Like all good things it was time for this chapter of life to come to its overdue end. YGGDRASIL online and its vast world stretched out before you as the great doors to the guildhall opened just one last time, revealing the pristine rows of polished stone lit by dozens of magically burning braziers set high atop the ceiling from great chains. It was the duty of all servants to recast the enchantment day after day to bathe the guildhomes many welcome halls with light for the good of all, banishing shadows and raising the spirits of its guild members.
It had been a place created with dedication. Respect. Every person, past or present, knew that Ardent Herald had been a force for good on their home server and had worked hard to earn its place among the higher leveled guilds. Looking upon the polished steel and wood of the doors, gliding open without so much as a sound, Overzealous stifled his rather emotional goodbye.



It had been a fantastic journey for himself. Others gathered at the entrance seemed to echo his feelings, if perhaps not his attachment. The real world shunned fantasy. Magic did not exist and the wonders that came along with it were nothing more than dreams to those who spent their free time in YGGDRASIL's rich environments.



Overzealous glanced at his fellow guildmembers, one by one logging off in the final moments, until all that was left of their legacy here and now were a handful of members. The NPC creations, such as the groundskeeper and the main hall guardian, waited patiently and unfeelingly beside the players that had molded them.
The sight of the most dedicated players still watching, to the bitter end, was a small comfort.



I will not forget what we created. The thought came unbidden as the timer struck zero..

---

To every other player, the cold was hit first. High atop the mountain range deep, the temperature had become almost hostile as the wind and snow quickly seeped through your armor. It had barely been a blink of an eye but the landscape had altered instantaneously from the lush forest with a lake at the front door of the Guild house, to places unknown. No landmarks stuck from the snows save for the opened doors to the lustrious halls of the Ardent Heralds still askew, the flames stuttering in their places as the winds fought the magically created fires.

It was a surreal moment. Despite knowing it was cold, should be cold, the sensation was not immediate. Rather, it took Overzealous a few moments to stare at his hands. Hands that shimmered in the low light struggling to escape the clouds above. There was no weight, no burder of self, as he rose to his full height and simply kept rising until he had sailed nearly 10 feet in the air by whim. A gasp escaped the holy spirit as the flickering robes loosely explained his issue.
Around him, others were 'awaking' to the truth of their newfound self.

Too many questions for one moment. The confusion alone could be fatal if the others were not given direction, he feared. Gliding above the gathered players he called out over the rising storm already piling snow at their doorstep.

"Into the great hall! INTO THE GREAT HALL!"

A flare of blinding golden light bloomed about him as he waved to get others' attention, motioning to the doorway. The NPC servants had already taken off in a run before he had even spoke, the former groundskeeper Mr. Stitch and Sew ushering them in with unusually enthusiastic movements. More questions for later.

---

The normally radiant halls, the many enormous windows cut into the walls to fill it with natural light, lay dark save for the familiar glow of the summoned flames burning in their places. A titanic slab of smooth carved wood decorated with chairs, candles, cups, and other various items lay where it had always been, ready to serve the founders of the hall. Warm food had already been prepared earlier during the ending celebration but now it glistened in the lowlight as the smell filled the room with herbs and spices.
That too had become real?
Already on the brink of being overwhelmed by the sudden transition from video game to... whatever in the 9 hells this was, Overzealous glided to a seat at the table and attempted to sit only for his uncorporeal form to simply phase through it. The food even passed through his fingers as a pristine gloves hand swiped at the cups and utensils futilely, unable to grasp anything.

"What is happening. Does anybody know what in the hell is happening?" It was difficult to keep the desperation from his tone, turning in the chair he 'sat' upon to look upon the others.

To his right, at the far end of the table, Mr. Stitch and Sew merely shrugged as if it were not an issue.

Today was the last day of Yggdrasil. For most, the lost of this MMO was nothing of note; while it was certainly the best of it's kind, it was simply a game, and bound to end like all mortal things. For those who truly did care they stayed on the server for their last moments, joining with friends to reminisce about time spent. Most would have decided to move onto a different game, a new world, to enjoy their time elsewhere. Perhaps some would just watch the counter clock down until they would finally be booted from the game. Marchosias and his compatriots are not like that.

"Boris, with me! SHIELDS UP!"

A black knight raised his grand tower shield as a mighty dragon raised his head to fire a beam of burning energy towards him. But joining his shield was another stalwart warrior, his gift quite considerable as he hefted his twin tower shields to absorb the blow alongside the knight. "Syndr, Lucille, nova now!" In the distance two female spell casters raised their hands to cast their spells. One was a powerful magician dressed in a black coat with a gold-hemmed hood. Her hand was engulfed in dark flames as she she raised her staff high into the air, surrounding the dragon in a Pestilence Mist that would eat it's flesh and scales as if they were tissues. The other was a holy knight donned in shining white armor. She raised her talisman in her hand as lightning formed the shape of a bow, which she drew back a great lightning arrow that she fired into the maw of the beast. Their combined efforts was enough to cause the dragon great pain and misfire his dark fire, grazing the two knights who took cover behind their mighty shields.

"Go for his tail, hurry!" Recovering from their wounds, two swift warriors would charge out. One wielded a mighty split-leaf glaive, whirling it around his head to build momentum while another dressed in bloodstained armor had two wicked curved swords in both hands, jumping into the air to bare the full weight of her body onto the tail. Both slammed their weapons with a sickening crunch as they hacked through the dragon's weakened tail, slicing it clean off it's base as it spilled blood everywhere. "Gya ha ha ha ha! Blood! BLOOD EVERYWHERE! BUWA HA HA HA HA!" The other knight just sighed. "Briar, chill. This guy isn't dead yet." The warrior known as Briar just looked and nodded. "Yet, Dormic. Let's go!" With the tail sliced away the two warriors proceeded to jump onto the back of the dragon to try and reach another weakspot.

Already on this dragon was a feral looking orc of a man. Dressed in naught much more than rags, he had a battered leather shield on his back and a sturdy club in one hand, and a full metal javelin in the other. He hung off the neck of the dragon with his javelin impaled through scales, hammering his spear further in as much as he could in order to drive the entire thing into it's throat. Bestial grunts came from this man as he just kept smashing away, and every time the dragon would try to swipe him away, the black knight shouted at the beast. "I am your enemy! FACE ME!" The other knight moved away, planting his shields into the ground like a fortress wall as he took out his greatbow, aiming with startling speed as he launched a spear-sized arrow into the neck of the dragon. "Malkus, climb higher! Get to it's eyes!"

The seven would continue to fight and work together to down the dragon so high on this mountain peak. Between the cusp of day and night, as the moon fell and the sun rose. A clashing of steel against scales, of claws against shields, of lightning breaking scales and fire burning flesh, until finally the great beast fell. The final blow being struck by the bloodthirsty warrior named Briar, who took her twin swords and sliced open the neck of the dragon, causing blood and fire to spill forth like a waterfall. She raised her aims as she was showered in gore, and everyone else celebrated their victory over the abyss dragon. They cheered, they roared, and they drank. The black knight raised his mighty cleaver and would butcher the monster, turning it's corpse into a macabre but comfy cabin for his party to lounge in, resting in the innards and dining on fine dragon flesh.

"Well that was fun. A nice way to end things, yeah?" The black knight says as he drinks from his jolly barrel mug.

"Eh, suppose I can't complain. Always did want to take this guy on. Kinda thought he'd be harder than this though." The warrior, Dormic, commented as he sipped from his flask.

"It would be if we were fools. Unlike most we didn't just bare down on him with numbers. My plan was flawless." Said Syndr, the witch dressed like a wizard. Next to her Briar just laughed as she was squishing some gore in her hands. "Sure sure, make Marchosias and Boris tank all the hits while we attack it, a great plan."

"Now now Briar, you know it was more complicated then that. We needed to focus our attacks specifically to halt it's AoE attacks and prevent it from entering it's second phase mode." The holy knight Lucile said, who choose to stand instead of sit in any where. "Pfft. Would have been more fun that way." Briar pouted as she made a meat puppet.

