Reoccuring nightmares suck. They suck a lot. If I was a golf ball, then my nightmares would be at the other end of the garden hose, they suck that much and that hard. The worst part is I can't remember any of them, just the feelings of terror and helplessness they leave behind. One moment, I'm practicing the new, hard-earned Spells and Skills I Adapted from the Aberrations the day before and the next… well… I don't know, but it was horrible. Just. Horrible. No warning. No predictable timing. No telling what had happened.

The good thing about the Sleep Debuff, however, is that I apparently snore. Normally, that's not a pro under anyone's columns. But as a cue for Victoria to know what I did and what she has to do the only thing better would have been a hand written, love note.

[Victoria Grandersil bludgeons you for 15 damage!]

[Sleep Debuff has been removed!]

"Oh jeez. I'm up, I'm up." I rub the spot on my head where she bonked me awake. Without thinking, I slugishly dismiss the notification leftover from last night in the corner of my vision, waving it off with a yawn. The in game clock says six in the morning and that's late enough. I can't keep sleeping in or I'll never get stuff done. Besides, today's the day we travel to the valley so we can begin establishing our new town. We're not leaving until after lunch, but that doesn't mean I'm free until then. There's quite a bit for me to do. Besides throwing on clothes and fixing the bed, the very first thing one must do is have a good breakfast. There is another thing, but Vic and I aren't exactly in the mood for it today, not with so much to do.

***************

"That's it. This has been quite enough. I've had enough of this and I'm getting out right now." The voice, as dulcet as it is, rings harsh like a discordant piano in its annoyance. The echo of footsteps in a stone hallway follows right after the declaration. A moment later, there is running, the pace is unusually fast and light, as if a child were chasing after the resolute voice.

"I was just kidding! Come on now! We're friends, right?"

"From what little I have gathered from my misty memories, I was little more than a pet to you, wasn't I? I was fed, watered, walked, and given orders like a stray dog."

"If the collar fits…"

"How dare you, sir? I was once a global sensation, my voice and music known on all nine continents, even dark Lovka. I was… I was--"

"You were eating garbage and dressed in dirty rags when I found you. Come on, we had some fun though, right? Don't you remember the cult? Rose of the Three Thorns? These guys were there?"

The footsteps stop. Inside a massive, dark stone tower a Halfling trots after the person he's called friend, the only person he's called friend for quite some time. Although many of the doors inside remain magically locked, certain areas without doors are free for the interlopers to explore, much like the entrance. There may have been signs of wards and runes that protected the tower at some point in time, but something or someone had destroyed them long ago. Ransacked and looted of anything available, only wandering creatures inhabited the tower and they were no match for an army of skeleton soldiers and their diminutive master.

Huddled near the hearth of a once, lavish foyer, the group of former cultists watch the dramatic scene play out, still confused as to what had happened to their Bard who barely spoke outside of a grunt and ate raw potatoes like apples. Not even their Necromancer leader, Dez Driftwood, could explain the change and he had seen it happen right before his eyes. One moment they were exploring the third highest floor of the tower, as high as the locked doors would allow them to go, and the next Angus Elder was screaming in pained fright. His eyes emitted an eerie, silver glow as he rolled on the ground, scratching and kicking at the air and floor. Dez was able to get several of his minions to restrain him, but afterwards he wasn't the same. With wide and wild eyes he muttered incoherently for long periods of time. Eventually he settled down enough to inquire about his location and the identity of his captors. It took a couple days just to convince Angus that he was there of his own volition, and even then he was still uneasy about the situation. It wasn't until memories started flooding in did he become less defensive.

"Please, sit down," begged Dez, already sitting in creaky chair, black velvet upholstery in desperate need of attention. "You've already told us about being famous, but I can't say I've ever heard or read about you anywhere and my parents used to listen to really old Sound Crystals."

