"So--" I begin, staring into Dez's eyes full to the brim with loathing. If he could cause them to magically explode and shower me with a burst of some acidic ooze I'm sure he would gladly lose his vision. He's probably trying to grind his teeth out of their sockets just to spit one out at me and cause even a single point of damage, but he otherwise stays silent.

"--Are you going to answer me willingly or do I have to use this?"

Out of pure spite for the Halfling who seems to be the cause for a lot of grief and strife all across Regalus, I ball up my hand around the talisman and punch him across the jaw.

[You deal 107 unarmed damage to Dez Driftwood!]

The wet, barely audible crunch of the impact satisfies me to the very core. Richter and Dawn jerk forward to hold me back, but I wave a hand to them, "It was just the one. That was for Ramona." The leather holster at his side catches my eye and I relieve him of his favorite book.

He spits a gob of black speckled blood at my feet and it takes everything in me to not lay into him. If he had hocked it directly at me--

I hold up the large, coin shaped token before him. It continues to crackle with black and white energy. He says nothing. The Keep is eerily quiet now that the battle is over. Only an occasional whistle of wind and crunch of snow breaks up the silence. The others position themselves around me in a loose line formation, still wary of any possible tricks from the Necromancer. Victoria stands to my right, shield and spear held firmly, and Dawn strides up to my left with only her shield in hand.

I let everyone settle before shrugging my shoulders, "Let's get this going then. Dez Driftwood, how do you plead?"

I flip the coin with my thumb as instructed in its description and we all look up at it as it tumbles and rings in the air, our collective breathes catching for a moment. Just as it slows right before the apex of its ascent a puff of grey mist appears. From this small cloud, a hand snatches the coin in the air, holding it tightly. The figure connected to this fist is wearing what looks to be plate armor made from white cloth with black accents. They have no weapons or any other equipment visible, save for a steel grey halo above their head. They're hair is short and eggshell white, in the style of a pixie-cut. They're voice is knife edge sharp, yet androgynous.

"Justice is not random, Ardacen Winters. It is not governed by the whims of fate. It is cold. Calculated. Unemotional. If not, then it is no longer justice. There is also much more to it than simply doling out punishment. There is a complication in beliefs, situations, and circumstances. Justice helps set the tone for what is acceptable and why for a community of varying individuals. In that regard it must be cold, but it must also be fair. Thus, it cannot be decided by the flip of a coin."

Speech given, they turn their light grey eyes to me and pocket the token. I look back with a smirk, "You make us flip the coin just to give that speech, huh?" They don't answer, but smile back knowingly. "Are you the same Marduk I met in prison?"

My question wasn't really meant to be funny, but the high strung moment snapped under it weight. Snickering and controlled giggling sounds off all around and the Marduk sighs in resignation, though they continue to smile and nod at me.

"Though I'm glad you remember me and were able to summon me, we don't have a lot of time and so much to discuss. Including--" They gesture to Dez, "--this one's past deeds."

With a wave of their hands and a chant in a regal sounding language, effervescent chains of golden energy coalesce from motes of blue mana. They tear the bone armor from Dez, restrain his arms and legs, and begin healing his wounds. The last bit suprises me and I cock an eyebrow at the Marduk.

"Dez Driftwood is a prisoner on trial, not some beast being prepared for slaughter. The same consideration was shown to you, wasn't it?" I nod and shift on my feet. The Marduk conjures a black and white leather bound book and it flies open to the center pages. She reads a passage aloud and his eyes widen in awe.

Apparently, Dez was from a town not too far from Kes Rentas called Gol' Twig. It started off as an iron mining camp that grew into a town and was well on its way to becoming a full-fledged city. A group of Travelers came across Gol' Twig and basically murder hoboed the place to the ground. Even though this happened long before our initial arrival to Arc, a hypothesis forms in my head.

I turn to Dawn in an aside, "I think that may have been the alpha testers. They must not have realized how deeply their actions affected the world."

