Stealth was far more stressful than he expected, leave it to the old man to be throughout even when he didn't need to be, paranoid old bastard, witouth Fenna or Adam they would have been toast, even his idea of using the riverside would have been useless if it wasn't for those two, the worst moments oddly enough were when he had to leave the river, there was something calming about being completely submerged and he couldn't tell from whom did it originate. But after some heart attacks, the light at the end of the tunnel finally shone on their eyes and after a couple of agonizing minutes, they were en route towards the hospital directed by the Silver Arrow.

Then the situation turned hostile, the Gnome Druid decided to start a dick measuring contest with their Druid and sadly for him Adam had the biggest tree. He had to give props to the other man for taking the high road, even if his anger was starting to boil inside his veins. That's when the ever-reliable Kass and Zell came in, intimidating the shorter man.

The sight of the other party leader approaching them prompted him to do the same, but rather than getting involved directly he instead stood behind his party members with his arms crossed and a deliberately blank face directed to Wulrick, he hoped that the message was understood by the other party.

They were too tired to put up with shit like that.

Mackensi coming to calm things down was both unexpected and in character, and thankfully unneeded, he had to give props to his fellow party leader, the way he reacted showed he was protective of his own party member and the way he responded when no one else stepped up to defend the gnome spoke of familiarity with the situation, looking at the other members of Silver Arrow who watched the scene with irritation made it clear it wasn't the first time this happened.

"Ah, so he is their party idiot"

In the end, the other man decided to separate the gnome from his party, and judging by the way they remained behind when his party entered the hospital it was obvious someone was about to be scolded. Before he entered the hospital he made sure to cross gazes with the other man who looked at him with a cold look, to which he responded with a pointed look at the gnome then back at him, an exaggerated sigh, and a shrug of the shoulders. The other man appeared confused for a second before he seemingly caught on to what he was implying, dropping the hard look he glanced at the gnome who still sported a look of pride on his face, then back to him, irritation clear in his eyes, after a moment he let out a long sight and inclined his head towards him in apology.

He waved him off, it was clear neither side wanted to come to blows so as long as the gnome kept those comments to himself he doubted they would have a problem. He gave another nod towards Wulrick before turning to enter the Hospital, the sounds of yelling barely reaching his ears and bringing a smile to his mouth.



He looked at his chest, tracing the place where Zigmund had stabbed James, only some faint scarring remained from what would have taken months to recover back on Earth, he was no longer surprised by it but it was an interesting point of comparison nonetheless. Another example was the almost uninjured leg of one Zell Brooks.

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?"

He let out a sigh at the other man's words "It is extremely fucking awkward, I know things that no one should know about anyone else man!, as for who was he..." Talk about a loaded question, how would you describe yourself to people who you tried to kill a couple hours ago?

The answer? With honesty

He chose carefully his words, no need to make things awkward by referring to Zigmund as himself "He was a power-hungry moron" A pool of shame surfaced in his belly at the description, it was true and that was what hurt the most "The guy grew up in some of the bad parts of the capitol and had the kind of habits you can imagine, drugs, whoring, drinking, vicious motherfucker he was but a damn good fighter, sadly he was too blinded by the temptation of power to realize how bad an idea it was to firm that contract with The Black Goat in exchange for... a... sword....

His eyes opened wide, he forgot!, how could he be so stupid to forget that!

He directed a frightened glance at Zell, gulping he tried to speak as calmly as possible "Zell, please answer me this question, have you noticed anything strange lately, hallucinations? Bad dreams? anything? Please be honest this is important Gods please no.

Fenna's shoulder was throbbing and she couldn't move her arm when she finally got inside the city walls. All that was left was a walk to the hospital. She had been focusing on getting everyone inside the city safely and had ignored her shoulder as well as she could. Now that everyone was safe, the pain in her shoulder became a lot harder to push aside.

While she did listen to what was said around her, and she smiled gratefully at those of Silver Arrow who were kind to her, she mostly walked to the hospital in silence. The only one she talked to was Adam.
"I'm glad I could help," she told him. "As for my arm... it's a good thing we're almost at the hospital. Thanks for the cover, it really helped us get here."

The staff was friendly and professional, it was obvious they had handled injuries like hers many times before. It was a lot more crowded in the hospital than last time, but with the war happening on Valheims doorstep, that was to be expected. Fenna didn't stay in bed longer than needed. There were many places she could rest, but there weren't many places where the injured could be treated. Once her wounds were professionally treated and the staff deemed it okay for her to get up and move, she left the room.

Fenna waited in the waiting room and it wasn't long before MacKenzie joined her, and soon after the others as well. Once everyone was together they could go to the guild and claim the contract, but when Zell asked about the water ninja, Fenna listened to their conversation.

There was a pause after James mentioned Zigmund had received a sword from a contract and Fenna thought the most important bits were told. "Shall we go..." she began, but before she could suggest heading out and meeting up with Lucy, James turned to Zell with a frightened look and asked him about hallucinations and the like. Had Zell done something dangerous? It wouldn't be surprising if he had, even if it was unknowingly. They knew very little about this place... wait, hadn't Zell picked up Zigmund's sword? The one he received from a contract with something sinister? She too turned to Zell to hear his answer.

Wulrick and his party, Silver Arrow, led Second Chance down the main streets that took them along the waterside, past The Bazaar, beyond The Temple of the Quinity and over the western Little Bridge to the beginning of the ascent up Citadel Mountain.

Midnight gave the great city of Valhiem a very different view, ordinarily so busy and vibrant, but no more so than now with the city under siege. As they went up the mountain, the near-constant waves of fiery artillery ammunition was ever more clear. Nearing the summit of Citadel Mountain, so high above the rest of the city, it felt like the Ritual Barrier was close enough to touch and explosions upon it were detailed and fearsome.

The high class, clean paved streets atop the mountain saw more traffic than the rest of the city, even at this late hour. There were people leaving and entering The Academy Campus, guards and military were more active in the area, and the many large municipal buildings saw activity too.

Lucy Bottrill was waiting for the two adventurer parties in the large square in front of The Citadel.

“Took your time,” the Guildmaster said to Wulrick. “Hospital trip?” Wulrick nodded, as did Lucy after. “I’ll take it from here. Silver Arrow will be rewarded for this great favor, mark my words.”

After a few more words between Wulrick and Lucy, they said their goodbyes and Silver Arrow was off. Lucy gestured behind her. “Good to see you’re all here.” She looked at Clive. “And I’m glad you managed to link back up with your friends.”

She had been informed by Clarissa about the top-secret and illegal operation to resurrect Clive Michel. Classified information but Clarissa was not one for following protocol if her gut told her it was important.

Lucy cast her glance across all of the faces of Second Chance. “Come with me.”



Mayor Joseph Pendlebury.
Ambassador Malcom Crane.
Academy President Jordash Sigmar.
High Septum Areleth.
Academy Director Clarissa Shields.
Academy Director Enio Ivey.
Garrison Commander Thorn.
2nd Adventurer Guildmaster Lucy Bottrill.
High Inquisitor Lucius McGarren.

Heroes from Another World, Second Chance.

The 3rd War Room Meeting was already underway when Lucy brought The Heroes from the Sky into the room, but everyone hushed upon their arrival.

Some of them did not know what to expect after such a build-up in their minds, but the result was Second Chance did not seem particularly impressive. None wore gleaming armour, nor carried particularly impressive weapons. All were clearly human and carried the very average and unremarkable physical traits that their race was known for.

Some, like Areleth, Clarissa, Lucy… they were now beginning to take very seriously what they’d dismissed out of hand in previous meetings with Second Chance. That they were not from this world.

Those with the natural inclination to cast Identify in their minds when meeting strangers that needed sizing up, saw that each of Second Chance had already gone through multiple Ascensions. Enough that their power as a party was comparable to high-end Gold Class parties. This, coupled with the facts of their story: that they’d been in this world less than a single month!? It was nothing short of supernatural. Unheard of.

Some of the people at the meeting, such as Areleth, had knowledge of the particular uniqueness they all might carry, after witnessing James Sirius take the Cleric Test and seeing that he was either; connected to all the Gods and Goddesses of this plane, or; none of them in particular. Something else that was completely unheard of.

Some of those at the meeting didn’t know much about Second Chance. Some had heard the rumour that they had slain Aurok the Man Eater. Some simply had faith in High Septum Areleth’s intuition that these people were special. Most were understandably sceptical of the narrative that their arrival was due to the invocation of Universal Tier Ritual magic only ever heard of once in Mytherian history… in the Mythic Age where the majority of texts and records were, at best, questionable and at worst, complete conjecture and theory.

Areleth broke the silence by addressing James. “We are glad you could join us. James, if you would, please relay the story you told me, of how you and your friends ended up here in Mytheria.”

He gave the young man a chance to speak, then let the others know. “If any of you have anything to add, please share all you can.”

Their story would coincide perfectly with the partial shutting down of The WellSprings across the continent: A fact that had been kept under wraps due to National Security and Confidence concerns. Such a phenomenon was so rare that only something incredibly powerful could have triggered such a reaction... such as Universal Tier Ritual magic that could summon heroes from another world.

