Time Elapsed: 1:13:39
Severance lay flat on his back in a pool of his own blood. He stared numbly up at the pale, cloudless sky and wondered if Mrs Beakor would make lasagna this week. It had been a long time—well, only a few days—but to him, it felt like an eternity.
In this heat, with a parched tongue and sweat-slick skin, eating lasagna in Mrs Beakor's kitchen was a distant fantasy. A wave of regret rolled through him. How tragic. Maybe he'd never get to taste such divine food again.
A shadow fell over him. Severance blinked slowly and fought to focus blurry eyes upon it. It was only Batin. The Veiled man crouched and held out one of Severance's war fans.
"You may heal yourself now."
Ah. How very nice.
Severance reached up with a shaky arm and snatched the fan before Batin could even think about changing his mind.
Several Mends later, Severance felt... better. He still didn't feel like moving though, even if it was getting a little sticky. He gazed up at Batin, and found himself pitying the man's kids, should he ever have any in the future.
Who knows? Maybe Olen and Bian would start a trend.
"Don't lose your focus." Batin held out the second fan.
Severance took it, and placed both in his Inventory.
"Ungh," he said. Words were such bothersome things. But the sky? That was nice.
"Severance."
It was that voice, the one that always came out so softly and gently, yet it never failed to terrify him, because he could almost see the murderous intent behind it. It crooned into his ears, caressed his bones, and loomed like a great cloud that blocked all sun, all hope, and all escape.
Severance wet his lips and unwillingly slid his gaze to Batin.
What? What did the man want now? Wasn't he done? He'd given the fans back; usually that meant he was finished with the torture. And it had been a full hour, hadn't it?
"Never let down your guard," Batin said. "That creates an opportunity for the enemy to strike."
But there is no enemy here, Severance wanted to say. They were in the middle of the desert with only sand, sun, and ruins. The only living things were him and Batin.
He knew better than to say that aloud. If Batin thought it would prove a point, the man would happily take on the role of the enemy.
Severance groaned and sat up. He rubbed at his face, smearing blood and sweat in the process, but he didn't care.
"I'll work on that."
Maybe it was his imagination, but Batin was particularly brutal this time. So much so, that he actually gained a new point in Vitality.
It almost made him wonder if the Veiled had figured out that he'd snuck off to do exactly what they warned him not to do. But it was never mentioned and Severance wasn't about to bring it up either.
"You will." It wasn't so much an agreement as it was a promise. Batin moves back, giving Severance space to get up. "Will you be training with Dhin today?"
He knows about that? Severance gave him a wary glance. No wait, of course Batin knew. The Veiled were professional stalkers. Why would he expect otherwise?
"Maybe later," he answered. "My friend messaged me earlier. We'll probably meet up next."
"Very well. Then let's return to the House. While you get cleaned up, I'll find Nedra. She can accompany you today."
Severance barely kept the dismay from his face. Of all people, it was her? The woman was crazy!
"Awesome."
***
They met up by the usual fountain in Tomorrow's Edge. Before Awesome Dude could say anything, Severance quickly moved in close and whispered, "Don't say anything about yesterday. Keep it a secret, okay?"
"Ah? But I already told Ironhide." The Shade pointed across the court, to where a sturdy-looking tank was gesturing and talking to thin air. It looked kind of funny, but obviously the player was leaving a message for someone.
"That's okay, but don't talk about it while I'm with you. Someone might be listening in." He could only hope that his friend could manage that. His shadow today was Nedra, and though he couldn't see her, he knew she was out there, watching.
"Ooh, got it." Awesome Dude nodded seriously. He pretended to zip up his lips, while looking around them with exaggerated wide eyes, like he was searching for eavesdroppers.
Severance sighed. It had been impressive yesterday with how sneaky the Shade had been yesterday, but this? The guy wasn't being subtle at all.
"So, what's happening today? Are we running a dungeon?"
He watched Ironhide, who was no longer talking, but tapping the air lightly. If the tank was here, then that seemed to be the most obvious conclusion.
"Nope! Even better." Awesome Dude grinned. "We're raiding the Chosen Den."
