[IC] Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

[DruSM157]

Location:The Laughing Warg Tavern - The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

He let Kazuki lead. It felt good, actually, having the heavy weight of leadership off his shoulders. It felt good to depend on someone else and lean on them. As they entered the tavern, there was a sense of tense calm. People had been drinking, been breaking down and talking. No one paid them much mind as they entered. Kazuki noticed Alex, and walked over to greet the man, while Benkei noticed Sif wave.

Sif. She’d been a good player when he’d run dungeons with her. Siegfried, the lazy older brother had been the problem. Hotheaded, loud and fussy, but also not as gifted at the game as his sister. She was someone that Benkei could depend on in a dungeon.

He walked over to her.

“Hey,” he said in a low voice. It carried a hoarseness with it. He didn’t notice it until now; and it made him sound older, sicker even. It shocked and scared him a little, as it reminded him of his own mortality. His pallid complexion did not help his image. “How are you holding up?”

The irony was lost on him, of course, as he’d been the one who collapsed. He’d been the one to show weakness. But here he was attempting to appear strong to someone who saw him at his weakest moment. If Kazuma could float away from his own body and watch himself as someone watching a television show, perhaps he would have laughed with gusto at the scene.

[mickilennial]

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Don't worry about it kid, it’s on the house.”

Dariel always had his principal ideals, no matter how much Arie got on his balls about how he was both financially stupid but also intellectually stupid. “First-timers always eat for free. That’s how you build brand loyalty.” he often told her with a wink. As he put down the washcloth at the bar’s counter he cracked his neck. It’s been awhile since he stepped into the kitchen personally. He was glad to be himself again and not just be stuck uttering the same boring trite.

“And it’s Dariel. Dariel Yaleioric.” The older man smiled warmly as he slinked toward the kitchen, “Don’t go anywhere.”

Location: City Streets, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

I am trapped in a video game world.

The blood knight’s hysterical laughter at her self-depreciative joke made her roll her eyes, though her own words had echoed in her mind like a reverb; clinging to every facet of her mind.

She hadn’t intended to visit the hot, humid tavern for lunch but Graves had essentially guided her to the building. She wasn’t sure why she felt so comfortable to say things that were better left private. It wasn’t “cool” to admit you never had friends or that your parents hated you, that you felt alone since pretty much forever. But she had basically told him how it was. He didn’t pry a whole lot and his insistence of trying to offer Mystic Prophecy his help felt like the opposite of what Rael thought she’d do. Luci never liked her, so seeing her face after they had buried her two closest friends in a video game cemetery was something she imagined would get her screamed at or attacked.

Rael had thought back to that night. What would’ve happened if Benkei insisted on taking the left pathway? Would she be dead? Would they have had to bury Benkei and Kazuki instead? Mystic Prophecy was one of the tightest, most skilled groups that she had ever worked with. Aaganim and Enos being gone felt insane to her, but she wasn’t destroyed by it. She barely knew anyone in Pariah Online outside of people she knew in her university classes at Tokyo U who played the game. She wondered if those people were alive. Not that she was friends with any of them, but loss of life was something that she did not want to think about. No one should die. She didn’t want to die.

Rael took a breath as she entered the tavern, the sight of Kazuki and the others causing her an unease.

“I’m getting something to eat.” She said, coarsely. “Find me later.”
-
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Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

How are you holding up?

Benkei’s concern caught her off guard, but not enough where she showed it. She just looked at him as her hands rested on an open book.

“I’m okay.” She responded, as she looked at him. “Just trying to figure out why… why Kazuki’s magic didn’t work.”

She sighed, as she went to explain what she had been paining over. She knew he probably would find her some kind of heartless bitch for trying to find a logical understanding why Aaginim's body was not rejuvenated in a world of myths and magic. She remembered what the game attendant had said, but she did not particularly think Aaginim would have gone braindead from having his chest crushed and thrown on the floor. Benkei probably would notice the other books on her table aside an archaic library card as she looked down to the book she had been reading when he came in—the first volume in a series of medical diaries written or compiled by a Uron Keldt.

“Magic still obviously functions correctly, so I’m trying to think about it from a logical point-of-view. Why did this known science no longer work. What do we not know about magio-physiological medicine? Problem is the books in Thorinn that I have access to on short notice aren’t exactly the best…”

She sighed, looking back to Benkei as she reached for her tankard.

“You must think it’s stupid of me to think like this…”

[HokumPocus]

Location: City Streets -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

"Buh..."

Alex unpeeled his face from the finished letter. Or at least, the letter in which he really didn't know what else to include. It reminded him of talking to distant relatives after years of not having seen one another, where there were so many possible topics and you avoided them all in favor of small talk because you didn't really know them well. Logan and Alex were closer and loved one another, but Pariah had caused a lot of friction within their relationship. Was there really a point in divulging details apart from not being dead and vague motions towards his current plans? He'd just get frustrated at Alex no matter what. Assuming he was alive of course, but ale did a good job of keeping him from thinking about that.

Facing him was Kazuki, the healer who had survived the raid with him. Kazuki was the opposite of a relative he'd known for a long time, being a near stranger Alex wanted to talk to incessantly over topics such as having almost died and having lived. Not a lot to cover, admittedly, but damn if it wouldn't feel good to find more people to unload with. It took his alcohol-infested brain a while, but what he originally wanted to bring up eventually surfaced in his conscience again.

