Location: The Wayfarer’s Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

It didn’t take long for Kalie to notice one of many things, and the first was Rael leaving the table to get something to drink. The second was someone approaching everyone, asking if this was the right place, which it was obviously. However, she decided to look at the newcomer, an archer, or ranger role, neat. Kalie, all she did was nod at the archer, but she stared at Alja, who winked at her. It ground her gears slightly, and it irked her where she had a slight shiver down her spine. She returned the smile, with it being a slightly more sinister one. In the corner of her eye, she did notice the 17th placed healer in Pariah Online. ” Might as well introduce myself to you, Newcomer, it’s Kalie Augustine. Oh my, I am so sorry Enos for not noticing you sooner.” His name was emphasized in what she said because of his reputation as a pervert. It was one reason she disliked talking to him the most but cannot be avoided now.

Kalie blinked slightly at Alja for asking a dumb ass question like that, and the Dark Gods only want service from their most devout followers. ” I don’t even think the newcomer roleplays. Whatever his name might be. Might as well, ask, what is your name?” Kalie asked the Archer since it should’ve been brought up sooner. Always good to know their names before dealing with them or seeing them in action.

Kalie couldn't help but laugh at the brother and sister, who were sitting on the opposite end of the same table as she was, with the newcomer as well. She did recognize them somewhat but never bothered with them in dealing with them since they are apart of Aaginim's group of friends. Basically, always much harder to deal with eight players when you are a solo player now. ” Aw, cute brother and sister being as adorable as ever. I do like your insults to your brother, Sif. I do hope you train him so he can be slightly less rough around the edges.” Kalie said to Sif without a smile, but there was a tone that she was joking about training him.

It didn’t take long for someone to be extremely loud, much louder than Alja, and it was no other than Luci. The biggest control freak in Pariah Online yelled at the others to not toggle PVP or are out of the raid. All she could do was shake her head and sigh, and look at Enos. ” Good thing, I am not in the mood to do player verse player right now had enough of it in Gloro Inquisitors.” A bold lipped lie, Kalie spouted from her lips because it's annoying having to deal with Luci or Priscilla. One’s a control freak, and the other knows how to play her role greatly and wouldn’t want to have a massive fireball up her ass either.

’ Hypocrites, Gloro Inquisitors were, I am going to get back at them for that.’ Kalie thought with her seething in her chair. She did notice that she didn’t get a drink from one of the waitresses and sighed. Peachy, thankfully, Alja was at another part of the guildhall dealing with Rael and Graves. One small piece of quiet, she shrugged at the whole ordeal.

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Alex watched as more wayfarers made their way into the hall, each brimming with a level of vibrance he'd never seen in people back in the real world. One of his brother's friends had cynically said something about that once, about people using games to get away with being the worst version of themselves. Alex had disagreed then and he disagreed now. Singing, free food, banter, and all from a group of people who were mostly strangers. To him, this was what people could really be, outside of a society that forced them to fit into small boxes. He knew that better than anyone else.

His enthusiasm leaked into his posture and grin, even as the man sitting closest to him tried to put a damper on things.

"Of course I do blind runs, dude," he affirmed quickly, cutting his bout of laughter short. It felt like he was being put on the spot. "I've been sticking around my brother's guild a lot. They're into this gaming stuff, so they've been teaching me the ropes for raids like this one." Though he could only faintly process it, he felt that hadn't been the most reassuring thing to tell a couple of players more experienced than him. At least, if any of his previous quibbles with anyone who took this thing seriously were any indication.

The siblings continued their lighthearted quarreling, until they at last remembered he was there. "Hah, yeah, I sew a lot on here. I'm more of a woodworking guy, but robes and leather are what people pay for. End up with a nice amount of cash to buy gear with," he replied to the sister of the duo.

His eyes had been avoiding her, but the topic had basically made it impossible. Kalie Augustine, one of the bigger fish in the clothing world. He'd seen her wares at the markets, the jaw-dropping brocade and lace being put into them. It made his designs look like ornamental sacks of potatoes. He had a more utilitarian way of going about things, so their customers rarely overlapped. Still, he couldn't help but be mesmerized, as even the way she walked through the hall carried the same level of elegance as her work. Had he been a bit more entranced, he might not have even noticed her approaching them.

