Barracker’s thoughts were filled with alarm bells ringing out, bodies with a sword, plunged into them with shrieks coming from the citizens who worked the orphanage. His mind rushing with scenarios as he heard the words, Valhiem is under siege. The Witchqueen is making her move, he knew this would happen one day but today, right now? His head was banging with stress attacking his brain and body, his heart rushing into a frenzy, but some how he stayed, looking cool and calm on the outside. His demeanor not budging yet, as he joined his leader James at the top of the wagon, ignoring the driver.

“Sir James, I have pledged my loyalty to you. I have vowed to follow your orders in all things.” Barracker placed a firm hand on James’ forearm and looked him dead in the eye. “Everything I hold dear is in within those walls. We must… must get inside the city.”

Barracker didn’t even think to ask James about his recent discovery of sharing a mind with Zigmund, his memories. He would only be occupied by telling James his need to get back into the city.

When Vahliem came into view, Barracker saw it. Farms coming into view on the far distance, being burnt to a crisp. In the distance, high up, the sky barrier was deflecting fire from catapults probably. He could tell from the positioning of the barrier that The Witch queens army had come from the northeast. It hurt to know that they were probably trampling through ‘Greenglow Woods’ but that was the last of his worries right now.

Anne, Eren, Tyrion, Isabella and Areleth. Do not worry, I am coming to save you. The vampires fists clenched tight.

Barracker's run-down of Mytherian religion was concise and informative. Zell was glad to have broached the subject. One could never know when such information would prove useful. The Englishman's bad leg started aching again, so he flexed it a couple of times in an effort to get it moving a bit - stop the muscles from seizing up. He drank the last of his willowbark tonic and the pain subsided enough to be ignorable again. After that, he was content to stew on the concept of The Quinity, in silence, and enjoy the natural beauty of the surrounding area passing them by. Zell's smile disappeared when Barracker broke the silence.

“After we visit the hospital and conclude business with The Adventurers Guild, I have an urgent discussion in great need to have with you. Alone. So please do not disappear too quickly." It didn't take the most energy-sensitive crystal-using hippy to feel the warning in Barracker's voice and stern expression.

"Yeah, no probs," Zell replied, his tone tinged with confusion. He held Barracker's gaze until the Paladin turned away... it was fucking hard to do so. Having a vampire look at you the way Barracker was just looking at Zell was pretty damn intimidating. The vibe had switched so suddenly. Was Barracker mad at him? If so, what for?

Da fuck? Zell thought.

He didn't ponder it very long - couldn't think of anything, didn't want to dwell on it - and blew out a breath as he let any concerns disappear, relaxed and lifted his head to try and track Sil in the sky. The falcon was pretty easy to distinguish from other birds, when she was in view. Sil was the biggest badass in the air. Sure enough, Zell found his smile again.

Aaaaaaaaaand then James took it away.

"Are you. Fucking. Kidding me," was the response to the fact that Second Chance could not catch a break. Valhiem under seige!? "Double-you-tee-eff."

Zell listened to MacKensie and then Adam speak on the matter, half of his attention on Barracker following James to the front of the wagon.

"Maybe Lucy or Clarissa have enough pull to get someone important to listen to us, if we explain it to them? Does that make any sense?”

"Depends on the memories," Zell chimed in, a brief glance at James before resting his eyes on Adam. "Not to mention; we gotta get in a surrounded city." Zell bit his knuckle as he thought quickly, but nothing came up. "We can't do much until we see what we're working with."

...

"Well..." Zell shrugged as he stood in front of the halted wagon, weight on his good foot and his crutch.. "...at least the place ain't toally surrounded with stakes and trenches." He noticed Barracker was tense. Of course he was. This was his hometown. He gave the man a supportive pat on the back. Then he turned to James. "We need to take this slow," he said to Second Chance's leader, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Keep a safe distance and stay amongst the hills, but find a spot - off road - closer to the city than this." Then he looked around at everyone. "We need a better look. If the Witch Queen's army is attacking, then we move quickly. If they're just camping outside the walls, then we should probably wait until nightfall before we make a move."

"We knew it would happen one day." The wagon driver finally found his voice. It was trembling. "The war in the East has come to us."

The smouldering fields choked by blackened clouds of smoke rising into the sky, an orange-yellow sky glowing upon the horizon from the burning countryside were softly reflected in the distant look of the farmer's bright green eyes peering out from the mess of hair tumbling over his face, pushing to the front of the cart.

"Lord have mercy," Clive uttered, the shaky sound of his voice making him sound rattled by the sight of the city under siege however it was the voices only he could hear that made the farmer need to lean on the front of the wagon "So much death in one day..."

They'd gone from one perilous turn of events to another too quick, Zigmund had been one thing but this was something else entirely.

“Everything I hold dear is in within those walls. We must… must get inside the city.”

"No, don't ya'll be damned fools and think we can fight a fucking war!" the farmer got into the pale-skinned man's face a bit before realizing he was letting the distress cause his nerves to snap, sighing he climbed off the wagon landing with a grunt on the dusty dirt road "Uh, apologies mister but come on we're not an army we ain't going to play the heroes right now I ain't letting the people here die not even you...We need to get help, you wagon man."

Clive clicked his tongue, trying to snap the shaky old man that looked white as a sheet getting his attention "Listen mister, where in the hell is the nearest town and how far is it from here." still in shock the wagon driver stammered and struggled to get out his words to tell where the nearest place he could think of was: Cherrad.

"You ride as far, as fast away from here mister you run tell anyone and all along the dusty trail there be a fierce danger out this way." though the old man would comply it'd definitely take him a moment to get his bearings so he'd be sitting for a moment that was certain.

Clive, the Legend wasn't going to sit and let the countryside burn red or bleed dry "There ain't a way in heaven or hell ya'll will be able to make it from dawn to dusk to get word to this Cherrad place...So I will." the air shimmered faintly by the farmer as a graceful mare trotted as if out of thin air to her masters side.

Though a spirit of magic, and one of that which is dead she gave off no sign of darkness about her glowing a faint ethereal blue as she stamped a hoof to the ground.

"Only I can."

“The war in the East has come to us.”

Yeah, that was a fair assessment. And when Adam overheard Barracker state they had to get inside, he agreed, smiling at the Paladin. Very noble, as usual. And Zell's analysis of everything was spot on, and the Druid indicated his agreement with a nod. The small rest on the wagon had helped, but he was still too tired to think strategically. Still, an idea or two presented themselves in the fog that was currently his mind.

“Once we find a good vantage point like Zell says, I can create some foliage for natural stealth, pun not intended,” Adam said, “it's unlikely we'll be noticed, but better safe than sorry.” Now turning his attention to Fenna, the Druid asked “could Sil…”he paused for thought, still clearly in need of sleep, “deliver a letter to someone in Valheim, like Lucy or Clarissa? Then we can coordinate us getting in without being mistaken for the enemy.” After getting an answer, the fisherman would continue. “And if we really need a distraction, I can serve that purpose with my shapeshifting spell.”

Hearing Clive volunteer to ride back to Cherrad seemed to be a decent addition to the plan as well. Get word out faster and such with that ghost horse of his - Adam would have to ask about that at some point. And only once the team had found a better place to gather for some time, and Adam had helped hide them more effectively, would the Druid allow himself to rest. Again.

