Le Chevalier

Eating breakfast, a generous gift from my landlord of an apricot and pecan danish, I stare at one message in particular that I received through the forums sometime yesterday evening which in my exhaustion, I neglected in favour of getting a few hours of sleep. Even now, I feel like garbage, but nonetheless improved compared to yesterday. Which I daresay is thanks to logging off a little earlier after handling the rest of my business.

'Mr Nosster,

I am the leader of Sober Morning, Erenviet Maclona, and I am writing with regards to the proposition you passed on some time ago through one of my subordinates. In short, we have come to an agreement, and are interested in working with you and Wolf Hunt to attempt the dungeon you claim to exist within the forest. However, we feel the terms are, at present, not favourable enough for us to fully commit and would like to schedule a meeting in-virtua to negotiate terms agreeable to both of us. Should Mr Fathom of Wolf Hunt desire to participate, that is also fine.

Please respond at your earliest convenience, and thank you for your patience.

Erenviet Maclona.'

To be rather blunt, we're basically penniless at present, and what resources we do get in the near future will be exclusively for our use or sale. What we can offer more or less boils down to discounts on appraisals and equipment from Stone Arsenal for a limited period, but I won't deny the possibility of throwing them a bone when it comes to clearing the preceding dungeons. Whether that's the strategies we used or by showing in person with one of our less occupied members. For my part, once I've gotten some rest, I'll need to head off to the nearest shrine to Lady Jannis which I believe is about a week's journey by foot in-game there and another to get back. Less if I can hitch a ride. I can leave some of my work to Winfrey in my absence - that's what she's there for after all.

In any case, it rather depends on how much Sober Morning think they're worth, so my best course of action will be to let them set a price and haggle them down as needed. So long as we get what we need from WLR, I'd say we're pretty flexible on the rest.

Still, it's a step forward, as I was racking my brains to come up with someone else to partner up with. Not that I lack options, but they aren't as reliable as Sober Morning should ostensibly be, nor have they really made as deep an impression on my memories, not to give them more credit than they deserve of course. Moreover, with the current player population being what it is, most of the alternatives I came up with aren't even available prior to RotA, which is simply too late.

Speaking of meetings, I should get going. Two potential recruits to greet and evaluate today.

---

 

Gaming Sanctuary, Paris

Arriving outside with heavy, slow steps, I greet Sherry, who is once again stood outside smoking. The difference in the scene is that she has company, and the similarly short woman I've yet to meet stood next to her strikes me as passing familiar for some reason. Couldn't really say why, but I feel like I should recognise her from somewhere. Maybe she was in one of my classes at university?

The hairstyle and colouring definitely say 'Art Student'.

"You still look like shit, man," Sherry exhales a wisp of smoke, not really all that enthusiastic sounding and looking a little worse for wear. Cutting through the acrid smell of tobacco I catch a faint whiff of stale alcohol. Hungover, most likely.

"Likewise," I shake my head, then clear my throat to address the new face, "Good morning. Alex, nice to meet you."

"Call me Jinx," the woman smiles politely, speaking with a very noticeable french accent, "You're the 'Tour Guide' I keep hearing about, I take it."

"Since Sherry seems to be adverse to using my name, yes," I sigh, ignoring the middle finger Sherry brandishes mid-drag, "Are we waiting on your boyfriend, or is he inside already?"

"Yeah, he's just sorting out his shifts for next week," Jinx nods, "We've just been waiting on you to show up."

"Sorry for the inconvenience," I smile apologetically, "I have to get the bus from Tortus."

"Oh yeah?" she perks up, "Know a couple of people from 'round there. Do you know a Jack Nichols or Macie Marks?"

I tilt my head, trying to put names to faces, "I think I know Macie. Tall Korean girl with a bright red nose stud, right?"

"Yes, that's her," Jinx beams, "How'd you know her?"

"I live and I guess, work, at Le Chevalier, and she stops by every other week or two," I shrug, "Never really spoken to her though. Keeps to herself."

"Yeah, true. Super funny though," she chuckles, "Actually, come to think of it you look a little familiar. Art Theory with Professor Jenkins?"

I snap my finger, realisation dawning, "That was it. Yes, I'm taking a break from my studies though."

"Landscapes. You?"

"Sculpture and Art History."

"Ugh, art nerds," Sherry crushes her cigarette under her heel, "Come on, Henry's waiting."

Jinx tuts, "This is Paris, artists are as common as grains of sand. Ms Engineer."

"Bite me, Jinxie, not in the mood~" Sherry huffs, descending the staircase.

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Jinx fires back, undeterred by her friend's bad attitude. I think they're friends anyway.

