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Ch 24, SEx: Space Ex

Morning either took far too much time to arrive or else Logan was up a lot earlier than he should have been. Regardless of the reason, it was still dark outside when Nagol opened his eyes. At first he wondered if perhaps his 'loaner' Corpus just didn't sleep as much as his normal one but he ultimately set aside the quasi-philosophical question to address the situation at hand: he was up earlier than the sun and, whatever the reason, he had little interest in going back to sleep.

He knew that the activities of Ozar's Realm didn't really get started until dawn which meant that his options were limited; he settled on using the 'downtime' to follow up on a suggestion he'd received back on the Lunar Spire: if he had to get used to being a Transhuman then he needed to get comfortable with switching his Corpus. Focusing internally, he had his implant bring up his memories of the event and chose to relive them. It was a strange experience as he went through it a second time-- all the stranger because he was one step removed.

Unlike the time he actually went through it, Logan knew what to expect. He'd experienced it once at that point and everything happened exactly the same, only he was able to go review it more as an audience member rather than actually be involved; that difference (coupled with it being a re-experience of a prior event) somehow made it easier. He replayed it three more times as he puzzled his way through the new sensation of being able to analyze something he'd dealt with in the past. By the fourth replay he realized that it really HAD helped!

He then moved on to reviewing the events of his 'awakening' in his new Corpus. Logan marveled at the way his thoughts bounced around and the discombobulation he'd had to work through while orienting himself in a new location and in a new Corpus; he even laughed when he realized that he was already starting to use the proper term, no longer specifically thinking of his physical manifestation as a 'body'. He even ended up laughing aloud as he played through it two more times. Being able to re-experience the event really was liberating!

On the final review, Logan watched his memory through experiencing 'magic' for the first time, and making his way out of the 'temple'. There was a LOT more of a recording to review, but the young man figured he'd seen enough so he didn't bother playing it further. From there, Logan did a quick check on the time and, to his joy, he realized that the sun was rising, which meant that Ozar's Realm (or at least the Eight Shannons) was soon to begin its daily activities. He found himself beyond excited! Making his way out of his room, Logan wondered idly how long until he could expect his fellow party members to join him.

He made his way down the stairs, the only patron of his hallway who was out and about. Nagol was not, however, the only individual down in the common room and a friendly, affable, deep voice called to him even as he made his way down the stairs. "Howdy there, Nagol! I see yer up early! Good morning!"

Nagol found himself smiling at the Orc's greeting. "Morning, Ozar. Based on how rare Daliah said you showing up is, I didn't think you'd be here three days in a row."

The Orc behind the bar waved away the statement as Nagol approached. "Bah... she just likes to poke fun at me sometimes because I'm not the most social-able guy out there."

Surprised at that admission, Nagol was taken aback. "Really? You seem to do really well with everyone here."

Shrugging sheepishly, Ozar began wiping a tumbler clean. "Honestly? I do best when there's a defined social role to play. Being a barkeep is easy enough... especially when everyone who visits already knows you... or at least thinks they do. Filling orders, passing on little tidbits of story plots for people to follow, and accepting praise for one hell of an engaging Hab-- those are all really easy things to do. It's like playing a role-- a lot easier to put on a face that isn't yours than letting someone inside... yeah?"

Nagol was honestly surprised to have such a candid conversation, but even more surprised that Ozar's soulful admission could just as easily have come out of Logan's mouth. Smiling as well, but trying to avoid looking goofy at the empathy he felt in the moment, Nagol simply nodded. "Yeah... I get what you mean."

Ozar set yet another cup off to the side and picked up a fresh one. "Anyway-- how are you enjoying your stay?"

Smirking, Nagol offered up a little bit of attitude. "Do you mean at the Eight Shannons, or in ozar's Realm?"

Setting down the newest mug and the accompanying rag, the Orc leaned forward, offering a tusky grin of his own. "Yep."

The Human laughed at his host's evasive answer, and decided the least he could do was to be honest with the man who had created something so amazing. "I'm having a lot of fun... I can't believe how amazing this place is."

