Pioneers' Alliance Main Lobby, Meteo Town

"How do you feel?" Windy asks a very self-satisfied Angelus as we head out of the door onto the street.

"Much better, no doubt about it," he laughs, sidestepping an NPC, "A shame that skill gem was so expensive, I would have loved to have it. Serte Olkim's Deliverance would be an excellent emergency cooldown for when we're taking too much damage. I don't have a way of directly amplifying my spell output like Jupiter does. Inspired Healing is great, don't get me wrong, but it's better at pushing an advantage than it is at responding to danger."

"Mm, I can see that," Windy agrees wistfully, "Especially with how much of a beating I've been taking lately."

"Yeah, and it doesn't look like the situation is going to improve any time soon," Angelus sighs regretfully.

"Sorry, but 55 Stone Gold is a little out of our price range right now," I sigh along with him, the Guild's coinpurse notably lighter by just over half that much just in Spells alone, "At least we were able to get some good deals on the Spells. I suppose she must like us a fair bit because we saved at least 2 Stone Gold on what it should have cost us, if I calculated the sum total of the individually quoted prices right."

"Mm. Well, I'm mostly just happy I don't have to essentially punch myself in the face with a spiked knuckleduster whenever I want to heal more than one person at a time," Angelus admits, his mood brightening, "I can't tell you how uncomfortable it feels to use Lifeforce Wave. Not to mention how vulnerable it makes me."

"It has the benefit of being an instant-activation," I console him, "And it scales decently, besides."

"Sure, if I put a shitload more points into Strength," Angelus shakes his head, "Which isn't something I plan on doing, for rather obvious reasons. That is also has a cooldown isn't a point in it's favour over my new spells."

"You should still put some points into Strength anyway," Windy argues, "I could probably kill you in two hits right now."

"It's not that bad," he denies, "In any case, I have actual options now."

Those options being Minor Radiant Flash, a defensive spell that emits a blinding flash of light, Column of Tresli, a 12ft circular pillar of healing magic that scales exceptionally well with Mastery and Wisdom, making it relevant for him for as long as he continues down the path of a pure healer even 30 years from now, Lesser Recurrent Rejuvenation, an area HP Regen spell and finally, Lesser Succor, a straight upgrade in potency from Minor. More expensive, too, but more action efficient all the same.

Additionally, I grabbed some Spells for Grand, Generous Morning and Jupiter, which is where the bulk of the expense lies. Outfitting 4 people with Spells is a pricey endeavour, but hopefully worth the investment. Any more than this is going to be their choice and responsibility at the moment, as we simply cannot afford to spend all of our funds so extravagantly.

Mercifully, I'll be able to make a decent amount of money today through my Appraisal services while we await the arrival of Sober Morning's representatives. It's just a shame that I need to be gone for so long after securing our new home, or I'd be a lot less concerned. It is what it is, though, and I don't have a better time to do it.

"Good for you," Windy grumbles, "I still don't feel like I'm in a great spot."

"Unfortunately, Gragg only can only produce Fighter Skill Gems, to my knowledge," I commiserate, "He can't do the same with his own Class, for whatever reason, which I think might be 'Warrior' or 'Cavalier'. I'll keep an eye out when I leave in a few days, but no promises I'll find something affordable if I even find any Skill Gems."

"You're leaving? Where?" Windy questions, surprised.

"I've had a Quest for a while now that's in need of turning in," I explain, rounding a corner, "Problem being, that it's a two-week round trip, give or take, and we've been otherwise occupied up 'til now. Once I've gotten what we need from WLR, I can leave matters to you in the meantime."

"Huh, ok," she pauses, "What am I supposed to be doing while you're gone?"

"Expanding the Guild and preparing for patch day," I tell her like it's obvious, "After today, you should have an idea as to the kind of standards I'm looking for in our Core membership and the recruitment process. Not to sound arrogant, but I can't be expected to deal with all of it. All of the Officers need to be able to do the same, present and future until we get large enough that we can give the job to people dedicated to the task. Assigning and managing key positions will initially be under my discretion, but as the second-highest authority within the Guild will be part of your responsibilities in the future too."

"You make it sound like I'm your secretary," Windy notes drily.

"No, that's Generous Morning's job for the foreseeable future," I correct her mildly, "No need to be anxious, it'll take time for things to progress, and you'll get used to it at the same time. The less I have to do and stress over, the better, frankly. I've got too much on my mind as it is."

"That is what Officers are for," Angelus reminds me, "Though I can't say I really know what you're expecting out of me and Jade in that regard. Not in terms of specific roles, at least."

"For now, I can't say there's much need to specify," I remark, "With as few of us as there are in the Guild, having so many of you be Officers is a little redundant right now, to be perfectly honest. I have an idea or two as to what you could do, Angelus, but I would like to hear your opinion on what you think you'd be best at."

The conversation turns quiet and sombre as he considers it, "Raid Leader. I have a small amount of experience in the role."