MacKensie had never seen so much fire in her life. The long inferno raged and smoke plumed into the air - A barrier of destruction between them and the tall walls of Valhiem that could be seen behind. High up in the air, even more distant than the west-facing carnage before them, were explosions - projectiles of some kind, hitting a barely-visble forcefield of Source. MacKensie's sharp eyes struggled, but she could saw enough detail to surmise it all. And what's more, there was something else in view, completely alien to MacKensie's mind...

Sacre bleu.

Dinosaurs? Dragons? "What on earth are those things?" she commented. Huge reptilian beasts, fierce and scaley, moving fast in groups, cavalier riders atop their backs. The enemy were not limited in their imagination when it came to constructing military forces. And god help those who would ever have to feel the battering cavalry charge of these monstrosities.

After James had broke the news, on the wagon journey to this point, Zell had said that they needed to see what they were working with before they could decide what to do. Now, he delivered with a solid vision on how to proceed. As James had mentioned before; Zell was smarter than he liked to let on. Adam built on his previous idea of making contact with Lucy or Clarissa, with a great question to Fenna. If Sil really could deliver a letter, that could possibly bring about a much easier entry into the city. MacKensie looked to Fenna for the answer.

Clive however, had other plans. The maverick had shown this side of him on their very first day here. When everyone was heading to meet battle, Clive had split from the group, turning his attention to the helping the village of Hommas evacuate. Now MacKensie was reminded the Texan's somewhat-unreliable nature as he decided to split off on his own again, in the face of potential battle, seeing more value in sending for reinforcements. It wasn't a bad plan, quite the opposite, but she did not like it when Second Chance was not whole. As she turned to him to speak, she glanced over the beautiful horse that had been summoned from thin air, stroking it's ethereal mane. "Be quick and return as soon as you can. Once we find a good place to hide, closer to the city, I will return to this spot to meet you, to bring you to our camp." her brow furrowed slightly in worry for the man who'd been killed once already in this world. "Please... be careful."

Fenna was happy to know they were getting closer to Valheim, the hospital and answers were almost within reach. She listened to James as he held his speech. Valheim under siege? A new fight? They weren't even healed up completely. As the travel continued she imagined what it would be like, with burning farms and projectiles flying through the sky, hitting a barrier around the city.
As they went across the final hill and had a clear view of the city, it was exactly like the images in her mind. She blinked and then glanced up to Sil.

Around her the others started discussing their next step. She nodded in agreement to Barrackers comment that they had to get inside. Clive had a good reason to protest, but Adam had some good points and she too thought they should be able to get inside the city. She turned to look at the battlefield when MacKensie spotted the creatures. Human-sized lizards? After walking skeletons and wraiths, it didn't seem that odd, but she was still surprised to see them.

When she was addressed she turned to Adam. "I don't see why not," she said. "Sil can deliver a message to someone inside." Although there was no previous experience to back it up, she knew it would work.

Clive's words slammed into him like a hammer, fucking perceptive people who returned twice from the dead man, it took everything from him to not flinch immediately, what should he do, deflect, defend, or fold? It wasn't that he was against sharing his circumstances, he just needed time to figure how to do it.

"Well, whatever it is just take care of yourself ya hear? Don't want you losing your head like that Zigmund did."

...

He felt his shoulders sag, tension bleeding away "Sorry for worrying you, the whole sharing memories is just... strange, I am coping with it for now, and with the consequences" He offered the man a grin "Thanks for not pushing"

After a couple moments Barracker joined him, posture rigid as if a tensed coil, waiting for the right moment to spring.

“Sir James, I have pledged my loyalty to you. I have vowed to follow your orders in all things.” Barracker placed a firm hand on James’ forearm and looked him dead in the eye. “Everything I hold dear is in within those walls. We must… must get inside the city.”

He looked at the other man.

As a native to Mythera there was doubt he knew the way the Witch Queen conducted war so the way he reacted knowing the town he called home was about to be attacked was normal, now how to reassure him?

He was a fighter and an active person, so the best way to calm him down was to- "We will get inside, we just need to be smart about it, I can promise you we won't just abandon the people there" He gave the man a grin, reassure him and reinforces the bond "After all, that's where the people our dear friend Kassel wants to protect live, just let us see what the situation is first if we can act without being discovered all the better" -give him a plan, something to latch on and a way to act.

---

So he was correct then, he had held on the small spark of ope that the situation had been resolved long before they arrived but luck wasn't on their side apparently. As far as he could see there was a standart set of tactics at play from the part of the Army, he didn't know every single part on the sieges, his talents made him more useful as an assassin and scout but he had some experience, the barrier covering the city was a good starting move but General Saladin nothing if not a patient and clever man, depending on how many Cogheads he had they could be in trouble, that he had decided to bring the Lizard Cavalry was an ingenious move from the old bastard as they would benefit a great deal from the terrain.

As expected from the The Marquis.

He grimaced at the words of his party "Good move but less effective than you might think, see those watchtowers? Remember how Zigmund could do weird shit? Its because the forces of the army are not all human so as a rule they tend to keep someone with dark vision as a sentry, wouldn't surprise me if we found vampire fledgings as watchers" He turned towards Clive "If you are sure you can make it then I will take your word for it, I will just ask you to tell them to send a message to Fornost, doubt they can do anything to help us but they may be hit next" A thought etered his mind and after a moment of hestiation he vocalized it "And, if you have the opportunity you should try to find mercenaries, the land is ripe with war so you may be able to stumble on a company, here, is not much but it may be useful to you" He handed the other man his money pouch.

Giving the man a nod he turned to the next group Fenna and Adam were talking about using Sil as a messanger, the inheret risk with that was wither group could mistake her as part of the enemy camp and shoot at her, he jnew she was extremly agile in the air but better not take any chances, opening his bag he pulled a white rag, he had bought them as emergency bandages but now case it was their time to shine, he extended them towards Fenna "Here, is custom for messanger birds during war time to have a white flag tied to their leg, should keep her safe from the army until they realize she is with us"

It would tip of the old bastard that something was afoot but that was an acceptable consequence of remaining unknown.

Speaking off.

"I agree that we should try to get in but trying to do so in the open is a recipe to disaster, while we may be able to do so the risk is too great" He looked at their faces, knowing each of them would gladly accept more pain in exchange for reaching theri goal, pain he wanted to spare them "Luckily it is not needed, the shield blessing that I use is designed for deep ocean exploration, as a result it grants underwater breathing as long as it is active, it had not been relevant to any of our fights so far but it may be the key to reaching the city withouth engaging with the enemy, we reach the river withouth being detected it should be a simple matter sneaking in, we just need to inform the guild leader so we don't spook anyone when we burst from the canal next to the guild" A tough crossed his mind "Everyone here knows how to swim right?"

With some swift discussion amongst themselves, Second Chance formulated a plan and put it into action.

Clive left to double-back to the village of Cherrad, while the others skirted around to the Southside of the Valhiem, taking up a position in the hills between The Mazy Hillocks and Valhiem.

With the South River on their left, the option was still open to go underwater to reach their destination or simply use the riverside. Adam's creation of bushes or riverweeds would help in either choice.

Either way, Second Chance camped to rest, wait and watch until Clive returned, midnight restored their powers and and the 10 hour rest/sleep brought them back to reasonable fighting fitness.

It would be a long and anxious 10 hours, but plenty of time to prepare for a successful inflitration into the beseiged city of Valhiem.



Clarissa's team all gasped as the Computer Amplifier started to light up and make noise. It was working? The Mysterious Cube - one brought to Valhiem by Second Chance - sat in the center of the machine, the intricate patterns engraved into were glowing with blue light.

