“Shit!” I cursed as the sounds of explosions rang out like thunder. I took one look toward the loading dock of the market and the smoke starting to billow outside and nearly cursed again. “Everyone get these H3lls-Pwn assholes back to the square and make sure to keep an eye on them. Venika you’re with me, let’s see what we can do to put that fire out.”

“You got it Taelya,” the Sprite quickly agreed. We hurried for the loading dock and made our way inside, trying to keep our mouths covered as we used a combination of our flash freeze and torrent spells to try and put out the flames. We were quickly joined through the front of the building by several Magus players and Amoiraishe who assisted us using similar spells. Still, it was nearly dark and we were all bit worn out by the time we finished putting out the flames and Sheriff Shaw was able to help us look over the damage.

With the help of her forensic science skillset, Becky was able to determine that the members of H3lls-Pwn had created improvised explosive devices using various chemicals and other odds and ends in the market. They had also spread out cooking oil to make sure that the fire spread as much as possible in the hopes to keep us all distracted while they made their escape. As a result, all of the village’s food and a good portion of other supplies were destroyed, with the exception of what H3lls-Pwn had tried to steal. Not only did this put the village NPCs and any Human players in a bind where food and supplies were concerned, it also really pissed them off and killed any sympathy they might have otherwise had toward Razor and his cronies.

While she had been doing her Sheriff duty, a small group of us had been trying to determine if anything was salvageable while it was still light out, without disturbing the crime scene overly much. Things were not looking too good, there were a few things in the refrigerated areas and the freezer that had survived intact, but not near enough to feed the remnants of the village, let alone all the NPC and player refugees. Without an influx of more food supplies the whole village, and everyone in it, was screwed.

I left the remains of the market, after a summons from Amoiraishe, feeling pretty horrible. It was dark now and, since the fire and its aftermath had been dealt with, it would soon be time to deal with those responsible. I returned to the square, where they were all trussed up and awaiting whatever punishment would be dreamed up, but I walked past them, ignoring the glares directed at me as I made my way toward the Fae queen with Lissany and Nishalle at my sides. We found her alone, with only her personal guards for company, but that was to be expected as the Sheriff was now informing the Mayor of the situation as the latter attempted to work out an evening meal for the villagers and refugees with what they had available.

“I take it the damage was pretty severe?” Amoiraishe asked as we approached and she got a good look at the dark expression on my face.

At first I merely nodded sadly. Finally though, I found the words which had been caught in my throat. “Yeah, almost the entire backup food supply and other somewhat essential supplies were destroyed. Some of the food was salvageable, but it won’t go very far with all the people here, a day maybe two tops, and without proper refrigeration it’ll have to be used before any of it spoils.”

Somehow she managed to figure out what was bothering me, without me saying a word. “This is not your fault Taelya,” she told me sternly, her voice somehow giving the sense of both the steel of command and genuine affection and concern.

“Isn’t it?” I replied bitterly, not really wanting to be consoled. “I… I tore those guys to pieces, and this game doesn’t pull punches where death or injury is concerned, you feel every bit of it, just like you would in real life. Then before letting Nishalle finish Razor off I told him that they could expect long term suffering as soon as they respawned. Who wouldn’t want to run as fast as they could after that? If I hadn’t been so high on the power of nature, If I hadn’t acted like such a… Fae then maybe…”

“Had they just run in terror, I may have accepted that, at least in part,” Amoiraishe offered with a shake of her head. “By your own admission they have been confrontational, arrogant and selfish from the beginning. You did not choose for them to attempt to kill you and your friends, they did that, knowing that it was against the game rules. When they respawned they did not just run in fear, they had a plan, one that was intended to make things worse for everyone else while they got away. They chose to do that, like the attack on you it was premeditated. There were other actions they could have planned, but they chose that. Any one of them could have just stayed there and chose to face the consequences of their actions individually, but none of them did, they all went with a plan intended to hurt others. Should any of them had realized that they had done something wrong, apologized, and shown some measure of regret I would have shown them leniency for the common good, but their choices have proven their worth.”