"Ah."
Severance hid the sudden apprehension. He hadn't been in a dungeon with players or in any real conflict since he'd returned to Eliona. Even if he'd been training with Batin, he wasn't sure if he was ready for this. What if he got hurt in front of everyone?
Pain is inevitable, Batin's came back to him. It's how you handle it that matters. Will you let it rule you? Or will you embrace it?
He sighed softly. Running from his fears was no longer an option. And Nedra was out there to watch his back, at least.
"Sounds fun," he said, and squashed the growing unease.
Steady footsteps alerted him to Ironhide joining them. The tank gave Severance a friendly nod.
"Dude fill you in?"
"I think so. We're hitting the Chosen Den?"
"That's right. We've got a group together, which we'll meet up with shortly. The plan is to clear out the guards and open a path for some of our teams to get into the Den." Ironhide looked pointedly at Awesome Dude. "Stay off the Chat. We don't want to alert the Chosen."
"I'm not even on the Chat though," Awesome Dude whined.
"Good. Stay off it."
Severance fought a smile. Some things never changed.
A little while later, they were trekking down a narrow path north of the city of bridges. Imposing walls of rock hemmed them in on either side. There were multiple trails like this winding through the Canyon, some natural, some man made, but time had eroded them down to the point where it was hard to tell which was what.
Long shadows cast across the path, courtesy of a low hanging sun, making their journey shaded for most of the time. Severance appreciated this, since he'd already had his fill of hot desert sun.
Ironhide's heavy boots crunched through the loose gravel of the path, while Awesome Dude and Severance made no sound as they walked. No one talked. For once, Awesome Dude held his silence. He seemed to be taking this seriously.
"Just up ahead," Ironhide said.
Almost on cue, the path curved gently and opened up into a wide dead-end. A single dead tree sat in the center of the area, a gloomy landmark against a sea of rocks.
Gathered around the tree were many players. There were multiple tanks, more than Severance would have expected, and quite a few DPS. As he looked them over, his attention was caught by a small girl standing near the tree because she looked very out of place.
With brown hair pinned up into two buns, large brown eyes and pink cheeks, she fit the picture of an innocent child. She wore a white dress with pink embroidery of entwining twin trees along the hem. A matching pink sash had been tied into a big bow at the small of her back.
Severance looked at her name. Morning Glory. She was a Vigilant player from the looks of it, and he wondered at her purpose. A cryomancer? Evoker? It was hard to tell when players got their hands on custom clothing and armor.
"Hallo!" Ironhide called out as they approached. Alerted by the sound, players immediately turned towards them.
One of them was a Sentinel in darkened mail with a heavy belt. From this belt, a tasset hung over his thighs. It had a shorter layer on top made of silver plates, but the longer panels beneath were formed of blue material. They hung nearly to his calves and moved like silk. He had his helmet under an arm, revealing chestnut hair that had been buzzed on the sides and left longer on top. He watched them with hard, golden eyes, his unyielding visage almost wolfish in appearance.
He was Jack Coyote from the Academy of Melodies. They were the only clan that produced that blue, silky material.
"Hey Sev!"
At the familiar call, Severance spotted a grinning, freckled face. He smiled, relaxing a little. "Yikes."
And there was Sheesh and Whatsit as well. The three friends came out of the group to greet him.
"I thought you left the game," Whatsit told him.
Severance blinked. Where had that idea come from? He'd been gone for a week, yes, but he was back now.
"I'm still here," he shrugged. It was probably Awesome Dude exaggerating things and spreading rumors. "Good to see you guys again. I didn't know you were part of this."
He gestured to the group.
Sheesh grinned. "We're one of the teams trying to get into the dungeon. What about you? Didn't expect you to turn up here."
"I'm part of the escort." Severance glanced at the other players nearby. With so many, there had to be at least six or seven teams. This was a bigger operation than he expected.
"Yeah? That's- "Yikes began to say something, but a cold voice cut him off.
"Everyone here, then?" The tone was no nonsense, and cracked authority like a whip. Whether everyone wanted to or not, their attention was immediately drawn to the speaker.