"...sounds good!" he sputtered out, snapped out of focus by the giant woman named Alja. Before he could ask her what she meant by a servant of evil, she had marched off, leaving him to awkwardly chuckle to himself.

Kalie introduced herself after, keeping up her act. He always wondered what was going on inside the minds of these dedicated roelplaying types. Didn't it get tiring pretending to be someone else? That was his main reason for having joined Pariah at least, escaping from that chore. "My name's Alex. I'm not big on roleplaying, no... but that doesn't make me a newcomer!" he blurted, after fully processing what she had just said.

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Look, lady, you’re cute and all but you’ve really gotta stop talking like that. People are gonna get the wrong idea.”

“You think Kalie is cute? I think she's out of your league.”

The ginger-headed warrior groaned as he rose his palm to his head.

Sometimes his sister’s incessant teasing got on his nerves. For as much of a whiz kid she was she still didn’t quite get the idea of when it was getting out of hand. He eyed the newcomer, Alex, with a look before trying to compose himself. Kalie was no doubt attractive and he admittedly had a little bit of a crush on her, but that was beside the point. Had Sif picked up on that? It didn’t matter. She was very much out of his league. He barely cracked the top 1000 on a good day and she was in the top 200 of DPS, a combat role that was far more congested than his. There was no chance she would want to strike up a relationship with him, let alone one over long distance in a video game. He’d never pursue her.

He cleared his voice, trying to gain control of the conversation before somebody joined in on the teasing.

“Stop playing around.” He replied, sternly, before moving to talk further with Alex, “Anyway, you said you’ve been hanging out with your brother? Huh. So this is your first time flying from the nest. Hell of a induction ceremony. What kind of archer are you? You a sniper or somethin’ else?”

Location: Wayfarer’s Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Let them fight,” Benkei muttered, crossing his arms, “let the wheat sort themselves out from the chaff.” Of course, it was shut down quick. Luci, the Divine Lady of Swords and Song. Benkei grinned. “Now that’s someone to watch,” he said, tapping his older brother on the shoulder. “Luci, Enos, Pricilica,” he knew their names, he’d read about their gameplay, but he’d never partied with any of them, “You’re looking at the who’s who for practically every role of play in this game. When we finish the raid I want you to look up Enos’ stats and how he heals.”

He then pointed at the blonde knightly looking gentleman with the kind complexion about him. “And that’s my measuring stick right there.” Aaginim, if not the best tank in the game at the moment, was damn close to it. He was one of those players that felt more like a celebrity than just a regular guy; he had such a calm countenance and air about him, that even the casually minded who kept up with ranks knew who he was. “Aaginim, that’s the tank I have to beat to be at the top.”

He’d remembered so many of the arguments he’d had with other players. So many scrubs that talked a big game but always came up short. He hated those kinds of players because they weren’t serious about the game. It was through players like Aaginim and Luci that he saw what true top-level players could be. He didn’t care who was the latest comedian on some stupid NHK variety show, or what new mangas came out every week. Most of them were just rehashes of the isekai formula, and outside of the same jokes circulated online over and over again, nothing was interesting. But these players, they were interesting. In the real world, they could be any boring schlub. But here, in Pariah? They were just as important as a Hollywood movie star, and their words carried so much more weight.

And here, watching them shut down arguments and talk to people around them, Benkei felt how huge that gap between them was. What did he have to say for himself after so much time spent in the game? He’d broken the top 100 for the first time ever, but even that was tenuous at best. Did he have the same staying power as the rest of the people here; everyone who had a sense of personality around their character? What would others see him as?

DPS, start pumping out more damage or just feed yourself to the monster already. You’re useless!

Do you call that support? You’re better off casting a low-level attack spell than trying to buff my defense with that crap.

Kazuki, wake the hell up and start healing the others! You’re going to make us wipe!

He could hear his heartbeat thundering in his eardrums. It felt like back then, when mom and dad used to scream at each other, and he’d hide behind Kazuki. Even when they were in middle school, Kazuki had always been taller. Better. And he was simply small and powerless. Helpless. What if he was the one that fell behind in this raid? What if-what if for the first time, he was just like all the scrubs and parasites he looked down upon. What if he couldn’t rise to the level of those just out of reach?

