Apocalypse I-b - The Retreat

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To most, the teleportation back to their Kingdom is a bit jarring, but not entirely unexpected, though that unique tone will remain at the back of peoples' heads for a while. Only those musically inclined, or those who have experienced certain dangerous elements of Fragment, would so vividly recognize A in C Major.

People knew that the game was going to come with a lot of changes. The expansion promised much. Some even trying to finish a boss just in time, or tried to cross the finish line before the clock in Japan would strike midnight. Compared to other systems, the transition is almost seemless. Various Landers are stepping out to see what caused so many Adventurers to suddenly teleport into their respective Kingdoms. Out in the streets, in the big squares, and some even just outside of town.

Elder Tale Online is a popular game. And it is perhaps mindblowing to see so many people packed in such an area. There is no doubt that there just isn't enough room in the Kingdoms for all of these Adventurers to provide them lodging. But then, before this, that has never been something to worry about.

The sun above their heads is largely down. There is a time difference between Japan and the world, even if it's just a few hours. But right now, it's Twilight Hour. A beautiful red and orange is cast across the lands. The various trees in the streets stand out against that beautiful shimmer, and the orange colors have various Undines peek their heads up within the waters of Mac Anu. In Dun Loireag, the mists make the orange glow look particularly fantastic. Even Lia Fail fails to withstand the strange beauty brought on by this light.

Fireworks launch into the air, further spreading joy, right before there are gasps of confusion. A gasp, people pointing towards a strange building just outside of the city of Lia Fail, towards the mountains. A massive cannon, what appears to be made out of rock, sitting upon the mountains to the west of Lia Fail. A fierce light appears to gather within it, right before the barrel seems to malfunction, and a massive black wave cascades over the region.

The wave blasts across the peoples' bodies. Their armor ripped off of them, tarnished, or leveled down. Peoples' levels rapidly going down from their current level all the way to one. Their money disappearing! Those who happened to be in their menu, see the 'Log Out' button shatter spectacularly before their very eyes. It's like standing in the midst of a hurricane, the force pushing people back, until finally...

"You all need to come with me, now!" With a voice that booms louder than the black wave that has already passed everyone over.

Seated upon a black feathered Peko, sits the Bandit King. A man bearing black armor, with long pale hair and green eyes. Even those who have never seen the Bandit King just... know. Everyone here /knows/, this /is/ the Bandit King. They only relevant 'regent' to the Ezzo Empire.

And before people have time to ask 'why' they need to leave, it begins.

A massive skyscraper suddenly BARRELS out of one of the nearby shops, rising up into the air. Right before a massive colloseum begins to grow in the middle of the streets. The ground shaking with each movement, as buildings begin to appear. Houses disappear. A massive pit forming under a section of street, as a river begins to form, only for a house to suddenly blast out of it and try to settle. A house starts forming out of /the side of a house/, at the completely wrong angle! The area quickly turning to chaos.

The Nero Idol (one of the many) known as Reika (only one with that name, the others have stage names) was in Root Town just shortly before this. She was in the middle of a song when she was teleported. She barely registered the elongated tone even. Honestly, she's not even that surprised, she figures it was part of the celebration. She doesn't even know where she is. The only reason she's in Ezzo is assuredly because she's a Spriggan in this world.

She woahs in wonder at the fireworks... and has to be pulled away from some falling debris, again not understanding what's going on "W-what? Is this supposed to be part of the show or something?" For her, everything is a show, and she certainly has no idea that she's been pulled into this reality. She doesn't even have the mind to reach for the Log out yet, thinking it's part of the celebration.

With the booming voice... well... if that's part of the event, might as well follow. She nimbly hops away from the next debris falling her way, somehow getting used to the movement, feeling lighter than she is in real life. But no real time to think about that. She heads over to the Peko Rider rapidly.

The mysterious cloaked Imp flits from shadow to shadow, easily weaving between the notice of the local monsters. It's been a long time since she's felt threatened by the environment. She knows this land. Or at least, as much as one can know it in the process of a few months.

But then that all changes. The world shifts around her, and Proteus lands back in her Kingdom, the tone ringing in her ears. There is a scowl of irritation as she looks around. It took a /long time/ to get out to that area, and she wanted to check something before the patch hit...

But it's too late, it seems. The people of Ezzo are gathered there around her, and she sighs, casting her gaze up into the twilight. The sky is beautiful... But the gleam of a new star, the light building within a cannon that was never meant to fire. "What...!?" She hisses, and then...

The world changes, forever. The black wave washes over her, her ornate and complex gear shattering and dissolving into junk data as her interlocking skills vanish. Immediately, that power and equipment is stripped from her. Anger, fear, rage all suddenly mix within her as she looks over the absolute devastation wrought upon her progress as the world howls around her...

The Bandit King calls to them. Proteus looks around and sees the man. She never caused him trouble, he never caused her trouble. She liked it that way. But now... Trouble came to them all. The sudden rumbling of the ground and shifting of the area causes her to stumble, and she looks up in shock. "What the hell?" She asks, looking around with eyes wide. "Corruption?!" She gasps. She doesn't need any kind of urging to run.

She immediately does so, beginning to bolt. "Run, you fools! Don't stand there gasping, the entire place is breaking around us!"

'Popular' is right. The crowds are dense, and the spectacle is intense, even after the teleport back to home kingdoms. The party may have been broken up, but the /celebration/ continues unabated. The sheer amount of processing power necessary to render all of this so seamlessly is enough to bring a tear to a poor modder's eye, though. It's been rough getting there, but Att Syne has never before been so happy to live in the future.

