Surprisingly the bunker and all its goodies weren’t the most interesting thing they found down in the caves. After he’d scouted a bit of the cave, Cheezus came to a large subterranean cavern. Inside was a bustling dwarven market. The first thing he’d noticed was the sound of steel on steel which came from the forges of the smithies. Walking into the market he messaged the rest of the guild and waited for them to catch up.

As soon as they got there, Linca declared she was taking Seona shopping. The two of them had grown quite close in the last few weeks. Thag looked at him hesitantly and he looked around a bit dumbfounded. “Smash and I have some parts to buy for the ship. We’ll catch you both later,” Deathberry said and the two of them walked off.

It wasn’t often that Cheezus was surprised, but after realizing his friends’ deliberate exit he realized what was going on. Taking Thag by the hand he said, “Come on let’s go see if we can find something good to eat around here.” Fortunately, with all the monsters they’d killed recently he had a respectable amount of coin and other things to exchange with the merchants.

Beyond the dwarven smithies near the front of the cave, they quickly encountered all sorts of other merchants. There were racks and racks of cloths on display and beyond that an open market with cute tchotchkes and jewelry. Cheezus bought Thag a bracelet with a variety of colored stones on it and they even both tried on some of the clothes. “You look very dashing in that one,” she said, giving him an appraising look. She’d grabbed a set of clothes that looked more appropriate on a pirate than any sort of respectable adventurer. Of course, he was a rogue and not at all respectable so it probably worked. He bought the pirate clothes and wore them on the rest of the date. She’d found a nice blue evening dress to wear.

They made their way further into the marketplace and found several restaurants. Thag chose a steak house which was set back a little way from the others. The waiter took them to the back where there was a porch and beyond that a small underground lake. The walls weren’t phosphorescent but it reminded him of the lagoon on the island. After they’d had a few minutes to take in the menu, the waiter took their order and walked away. Cheezus had a hard time keeping her eyes of her but he also noticed that she’d become awfully quiet.

“It’s pretty wild to think how much has changed in the past month,” he finally said.

She’d been looking out over the lake, “Yeah, pretty crazy,” she said with a nervous laugh.

They had been friends and guildmates all this time and now they were both nervous? It made sense though. While they’d been thrown into this crazy game with an entirely new world and been there for each other, they hadn’t really had a chance to talk about anything non-game related. The awkwardness they shared was palpable because they didn’t know each other that well, Cheezus thought. Except, they had known each other for years in Champions and they had shared a lifetime of near death experiences in the last few weeks. What else did he need to know? Now was as good a time to ask as any.

“You’d said a while back that you have an older brother.” He’d start there.

Thag nodded. “He’s four years older and was the one who first got me into MMOs, although he’s mostly into first person shooters. Hopefully, he’s alright.”

He couldn’t help but be reminded of his own brother, Eric. Was he still somewhere out there trying to survive in this hostile world or had he died in the first few hours? What about the rest of his family. Cheezus might never know and didn’t want to drag down their entire evening talking about it.

“Hopefully he’s turned the game into a zombie shooter. Is he the one who got you into shooting things?” Cheezus asked, hoping to change the topic.

Thag shook her head, “No it was my dad who got both of us started actually. He was really into hunting and I think that’s what got my brother, Tom, into shooters,” she replied.

After that they started sharing a bit about how things had been before the apocalypse and before he knew it most of the night had passed. It was a lot less awkward having broken the ice.

They finished dinner and started walking back to the bunker. On the way they passed by one of the inns. She pulled his arm and gave him a saucy grin. Smiling back, they both went inside to ask for a room. He didn’t have to be told twice what she had on her mind.

The next day they met up with the rest of the Misfits at the bunker. The guys were oblivious but Seona gave them both a wink and Linca had a knowing look on her face. Oh well, it’s not like they were going to be able to keep things a secret from their second family and Cheezus had no regrets about last night especially in light of the fact that they still had to get the airship repaired and get out of here while an entire army of undead was hunting them. Looking over at Thag who had replaced her soft blue dress with steel plate, he wished they didn’t have to leave the dwarven town so quickly.

Deathberry and Smashit were hunched over a table in the mess hall going over some maps. The two of them had probably been up all night talking about how they were going to get out of this mess. It also looked like they’d been busy buying new sails and other parts to repair the Empress. Down the hall he could hear the banging of hammers in the storage bay where they’d crashed the ship last night. Undoubtedly, they’d already hired some dwarves to get the work started.

