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

[Supermaxx]

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

---

Graves passed Kazuki a fresh tankard of ale as he joined the table. The healer skipped any pleasantries and went straight to business, eager to emphasize just how dire their situation was. From the sound of things Kazuki thought things would only get worse- not just for their group, but all the players still stranded in Thorinn. Sif piped up for the first time in agreement. They didn't have the gear to adventure, and the market for professions was going to be wildly different now than how it was before the Glitch. To Graves, it sure looked like they were getting fucked from both ends.

"It ain't right," he snapped, banging his mug on the table. "How the hell can they expect us'ta keep throwing ourselves at these dungeons like nothin's changed? I'm not buryin' any of you just so we can afford Kazuki's shitty house- no offense." He gave an apologetic shrug of his shoulders. "Look, I'm sure we're not the only players who feel this way. Maybe we can reach out to the other guilds in town and have a sit down. Present a united front. Make it clear to the queen that If she wants the wayfarers to keep Thorinn safe then things've gotta change."

There were plenty of holes in that plan, but it was the best he had. The denizens needed to understand that this wasn't a game anymore. The wayfarers were frighteningly mortal: the graves he'd dug for Aaginim, Atlas and Enos were more than enough proof of that. If they were going to continue tackling dungeons then they'd need to get a hell of a lot more out of it. The denizens wouldn't have any choice but to listen- unless they were planning on taking up arms and fighting themselves for a change.

Before anyone could respond to Graves' rant, the sound of the tavern's doors swinging open drew his eyes. A hooded woman he didn't recognize was standing in the entrance, frozen in place with indecision. It wasn't until she flipped her hood down that recognition flashed in his mind. Artemis. That poor soul they'd dragged out of the tunnels. She'd been a husk of a person when they found her, soaked to the bone and broken. He couldn't blame her. He could only imagine what it'd be like to go through all she'd been through. Could he even keep going, like she had?

He quickly snatched back the tankard he'd slid Kazuki and stood from his seat to approach her. Graves moved slowly, trying to keep it casual; she might not recognize him without the layers of rat shit and armor, and he wasn't exactly built like a teddy bear.

"Shitty mornin', huh?" He offered her the drink and a small smile. "We get a lot of those around here. Glad you came. In my experience its best not to spend 'em alone."

[mickilennial]

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

---

“Yeah, a rebellion would definitely make our lives a lot safer.” Siegfried rolled his eyes, but not long before Graves went off to talk to another person. One of the survivors of the rat dungeon no doubt.

The ginger-haired male looked toward the four ‘masterminds’ of the group in that of Kazuki, Benkei, Sif, and Seele. Someone had to have the brains for these kind of questions since he was definitely not going to be one of them. Profession values changing, weirdo disappearances, dungeons underneath cities, meetings with the Queen—it was all a bunch of shit he didn’t sign up for. When the game came out he intended to use it to spend time with his little sister and maybe talk to some cute girls. Since the glitch everything was a little too real. Taxes? What was next, some political voting bloc asking him to vote for the next Queen?

Another sigh left him as he rubbed the sand from his eyes, “If I get the right metals and crap I can mend and craft whatever armor and weapons we need.” He looked toward the morning crowd in the tavern, “To me, it seems like we have a lot of work to do. How’d you wanna handle it? You guys are the smart ones.”

[DruSM157]

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

---

“Easy everyone,” Benkei said, trying to cool the air. It must have been bad with the angry twerp of all people trying to play peacemaker. “Everything you’re saying Graves, it’s stuff I’ve taken into account. Well, stuff we’ve been trying to take into account, anyways. And with your completion of the dungeon, as well as the fact that it was inside the city, we can bring that evidence to the queen here at least.”

“I know everyone is tired of hearing this, but we can’t keep treating this world and it’s people like a game now. I’m still not sure exactly what this place really is, but the denizens of this world are going to stand up for themselves now. And we don’t have the luxury of numbers of power to do anything about that.” Benkei looked over to Seigfried now. “Many of us have useful crafting skills like your blacksmithing. And I’m considering learning some new skills, even if it means I have to actually physically learn them. I know fishing won’t really help us as much as something like mining or leatherworking will. But I’ll do my part to help.”

That had been what he’d spent the other part of his morning doing; asking around town for those who would actually talk to him about work. Even apprenticing with skilled workers or simply doing common labor, whatever he could do to help bring in extra income or materials to the others, it was something he realized he had to do.

When he’d played the game earlier, before the glitch, fishing was just a fun hobby to screw around with while he waited on other players or content. It wasn’t something he’d put as much effort into like Rael’s herbalism, Graves’ hunting, or Alja and Seigfried’s blacksmithing. Even Kazuki had spent time learning various skills beyond his musical playing. Before he’d looked down on the profession system, he’d thought it was a waste of time.

But as he and Sif were putting together a list of everyone’s viable skills, their knowledge, and connections, as well as their own property they could leverage, Benkei noticed the common denominator amidst it all: compared to everyone else in the group, he was worth the least. He owned the least amount of property, he had the least amount of useful skills for crafting and gathering. Benkei had gone through his own internal horror whilst the others faced the physical horrors of rats and sewer stink.