He's above them, though. Physically, not socially; he's on top of a multiple-story building in town, having scaled bits of geometry he knows is capable of holding a player to get up there for the best view. His legs dangle over the edge, and he's treated to a terrific view of fireworks and pointing, gasping, yelling... at some kind of cannon? He turns his eyes to the sky --

The physical force knocks him backwards into the empty room he was sitting at the edge of. His immediate reflex is to try to orient himself and use an anti-knockback skill. He brings up the menu with practiced motions, makes a quick gesture... and nothing happens. He finally registers that his stats and his skill list are rapidly diminishing and simply vanishing altogether. His cries of, "What the hell? What the /hell?!/" are buried under the cacophony all around.

By the time it clears, he's getting to his feet and assessing the damage, and feeling his heart drop out of his chest. Frustration follows. Celebration or not, expansion or not, that's not supposed to happen. He calls up the menu again to log out with the intent of immediately contacting a GM on the official BBS to report a frankly crippling bug, making the again-familiar motions one-handed. He doesn't receive any tactile sensation to follow his usual brush with the Log Out button, the typical warning if you hit it by accident. The button just isn't there anymore.

Another moment passes before he acknowledges that this is the reality of the situation. In that moment, the building he was standing on began to shift. An intersecting structure grows out of it at an impossible angle, and Att rolls to his feet and flings himself off the ledge, down into the chaotic turmoil of the street. He lands on an awning and then drops onto a broken-wheeled cart, coming up short in front of the Bandit King with an expression of shock and anger. "What? Why would we --"

More terrain stops making sense. Att changes his tune. "Fine! Let's just go! Now!"

UNYIELDING POLARIS has to yield to this, at least. The levels are lost. Even the cosmetic enchantment on the dark knight armor flickers to a less stylish level. The black knight recognizes some parts of where this is going. "MY KING!" They roar! "Are we under attack?!" The heavy clomps of armor slam streets being rewritten every moment. "I won't let us yield to this assault! Show me the source, and I'll have it defeated!"

They slam headfirst through debris, suffering whatever pains one suffers through those AoE impacts. Their maneuvering might audaciously clear more dangerous paths for Reika, who was dodging them. They roar back to Proteus, and shout, "Right! He knows where to go to strike back!!" Though the horrible "graphical corruption" has them thinking that this isn't... quite what they think. Att's shouted frustration calls out to Polaris's worse behaviors. "He'll know where to crush this at the source! Let your anger burn bright, and wield it as a sword of FIRE!"

Polaris fundamentally misunderstands the situation, and carries hope where there is none. It will be moments before that's broken, but there's still moments, at least. And for now, of course, they insist on jamming themselves directly into view and interaction with all those unfortunate enough to be caught up in all of this.

     The last thing that Haseo remembers is finally confronting Tri-Edge. Right where Ovan said to meet up. Right where Shino died. He was a lot stronger now...

     But that didn't matter. Every attack thrown was to the side like it was nothing, and the rather unceremonious single blow delivered to him was enough to send them flying and incapacitate them.

     The haptic feedback is enough to stun Ryou for just a moment, and he's pretty sure in his dazed state he caught a glimpse of Ovan. At this point however, he' already reaching up to remove his NeuroLink as it's clear he's already lost. He'll just have to wait til he respawns to try again.

     That's when the note drops. The A to C major that, while he wasn't familiar with, made his stomach drop all the same.

     There's a jarring cut as he's warped from where he is to the middle of the Ezzo Empire, the Legionnaire lifting himself off the ground as he collects his bearings. This is Lia Fial. Why the hell is he in Lia Fial?

     He runs a hand through his hair, casually noticing his attire has changed and that he's holding on to a scarf. Great. Excellent. He apparently got hacked too.

     While startled by the Bandit King at first, Haseo just kind of ignores them as he's busy pulling up his menu to assess what is happening. The stupid NPC can wait.

     Unfortunately Haseo probably should have listened, because now there's a gigantic tower bursting out of the ground, and the Imp is scrambling to get the hell out of dodge.

The chaos continues. Buildings continue to form from naught. A massive skyscraper starts tumbling down right over Lia Fail, from the /side/ of a second skyscraper, threatening to crush Adventurers and Landers who don't move faster enough. Another piece of building almost crushes Att Syne. The screams of fear echo, as people start to realize they can't just log off. The fierce sensation of debris hitting, causing shockwaves are felt by all who had the wit to start moving.

This entire situation seems to be expanding from the mountains above, out towards the rest of the land, following the 'land' region for now.

The Bandit King, motions for people once more, making momentary eye-contact with Proteus and Reika. They have no intent of remaining around, and immediately take off, grabbing Polaris by the scruff of his neck. "Move, you fool!" Throngs of adventurers, and landers, follow, trying to get out before it's too late.

The moment they hit the lands outside of Lia Fail, they spot the various monsters that normally would be further off. But they aren't... right. There's strange green shimmers of light around them. Their textures, no, their /shapes/ don't look like. It's as if parts of what should be 'beneath' their skin is flowing out. Green light rippling out, forming strange shield-like formations.

"Do not engage the monsters and make for the tunnels to the south-west!"

Those familiar enough with the Ezzo Empire would know that there is a massive mountain that lies between Lia Fail and its Port. A tunnel normally rife with low level monsters as the easiest access to the west. Right beneath the very same mountain which that massive tower just formed over.

"Familiar" is not a word that applies to Reika right now, she's never been in this region, never looked at maps, nor learned of the lore. She's a fish out of water. But she follows the 'script', for a lack of a better term right now. She simply doesn't know better than to follow the one that seems to be the leader.

Fighting monsters? That doesn't sound like a good idea right now. "That green glow... rather unsettling... is... this suppose to happen you think? Is this some special event?" Maybe it's the expansion story? Or whatever was added in the patch tonight...

She seems pretty agile at least, following the rest, and even picking up a few landers that are lagging behind, not even realizing that they are supposed to be NPCs and not players. She has much to learn.

