[center][@Zool][@Loksfjoer][@Saiyan][@Teyao][@Zapdos][@Jay009][@Dark Cloud][/center] [u][b]Mayor Joseph Pendlebury:[/b][/u] 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." [u][b]Ambassador Malcom Crane:[/b][/u] "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." [u][b]High Septum Areleth:[/b][/u] 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." [Center]___________________________________________________________[/center] 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. [b]It was the personal choice of each Person From Another World, what items they were willing to part with.[/b] [center][@Jay009][/center] 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... [center][@Teyao][/center] 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. [center][@Zool][@Loksfjoer][@Saiyan][@Teyao][@Zapdos][@Jay009][@Dark Cloud][/center] 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 [i]The Ancient Law of The Source Crystals.[/i] [Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/r5h47Ts.jpg[/img][/center] She took them down the mountain and along the [i]Inner North Wall Road[/i] 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. [Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/dpGJzxD.jpg[/img][/center] 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. [b]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 [i]Reputation and Classification[/i]. Second Chance was officially now a [i]Silver Ranked Adventurer Party[/i]. 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.)[/b] The main perk of being a Silver Ranked party was ultimately the reason they were all here: [b][i]Source Comm Access and [Level 1] use of the features.[/i][/b] Lucy did not delay. She showed them all how to, when linked the Magi-Tech system, handle the movement and use of the [i]User Holo-Screens[/i]. 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... [Center]___________________________________________________________[/center] [quote][i]This is an Imperial Missive from His Majesty, Emperor Quintus Young:[/i] 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.......... ............ .............. .............. ........... ........... . . [Center]n̸̢̡̪̺͖̫̹̯̜͖͇̜͙̋͂ͅͅë̷͚̳̗͙̝̠̤͚͖́n̸̢̡̪̺͖̫̹̯̜͖͇̜͙̋͂ͅͅt̶̛̬̠̞͇̱͌̈̐͗̀̉̊̿̒͛SoUrCE̶̹͕̤͓̲͌̈͆̿͆ m̷̛͍͂͆̈́́͠l̸̤͈̣̣͓̘̺̞̗̟͌̋̐̿͠͠t̶̛̬̠̞͇̱͌̈̐͗̀̉̊̿̒͛C0DE̶̹͕̤͓̲͌̈͆̿͆ ẖ̷͙̼̭̣̖̥̫̝̜͛̾̍̈̾̊̂͛͘͝ţ̷̰̯̼̖̰̝͍͇̻̣͍̩͌̕m̷̛͍͂͆̈́́͠ -C0RrUpPt̶̛̬̠̞͌ỉ̶̧̨̤͓̙̬̠͐̀̃͂̀̃̊̔̾̈̕D------------ẖ̷͙̼̭̣̖̥̫̝̜͛̾̍̈̾̊̂͛͘͝m̷̛͍͂͆̈́́͠ë̷͚̳̗͙̝̠̤͚͖́g̵̡̜̖͙͍̥̹̟͎͙̱̞̘̈́̀̒̑͋̃̎UnAblE̶̹͕̤͓̲͌̈͆̿͆g̵̡̜̖͙͍̥̹̟͎͙̱̞̘̈́̀̒̑͋̃̎̌̎̐̀͊͑̒̕ẖ̷͙̼̭̣̖̥̫̝̜͛̾̍̈̾̊̂͛͘͝n̸̢̡̪̺͖̫̹̯̜͖͇̜͙̋͂ͅͅ--T0-ë̷͚̳̗͙̝̠̤͚͖́n̸̢̡̪̺͖̫̹̯̜͖͇̜͙̋͂ͅͅt̶̛̬̠̞͇̱͌̈̐͗̀̉̊̿̒͛Pl̸̤͈̣̣͓̘̺̞̗̟͌̋̐̿͠͠rOcEsS-n̸̢̡̪̺͖̫̹̯̜͖͇̜͙̋͂ͅͅë̷͚̳̗͙̝̠̤͚͖́n̸̢̡̪̺͖̫̹̯̜͖͇̜͙̋͂ͅͅt̶̛̬̠̞͇̱͌̈̐͗̀̉̊̿̒͛[/center] . . ........... .............. ............. ............. .............. ............. ............. .......... ............ .......... .......... ........... ........... 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, [i]The Evil Witch Queen[/i]. 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 [i]am[/i] 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. [u][i][b]I[/b][/i][/u] was not the one who stole you from your former life. [u][i][b]I[/b][/i][/u] am not the one who seeks to use you a tool for ends you do understand. But [u][i][b]I[/b][/i][/u] [i]can[/i] be the one to save you from your nightmare. [i]Yours faithfully, Melina Rasputia Young, the Rightful Empress of The Free Peoples Empire.[/i][/quote]