Chapter 183: Trouble in Paradise

“Hm.” Tullan grunted as he began to stroke his beard, pondering on Aegis’ words. The two were standing near the edge of the upper palace platform, looking down over the city of the white tree below. Some distance away, talking amongst themselves, were Aegis’ party and the rest of the Night Hunters. “That clue doesn’t help us find it, does it?”

“It might, we could just not be looking at it from the right angle.” Aegis nodded back, scratching his chin while equally deep in thought. After a moment though, he gave a shrug and began shuffling the parchment in his hands back into his inventory, having finished letting Tullan read the copied journal and learn the proficiencies.

“Regardless, ain't gonna matter much if we can’t forge one of those eternal flames. Refining it and forging the stuff requires quite the heat. Dragon fire? Peh…” Tullan shook his head.

“I have my merchant lead looking into finding the locations of the silver dragons. They’re likely to listen to us and help us out if we find them.” Aegis shrugged.

“What about the other materials?”

“I know where to gather elemental cores and a giant heart. You think you can handle the rest?” Aegis asked him.

“Aye, I can get the obsidian, iron, and the enchanting orbs.” Tullan nodded.

“Good. Once we have the base materials, we’ll look into finding a dragon to breathe on it. I’ve also got some other ideas on how to produce intense heat for the forging process of the eternal flame.”

“As do I.” Tullan nodded back. “How long are yeh thinkin’ you’ll need for the giant heart and the elemental cores?”

“Not long. Gonna stop by Rene to see how things are going first.” Aegis said as he and Tullan turned to look over the others standing far off across the palace platform. “Check in with Chax, Luryala, and Savika. Any idea what the NPCs are like in Rene?” Aegis asked him curiously.

“Nah, Sapphire’s watchin’ over Savika right now. She said it ain’t good though. Not much different from Kordas.” Tullan replied.

“What exactly is going on? Last I heard, the neighbors kept complaining about land size, and who had free land versus who was getting paid to work…” Aegis asked.

“Yep. Things like that. Yeh craft a new tool for one guy, and the next day the guy’s neighbor wants the same tool but better, for no reason. I had to craft a horse shoe for a family of NPCs that didn’t own a horse, just ‘cause they didn’t think it was fair that I’d delivered a shipment of horseshoes to the stables they lived near. It’s madness, I tell yeh. And it's drivin’ me nuts.” Tullan shook his head.

“Why’re they suddenly acting like that?” Aegis asked.

“Ain't got a clue. Not like they’re elite… The theory is that Arallian’s from another island comin’ here is what’s caused it. Messed their AI, or triggered somethin’ in them to set ‘em off. Having two kingdoms on one island brings potential for a lotta issues.”

“Maybe… They were getting along at first, though, right?” Aegis asked.

“Honey-moon phase.” Tullan shrugged.

“I guess… More important that I get back to Rene then. I left a young princess in charge, doubt she’s fairing well if the NPCs are acting like that in Rene too.” Aegis said, and Tullan nodded.

“Alright, then. I’ll get to work on the base of the eternal flame and try and find out more info about those Silver Dragons, like yer’ buddy Chax is doin’.” Tullan said with a nod as he began shuffling towards the others.

“Sounds good. I’ll let you know when we’re done getting the last materials for the flame, and finish our final leveling session.”

“Grindin’ to 150?” Tullan asked with a hint of excitement.

“Yep. We’re almost there already, thanks to that boss fight’s experience. Figured we’d do the final push to 150 so my party members can work on their advanced quests while we work on Mithral.”

“Smart thinkin’.” Tullan replied as Aegis and Tullan rejoined the others.

“How’s it going?” Quinn asked curiously as all eyes turned to the pair.

“S’all good. I lost me temper for no reason, I regret my behavior, dunno what came over me. We’re gonna be workin’ together to hopefully get some mithral for the guild.”

“You can’t just go out and get some already?” Herilon asked eagerly.

“Nope, even with the proficiencies, we still’ve got no idea where to find mithral.” Aegis shrugged.

“Aww.” Darkshot let out a disappointed sigh.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t given up. I’ll find it.” Aegis replied with determination, causing Lina to smile excitedly at him.

“Great. What’s the plan for now, though?” Pyri asked him curiously.

“Well, I’d like to stop by Rene to check in on things and turn in this quest with Luryala. We can get some sunlight and take a break. Then, we’ll head to the Red River to finish our grind to level 150 and gather some materials for an eternal flame.” Aegis replied.