Angus runs a hand through his hair, now clean and well groomed much like the rest of himself. His hole-ridden, mud crusted clothes were exchanged for an old ruffled shirt and black trousers found in a chest in one of the bedrooms, "That's the part that vexes me so. I went to Denagrin to perform a very special, multi layered Ritual. I was so close to being a Hero and--"

The former cultists gasp in utter amazement. If what this man just said was true, then he must be over a hundred years old since the Dissolution of the Pantheon happened that long ago. When the Heroes had reached the zenith of their bickering and the people began turning away from the gods in spite, the deities of the Pantheon severed their ties to the Heroes. They created a covenant that would forever prevent the Arceans from obtaining that rank and the major gods would continue to not be allowed direct interaction with the physical plane. They still found ways to circumvent this, being the clever gods and goddesses that they are, but Heroes would always be a taboo that wouldn't be broken.

"But what?" Dez asks, leaning foward, practically falling out his chair in interest.

Angus muses, stroking his landscaped beard and moving the fingers in one hand as if working the strings and frets of an invisible guitar. "I remember casting several rituals at once, I had the Chain Ritual Feat, you know, though where it has gone now I cannot say. There was light, oh such beautiful light, and a sea of starry orbs that stretched until the ends of forever."

He summons his character sheet and finds his list of Abilities and Feats. He runs the back of his fingers down the screen like a lover and sighs wistfully, "What happened to you, dear boy? You were once a level ninety three Troubadour. You were going to change the world with music. You were going to be legendary. And now… not even a foot note in history."

"You remember bits and pieces of your time as a str-- I mean, when you weren't yourself. What about when you came around? You mentioned waking up in Denagrin before waking up again here. Do you remember what caused any of that?" Dez asks his friend, a tone of genuine concern in his voice.

By then the group by the hearth had approached the two, fully immersed in the Bard's story. They stood around Dez, like children listening to their favorite uncle spin yarns of his latest adventures.

Angus theatrically circles his hands in the air, casting Minor Illusion Spells and conjuring magical images like the seasoned performer that he is, "From the darkness I awoke and came a face like no other that I have ever seen. No beast nor demon was he, yet as ferociously as they did he set upon me. My eyes and mind were still adjusting from the hundred year slumber I must have been under so his fiery visage was a nightmare to my waking eye.

"I dropped to my knees and pleaded with this demon to spare me his wrath, to allow me safe passage that I may return, unharmed, to the life I left behind. With knives for claws and a skull of onyx set ablaze with sapphire light, this so called man did meet me and kill me with practiced ease. From there I awoke again, a dream within a dream, on the floor of this ancient tower."

Eyes squinting in anger and skeletal hand balling into a fist, "Did you catch this bone head's name?" His other hand reached for the holster with the white leather bound book.

Angus barks a quick chuckle, "'Bone-head,' you say? How clever. It was a season, if I can remember the tag. Summer, was it?"

Dez jumps down from his seat, startling the former cultists who gawked at him expectantly, "Winters…"

***************

I sneeze. The sudden and wholly unexpected action startles everyone around me, including myself. Is something triggering my virtual immune system? Digital pollen? I excuse myself and return my attention to Dola who sits patiently in front of me.

"Sorry, Dola. I don't know where that came from."

He waves me off with a claw, "Some say that mean someone talking of you."

"Wouldn't suprise me. Anyway, what were we doing?"

"You teach Dola and Kobolds new Skills?" He grins up at me and I bring up my character sheet.

"Right! Okay, let's see…"

This morning we were able to get a few more stores to give up their goods and a few more buildings worth of materials before we rolled out. I also took that time to craft something for the Kobolds. With a total of four mounted riders and Sonny and Kona in the air escorting the vardo, I was free to stay inside to continue working with the Kobolds.

First, we reequipped the little guys with smaller versions of Mika's Self-Loading Crossbow that use a small, rectangular box to load each crossbow bolt. Each box holds eight bolts and special sling bags were made just for them to hold two boxes. That gave them a total of three with one already loaded in the crossbow. Unfortunately, we couldn't give them a storage device with Spatial magic since we didn't have enough to spare. We add them to the wishlist and make do. I take a quick Scan of the weapon as a Kobold inspects one in his claws.

>Scan[Durability: 175/175

[Dexterity/ 200feet/ 8bolts

[Base/Modified Damage: 3/73

[The wielder of this weapon only needs to draw for the first bolt of each box once it is loaded.]

