Sally ran her finger along the edge of the box before putting it away in her Inventory. "I'm going to keep that as a memento, pup, if that's okay?"

"Of course." Theo nodded and pushed his glasses up. "You already have two legendary items. I doubt it would give you anything more than a basic dagger."

"My favorite." She prodded him on the chest and smiled. "I'm going to ask Chuck something. Bad guys imminent, so keep those eyes out."

Theo smiled and watched her walk away, before turning his gaze to the Shade standing at the side with his arms crossed.

"You just pulled that from your Inventory, didn't you?"

The vampire shrugged. "The value isn't in the rarity, but-"

"Yeah, yeah." A waving hand appeared beside Lucius. "I know how gifting works. It was very sweet. I meant more... why you give the appearance of finding it in the cathedral to me?"

"Oh." Theo turned and started to walk toward the graveyard gates. "Survive the day, and I might tell you."

Lucius sighed, and his crimson eyes turned into a scowl. He walked over to Humphrey, who appeared to be sitting cross-legged on the ground meditating. Norah was resting against a tombstone nearby, inspecting her nails.

"Is pops trying to communicate with Archie?" he asked, stepping over beside her.

"Perhaps, hun." The Mummy turned her tired yellow eyes toward the Death Knight. "Or he is just trying to avoid small talk."

"Ah." Lucius looked over at the campfire. Sally was talking with the druid and Fern, while the others were packing things away. He winced slightly as he felt Norah's hand press softly atop his head.

"You are worried about more than just the looming battles, aren't you, Lucy?"

He deflated and turned back to her. "And I'm supposed to be the empathetic one." A smiling face appeared beside his head.

"Mummy knows best." She gave him a soft smile. "My ears are uncovered if you need to borrow one." She made a show of pushing back her bandages so that both her ears were free.

“It’s just…” he shuffled around awkwardly. “I’ve never had to deal with loss before. Never cared about anyone enough to where it was a thing… and with Theo, I put all my energy into getting pops back so that I didn’t have to think about it.”

The Death Knight fidgeted in place, but didn’t act like he was paying attention. It was hard to tell because he had no eyes to keep closed.

"Isn't that wonderful, though?" Norah crossed her arms and look out at the gathered groups. "We are not alone anymore. Death may come for us, but it is the strength of standing together and how we fight against it that makes our lives so bright."

Lucius tilted his head from side to side, but wasn't entirely convinced.

"Honestly, hun, I'm not the best person to advise." She gave him a sad smile. "If Theo was really gone, I would have turned to anger and violence. Grief and sadness are valid and healthy after loss. Do not fear those emotions. Destruction is... Well, just try to be true to yourself, okay?"

The Mummy gave him a pat on the shoulder as she moved away, stepping over to the patiently quiet Death Knight and putting her hand on the front of his helmet that wasn't burning.

"Come on, big guy. Let's go show these kids how it's done."

Lucius watched Humphrey sigh and get up, and the pair walked over closer to the front line. While he was deep in thought, Sally came up next to him.

"All good, Lucy? I'm getting anxious about these battles. Chuck thinks the Event ends after twenty-four hours, but I think he is saying that to give me hope." She pulled a face toward the druid, who wasn't paying attention.

"You don't have any hope?"

"I'm not hopeless. Although I have been called that by at least a dozen people." She grinned at him. "I just know that some of this is out of my control - and I hate that. We've always been the ones pushing forward to take a bite out of the future, but now it feels like we are just waiting around and languishing."

Lucius nodded slowly. "I understand. We need to take back control so our destiny is in our own hands. At least then if we fall, it can be on our own terms."

Sally furrowed her brow. "Sounds like you've been doing too much thinking. Theo got you all brooding too now?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The Shade shook his head and went to speak - but everyone now turned toward the entrance to the graveyard, all able to feel the building presence of the Invasion about to occur.

"Alright, party time." Sally worked her shoulders out. "I have a bet with Jackie that these ones will have brains I can eat."

She strode forward, spinning her staff around, as everybody started getting into positions and preparing their buffs. Her feet paused, and she looked over her shoulder at the pensive Outsider. "You coming, Lucy? We can't do this without you."

The road leading up to the graveyard became silhouetted with figures that strode towards the group of eleven. Sally narrowed her eyes to try to pick out what they were, and as they filtered in from the gloom and closer to their combat arena, a wide grin crossed her face.

"I win!" she called back to Jackie.

Familiar figures decked out in rough leathers and furs, their tanned bodies muscular where they weren't covered. Held in their hands were weapons that glowed slightly. These were the same elite barbarians that they had been trying to grind on before - and more importantly, they had brains.

Theo stepped up beside her. "They shouldn't be too difficult, but there are quite a few of them. All at once."

"Tell me," she asked, brandishing her staff forward, "what do your vampiric eyes see? "

"Approximately thirty-six, although there may be more out of view," he replied immediately.

