Zool

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

MacKensie's routine was similar to those of her recent mornings since being named a Captain of the garrison. She was up before sunrise so that she had time to go to her favourite spot by the canalside do her usual stretching exercises. Then she would head back and trade a hearty 'Good morning' with Frederick, get a shower, some breakfast and head out to the Military Centre to arrive before her block, The Rabbits. She would help out with the menial tasks around the training yard while making sure to greet all of her soldiers as they rolled in, being sure to test herself on remembering all of their names. Some required a reminder, which was not good manners, but her commitment to the men and women would hopefully mean more than etiquette, airs and graces.

Light exercise would begin while those who had missed breakfast were sent to the mess hall to grab a quick bite to eat. Then - a slight change to schedule - she would start archery practice as a morning training instead of in the afternoon.

"Permission to speak, ma'am."

MacKensie smirked as she watched The Rabbits organise at the range. She knew the voice. "Come now, Sergeant Grimes; you do not require my permission for that. You know this."

"Just teasing, ma'am," he didn't smile nor did his gruff tone indicate humour, but MacKensie understood that this was just his way and so smiled for him as she regarded him sidelong. "Just wonderin' why we're using the range early today."

"I am out for lunch and I'm not sure how long I'll be," she explained, a tinge of excitement making itself known in her heart as Alison's face came to mind. "I would rather be here for archery. I trust you to handle everything else." Her eyes went back to scanning her soldiers. "Robinson has yet to correct his posture on release, and I need to see if Sellers, Grimwold and Zu'bah in particular have taken to the lessons from days past. Others also have a few bad habits that need some extra polish while we still have time." As she looked back at Grimes, she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder briefly. "Don't worry, I've squared our time away with The Bulls. Captain Wulrick is happy to take our afternoon slot, today."

Wulrick, leader of The Silver Arrow - MacKensie had not forgotten their helping hand when Second Chance snuck back into the city. The experience with their party Druid left a lot to be desired, but on the whole, they were good people.

Grimes nodded, satisfied, then folded his arms and watched as the arrows began flying. "Your confidence has grown in leaps since your first day, ma'am. When I first saw you, I figured you were just another hastily promoted officer. Then I realised the consolation that at least you cared and were willing to try and learn. And learn, you have. The Rabbits are in good hands."

"You are too kind, Sergeant. I will endeavour to live up to your praise. You have my word."

MacKensie ended the morning with an alarm drill, blowing the uniquely low-sounding whistle that signalled The Rabbits to stop what they were doing, arm themselves for battle and head to the rendezvous point as quickly as possible. There they formed up and, in a quick and orderly fashion, made their way up to their designated zone on the wall. As soon as the final soldier had a fully drawn bow with an arrow nocked, MacKensie stopped the timer and congratulated The Rabbits on shaving a couple of seconds off their best time.

She left The Rabbits in the capable charge of Grimes, parting ways with her block before they headed back to the Military Centre. Her own destination was The Mended Drum to meet up with her friends and Alison for introductions and she went with a spring in her step, happy to have had a productive morning, received some praise from the experienced Sergeant Grimes and would now get to what would undoubtedly be the best part of her day.

As she got onto the street where sat The Mended Drum, she saw Barracker, but the man was too far away to call after, so she simply continued on, seeing him disappear inside before she eventually got down the street and went in after him. She greeted anyone else who had already arrived, flashing a brilliant smile before going over to Frederick to make sure he was ready for the coming rush of requests for food and drink. It was after this when her keen senses picked up a noise, a thump of sorts coming through the ceiling, as if something had fallen over upstairs. Perhaps it was instinctive that her eyes would search about the tables and note that; among the missing attendees to their lunch date were Barracker and Zell. It brought her mind back to yesterday when Barracker was acting strangely and looking for the other swordsman. And then came the banging noise again.

She did go and sit down, but the nosey side of her grew more and more curious, until she eventually excused herself and went upstairs to see what, if anything, was going on. Walking down the corridor, her ears picked up voices coming from Zell's room and so she approached and knocked on the before letting herself in.

"Is everything alright? I heard... banging..." her voice trailed off as she looked around the room and saw the mess. Worringly evident by their faces, they had been fighting, but what muted and confused her horrified reaction was the fact that they seemed quite calm now. Relaxed, even. There was no hint of animosity or resentment between them, or tension in the air. It was all incredibley strange to the Ranger, who had no experience in such things as fights between friends, so she was simply frozen at the door, half in the room, half out, staring dumbly as she got her response.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

OMG I'm gone for ONE day and Kass and Zell are throwing eachother around the room :O

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

MacKensie placed her knife and fork together on the empty plate and then dabbed her mouth with a napkin. Frederick was an exceptional cook and had likely been so for a long time, but after watching and learning from James who, last week, had treated everyone to Mexican cuisine for lunch one day, Frederick had been experimenting with new combinations of spices and further enchancing the variety of amazing dishes he could produce.

