Sally sat atop the barricade and swung her feet back and forth nervously. On the surface, it seemed like they were well prepared. Oleb had eaten a series of trenches along the road to at least one hundred feet out. Jaxk had filled a couple of them with coal, which had now been set alight - the hiss of the light rain striking the heated areas almost drowning out her panicked internal voice. Almost.
The sound of light footsteps drew her attention away as Theo nimbly hopped from beam to beam before landing beside her.
“You alright?” He opened up his cloak to reveal Archie, who he placed down on the barricade as he himself sat.
“Yeah - it just seems too… easy?” Her brow furrowed as she idly petted the ginger cat. “I mean, this is a pretty defensible position.”
Archie began to purr and looked up at her with emerald eyes. “It’s the Champion you should be worried about. They are extremely tough.”
“Well, that’s reassuring.” She looked back out at the road. The waiting was not fun. At least if they were here, she would be able to do something. Even against impossible odds, she could rip and gnaw.
One of the pits was filled with all her zombies. It was a difficult choice to expend that skill so early, but with how low-level the undead were they’d hardly be a hindrance against the regiment. At least this way any that stumbled or fell into that hole would not be able to climb back out.
Theo leaned back on his palms and closed his eyes to the sky. “Any other insights you’re able to give us?”
“The guards have a breaking point; they will not fight till the last person standing.”
Sally nodded. That’s what she was hoping and why she went on the risky solo mission the night before. The lower their numbers got, the closer to that threshold they’ll be today. Between the traps and the looming archery towers they had set up, she had allowed herself the small mote of hope that the day could be won without needing to get into a large brawl.
The vampire was less convinced. “This is definitely the only attempt they’ll make to try and take the village back?”
“Yes, that’s the way I- that’s the way the Architect designed it.”
Both of the undead Players turned their gaze to the animal. Sally prodded him atop the head.
“Are you the Architect?”
“Short answer, no.” Archie recoiled away from the boop. “Long answer… the Observer that merged with me is trying to find out what is going on.”
“Schrodinger's Architect,” Theo murmured, rolling his eyes.
“Keep us updated,” Sally sighed and brought up her STAR. There were a couple of messages awaiting her notice.
[Chuck: uhm]
[Chuck: I’m no good at this sort of thing - so don’t die thx]
[Chuck: Foxes & Warriors outside village limits]
[Chuck: ping us if need us]
A morose weight sat upon her shoulders. If she hadn’t spent the Guild money on the night raid then maybe they’d be more use - but she didn’t want them to die or become enemies of the System on her behalf. Not at such a low level. Fighting with your friends was the most fun, but she wasn’t keen on burying any of them.
[Sally: thanks chucky]
[Sally: no promises, but you guys need to level]
[Sally: if we survive this I want to take the Guild to the second area as one]
[Chuck: understood]
[Chuck: once we receive the signal, either way, we catch up]
With a slight smile, she closed the Private Chat and switched to Party Chat.
[Sally: everyone good?]
[Jackie: just peachy, boss]
[Humphrey: Just finishing something with Jaxk and I will be there.]
“I’m great,” Theo grinned unconvincingly.
Archie curled up on the zombie’s lap. “Meow,” he said.
The three of them sat in silence for a while, save for the purring of the contented cat. As the rain increased in severity as the clouds overhead darkened, visibility down the long road decreased.
“Theo.” Sally eventually said softly. “What do you want to do after this?”
“…Like get a drink, or?” He recoiled away from her glare and gave a sheepish grin. “Two more villages right?”
“Yeah. Equal, three each. I’m not sure taking the capital was a great idea - it would constantly be under siege, I would have thought.”
“I suppose so. Maybe we can just elect some council members to represent Monster rights… or is it a monarchy?” The vampire pulled a face.
They both briefly waited for Archie to interject, but he had fallen asleep.
“Beats me,” Sally eventually relented. “My question was more, do you want to keep doing this?”
He didn’t reply straight away. Instead, they both remained staring at the waves of precipitation breaking across the slick road. Eventually, he offered up his thoughts.
“I’m a vampire in a weird video game world. Is it real? The pain and the trauma sure feel it. But so are the friendships.” He turned his tired eyes to meet those of the zombie.
“Theo… that’s really sickening. Like, my mouth actually tastes gross now. Were you planning on pitching that to a greeting card company?” Her tongue stuck from her mouth.