Att Syne's luck is entirely self-made, good and bad. It's bad because he nearly gets crushed by another building that rolls over and topples practically on top of him; it's good because his many years of experience precisely angling virtual structures and acrobatic maneuvers means that when it comes down, he narrowly evades destruction by way of sliding in one window and leaping out the far side. It's a pretty death-defying stunt, and if he were trying to do it intentionally, he'd comment about being some kind of badass. In this case, it's largely reflexive, and entirely dumb luck that there wasn't a solid wall on the far side.

Scanning his surroundings, Att finally spots Proteus and Haseo in the throng of Adventurers and Landers trying to flee the place. By sheer press of bodies, he's carried along. He draws and raises his quarterstaff with his left hand, waving it above his head. "Hey! Guys! Over here! Group up!"

By the time they get outside, he's free of the immediate press as people start to spread out a little. He takes a deep breath, exhaling sharply and then making a motion to try to invite his guildmates to form a party. "Come on; we can't track one another's statuses in this shitstorm without a little UI aid." Att eyes the twisting monsters. He doesn't approach them, instead following directions to flee with the rest, keeping to the outside of the group to sort of herd the more panicked folk.

"I really hope so," Att asides to Reika, distractedly. "I can't imagine what else it could be."

Proteus communicates over Chimlink to her guildmates. Conveniently, There are a number of them here. Plant Duck attracts a certain... type.

The call from Proteus gets a shake from the Imp's head and her tail lashes in irritation. "This isn't the time to be grandstanding! If this is how the expansion is supposed to hit, it's gone wrong! It's gone /all wrong!" She looks back over her shoulder, and hisses as she sees masonry falling for Att Syne. "WHIRLING DISC!" She calls, turning and drawing her hands out, sparing a moment to hurl the liquid buzzsaw at the masontry to help keep her guildmate covered.

She pauses, waving for Att and Haseo to get over towards her. Teamwork is OP, as Att is fond of saying, and it's something she agrees with as far as her guild is concerned. Everyone else is on their own. As much as she can, she notes the progress of the alterations, keeping an eye on the movements, the nature of things. All of it looks like a god's tantrum, creation and recreation gone wrong.

As soon as they join group, Proteus is back running again to join the others as they escape. She looks about at the surroundings and the way the local wildlife has changed. "This is a problem." She comments to the others. "Look at that change. The corruption is affecting them too." She points at the shields floating around them. "I've never seen an effect like that, I wonder..."

A scowl returns to her face. "Tch. I can't even investigate..." It would be suicide right now. Her eyes turn to the mountain, the looming tower, and the only way out... That tunnel. "Is that tunnel going to be as changed as the area out here?" She wonders aloud... But hustles along with the others.

    The Cait Sith monkey was in a deep forest somewhere just lazing about, he had finished what he wanted to do before the patch was to come through. Looking up into the sky as he rested, his tail was dangling below him. He stretches out languidly, he rubs his belly as he hears it growl, "Ok, ok." he says as he moves into a crouch. His wings appear behind him and he is about to fly back to the town he was near.

    He hears the A to C Major tone and he quirks a brow as he is teleported back to Ezzo, it's not been that long since was here. Though he wasn't sure why he was automatically brought back here. He sees something like fireworks and so he leaps up onto a stall then a building so that he had a better vantage point. Once things start happening, the sunset the fireworks, then a black wave? "Huh...what the hell is going on?" he asks as he watches his levels plummets and all of his things are gone.

    When he sees the Bandit King appears, "Shit...." is all he says and he listens to the Bandit King, he sees others, and buildings coming from the ground? He leaps and flips around and he quickly moves a man from a building that is coming up right between his legs.

    Seeing Adventurers and Landers running and following the Bandit King's instruction. He knows the lay out of the city, something he enjoys doing, still right now he scans the area for a moment and once he sees people running and getting out of dodge, Wynfei does the same, he hears someone calling for people to group up, as he was about to go to them, he sees Reika helping a few of the Landers, "Hey you ok?" he calls to her as he runs over to her helping as well.

What is even going on. Apparently he's not the only one to get reduced to this state. Not that it makes the sting hurt any less. How the hell is he suppose to save Shino like this? It's a rhetorical question, he clearly stands less of a chance at level 1 than he did at max, but he doesn't even have the time to even consider rhetoricals as he's too busy running for his life.

     Teamwork is fake, but given the circumstances, it's probably better to stick together as a group than it is to mess around with... Green enemies? Why are they running from green enemies? Even if they look a bit weird, all of them should be able to take them on, right?

     Well, the others aren't clearly doing it, and he's not stupid enough to solo with a clear disadvantage, so he just groups up with the Att and Proteus.

     "You're pretty damn bossy for someone who just showed up, you know that!?"

     Haseo is getting a bit tired of being bossed around by the Bandit King, but even still, he's following his plans of heading towards the tunnels.

Move. Move? What? Polaris is yanked up. "HEAVEN ITSELF may move, but the BLAZING NORTH STAR won't! If they think--" The black knight starts, but... no. This isn't right. Good god, Polaris thinks, is there a graphics card cooking? "This... can't be right. What is happening?" They accept the King's order. Yet, this is a game, isn't it? There's nothing gamey about just running away. Surely if they're meant to flee, it'll have something interesting! They brace against the Peko dramatically.

Hope cracks slightly, here, but it's not broken just yet. Reika gets a shout from the black knight as they're taken, and Proteus receives an answer. "In a good legend, everything is _supposed_ to happen! What are YOU _supposed_ to do? ALL YOU CAN!! PUSH, DIG DEEP, AND MAKE IT!! THIS IS A DAY THAT WILL BE REMEMBERED FOREVER!! WILL _YOU_!?" Somehow, their helmet shines a dramatic gleam even in this as they soar above.

