— CHAPTER FOURTY-EIGHT —

  Afterparty

  (Percival)

  Lily set the giant beetle down in the courtyard, where Fritz was leaning against one of the few intact pillars lining the dirt boulevard with his arms crossed and that laid-back smile on his face.

  "Nice flying, kids!" Fritz clapped. "Ten out of ten on style points, especially that last-second rescue. Very dramatic."

  I slid off the beetle's back, my boots crunching on the gravel and debris that now carpeted the courtyard. The place was a complete wreck - massive chunks of stonework littered the area, some pieces as large as wagons. The highest piles had formed directly beneath the sections of wall where Grimm had torn pieces of the fortifications down, leaving a series of small mountains around the perimeter.

  Lily hopped down beside me, giving the beetle an affectionate pat on its horn. "Good girl, Betty."

  "Betty, huh?" Fritz raised an eyebrow.

  "My brother named her."

  "I dig it." he nodded.

  I scanned the courtyard. A handful of Vanguard members who had fallen during the fight were scattered around, some sitting against broken pillars nursing wounds, others helping clear paths through the debris. A few World Guard members had arrived as well, presumably to assess the damage and coordinate repairs. But someone was missing.

  "Where did Lu go?" I asked.

  Fritz shrugged. "I didn't see her."

  "Command Sharp: Trace: Lady Lucia."

  A holographic green line appeared in front of me, weaving between fallen debris and around what remained of the hedges that had once lined the boulevard. I followed it over to the other side of the courtyard, where a particularly large section of wall had collapsed.

  There, we found Lucy sprawled over a pile of rubble near the base of the wall. She was lying motionless, her blonde hair splayed around her head like a halo, one arm twisted at an uncomfortable angle beneath her. A large blue wireframe patch covered the side of her head, spreading from her temple down to her jaw. Slowfall limited downward velocity and prevented fall damage, but didn't affect horizontal momentum. When I pushed her away from Grimm, she must have shot off to the side and hit the wall. It wasn't how I'd intended to get her out of the fight, but at least she was alive.

  We rolled her onto her back. Lucy groaned at the movement, her eyes fluttering open, unfocused and disoriented.

  "Hey, Lu." I said, kneeling beside her. "You with us?"

  Her eyes struggled to focus on my face.

  Fritz held up a finger directly in front of her face. "Focus on my hand. How many fingers am I holding up?"

  Lucy blinked hard, her gaze wobbling as she tried to focus. After a moment, she drunkenly swatted Fritz's hand away.

  "You!" she jabbed her finger in my direction, missing my face by several inches. "How dare you toss me aside like some-!" She tried to push herself up to standing, but she immediately tipped forward and faceplanted in the grass.

  "Whoa there." Fritz said. "Maybe take it easy for a minute."

  We eased her back into a sitting position against the wall.

  "You gotta do what you gotta do - you know that, Lu." I smiled.

  Her glare would have been more effective if her eyes had been pointing in the same direction.

  With Lucy temporarily settled, I turned back to Lily. "So, where'd you get the beetle?"

  Lily said, "I just found the quest in my log the other day. I must have gotten it while we were out in the Woodsea. I went out there while my brother was in school and unlocked the flight license."

  The beetle - Betty - clicked her mandibles together. Her carapace had an iridescent sheen to it, shifting from deep forest green to midnight blue depending on how the light hit it. Her eyes were beady black orbs that stared into my soul with a somewhat threatening hunger. Despite that, there was something oddly docile about her demeanor.

  "Thank Christ the Fringe weren't camping that quest zone, too!" Fritz said. "When we were in the mountains for the pegasus quest, they had a whole band kidnapping people to control the unlock."

  "Oh, I heard about that!" Lily said. "That's why I didn't go alone! I told the Guards and had some of the Protectorate people with me to help me document it. We didn't run into any trouble, though. The theory is the Fringe is moving west."

  While we talked, movement at the top of the damaged wall caught my attention. A rope unfurled from one of the larger breaches, followed by another, and then several more. Figures began to rappel down the face of the wall, descending the piles of rubble. I saw Willard, Grey, Matsen, Siegfried, some of their guildmates, and a smattering from the other Vanguard guilds.

