Alex's Room, Le Chevalier

I'm woken up early by the default ringtone of my phone and the buzzing of it's vibrating rattling my skull from through the pillow.

Sluggish, I reach under and pull the wretched thing out, seeing that I'm being called by Winfrey.

"This had better be important," I croak, "It's 4am over here."

"I know, but I was just checking the forums before bed, and I found something you need to see."

A link comes through. Still groggy, I rub my eyes and sit up. What I see makes my heart sink into a pool of ice.

--

Thread: Meteo City Blacksmith NPC arrested

Terrance Allevo:

Just saw some scout players try and jump the buff repair npc for a sword and get their asses handed to them

Guard arrested her for killing one

what gives??? is this an event?

--

"-ex? You there?"

I clench my eyelids shut, "I'm here. Although I had held some optimism, I can't say I'm surprised that someone would be idiotic enough to try robbing an NPC in the city. This doesn't change what we were already going to do, but it does mean we have three people to worry about now."

I can smell Geronil's influence on this even from outside the game. This just makes getting the jailbreak mission off the ground even more important. As childish as it is, I will definitely be asking Olrica to make my - and honestly, the entire Meteo City community's displeasure now that they've lost the only NPC that was capable of and willing to repair their blacksmith-tagged weapons and armour.

Henna should be safe for now, but the moment her 'trial' starts, Geronil will see to it that she is removed as thoroughly as possible now that he's gotten an excuse to do so.

"Three? What do you mean?"

I sink back beneath my covers, "We'll deal with it later, I need to get some sleep. Put a message in the group chat, I want all hands on deck today."

"Um, right. Sorry for waking you up," Winfrey apologises.

"I don't mind if it's important, like this is," I absolve her, "Thanks for letting me know."

"Ok. Sleep well," she bids farewell and hangs up.

Not wanting to further risk waking up Mr Jackson, I resist the urge to yell profanities at the top of my lungs, alternating between every French and English insult I know in my head. The schedule for this just keeps getting pushed further and further forward the longer I put it off, as if to mock me. Fine. I guess it's time for me to give a Trapper 8 Levels higher than me with a rare Class the filthiest middle Silvan finger that greedy demon shagging prick has ever seen.

Before I forget, I also send Jupiter Trail a message to be ready for his extraction at some point today.

---

 

The Golem, Meteo City

When I wake up in-game and leave the back room, the rest of the team are already waiting for me at one of the tables - as is Lifk, the quirstic barkeep leaning against the wall to my left, obviously waiting for me.

"Silver. Henna's been taken by the City Guard," He informs me bluntly.

"I heard. We're going to take care of it. Any advice or assistance you can offer?"

"Don't get caught. Henna will suffer for it," Lifk advises, and walks back to the kitchen, his fists clenched.

 

 

"Stellar," I mumble under my breath, then join the others, "Apologies if this disrupted your schedules, but this needs to be dealt with immediately. Did all of you get the Quest for this?"

They all nod.

"Just now," Angelus says, "-2 Levels for failure is a harsh penalty. Not to say that freeing Henna isn't a bad thing, but I have to wonder if the reward really matches the risk we're going to be undertaking by attempting this."

"Yeah. Doesn't even say what the Title does for me," Jade complains, "Assume it's the same for you guys?"

"Yeah," Windy affirms, "Pretty sure that not losing Henna is the entire point for this. Did you hear back from Rambling Rose, boss?"

Crossing my arms, I acknowledge her, "Olrica's going to meet us here in about an hour and take us to them. Unsurprisingly, pissed off as their Guild Leader is, he recognises how much of a pain in the ass it is to lose a repair NPC - even if that is as far as he likely cares."

I breathe in, "I don't expect you to have as much of a vested interest as I do in safeguarding Henna's wellbeing beyond that either, but pragmatism dictates we deal with this promptly if we don't want to lose an important part of my - our - plans."

Windy smiles, "No objections from me boss. I'm sunk without someone for maintenance."

"Henna's cool, so I'm in," Jade adds emphatically, surprising me a little.

"Although I don't have any attachment to her or much use for her services, I'm down to right some wrongs," Angelus offers, giving a sly thumbs-up.

Unfolding my arms, I clasp my hands together, "Right, we'll be going over a detailed plan with Rambling Rose later, so for now, we've got two things to do: Stock up on supplies and get the investigation from The Magpie Demon Part 2 done. Windy, I'll give you the money to get what we need from the market, Angelus, Jade, you're coming with me to get the last leg of the investigation into the mysterious disappearances around Meteo City done, so all of us can benefit from the Quest rewards - since I'm assuming that at some point you'll both get tagged as helping me do it."

