Zapdos

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

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

-----

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@Teyao that sounds rough, sorry you're going through that.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Sorry for the delays, heat broke our electrical transformer, been without since a couple hours ago

@Teyao

I hope you get power back soon!

You are due a string of good fortune, @Teyao, if there's any justice in this world.

@Zool

True! Hint hint @xenon nudge your dice rolls accordingly lol

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@Zool no kidding!

I figured the best route was to have Adam's reaction mostly internalized, so that everyone else can have a chance to write out their reactions without too much influence from me.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

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

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

-----

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

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

-----

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

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

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

However, he said none of this.

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

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

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

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

<Snipped quote by Zapdos>

Then you also deserve a cookie

@Teyao

I will also be ordering cinnamon bread and cheesy bread later, should go well with the cookie

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I did see those @Teyao it's a nice effect. The different ways you experiment with the text based on what happens to James (disguises, memory spell, etc.) is pretty cool.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

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

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

-----

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

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

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

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

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I'll be pushing the main cast to an emergency meeting at the Citadel, then after a round of posting, a final trip to the Adventurer's Guild to get the Source Comm message.

@xenon

I look forward to MacKensie learning that she was banned from the Guild building, should be fun to read

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Read my post first

I tried to be careful to make just the one character a smug jerk, so that everyone here can write for the rest of the party without being impeded by something that I kind of did on a lark. It was kinda fun writing that sort of guy. I might give him his comeuppance eventually :P