— CHAPTER FOURTEEN —

The Plan

  -Fritz-

 Evermoon Gardens. It sounds like a conservatory or arboretum, but it was a neoclassical marble building with a pillar-dotted wing sticking out of either side stretching out toward the boulevard. Between them, a cute little fountain area was shaded from the sun where people were eating breakfast before the front steps. It was like a capitol building you'd find all over the states.

 "I wonder what they put a capitol building in for." Percy asked.

 "Out of all the things we've seen, this is the one that throws you off?"

 "Fantasy stuff is fantasy stuff - of course it's strange. It's fun! It's meant to be different! This is a government building! This is... ordinary!"

 "Maybe they knew players would need to form a structured society to manage ourselves. Makes you wonder, right? How much did the designers know about what this game was? How broad or deep is what's going on here? What even is going on here?! ... Is this a Lord of the Flies-esque thing? An experiment to see what happens when we're left alone?"

 "I doubt that." Percy said flatly. "I think we're here for something more... clear to the intention of the game."

 "What do you mean?"

 "Our task, as assigned on the first day, is to progress the story. So let's see what the story has to say." He walked toward the building.

 I didn't get it, but the only way to go worth thinking about was forward, so I followed him up the steps.

 In the lobby, I approached the receptionist and asked, "Excuse me, could you tell us where Rose and the raid meeting are being held?"

 "Upstairs, take a right, second door on the left."

 And so we went up to the mezzanine level and hooked right into a long hallway lined with wooden doors. Muffled voices leaked out of the second one.

 It was a conference room. War maps and diagrams were pinned on the walls, it was moodily dim with the sole lamp hanging over the far end of a long, handmade wooden table, and the people were wearing armor. But cut the aesthetic, and it was just a meeting room. Rose, Siegfried, and Filius were already there laying out their plans and photos of a minotaur.

 "Hey guys." Rose greeted us with a quick wave. "We're still setting up. Grab a seat wherever."

 Percy and I sat about midway down the table's length.

 "How's it been going, Siggy?" I asked. "Haven't seen you in a while."

 Siegfried blew out a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead. "You would not believe the amount of... finagling that is involved with this. I was hoping for a quick 'get some people together and bring it down', but we don't get to make mistakes here. We're dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's over and over again, but now that we're finally ready to make a real attempt, I can't shake the feeling we forgot something."

 Filius slapped him on the back. "It's just nerves. We've all gone over the notes - we've all seen it in action. We haven't missed anything."

 I counted up the chairs around the table. There was space for about two dozen in the room. "How big of a group are we using here?" I asked.

 Rose said, "The raid size is flexible. It starts at 10, then scales up from there. We haven't found a max yet, but, keeping it in a single raid group for simplicity, that gives us a cap of 50. Today, we don't have that many coming - we're looking for skill over numbers."

 "Alright, groovy."

 A nervous creak drew my attention to the door. In crept a slight girl in leather armor, hands clutched anxiously in front of her. Her name plate read 'Davi Crockett'. And... it took me a second too long to process this was our Davi - the shy boy from the tutorial group. Well, not boy - oh, geez, I've always been terrible with these things. There's just so much room to step on people's toes with how carelessly I talk.

 And while I was staring and sluggishly connecting the dots, Davi was fidgeting awkwardly.

 "Hey Davi!" I finally said with what I hoped wasn't too overexaggerated a smile. "Been a while!"

 Davi returned my greeting with a small, timid wave and tremulous smile.

 Siegfried said, "Welcome! Please, sit anywhere. Any luck tracking down your brother yet?"

 Davi's smile faltered as she shook her head. "No, nothing so far. I'm hoping... maybe he'll see me in the paper."

 I said, "Aw man, were we supposed to have been looking for your brother?! What's his name?"

 "Clark, but I don't know his username."

 "Alright, I'll keep an eye out. Oh, and hey, just to double check - you still going by 'Davi'?"

 "I like the name." she nodded.

 "Alright, cool, man. - I call everyone man, by the way... if you hadn't noticed." I trailed off.

 Davi did her best to smile back.

 Percy broke the following awkward silence. "I love what you've done with your hair - it's very pretty."

 Mumbling an embarrassed thanks, she seemed to shrink in on herself, doing her awkward best to blend into the wallpaper. Alright, no need to make her any more uncomfortable than she clearly already was.

 Luckily, from the sound of heavy boots rapidly approaching in the hall, someone far more eager to have eyes on them was about to arrive.

 The door burst open, revealing a short, muscular dude rocking a crew cut and a greatsword strapped across his back. He strode in and thrust his fists in the air.

 "Alright team, who's ready for glory?!" His booming voice matched the cocky grin stretching ear to ear. The nameplate hovering over his head read 'Razzmatazz'.

 "Hey Razz." Rose greeted him calmly.

 He plopped down across the table from Percy and me. "What's good, fellas? You ready to DO THIS?!"

 "You know it, man!" I replied, finding myself smiling back.

 "Yes." Percy said as blank as ever.

 "So where'd you two meet the boss?" he asked.

 "Rose?" I asked. "We were in the same tutorial instance."