  Willard paused at the bottom of the rubble pile, taking in the devastation of the courtyard with a low whistle. "Man, this place is a mess!"

  Grey landed beside him, shaking his head. "If this place is going to get progressively more damaged the farther in we go, I think I like the new decor."

  Willard spotted us and broke into a wide grin, waving enthusiastically as he made his way over. Grey followed, though with considerably less enthusiasm. The rest of the Vanguard team spread out across the courtyard, some checking on their injured members, others examining the remains of Grimm's stone shell that lay scattered across the ground.

  "Howdy there!" Willard called out as he approached. "Nice of you to join us - you pulled us out of a tight spot."

  Grey crossed his arms. "We could've handled it."

  "But we didn't have to," Willard said, "and that's worth the praise!" He turned his attention to Lily, extending a hand. "I don't think I've met you before - do you know the Oxtongue team?"

  "We've run into each other a couple times." Fritz said.

  Lily shook his hand with a polite nod. "I'm a part-time volunteer with the Protectorate."

  "Nice to meet you!" Willard said. He turned to get a closer look at Betty, which had settled into a resting position nearby, its legs folded beneath its massive body. "So pegasi and beetles, huh? What other flying mounts have the Protectorate found?"

  Lily's face lit up at the question. "We know there are dragons somewhere out there."

  "We've seen the Fringe using them." I added.

  "There's also speculation about griffons in the Northern Snowfields," Lily continued, "because of the eyrie in Falconworth. No one's seen one yet."

  "Are there any dog-like mounts?" Will asked. "I've always wanted to ride a giant dog. When I was a toddler, I wanted to put a saddle on our Saint Bernard."

  Lily said, "You'd have to check the wiki for that."

  The raucous sound of marching footsteps echoed up from the city below, growing louder as a fresh wave of players approached the courtyard. It was another Vanguard force dressed for battle. At their head was Wulfric, his armor reflecting the afternoon sun like a mirror as he surveyed the devastation with increasingly widening eyes. They collectively stopped as they saw the damage to the courtyard and curtain wall.

  Willard bounced forward with an enthusiastic wave. "Hey guys! Don't worry; it's all taken care of - we got it under control!"

  Wulfric's group dispersed, some rushing to carry the wounded out while others began shifting debris to clear pathways.

  From the garden entrance on the far side of the courtyard, the last stragglers of the wall team limped in. Rose was among them, her left arm sheared down to a little stump and her pants torn in multiple places, revealing more wireframe wounds across her legs. But she had a brave face on and was walking unassisted.

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  Wulfric's attention shifted from the debris to Willard, his eyes narrowing. He approached our little group. "That's exactly the problem here." Wulfric said. "You shouldn't have intervened - you know better than that."

  "Oh, come on!" Willard rolled his eyes.

  "Bosses scale to the number of people involved with the fight - you know that; we discussed it when we settled on raid sizes." Wulfric said. "That is the optimal point before the boss' damage becomes too inflated to safely handle. You risked adding more weight to an already strained situation."

  "The situation was already screwed, and we were in contact with the raid team! Matsen asked us for help!"

  At the mention of his name, Matsen perked up from where he'd been helping a wounded player. He hurried over, nodding vigorously. "Uh, yeah! I told them to come!"

  Wulfric's frown deepened. "And you may be excusable, but what about them?" He jabbed a finger in our direction, indicating me, Fritz, Lucy, and Lily.

  "They helped even more than we did!" Willard protested. "Did you see what they were doing in the air?!"

  "It's not about what they did - it's about the message they send." Wulfric said. "It's a bad precedent to give civilians the idea that they can jump right into these fights. It's bad enough we had those spectators on the hill. Thankfully none of them were hurt."

  Fritz asked, "What were you all doing a minute ago, by the way? Watching the fight?"

  Wulfric said, "When I was informed of the second boss, I gathered a team, but we took the time to coordinate with the raid already on the field. We were waiting for Rose's confirmation that our help was actually needed before storming in and scaling the fight."

  Willard stepped forward, getting between us and Wulfric. "Hey, all I know is that, if they hadn't stepped - or flown - in, we'd've been cooked. Just look what happened to Rose!"

