Trouble in the back-Yard

With the B&B Graduate Season starting only two short weeks ago, players in the infamous ‘Bill’s Yard’ Zone have found themselves in a troubling situation.

An unconfirmed duo — reportedly Claire Pranutal [Huntress] and Oliver Matanor [Hoplite] — defeated the [Dark Naga] dungeon boss, intended to be discovered via a side-quest given to players during the Six-Month Event.

By defeating the boss, an Asterian invasion event was triggered, causing mass destruction of the player’s home-spawn, Bill’s Yard (colloquially, Bill’s Town).

With the vast majority of players unable to access equipment powerful enough to fend off the Asterian forces, the Zone has become almost unplayable.

The Government is yet to address the situation; however, it is expected that intervention will be required to revert the invasion event.

For now, it seems the overachieving pair of dungeon-crawlers are the only hope for the Yard.

Written by Jill Pearl (0384 712 890)

So, we messed up. Pretty seriously.

As soon as we left the fast-travel area, Asterian forces swarmed us, circling around the area with their weapons levelled at our throats.

We disconnected immediately. Fortunately, neither of us had swung our weapons, as then we would’ve been ‘In Combat’ and penalised for disconnecting.

I had lunch, pretended nothing was wrong for a while, then went for a walk to think about what to do.

The next morning, Jill’s article was second-page B&B News, which was the only news people read. We didn’t quite crack the front-page, as that space was reserved for a nasty breakup piece about one of B&B’s most adored power couples.

Priorities.

Surprisingly, the first message I received was from Joey.

[Hey man, long time no see. Missing you at the Fields, seems like you’re carving it up over at the Yard!]

The message was perhaps more shocking than the fact that a good chunk of the world now knew my name. I tried my hand at a reply. I didn’t want to be accusatory, but I wanted him to know that everything was not fine.

[Yo, where you been? Heard some drama between you, A and D. Everything all good?]

A long delay.

[Yeah man, just been super busy with my new raid team. Dad got me into this group with a few of his old crony’s kids and we’re tearing it up out here. A and D not quite up to our level yet, you know? I’m sure you do, considering that article.]

I saw where this was going. I was talking to Joey, but it wasn’t Joey. His Dad was pulling the strings, telling him to contact me now that I had done something of interest.

What a dick.

[I get you’re busy, but you really hurt Annette, and Duri too. Not trying to tell you what to do, but if you want to fix things between all of us, you’ve got some explaining to do. Good to hear from you though, appreciate it.]

Diplomacy was out the window.

I’d intended on playing ball — at least tagging along until I could get some answers, but the whole thing just pissed me off. He replied, but I didn’t look.

Annette and Duri messaged me next, along with a bunch of unknown numbers. It was difficult to even press the button to enter the group chat, because so many notifications flooded my Yurt.

I pinned the group chat to the top, and dove in.

O: [Y’all doing anything interesting today?]

D: [Nothing more interesting than lunch with the world’s most eligible young B&B Bachelor]

O: [Shut uppppppp.]

A: [I’m keen for a break. Picnic?]

O: [Was thinking Garters right on opening time. 4pm, right? That way Duri can do the dishes after.]

A: [Sold! Bit late for lunch but yep!]

I switched off my Yurt without checking the other messages. Courtesy of Jill’s article, the world’s army of reporters had my name at their fingertips, and some of them were bound to have access to my phone number. I didn’t like it one bit, but with my krad balance so far in the negative, I wasn’t in the market for a new Yurt.

Luckily, I still had some krad in the real-world. It would be a great day when I could transfer money out of B&B for the first time. In hindsight, I should’ve done a few more quests and withdrew my balance before taking on the loan for {The Glass Cannon}.

Lesson learned.

I was hesitant to log back into B&B, but there wasn’t much else to do. The AT-2000 beckoned, a piece of machinery that I’d taken for granted since immersing for the first time. It really was a phenomenal piece of luck that it was mine.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

There was no time to admire Dale’s handiwork. It was time to take down a hostile military occupation.

The ‘reversion’ Jill mentioned had not taken effect. From my spawn-point, I could see smoke rising in great curling plumes, evident on all sides. The houses nearest me were partially destroyed, most of the front shutters torn away and doors kicked off their hinges. NPCs roamed the streets in small groups, bedraggled and covered in soot and ash. I saw Pilaf guiding two children away from a small fire in an alley.

“Pilaf! Hey! Are you okay?”

He saw me coming and waved an arm. His clothes were ripped, and he bled from a gash under his armpit.

“Ollie,” he coughed. “The Asterians have come. You need to find Bill.’

Find Bill?

“I’ll try. Thanks, Pilaf. Look after yourself, okay? Find somewhere to hide and lay low.”

He nodded, but I wasn’t sure to what extent my words could convert into actions. The NPC’s AI was extremely powerful, but they still required schedules that made their movements and actions predictable to players.

A congregation of Asterian soldiers gathered outside Bill’s Barn, watching the paint peel off under the extreme heat. Flames licked at the edges, moving from the long grasses to the walls, then the roof, and eventually the supports and everywhere else.

Then I saw players. I didn’t know their names, but I recognised faces. I’d seen one of them in passing enough times that I nodded to him whenever we crossed paths, usually at the fast-travel area.

He was in Asterian armour, carrying a banner.