He looked down to see that his hands were shaking, and Kazuki’s eyes were on him. Not out of anger or confusion, but of concern. I hate that look. Benkei thought. ”It’s nothing,” he attempted to reassure his brother, ”I’m just excited to get started.”

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“I’ll talk to you guys once Aaginim figures out the composition.” Luci remarked to her ‘entourage’, though she so very clearly detested that perception. She raised a brow as Leaves jumped over to the table with Graves and someone she did not recognize and as Priscilica went over to a corner near two other people.

Ice Queen. Pretentious Role-Player. Bitch. She had heard the whispers. It didn’t bother her, well, it did but she had a habit of not making it show. It was best for everyone to keep their distance from her and cast stones than get close enough to do real damage. She had learned from her experience several months ago. Had it really been a few months already? She pondered the thought, the time in the world of Aetheria was so long she found it hard to track sometimes. So much going on.

She eyed the people in the room. Some of the few wayfarers who had been in the area when Aaginim put up his “call to arms”. It was silly to see him so excited for new content. They hadn’t done a blind run of a dungeon in what felt like forever, so it was a much needed excitement. She admired his boyish energy at times, though sometimes she wondered if she was dating an immature idiot. She smirked. The “extras” as Priscilica called them were pretty unremarkable. She didn’t recognize many which means they weren’t overachievers or naturally good at immersing themselves into the world.

There were a few exceptions. Rael, Graves, Kalie, Alja, and Benkei. She had only grouped up personally with Rael and Alja, though she knew the others from either hearing Priscilica whine about it or from generally observing conversation in taverns or the Tyhrien faction hall. Aaginim spoke well of Benkei as a “talent” to bring into the guild. How Aaginim even knew about someone who was ranked 92nd on the leaderboards eluded her, but Aaginim had his ways to know everything and befriend as many as possible. She doubted he and the boy had ever played together, though. But honestly, she’d rather have Beneki in as an off-tank than deal with Graves again or see if Kalie’s reputation was as problematic as it said she was. If she was in charge she would’ve kicked Rael out and that was before her and Graves got into it about… something.

Luci was positive it was something stupid.

Rael was good but she had a habit of taking things the group needed to complete a questline and unlike other games there was always only one item. There was no take-backs or re-runs. The quest failed and that was it. Instead of giving an artifact back to the village elder or whoever she pawned it off to the black market. It made her stomach rot. She didn’t trust her, but this wasn’t her raid or her find. Since there were no quests involved she could stomach it but she most definitely would demand to stick Rael in a separate sub-group. Graves too, but that was for different reasons. She didn’t trust “solo” players who besmirched camaraderie for their own egos. People may have saw Luci as wanting to be the center of everyone’s universe, but it wasn’t true. The truth was she hated selfish play even more than she hated the real world.

Alja, on the other hand was a good one.

“Alja, thank you for trying to contain them.” She stepped forward as Graves brushed off the taller girl, “It didn’t work, but thank you.”

Alja was a bit of a goofball. Loud albeit over-friendly. The life of the party. Some people found it annoying but Luci genuinely liked her. It reminded her of her days at Alpha Gamma Delta in College. She admired how she could just be so out there and herself and fun, when all Luci could muster was being polite and come across as cold. If there was anyone she could bring into Aaginim's guild it was her, but so far she had not brought it up to the blonde-haired tank. Perhaps after this raid she would have her chance.

“I’m glad to see you again. It’s been awhile.”

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Sorry about the wait.” Priscilica said toward the two standing near each other. “But we were taking a final look at the dungeon before we get started.”

Priscilica eyed the swordsman, he was short and looked rather young, but he showed up and wasn’t starting trouble which was more than she could say for Rael. She crossed her arms after leaning her staff against the wall before pressing her back against the surface behind her.

The pink-haired spellcaster wasn’t particularly sheepish when talking to people randomly. She wasn’t a gabber but she certainly didn’t shy away from talking about things.

This, of course, included people who she had no idea who they were. If they didn’t want to talk to her they’d move away and she’d mind her own, but being a waitress in the real world made her so used to hearing what other people wanted and them complimenting her that in Aetheria at the very least people could hear her talk and take her orders. One of the very reasons she ended up being regarded as a great dungeoneer and party leader. Though she had a feeling if she was going to be in charge of a group she really didn’t want to deal with Rael’s baggage so maybe she’d talk to Aaginim about shuffling things around if the party composition was one she didn’t like. Worst case scenario she’d just deal with it. Not like it was a life or death thing.