Seen from higher above, it's increasingly clear that this isn't normal. This isn't the way something normal works, and fundamentally lacks that feeling of how something normal feels. "Show me to the sites of the most dire evacuations! THE SHINING LIGHT OF THE NORTH STAR WILL GUIDE THEM TO THEIR DESTINATION!!" They roar with intense, but just slightly shaky enthusiasm. Seeing this from above is making it more and more anxiety-inducing. Those levels aren't lost forever, right? This is just a temporary surprise event with some bad glitches, right...? Focus. Don't let them see you sweat, just be the big legend and everything will be fine.

The loud knight yells at the very not knight-like Proteus. The Imp stops for a moment in the group, looking upon the not-quite-as-mighty-as-he-was-five-minutes-ago knight and clasps her hands, her eyes bright as she calls to the Knight. "Such inspiring words, brave knight! This is clearly an invasion that is perfectly suited for your valorous heart! Please, ride forth and defend us against the mighty monsters that even now assail our town. Go forth! Today is the day your legend will be etched in our memories forever!"

She then proceeds to stand way back and watch what happens to the Knight. Provided they accept the 'quest' of course. She asides to Haseo, who's throwing her some shade, and she shrugs. "Look, someone needs to keep people on track and I didn't see you or Att handling it. Think faster and you win faster." She's going to follow along of course, but she wants to see what happens to Polaris first.

For science.

Oh, did someone antagonize Polaris' insecurity in this moment of wavering enthusiasm? Because this pal has got _blades_. An eye gleams brightly under the helm. "A MOMENT, MY KING!" They roar, full of that unique kind of insecure enthusiasm. "I've a LEGEND TO MAKE!" They kick off, and in mid-air, equip the most bare-bones, basic spear possible as they descend. How exactly that many pounds of plate armor manage to redirect their trajectory in mid-air isn't clear, but what is clear is that they're falling spear-first towards the nearest horrid green graphical glitch monster menacing the area.

And screaming at the top of their lungs.

"EN GAAAAAAAAAAARDE!!"

At Proteus ask, the Bandit King turns and furrows their brow. "As long as your stick close, we should make it through before it can." Closer up, something seems off about the Bandit King's voice. What's more, there's a constant 'ringing' around him.

He then looks back, as Polaris jumps off and rushes one of the Level 1 Boars with the strange effects around him. His spear strike comes down, the point slams against the green shield...

And then breaks. The spear's Lifebar rushes straight down to zero, and then snaps. Pieces of wood splintering at him - cutting him and leaving the tell-tale light of damage being done across his form!

Followed by the Boar turning, and charging him!

"GHHH!!" Polaris grunts in dulled pain as the spear explodes! "What?! How?!" They skid back over decaying earth, holding their chest where the splinters damaged them, looking baffled. Was the physics simulation always that realistic, that detailed? Why does that seem _wrong_, somehow? "What... was that?!" They brace against the shattered, useless low-level hilt to try to evade the incoming charge!

"There's something wrong here!" They shout. "Be on guard! Durability suffers direly on contact! Keep your longest arms ready to buy time!" Their armor... their armor might break! No!! Their body is full of panic as they try twist out of the way of the incoming charge! "NO!!"

Reika didn't need to try attacking... she really doesn't know how in the first place. She's... starting to feel scared now though. This is... still a game, right? Games should be fun, not scary. "I think the big man is right, we really c should run away until we understand what's going on." Seeing the weapon shatter fortifies that feeling even more. These monsters are stronger than the numbers lets you think.

"Come on everyone, pull back!" She helps some of the landers run away, closing the back of the group near those that tried fighting.

    "Hey, you care to party up?" he asks Reika, "I know we are just running, but still a good way to keep an eye on one another." he says. Looking towards the Level 1 Boars and it does strike him as odd to be running away from them. His gaze shift from the Boar to the Bandit King, he nods his head until he sees someone trying to fight. "What the hell are you DOING!" he says as Wynfei shifts, "I will catch up to you, if you want to party up." he sends her the invite than rushes towards Polaris. "Flashstep!" he calls as he quickly moves faster as he closes the distance towards Polaris. He sees the Boar coming at him, and reaches out and grabs Polaris by the back of the neck armor and out of the way of the Boar, "Now run!" he Monkey like Cait Sith says as he starts running towards where Reika was adn still following the BK.

Proteus peers at the Bandit King for a moment. Something is off about this guy, but Proteus doesn't have the tools to figure out what's going on. That absolutely wasn't normal, certainly not what he was doing. Certainly not that /noise/. But she'll have to figure that out later. There's SCIENCE afoot.

The foolish^H^H^H^H extremely brave knight attacks the thing and immediately blows out his weapon. That absolutely shouldn't be happening. Proteus' eyes widen. "Oh. Wow. So that's what happens." A moment later, she's pacing away, trying to get the hell out of there before the now aggroed boar turns Polaris into giblets.

This is Someone Else's Problem, as these things tend to be when Proteus is involved.

Att Syne lingers at one side of the rough column of fleeing people, watching the results of the Proteus Experiment. Polaris does not die horribly, but instead gets his weapon busted up on the way to knowledge. That's pretty rough. He jogs over once he's sure the Brave Knight is out of aggro range of the odd low-level invulnerable mobs. "Hey. Tough break with that, huh?" Att roots around in his inventory with one-handed, distracted glances at the AR display he calls up. His actual good stuff is gone, and he's broke as a joke, but he's still got a bunch of basic starter gear due to his class choice. The sheer variety of weapon options affords him that.

There's a telltale glow, and then a spear materializes in his grip. "Catch." He tosses it lightly Polaris' way. "And hurry up; if there's more monsters in the tunnel, we're gonna need all the fighters we can get on the front line in a few minutes."