Ozar nodded thoughtfully, a big grin on his face. "I may hear it a lot, but it never gets old. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

Even as he spoke, the Orc filled up one of the clean glasses and slid it across the bar to Nagol, who accepted it incredulously. "Alcohol with breakfast?"

Winking, Ozar smirked wryly. "Only if you have something with it... otherwise it's alcohol FOR breakfast."

Not one to normally drink, Logan looked down at the frothy drink. He sniffed at it delicately; it smelled sweeter than beer and, coming to the conclusion that LOGAN didn't drink but that didn't mean Nagol didn't, the young man brought it to his lips and took a sip. It was definitely alcoholic, but also very sweet, with a decided honey flavor to it. "It's mead, isn't it?"

The Orc opened his mouth to answer, but Nagol was suddenly joined by Daliah. "Ah... there you are. You pumping Ozar full of praise about his creation, or is he just smiling stupidly at you for no specific reason?"

Before Nagol could answer, Ozar quickly interjected, using his earlier dialogue-breaking singular word response. "Yep."

Daliah responded just as simply; she held up her middle finger at the Orc, who laughed at the response. Once the Elf had pulled Nagol away from the host she began walking him back across the tavern toward the Elite Den. "So... I figure we plan our day and head back out. There's still a few more quests to finish at the Foothold and we should look at leveling you up at least once before the boss fight."

The two went to the table they'd occupied on prior visits and Nagol took a seat, his drink still in his hand. "Boss fight?"

The Elf held up her hands, palm out. "No questions... I don't want to ruin things for you by giving too much away."

Although the idea of 'spoilers' wasn't that big of a deal to him, Nagol did actually have a different question. "Why the Foothold? If Ozar's Realm is so huge, is there any reason we can't just look into exploring somewhere else?"

Daliah's scowl was casual, as if she were a teacher hearing a stupid answer provided by a student. Her response was equally as flatly nonplused. "Quest chains have the best rewards, Nagol. We can go somewhere else after you finish the one we started yesterday-- there's only a few more to go before we get you there."

The Human really couldn't argue with that logic. "Oh... Okay. I guess that makes sense. We can head out when Bellever gets here."

Almost as if speaking his name was a sufficient summoning incantation, the Wolfman showed up. He his fur was mussed up, he was devoid any equipment (or his loincloth), he looked as though he was hungover, and he also looked incredibly happy, tail wagging freely behind him as he stepped up to take a seat at the table. "Morning!"

Daliah's stare at the Wolfman was nearly identical to the one she'd given Nagol when he asked about switching quests. Her tone was also identical. "So... did you have fun last ni-- you know what? I don't want to know. Just get equipped already and then we can discuss our plans for the day."

Bellever offered a casual grunt and ran one paw through the fur atop his head. "Let me guess: we're finishing the Foothold?"

The two of them immediately got into a casual, non-heated argument as the Wolfman pulled his loincloth seemingly out of nowhere and tied it off around his waist. The discussion about 'professionalism when showing a newbie around' came up, to which the response was essentially something to the effect of Ozar's Realm was supposed to be fun and there's a way to balance instruction and leisure. Daliah began pointing out that Linus was a far cry from-- Bellever quickly interjected, reminding Daliah that the Hobgoblin's name was different from his player's and that the Wolfman spent last night with Groh Bloodletter, not Linus.

Nagol was happy enough to just sit and sip his mead while the two had their little spat, but he couldn't remain quiet when Bellever affixed a new leather spaulder; the treated leather shoulder plate color was a good match for Bellever's fur, and, although he wasn't certain how, the Human could tell that the piece of armor was 'magic'. "When did you get a magical shoulder piece, Bellever?"

His furred companion offered a shit-eating grin, followed by a toothy smile as he proudly proclaimed "I earned it!"

Daliah was much less lively about her explanation. "Bellever has been putting himself to good use ever since he first started. He carries on a 'side job' during his stay at the Eight Shannons in order to get extra gear from more experienced adventurers."

It took a few seconds for Nagol to put two-and-two together but, as soon as he did, the words came out of the Human's mouth before he could stop them with only the faintest little pause between most of the sentence and the word that the young man was hesitant to say aloud. "You're a... prostitute?"