Besides, Luci was the one mad about the whole table fight. Personally, Priscilica wanted to get involved. But alas, Graves didn't have any balls. Disappointing.

“I’m sure it won’t be too much longer, so I’d get your bearings. My names Priscilica, though you can just call me Pris. If you have any luck you’ll be in my group, assuming Aaginim is doing the usual two groups for a blind run approach he likes to do.”

Location: The Wayfarer’s Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Kalie heard the name of the ranger, archer, and the reasons he wasn’t a roleplayer. Kind of easy to tell nonetheless, since Alex didn’t get what Alja meant. In terms of Roleplaying, he’s a newcomer, but to the game, he isn’t. ” Aw, it is alright Alex, dear. I enjoy staying in character in a game because of the hardships of real life dealing with annoyance. It is better for me to roleplay and gets my mind off of it, really.” Kalie said with some advice of why she roleplays in a game. It is some stress relief from her usual demeanor in real life since what she is doing is hard work, trying to be an English Teacher. She shook her head in disbelief that no one would rather roleplay in a game than deal with real-life pressures. As well, she kind of put her arms up and moved her hands, putting her hands where you can see her palm of her hands.

It took her off guard when Sig called her cute, without being handy like Enos or others like him. Kalie couldn’t help but gasp slightly at the compliment and the insinuation of anything going on between them. She had to shake her head slightly, which definitely helped that Sif said an additional thing about her being out of his league. ” I do agree with your sister, Sig. I am way out of your league.” Adding to what Sif had said, but it wouldn’t have caught her off guard if she was prepared for it. However, making mountains out of molehills trying to keep yourself on guard for every little thing is tedious. She did tell something more was there in his words than meets the eye.

Kalie sighed slightly and wondered when the raid leader would announce going to the Dungeon; Aaginim loves to make dramatic entrances sometimes. ’ This close, I almost broke my usual roleplay style in this game. I usually don’t get something that simple as a compliment to get me turned upside down. Ugh, I hate being flabbergasted sometimes.’ The thoughts of Kalie were quite muddled from all the frankly shit that was happening in her life that this was the only time she could enjoy herself. As well, she loved the dark cultist aesthetic for fun.

However, Siegfried was trying to get control of the conversation, and all Kalie did was laugh a bit at his attempt. The topic, in terms of what Sig said, on the other hand, was interesting. ” Ah, yeah, that would be a good thing to know, Alex. What kind of Archer are you? I am a Scythe Assassin if you are wondering.” Kalie added. People who knew about her role would know about it if they look at the DPS rankings anyways since it does say what it is. A good hint of information here and there isn’t all bad, you could say. ” Like I would ever assassinate someone like you, Alex. Also, I don’t want to get in trouble with Ice Queen over there.” Kalie said with her usual look on her face of interest but not too interested in getting in trouble. She would rather say, Ice Bitch in terms of the control freak of a woman, Luci. However, it's better not to getting in a pissing contest with her either, because Luci can get quite loud when she wants to be.

Location: The Wayfarer’s Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

When the mess was cleaned—as best she could clean it anyway, though she was sure the denizens would come by to do it better later on—Seele took her seat again. Her basket was empty now, her food stocks diminished, and only a few people had gotten any benefit from it. But, a few was more than none. The nearly-fight had been a bit troubling, but Seele was certain now that even if this new raid was nothing special, her fellow wayfarers would at least make it interesting.
...don’t…
Part of her wanted to seek out one of those authoritative members of the raid team before things kicked off, someone friendly with Aaginim. Seele wasn’t short of confidence in herself, but in her experience it was only fair to make the organizers aware of her build before going into challenging, or even just potentially challenging content. More than once had she been placed into teams without traditional healers because the raid leaders had just assumed—rightfully, of course—that she had brought the sort of spells expected of her role. It wasn’t that she couldn’t pull off solo-supporting, she’d done it before, but something told her a fair number of these players weren’t the type to put up with “close-calls.” Better she was placed with at least one other proper healer, for tempers’ sakes. ...leave…

However, though plenty of the others had broken off into smaller conversations, Seele got the sense that things were coming to a head. The raid had clearly been put together with such haste for the purpose of being among the first into the new dungeon, and if they waited too much longer, someone else would surely beat them to it.