Att hustles to move back to his guildmates. He offers them a wordless shrug for explanation.

The Bandit King motions for them to follow. The Boar eventually 'forgetes' about the one who has slighted them.

As the journey continues, The Bandit King slows to ensure the massive march of Adventurers can keep up. He looks back for a moment, concern written all over his face. The chaos of the region begin constantly built up, and then broken down seems to have slowed a little bit, but it seems to almost be 'following' them. "From the cave, we will be marching to the south-western tip of Ezzo. Continue to avoid any encounters with monsters that look strange, or are above your level." Which is going to be rough going, as Ezzo is one of the highest difficulty regions in the Yamato area.

Then, a pause, before the Lander says something rather unusual.

"Contact your Player friends and get them to get boats ready and meet us. Because if you die before we get out, and get your allegiance to the Ezzo Empire cancelled, you will return to that place."

And he just points.

At Lia Fail.

Before the group enters the Cave.

Reika looks to Wynfei, the question of partying up... well she knows that much even though she hasn't done much in the game. She pulls up her menu to accept the party invite, although she stops for a second, staring at it. It feels... different somehow. But there's not much time to think about that right now, she presses the button and dismisses the UI.

She doesn't know what happens when one dies, so she looks around "Uhm... I guess that's a bad thing then?" Dying in a video game should never be something dangerous. But there's too many things that don't add up right now. When she saw the UI, it was getting late too, maybe she should just log out and let the others sort it out, its their game, they are serious about it, when she isn't.

Proteus almost looks disappointed as Wynfei pulls Polaris out of the fire, but honestly, there's too much going on to engage in proper schadenfreude. She does, however, smile again, that little bladelike crescent of her face spreading out in a Cheshire grin to the pair as she turns away.

Everything seems to be going to hell, but honestly, there's always opportunities. She just needs to find them. The Bandit King speaks again, and the Imp's head tilts, something seeming to nag at her. However, she says nothing, simply nodding. Att Syne voices what she's thinking anyway. Over the Chimlink, that is.

"Haseo. Att. Let's move." She waves. "Come on, we need to get through this place as soon as possible before what is happening makes this trek even more lethal than it is now. I don't like the idea of having to escape the increasingly broken and chaotic remains of what used to be our hometown."

Move. Move? No, _be_ moved. Polaris is yanked out of the way. The black knight seems relieved to have the chance to avoid the risk of exposing any of their less-knightly flesh, but gets back into their previous approach. "Sometimes... more than heaven itself can yield. Then we move!" They shout, almost-grateful to Wynfei if it weren't for their obnoxious behaviors. They're breaking into a high-speed dash as they cast aside the shattered spear-chunk. They catch the fresh one from Att Syne. "Hahaha! Just a scratch! I'll have them dead soon enough!" They shout with a confidence that might be a little fragile. The new spear is good enough, for now. But that would only buy another second at most...

Focus. Focus, Polaris. What can you do here? What can be done? You've lost most of your skills. You don't have any gear worthwhile. You don't have much time. You don't even have money. What can you do? What can you do, legend?

The boar stopped and changed, for a moment, when the spear was used. That green shield blunted it, but... is there something that could be done with that? Polaris wracks their brain. Yet, they just got a fresh spear from this person... If there's a weapons vendor between the black knight and the objective, perhaps they can find a way to sell all their existing gear aside their armor... and buy stacks and stacks of bottom-level spears. Just nothing but spears. Bundles of them, to hold over the shoulder. Spear after spear to buy an extra few seconds. But are there even vendors left with this growing corruption? Between here and the caves? Perhaps one of the Landers on the way...?

They worry about what they'll have to survive. But for now, Polaris is so unyielding they haven't checked their UI. No need to log out, might need to stay online to keep up a log in case a GM needs to know what happened or something. For now their concern is more limited to the state of the game.

Wait. Did the Lander just break character? "Break my allegiance? Wait-- What are you talking about? This is all already lost?" Polaris asks with growing concern. Is this dire enough to have a rollback or something? No... Maybe this is the fix itself. A GM operating an NPC to try to smooth it over and salvage an event? Well either way, loyalty to the king! "If that's your orders, my king, I will execute without hesitation!" They say with gusto. Time to dig through friend lists as they enter the cave... and regard its mouth furtively. How long will it be before those glitched enemies make it to the cave?

    Wynfei's UI dings with the acceptance of the party join from Reika, he nods his head, and glances back towards Polaris as she gets her new spear. "Come on, we can link up and move to where ever your group is." he calls to her as he points to where he sees Reika. "Come on you guys we can do this." he shouts.

    There is something deffinently going on here or going wrong, he can't figure it out. He's not ever seen a weapon break on a Level 1 creature ever, nor has he seen any type of barrier around them. He couldn't wrap his mind around this, not right now, he needed to help....'HELP!' he hears someone calls and as he turns his head, he sees a elderly Lander trying to hobble as quickly as he can to get away from a Level 1 rabbit. "Keep going, I'll be right back!" he calls to them as he quickly shifts direction and starts running faster, he tries to use Flashstep again but sees that shit he is at level 1 all over again, "Shit!" he snarls as he kicks up his speed. He runs at a table and vaults it, using his left hand to guide him as he comes over it. He lands wrong and rolls along the ground. But as he does a kicks a chair at the rabbit which it has to move away.

    Getting up, he gets to the old man and puts him on his back and he begins running with the old man on his back, and he's a bit slower but still Wynfei keeps going.

     At this point, admist all the running, Haseo has tied the scarf he's been holding on to around his left arm to stop it from flapping about. It looks pretty stupid, but the massive raised collar on his leather armor makes wearing it traditionally kind of annoying. Although by the time he's finished wrapping it, he's realized it probably would have made more sense and look less dumb if he tied it around his waist like a belt.