If Nagol was worried that the statement would agitate Bellever, he was entirely wrong; the Wolfman actually grinned even wider, leaning forward as he spoke in an almost seductive tone. "I only deal with high class clients but, no... I'm not a prostitute-- I prefer the term 'pawstitute'."

Daliah groaned, rolling her eyes. "Linus was bad enou--"

Bellever interjected. "Groh Bloodletter."

The Elf grumbled out the words. "Groh was bad enou--"

"Groh Bloodletter."

Much to Bellever's apparent enjoyment, Daliah growled through her teeth. "I think it's time we start our day."

The Wolfman didn't object and, when both looked to Nagol, the Human finished off his mead with one last gulp and set his mug down on the table. "Ready to go!"

* * * * *

Nagol felt like they were moving at a faster pace than on the prior day, heading ever farther from town at a quicker-than-casual pace. Bellever had something of a bemused expression on his muzzle but he offered no insightful explanation and Nagol had the feeling that he would not be well-served asking for one. One thing he DID know, however, was that Daliah wasn't inclined to discuss the specifics of her agitation with the Wolfman. What the young man HAD been able to piece together was that Dalian and Groh Bloodletter's player used to be a 'thing', but were no longer.

They made great time, and were more than half way to The Foothold before anyone said a word; it was Bellever. "So... we left off last night talking to the Quartermaster about the note from the goblin scout, but we didn't grab the next quest because we were quitting. It's a really good one. We're heading out to the field where we--"

Daliah shushed him with a harsh statement of "Shut up, Bellever-- he hasn't done this before and you shouldn't ruin the experience for him."

Despite the acidic reproach, the Wolfman accepted the verbal lashing with grace and poise. "Oh. Right." he grinned wide. "Just you wait, Nagol... you're gonna love how this quest chain ends."

The Elf hushed him again and motioned everyone in together as they crested the last rise before the Foothold. Nagol was more than ready to see the familiar site, happy again to be back out in the world gaining levels and loot, but he was surprised to see that what he was looking at wasn't identical to the prior day; the guards at the gate were different. Almost as if reading his mind, Bellever leaned over to speak quietly "Guards change regularly so the workers don't get bored of doing the same thing every day."

Nagol accepted the explanation readily; he didn't really mind things changing up a little. "No problem... it won't affect our quests or anything will it?"

The Wolfman casually dismissed his concern. "Nah... all the workers know their place in the quest lines and their implants let them know how far along players are. We shouldn't have any trouble at all."

'No trouble', however, did not seem to be the plan as Daliah came to an immediate stop the moment they came within clear view of the guards at the gate. Nagol had already noticed at a distance that they weren't the same as the ones the prior day but, closer, he could see that one was a Human woman, and the other looked like a much taller, much broader male Human, nearly eight foot tall. Daliah didn't seem pleased, but Bellever seemed almost giddy. "Oh... this'll be good."

The Elf woman grumbled under her breath with her teeth clenched. "Fuck you, Noah."

Not exactly sure what had his female companion so worked up, Nagol resolved to try being a little better at role playing than he had the first day. Taking a deep breath, the young man walked up to the two guard and tried his best. "Good morning, Guards! We're adventurers, here to continue doing our part in helping the kingdom!"

All-in-all, Nagol felt as though he'd been fairly successful with his greeting, he was somewhat surprised when the incredibly huge guardsman all but ignored him, focusing instead on Daliah. The female Guard offered a slight nod, then turned her gaze to the larger guardsman expectantly. Eventually she jabbed him in the calf with the butt of her halberd. At that, the big guy finally glanced once to Nagol before his eyes shot for a split second back to Daliah, then once again to the young man. "Ah, yes. Greetings brave adventurers. The Quartermaster is expecting you. Go right in."

The Wolfman to Nagol's right lowered his voice, practically whispering. "The Half-Giant guard is Linus... he's on shift today."

One part of Logan was relieved that it wasn't a forgettable greeting on his part that had the guard distracted, but the other part of him could only think how awkward things suddenly were. Quickly resolving to get out of the situation, he offered up what he learned was the Ozar's Realm version of a salute, and quickly slid in through the open gate, eager to be far away from the uncomfortable interaction. Fortunately, both of his companions followed suit with no further interaction.