"Guess it would explain how Arceans knew about Travelers before we actually started the game," she whispers back.

Ignoring our conversation, the Marduk waves us away with a hand without looking up from the book, "This next portion is going to take a while and won't involve you. If you have any Quests involving Dez, you may also consider them completed, even if the requirements require you to kill him. If there's anything you need done, please feel free to do so now."

The book pulses with light and a massive set of scales appears floating above Dez. What looks to be a flake of black ash peels away from his body and wafts in the air. It dances in the air, lazily meandering up toward one of the scales. The Marduk sighs to herself, making a comment about how this Spell is the worst and most of us snicker. "Not only that, but you have been a very, busy boy and there's a lot of ash to sift through…"

After our dismissal, I finally notice the flash of several notices in the corner of my vision. I want to get into them right away, but my eyes lock onto the partly destroyed Keep. The view sends a wave of meloncholy over me while slender fingers slip into my hand. It's Victoria and my heart lightens.

"It'll be okay now, love. Everything will be okay." She gives me a peck on the cheek and squeezes my hand tighter. I look over at the others and their warm smiles and nods slacken the knot in my chest. Their eyes, however, seem to shift between the two of us nervously like we're a couple of bombs about to explode. I wave it off as their expectancy of lovey dovey behavior over our long awaited reunion.

Vic and I summon several bedrolls for all of us to sit down on while we try to decompress and go through all of our notices. It won't take us long and there will be time enough to get other things done after.

[3778XP + 40% War Party Leader V Bonus

[5290XP will be shared among the party.

[5290XP/30 party members

[You received 176XP!]

[Major Quest Completed: Vengence is Delivered

[Killed Dez Driftwood 1/1 and Angus Elder 1/1. Kept buildings safe 2/5. Kept a majority of the citizens safe. Skeletal Hydras destroyed 3/3, Skeleton Army defeated 1/1, Hobgoblin Army defeated 1/1

[Rewards based on participation and Goals achieved.

[Rewards: 2450XP, 1*Pawn Chest]

I can't complain about my portion of the rewards, seeing as I missed most of the battle. I must have returned at the tail end of the fight and I wonder how much the others must have received. No matter, really. As the higher ranked War Party Leader, Dawn receives the Jester's Box, Rook Chest, and Queen Chest tied to the Quest, as well as a Knight Chest for herself. The whole ordeal must have been enough for Dawn's War Party Leader Feat to upgrade to five, but the bonus remains at forty percent. Richter and Rachel also receive a Knight Chest while Kona, Serenity, Elsbeth, Sonny, and Victoria are each given a Bishop Chest.

[Boss Slayer! As the last to attack the Boss

before it died you receive a bonus!]

It looks like my final sock to Dez's kisser was considered the "final blow" after the Marduk's arrival and I get the bonus for it. I let the others know and, except for a highly incredulous Kona, the others simply chalk it up to my odd luck.

[You received: 8000XP, Magic Initiate's Pendant - Necromancy]

[Magic Initiate's Pendant - Necromancy. Expert Accessory. Neck

[+1Faith, +3Willpower

[Requirements: Attunement. XP must be invested to learn Abilities linked to Pendant. Abilites must be learned in order given.

[Locked/250XP: False Life or Bone Arrow

[Locked/500XP: Ward Decay

[Locked/1400XP: Infectious Web

[Locked/3000XP: Animate Dead I]

An amazingly interesting piece of equipment that does me no good. The shiny black chain necklace made of miniscule links loops through the hoop holding up a thumb sized, leather bound book encased in threads of the same black metal. The cover of which sports the embossed icons of a skull and a human heart. Although not an inherently evil school of magic, most societies don't look to kindly to its use.

Now, not only do I have a partial aversion to Necromancy, I probably lack the Faith Stats to get the most of out it. I may look like a walking, talking evil wizard, but an oddly built Lich I am not. Besides, out of everyone in the group, Dawn is the only one with high Faith, but her Class might prevent her from using it entirely. Still, it looks like there might be other Pendants for other schools of magic and something like an Evocation or Conjuration one might be one to look out for in the future.

