“Should we get Cutter and Amara before we start?” I asked before sinking my teeth into a char-roasted slab of spider—the meat tender and oddly chicken-like. An explosion of hot grease and smoky flavor ran across my tongue in a delicious wave. God the food in VGO was good. Everything, even skewered rat, tasted better than the best steak I’d ever eaten back IRL, plus it made you feel incredible. I chewed in contemplative silence, then sat back and took a big swig of copper-red ale, which was sweet, but balanced out with hints of hops and honey.

Alcoholic heaven.

“Better not to wait,” the Chief replied, “they’re running an errand for me deep in the heart of the forest—handling a bit of trouble.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him as I tore off another chunk of meat with my teeth.

He waved my unspoken question away with one hand. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Grim Jack.” He paused, a sly barely-there smile gracing his lips. “Something of a team-building exercise, meant to bring them closer together. It will be good, I think, but they’ll be indisposed for a time.”

“Besides,” Anton said, his voice coated with a light British accent, “having Cutter around would only make things more difficult. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice enough bloke—in a disgusting, drunk, belligerent sort of way—but he’s not one with the patience or aptitude for politics or business. Best if we handle this alone.”

I snorted and rolled my eyes at the joke, which was fun precisely because it wasn’t really a joke at all.

“Fine,” I conceded. “Otto?” I asked, my mind flashing to the taciturn Risi. He may have been a bit rough around the edges, but he was also great with military advice and overall strategy. He had a knack for it, earned from a lifetime of skirmishes, raids, and war.

“Nope. He’s in Rowanheath for the next few days,” Abby replied. “He’s training the new recruits, getting them ready for wall duty. Which just leaves us.” She swept an arm out in a small circle.

“Okay,” I said, glancing at Abby, Anton, and Chief Kolle in turns, “but where should we start? I mean this is big. Osmark isn’t just some pushover—he’s the Emperor of Viridia with twenty-four other factions backing him.” I stole another bite.

“Well, before we talk about Osmark and the Imperials,” Abby replied, voice positively brimming with excitement, “we’ve got some faction business to take care of.” She paused, glanced at me, then tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to look at the Faction Menu, have you, Jack?”

I shook my head, mouth too full to speak.

“Well, then I’ve got some good news for you. The Crimson Alliance just level upped—that last battle finally put us over the top.” She practically squeed, her hands shaking in erratic delight.

“We’re level two now, Jackie-boy,” Anton said as a shit-eating grin stretched across his pinched face. He reached over and gave me a light punch on the shoulder. “Level-two. Can you believe it?”

I just sat there for a moment, letting the news settle over me. Honestly, I was shocked—a part of me didn’t believe it. In fact, I’d been starting to think we were never going to level up as a faction. Brewald—the chief guardian of Darkshard, and the physical manifestation of the Keep—had warned us how difficult leveling up a faction was, but I hadn’t really paid him any mind. Not until later. It turned out, Brewald hadn’t exaggerated. Moving from level one to level two required a whopping ten million EXP.

Capturing Rowanheath had earned us half that number, but if not for that, we’d be grinding away for another few months, no doubt.

I choked down my bite and followed it with a gulp of mead as I thought. “Wow, that’s huge,” I finally said.

“Yep, yep, yep,” Abby replied with a grin and a nod. “Which means we’ve got five points to divvy up. The question is, what do we do with them? Maybe, in light of the constant siege, we should more seriously consider investing a few points in the Battle-Craft skill set? I mean, our members could use an increase in morale or some extra movement bonuses. Anything would help, really.”

“Our girl has a point, Jackie-boy,” Anton added. “I salute you guys for taking a gamble and investing into Merchant-Craft and State-Craft, but maybe it’s time to reevaluate our strategy. Before all of this”—he swept a hand around the room—“before VGO and the asteroid, I did a significant amount of work with small businesses. Mostly taxes, but I also helped them analyze return on investment, so they could figure out if what they were doing was worthwhile. Maybe we should consider doing the same?”

I glanced at the Chief, waiting for him to impart some nugget of wisdom. He was an NPC, but he was also brilliant, and he always seemed to have an answer. He was a natural leader with years of experience making hard decisions, compared to my weeks in the driver’s seat. Surprisingly, he said nothing. But, his steely gaze seemed to say, go with your gut, Jack. And my gut? My gut said we needed to resist the urge to go with the quick, easy, conventional solution.