I looked away, toward the center of the square and the trussed up captives, who were still glaring at my companions and me with hate in their eyes. The only regret they seemed to show was regret that we had caught them. Only Jericho, the one who had willingly surrendered behind the market, looked away at my gaze, but only for a moment.

“Your reactions were natural for a first-time user of Nature’s Call,” Amoiraishe added from behind me as she placed a hand tenderly on my shoulder. “That power can be intoxicating the first time, and your Fae instincts are strong, but you were injured and running solely on those instincts, so do not feel badly. I fear they would have done much worse to you had the opportunity arose or had you not gotten the upper hand. Do you really find being Fae so distasteful?”

I considered her question for a moment as I tried to shake off my lingering feelings of guilt. She was right and I knew it, as guilty as I felt it was their choices that had led them to their fate in the game, whatever it would be. As a game concept, choices influencing fate wasn’t even all that new. I finally shook my head. “When I can put aside the dysphoria I think I actually like it. I love being able to use magic and I feel… connected to other Fae, I actually understand them and feel part of their world, and I’m more relaxed around people in general. I feel like I can be myself, whoever that is these days, and only the dysphoria has been really holding me back. That’s not something I’m really used to in the real world, the comfort I mean, not the dysphoria, though I never had that in the real world either. With everyone but my family and Jess I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside looking in, I don’t get them and I constantly worry about saying or doing the wrong thing, to the point of having anxiety attacks.”

“Perhaps you merely had a lack of human social instincts and those you received from becoming Yseil'dhraí, and the related skills, have filled in that gap,” the Fae queen offered.

“If that’s the case, I’m a bit worried about what might happen when I get back into the real world. What if I become an exhibitionist or something? What if I miss all of this, this feeling of belonging?” I wondered aloud with a sigh.

“Well then you’ll just have to keep playing with me and Jess, because I’m pretty sure we’re going to want to,” Nishalle offered. “In any case we’ll both be there for you like we always are, so let’s not worry about that for now and just enjoy the game.”

Amoiraishe let out a slow sigh as she stepped up beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder, and giving me a somewhat forced smile. “She’s right, there’s no need to worry about it for now, and you’ll have plenty of time to get used to your new social abilities over the next three months. Perhaps, once it’s all said and done, you’ll find that you can adjust to being in the outside world just fine.”

Lissany gave me the sad kitty look, and dammit with that cute kitty nose, lowered jaguar ears, and those big cat-like eyes it was hard not to get sucked in as she added, “Yeah, you can always just keep playing with us. Mom and I think we’re going to, and I’m your Guardian, so it’d suck if I didn’t have you there to guard.”

I folded like an origami swan. “Yeah I guess I could keep playing the game, if we can somehow keep the investors from shutting it down completely.” That prospect saddened me for some reason, was I really getting that attached to the game already?

“Worry not, we will find a way to keep this technology from being misused and you will have plenty of time to enjoy being your new selves, if I have any say in the matter. I have some ideas that the board will find profitable while keeping the technology in my hands, but I may have to leave the game for a few days in game-time to talk to the lawyers and get the ball rolling on the legal aspects and fighting the board’s injunction. I shall do that once H3lls-Pwn’s punishment has been completed,” Amoiraishe said with a grim expression on her face.

“It’s been decided then?” I asked uncertainly.

“Yes, the Mayor asked for the Wild Hunt, and we shall begin after dinner. I have had our people return to the Glade, except for a few who will remain here to guard the prisoners, and we will return to the estate for our dinner, so as not to strain the village’s resources. Once we have eaten, we will return for the Wild Hunt and then they will receive punishments appropriate to their crimes,” she replied with a glance toward the prisoners in question.