  At the sound of her name, Rose's head turned. She seemed to notice our group for the first time, and she took a limping step toward us. "What are you arguing about?" she asked, her voice carrying across the now-quieter courtyard.

  "This time." Wulfric said. "What they did helped this time."

  "We're not here for the recognition." I said. "Just leave our names out of it."

  Wulfric snorted. "It's a little late for that - everyone saw you fly in out of nowhere - through a no-fly zone, by the way. The Guard do not allow flying mounts in the city."

  Rose made it to our group, standing beside Wulfric. "What? Who cares - if you have a problem with people joining raids unwarranted, put a disclaimer in the newspaper - they'll want interviews on this anyway."

  Willard's face lit up. "Yeah, we can tack a statement onto the coverage!"

  Grey, who had been silently observing the exchange, finally spoke up. "We'll make it clear this was an exceptional circumstance."

  Wulfric looked back and forth between them, his stern expression gradually relaxing into something more contemplative. "Perhaps... I'm stressing this too far. But let's get this story straight - no spur of the moment heroism."

  Rose nodded firmly. "I'll agree to that."

  The tension that had been building seemed to dissipate with those words. Around us, the cleanup efforts continued as players helped each other and cleared the worst of the debris.

  Before turning to leave, Wulfric looked at our group - me, Fritz, Lucy, and Lily. His frown had softened, and he gave us a small, almost imperceptible nod. "Good job. This time."

  Fritz flashed him a smile and a thumbs up. "No problem - you'll never see us again!"

  Lucy, who had been unusually quiet during the whole exchange, let out a small snort at that.

  Wulfric and Rose began making their way toward the gate, where their guild members were already forming back into ranks. Rose called over her shoulder, "You too, Matsen - you're on the raid lead team!"

  Matsen jumped. "Oh, right!" He scrambled after them, pausing briefly to look back at us. "Thanks, dudes!"

  Willard cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted after the departing Vanguard leaders. "And remember these guys aren't civilians - they were with the Oxtongue raid! Proven Vanguard experience!"

  The departing Vanguard force descended down the motte toward the city, where we could hear the distant sound of a cheering crowd gathering to welcome the victorious raid team.

  Willard turned to us with a grin. "Well, that went better than expected. Anyone hungry? I'm buying dinner."

  Fritz perked up immediately. "Hell yeah, I'm starving. Fighting for your life really works up an appetite."

  I looked at him. "What fighting did you do?"

  Lily nodded enthusiastically. "I've got a few hours before my brother gets off school."

  So I helped Lucy up, and we followed the minor guild group down into the city.

  The place we went was a bar in the far northwestern corner of the city - in a quiet, cozy neighborhood. Maybe a little overshadowed by the city wall, but nice and private. The interior was a collage of wood and stone, with low beams crossing the ceiling and booths made from repurposed wine barrels lining the walls. The scent of roasted nuts, spilled ale, and wood smoke mingled in the air. We had free run of the place, and the minor guild members made themselves at home - some claiming tables, others heading straight to the dart board in the corner, a few bellying up to the bar.

  Fritz, predictably, hit if off with everyone in the room. He was passing around a joint, trading hits for mixed popcorn with a girl from Ruin, then did shots and played darts against the FUN Rangers' tank.

  Lily had settled at a table near the back with three members of the FUN Rangers - a woman with goggles pulled up to her forehead and the healers.

  Lucy and I found a table by one of the frosted windows, far enough from the bar's center to have a bit of quiet. She immediately slumped against the wall, her eyes unfocused and her movements sluggish. Outside, snow drifted down in lazy spirals, accumulating on the empty, cobblestone street.

  She kept drooping tiredly, and I shook her shoulder back awake. I wasn't sure if there was any risk of serious problems from the injury, but I wasn't taking chances.

  "I can't believe you threw me at a wall." she mumbled.

  "I did not throw you at a wall." I said, "I threw you out of the way of the gargoyle. The wall just happened to be there."

  "And you wanted to use me like a fishing lure."

  "But I didn't, and I did the luring myself!"

  She leaned forward, elbows on the table, and held her head in her hands with a groan. "Everything's spinning. Make it stop."

  "I'll get you some water." I stood up, pushing my chair back and walking over to the bar.