But then everyone deflated when the machine powered down.

"How?!" an angry scientist exclaimed. "How is that still not enough power?!"

"I don't know," another shook his head. "I think we just caused a Brown Out on Citadel Mountain."

"At least The Cube and Computer were able to make a connection. That's something." - a more optimistic scientist in the bunch.

Clarissa paced slowly back and forth with a finger on her chin. "They said that The Cube dropped from the chest of a Skeleton. I think we're looking at this from the wrong angle." She sighed as she stopped pacing and placed her hands on her hips. "Problem is; what is the right angle?"

Barracker felt happy about the outcome of the party’s decision. James had shown once again why he was put in charge and led the party. He was decisive and cunning in the face of Danger and really had a way with words. With hard times arriving at Valhiem’s door, under the vampire’s stone faced expression and body language, the Paladin did feel like a rack of nerves, but it was until his leader spoke up that his tensions eased. Not fully disappeared but eased off, soothing the Paladins concerns. They will not be abandoned. Mother Anne. The children. The orphanage. James cared. 'We, Second Chance just have to examine the situation first,' was the leaders answer. His captain didn’t show his care so loudly as others, but he really did have so much about the welfare of his team in his mind, that was clear.

Then there was Zell. He’d given a concerned, friendly pat on the Paladin’s shoulder upon first viewing the city. That was enough between fighters to have the understanding and show concern. The swordsman suggested that they head to a hill-top overlooking the city. It was a smart idea, conserving some energy, overlooking the battlefield and in a position to move swiftly when ready. It was quite clever. He and James were very alike in how they thought.

Adam spoke up next, about getting a letter inside the city’s walls with the help of Sil, Fenna’s companion and friend to Second Chance. He had also brought up a clever use of his magic, that impressed Barracker by growing bushes and grasslands environment to cover them from danger, eyes kept off from being seen by the enemy forces. The Paladin nodded in agreement. The use of his bear as a last distraction was a good idea, and such ferocious power when fighting Zigmund, he would have to ask him about it sometime.

Fenna agreed to use the help of Sil, her connection with the Falcon was uncanny. Unreal. They seemed so in sync with how each of them were feeling, it was cool to witness such things. He had only heard about highly skilled specialized rangers being one with an animal. Now he was witnessing it everyday.

Clive the mysterious arrival of the man had been a great entrance to helping Second Chance. A friend of the group, and another chosen one from another world, fighting on the side for his loved ones. His tenacity to protect others had struck a chord with Barracker. This was the reason why he had become a Paladin. His tactics were to bring reinforcements to the battle of Valhiem, a great addition. We could do with the extra fighting power.

Then there was lastly, MacKensie. The pure soul of the group, always checking up on everyone, being considerate of feelings and putting a smile on everyone's face. Gladly needed through these rough times. A beacon of virtue and honour. She truly cared for others and showed mercy and kindness like mother Iris. She was the heart of Second Chance.

These were his comrades and it had been an honour to fight alongside them. His brothers and sisters in arms.

They arrived at the edge of the Mazy Hillocks, this was going to be a long day. All he could think about was his family, how scared they might be, how he wasn’t there to promise them he would protect them. He helped set up camp, put down bed rolls for those needing rest for their injuries. But he couldn’t stay still, pacing around the outskirts of the camp in his own world. Mother. Isabella. Eren. Tyrion. Areleth. Often he would climb the nearby tree to see what was happening around the city more clearly. From what he could tell it was just a constant bombardment of catapults. After a couple of hours he managed to settle a little, at least for a short period. That's when his mind came back to the word ‘Baphomet’ and he realised there was no better time than now. He waited for a moment to act when Zell was on the edge of the camp alone and approached him.

“It has been a long day,” he said as he came to stand beside the swordsman. The Paladin looked around making sure that the two of them were alone, then gazed into the distance at Valhiem. “I have come to the conclusion you like, well… more than like. You are possibly in love with MacKensie. You also care for Second Chance, and doing good by them, which I applaud.” The Paladin listened to Zell’s response, then continued to press the urgent matter of why he was having this talk. “These are great things to hold dear to your heart, being righteous and doing good by others. So I don’t understand…” He turned to look him in the eye. “Please tell me, why Baphomet was mentioned outside the temple of Hades. I heard you say it just before the end of the battle with Zigmund.” The Paladin gave the cornered accused time to speak his defence, then wheeled off some short history behind the name. “He is one of the most powerful devils in hell. A prince of the oblivion plane. In this world, his name holds enormous weight in our history and folklore, and I could not wish the fate of my worst enemy to fall in his grasp. He has tricked strong warriors, more righteous than most down a dark path, just for a flicker of his strength. In the mythic age, a group of fully ascended warriors could not handle a full frontal attack against the devil. His ways into this world are from the dark domain and evil. He is as smart as he is powerful, immortal and wise, ruthless and destructive. That is why I urge you to tell me why Baphomet has come from your mouth.” he waited for Zell's reaction and beckoned him to spill the details. “I urge you to leave nothing out and tell me, every detail is important. If you truly wish the best for yourself, your love and your friends.”

He pressed as hard as he could, staying close to Zell, unwilling to back down. This was the Paladin coming out of him, He had a duty and moral obligation to The Quinity and The Empire, that ran alongside his duties to his new friends and party. Baphomet could never be allowed to roam free in this world. Even as just a name.

"Doesn't look like they're launching an assault just yet," Zell said to no one in particular as he surveyed, with narrowed eyes, what little he could make out of Valhiem's eastern wall. From the spot they'd taken up high in the hills, south of the city, it was at least clear to see a bulk of the enemy camp on the eastside. The tall siegetowers, the cascade of artillery fire, the ant-like mass of distant tents and figures. "We'll know if they start cuz them siegetowers'll start moving."

Zell left the precipice and went back to the bit of flat ground that was their temporary camp. He put down a spare bedroll and laid out some foods he'd taken from the temple kitchen. It wasn't much - some fruits, meats and bread, suprisingly well packaged for a crazy magic world with gods, swords n shields and what-not.

When Fenna was handling Sil, Zell watched her do her thing with admiration. "No need to ask if you're sure this will work," he said to the Ranger. "She's probably smarter than I am, of course it'll work," he complimented the falcon with a grin. "How does it work...? With you n her? Do you talk to her, in your mind?"

After Sil flew off, Zell dropped his crutch and squatted down before falling back onto his bedroll, stretching out and linking his hands behind his head with a content sigh. It was all forced. He wasn't nearly as relaxed and nonchalant as he was making out. Still, it was nice to actually lie down as opposed to resting on a bumpy wagon ride, not to mention all that walking up and down through the hills to get to this location had brought on extra loud protests of pain from his bad leg.

With closed eyes, he envisioned the coming battle. Oh how ready he was. After fighting wraiths he couldn't even hit for the better of last night, then having to deal with the highly skilled Zigmund 'Tin Can' Magoo, he was so down to start tearing through hordes of goblins and skellies and whatever else the Bitch Queen could throw at them.

Valhiem will not fall, he told himself, visualizing the moment when the tables turned in favour of the defenders. Visualizing the moment when all their allies would roar and cheer at the sweet taste of victory.

The Source Comm message was but a mere thought, sat alone in the depths of his mind. This was more important. Saving the city. For the sake of his sharp-fanged friend. For the sake of Right and Good. His own needs could come afterwards. "It is not cringey, I do not think," - "It is noble and dignified. We are heroes now and we must act accordingly."