"Kazuki, dude. Long time no see. I mean, it hasn't really been that long, but it sure feels like it." The words left his mouth in no hurry, a contrast to his usual voice. He was aware of this, but that hadn't been enough to stop him from taking another chug.

"Just here, chillin'. I was gonna ask you guys about your plans and stuff, but I had a letter to write, and, uh..." His face, the lower third of which had smears of ink, tilted towards a corner of the tavern where Seele and Alja were having what looked like an intimate moment. "...Yeah. Don't know what's going on over there."

He slowly grabbed his tankard and swished it around. "So, what brings you here?"

[Hero]

---

---

It had definitely felt like a long time, Kazuki agreed with that much. Still, he couldn't help but slightly raise an eyebrow as Alex drank. The tavern obviously reeked of alcohol, but he was a little surprised to see someone his age--were they the same age?--take a swig like an experienced drinker. Then again, he couldn't really blame him, even if he wished he had arrived beforehand to stop him. There was just something wrong about seeing an obviously sullen Alex trying to drink his woes away. Gone was the warrior archer from yesterday, replaced instead with a young man that seemed like he was in over his head.

Not that he was one to talk.

Alex spoke of a letter and followed where he had gestured to, only now seeing Seele and Alja. It looked like Alja was in the same boat as Alex with Seele comforting her. Was there ever a moment she wasn't comforting someone? He had to admit it was admirable to see her the same as yesterday as she continued to be there for everyone. He never did thank her, did he?

Kazuki tore his gaze away from Seele and looked over to Kazuma for advice, only for the latter to have gone elsewhere. Alright, he supposed recruiting Alex would now fall to him, the socially inept Kazu. Well, if he succeeded, maybe afterwards he could catch Seele and Alja. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to Alex. He was pretty sure the poor guy didn't even realize he had ink all over his chin.

"Actually, 'plans and stuff' is why we're here," Kazuki told him with a slight shrug. "Ka--Benkei and I thought that maybe banding together would be more effective than staying apart. At the very least having more people to rely on isn't a bad thing nowadays."

He had no idea if what he was trying to say even made sense, but he knew he had to try. "Yesterday happened and we're all still here. We're still alive, and that only happened because we were together," He continued, pausing for a moment as he scratched his cheek. "Truth be told, I--It's difficult to find people that are trustworthy. People that are reliable. You're someone that people can rely on and you pull through when needed."

---

---

[Supermaxx]

Location: Laughing Worg Tavern - City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

"Stay safe!" Graves waved to Rael as she sauntered off. "Don't talk to strangers!"

A brief glance around the tavern told him that everybody from their party had showed up. It was strange how glad he was that they'd all decided to stick together after yesterday's events. He didn't know them; not really. Was one life-changing shared experience enough for him to call them his friends? Graves didn't even know their real names. It was silly to care about this group of strangers. He smiled anyway.

The tavern was too muggy for its own good. If outside had been bad, this was practically unlivable. Like walking out of a summer's day and into a sauna, or something. He was thankful he'd skipped out on any extravagances at Raja's- breathable pants, sandals and an open vest as red as...

He crossed over to where Kazuki was standing over Alex, who was knee-deep into a mug of ale about the size of his head. And he had a bunch of shit all over his face, too, on closer inspection. Like he'd fallen asleep in class and some jokester had drawn a penis on his forehead, only the penis was a bunch of misspelled words and the jokester was himself.

"How're my two favorite fuck-ups doin' this fine mornin'?" Graves threw an arm over Kazuki's shoulder. The two didn't know each other well, but Kazu had saved his ass enough times to earn a little love. He'd only caught the tail end of their conversation, but it sounded as serious as it was awkward. Hopefully they weren't too torn up about yesterday- justified as it would be, Graves had no idea how he'd handle that. He could barely handle his own baggage as is. He was no Seele. He couldn't process all this shit and play parent at the same time.

"So everybody's still around. You two gettin' somethin' to eat too, or was there some kinda meetin' I wasn't invited to?"

[Landaus Five-One]

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

It feels a bit nice to hear the man say it's on the house; Kalie smiles slightly happily with that news. She nods about what he says, and it's always good to build brand loyalty for whatever type of place you are working at or doing. " Thank you, Dariel Yaleioric." Kalie said smiled in return. As Kalie watches Dariel slink into the kitchen, she responds to him. " I won't, Dariel." Kalie said. She tries to think about what she will do in the future, but it wasn't like she got anything to do. At her wit's end, in all honesty, many things went wrong in that dungeon, and she broke down in front of everyone. It's a bit depressing that a little push here or there would cause her to break down like that. She roleplays for the sake of feeling better about herself and trying to hide her true feelings about others.

Kalie has always been a bit standoffish towards others because she doesn't know how to react to failure or consequences. It was easy for her to be so because of all the hurt she has in her heart. Kalie breathes in and out, trying to stop herself from breaking down again, but it's hard for her. It doesn't take long for her tears to go down her face, and she tries to wipe them away. ' I should seriously think about my actions and all I have done… I want to feel happy and not with all this sadness in my heart as I do. I don't want to die, though.' Kalie thought to herself. She has her hands near her face to stop the tears from going any further down on her face. Kalie was slightly breaking down again because of all the trouble she causes for her selfish reasons.