After weathering a storm of insults and rhetorical inquiries from both Rachel and Kona, I'm left with a simple question. Where in the seven hells was I when I was supposed to return at a specific time?

With a sigh, I try to explain in a way that doesn't involve the outside world, even though most of the issues came from just that. I tell them about Catus, the deity related to time. Victoria shakes her head and smirks.

"Eventually you'll have shaken hands with the entire Pantheon and the outlying minor gods and goddesses."

"Is there a Feat for that?" I ask, half jokingly.

Vic shrugs and closes her character sheet screen, "If there is, be sure to let us know."

We rise to our feet, dismissing the bedrolls, and gather back together in a loose circle. Dawn informs us that we'll be saving our debriefing for later. There's mountains of loot sacks and pages of data for us to sift through. Not only that, but according to an off-hand comment from Vic, there should've been a very slim chance for our victory just based on what they had seen through out the entire conflict. Letting that hang in the air for all of us, she just smirks, pats me on the butt, and says that there's a lot that we need to discuss.

Dawn adds, "Formation drills, hand to hand combat, … diaper duty. You know, the basics."

The other players giggle at this and I know I'm missing out on something important, but our attention snaps back to the Marduk and the Necromancer.

Dez's crimes, though morally outrageous, did not technically go against Pravdera's laws. He may have razed towns, murdered other Arceans in cold blood, and commited himself to "dark magic," but all those things seemed to be at least partially acceptable under the watchful gaze of The Pantheon. He did break laws governing the country, but they weren't what the Marduk was here to deal with. The terrestrial authorities would handle that when the time came.

"No, what I'm here for is the abuse of the Life Crystal system and the unjust imprisonment of Travelers, breaking ancient laws intended to hinder the growth of chaos and barbarism in the otherwise civilized races and their settlements.."

The Marduk gazes off into the distance for a moment, then glances at the ethereal scales. They're tipped slightly to one side, but its enough for the angel to close their eyes and nod their head. Through all this, Dez still has his teeth bared, a thread of drool leaking out of the left corner of his chapped lips.

"For every crystal you've taken, but did not earn you are to spend a year banished to The Endless, for a total of thirty seven years."

As expected of such a ruling, Dez reacts violently, thrashing in vain against his restrictions and shouting about the injustice of it all. The golden energy restraining him didn't keep him upright and his struggles throw him forward and he slams his face into the dirt. He's still kicking into the ground and squirming as the Marduk raises a glowing hand. A magic circle of thin blue lines and cycling runes etches itself across the ground below him.

"Winters! I'll be back for you! I'll be fucking back for you!"

I shake my head at him as the air and dust around the circle is vacuumed within. If I'm still playing this game then, by all means take a wack at me. A flash of blue light later and Dez Driftwood is no longer our problem for a good while. The Marduk bows their head at us and we return the gesture. Their body becomes slightly transparent, a sign that their time with us is coming to an end.

"Before I go," they say while waving away the scales, "Know that there is something in the area that is creating a sort of haze, disrupting the watchful eyes of the Pantheon. Once it is cleared, we'll be able to fully extend our presence through out the valley. If it wasn't for the token or certain events triggering necessary responses…"

"Do you think it has something to do with the ruptured leyline tributary ?" Dawn asks, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because even though we patched it there's still a cesspool of corrupted ether down below. Maybe that's what's doing it?"

"Maybe…"

The Marduk continues to fade away, but offers some advice as they go, "Few materials can contain corrupted ether. You may find greater success in using items enchanted with spatial magic, though you may not want to use them for other things afterwards. Good luck, Travelers. And Winters, do be careful how you use Tempest Fist. It is a monastic Ability, so using it for terribly violent and hate-filled acts might go against its intended defensive purposes."

