The Greenbriar Tavern was busier than when he came for lunch, but still quiet when Ethan and his friends arrived that night. A few of the round tables were full of players, and a couple more people sat at the bar. But for the most part, the tavern wasn’t nearly as busy as it usually was.

The Raid Clan must be at the Tower. Ethan thought to himself as he looked around.

Tara was still behind the bar, filling cups and pitchers as she handed them off to the servers that worked for her.

When the bell above the door chimed, she had looked up and made quick eye contact with Ethan and Miguel but had continued working. Beside him, Miguel had groaned and dropped his head.

“Oh shit, we wiped and she doesn’t recognize us!” Daniel exclaimed as he realized why they hadn’t received as warm a greeting as usual. He let out an OOF as David backhanded him in the gut as a reward for his insensitivity.

“It’ll be okay Miguel.” Leah had moved beside Ethan and began to rub his arm to comfort him. “She’ll remember.”

“Thanks,” Miguel shook his head. “I tried to talk to her earlier today. It didn’t go well.” Tears formed in his eyes as they moved to take the large table they usually sat at.

“Do you think...” he hesitated, trying to physically force the words he was scared of saying into existence. He cleared his throat and began again. “Do you think I should just let her go? Not try to remind her?”

No one said anything. Ethan wasn’t sure what effect his conversation had had with the bartender earlier, but he didn’t want to give his friend false hope by speaking up.

“No.” Sam broke the silence. “What you have with her, what you want to keep having with her, it’s giving you hope. It’s giving you something to keep going for.”

Everyone stared in shock at what Sam had just said. But before anyone else could say anything he continued.

“Who the hell knows how long we’re going to be trapped here. And when we leave, who knows what will happen to her and all the other NPCs in the game.” He put his hand on Miguel’s other shoulder. “But while we’re here, she’s what you need to keep going. So don’t let go of her. Keep fighting.”

Ethan was shocked by Sam’s words. Miguel and Sam bickered more than anyone else in their guild did. If it had come from anyone else, it would have come across as just trying to make him feel better. But as he looked at Miguel, he could see the effect Sam’s heartfelt consolation had.

“Thanks man.” Miguel hugged Sam, who looked taken aback and awkwardly patted his shoulder.

“Annnnd I need a drink.” David broke away to take a seat at their usual table. Ethan moved to follow him as Sam began attempting to push Miguel off him.

“Shhh shhh shhh.” He heard Miguel whisper. “It doesn’t count as a hug if it doesn’t last for thirty seconds.”

Sam attempted to shoved him away, but the Cleric held firm.

Yeah, that’s more like it. Ethan amusedly thought to himself as he sat across from David at a large round table.

Ethan loved coming to this particular tavern. The table they sat at was sturdy and well crafted and none of the chairs creaked when sat in too hard. Brown and green table cloths covered every table. The bar was a beautiful single piece of wood that had been made from a massive tree with small vines carved into it. The entire room was themed around nature and hunting.

Tara had spent a good deal of gold making sure that her tavern was a beautiful place to relax. It could have easily turned into another dive bar with the numerous players that came and went. But the massive crossbow that was hung above the mirror behind the bar served as a threat as well as decoration. Ethan had never seen her use it, but Miguel had confided in him that some of the table cloths covered bolt holes from rowdy customers.

He’d positioned himself to be facing the bar and caught Tara’s eyes as everyone else took their seats. Miguel was facing away from the bar, evidently he didn’t want to spend the night staring at the woman who thought he was a stranger.

When everyone was seated, Ethan watched as Tara slowly, as if not completely sure of herself, approached their table.

“What can I get for everyone tonight?” She stood directly behind Miguel, who blushed when he heard her voice behind him. The group immediately started placing their orders, cautiously watching Miguel to see how he was going to respond.

When he was the only one not having ordered a drink, Tara, almost hesitantly, reached out and ran her hand across his shoulder and up his neck, softly pulling his hair.

“And you Miguel? The usual?” At the familiar gesture of affection, Miguel whipped his head around to stare at the woman he knew so well. Shock radiating in his face.