It made her think about becoming a teacher a bit more since it is her favorite school subject. Kalie hadn't thought much about the school she would be teaching since she still needed to get the proper credentials to teach. She would probably teach at her Elementary or Middle School, rather than High School. It made her smile slightly since the younger generations need to learn how to write English correctly. ' Come on, Dawn, you can get through this… it's not as if you are going anywhere any time soon.' Kalie thought to herself. Her little pep talk with herself stops her waterworks for now. In essence, she needs to prepare for anything, and it is what her father usually says. She sighs slightly with all that happens to her and everyone else. It hurts to say it, but she fails to make friends throughout her time in this game. All she saw was the competition and nothing else; if she tries a bit harder, she couldn't feel so empty in her heart with so much guilt.

Kalie tries to correctly think of a solution to her most significant problems, which is never understanding others' feelings. How can she be able to understand others' feelings when she hasn't figured hers out. The missing opportunities to find love or find answers to the reasonable questions for her heart has. It's still hard on her, but her parents were the most rational people in her life, and they love her no matter what. ' My feelings are all over the place. I should have opened my heart to others. Only my mother Heather and father Julian knew my feelings well. It’s probably why they intervened for me to relax once in a while before breaking down and feeling unfulfilled. But I did break down in that dungeon as if my life was over...' Kalie thought to herself with slight regret to never opening her heart to others. It hurts, and all she wants to do was deal with her path to becoming what she wants the most.

[Lemons]

---

The snow was still falling.

Kelly was standing underneath it, letting it come down upon her. She smiled. It had been a long time since she'd been up in the Grampians; not since she was just a little kid. It was beautiful. She stuck her tongue out and caught a snowflake on it, giving a little giggle.

But didn't that snowflake taste weird?

Oh, that's right. It was red. She wondered what caused the red coloration; she didn't know enough environmental science to ponder what kind of weird meteorological phenomenon might have caused that. Her mouth quirked, and her brow furrowed slightly. It felt like she was forgetting something. The taste of the snowflake stayed on her tongue.

She was no longer smiling. The snow fell faster. Harder. It poured down upon her in almost a rain, staining her cardigan red. The tang on her tongue was even stronger now.

It tasted like iron.

---

Alja jolted upright, eyes wide, and barely held back a scream. Everything tasted like blood.

A moment later, she slouched down, letting her head rest on an elbow. At least her head hurt less than it had, and the world was no longer wheeling around her. Thanks to Seele, probably. She looked languidly to the side. She was still there. And, a bit further on, so were the rest of their dungeoneering party. Good. At least they were staying together.

She mumbled a quick "thank you, Seele," then gathered her strength and pushed herself up from the chair, stumbling a little bit as she rose to her full height. She stretched her arms, her face fixed in a frown. No more drinking. Not that much, at least. She couldn't be this nonfunctional in a game where things mattered.

I need to get some different clothing on. The lining of her armor was soaked with sweat, and that really didn't help the uncomfortable Thorinn heat. She considered for a moment. What else do I have to wear?

With a quick aside to Seele saying that she'd be back, she picked up her backpack and headed to the bathroom at the back of the tavern. She vaguely remembered being here a lot last night, and shifted uncomfortably before she doffed her armor and slid on whatever was the lightest clothing she had. It wasn't comfortable--nothing was right now--but at least it was less awkward to move around in.

Awkwardly distributing her armor between her backpack and her hands enough that she could carry it somewhere--she didn't know where exactly, but she couldn't keep sleeping in this tavern--she walked back out to the main floor, dressed in a pale blue tunic made of something like linen over a pair of brown trousers and high leather boots. It weirded her out seeing herself in it; for most of Pariah, she'd only worn her armor. But Thorinn was so overpoweringly warm, she was sure if she'd kept wearing it she would have had a heat stroke.

With the bits of her armor she couldn't fit into her backpack awkwardly balanced in her hands, she made her way out to the table, putting it down with a grunt. She felt oddly vulnerable outside of her metal shell. Giving Seele one last grateful look, she clomped her way over to the bar where Kalie sat, feeling kind of weird that she wasn't clanking as she walked.

"Yo. Hell of a night, huh."

[DruSM157]

Location:The Laughing Warg Tavern - The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Just trying to figure out why… why Kazuki’s magic didn’t work.”

She’d had the same thought both he and Kazuki had. Of course she did. She was smart and that set her apart from many meathead players in Pariah. She went on to discuss her own theories and questions about why restorative magic didn’t work like it did before. Benkei was surprised that she’d even gone to look into similar books his brother had also invested in. Smart was too imprecise a word to describe her.

“You must think it’s stupid of me to think like this…” The self-flaggelation wasn’t uncommon for Benkei or his brother. They were Japanese, after all, and dishonor and shame were always on the tip of any serious parent’s tongues. Especially theirs.

“Stupid? No. Brilliant is a better word. It’s something Kazuki and I have also been discussing. Why do we now feel actual sensations, like hunger, pain, and our actual senses. Why is everyone suddenly able to get drunk?” Benkei had a wild look in his eye as he pondered these existential questions. “It’s like this world is a living system, but before the glitch we were only observers and casual manipulators of the world around us. Now after this glitch, we’re a part of the system too. The rules that governed our magic don’t apply anymore. At least, that’s my theory.

He looked around the room, nodding and glancing at those he knew. “How many players are still stuck in Pariah right now, I wonder. And of those players, how many of them have some useful skill or knowledge? I wonder how many players are in the medical field, or engineering field, or in a science field. We need to understand how this world works, but also we need to use the knowledge we have from the real world. If Pariah is a living system now, there are rules and laws. Laws for magic, but also laws for physics. Laws for biology. If we’re going to survive in this place until they can get us out, we need to use everything we have access to.”