That gnawing, endless feeling of not being good enough had sunk its claws into him, and he’d obsessively thrown himself into his work. He had to make himself valuable to others. Because if he couldn’t…what purpose did he have living when those better than him died?

”There’s one thing you said that I hadn’t really considered. But I think it’d be best if you, Rael, and Seele did the work for that: doing our part to at least open communication with the other guilds in the city. I doubt everyone will want to work together for the greater good here, but there’s safety in numbers now. And if we have to prove ourselves to the people of this world, I’m afraid there’s only one thing that we can really do: deal with the dungeons.” It was an awful thought to bring up after all the death and despair they’d experienced; and even more for those that just returned from the sewers. But it was the one trump card they held: they could take on the dungeons. And if they didn’t, there may not be any safe place left for them to go.

[HokumPocus]

---

A Memory

"You knew this was happening."

It was a question, but it was also a statement. His mom knew the answer. There was a lilt to her voice, a small part of her that was begging him to say anything else, anything that wasn't the truth. His head remained in his hands as the words fell on him. He already knew how she looked right now, he didn't need to see it again. Her green eyes swollen from bawling, her skin the sallow color people got when things like eating and sleeping weren't important anymore. All he could and would see right now were her sneakers as she stood facing him, his wet eyes turning them into blurs against the white tile.

"Alex."

He squirmed. This would all be easier if she just yelled at him. He hoped she would. Like this was another D on a test or some stupid sandwich bag with weed in it. All of that felt dumb and it felt even dumber now, some distant things done by a stupid kid at some point before this. This was serious, this was unforgivable. If he was a stupid kid then and in every year leading up to ninth grade, then he was the dumbest, stupidest kid alive right now.

"Mhmmph," he mumbled. She took another step towards him and the already stagnant atmosphere of the hospital tightened, like it was choking him. The step was gentle, too, a careful movement made by someone not wanting to scare him off, not wanting to make another scene or shouting match or another week of running away to a friend's house and picking up where their fights left off on the phone. She thought he'd do it. She really thought he'd fucking do it. But she wasn't wrong, he knew, she had all the evidence in the world to know her second child was a total fuckup who would run away after having her first child take a fistful of pills and tape a goodbye note to the fridge next to the baby pictures.

Another step. Slower, more cautious. Wary, even. "You knew what those kids at school were doing to your brother and you didn't tell anyone."

Another statement that crashed on his lap. Another horrible thing he couldn't deny. What could he even say?

"I," he croaked. Even that single noise was hard to shove out. He swallowed hard enough that it hurt, and took a deep breath.

"I didn' knowwwit wassthatbad."

A third step. Rougher. "Every day! For four years! It was on the note!" Her voice was getting louder. She stopped herself, until she could manage a hushed tone. "All those bullies at school, all the bruises the doctors found on him... all the cuts..." what air remained in her sputtered out, leading into the quiet sob of someone who'd cried so much tears couldn't come out anymore.

He squirmed and tightened around the hard seat even more until it felt like his bones would snap. He wished they did. "I'did'n know," he blubbered. "I'didn thingit would, I didn' know he, I..."

***

I don't know.

The words draped themselves over both sides of every parchment Alex took notes in, rocking in tandem to the flickers of candlelight that followed him late into the night. His eyes had spent hours wandering along the labyrinth of documents he'd taken from the guild advisor, losing themselves over and over again in between the black hedgerows of ink. This was a lot more difficult than he intially thought. Talking was easy, approaching others was easy. It was the reverse, the analysis, the understanding, the listening, that was hard. This had all been the latter, a one-way conversation between him and those presumed missing or worse.

He'd been in a situation similar to this. Clutching his brother's bony hand, asking himself the difficult questions, trying to draw the right conclusions. The years after that were heavy, only lightened by the eventual talks of video games and LARP campaigns Alex feigned interest in. But the memories never faded, and his family or his brother's friends never forgot. Even in the world of Pariah did the stares of his brother's friends carve their way into him. It didn't matter how many layers of extravagant armor or fantasy crafting tchotchkes were between them, he'd always be the stupid kid who smoked cigarettes in the school bathrooms, the poser who thought he was some kind of artist, the one who ignored his brother until it was almost too late.

He woke up with a startle. He must've fallen asleep at some point, predictably. Facing him was a crude drawing of a pair of eyes he had no recollection of ever making. He stared, and they stared back. He averted his gaze out of instinct.

He dragged himself out of his dorm chair, and a piece of parchment stuck to his cheek through drool fluttered along with him. He peeled it off, gave it a quick inspection, then added it to a messy pile.

"Mmh.. shit."

***

His body's initial groans of protest diminished with the walk to the Laughing Worg, as the barrage of thoughts concerning the case took priority over everything else. Knowing he was late only minimized the aching even further. If his party couldn't prevent the loss of more wayfarers, they could at least discover the answers needed to be the voice of those who no longer had one. It was a strange goal, but as someone who had nearly lost a family member, he knew every name on paper was a person with a similar story, one with people who loved them.