The innkeeper soon spotted that she had finished and came over to take her plate. MacKensie suspected he had been chomping at the bit to ask for her opinion on his new variation. "All done, Miss MacKensie?"

She nodded gratefully. "Yes. Thank you so much, Frederick."

"Aaaand? What do you think?"

"A veritable festival for the senses," she gladly told him. "You have outdone yourself, Monsieur. Truly a delight."

He was quite clearly proud of himself and took her plate away along with another thank you from Mackensie and a shared smile.

It was getting late and the day had been long. Every day had been long in this tense build-up to the big battle, but this one had left her extra tired. Clive and Barracker had both already returned to the inn, MacKensie letting them know that she wanted to introduce Alison to them and had set a lunch date for tomorrow, asking them to attend and telling them that it was very important. Clive had been his usual steadfast and cheery self, but Barracker had been acting suspiciously odd. The Paladin had been asking after Zell - who was nowhere to be found this evening - and it sounded like the englishman was in trouble. What has that idiot done now? she'd thought. But whatever Zell had done, it must have been serious because Second Chance's two frontliners had struck up a fondness for eachother from the beginning and had seemed fairly close ever since. Barracker was a serious and stoic individual, but there was a different, more intense look in his eyes this time. It was a little worrying, but MacKensie did not pry and hoped that it would work itself out.

She stayed up to see Fenna, James and Adam and let them know about the important lunch date tomorrow. She neglected to tell anyone that Alison was from their world, as she thought it would be fun to give everyone the big surprise when they were all gathered together.

Unfortunately, the encounter with Adam was the last thing on her mind before going to bed. It was awkward for her, although her self-control hopefully stifled it enough that it would not be noticed and rub off on the Druid. She done no crime, but she was full of guilt. She was naturally friendly with everyone, but after developing an attraction to Zell and Adam - and knowing that they both felt something for her too - that natural friendliness had become a weight around her neck and the basis of her self-accusations of being a flirtatious coquette. And now - lying in bed in silence and darkness - her final moments before sleep were spent thinking about the way she'd left things with Zell, the morning after their 'non-date,' and full of admonishments that she could never forgive herself if she tore any kind of rift in the group.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

OMG Cloud! Yay!

Glad you're back, sham xD

You were here when Second Chance snuck back into Valhiem, weren't you? It's only been six days since then. It'll be easy to catch up. I'll let Xenon give you the details, he's kept Clive busy while we waited for your return. Good to see you!

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

"I'm hoping you, me, and the rest of you can figure out why we're here, what we're doing, and how the hell any of this makes sense. It's been a while since I've been to church or brushed up on my theology, but I don't remember anywhere in the bible or otherwise saying the afterlife was anything like this." MacKensie laughed as she agreed. Alison had a commanding presence to her - very naturally authoritative - but when mixed with her quips, there was something about it that tickled MacKensie fiercely. "Let's put our heads together and figure this out. Or, at the very least, survive this siege. Hell of a distraction to put up with while trying to solve this problem." The younger woman nodded and turned about as Alison told her to, "Lead the way."

The walk from the Brass Monkey, across the city, to The Mended Drum gave Alison and MacKensie time to talk and get better acquainted. MacKensie explained how most of the party landed in the village of Hommas and gave an account of a few notable moments that had led to this point, keeping things mostly on the positive side, but she would be remiss if she did not mention the tragic loss Arthur, who died a hero when he saved them all from Aurok the Maneater's dying attack. Clive being killed and recently resurrected also required an explanation, though, had she known how treasonous resurrection actually was, she may have left that detail out. Nevertheless, Alison was somewhat informed of Second Chance's trials and tribulations so far. MacKensie, in turn, listened attentively to whatever Alison was willing to share with her, asking questions where appropriate and having a joke here and there. Alison was an interesting person and MacKensie was taken by her cool charisma. She had already impressed MacKensie from the start, when she so closely pinpointed her city of birth, Lyon, just by hearing her talk for a minute. This suggested that the woman was more than well-travelled and would undoubtedly have some stories to tell. MacKensie was intrigued, to say the least.