I stammer a thanks, thinking about how the others kept mentioning how my flames turn black whenever I do my special explodey, alien from the chest, water trick. I suppose I should stop doing it, but file it under "Tricks For Total Douche Bags That Need Exploding" instead.

With that, the Marduk blinked out of sight. The low howl of the snowy breeze through the aperture is eerie in the silent Keep. Realizing that the battle is truly over, Dawn hails Gorm over her Whisper Cuff and lets him know it's safe to return. While we wait, we store our battle armaments, dress in warm clothes, and amass as many loot sacks as we can in the center near the Town Hall, which escaped the assault practically unscathed. Sadly, aside from the Book of Shadows, Dez didn't leave anything behind since he didn't actually die. We mostly accrue Faith-Imbued Bones from the skeletons and some of their simple, and highly damaged gear. Even the dark armor and weapons from the hoplites and their Decani was merely made from Blackened Iron, a nice little way to upgrade simple iron. The process, Dawn tells us, adds a bit of Poison Resistance and gives a small boost in Stealth at night or dark places, but otherwise gives the same amount of defense.

At the same time, the others give me an overview of the events I missed during my early break and walk with Catus: the final run on the Kes Mud dungeon, the leyline tributary's patch and cesspool that had formed below it, and Kona's birthday (I'm gonna have a helluva time making it up to her). After the details of the party were shared, everyone's attentions seem to fall directley on Victoria. My eyes sweep over their faces and I can feel suspense building in our small circle.

Vic turns to me, her sapphire eyes locking onto mine. Her hands search for mine, find them, and intertwine. I tilt my head inquisitively.

"Darling…"

My heart races at the soft tone and hesitant inflection. I'm not even sure she's ever addressed me like this and a shiver runs up my spine. Vic bites her lip and searches my face for something.

"We--"

The low drone of the airship's arrival cascades a small avalanche of snow down through the aperture. Our conversation interrupted, Kona summons a dome of arcane energy to cover us as we all glance skyward. After a brief moment of silence, tumultuous cheering grows ever louder as our people descend upon a moving disk from within the vardo, doors open wide. Without the threat of death and dismemberment, the disk's travel time feels half as long. A breath I didn't know I was holding escapes my lips with a hiss knowing that their return to The Keep is the true, final nail in the Quest's coffin. The vardo and clockwork horses come within a fraction of an inch of the ground and the disk dissapates as if made of dark blue vapor. Our people pour out of the vehicle and rush to us all at once and we exchange embraces. I walk away from a few with a shoulder damped by fresh tears.

I find Xara amidst the crowd and her smiling, wet eyes drop from mine to a small, dark brown, leather tool pouch she's gripping tightly as if afraid it'll fly away if she doesn't. Her voice is hoarse, but Xara smiles fondly, still staring at the pouch, "I don't know if I can manage by myself. Tor-- Torgan and I never took on an apprentice and he did most of the work and--"

I gently place my hands on her shoulders to cut her off. She sputters, trying to hold back more tears, tears she thought she had already cried out. She pulls the pouch to her chest and embraces it longingly.

"Our victory today came at a heavy cost, even though we've paid so much already. Ramona, Taymin, Elijah, Torgan, and everyone who gave their lives for us to be here will never be forgotten. They paid the debt of our safety and our future and we shall not treat their actions lightly."

With a hand still on her shoulder I look out at the others, gathering more of their attention with every passing second, "The best way to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us is to prosper. To give their sacrifices meaning. Our family is smaller now than when we started out in the forest so many months ago, but it will grow."

I pause for affect, but just as I was about to resume speaking a sound like air escaping a balloon spits from somewhere and becomes a hearty chuckle. It's joined by others, but not by everyone. I turn my head, searching for the culprits to ask them if I had hammed it up too much and find Rachel, Dawn, and the rest of the main group doubled over in laughter. Vic is laughing with them, but she's standing upright, holding a bundle of light grey cloth in her arms. With a grin, she locks eyes with me and beckons me closer with a head nod.