"I had thoughts along the same lines," I muse, "So be it, from today, you're responsible for organising, overseeing and leading our various raid and dungeon teams when I or Windy aren't directly involved. Any objections?"

"Sounds fine to me," he agrees, a hint of pride underpinning his words.

"Yeah, if that's what you think is best, go for it," Windy defers responsibility to us.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Angelus feigns offence.

"I didn't mean it like that, man," she hurries to smooth things over, "Or...any way really. Sorry."

"I'm joking, Windy, calm down," Angelus chuckles, "To paraphrase our new recruit, trust is earned in time."

"Angelus, I will seriously thump you if you take my faith lightly," Windy huffs, "You'll do great, I know you will. I just don't really have much to say about who does what job."

"This coming from my direct superior," Angelus teases her, "Thanks, all the same. I'll do the best I can."

"Doesn't feel like I'm above you, honestly," she mutters.

"Staying down to earth isn't necessarily a bad thing," I point out, "It's already clear that we both have different philosophies when it comes to leadership, and I consider that largely a positive."

"You have a preference for allowing and encouraging individual expression, I've noticed," Angelus observes, hearkening back to our brief conversation about Jade, "So long as you bear in mind what we discussed earlier, I don't see that as being too much of a problem."

"I don't mind putting my foot down if I need to, though," Windy reflects, "Does that make you Good Cop and me the Bad Cop in this dynamic?"

"If anything it'd be the other way around," I remark self-deprecatingly, "I'm not entirely clear on what I'm doing as of yet, but I don't believe I'm all that suited to talking on the same level as other people and so on. My social skills are admittedly lacking when it comes to people from outside the game."

"It helps if you don't talk to people like you're giving a TED talk," Windy giggles, "Just putting it out there."

"I dislike leaving things ambiguous," I excuse myself half-heartedly, "But, yes, I have a habit of rambling on. As you all frequently remind me."

"You chew scenery like breakfast cereal," Angelus quips, "Some of my villains could learn a thing or two about elocution from you."

"I'm nothing so dramatic," I protest vehemently.

"Oh? What was it you were yelling about 'hitchhikers' again?" the healer grins sadistically.

"Stop," I raise my hands in defeat, "Fine. Maybe I am. A little."

The both of them laugh at my expense, then launch into a critique of my 'big moment', heedless of my pleas and protesting for the rest of our walk to Stone Arsenal.

---

 

Stone Arsenal, Market District, Meteo Town

The sound of metal being pounded on is audible even before we arrive in front of Stone Arsenal, the work area outfitted with a more sophisticated looking forge, the tools and furnishings newer and overall tidier as well as cleaner. Henna, in her old work clothes rather than her armour, beats away at a partially cooled metal billet, ignorant of our arrival.

"You're using too much force," I point out, making her flinch mid-swing, "You'll fracture the metal if you keep going like that."

Henna lowers her hammer onto the anvil, turning her head to look over her shoulder, "I know. Hello, Silver."

I get the distinct impression she's not in a good mood, for any number of reasons that spring to mind. My ear twitches at the sound of my companions shuffling off into the store, leaving the two of us alone. Fleeing, and leaving your leader behind, are you?

Closing my eyes, I sigh, understanding and accepting that they probably feel as though they don't have any business taking part in this conversation. On the bright side, they're more willing to treat Henna like a person than most players would be this early on, even if it might be because of my own attitude rubbing off on them.

Rather than sink into ruminations on the definition of humanity and the egregiously horrific behaviours and attitudes of players coming into Astral Reckoning, I wave in greeting to Henna, smiling a little awkwardly, "I take it there's something bothering you?"

"Not been sleeping well," she mentions off-handedly, taking the metal back to the forge to reheat it, "Difficult to calm meself. What happened that day was...beyond any sorrow or mote of understanding I possess. 'twas shocking enough, to go up against those monstrosities Geronil, that thrice-damned bastard, created and the carrion himself. But I've seen the limits of what I can accomplish - what all of us can do. And it troubles me still, seeing your corpses, the demon's words and the buried feelings that slug-like creature stirred to the surface."

Taking the metal back to the anvil, now rosy gold. she raises her hammer and gives it an almighty whack, sparks sent flying away from the impact, "Your friend in there, Angelus, he helped offset it a little at the time with one of his Skills, but the disquiet in my heart remains even now."

Whack.

"I'm not alone, I expect. I see it in your eyes, and theirs," she observes, "You may have defied death, but you still carry a scar from the encounter."

Taking a deep breath, then letting it go, I nod, "Yeah. We may have triumphed in the end, but it's still a stark reminder of how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things at present. What we accomplished was something truly absurd, but I can't claim it was by our own power. Far from it."