"Well we got what, ten more minutes before the server shuts down for good? You guys wanna try to go after another boss?"

---

"Alright, on your marks, get set... DROP!"

The seven warriors, in their whimsy, decided to end their last few moments with a bang. Utilizing Syndr's epic level necromancy, she reanimated the Abyss Dragon to serve as their airship to fly above the skies of Yggdrasil. This was something they always did for fun: drop in from the skies thousands of feet from the air, utilizing a variety of items and abilities to somehow prevent themselves from dying. Syndr of course had a spell that would easily allow her to survive. Lucile could create wings whenever she wanted so she could simply fly down at her leisure. Dromic's cloak would allow him to glide and engage in some extreme sports like acrobatics. Briar had an ability that simply makes her immune to fall damage, so she was mostly just going to do tricks. Boris planned to use his shields to surf down the side of the mountain to safety. Malkus was hitching a ride with Boris.

Marchosias was just going to tank it. He's done this a few times before. He knows that at full health, he could easily survive the damage.

And so the seven would fall. They knew that at their positions and their current height, it would take about a minute or so before they would hit the ground. Others may take longer due to their abilities to maintain in the air, so really it was just a race between Marchosias and Briar to see who would hit the ground first. There was even a little game they head; whoever hit the ground first would get a free chance to strike down whoever comes second, bonus points if they can do it before they hit the ground. Briar often managed to hit the ground first due to her diving form, but Marchosias had also learned a more efficient position that would allow him an even more rapid decent as he began to spiral through the air like a drill, heading to the earth. However Marchosias didn't expect to actually beat Briar. He didn't expect to see his friends.

When they dropped, they only had 55 seconds before the server was going to shut down. In those 55 seconds, Marchosias reflected on his time with his friends. How he'll never see them again. Each one were going their own ways in life. Syndr was going to a university to become a nuclear physicist. Lucile would inherent her family business empire. Dormic was heading to serve his military. Briar now had twins to take care of. Boris was going to join a monastery. Malkus has already become the guild master in a different MMO. All that left was Marchosias, still aimless as he's always been. Just going at life one step at a time, but with no destination in mind but tomorrow. He looked around to his friends and noticed that despite their usual methods, they weren't using them. Syndr had no spells. Lucile had no wings. Dormic simply fell freely. Briar was trying to keep up but seemed to just be goofing off. Boris was also trying to do tricks but failing. Malkus seemed to be panicking. This made Marchosias chuckle.

"Damn, did I just start a suicide pact?"

---

Suddenly Marchosias was on the ground. But he wasn't dead. He wasn't even hurt. But he also had no idea where he was at. The first thing that he felt was the cold; he was on a mountain this much he knew. But it didn't look like the mountain he and his friends were one; that was more rocky and windy, not snowy. The next time Marchosias noticed was the lack of a hud. At first he thought he was back in real life, but he saw that he was still wearing his armor and equipment. "What the fuck?" He tried to contact his friends. Nothing. He tried to open the menus. Nothing. "Weird. Am I dreaming? Did I fall asleep while playing?" Before he could really think about it further he felt another shiver. He was... Cold. Physically cold. He reached underneath his helmet and touched his face, realizing.... It was wrinkled. Leathery.

He was undead.

"Alright calm down Dominick. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up!" He started slapping his cheeks to wake up, pinching his skin, kicking his leg. The usual things he does to wake up from a bad dream. but he didn't wake up. He took a deep breath and tried to figure out where he was first. He wasn't familiar with these mountains and he had no map. He tried to see what he could find as a landmark. Down the mountain... Was too misty. Looking up... He noticed something in the snow. he wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't look like a cliff. He could vaguely make our a source of light. It was either the sun, or possibly a fire. Having no where else to go Marchosias started going up. He felt each step carry weight as he realized he was in full armor, his shield was on his arm, and on his back was his cleaver. "Am I still in the game?" His footsteps through the snow was easy. Weirdly easy. He looked at his fingers and remembered he had the Rusted Iron Ring on; it would help him traverse this sort of terrain. He clenched his fists and continued onward. Hopefully he'll find some answers. And maybe his friends while he was at it.

So, this was the end of the game, it almost felt like they didn't get to play the game to long and they felt like it was coming to an end just like their time in the force. Their mind went to all the changes that happened in their life that were all irreversible and the pain that lingered with the changes they had to endure; in a way Merius figured they were a little more like their character outside the game after what they went through, they just didn't physically look like them or was catfolk.

But it was all coming to an end and they decided to go visit Overzealous and his little guild of beginner helpers, while Merius didn't have much reason to help beginners when rumors started to come up about the game ending, the least they could do was visit one of the first people they met when they began playing back as their old character, plus despite not showing up to the guild for a while they were still a member of the guild.

Before leaving their residence they collected a small handful of items including their favorite rifle, they whistled for Femto their snowy dire wolf who appeared from behind her residence and sat before her awaiting commands." Up." Merius told the beast, it stood on it's paws and the cat lady climbed into the saddle. Merius didn't really need to use Femto the guild wasn't that far from their residence, but since it was the last day here they figured, why not if anyone was there they could see Femto one last time before they were knocked out the servers.

Once Merius was back inside the guild house it felt a bit empty, but it looked the same as it always was the hall of good guys, Merius didn't know how they ended up joining them when they think of it now because Merius felt as if they were different from when they first arrived like completely different, the Japanese man fond of using Lances and spears to protect allies felt like a distant memory to the now nekopara, they tried to recall the thing that made them change from their original but the reason felt like a blur to them and no matter how hard they dug into their own memories the reason felt like it was buried under memories to painful to uproot.

When Merius met with Overzealous he seemed calm despite the fact that everything he worked for would be gone in a matter of hours, they shared a conversation with each other that felt brief as the last moments were creeping forward, as the count down on her heads up display began getting to zero, Merius dismounted her wolf and gave the mount a head pat for all it's work." You did a good job Femto." Merius knew the mount was only an npc so it couldn't show it's affection back to her but she decided to do it still.

She decided to stay by Overzealous' side as the clock hit zero, probably something in them still being honorable or maybe just wanting to stay by Overzealous as it all ends. Out of nowhere there was a cold chill, just an instant drop in temperature making it near freezing levels; the ice cold was something only bothering Merius on a minor level, then she noticed the hall was on top of a mountain and Overzealous' calm demeanor had cracked, he was yelling for everyone to get into the great hall, Merius turned and followed him into the guild hall with that immortal leading some of the other NPCs?

Merius noticed the NPCs were acting more like actual people, they weren't waiting for commands nor were they doing what would usually do, then the thought of Merius' own npc came to the cat girl's mind she wondered where her automaton was before joining the others within the halls, with the low light levels Merius decided to finally use the head lap in her helmet to somewhat illuminate the area for some of the others to see along with the small fires set up to help brighten up the room, Merius took a seat in one of the chairs, not bothering with the food just yet as Overzealous began to panic, and ask questions, looking to the NPC they began staring at the guild leader in his time of panic and Merius chimed in to attempt to ease the beings fears.

"Calm down Zealous-sama, you should shouldn't be so panicked, it will make the others nervous." As they spoke Femto appeared at Merius' side, the white dire wolf tried to get at a cut of ham on the table before Merius pulled them back from the table and told them to sit." I believe our, or your guild house has been transported to another location." Merius' cat like eyes went over to the NPCs nearby still wondering if her automaton would appear but she still hasn't shown up." I feel speaking of this should be between mostly guild mates and we should let the servants stand out for this conversation, it would be... Above their level of thought." She told him.

Thinking on it a little further, Merius didn't know what happened, one of her furred hands tried to activate a menu, their heads up display was gone, their interactive menus were gone and nothing she could do would activate them, then it was Femto acting out and attempting to eat some of the food on the table.

