"Groceries acquired," James said.

The grocery run went off without a hitch and the team was able to use carts to load up on non-perishable canned items. Filling every available inch of the two vehicles, the new guild members drove back to the center. There was a group of people waiting this time to greet them as they returned and they helped to unload all the groceries.

"It's the least we can do for you putting your life on the line to get these for us," said an older gentleman who helped in the off-loading process.

With the time that run took, the team made two more runs to get as many of the goods as they could. Brian reasoned that the longer they waited to make runs, the more supplies would be taken by others. So they decided to get as many as they could while the panic was still new.

With a good beginning stock of supplies, everyone began to look to bed down for the night. Being that the Trammel Crow Center was an office space, there were no beds readily available for all the people. There were a large number of blankets and pillows sent over from a nearby hotel that Brian had been able to have brought over.

Using mostly blankets and pillows, people found places to bed down for the night. Finding a place to be alone or with family or friends wasn't difficult in a building this size. Tom and his party actually decided to stay in the conference room.

"You know we are going to have to find a way to build up fortifications for this place right?" Derek asked, lying back with his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling.

"Yeah, if it is going to stay the guild base. We might be able to find somewhere else, but it's a pretty good option for now." Tom replied. "I wonder if there is going to be a way to power a building of this size once the power grid fails."

"No idea. With magic, there might be any number of possibilities." Derek said.

"I would think that there could be a way to collect mana and use it to power things," Jay added. "I've read about it in other books. Mana collectors that feed to power generators."

"And were these in textbooks or in novels Jay?" Derek asked.

There was no response.

"So it was a work of fiction. There is no telling how this form of magic might actually work. I like the thought, but without some clue to go off of, we are sunk on that point for now." Derek said.

"Yeah, but we will need to figure out how to find people to help figure that out. I'm sure glad we have Brian to help with all of that. He is an absolute boon to this guild." Tom said.

"I agree. And I could listen to that man speak all day long!" James said. "His voice is sweet nectar to my ears and I think I have a real man-crush."

"Why do you have to make everything weird?" Kiera asked.

"It's just who he is. You get used to it. It's almost endearing now." Tom said joking back.

"Love you too Tom," James said, making a heart with his hands in the air.

Kiera sighed as she rolled over and covered herself with her blankets. "Men are so fucking weird."

"You just don't understand the rich and complex male bond," Jay said.

"Nor do I care to if that is what it means enduring," Kiera replied.

"You two make a cute couple," James said.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Both Jay and Kiera said in unison.

"The ladies doth protest too much, me thinks," James continued.

James, Tom, Derek, and Kevin all laughed at this. The first real moment of forgetting that the world was now a giant shit hole. Finally, they were able to put the horrors of the day out of their minds and focus on being with friends and simply existing in that moment. It was hard to believe that it was only that morning that their lives turned upside down. That they were about to go through their normal day's routine and then they were swept completely off their feet into this new reality seemed like something that happened years ago and yet was only that same morning.

Seeing so many horrors really did seem to fill the mind with the feeling that the day had lasted so much longer than it really had. Tom began to feel as though he had aged by several years in one single day. Decisions had been made. Life had been put on the line. Murder had been committed in the name of survival. What was the next thing that he was going to have to compromise on to ensure that he and his friends made it to the next sunrise? Would the world continue to spiral into this hellscape that had become the new reality? Or was there some new form of peace that could be achieved in hopes of allowing the world to find some semblance of normalcy again?

Existential crisis was settling into Tom's mind as he began to think of all the things he would have normally been doing at this time. All the creature comforts he had come to love for his free time at home. The world seemed to pass before his very eyes in a way he was completely powerless to control and for the first time since this world had made a complete left turn, Tom found himself feeling very homesick.

Tom thought back to all the times he had felt truly overwhelmed at work and how he had let off steam by playing a video game in which he had killed creatures like goblins. Here he had not only just killed them, but run them down in cold blood to ensure that he survived the times that he was experiencing. Why had he been able to simply ignore the fact that he was annihilating a species that was considered a blight on the land in those games but felt like he was committing genocide when he was faced with the same reality?

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Hey, Tom?" James asked.

"Yeah, James?" Tom replied.

"I'm sorry if I come across the way I do. I just am trying to cope with this new reality. And I've always had trouble dealing with reality." James said. "I've always had to work at fitting in, but you've been willing to be my friend despite all of those things, and I just want to say thank you."

"There is no need to think of that James. You are my friend and there is nothing that could change that." Tom said.

And with that, they all went to sleep for the night. Sleep overtook them all for the time they had spent fighting that day.

***

The next morning the party all awoke early with the eagerness to attempt to find the new dungeon. Eager to get out and find what was waiting for them, everyone got their gear on and headed for the Goblin Slayer 2.0. Eager to get on the road, everyone was standing by the Tahoe and waiting for Tom by the time he finally arrived.

"Sorry," Tom said truly apologetic for how long it took him to get to the garage. "I had to meet with Brian about some of the new people that would be helpful to the guild. This is going to get pretty rough if I need to be the one that approves everyone that can join."

