Justin awoke to the sound of battle in the distance. He looked down at this hands, this feels real he though. He opened his menu to logout but the button was gone. stranger and stranger this was becoming. He heard something move behind him, a wolf. level 34. He paid it no mind but it was arrgo'ed on him. He stood and took out his dagger ready to strike and kill it. It attacked, and he tried to use a skill but it didn't work. He is hit and he stumbles back, "I felt that?" He looked up and the wolf was on the attack again, He tried to attack again but his auto attack was not working? He is pinned down to the ground, on instance he put his hands around the wolfs neck to hold it off, and that worked. what the hell is going on here?

He threw the wolf off and it stumbled, got up. He grabbed his dagger and trusted into the wolf chest. Critical hit. The wolf died able to be skinned, after a while he disappearance. His mind raced about what was happening, trying to access his skills this way was to hard. But he also remembered that there was a voice command option, Now he just needed to remember ever skill he wanted to use. What made it even more strange is that he was sitting at his PC and now he was inside the game? Was he dreaming or was this for real. When he got hit by the wolf that felt real. He decided to head back to Akihabara, Maybe someone in town was spamming about what was going on.

Akihabara was full of people, strange people were screaming to the NPC asking for a GM. When he tried to open a ticket that option was also not available. "This is going to be a problem," With him not in a guild anymore, and his friends who use to play the game does not play anymore. He opened his friends list. Lots of unlit names, but Shiroe was online. "Shiroe?" Then he thought back, "The Enchanter," He thought about sending him a message but decided against it. The guy probably would not even remember him. Then he thought about it for a while longer and sent the message, but it was unlike any message he had used. It was more of a direct line. "Hello? This is Shiroe," The voice from the other end came threw, "Um, Hey this is Jus... err i mean Recca do you remember me. I play assassin we have done a few raids together you took me or Akatsuki. Him more but me when he was not online, He waited for a responds.

"Ah yes, What are you up too? Can you meet up with us?" Justin wonder who was us? "Yeah sure, Just let me know where you are." When he heard where to go he knew it was not far, he would just walk there would not take that long. Upon arriving he seen a female assassin, a warrior most likely a tank and Shiroe. Once he got closer he recognized the tank, Naotsugu. But the female assassin he did not. It was strange, the name above the players head did not show but he did remember Naotsugu, like it was imprinted into his head. "Sorry miss I don't think we had the pleasure of meeting, I am Recca Heartseeker," He extended his hand to her and she slapped it away, "Idiot." He had a puzzled look on his face while Naotsugu laughed uncontrollably. "Its Akatsuki man," Recca looked at the small girl, "No, Akatsuki is man... right?"

As the four sat there talking, Recca wonder who everyone else in the world was taking this, the weather was fair for the game. Anyone who died would just resurrect at the nearest town but still, this is hard new to swallow. Knowing that right now there is no way to log out of the game, and that they could be stuck in it forever.

A young man stood frozen in the centre of Akihabara, one arm extended awkwardly. His train of thought, thoroughly derailed as it was, ran as thus; Where is my sake? I paid ¥700 for a double shot, so what kind of evil bastard took my drink? Somehow, something didn't quite match up... Whether it was the sudden brightness around him, the leather glove on his hand or the mysterious disappearance of the drink he had been about to pick up drink, he couldn't decide... As the thought ran through to it's logical conclusion, or in this case lack of one, the young man straightened slowly and cast a long, slow look around. Broken-down, moss-covered cars, half-collapsed buildings and a scattering of people in fantasy outfits, most looking as confused as he... To his dismay, surveying the scene only baffled him more.

He took a seat at the side of the street and had a good long think about the situation; the longer he sat, the more little details he began to notice. There were two kinds of people around him, some in various forms of armour with a floating name above their heads of all things and others that looked like medieval peasants. While the latter were quite calm, the former were all having panic attacks of their own; in the same situation as him perhaps? The floating names gave him an idea and he looked up; to his amazement, it wasn't just his name he found, but a full HUD around the periphery of his vision, including the name Ragnar. The young man stood up suddenly, pounding one fist into his other hand emphatically. 'Ah, I see.', he chuckled. 'I'm in Elder Tale, the game. That makes perfect sense. Obviously!' Either I'm completely wasted or I'm tripping some serious balls...

Since this was clearly a delusion, he decided he might as well play the part of Ragnar and enjoy his time here; Hell, for all he knew he might be passed out in an alley right now and this was basically like playing the game for free, with upgraded graphics to boot. Why waste it? And so Ragnar took off to have a look around the city, exploring his HUD as he went. His subconscious was quite through; he even had a friends list and guild tab... A few of his guildmates were online too. He paused by a market stall, apparently run by the People of the Land, Elder Tale's NPCs, considering whether to contact one of his friends. Or the version of his friends that his drug-addled brain had thought up at any rate.