Clarissa would be as patient as she could be… which was not very patient at all… and would find a place to chime in and ask to hear the details regarding the Mysterious Cube they’d delivered to her. She did not ask any of them in particular, only wishing for the best recounting of how it had come in their possession, so she could hear it all again and see if she’d missed anything important, back before she’d done any testing on the artifact.

Commander Thorn decided to wait to give details and orders regarding defence of the city. This current discussion seemed above his pay grade and might have consequences that went beyond merely Valhiem’s fate.

Lucy would also have some things to say, but she waited to see what Second Chance would say.

Not all in the room knew that Clive Michel had been resurrected, but those that did eyed the bare chested man with some suspicion and mostly concern about what legal ramifications they would face from Capitol City for being party to Treason.

Before he walked into the hospital, Adam had noticed something in the corner of his eye; Zell and Barracker surrounding a certain gnome. Though Adam had not cared enough about Xavier to call him out on his stupidity, he felt a sense of gratitude that others did. And that MacKensie would take the time to check on him, even though it wasn't really necessary. 

Second Chance was a good team, and the Druid was glad to be a part of it.

-----

So many important-looking officials. That an adventuring party that had been on two official missions was among this group seemed like an odd concept to Second Chance's Druid. Adam was aware that the team was capable of great things, sure, and they definitely had intelligence to share related to James’ memory spell. But was the massive audience needed for that? In the end, the red-eyed man supposed it didn't matter either way; Valheim was in danger and he knew everyone in the group would do what they could to protect it.

Adam let James share the tale of everyone's arrival to Mytheria, figuring he would explain it well. Though when Clarissa asked about the cube again, the Druid had to arch an eyebrow. Did they not do anything with it yet? The fisherman was skeptical of this lady who, in his limited experience with her, had mainly been asked odd and rude questions before being cursory thanked and shooed away. At least Gilligan was knowledgeable behind that grumpy exterior.

Still, he was the one who got the cube to begin with, so Adam felt it was best he explain what had happened, doing so with an even tone. No hint of bragging, just the facts. “After we fell out of the sky, skeletons and ogres invaded Hommas, probably on the Witch Queen's orders. I ended up fighting some of the former. Most of them seemed like mindless drones in hindsight, but one was different. It was larger, in half-plate spiked armor, and seemed like it could command the others. When I killed it, the cube appeared, having been inside it before. Then purple light shone out from it, and when the skeletons saw this, they ran away. The ogres were still there, well, until they were killed. Then we took it to Valheim via the Mazy Hillocks, where a water ninja named Zigmund tried killing us for it. Thankfully, he died instead, but that wasn't until more recently. I suppose that's all.”

Finished with that retelling, Adam deferred to anyone else who wanted to add anything to that. Strange how such an intense set of days could be condensed into a few words like that. 

So, the Tin Can was indeed a human. Seemed obvious from the look of him, but in this world, who could know what kinds of creatures were out there. Zell nodded slowly along as James explained some of Zigmund's background - a pretty nasty individual but also quite a regular old Joe. Zell couldn't count the amount of guys and gals he'd brushed shoulders with who loved drinking, drugs and sex - people who hungered for status or power in some form or another. London was full of folks like that. Thousands upon thousands of them.

Is it that easy? Zell wondered, suddenly lost in his own thoughts. In a world of good n evil... might n magic... could all of them regular people just be turned so easily to the fucking Darkside?

Zell's eyes darted around sightlessly as he began to wonder about himself. Would he be the next Zigmund?

An image of MacKensie's face appeared his mind, accompanied by a firm answer. No.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by James' more pointed words at him. "Zell, please answer me this question, have you noticed anything strange lately, hallucinations? Bad dreams? anything? Please be honest this is important

Zell blinked back into reality and looked at James, then he caught in his periphery MacKensie watching them, looked at her, then followed along as he caught Fenna listening too! Not good.

"Oh f'fucks sake, not you n all. Kass has already been on my back about all this. No - no dreams, hallucinations, nothing of the sort," he lied easily. Although he didn't want to. He wanted James' help. Needed him, right now. His power, as a Cleric. His ear, as a friend. But he could hardly pull him aside right now with the girls watching. "It's just the power of the sword. It's tied to..." he lowered his voice, not so low that Mac and Fenna couldn't hear but low enough not to alert the whole fucking waiting room. "... some pretty dark shit, en-gee-ell." He stretched his neck to one side and then straightened up his posture. "No worries though. I've got it under control. Trust me."

He took on board any comments, warnings or otherwise with his usual relaxed confidence, hoping he would reassure all who were listening. The moment Wulrick asked if everyone was ready to go, Zell thought, Thank fuck. Not a moment too soon, Wulrick pal.

He sort-of knew the route that Wulrick was leading them, along the waterside. He'd walked it a few times in the short stint they'd spent in Valhiem. Two of the handful of mornings they'd spent waking up at The Mended Drum, he'd gone to Little Bridge to begin his exercise routine, customised to incorporate the massive Citadel Hill. So, even in the darkness, he managed to notice a few reminders along the way.

He looked at Fenna by his side as they walked, thought about trying to further reassure her that he wasn't making any contracts with Devils, but decided it was better to change the subject. "I'd much rather be heading for the Guildhouse n seeing what's in that Source Comm email inbox of ours," he said, knowing that they both shared it as a top priority. "Although, you might have to read it yourself and let me know what it says. I kinda sorta got meself banned from the establishment on my last visit." he chuckled then added. "Don't ask."

As they went up the hill, he asked aloud, to nobody in particular, "What do you suppose this is all about? -Us being taken up to the Citadel- You reckon it's just a briefing for the big battle, or something else?"

It was an invite for group brainstorming, although there was a thought that if they just waited a little longer they'd find out anyway. Still, it was a good way to see what was on everyone's mind.

...

Before the end of of the path up Citadel Mountain, the invading army became clear in the dark distance. Bonfires, campfires, torches and catapult fire outlined the entire encampment. And man; was it huge.

"Jesus," Zell swore as he took it all in. He wanted to say, 'there's fucking millions of em!' but he kept it to himself. No sense in being a little bitch about it, out loud, potentially disturbing morale. "Got some hard fighting ahead of us," he decided to say instead. "And I, for one, am ready-like-Eddy." He grinned. "Ha. I've just got to liking this place. No way I'm letting it get flattened now."

Through the hilltop gate and into the streets they went, Zell taking notice of the late night activity. Preparations were underway. "Alright Lucy," he greeted the Guildmaster in the square, then waited around patiently before goodbyes were exchanged. "Thanks for meeting us, Wulrick. Take care." He gave a nod of respect to a few others in Silver Arrow - obviously ignoring the gnome.

...

Inside the meeting, Zell elected to stay quiet. Not that he was feeling shy at this particular moment - he'd never been shy in his life, but he knew (sometimes) when to keep his mouth shut and let more sensible people do the talking. Instead, he eyed the officials around the table and memorized faces. All of them were new to him. He'd heard of Clarissa Shields from Fenna, Adam and MacKensie. He'd heard of Areleth from James. The others were unknown quantities, but all were clearly important.

Going over to the closest wall in the room, he folded his arms and leaned a shoulder against it, listening attentively.

He allowed himself to relax at Zell's words, it didn't prove that there was no influence but at least it gave them time to-

He stretched his neck to one side and then straightened up his posture. "No worries though. I've got it under control. Trust me."

At once the tension returned to his shoulders, 'I've got it under control' such innocuous words, were it about anything else he would be calm but in this case? It just reminded him how he assumed he could handle it when he made the contract, unaware just how quick and subtle the influence ran. He needed to do something, say anything, but just as he was about to speak Wulrick asked if they were ready to leave.

Right, they were on a schedule. He would need a moment to speak with Zell again, if there were no signs of influence yet then they still had time, he just hoped they could deal with it as soon as possible.



Fuck, it reminded him of the corporate meetings he had participated in, 'course this time it was different being literal life or death. It didn't stop the stuffy feeling that permeated the air and made him restless, to be truthful he was not comfortable, the conversation with Zell was still fresh in his mind and warring about several different topics but it would have to wait until the meeting was done.

At least there were some familiar faces, he stepped up as the High Septum Areleth called for him to recount their story, he tried to summarize it as best as he could, clinical, detached. Half the room was watching them as if they were the new interns to be exploited and the other half was just playing along but desperate enough to use anything. He could sympathize, at least the part of him that was still able to do so, but right now he was on a battlefield that was known to him.

Fucking politics.

He had realized some good time ago that no one was truly free from them but being thrown back into it so suddenly was still jarring, perhaps he had never escaped them in the first place.

Finishing with his story up to current events, slightly edited to omit certain parts, and for quick retelling, he looked back to his party in case anyone wanted to recall the parts he wasn't present for.

Adam was the first to step up.



After some questions were asked and parts of their story were elaborated on he stepped up again, the bread and butter of politics is power which comes in many forms money, personnel, and of course, information. In this room there was a power imbalance, the locals held all the cards and even if they weren't planning on doing anything against them it was still an unfortunate fact that they were capable of hurting them, so how coule he proportionate the security of his party? "Well, there you have it, our entire journey so far, now, I am aware you want us to help with the siege which we are willing to do, in particular, we possess information about their tactics, mindset, and people of interest, obtained through the use of a Blessing of Lathop so it is from the perspective of an elite in their ranks" Shifting the power balance of course, now they weren't just another party, information was disclosed, personal power was implied and ability was revealed.