Once they were in the Foothold proper Bellever was nice/tactless enough to expand on things. "So... word of warning: as a Transhuman, you need to be careful about dating coworkers-- especially if you both work for Ozar's Realm."

Daliah shot the Wolfman a withering stare. "Not helpful, Bellever."

Nagol, on the other hand, was a little more curious. "So... that Half-Giant... he's that Linus guy? The Hobgoblin?"

Bellever nodded his head vigorously. "Same player but a different character, obviously. He's another regular... splits his time between working and playing. I don't think the guy ever leaves Ozar's Realm."

The Elf beside them flicked the Wolf in the nose. "He doesn't. He's here all the time, which makes it hard to play or work."

Rubbing the end of his nose, the Wolfman offered a thumbs up. "Hence my warning to our new Transhuman friend."

Daliah rolled her eyes and sighed; her attempt to change the topic was not subtle in the least. "How about we return to in-character talk and get moving onward with this quest line? I'd like to get Nagol through it before nightfall."

With no further objections and nothing more than a chiding grin from Bellever, the team got right to work. The meeting with the Quartermaster was fairly straight forward; as with before the end of the prior day, he reiterated that the goblins were planning something and the information they had intercepted from the goblin scout suggested that they were planning an attack. The party was then sent out to investigate a staging ground for a goblin war party. Nagol was surprised to see a fully set-up camp but, oddly, there were not a lot of goblins around.

The party polished off the prerequisite number of 20 goblin guards when a cry came up from the entrance to the camp. "Adventurers! You are needed!"

Bellever bounced from paw to paw, tail wagging wildly. "It's about to begin!"

Daliah silenced him with a glare, then looked to Nagol. "Alright... you lead the way. We're right behind you."

Nagol couldn't quite get what the two were so worked up about but he did as suggested, leading the group back to the entrance of the goblin war camp, where a half-elven rider sat on her mount, a scroll in her hand. Upon seeing the party, she held out the missive. "Quickly, heroes. The Foothold is under attack!"

Having completed the quest to kill 20 goblins, the quest was apparently pushing them onward and, upon accepting the scroll, Nagol opened it and looked at the contents. It was a letter from the Captain of the Foothold herself, warning the party that the goblins had laid siege to the installation and that they were being recalled. They would need to battle their way through the northern flank and regroup with Foothold command. As Nagol looked up from the scroll he very nearly jumped out of his boots; there was a huge column of smoke rising up on the horizon. "They... they're attacking the Foothold?"

Bellever pumped his fist in the air then grinned to Nagol "Ready when you are!"

Daliah was a little more collected. She addressed the rider. "Thank you for delivering this message. We will return to the Foothold at once."

The rider inclined her head, turning again to look at Nagol. "Remember: move to the northern flank and fight your way through three waves. Once the passage is clear the soldiers will open a sally port so you can regroup with command. Good luck!"

Her lines said, the half-elven woman wheeled her horse about and raced south across the plains. Nagol took note of that. "She's... not heading back toward the Foothold?"

Bellever shrugged. "Probably her last message for the day-- heading back to town so she can clock out and another worker can take ov-- OW!"

Daliah withdrew her fist from the Wolfman's shoulder then turned to address Nagol. "How are you on heals? Do you have enough consumables? The final two missions are done in rapid succession so you really need to be prepared."

Nagol smiled in response. "Are you kidding? I only had to use one potion so far-- you're a REALLY good healer."

Bellever snickered. "No she's not... we just barely have any health... but it's true, Daliah-- I'm sure we're good to go... so let's go!"

The return to the Foothold was suspenseful as Logan considered what they could possibly find waiting for them. He had learned during his time in Ozar's Realm that the rec hab definitely spared no expense on doing things big and flashy, but how would they manage a full on battle field? Weren't all humanoids played by a Transhuman? Would they really have THAT many employees enacting some Hollywood-style mega fantasy battle? Surely the assault on the Foothold couldn't be THAT epic? He ultimately learned how wrong he was.