Yeah, I guess, Zell thought in reply to the memory. He fooled himself into thinking it was a begrudging agreement. Deep down, he really was starting to get used to this 'hero' thing. He'd have to be an anti-hero though. He'd always been a selfish, egotistical bastard and he quite liked that about himself. He wouldn't be white-knighting anytime soon.

...

When MacKensie was about to leave to go back to the road where she would meet Clive, Zell called to her. "Hey." He waited for her to see the seriousness in his eyes. "Watch yourself out there, kay. If there's trouble, just disappear. Don't be fighting on your own." With a nod, he left it at that and then watched her go. Part of him wanted to go with her, but he'd only slow her down and probably put her in more danger trying to rescue him from some BS. Once she was out of sight, he took a breath and turned back to the business of watching paint dry.

...

He found himself back on the precipice of the hill where the view of Valhiem was, bored out of his mind. Barracker, who'd been understandably antsy the whole time, joined him. “It has been a long day.”

"Too right," Zell agreed. "And set to be even longer. The minutes are going by about as slow as sludge, stuck up here."

“I have come to the conclusion you like, well… more than like. You are possibly in love with MacKensie."

Zell damn-near jumped in surprise. That came out of nowhere! "Jesus Christ, mate, calm down, will ya." He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one overheard them. Thank fuck the coast was clear. He looked bewilderedly at Barracker, then looked back out onto Valhiem. "Don't go throwing the L-word around, fuck's sake, I've only known the girl five minutes."

This was actually extraordinary. Zell could not remember the last time he'd been even remotely embarassed in girl-related talk. On topics like this, he was usually unflappable, uninvested and completely devoid of self-doubt. And here he was, almost blushing like a simp. And he was right; he'd not known MacKensie long at all. He wondered about his feelings on this matter before - why they were so strong - and he guessed it was the same reason that he cared so much about all of Second Chance... the same reason he called James 'his best friend...' It was the fighting. Fighting for survival against overwhelming odds, side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Repeated life-threatening danger with the highest stakes. Such a situation just intensified every thought - every emotion. Mix that in with good ol' physical attraction and one can only guess that it was a recipe for rapidly developing feelings.

Fuck, I only talked to him in Golden Tree Park like that because I thought he was complete stranger that I'd never see again. And now he's figured out who I was talking about! Not fucking ideal.

"You also care for Second Chance, and doing good by them, which I applaud.”

Zell managed to get his bearings in the conversation and realised that there was must have been a 'But' coming next. "I appreciate you saying so. I'll always do my part for the good of the team. Sure as snow in winter. But where's this going?" And that's when Barracker dropped another bomb. Baphomet. He knew. Of course he knew, he was a fucking Paladin. Oh shit, Zell realised. A Paladin. This was not good. "Oh, you err..." A nervous chuckle. "You heard that, did you? Well... I suppose I wasn't exactly inconspicious, shouting full-blast, was I."

“He is one of the most powerful devils in hell. A prince of the oblivion plane. In this world, his name holds enormous weight in our history and folklore, and I could not wish the fate of my worst enemy to fall in his grasp. He has tricked strong warriors, more righteous than most down a dark path, just for a flicker of his strength. In the mythic age, a group of fully ascended warriors could not handle a full frontal attack against the devil. His ways into this world are from the dark domain and evil. He is as smart as he is powerful, immortal and wise, ruthless and destructive. That is why I urge you to tell me why Baphomet has come from your mouth.”

Even after being harassed by the Devil in his last few dreams, all of this information was completely new to Zell. And it was a little more than terrifying. This was what I signed up for!? was the main thought in his mind. I knew it was bad... but holy shit.

"Well..." Zell didn't know where to start. Or what to hide. "He sounds like a real bastard, that's for sure." Zell felt a light fog of perspiration on his forehead. "I dunno, mate. It's just what you say when you want to use the sword's power." His pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the hilt of The Black Sword. "I don't make the rules. I certainly ain't into no Dark Domain nonsense."

“I urge you to leave nothing out and tell me, every detail is important. If you truly wish the best for yourself, your love and your friends.”

Barracker was pressing the matter hard. Like, real hard. Zell turned to face him properly, feeling the urgency in his friend. Of course Zell knew how urgent the situation was - He was being haunted by a fucking Devil, after all. He just figured he would deal with it, on the fly, until a better situation presented itself. But there wasn't just urgency in Barracker's voice. Kass sounded like a police officer right now. Threat. Authority. Relentlessness. Cold justice in the chamber, ready to strike.

"Look, mate: I stole this fucking sword from Zigmund, the first time we encountered him. It was a beauty. Right powerful. Of course, I kept it. Had it checked out. Found out that; once a day, I can make a single strike with the sword that'll cut through anything. All I had to say was, 'Take Vor, Baphomet.' Sounded like a fucking spell to me - what do I know, right? I don't know the fucking history of Mytheria."

Zell knew he couldn't be this close to an angry vampire and lie in the man's face without getting caught, so he made sure everything he said was truthful. But he didn't want to share the rest of the story. The dreams, the harassment. For all Zell knew, he might be possessed by the Devil and this crazy fucking Quinity-loving Paladin was about to demand a painful exorcism or worse yet, execution!

"So I used the power." Don't tell him about the drunken night out! "And it works. Talk about karma for old Ziggy boy, eh. Ha."

The laugh was weak. Zell waited with bated breath for Barracker's response.

The first thing MacKensie did, when the party stopped at a suitable place to make camp, was speak to Adam. Since the Zigmund fight, Adam and James had been suffering from fatigue a little more than everyone else. (MacKensie suspected it had something to do with their magical reserves being so used up.) But Adam also seemed as though he may also have a concussion. Hospital wasn't far away, but there still might be some action involved between, so once the young man had finished creating a natural camouflage for the camp using his plant-growth magic, MacKensie was quick to accost him.

"Adam, please try to get some sleep," she asked him. "You have looked on the verge of collapse all morning."

After a reassuring smile and rub of the shoulder, she went on to other duties, which for her involved scouting a perimeter around the encampment for any signs of hostile creatures. With the use of her grapplehook and nimble hops and leaps, she traversed the hilly terrain easily, her sharp eyes and ears alert for signs of life. The morning after their very first night in Mytheria (which seemed so long ago now, even though it really wasn't) MacKensie had asked Fenna for some lessons on scouting and tracking - the more seasoned Ranger accepting - but there had been no free time available. However, one random evening in Valhiem, the two women had been chatting over dinner and MacKensie had recieved some good advice about matters of wilderness protocol, animal tracks and other things.

MacKensie returned, satisfied that all was well as far as current activity in the area goes. Perhaps Fenna would do a second round later, no-doubt doing a more thorough job than the novice frenchwoman. With that done, she gladly partook in the food laid out by Zell, enjoyed a small meal, then went and took a seat on a bedroll, double-checked the bandages over her injuries and waited it out until it was time for her to leave and go to meet Clive.

Some time later...

"It is time for me to depart," she said to everyone, getting up from her bedroll. "I will return with Clive as soon as possible."

Before she could go, she heard, "Hey:" Zell's voice. She half-turned back to meet his concerned green gaze. "Watch yourself out there, kay. If there's trouble, just disappear. Don't be fighting on your own."

"I won't," was her quick and amiable assurance, appreciating his gesture. They exchanged a nod and then she was gone.