Johnathan awoke with a start, he was outside the guild hall, just where he had been before the blackout. he looked over at the clock, but the monitor moved with him. as did the view.
"Can't be..."
Reaching into the satchel hanging at his side, he took out a remove illusion salve and anointed his forehead with it; this was how he had trained himself to wake up from the dreams, but nothing happened.
"No... please, god, no..."
He looked around, seeing the other players panicking as well.
"Should have listened... should have quit after the accident..."
He had moved to japan after his family died in a car accident, trying to escape, but he made the mistake of transferring his account to the Japanese server. He worked for the company that created the game and had used his connections to reconfigure his profile for the server when he moved. The night after he first logged in on the new server, the dreams had begun. In the dreams, he was Erebus, and he always died many times in each one, which is why he trained himself to have a fail-safe. the therapists said it was survivors guilt that caused them, that he was detaching his own face from the suffering for some reason.

then, amid thousands of other players, he sank to his knees and prayed for mercy...
.
.
.
.
For about five seconds: He could handle this, Johnathan thought to himself. Just like he handled the first few months after the accident, one step at a time. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all, not having to face the reminders every day, the pictures or the ceramic mug his little sister had given him. It was why he had moved to japan, after all, to get away from the family home, away from the memories.
As he pondered this, he cried a bit, it still felt like it had been just days, not nearly two years. he stood up and wiped his face, then began to walk towards the middle of the city, lost in thought, still crying; uncontrollable, but silent.

Tanner woke up from the alleyway dazed and disoriented, leaning on a corner to regain some sense of equilibrium as he tried to figure out what happened. Ten minutes ago, he was at his computer, writing up a battleplan for his next squadron match in Titanfall. The next, he was in this game. A whole other world.

Groping around his face, he didn't feel his VR helmet on, or kinetic gloves. He was actually in the game. He was actually in Elder Tales.

The low rumble of an arcane engine snapped him out of his ragged musings, as he turned to see one of his summons behind him. A ten foot ironclad golem, a light chassis type. The most common type he could summon, customize, and arm. And it was now before him, awaiting orders.

"Okay, um. Command: Follow Mode!" Tanner uttered, with the Ironclad sputtering into action and lumbering behind him. The lion-boy then marched out off the alley to find out what was going on. Judging by the reactions of others, he wasn't the only one caught in this state.

"I need to find a tavern. Taverns always have the answers." He muttered to himself, walking down the road with a iron warmachine in tow. He didn't care if he was making a scene, he wanted to find answers. And if his golem attracted people who might have an idea what happened, then fine.

For a long time, there was darkness.

Kiyomi lifted her head up from the mossy ground she was sprawled out upon. She heard it, the screams and the wails of scared people. But she couldn't see, not yet, she was...she was blind, oh god....! Kiymoi took shallow, frightened breaths.

She was in her bedroom before, lounging on her bed, laptop beside her, only half-keeping an eye on the guild chat whilst a couple of others were headed to Akihabara. Erebus, the werecat, he was somewhere in Akihabara before the blackout. Then there was Ragnar...probably running circles in the middle of Akihabara, drunk off cheap sake whilst in an internet café - but Kiyomi didn't mind him. She found him pretty funny whilst he isn't sober. From what she knew about Erebus, the poor dude suffered some pretty nasty things in real life, and Kiyomi wasn't one to pry about things like that. He was a little odd, but Kiyomi let him into her guild anyways. The others were all offline.

Admittedly, Kiyomi thought grimly, that was probably the best decision of their entire lives. Kiyomi wasn't nearly prepared for the black-out, just moments before she has her character, Chihau, sitting under the Silver-leaf Tree in the city's centre. She was eating a quick snack just before midnight, excited for the next expansion pack, having it all updated on her computer....

And then, and then...

Kiyomi screwed her eyes shut, then open again. Indistinct, blurry shapes were forming in her peripheral vision, angular and dark green in appearance. She watched as bright white letters briefly flashed - LOADING... for at least a couple of seconds. Her heart rose to around the area of her esophagus as she let loose a choked gasp, unable to comprehend what was going on. It was all too much for her, and she slipped back into the darkness.

LOADING COMPLETE. WELCOME TO ELDER TALE.

Kiyomi sat up again and looked around. All around her were people in armour, screaming, sobbing, yelling at shopkeepers to see a GM. The chaos was contagious, and she felt the overwhelming urge to curl up and sob pathetically into her arms, despite having no clue what's going on. A thick miasma of fear and despair hung across the overgrown paradise of Akihabara, and Kiyomi was caught up headlong in the rush of fright.

But something kicked in the back of her head, and she got to her feet and started running away from the yells. She clambered over bridges and ran away from the noise until she reached the border of the city, turned, and went back a bit. She found an old, abandoned concrete flat and kicked the door down, rushing into the cool, damp shade, climbing up the stairs to the top floor. She knew where she was, but she didn't want to believe it until she saw it.

Kiyomi looked out across the dark green splendor that is Akihabara in disbelief. She was actually inside Elder Tale...But she never got a chance to really let it sink in, because all of a sudden there were a whole array of geometric dark green labels scattered over her view. Kiyomi helped, flailing her arms around, and accidentally clicked on the guild roster.

Kiyomi stared at the list of names. Only two others were lit up, saying "Logged In" on their names. Gentle, she reached out and pressed her own portrait with her fingertips. It was like pressing on thin glass. A menu slid down, with options such as "Leave Guild" and "Invite to Party". Worried, she tapped the air a couple of times to dismiss the menu. Fingers trembling, she poked Erebus' portrait, looking down the menu for-...Aha.

