The trip to Traham passed quickly. Bercila’s warning of us being a beacon for corrupted creatures proved apt, as wandering monsters did attack more often than what Rhiogail expected. Unlike the gremlins, which had dispersed when they were defeated, the corrupted forest wolves that attacked left behind bodies. There was no loot mechanic as there was in other games, but Jared, Lily, and Richard were familiar with hunting wild animals enough to skin and clean them for use. At first I was concerned about the corruption when Andre started making a wolf stew the first evening but Davis reminded us that the aetherical corruption was removed when an Aethercrest generated the advancement points from defeated monsters. Since the beasts were slain by us we got to keep the harvested hides, but Andre offered to buy them off the group for some coin to help us get started when we reached town. We did learn that the world used a simple monetary system of what they called numus. Numus were small metal discs of copper that had various amounts engraved onto them, along with a small chip of crystal in the center. Apparently the crystal prevented the disc from being altered, damaged or copied. I wasn’t willing to get into the economics of the system, but after some discussion with Andre I was able to do understand that numus translated to roughly the same value as UEF credits; which would give me a better understanding of what basic living expenses should cost.

By the time we reached town each of the group had exchanged most of the numus we earned back to Andre for clothing, boots, and other traveling supplies that would stand out less than the skin suits we were wearing. It had actually been amusing to watch Rhiogail verbally berate Andre for trying to charge us beyond the cost of the materials. Even that wasn’t much as Andre would be able to use the wolf hides to replace the stock we had. Now I wore tough leather boots, soft dark brown leather pants, a vest of the same color leather over a shirt made of something like linen, and had a pack across my back to carry further supplies. Andre had offered to sell me another weapon, but I waved him off for the time being. I had learned hand to hand combat during my time in service as well as the magic my initial class core granted. I knew I would need another weapon eventually, but I needed to find something that I wouldn’t struggle with. Of course I could also find a trainer if there was one in the capital.

As we approached the capitol my breath was taken away by the scale of the city. I had expected something around a square mile or two such as was common in Earth’s medieval history for major cities. Instead as we came up a rise to the river valley the city was located in I saw a city easily large enough to hold a quarter to half a million people that stretched out on both sides of the river. It was the technology level of the city that really stood out though. I had assumed based on the medieval arms and armor of Rhiogail’s group that the world setting for the game would be like Earth in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Instead I looked down on a city that reminded me of the steampunk stories that merged early industrial age technology with late medieval technology in combinations that pushed the limits of what could be believed. A trio of towers pierced the sky on the northern edge of the city, each with aerial vehicles docked at them. I suspected they were simply called airships as the least technological of them looked like an old wood hulled sailing vessel with an oval bag instead of sails holding it aloft. The second was more streamlined; it was painted a dark blue and had solid arms stretching upwards to large crystal prisms. The design reminded me of the old Star Trek movies. The third looked more like a twentieth century earth zeppelin. Some areas of the city had what looked like electrical power lines running between buildings, buildings that seemed made in old medieval style. The cross culture and technology of the city was simply staggering. We approached walls made of mortared stone block toward a large gate banded in steel and manned by a small squad of guards, who seemed there mostly to keep things orderly than prevent entry.

Rhiogail called out to one of the guards as our turn to enter the city came up, “Gerald, good to see you. Are Adam and his company back already?”

An older guard, dressed in a chainmail tunic and wearing a tabard with crossed red spears on a black background looked up at the call. He smiled and saluted before responding, “Little Rhio, welcome back. Yes, he and most of the other squads returned earlier today with some strange companions; kind of like what you are doing now. Granted yours are better dressed than some of them.”

She scowled at the nickname before saying, “Where is he so I can give my report?”

“Oh don’t get your pants in a twist girl. Adam and a few of the other squad leaders are at the crystal square. Seems that each of the groups were headed that way so he sent orders for any returning squad leaders to go there for debriefing,” the guard returned, smiling at her scowl.

Thanking the guard she motioned for us to follow. My curiosity got the better of me so I asked, “Who is Adam? And do I want to know about the nickname?”

“To your second question no, and if any of you call me by it I will take your Aethercrests and gag you with them,” she said before calming slightly and continuing, “Sir Adam Caladus is one of the most well regarding Knights in the kingdom. He is the third son of House Caladus, the head of the house being Knight Commander Alexander Caladus the leader of the kingdoms military. He is the commanding officer of Delta Company, which Azure Squad is part of.”

Jared asked, “So there are multiple squads like yours that are part of Delta Company?”

Rhiogail nodded and said, “There are seven squads of irregulars that are various sizes and commonly used for scouting missions and for small scale troubleshooting. Right now Azure squad is the smallest since I am in command of it. Like you I can only have a total of eight people in my group share in the advancement points we earn. The kingdom has been at peace for the past decade and right now Delta Company only maintains the irregulars and a small cadre of veterans while helping to train a group of reserves.”

To me she sounded like she was describing an organizational structure much like the old United States National Guard crossed with medieval feudal levies. I could see how it would work in times of peace, particularly if the cadre that was in regular action with monsters were all people with Aethercrests. I wasn’t too concerned with how the military here was structured so I tuned out their continued conversation as we traveled along the main street toward the heart of the city.

