They were barely an hour away from Flower’s Rest when Azalea started to get a bad feeling. She wasn’t quite sure what had triggered her senses, but she knew something was off. In fact, the feeling was so strong that she stopped in her tracks, looking around as if to find the source of it. Caius, noticing her hesitation, also came to a halt. Riley and Oscar were a little slower in reacting.

“What is it?” Riley asked, looking around at her. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m… not sure,” she said slowly. She lifted her face slightly and sniffed at the air. Nothing seemed out of place there. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong. “I can’t explain it, but something’s wrong.”

Now they all cast a quick glance around, searching the nearby trees for potential danger. In spite of the tension that was starting to grip her heart, she felt a quick surge of pleasure at how quickly they accepted her word. They didn’t doubt her feelings but immediately acted to verify the trouble she was sensing. However, they, like her, couldn’t seem to sense anything that was particularly off about the scene around them. The trees were barren of hidden attackers, and there was no sign of…

“Smoke,” Oscar reported, pointing. They all turned to follow his arm and made out the plume of dark grey against the bright sky, just barely visible above the treetops. “That’s over where Silver Village is.”

He was right, of course. They’d spent so much time exploring this area that there was no doubt in their mind. Azalea wondered for a moment if the smoke they saw could just be a normal fire, but quickly discarded it. She knew that smoke that dark could only come from things - other than wood - burning up. That invisible hand clutched more tightly at her hand.

“Don’t know if it’s still going on,” Caius said, shifting his belt so that his sword was in a better position, “but if we can help them out, we should. Let’s go check it out before we stop by our home.”

The others nodded their agreement. Azalea turned back to Patsy, who so far hadn’t bothered to speak. “You should go to the land. You’re not really equipped for a fight. Wait for us there.”

Patsy nodded his agreement, his face pale. He looked as troubled as she felt, though she couldn’t understand why. He didn’t have a strong connection to this area like they did. Maybe he was just worried about a potential raid, she thought. He wasn’t used to fighting, after all. Behind him, the Sisters were all preparing themselves for a fight, and looked hell-bent on following them.

“Let’s go.”

At Caius’ command, they hurried forward, all breaking into a full run. Azalea, Centrogen, Bubbles, and Fluffypie cast agility and endurance buffs over the group, to ensure that they could keep up that pace for the entire trip. At a dead sprint, they were able to reach Silver Village in just under half an hour. None of them talked during the run, for there was nothing to say, no new information would make itself apparent until they reached their destination.

As the village came into view, they could see that they were already too late. Whatever fight had happened was long over, and the main street that split the village in two was full of morose-looking figures going about repairs and surveying the damage. Four buildings were completely burned down, and few were untouched by the flames. To top it off, piles of loot were visible in certain places, evidence of where players - and even Terrians - had died.

“What’s happened here?” Caius asked, grabbing the attention of the nearest person, a player. “Who raided Silver Village?”

“Oh, it’s you,” the player said. The name above her head read [UmbrellaBird]. She shook her head a bit sadly. “Nobody knows where they came from. Just appeared out of nowhere and attacked.”

“Which guild?”

UmbrellaBird blinked slowly, confused. Then dawning realization replaced the confusion. “Ah, right. You haven’t been here in nearly a month, so you don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?” Azalea asked, her heart sinking as she stepped forward to Caius’ side. “What’s been going on? We haven’t heard anything!”

“Well, you wouldn’t have heard,” UmbrellaBird said, “because the one player in charge of Contacting your group was one of the first killed, and ran away. Ever since then, there’s been a barrier of some kind. Nobody can cast magic except the raiders.”

“Anti-magic,” Caius cursed. He and Azalea shared a quick glance. “It was only a matter of time before a player came up with a spell like that. So, which guild was it?”

“It wasn’t a guild,” UmbrellaBird replied with a shrug of her shoulder. “The Player Handbook warned us it might happen, but I don’t think any of us took it seriously.”

Caius’ impatience was threatening to boil over into frustrated action. “I’m only going to ask you one more time. Who. Raided. The. Village?”

UmbrellaBird took a long look at him, noticing the angry expression, and offered another shrug. “We don’t know who they are or where they came from.”

Caius started to speak again, but she interrupted him. “They’re Terrians. Well, mostly. There were a few players mixed in with them, but I think they were just there because they liked PKing. They weren’t nearly as nasty as the raid leader, though. Some evil motherfucker named Matlin.”

“Matlin?” For some reason, the name sent an odd shiver down Azalea’s spine. Even Caius seemed more troubled upon hearing it, but neither of them could seem to place where they’d heard it. Then Oscar answered, reminding them.

“He was the boss of that raid. Remember, the one where Azalea killed that greatworm? We won that raid, but Matlin escaped.”

“So he’s back,” Caius muttered. “Of course, this game would have an infamy system.”

“What does that mean?” Azalea asked. That was an unfamiliar concept to him. Again, it was Oscar who answered. He knew as much about game mechanics and systems as Caius did. Probably more.

“Infamy systems track player actions, and either reward or punish them with special events,” he explained in a low voice. “We beat Matlin and probably humiliated him, but we didn’t kill him. So he’s returned to take revenge on us.”

“Well, that much was obvious,” UmbrellaBird said with a snort. “I wasn’t here for the first raid, but after what they did to your land, surely you’re not surprised he had a grudge against you.”