The Battle-Craft options looked good on paper—practical abilities with obvious, tangible benefits—but I couldn’t get the devastating image of Vlad’s Javelins out of my head: Fire raining down, charred bodies littering the ground, the twisted remains of burnt-out war machines. That’s what innovation looked like, and all the added movement bonuses and extra elemental resistances in the world wouldn’t save our faction members against something like Vlad’s javelins. No, what we needed was better defenses. Better armor. Better crafting. Better infrastructure. And, most of all, better weapons.

More weapons like the Javelins, though I hesitated to say so. I knew that was the way to go, but I felt uneasy about it deep down in my soul. We’d left the world behind a handful of weeks ago, watched the entire planet die, and already we were working out ways to produce new weapons of mass destruction. True, Vlad’s designs were a long way off from nuclear warheads, but how long before that was an option on the table? This might’ve been the most effective solution, but was it a good thing? The right thing?

I didn’t have an answer for that.

I took another gulp of mead, swishing the delicious brew around in my mouth, before swallowing and shaking my head. “I stand by what we did before, and I still think that’s the right course to take. Think about it, we never would’ve taken Rowanheath without the aid of the Mercs and our alliance with the Spider Queen, and neither of those would’ve been possible without our Stare-Craft skills. And right now”—I drummed my fingers on the table, tat-tat-tat—“our access to the Black Market is the only thing keeping trade open inside of Rowanheath. Those skills have already payed hugged dividends. We’d be dead without them.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like investing in Battle-Craft is going to strip us of those skills, Jackie-Boy,” Anton said, rubbing a hand along his chin. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m an actual Merchant, so personally I’m all for acquiring more Trade and State-Craft skills, but I just want to make sure that’s really what’s best for the faction. I want to make sure that’s going to keep us alive, because that’s what this is really about. Surviving.”

“There’s something on your mind, Jack,” Abby said, reading my face like a book. “There’s something you’re not telling us. I can see it in your eyes.”

“We tried Vlad’s new Javelins,” I finally offered, giving them a rundown on what had happened during the last battle. “That’s the future,” I finished. “With weapons like that …” I frowned, sighed. “Well, maybe we can win a war against the Empire. Yes, we could go wide and invest haphazardly in a bunch of different skill trees, buffet style, but in my experience the most powerful skills are the ones that come later on. I think we need to specialize in the Merchant-Craft skill tree with a minor focus on State-Craft. And I think we should just leave Battle-Craft alone. I could be wrong, but I think that’s where our future lies. With new technology and better crafting.”

Abby stared at me, her lips drawn into a firm line. She looked as conflicted as I felt.

She stood, then, the chair squeaking softly in relief, and circled around the table, sitting down next to me. She reached over and took my hand in hers, our fingers intertwining. “I know this is tough. You didn’t ask for this. Neither did I. None of us did, Jack. But I just want you to know, I’m proud of you. And, for the record, I trust you. So if you think Merchant-Craft is the way to go, then I’ll get behind you. Let’s give it a look.” She waved her free hand over the giant emerald in the center of the table.

The crystal flared to brilliant life, bleeding tendrils of jade into the air, which unfurled and morphed until a hazy interface screen hung suspended for everyone to see:

This wasn’t our first time studying the skill tree, but this time, we examined it under a new light: given our circumstances, what were the most likely skills to foster innovation, attract new talent, and keep us alive? After what felt like a lifetime of strenuous back and forth, we toggled over to the State-Craft Skill tree to see if there were any new features we absolutely needed to pick up—after all, the Recruitment and Black Market skills had already saved our underdog faction more than a few times:

Another half hour passed, filled with even more vigorous debate.

The Chief kept mostly silent, leaving the faction business to us and only offering input when prompted, but Anton and Abby had lots and lots and lots to say. Anton advocated heavily for the merchant-oriented skills—Barter, Investor, Entrepreneur, Caravan, and Fence—which, in his defense, basically amounted to a license to print great gobs of money. Abby, the pragmatist she was, argued more for a balanced mix of skills with a heavy focus on crafting. Finally, we settled on five abilities, which seemed like they’d give us an edge over Osmark and his cronies:

Faction Ability: Salvage

Eldgard is filled with crafted items—from bridges and buildings, to weapons and armor—which can be built, earned, and bought. The usefulness of those items, however, is often up for debate. But no longer. With the Salvage ability, Faction members can destroy items and salvage them for parts, whether that be scrap iron, for weapons and armor, or queried rock, useful for constructing roads and building homes. Even more important, salvaging complex crafted goods allows players to learn how those items are made …

Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level

Cost: N/A

Effect 1: Destroy any player-controlled item and receive 60% of the original building material.