 "Ah, the infamous Knight slayers!"

 "I don't think we slew much." I said.

 "The way I heard it, you had that thing dead to rights! Pinned to the ground, flesh exposed, ripe for the kill!"

 Percy said, "I don't think it was flesh."

 I rubbed the back of my neck. "We did do some of that, I guess. Probably not as big as the stories make it sound."

 Razz waved me off. "Nah, I'm sure it was epic! Me, I grouped up with them for the first dungeon, then again for the second and third."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

 The door clicked close. Razz had left it hanging open when he'd stormed in, but the next person closed it behind them. I had to do a double take, because for a second I thought it was Lily - the Captain's sister.

 No, she just looked similar. It was the hair - that same dark, messy mop. This ones nameplate read 'Cinter'. She slipped in with a curt nod and took a seat without a word.

 Turning back to Razz, I asked, "So you've killed some bosses before, huh? We've been avoiding the dungeons so far."

 "Pfft, they're nothing if you've gone toe to toe with the Knight! This Oxtongue dude? He's gonna look like a critter in comparison. Here's hoping we can recreate some of that Knight slaying magic!"

 Siegfried rubbed at his shoulder. "Hopefully not an exact repeat."

(Percival) "Can I help you?" Cinter's voice snapped me back to reality. I blinked, realizing she had sat in the direction I was spacing out staring in.

 "No." I turned to stare at another spot on the wall.

 The door swung open again, and two more joined us - Leonard and James Bong. James, predictably, hit it off with Fritz and joined in on his and Razz's conversation. Leo sat between me and Cinter.

 "Hey, I know you!" he said, pointing at me. "You're the guy that helped with that mob on the first day! Man, if you hadn't stepped in, I'da been gone! Talk about a lucky save there, eh?"

 "Yeah. Glad to see you're still here."

 Leo turned to face Cinter. "Hey there, nice to meet ya!"

 Cinter glanced at him briefly. "Likewise." she said flatly before returning to studying her hands folded in her lap.

 "So, what's your reason for wanting in on this raid?" he asked.

 "There are people waiting for me out there. I need to get back to them." Cinter responded.

 "Oh. Shoot, sorry..." Leonard rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, now I feel like a selfish prick. I'm just here chasing fame, ya know? I've never had a chance to... be somebody, you know?" He forced a chuckle.

 Cinter stood abruptly and moved to a seat farther away.

 "Alrighty then..." Leonard muttered before turning his attention back to me. "What about you, huh?"

 I didn't know how to answer that right away. The truth was... too complicated. Did I start with, 'Hey, there are monsters in this game. No, I don't mean mobs - I mean the monsters - did you see under the Black Knight's armor? No? No one else was stupid enough to try it? Well, you have to believe me that there's a type of monster in this game, but it's not just in the game - they're real! No, I'm serious! I think the government built this game to ... expose us to their presence. No, really, I met them! There's a secret government agency that hunts and destroys these things! I know I play a lot of fantasy games, but I'm not a conspiracy theorist! ... Anyway, I'm here to kill those monsters.'

 No, I'd get written off as a nutjob faster than when we were trying to warn people they were in danger of actually dying.

 Instead, I went with the much safer, much more believable, "I'm going to kill the admin."

 Leo nodded. "Alright, more power to ya."

-Fritz- The next person to arrive was - put your hands together folks - Lady Lucia!

(Percival) Woo!

{Lucy} Don't patronize me; I know I was an absolute mess that day.

-Fritz- She was looking... 'a little' worse for wear - shoulders slumped, dark bags under the eyes. Much less... held together than she was back in the day. She plopped down heavily between me and Rose.

 "Rough night?" Rose asked.

 Lucy let out a long sigh. "Has anyone ever told you the sewers are a good place to grind?"

 "They scale to your level, yeah." Rose nodded.

 "Don't believe what you hear. Every hallway looks the same. There's no pattern to them; you just keep making turns, and if you forget or miscount a single one, there's nothing you can do. You're lost, and there's no way out. I was down there until 4 AM until I wandered into a sewer access to the canal under River Street and climbed up. I killed so many rats and alligators that I'm level 15."

 "Well that's exp you won't have to grind later!" I tried to spin it positively. "Percy and I are only closing in on 14!"

 "The grime has encrusted itself into my skin. I want to take a shower, cry, and go to bed."

 Rose patted her on the shoulder. "We're not going to attempt the kill until at least tomorrow, so you'll have plenty of time to night."

 The door opened once more, and in walked another guy I didn't recognize. I can't think of any words to describe him; he was just... your average guy. Brunette, mid-20s, maybe a tad on the skinny side. He had a nice coat over some casual town clothes. Nothing too remarkable. Name 'Sebastopol'. He made a few awkward greetings and quietly took a seat off to the side.

 His entrance, however, drew my attention to Flora. She'd slipped in without anyone noticing and was twiddling her thumbs nervously all by her lonesome in the back. She was about the same as I remembered, but she'd dyed her hair green. That got me thinking - was there anything I'd wanted to do with my hair? It'd be very easy to experiment there - no upkeep or damage to worry about. But no, anything I could think of would clash with Percy's red.