GUILD VOICE CHAT INITIATED.

Kiyomi took a deep breath. "Guys? It's Chiharu...Are you there?" she called out into the aether, her voice carrying out to the other two. It had an odd, calm and assertive tone to it, which was ironic seeing as though Kiyomi had half a mind to leap off of the top of the flat and force herself to log out. "Are you guys in Akiba still? Don't leave the town! We've got to find each other, you two are the only ones I trust right now." she ordered, her guild leader instincts really starting to kick in.

Ragnar was quite happily flicking through his friends list and checking who was online, when a sudden trilling alert caught his attention and a small window popped up in front of him. A guild voice chat invitation from Chiharu, the guildmaster of the Lotus Warriors and one of the only two other members online; considering that this was all a narcotics-induced fantasy, Ragnar wondered if her presence was some Freudian slip of the mind..? In any event he gave the accept button a hearty poke, briefly wondering how voice chat would work without a mike. To his surprise Chiharu's voice seemed to come from every direction at once, almost like a headset; it also had a distinctly odd flange to it, like it had gone through a synthesiser. Deciding that telepathy was better than nothing, Ragnar tried to reply with his mind just in case; failure. 'Alright, so I'm still not psychic... Hiya there Boss Lady. I'm here, more or less.' He listened as Chiharu continued, clearly talking to two people; Erebus was also online, so that explained that. 'Alright then. I am...' He took a moment to get his bearings and found that the area did look somewhat familiar. 'Ah, I'm near the east market district. I reckon I can find my way around if you tell me whereabouts you are.' Despite the dire situation, Ragnar was in quite good spirits; true, he didn't believe any of this to be real, but even if he did he might have reacted the same. Besides, he was still a bit tipsy...

as the guild chat invite appeared, Erebus was just regaining his composure. He reached out and touched accept, his persona naturally shifting into place over his panicking
"Greetings, Ragnar-san, Chiharu-Taichou"
he had still been getting used to the honorifics of the language, and spoke with a noticable american accent
"Are we the only ones online?
he checked his surroundings
"I am just outside the guild complex. would you like me to get a kettle heating while you two make your way here?"

Erebus asked, walking into the main lobby. The werecat stopped at the bank, retrieving his best gear and putting it on, purely a precaution, also taking out his surplus of dry herbs, stowing them in his dispensary bag. Herbalism had always been a hobby of his, and having maxed out the subclass he figured it would be best to be prepared.

"Heading into the guild hall now, I'll see both of you soon."

he disconnected from the chat and entered the guild's private zone, it was mid-size, just seven rooms, but plenty of space for everyone.
Turning to the hearth, he pulled out his pestle and mortar, required items for mixing herbal remedies, and a selection of leaves; chamomile, fever-few, and eyebright, gently crushing them along with some green tea leaves as he had done hundreds of time before, using strips of cotton, usually reserved for binding poultice onto wounds, and wrapped the blended leaved into sachets before placing a pot of water onto above the fire to boil.

Kiyomi listened. So, Ragnar was near the east market district, and Erebus was going to the guild hall...she ran a hand through her hair and hit something. Her breath caught up in her throat as she span around, walking towards a puddle on the flat roof, looking down at her head.

Okay, Kiyomi was expecting it but it didn't make it any less out-right terrifying. She shrieked, her voice piercing through the guild chat by accident, and waggled her bright orange fluffy ears protruding from the top of her skull, the place where it was fused to her scalp hidden by a mass of thick, wavy ginger hair. She looked close enough to her real image, which was reassuring, save for the eyes - a bright amber. Nibbling her lip, she twisted around to-yep, there's the long, bushy fox tail. She gave it a couple of experimental flicks, really happy that there was a hole in her armour...oh GOD, her armour.

Kiyomi pulled open her character sheet and gasped. It used to be a bit of a laugh, being unable to take on monsters in the slightest...but she was wearing some really low-levelled gear. She didn't even have the right stats...Kiyomi let loose a quiet whimper, also picked up by voice chat. She might as well attack things in the nude. "At least I look nice," came her thoughts. Indeed - she looked really good in her outfit. It wasn't revealing, but it was intimidating...made her look powerful, which wasn't the case.

Her hand slipped to the scabbard of her katana and she pulled it out. Just like in the anime films she watched, it was like tugging a ribbon; barely any resistance at all as the blade slipped from her scabbard, the familiar SHINK of sharp steel on hardened leather. It felt like an extension of her very arm, as she held it out, the sharp edge pointing to the sky, and ran it across her fingertip. It took a while to figure out she was even bleeding, the cut was so clean and shallow. Kiyomi put her finger in her mouth, feeling some very real pain right there.

At once, Kiyomi realised that each noise she made was picked up in Voice chat. In other words, the others would've heard a scream and a whimper..."I'm alright, I'm fine!" she said hurriedly. "I just...caught sight of my own reflection, is all. Erebus-san, how polite of you to use the honorifics, I understand Japanese isn't your native language." Kiyomi smiled. Even in the worst of situations, Erebus was being polite...it kind of reminded her of his roleplaying attitude. Maybe it was a coping mechanism. Either way, Kiyomi felt somewhat comforted.