Next to him was the NPC-hater from my very first day.

Asterian armour as well.

They’ve been recruited.

Jill mentioned that most players weren’t strong enough to fight back, but switching sides was still a low blow.

“Yo, guys! What’s up?” I approached casually; spear lowered.

They were on me in moments.

There was no reply, no chance for explanation, discussion or peacemaking. Just two bumbling players gunning to take down the sole threat to the Asterian invasion.

My old doubts resurfaced. These were real humans, ones who would feel pain if I stabbed them. They were angry at me, and I could understand why, but they didn’t even hesitate to charge at me, intent on ending my character.

Intent on hurting me, killing me.

For now, I’d evade. Hurting them brought me no gain. It wouldn’t even thin the crowd — these guys would just respawn.

[Dash]

My Agility was high enough to outrun them, but I wanted to put as much distance between us as I could.

I needed someplace to work through this issue. Bill would have to wait.

Otto’s.

Out of all the places in Bill’s Yard, it was probably the most flammable. But it had a sealed-off, secret area for me to hideout.

The second basement.

I twisted through tight alleys and backtracked constantly to throw off the scent, assuming I still had pursuers. Some of Claire’s camouflage abilities would have been nice, but she didn’t seem to be leaning into that so much anymore.

In fact, she probably wouldn’t need camouflage around this place — the blues and whites of her new armour bore a striking resemblance to the Asterian gear. She might be my best chance to contact players in the Asterian Army and pry some information from their traitorous lips.

Otto’s Pub was significantly worse for wear, but it still stood. I could see inside the place from the street, and it was no longer a merry establishment. Tables were cracked or overturned, lamps smashed, and Otto wasn’t at the bar.

I walked in, greeting the miserable faces before me. People sat at the bar stools and at the few tables that remained in one piece, dejected. A few poured themselves drinks.

“Thar’s Yollie, ain’t et?”

Young Barney had survived the storm.

“Barney! What happened here? I went to Parm and by the time I got back…”

“Et’s focked, Yollie. The Ashterians stooped in ‘ere en that’s that. Finushed.”

He sipped an amber liquid from a chipped tankard. There was mumbled assent from the remaining patrons, but no additional information.

“Where’s Otto? I need to talk to him.”

“Yonder. Lookin afta ‘is plant,” he replied, pointing to the basement.

I pushed through the mess, knocking on the open door as I stepped down into the underground room.

It was bare. Every keg was gone, looted by the Asterians. The bare walls were plagued with cobwebs and insect colonies, demonstrating just how long some of those barrels had sat there, ageing. At the end of the room, was Otto.

“Hey, Otto. I’m glad this place is still standing. You doin alright?”

He turned, and I had to hold back a gasp.

The first friend I’d made in Bill’s Yard was now a six-armed octopus. Two were shorn off into stubs, and a deep cut sat below his eye, stretching down to his chin.

“Ollie. Could be better. They destroyed all but one of the plants, see?”

“I’m more concerned about you then I am the plants. Who did that?”

He raised the stubs, looking down at them as though just seeing them for the first time.

“Oh, these? They’ll grow back, its fine. Hurts a tad, but only for the next two to four months.”

He returned to his plant, lifting each of the leaves to check underneath. He patted the soil, spraying water where it was dry. This was either a scene of denial, or resignation.

“Otto, I know it’s tough, but I want to do everything I can to save Bill’s Yard. I have someone who’ll help, someone pretty powerful, and I think we can make a difference. She’s a [Huntress], goes by the name—

“No. You don’t.”

I paused, expecting an explanation.

“What do you mean? I came back to Bill’s Yard with her — she saw the destruction, she knows the Asterians did it.”

“Check your quest.”

I did as I was told. The ‘Liberate the Yard’ quest was there, as usual, but I’d nearly forgotten about the quest Marge gave me. It might come in handy if her son turned out to be a decent bloke after all.

Assuming Bambuk hadn’t killed him.

“Nothing’s different. Are you offering me a quest?”

“No. Look at the one Bill gave you. The rewards.”

I selected the quest.

{Recalculating reward(s)…Please wait…}

Expected Player Participants: (100)

Actual Eligible Player Participants: (1)

The icon swirled for a while longer, seemingly choosing what to do with me.

{Reward(s) recalculated successfully.}

‘Liberate the Yard’

Reward(s)

+400,000 EXP

+50 Friendship (Bill’s Yard citizens)

Title: Bard of the Yard

Item: Bill’s Sunhat

Four hundred thousand EXP.

I’d been right about the quest being split between a group of people. Apparently, it was supposed to be given to a hundred eligible players. I’d been The First.

And now, since I was the only eligible player, I would receive all the rewards.

Four hundred thousand EXP. Saying it twice didn’t make it any more believable.

If EXP gain was something to go by, this quest was going to be one hundred and sixty times more difficult than defeating [Dark Naga].

“Otto? Can I ask you a favour?”

“I suppose.”

“I’m going to fight back against the Asterians, and I need your help to do it. This is going to be my base of operations. Can you help me build it?”

The injured octopus let go of the plant, turning to me. We both stooped under the low ceiling, eye-to-eye.

“Ain’t no way this shop gunna bring in any money with those bastards ‘ere. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

We shook…limbs…and sealed the deal.

The Safe House was born.