 Before I could start up a conversation with either Sebas or Flora, Razz checked his menu. "We're a couple minutes past 9; how many are we waiting for?"

 Rose did a quick headcount. "We're only missing the off tank." She opened her menu and started to type, then the door opened one last time.

 In walked a man in a full suit of armor - helmet included. Schumacher, from the World Guard. "Ho there, travelers!" his voice rattled in the helmet. "My apologies for my lateness; I hope I haven't kept you waiting!"

 Rose dismissed her menu. "Not at all. Everyone take your seats."

 The fourteen of us gathered around the table as Rose began laying out photographs. "Oxtongue the Grassinator." she announced. "He's a minotaur, level 10. The arena is the courtyard in front of the gates of the Grand Citadel. It's a rectangular area enclosed on three sides by the curtain wall. The fourth is open, facing the city. Should we need to retreat, that's our only exit, so keep it clear of field effects.

 "For the most part, it's an open spate of grass, but flanking the road leading up to the gate is a line of hedges and columns. The ranged damage will have to move from side to side through them, so if you get targeted by the adds, mind you have a limited number of pathways."

 As she spoke, she passed around photos of the boss and field. It was exactly as described - a sparsely decorated arena put in deep shadows by dark, blood-red walls stretching too high up for the photos to show, a hint of malice seeping out of the mortar.

 "There are two main mechanics -" Rose continued, "- one for the tanks, and one for the ranged. First, there's a charge ability. If there's enough space between Oxtongue and its target, or behind its target while it's in melee range, it will usually go for a charge. There is very little room for error on this one - it deals enough damage that... well, if you aren't in plate, it will outright kill you."

 Leo asked, "Should I ask how you know it does so much damage?"

 "No, you shouldn't. Luckily, it can be kept in check by keeping Oxtongue close and facing the walls. The safest way we've found to do that is to turn it around and use the gate it's standing in front of. Our tanks are well-trained on the movements to kite it safely, so the rest of you focus on the damage. If you do get aggro, sprint straight for the wall until the tanks take back over. That is the single most significant threat, but we're also on a timer."

 She laid out pictures of the walls. Open slots broke up the solid surface.

 "Every minute or so, adds will spawn - archers on the balconies on the east and west sides of the arena. They shoot arrows tipped with jars of... napalm? Greek fire? Something that leaves a patch of fire that sticks around for the rest of the fight. They alternate which side they spawn on. The ranged need to take them down ASAP, then cross the field and get in position to hit the next wave. Some shots are inevitable and the targets are random, so as the area around Oxtongue gets clogged, the tanks will need to drag it around the wall. If we run out of wall ... we'll actually end up right next to the exit, so we can retreat freely. But it will mean resetting the fight.

 "Because the ranged will be busy with the adds, it's on the melee to keep up the damage. Give everyone enough space to squeeze in around the boss and keep out of the fire - we want to maximize the time before moving the boss. Also keep your mind on your threat. There's a threat reset with every add wave, so back off for a second when you hear the shouting. This doubles as a way to disperse the initial volley of fire arrows away from the boss."

 She looked at each of us in turn. "Does everyone understand that? Tanks kite along the wall, melee moves in and out to control the fire, and ranged move back and forth to control adds." Filius laid out some simple play diagrams of the movements for each group. I nodded along with the others. There were a few things going on, but any given role only needed to focus on one.

 Rose picked up a list. "Then the roles as I have them are as follows: Filius - main tank, Schumacher - off tank. Healers - Leonard, Flora, and Davi. Ranged damage - Percival, Lucis, Sebas, and Razz."

 Razz's head snapped up. "You're putting me on add duty?!"

 "We need them dead fast."

 "Then you chose well!"

 "The rest are melee." Rose continued. "That's me, Siegfried, Fritz, Cinter, and James. Does everyone understand their role?"

 Schumacher clanked as he raised his fist. "Forsooth! Let us banish this cretin to the depths of Tartarus!"

 "I'm glad you're eager, but we're not making attempts until tomorrow." Rose said.

 Leo raised a tentative hand. "Hey, how does loot work?"

 "Bosses are the same as normal mobs." Rose answered. "The game automatically distributes it."

 Leo said, "Aw, man, that system constantly gives me stuff I can't use."

 "Does it matter?" Sebas frowned, crossing his arms. "Is that what we're here for?"

 "Seb's right." Rose's face hardened. "If loot it your hang-up, I don't know what to say. We've got bigger problems."

 Leo threw up his hands. "Just a gripe with the game's systems. I'm in it to win it!"

 "Good." Rose said. "Now, the Guard have set us up a space in the Park to practice the movements at real scale. If everyone's ok with it, I would like to spend a couple hours there. Make sure we get this down tight."

 "I'd like that, too!" I nodded eagerly.

 The general sentiment of the group was with me on that. So off we went, making our way down to the Park - a massive nature reserve inside the city near the train station. We spent the afternoon running drills with Rose barking out commands and some helpful volunteers from the World Guard waving around a big stuffed bull scarecrow. Running around dodging balloons full of dyed water, it almost made it all feel like a game.