Maybe he sounded stupid. Or crazy.

[Hero]

---

---

Graves' arrival had been convenient and Kazuki was glad to see him. There was something about his consistency that was refreshing, even if it was accompanied by a metaphorical gut punch. Oh no, was that what everyone thought of him? Was his failure just going to follow him around forever? It was one thing for his every spare thought burying him in anxiety over it, but somehow hearing it out loud was a thousand times worse. At least Graves was open about it, what of the rest? Would they just look at him in pity? Would Alex be reminded and reject his offer? Was it his destiny to drown in his failure and be blacklisted from any parties because they want a competent healer despite him pouring over medical texts and doing his best to improve oh no what if they saw him buying the books and laughed at his attempts--

Before Kazuki would drown in his thoughts, Graves mentioned a meeting, snapping him back to reality. Yes, of course, he should take advantage of the fact that Graves had openly approached them. He was still convinced the man was probably better off with the guild but if there was any chance at him possibly being open to the idea of sticking with them, then Kazuki would be a fool to pass up the opportunity.

"Actually--" Was he saying that too much? 'Actually'? No, it was happenstance. "--you're someone I wanted to talk to as well," Kazuki admitted. "I was just mentioning to Alex that his performance yesterday proved that he was someone to be trusted, and now that you're here, I'll extend that to you as well. There's no denying your skills and I understand if you feel you're better off elsewhere, but I was hoping you'd consider sticking to Benkei and I--and Alex as well, if he agrees."

Even if he felt like he was repeating himself, he figured it was best to explain. But whereas he thought Alex had one approach, he thought it was best to change it up a little for Graves. Aside from not wanting to come off as repetitive, different targets required alternate methods of recruitment. That thought did not sound manipulative at all regardless of what his conscious told him.

"I don't think anyone yesterday would deny your abilities and strength came to the rescue a multitude of times, and your synergy with the others was unparalleled," He continued. "I think coming together as a group would benefit everyone. The rules have changed in more ways than one, I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that there are strength in numbers. We don't know what else has changed aside from the monsters, as well as..."

He trailed off as he thought back to Marianna. "...the rest of this world. When I was on my way back from the shop, a NPC approached me and spoke to me of my performances. It's not surprising that they remembered as a majority of my revenue came from them, but it was strange that she approached me first. Everything about the conversation was strange, I almost thought I was talking to another player," He shook his head, a little more determined. "Which is why I would like--why I was hoping we could also count on your support."

---

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[Landaus Five-One]

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Kalie was too deep in her thoughts to even notice the super tall, Alja walk over to her and sit down next to her. However, she came out of these thoughts when Alja spoke to her, and she slightly shivered down her spine. It was mostly because the words hit deep within her; those words struck a chord with her. As well, she did notice Alja was a bit look as if she has a hangover.” Hey, Alja… I’m sorry for not noticing you. Also, are you feeling okay? My thoughts are all over the place because of what happened last night. It has been I feel scared. I don’t know what I am doing anymore.” Kalie responded to Alja. Her body language was jittery and scared of all that’s happened. She deeply sighs somewhat because she made her decision on what to do next. ” I can’t bear this any longer, I need someone to know what my real name is, Dawn Sara Hughes. I can’t go back to this persona I created for myself in this game...” Kalie said quietly enough so only Alja could hear her real name. Her tears couldn’t stop coming, and it was unbearable for her; the deaths of Aag, Enos, and Atlas were too much. She never lost anyone in real life before, but it tore her heart asunder.

It shows much in her body language; Kalie was shaking a lot because it was an additional trauma at the end of the day. All her other torments involve her older sister Susan or her character, Marta. She put her hands together to stop her hands from shaking anymore than they were. ” I’m so sorry for every little thing I did to you, Alja, when this game was a game. I feel even more hopeless and helpless than I do previously. All because of my sister’s hate. In all honesty, I shouldn’t have tried to emulate my older sister’s bitchiness, but it felt like the best idea at the time creating what I see myself as.” Kalie said, pouring her soul out because it was hurting. She deeply sighs because she regrets many things; all of them stem from her sister's crueler.

The one thing she never leaves behind is her bag of stuff because of a particular good luck charm she made. She did make it with materials of what this world had to offer on her time besides filling up the player market place with her beautiful clothes. It was a gray cat plushie, which she never allows anyone to see; it wasn’t one to one replica of the one she has in the real world. ” I created this, I call him Simon. He’s my good luck charm when I am doing runs. but I have a feeling it would be better to sleep with him instead.” Kalie said, holding the Cat Plushie in her hands. She was careful with the plushie and put it back in her bag to make sure it doesn’t get hurt. It didn’t take her long to look at Alja and smile happily. ” T-Thank you for listening to me ramble on and on about my fears and everything.” Kalie said with a smile. She was never truthful with anyone but herself; her real self was better than being who she was. It is always a bit of trouble for her to deal with how others react if she acts like herself. In contrast, to how she is in the game compared to her real self.

