“Congratulations. After the last few days, you’ve almost reached a point where you’re half as good as you should be.” Oda said with a small round of applause from Gabe.

They had been long days, the two players drilling technique and tactics into him, sparring constantly to improve his abilities. But thanks to their efforts, and the large amount of experience the greycaps had been bringing in, he’d managed to improve enough that they believed he had a chance, if slim, of not losing instantly in the games. Oda had given him a crash course in sneaking and assassination, working on his stealth, anatomy and knife work. Gabe had been acting as a training dummy for the most part, giving Jicker a target to aim at, but had also spent some time exploring the swamp picking up a few different plants that had helped push up the gremlins herbalism skill up a few levels. The end result was still below where he should be, but it was all they were going to manage with the time they had before the games. As they started to make their way out of the swamp, Jicker pulled up his screen to see his progress.

Name:

Jicker

Level:

60

Race:

Gremlin

Class:

Dark Chemist

Hp:

810

Mp:

1000

Stamina:

250

Statistics

Equipped weapons

Damage:

Equipped Armour

Defence:

White Pipe of Striking

28-40

--

40

Long serrated Scalpel

13-45

Core Statistics

Other Statistics

Strength:

22

Enigma:

4

Dexterity:

103

Evolution:

6

Constitution:

22

Inner Rage:

3

Intelligence:

167

Wisdom:

41

Resistances:

Poison:

50%

Cold:

5

Shock:

5

Disease:

50%

Fire:

5

Skills

Mother of Invention - Level 2

Apothecary - Level 5

Handle Animal - Level 6

Anatomy - Level 3

Herbalism - Level 5

Weapon Skill - Blowgun - Level 5

Stealth - Level 6

Weapon Skill - Small Blades - Level 7

Natural Weapon - Level 4

Iron Hide - Level 3

Achievements

Grand Genocide

Kill over 20 million sentients within 1 hour

Unique-Effect:

30% damage and ability effectiveness against sentients

Force of Change

Destroy and create over 1000 dungeons

Unique-Effect:

Creating or altering areas or creatures will be 100% more effective

World Shaper

Permanently alter the geography of the world on a grand scale

Level-Max-Effect:

Effect: Permanent effects will be 100% more effective

King Killer

Kill 50 leaders of states, royal or other.

Level-Max-Effect:

Boss and Leader resistances reduced by 60%

Goldcrowns Blessing

Eat a shard of the Golden Crown that was freely given

Unique-Effect:

20ft aura of Immunity to Blightwood sap and greycap spores.

It wasn’t great, but it was still a marked improvement, as Gabe happily pointed out.

“I mean before you were straight garbage, I mean honestly, I don't even know how you survived to get to this point.” He said as they rode.

“Yeah, well-” Jicker tried to say, but Gabe just kept going.

“I’ve seen some bad players early on, but man you were just terrible. I was pretty sure you were going to get yourself killed just walking around after seeing how you tried to fight, but I guess you’re not quite that bad.”

“I get it.” He said pointedly.

“Well, now that you’re not completely useless and are finally level sixty, I officially ask you once again to join the Rising Moon. Are you ready to join, and probably be killed repeatedly when people come to take our city back?”

“Well, since you make it sound so inviting, sure I'm in.”

Ding!

Quest: The moon rises...eventually - Complete!

Reward: You are now a member of the public guild “The Rising Moon”

Current guild settings

Member ranking: Initiate

Taxes: 10% of all quest reward gold and sales

Exp share: all experience divided equally amongst nearby guild members

“So that’s it then?” Jicker asked. “I'm in now?”

“Yep” Oda replied with a grin. “You’re officially in the guild as the lowest of the low. Normally we’d have cake and party hats to celebrate, but out here we-”

“Got them!” Gabe shouted, rifling through his saddle bags. “I normally would be able to offer a few more flavours but all I have is chocolate or-”

“Gabe, why do you have those?” Oda said slowly. “We travelled light to get here on time.”

“I know we did, I do pay attention sometimes. But I thought we should be prepared for any recruitment we do during the games.”

“That’s... almost forward thinking of you Gabe.”

“So the party hats thing is real?” Jicker asked.