She'd left it a few hours, guessing that Clive's ghostly summoned steed could surely not be there and back faster than this. Now she went back along the same path that Second Chance had taken through the hills. Altough she'd not had the privilege of that one-to-one scout training with Fenna, just that conversation over dinner had been a boon, as she looked for footprints and broken branches to indicate she was on the right track. She saw one or two of the classic signs (and had probably missed a truck-load too) and that was enough, coupled with her good memory, to successfully double-back over the course through the hills.

She found herself on the Main West Road, right back at the point where the flat-bed wagon had turned itself around to retreat and Clive had also left them. Just off the road, she sat in a tree, one leg hanging from a branch as she lounged, dancing an ice-enchanted crossbow bolt back and forth over her knuckles with perfect dexterity, passing the time.

Fortunately there was no trouble in the amount of time it took to first hear, then catch sight of the Texan, coming down the road toward her. She hopped down from the branch and walked out into the road to greet him with a smile.

"How did it go?" she asked, hoping he would fill her in on the details. Once he dismissed his steed back into the non-existance, she would be ready to lead him back through the hills to their camp.

"Be quick and return as soon as you can. Once we find a good place to hide, closer to the city, I will return to this spot to meet you, to bring you to our camp." her brow furrowed slightly in worry for the man who'd been killed once already in this world. "Please... be careful."

A playful smirk dancing upon his lips the southerner leaned off the saddle a bit "Do I detect a tiny something other than concern in that sweet little voice o' yours Mac?" chuckling he gave his understandably worried friend a wink "Haha, ah don't give me no looks little lady I'll take care so long as y'all take care too."

"If you are sure you can make it then I will take your word for it, I will just ask you to tell them to send a message to Fornost, doubt they can do anything to help us but they may be hit next" A thought entered his mind and after a moment of hesitation he vocalized it "And, if you have the opportunity you should try to find mercenaries, the land is ripe with war so you may be able to stumble on a company, here, is not much but it may be useful to you" He handed the other man his money pouch.

"Hm, Fore-nost huh?" the jingling pouch of coin softly clinked, catching it in one hand he turned the money pouch over in his rough hands before fashioning it to his side "Thank ye kindly it'll do." with that Clive clicked his tongue, rearing his ethereal steed the southerner saluted his allies before being carried off into the land on a steed that shimmered disappearing over the horizon.


A plain pouch of jingling coin at the mavericks side, winds howling as if through the gaps of an old rickety shutter it whipped and snapped this way and that blew the riders hair to and fro. He leaned forward upon the saddle squinting, one hand held an ethereal chord that he whipped lightly to drive the ghostly specter of his beloved horse forth.

Daisy's hooves beat beneath him like the thunderous crack heralding a flash of lightning, she moved like no other horse the southerner ever knew - Daisy always had the making of a true race horse but Clive had always been too modest to enter her into them big horse shows back in the south.

A slight smile teased the sides of his mouth as memories of home and family washed over him and yet filled him with a melancholy that he couldn't shake. Clive missed his family, and his life but he was thankful to whatever God was out there he still drew breath.


Over the quiet stillness of the village, with it's straw roofed domiciles and rough stonework hovels the sky painted a soft orange over the horizon as the sun slowly fell but off in the distance a black smoke drifted, an ill omen that filled the weathered old alderman with a sense of deep foreboding.

Whispers in the air of gathered folk creased the old man's wrinkled face, men and womenfolk tittered of something broiling as the town gathered babes crying in their mothers arms Ormund tried to keep the images from his mind of blood and steel, death and fire. Quiet fell once more though, something was coming over the horizon.


Ormund heard the hushed whispers around him, the elder couldn't believe his eyes “By the quintity,” the village elder croaked, holding close to the walking stick he held in his shaking hands “Who are you.” nobody not a single man, woman or child uttered a word a mixture of superstitious folk backed away at the sight of the ghost the mysterious horseman rode.

“Who I am ain't important right now,” the man said, he looked a though he had just rode from battle his arms and chest bare covered in dirt and scars with eyes that were both soft and steely “Get your horses, gather your god dang men and ride far and fast cause war has come and Valhiem is under attack.” the voices of the village folk began to slowly grow, Ormund stammered rasping and hushing the growing panic.

“Send word to ‘Fore-nost’ that the city needs men, women whoever the hell can fight cause Valheim is burning as we speak.” the horseman untied a pouch from his side and threw it into the village elders hands “Ya'll don't look like the fighting type, but whoever can lift a pitchfork an’ carry a hoe should raise their arms to defend their country.”

The stranger reared his ethereal steed, causing the spirit to whinny and shake its mane “Oh the name’s Clive, Clive Michel.” and without another word he whipped the reigns of his steed disappearing into the sunset leaving the villagers and Ormund in astonishment and disbelief.

“Get Cass,” the old man rasped rapping his stick against the ground “Get the boys now, and send word to Fornost.” hush fell over the gathered folk for a moment as if they couldn't move “NOW!” the elder shouted. If war had come to the city it surely wouldn't be long before it came to them and he wouldn't stand by and do nothing.

Fortunately there was no trouble in the amount of time it took to first hear, then catch sight of the Texan, coming down the road toward her. She hopped down from the branch and walked out into the road to greet him with a smile.

"How did it go?" she asked, hoping he would fill her in on the details. Once he dismissed his steed back into the non-existance, she would be ready to lead him back through the hills to their camp.

“As well as you might expect from folk who have only ever lifted a pitchfork and worked a field…We'll have to see anyway hope you didn't wait too long for little old me missy.” the southerner smirked following her back to the camp where the others were.

When James asked if everyone could swim, Fenna thought about it for a moment. "With one arm," she told him. "I'll manage."

It was quickly decided Clive would get help and the rest of them would get their necessary rest. When they found the place to camp, Fenna used the last of the sunlight to scout ahead. It was obvious this area was not the main focus of anyone, the siege happened on the other side and the city had their attention on the siege. While she knew there would be guards on the wall keeping an eye out for enemies attacking the city from behind, there weren't any patrols outside. No recent tracks of any human for that matter. It was likely no one had been outside the city since the siege had started.

She sat down and pulled some paper from her bag that she carried around for mapmaking. Sil landed next to her when Fenna wrote a short letter to Lucy to let her know they had completed the contract, that they were outside the city and would be coming inside, and from what direction they would attempt to do that. After signing it with "Second Chance" she rolled it up. "This is for Lucy," she said to Sil, thinking about the woman. "She's in the Adventures Guild," she added, thinking about how the building looked. Sil looked at her. "Bring this to Lucy in the Adventures Guild," she said, keeping the images in her mind. She used the white bandage from James to attach the letter to Sil's leg. "Go on, darling. I'll wait for you at the camp."

As Sil flew up, Fenna returned to the camp to let the others know going to the city wouldn't pose any risks from the ground, but they would need cover from the guards on the walls. If the letter would get to Lucy and Lucy would be able to assist, there shouldn't be an issue, but it was better to prepare for hostility from the walls.

In the setting sun, Sil soared through the sky and high over the wall. Her keen eyes scouted the city below as she circled down and soon spotted the building she needed to be. Flying down, she circled around the building, peering through windows, until she found Lucy sitting at a table. She flew to the window and tapped on it with her beak until Lucy opened the window. Using her indoor flying ability, Sil hopped through the window and flew on the table, where she patiently waited for Lucy to take the letter.

After Lucy put a new roll in its place, Sil left the adventures guild and once more flew up high, high enough guards wouldn't see her and if they did, would miss her if they tried to shoot her. The sun had set now, but the dim light was still enough for Sil to find the camp.