I raise a hand to my chest, my lip twisted into an ambivalent frown, "However, an awareness that there's something above you to reach toward is comforting in its own way. That we must do everything by ourselves even as circumstances surpass our means to cope is simply delusional. Therefore, I won't dwell on it overmuch, and neither should you. This incident was hardly a common occurrence in history, after all."

"As you say," Henna nods along with my reasoning, "But the heart is not often inclined to heed the head's judgment."

"True," I admit wryly, "I suppose all that goes to explaining why you're abusing that poor hunk of iron?"

She snorts, bemused, "Yeah. Not planning on making anything specific, just beatin' on some old scrap to work out my stresses and grumblin'."

There are worse ways she could be coping, I observe to myself.

"I'll leave you to it then," I smile, "Do you mind if I join you at the forge? Might as well keep my hands busy while I wait for customers to show up in search of appraisal services."

"No bother to me," Henna grunts, "There's some ore in the storeroom inside. Help yourself."

Thanking her, I head inside the shop, finding Windy sat on the counter with her helmet beside her chatting loudly with Angelus as he toys with one of the numerous daggers on display.

"-Oh, hey boss, thought you'd be talking longer," Windy smiles and waves, "She's been real busy, from the looks of things."

Indeed, the storefront is stocked with more than two dozen pieces on display, mostly knives and daggers, with a single Terrorsteel Spear, priced quite highly at 2 Stone Gold taking the centre stage in the middle of the room. It's clear Henna has been doing more than just venting out her frustrations since her return, perhaps an indication that Henna's not as troubled as she appears. I elect to take it as a sign that she will recover quickly.

"Looks that way," I concur, sweeping an appraising eye over the spear and noting the competence in her craftsmanship, "Reminds me that I need to pick up some more Schematics while I'm travelling as well. And that I forgot to check in with the crafters at the Pioneers' Alliance while we were there."

"I can run over there now if you want?" Windy offers, "Not like there's a whole lot for me to be doing here right now anyway."

I consider it, and find her offer reasonable, "If you don't mind? Might be able to Promote us both today if we're lucky to get enough new ones."

"That mean another gear upgrade, then?" she asks, hopeful.

"Unlikely," I deny, "At least, not today. Our gear will serve us perfectly well for now. Our current priority on that front is to get the rest of us up to speed."

"I could certainly use an upgrade," Angelus remarks drily, "I'm almost 10 levels over what I'm using right now."

"Mm. Making a deal with Zomn Klaeriss is a massive boon in that regard," I move over to the storeroom door, "I wasn't sure where best to get Spellcaster equipment from until that happened."

The 'discount' I negotiated with Mr Fathom for Farmer's Secret gear isn't a reliable solution nor a complete one, and the spare Vacantsoul equipment sets I got from Jayeon Adan are only suitable as stopgap measures for newer recruits at this point. The next best thing was to either hope for the best from travelling merchants, rare drops from Ujax Forest or to travel north and once again pray that a merchant was selling a single piece of suitable equipment.

I don't hold out much hope that one of the maybe 2000 players still playing around Meteo will get far enough in relevant crafting professions to make gear from scratch either. On that subject, though, a second suggestion comes to mind.

"Not to make it seem like coming here with me was pointless, but it'd probably be a good idea for you to head back with her and get started on your own crafting endeavours, Angelus," I mention, dipping into the cramped closet and taking a sack's worth of steel into my inventory, "Unless you'd rather do something else?"

He thinks it over, tapping his chin, "How much money are you willing to give me for that? Not in payment, but in supply funds."

I click my tongue, "Say, 15 Stone Gold, and you pay back what you can? Not going to ask for all of it back, just don't go wasting it. At risk of repeating myself, we're not as wealthy as it might seem in spite of the windfall we received from Geronil's stash of emergency funds. If our shopping spree for spells was of any indication as to how much our expenses are."

"Yeah, I get it," Angelus nods seriously, "We should be getting some more today, though, right?"

"That's the plan," I affirm, rolling my shoulder, "Our meeting with Sober Morning is in about three hours, so try not to be late."

"Got it," Windy pushes herself off the counter, taking her helmet in hand, "The same place we met Lord Douchebag and Olrica right?"

"Mhm. The Mole and Field Tavern," I repeat, "You know where that is, I assume, Angelus?"

"I do," he approaches me and takes the agreed coins from me and then from Windy - the full extent of our wealth having been split between me, Windy and Henna, "I'll see you both there."

"If you see any players on your way, could you tell them that I'm going to be available to perform appraisals while you're at it?" I add before we make to leave.

"Can do, boss," Windy accepts, placing her helmet back on, "Do you want to walk together, or should I run out ahead?"

"I don't mind taking it slow," Angelus offers.

"Aight, we can walk and talk," Windy agrees, "I'll be back soon, boss. Don't start another pissing contest with a gang while I'm gone, 'k?"

Grunting, I walk out of the room ahead of them, "I take offence to that."

"Just saying, you have a talent for pissing people off," Windy snickers, and Angelus joins in on the laughter.