Severance sat on a marble bench beneath the shade of an enormous tree. This tree was shaped like an umbrella and grew orange lantern-like fruits that made the area smell sweet and citrusy. He inhaled deeply, appreciated the pleasant scent, and absently watched the people passing by on the main road before him.
The little rest area reminded him of the gardens of Two Bridges, but the main difference was it wasn't sequestered away in a little courtyard. Instead, it was one of many benches lining the main road in Tomorrow's Edge.
The city of Tomorrow's Edge was like no other in Eliona. It had wealth and beauty overflowing, and everywhere he looked he saw colorful plants, flawless marble and glittering blue streets. Even the buildings were extravagant: elegant marble near the outskirts of the city, and further one got towards the city center, the taller and more stunning the architecture got. They rose into skyscrapers that shone like the streets, a myriad of colors reflecting off their crystalline surfaces.
Severance paid little attention to the majesty around him. His thoughts were elsewhere, and the cause of it pulsed brightly in his vision whenever he directed his attention towards it.
Time Remaining: 04:27:41
When he logged on today, he was informed that he had five hours to play instead of the usual four. He'd mentioned that to the first clan member he'd run into, which happened to be Maun, and the response he got was an amused laugh.
"Of course," Maun had told him, "Citizens get all the perks."
A perk, huh? Not that Severance was complaining. He'd always felt that four hours passed so quickly in Eliona, so another one wasn't a bad thing. And it made the previous logging in process make a little more sense—laying the courtyard for an hour before waking up to still have his usual four hours of playtime seemed slightly more reasonable in that sense. But only slightly.
Players weren't supposed to spend time comatose in a game before they got to play, he was pretty sure about that.
"Hey!"
A shout startled him out of his thoughts. He searched the nearby area before he spotted a familiar player jogging towards him.
Awesome Dude looked like an ordinary player for the most part, with brown spiky hair and brown eyes, but his giant grin with a gleaming golden tooth was the first sign that he was a bit well, unique.
"Hey, Sev!" He called out again, even though he was only a few meters away and saw that Severance was already looking his way.
Severance just smiled faintly, being well used to his friend's oddities. "Hey."
"How've you been, man? It's been so long!" Awesome Dude looked him up and down, before grinning.
"Yeah," Severance agreed. "Hey, what happened when—"
Awesome Dude suddenly coughed loudly, bringing his fist up to his mouth and sounding like he was about to hack up a lung.
"So," he loudly said once he finished, and Severance was starting at him like he'd just spontaneously grew a second head, "I brought some friends to help out!"
That was when Severance finally took notice of the other players that had come with Awesome Dude. Ah. They'd have to catch up later, then. It had been a few days since they met up, and yesterday hadn't worked out either, since Awesome Dude's clan had been keeping him pretty busy.
Severance tilted his head slightly as he regarded the players trailing behind his friend. "Just two?"
"Hmm?" Awesome Dude glanced back, as if to see what Severance was looking at. The light bulb going off in his mind was written all over his face as he realized what Severance was referring to. "Oh! Yeah! They were all I could find in such a short notice, but it should be fine."
Should be fine was a phrase that Severance suspected Awesome Dude didn't understand the meaning of. Things usually turned out to be not fine when the Shade was involved, but he'd long since learned it was a waste of time to argue.
"I thought you said we were going for a Boss?" Severance brushed a loose strand of hair back from his face.
"We are," Awesome Dude immediately reassured him. "Well, they call it a Boss, but it's pretty easy, so we can go in undersized."
"Uh huh." Severance didn't believe him. When Awesome Dude had messaged him earlier asking for his help with a clan quest, he'd readily agreed. And then he found it they had to hunt a Boss creature that roamed some mountain pasture.
While Severance didn't mind helping out, he was more interested in find a few minutes where he could grill his friend on clan Gifts. Sadly, that would have to wait.
"Let me introduce you to these guys." Awesome Dude waved an arm towards the two other players who finally reached them. He pointed to a skinny guy with a blue mohawk and black eyes. "That's Tinboy Blue. And that's Jolly Jenius."
He then pointed to the other player, a bear of a man with a too-small wool cap crammed on his head and a shark-like smile.