Fenna was resting when Sil landed next to her and she saw the paper sticking out of the bandage. Was it her letter? She took it out and tried to make out the letters in whatever light was left. Big letters, Lucy had anticipated there wouldn't be much light and that they were smart enough to not make a fire. I'll do what I can. Lucy.

"We have an ally within the walls, but there is no guarantee she can help," Fenna informed the others. "Lucy is aware we're on our way." She turned to Sil. "Great job, thank you for doing this."

She rested the remainder of the night, although interrupted when MacKensie left, but she didn't get up until Clive joined them in the camp.

Adam woke up from his rest, grateful to not feel like he was on the verge of collapse every five seconds. Sure, he wasn't completely pain-free, but at least now things were now more coherent. The Druid took a few seconds to remember what had happened before his sleep; Fenna confirming that her bird could deliver messages, MacKensie confirming that he did need rest (and likely more than she knew), and James confirming if everyone could swim. Yes, the fisherman knew he could do so. Pretend or otherwise, Zell would not need to save him.

How long had he been asleep for? The sight of a spectral horse returning to camp indicated that it had, in fact, been a long rest. Adam could feel that his shapeshifting capacity was restored also. If anyone was in danger, the red-eyed man knew he would transform to distract the enemy or help anyone in trouble. 

It made sense. Bears can swim, after all.

He surveyed the scene, a part of him still kicking himself for not realizing that Fenna's injuries would fuck with her ability to swim, not gonna lie he was embarrassed and the bastard inside his head was not helping, instead it was helping him mock his own stupidity.

"Ah..." He let out a long sigh.

The routes the enemies were traversing were familiar, so sneaking in shouldn't be too problematic even if they didn't use the underwater option, routes like those were designed to prevent anyone from getting out not the reverse (What kind of crazy people would do that?), he was still not convinced the old general didn't have a nasty trick under his sleeve, he was a crafty bastard and a tough son of a bitch.

He brought the bread Zell snatched to his mouth and got another mouthful, he was eating apart from the group ostentatiously so he could ponder things alone but in truth, he was just sulking, he felt awkward around his party in a way that wasn't there before. He was cognizant enough to realize the issue was entirely one sided and extruding from him or more correctly the other him, ya, apparently having another person being merged with yourself worked wonders for your selfreflection, who could have guessed.

At least it gave him enough time to get a grip on his own injuries, they still hurt like a bitch if he was being honest and the urge to spend his spells on himself was strong, the only reason he didn't was the fear of needing them to save the life of one of his party members, whatever they applied back on the temple to numb the pain wore off a couple of hours ago and he didn't have anything appropriate on his bag of tricks to deal with it, no unless he wanted to apply some of that strong anesthesia he managed to get his hands on but he wanted to stop feeling pain, not to stop feeling his whole body.

The sound of voices marked the end of his solitude.

Standing up he grabbed his bag and moved toward his party "If we are doing the water thing then I need an hour to recharge it on the river then we are good to go"

Its showtime.

Throughout the night the fires on the northeast side of Valhiem raged. Greenglow Forest was ravaged by the CogHeads who had set up on-site manufacturing and smelting stations. Through the use of industry, alchemy and magic, iron and lumber was quickly produced from the forest and mountains. Seige towers. Catapults. Ammunition. More catapults.

What unusable trees there were did not go to waste. Pyromancers built bonfires, danced and performed rituals to enchance the power of artillery fire and also launch their own magical attacks on Valhiem's walls.

Valhiem City Ritual Barrier was holding. The Academy had divided all those with the talent to uphold the city shield into 3 shifts, giving the mages a chance to get some rest. The airspace was prioitized, leaving the strong city walls to take occasional damage. It was the best they could do, but what rest the mages and students could get would eventually not be enough to recover from the continuous drain of High-Tier Ritual Magic. But for now, the city was protected.



Saladin was nothing if not a patient man. Calculated and cunning. He knew how much time he had. He knew how long it would take to raze Valhiem to the ground. Everything was going as he had planned. There were only 2 variables he could not account for. 1 was currently inside Valhiem's Academy: The Control Core. It probably wouldn't matter much. The magical technology was locked behind the most innocuous of doors, a door that they would never suspect.

The 2nd variable Saladin was unsure of?

That variable was currently sneaking into the city...



In spite of the vampire fledgings spotted around the city aswell as the patrols of Lizard Cavalry and Dark Riders, Second Chance were making progress through a combination of their intelligent decisions and talents.

Waiting until midnight was not foolproof, as some of The Witch Queens patrolling forces were mostly non-human, many possessing dark vision. But the cover of darkness certainly helped to some degree.

Fenna's injury meant that she could not swim for any real length of time, try as the tough woman did. Not even she could overcome that impossibility. But that did not mean that James' plan to use the river was completely out of the picture.

Fenna's innate talent for scouting and stealth made her the perfect lead for the party along the riverside. Adam's ability for rapid growth of plants and bushes to subtlely grow the already-existing cover that Fenna was routing through, perfectly synchronized with Fenna's skills.

James was smart enough to chant Undaya's blessing onto the party anyway, giving them all the Waterbreathing ability. On the few close calls, where Second Chance was almost caught, Adam did not need to sacrifice himself as a distraction. Instead the entire party would drop into the river and use riverweeds, grown by Adam, to hold themselves to the riverbed. Waterbreathing allowed them to stay as long as they needed underwater until the threat passed.

Still, it was a slow grind of a process. Especially at parts where there was no natural cover and Adam was forced to slowly and surruptiously grow vegetation and foiliage without anyone noticing, to create cover against the far-seeing, fast moving enemy patrols.





The village of Cherrad, after being blessed with a full pouch of gold, sent out messengers to the Sibliconian Fortress in the north, Fornost, aswell as the nearest city, Helecarsus, for reinforcements.

Fornost would take more than 10 days to get to, and the request would be regrettably declined anyway. Valhiem was an important city, but The Free People's Empire could not risk any troops or warriors leaving Fornost. Most likely, the commanders at Fornost would suspect the attack on Valhiem to be a move for the specific purpose trying to spread the The Free People's Armies thin, so that The Witch Queen could take Fornost and have a clear path to Capitol City. In any case, it wouldn't matter as no messenger would arrive in time to make any difference.

The City of Helecarsus was closer and within the Northern-Central Mytherian Region. A messenger riding hard and fast from Cherrad would reach Helecarsus anywhere bewtween 4-6 days. Only time would tell if this would do any good for The Siege of Vahiem.



When Second Chance made it to the walls of the city, soaking wet, cold and injured, the dangers that they potentially faced had finally passed. They had been successful on every front and avoided all of the possible pitfalls in their plan.

MacKensie could use her magical grapplehook to scale the walls easily and would be greeted by an escort of adventurers who had been waiting for the arrival of Second Chance. This party went by the name of Silver Arrow, and their leader, Wulrik, was explained that Silver Arrow was sent by Lucy Bottrill to help.

Silver Arrow ordered the South River Barricade to be lifted and the rest of Second Chance entered the city by the waterway. Wulrick was asked by the Guildmaster to bring Second Chance up to The Citadel, but upon seeing all of their injuries, he took them first to Valhiem's hospital to get patched up, which was done free of charge in this time of great emergency.

Once The Heroes from the Sky were fully healed to perfect health through the Source Crystal technology of the hospital, the adventurer party, Silver Arrow, would be ready to escort them from the hospital, up the moutain to The Citadel.

Wow, what a night.