"Any questions?" Their position was still weaker than he would have liked, but it was a start. The rest would come in time. But now he had to focus on keeping their momentum, determination flashing in his mind as he saw the looks they gave each other before someone decided to ask a question

High Septum Areleth:

As James explained the arrival of Second Chance, Areleth was looking around at everyone, even going as far as to gesture to James in a sagely and dignified attempt to communicate 'I told you so.'

When James was finished, he turned back to the Cleric. "Thank you, my son. A succint, yet detailed explanation." Then he waited for the obvious naysayer to chirp up.

Ambassador Malcom Crane:

"Quite the outlandish story," the man countered. Ambassador Crane's role was essentially to be the voice of Capitol City and advisor to the Mayor regarding matters of policy and administration. "Stone coffins from the sky? Humans from a plane of existence beyond the purview of The Quinity? An entire world beyond Source?" He looked at James apologetically. "I do not mean to accuse you of dishonesty, but might there a more probable explanation?"

2nd Guildmaster Lucy Bottrill:

"I assumed some kind of mental status that doesn't show up on The Source Code," Lucy said. "Like a form of Amnesia, or something of the sort. But; I've seen some wild and outlandish things in my time... and never have I paid out a Platinum Ranked Bounty to a newly registered party. Nor have I read some of The Source Code that appears on their Adventurer Information Pages, upon further inspection." She looked at Second Chance. "They are certainly a unique bunch, I'll give them that." Then she added in a cheerful tone with a loveable shrug, "Apologies for talking about you like you're not here. You understand."

Director Clarissa Shields:

"I've spoken at a short length with Miss MacKensie Trydant," Clarissa gestured to MacKensie. "She's no liar... a fact I surmised that struck me as weird, given the claims made. My gut tells me that Areleth's gut is correct: They are 'The Summoned' - here through a ritual of the highest levels... levels not seen since the Mythic Age. Whether or not at the behest of Capitol City or The Witch Queen, we cannot be sure. Either is plausible." Then Valhiem's genius of theoritical science and engineering changed the subject. "But, if we might speak on a matter more pressing, for a moment..."

And that's when it was Adam's turn to explain, giving Clarissa a repeat account of how the cube came into the possession of Second Chance. Sometimes in investigation, after pulling at all the threads one can and collecting all information from those threads, it was worthwhile to go back over old ground with a new eye, cross-referencing old information with the new. And Clarissa was rewarded for it.

"Purple light..." she repeated. "I'd assumed it was just..."

She'd assumed it was just Source - purple generally being the color that Source manifested it's light in the physical world. But after many hours of analysis of the mysterious cube, it had become clear that it wasn't just a magical container encased in a metal information processing unit. The entire thing was some kind of advanced compact computing unit of it's own. 'Compact' to put it lightly. 'Advanced' was an understatement too.

There was no Source magic held within it at all.

Clarissa started muttering rapidly and unintelligably to herself, pacing around. "...Electricity isn't..." was two words that one might actually hear properly. Then more nonsense. Then "...but no. Sooo..."

Academy President Jordash Sigmar:

"Might I suggest continuing without our esteemed Director," he said with a smirk. "She is currently unreachable and one cannot know how long she will be like this. But I can confidently say that this is her at her most helpful."

A few members of the meeting chuckled.

2nd Guildmaster Lucy Bottrill:

Lucy was one chuckling. Though she got the meeting back onto the primary topic on agenda. "Well, I can say that The Source Code matches up to your story," she said to the Heroes from the Sky. "It looks like 9 villagers of Hommas all woke up with Source Crystals on the same day. Which would be rare. And your accents don't really match the region..." she pulled a confused face. "Or eachother, for that matter. You all sound like you could be born and raised lands apart."

After some more questions were asked, surrounding details of Aurok's death, their multiple Ascensions and other things like foreign weapons and gear or trinkets, or finally; any contact with enemy agents of importance, James Sirius took the opportunity to then smoothly transition the meeting onto the next topic on agenda. His intelligence and determination, matched with the arrogance of Adam and the casual apathy of Zell, all added to the show of strength and mystery that was Second Chance. Lucy could tell from the feeling in the room, that others understood that Second Chance was no ordinary party. Though she'd experienced enough of the Top Brass to know that such an enimga stood before them could be met with many different emotions. Respect. Fear. Admiration. Greed. And more.

Garrison Commander Thorn:

"Garrison Commander Thorn," he commander introduced himself, as was his habit. "Any information you have would be more than welcome." He nodded at James. "We can talk afterwards," then added to them all, "Unless any of you have urgent intel to give that can't wait." He gave everyone a chance to speak before continuing.

"Our military resrves have been drained from the need to reinforce Fortress Fornost, in the north. But what we have left is a solid army ready for defence." It was an optimistic assesssment, but no sense in scaring the party. An estimation of the invading forces was over 3 to 1. The city was in dire trouble. But Thorn would remain stoic and strong until his death. "Problem is; we have few Adevnturer parties in the city, right now, so we plan to split all parties into single units, spreading the offensive Classes among the Garrison Regulars, as Captains of Regiments, whilst using Support Classes in tactical groups."

Thorn shuffled around in his belt pouch and counted out 7 Alarm Recievers. "I will fill your party leader in with the details. He can relay them to you. And as it stands, you'll have 10 days before any fighting is needed. However, each of you must carry one of these around with you." He put the Alarm Recievers on the table, each small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. "It will signal you by your Source Crystal, when you are needed at the North and Eastern Wall. The first time it goes off, will likely be a drill, to ascertain our compentence and organization as a defensive force. The second... well, that will be the real deal."

Once arrived at the Citadel, the party was met by Lucy Botrill. She would take on the job of escorting the party to the war room, where the meeting would take place. Once inside the war room, heads turned towards their arrival and eyes stayed locked on them. It was the first time Barracker had been inside this glorious room, the size was incredibly big. There were two flags hanging on the wall prominently. One for Valhiem. The other for The Empire. There also stood a marvellous portrait of the first empress of the free peoples empire, Ileandra young. Barracker recognized some of the faces in the room, but had not had the privilege of speaking to most of them on a one on one basis. One who he knew well was the High Septum Areleth, who greeted Second Chance in a professional manner, not showing any extra special familiarity to the Paladin. He understood the importance of professionalism. Barracker also knew of Commander Thorn because of his years in military service, although as a simple soldier, Commander Thorn was way above Barracker's station in the chain of command, so they'd never spoken. He'd briefly been addressed by Inquisitor McGarren who was Head of Paladin's Respite. The Inquisitor was kind enough to allow Barracker to serve even after contracting Vampirism, although Barracker a great influence of Areleth to make this happen. Usually Barracker reported to lower-down Inquisitors though.

James explained the story of Second Chance’s arrival to Mytheria and over the course of the meeting, Barracker started to understand the High Septum’s motives behind putting him with the adventurers so suddenly, and the general nature of Areleth's interest in them. Of course, BArracker had learned firsthand the amazing capabilities and backgrounds of Second Chance but Areleth's intuition had seemed to grasp at the concept of some sort of high level Mythic Age magical ritual that was the reason for all of this.

Adam gave background on the mysterious cube, something that Barracker did not know really anything about but now, judging by the academic officials reactions, realised the importance of the artefact.

Barracker chose not to say anything until there were inquiries about the nature of the quick, abnormal ascension’s of the adventurers.

“I have witnessed first hand, the remarkable speed with which these people learn the world around them and ascend with minimal experience. When I first met these individuals, I was clearly much more powerful than all of them, perhaps two levels of ascension higher. After a single mission. One single mission. The difficulty of which should have been beyond their reach, they have surpassed me in source power. Only by a hair, mind you, but this is taken into account that I also ascended during this mission.” The Paladin paused to let the officials take in the gravity of his words. The potential of Second Chance was limitless. And at this rate of ascension, they could easily reach a level comparable to Diamond Tier Adventurers before the Great War was concluded. “I also want to add on the record. With my Paladin reputation at stake. That I, Barracker Kassel, vouch whole heartedly for there noble character and integrity of all of my comrades. Each of them, is just as mystified as you all, to be here and yet they take everything in their stride, including upholding the values and responsibility of what it means to be blessed with the gift of the source crystal. No matter if they have been summoned or not, or by who, they are on the side of the greater good.”

The explosions above Citadel Hill were... well... they were beautiful.

MacKensie could think of no other word to describe what she was seeing. In spite of the inappropriateness of such an adjective, considering that what she was witnessing was the attempted bombing of civilian buildings, the dynamic array of reds, oranges and yellows... close enough to almost touch... the Ranger was completely enamoured by the visual effects as Second Chance got to the top of Citadel Hill. It was like getting to see a fireworks show from only yards away.

12 yards.

Zell. He was in trouble. She could feel it.

