Time Elapsed: 00:22:14

It was a good day in Eliona.

The sun shone brightly, the air felt cool and fresh, and for the first time in a long while, Severance was relaxed.

He sat on the edge of a fountain, watching some pigeon-like birds pecking at the base of a nearby tree. With how they bobbled their heads when they walked, they reminded him a lot of chickens.

He wondered if they tasted good. Maybe if he caught one and brought it to Mouna, she could make chicken soup out of them. Or the equivalent of it, at least.

"Whoa!"

The sudden exclamation startled Severance, and he jumped to his feet, looking wildly around for the threat.

But it was only Dhin, standing beside the fountain. He might have just shouted in alarm, but he was the very picture of calm.

"What the heck, Dhin?!" Severance glared at the other man. "You scared me!"

Dhin just shrugged. "What? I just saw something really strange. I couldn't help it."

That sounded like a giant load of crap, and Severance said so.

"Aw, don't be like that, Twiggy. If you had seen it, you'd be surprised, too!"

"Really. What did you see?" Severance resigned himself to playing along. It was the easiest way to get Dhin to shut up.

"It was really amazing," Dhin exclaimed. "There you were, watching the birds, and get this, you were smiling. I didn't think you had it in you."

Expressionless, Severance punched Dhin in the shoulder. Or he tried to, because Dhin caught it in one hand. As usual, it quickly devolved into an ungainly scuffle, during which one tried to get the upper hand over the other.

An older lady passing by frowned at them, then just shook her head, as if disappointed in their behavior.

Eventually, Severance managed to get Dhin into a headlock, though he was about 90% certain Dhin had let him. He didn't care either way. A fake victory was still a victory nonetheless. He'd take it.

"You're an idiot," he said, before letting go. His point had been made.

Dhin dusted himself off, not even bothered in the slightest.

"Hey, I'm just saying things like I see it. What's gotten into you anyway? You're not your usual grumpy self."

"I'm not grumpy."

"Sure, whatever you say."

Severance gave the irritating clansman a flat look. "I'm not."

"All right." Dhin raised his hands placatingly but the smug little look on his face said otherwise. "I'm just wondering if I should be worried. That's all."

It wasn't that Severance was entirely annoyed with the clansman, but rather, he was somewhat embarrassed. He hadn't been acting all that different, had he?

After the long talk earlier this morning with Mrs Beakor and Tripp, he did feel like things were a little less overwhelming, but it still hadn't changed the grim tasks that lay before him. He was a member of the Veiled and when they needed him, he'd answer. That was why he jumped back in the game instead of taking Tripp's suggestion to wait until they talked with Jake and Chad.

"Where is that guy, anyway?" Eager to change the subject, Severance turned in a slow circle, as if expecting to see someone approaching any moment now. "He was supposed to meet us right away."

"Maybe your friend got lost," Dhin helpfully suggested. In any other case, it would have been a silly suggestion, but considering the friend in question, it was a very real possibility.

"I'll send him a message," Severance decided. If anything, Awesome Dude was at least reliable at answering his messages. While he did that, Dhin idly pulled out a slender dagger and began twirling it between his fingers like it wasn't sharp at all.

Show-off. Severance ignored the clansman and sent a quick message to his friend.

Afterwards, he raised a hand to shade his eyes against the brilliance of the sun, aware that it was sometimes hard to spot a sneaking Shade in the shadows. He saw nothing but a few random citizens passing by.

Awesome Dude had better hurry. They were supposed to meet with the rest of the team at the Robot Raid entrance in a few minutes.

The System suddenly chimed. You have received a message from Awesome Dude. Would you like to open message?

There it was. Severance smiled. "Yes."

"Heya, Sev! How's it going? Sorry, just running... er, running a little late. I gotta deal with—whoa! That was close—something first, but I'll be there in a minute!"

All traces of amusement morphed into a scowl. Severance immediately composed a reply.

"You're in trouble, aren't you? Where are you?"

Nearby, Dhin perked up. He drifted closer, still playing with the blade. "Trouble?"

"He probably ran into a pack of rabid hyenas," Severance groused.

You have received a message from-

Severance quickly interrupted. "Yes, open it, please." He ignored the strange look Dhin gave him. He knew it appeared odd, but surely Dhin was used to seeing him interact with the System menu by now.

"Well, it's kind of a funny story. But you remember the north bridge to Two Bridges? That's where I am. But you shouldn't-"

"Close message," Severance said. "Dhin, what's the quickest way to the north bridge of Two Bridges?"

Both of Dhin's brows lifted. "Well, if you want to die, the city itself. If you want to live, the Ruins. But that's still a good distance away."

"Fine. Then we'll run." With any hesitation, Severance brought up the teleport menu, grabbed Dhin's shoulder, and teleported them away.

A few minutes later saw them running down a narrow path that threaded through a dense forest. They traveled at a breakneck pace, trees blurring by and branches whipping past overhead. Yet as fast as they moved, their passage barely made a sound.

It was eerie. But fun.