"Wha-- Wha--" I stammer, taking tentative steps toward her, "What'cha got there, Vic?"

She answers in a low voice, brimming with pride, "This is Myla, the newest member of Linqs. Born on the battlefield like her mother and her mothers before her."

I widen my eyes in suprise, but something in the back of my head was telling me, "I told you this would happen! I told you! You refused to pull out, well, except for that one time, but she told you to do that and it didn't work out anyway. Still…"

"Myla… a girl…? Is she…?" I ask aloud, my voice genuinely quavering now. "Did we…?"

A heavy hand on my shoulder nearly buckles my knees and I look up to see a grinning Gorm, Richter on my other side smiling just as madly. I catch a glimpse of Xara tearing up again, but feebly attempting to hide a smile behind the pouch. She nods me towards Vic and slips back into the crowd.

A whirlwind of cheers and movement leads up to the throng of people guiding the two and a half of us toward the apartment complex. Dawn, skipping merrily ahead of us, speaks to us over her shoulder and intsructs us to take a moment for ourselves. We won't have to worry about the clean up tonight. She babbles in a giggly tone that there's plenty of time now for everything else, but our reunion is way more important than anything else.

"Take your time, guys." Dawn trots closer to Vic now, staring with smiling eyes full of sparkle and wonder at Myla when the blanket slips off her face before pulling it back over. "Keep her warm!"

"Which one?" I ask resigned to my fate, but we're shunted inside before I get an answer. The three of us stand in the silent lobby. Still well lit with flickering lamps, magical or not I don't know. The matte grey stone floors, elegantly woven rugs, and dark wooden furniture welcome us and beckon us to move further inside. I saw the outside during construction and the finished product during my walk with Catus, but this is my first time seeing the interior.

The rhythmic pounding in my ears grows louder and faster until the soft shifting of the blanket startles me and my heart freezes immediately. I realize I was staring at the lobby's front desk and Vic was trying to get my attention. I gaze into her eyes, darting between her face and the baby's.

Our baby…

"So…" I begin with the lamest of ice breakers, "Myla? That's a cute name. Does it have any… um… significance?"

She motions for me to walk along with her as she leads us through the lobby, down a hallway, and towards a set of stairs wide enough to drive the vardo through. "Myla has a few meanings, actually. In Common, it can either mean 'merciful' or 'soldier' depending on the regional dialect. That's actually why I chose it in the first place."

The pleased expression on her face spreads to mine as I think about the cleverness of her choice. It doesn't take us long to reach suite 237. She passes me the key since her hands were full and I, after fumbling twice to unlock the door, follow her inside.

"I know, I know--" Vic begins, shifting her hold on Myla to run a hand through her strawberry blonde hair that I only now realize has grown long enough to dance around her neck. "--It's pretty empty right now; I only ever used this place to sleep. I was thinking of getting a dining table, but you didn't return."

I was just shaking my head at the sight of bare, light grey stone walls; tan wood floors; and the lack of any visible furnishing when her words hit me like a chop to the neck. My words catch in my throat at this, the thought of Victoria having to raise Myla on her own now being created in the back of my mind. Before I can respond, however, she continues to lead us further in.

The apartment blueprints given to us by Baron Andersil's city planners weren't exactly Master ranked items, but they certainly are well-designed and aesthetically pleasing. Very reminescent of a modern Japanese apartment, the floor-plan is one big rectangle divided by several, thin, vertical slabs of wood that don't quite reach the ten foot high ceiling. We entered from the far left of a long side and the "master bedroom" is set in the opposite right corner boxed in by two of those wood slabs. A door of a darker wood like the kind in the lobby decorated with intricate, pinstripe thin lines of Greyladium depicting a forest scene gives way to the place where the magic happens. The king sized bed, a basic wooden frame with no legs, hovers about a foot above the ground with seemingly nothing supporting it. When Vic takes a seat at the edge of it the only thing that gives way is the thick mattress and bedding.