His brisk walk transitioned into a hard shove of the tavern doors, one arm clutching the small yet important stack of documents he'd picked to analyze. He'd taken the most important of his findings with him, folded and shoved in the middle of the stack in an attempt to conceal it from any prying eyes.

"Crap, sorry I'm late!"

[Lemons]

---

Alja took a seat, listening to the conversation as she leaned back in her chair, supporting herself by pressing her legs up against the table. At the mention of profession skills, she grinned, giving a cheeky salute. "If we're talkin' 'bout professions, then I'm a high level blacksmith. No idea how it works these days, but as long as I can still do it," she shot a grin at Siegfried, "we can bang pieces of metal together. Even got a forge of my own. It's in Toraenis, but y'never know, we could end up there sometime. God knows it'll be nicer than Thorinn heat."

The conversation continued, and her exhausted brain was happy to let it go on without her for some time until the discussion about what to do with dungeons reached—as most things did these days—the point of Graves ranting about them. And she felt a twinge of real annoyance as as not a single person raised a thought that had been pressing in on her mind, weighing on her heavily, since they first argued about dungeoneering after the Glitch. Argued about how to get rewards out of the queen. About banding together with other wayfarers, not to do anything about safety in numbers in a dungeon, but for revolution? She left off her casual air, pulling her legs in and letting the chair fall down with a bang. Then she frowned, eyebrows quirking in something like anger as she looked back and forth between them.

"You almost got there, Benkei. Goddamnit, you almost got there. But not quite." She sighed in frustration. "We can't keep treatin' this world and its people like a game. That's what you said, right? Then I want you all to consider somethin'. Think about our equipment. Think about our magic. Think about our skill sets." She was nearly yelling now, talking quickly with the burr of a growl in the back of her throat. "Then think about the fact that they're not NPCs anymore. They're people, goddamnit! People with their own lives, people with their own goddamn hopes and dreams. It's not just that it's our job to clear dungeons. It's also our responsibility. Because we're the only ones who can!" She bared her teeth, the images of Enos' impaled corpse and Arnaakus tossing away Aag's body like so much garbage still fresh in her mind. "I'll be damned if I let one more person die because I was too scared or incompetent to do my job, and you're thinkin' about a revolution!? What in the fuck is wrong with you people?"

She slammed her hands down on the table, pushing herself up to her full height. "I need to go talk to someone else. You're all pissin' me off."

With that, she strode towards the door, then stopped short. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for her to talk to Artemis—from what Alja had been able to gather in the sewers, someone who felt like it was her fault that her friends had died, something that she understood all too well—while she was still fuming. So instead, she sat down at the bar to calm her nerves for a couple minutes. "Sorry for constantly yellin' in your tavern, Dariel," she muttered, more to herself than to him. "I know I'm hard to deal with."

[Mcmolly]

Location:The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Oh, dear.”

Well, this was a bit familiar, wasn’t it? Same dance, different partner. Seele fought off the urge to go after Alja, who had thankfully only decided to move to the bar, still in eye-shot. Maybe that was best, a minute to let cooler heads prevail so they didn’t make another scene, especially not in front of who she assumed was the new girl, Artemis. However, regardless of everyone’s stances on the matter, it was still important, and the last thing they needed right now was to spend another day or so splintered.

Sky’s pretty clear today, you know?

Alex showed up, bless his heart, and she gave him an excited little wave. He had an armful of papers, and like most of the group, didn’t look particularly well-rested, which she hoped was just because he’d been up working so late. She winked to him, pointed to the table where she’d set down all of her own work, and then moved closer to the group. On the way, she slid over another drink to Kazuki, to replace the one Graves had taken away.

“Alright, before this escalates any further, let’s just take a moment to breathe, and consider things more carefully. Please? Look, see, like this.” Seele took a big, deep breath and then sighed long and contentedly. “Oomph, does wonders—Anyway. It seems to me that we’ve got all the pieces for a good answer here, we just have to put them together, like a puzzle! Who doesn’t love puzzles? Kazuki and Sif are right, the denizens’ attitudes have…let’s say ‘shifted’. They aren’t, y’know, programs anymore and even if they are, it doesn’t seem like they’re much different from us. Like Benkei said, they’re going to stand up for themselves, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re uniting against us, and it certainly doesn’t mean we should unite against them.”

“Pariah is dangerous, I don’t think a single person in Aetheria needs to be reminded of that anymore. Every last one of us has the right to be scared. But the way it seems right now, the only difference between us and the denizens is that they don’t have the ability to defend themselves, and we do. And…I think Alja is right,” she glanced over at the bar where their frosty bruiser sat, and smiled a little. Even if she was a bit disappointed in how things had shaken out, Seele couldn’t help but be a bit proud of her. “We have a responsibility to protect people, and if we choose to hold that responsibility hostage, then…maybe we deserve to be treated like people who take hostages. I don’t think any of us want a bitter stalemate where we all live in fear and people die by the hundreds to the horrors that we’ve seen first-hand. I agree with Benkei, we should be prioritizing the dungeons. If we show the denizens that we’re still willing to do the right thing, I’m willing to bet they will too.”