Once we had returned to the Estate, and the Brownies had begun preparing dinner, Naerysse escorted me back to my rooms where she helped me to clean off the soot and ash from the fire with a quick sponge bath. The whole time I was practicing my focusing exercises to keep the dysphoria at bay, but at least I had a way to deal with it. Afterwards she carefully and deftly hand washed my outfit and used a spell of some sort to quickly dry it so I could get dressed once again in the newly-cleaned garments.

Talk over dinner was somewhat sedated, mostly going over the damages and possible punishments for H3llspwn following the Wild Hunt. Venika and I were both tired from using so much magic earlier, as was Rei. My fiancé had been keeping busy with some of the other Priests and Priestesses trying to heal anyone who had been injured as a result of the fire or initial explosions. A few of the Magi who had helped out with putting out the flames had suffered either burns or smoke inhalation, two of them had suffered both. There had also been those close to the market who had been hit with shrapnel, some of them pretty seriously.

There were injuries among both players and NPCs, including Christina, the little blonde girl we had saved during the Deadrush. I had been furious when I heard that, and I wanted those assholes to suffer for what they did. At the same time though, despite the assurances otherwise by Amoiraishe and my friends, I couldn’t help but feel partly responsible for the situation. How could I have handled the situation in a way where nobody had gotten hurt? Sadly, I couldn’t think of a satisfactory answer to that question.

“There’s nothing you could have done differently to avoid this,” Rei finally told me after a long silence, guessing the nature of my thoughts. “Those jerks were perfectly willing to go against the rules to kill us, so eventually they would have tried to hurt others again. This is a game so they think they can do whatever they want with no real-world consequences, other than maybe being removed from the game, and if they can’t be the best they’ll just be happy to ruin things for everyone else.”

“But I... what I did to them, the trauma after going through something like that before dying…” I argued weakly.

“They got what they deserved,” Venika told me flatly, her voice uncharacteristically hard. “I heard them planning their ambush before they heard the gunfire and decided to just take us down while we were distracted by the Ogre. I didn’t want to tell you the details before, because I didn’t want you freaking out, but Razor’s plans for you were particularly stomach-turning. They were going to use a tear gas canister and take down the rest of us in the confusion, but Razor wanted you alive, at least until he and his friends were finished with you. They all seemed perfectly willing to go along with the plan ‘because it’s a game and nobody is really getting hurt’, so don’t you dare waste your pity on any of them.”

It took me a moment to realize what she was getting at. As a guy the concept of being raped was not something that I had ever really had to seriously consider, but as a woman, particularly an attractive woman, that prospect was now a very real one. It didn’t matter that it was just a game, or that it wasn’t my real body, this body felt pretty damn real and I could only assume that what they had planned would have as well. As soon as the realizations hit me I was on my feet and dashing to the nearest bathroom to empty the contents of my stomach.

I was really glad that my hair wasn’t loose, it was hard enough keeping the multiple braids out of the way as I threw up in the toilet. It was roughly ten minutes after I had disposed of my dinner and I would have gotten up to wash my face and rinse the acidic taste from my mouth, but I couldn’t seem to stop shaking or stop the horrible thoughts running through my head. From what I knew of Fae culture, we really enjoy sex, but even putting aside that and the dysphoria, the mere thought of having it done violently and against my will was a violation.

The door opened behind me and my sister asked, “Do you need some help?”

“I… I’m f-fine,” I tried to assure her.

“No, you’re not,” she disagreed as she knelt behind me and wrapped me in her arms, “but that’s pretty understandable. Anyone would freak out after hearing that. Venika feels bad about it, but she figured that you should know, and that you need to stop beating yourself up over something done in the spur of the moment while you were bleeding to death and dealing with a power you had no idea how to control. The fact that you regret it, while they haven’t shown an ounce of regret over things they actually planned out because ‘there’s no consequences’, should show clearly that you’re the better person.”

“They could’ve… they would’ve…” I couldn’t finish that sentence as I turned around and cried into her shoulder.