Tinboy Blue was a tank, judging by his heavy armor, though he failed to wear a helmet thanks to his ridiculous hair. And Jolly Jenius wore the same close-fitted light armor as Awesome Dude. The dark outfit looked ridiculous on his bulk, while on Awesome Dude, it looked lethal, like how a Shade should look.
"Hi," Severance finally offered when neither of them spoke first.
"What's up," said Tinboy Blue, looking about as disinterested as a cactus. Jolly Jenius just gave an unnerving, slow smile.
Right. Severance looked at Awesome Dude, feeling like he had been swindled into something very unpleasant. He couldn't even tell what clan these two were from. Did his friend find them in some dark alley of the city?
"What exactly are we hunting?" he asked.
His friend grinned. "It's something called an Ellen-bur. I think."
Tinboy Blue scoffed. "Idiot. It's an Ellvanir."
"Right, that. I need to get its silk, anyway."
They headed out, though TinBoy Blue and Jolly Jenius lagged behind. Severance glanced back at them, making sure they were still coming along. Then he leaned towards Awesome Dude.
"Are you sure they're not Chosen or anything like that?"
"Nah, they're cool," Awesome Dude waved away his concern. "They don't have the red ribbon or whatever."
They could just as easily take the ribbon off, you know.
Severance kept that thought to himself. Either way, he was going to keep an eye on these two, just in case they tried anything funny.
***
The Ellvanir Boss, as Awesome Dude explained, was unique in that it only showed itself for a short time after a thunderstorm. It preferred the high humidity and gentle mists that often lingered in a storm's wake. And, as a shy creature, it tended to hide in the very light shafts that broke through storm clouds as they began to break up and dissipate.
"I know it sounds weird," Awesome Dude explained, as they walked through a field of waist-high grasses and wildflowers, "but that only works 'cause the bird itself is practically invisible."
"And we're supposed to be able to find this thing?" Severance asked doubtfully. If it was invisible and hid in rays of light, just how exactly were they supposed to fight it?
Tinboy Blue snickered and he moved past them, his armored shoulder roughly knocking against Severance's. "Watch and learn, noob."
The skinny tank held out a hand, and with a flash of light, a giant monstrosity appeared in his grasp. He propped it up on his shoulder and walked into the grass. His bizarre weapon looked like a battered metal bar with spikes and barbed wire running down its length. Part of it was rusted, or maybe that was dried blood—who knew? Some of the spikes were bent out of shape, but Severance didn't think that would hinder Tinboy Blue much. The whole weapon screamed of barbaric cruelty.
Severance grimaced as he and the others slogged after Tinboy Blue. The air was humid and warm in this meadow, with little dewdrops clinging to the grasses. Their clothes soaked up the moisture like sponges, weighing heavy and clinging to their legs.
Streams of light pierced through dark clouds, casting patches of the meadow in golden light. Off in the distance, a rainbow arched through the dark skies. Rolling thunder accompanied it, a quiet, constant rumble that Severance found soothing rather than discomforting.
Golden light flashed like a burst of lightning, followed by Tinboy Blue's triumphant yell. A wild, tremulous cry filled the air, and a stunning bird-like creature circled around him. It was, Severance realized in shock, almost entirely transparent, like it was spun out of light rather than flesh, with long tail feathers flowing behind it like a ribbon of golden silk.
Its wings flared wide, buffeting Tinboy Blue and the area around him with gusts of wind, before it banked away and dove into a bright shaft of light beaming down from above.
"Oh no you don't," Tinboy Blue snarled. He took his crazed weapon in a two-handled grip, and swung it through the beam of light as if swinging at a baseball.
With a blinding flash and a squeal, the Ellvanir burst out, wings flaring, its eyes turning a deep angry red. Severance didn't need to be told what that meant. He took out his war fans from his Inventory, warily moving several paces pack. Until he knew what this creature was capable of, it was better to keep a safe distance.
It wheeled in a sharp, tight circle around the group, then dove right at Tinboy Blue. He didn't even try to block. Instead, he laughed and swung at the Ellvanir just before it collided with him.
Both attacks hit at the same time. The Boss wailed and fluttered back, before streaking into another shaft of light, where it vanished. Tinboy Blue dropped to one knee, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
To Severance's shock, he saw that the tank had lost half his health. If he himself had taken the bird's attack, he would have been one shot into oblivion. He gritted his teeth. Then I better make sure I don't get hit.
He raised a fan, invoking Earth Dance, then sent a heal Tinboy's way. "Mend."
