“I kind of agree with Himie,” Tear said, breaking the impasse first. “It’s cool and all, creating a guild that’s so open and willing to help lowbies…” She shrugged, a sad smile on her face. “But I think we underestimated just how pissed off the Necks were gonna be. And the truth is, we’re just not equipped for it.”

“She’s not wrong,” Bell chimed in. “Part of the reason I joined was because of your pitch when we first talked. I’m all about what this Guild stands for. But we were just outnumbered 10 to 1, and you nearly died trying to save some stuck-up prick’s allowance from daddy.”

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “Bart?”

Bart pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes with a pained expression. After a moment, he opened them and nodded.

I clicked my tongue, nodded back, then turned to address the others. “Jer’, Kink, T. You guys have any thoughts?”

Jeremy still had that dark expression on his face, but I got the impression that was more about the others arguing behind my back. Kink and T shared a questioning look, and T waved for Kink to speak on their behalf.

“Well, from our perspective, Ray's Angels is the only reason we’ve been able to level as fast as we have,” Kink said. “Every region we go to grind, as soon as the enemy factions spot us, there’s higher levels ganking us within minutes.” He turned to address the four Angels members. “Havin' y’all there to fight them off has been a godsend.” He turned back to me now, waffling his head back and forth. “That said, I can’t blame them for being frustrated. They’ve been forced to put their own games on hold to-”

Jeremy shot up, his chair scraping back, the anger boiling over.

“You fuckin’ ride-alongs!” Jeremy shouted, pointing at the Angels members. “You four weren’t doing shit-all for Raids or PvP before you joined Damsels.” He pointed back at me now, his eyes raging. “Ray’s the one that made any of you relevant. Without him, you’d still be pubbing weak-ass dungeons every week, praying for a 2% upgrade to your shit gear. But noooo, 2 weeks in and you wanna shoot for the fuckin’ Chasm, like you’re all hotshots or something-”

“Hey, fuck you, buddy!” Bell shouted, standing up in outrage.

“-Naw, fuck this!” Jeremy said, walking around the table for the exit. “I’m not gonna listen to this bitch fest-”

“Jeremy,” I called. “Hold on, now-”

“No, Ray,” he said with a shake of his head. “They’re riding your goddamn coattails, and they have the gall to complain that the trip's a little bit bumpy,” he said the last part in a mocking voice. “Your job,” he said, an accusing finger pointed at the Angels members, “is to protect him. His life is what’s at stake.” He shook his head again. “The fuckin’ nerve to complain about a goddamn video game.” He was gone before I could stop him.

The door slammed as he left the Guildhall.

I let out a sigh.

“Jesus…” Denise said from the end of the table.

“I’m sorry about that, guys,” I addressed the room. “Jeremy’s just really passionate. His heart’s in the right place.”

“Listen, Ray,” Himdall said. “We all know what’s at stake for you. We never meant to discount what you’re going through…”

I waved away his concern. “No, I get it. I never wanted you to guys to put your game on hold for me. I just…” Things had not gone the way I had hoped today. Not even close. “Listen. I’ll talk to Jeremy after we adjourn, but it’s clear to me that we can’t keep on like this. We need to figure out a way to recruit some more levels 60s…a lot more. So let’s start there. Suggestions?”

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“Recruiting’s the easy part,” Bell said. “It’s the making sure they don’t stab us in the back part that’s tricky.”

“No one said the recruits have to be a part of the council,” T added. “We could just scoop up as many as possible and make them earn their way. Outsource the protection services you guys have been doing.”

“That could work,” Bart said. “But it’s the same problem we’re having. No one’s gonna want to sign up for babysitting duty over some lowbies.”

“What if there’s an incentive?” Himdall asked.

“Like what?” I asked.

“Well, to start,” Himdall said. “We waive the application fees for the level 60s.”

Kink wrinkled his nose at that, while Tear and Bell nodded agreement.