Tearfully, he grabbed her hand and stood up, pulling her into a hard embrace.

Ethan couldn’t hear what his friend mumbled into the innkeeper’s ear, but he also knew whatever words were being exchanged were for the two of them only.

Finally they separated, Miguel returned to his seat and Tara went to get their drinks.

“So the Tower?” Sam broke the awkward silence that had settled on their table. “Two days and we hit it hard?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” David affirmed what they had already discussed. “It’s going to be a little more challenging, but the first couple of floors should be doable at our levels.”

“Do we want to pull in some recruits for the first one? You know, just to get started early?” Leah looked around the table, trying to gauge her friend's reactions.

“Oh god no.” Ethan shook his head. He was very much not looking forward to finding a replacement for Daniel. “We need to get a feel for our new roles first before we pull someone new into the mix.”

Beside him, Tae-Won nodded emphatically.

“You have any specific classes in mind?” Miguel looked between David and Ethan for any sort of clues on what kind of player to be on the lookout for.

“Ranged is definitely preferable.”Ethan said, and David nodded in agreement. “Other than that, I think probably not another Warlock.”

Sam smiled at his answer. No one liked having too much competition for gear. An Elementalist or a Wizard would use similar gear to Sam, but there would be enough of a difference that loot drops wouldn’t be too contested.

“So a Ranger or a Cleric would be okay?” Leah glanced around the table. Daniel had cringed a little at the talk of replacing him, especially when they brought up a Ranger.

“Possibly, you know anyone?” Ethan looked hopeful that Leah had just made this process so much less painful.

“I might, I’ll send out some messages.” Her eyes glazed over as she immediately sent out messages to whoever she’d been thinking of.

Tara returned while they were still talking about recruitment with their drinks. She didn’t interrupt their conversation as she placed everyone’s drinks in front of them, pausing only to squeeze Ethan’s shoulder as a thank you and to give Miguel a quick kiss on the cheek.

“I’m a little burned on the idea of a Ranger right now honestly.” Sam spoke up callously and beside him Daniel sank low into his chair. “If it was a Sniper, maybe. But I really don’t want another terribad Huntard pet pulling.”

Either he was still pissed at Daniel or he’d chosen his words poorly, regardless, Ethan couldn’t let his comment pass.

“Sam.” He paused, and everyone pretended to drink as they shifted uncomfortably at their suddenly tiny table.

“If you have an issue, we will talk about it later.” His voice had the same stern tone he’d taken when he was admonishing Daniel in the guild meeting less than an hour ago. “Otherwise, the matter has been dealt with.”

“Am I clear?” He stared at his friend down the table. The last thing they needed was lingering issues between themselves.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Sam looked over at Daniel. “Sorry, poor word choice.” His apology seemed like it was just for show, but it would be enough for now.

“It’s okay. I fucked up.” He glanced quickly around the table. “I know how badly I put us back, and I’ll make it up to everyone.”

Whatever would have been said next was lost as Tara reappeared with plates laden with food. Large slices of bacon wrapped meatloaf, that Ethan knew to be made of veal and sausage, and mashed potatoes. He smiled as he recognized another one of his own dishes.

With a hot meal in front of them, conversations became more casual. They discussed tactics for floors, gear upgrades needed, Miguel and David talked through Cleric healing. Ethan reflected between bites about how at least he was trapped with his friends. If he was alone, he was sure he would have gone crazy by this point.

“So which way you thinking for your class?” Tae-Won leaned over and asked him while he was chewing the delicious meatloaf.

“Man, I have no clue.” Ethan replied, swallowing his bite. “You were a Weapon Master, right?”

“Yeah, I had a really hard time controlling the rage from being a fighter.” He paused and looked at Ethan. “How’re you handling that? You okay?”

“Ummm...” Ethan remembered killing the first wolf right after he’d respawned. How every cell in his body felt fueled with anger and power and the need to release it. He thought about how he’d been snapping at his friends during that brief encounter before he’d gotten to Grassmere.

“You're getting better with it though, right?” Tae-Won correctly read his hesitation at his question.