Oda nodded. “An old tradition from when Gabe was still allowed to make rules. But, we only had so much space, and we had a set list of things we needed. How did you fit cake in?”

“Oh, I got rid of the extra cooking stuff you put in there. Don't know what you were bringing it for anyway.”

“Extra coo- do you mean the spices? The ones we invested in to try to actually turn a profit on this trip, and try and find some trade partners?” He said, staring at the back of his head.

Gabe coughed, and kept looking through the saddlebags, refusing to meet his eyes. “...I can’t say yes if I don't know the answer. So... cake?”

He rubbed his eyes. “...a small slice.”

Once they’d eaten they returned to the trail, and while Gabe’s stream of chatter and distractions made it seem like it took an age to get anywhere, before long they hit their stride and were making good time. As the sun began to set they came across an inn on the side of the road,leaving them with a choice to make.

“So we can either press on through the night,” Oda offered. “And get to the city by morning, or stay the night here, and make it by tomorrow afternoon. Either way we’ll have plenty of spare time to sign up, assuming nothing goes wrong.”

“Right, because everything so far has gone perfectly.” Jicker mumbled. “Seriously, I'm surprised I haven’t been kidnapped again today.”

“Well, I'm lucky so maybe that cancels out your bad luck?” Gabe said.

“You’re not lucky Gabe; you just tend to have ablative guild mates that take the bullets for you.” Oda said with a snort.

“Sounds like luck to me. Anyway I vote we stop in, Princess could do with a rest and I could use a break.”

“Stopping it is then.”

The stable next to the inn wasn’t particularly small, but it still took some effort for Hermes to wiggle his way through the door before curling up in a corner, much to the discomfort of the horses inside. Princess, on the other hand, wasted no time in claiming the place as her own, the other animals backing away from the aggressive blunicorn.

With the animals secured, they headed inside the door swinging open to let out a burst of joyful shouting, though it quickly fell quiet as patrons turned to see who had come in. The place was packed, with people who were travelling to the games filling it to capacity and then some. Since cramming over a hundred heavily armed people who tended to solve problems with excessive violence could be...problematic, there were unspoken rules about picking fights in taverns, the first of which being: don't.

When that rule is inevitably broken however, the rest are taken into account, a series of loose guidelines to keep things on friendly terms, without levelling the building itself. No wide range or major magic’s, no poisons or long lasting effects and no curses. Bladed weapons are to be kept to a minimum, and nothing that can’t be wielded with one hand. These rules tended to fall apart however, since people who fight in bars don't like being told what to do. Wizards found out how to compress an explosion to the size of a person’s head, poisons were designed to run their whole course in only seconds, and barbarians found they could quite easily swing around a wizard with one hand. But even still, things normally kept fairly calm, and when the sun rose, the taverns were intact, and everyone’s limbs were more or less still attached.

But these rules assumed that the fight broke out over something that happened inside, rather than a deep grudge coming to light. And as expressions turned to scowls at their appearance, it seemed that more than a few people recognized them.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here. Your guild ain't welcome.” A large man growled from the side, their hand resting on the handle of an axe on their waist.

“Last time I checked, this was a free bar.” Oda replied, staring the man down.

“And last time I was in Ardenvale, it was still a free city, so it looks like things change.”

“Being ruled by a few guilds instead of one doesn't make it free, it just means it takes longer to get organised, which is one of the reasons why they lost.”

“And that makes it ok for you to come and attack us out of nowhere?”

Oda raised an eyebrow. “Our people have been hunted for sport by your guilds in the past, I’d hardly call that ‘out of nowhere’.”

People growled, hands moving to weapons on their belts.

“Yeah? Well with you people doing things like that, looks like we we’re already making the right choice.”

Gabe groaned. “I'm both too tired, and not nearly drunk enough to argue cause and effect with you, but buy me drink to fix at least one of those, and I’ll happily explain why you’re an idiot.”

“Idiot!? You think you’re some kinda smart guy?” The warrior snarled.

Gabe turned quickly and grabbed Oda by the shoulder. “You heard him right?” he said earnestly. “Promise me you’ll tell Mary that someone called me smart!”