“Our…” Azalea tried to reply to that statement, but couldn’t find enough strength in her voice to do so. Shock, so powerful that it made her stumble back a step, replaced the unease in her chest. Of all the things she had feared would happen in their absence, this one was the worst. By far.

“Ah. You don’t know,” UmbrellaBird said, looking a little guilty. “Sorry, I thought your informant would have at least managed to tell you about that. Your property was the first one hit. There’s… nothing left of it.”

Azalea reached into the neck of her shirt to pull out the pendant she’d gotten on her first day in the game. Strange, but she’d had very little reason to check it over the past few weeks. She hurriedly looked down at the list of properties on her character sheet as it appeared, as if hoping that it would still be there despite what this player was saying as if her belief could reverse the events. But there was nothing listed.

She raised her eyes to meet Caius’, and his face darkened in anger. He knew from the hopeless look in her eyes that they’d been soundly defeated, and all their stored items were gone. He let out another curse. “Where is Matlin now?”

UmbrellaBird shrugged again. “No clue. After each raid, they leave no sign and vanish. Then, a few days later, they attack again. There’s already talk among the players of leaving for the city. Even if it’s full of thieves and bandits, it’s probably safer than here.”

“I’ll start scouting right away,” Oscar said quickly. He could already see where this was going. “I’ll see if I can track down the source of that barrier. Lifting that should be our first option.”

Caius nodded. The rage that had filled him had already dissipated alarmingly fast. Now his face showed nothing but cold anger. “Do that. In the meantime, we’re moving into the village. The next time that bastard raids Silver Village, we’ll be here. And then we can finish the job we started.”

Aster removed her visor, setting it down on the bedside table, and let out a long sigh. Still, she didn’t get off her bed right away. She couldn’t believe it. All their property, the result of nearly three months of work in her free time, had been destroyed. Somehow, it was even worse to know that it wasn’t the result of player action, either. It had been an NPC raid. If only she and Caius had been there. Instead, they’d been off in the city, meddling in the business of other players. She put her hands over her face, letting out a groan of frustration. When had she become so wrapped up in that game?

A loose hair covered her eye as she removed her hand, and for a moment, she remembered the magical threads that one fox girl had used. What had her name been again? Asami, that was right. That was the greatest challenge Aster had faced in that game so far. Far more challenging than Matlin. Yet it was the latter who had done the most damage to her. Another groan. She wanted to hit something. But she refrained, knowing it would accomplish nothing.

She forced herself out of bed and across the room, pausing only slightly to make sure she was presentable. She always tried to stay clean and collected when interacting with Dale. Unlike when they were in a game together, she maintained a certain degree of professionalism. Dale, she thought. He was probably fuming in his bed, the frustration compounded by his inability to move his limbs. He’d definitely punch something if he could. She put her own anger away, determined to try to cheer him up, even if only a little. And she knew just what would do that. Steak.

“Dale, I’m going to make dinner,” she said, putting on the V-Lens she used for work. “As a special treat, I’m going to make your favorite. I just have to nip down to the street market for the asparagus. I won’t be gone long.”

It was strange, she thought, walking down the stairs from their apartment to the street below, how washed out and bland the real world seemed now. Project Terra had become their unofficial reality, with events there becoming far more important than what occurred in their actual lives. Well, with some exceptions, she thought. She still had her job, which she still very much enjoyed. She didn’t want to think what she’d have to do if she didn’t work for Dale. Medical work was very hard to come by these days, with all the automatic technology that was in place. Medical technicians were far more valuable than nurses. It had been by sheer luck that she’d met Dale, who tried to keep the technology in his life no more advanced than full-dive virtual gaming.

She had a pleasant conversation with the produce saleswoman from which she bought the asparagus, then made her way back up to the apartment. Even the outside world smelled horrible compared to the world of Project Terra. Then again, it had always smelled bad, what with the pollution that now existed everywhere. It was a relief to get inside the condo building and breathe in the cool, filtered air that the building owners supplied as part of their rental appeal.

Dinner was quick, as both she and Dale liked their steaks lightly cooked. The asparagus and broccoli - for she didn’t like the thin stalks as much as Dale did - took the longest. Once they were steamed, she lathered on a healthy amount of butter to both and picked up the steaming plate to head down to Dale’s room.

It was dark in his room, which surprised her. He had vocal control over all the appliances in his room, and he usually turned on the lights after he finished gaming. She guessed he was sulking. “You can’t let it bother you too much, Dale. We’ll get our stuff back and beat Matlin, don’t worry.”

He still gave no reply. Damn, he really was in a bad mood, she thought. “Lights. Sit up.”

At the two verbal commands, the lights flashed on, and his chair rose him into a sitting position. She set the two loaded plates down on the table beside his bed and tied her hair back into a ponytail. “Now stop sulking, and eat your steak. I cooked it just how you like, including the asparagus, even though it’ll make you stink all day tomorrow.”

Still, no reply. Frowning, she shook her head and cut off the first bite. “Fine, don’t talk to me. But at least eat. Here you go.”

She brought the fork holding the first bite over to his face, then froze. That uneasy feeling was back as she regarded him. His eyes were open, but he was looking up and not at her. No, she thought, that cold hand growing more tight than ever, he wasn’t ignoring her. His eyes were dull. Lifeless. The truth hit her, even before she dropped the fork to the floor, and began hurriedly checking his vitals. He was dead.

C_P_Tuck

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