"Thirty-seven then," she said with a grin.

“Ugh, that’s not going to be a thing now, is it?” The vampire deflated as he withdrew his sword at the ready.

[Ruin]

From the end of her staff she cast one of her World Boss abilities, splitting the larger attack into three small circles of red light - set beside each other to create a wall over the ruined entrance to the graveyard. If Humphrey could hold and fight them in there, they would be substantially weakened.

“Serves you right.”She shrugged. “For holding too many secrets and for losing the duel.” Sally stuck her tongue out at him as he went to disagree. “Now be a good pup and go kill things for your Queen.”

Her grin widened as he stood up straight before bowing. There was the hint of a smile at the edges of his mouth before he then turned and burst forward at the oncoming horde.

A crackle in the atmosphere drew her attention to behind, where Chuck held a roving circle of lightning. With a gesture of his outstretched hand, it zipped past everyone to strike amongst the barbarians. The blue light arced through a large swathe of them, damaging them further as they struggled to get through the red circles of pain.

The druid tilted his head side to side as he watched Lucius shadow Sally and then the pair swung themselves into the melee using her tethering skill. “Been a while since I used that,” he murmured to himself.

Dent grunted and continued to pace back and forth.

Chuck rolled his eyes. “Is the greatest swordsman in the System envious of those able to go punch Monsters in the face?”

“Not envious,” the reply came as he stopped moving. “I just don’t think I’m being utilized well.”

“Keeping me safe isn’t good enough for you?” The druid raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Before Dent could reply, the dryad poked their head down from the stagecoach. “I may be able to assist with your quarrel.” They dropped down onto the soft mud and made the movements as if they had taken a long sigh.

The pair gave Fern a little space and watched as their roots began to grow down from their legs to sink into the ground. They crossed their arms and tilted their impassive head to the side. “I can now communicate with the surrounding forest. The trees will tell me if anyone approaches from either side.”

“Perfect,” Edward called from the side. “Then I can watch our backs.” A wide grin was illuminated by his glowing blue eyes.

Chuck sighed. “Fine. Jackie can defend us pretty well enough. If I die though…”

“That’s simple...” Dent limbered up his legs as a blue sheen ran down his arm-blade. “Just don’t die.” He sprinted off toward the fight, leaving the druid to roll his eyes.

Norah hummed to herself as the blur of the swordsman flashed past her. She’d much rather be fighting adventurers, but this wasn’t too bad so far. Her bandages intertwined and encircled one of the barbarians. With a short struggle, they then twisted and snapped their neck. As a handful of Monsters began to exit the right circle of red, she brought up a dozen-foot tall pyramid in front of them to knock them back into it.

Humphrey spun around as the pyramid vanished away, his greatsword a blazing blue with [Decimate] cleaved through a handful of the Monsters. Two fell, and blood sprayed across the already damp ground. Despite struggling against just one of these Elites the previous day, they were able to stand their ground this time around. Aided in part by Sally’s new aura and Boss abilities, they were punching well above their weight once again. It was enough to make him grin, so he did.

Sally wiped her mouth as the empty shell of the System-created dropped to the ground. Time to start gathering temporary Stat boosts and chew through the fresh buffet. Theo burst past, slashing out through the neck of one enemy as he continued on to the left group. The warm arterial blood sprayed across her, and she grinned. There was plenty of hardship to come - she was sure of it.

But for now, while they were on top - she’d enjoy it.

Before she knew it, the Invasion was dead. Minimal injuries, but nothing [Living Dead] couldn’t fix. The mood of the group was on the up, despite the odds.

Chuck narrowed his eyes, unfocused, as he looked at his System windows. “Huh,” he pulled a face as everyone gathered up. “I’m getting reports in from both the Forest and the Wastes. Players are grouping up with the Uniques to take down the Observer threats.”

Sally whistled. “Really? That’s… amazing!” That just went to show that all that work she had put in to fixing the System was worth it.

He nodded. “Even the remaining Blues have said they came across another Party of Uniques.”

“Are they on target still?” Dent asked.

The druid nodded.

“On target for what?” Sally narrowed her eyes. “What were we all supposed to learn about secrets recently?”

Chuck grinned. “I’ll send you via message. We don’t know if we’re being watched.”

She nodded and brought up the Chat window. While he hadn’t gone as far as to say that one of the two groups could be a double agent, it probably wasn’t the worst idea to be cautious. She trusted the undead, and Chuck as much as possible… but - no, she shouldn’t let those thoughts cloud her mind.

[Chuck: they are on their way to destroy Red base.]

[Chuck: assuming Seven is on their way to us.]

[Sally: neat]

“Neat,” she said out loud. That made some sense, although relying on an assumption was never a good idea. She imagined they’d stay safe though and wondered what Uniques they had with them now.

“Caution,” Fern stated calmly, interrupting her thoughts. “Something approaches through the eastern forest.”