Earlier in the hospital, MacKensie being intrigued by James' description of Zigmund, turned to worry for Zell - The inheritor of their enemy's sword. James was worried. Zell was defensive. The innate chemistry between the trio meant that MacKensie felt it all, even if she did not understand it. And she did not. She didn't know the true depth of meaning of the sword Zell carried, or what James knew about their dead nemesis. She only knew that they were both worried. And that bothered her greatly. All she could do was hope that Zell was strong enough to 'have it under control' whatever it was. And hope that James was capable enough to look after the englishman.

Seeing Lucy again was nice, although the look the guildmaster gave her was odd - Almost like MacKensie was in her bad books. Strange.

The war room meeting was intimidating. The air was tense, in spite of the cordial exchanges and the High Septum's soft approach to managing proceedings. MacKensie stayed quiet, subconciously moving next to Fenna, the woman she always looked to for strength and example. She tilted her head close to the older woman and whispered, "Should we tell them about our gauntlet and spear?"

If Fenna replied affirmatively, then MacKensie would follow her lead and explain to the officials that she entered the world with her magical gauntlet. It was likely of no consequence, but she supposed all and any info could be important.

What she took from proceedings so far was the fact that they could have been 'summoned' to this world. It was a potential fact that seemed so farfetched in the minds of the officials and leaders. But it would make sense that there was a Source Comm message waiting for them, surely? And what was this about their Ascensions being so unbelievably fast? Was it not like that for all adventurers?

Whatever the case, MacKensie stepped forward and touched Barracker's arm, smiling solemnly at him. To hear him put his reputation on the line, to vouch for them, meant a lot. Barracker had become a close friend in the short space of time that she'd known him, and this moment only strengthened their bond.

Sil flew low and made agitated sounds, so Fenna held out her arm for the falcon to land. Even though the bombardments didn't reach the city, this was out of the comfort zone of the bird, but she trusted Fenna enough to stay with her. When Zell spoke. Fenna rose her eyebrows at his confession about not being allowed in the Guildhouse anymore. "I'll see about sorting that out when we have a chance. If I can get you back in, you owe me a beer." What in the world had he done to lose access to that place? She shook her head, the sad thing was that the words didn't even surprise her.

Many important people were gathered and it was strange to think she was invited to a meeting like this, somehow being important herself. Never in her life had she considered herself important enough to ever attend a meeting on this scale. And here she was.
Despite being indoors, Sil seemed more at ease with the fewer impressions of the siege within these walls. She let James and Adam to the talking, there was very little to add to their explanation.

"I don't see why not," Fenna said to MacKensie and told the people she had woken up and a weapon had been in her stone box and that she didn't know how she had obtained it, but that it wasn't in her possession back on Earth.

She smiled at Barracker when he stood tall and proclaimed his trust in them. An ally, a friend, it was good to have Barracker with them.

Fenna looked at the Alarm Receivers that were put on the table. One for each. She mulled over the words spoken. Garrison captains? She was fairly sure she was considered an offensive class, so it was likely that part applies to her as well. She didn't want to think too much about it, but at the same time she felt a confidence she would never have dreamed of before. If that was the task for her, she'd do it. She reached out to take one of the Alarm Receivers, examined and put it in her pouch.

"If we are no longer needed here," Fenna said softly as it seemed that all was said that needed to be said, and her eyes moved to Lucy, "can we finish our business in the Guildhouse?"

Mayor Joseph Pendlebury:

The mayor bowed his head to Barracker. "As a Paladin, your word and reputation holds great value and will be taken into account." For a moment, he looked around for approval at this response and saw the High Septum's soft smile and nod of agreement. Then he went on to Barracker and the rest. "We are confident in your intentions, Second Chance. Nonetheless, we have a city to defend. Fortunately there is time to prepare. The hour is late. I would put it to the War Room that our noble adventurers could do with some food and sleep. This time and courtesy we can surely afford, lest we overwhelm our guests."

Ambassador Malcom Crane:

"Our good mayor is correct. Another War Room Meeting can be be scheduled for the near-future. And much of the preparations will get done outside of this room, where our specialists will get on with their part with rigour and our faith."

High Septum Areleth:

Areleth inclined his head in agreement. "There is wisdom in the Mayor and Ambassador's words. Let us adjourn here and reconvene when progress has been made on our various fronts."



And so, Second Chance was shown out of the meeting by Lucy Bottrill.

But before they did, The Academy Officials requested to borrow the weapons and equipment that each member had shown up with, in the coffins. Not any mundane gear, of course... The Heroes from the Sky were not asked to strip down... only items of magical power were requested and Second Chance were assured that they would be returned in the morning.

It was the personal choice of each Person From Another World, what items they were willing to part with.



While Second Chance were handing over whatever enchanted weapons or gear they chose, Areleth found a moment to pull Barracker Kassel aside and have a quick chat...



Commander Thorn also had the urge to briefly speak with a member of Second Chance. Before the party left, he pulled James Sirius aside to get a brief summation of what they would speak more on in the future: Knowledge of the enemy from the mind of Zigmund Mugba-Zarack.



Lucy was sympathetic to Fenna's words. The guildmaster was the one in the meeting of officials who knew best what Second Chance had chosen to go through in order to reach that Source Comm message that was locked behind The Ancient Law of The Source Crystals.



She took them down the mountain and along the Inner North Wall Road that led to The Guildhouse, keeping her usual lively spirit and ready to reply to anybody who spoke to her, but mostly leaving the adventurers to chat amongst themselves.

"Here we are," she announced as they arrived at the Guildhouse. But she stopped at the door and turned around to everyone. "You two," she said, looking at Zell and MacKensie. "I am willing to overlook your actions a few nights past, on this one occassion - I will go back on my word. You are unbanned from the Guildhouse, but know that you are on thin ice, my friends." She was deadly serious. "I won't hear of any apology or excuses, or relitigate the issue, so don't bother." She wagged her finger at them both. "One slip, and I will see to it that you never step foot in this Guildhouse ever again."

She didn't even wait for the response, just turned and went inside.



The Guildhouse was surprisingly half-full, a rather normal level of business. In fact, Second Chance would soon find out that the entire City of Valhiem was running relatively normally, in spite of the impending threat of total annihilation. The barman, upon seeing Lucy roll in with Second Chance, gave a greeting to Lucy, then his expression grew stern when he saw Zell Brooks and MacKensie Trydant. And he was not the only one. The Adventurer party who'd gotten into the arm wrestling competition and the barfight that followed, that night when James and Zell had gone a drunken rampage; they also were present in the Guildhouse and they side-eyed Zell and MacKensie with threatening stares, although the were good enough to do no more than that.

There were some formalities. Each member was asked to scan their crystals at main desk upstairs. The first person to scan brought a confirmation on the system that Second Chance's mission was complete and Lucy carried out the relevant administration duties.

Second Chance were all imbued with additional Source as a bonus for their work, increasing their experience to bring them a step towards the next level of Ascension.

Aswell as this, they also upgraded their adventurer party's Reputation and Classification. Second Chance was officially now a Silver Ranked Adventurer Party. They were awarded money as a gratuity for their hard work and also recieved a financial reward for the Gold Ranked Mission. Together this amounted to the sum total of 10,000 Silver Coins (Given in the form of 100 Gold.)

The main perk of being a Silver Ranked party was ultimately the reason they were all here:

Source Comm Access and [Level 1] use of the features.

Lucy did not delay. She showed them all how to, when linked the Magi-Tech system, handle the movement and use of the User Holo-Screens. She showed them how to access the Source Comm, then gave them a little bit of privacy by going over to her Dog, Scribble, and giving him some loving attention aswell as a few treats.

Second Chance were left to see, in their Source Comm Inbox, there was one single message. Once it was touched, it opened up...

This is an Imperial Missive from His Majesty, Emperor Quintus Young:

To those who read this message, I hope it has found you well. Please take my words in utmost urgency and with great understanding and patience, for I know that it will likely not have been easy to get this far. You.......... ............ .............. .............. ........... ...........

.
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.

........... .............. ............. ............. .............. ............. ............. .......... ............ .......... .......... ........... ........... I see you. You do not belong here. I'm sorry. You should not have been dragged into this. Those who did so are selfish, ignorant, manipulative and unworthy of you.

I can send you back. To your world. Where you belong. From where you should not have been stolen. I will return you to your rightful place. Back in your familiar world. Back with your families and friends. I'm sure both miss you very much.

Let me help you. Abandon those who are trying to drag you into this war. A war you do not understand. A war that they will show in a light that favors them. Do not listen to the lies of the guilty. Or the lies of brainwashed. They will paint me as the cause of all suffering. Label me, The Evil Witch Queen. They will paint this world as Black and White - Good and Evil. They will paint the imposter Emperor as the righteous. The only truth they will actually tell you is that I am the leader of the invading army. I am the aggressor in this war. This much is true, I do not deny it. Nor do I deny using brainless beasts to help me. For the brainless cannot be brainwashed. It is all I have.

We have a lot in common, you and I. Having our rightful lives stolen from us. Now being used as political tools for usurpers and traitors to Ileandra Young the Great's ideals and foundations.

Let me help you go back home.

East.

East to Azeroth.

The road is dangerous. Wartime cares little for innocent lives, unfortunately. Those who walk in the path of the Warmachine will get trampled. An unfortunate consequence of a much greater cause.

East.

