"I'm going to call this meeting to order. It has come to my attention that some of you fuck-ups, and I say that in the most generous loving way, need to have some sort of therapy in your lives. So being the experts that we are, Sonya and I have decided to help you all out. We're going to call this group therapy. I want to say that it's mandatory, but you all showed up, so good on you." Sophie said, locking eyes with a dozen people at the same time. "We just went through a lot. We're going to go through some more. Now we're going to talk about what we're doing. I'm going to give this an hour, though we may take more or less time."

A chorus of groans greeted her. Sonya had been good enough to give them an elevation from which to conduct this meeting. Each person had an earthen seat exactly molded to their specifications.

"Your enthusiasm is noted. This is something I did a lot in the hospital. You can share as much or as little as you want to. The point of this is that you are able to speak freely about this and not let it weigh you down over time. Some of the things we experienced out there, no one should ever have to experience in your life," Sophie continued, talking to the crowd.

The elevated therapy room was reachable only by ladder. Its dual purpose was to allow them to see in all directions, while they were effectively a tower in the middle of Arva.

Sophie continued.

"Shit, I used to have people that had PTSD just from normal activities. I had people come in because the parents had tortured them throughout the life acting as narcissists. We don't have the luxury of not being a functional team. And with that, our social worker wants to facilitate this discussion," Sophie said, before turning to Sonya.

"What we have to do is work together, and if we have to process our feelings, we need to do it away from all of the zombies," Sonya said. "This isn't some tough love situation. In fact, I would like to go first. If no one has any objections? Nobody? Okay. This last week has been something of a rush for me. I feel like I never really got a break between the working and the spell casting to make our defenses and, well, the time I spent with Anthony. We all had a lot going on. We all had very important roles, very specific roles that kept us alive."

Sonya paused to drink water.

"Therapy isn't a punishment. It's a journey. You get to go to therapy, precisely because you survived. You shouldn't feel guilty about surviving. But you don't need to feel elated either. In fact, any emotion you feel about that is valid and we understand. Killing one death knight took a lot out of most of us. Though I don't know what we're going to be doing next, three more exist. Each one is a crime against humanity."

Sophie, let the silence permeate the group. Having fifteen people agree on anything was difficult. Having all of them agree to be a party to this was nothing entirely. Keeping them all in tune for that entire week, that was all thanks to Anthony and Bob. Finley also played a big role in that as well. The fact that he wasn't doing so well right now really made her sad .

Stella had helped out by being everyone's lunch. The fact that the lookout was three stories up, felt pretty damn good as well. Not having any balconies or railings though? That felt like quoting death. It wasn't like they were recording us in our normal life though, or really rather it was just her feeling that she was courting death. Mork, for their part, had not sent her any notes about their upcoming courtship. She would rather it be that way.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Sophie drank a big drink of her water. Sonya was explaining her experiences to a rapt audience. Whatever happened after the first death knight had been taken down, they had all grown closer.

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In the five since Sonya had been summoned to this world she had learned a ton about the people she had come with. She learned a bit about the world as well but places alone didn't make her passionate. She loved a good beach day like every girl and for how far Regina was from any beach, she really loved her trips to Cancun.

The one person, besides Anthony, that had been a wealth of information had been Finley. His comatose state would hopefully be resolved when Anthony was back to full strength. Just because someone was strong at healing others didn't mean that it came for free.

There was one person, or at least one patron, who might be able to tip the scales in her favor.

She found a quiet space in the room that had either belonged to an accountant or a dwarven child who needed such services. Setting the tone of the ritual, she moved slowly and deliberately. It was the third time that she would be speaking directly to her patron and she had the insight to do it more simply.

It took two minutes to align herself. The tie dye shirt popped with color that didn't quite align with reality, as Cara popped into existence. She still looked like a teenager who had been in detention for far too long and was thinking of creative ways to get into trouble.

"Took you long enough, then?" She said. "Great work on the death knight. Mork is displeased with our meddling, but his own chosen decided to not rush in."

"Cara, apologies that I do not have anything for you to toke," Sonya said, sitting down cross legged. "I'm not even sure how the dwarves did it, to be honest."

"Well now that we know each other a bit better, I was thinking about what boon you would want from me?"

"What exactly is on the table here? I know that I'm basically some mortal instrument to clean up whatever this mess is, but I don't know what I'm allowed to ask for. Can I ask for a special card? So you know what other cards the three death knights that remain have?"

"You got the gate spell, one of the more powerful cards. The other three, they are shrouded from me. It is rather unfortunate, however none of them have a gate card so you can rest assured that you are safe, unless one of the others finds a gate card."

Sonya blinked several times.

"Is-is that likely?"

"Not very. As the card itself is Epic class, its use was tightly controlled. Others similar to it had drawbacks. Whoever had them in their soul decks has not joined one of the other three in any form yet. You can imagine how valuable such a card would be, and how easily stolen."

"That's good, right? Epic cards are rare but... There are others and they're not in use?"

"I would prefer that you travel by Cara-van but sometimes a little jaunt here and there can shore up your stores. That information was free, by the by. You can still choose a boon."

"Can you do anything about Finley?" Sonya said, her voice lowering. She clenched her fists. She was going to ask for unspeakable cosmic powers, but would settle for getting her friend and tour guide back.

"The green?"

"The elf?"

"Oh my dear. That being you call Finley? He was never an elf."

End Book One.