Theo rolled his eyes. “Be real for once. You’re having the time of your life, right? You’d rather be in the diner still?”
Her mouth opened and closed in response. Would she rather be in the diner? There was pretty much zero bloodshed she could remember in what scant memories her brain had arranged into a pile. Were they even real memories? She had been in this odd world long enough to where her original life was a distant blur.
“I’d rather… not live in fear.”
The vampire wrapped his cape a little tighter around himself. “How often has that been? You seem pretty capable. The only times I’ve seen you freak out is when your friends are in trouble.”
“That’s not true!” She tried to quickly scour her mind for other times. Certainly, the times meeting the higher levels had been nerve-wracking - but perhaps she handled those situations fine. Exasperated, she gave up the mental exercise. “Fine, but with the Architect being dead, we might have to change up our goals.”
“You’re not allowed to be the Architect.” Theo raised an eyebrow but smiled.
“Spoilsport,” the zombie shook her head and returned the grin.
Heavy footsteps vibrated up through the wooden beams as the Death Knight gingerly came up to join them. “I have no confidence in this construction.” He wobbled, eye sockets wide, before reaching the wider area they were seated at.
“Anything to report, Humps?”
“Bella’s mother has been scouting this morning. There appear to be two Player parties in the nearby area that aren’t known allies. One of them may be the Skullsplitters.”
“Ooh, I can finish them off if they want to get involved!” Sally punched a fist into an open palm.
“Otherwise, we are all prepared. The villagers will arm themselves once the alarm is raised. Level One goblins with bows probably won’t do much damage - but it at least keeps them out of our way.”
The Death Knight moved to sit down on the edge between the two half-Players. Sally leaned against the large plated former Observer and continued to watch the rain. Theo closed his eyes and softly hummed to himself. It was a rare moment of peace where the Party was not at odds against some foe, on the trail of adventure, or trying to rile each other up. The low rumble of thunder in the distance reflected their collective mood.
“Ay, boss?” Jackie leaned over the edge of the Garrison roof to look down at them. “Spooky orc up here says ten minutes approximately.”
“Isn’t it so poetic,” Theo said with eyes still closed, “the culmination of our tribulations and beliefs joined here under the narrative weight of the inclement weather, a dramatic climax to test our unwavering willpower?”
Sally leaned forward to see past Humphrey, frowning at the vampire. “Humps, vampires need to sleep, right?”
“Yes.”
“I am doing great!” Theo opened his eyes widely and turned to her, his exaggerated grin exposing his fangs.
She rolled her eyes and sat back, deflating at the wait still dragging on. “I guess you’re back to being the foil for my manic personality, Humphrey.”
“I am very normal.” The Death Knight nodded slowly.
“Pretty terrible at differentiating from human species and Monster designations, though.”
“Yes.”
Sally softly rubbed the ears of Archie as she pondered. They were an odd approximation of found family and even more strange when they were at peace like this and not barrelling towards misadventure. “Humps, can Observers merge with Players?”
“No. Not even Player corpses. Only the System-created, and probably dead Uniques.”
She chewed at her tongue. At least that meant they wouldn’t have to worry about fighting against some weird empowered Players. A shiver ran through her. Fighting in the rain would be miserable. Dying in the rain was only marginally worse. Her mind idly drifted to daydreams of being injured and held by Theo as he cried out against the storm. Her blood was probably as unattractive to him as his brain was to her now. The daydream popped like a balloon.
Her legs swung back and forth again. Impatient, but a small smile had crossed her face. Even if they fell now, just the thought of what they had accomplished excited her. Enclosing on Level Ten, they had fought off Players and bandits, cultists, and the giant dog thing. If they took Sanctuary at their low level before - the next two villages should be easy pickings. She was breaking down the System, and while she wasn’t getting any more ‘normal’, she was at least becoming a more valid entity within it.
“Boss? The reg’ is here!”
The smile from her face faded as a large bell began to ring in the village square. Yelling and the scuffles of movement came from behind as the villagers organised into a militia. She picked Archie up and stood, soon followed by the Death Knight and Theo.
With eyes narrowed, through the misty fog of the constant rainfall, a flash of lightning briefly illuminated scores of darkened figures marching in formation.
The fight for Sanctuary had begun.