Merius tossed him some of the ham for the large beast to sniff and chow down on with their tail wagging back and forth as if the mount was an actual animal, this was something else, putting a hand on their face as they noticed the servants staring towards the large wolf now licking at the floor, she put together that this either had to be the biggest update the game had just dropped or it was something unimaginable, but could something like that happen? She asked herself before putting a paw like hand on her chin to think further on it, but the thought of their NPC running around awol kinda annoyed them." Damn it, right after I got the surgeries and everything." They muttered." Where could Rukuro be hiding at?" They questioned aloud.

There had been a lot of faces coming around the last few moments, some Archene hadn't seen in a good while. There were those he could really call good friends he gave a hug and spoke words of playing another game some time. Those he wasn't in the best terms with and got a handshake, along with a nod. Even if something bad had happened here and there between him and a guildmate, it was all in the past time. Overall, it was a wonderful time.

When there only a few minutes left, he opened the menu and glanced about the ones that were still around. He glanced at Overzelous, the NPCs and a few other members as he murmured, "It'd not be too bad to be able to say, 'I was there until the last moment.' And not like I have anything due anytime soon." With a sigh, he closed the menu and waited for the final countdown.

As the countdown reached 5, he closed his eyes and waited. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

...

...

And then, it suddenly got very cold. Archene openned his eyes and blinked a few times. Unlike some who even though went with wild with character generation, going even with completely unhuman races or became one along the way, he just had a body much like his own, only with a far longer hair and a somewhat different face, but overall the same.

He touched his own face a few times, even pinched his cheeks before looking a the snowy expanse before him. Just as he was starting to think about what just had happened, Overzealous flared in golden light, "Lights as incredible as always at least." He sighed before murmuring to himself, "Well, it could be worse." He walked to the great hall.

At the halls, Archene sat on one of the chairs. He looked at the food thoughtfully for a few moments before drinking from a cup that had been lying on the table. The drink was rather sweet, certainly something very well made, worthy of a final celebration of the guild.

But wait, the food was real, he had a proper sense of touch and temperature, and he certainly didn't have the brains to get a dream like this.

As Overzealous asked the question on everyone's mind, or at least, the one that happened to be in Archene's mind, "Well, while I'd love to say that this is some sort of secret update or... a dream," He shook his head a bit dejectedly, "I doubt we are dealing with either of those. Honestly though, you shouldn't worry too much guild leader. At least, we have food and things of the kind, it isn't that bad regardless of what exactly is happening. Plus, you have us around, so I'm sure we can go through whatever problem we face."

@Zelosse

"So this is the end, huh?" Tea chuckled lightly, kicking her legs back and forth off of her seat, which just so happened to be the head of her NPC Elf. "Ahhh, how bittersweet. 'Twas such a fun time, wasn't it, Alena?" The small pixie chuckled again, shaking her head. "Not that you can respond, heh. Ah, I'm gonna miss this place." She stretched, the wings fluttering behind her as she shook her head. The other guys in the guild were likely hustling and bustling about the place, trying to get in a last few minutes of fighting in. Exploration. Camaraderie.

She?

She was enjoying the end in silence, with an apple sitting next to her atop her throne.

"Yep, s'all good." She sighed. A little lonely? Perhaps. She had made a few friends in Yggdrasil. That was part of the only reason she ever played in the first place, was for them. She wasn't exactly a big gamer after all. Now that they were all likely to leave and she was never going to see them again? Well, it was a little sad, but such was life.

5...

"Hup~" She stood up, struggling to lift the apple next to her.

4...

"Well, its been fun knowing ya Losers!" She took a bite out of the virtual apple.

3...2...

"But Your queen has other, better games to move onto!"

1...

And suddenly she was assaulted by a blast of cold, frigid air.

"H-huh?! Wah!" She was knocked clean off of Lena's head by the gust of wind. In the confusion, she couldn't get herself straight, hitting her head on the ground and landing right on her stomach. "Ooogh...Gah-!" Followed right by the apple slamming into her back. "Okay world, I apologize for my arrogance. Your queen is staying..." She grumbled, feeling sudden pain all over her body. That was odd, wasn't it? She pushed herself off the ground, rubbing her head on the spot she bumped it on.

"Urgh, that wasn't fun..." She shook her head. "The hell happened...?" She grumbled, standing up, feeling her own skin and clothes beneath her hands. "...huuuuh!? I can touch myself?!"

"...Lady Tea, perhaps choose your wording more delicately." The NPC Elf that she had commandeered as her own some time ago, was kneeling next to her, giving her a small smile. She wasn't wearing her armor for now - just her normal white clothing and a simple silver choker on her neck.

"Eh...Lena?" Wait a minute...if she could feel herself then - Without thinking, Tania fluttered up, reaching a hand out...and placed a hand right on the Elf's chest, and squeezed. "I can touch you too!? And they feel entirely real-ah..." She glanced up at the elfs face, who was as red as a tomato.

"Lady Tea, perhaps you need a timeout again." The elf replied, grabbing the pixie by the wings before she could flutter away.

"Tee-hee," Tania chuckled, hitting her head with her fist. "Silly me, I just got excited." Lena sighed, slumping her shoulders. "By the way, this is just a clone. Lady tea has already started fleeing towards the bright light."

---

"Outta the way morons, the elf is gonna kill meeeee!~" Tania zipped through the air, flying past the other users and NPCs who were walking in a similar fashion, heading for the light of the guild leader. The elf in question, was calmly walking along some distance behind her, fully armored with shield in one hand and her large sword at her side. Soon enough, Tania had made it to the guild hall with all the others, making a beeline for Overzealous.

"Hey, hey Guild leaaaadaer!" She whined loudly. "I'm Gonna die! Seriously die!"

About that time, Lena walked in and observed the others present, bowing slightly as she made her way over to Overzealous and Tania, who had decided to use him as a living shield.

"...Excuse me, Lord Overzealous." She said respectfully. "I do not mean to interrupt, but there is a pixie behind you who likes to sexually harass elves."

"Don't turn me in boss! She's gonna shove me in the jar, I know it! I was just confused is all!" It was quite likely no one in the guild had any idea what the 'jar' was.

Xavier stared at the starry skybox above him as he lied in the field. Countless stars glistened across it, and Xavier knew that someone had to work hard to create this one thing most people don't even pay any mind to. He gave a small mental "thanks" to whomever was in charge of creating the skies of this MMO, and the clock counted down.

10...

"Well, it was nice playing you, YGGDRASIL." Xavier said, his tone slightly less energetic than usual.

7... 6...

"I'll definitely play a sequel if it comes out... But..." Xavier started, closing his eyes as the servers counted down to their end.

4... 3...

"... I wish I could just play for a while longer..."

0

Xavier felt the temperature increase slightly. As he opened his eyes, the sky above him was blue and spotted with clouds. It was day. Xavier sat straight up, looking around at the grassy plains he was in. No, the different grassy plains. He was surrounded by a forest before, but there wasn't a tree in sight now. Just acres of grassy field, with the occasional hill.

Speaking of grass, Xavier looked down at his hand as it brushed across the ground. He could feel each strand. Soon enough, Xavier was touching all over his body, patting his face, knocking on the metal of his armor. He quickly reached into his inventory and pulled out a small cube (somehow without the use of the HUD, which had disappeared), throwing it on the ground in front of him. It floated into the air and unfolded countless times to form a body mirror.

Xavier stood to attention and inspected himself in awe. He felt all over himself again, and made silly faces in the mirror. No doubt about it: he was Xavier Falcon, unarmed master. Such level of detail wasn't possible in the original game. He flexed his muscles, admiring himself in the mirror.

"... Oh my god... I'm HOT!"

He lifted his shirt and felt his now extremely toned abs.

"And I'm RIPPED!"

He fixed himself and stood in the mirror, giving himself a smug grin.

"... Well, I was always hot and ripped... Now just more than usual."