     Well, whatever. Screw it, he'll fix his outfit later to make it easier to wear like an actual scarf later. Or throw it out. Because really, who cares about fashion in a video game? Losers, that's who.

     There's audible confusion when the Bandit King, despite being a lander, starts talking more like an actual player, but he's not going to bring attention to it. Because as it has been pointed out to him, they probably won't even acknowledge any questions regarding it.

     So in the meantime, he just sticks with Att Syne and Proteus in their combined desperate attempt to Get The Hell Out Of Here.

"...Alright, so... what do you think, we get to the end of scripted sequence, and then get the details on how to get our stuff back? Like the prison break sequence in the old game," Att Syne muses aloud while he walks along. He's passes his staff into his right hand to use as a walking stick, his left resting on the hilt of the sword at his belt. "Pretty clear that we're not intended to stick around here for very long -- I bet it'll turn into a high level zone once we manage to get out."

Att gestures at Proteus in lieu of snapping his fingers. "But that means we've got a jump on the new content, too. Though, boats... We need tooo..." He trails off in thought. A moment later, Att brings up his friends list and starts scrolling through the list of names, many present, some absent. He nods a little and jabs one with a finger. Let's see if private comms still work the way they used to.

"Better not need us to get him a shrubbery," Att mutters, glancing at the Bandit King.

There's a pained look in the Bandit King's eyes as Polaris catches up and asks him that question. "Yes, my abode is lost. And if we do not hurry, so will the rest of this world." The man on the black Peko declares with a firm tone that leaves no question to the validity of those words.

The shadow of the cave overcomes the party. Various members raise their Starting Gear Torches in the air. The massive black and wet walls of the great Tunnel lights up. The constant murmur of confused players keeps echoing.

"They're saying we're stuck in here. My friends over in Alne said some big guy showed up on the tower?"

"Yeah, I heard the same. What does that NPC mean we will get stuck anyhow?"

"Dude, that's clearly a GM."

The Bandit King continues to ride on. In here, there's various Ratmen. Notably, none of them show this strange green light on them. Most of the people here aren't exactly newbs. So they see various formations form. Spells being slung around. As long as it's these monsters, they can deal with them!

"FIREBOLT!" A young white haired youth calls out in the mix of things. "ARCANE EYE!" A woman with purple hair declares seconds before a massive blade comes down on the head of a Ratfolk that gets too close. "HAH! We will be fine!"

Reika is all about singing... and she's not feeling like singing right now. "What kind of expansion is this, that wasn't in my briefing!" She huffs a bit annoyingly now. She's usually upbeat, but its taking its toll gradually. She doesn't feel it's fun. "I think I've had enough."

She pulls up the UI so she can quit this madness... that's what was tickling her earlier. She's only used a few commands in her short time playing, one of them is missing. The Logging out.

"Hey, does it happen often that they don't let you log out in the middle of events like these?" She asks innocently really.

The silence from under the helmet is telling. "...I am sorry, my King. We will carry the legend of the Ezzo Empire in our hearts, forever." Game or no, this seriously means something. And it's a heavy loss, for the black knight. "I will make sure your will is done here." No spears on the way, dammit. Gotta work with what limited stuff they have. The fresh spear, generously courtesy of Att Syne, is put to use, in tandem with a heavy shield. "Repelling Shield!" Polaris roars! "Fierce Stab!"

They dive in, shouting with encouraging enthusiasm at the others. There's a time to antagonize, and this isn't it; some of their more obnoxious behaviors are set aside for the moment, in favor of being very, very legendary about everything! "Break through to the end!" Polaris calls out! "Don't be swayed and don't be stopped! Everyone will remember how you fight today, so fight with all your heart and all your Arte! FIERCE STAB!" Do you even need to be shouting the Sword Artes? You definitely don't need to shout them that damn loud.

They, after all, don't have many friends to get to contacting. Leave that to those who do! They'll take point, working to help tank for the fellow refugees, and of course, conveniently miss most of the confusion about logout buttons.

"Or we'll come back and crush whatever shows up and rebuild on their corpses," Att Syne suggests. He looks over at the cluelessly innocent Reika. "Nope. First time I've seen it. Weird, right?"

He moves closer to the front. "Let's clear a path." Att lifts his staff, gesturing grandly down the tunnel as they move in. He spots a few rat-men that are unengaged, and otherwise about to make someone else have a really bad day. He points his staff, waiting for a cluster of them to move together -- "/Thorn Bind Hostage!/" Violet thorned vines erupt from the ground, rooting them in place and making a big glowy target on the afflicted creatures. Att jerks his head towards them, calling, "Haseo, do your thing, huh?"

Att's free hand -- normally sword-wielding -- is cupping his ear. He's talking to someone while he's providing magical support. Kind of a risky attention-split, but there you go.

Proteus simply moves on, not addressing the way people comment about the Bandit King. If they ARE being GMed, continuing to natter on at him out of character is just going to cause their undoubtedly overleveled and generally powerful guide to get annoyed. "The rest of the world? Is this happening everywhere? What happened out there?"

So she says nothing, going quiet and trying to pay attention to her surroundings. Reika's question gets a rolling shrug from the imp. "Never happened before. But it's an expansion, so I have no idea. Maybe they're trying something new. I hate it about as much as the server wipe. At this point, I want to just find a way to get out of here so we can re-bind. We can probably log out once the event is over."

Hope springs eternal. The attacks from the random PCs on the random Ratfolk get a wince from Proteus. "You idiots, don't draw more attention than you need to!" She calls to them. "Stay mobile, don't take things out on the local spawns. Just keep moving. If we get hung up on the enemies we're going to lose valuable time." She isn't going to go save them if something happens though. Well, okay, she'll save Att and Haseo. And that's about it.