“Yeah, but they didn’t, because we stopped them,” she told me, holding me tightly in her arms. “Don’t let them have that power over you, if anyone has any real power in this situation, it’s you. You defeated them single-handedly, could easily do it again if you needed to, and can help to decide their punishment. If that’s not enough you have other power too; you have good friends who will have your back no matter what, the entire Autumn Court adores you and would do anything for you, you are a powerful Magus, and you have control over nature itself if you ever need it. They can’t take anything from you, so don’t let anyone, including yourself, think that they can. My big Sis is stronger than that, and we both know it.”

“I feel pretty stupid,” I admitted with a sigh. “How can I show my face out there now, everyone probably thinks I’m some kind of... I dunno, but it’s probably bad.”

She tightened her hold on me and I could feel her shaking her head against my own. “Actually, everyone was really pissed off when you left the table, not at you, for you. We all care about you and what they planned, well everyone is angry and upset that you’re so upset and Rei and Amoiraishe are both so pissed off that they were having a Fae-off when I left.”

I sniffled a bit as the shaking seemed to improve and I asked, “A Fae-off?”

“Yeah they’re both trying to come up with the most torturous and ironic long term punishments as reparations to the village,” she explained as she held me in her arms and rubbed my back soothingly. “When I left Moira was suggesting turning them into cows and having them butchered, and then butchering them again every time they respawn until the village has enough food to last a few months. I had no idea that Moira could be so sadistic when pushed. She said she already had plans on how they could pay restitution to you and the Fae, and until she heard what Venika said she had considered just dropping it and kicking them from the game to be done with their shit. I think she’s taken a liking to you.”

“I remind her of her daughter I guess, so she’s getting really over-protective,” I admitted, sniffling again into her shoulder.

“That explains it,” Nishalle replied with a sigh. “Moira doesn’t talk about Rhiannon much, though she’s mentioned her a few times when we were chatting with April about Danielle and how hard it is for her being a single mom. I guess she died before Moira founded the company, but when she found out about Danielle’s gender issues and how hard it was covering her counselling and HRT on a single income she made changes to the company medical policy to cover those things. That was really when April, Moira, and I stared to develop a friendship. Moira may not be the best at showing it, and she can seem a bit aloof at times, but she cares about people and it hurts her when people that she cares for, or who she has taken an interest in, are hurting.”

“She kind of freaked out and accidentally called me Rhaennan after I almost died and was arguing against her locking me up in the manor for my own safety. I guess the elven accent makes the name sound a bit different, but she kind of told me a bit about her after that. I guess me being a girl in the game has been as hard for her as it has been for me. She’s been acting really… maternal,” I told my sister uncertainly, not wanting to leave her embrace.

“It doesn’t really surprise me,” she admitted after a long moment. “She’s so driven, unless April and I get her to relax a bit with us. This company and the game are everything to her, having the board lock her out and you reminding her of her daughter is probably taking a toll on her. How do you feel about her acting all motherly?”

“It’s weird, it kind of feels nice and almost right sometimes, like we share some sort of connection that I can’t explain, so I start reacting like she actually is my mom, but at the same time it’s like I’m betraying our mother and that kinda makes me feel sick inside.”

“It’s just a roleplaying game Caleb,” she said, getting my attention by using my real name. It was weird, I almost didn’t realize she was talking to me for a moment. “There’s no harm in it, even if it weren’t just a game though. Mom wanted us to be happy, and children who lose their parents get fostered or adopted by loving parents all the time, just because we’re adults doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to find someone to fill that role in our lives. It just allows us to make the choice ourselves. Mom wouldn’t be mad at you for allowing her to be a mother to you and neither will I, I love you and want you to be happy. Now, speaking of happiness, are you feeling any better?”

To my surprise I was feeling better. I wasn’t sure if her little distraction had helped to distance me from my earlier thoughts, or if I had just let it all out while crying on her shoulder, but I felt better. “Sorta,” I admitted with a faint smile as I reluctantly pulled away, “but all this kneeling on the floor isn’t doing my knees any good and my mouth still tastes like vomit.”