Kalie couldn’t help but still feel something missing in her life; deep down, there were many things wrong. She tries to be a great player in this game, but that matters now. If any of them fuck up now, they will be permanently dead. It causes her to cry some more and say under her breath, I don’t want to die. She does realize she said that again, even though Rael did save her from her panic attack. ” I-I’m scared… What’s going to happen to us, now?” Kalie questioned a bit aloud. She didn’t even know what happened after she passed out after defeating the demon. ” Did anything happen while I was sleeping after defeating that demon? Besides being woke up by Kazuki’s beautiful music. He’s incredible at what he does, if anything. His musical talent is so much better than mine. All I want to be is an English Teacher for Elementary or Middle Schools...” Kalie said with a slight curiosity since she was truly and genuinely blown away by Kazuki’s music. However, he had to be slightly a bit of a jerk for what he said to her; it hurts. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know someone’s great at what they do.

[mickilennial]

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Rael had placed herself a few seats down from Kalie and the direct end of the bar. She was trying to avoid larger groups and more talking about the dungeon; the goal was to order food and drink, have her anxieties even out, and move forward when Graves dragged her over to Kazuki.

She had not expected Alja to lumber toward Kalie. There she was again. Being loud. Kalie was nearly crying as she rambled about her not-so-secret anxieties. ‘Typical Americans’ she thought as she scowled as a pitcher of grape juice was retrieved for her. It was an intentional choice for the red-haired girl. She remembered the saki-like effect of the wine and ale from the Wayfarer’s Hall and it was way too early to be consuming alcohol. Rael wanted a clear head and some peace and quiet. That’s partially why she had picked the tree outside. The humidity and temperature inside the tavern didn’t help. She eyed a group at a common table where a wayfarer was creating ice cubes with their fingers.

Nothing was making Kalie’s whining bearable, but as far as she could tell there were no seats in a corner open. She poured the juice into her tankard as she heard it. It echoed.

She blinked and then she wasn’t sitting down—she had moved closer to Kalie and Alja.

“Stop crying like a baby.” She said, before she realized it. “We didn’t lose any friends yesterday. They did.”

Ironically, Hanako couldn’t stand people who made things about themselves. Yeah, everybody was scared but you didn’t need to cry and make a show of it. It was disrespectful to everyone around you. She didn’t expect Kalie, or rather, Dawn to understand this. Gaijin always had a habit of doing this. At least when Hanako wanted the spotlight to be on her it wasn’t highlighting all your problems like it was the end of the world. She thought back to Aaginim and Enos. They had created memories and friendships. Herself and Dawn had done nothing but acted out of self-interest. Dawn was being melodramatic and disrespectful.

“Show a little fucking respect to the dead.”

The red-haired girl thought about how harsh her words were to someone she had basically reassured in the dungeon that she was okay and she’d make sure she wouldn’t die. She looked at Kalie’s and Alja’s expressions and for a second she felt a tinge of guilt. But not enough to show it. If they didn’t want to be scolded they wouldn’t do things that warranted it.

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Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Sif felt herself become flustered and red as Benkei called her brilliant.

Like, obviously she was smart; she knew that. Her GPA was ridiculous. People were constantly calling her a “whiz kid”, but nobody had directly called her brilliant to her face. It was a nice feeling. She let the feeling pass, however, as she took to Benkei's comments. About unifying a group of wayfarers with advanced real-world knowledge and about his particular theory about the living system.

“Do you really think anyone is going to be the right state of mind to be consolidating knowledge like that?” She put her finger to her lips for a moment as Benkei considered her response. “I think your theory is correct, though. Its like the game’s framework was protecting us from conventional limitations that the rest of the world has to work by. With that gone, we’re basically on the same playing field as the NPC’s.”

[Lemons]

---

Rael just...

How dare she?!

Alja murmured to Kalie: "Sorry about this."

Then a growl began to build in her throat. She did her best to swallow it back down, but her voice was still burred by it. Her control over her accent slipped as she spoke, and it rasped out in an aggressive, guttural Edinburgh brogue:

"Oi, Rael. Bitch. Quit'cher shit-talkin, ay? Jes' cuz ya don' seem to feel emotion like the rest'a us don' mean ya gotta take yer sociopathy out on someone who's clearly no' gonna respond to it well."

Her brows furrowed and she stood, getting into the smaller woman's face as her frustration and fear began to boil over. She had a headache, god damnit, and she didn't want to listen to this shrimpy little bitch talk shit for one second longer. "I mean, come on! LOOK at her!" She motioned to Kalie--Dawn--in the beginnings of a full mental breakdown. "What're ya tryin' to accomplish? Makin' her feel even worse? Or ya think yellin' at her like that is gonna make this BETTER somehow? Ya seem ta forget, Rael," she continued, voice steadily rising in volume even as she tried to clamp down on it, "this has never been real. How old d'ya think she is, hmm?"

Eventually, she couldn't do it anymore. Couldn't hold herself back. And she thundered at Rael: "It's always been a game ta her, goddamnit! D'ya think she's ever seen a man die violently? Been in the same room when it happened? Heard his loved ones screamin'? She wants ta be a teacher, for Chrissakes! I dinnae what kinda pampered life you've lived out where ya think it's alright to yell at someone for that!"

With some effort, she crushed her voice back down and sat heavily, this time on the opposite side of Kalie, between the two of them. "I dinnae--I just don't know what you're trying to accomplish." A heavy sigh. "So piss back off, ay? I'd rather not have any more bad blood between us than there needs ta--to be."

[mickilennial]

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

_{Sociopath. Bitch. Heartless.}

Alja was in her face. Screaming. But Rael couldn’t hear her. Hanako couldn’t. As she remained stone-faced as the woman criticized her for her comments in her head there was a lot more going on.