We only have one Black Down, the weapon charm that allows the wielder to use Dexterity instead of Strength as the damage modifier. And no matter how light the Blacksmiths made a variety of polearms, they couldn't force them to become Dex weapons. So, instead of the iklwas, the Kobolds were offered two Umbramium shortswords or an Umbramium rapier to use in close range. Even if we gave them shields, they wouldn't be strong or hearty enough to create the kind of defensive line the soldiers would make. That left two things that involved my expertise. Abilities and armor.

Not strong enough to heft metal armor, even the relatively light Umbramium and Lucidium, we still needed to wrap the little lizards in something tougher than their natural scales. The first thing I tried was using the Terror of Many blueprint and exchanging metal with wood. The end product looked great, but served no better purpose than decoration or perhaps training with its Durability at 75. I didn't want to waste any of the special types of wood during prototyping, like the Violetta, Manascorched, or the Hartwood that Dawn picked up during her Quest in the sewers. Good thing, too, because I wasn't happy with the way it was turning out.

The interesting thing about the wooden armor is that neither Carpenters nor Blacksmiths were allowed to craft it themselves, entering that "brain fart" mode that one does when confronting a build out of their class. One of the children saw me taking it off of a Kobold modelling it for me to toss into the scrap bin, and asked if they would be allowed to play with it. It didn't take me long to fashion a few more along with replicas of several types of weapons and equipment. I remind myself that, even if they did get hurt playing with this gear, everyone has the First Aid Ability and there are healers aplenty. Still, I inwardly hope that I don't get in trouble with their parents.

The solution to this situation, once again, comes from Richter. Drawing on an actual piece of armor he owns IRL, he circumvents the system's class block by talking about it. While NPCs stared at him with blank expressions, I took in as much detail as I could and simultaneously learned more about my friend's obsession.

"I'm really gonna have to check out your collection someday," I said, shaking my head at the Half-Elf.

The armor ends up very similar to the brigandine design with Japanese tatami style armor, which is what Ric owns, as the majority influence. I also wanted to create a sense of uniformity, so I searched for the Linqs Tunic blueprint and stumble upon the Released version I received for burying General Cassius. Using some Infernal Canvas as the base to prevent chaffing on their scales and because we have so much of it, I created a sort of short-sleeved hoodie and attached a bunch of Faerie Dragon Scales, leftover Gorshix Scales, and modified Shadow Stalker parts for protection. The odd mix of materials and unique design makes it the first of its kind and I get the pleasure of naming it.

[Success! You have crafted an Expert Item!]

[This Item does not have a pre determined name. Would you like to name it Y/N?]

[Draconic Operator's Uniform. Advanced Expert Armor. Body Over and Head. Monster Only.

[Durability: 200/200

[Armor: 10

[Bonus: +3Arcane, +10%Shadow damage, +10%Resistance to elemental damage.

[Reaction: White Flame I

[When hood is Equipped: +4Willpower, +2Armor, Skill: Stealth I]

The process of making twelve of these things was far more monotonous than I care to admit, but the results were worth it. Without a blueprint to create gloves, pants, or shoes specifically for the Kobolds and their lack of Under slots, Body Over armor with a Head slot option is probably the best outcome we could have hoped for. The best part is the tunic kept the Reaction Spell, although it might not do much if their Arcane stays low when they reach higher levels. In keeping in line with Dawn's hope for a special forces style team, I gave the armor a militaristic name. The Kobolds seem to like it since it pays homage to their ancestry, though I had to explain as best as I could what an "operator" is. Dola models the dark red, almost black armor with red hieroglyphs sewn along the bottom. Over the left sleeve is a simply stitched profile of a Dragon's head and a cursive letter L, for Linqs.

Ranged weapon? Check.

Backup, close range weapon? Check.

Combat ready armor? Check.

New Abilities? We're on it.

[You recieved 50XP for teaching Dola Stubfang +Shadow Claw!]

[You received 100XP for teaching Dola Stubfang +Predator Rush!]

[You received 100XP for teaching Dola Stubfang +Shadow Swim!]

Check check check.

3000XP for teaching three Abilities to a dozen Kobolds? You better believe it.

Dola allows me examine his stat screen, and with the armor the Kobolds have just enough MP to cast Shadow Swim in case they have to, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered teaching it to them. White Flame would heal them for a paltry 19HP, Shadow Claw pairs with the Umbra weapon and Draco armor 10% bonuses to shadow damage and adds a total of 24 shadow damage to each strike, and we can explore Predator Rush's uses later. I also noticed an interesting Feat that I'm grateful I can't Adapt. It's probably why some monsters are frailer than others at the same level, aside from the static stat growth.