And you thought it was gonna rain.

Seele realized she’d talked herself out of breath, which was usually a sign that she had, once again, gone on for far too long. “Anyway,” she said, quieter, and made back for the table. “That’s just my two-cents. Two cents never made you rich. By all means, carry on.”

[mickilennial]

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

---

“Don’t worry about it. A little yelling doesn't bother me much.” The middle-aged bartender laughed, as he set down a plate of flatcakes in front of Alja.

“Y'know, I used to be an adventurer. Might not be from another world, but I did the jobs. I know the weight, what it means to have a close call with death and everything feeling different. Still remember when Arie dragged me out of the dungeon with what was left of our group.” The denizen smirked wide as he ran his rightmost hand through the wayfarer's hair, like a father scuffing a child's mane to cut the tension. It was patronizing. Probably. Rael would've certainly punched him in the throat, but Alja was not Rael.

His eyes went over to the matron of the tavern, whom had kept the whole thing from falling apart at times. It felt like yesterday when the two of them were just trying to solve the pandemic of dungeons and monsters across the world. It must’ve been two years before the wayfarers showed up when they opened up the Worg. The wayfarers, in part, had helped the success of the tavern. Turned it into a hub in Thorinn. He was grateful for that. Over the last few weeks he had heard things that he couldn’t quite make sense of, but if there was one thing he knew it was adventuring and the stress that came with it.

“You lot, seems like you lost that feeling of invincibility. I know it sounds dumb, but you just gotta keep going.” His eyes moved from wayfarer group to wayfarer group within his sight range. “Adventurers are an essential commodity, like air or water. Without it, you just can’t.”

[Hero]

---

---

"やれ やれ。。。このグループは困っています。" Kazuki muttered, deciding to drink. He immediately regretted it, not realizing that Graves had given him ale instead of literally anything else. His face scrunched up in displeasure, the taste disagreeing with him. He thought it would be better than this judging by how people had a tendency to chug entire glasses down in a manner of seconds. He nearly pushed it away, but as Graves had already given it to him, it would be entirely rude to reject it. He forced himself to gulp it down as quickly as he could, figuring that getting it over with was better than prolonging his suffering.

That said, he didn't like where the conversation was going, either. Firstly, he wasn't keen on Graves' comment--what, did he think he relied on someone else to get what he did? Kazuki could proudly say his fortune had been attained entirely on his own merit. That said, he disagreed entirely with Graves' plan. Angering the locals was the opposite way to go about things. His eyes trailed after Graves as he approached some girl he didn't recognize. Another stranger, another problem. Fortunately, Kazuki wasn't a fool who made the same mistake twice; he would keep his opinion to himself. He had more important things to worry about.

Alja seemed to agree with him, though once again he wasn't sure why he was getting yelled at. Maybe it was because she assumed he agreed with his brother. How tedious, even when he was quiet he got yelled at. He ended up drinking his drink solely so he would have time to think to himself, and despite his tastebuds protesting, he did finally finish the gross stuff, at least. He let Seele finish, though what she said gave him an idea.

"Two cents never made you rich," He uttered to himself, though he straightened up to address the rest. "Actually, in regards to our gear, I can invest what I have here into upgrading everyone here. And with better gear, we can return to clearing out the dungeons. With dungeons being cleared, we can restore our reputation and hope other guilds follow suit."

Except that meant that they would have to go back to...well, clearing dungeons. And that thought alone made Kazuki feel sick. Or was that his drink?

---

---

[JessieTargaryen]

---

---

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

The sound of somebody standing drew Artemis' attention, shaking her from the internal monologue of self-pity and doubt. Quickly she turned her attention on the figure standing and making his way towards her, drink in hand. His large build and the fact he so openly approached her told Artemis that he had recognized her, so she had to assume he was in the dungeon as well. There had been a man around his size in those tunnels, so she figured that this might be him. Though she couldn't really recall a name to place with the face. She watched him approach in silence, the grip of her fears catching any hint of a comment in her throat as she tried to figure out how to respond once he had addressed her. After all, there was no denying that she was his destination. Thankfully, he decided to save her the potential awkwardness and spoke first, allowing Artemis an extra few, precious moments to collect herself.

A small color grew to her cheeks, as the girl realized how dreadfully awkward she must've looked just standing there. It was embarrassing, really, and she was glad that Mr. Not-A-Teddy-Bear had decided to approach, saving her from further embarrassment. Artemis reached out to gently accept the tankard in silence, giving him a single nod and appreciative little smile as she took a long drink from the mug. "Thank you." She began, a small tone being all that she felt confident enough to muster at the moment. "I doubt I'll be here long, I don't intend to overstay a welcome but... I needed to thank you all for what you did." She said, letting a small, sad smile appear on her lips for a few moments. "The morning and night were shitty, but... it's not like I have time to sit around crying about it." Artemis added, trying to force a small laugh and catching herself as the laugh very quickly threatened to change to something else. A small tear glistened in the corner of her eye at the same moment, betraying her inner turmoil.