“You want us to go back to that magma river to grind?” Darkshot asked with raised eyebrows.

“It’s level appropriate now, and has the materials we need for the flame…” Aegis shrugged.

“Yeah but, it’s also a magma river.” Darkshot grumbled, causing Rakkan and Lina to chuckle at him.

“One more thing…” Quinn stepped forward. “Blades are finishing a dungeon grinding session in two weeks. After that, we’ll be having a meeting with the guild leaders of Kalmoore to discuss some issues our island is currently facing. The NPC’s recent behavior, the bandit guild, and that high bounty mercenary player that’s been wandering around, to name a few.” Quinn explained as she crossed her arms. “I understand you won’t be joining a guild, nor will you likely be founding one anytime soon, but I’d appreciate it if you attended the meeting anyway, as the Lord of Rene.”

Aegis looked towards his companions briefly before turning back to Quinn and giving her a nod.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll be there. Just let me know the time and place.” Aegis nodded.

“Great.” Trexon answered excitedly.

“Let’s construct that portal altar so we can get out of here.” Tullan said enthusiastically.

Aegis’ party worked with the Night Hunters to lead them down to the ground floor of the city, where they selected an open spot near the center of the city to begin construction. It was relatively close to the prison, with a strong presence of White Tree guards in the area to provide extra security for the portal altar.

The portal altar they built was nothing fancy, just the bare minimum to get it to function as needed. They utilized cut stone that Tullan had brought along with him in his inventory.

With everyone helping and joining in on the work project, it went very quickly and the altar was completed within 30 minutes. After that, Trexon was able to enchant the altar to get it up and running, and both Trexon and Pyri were sure to attune to it, allowing them to portal back to the city from that point forward.

“Perfect, all done. We’ll be off to Kordas now, then.” Quinn called out when everything was confirmed working. She gave an instructional nod to Trexon which prompted him to begin opening a portal.

“And we’ll be heading to Rene?” Pyri asked Aegis, to which he nodded back at her. This prompted her to begin opening her own portal a few meters from Trexon’s.

“Good luck with your final grind.” Herilon waved as the Kordas portal finished forming, and he was the first to step through.

“Bye. Nice seeing you again.” Cheryl winked playfully at Aegis, which Aegis pretended to not have seen as he felt anger suddenly exuding from Lina.

“Take care.” Quinn waved.

“Don’t go slackin’ on gettin’ those materials, I’ll be waitin’ with the highest quality iron base ye’ can dream off.” Tullan waved.

“I look forward to seeing what advanced class you choose, once you’ve finished your final grind.” Trexon said to Pyri with a smile before stepping through the portal last and closing it behind him. Pyri nodded back as her own portal opened up, allowing the bright sunlight of Rene to shine in through the circular magical doorway.

“Ah, it’s brighter than the tree…” Pyri said as she was the first to excitedly run through the portal, followed by Aegis, Lina, Darkshot and Darkwing, then Snowflake, and lastly Rakkan.

The cold stale air of the underrealm transitioned to the warm humid air of Rene, with the noisy sounds of players and NPCs moving about the streets nearby. Off in the distance, Aegis could see the mountain peaking up over the walls of Rene that encircled the city.

Horses and Lagnuk’s pulled along various carts and wagons filled with goods. Rene guards patrolled the streets, birds soared through the clear blue sky above singing various songs, and a light breeze flew over them, lightly fluffing their hair and causing their cloaks to billow.

“Oh man. Wind… Moving air… I never thought I’d miss that the most.” Rakkan said as she stretched out his arms to let as much of the breeze hit him as possible, and closed his eyes to enjoy it.

Seeing him do this, the others joined in - closing their eyes and turning their faces up towards the sun. Snowflake and Darkwing, on the other hand, both launched themselves up into the sky and began to soar freely through the air above, enjoying the freedom provided to them. Aegis opened his eyes to watch Snowflake squawk and screech joyously as he began to fly in circles above the group.

“I think he’s happier to be out of the underrealm than all of us combined.” Darkshot joked as they opened their eyes to watch the excited winged beasts fly around.

“I was expecting Chax or someone to come meet us, though.” Pyri said with disappointment as she glanced around the streets nearby.

“Oh, right. He probably doesn’t know we’re here, ‘cause the stream is off.” Aegis said as he’d realized it and began fidgeting around in his interface. “Should turn it back on before Hae-won shows up and starts lecturing me.” Aegis grumbled as he hit the last few buttons to turn his livestream back on.