“Yes, yes, I’ll make sure you get another sticker on the board. But now isn’t the time, for stickers or fights.” He said waving him off as he turned back to the crowd. “Look, you don't like us, and the feeling is mutual, but seeing as this fine establishment would like to remain intact, how about we all just-”

Crack.

A mug shattered as it was hurled against the door frame above them, splattering them with a few drops of beer as the pieces fell around them

“...Ok, we’ll go with option two then. Jicker what do you have to neutralize a crowd peacefully?”

Jicker tried think quickly. He had a few paralytic poison recipes, but they were slow acting, and only if taken in a fairly large dose. The tranquiliser he could produce was only a chance to knock people out, and even then it was only effective if he was stronger than they were. Perhaps if he could combine them somehow, or maybe concentrate the dose and-

“Times up, you fail the test. Gabe, give the room a blanket.” Oda said, patting him on the back.

Nodding, the warlock stepped forward, ignoring the people in front of him who started drawing weapons and began making a few gestures with his hands, collecting a small ball of snow from the air. Just as the patrons of the inn rushed them, the ball exploded outwards, momentarily obscuring everyone’s vision with a white cloud, but when the cloud faded a few seconds later, the white remained. Everything in the building, the walls, the tables and chairs and of course the people were coated completely in a thin layer of snow, leaving them as little more than statues, though their eyes still darted back and forth, looking at the state of their peers. The only things left untouched by the frost were the three of them, the innkeeper who’d ducked behind the bar at first sign of trouble, and a barmaid who was doing a fine impression of a statue all on her own.

“For those of you unaware,” Oda began, walking forwards and tapping gently on someone’s frozen head, producing a dull noise as the ice resisted. “You’ve all been hit by a modified version of a hibernation spell. Ice casters use it to defend themselves momentarily by covering themselves in an incredibly strong barrier, with the only downside being that it leaves them paralysed for the duration, but sometimes a moment is all you need. Gabe’s version instead casts it on everyone else at a much greater cost, leaving everyone here quite safe from most hostile effects so don't worry about us attacking you.

On the other hand, this version lasts for a good ten minutes, which gives us plenty of time to cast another, technically non-hostile spell by the name of permafrost tomb.”

Gabe walked up to the man who had hurled the mug, touching them gently on the forehead, holding it there for a moment until a black sheen began to spread under his hand. It spread rapidly; covering the victim’s panicked face, before quickly encasing them entirely, growing until all that was visible was a seven foot tall spire made pitch black ice. As condensation formed and fog began to roll off the spire, Gabe began repeating it on other people who’d managed to draw weapons.

“As you can see, it works just fine on you in your current state. While the first spell is only a temporary protection, this one can last for days, design to protect people through pretty much anything until the caster releases it, its duration expires, or someone manages to break through or dispel it. These can last for up to three days and managed to weather the upheaval, so unless you know a very good pyromancer, you’re not getting out early unless we say so.

So here are your options as I see them; You can log out, and stay logged out for the next eight hours or so until we move on our merry way, and since we can’t entomb someone who’s not here it ends our exchange. Option two, you try and call our bluff, and try and get some of your friends to come attack us and get you free. This option leaves you and your friends frozen for a few days, but I'm not the sort of person to deny someone their right to make bad decisions. And finally, and this option is only for those up the back who did their best not to get involved. You can wait quietly for the current spell to end and, if you’re willing to leave matters there, we’ll do the same. So what’s it to be?”

A second passed as people processed what Oda said, all while Gabe had entombed another three of their would be attackers. Then there was a flash of light from one person, followed by dozens of others as over half the inns patron chose to get out of the situation entirely.

Oda nodded. “Pretty much what I expected. Gabe when you’re done, move them to...Innkeeper?”

“Y-yes?” The man said hesitantly as he peered over the counter.

“Where would you prefer us to leave these people? It’d be rude of us to clog up your door way like this.”

“I... guess you could leave them out back?” he answered nervously.

“Not a problem. In the mean time, I’d like to get two rooms for the evening, as well as whatever is for dinner this evening.” He said, dropping a thick platinum coin on the table in front of him.