He closed the mirror with a touch and put the re-folded cube back into his inventory. Thinking about his current situation for a while longer, Xavier decided to try and teleport back to the guild. Maybe the guild and it's members are here too? If that's the case, on the slight chance that this is a "you die in the game, you die for real" type of dealio, there's safety in numbers.

But once he does figure this out, though, you can bet he's going to try and explore every inch of this new land.

Xavier quickly pulls a box with a big red button on the top of it out of his inventory. It's labeled "Emergency Return-To-Guildhouse button".

"Look out, world! Xavier Falcon, Unarmed Extraordinaire, coming through!"

click

As Xavier presses the button, he vanishes in a beam of light.

Huddled in the Great Hall, hunched over the table, Brunhillde sat overlooking the resplendent meal that had been set out. Ugly crying, she stuffed her face with the food, while the constantly refreshing food buffs she kept receiving gave her a strange sense of depressed satisfaction. YGGDRASIL was coming to an end, and the thought was too much to bear. Whenever she lifter her face from the meal, she would either catch a glimpse of one of her guildmates and the armor and weapons that she had helped them craft, or something about the guild itself that she had had a hand in building, which would send her back to attacking the food. To have everything that she had spent so long building, crafting, and perfecting stripped away from her, to lose this piece of her world that she had helped create... This was her escape from the cruelty of the real world that would never accept her for who she was. These were her real friends. This was her real home. Brunhillde slowly lifted her face from the pie she had been focusing her attention on. She realized she was being silly. The others were already exchanging contact information and planning ahead, hoping to meet up, possibly in some other game. She had let her hopelessness get the better of her, but she had never been very proactive to begin with. Maybe it was too late, the timer was already seconds away from the end.

3...

2...

1...

Suddenly the light from the windows went dark and a draft blasted in. Was this some joke on the part of the developers? Were the yactually going to simulate an apocalypse? But the rush of her guild leader and guildmates rushing into the hall suggested something else. Wiping away her tears, Brunhillde looked on curiously and quietly and she reached for another slice of pie, wondering what was afoot. Two things happened simultaneously: Brunhillde realized that her hand was still wet with tears, the crying emote had never actually produced real, interactable fluid, and the second was that the pie was dry, causing a lump of starchy goodness to get stuck in Brunhillde's throat, choking her. Pounding her chest frantically to help get the morsel down, Brunhillde reached for a horn of beverage to wash it down. Choking on food wasn't a possibility in this game.

"What is happening. Does anybody know what in the hell is happening?"

Brunhillde stared at her hands, trying to fathom the severity of the situation.

"Calm down Zealous-sama, you should shouldn't be so panicked, it will make the others nervous. I believe our, or your guild house has been transported to another location. I feel speaking of this should be between mostly guild mates and we should let the servants stand out for this conversation, it would be... Above their level of thought."

"Well, while I'd love to say that this is some sort of secret update or... a dream, I doubt we are dealing with either of those. Honestly though, you shouldn't worry too much guild leader. At least, we have food and things of the kind, it isn't that bad regardless of what exactly is happening. Plus, you have us around, so I'm sure we can go through whatever problem we face."

She was surprised they could remain so calm, but she could understand Overzealous' panic, he was a ghost. But Archene brought up a good point, was this an update? Was this a dream? A single word flashed through Brunhillde's mind: PHYSICS. Shakily, she reached over to a lovely wine glass and poured the wine into her plate. Grabbing a dinner roll, she began mashing the bread into the wine, watching it soak up the color and become soggy. Continuing to play with the soggy dough, Brunhillde began to chuckle nervously. She struck the wine glass against the table, shattering it, and started sticking the broken glass shards into the soggy lump. "...it's real...it's real..." she muttered to herself as she explored the world the way a toddler would, testing the way things interacted with each other. "My forge! Omniac!" Brunhillde called out, suddenly overcome with the urge to build like she had never done before. Bolting up, and causing her chair to squeak backwards, she looked around the room, "It's real."

Overzealous lacked lungs to take a deep breathe but attempted to draw one anyways, his ghostly form flickering in and out of the chair as he fell into the exercise until finally letting go of his fears. It did nobody any good if someone was panicking and he knew it but it was hard to do anything else.

@Spriggs27

"Teleported to a new location is the least of my concerns. No UI, no menu, I am now a ghost, you are now a cat. Can we really say there isn't cause for at least some concern?" Turning to Archeme, Overzealous merely nodded and tried to smile despite having no facial features. "It has been my job all this time to worry, Arch. Food will not last forever and we cannot stay in the darkened guild hall for eternity.."
That realization brought up the inevitable "what next?" That always arose when confronted with problems large or small, now was no different. Rising from his seat to float above the chair he began to ponder their predicament. Life had been given to their creations which meant the whole guildhome was suddenly alive with the rank and file servants armed with mop and broom likely waging a now daily war with actual debree and clutter.
That would need to be dealt with.

Ignoring the antics of the pixie, her antics had always been lighthearted but his curiosity about her and the jar would have to be put on hold in favor of more pressing concerns, Zeal turned to the groundskeeper.

"Mr.stitch," to his right, the masked groundskeeper tilted his head ever so slightly in response. "Can you tell the staff to search every inch of the guild home. I'd like to know if there is any damage from our.. departure."

"As you say. I will have Mistress Glathra organize that. I would like to investigate outside. The rosebushes wont survive long in this cold." His voice was deep and muffled from the mask he wore, though it was jovial in its way. Almost unconcernee with the frightening new changes.
At a nod of approval, Stitch and Sew went off in a jog to fetch the servants and Glathra.

While that was done, Zeal couldn't help but wonder out loud. "If we are here, together on the mountain, then other players must have come too? Can't sit around while someone might freeze to death, who wants to establish ourselves?"

In YGGDRASIL the guildhome was in the woods near a lake, the mobs around it were level 30 wolves and other such wildlife that spawned in and were routinely destroyed. In this new place what creatures might be lurking outside to menace them?

"Until we know what we're up against I'd like to have everyone outside on high alert. Maybe we're still in YGGDRASIL but located in the nightmare peaks." The peaks itself weren't dangerous to the assembled guildmates, it being a level 75 zone, but caution was priority. "Any volunteers going with me?"

---

So this was it, huh?

5

The end of Yggdrasil, the end of this game she had poured hours and hours into. But, well, that seemed to be the fate of games like this, they had their run, and then....burned out. Like a flicking flame amidst a blizzard, perhaps, though maybe that was a little too poetic about it all.

4

It was the end of a long, happy dream, one filled with frustrations and losses, victories and achievements. All the guilds she'd seen, all the places she'd been, the fights she had been a part of. Currently she was relaxing against a wall at the front of the Ardent Heralds guild.

A nice little place, a welcoming guild for newbies, a place for veterans to ply their craft and teach the newer players. A month before this day she had joined the guild, simply to have a place to be when the closing would occur. Of course she had enjoyed the small fun of doling out help to other new players, those trying to see how far they could get from level 1 before the game closed. Some who were looking around for the first time, the brief span of time before this wonder would close.

3

She'd taken one of the odder paths of Jobs classes, for sure, having to learn a good deal of healing spells regardless to be able to hop into groups. Though it was not like she was useless on her own. She had made innumerable golems and summon them during her time in this game, and had risen to the very top to be able to create the best of the best. The Strongest Golem. Not that she had the time to do so, though she could if she wanted. Or perhaps in the end it was that she hadn't cared to do so, as she instead enjoyed more the pride to have simply gotten to this point.

Looking down at the ten glimmering rings, their composition almost possessing the aura of the moon's gentle rays at night, or the sun's brilliance during the day. They didn't actually glow in the dark or anything, but each was adorned with a different gemstone that was more precious and beautiful than their more common counterparts. Each ring engraved with intricate designs of heavenly events and such things as angels or the creation of golems or rays of light peeping through the clouds. Works of art, all of them.

2

Perhaps she could save up money to buy a set of rings that looked like these. She had pictures on her computer for it, when she had first acquired the set. More like screenshots, really, but it could be fun. Gaudy, but....worth it. Ten little reminders on her fingers of a world where anything was possible and the boss wasn't always nagging someone around the office. Heh.