So, Seele decided to stay put for now. The socialite in her protested, but again, there would be much better opportunities to make new friends once the raid had actually begun, and their groups were formed. Hopefully she would come away from this with a longer friends list, but at the very least she’d get some experience with the new dungeon, which would make it easier to help others through it later. ...me…

Her stomach growled. She cast a hopeless look at her empty basket.

Well, hopefully not too much later.

Location: Wayfarer’s Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“I’m sure it won’t be too much longer, so I’d get your bearings. My names Priscilica, though you can just call me Pris. If you have any luck you’ll be in my group, assuming Aaginim is doing the usual two groups for a blind run approach he likes to do.”

Benkei looked at the other tanks; the other options to run the second path of the raid and who would off-tank for Aaginim. “It’s a tough choice,” he nodded to the girl, who only stood slightly lower than him. It relaxed him somewhat, even though he knew he was talking to a player that ran some of the top content of the game. He started looking between Siegfried and Rael. “On one hand, you need a tank that can give off-tank support that will work well with Aaginim’s tools…” he said, eyeing up the room. There was Siegfried; someone he’d ran a raid with some time ago.

It hadn’t been pretty.

”Siegfried will follow orders, but he’s not very dependable when it comes to raid mechanics. Still…” he eyed Rael, “He’s trustworthy and won’t gank the loot.” He looked at the girl, and chuckled. ”Sorry, I got too carried away in thought. Aaginim’s one of the best, and I know he’ll figure out a solid plan.

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Don’t worry about it, mate.” Priscilica shrugged, “A few options. Guy in the corner over there looks geared up. Same as that Siegfried person. Other guy has a shield, though. Might be worth noting.”

Priscilica mulled over the idea of who would support Aaginim as the off-tank. In the past it had been Zain, but Luci and Aaginim had kicked him out a few months ago so they had more or less been running with pick-ups. The guild really hadn’t recovered from what Zain had done and the man had took a few members with him when Aaginim gave him his just desserts. In her personal experience with the man he had always gave her a bad impression, even when he was pretending to be a decent person. But what’s done was done. Their guild, Mystic Prophecy, had seen better days but it would survive. She supposed that's why Luci wanted to invite Alja to the guild proper, though every founding member had some ideas how to fill some holes. All of the knew some pretty capable off-tanks who were fun to play with.

She eyed the two brothers, trying to pick up on why, specifically, the taller one felt familiar. Where had she seen him before?

“Aag’s really ought to fill in Zain’s slot in the guild. Would make all of this stuff so much easier.”

She looked back toward the crowd, looking in Aaginim's direction as he stood over a pile of papers at a table in the corner by himself. Looks like he was looking at the members who had signed the charter for the job he had posted and what they were good at. Like usual.

“I know who my choice would be.” The mage mused, “But Aag’s pretty set on someone I’ve never heard of.”

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Ah, game talk. When you pretended to live in a fantasy world that didn't have bad traffic or sports teams that made more than small countries, everyone seemed to default to game talk. Even the weather never came up. Of course, Alex had been trained in the art of it from dozens of conversations with his brother's introverted friends, so he found himself contributing with a newfound sense of familiarity.

"I'm a ranged DPS with a glass cannon build and a kit based on firing super fast arrows that can deal a lot of really good single target damage," The slang he had been taught rolled off with ease, and he took a moment to make sure both Kalie and Siegfried were listening. "It's like... the opposite of a sniper. I have to get closer to bad guys and risk myself some more, but if there's a tank with me or anyone else who can pull off a distraction, I can really do some crazy damage. There's a lot of guys like that here, so I'm pretty sure I can do a good job versus whatever it is that's gonna be in that dungeon."

He laughed awkwardly once more at Kalie's comments. It was hard to tell when someone deep into roleplaying was being serious at times, and she was no exception. On the contrary, she seemed to be the poster child for it, mentioning a nickname and assassination back to back. Was this just the fantasy world's equivalent to a conversation by the water cooler? "Uh, yeah, fighting here would be a pretty bad idea anyways. I mean, imagine finishing a dungeon and having to wash beer out of your gear instead of celebrating," he said, amused at the thought.