East to Azeroth, is where you will find me. Is where you will find salvation. Come of your own free will, and the closer you get, the safer the lands will become for you. My power and influence increases the further east you go. The closer you get to Azeroth. I promise that you will be treated kindly. I promise not to use you until your bodies and spirits are dried up, dangling fake promises and platitudes in your face like carrots for horses.

I was not the one who stole you from your former life. I am not the one who seeks to use you a tool for ends you do understand. But I can be the one to save you from your nightmare.

Yours faithfully,

Melina Rasputia Young, the Rightful Empress of The Free Peoples Empire.

James had communicated the important part; he had intelligence that could change the course of this siege. Even if they did nothing else as a team (and that was incredibly unlikely), this would be something of great value. And it seemed that the officials in the meeting were taking Second Chance seriously, offering some sort of “alarm receiver” for each of them. Adam grabbed one, placing it in his bag for future use. Neither of these things, however, meant as much to the Druid personally as Barracker vouching for the group. The red-eyed man smiled at the vampire, nodding once as a silent way of thanking him for his words.

Much less certain than those feelings was a mystery brought up by a request; one to borrow any equipment Second Chance had shown up with. Adam at first thought he didn't have any, but then he remembered it. A certain orb, one that contained a rainbow-colored leaf inside. Yeah, figuring out what that did was probably important. Taking a moment, the Druid could not think of anyone else on the team who didn't know how their equipment functioned. So with that in mind, he left the mystery item with the officials from Valheim.

-----

And one mystery appeared soon after the other was left behind; MacKensie had been barred from the Guildhouse? Adam was incredibly confused. Sure, Zell being banned made sense. He was the one who almost fell off the tree-bridge because he decided to walk to the edge of it. The ever-proper Ranger, though? No explanation, or even anything remotely close to one, appeared in the Druid's mind. There was only one way to solve this.

“If you don't mind me asking, how did you get banned?” Adam's question was delivered quietly, with the skepticism in his mind apparent on his face. And he would listen to MacKensie's answer, taking all the time that was needed in spite of his curiosity about the source mail message. He knew she was as curious (if not more so) than he was though, so the Druid would not linger on the subject.

-----

The reward for Second Chance's mission was welcome, but not the focus of Adam's attention right now. It was the much-anticipated message, the one that caused the team to fight a Wraith in the first place, that the Druid was looking forward to. 

A million questions seemed to flood into Adam's mind, all at once. At least one of them would require talking to MacKensie about. Though in the end, the primary emotion he felt was disappointment. New information, sure, but not the kind the red-eyed man had been hoping for. Like his brother might say, the group had been “haxored.” And the promise of a return home from the Rightful Empress? Highly suspect at best, and most likely a trap to kill them. If she had benevolent intentions, why not send her own message via source mail instead of hijacking the one of this other Emperor? And why send Zigmund in the first place? Even if it was necessary, instead of attacking with a water blade, he could have just given the group a letter and safe passage. 

Absent-mindedly, Adam found himself holding onto the wand he planned on giving Lillianna. Wherever she was now, the mage was still part of Second Chance, and she knew of the danger facing the team - and where it came from. Trust forged from conversation on a rooftop and literal self-sacrifice in the Mazy Hillocks informed the Druid's decision. He would not go east, he would stay in Valheim and defend it from whatever forces the Witch Queen sent after the city.

However, he said none of this.

Adam knew the feeling of having hope pulled away. The momentary hope that yes, we can go home yanked away and replaced with the reality that no, this is just a trick. And the Druid knew that whatever the Ranger was feeling, it had to be more intense than what he was going through. The way she spoke of her family reminded him of his. Even if a fancy life in Paris was far and away different from growing up in rural Michigan, the fondness was the same. Therefore, he asked her another question, this time not out of confusion, but a desire to be there for someone he cared about.

“That message…it was really something, wasn't it?”

And, if necessary, break the news to her gently.

From where Zell first posted up, leaning against the wall in the war room, he'd quickly adjusted himself. Just one step backwards meant that the lamp light that illuminated him, stopped at his chin. Now shadow covered his face. It wasn't in his nature to be so unsociable in a large group, like some Emo hanging onto the edge of a party. No - Zell was always one to steal spotlight, dead center of the action, all eyes on him. But this was no party. This was business. And in business, Zell could be a cunning bastard when he needed to be.

Green eyes constantly darted around the room, trying to catch every expression as his ears caught every word. He didn't know any of these people, but he sure did learn a lot from this first meeting.

The so-called Mayor of the City was a little pussy. That much was clear. The Academy and The Church ran Valhiem. Maybe things were different when the stakes were lower, but Zell doubted it. Zell struck him off the list as a man of importance.

The Ambassador. If Zell recalled from random passive memories, an Ambassador usually wasn't from the place he was doing his job. He was like a representive of some sort. Might be worth checking into, Zell had thought. At least he's not a little pussy.

Of the ones who did all the talking, Areleth was like some kinda fucking Pope (not a chance of meshing well with that one,) Clarissa was one of them weirdo-geniuses you'd see at Uni who... who's brains were just wired a different way, Zell put it to himself. He'd used people like that before, but not ones who had all the power. And power (in the form of popularity and influence) was all that Zell could bring to the table, of value, when negotiating anything with one of them types, (because he certainly wouldn't be valued for his intellect.) Lucy would've been perfect if he'd not fucked up his relationship with her, after fighting in her establishment (Ell-Oh-Ell, what a night.) Commander Thorn was the obvious winner. Getting close to him would be worthwhile, but Zell somehow doubted an army man was in at the highest levels of the political 'in-groups' of Mytheria. Thorn was a must, though, if nothing else but to slake this new thirst Zell's 'Fighter Class' knowledge had put in him - a desire to understand the full picture when it came to tactical and strategic military warfare as it related to this current battle and the continental war in general. And the other winner was a gut feeling; The Ambassador. Whatever foreign power he was representing, the man had an air of strength and respect, and his position would mean his perspective was from altitude.

Commander Thorn and The Ambassador. They were the men of interest for Zell Brooks.

Watching the meeting with such a discerning eye didn't just tell him things about the strangers though. It would seem that some of his own friends would pass (and fail) some tests of their own. The most notable of these was James, though. Turns out that James' command of conversation, negotiation and leadership was even better than Zell had given him credit for (and Zell had given James a lot of credit already.) James knew how to impose his will on a situation, and he did so skillfully. Force, without effort, Zell acknowledged. Aggressive, without caveman chest-beating or even raising his voice. The Mexicano's talent knew no bounds.

As for anything else of note, from a coldly calculating analysis of the meeting, nothing suprised the Englishman much.

...

Zell was straight out of the door at the end of the meeting, right behind Lucy and even passing her to go out into the square and wait for everyone to sew up their dealings at the meeting, without him. He had nothing to hand over the Academics and he certainly wasn't about to linger long enough for anyone to get a good look at The Black Sword. And anyway, he wanted to use the spare time for his own ends.

"Soldier," he greeted as he approached a man in gilded armour in the street. The gruff man who was stood around for some purpose, eyed Zell suspiciously. "Captain Brooks," Zell decided introducing himself in a way that mimmicked Commander Thorn's cadence and mannerisms would give the right impression and make the soldier more comfortable. It seemed to work. He also flashed his Source Crystal for extra effect.

"Sergeant Major Gorgrim," the half-orc saluted sharply. Zell had no idea what ranks were what, but judging by the reaction, Captain was above Sergeant Major.

Bingo.

Zell saluted back. "At ease, my good man. Just wanted to bend your ear a bit," Zell responded. "All this waiting around has got my sword arm itchy. How goes the night?" He got a simple and formal response, but Zell needed the man to relax if he was going to get any information. "Weather seems a bit weird. It's raining fiery explosions. Wouldn't be my first choice but I'll take it." Gorgrim gave a grunt, which Zell presumed was one of the better reactions he could get from a half-orc army man. "I just got out of the War Room with Commander Thorn and those paper-pushing politicians. Honestly, it's like pulling teeth getting a straight word outta non-military folk. Especially the Admin. Talk about; a stick up the arse."

They talked abit and Zell probed for as much information as he could until everyone in Second Chance was outside and ready to go. He wasn't looking for anything specific, but pushed his luck when it came to blowing his cover, trying to get a good idea of the basic layout of Chain-of-Command, what orders had been coming down it since Valhiem was besieged, the overall feeling amongst the rank-and-file, and anything else that might help Second Chance in the way of intel.
@xenon

...

Walking into The Adventurer's Guild was tense. At his side, was tension from Lucy. In front, tension from the barman and the party Zell and James had fist-fought with. Just behind him was what felt like palpable tension in the form of MacKensie Trydant. Mentally, Zell was laughing his ass off, but his face remained relaxed and unbothered - to send a message to all in the Guildhouse. The Aurok Slaying Bronze Tiers do not give a flying fuck what any of you think. Do something about it. And that's how his face remained, that is, until they hit the stairs and he shared a glance with MacKensie. He gave the woman a cheeky wink and his trademark grin, then went up the stairs ahead of her.