And then Kiyomi was reminded of how odd Erebus was. He was thinking of tea instead of this situation? Right, right, Kiyomi was sure he had his reasons, and going to the Guild Hall was a brilliant idea...at least over there she was sure nobody that she didn't know or trust would interfere, or do something stupid. "Guild hall it is, then! Quickly, everyone, I want to have a sit down..." she ordered, thought there was a note of pleading in her voice as she slowly crumbled under the dawning realisation.

Erebus HAS DISCONNECTED

Oh.

Well then.

Kiyomi tried not to look offended that Erebus cut her and Ragnar off. She'll deal with that later, she thought; after all, keeping open voice chat when they've split up would be the most effective. Then if someone is ambushed and, god forbid, their voice chat breaks - at least Kiyomi and the others get a cut-off yell, or a gasp, or something so that she could get worried and rush to their aid. Erebus could get decapitated by a door or something whilst offline and she'll never know.

Offline...log out! Oh god, it took her that long to figure that out?! Kiyomi pulled at the menu in front of her vision until the log out button came into view. She grinned, tapping it with her finger. Nothing happened. She smashed her fist into the log out button for a good five minutes before accepting that it doesn't work.

Kiyomi sighed, and twisted her feet a little, kicking off into a sprint. She noticed how good she was at running around like this - maybe it was the tail giving her some more aerodynamic qualities. Maybe she was so immensely terrified that she felt like she was running for her life. She dodged and waved the players, who started to draw themselves into a cloud of despair and some of them sit or lie on the floor, sobbing. She had to dive out of the way of a massive iron war machine, calling out "Watch it!" to the werecat controlling it. For a moment, her eyes lingered on Claus Tanner, but she realised she had more important things to do than stare at a summoner.

The massive, moss-strewn guild hall loomed over her. People were huddling around the guild banks, trying to get in and take whatever they can from their own guilds. Some of them did not look very friendly at all. A few of them were scattered around the endless corridors of doors, some of them trying desperately to get back in touch with old guilds, begging for forgiveness of petty insults during dungeons, or stealing from other people's banks..others just wanting to get lost in the maze of identical doorways and stay there.

Kiyomi skirted across the corridors. It would be stupid if she didn't know the way to her own guild hall. She reached a blue door, putting her hand on the handle.

NAME: Chiharu
LEVEL 34 Samurai
RANK: Guild Master
PERMISSION TO ENTER: Granted

Kiyomi pushed the door open - there was no creak of a door handle, instead the faint rumbling of screen doors. She opened the door into a traditional-looking Japanese building, with circular wooden windows showing a modified background of cherry blossom trees constantly in bloom. The windows themselves are too small to climb out of, but it'd be no use anyways, because the background is just like a thick, smooth glass wall. The only thing it really does is darken during the night-time and brighten during the day-time. The washroom stands to her right, the dining room straight ahead, the kitchen ahead of the dining room as she stands in the training room.

Kiyomi took off her shoes by default, her usual habits kicking in. The place reminded her of her grandmother's house (her grandmother didn't have a fighting arena in her home) and the wrinkled crone would've slapped her with a bamboo reed if she traipsed mud into her immaculate home. Kiyomi blinked - she'd never see her Grandmother ever again, nor her parents, her sister...

Kiyomi settled down by the hearth, knees drawn to her chest, elbows resting on her knees and her hands running through her hair as tears openly streamed down her face. She didn't look up at Erebus, because she was sure he'd understand the situation they were in and accept the fact that even the usually confident Chiharu he's roleplayed with can break down and cry in the face of true, hopeless catastrophes that even she cannot change. her silence hung in the air for a long time.
"R-...Ragnar, tell me you're sober enough to find the Guild Hall? I c-can help you if you get to the entrance..." she sniffled through voice chat, staring at the floor as she waits for his reply. The only noise coming from her are small, stifled sobs.

As he walked, Ragnar could feel the alcoholic fugue slowly fading from his mind. As it did, he slowly came to doubt his own conclusions as to the nature of this world... Many of the people he passed, players he guessed, had passed the panic stage and could be found hiding themselves away in alleyways, overcome with a sense of fear that Ragnar himself had let to find. Nevertheless he was slowly taking the situation more seriously and dwelling on the implications. The voice chat was still on in the background, Erebus' and Chiharu's calm voices giving him some degree of reassurance; who knew how long that would last though... 'Evening Erebus. I'll have a mint tea if you've got some. God knows I need to clear my head...' One thing he had always appreciated about the werecat was his respectfulness; in real life he had never been treated to honourifics, so appreciated the gesture, even if he avoided reciprocating.

'I'll head over now; shouldn't be much longer than half hour from here.' Aside from the odd squeal from Chiharu, the voice chat went silent for some time until Erebus disconnected. It didn't particularly bother Ragnar but he had cut Chiharu off mid sentence, if unintentionally. For the moment he decided to keep his peace, stifling a chuckle as the girl yelled at someone; constant voice chat would be handy, but could lead to some quite random moments. After a while the street opened out into a wide arcade, apparently modelled off one of the real Akihabara's main streets. Shopping stalls lined both curbs and ahead stood a monolithic structure, the Guild Hall. Inside was the Lotus Warrior's private hall, the closest thing the three of them had to a home. Ragnar paused, taking a moment to survey the area and observe the other players... The air was still thick with depression, but here and there groups were forming and spirits lifting; perhaps given time, the population of Akiba would adjust to their new lives. It was... heartening in a odd way.