Effect 2: Destroying a complex crafted item gives the player a 35% chance of discovering how the item was built or enchanted—allowing the crafter to reproduce the item.

Restriction: Salvage doesn’t have any effect on potions.

Faction Ability: Alchemic Wonder

Alchemists have the power of creation at the fingertips: transmuting everyday substances into potions, poisons, and weapons which can significantly shift the tide of any engagement. With the Alchemic Wonder skill, all Alchemic concoctions become more powerful, and ingredients can be combined in new and interesting ways. Additionally, Alchemists can now manufacture potions while in the field, and can utilize a new subspecialty, Explosive Catalyst.

Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level

Cost: N/A

Effect 1: Healing potions, skill tonics, and poisons are 15% more potent.

Effect 2: Utilize the Splice ability to combined items and ingredients in unconventional and, often times, unpredictable ways.

Effect 3: Alchemic concoctions can now be created without an alchemy lab; all alchemic potions created in the field are 25% weaker.

Effect 4: Access to the subspecialty, Explosive Catalyst, for all players with the Alchemist class.

Faction Ability: Weapon-Smith

Eldgard is a harsh unforgiving land filled with a myriad of deadly creatures and natural threats, not to mention devious travelers and citizens looking to exploit the weak and defenseless. Survival in Eldgard is often dependent on the edge of a sword, the string of a bow, or the crushing head of a mace—and a fighter is only as good as the weapon they wield. With the Weapon-Smith skill, crafters can drastically improve weapons of all types while simultaneously lowering the cost of production.

Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level

Cost: N/A

Effect 1: Improve weapon durability and damage by 20%.

Effect 2: Production costs for all weapon-related crafting are decreased by 10%.

Effect 3: Craft or alter existing weapons into faction specific items; faction items offer (1) additional enchanted property slot, but are usable only by current faction members.

Effect 4: Modify and upgrade existing weapons using ultra-rare crafting items, such as Argentum Dust, Arcane Nightshade, Essence of Magma, or Dragon Scales.

Faction Ability: Armor-Smith

Eldgard is a harsh unforgiving land filled with a myriad of deadly creatures and natural threats, not to mention devious travelers and citizens looking to exploit the weak and defenseless. Survival in Eldgard is often dependent the strength of a breastplate, the firmness of a shield, or the durability of a helm—and a warrior is only as safe as the armor they wear. With the Armor-Smith skill, crafters can drastically improve armor of all types while simultaneously lowering the cost of production.

Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level

Cost: N/A

Effect 1: Improve armor durability and base defense by 20%.

Effect 2: Production cost for all armor-related crafting are decreased by 10%.

Effect 3: Craft or alter existing armor into faction specific items; faction items offer (1) additional enchanted property slot, but are usable only by current faction members.

Effect 4: Modify and upgrade existing armor using ultra-rare crafting items, such as Argentum Dust, Arcane Nightshade, Essence of Magma, or Dragon Scales.

Since I was a non-crafter, none of those skills looked especially promising for my character, but I could just envision all of the cool new things we might be able to achieve as a group. The ability to break down trash-loot and form it into something actually usable had some serious appeal and the weapon and armor-smith ability sounded beneficial to our front-line fighters. And then there was the Alchemic Wonder ability … We’d attracted lots of Alchemist over the past few weeks, but our secret weapon was Vlad, the ultra-rare Alchemic Weaponeer. His inventions were already game-changing, but what would he be able to accomplish with these new abilities?

The possibilities left me excited and anxious all at once.

Last, we picked up one skill from the State-Craft tree:

Faction Ability: Savvy Bureaucrat

Warriors fight the battles, clerics and priests heal the wounds, alchemists brew potions, crafters build the goods, and merchants supply them, but it is the bureaucrat that oversees it all. The Savvy Bureaucrat, a peerless politician and administrative cog, keeps the war machine running, the city well stocked, and the rule of law maintained, holding everything together through hard work, political intrigue, and sheer force of will.

Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level

Cost: None

Effect 1: Faction-EXP level requirements are reduced by 10%.