At least in the game she'd been able to fulfill the pleasures of her desire. Treats, items, company, fufufu~

1

Ah...she truly wanted more time to think, to ponder, to savor the moment. But this was really it...the end.

ITS TIME TO WAKE UP

Then the world turned upside down.

Sudden cold, chilling winds, opening her eyes to find herself in the snow of all things. And she....shivered. N-No way! This was not something possible in the game! She briefly, desperately tried to open a menu, find a logout by any means possible....but nothing showed up. Nothing showed up no matter how hard she tried. This was bad, this very, very, VERY bad. At first her mind went to thinking this was some kind of glitch, that the admins and developers would pop in and fix this right away....but there was no sign of them. No sign of this being the game itself even.

As the others rushed into the Great Hall and assembled, she ran in as well. To get out of the cold. Blast it that she never got the enchant on her attire to protect her from weather effects. Not even her darling battle maid was here, missing in action after having been sent off to check the woods....and Kira having forgotten to call her back in the last countdown. Though that was not the most pressing issue, albeit it was a concern within her mind. As she sat at the table with the others here who had come in, she began to calm down more. Then more. Then enough to try a bite of the cooked meat on the plate before her...and it was juicy. Tender, well-seasoned, part of the feast that had been prepared in here but all the same delicious. The warm feeling as it went down her throat and settled in, ah.

She began to eat what was on the plate in front of her a bit more, bread and meat and veggies and such, as she listened to what the others were saying. She wasn't going to overeat right now, albeit her character was supposed to have a high metabolism normally, though this bit was helping her keep a better head in this for the moment, to soothe the initial panic. At least until she could wrap her mind around what was going on enough to chill-...wait. There was a strange, but more than plausible idea at this venture. There was at least a few anime like this out there she'd heard of, or watched even. Isekai. Being sent to another world! Or other anime where people were left trapped in video games. Odd ones, not ones she'd watched often if not rarely, but she'd read up on them a good bit!

As a certain zealously enthusiastic individual was saying, this was all real, physical....tasty when it came to the food by the way.

"Overzealous. It seems....well, the others have pretty much summed it up. Not only has this guild house seemingly been moved to another, very different place, but all of this feels, or rather is real it seems. The food, the weather out there, even the NPC's seem more "alive" than they were before. As stupid as it sounds to say, this seems like one of those anime where people gent sent to a different world, but in this case...it is very much real. Can't even get menus to log out, but it seems i can still access my inventory." the Dark Elf said after swallowing some food and wiping her mouth out of habit with a napkin, projecting her voice more professional but relaxed tone she usually used in the game when dealing with formal matters, though obvious hints of her disbelief at this situation were audible in her voice regardless.

This all even as a wave of relaxed feelings and such washing over her...kinda like she was Kira herself now, really. Actually, rather literally now. Though at least the guildmaster was at least now getting about things when it came to doling out orders and trying to ascertain things. Good, that was good. A step in the right direction. But if this was all real...well, they needed someone able to get things moved, people even, as required.

Then again, her real body was gone.....albeit she had Kira's body now. Name too. The figure, the sexy bust, ah...this might not be so bad then? But then again-

-what kind of topsy-turvy anime had they fallen into?!?!

"I'll volunteer to go with you, I have teleportation spells and Gate, in case we need to get back here in a hurry, or bring anyone back for that matter. I can leave a golem outside just in case as well, at least blocking the wind in front of the doors if nothing else," the dark elf said when the guildmaster, standing from her chair before pushing it in and standing behind it, leaning a bit on the back of the tall seat even as she had been speaking.

This was an emergency, so focus. Yes, that would help her keep her head better, rather than eating more of what little food they had. Though what little bit she had was enough to put some warmth into her body. Not that eating that slow-roasted pork hadn't been divine, no pun against Zeal intended, but still focusing on the tasks at hand was good. In fact, the more she was here, the more she felt that sort of carefree, relaxed, hedonistic personality assert, but doing so naturally like a flowing river.

@Zelosse@Stern Algorithm@Rune_Alchemist@Darked13@Spriggs27

"Ehahahahahahaha! Die, scum, die!"

Nebuchi withdrew her sword from the body of her enemy, green monster blood dripped down its blade. The cat girl giggled in elation, the high of combat clearly still effecting her mind, even through the virtual reality of the dive MMO.
She had grown to love this feeling, this feeling of a high. Nebuchi couldn't get enough of it and she was sad that all of that was now about to come to an end. That was why she chose to slay some monsters before rejoining the rest of her guild for shutdown celebrations.
With a backblow, she sliced apart a monster that tried to sneak up on her.
Sometimes, she wished she could smell the blood she was causing to spill. Maybe she would like it, even if that thought slightly creeped her out.

She cast a teleport spell to bring her back to the entrance of the guildhome. Again, for the last time, she stared at everything in front of her. Yes, she would miss this place, the whole game, to be fair. She'd have to seek out a new dive MMO, one that would offer her the same experiences she had had with YGGDRASIL. Placing her large sword onto her shoulder, the Dark Knight, marched into the guild halls.
It seemed that most of her guildmates that were still active were around today to celebrate.
Not many, yes, but that was who was left and Nebuchi was happy about every single person who decided to stay until the end.

She slumped into one of the chairs in the main hall, being the broody person that she always was, watching her few guildmates in the corners of her eyes.
The countdown reached one minute.
Whelp, this was it. No more slaughtering.
She placed her sword on the table in front of her. The light in this room always had been pretty. Yeah, in her next game, she'd build something like this again, surely.
Thirty seconds.
Nebuchi remembered her cute battlemaid companion. They were all the rage in the game and in this guild, so she had gotten one herself.
"Heh." A slight chuckle escaped her as she watched the numbers count down. From now on, she'd be boringly normal again.
Ten seconds.

Five seconds.

She inspected her glove, some human blood still on it. She wondered how it would taste like, not that she could ever find out in this game... and she didn't have the time to do so either.

One.

Zero.

Nebuchi wasn't in her room yet. She was still in the guildhall.
Sounds of confusion surrounded her as she looked around. She was still in the game, but things felt different, very different.
No, the issue was that she felt in the first place. Curiously, she moved her gloved hand up to her face. When it touched her cheek, she could feel the cold of the metal. She could also now hear differently, a twitching sensation on the top of her head signalled her cat ears being active. It was weird, as was the tail that extended her spine outside her body. All of her senses were sharper than she had been used to as a human and it appeared, the DMMORPG did not simulate the heightened senses of her race well.

Nebuchi glared at her glove, the small pool of red blood glistened in the glaring light coming from the large windows in the hall. For some reason, she moved her hand to her mouth and licked the blood off her glove.

"Ehehe... ehee..." Small giggles escaped her. She liked the taste. Yes, she liked the taste of blood.
"Hah...haahaa...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Finally, she broke out into a fit of laughter that did not sound sane at all.
In this insane fit of giggles and laughter, she slammed down her armoured fist on the table.
"Ehehehe! This is awesome!"

Nebuchi stood up. "Zeal! Let me go and kill some stuff. I need to feel this." She picked up her sword feeling the weight of it in her hands. Now that everything felt real, she needed to experience this.

(@Zelosse and everyone in the main hall)

Merius sighed, it was good that at least someone was calmed down, the serfs won't have to worry about their new found leaders losing their minds and possibly killing them, Merius shook her head before responding to Zealous." Of course there it, but firstly we must deal with the matter of the guild hall and where it's been transferred to, speaking on our races won't in fact help the situation really." Merius spoke as if they were a normal person of this world, staying in a calmer tone than most of the others that were reacting differently.

When the item of food has been brought up Merius wasn't afraid of the lack of food for them." If our pantry is properly stocked for a guild hall then we should be able to last for the while, but having a steady supply of food and water sent here will be a challenge." Merius was beginning to look at this with their analytical lens.