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Enos laughed, “I’m sure he’ll get over it. It’s just a game, after all.”

The clerical knight smirked as he watched four people seated with him engage in some banter.

In many ways it reminded him how things used to be in Mystic Prophecy. His eyes looked to Sif, she was cute. He wondered how many hearts she had broken in the game by turning them down. A bit of a scandalous thought to have perhaps, but that was just how Enos’ brain worked. Between her and Kalie, the table would be the perfect image of beauty. Now if only he could get Leaves, Priscilica, and Luci to sit down with them. He would have a bonified harem around him if Siegfried decided to go talk with someone else. Though, given how much his comment caught Kalie off-guard Enos doubted he was going anywhere. Was there something between them that nobody knew about? Kalie’s reputation didn’t attest to be dating in-game. But weirder things had happened in the World of Atheria before. Luci was with Aaginim, Leaves had a girlfriend who hadn’t been able to get to Thorinn in time to join up for the raid. People connected in tons of ways.

Not Enos though. Rael was right. He was an oribter who liked to be in the rear flanks. Watching. Specifically any girl who was of age and to his tastes. He never made it weird, but well okay there was the time when he was reviving Priscilica… but he did pay the price for that. He remembered shouting “worth it” as the 5’5” girl judo-flipped him down a flight of stairs. It took months before she stopped glaring at him.

He took a drink from his tankard, looking toward Kalie, checking out the seams of her outfit. If he could help it, he'd move his eyes to her face if she looked away from Siegfried and the new boy, Alex.

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Wow! What an exciting way to start a raid, huh?”

Leaves jumped next to Graves as she placed her own tankard down, splashing some ale on the table as it clumsily planted itself on the table.

Leaves… was the odd girl out when it came to the members of Mystic Prophecy. She was a long-time member but she lacked the ability to have a filter. Whereas Luci was cold and Priscilica was high strung Leaves was the opposite. Aaginim described the green-haired girl as “bubbly” and “free spirited” whereas other people used other more colorful language.

She didn’t pay no mind to it. Leaves never got mad about anything, even when her friends were fighting. When the Zain stuff had happened she had asked him why he had to be so dour and weird, insisted on him making up with Aaginim and Luci. That the guild would be better for it. He didn’t listen and when he finally disappeared from the ranks she felt a bit of sadness. But things changed, as she knew from her real life in a military family. Moving place to place, leaving friends abruptly, and never really feeling like life was stable. That’s why she loved being in Aetheria. She was no longer Natalie, the weird kid with a dad in the Air Force, but instead she was Leaves the eagle-eyed sniper with a motormouth and heart of gold.

“Can’t wait to get this party started!” She exclaimed, “Are you guys ready for some goblin smashin’ action? Because I am! Though, I won’t be doin’ much smashin’. I prefer turning them into pin cushions! Haha.”

The green-haired girl laughed, making pew pew sounds as she said the word ‘pincushions’ as she made fingerguns with her hands.

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

'Fuckingpieceofshitmotherfuckinglittlebitch...'

Graves sat in silent contemplation, stewing on the wrong done to him. His attention was focused on a stream of dark liquid: it was flowing off the top of his head, down into a half-empty mug set down on the table before him. Wisps of primordial energy kept the ale contained, stopping even a drop from spilling out. His efforts seemed to be proving fruitful as his face, hair and clothing were mostly dry by now. Just a few more seconds, annddd...

Something came crashing onto the table, shouting nonsense and splashing ale everywhere. It shattered Graves's concentration, spilling alcohol across the wood. "Ah, come on!"

One final, defeated huff left him as he decided to just live with it. He leaned all his weight onto his elbows and looked over at Leaves, trying his best to conceal his annoyance. Doubtful that she'd care, though; she was already talking a mile a minute after making her grand entrance. It was lot. Too much, after the shitshow he had just failed to clean up-- and move on-- from. At the very least he could be glad she wasn't a dickhole about it.

"S'pose so. Anything's better than sticking 'round here," he grunted, his hand idly grabbing at the nearest mug. "Just got back from the wilds n' I'm already ready to leave again." Life was a lot easier when there weren't any people in it. He took a swig.