“Let’s get you cleaned up and try to fill your stomach a bit again before we have to go then Your Highness,” Nishalle offered as she stood up and then helped me to my feet. Once I had cleaned up my face, rinsed out my mouth and flushed the toilet we returned to the dining room where I ate lightly.

It felt like everyone was handling me with kid gloves as they informed us about what we had missed while I ate. Apparently the Fae-off had tapered off after Nishalle had left and they had come up with a retribution for the villagers that I felt was appropriate without going too far. As for retributions for myself and the other Fae, I asked that we just remove them from the game. I didn’t want to see their faces, or even think about them, ever again if I could help it.

The half moon was high in the sky, providing ample light for the Wild Hunt. The village square was full to overflowing with various Fae, Humans, and members of the other races waiting for the hunt to begin and at the southern edge of the square where the five prisoners were still tied up and not looking very comfortable at all with the large group gathered for the occasion. They were effectively surrounded, with only the southern road out of the square to escape from and already the taunts and jeers had begun, though nobody would touch them until the Wild Hunt had officially begun.

I waited with Amoiraishe, each of us mounted atop Vsilja, or NightMares as some of the non-Fae had started to call them once we had arrived. They were ghostly white horse-like creatures with six legs, eyes as golden as our own, and manes and tails just as crimson as our hair. They were powerful mounts; fast, agile, and an absolute terror in battle if my Fae Culture knowledge was to be believed. I had been a bit afraid to mount mine at first since, when we had arrived in the estate’s stables where they were being housed, the mounts had glared balefully at anyone who came too close. To my great surprise though, both my mare and the stallion that Amoiraishe rode had nuzzled us affectionately as soon as we approached, practically melting into a horse-like puddle at our touch.

Our guards, companions, and the Huntsmen, including Nakir, a severe-looking dark-haired Nyiir'dhraí who was our Huntsmaster, were mounted as well. They all rode cú sídhe, each of the hounds a savage-looking beast as big as a horse with shaggy green fur and their long tails woven into braids, mounts that neither Lissany nor Rei seemed overly comfortable with. “I guess it is better riding them than being chased by them,” I heard my fiancé mutter behind me, before I caught my Guardian nodding in agreement to my left. For the moment, the Huntsmen and hounds both eagerly awaited the sound of the horn, but remained still until the signal was given.

“You five are here to answer for crimes against this village, against the Fae, and against my daughter,” the Fae queen called out to my right, her voice as clear and cold as the night air. “You will be allowed an opportunity to escape, should you do so and evade the hunt before the dawn, we will pursue you no longer.” She paused for a moment, smiling maliciously before adding, “When you fail to do so, those you have wronged will be granted their fair retribution.”

Nakir approached me, offering an ornate dagger. “As first-wronged, the honor of first cut goes to you Your Highness.”

Since I was mounted, and had had a hard enough time getting onto the damn Vsilja in the first place, I shook my head. “It is only appropriate that I have my sword make that cut, Nishalle, if you would do the honors?”

“It would be an honor Your Highness,” my sister agreed with a bow before taking the dagger. She gracefully dismounted and slowly and casually approached the prisoners, letting the fear stew in them before stepping before Razor and snapping her wrist out in a motion that was almost too quick to follow. A long and shallow cut was the result, just above and uncomfortably close to his groin, causing him to wince. Even from several paces away my Fae senses allowed me to see the cut and hear her nearly whisper, “Be thankful I didn’t cut it off asshole. I would have, but I’d have to actually find it first. Besides, this won’t be near as entertaining for all of us if you can’t run. Oh, don’t look so worried boys, it’s a game after all and nobody is going to really get hurt, right?”

Nishalle returned to the Huntsmaster and handed back his dagger. The very second it was returned to its sheath the prisoners’ bindings fell to the floor and the Huntsmaster sounded his horn releasing those gathered from their long wait. The hounds immediately let loose with a spine-chilling howl and then the massive beasts rushed toward the members of H3lls-Pwn barking in their raspy ghostly voices, mixing with the laughter of their riders. The prisoners did the only thing that made sense, they ran for their lives.