By the time they reached the forest's edge, both of them were grinning wildly. It became a race between them as they kept following the path. It took them through a meadow which quickly dried up and became a rocky land with sparse vegetation. Dhin pulled ahead easily, his speed unmatched. Though Severance gave it his all, he was barely able to keep from falling too far behind.

It didn't take long for the great canyon to appear in the distance, and with it, the plateau that held the towering city of Two Bridges. It looked the same as it ever had, yet Severance knew better. The city was anything but the same. Not with the Chosen occupying it, now treading on ground where countless brave Valkyrie had died.

It was a sobering reminder.

The closer they got to the city, the more their previous joy faded and the more serious they became. Shouts reached them now, excited and frenzied. Severance exchanged a glance with Dhin. Something was definitely going on.

There was smoke rising from the bridge, climbing a dozen feet before the wind came and scattered it. People were fighting, Severance could tell that much, even though the smoke obscured much of the action and made it hard to see who fought who.

Unsure of what to make of this, both Severance and Dhin slowes, approaching cautiously. There was a pile of something burning on the bridge, generating all the smoke, but they couldn't see what exactly it was.

"Let me guess," Dhin said. "That's where your friend is."

Severance peered at the murky chaos on the bridge. "Probably. I think I see some Chosen in there. Not sure who else; it's kind of hard to see."

"Hm," Dhin hummed. He casually unsheathed a pair of long, double-sided knives. "Any Outsiders?"

The few names Severance glimpsed were a pale blue. "All Outsiders, I think. Oh. There's someone from the Eternal Champions. Doesn't look like Awesome Dude, though."

"They appear outnumbered, in any case. Why don't we go even things out?" The smile Dhin was sporting was a bit unnerving. It was like a cross between Maun's playfulness and Vast's bloodthirstiness.

Severance gave a tight smile of his own.

Between the haze, the chaos on the bridge, and their silent approach, no one noticed Severance and Dhin joining the fray. Not at first, at least.

Dhin took the lead, slipping into the smoke like a shadow. Severance followed. His eyes stung from the contaminated air, and he had to stifle the urge to cough.

They approached a pair of Chosen attacking a prone Eternal champion. One Chosen kneeled on the small of her back, pinning her down, and he laughed while his companion thrust his glaive into the Champion's legs.

"You shouldn't have come here," he sing-songed mockingly. "This is our city now."

The Champion spat out a very unladylike curse, which only made both Chosen laugh even more. Severance winced when he saw the ruined mess of her legs. She was lucky she couldn't feel it.

"Earth Dance," he breathed, and soundlessly slid behind the Chosen wielding the glaive while Dhin positioned himself by the one kneeling on the Champion. The two of them met the other's gaze. An unspoken signal passed between them.

Like he'd been taught, Severance lifted a closed fan, reached around his target, and drew it quickly across the Chosen's throat. At the same time, Dhin did much the same with his own victim.

Both Chosen stopped laughing at the same time. With a faint gurgle, Severance's player sank to his knees before topping forward. His glaive clattered to the ground. The other Chosen just fell sideways.

Wind twirled around Severance's fans before gusting towards the Champion. It sank into her wounds, immediately knitting flesh closed and restoring much of her health. The sheer effectiveness of the healing was startling.

"Nice work."

With an approving nod, Dhin clapped Severance on the back. Then he melted into the smoke and vanished, probably off to find some other victim to slaughter.

The Champion had to shove the body of the one Chosen off herself before she could get up. After gathering her fallen sword, the Champion fixed Severance with a wary look.

"Who're you?"

"A friend," Severance answered. He looked through the haze, or tried to, but he didn't see signs of anyone nearby. There was still fighting going on—he could hear it—but the intensity of it had started to slow. "I'm looking for Awesome Dude. Have you seen him?"

"Him?" She sighed, then gestured around them with the tip of her sword. "This mess is his fault, you know."

"Really."

That was no surprise at all. He was curious as to what exactly his friend had done to cause all this.

Instead of elaborating, however, the Champion shook her head, muttering something under her breath.

"Come on, then. He's either in the thick of it or dead."

The Champion headed towards the sound of battle. Severance went with her, though he kept an eye out for any enemy players. They soon came across one, laying limply with a blood-covered throat. It wasn't hard to recognize it as Dhin's work.

And shortly after that, an enraged yell rang out over the bridge. "What the hell?!"

Then another: "Hey! Whose side you on, man?"

"Whoops," came Dhin's voice.

When Severance found his fellow clansman, it was to the sight of him standing over two dead players. One was Chosen and the other was an Eternal Champion. The dead Champion happened to be a very recognizable Awesome Dude.

Another mixed group of players had paused in the midst of their fight, obviously baffled at the newcomer who'd just barged in and started slaughtering without regard for who they were. Seeing as said newcomer was an Eliona citizen, or a mere NPC to them, it was no doubt very strange.

Severance inhaled sharply, teeth grinding. "Dhin."

Multiple pairs of eyes swung his way, Dhin's included.

"Yes, Twiggy?"

"You killed my friend."