Thinking of adjusting, it occurred to Ragnar that he hadn't taken a good look at his equipment. The armour he had had equipped when last playing was the best he had and the weapons by far his favourite; their high speed auto-attack and chain bonuses suited his play style perfectly. He drew them in a single smooth movement, to his surprise; having never used any form of weapon in real life, he had expected to drop the damn things... He took an experimental swing and found himself naturally pirouetting into a second attack with his other axe; Ragnar just went with the flow for a few minutes, allowing his body to flow as it wished. Somehow he was able to string together a long stream of attacks in a surprisingly elegant combo, just like the auto-attack from the game. Must be the game system helping me fight, he mused, examining the blades thoughtfully. He doubted he could have managed it otherwise.

A small sound broke him out of his reverie, almost imperceptible over the hubbub of the market. Ragnar cast about in confusion, wondering if he had misheard it... but he was sure that there was a crying child around somewhere. It was only when Chiharu's stuttering voice came through the voice chat that he realised his mistake. 'Yeah I'm here, just outside. I'll be right up...' He still wasn't sure of the world around him and had a dozen theories he wanted to test, but a friend in need took priority over his own curiosity. Ragnar stowed his weapons and jogged into the large guild building, eventually finding the right door for his guild's hall. As he stepped in, the scent of Erebus' tea wafted past and somehow that both warmed and chilled him... The implications were worrying. Regardless he stowed that thought and headed in, his leather boots discarded untidily by the entrance, striding into the main room with an apologetic air. 'Sorry I'm, uh... a bit late. I got carried away with... stuff...' His guildmates were easy to recognise, even if he was used to them being represented by pixellated figures; Chiharu's signature impractical armour and Erebus' glaring catness were distinct enough. However while the latter was acting himself, their Guildmaster just looked like a frightened little girl... not a situation Ragnar had much experience dealing with. He removed his fur shawl and awkwardly laid it over her shoulders, giving his best attempt at a sympathetic smile. 'I'd ask if you were ok, but that would a dumb question...' Ragnar turned to Erebus, looking the other player up and down. 'You seem to be taking this well mate. Might be in the minority, judging by the mood outside...'

Erebus placed the scalding kettle on a small table near the hearth, next bringing three cups over as Chiharu entered the guild hall.
"Greetings Chiharu-taichou."
The cat man was fetching soft cushions for everyone when Ragnar arrived, the larger man acting flustered about arriving last minute.
"Playing with your axes, eh?
He asked, offering the guild master a cup first, as she was obviously having the hardest time with this turn of events.
"I have reasons not to be worried, the same cannot be said of everyone, I suppose"
He sat down alongside the others, opening his status screen and seeing none of his other friends online.
"Might I suggest we see about hosting a recruitment event?"
he offered, sipping his tea
"sorry it's not mint, Ragnar-san, I had just used the last of my supply for burn balms before... whatever it is happened."
the swashbuckler sighed as his nerves began to unfray.
suddenly, his stomach growled
"does either of you have any food on hand?"

Kiyomi was comforted by the shawl being passed over her shoulders, announcing Ragnar's arrival. It was strange - Kiyomi always saw the man drunk off his behind, and only rarely, coming out with odd statements as he tried to roleplay. But she had just felt that he had good intentions, and let him into the guild regardless of other people and their opinions...now it came back to reward her. She wouldn't have thought the drifter to be as reasonable as this, but there was a gut feeling, and her gut feelings about people were usually correct. Her ears drooped as she sniffled for a while longer, accepting the tea as she settled down onto a cushion near the hearth.

She stared at her own, sniveling reflection in the surface of the tea. "What are you doing, sitting here and crying like a sap? Get up and start sorting things out." came a little voice from her thoughts. Her thoughts replied miserably, "And what am I to do? I can't see my family, or my friends..." after a moment, she rather nastily thought "And besides; I should be crying. Erebus was a nutter to begin with and Ragnar's just a drunkard who-"

"Oh, SHUT UP, will you?" retorted the little voice from her thoughts. "Don't go down that path. You're better than that. These two are looking for a guild leader to start organizing things, getting a grip on the situation at hand, and you're curled up sobbing for people that you'll never see again because you physically can't. Well, they don't need your help - YOU need your help, and these two need you."

"I'm not Chiharu!" snapped Kiyomi's thoughts at herself, as she shifted her weight uneasily and took a sip of tea, tears dripping into the cup. "Yeah, you're not, but you made her. Like it or not, you and Chiharu share personalities." for a long while, Miyomi was dead silent, her depressed attitude hanging over her like a cloud. Then she quickly finished her cooling tea and abruptly shifted into a straight-backed, cross-legged sitting position, eyeing Ragnar and Erebus thoughtfully. A hand went to wipe at her tears gently, and her ears perked up. She had a new determination lighting up in her eyes; she was done crying about the past because people needed her now.