Jack Coyote looked over them with an assessing eye. The sun bore down on him, making his armor shine with reflected light. When no one immediately responded to his question, his golden eyes narrowed a fraction.
"Then let's proceed. Our goal here today is very simple. There are two dungeon teams that need to get into the dungeon. We're going to make that happen."
He paused, as if waiting for someone to argue or refute his statement. No one did, though why they even would was beyond Severance. He and everyone else were here because they wanted to be.
Jack nodded. "All right. Let's form up. Tanks to my left. Healers behind them. Teams for dungeon entry to my right. All other DPS front and center." Jack paused just a fraction, letting that sink in. Then without raising his voice, he commanded curtly, "Go."
Severance found himself following after Ironhide as everyone began to take their places. He saw Awesome Dude wave at him before the Shade vanished into a group of people. Hopefully, they'd end up on the same team.
Since the two dungeon teams were already standing together, they didn't have to move far. Sheesh, Whatsit and Yikes were predictably in one team together. The rest were all unfamiliar names and faces.
In the escort group, there were five tanks altogether. Apart from Ironhide and Jack Coyote, there was one more Sentinel and two Vindicators. As for healers, there were three, including Severance. At his side was the small girl, Morning Glory. She flashed him a dimpled smile.
The third healer was a solemn woman with blue hair long enough to curl around her hips. She wore a white coat and a wary expression, like she wasn't sure if she wanted to be here. Her name was Serenade Tasha.
"Hi," Severance offered her a greeting. She glanced at him, brow furrowing as she took in his dark attire, and then looked away. He took no offense. While it wasn't exactly a warm welcome, it was better than others he'd gotten in the past.
"Escort teams," Jack Coyote called out. "There are three of them. Captains are myself, team 1; Ironhide, team 2; Waller, team 3. Teams 2 and 3 will have two tanks. We will split the DPS between us, so captains, invite accordingly. Healers, one per team. Stand with your Captains."
Players began to shuffle about once again. Morning Glory immediately trotted over to Ironhide, while Serenade Tasha made a beeline for Waller. They had begun moving before Jack Coyote even finished speaking.
That left Severance standing near the golden-eyed tank. He felt a little bewildered. With how fast the healers had moved, it was like they didn't want anything to do with Jack.
Though to be fair, the guy was rather intimidating. And not exactly friendly. He wouldn't have been Severance's first choice, either.
As if sensing his thoughts, Jack Coyote gave him a cool glance. A moment later, Severance received a party invitation. He accepted, and a party list appeared in the upper left corner of his vision.
Names began to appear, along with their class designations. But it was Jack's that caught Severance's attention. The tank's health pool was enormous. Just how much vitality did the tank have? What level was he even at?
Severance's own hp bar seemed pitifully small in comparison, and that was with Vitality being one of his higher stats. The other DPS' were similar to his, at least, but he felt a lot like an ant sitting at the feet of a giant.
He searched the groups and managed to spot Awesome Dude in Ironhide's team. The Shade looked excited, and was chatting it up with the people around him. Whatever he was saying elicited smiles and laughter. Severance wouldn't ever say it aloud, but he was disappointed that they weren't on the same team.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, a little uncomfortable as strangers gathered around him. There were four DPS in total, but unlike Awesome Dude's team, his group remained silent.
When everyone found their place, Jack Coyote gave the next set of instructions. "Dungeon teams, you will remain between teams 2 and 3. They will act as the guard. As soon as you have a path into the dungeon, take it. And once you finish your run, I suggest you teleport immediately to a safe point. Do not linger.
"Team 1, we're the vanguard. We hit them fast, we hit them hard, and then we draw back. We're not here to defeat them. Our job is to break through their ranks so teams 2 and 3 can get through. Once we've made that opening, we will join with the others and provide additional defense. When the dungeon parties have entered, teleport to Ascendance. We'll reconvene there. Got it?"
Voices chorused their agreement. Jack Coyote listened, nodded once, then asked if there were any questions. There weren't. It wasn't a complicated plan.
"Then let's go," he commanded. His head turned and he caught Severance with one cold eye, as if singling him out. "Stay close."