The venue is, as ever, deathly quiet at this time of day. In fact, even the regulars I've noted to be in here from opening to closing like I've been are conspicuous for their absence, which I can't help but remark upon.

"Heard there was a big protest going on today," Sherry mutters, "Something something anti-corporation. Iunno, I tune that shit out most the time."

"It's important," Jinx asserts half-heartedly, "However, I admit that it's largely ineffectual. Unless someone does something drastic, it won't be more than an afterthought in the day's news."

Sad, but unfortunately the truth. The surviving giants of the commercial world are simply too powerful after The Crash. A mob of half-drunk ideologues won't make a dent on their reputation or a difference in their policies. At best they'll make a nuisance of themselves, and at worst...well, I don't think I need to explain my feelings on the subject.

"You ok, Alex?" Jinx picks up on my soured mood pretty quickly.

"Reminded of some less than fond memories, pay me no mind," I shake my head, not really feeling up to laying out my life story again, to Sherry and a comparative stranger no less. Jinx takes the hint and lets the matter drop, and Sherry opens her mouth to press me on it before good sense prevails and she follows suit.

"I'll go get him," Sherry offers, waggling an RFID Chit with a label taped onto the base.

"No need," Jinx smiles, then nods over to an opened door, out of which exits Henry, "There he is."

Noticing the three of us, and Jinx in particular if I don't miss my mark, the lanky man brightens up significantly, carefully shuts the door behind him, and strolls over with hurried steps, bringing his arm around her shoulders and hugging her in.

"Hey, was just about to come up," Henry smiles down.

"Happy coincidence," Jinx winks back.

"Mercy on the singles, please," Sherry complains, "You good to go?"

"Yes, if all goes well today, I'll have most of next week off," he nods, "And if not, well, I needed to get the last bit of leave used up from Christmas overtime anyway."

"Cool," Sherry turns to leave, "Come on, let's see if we can get ourselves hooked up."

---

 

Cathedral of The Starlight Truth Faith, Meteo City

About half an hour later, after giving the couple the spiel on character creation, me and Jade rendezvous with Windy, Angelus and Jupiter at the Cathedral, which is just as quiet as Gaming Sanctuary back in reality, the only people present - to use the term rather loosely - are a couple of tutorial NPCs in the garb of the Starlight Truth Faith's clergy.

Other than the ambulatory advice dispensaries, only a single adherent of the religion is present in one of the alcoves, offering incense at the base of a marble statue depicting, symbolically, the light of a star in the form of a four-pointed star beaming light down on the podium. The Starlight Truth Faith is less about the various gods and their peers, and more of a philosophical belief advocating individualism - or it was before that attitude led to a few too many attempted revolts for the Empire's liking. Nowadays it's preaching toes the line more carefully and espouses the virtues of a unified community just as much.

Most nations on Firmament have their own spin on the Truth of Stars, making it the dominant religion, and each of them has their own idea as to what exactly the Truth really is, that is informed by their nation's cultural identity. Or the other way around. Not to say that other religions don't exist, but most only reach niche cult status aside from a few notables, such as the Venerates, who honour the Ascended Heroes - most egregiously over in Triumph, where they take it to strange, fanatical places the heroes they claim to respect would deeply abhor.

Not my problem for the time being, either way. That's for the Town of Forgiveness players to contend with for the foreseeable future - I've got other fish to fry, as much as I'd like to pitch in. There's some pretty good stuff over there for the skilled - a lot of untouched Legacy Trials zealously guarded by the local government.

"He's doing it again," Jade notes sarcastically.

"Yeah, he is," Windy agrees, nudging my arm, "Wake up, boss, they're here."

Indignant, I swat her hand away, "I can hear the transference."

Descending the staircase is a tall Silva man with flowing black hair tied off in a long ponytail and a short beard, accompanied by a brunette Panoplast woman with wolf ears and a tail who strikes me as exceptionally familiar. So familiar in fact, I almost do a spit-take at the sight of her, the name - if it is indeed who I think it is - springs to mind immediately: Horizon Chaser.

To my credit, I'm able to keep ahold of my emotions and rein them in quickly enough that it doesn't show too obviously on my face. Or at least, that's the hope.

"Hey," the Silva man waves as they approach once they've sorted out their inventories, "Whoa, this feels...ugh...nasty. Like, 8 pints in and a blunt nasty."

"You get used to it if you don't think about it too much," Angelus consoles him, "Hedge Mage, I take it?"

"Yeah. Grand Arcanist, at your service," he bows, "Just call me Grand."

Jupiter, thus far quiet, stares at him, and Grand stares back. A few strained seconds pass, before they clasp each other's arms, ""Brother!""

"Uhhh..." Windy looks between them, confused as the rest of us, "What?"