“So, what do you need us to do?” Rakkan asked.

“Just relax, resupply and catch up with our friends. I’m going to check in with Savika and Luryala, and sort out my inventory, then we’ll be heading back down into the Red River to finish our leveling.” Aegis replied.

“Wait, hold up. You’re forgetting something.” Darkshot stopped him.

“I am?”

“Yeah. The loot that the beholder dropped. What was it?” Darkshot asked. His excitement was contagious, as suddenly Pyri, Lina, and Rakkan all looked at him with glowing eyes.

“Oh, right…” Aegis fumbled around into his inventory. “The purple item was a necklace, a utility item. The blue item was a crafting material. Here…” Aegis pulled the necklace out from his inventory so that the others could inspect the item card for it.

Name: Eye of the Void

Slot: Neck

Type: Necklace

Quality: 91%

Durability: 100/100

Requirements: Level 100

Option 1: Activate the necklace by opening the eyelids on the pendant. Once opened, it grants the wearer the ability to see through all illusions and deceptive magic, as well as the true form of all transforming or shapeshifting creatures. After 10 minutes, the eyelids will shut and cannot be opened again for 24 hours.

Option 2: Adds 51-89 void damage to melee weapon attacks done by the wearer.

Description: A spherical pendant hanging from a dull black iron chain necklace, with an opening on the front from the pendant. Encased within the sphere is an eye that has a will of its own.

“Whoa, that’s true sight, right?” Darkshot asked as he inspected the item card carefully.

“Looks like it.” Rakkan nodded.

“Seems like it’d be best on one of you two.” Pyri motioned to Rakkan and Lina, which prompted the two to glance at each other.

“I took the last item, so it’s best if you took this one.” Rakkan replied.

“Are you sure?” Lina asked, but Aegis was surprised to see just how excited Lina suddenly became at the prospect of getting it. Her eyes twinkled and a big smile grew on her face which she tried to, but couldn’t stifle.

“Yeah, of course. With a fast attack speed you’ll get more out of the damage addition than I will anyway.” Rakkan nodded.

“Okay…” Lina replied as she turned to Aegis. “Is it okay…?” She asked him.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah, of course.” Aegis smiled at her as he handed it over and she excitedly took it from his hand and equipped it.

“Okay… thanks!” She cheered. “It’s my first time getting a high level monster drop. In my old guild, they never really killed bosses, and when they did, the leaders always took the best stuff for themselves.”

“Ah, one of those guilds, huh.” Pyri rolled her eyes.

“Is getting items really such a big deal?” Aegis asked as he saw her practically glowing as she looked down at the dull iron necklace now hanging from her neck.

“Are you kidding me?” Darkshot raised his eyebrows at Aegis. “Getting loot is the whole reason people play MMORPGs. That, and leveling up. It’s the best part.”

“It’s always nice to get upgraded equipment.” Rakkan nodded in agreement.

“It’s the best part of the game, in my opinion.” Pyri added.

“Well then, you guys we’ll be in for a treat when I…” Aegis looked up and saw that his livestream viewership had already climbed back up to 100,000 viewers. “Finally crack this Mithral mystery wide open, and craft us all the best equipment in the game.”

“Of course. Why else did you think we were all staying in your party?” Pyri smirked, causing the others to chuckle lightly and Aegis to throw her a grumpy stare.

“What about the crafting material the boss dropped?” Lina asked.

“It’s just a void resistance material. I’ll probably add it to my next shield.” Aegis shrugged. “So, with that sorted out, I’ll be off to talk with Savika and Luryala. You mind taking care of Snowflake for me for a bit?” Aegis asked Pyri and she nodded back.

“Yup, gonna go check on Melon anyway.” She shrugged.

“I’ll go see how Amlie is doing. I heard she’s back with her intermediate farmer class now.” Rakkan said

“Same, Sherry’s an intermediate merchant and has been working in the stalls here.” Darkshot said. With that, the others parted ways and left Aegis and Lina alone, though Lina barely noticed as she was still checking out her new necklace. She felt around the spherical pendant and located where the eye slit was, carefully tracing it with her fingertips.

In that short time that Aegis let her stand in silence, he spotted Chax anxiously approaching them from down the street.

“Good, glad you’re finally back.” Chax called out to them.