His entire mood quickly changed though, when the prospect of the Source Comm drew near. The rank, the money... all of it faded into complete unimportantant white-noise, as he waited for the promise of Source Comm access to be fulfilled. It felt like the formalities were taking forever. He was bursting for that message. So long he'd held it together - like needing the lavatory and then as soon you're close enough to smell the toilet, you can barely contain yourself. But, in the end, Lucy delivered. What came next was a potent mix of concerning, interesting and incredibly frustrating... to name a few things.

Where to start?

Why not at the most important person in the room, right now.

Zell's eyes immediately went from the Source Comm mail to Fenna, glimpsed her reaction and managed to drag his attention away to a random bookshelf. It felt rude to stare.

Fenna, as far as Zell knew, was the only one here who hadn't died on Earth. And she was the only one who was a parent. What might this woman be thinking, right now? What would I be thinking right now, if I was her? An outright promise to be sent home. An accusation that they had been stolen from Earth - mind, body and soul. The Dutchwoman must've been going through the damn wringer, emotionally, reading all that.

No one else even mattered, in this moment, to Zell. Not his best friend. Not the girl of his dreams. Not his other comrades who he'd gone through so much with, grown so close to. Every one of them had to know that The fucking Quinity could not have been responsible for their deaths, even if Source Magic was part of the selection process for this Summoning. Zell's best guess was that if he was sent home, he'd be fast-tracked to whatever Afterlife existed in Earth's Universe (if there even was one.) But Fenna... she could possibly be reunited with her children.

Zell stepped through the group to stand next the Ranger and gave her pat and rub on the shoulder. He respected her too much to do nothing. As the eldest and wisest of them all, he'd been sharp enough to keep his daft antics at a modest distance from her, and stayed relatively well behaved in her presence. Purely out of respect. What words could a loudmouth, hedonistic young man have for a woman who, quite probably, had been kidnapped and stolen across universes from her family? No words; was the correct answer. And so, a show of silent support was all he could offer in the initial shock of it all.

He let someone else talk first. He'd only say something stupid, which normally wouldn't be a problem in the slightest, but concern for Fenna had overshadowed everything. Even his own thoughts on The Witch Queen - the fact he didn't necessarily disblieve the claim that she'd been conned out of the throne. Shit like that must happen and have happened on Earth plenty of times. (But, I mean; fuck - right or wrong - she's using some fucking dirty tricks to get her way, to put it lightly.)

He paced slowly around the mezzanine for a few moments. If anyone spoke, he listened, but it wasn't long before he did think of something to say to Fenna, so he went to the Dutchwoman. "Fancy that beer, mate?"

And so, Zell found himself at the bar, ordering a pint from the tap, gladly buying a drink for whoever appeared next to him.

If it was Fenna: "We'll get you home, mate. To hell and back first, if we must, but you are going home."

To anyone else: "Fuck me, what a day this has been."

Wraiths, cults, ninjas, Devils, dino-fucking-cavalry... Mytheria just didn't let up.

When the academy officials asked for their magical items, Fenna looked at her spear. She shrugged and handed it over. "The size matches what I need it for," she told them. It'd be great if they could figure out more about the weapon, she used it instinctively and had no idea how it worked herself. If they would refuse to give it back, well, she'd find a way to get it back, or use another weapon. It was a useful tool and she could do without it for a while.

They could finally go to the guild hall. Fenna waited patiently for the contract to be processed and she accepted her part of the reward. Then the moment came she had waited for: the comm message that would explain it all. The comm message they had risked a gold contract for and had battled hard for. When the screen showed the text, her eyes moved over it, taking in every word.

The world felt like it had stopped. She stared at the screen, her thoughts racing through her mind. Disbelief. Doubt. The painful longing to go back home. She pressed her lips together and breathed in through her nose to keep herself from crying. True words had been written; they had been kidnapped and dragged into this fight... what were they even fighting for? But Zigmund had attacked them as well and wasn't he affiliated with the Witch Queen.

A pat and rub on her shoulder broke her thoughts and she glanced to Zell before turning her attention back to the message to read it again. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I need a moment." She turned and left the room, then left the guildhouse. Alone she did what she hadn't want to do in front of the others and cried. Sil, sensing her grief, joined her immediately and held on to her shoulder and upper arm with her talons so she could put her head against Fenna's head in an attempt to comfort her.

After a few moments she took in a shaky breath and wiped the tears away. This wasn't going to solve anything. That's when she heard Zell's voice. Had he followed her? She turned to look at him. "I do fancy a beer," she said in a soft voice and joined him at the bar, sitting next to him. She held the pint with two hands.

When Zell spoke, she looked at him and tried to smile, but she wasn't sure how successful she was. "Thanks." She put a hand on Zell's arm. "Thank you." It seemed like Zell didn't doubt they'd find a way home. A way had presented itself, but who could they trust? She smiled at Zell's final comment. "What a day indeed," she sighed and drank from the beer.

Words carried weight, there was a saying from where he was from 'An action is worth a thousand words', while that was true it often blinded people to the fact that words carried their own value, people died just because someone uttered the wrong words. This was especially true in fucking politics.

Fortunately for them, Kass' word was worth gold inside Valheim, sure they would have been accepted either way, but the people inside knew they weren't in a position to refuse aid.

Grabbing the Alarm Receiver he spared a nod to the Paladin, it was a surprising kindness that he decided to extend and James was thankful for it. He wasn't the only one if the looks on his party faces were anything to go by, the mayor being the one to speak was surprising but perhaps it was to be expected, he wasn't sure what factions existed inside Valheim but it should be safe to assume the mayor would seek to present himself as a big player, regardless of how much power he actually had at his disposal, he had to admit, the way he carried himself didn't really imply confidence.

When Mackenzie and Fenna decided to speak about their equipment he simply raised an eyebrow, will he would have preferred to play the cards close to his chest that was just his paranoia or maybe Zigmund talking, as far as they were aware what equipment they had when they arrived wasn't anything out of the norm, at least not by his memories, custom made yes but not out of the realm of imagination. Still, it was not surprising that the abbr=Nerds]Academy Officials[/abbr] wanted to give it another look, parting with his idol was easy, most of the time he tended to forget he even had it in the first place, and he wasn't wholly concerned, he may use it for blessings but the lasers were all him. It was when they asked for the anchor that he hesitated.

The anchor was a memento of a dear friend, someone who had fallen on the line of duty helping them survive, it had become a staple in his life since he got it, and parting with it -even temporarily- just didn't feel right.

In the end he decided to just give his idol and keep the anchor, he may lose some info about it but the calm of mind was more than worth it.

After that business was concluded it was time to hash the details of the meeting with the commander. That done it was finally time to head back to the guild, one more step towards returning home, the situation was dire but he couldn't help but have a spring in his walk, nothing could ruin his good mood-

"Here we are," she announced as they arrived at the Guildhouse. But she stopped at the door and turned around to everyone. "You two," she said, looking at Zell and MacKensie. "I am willing to overlook your actions a few nights past, on this one occasion - I will go back on my word. You are unbanned from the Guildhouse, but know that you are on thin ice, my friends." She was deadly serious. "I won't hear of any apology or excuses, or relitigate the issue, so don't bother." She wagged her finger at them both. "One slip, and I will see to it that you never step foot in this Guildhouse ever again."

Ah

He froze.

"Shit!"

He forgot about that!

Quick deflect! Don't let them-

“If you don't mind me asking, how did you get banned?” Adam's question was delivered quietly, with the skepticism in his mind apparent on his face.

FUCK!

He felt the familiar feeling of panic rising, he had to do something... or did he? Huh? At this point wouldn't it be better to just man up and admit to Mac that he forgot to come clean?

But it would suck.

But it was something that he should do instead of continuing pussyfooting around.

Fine, he would do it.

Walking behind Adam he made a gesture to Mac and mouthed the words 'I tell you later'. Admitting the whole thing would take some time (not to mention the fallout) he preferred it happened after they got what they needed,



All the thoughts fled his mind at the message. To James the contents were suspicious but worth investigating.

To Zigmund?

Fear was an emotion the old Blessed didn't feel often, bravado was what saved his life in more than one location, and the things he had done curved the impulse to feel fear. And yet he would never forget the one and only time he met the Witch Queen, even now the urge to whimper and cower was still present. Like prey in front of a predator knowing the slightest move could set them off.

Fear was not an emotion Zigmund Mugba-Zarack was familiar with but in HER prescence? He was terrified.

He needed to distract himself, Lucy!, he should- no, he was panicking, acting foolishly, yes this was uncommon but Hacking was a known practice, of course SHE would have access to it and if she had caught on their existence it was rational to guess that she would try to do something about it.

Just in case better keep it under wraps at the moment.

Walking towards Lucy he spoke loudly "Thank you, the message was not what we expected and it raised some questions but is good to at least have a lead" giving her a nod he moved towards Clive "How you holding big guy?" He could see some of the other members of the party not dealing with it particularly well. Not that he judged them after reading all that.

Oh, right, he wondered how what insights could Kass have.

Barracker gathered that his words were felt in the war room. He acknowledged the appreciation from his friends and the kind words from Mayor Joseph Pendlebury. After the meeting concluded, his attention was met by fellow friend, High Septum Areleth with a guiding hand to the side, where the two could speak. “So this was your intent behind me joining Second Chance.”

Areleth sighed a breath. “I honestly did not anticipate it ending up like this. I only sought to follow my instincts.”

