eyes. "I can understand not worrying too much, but it's like they don't have a care in the world."

She smiled. "Isn't it obvious? It's because they trust you and Corvid and the rest of the division heads. In this sudden chaos in all our lives you provide direction, something to work towards."

"But that's simply the blind leading the blind! I have no idea what I'm doing!"

"But you've stepped up anyway, that's what leaders do. Look, you can do something about all these questions tomorrow when we get back to Ilos. You can investigate, find out if anyone has seen the beta leaders, ask if anyone from Earth has logged in, talk to the NPCs and decide for yourself if they're real or not. I'll even help you! But for tonight, it's going to do a lot more good if you're out there, having fun with the rest of Sweet Dreams, rather than sitting in here and brooding." She stood up, grabbing one of his hands and pulling him to his feet, incredibly strong for someone her size. "Come and dance with me. Take a break from your heavy thoughts and just enjoy a night with the guild you helped make."

"But can't just-"

Solani's eyes glittered with mischief as she smiled. "You seem to think I'm giving you a choice. Come on!"

Before Tasalin could say anything else, he was being pulled out into the firelight by the black clad beauty, unable to contest her greater strength even if he wanted to. One last question ran through his head as he tried to catch his balance while being dragged along, surrounded by his allies rejoicing in the night. How had he ever thought this woman was shy?