“Is everything alright?” Aegis asked.

“No, not really. Savika’s been getting a bit overwhelmed. You oughta come check in on her quickly.” Chax gave him a motioning nod towards the town hall.

“Right.” Aegis replied as he and Lina hurriedly followed after him. When they arrived at the town hall, they found a large line of NPCs had formed out front, all of them looking grumpily at Aegis as he was ushered past them by Chax and led inside the building. It was a mix of both Arallians and Kalmoorians of all ages, races and genders.

When Aegis got into the central room of the town hall with the large round table, he saw Celestian standing guard at the door, and Sapphire and Yuki both sitting in chairs on either side of Savika on the far end of the table.

Sitting in a chair closest to the door was an Arallian NPC who was in the middle of speaking to Savika. Chax opening the door into the room caused him to pause for a moment, and wait until Chax, Lina and Aegis had all entered and shut the door behind themselves before he kept talking.

As Aegis looked up across the table he saw a look of relief and joy on Savika, Yuki, and to his surprise, Sapphire’s face.

“As I was saying…” The grumpy sounding, older Arallian NPC cleared his throat as Aegis, Chax and Lina made their way around the table to get to the farside of the room where Savika stood. “The noise is unbearable, I cannot get a moment’s rest ever since you allowed my neighbor to practice his lute skills in his home.”

“He was told he could only practice during the day, though. Has he been using it at night?” Savika asked the NPC.

“No, only during the day, but it’s just not fair how noisy it gets.”

“But he is training to become a bard. If he isn’t permitted to practice in his own home during the day, he won’t have an opportunity to improve.” Savika explained.

“I understand. But I feel it’s only fair that if he is allowed it, I would like to be allowed it as well.” The NPC replied.

“You wish to practice music in your home during the day, too?” Savika confirmed.

“Yes.” The NPC nodded.

“That’s fine… I don’t see a problem with that…” Savika glanced at Yuki who nodded back apprehensively.

“Then, I’ll need my own instrument. Will the city provide me with one?”

“I’ll arrange for one to be crafted for you. Do you have a preference?”

“Yes. I want a lute. It must be higher quality than my neighbors.” The NPC demanded.

“I’ll see what I can do. Is there anything else I can help you with?” Savika asked politely.

“No, that is all. Good day.” The NPC stood up and stomped out of the room.

“Hold the next one, Celestian.” Chax instructed Celestion by the door as the door shut behind the leaving NPC.

“You handled that pretty well… What’s wrong, what’s the problem been?” Aegis asked Chax, to which Chax motioned his attention back towards Savika. Savika, upon seeing Aegis, suddenly disfigured her face as tears filled her eyes, and she stood up from the chair and ran around the table as quickly as she could, shoving her face into Aegis’ leg as she began to cry loudly.

Aegis was taken aback by what was happening - confused. He looked up to see that Yuki and Sapphire were both equally struggling to hold back their own tears upon seeing the young Savika in this state.

“What’s the matter? What’s going on?” Aegis asked as he looked to Lina and Chax for answers, getting only looks of worry and sympathy.

“It’s that. What you just saw. It doesn’t stop. Day and night, without rest, the pettiest of petty complaints. No matter what Savika does to try and appease them, it fails to work.

“I am a terrible leader. I can’t keep the people of Rene happy. I failed you.” Savika sniffled into his leather leg armor before crying more loudly.

“It’s not true, you are doing great. It’s not your fault!” Yuki called out to her from across the room.

“The same thing is happening in Kordas. Trexon and Tullan have had to take over for our elite NPCs to give them breaks. It started after the concert…”

“It’s most likely something to do with having two kingdoms on one island. That’s the going theory, at least.” Chax explained.

“It’s causing the NPCs to just constantly be unhappy?” Aegis asked, and Sapphire, Yuki and Chax all nodded back at him to confirm. “So, in reality, this is all my fault, isn’t it?” Aegis said.

“No, no. You saved all of us, we’re really grateful.” Savika insisted as she quieted down her crying. “My father, everything he taught me, it just doesn’t work. I’m trying to be fair and keep the peace… I’m just not good enough.” Savika added. Aegis wasn’t exactly sure how to calm her down, and found himself gently patting the top of her head to try and soothe her as he began pondering the situation.

“What about Farlion, and Celestian. And Clara?” Aegis asked curiously.

“The monastery has been fine. None of the new priests, or Clara, have had any issues.” Yuki replied.