She's still cradling Myla in her arms when I stand directly in front of her, gazing down at our daughter. The streaks of blue, the same color as her mother's eyes and I my flames, dance around her pearly blonde hair. Big eyes, the same magnificent blue, bat open and stare up at me and

I

melt.

My knees almost give way and I reach up with both hands, unsure of where they're supposed to go. The tremors in them are too obvious, though, and a chuckle from Vic sends white hot emberassment straight to my cheeks. Now, I've held my nieces and nephew at my Uncle Moss's house when they were this small, but right now it feels too surreal. Too much. This little one. This tiny, little one is mine.

"It's okay, love. You can hold her if you like. She's tough, didn't cry through any of the fight. That's her Valkyrie side, for sure."

I wordlessly nod my head and accept Myla when Vic offers her to me.

"You're a natural… Daddy."

The words send my stomach twirling and my heart fluttering. Cradled in both my arms I start a kind of gentle bounce and swaying motion when she starts to fuss. Without looking up I ask, "When does she need to eat?"

"Eat? She's just an infant, Ardy. What is she supposed to eat?"

My eyes shoot up at her and the realization that this is a game smacks me in the face. Digital. Virtual. This isn't real. Well, in the sense that this isn't IRL. Vic looks up at me with an understanding smile.

"Sometimes it really slips my mind what Travelers may or may not know about our world."

She sits me down next to her and gives me an impromptu, Arcean talk about the birds and the bees. Babies, apparently, don't exactly breastfeed in the game. As long as they're with their mother, or bondmother (the Arcean equivalant to a godmother), the infant will continue to grow, gaining a growth point each day. After about thirty days, sometimes a few days more or less, the baby becomes a toddler equal to about a two year old then ages normally from there.

"Does she-- Can she level up?" I ask, the inquisitive nerd in me at the edge of its seat. Baby character sheet and stats? What can they possibly look like?

"Not in the same way adults and older children do," Vic responds with a laugh in her voice, "She won't be able to gain XP until she can start talking."

With a wave of her hand, what looks to be a rainbow bar appears above Myla's head. "For now this is all she has. Actually… Wow, that's a lot of MP for a new born."

[Myla Grandersil. Level 0

3/3HP, 5/5MP, 1/1SP

Mother = Victoria Grandersil

Maturation: 1/30]

Dawn stops by a couple hours later with a bassinet, a new baby carriage, and news on the clean up. While cooing and wiggling a dark finger at a very wide-awake Myla in the carriage, she tells us how good everything is going so far.

"We even got all the stuff in what's left of Kes Mud that survived Big Boom. We'll leave the loot from Wild Chase in the dungeon for now since there doesn't seem to be anything worth risking a trip down there."

Vic is emptying some stuff out of her ring into a trunk set against the wall when she responds, "It's a bloody miracle we won this thing at all. You've realized that, haven't you?"

It's quiet. When I look over at her, I can see tiny hands waving for more attention, but Dawn is standing almost mournfully with her hands at her sides.

"Yes…" her voice croaks at last. She shakes her head in disbelief, "Dez made so, so many mistakes and they had so very many advantages. Our traps and plans, though formidable in their own right, must have been mere annoyances to the entirety of the forces we faced. They had the advantage in numbers, both regular troops and power players. For crying out loud, Dez was a third tier boss, as well as being higher leveled! The only thing we had going for us was location and equipment and even those things could have been overwhelmed if they had a better strategy going for them rather than trying to mow us down or capture some of us."

She makes to move away from Myla, but a giggle causes us all to look over at her in surprise. Dawn leans in close and in a best baby voice she teases her, "You like that, huh, Baby Myla? Beating terrible odds, smashing bosses? Yeah? Oh, you're so cute!"