Sneaking into Valheim proved to be more frustrating than anticipated. Not that Adam expected it to be easy to cross a militarized border; he just didn't think that there would be so many close calls. It was fortunate that Second Chance had entered Valheim already, since the memory of that peaceful crossing had helped the Druid create convincing enough plant life to fool the enemies into thinking they weren't there. Maybe James could have healed Fenna's arm and made everything easier, but there had to be a reason he didn't. Adam trusted his judgment. 

Besides, the team was guided to the hospital now, escorted by another team.

That, in of itself, was frustrating for a different reason - Xavier Johnson, self-proclaimed gnome genius Druid of Silver Arrow and bearer of a curly mustache. He had spent an inordinate amount of time talking to the 18-year old about himself, and once he learned the red-eyed man was also a Druid, the short being fired off a series of questions as if to compare the two of them. He only finished once the fisherman briefly mentioned a friend of his…only to go on about that instead with a tone of obvious skepticism and derision.

“...and so, red-eyes, it is impossible that someone as skilled as Glee John Artorius would ever associate with Bronze Tier trash like yourself. Frankly, I don't see why Lucy cares about Second Chance at all, but we must all do what we must.” Twirling his facial hair with a look of smug superiority, Xavier grinned as he concluded his tirade against the newer Druid.

For his part, all Adam did was roll his eyes and walk away from the arrogant caster as the hospital approached. Red-eyes. Funny, he had been called that once, but it was by Eric and he was doing a silly, exaggerated Brooklyn accent at the time. When the younger brother explained that it was a reference to something called “Yugioh,” the older brother just took his word for it and forgot about it until now. 

Strange how memories can pop up, and stranger still how a simple thing like eye color could be regarded with such suspicion in this world. Annoying, though in the scheme of things less so than things like water ninjas and ogres that want to kill you. With that in mind, Adam went inside the hospital, grateful to be getting healing for his injuries.

And on the way to the Citadel, the Druid started up a conversation with Fenna, grateful to be away from the gnome.

“Thank you for getting that message to Lucy, and for, well, everything you've done for the team so far. How's your arm?”

Barracker had thought about his conversation with Zell and how his reaction to the Paladin’s words seemed and came across as genuine and honest as it goes. Barracker would have to take the swordsman's words at face value as he had believed the man's answers but felt he would have to think more on the matter as his friend's sword was likely cursed, and if so then this could have bad consequences on the man’s life.



Sneaking into Valhiem was tense and stressful as the Paladin’s mind was on what would he find, going on, inside the city walls. Anne. Eren. Isabelle. Tyrion. Areleth. As well as that the vampire's sword was broken and he'd lost his shield, unable to protect himself or anyone in his party. Thinking about the vulnerable state he was in. He reminded himself of the importance of keeping his cool and at least he had acquired that knife from his captain which came in handy if required. The Paladin felt appreciative to be part of Second Chance and to have the help of the group. He would have to buy a round for everyone’s choice of drink.



Barracker got speaking to one of the crew from Silver Arrow. An older gentleman, Tiefling, ex-military with a stern look. He was Ranger Class, named Gordon Watson. Barracker spoke to him about the state of the city and was surprised to find out it was running as usual. Also from in depth talking, he came from it with knowledge about the man’s home, Capitol City. It reminded the Paladin of Evelyne and he asked about the current state of Capitol City but Gordon hadn't been home in a long while.

After hearing undermining from the gnome Druid to Adam, he noticed Adam did not rise to defend himself. It felt like bullying, which was something that had never sat well with Barracker since being a small child. Barracker exchanged a look with his fellow frontline Swordsman Zell, tilted his head at what was going on and then moved closer to the gnome.

“You know, they say that gnome blood is the worst tasting. But I say never disparage something until you have tried it.” The vampire put a hand on the gnome’s shoulder. “Especially if it means that someone who does not understand the meaning of politeness, might learn a lesson or two”.



At the hospital, after everyone was healed. He approached Clive. “A fine steed you have my friend.” He said clasping forearms with the man in a warriors greeting. “Good job getting word out about Valhiem. I don’t think anyone could of done that any faster.” He folded his arms as he thought. "It should give them enough time to organize a retreat to safer lands if the situation if anything were to go wrong here."

In spite of it being night-time, the entire vista of Valhiem's Outskirts was illuminated in a red glow. The artillery fire trailed fiery snakes in the indigo, starry sky above, exploding like fireworks on the invisible barrier above Valhiem. It might have been a wonderous sight if Zell and the team weren't crawling past the patrolling threat of death on the plains. Hoofbeats and rapid Dinosaur feet made Doppler effects within the din of the constant artillery explosions, as regiments of cavalry sped past their hidden position.

So many close calls.

Close enough to hear the voices of the enemy riders. Close enough to see the scaly beasts that were the Lizard Cavalry. There was one moment when everyone just had to lay prone in the well-placed foliage Adam had created, staying perfectly still whilst a bunch of horseman halted right by them. Zell's heart was thundering as he lay frozen, looking ahead at what members of his party he could see. That close call seemed to last forever.

Two other times, they were partially spotted and all of them rolled into the river to avoid being seen properly on the closer inspection from the enemy. Once again, Adam was on point, creating riverweeds that everyone could hold, sticking them all firmly to the riverbed until the threat finally passed. Such a move would've been impossible if not for James. And it was fucking WEIRD! being able to breath perfectly fine underwater. Zell had to fight the illusion of suffocating, at first - his brain took a second to acclimatize to being able to breathe in whilst completely submerged. Magic sure was the craziest phenomenon.

As Zell had observed in days gone by; Fenna was always content to remain relatively quiet and agreeable, letting others take the lead. But in her eyes was a sharpness and focus unsurpassed. And when she spoke, it was usually words of wisdom and calculation. Now it was her time to be called upon, and she answered the call with a confidence and assuredness that made her extremely easy to follow. She had stepped up to give Second Chance her expertise in stealth and guided everyone down a successful (and seemingly impossible) path to Valhiem's walls. Zell realised, during this time, that back when everyone chose James to be the party leader, it could've actually easily been Fenna Postma - And Second Chance would have been just fine for it.

Gradually and eventually... with much squatting, crouching, crawling and sneaking (and unbelievable pain in Zell's bad leg): They'd done it. Somehow they'd managed to make it.

MacKensie zipped up the wall and the crew waited until the water barricade was lifted and Second Chance were able to finally cross the threshold of safety - 'Safety' being a strange word in this context, seeing as they'd just entered a city that was UNDER SIEGE! But yes... safety was somehow the correct term and relief washed over the Englishman.

Zell shook his hands of water, dripping wet as they met up with the Adventurer party that Lucy Bottrill had sent to anticipate their arrival. Wulrick - Silver Arrow's leader - seemed an alright fellow, noting all the injuries Second Chance were carrying and promptly changed course to escort them to hospital. Zell followed down the empty streets towards their destination, walking next to Barracker, content to make the journey in silence. That is, until he could hear the dickhead gnome going on with himself. Zell watched Adam's reaction.

Fucking hell Adam. Tell him what's what! Zell thought.

Quite frankly, Adam might be the strongest of them all with his plant magic, aswell as his Bear transformation, not to mention a straight-up Rail-Gun beam he could fire from his hands. And even beyond all that, the young man was carrying a solid amount of muscle on him - He'd probably floor this little shit of a gnome in one punch. But Adam just took it. More accurately; Adam took the high road (as was characteristic of the Druid) and Zell had a measure of respect for it.

Zell, however, didn't know what a 'high-road' was.