"James and Zell are quite the duo and so much fun to be around. Barracker and Adam are darlings. Clive is a character and Fenna is an incredible woman.

MacKensie was glad to have another woman in the group, already decided in her imagination that Alison should and would stay with them, in their group, from now on. She did her best to make a good and welcoming first impression, as was her sociable nature, but also with the notion in mind that she was the sole representative of Second Chance right now...

...And the sole representative she would stay, for this evening. No one was at The Mended Drum when they arrived.

"Zell just left about a half hour ago," Frederick told them. "The others, I've not seen all day."

"Oh," was MacKensie's response, disappointment in her voice. She looked apologetically at Alison, then more positively introduced her to Frederick. "She is from our world," she told the innkeeper. Then to Alison; "Fred has been a perfect host and gentleman to us, since our arrival in Valhiem. He and his staff, have been nothing short of excellent."

Awkwardly, there was nothing else to do but reschedule Alison's meeting with the rest of Second Chance for tomorrow. "I do apologise for wasting your time. I will tell the others about you and - if you are available - perhaps we could all meet here for lunch, tomorrow? Or at The Brass Monkey, if you would prefer."

She would hope that Alison would choose The Drum over The Monkey. MacKensie did not like the latter establishment one bit. But she would offer the option out of courtesy. When it was settled, gave an encouraging smile and resounding nod. They said their goodbyes and before they parted ways, MacKensie gave the woman a short hug. "I am so glad we found you. You no longer have to be alone in this, Alison. We will get through this together."

Once Alison was gone, MacKensie ordered a late dinner and stayed in the taproom to eat while she waited for any of her friends to arrive, so she could give them the amazing news; There was another person from Earth, here in this city.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Almost there.

Sprint.

She was confident in her speed and it took her past the next set of bolt-firing traps cleanly. Drawing her main one-handed crossbow from the clip at the small of her back, one shot fired. Bullseye. A dive, a commando roll and back into sprint. Two shots fired. Bullseye.

Don't think... feel.

Up the slope of the balance beam she went. The traps did not allow her to slow down. The beam took her high up. She would not allow herself to waver. The third and fourth target forced her left hand to draw the crossbow on her right hip, the weaker weapon joining her primary weapon in dual wield action. Double bullseye.

Input from the senses are your commands. Let your instincts move your body.

Triple pirouette - an old ballet motion. As simple in practice as it was on the precarious balance beam. How far her balance and agility had come. She danced through the first half of the swinging weights like a blue breeze, her azure cape whirling with her. The second half, the traps fired off again. She fell forward off the beam. Not by accident. Her magical grapplehook fired, the Ranger defying gravity, swinging under and around, up and back onto the beam, clearing the second half of the swinging weights.

Reloading dual crossbows was undoubtedly the hard part. Especially whilst running along the beam. She cheated.

Blue flames danced on her hands and up her arms as she activated her Deadly Flurry. Using her practiced Long Jump technique, she lept forward off the end of the beam, into the air, tossed a handful of bolts in front of her as she sailed, and in a blur of godspeed handmovements; one, two, three, four, five, six bolts hit the bullseyes of six moving targets. The traps firing back stood no chance.

She landed and launched back into a sprint to the finish line, concluding the course. Her breathing was heavy as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Septimus deactivated the training ground, allowing her to walk back to the beginning and start another training course. She headed inside, about to ask if, in Septimus' opinion, she might be able to handle a Platinum difficulty, but the applause of another figure her sharp eyes hadn't even noticed was what drew her attention.

"Well, that was certainly a show there! The rumors weren't kidding about the Second Chance folk." Whilst taken aback by the sudden appearance of the woman, MacKensie still managed to put on an air of humility and smile at the praise. "But honestly..." the older woman shrugged. "I'm not here to see the fancy shooting skills. MacKensie, right?"

"Yes. How do you do?"

"You're not from around here, are you? Or I guess I should say, from this world."

And that's when it hit her. That accent. Not nearly as thick as Clive Michel. Not quite as noticeable as even Adam Philips. But most assuredly, undeniably American. It left her speechless for a moment.

There is another. But...?

How? Who knows. Who cared. A new, more heartfelt smile spread across her face and she opened her mouth to speak, not quite sure what to say. "I..." she blinked thrice as she struggled for words. "Yes... I mean... no - No, I am not." A soft snort of a one-note laugh left her as she took in the full visage of the woman, her casual demeanour and cool expression. "Nor are you!" It came out louder than she intended, her excitement clear as she took a step closer to the woman. "How...? When...?" So many questions, all falling out at once. "Are there more of you?"