" As long as we aren't having a banquet every morning and night we should last for a little bit over a month, it's not the entire guild here so our supplies should be more than enough to survive, then there is the servants, for now they should get the minimal amount of food and water, not enough to starve them, but just enough to fill them for their duties. We should also keep them from going out, unless they are properly prepared."

Zealous then said there could be people outside or rather players outside." If there are pl-People outside then they will make their way to the hall, but I'm beginning to think that maybe we should move the hall to somewhere that would make it easier to access, but one does not simply move an entire guild hall without needing to use up all of their magic." She looked over to Kira the dark elf while petting Femto's head.

Merius thought on the idea of this being a different part of YGGDRASIL, they couldn't think of anywhere they could've been transported to and the nightmare peaks didn't seem like a place they'd go. The cat woman was caught off guard by the next thing he said, going outside to see the surrounding areas, Merius knew she could handle the cold, she has the fur on her body to keep warm in certain places unlike most of the others, then she had Sir Femto who was a snowy colored dire wolf." Zealous I'l-"

Suddenly Kira spoke up saying she'd be willing to go out there with Zealous, she mentioned her spells and abilities that she could use help them get back and even construct one of their golems." Do you know if you can still use your magic without the menus of spells and skills?" Merius asked." Are you sure you could get back with Zealous or use your gate magic after this situation?" She further questioned her." Zealous, I believe that I wou-"

Once again she was interrupted and by the other cat person in this guild, the blood thirsty one, she began pleading with Zealous to let them go out and kill somethings." Senseless slaughter isn't what's need right now Nebuchi and it won't accomplish anything, what we need is a plan, a plan to-" Once more Nebuchi interrupted saying she needed it.

Merius pushed herself back from the table making a loud screeching sound with her chair before standing up." I'll be back in a couple minutes, I'm going to walk Femto." She spoke before bring her rifle into her hands." With my Ranger skills and racial skills I should be able handle the elements better than most, maybe." She walked past Nebuchi and Kira." Unlike Kira I don't need to rely on magic and unlike Nebuchi, I won't be too busy wanting to murder everything to no be back before freezing to death, no offense."

@Ookawa@Crusader Lord@Zelosse

Turning to Archene, Overzealous merely nodded and tried to smile despite having no facial features. "It has been my job all this time to worry, Arch. Food will not last forever and we cannot stay in the darkened guild hall for eternity.."

"It certainly won't, but I doubt anyone is short on food. So at least, we don't have to worry about tomorrow. As for later, you are around, I'm sure you will figure ways. If anything, we can just walk off this mountain and make a farm." Archene chuckles a bit at the idea as he looks at the other guild members. There were so many lovely details that couldn't be seen when it was still just a virtual reality. The facial expressions the emotions.

There were also other who spoke on the matter of where they are or what may have happened. He nodded along some places, but seemed rather thoughtful as he was distracted by reality.

At least, until he heard Overzealous again. There truly was the possibility of there being other players around, but given how Yggdrasil was already ending when there were moved here. At least, he could live knowing that anyone else that came could probably take care of themselves already, or at least, hide.

"Until we know what we're up against I'd like to have everyone outside on high alert. Maybe we're still in YGGDRASIL but located in the nightmare peaks." The peaks itself weren't dangerous to the assembled guildmates, it being a level 75 zone, but caution was priority. "Any volunteers going with me?"

He focused on the Guild Master again, thinking briefly before saying, "I'll be glad to come with you. If this is nightmare peaks, I'm sure fire magic will help a bit." And while he wanted to very much test fire magic INSIDE the halls, just the thought of all the ways it could go wrong made him leave it for later.

"I'll volunteer to go with you, I have teleportation spells and Gate, in case we need to get back here in a hurry, or bring anyone back for that matter. I can leave a golem outside just in case as well, at least blocking the wind in front of the doors if nothing else," the dark elf said when the guildmaster, standing from her chair before pushing it in and standing behind it, leaning a bit on the back of the tall seat even as she had been speaking.

And by the looks of it, others truly also had their ways to help. At least... people weren't reacting too badly. And Overzealous was giving people a thing to do other than mull over all the ramifications of what is happening. It is a good start.

Nebuchi stood up. "Zeal! Let me go and kill some stuff. I need to feel this." She picked up her sword feeling the weight of it in her hands. Now that everything felt real, she needed to experience this.

Then again, some are reacting in... strange ways. Then again, being able to use all the skills learnt through their time in Yggdrasil... Just thinking of it gave Archene a small girl. All the lovely spells, but with more realistic effect. But then someone spoke about whether or not spells could still be used. He frowned slightly before looking at the nekomata who spoke so, Merius.

"Merius is right, we don't know if we can use our spells. Guild Master, even if I just stand by the door, I need to find out whether or not I can still use magic, and honestly, I don't want to cause any collateral damage to the hall." And given how some of his spells worked in game, it would certainly cause collateral damage if he used them in there. collateral damage if he used them in there.

It was strange. Marchosias could sense all these things, the cold, the weight, the thin air, and yet it didn't bother him. He was hiking up a snowy mountain, something which if he did in real life he wouldn't make it more than twenty steps. Yet he had no problems doing that here. Was it his undead nature that allowed him to act without tiring? It was almost like playing a video game; in a sense it was considering that he just came from Yggdrasil. He had a vague idea of his stamina and even health, and yet it wasn't as if it was himself in danger, simply the avatar of his existence. Or maybe it was just the arrival into this strange new world that was screwing up with Dominick's perception of reality. He needed some sort of anchor before he goes crazy.

At the moment it would be the massive hall ahead of him. By the time he got closer he could tell it was some sort of guild hall; it looked like your average type anyways. Why they set up up in the middle of the mountains is beyond him, but he wasn't about to nitpick about that right now. But Marchosias was careless. He had been so used to having stable footing trudging through the snow, he didn't realize he was walking on a patch of ice. He took one step and felt his feet get taken out from underneath him as he fell forward, and the snow began to shift. It happened too quickly for him to stop; suddenly he was getting swept down the mountain but an ever growing avalanche. "Oh- Shit - Fuck!" He cursed as he began to tumble around in the snow. No time to think about how screwed he was; he needed to act.

Fortunately, Boris wasn't the only one who knew how to shield surf. Marchroias took out the Wolf Shield on his back and tried to break into the surface. It was difficult as he was getting constantly buried, but eventually he would manage to burst out from the cascade and slam his body against his shield as it sled down the mountain. He kept low to the snow, letting the curvature of his shield and his weight keep him above the snow, but soon he knew that he needed to assert more control over his makeshift snowboard. If he didn't, he would just get buried again. "Dammit, at this point the only way to go is down!" Carefully Marchosias got onto his feet while surfing his shield down the slope. He needed to find some sort of civilization, a village or something, and try to figure out where he is at. Slowly, he simply accepted the strangeness of his situation; it was like a video game where he wakes up with no memory of how he got here. He'll work his way back up to the mountain once he finishes the tutorial, and hopefully at some point he'll just stumble onto the main quest.

@Lucius Cypher

The tumble down the mountain had obviously failed to be a quiet affair. Besides the few indigenous birds whom had their nest removed or just shaken up, the mouth of a cave miles away from the AH guildhome on the lower mountainside had been completely blocked off by ice and snow.
Marchosias had landed closer to 200 meters from the guildhome and the promise of safety. Below him, following a long slope from his position as the avalanche settled somewhat, was nearly another 1200 meters of cliffside before reaching the ground proper.

Buried under his feet was a well used pathway that had recently held company. Dozens of feet had stomped their way up the mountain path and into the cave mouth laying half buried in the snow only 5 meters away. The rocky formation of the mouth had been shaped by years in harsh winter to form a natural half dome with a narrow entry point lined with sharp toothy looking rocks that had earned it the name Dragonmouth. Already there was commotion from deep within.