"Recognised a kindred spirit, don't worry about it," Grand laughs heartily, and I feel a headache developing.

"The world will tremble before our combined magical might, I can already see it now!" Jupiter grins madly, "We're going to fuck shit up, you and I."

"Hell yeah," Grand high-fives his fellow caster, "Wizard master race, let's fuckin' go."

Clearing my throat, I address Jinx, "How about you?"

"Horizon Chaser, Scout," she smiles apologetically, elbowing her boyfriend to get him to calm down, "Horizon will be fine."

As I thought, it's her. Never met her myself, but I know her by reputation and a couple of interviews.

Horizon Chaser, the Cartographer Queen, Grand Explorer and the woman who discovered Parlellos, an entirely new continent on the other side of the world, shaking the cobwebs out of the playerbase and putting an end to the corporate theme park the game had become. One of only two Sage-Tier Cartographers and legendarily impossible to nail down by any means. Not for lack of trying either.

Cartographer is a crafting subclass that is able to survey the land and create maps - which is invaluable in a game where it's impossible to connect to the internet and there's no such thing as a HUD with a minimap. If you bring one along in a group, the chances of you finding hidden rooms and spotting unusual landmarks hiding secrets increases dramatically, and they can cut down on a lot of the hassle involved with navigating labyrinths and the like.

A good third of the maps I used to own were made by her, or at the very least, copied from her work.

Never joined a Guild, in so far as I'm aware, so getting her into Truthseekers would be an absolute coup. As for her boyfriend, I can't say the name's familiar, but I'm pretty optimistic nonetheless.

Back to the present, however.

"We'll be meeting our guides at Boulder Gate shortly, so we've enough time to take care of a bit of business while we're here and getting you signed up with the Guild," I inform them, "If you want to take a quick look around the Cathedral before we go, now is your chance."

The pair share a glance then nod.

"Alright."

"Sure."

They leave, giving me a chance to relax a little before I address the rest, "I'm assuming you all have your Kinstones?"

"We finally getting rid of them?" Jupiter asks, still upbeat.

"Yes," I confirm, "A bit overdue, but there wasn't a whole lot for it. Follow me."

Leading the way, I head over to a corner of the cathedral, where a priestess stands inside an alcove mechanically polishing a dais, used in the autumn months to make offerings of food and sundries which are then redistributed to those most in need, or so the tradition goes. Meteo City is poor enough on the whole that most people don't bother out of self-preservation. And good old-fashioned selfishness, naturally.

That and more can be picked up by questioning this specific NPC, but she also points out the need for Kinstones to enter dungeons offhandedly, which is a vague hint that you need to bring one to her at some point.

"Greetings, Starwatcher," I greet.

"Greetings, Newborn, are you interested in learning more about this dais?" the automaton-like woman asks with a fixed smile devoid of any human warmth.

"No, thanks," I deny, "We were hoping you would be able to perform the Ritual of Kinship for us."

"Certainly, if your soul is strong enough to bear the sins and dreams of others unaided," She responds, basically stating that you need to meet a Level requirement. Annoyingly, the game doesn't see fit to mention that you also need to complete The First Step.

"They are," I assert, pulling my Kinstone out of my bag and motioning for the others to do the same.

The rictus grin of the priestess widens, "Excellent. Place the Kinstones on the dais here, and we shall begin."

 

 

Complying, the priestess walks around to the other side of the dais, arranges the fist-sized rocks around a smaller gemstone amulet she takes from around her neck, and starts muttering in what I believe to be High Lendosian. Or Archaic Lendosian, I could never tell the difference.

After a full minute goes by, the Kinstones finally show signs of activity, a small mote of light birthing within their cores, brightening steadily until it leaves the confines of the rock and rushes into the chests of their respective owners. It feels...ticklish, is the best way I can describe it.

 

 

No muss, no fuss.

Gathering up the Kinstones, the priestess places them in a small bag of her own, then bows, "It is done. These Kinstones will be returned to the Empire that they might help guide future defenders of the realm. Stars Bless, strangers, may your Paths be long."

"Finally!" Jade sighs, "Not like I'm hurting for inventory slots anymore, but it's still nice to get one back."

"Mm. At the very least, we get a small experience bonus for going through with it," Angelus murmurs, "So, how do we do this?"

"Same way you access most of the System commands. Be out of combat, focus on what you want to do then call it out," I explain, then demonstrate, "<Party Invitation>."

"Huh. After the show just now I was a little worried we might have to do something similar every time," Angelus smiles sardonically.

"Not everything has to be complicated," I shrug, "In any case, daylight's burning, let's go. Don't want to have to cut a second expedition short."