The raid itself wasn't something he was ecstatic about, if he was being honest. It'd pay well, sure. But Graves didn't play Pariah to delve into dungeons to go treasure hunting. He'd done it plenty, though he wasn't like Leaves: hitting the top of the DPS charts and climbing the leaderboards. No, he was made to do something different, and he was a damn sight better at that than anybody else in the room. Kalie might make him break a sweat. Maybe.

"Oh!" Graves blinked, seemingly remembering they weren't alone. He waved a hand over at Seele. "This is uh...Jesus, did you tell me your name? Hope not. I think she heals, er, somethin'. Didn't really ask."

Location: The Wayfarer’s Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Seele found herself smiling—now this girl was a breath of fresh air! Energy entirely different from the people she’d encountered so far—for the most part, though she saw a bit of the titan woman in her mannerisms—excited and ready for the adventure ahead of them. It was enough to shift the mood and shove Seele’s creeping doubts away.

She giggled good-naturedly as the unruly man fumbled his way through the conversation, still clearly aggravated by the ale that lingered. She did take note of the slight magic he employed in drying himself, though.

“Seele,” she said, nodding politely to them. “Or Missy is fine, too. I’m not picky. It’s nice to meet you both!”

Seeing as her basket had served its purpose, she took the cloth from inside and set about dabbing up the ale the new girl had splashed about in her enthusiasm. As with her cleaning before, it was mostly meaningless, but she did it anyway. Perhaps that was why people sometimes mistook her for a denizen. Not that she minded, they were for the most part a lovely folk.

“I don’t provide healing, unfortunately, but I’ve been told I’m a very reliable support. If I’m lucky enough to be grouped with the two of you, I promise I’ll do my best to keep you safe.” Mis…sy…

Location: Wayfarer’s Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Priscilica definitely kept vague about who Aaginim wanted to bring in as an off-tank, and Benkei wasn’t sharp enough to catch the hints she was dropping. Then again, he was only 17, and woefully still in that teenage mindset that he knew everything. He nodded to the mage and eyed up the others in the room.

”It looks like there’s enough people to field two raid parties. I guess we’ll go over the plans soon enough. Talking to the girl had been a good distraction; his heartbeat was no longer pounding in the back of his head, and he was feeling the tinge of excitement to take on new content. ”I guess this raid will be a good showcase for prospective guild members,” he mused, grinning. The idea of being offered a seat at the table of Mystic Prophecy wasn’t something he considered lightly.

Then he turned to look at Kazuki.

What if they offered him a place in the guild? Would he have to leave Kazuki behind? Those thoughts twisted Benkei’s smirk into a slight frown. He had to push those thoughts down, below the surface. He needed to focus on the raid at hand, not stupid fantasies of being the best.

Location: Wayfarer's Retreat -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Everyone’s here.”

Aaginim moved a strand of hair from his face as he looked at the list of names. A random selection of pick-ups with the usual group of Mystic Prophecy regulars that traveled with him. Well, mostly, Shev was a few days out in the next city-state over, not being able to make it for the raid. He had also sent invites out to Tap, Tanako, and Kirk, but they informed him that another new dungeon had opened up near Theremia on the opposite side of the kingdom. He gave them his usual “godspeed” message before he moved from town back to the Wayfarer’s Hall in Thorinn.

So pick-ups were to be expected.

He didn’t quite expect that so highly skilled and well, slightly problematic people ended up being in Thorinn at the same time. Rael, Graves, Kalie. Those were the three names. Rael was one of the best tanks in the game, though her tendency for ganking and arguing with people was pretty much known across the board. But unlike other dungeons there were no quest items involved, so he figured he wouldn’t mind divvying up things so Rael got her share. Nobody in Mystic Prophecy trusted her, least of all not Priscilica or Luci. Graves was a solo-player who sometimes queue in dungeons. If a player could ignore Graves’ remarks and attitude it was pretty easy to work with him when he decided to do dungeon content; in many ways he reminded him of Zain, so he was certainly not going to group up with Luci, it’d break her focus. Kalie was an eccentric sort-of-roleplayer whose past in Gloro Inquisitors had brought issues, but she was a very good player. Priscilica personally found her annoying when they’d run into each other on other instances, so he’d have to consider to not group her with or under the pink-haired mage.