“See, I told you they hate you.” She heard. “Everything about you is rotten. How does it feel to have the real world be exactly the same as the virtual world? How’s your escapism going to work?”

She clenched her fists as a reflex as the numbness seemed to go away in seconds. She looked up at Alja and there was no cocky smirk or attitude. Just defiance. Her comments about bad blood made sense, but she had no interest in placating to a broken down child. Kalie was not all that much older than she was. Yet Alja didn’t consider her own age. Her own experiences. Did she think she had seen bodies mangled and ripped apart before? That she experienced death in anything but a passing way? It wasn’t her fault Kalie was weak. It wasn’t her fault Alja was weak. Better to be seen as unfeeling and strong than emotive and weak.

She went to say something but then someone else decided to interject.

Clank!

Dariel dropped the plate on the counter as he moved in a flash behind the larger woman who was the same height as he was.

“That’s enough.” He said, as enhancement magic surged in his body and Alja was lifted off the ground before he put her down in a seat a few paces back. For Alja this would be a new experience in many ways, but also in that a NPC—a denizen had touched her. As she found herself seated he looked at her and pointed point blank between her eyes. “What do you think this is? The gladiatorial arena in Theremia? Have you lost your goddamn mind, girl?”

[Mcmolly]

Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Seele jerked back when Alja started awake. The woman still seemed terribly addled, but at least she was more…present now than she had been. Whatever things she had seen in the dark, Seele couldn’t guess at, and frankly, was too afraid to. The lot of them had all likely suffered some kind of haunting or another over the night. Some of them, like Benkei, had begun suffering before they’d even left the dungeon, and it had not been an easy thing to watch. She thought back to how Kazuki had become almost manic when the tank collapsed—manic at least by the mellow standard she’d developed of him in their brief time together.

With a little finagling, Seele managed to gather up the table’s empty mugs and cups in her arms and bring them over to the counter. She would have gone back to clean up the little spillages left behind, but a sudden roaring made her skin jump.

"Oi, Rael. Bitch.”

Oh no. No. Nope. Seele turned wide-eyed to find Alja towering over Rael. The smaller tank’s fists were clenched, the look on her face was downright dirty. Tempers were boiling, but Seele felt a chill run down her spine. She all but scrambled over to them.
…
“That’s—”

“That’s enough.”

Seele blinked, watching the barkeep use magic to dissolve the fight, though it seemed as though Alja had been backing off already, thankfully. Nevertheless, that sort of intervention from a denizen was, to Seele, unprecedented, and it was a good moment or two before she remembered herself. The fight seemed to be snuffed for now, good, but it still seemed like they were about to get themselves thrown out.

“The man’s right,” Seele said, looking urgently between Alja and Rael. She tried to keep the sternness out of her voice, considering the barkeep was providing quite enough of it. Still, soft and sincere could often carry the same effect, if a bit more gently. “This is not the place, and it is certainly not the time to be at each other’s throats. We need to be working together, which means that you both need to start behaving yourselves.”

[HokumPocus]

Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Alex didn't understand why he was being offered a handkerchief at first, until he saw the state of his letter.

Eh, it was still legible.

He wiped the area around his chin in a hurry, the pang of embarrassment shaking him out of his current state. It was relieving that Kazuki had spoken that directly about wanting to form a team. Alex was thinking of a similar idea, but had gotten so distracted that he was beginning to settle for a partnership with a lower amount of people. Regardless of whatever route he thought was wisest, a healer like Kazuki was indispensable to a frailer player such as himself.

"Banding together, huh. I like the sound of that," he said, tracing his jawline with the cloth. "Does that mean you're trying to band the entire raid party together? I drank a little," he paused and quirked his brows, "okay, more than a little, but even then I know that's gonna be tough to pull off."

The way he saw it, the strong players that tended to be individualists were going to swallow their pride and seek out the strong guilds, who in turn were seeking them out too. A situation like that would probably end up with Alex falling back on his brother's guild, going back to selling light armor to make ends meet. The whole thing felt like crawling back to live in your parents' house after being unable to find a job. And Pariah was supposed to be an escape from the real world.

"How're my two favorite fuck-ups doin' this fine mornin'?"

Both the conversation and his thoughts were crashed by Graves, with all of the bravado he would expect from a person who had no idea their life was at stake. Did he really not care? Alex hadn't known the man well enough to think beyond a surface level, having mentally categorized Graves as "that tank guy who split dog people in half like they were avocados".

"Kazuki's been planning something," he said, folding the note in one of his many pockets of his everyday wear. Now that there were real world consequences to creating clothing, his more utilitarian style of crafting was better suited in comparison to the flashier stuff it seemed like the rest of the playerbase was enamored with. It was a little moment of vindication he'd keep to himself. Kazuki was handling the conversation way better, anyways... but a detail did catch his attention.

"The NPC talked like a player?" he asked. "I was in the drox hall earlier, and this girl there was acting kind of weird. Instead of just giving tips for newbies she started going on about the places factions were located. I mean, still totally useless info, but weird, man." Near him, what looked like an argument between the people he had raided with was brewing.

"Crap," he groaned, reaching for another sip, "this just made our job a whole lot harder."