“Of course sir, I’ll see to it immediately.” They said, eagerly leaping to their feet and quickly beckoning the petrified barmaid, much to Jicker’s amusement. Respect, fear, love and duty were all great motivators for people, but if you wanted better treatment in the service industry, money was king.

As Gabe started to cart frozen bodies outside, Oda and Jicker sat down at one of the now empty tables as platters of roast meat, vegetables, bottles of wine and mugs of ale were quickly placed in front of them.

“So Jicker,” Oda said as he grabbed a chicken leg. “What do you think you did wrong there.”

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything wrong.” He replied hesitantly.

“Not quite. The problem is that you didn’t do anything at all, and in the future you need to be ready for anything.”

“I... we’ve just been going over how need to react better and think on my feet, now I need to plan for every possible situation as well? I mean, I didn’t see you do anything, you just made Gabe do it.”

Oda sighed and took a sip of his drink. “I could have dealt with it, even faster than he did, and if I had you still wouldn’t have seen anything. Unfortunately I'm an assassin, so my options tend be a few different flavour of permanent. And while the guilds trying to stabilize its new position we’re all under orders to try and play nice with the community, hence the little display there instead of a fan of knives. But you, you’re an alchemist, so you should at least prep something to subdue an angry mob.”

“Why would I ever need to stop an angry mob?” The gremlin asked, chuckling at Oda raised eyebrow, before taking a drink and let out a long exhalation. “It’s just... I used to be better than this you know? I’d figured out the ins and outs of my class perfectly, I knew my strengths, my limits and what I could do to push past them. And even with how things are now, there’s no one who can claim I wasn’t very good at what I did.

But now I'm back at the bottom, scrounging every step of the way, trying to figure things out that no one can help me with. And every time I move forward, I get shown just how much ground I still need to make up. It’s...difficult.”

“How about you don't be a pansy and toughen up.” Gabe said as he came back in, sitting down and grabbing a mug of ale.

“Excuse me?”

“I'm kind of an expert on screwing up, but let’s make sure I'm on the mark. You, like many, didn’t like the state of Genesis, built a massive series of doomsday weapons, set them all off successfully enough to cause the closest thing to a reset the game has ever seen, and now your whining because you got caught up in the damage. And now that you didn’t get to hide away from it all, you’re upset that it’s hard for you? Toughen. Up. Oda, how’d I do?”

“I think you just earned yourself a second sticker. Gabe’s an idiot, but he does occasionally have moments of clarity, and I believe he’s hit the nail on the head. Unless you can honestly claim otherwise?”

Jicker dropped his fork on the table and crossed his arms, glaring at the two of them. “So that’s it then? My problems stem from me being a child about this?”

“Pretty much, but at least there's a reason. Some people are just terrible for no reason.”

“It’s true, I personally know many terrible people who just make fun of me for no reason.” Gabe said casually as he drew pictures on the table with gravy.

“Well, great, I guess I’ll become a better person thanks to this discovery. But if we can move away from my many, many flaws for a moment, are we in danger from any of those people seeking vengeance?”

“Always assume people are out to get you, especially in your case. It’s a good survival technique, and if anyone actually is, you look cool when you’re ready for them. But that particular group? There shouldn’t be anyone nearby who’s a threat, and people who posture like that will wait for the spell to wear off so they can be a part of the attack. So we should be fine until we’re settled into Macross.”

“My turn to change the subject” Gabe said as he shoved a piece of food in his mouth. “Have you figured out what to do for the games Jicker? Are you going to make something cool in advance, or just wing it? I think it should breathe fire, or be on fire, or both.”

“I have a few plans in the works.”

Oda looked at him for a moment. “You’re lying aren’t you.”

Jicker finished his drink. “Almost completely. But if we can grab a few things on the way tomorrow, that should give me a starting point. Other than that, apparently I'm working with ‘be on fire’. I will gladly take other suggestions, preferably useful ones.”

The three of them spent the rest of the evening coming up with ideas, as the spells wore off a few patrons who decided to take their chances out in the night rather than stay at the inn. As the drinks kept flowing and the ideas became increasingly terrible, they eventually turned in for the night.

In the morning they settled their bill, watching the innkeeper’s inner battle to either tell them to come back soon or to never return. As they mounted up for the morning’s travel, Oda eyed Princess and Hermes with a trace of envy.