  I scrolled through the menu of drinks looking for something for myself. Hot chocolate - there we go. I brought up the customization menu and started tweaking the sliders. A little extra sweetness, medium thickness, a hint of cinnamon. Whipped cream, marshmallows, shot of caramel? Absolutely.

  While I was tweaking things, Willard hopped onto the stool beside me. He'd abandoned his armor somewhere along the way and was now in a simple t-shirt and jeans, his blonde hair still ruffled from the fight.

  "Hey, Percival." he said, signaling the bartender for a refill. "Can I ask you something?"

  "Sure." I continued adding extras to my order - make it triple whipped creme, chocolate shavings, was I feeling sprinkles tonight? Why not - it's a party.

  "Why did you never join the Vanguard?" Willard asked. "I know Lucia dropped out - sorry, left due to creative differences. But what about you?"

  I completed my hot chocolate order and added a glass of water to the tab. "I don't like how you made it all... systematized and bureaucratic. 'Claiming' boss encounters, negotiating with other guilds for team positions - it just seems like a hassle that distracts from the point. Besides, there's so much more going on here than what's in the Citadel. Do you keep up on the stuff the Protectorate is finding about corruption?"

  "But the Citadel is currently the way forward. How much preparation and investigation can you realistically do without engaging with the actual steps of progressing the story?"

  "There's plenty of people working in the Citadel, and there's a lot more ground to cover outside it. The Vanguard is a lot of people put into one area, but the Protectorate is always understaffed and has a whole world to comb through."

  Willard took a sip of his drink. "I guess we wouldn't have anyone swooping in on a pegasus if no one was looking around outside."

  The bartender slid a glass of water and a steaming mug of hot chocolate toward me. I carefully picked up both drinks and carried them back to Lucy, who had progressed from holding her head to tracing patterns in the condensation on the window. She seemed marginally more alert, which was a good sign.

  "Here." I said, setting the drinks down. "This should help."

  Before I could even finish my sentence, Lucy reached out and grabbed the hot chocolate, pulling it toward her.

  "Wh-!"

  Lucy just giggled. She bit into the mound of whipped cream, getting it all over her face. "You have good taste! You forgot the cookie straw, though."

  I wasn't worried about permanent brain damage anymore, so I went back to the bar and started putting in all my customizations again. Except I was getting myself a cookie straw.

  "So what about inside?" I asked Willard. "I heard the NPCs were standing around waiting for us to make progress - have they done anything yet?"

  Willard shook his head. "Nope - still no developments. What about in the world?"

  You know what? This time I'm getting extra marshmallows. "There's plenty of little stories of conflicts - individual events and quests, but no large-scale movement between them. The theory is it kicks off at 60."

  "That's awfully late, isn't it?" Willard frowned. "You'd think there'd be more happening at the beginning to hook people into the conflict."

  "Unless it was designed to be unintrusive at the beginning to let us settle in." I said. "That's the idea I've heard from the Protectorate."

  "Makes you wonder, right? When was the choice to trap us here made? And how many people had to know? Was it just at the top, or from the ground up?"

  "We'll have to get outside to answer that." I accepted my second hot chocolate from the bartender.

  "Yeah." Willard nodded, then straightened his shoulders. "And to that end, I know Wulfric was giving you a hard time about it, but we'll always be glad to have your help. Consider this an open invitation to the Rangers if you ever want to join the Vanguard."

  "Thanks, Willard."

  Around us, the bar had settled into a comfortable rhythm of conversation and laughter. Fritz was now engaged in a drinking contest with three members of Hermann Park Vacancy, his Hawaiian shirt partially unbuttoned and a paper crown someone had fashioned sitting crookedly on his head. Lily had moved to the dart board.

  I carried my second hot chocolate back to our table, sliding into my seat. Beyond the window, darkness had fallen completely, and the snow was coming down harder now. The lights of the city twinkled through the storm - golden windows, blue streetlamps, and the occasional flash of neon lights.

  ---

  Next Time:

  While between jobs, the gang go real estate hunting. But, as they say, idle hands are the devil's playthings, and some people have trouble keeping to themselves.

  Episode 14 - Flaw and Disorder: Celestia Grand