"If we opened up our guild hall to everyone, people will just come in and loot all our stuff." stated Kiyomi bluntly. "I saw the men at the guild banks, and I'm worried people are going about this the wrong way, and want to take advantage of other people, and other guilds. If we're going to have to gain more members - which we do - I want to approach them first, instead of them approaching us. Hopefully my initial instincts about these things won't betray me."

She smiled sympathetically at Erebus when his stomach growled, shaking her head. "I haven't got any food, but i'm sure we can go out to the market and find something to eat there." She looked across the guild hall, and her voice took on a much quieter tone. She didn't sound as afraid as she did earlier, but she still had doubts it seems.

"Guys...I'm a lower level, and I'm horribly under-geared. If we leave the city I might be more of a burden than an asset." she mutters, setting down her teacup on the table. "The only things I can help with are finances - and even then, I haven't got enough for some proper armour...and I think the only way to go about it is to start killing monsters."

She lets that proposal hang in the air for a while, before getting to her feet. "And if we're going to kill monsters, we need more people. When you two are ready, we'll go out to the marketplace and the taverns...seeing the guild hall this empty is such a shame, plus we can get some food to store in here."

Nothing could have driven home the gravity of the situation as hard as seeing their confident and outgoing Guildmaster reduced to a quivering wreck. Ragnar wasn't often online due to his financial situation, but he had grown to respect Chiharu for her outgoing personality and willingness to help others; seeing her break down like that was deeply disturbing and he cursed himself for not being able to help raise the mood. As he agonised, Erebus walked over, three steaming cups of tea in hand. 'Thanks mate. Glad to see you're holding up.', he said quietly, taking a sip from his cup. The bitter taste of the tea did wonders for his mind, calming the guilt and allowing him to focus. All that Ragnar had done since appearing in this world was mess about, not sparing a thought for the real world or those trapped here with him. But when he thought about it rationally, wasn't this better than real life? Warm bed, cheap food, people he trusted... For Ragnar, no, for Yuusuke this might be a dream come true. His gaze drifted again to Chiharu; this world as clearly not ideal for some. As he stared, Erebus' words drifted through his mind; 'I have reasons not to be worried, the same cannot be said of everyone, I suppose'. Ragnar had his own reasons too, but most people probably had happy lives in the real world, friends and family they loved. It was hard for him to relate, but he could understand that it would hit them hard. Ragnar shook his head to clear his mind and sighed deeply. I could really do with a drink right about now... Using alcohol as an escape may have been viewed as wrong by others, but over the years it had become Yuusuke's core emotional support. Even now he couldn't escape the cravings.

Out of nowhere, Erebus brought up a good point. 'Recruitment, eh?' Ragnar took a seat next to the others, considering the possibilities. The Lotus Warriors had never been a large guild, but on paper had enough members for a full party at least; if they hadn't been of different levels, they might have done more dungeons in the past. In the current situation, the best bet for most players would be safety in numbers. There would be a lot of people looking for guilds in the near future. 'That's not a bad idea. Not sure how we could do it though... Could we open up the hall and advertise for prospective members?' He would have made a jab about using Chiharu as a poster girl, but even he knew that this wasn't the time for frivolous jokes. She sat up so suddenly that Ragnar nearly dropped his cup; was she psychic or something? As Chiharu talked, he nodded slowly; come to think of it, he had seen a few looters downstairs. It was all well and good assuming that everyone shared your noble intentions, but deep down, people just weren't that nice. 'There's a big tavern just down the road; I used to RP there before I joined LW.' Come to think of it, that was also where he had been recruited into the guild; nice little bit of irony right there. Ragnar grimaced as Erebus' stomach rumbled, reminding him of his own growing hunger. He hadn't made a habit of keeping food on him during the game, although he might have to from now on... It was fairly cheap to buy from the People of the Land and he had a few hundred gold stashed away; it might even be worth bulk buying a stock of food for the guild hall.

He was about to propose this when Chiharu continued in a serious tone. Again he thought of the Lotus Warrior's main weakness, the disparity between it's members... Erebus was at the pre-expansion levelcap, Chiharu was in the mid thirties and Ragnar himself was at level fifty-five. They would theoretically use the mentor system to help her level up, but he wasn't sure if two people could mentor one. Her gear would be less of an issue if she was any other class... '... I'd be up for hunting if we start in a low level area. We still don't know how to fight after all... And gearing you up should be a priority, Miss Guild Tank.' Either of the guys could try off-tanking in the meantime, but without adequate threat-building techniques, there would be no guarantee of controlling the enemy's movements. 'But yeah, that's an idea for later.' Ragnar grunted as he pulled himself up and put on his best positive grin. 'Shall we go a'shopping then?'

Erebus, finished his tea in silence, while the others talked, he was busy planning
"they have a point, looting is a possibility...
the adventurer looked at the others
"might i suggest we start with low level players? they are the ones most likely to be taken advantage of, and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to another little kid."
He stood, considering the possibility of going out hunting
"I can mentor the both of you, I think we will all be dropped to Chiharu-taichou''s level if I do so."
The issue of their guild masters gear needed to be addressed as well.
"I believe I may have enough gold saved to help you buy better equipment ."

Kiyomi glanced over at Ragnar. Even now, she knew that hunting would risk her life the most, but the others were also in equal amounts of danger. None of them even knew how to use their weapons, Kiyomi included - all she knew was that hers was quite sharp. But alas; nothing would be done here in the Guild Hall. Not yet, anyways.