“Well, your instincts saved them all from a certain death.” Barracker retrieved the letter that he promised Hommas village elder he would deliver.

Areleth was intrigued, not just by the letter too, but Barracker’s words.. “What’s this?”

“From Hommas. I was charged with its delivery to you.” Then he expanded on the mission. “The mission they took for their first venture was Gold Ranked. Nasty business. But then a powerful agent of The Witch Queen showed up too.” He thought of Zell and this Baphomet business, but decided not to say anything. “The path they walk is fraught with danger.”

Areleth’s face was grim. He thought for a second and then took Barracker’s hand. “Thank you, my son. They may be the key to saving the world. You have done a great service to our cause.”

Barracker gave a salute, “The things I have seen from these people, it feels like the mythic age is upon us. If they are only given time and protection to grow, there is a possibility of surpassing even the council of heroes.”

The High Septum took a moment to absorb those words, stroking his chin in thought. Then he asked. “What will you do now?”

The concern on Barracker’s face was noticeable, “The orphanage…”

Areleth interrupted with a raised hand. “Everyone is safe in the Temple.”

Barracker smiled. “You have my thanks. I am in your debt.”

“It was the least I could do for you,” he replied with a smile. “I have arranged beds for all in the dormitory neighbouring your own.”

Everyone began to leave the war-room, bringing their conversation to an end. The priest and Paladin said their goodbyes, “I am glad things turned out this way, my thanks again,” and Barracker departed with Second Chance.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Less than an hour later inside the confines of the Adventurer’s Guild, Barracker was there to receive the source com message with everyone else. His brain was frazzled in confusion and a flicker of anger in the mix. She was the cause of his vampirism. She was possibly royalty, according to the message. She seemed sure of this Summoning that Areleth suspected. This just made things in his head bring on heavy confusion, bringing on a headache. What came through the block of anger and confusion though, in his logic part, a stamp of injustice he had felt for his friends. It was not honourable or pious to take his friends from their loved ones and world. Just to make them fight someone else’s war. His feelings were cold towards this notion of The Witch Queen, this perpetrator meaning right by the group. She could have been lying about almost everything and using bits of the truth to make it sound plausible.

He had full faith in James as a leader and friend, even the rest of the party for that matter, their values and morales had shined through. Their intentions were for the greater good from what he had learned from being around them and what Zell had told them from along their journey. But then it hit, his anger again. She is the reason behind my affliction, behind that day on the plains, The vampires in her army had followed her plans, and now she is behind Valhiems siege too. So many lives lost across Mytheria. I am a vampire because of you. Barracker found it difficult to order his thoughts.

But the realisation hit him again as he looked around the room at the faces of his friends. They were stuck here. Some of them had died. They had lost their world and loved ones.

This is not about you, right now.

Barracker stuck around for a moment, to be there for his friends in their time of need. He went to his captain and clasped forearms in a warrior's embrace. “I will retire for the night,” he said, and then added a few quite words in his ear. “This may not be my place to say, captain, but their is a web of lies and truths surrounding you and our friends.” he looked James in the eye and said. “Be careful.”

Then he was off down the stairs. Before he left the guild house, he stopped by Fenna and Zell at the bar and placed a gold piece down on the counter. “ A round on me,” Barracker gave them a rub on the shoulder simultaneously, then left.

As he hit th air from outside, he sighed heavily with pity for his friend's circumstance. He would be there for them until the very end.

They took their first few swigs in tandem and in silence. Zell's thoughts strayed to his mum and dad, but landed and stayed on his older sister.

Zell had grown up in a good middle-class household in West London, just outside the mega-rich Chelsea area. His father and mother had both come from working class backgrounds, so their values and culture was very-much the stereotypical, commoner cockney folk, his father remaining especially engrained in that hard-working, 'cheeky cockney lad' attitude, which is where Zell got his particular brand of charisma from. Zell however, being bad at studies and school from an early age (mixed with his family's lack of 'Fuck You Money') meant that he would go to (that is; his parents forced him to go to) a bad college after high school. However, the kid had been blessed with a promising talent for football and a streak of entrepreneurship that meant he always had some method of making a few quid - from buying large packs of sweets and selling them in singles in 7th grade, to dealing in similar wholesale/retail schemes with cigarettes and vape pens in later years.

He'd always been good with girls, partly due to his own attributes, (being tall, athletic and relatively handsome had it's own benefits) but most definitely because of his sister, Phoebe. Phoebe was a few years older than Zell and practically beat her little brother over the head with the biblical laws of fashion, hygiene, what's popular, dating - all from the POV of a teenage girl. She was a know-it-all. Ever the type who 'was pretty and she knew it.' And that was their relationship - her being on his ass whenever she had the chance, and preaching her values and ideals. From 5yrs old all the way to his 20's. He hated her at times, but when his adolesence started to kick in, they became quite close.

And so, of all his family, he missed her the most.