Sally sat atop the barricade and swung her feet back and forth nervously. On the surface, it seemed like they were well prepared. Oleb had eaten a series of trenches along the road to at least one hundred feet out. Jaxk had filled a couple of them with coal, which had now been set alight - the hiss of the light rain striking the heated areas almost drowning out her panicked internal voice. Almost.
The sound of light footsteps drew her attention away as Theo nimbly hopped from beam to beam before landing beside her.
“You alright?” He opened up his cloak to reveal Archie, who he placed down on the barricade as he himself sat.
“Yeah - it just seems too… easy?” Her brow furrowed as she idly petted the ginger cat. “I mean, this is a pretty defensible position.”
Archie began to purr and looked up at her with emerald eyes. “It’s the Champion you should be worried about. They are extremely tough.”
“Well, that’s reassuring.” She looked back out at the road. The waiting was not fun. At least if they were here, she would be able to do something. Even against impossible odds, she could rip and gnaw.
One of the pits was filled with all her zombies. It was a difficult choice to expend that skill so early, but with how low-level the undead were they’d hardly be a hindrance against the regiment. At least this way any that stumbled or fell into that hole would not be able to climb back out.
Theo leaned back on his palms and closed his eyes to the sky. “Any other insights you’re able to give us?”
“The guards have a breaking point; they will not fight till the last person standing.”
Sally nodded. That’s what she was hoping and why she went on the risky solo mission the night before. The lower their numbers got, the closer to that threshold they’ll be today. Between the traps and the looming archery towers they had set up, she had allowed herself the small mote of hope that the day could be won without needing to get into a large brawl.
The vampire was less convinced. “This is definitely the only attempt they’ll make to try and take the village back?”
“Yes, that’s the way I- that’s the way the Architect designed it.”
Both of the undead Players turned their gaze to the animal. Sally prodded him atop the head.
“Are you the Architect?”
“Short answer, no.” Archie recoiled away from the boop. “Long answer… the Observer that merged with me is trying to find out what is going on.”
“Schrodinger's Architect,” Theo murmured, rolling his eyes.
“Keep us updated,” Sally sighed and brought up her STAR. There were a couple of messages awaiting her notice.
[Chuck: uhm]
[Chuck: I’m no good at this sort of thing - so don’t die thx]
[Chuck: Foxes & Warriors outside village limits]
[Chuck: ping us if need us]
A morose weight sat upon her shoulders. If she hadn’t spent the Guild money on the night raid then maybe they’d be more use - but she didn’t want them to die or become enemies of the System on her behalf. Not at such a low level. Fighting with your friends was the most fun, but she wasn’t keen on burying any of them.
[Sally: thanks chucky]
[Sally: no promises, but you guys need to level]
[Sally: if we survive this I want to take the Guild to the second area as one]
[Chuck: understood]
[Chuck: once we receive the signal, either way, we catch up]
With a slight smile, she closed the Private Chat and switched to Party Chat.
[Sally: everyone good?]
[Jackie: just peachy, boss]
[Humphrey: Just finishing something with Jaxk and I will be there.]
“I’m great,” Theo grinned unconvincingly.
Archie curled up on the zombie’s lap. “Meow,” he said.
The three of them sat in silence for a while, save for the purring of the contented cat. As the rain increased in severity as the clouds overhead darkened, visibility down the long road decreased.
“Theo.” Sally eventually said softly. “What do you want to do after this?”
“…Like get a drink, or?” He recoiled away from her glare and gave a sheepish grin. “Two more villages right?”
“Yeah. Equal, three each. I’m not sure taking the capital was a great idea - it would constantly be under siege, I would have thought.”
“I suppose so. Maybe we can just elect some council members to represent Monster rights… or is it a monarchy?” The vampire pulled a face.
They both briefly waited for Archie to interject, but he had fallen asleep.
“Beats me,” Sally eventually relented. “My question was more, do you want to keep doing this?”
He didn’t reply straight away. Instead, they both remained staring at the waves of precipitation breaking across the slick road. Eventually, he offered up his thoughts.
“I’m a vampire in a weird video game world. Is it real? The pain and the trauma sure feel it. But so are the friendships.” He turned his tired eyes to meet those of the zombie.
“Theo… that’s really sickening. Like, my mouth actually tastes gross now. Were you planning on pitching that to a greeting card company?” Her tongue stuck from her mouth.