“That’s kinda elitist, ain’t it?” Kink asked. He turned to me. “Wasn’t the whole point that we didn’t discriminate against anyone?”

“It’s not discrimination,” Himdall said. “It’s just the natural order of things. You bring something to the table, you get something back.” He looked at me. “If they’re providing a service, isn’t it fair that they get compensation in return? It wouldn’t even be out of line to suggest that Angels members get paid for their time…”

“What? You hurting for gold, Himie?” Bart joked, poking him in the ribs. It was well known among the Council that Himdall was very rich outside of the game.

He swatted Bart’s hand, an annoyed look on his face.

“It’s not about the gold,” Tear said. “At least, not for me. I don’t need Damsels. I want to be here. I believe in this Guild-” Her eyes were laser-focused on me, her tone sincere. “-I believe in you, Ray. What you’re trying to do here.” Bart and Bell nodded agreement. “Waiving the fee is just extra juice for the new recruits that don’t know you yet.”

That touched me, and I felt my throat clench for a moment. When I could speak without my voice betraying me, I said, “Thank you. Your trust means the world to me. I think it’s a good idea. We can figure out payment for protection services at a later meeting. For now, let’s vote on waiving the application fee. Okay?”

There were nods all around the table.

“All in favor of waiving the application and joining fee for level 60s?” I asked the table.

All the Angels members’ hands went up. Denise, Ryan, and Harold also agreed. Kink and T looked to each other for guidance, then they both shrugged and raised their hands.

“Then it’s settled,” I said. “Harold?”

“Yes, Ray?”

“Can you follow up on that and reimburse the level 60s that paid the fee?”

“Will do, Ray.”

I nodded thanks, then turned to Denise and Ryan. “You guys have been quiet. We’re all equals here. Anything to add?”

Ryan deferred to Denise, turning to look at her expectedly. She pursed her lips and I could see her chewing her inner cheek. After a moment, she spoke up.

“I think that’s a good start,” she eventually said, her tone suggesting there was more to say.

“And…?”

“The truth is, most S&S players are like Himdall,” she said, waving in his direction. “This game isn’t cheap, and almost none of the players have gold problems. So, waiving the 25k fee is fine, I guess.” She turned to the Angels members. “Bell, would 25,000 gold make a dent in your pocket?” she asked suddenly.

Bell shrugged, then smiled. “No, I guess not,” she admitted.

“Bart?”

He looked a bit ashamed, but after a moment, he shook his head.

Denise turned back to me, her eyebrows arched as if to say, ‘See?’

And I did.

“Well, shit,” I said. “Do you have any ideas?”

“They already told you what they want,” she said, indicating the Angels squad again. “They wanna kick Neck ass-” The four of them chuckled at that. “-They want to get better gear,” she added. “And ultimately, they want to be progressing in Raid and PvP content.” She sat back, her point made. “It’s what every level 60 wants.”

The four Angels members were nodding agreement and I realized she had gotten to the crux of the issue. A level 60 played the game to do one of a few things. PvP, Raid, or make money. And I wasn’t letting any of my higher-level players do that.

“Shit, you’re right,” I said, sighing. “I’ve been holding you guys back. I’d been hoping to raise a Raid team from the ground up. Help enough lower levels get to 60 so that we’d have a solid core of players we could trust.” I shook my head with annoyance. “But I’ve put the cart before the horse. We can’t protect our members without dozens of level 60s to back them up. And we won’t get any level 60 recruits if all they get to do is escort missions like Himie said.”

“Ray, you’re not holding anyone back,” Bart said. “We made a choice, and we can leave anytime we want.” He turned to the players at his side. “All we’re saying is, the status quo isn’t working.”

“I hear ya,” I said with a nod. I turned back to Denise. “So, you’re obviously the brains of the Council.” Everyone laughed at that, and Ryan gave a knowing nod. “How do we bring in more players if we can’t bribe them to join?”

She scoffed. “Please, that’s the easy part. The hard part is knowing how to trust them after they’ve joined.”