Her head snapped once more in the direction of the group, watching as another from the dungeon... Alja? Slammed her chair to the floor and walked away in a small ruckus. "A-ah. The boys fight like that sometime-..." She commented, cutting herself off as she realized what she said. A shakier, uneven voice heralded her correction. "f-fought..." She muttered, shaking her head once more as she tried to regain what little composure she had walked into this place with. Damnit! Hold your shit together! We're here to thank them, not earn pity!" Artemis chided herself mentally, annoyed by her complete lack of holding her internal pain where it should be, inside. With that small hint of irritation, Artemis focused even harder on reigning herself in, taking the moment to take another long pull of her drink and nearly finished it on her second go, which... she'd probably be regretting soon.

"Still, it seems your group is in the middle of something... I'd had to be a burden on that discussion so..." She said, making to excuse herself from the situation. As she went to set down the tankard and leave, thinking that perhaps coming here might've been better at a later time, Artemis suddenly froze once more. Turning her attention back on Graves, she quickly spoke up once more. "Well, unless I can help with whatever's happening? A-as a way to thank you all for saving me." She asked, eyebrow-raising as she waited to hear his response.

Wait, that's not your business? Why are you butting in? The girl asked herself, having thought for not even a second before stumbling across her answer. She didn't want to leave, not yet.

Leaving meant she'd be alone...

[Supermaxx]

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

---

'Ah, Jesus, she's a wreck.'

Graves struggled to keep his composure in the face of Artemis's grief. This was about as far out of his comfort zone as he could get. He briefly glanced over his shoulder, wishing he could delegate this to anybody else, but it proved fruitless. Everyone else was locked in heated argument about their next move. It wasn't exactly a flattering first impression for Artemis, even if it was accurate. They fought often and loudly, over things big and small alike. It irritated him to say the least.

"Look, I'm..." He hesitated a moment before lifting a hand to the woman's shoulder, giving it an awkward pat and squeeze. Smooth, Graves. Real smooth.

He turned to face her, eyes searching hers for a reaction as he spoke: "I'm gonna honest. It ain't easy to lose people, 'specially right in front of you. I've been there." Memories passed in the back of his mind, heavy as fog from the sea. Pressing on past it, he nodded his head back to the table. Alex had since joined them and Alja had stormed off in a huff to the bar. Maybe that signaled a break in the 'discussion.' He hoped so, for their new guest's sake. "Most'a them have, too. Nobody'll judge you for hurtin', n' if they do I'll punch 'em in the mouth. You got my word."

"I'm not gonna make ya stay if ya don't want to. 'Ppreciate the thanks but it ain't necessary. It was, uh, the least we could do." That was the best he could manage. He let loose a breath he didn't know he was holding in, taking a step away from her to give her space to think. He hoped he hadn't been too blunt; conveying sympathy was harder than Seele made it look. Silence hung for the moment as Artemis considered her next move.

It looked like she'd made up her mind as she set her now empty drink down and turned to leave, but something caused her to falter. Another freeze, like earlier. Indecision? A final word? No, a hook. Artemis tentatively put forward the idea that she could help with the current predicament. So she did want to stay; she just didn't want to feel like she was in the way. He understood that. Charity annoyed him too. "Yeah, sure. Could be we just need a fresh set of eyes on this thing to figure it out." Graves motioned for her to follow him as he turned, striding back toward the group.

"This is the, uh, girl, I told you all about." He cleared his throat. "She's Artemis, and these are..." He started around the table. "Kazuki, Benkei, Alex, Seele. You already met Rael, Alja's the mammoth at the bar, n' I'm Graves. Oh, and those two are Sif and Siegfried- they're from a different guild, but they're cool. We were all knee-deep in a dungeon together when the world got fucked. Take whichever seat ya like."

[DruSM157]

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

---

Benkei just sat there, in shock as talks broke down further and further, culminating in Alja’s blow up, Seele’s attempt at peacekeeping, and Kazuki’s own additions to what they could do. Benkei at first thought about just leaving; going back to his brother’s place and calling it a night then and there. What help would he be if he got goaded into arguing? What help would any of them be if they couldn’t drop their egos at the door for one damn minute and talk before letting their emotions take over?

Aaginim must have been wrong about him. How the hell could he be a leader when any time he tried to bring the group together they fractured even further apart? At least Graves had kept his cool, and no one fought with Alja over her outburst. Seele’s quick response saved the day there. Maybe someone like her would have made a better leader. Her personality lent to healing others instead of breaking them apart.

What did he know of healing? Or helping? Or doing anything useful? After all, he was the worthless son next to Kazuki. And even here, in this world that was supposed to be his expertise, it was Kazuki who was worth more again. He had money. He had property. He had skills that could help the group. What did Benkei have? Fishing? He couldn’t even feed the whole group in a single day with that skill.