Oh look, the Knight is engaging them. Proteus continues to simply let him make his own bed at this point. At this point, Polaris weaves her hands, her dark magics and curses lashing out to simply disable her enemies and keep them from attacking so they can get moving as quickly as possible. "Omen. Dark Wave." She doesn't bother attacking, sticking with doing the minimum possible to open paths for people to take even if it means not clearing the place completely.

The crew continues their slow slog through the area. It is notable that the Bandit King doesn't seem to wield their weapon. Avoiding use of their weapon. Letting the Adventurers put their best foot forward. It isn't from a lack of willingness. They seem to weave themselves away from active conflict. There's even a smallest of smiles as he watches the ground cast their combination spells and teamwork fells a few of the Ratkin.

"The Dark Wave will make its way across the whole World, until it reaches the Land of Beginnings." He answers Proteus at his inquiry. "But this Infection is slower. As long as we can Install this Shard... we can halt it." The Bandit King then pulls something from their leather traveler's bag, pulling out a large piece of crystal that looks like it once was part of something far greater. Flecks of gold stick within its frame.

The journey is a long one. The caves are a long, long way to go. Most people would use mounts to get through this area. This journey through will take a day.

Eventually they reach a low point within the cave, with a huge opening. The place that used to hold a large Ratkin boss battle. Except... the boss is missing. It's eerily quiet here. "We will rest here for a few hours. Some people will need to take up post."

A young looking black mage type with blue and white hair raises their hand and proposes that they will take care of this. And a bunch of others quickly chime in; "We're joining in." A grumpy Gnome declares the loudest, raising his short axe to the air.

     Doesn't bother opening engaging in conversation, he's too busy trying to puzzle out Tri-Edge's connection to this. And he really can't. Even if the guy's some sort of hacker, and even if he can put someone in a coma, there's no way he can reduce every single player to level one and take all their gear. Right?

     Haseo tilts his head as he runs a hand through his hair again as they enter the cave, slowing down a bit as he thinks the cave is probably safe.

     It's sadly, not safe. Ratmen. The need to stay mobile, with the need to attack. That's what his guild mates are saying. Not that he puts much stock into what party members tell him to do, he's more of a solo player, but it's something he agrees with.

     With that, he pulls out a pair of twin daggers. Calling them daggers is a stretch though, clearly unable to stab given their design, and their ability to cut is also in question, but given it's a fantasy game they're in, who cares.

     There's a flash as Haseo runs past some of the monsters, swinging the blades into the monsters gut as he aims to cripple them with a Gut Ripper.

     It's basically a totally curbstomp on their side. Go figure, even if there's a level disadvantage, there's no way monsters could go against this many players.

     As the Bandit King talks however, more and more questions are raised. He isn't exactly the kind of person to play the game for the story, but he pays vaguely enough attention to know this doesn't match with any quests he's done. Once they reach the empty Ratkin boss room, he's had enough.

     "You're talking like we have any idea what these things are, how about you actually explain what you're saying instead of pretending we understand!"

    Wynfei catches up with Reika and the other Adventurers, he hears the chatter from everyone and he lowers the old man off his back and to the ground. He turns and looks out the way they came, they are losing their kingdom, yes he thinks their kingdom. He hears how the Bandit King is responding and how the Landers are responding to them. Something is way off here and he can't put his finger on it.

    Rubbing his face and turning to the Bandit King and he hears Polaris words and she states what they will do. He gives a nods his head, he hears the ratmen and he starts moving in towards the others. He scans the area as he looks to see the full picture, he can't let them go down and with this many adventurers they should be able to move through this. As Polaris speaks up, "She is right, fight defensively not offensively. We can't to get out of here, not stay!" he calls out. He quickly moves to a flanking position, seeing Reika's name in his party, "Reika-san, if you're not a fighter please keep behind us, anything you can do will be welcomed." he says to her. "Keep moving people!" he calls out as he feels some of his abilities, he smiles a bit.

    Rushing from his position, he gathers energy around him and he leaps towards a group of Ratkin, "SHOCKWAVE!" he calls out as a blast of force and energy hits a group of the Ratkin, sending a small group flying clearing the way a bit.

    Upon landing, he keeps up with the others, and when they find the small opening, and he quirks a brow as this aera should have a boss but where the hell is it? He looks to the others, "I will take up first watch, those with darkvision should take watches two and three, and the others take the last watch." he says to the others.

"Dark Wave? Land of Beginnings? Infection?" She pauses, repeating the Important Words as she hears them, but she stops when he brings out that shard. "And what exactly is that? And how is that going to stop it? And where is it supposed to go?" QUESTIONS! ALL THE QUESTIONS! She leans in, seemingly drawn closer to the Key Item. It's shiny. Very shiny. Oh so shiny. And heavy with.... /lore/.

The process is long as they work their way through the area, Proteus keeping a keen eye on the Bandit King in order to watch and listen for more revelations. They reach the quiet area, and Proteus looks around with a frown. "Here? Isn't this supposed to be where..." She pauses, noting the lack of boss monster. "Hmm. Do we have that much time?" She asks, but not really expecting an answer. "This is taking a lot longer than I remember it."

She sighs to herself, and shakes her head as a bunch of PCs volunteer for guard duty. She melts back into the background, her cloak and drab clothing lending itself well to being overlooked as she pulls up her hood, obscuring her face. She might be poking around while the others stand watch, at least until she can stay awake no longer. The need to know more of what is happening is paramount. "Why do these things keep happening..." She murmurs to herself as she looks into the dark.