Kiyomi straightened her rumpled clothing, put her pillow away, glanced back at the others and made for the door. She pulled her sandals on, and something quickly came to her mind. "If we're going to split up at any time," she asked, "Then can we remember to keep on Guild Voice Chat? If any of us get attacked, at least we'll know something's wrong."

Kiyomi exited from the Guild Hall and took a deep breath. She didn't check if the others were following her as she paced down the corridors, making a few turns here and there, and heading towards the larger main guild hall. She noticed that the suspicious men were gone, to her relief - but that meant they were out there somewhere, with supplies from a Guild bank. For a moment, she thought about opening her own, but that would've been of no use - she stupidly cleared it out a week before the next expansion, so all there really was in there was a bunch of crafting materials and gold.

Kiyomi blinked at the sharp sunlight. Akihabara is still as panicked as ever, it seems, but Kiyomi wasn't all that bothered yet. She knew she had to keep going, else she'll end up like the rest of them, screaming and crying for help that will never arrive unless someone did something about it. She beckoned for the others to follow her across the mossy streets to the tavern Ragnar mentioned.

Kiyomi looked up at the building, pouting. "I remember this place," she murmured. "Hopefully we can at least get a meal there. I just wonder who's going to be inside." For a moment, Kiyomi's hand slipped to the hilt of her blade, trembling slightly. But she sharply pulled her hand away and strode into the tavern without any more hesitation.

Taverns did not have all the answers, Tanner grumbled, as he was sitting at the bar sipping at a drink without touching a plate of food he ordered from the waitress, after she got over her initial shock of having an active ironclad inside with the show of gold. He hadn't figured out how to make the giant metal golem go away yet, and the summon was attracting a lot of attention from both the Landers and the low-level players that were inside the tavern and evidently thought he was a guy worth asking advice. Did he seriously look like a NPC quest-giver?!

Well that was one downside of eating in a shady corner with a golem over your shoulder and a unique outfit, he supposed as he took another bite of the bread. Tasteless, odorless, like the mealbars he often bought for long raids. He could stomach the flavor, but he couldn't say the same for some of the other players in here. At this point, he was just glad for something in his stomach than to think about the whys of the matter.

More baffling to him was the Landers. They were acting a bit more like....people. And after her initial shock from the Ironclad, the waitress seemed to be walking over to refil his flagon a bit more often than norm to look at his ears and waving Lion's tail. Curious.

Hearing the door open, Tanner watched as a few new faces showed up. Higher-level players. Good, maybe they would have some answers, or at least distract the newbies away from him so he could eat in peace.

Recca had left the meeting with Shiroe and decided to return to town. He walked around a bit before taking a seat under a large tree in the center. Most people went there cause it was a good hang out spot. He looked around, some were crying, some looked sad and most were angry. He wonder how did this happen what what will happen from now on? "I wonder what should I do?" He had only got as far as he did with Shiroe she his old crew, and mostly he just did pick up parties. He wonder the possibility of joining a guild but the last one he was in completely self-destructed and he didn't want to go threw that again. So he sat there people watching.

"Hey what are you gonna do? Are you gonna join us or what?"

Recca looked up and seen two people talking in this distance, Seems like they were talking about guild. Very convenient cause he was looking to join one. "I don't know there are a lot of guild out there. I know i should join one, safety in number in all. Maybe there is a guild in need for an assassin of max level. Who knows he might even find a home there, new friend new everything. Lucky for him his talk with Shiroe had told him of voice commands for spells, and he had explained it detail for him. With the new found information Recca felt like he could be of use to anyone. "OK," He pushed himself up and headed over to the guild homes. Recca was known to had ran with the top players on the server. And was known to be as good of an assassin as Akatsuki but he knew he was number 2 to her cause when they duel he lost most of the time. But people always though of them as equals.

As he walked toward the guild building he could not but notice the huge golem in town. It was not strange that people had their pets on follow but he figured he would go over and give some helpful advice. The guy (Landers) was sitting down looking ready to eat something. "Yo, nice golem you have there." Recca said as he walked up to and and took a seat with out even asking. The game is now running on voice command for all spells as I'm sure you know. so all you need to do is dismiss him and i am sure he will go away, unless you like the attention. By the way My name is Recca Heartseeker, and you are?"

"Certainly, Chiharu-Taichou"
Erebus declared, gathering the teacups from his guildmates before promptly rejoining the guild chat. the werecat stowed his supplies in his magic-bag and followed the guild leader. Tailing closely behind his friend, he settled on a respect full five foot distance, but keeping her in his line of sight.

When Chiharu paused outside the tavern, Erebus continued anyways, the girl needed her time.
"Greetings!"
Erebus shouted cheerfully as he entered the small establishment, quickly scanning the crowd and settling his eyes on a large golem, clearly a summon. the swashbuckler swiftly approached the bar, payed for a flagon of ale. and made his way to the summoner.
Stryker
summoner
level 90
"Afternoon, Summoner-san"
he bellowed, taking a seat at an adjacent table while he waited for his guild mates
"I asume you are cluelss on this as well?"