“Yeah, the first couple of hours after my respawn were rough. But I’ve been able to tamp it down since then.” That wasn’t entirely untrue. When he had gotten angry since then, he’d been angrier than he should have but it hadn’t been uncontrollable.

“I couldn’t until I hit 15.” He took a long drink and looked at Leah who was in the middle of a conversation with Sam. Clearly he’d said or done something while they were leveling that had been a problem.

“Battle Shaman is just that. You unleash that rage in strong attacks, but from people I’ve talked to it can take you over if you don’t choose a good totem.” He looked back at Ethan. “Weapon Master uses rage as a resource mechanic and Enrage as a cool down. But Shaman use it almost all the time. And I couldn’t handle it.”

Ethan nodded at him. After they’d wiped over a month ago, everyone had leveled in different zones so he hadn’t seen anyone very much until they’d gotten to level 20. Whatever Tae-Won had been like as an early level Fighter he had no clue.

“Weapon Master is pretty clear on what it is, right? Like it’s all about finesse and accuracy with a chosen weapon type, right?” Ethan tried to steer the conversation away from Tae-Won’s memories.

“I mean, that’s over simplifying, but yes. You limit yourself into a family of weapons, so you sometimes have a hard time getting gear. Most people pick swords, because they’re more common, or great weapons because it’s a bigger family. You can use a great axe or a great sword and it's the same bonus.” Tae-Won ticked off the options on his fingers as he explained the concept and Ethan nodded.

“What about Battle Shamans? You said they use magic?” Ethan thought about his only spell and his frost enchanted axe.

“Yeah, not like a Sorcerer or a Druid though.” He gestured to Sam and Leah. “It’s more like you use elemental magic to enhance your attacks. So you’d add fire damage to your attack or use air magic to give yourself more speed.”

“Oh, I’ve played a class like that before.” Ethan smiled, in the game he’d met Tae-Won and Leah in that was exactly what he’d done.

“Not quite.” Tae-Won said, not wanting Ethan to get the wrong idea. “Yeah it’s similar to what you’re thinking, but you’re also raging almost constantly. And, unlike before, it affects your own emotions. From what I’ve been told, using a fire enhancement will make you literally feel like you’re on fire as you attack. And it’s addictive. The more you use it, the more you WANT to use it.”

Ethan thought about that for a moment. His rage already felt like it burned him inside out. If he combined that with actual burning, was that something he thought he could withstand?

“What about synergy? You said something about it going good with our group comp?” He remembered what Tae-Won had said about it pairing well with Warlocks and Druids.

“Right, so Sam is going to curse mobs out the ass and they’ll take extra elemental damage or have weakness to melee attacks. Same with Leah. You’ll be doing both, so you’ll be double dipping on their debuffs.” He pointed again towards his wife and to Sam. “Plus you’re buffing your own attacks so it’s even more of a bonus.”

“What about totems? The class description was kind of vague.” He looked to Tae-Won, thinking about what he’d told him earlier.

“So, remember, this is all second hand knowledge so I don’t know how accurate it is, but part of the subclass questline is about discovering your animal totem.” He leaned back in his chair as he continued. “You’re supposed to pick an animal that, in theory, helps you temper that rage. So like, you’d pick from a turtle or a tiger or a bear or something and you get bonuses.”

“What kind of ‘bonuses’?”

“I really don’t know, I also don’t think that the same totems are available to every player.” He shrugged at Ethan. “It’s not a super popular subclass to pick, outside of PvP not many people want a roided out killer hanging around with them.”

Ethan contemplated that. Weapon Master sounded like the safer option, if only to keep his friends from hating him. But everything he’d just been told about Battle Shaman was really sounding good.

Across the table from him, David and Leah stood up to leave, dropping some coins on the table.

“Just think about it.” Tae-Won said as he too stood up. “You’ve got a couple of days to decide. See how much you actually rely on Enrage when we get into the Tower. If it’s not much then go Weapon Master. If you’re using it constantly, then go Battle.”

Ethan stood up too, only Miguel had remained seated, probably waiting to talk to Tara.

“Thanks man.” He reached out his hand for a fist bump.

“No worries dude.”