"If installing this Shard is what will grant peace to this land, then I will make sure it happens! Let this be another chapter in the LEGEND OF POLARIS!" The black knight seems eager! So eager to do this. Polaris obliges... at least _mostly_ with the urging to limit exposure. Clear a path. No, blaze a guiding light of justice!! That's the proper approach. They seem relentless, absolutely just inexhaustible in their approach. A whole day... Why it is that Polaris has yet to notice the issue? Well, they're just too caught up in nonsense. They just don't really have to do anything in real life at the moment, one assumes, so they're willing to power through the whole thing for now. Even overnight!

"Ahhh, remarkable! A campaign that lasts this long! It is remarkable that so many would stick through so long, and even stay up so late!" Weirdly, it's not Polaris who offers to stay on guard. "Shout the minute you see threats! Face nothing alone in these trying times! You will have my shield in seconds!"

Literally. Polaris does not go take anything off to rest. They're going to take a nap, which means they find the nearest chair-like rocks, sit on them dramatically, and just stop moving entirely. One can't see their eyes being open or closed, under that helmet. It's unnerving. They await, and for now, they rest.

Mostly to give themselves time to nervously stress out about what's going on.

Reika looks over to Wynfei when he addresses her "Uhm, I think I'm a fighter... but I have no idea actually. I mean, I didn't really play this game much at all." She seems a bit embarrassed by that right now, but really, she was just doing this for PR after all. "I think I'll stick to the back, yes..." She isn't going to confront anything without knowing what's going on better. Right now... this is just an elaborate event she got stuck in. She wish her manager told her about this, and right now she can't contact them. She doesn't have them on any friend list in game, and she can't get out. Stupid NERVgear systems.

She leans against a wall quietly, thinking about it, when more people seem to join them. Dwarves? Well she isn't too surprised, since this is a game. She's going to need to reevaluate her reality soon enough.

"It doesn't matter. This is the last of the free Shards." The Bandit King answers Proteus as he puts the shard back into the bag and closes it, before looking out at one of the other entrances. There's a shudder that seems to ripple through them, and for a moment it almost seems like their form destabilizes a bit in an almost liquid kind of way, before it firms back up once again.

"All you need to know is that this will stop the Infection." The Bandit King paces on that Peko of his, "If we don't stop here, the people will get exhausted. And if people collapse in the middle of travel, it'll lead to far more losses. Just a few hours. Then we continue."

The ache of exhaustion is not that clear. But to those who have been walking this entire way, they may notice a subtle status that had never been there before; An 'exhaustion' meter that seems to be partially filled up now. So easy to ignore one's own aches, when pain is so severely dulled.

The man then turns to Polaris, smiling at their fanciful behavior. "I'm glad for your excitement, sir knight. But I propose you pace your entheusiasm." Then, to Wynfei, a nod of approval.

The Thorns make Haseo's dagger strikes especially lethal. Att keeps muttering to someone else entirely throughout the entirety.

"-- post? We're staying here? That's pretty --" Att snaps his mouth shut instead of immediately bringing up a point to cause a rift in things. He turns away instead, looking out across the boss arena. The boss itself is nowhere to be found. Another victim of this 'Dark Wave,' maybe? Or are they going to have to deal with a shielded creature coming at them in the night?

Att notices the Exhaustion status. He frowns a little. "Okay. This is... a problem that we can solve." He wanders across the arena, picking up rocks as he goes. Eventually, he turns around, makes a motion with both hands holding what looks like a faintly luminescent hammer and chisel, and materializes a stone stool. Att sits down on it immediately, sighing.

He starts making movements like he's messing with his status screens. He's clearly up to something, but who can say what?

Polaris is _kind of_ resting. I mean, they _are_ tired, after all. But, also: They are still Polaris. "Consider what this is! A chapter in a great legend! And MINE!! Who will ever forget today? Not _one person_! It will engrave in the mind, and I will be there to make it a legend instead of a tragedy! Ha ha ha!" So much gusto. And yet, so little motion, aside from crossing their arms briefly. "Your concern... is appreciated, my King. I will keep it in mind. No truly great legend puts all its energy into the prologue. I will reserve the full force of the north star for later in the tale. Give the elders who tell it a little time to prepare their lungs!"

Name status: Dropped.

Polaris does notice the logout is disabled for now. Must be new expansion encounters. What's that about? Okay, what other features are disabled now? With just the one hand, Polaris checks, while they rest. What all can they not do here?

    Wynfei looks to the Bandit King, he sees the nod of his head and Wynfei gives a nod of his own. Looking around for a moment, he moves to one of the entrances so that he can keep an eye out for any possible threats. He is a bit tired but he needed to keep his guard up. He wasn't really aware of what everyone was doing, but for now he keeps his vigilence. "Hey, is there any mages who can put up a barrier around us to help keep us protected while we rest and watch?" he asks. "So two hours is good and we head out?" he asks.

     Fatigue's a new one. Not that Haseo would have noticed the status effect without it having it pointed out. But the conclusion on the guild Chimlink is that sitting down and resting for a bit is probably the way to go to alleviate the problem, so sit down he does, finding a comfortable boulder to sit on as he does so.

     Perhaps resting his legs and catching his breath is enough to reduce the meter a bit, but he's not going to fall asleep whilst waiting. That's probably a bad idea. In the meantime, he just goes over what equipment he has.

     It isn't a lot. Just some basic weapons and armor. And the scarf, but who cares about that.

Reika doesn't "feel" the exhaustion exactly, not in the same way as she would in real life she wagers... but she does take note of the bar. As a result, she just slumps against a wall and rests, letting things happen for a bit. She pulls her knees up against her chest, focusing on her breathing for a bit... And eventually, out of habit, she starts to sing quietly. Not for anyone this time, just for herself, so she can hear something comforting and familiar, in this weird situation she's stuck in. She has to do something to keep sane after all, until she figures out what's going on. And hopefully find her real bed again.