Hydra said
As he walked toward the guild building he could not but notice the huge golem in town. It was not strange that people had their pets on follow but he figured he would go over and give some helpful advice. The guy (Landers) was sitting down looking ready to eat something. "Yo, nice golem you have there." Recca said as he walked up to and and took a seat with out even asking. The game is now running on voice command for all spells as I'm sure you know. so all you need to do is dismiss him and i am sure he will go away, unless you like the attention. By the way My name is Recca Heartseeker, and you are?"

"Call me Styker. Ironclad-marshal type summoner. And I know, I use voice-casting all the time." Grumbled the lion before turning to his golem. "Dismissal! Recall! Retreat! Dismiss!"

The Golem simply tilted its head at the orders, making Tanner shrug and turn back to his bland meal. "See? Can't get the guy to go away even if I want him to. I'll try again when I'm in the field hunting, but I have my doubts."

Phantomlink959 said
"Afternoon, Summoner-san"he bellowed, taking a seat at an adjacent table while he waited for his guild mates"I asume you are cluelss on this as well?"

"Yeah. Don't know what I did to warrant being dragged in here. Especially since none of my friends did either for some reason." Tanner commented. "By the way, have you tried the food here?"

Sawing off a some slices from his hunk of bread and meat, he pushed them over to his new table mates. "Give it a try. Something damn odd about the food here and I was wondering if it was just me or if its a larger problem. Go ahead, its edible, for what its worth."

When their leader decided to move out, the two swashbucklers fell in behind her. The three of them walked in silence for a while and as they did, the image of a businesswoman flanked by bodyguards in black suits and shades flashed into his mind; he tried valiantly not to laugh, but a giggle broke through regardless. Considering how the Lotus Warriors were all about approachability and altruism, they might want to reconsider their style. The three of them paused outside the local tavern, sizing the place up. Ragnar caught a hint of worry in Chiharu's posture, perhaps over what manner of clientèle they might find inside; for his part he wasn't worried. This soon after they were dumped in this world, there would be too much confusion for the troublemakers to get themselves together; any complications they might come across would be small and disorganised, at least for now.

It took him a moment to realise that Erebus had continued ahead of them; his simple, if loud introduction probably did a great job draining the attention to him. He waited for a few seconds more, long enough for Chiharu to gather herself and lead the way inside. His eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the darkness inside and Ragnar blinked rapidly as he surveyed the players dotted around the room. Most seemed fairly low level, but confident in their knowledge; maybe experienced players running alts at the time the expansion came out. Here and there there were huddles of frightened players, kids by the looks of them, most being tended by one or two older players. By the looks of it, the Lotus Warriors wouldn't have to worry about caring for too many people; a small relief. He kept quiet as Erebus started talking, eyeing up the summoner and assassin the werecat had sat near. Both seemed capable, even if their levels were all over the place. Well, it wasn't as though he could say anything... In the end, Ragnar bought himself a pint and took a seat near Erebus, wondering what Chiharu's recruiting technique might entail.

Chiharu looked down at the slice of bread she was offered, and took a bite experimentally. She cringed at the taste, it was like chewing on a soft rice-cracker. No flavour at all, just an odd texture in her mouth. She made the mental note to go out there and buy ingredients only, since there was simply no way she's going to eat anything a Person of the Land has prepared. Perhaps a bit aloof of her to think as such, but she didn't even -like- rice crackers.

Something clicked in her head and she smirked a little, ears flicking twice. "Say, you're the guy who I almost bumped into. I guess that golem isn't going anywhere fast, is it?" she said, watching Claus' failed tries to dismiss the massive thing. "But if it's following you, then just order it to move somewhere else? It would take the attention off of you - not as if that's much of a help now, anyways, since everyone's just flocked over to see you. Hi, I'm Chiharu...well, I'm not Chiharu, but it's what it says on the nametag."

Kiyomi looked over Recca too, and her fingers clenched over the bit of bread-crust that she was toying with. Despite not having any skill in a game, she knew which ones did, and this guy had the gear of a very powerful player indeed. And, of course, the two of them didn't have any guild tag on their names - well, that would change very quickly.

"Like my friend just said, we're all trying to figure out what it is we should do now we're all trapped here, and the first thing that came to mind was to find some friends before people make enemies. It's hardly my style to declare that a certain person is my nemesis...I'd rather I held up the high standards of my guild, and not have any of us stoop so low as to not give out help to people who need it."

It had to be a topic to approach warily. Even to Kiyomi, it felt too soon to start babbling on about how everyone should join her guild...but if anything, she's a bloody good wordweaver. She could probably talk her way past a hostage situation if she felt like it; after all, it's one of the demanding qualities of a guild leader to be able to make everyone happy.

She decided that, at the very least, she wanted to make these two more likely to help people in need, but having them in the guild seemed like a good bonus. "Don't you both agree, though?" she asked worriedly. "There are children stuck here too and admittedly, the moment people get their bearings...one can assume that they'll find a way to take advantage of the new players and, god forbid, the younger ones."

She sat up straight, glancing over at Erebus and Ragnar. "That's what we, the Lotus Warriors, are going to try and prevent. After all, this isn't a game; not anymore, and if someone doesn't start trying to help then this world will turn into an 'every man for themselves' scenario."