We set a meeting for tomorrow afternoon while the rest of Linqs takes a well deserved break from the strenuous work pace set before the attack. Many people voiced a desire to begin reconstruction of certain buildings and Dawn told them she wouldn't stand in their way. Gorm and the rest of the kitchen crew had prepared a couple of weeks worth of meals in case we would be under siege for a while, so they would also be taking a bit of a break from the kitchen. When I bring up Xara, Dawn tells me that Corvina is already counseling her as well as a couple of others that had their PTSD badly triggered.

Dawn has her arms folded across her chest, "We can't keep doing this to them. Is there any way for us to recruit more soldiers, or invite more residents for that matter?"

Vic nods her head, "Once we become sponsored it'll be easier for people to move here, but we can talk about that in the meeting." She tries in vain to stifle a yawn, but loses spectacularly. "Sorry, Commander."

"No, no. It's late and you've been quite busy. We'll continue tomorrow. Good night, guys." She turns to Myla and gushes an incomprehensible series of vowels followed by a smooch on the forehead.

Three hours later, my nightmares wake me up, though they haven't been this bad in a while. The briefest flash of a memory involves a giant, blue, egg-shaped gem the size of a football and me wearing my old wolf mask trying to keeep it from danger. I look over at the other side of the bed; neither of my girls are awake. I let out a sigh. Thinking some fresh air could do me good, I put on my Corsair set and head out. I still have the keys so I lock the door behind me.

Out on the freshly fixed road, the Ground Shift Spell proving it's worth once more, I stroll towards the Town Hall. The alchemy lab, smithy, and a building that was going to be tavern were leveled beyond repair. Thankfully, according to Dawn, all of the crafting tools, equipment, and supplies were packed before she went on break. Her foresight really saved us from a calamatous crafting setback. She simply waved it off as luck. For now, the grounds of which they all stood were cleared out and the equipment was set on tables and crates in case we needed something crafted that we didn't already have stockpiled.

The crunch of new snow underfoot echoes wildly in The Keep; it must have stopped falling only moments before I woke up. Broad brush strokes of the powder below the aperture paints The Keep in such a tranquil picture, rays of moonlight dancing down through clouds across the small banks as if playing winter games while everyone is supposed to be asleep.

My steps brake the spell of peace and the rays to fill the area with a soft glow. It coincides widen with my arrival in front of the Town Hall building. Thinking that I wasn't coming back, Dawn and the others must have used the Cornerstone and chosen this design from among the list of ten without me. That's okay, it looks great and I don't know if my taste in architecture would have been helpful.

Like the picture on a post card, Town Hall sits proud and alert with a thin blanket of snow atop its wooden roof, ready to serve as our beauracratic center as well as a place for temporary housing or any kind of large, indoor gathering.

Two stories tall, the structure of dark grey stone brickes framed and accented with wood the color of rich chocolate is of a curious shape. The main body is a rectangular box, with a shallow pointed roof and six wooden pillars on the right where the roof extends out and forward in an L shape. Dawn called the roof a portico and said its basically a massive patio. The many tables and chairs do give it a very picnic-y or barbecue party feel and I envision many celebrations being held there. In stark contrast, the left side looks like someone slapped a little wizard's tower, complete with conical roof, to the build and called it a day. If it weren't made from the exact same materials and sported the same sort of accents I would've thought that was true of the three story tall, and maybe thirty foot wide cylindrical addition.

With some effort, I shoulder one of the double doors open and use my Darkvision to look back for anything that might be blocking them. There's nothing there, they're just heavy doors. But, there's also a place in the middle of both doors to hold a beam to help barricade those inside. This building was definitely designed for "outdoor use" and not within the confines of a place like The Keep. They probably could've put everyone in here during the battle, but if all of the defensive emplacements at the main entrance had been overrun then the doors would've worked just as well if they were made of paper.

The reception area is small, more like an extra wide, chest high podium with something that that looked like the cross between a fancy office chair and a tall bar stool for someone to direct people to the correct offices, answer initial questions, and maybe take messages. To the right is a hallway to several of said offices and behind the podium is a set of stairs to the second floor. To the left is a short walk to the tower. Aside from this little spot, the interior is barren of any other furniture or decoration.