They both blink a few times. Jade clicks her tongue, "Just got it."

"Convenient," Angelus observes.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," I warn, "In any case, meet up back here when you're done, Windy. As soon as we're done with this Quest, we're leaving the city for the old Ulis Farmstead. We won't be able to come back immediately, so if you have any business to take care of, get it done now."

"Isn't that where Farmer's Folly is? What are we going there for?" Angelus enquires.

I hold up a pair of fingers, "Two things: It's what I assume will be a Quest turn-in point, and our next dungeon."

Windy frowns, "Please tell me we're not going back to farming rodents."

"We're not. What we want is a Secret dungeon - the Level 9 Iron-Tier Anguished Core, The Farmer's Secret," I announce, "But we'll talk more about it when we get there. We've enough on our plate for seconds and thirds right now, I'm sure you'll agree."

Jade looks ready to whine again, before thinking it over and accepting it, "I guess so."

"Daylight's burning," I clap, "Let's get to it."

---

 

Pioneer's Alliance Training Yard, Meteo City

I realise showing up here is a rather extreme risk right now, but I don't know where or when else to find this guy, and I don't have the time to waste, so I'll just have to hope that Geronil isn't paying attention to the shadows beneath the lighthouse, so to speak. If he catches me here, my Vessel is as good as gone, and my teammates won't get off lightly either as Panoplasts and allies of mine.

We're not ready for a direct confrontation yet.

The elderly Kon is smoking in the same spot as before, and he seems shocked to see me approach. Exhaling a puff of smoke, he empties the contents onto the floor before addressing us, "I hadn't expected to see you again."

I snort derisively, "I'm flattered by your faith in my survival skills. You know why I'm here."

"The girl's arrest, is it?" He taps his pipe against his wooden arm, "Tragic business, that. But if you're here for my assistance, you'll find that I am past my prime, and lacking any influence over the proceedings. Much as I might wish it were otherwise."

I glare at him, "Spare me, old man."

Taking a step closer, I lean forward and match eye-level with the old coward, "Tell me about The Magpie Demon."

Lamnon freezes over, horrified, "W-what?"

"I know what Geronil is, old man. I know you sold Henna's father out to him," I continue, adding in some of my own knowledge from the 'future' which wasn't present in the information we gathered for the quest, "I realise it might not have been entirely of your own will, but it's not my place to pass judgment on you. Regardless. Tell me. About The Magpie Demon."

He turns away, "I..can't."

"You can, you just don't want to bear the punishment," I grab his shoulder, then present the Fang Pin, "Tell me, you Starforsaken wretch."

Staring at the pin, entranced, Lamnon shudders, "...Fine."

Whispering a hurried chant for a privacy-oriented spell that distorts sound within a radius, the old Kon refills his pipe and tells his story.

Long, long ago, though the details are obscured as much by time as by deliberate action, an Archdemon Count named Arevas descended upon Merrow here. A creature of impulsive desire to possess and collect all manner of rare and unusual artefacts, artworks and even people.

Titled 'The Magpie Demon' after his preferred appearance as a giant and distorted ink-black bird as well as his obsession, he came into conflict with many in search of rare finds for his collection, and inevitably, he attracted the attention of a Dragon Knight - one of the single scariest creatures in Astral Reckoning even amongst the divinely empowered.

To cut a long story short, Arevas was imprisoned beneath Fander Field, and in the past century or so, he's begun to subvert the containment of his prison, choosing an agent in the region to serve as his Beak in much the same fashion that I serve as one of Jannis' Blades. At present, that agent is Geronil, and he's been collecting sacrifices for his master's collection, which, in ritualistic fashion, empowers Arevas and allows his Presence to slip through just a little more.

The poor schmucks at Liggit Mine ran afoul of a portion of this leaked, weakened essence in the form of The Pool of Desire, which contains a truly minuscule portion of Arevas' Authority.

Lamnon hisses in pain at the end, "Trom has...evidence...jailed...get him out of - argh! - the city..!"

A brand shines with a sickly glow through the man's shirt, situated on his right shoulder - Geronil's work.

"Go! Run before he comes down here!" He orders, waving at us desperately to leave.

"You heard the man, run or die!" I repeat to Jade and Angelus, breaking into a sprint aided by Rush.