For a moment, green wind swirled around them both, its light sinking into Tinboy Blue, then it faded from the tank's form. It still spun gently around Severance's fans, waiting to be called upon once more.
Without so much as a thanks, Tinboy charged towards the nearest light shaft. But before he reached it, the clouds above shifted and the light winked out. That made Tinboy scowl, but he changed his trajectory to the next nearest shaft.
Severance watched as the tank took a terrific swing and hit nothing but air. That made Jolly Jenius snort in amusement.
"Shut up," Tinboy Blue snarled. He lunged at a different light shaft. The rest of the party followed behind, though Severance kept a safe distance back from them. He still wasn't sure of the Ellvanir's capabilities other than it hit really hard and liked to hide.
"Come on, come on," Awesome Dude bounced about, his eyes darting from one light shaft to another. One of them winked out, only for another to descend from the heavens as the clouds shifted. "Where did it go?"
Then an ear-piercing shriek shattered the air. Severance glimpsed a flash of light and Jolly Jenius suddenly dropped, his entire health bar vanishing in a moment.
"Whoa!" Awesome Dude cried. "That thing is fast!"
No kidding, Severance thought. He looked around carefully, but the Ellvanir had vanished. Tinboy Blue made no acknowledgement that one of their team had fallen. Instead, the skinny tank went swinging at another light shaft, attempting to scare out the Ellvanir once more.
Brows knitting slightly, Severance moved both fans in front of himself, raised about chest-high, and began gathering the required energy for a Revive. The skill always took several long seconds to cast, a fact he hated because oftentimes it needed to be cast in the middle of a battle.
Tinboy attacked one light shaft after another with no result, Awesome Dude following eagerly at his heels like a puppy. They drew further away from Severance in the process. He watched them go, grimacing.
It wasn't like they were intentionally leaving him behind. At least there was no danger this far back, right?
"Revive," he murmured, and a bright swirl of silvery light condensed around Jolly Jenius' motionless body. It lifted him into the air and set him gently on his feet, all the while restoring a small portion of his health bar.
Severance proceeded to cast a couple of Mends to heal Jolly Jenius the rest of the way.
The large Shade shook his head, probably getting the cobwebs out of his brain. At least he wasn't wearing that creepy smile anymore. "I guess we should—"
Light bloomed in Severance's peripheral vision. Every instinct blared in alarm, and without thinking, he leaped back.
The Ellvanir streaked past his nose, so close that hot humid air brushed against his face. It banked sharply, one wing dipping into the grasses. Severance whirled, keeping it in sight. Its eyes shone red with rage as they seemed to focus on him.
With a single, deceptively relaxed flap of its wings, the Ellvanir abruptly shot towards him. His eyes widened at the sheer speed, the beast crossing dozens of feet in a mere blink of an eye. There was no time for his mind to react, but thankfully it didn't have to.
His instincts took over. He dropped like a stone, ducking beneath its enraged path. It soared overhead, mere inches from skimming his head.
He straightened, only to do a very hasty side step as it tore past once more. At that moment, Jolly Jenius hefted a danger in one meaty hand, then threw it with deadly accuracy. Its blade flashed silver as it sang through the air, before it pierced into the Ellvanir's neck.
The dagger didn't do much damage, but it was enough to cause the bird to shriek and break off its strafing runs. It dove into a nearby light shaft and disappeared.
Severance sagged, feeling a rush of relief. Oh, thank goodness.
"Whoa!" The sudden exclamation was the only warning Severance got before he was accosted by an excitable Shade. Awesome Dude stared at him, grinning. "That was pretty cool! Didn't think healers could dodge like that!"
"They can't," Jolly Jenius grunted, giving Severance an appraising look. "Or at least, they shouldn't."
That look was making Severance uneasy. He didn't know what was going through the big Shade's mind, but he was sure he didn't like it. He carefully moved back, regaining a small portion of the personal space that Awesome Dude had invaded.
"Is it gone?"
"Just hiding," Tinboy Blue said. His ugly weapon propped on his shoulder, he looked from one light shaft to another. He didn't seem to care about anything other than his prey. "The sky's breakin' up. Let's hurry this up before we lose it."
The wind picked up, sighing through the tall grasses. All around them, light beamed through scattering storm clouds. The Ellvanir could be hiding in any one of them.