[+Fodder: Restricts growth of HP, MP, and SP. Cannot be learned or taught.]

It shouldn't take us long to trek across the plains and make it to the edge of the forest. Normally I'd be out there, but I got lucky with the Aberrations and crafting duties. In my stead, Victoria navigates since she and I are the only ones who know where to go.

Groaning and complaining hits my ears like marbles on glass and a brief inspection shows me the children entering a phase of discontent. With as much distraction as we offer them, the journey so far must still be fairly difficult for them. No one expects them to contribute quite at the same level as they adults, unlike Lavina who seems to be making up for lost time with her new hands. I often see the parents reprimanding the children for being too loud or too distracting and the others and I would remind them, away from the kids, that it's no problem for the moment and we are sympathetic to their plight.

We gave them a taste of the good life, adventure, excitement, and life threatening situations. Picking up and moving house the moment things seem settled so many times can't be good for them. It reminds me of a friend I had in high school who's father was in the military. I can't remember which branch… Anyway, their family moved every three to four years. He was quick to be friendly, but it felt like he never got close to anyone, even the girl he dated for a couple of months. I think he was afraid to be intimate, to make that connection with someone and be forced to say good bye after doing that so many times when he was younger. Sure, social media and video calls could create small bridges, but without a physical presence to be a part of, it took a lot of work that he no longer wanted to put in. He moved again, mid-Junior year, and the next time I saw him was in Pangaea. We were able to catch up and run into each other about once a week, but by then the game was about to enter its death throes.

Corsina, Lavina's mother and the one closest to Taymin before he died, learned a lot from him and he taught her to use her intuition when it came to counseling people the way he did. Often times she would go out with the reserves and soldiers to participate in the hunts or guard duty. Eventually, her efforts came to fruition and she gained the first few levels of her shiny new Job Class, Cleric of the Light.

In Kes Solomas, she was able to learn much from the Order's presence there and a conversation with Archbishop Remy and Cardinal Sendo fortified her resolve to be more like the old dog. When he died, we thought that she would fall apart and we were glad to be so wrong. The event made her more determined and she pulled double duty for the both of them.

Just like now, where she finds the children and does her best to turn their negative feelings into positive results. Picking up a wooden wand modeled after the crescent tipped one Serenity uses, she looks over at me with a warm smile and manages to re-engage them all in a game of "Siege the Castle."

"Ardy, are the Kobolds ready?" Dawn's voice sounds behind me and I look over my shoulder. Standing in a formation line at attention, the Kobolds await further orders from the Infernus in front of them.

I shoot her a hesitant, "Aye aye," before taking my spot next to her.

"Good. Let's get everyone outside with Conner and Elsbeth. Three squads of five. Con and El's squads will scout ahead. You and your squad will fall back and protect the rear. No need to persue any more Abilities at this time, just keep everyone alive. We'll be forced to slow down through the forest, so we're going to try to hunt and Forage as much as we can at the same time. Plith, Richter, Rachel, and Reiger will be mounted guards around the vardo. Sonny and Kona will provide air support, but you gotta whisper Vic. They won't be able to see anything through the forest canopy, so they'll be flying close to the vardo."

My eyes scan the faces of the Kobolds and their expressions are worried, but resolute to their duties. I smirk to myself at their uniforms, small crossbows resting on their left shoulders over the dragon and Linqs emblems, and bags slung on their backs. Wrapping around their waists are belts with special harnesses for potion bottles and frogs, an open bottom leather holster for their chosen melee weapons. A welling of pride surges in my chest.

"First Draconic Special Teams, did you hear the Commander?" I ask.

They swing a swift fist over their hearts in salute, having seen the soldiers do it many times, and squeak out an, "Aye aye!" I instruct them to meet me just outside the vardo's exit. As they leave, making sure that none of them are around or looking towards us, Dawn melts into squealing, emotional goo.

"Gods they are so cute! And those matching hoodies! Tiny weapons! They're like a bunch of LARPers," she coos.