Whenever his deepest feelings managed to avoid suppression and reach the forefront of his mind, he always found himself wondering what she was doing. Last time he'd spoken with her, she was two months pregnant and looking at houses with her fiance.

~~~~"Location, location." Phoebe's current catchphrase. "I'd rather get somthing small with a good postcode. I'm not raising children in a shoddy neighbourhood."~~~~

She was sooo high maintenance and materialistic. Thank god she'd found a rich enough guy to handle that. She was a good person though. When recent family medical problems had arisen, she was front and center, being there for all involved, without even needing asking.

Zell smiled.

In a way, he'd proven in Mytheria that he was kinda similar - Egotistical and vexing in good times, but dependable and strong when shit hit the fan. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, Zell thought as he downed the last of his pint.

"Mate," he called the barman. "Two more o' those, if you don't mind." He looked at Fenna and grinned. "One good beer deserves another." As Barracker came and went, Zell reached a hand behind himself to pat Barracker back in comraderie. "Cheers, Kass. G'night mate."

...during the 2nd beer...

He'd spared Fenna his rambling up until this point, content to simply be here with his friend in companionable silence as she had a much-needed beer. But now, his chatbox started working.

"I don't know about you, Fenna, but I feel like The Witch Queen told us the truth," he said. "Pretty much every word. Just a gut feeling." He glanced at her then back at the bottles behind the bar. "There ain't no way we can go to her side though. Everytime we bloody blink, we get dragged further into this war. I just can't imagine we'll just stroll east to Azeroth and she'll be like 'Right, off you go, chaps,' with a rolled out red carpet and dimensional portal at the end." He shook his head. "Nah. She'll want something in return. And let's face it, it will involve being in this war."

He lifted his drink to his lips but paused turned to her with raised eyebrows. "But... there is a way to get back. I can feel it." He took a sip and continued. "We are gonna get used and abused by these Mytherians before they let onto us; the way home. But mark my words, if we keep our eyes and ears open, we might just figure out 'the magic door' without the Emperor or 'Rightful Empress.' And if we do, then I wouldn't begrudge any of us taking the opportunity ot get the fuck outta here."

He looked around a little, eyeing the wooden beams in the ceiling, the barman, the adventurer down the bar who was getting a round in for his party...

"We're on the right side," he added to the conversation. "If we're stuck here, in this world - in this war - then we're stuck on the right side of it, at least. We can be sure of that."

...during the 3rd beer...

"What's the Netherlands like, eh?" Zell asked, a slight smile and encouraging nudge to Ranger. "What's the average day in the life of Fenna Postma?"

Whatever she would reveal he would listen intently and enjoy it, maybe even asking a follow-up question or two about her family's personalities and such. Fenna was always so strong and silent, (which was actually fucking badass, in Zell's opinion) but it couldn't be easy always being that way. So Zell would give her the opportunity to let off some steam, talk about something positive and passionate, and maybe gain some strength from it.

However, he wouldn't pry too hard. He was sharp enough to know if he needed to take his foot off the gas.

MacKensie had followed Lucy down the mountain and along the road to the Adventurer's Guild, so filled to the brim with nervous anticipation that she managed to ignore the artillery fire going on above them. The time had finally come for them to open their Source Comm message. Constantly, she would massage her left wrist that felt so naked, without her magical gauntlet, trying to guess what the message might say, trying to think of what catharsis would be provided to make all of this danger so worthwhile. But she could never think of anything.

When Lucy stopped them outside the guildhouse to address them all, MacKensie expected some words of encouragement, or maybe a warning to reign in expectations, but was taken completely aback to the realisation that she was being UNBANNED!? Her head jerked back, looking around a little at a loss for words. Lucy was done telling her and Zell off pretty quickly and went inside. MacKensie was left stunned and embarassed, sharing a quizzical look with anyone who would indulge her. Ordinarily this might have triggered her moral indignation - MacKensie very protective against aspersions on her character - but there was too much at stake to fully feel the slight on her person. She didn't even have the wherewithal to notice any bad vibes or stern stares from anyone inside the guildhall.

Adam's quiet inquiry was met by a quick reaction to assure him, equally quietly and confused, that she had no idea of the answer to his question. Then James got her attention to silently relay that he would explain later - something that would turn her confusion to frustration - with Zell's wink and grin turning frustration to anger, shortly after that. "What in the name of...?" she muttered before trailing off and following everyone upstairs.

She found it very difficult, but managed to put the angering mystery aside for now, seeing as more important matters were at hand. And when she finally got a chance to read, along with everyone else, the Source Comm message, she was shocked into a stupor, her only noise made being a small gasp at the part;

"They will label me the Evil Witch Queen,"

...where it was confirmed who had hacked the Source Comm inbox.

She couldn't think straight. Or at all, as a matter of fact - her mind blank in a delayed response to the information . So many thoughts and feelings she was bracing herself for... they never came. Some form of denial perhaps? A good cry and a good sleep to reboot herself required? Who knew, not her. For the instant, there was just nothing but a question mark. But the first thing that came to her mind in the form of a clear and concise thought was a single word - a name - drenched in sorrow.

Fenna.

Zell was consoling her - the mother who'd been taken from her children. The swordsman had done what she should have been the one to do. But no matter, at least someone had thought to put the Fenna first, which was what counted. That was the most important thing. When the other Ranger fled the mezzanine and went outside, MacKensie wanted to go after her and be a cornerstone of support, just as Fenna had always been for her, but she felt a greater urge to respect the older woman's wishes. No one else said too much, until James went to Lucy to talk to her. That's when MacKensie went over to the mezzanine guard-rail and leaned on it to watch the taproom floor down below, absently.

"What a mess," she muttered to herself.

“That message… it was really something, wasn't it?”

MacKensie turned her sad expression onto Adam as the young man joined her at the rail, paused for second, then nodded thoughtfully. "I am at a loss," was all she could say, at first. But she then continued. "Oh Adam... what are we to do?" She took a deep breath and shook her head incredulously. "We really were brought here to kill The Witc-" She corrected herself. "To kill this woman, Melina." It sounded strange, to call her by her name - to give her some humanity, even though every experience Second Chance had of this woman painted her as a monster. "I am bereft of certainty, even more so than ever. I thought it was becoming clear that this was a matter of Good vs Evil. Like a movie or some fantasy tale. But there are real people on both sides. And I am confused. I killed real people at that temple Adam. Snuck up and slit one of their throats, in cold blood," her voice was so repentent, yet still in disbelief. That Gold Mission had really taken it's toll on her. And it was apparent - obvious - that the killing had yet to reach it's peak. Likely not even close. "I am no longer the person I thought I was."

Somehow, it had become about her, but she couldn't help herself. This world of Mytheria was like a mirror held up to her, showing her things she was not exactly happy to admit. She had always considered herself quite smart, but James and Lillianna had showed her that she wasn't. She had always thought herself honourable and sincere, yet Adam had showed her she lacked in that department. She had always felt so sure of herself, yet Zell had showed her what self-confidence truly was. And she clung to Fenna like a child to her mother, the other Ranger showing what quiet, feminine strength should look like. Mytheria had showed her the limits of the qualities she valued about herself. It was truly humbling, which would be a good thing - a lesson - but all of this killing, against her will, not really knowing the big picture. Just killing and getting short-term dopamine hits of feeling heroic, but to what end?

"Tell me honestly, Adam," she looked at him pleadingly. "What does your heart tell you, about all of this?"

What a puzzling development. Even the woman who was banned didn't know why? There was no way she was lying, so the Druid would have to ask her about it again later.

-----

So many questions. So much pain. Adam could hear it in her voice, even if MacKensie hadn't been blatantly asking him about it. He knew he would do his best to relieve her of those feelings.

“My heart is telling me a lot of things, including a reminder of some personal family history.” He glanced at Lucy; sure, she didn't seem like she was eavesdropping, but why risk anything? She seemed like a decent person, though for all he knew, the elf could have been subtly listening in on them the entire time. “We should discuss everything in a more private location.”

Guiding the Ranger to a bench in a quiet back alley near the Guild hall, the Druid motioned for her to sit down next to him. Once she did so, he looked into those beautiful blue eyes and spoke from the heart. “First, you are a wonderful person. You aren't killing for the fun of it, it's to help people. Hommas and Cherrad's citizens are alive in part because of that. And me personally, I'm not sure I would have made it this far without you. You mean a lot to me.” After the last part, Adam's cheeks turned a bright shade of red, as if he just realized that this might have been more forward than he intended. This isn't about you, tone it down, Adam.

“Anyway, that history.” The man sighed, then turned himself towards the front, staring into the distance as he told MacKensie everything. “My Uncle David was a great man. Honest, intelligent, could lighten up the mood anywhere. He wanted to serve his country, so he joined the army when he was 18.”

The sadness in Adam's voice was palpable. “He came back a completely different man. Just abrasive all around, to say the least. I'll spare you the gruesome imagery, but he saw atrocities overseas. Horrible things, caused major PTSD. And a year after he came home, he took his own life. Of course, this was all before I was born - my father was 13 at the time. I just can't imagine…”

The red-eyed man drifted off for a moment before resuming his focus, this time looking at his blond friend once more with conviction in his voice. “The point being, I think that this - our part in this war in Mytheria - isn't like that. Whatever the political stuff is that's going on here, we aren't bad people doing bad things. I don't enjoy killing people. And if the Emperor or whoever tries to get us to do evil things, we have the power to say no. This is going to sound super conceited, but we are special here, I think. The way Barracker spoke of us, and what Glee has told me, convince me of this. That means we have some latitude here. Whatever we were brought here for, we can choose our own path.”

Everything Adam said was true, yes. It was good to lead with that, because the next part might be tougher to accept. “That being said, I think the hacked letter is at least highly suspicious, and probably an attempt to kill us. Melina could have sent her own message with the source mail, or had Zigmund give us a letter instead of attacking us. Lillianna knew of the danger we were in and where it came from, and I trust her. Personally, I plan on defending this city, even if it kills me. I don't know everything here. I just know that if I do nothing, innocent people will die, and I couldn't live with myself that way. Then maybe I can go to Capital City and get some answers about all this. If the team feels differently, that's understandable. This is just what my heart is telling me to do.”

Adam smiled at MacKensie, then concluded with “and whatever does happen, I know you'll be okay.”

Barracker walked through the night. The skies still lit with the glowing fire from the flames crashing off the barrier. This will be a long siege, the Paladin thought. The cold air was nice to his touch, there was a slight breeze patrolling the spaces of the buildings. Through the crookes and spaces , down the paths and streets. Barracker felt it would have been a good time to share information of what he knew about the Witchqueen and the politics that took place in Mytheria, but he lacked the knowledge of the royal background she claimed in her message to the group and even more so lacked knowledge about her banishment from the Mytheria. Someone must know more about all this, the Witchqueen’s place in all this, this apparent summoning ritual spell to bring forth heroes from another world. Politics wasn’t his thing but Evelyne would possibly have some understanding about some part of this all, seeing as she was well placed in the church and Capitol City. Maybe? Judging by the correspondence between himself and her, she was definitely on course for a good career in the church, already having received a promotion at the ‘Basilica Magna Decoris,’ the highest Church in the land. She was intelligent and well-spoken and her high birth didn’t hurt, seeing as her father had connections. Barracker would have liked her insight right now on what was going on inside Capitol city walls and what the church was thinking. As for the power representing the church in the war room meeting that took place, Areleth would want the best for the city and for Second Chance. He kept the alarm receiver inside his satchel, ready to be called at any time.

War wore heavy on his mind still, but the Temple of the Quinity was just coming up on his left, some buildings after crossing the bridge. He took a breath, trying to compose himself, pushing his negativity aside before entering the temple. He had rented a room at ‘The Mended Drum’ so he could stay with his party, but as long as this enemy army threatened Valhiem, he would stay as close to the orphans and Mother Anne as he could. As soon as Barracker entered through the doors he could hear the muttering of civilians. He popped his head round the doorway from the first room in which he heard the noise from. There he found some of the orphanage workers along with Anne sat around a table talking. “Mother. My ladies.” Barracker knew all their names but kept it formal as he always did.

“Barracker”.

“Barracker”.

“Barracker”.

They all said near in synchronicity. He looked around and saw that not nearly all workers were there but knew that some would be asleep, others making hot drinks and finishing daily tasks and some keeping an eye on the kids sleeping. The ladies excused themselves and made way for Barracker and Anne to speak, explaining there were still tasks to be done. As he went over to Anne, he gently embraced her, a bigger hug than normal. She could tell through her wise years of being alive, he was worried, she embraced back, squeezing with all her might of a elderly person of her age could. They talked for a while about current events and Barracker made his promise to keep Valhiem safe at all costs. He discussed many topics, including each one of his friends from Second Chance and that he was thankful for Areleth’s intuition to put him in the service of the group in the first place. He was no longer in the service of them, now he was their friend and would not have it any other way.

After a while Anne said, “Now go get some sleep. You’re still a growing young man.”

Barracker smiled, wondering if it was her old age or her elven race that made her think a man of his age still was ‘a growing lad.’ But he gladly gave in to her making him promise to go to his dorm for some rest, although he laughed and reminded her about his partial insomnia and said he would probably be up all night anyway, but he would indeed rest as best he could. Departing from the room, a few doors down, he found the dorm where the children and orphanage workers were accommodated. Going over to Isabella, he made sure to tuck her favourite teddy in her arms next to her as it had gotten loose, making sure not to wake her, before departing to his own room.