Barracker was clearly not interested in turning the other cheek either. He and Zell exchanged a look of complete understanding on the matter, and closed in to rectify the situation.

"Who you calling trash, you little piss-ant?" Zell started, falling into step beside Xavier. As if the smug twat couldn't be any more of a smug twat, he was playing with his mustache like some kind of cartoon villain. "I've had Breakfasts bigger than you."

“You know, they say that gnome blood is the worst tasting. But I say never disparage something until you have tried it.” The vampire put a hand on the gnome’s shoulder. When Xavier looked up to the fanged, imposing man that was Barracker Kassell, the gnome went as pale as the vampire himself. “Especially if it means that someone who does not understand the meaning of politeness, might learn a lesson or two”.

Zell gripped Xavier's other shoulder. "Yeah, not a bad plan, Kass."

"Hey, what's going on?" Wulrick intervened. Adam just walked away, heading towards the hospital that was in sight. "Get your hands off him."

"You better tell him to stop talking shit to our friend then, pal," Zell shot back, letting go of Xavier. "He's got a big mouth for a midget."

It was only a small fuss, sorted out quickly when Wulrick separated Xavier from Second Chance's frontliners. Nobody who got involved in the situation had backed down... except the gnome, who'd crapped his pants, moreso at the presence of Barracker than Zell, but Zell was ready to throw hands either way. No way would he just let one his friends be bullied like that, even if Adam was more than capable of handling himself. It was the principle. All for one and one for all.

In the hospital, Zell requested the doctor who'd treated him last time. "I don't know her name. She's bright red. Got horns and a tail. Surely there ain't more than one." Fortunately she was on shift and now it was Zell's turn to be a smug twat. He sat down on the bed and greeted her with his trademark one-sided grin. "Alright there, doc."

"Hello," she replied with a forced cheeriness she din't even try to disguise.

Last time he was here - only 72 hours into this new life - she had told him to 'take it slow.' And since then, shit had not been slow at all. If anything; shit had sped up ten-fold.

"Remember me?"

"No."

:O

:(

...Roasted.

Zell was healed back perfectly but his ego and happiness took a huge hit. All the while the Tiefling doctor worked, he tried to explain the last time he was here, but she didn't recall and certainly didn't care one iota. She just got on with her job. Zell could not be more deflated.

He was back in the waiting room after a bit of time for his leg to repair. There, he gave a few pats on the back here and there, nods to his friends - a smile of relief and success. He ended up next to James. "Well," he said to the Mexicano. "Another trip survived. Another battle on the horizon. How you feeling, bossman?" Zell was upbeat, but sincerely concerned for his best friend. "It must be fucking weird having all of that Zigmund-guy's memories, eh. You really got em all? Like; actually his whole life?" If James was up for talking about it, Zell would ask for the deets, "Who was he?"

The stealth part of the journey felt miles and hours longer than it actually was. Stress and anxiety levels ran high, blood ran fast, but under the temporary command of Fenna, along with the support of Second Chance's might, magic and intellect, they made it to the walls of Valhiem. After a nod from the other Ranger, MacKensie fired her grapplehook up to the battlements, then scaled the wall with quiet speed, her feet occasionally touching the stones as she went up. With agility and ease, the popped up onto the walls on her feet and hopped down from the battlements to rendezvous with Silver Arrow.

"Second Chance."

MacKensie nodded in affirmation. "How do you do?"

"I'm Wulrick and we are Silver Arrow. We've been sent by Lucy."

"My team are down by the riverside. How should we proceed?"

"We can lift the water grate," Wulrick answered, then moved to act quickly.

Once regrouped with her friends at street-level, everyone followed Wulrick's lead. MacKensie was walking by Fenna, but also close to one of Silver Arrow's members who wore a hat that reminded the frenchwoman of Lillianna. Perhaps it was this that prompted her to speak to the mage. "Thank you again, for your assistance," MacKensie said, getting the mage's attention.

"A pleasure," she replied warmly. The tall elf introduced herself as Vaella. MacKensie reciprocated and they shared a smile. "You have been busy, that much is clear," she said, looking at the Ranger's torn clothes.

MacKensie combed a hand over head to get her wet hair out of her face. "We were returning from the nearby Temple of Hades after cleansing it of a Greater Wraith. We did not know the city was under attack."

"The Greater Wraith?" Vaella recalled seeing the mission on the Open Jobs List at the Guildhouse. "I thought you were a Bronze Ranked party."

"Yes," MacKensie said, embracing an air of humility. "We had good reason to step above our grade and take on a Gold Mission. It was not easy but worth it, in the end."

"Wow," Vaella was a little stunned. MacKensie understood. It was one hell of a risk. The frenchwoman went on to explain that they were lucky enough to have an experienced and ascended Paladin join their party and that without him, they would not have been successful. "That is still quite the feat."

MacKensie spoke with Vaella a little longer before having her attention drawn by the words, 'Bronze Tier trash.' Her temper flared as she saw the owner of the voice, a gnome, speaking with venom to Adam. There was not even a question in MacKensie's mind that Adam had done anything to deserve such vitriol - it wasn't in his nature to provoke animosity. Of course, it wasn't in his nature to stand up for himself either, as she'd seen back when they were up at the hermit shapeshifter, Gilligan's house. Gilligan was all kinds of awful, but Adam's only response to the hermit's attitude was a calm and measured attempt to defend MacKensie's honour, when Gilligan had shot one of his many barbs at the frenchwoman. And so; the gnome did not get a rise out of Adam, but he'd certainly gotten a rise out of MacKensie, who was about to march ahead and intervene - unable to stop herself from being offended by something so unjust happening in front of her.

Barracker and Zell beat her to it, approaching the situation not with moral outrage - rather; bullying the bully. It was justice, most certainly, but MacKensie was worried about the potential fight about to happen, so when Wulrick demanded a stop to the situation, MacKensie stepped in also with the intention to de-escalate. Fortunately no one was interested in fighting and the matter resolved itself. MacKensie shot a brief glance at Barracker and Zell, a slight smirk on her face, pride in her eyes. She was glad that Second Chance were so defensive of eachother. They'd been through a lot in their short time together, so it was no surprise, but the moment still made her proud to be a part of their family-like party. And Barracker had fit in seamlessly, his values aligning with the rest of them, in spite of not being from another world. She went ahead and checked on Adam as they walked into the hospital, finding him to not be overly bothered by the gnome's words and so all was well.

This was her first experience in Valhiem's hospital, missing out on the first time Second Chance had visited. She and Joji had split off from the party to go and bury Clive's body. And so she was in awe of the technology, the cleanliness and the other similarities to Earth's hospitals. It was similar except the computer systems were laced with magical components, making them seem both more ancient and advanced than anything she'd seen in a hospital before. Her Source Crystal was linked to the computers and her body was healed fully and thoroughly within an extremely short period of time. It felt almost too easy, prompting her surprise and hesitation when she was told that she was done and could go back to the waiting area.

She smiled and nodded at whoever beat her to the waiting room, then greeted each member as they came after her. When Zell entered and gave her a pat on the back, she returned his touch on his lumbar spine. "Good as new," she noted, a pointed glance at his previously injured leg.

While everyone gathered to exit to the hospital, she stayed close to James and Zell, interested in hearing James' answer to Zell's inquiry. Knowing more about Zigmund the ninja had brought about a morbid curiosity. What was he? He seemed humanoid, at least. He was intelligent, that was for sure. Why be evil? All these things, she found herself wondering as she anticipated James' words on the matter.