“So when do I get a fancy mount like you two?” he asked as Jicker climbed inside the giant crabs shell.

“As soon as you ask, and I can figure out how to modify something to be at least as fast, quiet and unseen as you are. So, maybe in a few years?”

“It doesn’t need to be like me. I still use a normal horse when we travel long distances like this, though if it doesn’t leave a trail would be a plus.” He added thoughtfully.

“Have Mary put you on the list near the top then. She’s apparently been promising my services to a few people in the guild and to a few others to repay some favours.” He said with a shrug. “You know there was a time when I was trying to lay low as possible, but apparently now I'm being advertised and entered in contests.”

Gabe shook his head as Princess took to the air, leading the group proudly. “Nah, your name and identity is still being kept out of things. All that people are going to manage to learn are that the guild has access your set of abilities and my sister comes down hard on anyone who tries to betray guild secrets. Speaking of which, you don't take credit for your work right? Same as Oda’s thing?”

Oda clicked his fingers in realisation. “That’s right! Now that you’re in the guild for real, instead of taking credit for things or denying it, you can just set it so it will say that the Rising Moon did it. That way the guild gets the fame, but you still remain unknown and boost your enigma stat. It wouldn’t work if too many in the guild did it at once, but since it’s just two of us, and we’re in very different fields it’ll be fine. It’s how I've been doing assassination work for years.”

“Sounds good to me, but how does that work anyway? No one is supposed to know what you do, yet lots of people seem to know and fear you?” Jicker asked curiously.

“Best I can tell I’ve achieved a sort of boogieman status. No one can prove I've ever done anything, but there are enough faint traces around that stories have formed about what I might have done. I even got a title out of it, ‘figure of myth’, that boost’s my skills with intimidation. You’d get it as well if people ever find out who you are.”

“Yeah, I can live without that one, and I probably can’t live with it. Now, I want to grab a few things from the woods, so I'm looking for a bird or two, some herbs, a log, maybe a weasel...”

The city of Macross was a large walled city, with a single road passing through the north and south sides and a river entering from the east. The massive fortifications were an effort from the entire community to ensure no one managed to take over the famously neutral city, and they’d never been broken since the cities founding. In fact people believed the walls of Macross had prevented its destruction during the upheaval, despite it levelling cities with greater defences. After the construction of several enormous coliseums within its walls, it hadn’t taken long before the whole city had adopted an ancient roman theme, with large amounts of marble and pillared buildings. Every thematic option had been taken, from red hanging banners, traditional food and even the style of the guard uniforms to help sell the aesthetic.

A long line of carts stretched out before northern the gate, bringing their travel to a halt. By the way some people had set up campfires, it was clear they weren’t expecting things to change quickly. Jicker had Hermes walk up to one of these fires, and thanks to the crabs unusual appearance he had no problem getting their attention.

“Excuse me, do you know what the lines about? We need to get in to the city.” He asked a woman who’d walked over to examine the crab.

“Oh, I didn’t see you up there! This lovely thing is yours I take it? Anyway, they’re checking people’s cargo for Greycaps since they don't want the city to get contaminated, especially right now.” She said cheerfully, patting Hermes on the leg, which shied away a bit at the attention.

“So we have to wait in line? I don't know if we have the time...” He said, squinting as he looked from the line to the sun over head.

“Nah, this lines just for traders, since we’ve got lots of places and things for them to hide in, travellers can go through with just a quick check to see if your already infected... you’re not are you?”

“Definitely not, thanks for the advice.” He answered, beginning to turn around.

“No problem. Hey, if you need anything, my store is Agatha’s general in the trade district, I’ll give you a discount if it’s for your beauty here.”

Waving her good bye, he returned to the others as they made their way forwards, skirting around the carts and wagons as Hermes continued getting looks. Several people asked where they got it, and a few even asked if he’d sell. It prompted them to shift their plans slightly, deciding to swing by one of the halls of law to get the mount permanently registered before someone tried to steal it.

By the time they reached the gate itself, there were only a handful of people in front of them and before long a helmed guardswomen in bronze, archaic looking armour spoke to them.