[Landaus Five-One]

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Kalie felt even more hurt with what was going on between Rael and Alja, all because she is a crybaby. She did listen to what Alja was saying, and it was a heavy thick Scottish accent. In terms, the shock of seeing Dariel lift and separate Alja from Rael was in her eyes too. It felt nice to see the plate of food, even though she was still had tears coming from her eyes. She tries to get something out, but Dariel was focusing more on Alja over her right now. All Kalie could do was sigh at the whole thing, and it didn’t make her feel any better with what Rael specifically spoke to her. She finally says to Dariel with her sweating from all the heat in the tavern. ” T-Thank you for the food, Dariel.” Kalie said with a small smile. She decides to start eating the food that Dariel made her, and the first thing she did was enjoy the taste of the flat cakes. It was fantastic compare to the snack she had in the dungeon, really filling. ” T-This is good, Dariel.” Kalie said to Dariel, complimenting his cooking. She notices the ale right next to her plate, but she’s too hurt not to drink it. In terms, she puts it to her lips and takes a sip.

It did hurt her, hearing the exact things Rael said, it stung, but what stung worse as they were about to get into a fight. Thankful to Dariel for stopping it before it went up another tier of escalation. She sighs slightly; it is how she is, always crying herself to sleep after a hard day working for her goal to become a teacher. The pressures of working yourself until you reach your goals are problematic, but she wants to do that. She moves her head to look at Rael then back to Alja. ” The words you spoke in that dungeon, Rael helped me the most, no one in their life said those words. I am grateful for you protecting me. I am sorry for being such a crybaby, but being where I am from is why I am so emotional.” Kalie spoke with a definite hurt in her voice. She sighs slightly at what she said because what the two of them were saying makes complete sense. It is just all this that is happening around her is all too much for her. As her parents indulged her feelings with kindness and above all else, they could provide her.

Kalie continued to eat the food on her plate and gave each bite attention to taste everything. She does love the food; it was the one thing that brightens her day up from all the crying she has been doing. It was probably selfish of her to assume many things about what would happen after that dungeon if everyone stays alive. The one thing she had never learn about was death since she has a pretty big extended family, all living in the States. Her parents live in Topeka, Kansas, she goes to K-State University, and her older sister lives in Los Angeles, California.

In contrast, the rest of her extended family lives primarily in Missouri, Nebraska, and Tennessee.” U-Uhh, Alja, thank you for trying to protect me from Rael’s harsh but true to her words. I don’t deserve this kindness you are giving me. Many things are hard to swallow. Your accent is beautiful to hear, and I didn’t even know you were Scottish. I suck; I misrepresent everyone in my third journal.” Kalie said, with a slight smile on her face. It was odd for her to tell her third journal; she starts to blush slightly because of this. The wounds cut deep, but words cut more profound than any harm. She wipes the sweat off her brow because it’s so hot and tries to fan herself off with her hand.

It made her a bit nervous about what she would respond to get people off her from wondering what’s in that journal. Kalie sighs deeply with a bit of regret in even mentioning it. ” Uhh, it’s nothing bad… it’s just my pure, true thoughts on people I have met in this game that didn’t like my first interaction with them. In terms of how they hold themselves up compare to me.” Kalie said nervously. It somewhat shocks her to hear what Seele said they shouldn’t be at each other’s throats. However, it is what makes Seele herself, and she has so much mother energy about her it’s a bit sweet kind of reminds her of her own mother. ” T-Thank you for your mom-energy, Seele. I will behave myself too.” Kalie said.

[mickilennial]

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Whatever.” Rael retorted as she turned her back, grabbing the plate of her own food as she slinked toward the stairs.

Finding a seat on the second floor looked like her immediate plans, not only to get away from Kalie and Alja, but to also… take note of things. She had interacted with the bartender, Dariel, before. But this was the first time he responded as if he had autonomy. It had taken her off-guard, making her wonder what the deal was. Denizens didn’t touch wayfarers. They were complex, certainly, but they weren’t living and breathing identities of their own. It made her think back to the programming complexity of the technology and how the creator had originally created the technology to study the space between dreams.

They could feel pain. They could die. They could feel the temperature and humidity, the ails of weather. And now they could interact with denizens in such a way. Had a denizen after cast a spell before that wasn’t to explain how a spell worked in the fraternities? She thought back to her “home city” of Theremia. The only conclusion she could come up was that the simulation had its “training wheels” removed. That was the only way to explain how the hack was doing all of this.

What was next?

[DruSM157]

Location:The Laughing Warg Tavern - The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Do you really think anyone is going to be the right state of mind to be consolidating knowledge like that?” Maybe not Mystic Prophecy. Maybe not those who were already broken and scared, crying to themselves that they were going to die. But they’d gone through tragedy and fear, and even if they struggled, they were still here, still working for something. That was worth...something, right? To just hide away and to pray that the glitch would be fixed was wishful thinking.

After all, how long would it take them in the real world? Hours? Days? Weeks? Time moved differently in Pariah. Hours in the real world were days in game. Would they have to wait in their perspective a month to be saved? Or a year?

“Maybe not everyone who has gone through a truly traumatic experience will want to help. I wouldn’t try and demand help from Luci, or Priscilica or Leaves. If you or your brother didn’t want to help, I would understand. But I think it’s a better plan than simply waiting around to be saved. Because...with things as dire as they are now, I don’t know when there could be a fix to get us out of the game. And i’d rather be proactive in learning what we can now before things get worse.”

Alja’s outburst, Rael’s comments, the others were already at each other’s throats. Sif’s words did strike him true; would anyone truly want to work together now? Especially after they were so easily brought to nearly attack each other? Benkei really wondered exactly how well his plans would work.