Septimus the Soundless, nothing if not consistent, was unimpressed, uncaring and abrupt as he shut down the computer and walked off. "I'll leave you two to your little reunion," he said dryly.

MacKensie spared him a brief glance before turning excitedly back to the mysterious woman who seemed to know a lot more about MacKensie than MacKensie did her. Subconciously, she noted the roguish clothing that fit right into the backdrop of The Brass Monkey, but she knew not to judge a book by it's cover. Barracker Kassel was proof enough of that. "How have you been, umm?" She waited for a name before saying, "You simply must meet the rest of us."

Any inquiry as to Second Chance getting to the bottom of the great mystery; Why they were here - MacKensie would admit that they were not doing too well on that front, but they did have some strong leads, aswell as a Source Comm message that the woman would be better off reading herself. However, she would, if pressed further, endevour to explain all that she could.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

<Snipped quote by AvaP>

Amazing intro! Bravo!

@xenon

Truuuee!

I'm so tempted to go again before deadline xD

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

She was tired. It had been a long day at the Military Centre. But she was not so tired that she couldn't detect the nefarious energy in the Brass Monkey. Lecherous eyes, weird smells to the smoke, aggressive voices in the ambience - Have I come to the right place? Is this really it?

It was the place. In a recpetion area adjacent to the tavern taproom, MacKensie found a wiry old man who looked her up and down with dispassion as he placed his hands on the desk. MacKensie noticed the Source Crystal on the back of his left hand.

"What?"

"Umm..." Clearly not the polite type. "I'm here to use the training grounds."

"Class and Tier?"

"Ranger. Silv- no, Gold."

A single eye of the old man narrowed with suspicion, but his expression told her that he quickly decided he didn't care if she was lying. He waved his hand to follow and made for another door at the back of the reception room. MacKensie tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and tentatively followed. They eventually ended up in a long hall that was much like a garden room extension of a house. Through the long line of large windows, MacKensie could see the training grounds, the targets, the combat dummies, the obstacle courses and much more. Within the hall, there were many machines and computers sporting that distinct Mytherian look: Stone blocks with magical screens overlaying them, gold plating and piping covering what must have been the wiring. Even after being in Valhiem for this long, the french heiress was still in awe of it all.

"We'd ordinarily charge," the old man said. "But the bosses are gone, the city's a hair's breadth from destruction and business has been shit this last week. And most pertinently..." he looked at her grimly. "...I'm bored." MacKensie smiled nervously. "So you're in luck." She nodded eagerly. He explained that he was about to set all electrical, mechanical and magical settings to Gold Class but warned her, "It won't be easy, if you're lying about being Gold Tier. This place can and will try to hurt you. Kill you, if it can. Are you sure you want Gold?"

"Yes please," MacKensie answered. Memories of Second Chance's last mission flashed through her mind - the Greater Wraith and the Listener. Zigmund the metal ninja. Second Chance may be Silver Tier officially, but they were clearly more powerful than their rank suggested. "I think I'm up to the challenge."

"Suit yourself. Should make a good show, at least."

He turned to a stone computer and began inputting commands with his fingers on the strange screen that hovered a few millimetres above the surface. When he was done, before he had a chance to speak, MacKensie went first. "I am MacKensie. MacKensie Trydant." She offered her hand. He looked at it for a second, then decided on giving her a weak handshake.

"Septimus the Soundless."

MacKensie gave a small smile of appreciation. She was glad to know who she was dealing with, good etiquette ingrained in her upbringing. With a gesture, he showed her the door she was to go through and she obliged, stepping out into the crisp evening air of the yard. There were a few branching paths from here, but the one that drew her attention was the most difficult-looking. Her sharp eyes looked down what was an obstacle course of sorts, with balance beams along the course, hampered by swinging weights that would knock her off if she wasn't careful. She also noted the pillars with bolt-firing mechanisms and the targets - both moving and stationary - dotted along the way.

This was exactly what she needed. Those regular archery ranges at the Military Centre were nothing compared to this.

"When you're ready, MacKensie Trydant." Septimus' words came from speakers in surround sound. She looked back at him, seeing him at the computer, watching her through the window. She nodded, then looked back at her chosen path with determination.

Calm. Focus. Don't forget to breathe.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

I'm back xD

I've just caught up on everything - great writing as always. Welcome @AvaP, looking forward to writing with you. I'll get a post up ASAP.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Oh alright, Tyrion's lovely too lol

I'm all for it, keep the posts coming xD