"Can we trust Brian to pick the right people for certain jobs?" Derek asked.

"I don't see why not," Tom said.

"Then give him the authority he needs to make some of those decisions so that we can work on the things that we need to address," Derek replied.

"That does make sense. Fine," Tom said, pulling up his menu and giving Brian the ability to approve new members to the guild. "There, now Brian can make those changes himself and we don't have to approve them."

"Although, how well do we actually know Brian and his motives?" Derek asked.

"We know him fucking well enough that I don't have to make these fucking decisions!" Tom replied, getting seriously angry about all the second-guessing going on.

"Haha! I was only joking Tom. Cool down a bit and everything will be OK." Derek teased.

"OK. Sorry, this is just a lot of pressure now and I am ready to delegate as much of it as possible." Tom said.

"I get it. Heavy is the head that wears the crown." Derek said.

The team loaded up into the Goblin Slayer 2.0 and pulled out of the garage. Driving down the road they did encounter a group of goblins that tried to bar their path. Tom just accelerated and plowed them over. Kevin, Derek, and Jay hung out the windows to cut up any he missed as though they were on horseback. James stood in the sunroof and aimed behind them to shoot any that still moved. He needn't have worried. With the skill of Vehicular Manslaughter leveling up, Tom did more than enough damage to kill all the goblins he ran over.

Reaching the movie theater where the survivors had been holed up, the party exited the vehicle and moved toward the entrance. Creaking on hinges that now had dried blood on them, the doors opened slowly as Tom pulled on them. Inside, the theater was a complete mess. The queue line strap poles had been turned over when everyone had panicked and ran to get away from whatever had attacked them.

Popcorn was scattered on the movie-reel-themed carpet. One of the red soda machines that allowed someone to select from almost a hundred different soda flavors had been turned onto its side, and the door to the ticket sales counter was broken open with a woman lying dead on the counter. It appeared as though her throat had been slit as she was trying to back away from something, likely goblins and there were two arrows in her chest. Several other bodies lay dead in the lobby and one behind the concessions counter.

There were no goblin bodies though, so these people must have either panicked, or the goblins cleaned up after themselves. Which seemed unlikely based on their previous behavior. Signs of their attack still showed arrow-filled victims, as well as spears that had skewered one victim to the wall.

Moving further into the movie theater there was a rustle from down the hall as something turned and fled down the hall and into one of the theaters.

"Looks like we have a bit of a mess to clean up before getting to the dungeon," Derek said.

"Time to try out some of our new gear," Jay said as he moved off from the group to survey ahead.

Two entrances to the theater stood on either side of a set of trashcans. The team split with Kevin at the front of one team and Derek at the front of the other. James and Tom went with Derek, Kiera and Jay with Kevin. All had weapons ready and waited for the doors to open. Derek counted down from three silently by holding his fingers up. When he reached zero, they breached the doors and ran in yelling.

The goblins had a warning from their friend and had been ducking down in the rows of chairs. Some fired arrows out at them and others threw rocks or spears. Derek easily took all the hits with his shield and Kevin seemed to have no issue blocking the worst of the projectiles with his axe. Stones just bounced off of him and he appeared not to notice. Most surprising of all was that the shoddy arrows that the goblins used had no effect. When one would stick him, it would splinter and bounce away as if his skin were the armor itself.

Seeing that their projectiles were doing almost nothing, the goblins began to panic. Attempting to run from the party, they scrambled over each other in an attempt to get to the exit only to find that it was blocked by the other half of the party they had not seen from the directions they had been facing.

What followed was a massacre of goblins. They didn't stand a chance against the might the party brought to bear. Swords, axes, and maces obliterated the goblins without allowing them to deal even a single point of damage to the party.

"Well, that was fun," James commented.

"Thanks for not shooting anyone," Kevin said.

"Don't mention it. I figured axes were the way to go this time." James responded.

Kiera flicked her rapier to the side, causing all the blood to fly off of the blade, "We do appreciate it. Awfully thoughtful of you not to deafen us with the sound of gunfire indoors."

"Anything for a lady. That goes for you to Kiera," James replied without looking over.

Jay laughed and laughed while the others could practically hear the steam coming off of Kiera as she dove at James and tackled him to the floor, punching him in the face. The rest of the party pulled her off and held her back. Tears were now streaming down Jay's face.

Once everyone had calmed down and James had taken a potion for his face, they left the theater and continued down the call looking for the dungeon door. They found it at the end of the hall, tucked into a corner behind a support pillar. It was the same as all the other doors except instead of a pull, the handle was like a regular door that required twisting a knob to open it.

Tom reached out and grasped the doorknob. A prompt appeared in his vision.

Warning!

You are about to enter the Dungeon of the Bloody Baron. Be prepared for anything. Monsters will be wandering the dungeon and will attack if they find you. Only one party is allowed in the dungeon at any time. Parties may be no larger than eight people.

Current parties in the dungeon: 0

Current completions of the dungeon: 0

Enter?

Yes No

"Everyone ready?" Tom looked back to the party and asked.

The entire team smiled and nodded.

"Then let's do this shit!" Tom said and opened the door.