Approaching the map, Cheezus asked, “So what’s the game plan?”

“As you’ve probably heard we’re having the dwarves do some repairs. My preference is to get out of here and back to the base right away. Our real bodies are back at the other bunker and I don’t want us to be stuck out here with that army marching our way.” Smashit had clearly thought this all out well ahead of his return.

Cheezus nodded but before he could say anything Deathberry retorted, “While I agree that we can’t stay here forever, I think we ought to explore some of the caves below. I was speaking with some of the dwarves last night and they say there is machinery down below in the caves but no one who’s investigated has come back.” He paused to consider his next words. “It’s quite possible that this entire cave system is more than what we suspect. There are Gears here but unlike our bunker there are no repair bays or robots. I think it’s likely that there is a Terrazon factory below us.”

He could tell that while Deathberry’s suggestion was sound, their guild leader wasn’t going for it. “What about splitting our forces?” Cheezus suggested. “Some of us could head back to the base and protect our bodies. We have the elven casters to go with that group. A few could remain behind and sneak down stairs to see if this factory exists.”

Smashit looked at the map, considering his suggestion. “Ok, let’s do it. But who will go and who is staying?”

Cheezus knew that he was the sneakiest of the current raiders and planned to volunteer. Deathberry would want to go or his curiosity might kill him. They could use one more but he didn’t know who to pick. After some thought, he came to the conclusion that Seona would be optimal. She was a healer and could be quiet but it wouldn’t deprive the rest of the Misfits from having a healer/DPS like Linca.

“For the group that is staying I’d suggest myself, Deathberry, and Seona,” Cheezus replied. “That gives us a pretty stealthy group and won’t take away any of the firepower the rest of you need to escape the caves.

Thag looked at Cheezus and sighed. “I want to stay and investigate but I know that my aura will be needed on the Empress,” she said finally.

With that their groups were decided. He gave Thag a passionate kiss goodbye in front of the rest of the guild. They probably all knew what was going on by then and besides, they really didn’t have time to waste. Their real bodies were sitting in the middle of the Australian Outback completely unprotected except for Aeon’s alarms. They were overdue to get back.

Cheezus, Deathberry and Seona partied up and headed down. Past the town the cave system became smaller and they were surrounded by slick walls. Towering stalactites loomed overhead and Cheezus wondered if they were walking into a trap like in every classic RPG ever. He took point and moved ahead of the rest of their little party. One of the items he’d picked up in town with Thag yesterday was a pair of night-vision goggles. Since electricity no longer worked the dwarves had modified them to run off magic instead. He finally had a way to see in the dark and still be completely stealthy.

Ahead of them he saw a metal spider sitting in its web. It looked exactly like the spider creatures they’d fought on the asteroid. Examining it closer, he confirmed his suspicions. It was level 70. Cheezus was currently level 65 and so was Deathberry. Seona was one level below that. Fighting one of these creatures would be a doable fight but from past experience, he wasn’t going to count on the fact that there was only one of them.

He quietly made his way back to the rest of the party and explained the situation in party chat so they wouldn’t be overheard. “From what you describe this one is probably a sentry for the rest,” Deathberry said. “I think I have just the spell to get us past undetected.” After hearing the plan, they moved closer towards the web. Deathberry cast stillness of death on the web and the three of them carefully made their way past the creature. Cheezus led the way while he guided the other two in the dark. Spiders didn’t have terribly good eyesight but they would see a light source. Fortunately, with the web stilled, its primary sense was dulled. They encountered a few more sentries posted through the cave but were able to sneak past these without incident.

About an hour later the three of them entered a massive cavern even larger than the one where the dwarven town was. Inside was a fully automated factory containing countless assembly belts. Robotic arms welded, sawed, and assembled Gears nonstop.

“I think this may explain why we’ve seen such large monsters and towns spring up overnight,” Deathberry finally said after they had seen several Gears produced that were the size of a small house. In one corner was a command interface like the one they had in their bunker. Deathberry started entering some commands attempting to figure out who was running the factory.

Cheezus heard the clank of metal on metal over the din of the manufacturing line. Right behind them were five metal spiders all Level 70. A moment later, Deathberry called out something to him but he was too distracted with the battle to be concerned about what his friend had found.