1:30 P.M.
Enzo opened his eyes as soon as the video ended. The Chasm was still there in the background, but they had all but forgotten it. The party turned toward Tantalus and waited with bated breath to hear what he was going to say next. Tantalus stood there with his eyes closed long after everyone else had opened theirs.
“So, are we going to do what Ashcroft suggested?” Elias asked after a long silence.
“We do what Tantalus says,” Redgrave said pointedly. “I made a few videos with Ashcroft for Ninth Oasis, and he can be a bit… intense... off camera. If Tantalus says it’s too dangerous, then it's too dangerous."
The expression on Tantalus’s face began to resemble a grimace as Elias and Redgrave spoke.
“How annoying,” Tantalus said through gritted teeth.
“What do you mean?” asked Elias.
“Ashcroft is much smarter than he lets on,” said Tantalus. “He’s always been an expert at creating and maintaining morale. He knows that, right now, the players need a concrete plan to put their faith in, and, based on the people he listed in the second video, he expects me to make that plan. The only problem is that I don’t have a plan yet. At least not a finished one.”
“Why do you think he expects you to make a plan?” asked Rachel.
“FullDan, ScaryClock, and Mander are great players in their own right. Each of them was S-rank in Ninth Oasis,” said Tantalus, “but none of them are strategists.”
After a pause, Tantalus continued. “Red, I’m gonna need to borrow your motorcycle. I want all of you to go to the park without me. Tell Ashcroft that I’ll be there in thirty minutes. I need some time to prepare.”
Redgrave and Tantalus traded keys, and Tantalus rode away on Redgrave’s motorcycle. Just before he left, Enzo heard Tantalus say, “Who does he think I am, General Patton?”
Over the course of the next five minutes, the rest of the group drove to the park.
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When they got there, the park was absolutely packed with blue-clad players. All told, there must have been between a thousand and two thousand people there. They were mostly clumped together in groups of three to ten, though quite a few people were standing alone. About one in ten of the players there wore at least one article of clothing in addition to their blue uniform. Seeing this sea of blue in front of him made Enzo wonder why the NPCs had decided that blue was a good choice for a military uniform. There was basically no situation where blue would act as a good camouflage. At that moment, Enzo committed himself to finding a grey cloak like the ones Redgrave and Tantalus were wearing. When draped over the shoulders, the cloak did a good job of covering the blue uniform, and the grey color served as excellent camouflage in the urban area they had been fighting in.
There was an intense feeling of dejection among the players. No matter where you went in the park, you could hear the sound of people crying. It was about 1:30 PM EST, so the game had been running for about three and a half hours at that point. The news of their condemnation was fresh in their minds at that time.
Most of the players had brought their rifles with them, and some had left theirs on the ground. Bolt-action rifles littered the ground at that park like beer bottles after a New Years Eve party. Enzo's group had left their rifles in the bed of the pickup truck.
“Now… where’s Ashcroft?” Redgrave said to himself.
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Elias pointed to a far-off part of the park where the density of players was much higher.
“That would be my first bet,” he said.
They started walking. “Do you think this might turn into a gunfight or something?” said Volta. “There are a lot of people with guns here, and none of them are having a good time.”
“No, that’s impossible,” Enzo said. “Tantalus tried to shoot a window, but he couldn’t pull the trigger. See?” Enzo unholstered his pistol, pointed it at the sky, and tried to pull the trigger. Everyone around him flinched, but the gun didn’t go off. Embarrassed, Enzo loudly said, “Sorry, everybody. I’m just doing an experiment. Our guns don’t work inside the City.” The players around Enzo were calmed by his statement. One of the players tried to shoot his gun into the ground with no success.
As they walked, a few people recognized Redgrave and approached the group. Two of the people that approached them asked if they could join the group. One of the players who asked to join the group was Bebop308, the guy who had sent a message to Redgrave, and the other was Pixie_Chix, a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes who claimed to be B-rank in Ninth Oasis. Redgrave, who the rest of the group figured was in charge at this point, let the two of them stick around. Redgrave told the two of them that membership was ultimately up to Tantalus, but he assumed they would be able to stay. Enzo later learned that Pixie didn’t even recognize Redgrave. According to her, she had joined them because they looked like the only people in that park who walked with a purpose.
They soon reached the central concentrated group of players. The players crowded around a large wooden stage. The stage looked like it was made to be used for outdoor concerts. A complicated set-up of lights and speakers surrounded the stage. About a dozen players were standing on the top of the stage, and a few NPCs were there talking to some of the players. They seemed to be having an argument. Standing off the stage were a few confused-looking NPC police officers who clearly didn’t know what to do. Ashcroft was standing on the ground near the stage in the middle of a semicircle of players. He was saying something that the group couldn’t hear.
Redgrave stepped toward the crowd of people and muscled his way through. Pixie, Elias, Dendrite, and Enzo followed him through, but the rest of the group stayed behind.
“It’s good to hold out hope that we might be rescued, but we need to be prepared to stay here long-term,” Ashcroft said to the crowd as we approached. “Worst case scenario, we’ll need to beat this game to escape. That could take years.” Someone in the crowd let out an involuntary cry of despair. “If we do need to beat this game, I guarantee you that my guild and I won’t rest until GM is dead.” Enzo could tell that this is the point in Ashcroft’s speech where he turned his attention toward morale building.
“You see, four Knights logged on with me,” Ashcroft said and gestured over to some of the players working on the stage. “All five of us were S-rank in Ninth Oasis, and I can tell you with certainty that skill in Ninth Oasis transfers over to this game. Every one of the Knights is worth a thousand Deluvians. Just point us in the direction of GM, and you’ll have his head mounted on a wall by Christmas. And it’s not just the Ashen Knights who can fight, mind you. Mander and the three Scions I mentioned earlier are S-rank, and I know for a fact that the man standing behind you is at least A-rank, though he never officially went through the ranking process.” As he said this, Ashcroft pointed to Redgrave. The crowd turned to see Enzo's group. Redgrave, the tallest of the group, stood out with his white hair and grey cloak. “Give it up for Redgrave, everybody,” Ashcroft said. Everyone in the crowd clapped as Redgrave entered the clearing of people in the middle of the group.
“Thanks, thanks,” Redgrave said, his face turning red. Clearly, he wasn’t particularly good at public speaking. Redgrave approached Ashcroft and said, “I need to talk to you.”
After stopping for a half-second, Ashcroft smiled and said, “Sorry everybody, Redgrave and I need to have a strategy meeting. Mozaic!” Ashcroft shouted over to the stage, and there was a groan of disappointment from the crowd. “Come tell these people about last year’s tournament!” As the group and Ashcroft were beginning to leave the larger crowd, Ashcroft turned to the crowd and shouted, “The morning will come!”
Mozaic and a few of the men on the stage responded in an almost guttural shout, “Victory is close!”
“What was that?” Elias asked.
“Just a little call-and-response from the old days,” said Ashcroft. “I changed it a little bit when the Knights formed. Anyway, what’s up, Redgrave?” Ashcroft spoke conversationally.
“Tantalus says he’ll be here in thirty minutes,” said Redgrave. “He says he’s working on a plan.”
Ashcroft smiled broadly, clapped his hands together, and said, “Excellent! I knew that old Stonewall would pull through for us.”
“You call him Stonewall?” asked Redgrave.
“Oh, he hated it back in the day,” laughed Ashcroft. “Don’t tell him I called him that. Anyway, it was nice talking to you, Redgrave. I need to go back to the group."
Ashcroft went back to the crowd. Enzo heard him tell the crowd that Tantalus, the Great Strategist, would arrive in thirty minutes.