“Welcome to Macross, the home of the games, what’s the reason for your visit?” she asked in a tired voice.

“The games, as both participants and audience.”

“Just like everyone else. And are you currently infected with Greycap spores or knowingly carrying anything that is?”

“Will you just believe us if we say no?” Gabe asked.

“Obviously not.” She said with a sigh, pulling out a metal wand and waving it towards them. “Ok, you’re clear to enter. Enjoy you’re stay and please don't... cause... trouble...” she trailed off as she noticed Oda who was smiling just in front of her.

“Claire! It’s been a while since I've seen you! How have you been keeping, how’s the wife?” He asked jovially, patting the stressed woman on the shoulder.

“She’s fine, and things have been...fine, if busy thanks to the quarantine rules. I need to ask, Oda... are you here for...business?” They asked carefully.

“Relax, I'm here for the games as one of our guilds reps, not for contract work so no need to raise any alarms.”

Claire visibly relaxed. “Thank the gods; I did not need that paperwork today.”

“Rough morning?” Jicker asked, eyeing Oda while wondering what contracts he’d done here in the past.

“Damn infestations getting worse every day since the games have been approaching. Hell, this morning one broke through my window and landed right in my porridge while I was having breakfast.”

“I thought Macross had kept the Greycaps out so far? If not, what the point of the quarantine?” he asked, confused.

She snorted then grimaced. “Please, those mushrooms are dangerous, but only if you don't pay attention and follow basic hygiene rules. No, Macross has a much older and larger problem to deal with, and it’s dug in deep at this point.”

“What is it?” he asked.

She waved them through.

“Swashbucklers.”

Swashbucklers were a warrior class, one that focused on speed and precision more than strength, their mobility and targeting skills letting them act as fearsome duellists able to dance around their foes. But even more then skill, they believed in style. Swashbucklers had a unique ability called panache, with their power increasing for every stylish move they performed, leading to an ever escalating show of talent and grace. And a show it was, since its effects were greatly increased dependent on the size and interest of their audience, which led to the problem.

In a normal city, there would only be a handful of people with the class at the most, a few people who would be able to dramatically challenge each other throughout the streets to the cheering of the crowd. The fights would be followed by gleeful onlookers as they danced throughout the city, leaping across the rooftops and battling nimbly through crowded markets. Whatever damages these roaming duels caused were usually made up for by the enjoyment of other players, so it was generally seen as positive.

But Macross wasn’t just a city, it was a city built around the concept of competition, of crowds watching people striving for glory. In short, it attracted swashbucklers in hordes. There were rooftops that saw more foot traffic than roads, and dozens of people were employed purely to remove foot prints from high ceilings. In fact almost half the cities tradesmen were employed in repairing the constant stream of damage caused by them, with another group also selling wares to help keep them away. From a few sign boards they saw on the way in, nets and glue traps were the current fashion.

And then to take it from bad to worse, someone started offering bounties for them. Since genesis somewhat supported their actions, all they could be charged with by the system was disrupting the peace, locking them up for an afternoon. But it was enough for people to think they got some kind of payback, so people began donating money for bounty hunters to subdue and bring in swashbucklers for a small fee and, foolishly, a leader board listing how many they’d brought in. The idea was that people would be drawn to it as another competition, and something to bet on, but sadly the people best suited to bring down people who darted around the city and raced through crowds belonged to a certain class. Swashbucklers.

Now they not only fought each other for the drama and thrill, but for money and ranking. Half the bounty money was now added to the repair fund for the city but no one had managed to come up with a better solution, so it had just ended up part of the city life.

“So what’s the plan now?” Jicker asked Oda as he watched a person leap above them wearing a majestic red scarf.

“Step one, we head to the hall and get your crab registered. Step two, we find out where the rest of the guild has set up shop and regroup.”

“And step three?”

“Not sure yet, but step four is profit.” He said, frowning as Gabe laughed. “I'm not kidding Gabe, we were going to be selling the spices you left behind to pay for this trip, and between us, you’re the only one who can stand having a few organs sold off.

Gabe laughter quickly ended as he choked it down. “Erm... Right then, Profit. Let’s get to work then.”