Then the girl entered–Artemis–and Benkei immediately recognized the pain she carried. It was something each of them carried and tried to battle through or hide from ever since the glitch. Benkei tried to find the proper words to convey how he was sorry and that he understood but those words were lost to him. ”I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through,” he tried to piece together the words, ”You’re welcome here, with us. We’ve gone through a lot too.” If there was one thing grief enjoyed, it was company. Still, this was no time or place to try and be a poor facsimile of a good leader like Aaginim. Benkei simply returned to his seat and started to clean the mess of maps and papers he’d worked so hard on.

[mickilennial]

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

---

“Seems like we got a lot of ideas.” Rael said, not deciding to give any comforting words to the girl she had run into the sewers.

As far as she was concerned it was pointless. She was bad with those kind of things, save for once in a blue moon like back in the dungeon with Kalie. Not to mention, Graves had already seemed to give her the boost she needed all by his lonesome. Of course he did. A small tinge raised up into the Japanese girl’s brain before waving it off, focusing on the task at hand.

“Mr. Moneybags over here has us covered, at least.” She scoffed at Kazuki, but not in a cold way. It was an ironic remark, though, given who Rael was back in Japan. “Anyway, Benkei’s right. Can’t cower in our boots thinking Aaginim Part 2 is going to happen. World’s not going to adjust to us not being leeches if we keep sitting around. Don’t forget about world quests either. Not always a dungeon that needs doing.”

[JessieTargaryen]

---

---

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

A faint smile did grace Artemis' lips as she listened to Graves' responses, it was clear he wasn't, particularly good at this whole... emotions thing. At least, comforting another wasn't really his strong suit. Still, the fact he tried was endearing, cute in a way. She followed him quietly towards the group, taking a few deep breathes on the way to regain her composure. Graves had seen her faltering earlier, crumbling under her emotions, she didn't want the rest of the group to share in that experience. She'd offered to help them, after all, letting them pity her wouldn't accomplish said goal. If you're staying, pull your weight. Odin would've agreed with that. She thought quietly to herself, reaching the table just as she finished the thought.

Looking around towards the others as they were introduced, nodding lightly and making note of each of their names. As Graves offered for Artemis to take whatever seat she liked, the girl defaulted to choosing the seat nearest Graves. Sticking to people she knew seemed safer at the moment, and so far she knew him the best out of anybody in this group. Another member spoke to her, Benki... she was certain, welcoming her and saying that they'd all been through quite a bit themselves. Artemis offered a small smile in response but opted not to speak. As soon after he had spoken, Rael continued on their previous conversation. A small wave of relief passed through the girl, the familiarity of the situation reassuring to her in a way.

It had only been a week or two before that Wild Hunt had been sitting in their guild house, having a similar discussion. Figuring out their plans going forward, trying to figure out what they needed to do to get by. So this, at least, was familiar territory. Though she wasn't exactly certain how to contribute just yet, as she wasn't certain what had been discussed. "I... don't know the details of what all has been discussed yet, but Wild Hunt had planned on aiming for world quests to start at least, dungeons seemed a bit dangerous to dive straight into. I... might have some notes we had made back at the guild house. S-sorry if this doesn't help." She offered softly, hoping she might also figure out a bit more of what they had discussed already.

This was nice, being with others.

[Lemons]

---

As Dariel ruffled her hair, Alja—for just a moment—was transfixed, snapping back to Kelly's childhood, with Elaine doing the same until she'd ducked away, embarrassed. Before Alja could do the same, Dariel pulled away, and she had to resist lightly touching her tousled hair. It was just so unexpected that she had no idea how to deal with it in the moment, but there was still a dim comfort tucked beneath her fading anger.

She listened as Dariel spoke. Listened, as he peeled away a bit of himself and showed her the adventurer that had been underneath him the entire time. As he told her of his history, of the time he'd spent before Pariah, she found herself wondering: he didn't seem like an NPC. So was he ever one? Now that the 'training wheels,' as they were, had been taken off, he seemed more real than he ever had as a generic tavern-keeper. He had a history. He had his own thoughts and opinions. And like she'd said, he had a life of his own. Programming only went so far, could only be so detailed. Something about it bothered her. Something about the way that Denizens had been speaking recently, all the history that underscored the world that had been Pariah. There was an idea building in her mind, something half-formed that she couldn't quite put her finger on. But it was there nonetheless.

She breathed out heavily. Her eyebrows lightened as she exhaled the frustration, leaving her a touch ashamed of how she'd acted. She'd done it again, just like with Rael after the Glitch. She'd lashed out. She needed to stop. She needed to help keep the group united, not wedge them further apart. A knife of self-loathing pierced into her, but she shoved it roughly aside. There was no time for that, no time to feel sorry for herself. There were more important things to deal with than her. She could not snap at her friends like that again, no matter how frustrated she was. She was not Kelly now, nor could she afford to be. She was Alja, created from whole cloth to be the strong center of the group. She needed to act like it.

"I think we're all tryin' to keep goin' in our own way. But some are more shaken. They're afraid. We're afraid. We have lost that feelin' of invincibility. And we weren't prepared to watch friends die." She smiled sadly, shaking her head a little bit. "It must seem silly or downright absurd to you, the thought of adventurin' being a riskless endeavor. But that's what it's always been for us. We'll get there, but it's going to take time for us to adjust. Time that we don't have." She brushed a strand of hair out of her face distractedly. They hadn't done enough. When she looked up, she couldn't meet Dariel's eyes.