* * * * *

Their fight through three waves of goblins outside the Foothold had been insane; there were skirmishes everywhere with defenders facing attackers and numerous catapault rocks flying around the battlefield-- fortunately in places where the group wasn't located. Although Nagol was able to catch sight of other adventurers, it was insane to think that, earlier in the day, the Foothold was a calm, relatively safe quest hub but, in the span of a morning, it had turned into a bedlam... and it only got crazier once they got inside!

Soldiers were running all over, many carrying spare arrows for archers on the wall while others were restocking ballista bolts. The Quartermaster and the Captain were together and, once the group located them, they were told of their ultimate task: the Foothold's magus would teleport them to the hill overlooking the Foothold where the Goblin Warlord was directing the battle. They would, as the Captain noted, cut the head off the snake. The group wasted no time, and Nagol felt his first teleportation spell. It was unnerving.

Goblin Warlord Marrow had been the most difficult battle Nagol had faced during his time in Ozar's Realm and all the more difficult because Daliah stood in the back and didn't contribute anything other than heals. By the time the battle had concluded Nagol had hit 5th level and Bellever had gained a level as well. The Warlord was supposed to be tackled by a party of at least three 5th level characters so it was a true challenge, and Logan felt that it was a hard won victory-- it felt good!

With the epic battle concluded, the three adventurers made their way back to the Foothold on foot. Logan was astounded at the after-effects of the huge battle; his visor games certainly hadn't paid such attention to shifting landscapes or altered layouts of terrain. One thought stuck in his mind as they neared the Foothold. "So... what happens with all the new players coming to the Foothold? Do they clear all this away during the night or something so they can start fresh tomorrow?"

The question went unanswered when Nagol saw Daliah's entire body stiffen, eyes focused ahead of them. Turning to see what had caught her attention, the Human immediately tensed nup as well; the Half-Giant guardsman was making his way toward them. If the guard had any reservations of interacting with Daliah's party he certainly didn't show it. He hailed them and spoke his lines with the practiced perfection of an actor. "Well done, adventurers! You've defeated the goblin warlord and the rest of his craven followers have fled. The Commander asked that you provide an update to the General back in Trylon."

Once the Half-Giant had handed over a scroll to Nagol he stood up to his full height, hands on his hips as he looked down at Nagol and Bellever. "As the heroes of the Foothold, the Captain also rewards the two of you with your choice of reward."

Nagol was immediately interested. "Reward?"

Grinning, the guardsman took his backpack off his back, which turned out to be a chest. "You may select any item you like."

The items, as they turned out, were a few different weapons or armor. Bellever grabbed a pair of fingerless gloves while Nagol selected a new two handed sword, then turned to Daliah. "Are you getting something?"

The Half-Giant grinned. "Commander Windbloom? Oh, no... this task was far beneath her. She does this kind of thing for the kingdom all the time. Don't you, Dal?"

Nagol didn't realize it at the time, but it was exactly the wrong interaction, and a very verbal, very loud argument began. Considering it was getting late in the day and he hated confrontation, Logan decided it was time to go. Slipping away from the argument (and Bellever, who seemed more than happy to watch it like some kind of twisted version of real-life unscripted entertainment), Nagol broke ranks and resolved to get back to the city on his own; with any luck things would smooth over by morning.

Maintaining a quick pace, Nagol had taken stock of locations that morning and realized that he could shave some time off his journey and made a bee line for Trylon rather than rely on the meandering road. He didn't really consider Daliah's warning from the prior day that the road was safe while cross-country wasn't until he encountered five Snarks-- nasty vermin the size of bobcats. He'd already fought with them several times alongside Bellever and Daliah but he was alone, which put him at a one-on-five disadvantage. Fortunately he had them beat on levels; he was level five and they were only level three foes. Sadly, their numeric advantage made more difference than his levels.

Snarks had been so easy when he was in a group, but, against five of them, he was at a loss. His agility helped when he faced off against foes one-on-one but he couldn't consistently dodge five. He was accurate and dealt solid damage with each of his blows, but they were grinding their way through his health points far too quickly and he was rapidly running out of health potions. In the end, he knew that he'd have to flee. Racing past them, he broke into an all-out run for Trylon. He made it about three steps before he ran out of health... and died.