My mind flashes back to Rentas Cave where Richter and I visited the dungeon Town Hall and spent some time looking up auction items in the Inter-Dungeon Trade Center. I wonder where they had set it up in here and search the rooms. After maybe ten minutes of not finding any sign of it I realize that The Keep isn't a dungeon and that we would have to clean out the one near Kes Mud as soon as possible if we want to gain access to the IDTC and a lot of the cool things that go along with living in the dungeon.

"I wonder if Sonny's dungeon core still works the same?"

I mean, we weren't going to hang around that place for too long, but we did leave sooner than we were planning on. Then we spent all that time on the road; that was a ton of fun. Gained some levels, met some people, found some loot. And now…

I wander into the tower and find that we're using it as a storage silo. The height of the tower seems to be split evenly in half by the second floor overhead, stairs are set into a wall winding its way up top. There's another door and a second podium opposite to where I walked in from, probably to keep track of everything coming in and out. Wooden chests, barrels, the magic storage crates, and even the rucksacks of holding are organized in neat stacks against the walls and under three foot tall arched windows.

A barrel acts as a chair and a crate becomes a foot stool for me as I stare absent mindedly towards the opposite wall, dimly lit by the moonight peeking in through the glass. My head thunks against the wall when I lean back. With a slow, deep breath and an even longer, drawn-out exhale, I release the floodgates of my mind. From the moment my eyes fell on her beautiful, little face a sea of thoughts began filling my head and I had to force them back. And, just like trying to contain rushing water, it was with a great deal of effort that I kept it all inside. But now…

My voice isn't loud enough to echo, and it's scratchy and hoarse as if reluctant to crawl out of my throat.

"What do I do? How do I take care of a baby? I barely remember how to change diapers, but would I even have to if Myla isn't feeding? Will she cry in the middle of the night? She didn't tonight, but isn't that what babies do? Is this really just a game?"

Another thought intrudes without warning and spills out of my mouth,"How could I be so careless?"

No, that's not right. There was always something in the back of my mind, reminding me about the people I knew in Pangaea who "had children" in game, whether it was with NPC's or players it didn't matter. Although, the level of realism in that game was no where near this one's, the moments no where near as intimate. And sex leading to children is only natural, or as natural as it could be in a virtual world.

"And what about Vic? Should we get married or something? Would she want to?"

I've had ideas and plots to ask her filling up a small corner of my head, but the timing never felt right, nor did my courage reach the level for me to act upon them.

"What do I do? What do I do…"

My last sentence is more of a weak statement than a question. It's the answer to my own question. It's the answer that births a hundred little questions. It's the answer knotting my stomach and quaking my knees.

I know that Myla isn't the only newborn in Linqs and Natasha's daughter, being the older of the two, will grant me a glimpse of what I should expect to see in my own little one. The thought gives me a bit of hope for the future. I'm overcome with the feeling one gets when beginning a brand new occupation, or the first time one stands at the outer edge of a boss room, or when my eyes opened and I found myself on the streets of Kes Rentas for the first time. I've entered a strange, new world full of questions and wonders and I'm armed with a set of knowledge and experience that barely compares to the adventure I'm about to set on. Who knows if I'll find it useful or even relavent?

"--I just gotta take it all one step at time, right? Do my best and hope it's enough? Y

People do this all the time? So can I."

I swing my legs over and land my feet softly on the floor. Shaking my head with a grin I talk to the dimly lit room, "Well, Mom and Dad, I'm a bit late, but here's the grand-baby you've always wanted. And look, she might even become a TV star once the streams of her are released."

I have a vision of Mom, awake and sitting up to watch the show. Vic and I are prompting Myla to wave through the TV screen. I think about the Linqs forum and the uproar this might cause. This might just mess with a few ships and fanfics, like the one with me and Kona. People write the weirdest things sometimes.