"Yeah, they'll be role playing as soldiers and we'll see how they handle the 'live action' part, won't we?"

We move through the forest in a wedge formation, with me in the lead and several yards between us. Accompanying me are two yellow, a green, and a red kobold. Both yellows are female, though I've been finding it difficult to differentiate the genders by looking at their physical appearences alone. Our line from left to right is: Milli, the pale yellow one with blue feathers tied to her short horns; Tamu, the forest green one with his hood already up; Dila, the honey yellow one eating something grilled on a stick; and Haro, the red one with a Luminescence charm swinging from his crossbow. We have a lot of those weapon charms in stock, since everyone else can start their own fires or cast some kind of light Spell. The Kobolds also have Thermal Vision so I'm curious as to what he intends to do with it. When I ask, he simply replies that he likes the shiny, white rock and that it will bring him good luck in battle. I nod my head in agreement and he stops our conversation with a raised hand.

Haro is the first to identify the hostile, a lone Dire Rilla, as he kneels and readies his crossbow in a firing position. Dila inhales her food, flicks out the stick, and we both drop down to do the same. My grip tightens as I aim my Battle Wand. Tamu moves forward and towards me to create an angled line facing the large, spine-covered gorilla creature. Milla faces the opposite direction, sweeping for more monsters while preparing to turn around and support us.

Large tusks dripping with saliva make this grey haired beast look part Orc, part gorilla, and part porcupine. It sniffs at the air and dirt as its overly long arms drag it from location to location. My nose marks it as red, though it still hasn't found us yet. I make the call over the ear cuff in a hushed tone, and get permission to engage. I give it a quick Scan just to know what we're dealing with.

>Scan[890/890HP, 9/9MP, 277/277SP

[While the females stay with the younglings, male Dire Rillas strike off on their own all day. Dire Rilla bands have small territories that they protect fiercely and if the males can expand them, they will do so by force.

[Club Fist, Punch, Bite, Power Strike III, Dragoon Dive (Leap), +Thunderous Howl]

I get the feeling that Dragoon Dive is similar to Assassinate, in that right after using Leap, the Dire Rilla can use Power Strike at a discounted cost. At level three, I expect such a hit to be quite devastating to its hapless victims. Unfortunately for him, we saw him first and are more than willing to take it down. I give my squad the order to fire at will with the command, "Volley, one dead," meaning to keep shooting until the single target turns into a loot sack. Though not quite thunderous, the creature erupts in pained howling and rivulets of blood as the wooden and magical bolts come pouring in.

Running on pure instinct at the sudden and intense attack, the Rilla launches into the air and through the crowns of the trees.

"Fall back to me!" I shout as the others ready to prematurely celebrate a victory, thinking the beast tried to run away. Haro and Dila turn and move without hesitation, barely avoiding the body crashing to the ground like a meteorite. The ground trembles and debris flies, the Rilla's outstretched hands reach out for them, nearly catching Haro in unusually long fingers. I shout the order to "Keep firing and accept my Spell," making sure to include Milli.

A moment and several bolts later Body of Smoke is cast, shared among the five of us, and we slip through the grass around the confused Dire Rilla. The beast's attackers came out of nowhere and vanished just as quickly, though now the aroma of smoke and the threat of fire has seemingly unsettled it far more than our previous attack.

I get the others to join me in encircling the creature in our smokey forms. The Dire Rilla's two mighty fists slam down through my gaseous body, dealing no damage and causing it to panic. Before it could attempt any more attacks, we motion to thrust our weapons up at it, dismissing the Spell. The Kobolds activate Shadow Claw right before black, sharpened metal punctures the Dire Rilla's body. I finish it off with a trio of Arcane Bolts and victory comes in the form of a loot sack and 9XP each. I store the 5*Rilla Meat, 2*Rilla Hide, and 1*Rilla Fang, noticing the expectant looks on my squad. After I give them a smiling nod, they cheer and celebrate at a muted volume. More than happy with their training results and battlefield discipline, I check their rainbow bars and withdraw bolts from my storage to refill their boxes. With everything in order, we check back in with Dawn and jog to a closer position behind the vardo.

Not bad, little lizards. Now, if we can fight something with a bit more "teeth" then maybe we can see what you're really capable of.