A gloved hand rose from the gathered snow, the leather looked faded but was well tailored to the form below. What followed was a long grey cloak and a hooded face sporting some sort of beak and deep glass lenses. The figure dusted themselves off as they extricated themselves from the snow seemingly without concern.
Glancing up to view the undead, Mr.Stitch and Sew gave a sort of half-bow, something more akin to a duelist respecting the fight to come. In his left hand was a long dagger coated in a thin red substance, a poison most likely.

Where Marchonosias sank into the snow, his heavy armor dragging him down to stand waist high, Stitch was standing on top of it without so much as an inch dipping down.

"I presume you are a visitor to Ardent Heralds guild home. My sincerest apologies but we appear to have been cut off."

The doors to the Guildhome opened, followed by a chilling gust of wind. Xavier entered the building, folding his arms as he shivered. Usually, the button would've teleported him onto guild land. For whatever reason, he was just dropped about a hundred meters away from the home, and trek through the snow all the way there. By the time he'd arrived, he was covered in snowflakes

"S-So... C-C-Cold... Wasn't the g-guildhouse in a forest...?"

Xavier closed the door with a slam, and rested against it, embracing the slightly-warmer air of the guildhome. Definitely a downside to this whole 'Feel everything' business. He pulled down his scarf and looked at his meager snow-covered attire.

"... I may not be suited for long walks through the snow... But at least I'm looking good while doing it."

Xavier slides down the door into a seated position, warming himself up and taking a breather. This definitely isn't the world of YGGDRASIL, that's for sure. How'd the guildhouse get here, though? But more importantly, why can he feel everything in the world around him? As he thinks on this, he can hear faint voices from somewhere in the guild; probably the main hall judging on the direction.

"... Oh, cool, there's other people here... Glad I'm not the only one around..."

Xavier gets up and starts walking towards the hall, at a more relaxed pace, his footsteps echoing slightly in the almost-quiet guildhome as he takes each step.

(@Zelosse and maybe the others in the great hall too, if they felt the gust of wind or heard the door slamming or something)

”Ugh... That... Could’ve been better.” Marchosias shook his head to get snow out of his helmet as he tried to move. He was buried waist deep into snow but that wasn’t too much of an issue for his new, stronger body as he simply pulled himself out and rolled into a solid patch of snow. As he was getting up he noticed some other stranger brandishing a dagger. He immediately raised his shield defensively, though he was well aware that if this guy had wanted to kill Marchosias, he would have easily stuck him while he was still waist deep in snow.

This plague doctor looking fellow apparently came from the guild Ardent Heralds, which presumably was the guild hall he saw earlier. Marchosias looked up the mountain and sighed. ”Goddamn. It’s got to be at least three thousand steps up there. And that’s assuming I don’t just roll down the slopes again. I don’t suppose you have a fly spell or anything like that?” they appeared to have found themselves at the base of the mountain, into a thick winter forest. This must have been wilderness because even through the plant life was dead, the place was bristling with thorns and shrubs between the oaks and trees. Nothing he couldn’t power through, but it was obvious no one has been this way in a long time.

As he kept looking around he did notice one shining spot. Some sort of cave entrance. Using his video game logic, he knew he would have to go through there. And he also knew that it would probably be dangerous. But the only way to go now was up. ”Looks like a cave. Guess if we want to get back to that hall, we’ll need to go through there.” Marchosias strapped his shield securely to his arm, and then drew his massive cleaver. On most this weapon would need two hands to lift, if anyone could handle its weight at all. But Marchosias has the nessisary strength to easily wield this weapon with one hand.

”Forward then. I’m Marchosias by the way. I’m... Not part of your guild, but I’m not sure where I’m at either. I suppose I should find the Ardebt Heralds and hope they know more than I do.”

@Zelosse

"Gah! Don't ignore me smoke for brains!" Tania cried out just as an armored hand reached around and plucked the pixie from the air. "Wait no Lena, babe, c'mon girl! Don't lose your head over an accidental touch or something!" The elf raised an eyebrow, frowning, unimpressed as the pixie pleaded beneath her helmet. "Okay, bad time for a lame pun, l-look, just hold on a second." Aside from her own antics, something was definitely very wrong here. Lena watched passively, seemingly giving her a 'go on' look as she released her from her grip.

"Okay, guys...Zeal," Taking a listening to the conversations happening in the room, it seemed almost everyone else was in a similar predicament. They suddenly found themselves trapped inside Yggdrasil or something similar, at least. "We all agree this is weird right? I dunno what's going on, but being the size of a pencil not how I thought my day would go. Ugh." She complained, shaking her head and ignoring the other guild members for now.

"Anyways," She changed the subject. "Scouting the area is definitely a good idea. We need information on our surroundings, right? So, me being as small as I am, I'd say would make a pretty good scout. I volunteer myself to scout the surrounding area." She fluttered over to Zealous again, resting on his shoulder. "So what'ya say, boss man? I can use my illusions to make sure we're not seen either."

"I am unsure what is exactly going on, Lord Overzealous." The elf replied. "But if it is scouting you need, perhaps I would be better suited for it." Lena continued, removing her helmet. "An elf wouldn't stand out too much, and it is quite likely unarmored and wearing simple clothing I wouldn't raise too much suspicion. I require fairly little sustenance as well." She glared at the pixie. "...or at least send someone along for supervision if you send her."

---

The nekomata and mage had a point about wanting to be practical, especially in regards to the presence of lack thereof of magic, but even now Kira could feel the power of her rings. Like a river, a flow. If they still worked this much, and their powers perhaps did potentially beyond that, then could she still use spells? Likewise the other person seemed to go...disturbingly bloodthirsty briefly. Then the fey who had flown in, as silly a she usually was in the game at least, seemed to volunteer to scout too alongside her companion of sorts. All in all the array of asking and assumptions and such was...lightly frustrating. However, a grin came to the face of the dark elf as she thought of a nice little way to test her ability to use magic here. Nothing destructive, really, just a little....entertainment.

Even so she felt a sense of ease come over her, though the seriousness of things was not lost on her. But all in all she wanted to try the spell out anywho. And so she uttered the spell she was to cast, the worlds flowing from her tongue as softly and easily as silk.



Kira felt the power thrum through her, more vividly than casting in-game. But she had expended some MP, and in return...

In front of where Merius would be walking, a portal would appear out of nowhere, shimmering into existence. Obviously if paying attention then running into the gate wouldn't be an issue. But if she did....the end gate was set next to the chair of the mage who had agreed with her. Nothing harsh, just a minor little jovial "prank" if the target fell into it. Even if not, it would be amusing to see the reactions to functioning magic. Heh.

"Hey, that doesn't seem so bad a result," the dark elf said, before taking a sip of wine from the glass still in front of her on the table.

Good thing this spell did not have distance limits. Otherwise, she'd have picked a potentially....less troublesome spell for the occasion. Well, the test. After all, this was a test if her magic would work.

@Rune_Alchemist@Zelosse@Darked13@Spriggs27@Ookawa@Stern Algorithm

Zeal crossed his arms and rested what he assumed would be his chin on the center of his upraised palm, considering the many options available. The initial panic was fading but it still lingered as the enormity of it all was slowly blooming in Macks mind. Lost family, new world? Trapped in a video game or a video game brought to life? If so there was the question that nagged him while the others were eager to begin.

Were they trapped in the past? The present?

We need information. There is so much in the dark.

Now wasn't the time to worry. Now was the time for action! It was time for him to focus on the guilds needs as a singular group and at the moment it seemed prudent to divide and conquer. That was the only way forward.

From the halls came an older woman, looking to be in her early 30s with blond hair that would have fallen to the center of her back if it hadn't been put up in a tidy ponytail. Unlike many of the other npc servants, Glathra wore a modest shirt and leather coat, a light shoulderpad, accompanying cloak, leather breeches, and ankle high boots, a modest warriors outfit. Glathra in particular had a necklace engraved with AH for the guildhall that noted her as the lead organizer of the work force below the floor guardian and combat npcs.