War cries rang out through the square as the hunt began, the Fae and anyone else with an interest surging forward and giving chase. The prisoners fled southward, running through the village as cú sídhe nipped at their backsides and Fae taunted them while darting in and out to slash at them, delivering small cut after small cut, stealing away their resistance a bloody piece at a time. Onward they ran, through the village and southward beyond, onto the road where they attempted to lose us in the forest.

I won’t bore you with a blow by blow, minute by minute account of the Wild Hunt. I probably couldn’t give one even if I tried, since Amoiraishe and I brought up the rear of the hunt where we would be safe, so I didn’t really get to see all that much. I will merely say that we pursued them through the woods in the bright moonlight, occasionally falling back enough to let them think they were getting away, only to fall upon their heels again, have some of us hurry ahead to block their path, or place a barrier in their way with magic.

One by one the members of H3lls-Pwn fell and could run no further and each time the fallen had had their wrists bound behind them and a metal collar snapped around their neck with a chain connecting it to the collar of Nakir’s cú sídhe. They were given the choice to either keep running or be dragged as we pursued their companions. Then we would rush ahead once more to catch up with the rest of the Wild Hunt. Razor was the last to be caught and we took our time toying with him. Sprites and Pixies flew back and forth advising us of his position, scouting ahead, until finally we had herded him to the waters edge, where a contingent of Nereids, Selkies, Undines, and Kelpies awaited him. As the sun began to kiss the horizon he found himself completely surrounded and fell to his knees.

The crowd parted so that Queen Amoiraishe, myself, and our entourage could pass to address the prisoners as Razor was being secured by Nakir. All of the taunting and chattering ceased as we approached and the Fae Queen help up her hand for silence. Only once that silence was absolute did she address our five bloodied and exhausted prisoners. “You have failed to win your freedom, so retribution is now at hand. Your crime against the village shall be first addressed. You willfully destroyed their food and supplies, leaving them to starve while attempting to steal enough to survive on your own. For that you will starve yourselves, while toiling to replenish their supplies. There is a large farm left untended since the werewolves attacked Haven with crops that are ready to be harvested. You will harvest those crops for the village from dawn until dusk under supervision and will wear masks that will prevent you from eating or drinking yourselves.”

“You can’t do that! We’ll starve to death you bi…” Razor shouted.

I could feel Amoiraishe gathering mana and she swiftly drew sigils in the air, calling them out with her gaze firmly locked on the leader of H3lls-Pwn. “Kaida nalysse Razor!” His shouting cut off mid-expletive. His mouth was still going through the motions, but no sound was coming out. The Fae queen smiled, and said, “That’s much better. Starvation is no less than you intended for the people of Haven and anyone staying there, so this is an appropriate punishment. Retribution will be complete when all of you either die or complete the harvest.”

Amoiraishe paused a moment to let that sink in before continuing to speak. “Once the village has had its retribution my daughter shall have hers. She has asked that the five of you; Razor, Jericho, Napalm, Risk, and Thunder be removed from this world. I feel that she is being far too generous, but I shall see it done. The five of you have been more trouble than you’re worth and I would rather have new people in those F.I.Ts that won’t be as much trouble, than deal with your arrogance and selfishness any longer. As for your punishment from the Fae, well that can come after.” She leaned in close and began to whisper something to Razor that made him go white. Her voice was so soft that I only managed to catch a few words here and there. “Skill removal… painful… breach of contract… legal… choice.”

Whatever it was she had said, it had him fairly subdued as he and his guild mates were frog marched to the farm where they would be serving their time. Once there, two dozen Fae guards, including two Magi, were left with them to ensure that they did their work. As for the rest of us, we made our way back to our respective homes for a bit of a nap. It had after all, been a very long night.