Theo rolled his eyes. “Be real for once. You’re having the time of your life, right? You’d rather be in the diner still?”
Her mouth opened and closed in response. Would she rather be in the diner? There was pretty much zero bloodshed she could remember in what scant memories her brain had arranged into a pile. Were they even real memories? She had been in this odd world long enough to where her original life was a distant blur.
“I’d rather… not live in fear.”
The vampire wrapped his cape a little tighter around himself. “How often has that been? You seem pretty capable. The only times I’ve seen you freak out is when your friends are in trouble.”
“That’s not true!” She tried to quickly scour her mind for other times. Certainly, the times meeting the higher levels had been nerve-wracking - but perhaps she handled those situations fine. Exasperated, she gave up the mental exercise. “Fine, but with the Architect being dead, we might have to change up our goals.”
“You’re not allowed to be the Architect.” Theo raised an eyebrow but smiled.
“Spoilsport,” the zombie shook her head and returned the grin.
Heavy footsteps vibrated up through the wooden beams as the Death Knight gingerly came up to join them. “I have no confidence in this construction.” He wobbled, eye sockets wide, before reaching the wider area they were seated at.
“Anything to report, Humps?”
“Bella’s mother has been scouting this morning. There appear to be two Player parties in the nearby area that aren’t known allies. One of them may be the Skullsplitters.”
“Ooh, I can finish them off if they want to get involved!” Sally punched a fist into an open palm.
“Otherwise, we are all prepared. The villagers will arm themselves once the alarm is raised. Level One goblins with bows probably won’t do much damage - but it at least keeps them out of our way.”
The Death Knight moved to sit down on the edge between the two half-Players. Sally leaned against the large plated former Observer and continued to watch the rain. Theo closed his eyes and softly hummed to himself. It was a rare moment of peace where the Party was not at odds against some foe, on the trail of adventure, or trying to rile each other up. The low rumble of thunder in the distance reflected their collective mood.
“Ay, boss?” Jackie leaned over the edge of the Garrison roof to look down at them. “Spooky orc up here says ten minutes approximately.”
“Isn’t it so poetic,” Theo said with eyes still closed, “the culmination of our tribulations and beliefs joined here under the narrative weight of the inclement weather, a dramatic climax to test our unwavering willpower?”
Sally leaned forward to see past Humphrey, frowning at the vampire. “Humps, vampires need to sleep, right?”
“Yes.”
“I am doing great!” Theo opened his eyes widely and turned to her, his exaggerated grin exposing his fangs.
She rolled her eyes and sat back, deflating at the wait still dragging on. “I guess you’re back to being the foil for my manic personality, Humphrey.”
“I am very normal.” The Death Knight nodded slowly.
“Pretty terrible at differentiating from human species and Monster designations, though.”
“Yes.”
Sally softly rubbed the ears of Archie as she pondered. They were an odd approximation of found family and even more strange when they were at peace like this and not barrelling towards misadventure. “Humps, can Observers merge with Players?”
“No. Not even Player corpses. Only the System-created, and probably dead Uniques.”
She chewed at her tongue. At least that meant they wouldn’t have to worry about fighting against some weird empowered Players. A shiver ran through her. Fighting in the rain would be miserable. Dying in the rain was only marginally worse. Her mind idly drifted to daydreams of being injured and held by Theo as he cried out against the storm. Her blood was probably as unattractive to him as his brain was to her now. The daydream popped like a balloon.
Her legs swung back and forth again. Impatient, but a small smile had crossed her face. Even if they fell now, just the thought of what they had accomplished excited her. Enclosing on Level Ten, they had fought off Players and bandits, cultists, and the giant dog thing. If they took Sanctuary at their low level before - the next two villages should be easy pickings. She was breaking down the System, and while she wasn’t getting any more ‘normal’, she was at least becoming a more valid entity within it.
“Boss? The reg’ is here!”
The smile from her face faded as a large bell began to ring in the village square. Yelling and the scuffles of movement came from behind as the villagers organised into a militia. She picked Archie up and stood, soon followed by the Death Knight and Theo.
With eyes narrowed, through the misty fog of the constant rainfall, a flash of lightning briefly illuminated scores of darkened figures marching in formation.
The fight for Sanctuary had begun.