“Me and Farlion are doing our best to maintain order. For the time being there have not been any major conflicts or need to imprison anyone.” Celestian replied.

“The other Rene guards, are they okay?” Aegis asked Celestian specifically.

“Not exactly. They too, have their own complaints. But it’s nothing I can’t handle with a bit of discipline.”

“Okay… strange.” Aegis began scratching his chin.

“What’s strange?” Lina asked curiously.

“The only one’s not complaining are the Elite NPCs.” Aegis replied.

“They’re smart enough to not be bothered by another kingdom showing up here.” Chax reasoned with a shrug.

“Yeah, maybe…” Aegis pondered out loud. “Either way, we can’t leave things like this.” Aegis said to Lina and she nodded back at him. “I’d like to head back out and finish our grind to level 150. It shouldn’t take long, only two weeks or so… but we’ll need a way to stop this before Savika grows gray hair by the age of 12.” Aegis said as he looked over the others.

“You oughta just separate ‘em.” Sapphire shrugged.

“You mean like, segregation?” Aegis raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yep. Put all the Arallian’s on one side of the city, and the Kalmoorians on the other.” Sapphire said nonchalantly.

“Won’t that make things worse?” Chax asked.

“Maybe. Or better. But at this point, you need to start a process of elimination to figure out what the cause of this behavior is. Like troubleshooting. Don’t forget, Non-elite NPCs are just basic computer programs. Trial and error is an effective way to locate the cause of the problem.” Sapphire explained, causing everyone to look at her strangely. “What?” She pulled out a carrot and bit into it loudly. “I’m a programmer in real life.” She shrugged.

“I can see what she’s saying. It’s not possible to execute segregation in Kordas due to the logistical nightmare it’d be in a city of that size. But in Rene, we can try it out. It’d at least confirm whether or not the issue is indeed the fact that we’re mixing two kingdoms together on this island.” Chax shrugged.

“Okay…” Aegis considered what they were suggesting. “Let’s try it, I guess. Is Ruffily back yet from her intermediate quest?”

“Yup, she’s been constructing some magnificent homes with the Arallian architects.” Chax replied.

“Good. Work with her to move the Kalmoorian’s to the western end of the town, and keep the Arallian’s on the eastern side. They’ll be separated by all the shops and trading halls in the center of Rene.” Aegis said to Chax and he nodded back at him. “Then, in the spirit of trying different things to stop the complaints, I would like to change how you approach these NPCs.” Aegis said as he looked down at Savika, then up at Yuki.

“I know you probably want to work on your tailoring, but I could really use your help…”

“Don’t worry. I’m an advanced class, Master Tailor now.” Yuki gave him a thumbs up and a smile. “What do you need?”

“Can you take over as Mayor for Savika for a bit, to give her a break?”

“Of course.” Yuki nodded back with enthusiasm.

“Ok, and also. I want you to turn down every request that you get, unless it’s serious.”

“Hm.” Sapphire squinted curiously at this.

“That’ll make them angry, and unhappy…” Savika mumbled weakly as she looked up at Aegis with a worried expression.

“Yeah, but, they’re already unhappy and angry, and giving them what they want hasn’t been doing anything, right?” Aegis asked.

“I guess not…” Savika replied.

“Okay, I’ll do it. Grumpy NPCs won't bring me down, so don’t worry.” Yuki replied with confidence.

“Good, thanks.”

“And I’ll just keep loitering around as a bodyguard…” Sapphire mumbled to herself before taking another bite of her carrot.

“Is there anything I should do?” Lina asked with enthusiasm.

“Yeah. I’m going to go talk with Luryala, and check in on Erikson and Josephine to see if they have any insight on this. In the meantime, can you check out the NPCs and see if you can spot any patterns in their behavior?” Aegis asked her.

“I’m on it.” Lina nodded back.

“Good. Perfect.” Aegis replied as he looked over everyone present in the room, landing finally on Savika as she remained holding onto his leg. “I’m sorry for leaving you alone to deal with this by yourself for so long. I hadn’t realized it had gotten this bad. But we’ll sort this out now, okay? You did good to keep things together for this long.” Aegis said to her, gently stroking her hair as he’d seen Yuki do. This caused Savika to smile weakly up at him, and for a brief moment he forgot that he wasn’t talking to a real little girl, but a simple elite NPC.

“Let’s begin. Operation ‘stop the whiny NPCs’.” Aegis declared to the group.