"We've failed all of you. Tha mi duilich."

[Supermaxx]

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

---

Once Artemis looked comfortable Graves took a heavy seat beside her. He glanced around at the faces 'round the table, his expression tight. Their conversation while he'd stepped away hadn't been lost on him. Both Seele and Alja thought his suggestion was heartless, the latter impugning him more explicitly than the former, but the idea was the same: they had a responsibility to Thorinn that they couldn't shirk, no matter the personal cost. It took a great deal of self-control not to lose his cool at such a foolish goddamn notion.

The denizens were different now, that was beyond question. But everyone was assuming that meant they mattered more- that their lives were somehow equal to the players trapped in Pariah. That was idiotic. Infuriating, even. Graves wasn't about to sacrifice flesh and blood humans for a collection of code, no matter how advanced their AI seemed to be. What did they think had happened? That all the NPCs had suddenly developed sentience overnight? It was absurd. There was obviously a logical explanation for everything- the denizens, the fact they could feel pain and hunger now, and everything else- he just didn't know what it was yet.

"I'm not trying to be a dick, here." He spoke in a subdued, controlled tone, eyes kept low so the group's reactions couldn't upset him. "But I gotta be honest: I think you guys've lost your minds if you think real people should be dying for these denizens. I can't explain why they're so...lifelike...now, but at the end of the day they're characters in a video game. They were designed by a bunch of sweaty ass nerds at MGC. Nothin' that happens in here's gonna change that."

He paused just long enough to gulp down the entirety of his flagon. "My only responsibility is to all of you. I go where you go. I'll fight whatever you point me at. But that's it. Everybody else can go fuck themselves."

[Hero]

---

---

'Moneybags' was accurate, although Kazuki wasn't sure why it felt like an insult. He pushed the now-empty mug away from him, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he watched everything unfold. He wasn't entirely sure why everyone was getting riled up again. All this talk of 'going forward' and 'time' and...other things that couldn't come to mind at the moment--goodness, his head was swimming. All he knew was that they were going in circles for no good reason.

"And when the denizens--who outnumber us a thousand to one--turn on us, it'll all be over," He said, straightening up. "It isn't an argument about priority, everyone is interpreting each other's words the wrong way. We do have a duty to fulfill, and that same duty is not just for the denizens, but for our own sake as well. The lore said that the denizens don't trust us in the first place and only tolerated us because we cleared dungeons. No wonder they're mistrusting us, we all just suddenly stopped from their perspective."

He let out the smallest of hiccups, shaking his head. "And they'll never understand our reason. They'll never understand the losses. No amount of explaining, crying, begging, or reasoning will make them understand. I bet there are some denizens in power who hate us and will likely take this chance to get rid of us," His tone dropped to something resembling somber. "But...if we return to clearing the dungeons, fulfilling quests, we can get back on track."

Looking over at Graves, Kazuki frowned. "What you said and what Alja said isn't wrong. But you have to alter your point of view; if you're dropped into a foreign city, you don't go against their customs. You blend in, adapt...do whatever you can to survive. 'Do as the Romans do', after all," He stood, swaying slightly. "I'm going to make sure to do that, too. If I have to clear dungeons, fine. If I have to do some stupid fetch quest to gain people's trust, fine. I'll do whatever it takes."

The brunet pushed his chair aside, standing still for a moment. "I refuse to die here," He muttered.

---

---

[mickilennial]

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

---

“I agree with Kazuki.” Rael stated as she leaned back in her chair casually as she tossed the apple she had been eating into a garbage can a few feet away.

Maybe it was the shared, practical Japanese way of thinking Rael, Benkei, and Kazuki had. Maybe it was just common sense to someone who was always about surviving in the game while pissing others off. Rael just knew that if wayfarers stood up to denizens the only thing that would happen would be double the graves. Thorinn wouldn’t even exist if they didn’t solve dungeons, but the denizens like the Queen gave them their patronage. It was what the dumb NPCs had said before.

“We’re in a shared ecosystem. That’s how they were describing it a few days ago, right?” Her eyes moved across the table before resting on Graves. “If we don’t seal dungeons, the cities get overran. If the cities get overran we have nowhere to rely on for safety and well, amenities. If we start a riot the only one you’re hurting is you. If you actually used your brain you’d see its really the only choice we have.”

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

---

Alja’s guilt and sorrow didn’t get lost on Dariel.

He remembered the fear, though while he couldn’t relate to always thinking it’d be a cakewalk there had been other denizens who had thought so. Ones who thought it was just a fun adventure, hence the name, but were sadly mistaken. Kids whose bodies were buried. Some of them people he personally knew from his time in the village he grew up in. It was a dangerous vocation and it reminded people of it at the worst times, no matter if they were born in Aetheria or in the weird places wayfarers had mentioned. With the anxiety of not even being able to go home, plus the reality of the dangers of Aetheria finally rearing their head there was no reason Dariel couldn’t be sympathetic to their plight. He didn’t need to relate to it to understand it, after all.