"Lord Overzealous," Hands crossed, Glathra gave a low bow, "The servants quarter wall has collapsed. My apologies for the mess, but there is a series of tunnels leading into the heart of the guildhome. We have sealed off the wing for now until repairs can be made."

Zeal nodded his approval of their haste to seal off an unexplored entrance. "Thank you, Glathra. Could you see to the other servants and treat any wounded. We need a headcount of staff as soon as possible."

"As you wish." Dipping another low bow, Lady Glathra turned on her heel with practiced grace before departing the way she had come. A wide smile spread across her face.

To the others in the room, many of which were eager to go outside, were simply not equipped to go to the wider world without protection. Even with [Blessing of Resist: Cold] they would likely freeze when thw spell expired in an hours time. Which meant only the ones best suited to the cold would be able to go.

That meant, as far as he knew, the ranger with her dire wolf mount and the.. obsessive one.
The way Nebuchi was hefting her weapon and giggling wasn't encouraging. But options were slim. Hopefully Nebuchi was not having a breakdown and was merely over stimulated at the shifting reality they now faced, something the cold weather could fix.

@Spriggs27@Ookawa@darked13

"Nebu, Merius, can I trust you to scout around the doors? If there is a trail down or up I'd like you to follow it. We need to know what is around us. Kira I need you to go with them. If there is trouble you all can't handle, gate back here quick as possible."

That was the outside dealt with, so what could they do with the inside problem. Stitch was already outside securing the initial perimiter so that wasn't going to work..

[@crusader lord@Tim@Rune_Alchemist

"Arche, I need you and lady Tea," A gesture of his hand indicating Tea and her elf companion, "To investigate the breach in the servants quarters. If anybody else waiting in the main hall wants to accompany you three I won't oppose. I'm not worried about snow in the main hall just yet.."

The constructs would be helpful as a forward press and weather any unexpected attacks from the wider tunnels. Assuming this wasnt just a cave mouth leading nowhere.

All that was left was the actual guildhome itself. Repairs to the damaged wall, checking on the various rooms' many magical items and crafting stations. It seemed prudent to determine if the game rules for auto crafting had been removed or if the work tables would still do a majority of the work.
Lacking a crafting skill himself that meant taking the resident tinkerer of sorts.

@Stern Algorithm

"I'm sure you are eager to explore the realism of your craft in a new setting. I must say I'm eager to see for myself. Shall we investigate after you're done eating?"

---

Marius, Nebuchi, Kira, and any others that departed the guildhome were sent off with a quick cold protection spell from Zeal, the actual skills working with something of voice commands. So long as you knew the name of the spell you were casting the effect would form itself.
Sword akills might be different but that would be answered in its own time.

Outside the gates to the Ardent heralds Guildhome, the scene was much the same as it had a few minutes ago. Light but deathly cold wind was blowing fat flakes of snow in a lazy drift down to the already packed snow below their feet that already came up to their ankles. Marius and Kira were in lighter gear and didnt sink so deep but Nebuchi, had it not been for her character stats boosting natural strength, would have been emcumbered with the walk.
Footprints from Mr.Stitch and Sew were nowhere to be found and on inspection his various gardening tools were nearly half buried beside the door along with a large shovel next to a stacked pile of snow where they had attempted to clear the piling snow.

Where he had gone was a mystery.

3 paths were immediatly visible despite the snow: A northern route had been lucky enough to peak put below the snow thanks to a line of trees winding their way up a goat trail leading much farther up from their location, leading to a cavemouth at the peak.
To the south was the cliff. Upon inspection it would seem an avalanche had taken the path down with it in a tidal wave of rock and snow. Glancing over the edge would reveal a sheer drop down and a broken pathway littered with broken trees and rock, now unusable. It was easy to assume that anyone attempting to use the ruined path would quickly invite another avalanche and possibly death.
The last path led back into the guildhome proper, where soft chairs and warm drinks could be dispensed readily.

---

While the players had fabulous rooms with chiseled stone serving as walls and littered with fine rugs, furs, banners, items, anything that could serve as a decorative eye catcher was present. The servants however were not as well furnished, each room having a large window occupying the rather tight space equipped with a wardrobe, single bed, desk, candles, some even kept brooms or mops with them to keep the quarters immaculate.
In total there was almost 50 rooms occupying 2 stories of the eastern wing of the Guildhome.

Normally the quarters were bustling with the various NPCs scurrying to and fro for whatever reason but now it was eerily silent as the frightened staff huddled in the adjoining hallways elaborate doorway that led into the quarters, nearly a dozen men and women were settled on benches being treated with various healing potions or bandages as they tried to shake off the damage taken from the walls collapse.
Inside was a disaster.
10 rooms had collapsed in a heap of rubble and broken wood across the main floor and blocked off more rooms to the side of the initial collapse, likely trapping some of the staff in their rooms. Beyond the rubble there was only absolute darkness, the candles burning forever from the rooftops almost seemed incapable of piercing the veil obscuring the path beyond.

"I'm sure you are eager to explore the realism of your craft in a new setting. I must say I'm eager to see for myself. Shall we investigate after you're done eating?"

"Huh?" Brunhillde looked up from her play-do creation. "O-oh, y-yes, of course! Right away, sir!" Though she had been playing with the food in her plate, she had somehow absorbed the gist of the conversation. Some people were worried about food: so Brunhillde was starting to formulate plans to make a hothouse. Some people were going to explore: so Brunhillde would plan to send some of Omniac's mini-robot insects to tag along and keep everyone in the same channel of communication. Some people talked about trade: so Brunhillde was already thinking about forms of transportation. If physics were real now, could she make trains? Planes? The possibilities were endless, and with magic to give things a push, who knew what wonders she could create?

"I will report my findings as soon as I get them!" Brunhillde stood up quickly, causing her chair to scrape the floor, "Oh, and those of you heading out, I'll send one of Omniac's scoutflies your way soon. Not sure if private messaging still works, but we can use Omniac's swarm network like walkie-talkies." Giddy, she headed down to her forge.



"Omniac!" Brunhillde called out upon entering her forge.

"Yes mistress? What do you require of me?" Mythos Biblios Omniac boomed, rising upon creaking limbs to stand at attention.

Since that line was something Brunhillde had programmed as a common response, she didn't think much of it. "Send a few of your scouts up to Kira, Merius, and Nebuchi. Oh and send one to Lord Overzealous and one to Lady Tea. Repeat everything that is said."

"Affirmative," Omniac opened its massive, enameled steel wing covers and released a few miniature versions of itself that flew out to their respective targets.

Turning to her forge, Brunhillde cracked her knuckles in excitement. She picked up an iron rod and threw it on the fire, pumping the bellows. The iron rod became red hot almost instantly, and Brunhillde wondered if this was due to her level as a blacksmith or the the fact that she was using a super-high-quality forge. Using some tongs to run the iron rod through the coals, she continued to pump the bellows to refine the iron to steel, by incorporating just enough carbon and using the air to burn off any excess. Though she knew it in principle, she had no real knowledge of how to actually blacksmith in real life, but her body seemed to move on muscle memory, certainly a result of her levels in the skill. Taking the bar out, she picked up a hammer and started having at. Clearly something inside her was taking over as she artfully pounded the metal, using force and finesse as necessary. Soon she was dunking the blade in water and polishing it off. Inspecting her work, it was just about where she wanted it to be. In her mind she recalled using her blacksmithing to craft a 'level 10 sword', so this time, she kept her mind focused on creating a sword of 'that level of quality'. Lo and behold, a weapon fit for a rookie, but not for a complete newbie. Still it seemed that autocrafting may not be a thing anymore, since she did have to stand here and go through all the motions. Or did she?

Looking at her gauntlets, Brunhillde desperately wanted to try something. "ANIMATE WEAPON!" A loud din of steel followed as tongs, hammers, and various other tools in the smithy flew up to attention. Back when this was still a game, all animated weapons could be expected to do were to follow simple, guard, follow, and attack commands. But could she set these up to automate forging?