The rest were pretty malleable. Kazuki, Atlas, Benkei, Alja, Sif, Alex, Seele, Siegfried.

Some names were ones he barely knew while others were semi-regular in doing content with Mystic Prophecy members in one way or another. Alja was one of Leaves’ and Luci’s friends. Aaginim personally had personally worked as the main tank in a random group when everyone in the guild was busy with Benkei. Kazuki was someone he had seen in the cities doing profession jobs. The only real people he had no awareness of were Atlas, Sif, Siegfried, and Seele. He looked down at the charter to which they signed their role next to their names.


“I think I see some options.” He muttered under his breath as he looked up from the paper, to look at the room of wayfarers. “Might turn some heads, though.”

He looked across the way as Alja hugged Leaves as the green-haired girl was in mid-sentence before the two started gabbing. Graves didn’t look too thrilled by them sitting next to him, while the newcomer across the table seemed to just be smiling.

He looked to the bar where Rael was slamming down another tankard of ale.

“Well, let’s get it over with.”

He moved from his seat and folded the papers in a neat pile, grabbing the one he had been using to write down the composition with and bringing it with him to the center of the room.

“Everyone! If I can have your attention!” He raised his voice in a commanding tone as Luci immediately came to his side on his arrival. “We’re about to set off, but I want to remind everyone of the rules before the roster is set.”

Everyone went quiet, most turned to face him. Some stood up and walked closer, others remained seated.

“As this isn’t a normal dungeon we should be clear that while there are no quest items there will be no ganking. Everyone will get their fair share of quality items. Signing this charter is an agreeance to compliance. Dungeons like this are quite large so we will be splitting off into two sub-groups with a leader for each. I will lead Team A. Benkei will lead Team B. You are to listen to your raid leader for advice and direction in tense situations, but they know how to handle quick tactical decisions on the fly.”

It might’ve been a controversial choice to people above him on the leaderboards like Rael, but this was a 50-50 situation in Aaginim’s mind. It could show how Benkei handles a blind run with a prickly group as his induction into Mystic Prophecy yet it was also because Aaginim genuinely believed he was the right fit. Rael was a good player, but insofar as he had seen she wasn’t a leader who knew how to direct. She was better to point in the right direction. That is, of course, if she listened to said directions. Either way, it would be good for Benkei to learn how to rein in those kind of personalities. Up until recently the kid had been stuck making lesser players upset. He saw that with the raid on the Tomb of Arnath in which Aaginim played main tank; it took them some time to find a random group that wanted to play with him and these were underskilled players who had sometimes run with him before.

He was interested in seeing how it’d all play out.

“Group A will be myself, Luci, Priscilica, Leaves, Sif, Atlas, Siegfried, and Enos.”

It sounded like nepotism to have sixty-two percent of the composition to be entirely Mystic Prophecy, but this was part of the test. No Mystic Prophecy members to hand-hold Benkei or Alja. Both were people that were ready to be invited to the group but mostly had shown how they handed with a Prophecy member.

“Group B will be Benkei, Rael, Kalie, Seele, Alja, Graves, Alex, and Kazuki.”

He looked at some of the reactions. Rael essentially slumped against the bar after rolling her eyes at him. He knew the look. He expected the look. “Why aren’t I in charge?”. Truthfully speaking, Aaginim didn’t have anything against Rael like Priscilica and Luci did. She was selfish and provoked people, but there were people in the guild like her so in reality Aaginim had plenty of experience knowing how to look past the prickly outside to see the good in people. He supposed that’s why he was looked up to beyond Mystic Prophecy.

He never really liked that perception. He just believed everyone had good to them and you just had to find a way for them to feel comfortable with showing that part of themselves. Though he knew pairing Graves with Rael when they had nearly started a duel in the middle of the hall was a controversial choice, he still felt Luci’s elbow against his ribs when he announced it. She probably expect him to stick Rael with Atlas in Group B and Graves with them in Group A. But again, this was a trial by fire and blind dungeons brought both the best and worst out in people. Plus, Aaginim loved testing people. Luci said it was his only negative trait. He kindly disagreed.

“We’ll get on the road in a few minutes. Get your things and find me if you have questions.” With that out of the way he turned around before he motioned for his girlfriend to follow him, “Luci. Can we talk for a second?”