Effect 2: Due to bureaucratic efficiency, the faction tax—money and experience levied on faction members—receives an 8% increase.

Effect 3: Faction officers can access a private communications channel through the Faction Tab interface, allowing them to communicate in real-time, even over great distances. Faction Officers can also send group PMs and can post universal notices for all Faction members.

With that all done, I pulled my interface and checked the time. Dear God.

Somehow, things had gotten away from us—it was already creeping up on 9:30, and we still had a crazy amount of work yet to do. “Hold on a second,” I said to everyone, stifling a yawn with a fist. I toggled over to the Keep interface and ordered a cup of Western brew from the kitchen below, which was now manned and fully operational. A small miracle, I was constantly thankful for. “Okay,” I said, focusing on Abby and Anton as I dismissed the menu with a lazy flick of my hand. “Now, for the nitty-gritty … we still need to decide what to do about Osmark.”

A tense, uneasy silence settled over us. We needed to talk about this, but it was obvious no one really wanted to. It was one thing to complain about Osmark, and grumble about the awful skirmishes, but it was another thing entirely to come up with a workable plan to oppose him.

“I think I have a solution or at least a direction for us to move in,” the Chief said, breaking the quiet. “A word of warning, though. Following this course could be”—he faltered, eyes downcast as he picked needlessly at his robes—“dangerous. That crown you wear,” he said, waving toward my helm, a rough crown composed of chunks of polished jade and spikes of bone. “Dokkalfar legends speak of it. Though I’ve never seen it in the flesh, I am sure it is the Crown of the Jade Lord, yes?”

I nodded.

I’d acquired the crown as a loot drop from Gentleman Georgie, the former head of the Rowanheath Thieves Guild, who’d been corrupted by one of the Black Priests of Serth-Rog. The item itself was a phenomenal find and part of a rare armor set, tailor-made for Dark Templars, which also came with its own unique quest chain. According to my quest log, I was supposed to take the crown to the Dark Conclave and talk to them about some sort of mysterious event known as “the Downfall.” With everything that’d happened over the past week, however, I hadn’t had the time.

“May I see it?” Chief Kolle asked, an uncharacteristic tremble to his words.

I frowned, confused, but slipped it from my head, and handed it over with a shrug. The Chief sat and stared at the crown for a long spell, running reverent fingers over the elegant metal work and the yellowed bone, lingering on the pieces of jade. A single tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. An older Wode woman—her face worn and tired, her hair streaked heavily with silver—slipped into the room a moment later, giving me a much-needed distraction. The woman carried a heavy tray, loaded down with a pot of steaming coffee and several porcelain mugs.

Quickly, she set about pouring drinks for everyone present.

I passed her a fat silver coin as a tip before she ghosted away, then turned on my cup, lifting it to my nose and taking a deep whiff of the rich aroma. The tension in my shoulders melted away in anticipation as I took that first sip, savoring the nutty, slightly bitter flavor. When I’d transitioned to VGO, I’d thought for sure coffee was one of those things I was giving up for good, but I was so incredibly happy to be wrong—even if the stuff did cost an arm and a leg to import. A notification screen popped up a second later:

Buffs Added

Western Brew: Restore 150 HP over 30 seconds. Increase Health Regen by 18%; duration, 30 minutes.

Caffeinated: Base Intelligence increased by (5) points; duration, 30 minutes. Base Vitality increased by (3) points; duration, 30 minutes. Base Strength increased by (3) points; duration, 30 minutes.

Remember, with enough good coffee, all things are possible.

I smiled and dismissed the notice with a thought. When I glanced back up, the Chief was holding the crown out to me; the deep creases of his weather-beaten face were somehow content and sad all at once. “It is truly a wonder to see,” he said as I accepted the helm and slipped it back on. “I didn’t want to broach the subject until you were ready, Grim Jack, but the time is right, I think.”

“The time for what, exactly?” Abby asked, stealing a curious sidelong glance at the crown, before taking a long sip from her cup.

“Time for Jack to meet with the Shadow Conclave, and embark on the greatest quest of his life: a quest to unify the Storme Marshes and resurrect the Nangkri Dynasty. It is time for him to once again accomplish the impossible …” He faltered as he searched our faces, noting the deep purple bags under my eyes. “But, the Nangkri Dynasty has waited five-hundred-years. I think, perhaps, it will wait one more day. Go and sleep, all of you. Get your rest—you’ll need it to face the trials in store for us …”