After all, his plans were good in theory but events like last night proved they weren’t perfect. Even the best plans were easily railroaded.

[Supermaxx]

Location: Laughing Worg Tavern - City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

"Well, sounds like you put a lotta thought into this." Graves sighed, settling into a chair beside Alex. Teamwork had never been one of Graves' strong suits. He had always excelled in Pariah by avoiding other people- avoiding mistakes he had no control over. When Graves failed, as rare as it was, he always knew he could fix it. There was always an adjustment to be made, a move to practice. But when a healer failed to do their job, or a tank couldn't hold the line, what was he supposed to do about it? And the stakes were even higher now. Those little mistakes could cost them everything.

Still, the proposal wasn't without its merits. There were things one man could never accomplish alone, especially now that the margin for error was razor thing. He couldn't afford to grind out a boss fight. Couldn't afford to get ambushed traveling a road by himself. Something rumbled in his chest at the thought. A deep, writhing feeling in his gut that he couldn't quite interpret.

It wasn't the first time he'd felt it that day.

'What if I say no and somethin' happens to 'em?' He asked himself. Another, much more familiar pressure built up in his chest. He knew it to be guilt. Guilt and regret. There was that attachment again, pesky thing that it was. It had brought him back to the Worg and now it rang so loudly he couldn't ignore it.

After several, long moments of silence, Graves eventually nodded. "Alright." He muttered, looking from Alex to Kazuki. "Alright, you got a point. I'm in."

And it seemed the fun didn't stop. He craned his neck to look across to the other side of the tavern, where Alja- Kelly?- was screaming at Rael from the top of her lungs. There was a drunken, indignant rage in her voice. It was the kind of yelling one only did when they'd been holding something back for far too long and let it build up to a boiling point until it all came bursting out. Kelly was pissed. Pissed that Rael couldn't empathize with what the others were going through. Pissed that she couldn't keep her mouth shut about it. And pissed- if Graves' intuitions were right- that Rael seemed so fine with it all.

Just like that, Rael shutdown. Didn't say more than one word to Alja, just walked away while the bartender dealt with it. What the hell had she been thinking that made her snap like that? It didn't make any sense.

"God damn it," Graves muttered. "And I thought I was bad with people."

[mickilennial]

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“I think you should start small if you want to figure out this plan of yours while we collect more information.” Sif commented as Benkei made his proposition.

His doubts on the survivors of Mystic Prophecy helping actively made a modicum of sense to her. As for her brother, she knew that he wouldn’t be a problem even if it was clear to her that Siegfried didn’t particularly like Benkei. Their relationship was built on miscommunication and masculinity when Pariah was operating like a normal game. But things had changed. Given his crush on Kalie, though, she figured her brother would stomach however annoying he felt Benkei was. She smiled kindly as her eyes stayed focused on Benkei.

“Mathematically, our survival rate increases exponentially with group size. So your first step is to build a coalition between people you already know and when you’ve organized that coalition start pooling information and data. You can worry about pooling real-world skills when you’ve got a group on the same page for a decent length of time. The questions I would be asking right now wouldn’t be about if we have chemists or physicists in our mold, but what we’ve got in-world. How much gold do we have in Thorinn that we can withdraw? How long will that last with us needing to eat, bathe, and tend to our equipment? How are you going to react? Things like that.”

“Augh, you’re such a motormouth. What the hell are you two dweebs talking about?”

Speaking of the devil.

Sif’s eyes moved to her brother in his casual wear as he plopped on a chair at the table, his hair scattered. He had not even cleaned himself up. Just right out of bed to the tavern. Classy. She almost giggled.

“And what the hell—” He paused as he noticed the scene at the bar between Kalie, Alja, and Rael. His posture immediately changed. “—Give me a second.”

It was here that she noticed her brother drowsily march over to the bar counter without even considering how out of it he looked. Rael moved to a stairwell but he got in her way and started yelling at her. In a few moments it appeared two bar matron’s pulled him off. She sighed. Uniting this group was going to be difficult.
-
-
-

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Who the hell do you think you are?! Hey! Get off of me!”

The red-headed girl shook her head as she made her way up the stairs as Siegfried found his arm contorting backward. Pain. He gritted his teeth in pain as he was pulled back. Since when could NPCs put their hands on players? Was this another facet of the glitch?

One of the denizens looked at him with an icy look in her eye and a bone-chilling smile.

“If you do not calm down you will be removed from the premises. I cannot account for any broken bones. Will you relent?”

Siegfried grumbled. He had his pride, but something funny was going on and he was not awake enough for all or any of this. He looked closely at her, the maid outfit was identical to the rest of the serving staff. ‘Matrons’ Sif had called them, though he always got them mixed up with ‘Maids’. What the hell was a matron?

He looked back at Rael as she moved to the second floor and then back at the matron.

“Yeah. I won’t be a problem.”

“Good! I am happy to hear that. I am most sorry about your arm, but you wayfarers are supposed to be strong. Maybe you can walk it off.”

Siegfried sighed as she released his arm and the other matron moved to the stairs to make sure he wasn’t lying. It made sense... logically speaking, but the orange-haired wayfarer was not sure how to take it all. With that behind him he moved away from the two matrons cautiously and toward the bar where Kalie sat in tears while Alja got a lecture from another denizen. ‘Least I’m not the only one’ He thought.

His look of apprehension dropped as he pressed his hands down on the seat left of the blonde-haired assassin.

“Hey. You okay? Don’t let anything she said get into your head.”