The older man swerved a flagon of orange juice to the girl, nodding at what she had told him before he spoke again.

“Look kid, you didn’t fail anyone. Ain’t your fault you can’t go home or that you’re the only ones who seem to have this ability to fix dungeons. The gods gave you a bad set of dice. Best you can do is handle it as best as you can. You don’t have to weather the storm broken and alone.”

[Supermaxx]

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

---

"Nobody's talkin' about lettin' Thorinn burn 'cept you." Graves glared. Frustration stirred in his chest. They weren't listening to him. Somehow they'd gotten the idea that the only possibly choice they could make was to play by Thorinn's rules or they'd get crushed; to him, that wasn't a choice at all. The current situation was untenable, as far as he was concerned. There were only so many Wayfarers still willing to delve into the dungeons, and their numbers were thinning by the week. How long would it be before the denizens' mistrust turned to violence? It might've already started. That could've been exactly what all those 'disappearances' were about.

Something needed to change, and he couldn't understand how he was the only one that saw that.

"You're both talkin' about maintainin' the status quo, but I'm tellin' you it won't last. We've goin' out and fighting the good fight and the situation here at home keeps deterioratin' anyway. If doin' our job would earn their trust then it already would'a worked."

Graves sat back in his chair, trying to loosen the knot he felt in his lower back. "They need us. We know it, they know it, everybody does. And much as I don't like it, we need them. You're right. Denizens and wayfarers, we're stuck together. In a shared ecosystem there's gotta be give n' take, yeah? But they aren't givin' us shit. You wanna negotiate with the queen, Kazuki, right? You do it from a position of strength. Use our leverage as the only ones able to protect Thorinn to demand better conditions for our fellow wayfarers. She's gotta acquiesce, 'cause the alternative is..." He motioned in the direction of the Rat King's final resting place.

After a moment's pause, Graves sighed. "Maybe we can convince some others guilds to get back in the field. That oughtta earn us some good will. We've already cleared two dungeons post-Glitch. I don't think anybody else can make that claim. That's gotta count for something."

[mickilennial]

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

---

Rael was tempted to snarl back at Graves when he accused her of listening to him wrong. Like words was his strong suit.

Fortunately, Graves had diverted to a more sensible argument. About how the denizens weren’t giving them anything, how they had leverage. How they needed to convince other guilds to get back in the field, which was largely going to be her next point. The argument still didn’t make sense even if it was more sensible, however. How did they have any leverage when the majority of guilds, single individuals, and normal groups of wayfarers weren’t doing anything.

“If you want to use leverage like a fuckin’ yakuza, you need to have more leverage than ‘we can do this thing others can’t’.” She explained, albeit heated.

“If eighty percent of people aren’t stopping dungeons or being productive and helping that ecosystem then they are parasites. That’s how society views people. Like,” She held her hands out, pointing out the few wayfarers she had seen in the tavern, people who didn’t have reputations for doing anything. “how many people here have we seen actually do anything? One group went to that dungeon in the western marshlands. One. Two groups fell into the rat dungeon, which means only two groups were bothering cleaning out the sewers in the first place. Answer me this, tank-for-brains, how many wayfarers are in Thorinn, do you think? What kind of leverage do they have?”

[Supermaxx]

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

---

"Parasites?" Graves snorted, unsure if that should be insulting or hilarious. It'd been years since he last heard that word thrown around. There was almost an absurd nostalgia to it, like he was back around the dinner table. Dad only ever talked politics when he was sloshed, and the bottle had a habit of loosing his tongue. A dozen arguments a lot like this one played through his mind. Anna and dad would scream at each other until she couldn't take anymore and storm out in a huff. William would sit there chuckling to himself, his mind elsewhere. Mom did her best to 'moderate'- which meant taking dad's side on everything and just wording it a little kinder.

Graves just shook his head. He didn't want to fight Rael on this, but she had this special ability to get under his skin like nobody else could. Even Kazuki, for all his calculated cruelty, had only set him off a couples times.

"You think people want to be sittin' around twiddling their thumbs? I know you like it here, Rael, but not everybody's you. A lot of these folks are kids and teenagers, or they got families they gotta get back to. They didn't sign up to be soldiers so why the hell should we expect 'em to step up? Nobody's makin' an effort to integrate them into Thorinn's, I dunno, society. I'm sure most everybody would be willin' to do somethin' if they were given the opportunity. They just don't wanna die."

He leaned forward, placing his weight on his elbows. "Its up to us to find the ones willin' to fight. We gotta get organized. Let's start puttin' out feelers. Reach out to the guilds we got connections with, either ourselves or through Pris and Mystic Prophecy. Maybe we can arrange a moot and get the Wayfarers on the same page. Get those who wanna work in touch with people who need workers, n' those who wanna fight grouped up with people who can help. I mean, we got a ton of experience between us. We can tell 'em everythin' that's different 'bout the dungeons now."