People milled about without any undue concern while children both played and ran errands through the city. The street was lined with two and three story buildings, many of which followed the classic storefront below an apartment design used for centuries. I made note of the role playing game staples of a general store, weapons shop, and an armor outfitter. I also noted a store that had a sign declaring its merchandise as class cores and aethercrests of varying grades. I indicated the store to Davis and asked, “I take it that cores aren’t exactly rare?”

He shook his head and said, “Most grade D cores are common, the same is true for aethercrests. Grade C cores and crests are less common, but still common enough for a store in the capitol of a kingdom to offer them. That particular store has been run by the same family of artificers for six generations, and they have made quite the profit for themselves in doing so. The current proprietor was actually the commander of Aurum Squad before he retired and passed the reigns to Adam. I think his daughter is making a name for herself in Argentum Squad.

While it was more information than I had been looking for, it did answer my question as to whether or not one could acquire more class cores easily. I made a mental note to check out the store when we were done at the square.

It took an hour for our group to reach what was known as Crystal Square. Unlike what I had expected of a city square, this one was more of a small park with a stone pedestal in the center. Atop the pedestal was a spire of crystal circled by decorative iron bands to form an artistic obelisk. To one side of the pedestal was a group of people in tabards similar to what Rhiogail wore but with different heraldry. Relaxing on the other side were groups of what I assumed to be players as the majority of them were still in their starting clothing of a skinsuit. Lily and the rest of the group moved over to the rest of the players while I remained behind with Rhiogail, wanting to hear what the officers had to say about the situation.

A man who I guessed was in his late twenties in a white tabard with a blue eagle on it, with blue eyes and dark hair, seemed to be the one in charge. My guess was confirmed a moment later when Rhiogail saluted with fist to heart and said, “Sir Adam, Azure Squad reporting.”

The man returned her salute, glancing at me a moment before returning his gaze to her and speaking in a crisp accent that reminded me of people from New London, “Welcome back squire. Are these another group of the Lost Pioneers?”

Rhiogail nodded and he continued, “It seems they are popping out of the woodwork now. Did you encounter one of the guardians during your mission?”

Rhiogail answered, “We did, and she identified herself as Bercila. She claimed to be representative Verdant Aicrys.”

“That is similar to what my team encountered, only ours identified himself as a representative of the Cerulean Aicrys. Did she give you a shard of the crystal to bring here?” the knight continued.

I spoke up, “Yes Sir, I am carrying it. I wanted to make sure it wouldn’t cause complications for your people before completing the objective.”

That gained a smile from the serious knight as he replied, “I thank you for your courtesy. We don’t think there is going to be a problem. We are merely waiting for a message to return from the King before we proceed. Squire Siodah, you may dismiss your men to their rest. Goodman pioneer, if you will please wait with your fellows until a decision on how to proceed is reached.”

I nodded at the knight and moved over to join the rest of the group. Jared was conferring with what I could only assume was the leaders of the other parties. Lily and Richard however had waited for me to join them. Lily asked, “What are your plans when this is done?”

I gave her a puzzled look to which Richard clarified, “It looks like the group is breaking up after this. Jared and the twins are going to look at joining one of the military squads. Not a bad idea for them to grow stronger, especially with their mentality. Marie is still on the fence about whether she should go with them or not. She used to be an army medic before the trip so she will make an effective healer for any group she joins. Lily and I aren’t the military types, so we were looking to try something else. What about you?”

“While I was military before this I don’t think that is the best way for me to go. Is this the same thing as when we were in the cave?” I asked.

Lily grinned and said, “Pretty much. I want to hear your thoughts, and in the long term I think we are different enough that we won’t be competing much with each other.”

It was a vague way to mention the prize at the end of the journey to Seras. I let my mind wander a bit, considering all I had seen and heard on the way here before I responded, “There are a few ways I would think to move forward. If bringing the shards here makes it where we return here if we are killed it will make this our central base for a while. I personally want more information on the class core combinations for unlocking new classes and what benefits each one gives. In addition I need to get some training in the available weapons. I’m comfortable with a rifle and pistol, but otherwise all I have is the basic hand to hand training. We would need a way to raise funds to afford gear and core upgrades; we also would need to figure out how to set new rebirth locations further out.”

Richard nodded before saying, “Andre mentioned that the Artificer’s Quarter, near the airships docked, was the best place for technological equipment. Maybe we can find you a weapon your more comfortable with.”

Lily interjected, “Yeah, did you notice that two of the others had pistols?”

I looked at the other players nearby and I saw that four in fact had what could be classified as pistols. They weren’t quite like the high tech pistols I had trained with, but neither were they the medieval flintlocks. I responded, “Something to look into then. The only other thing I personally want to see is a map of the region. It will be hard to plan for the future if we have no idea where we are going.”

Lily smiled and asked, “So it’s we then?”

I shrugged, “I see no reason not to team up for now. I think most people are going to be like those mages we started with, running all over the place trying to rush things without a concrete plan.”

Richard nodded, “I’ll be the first to admit that it’s my initial instinct. I recognize the value of long term planning; I’m just not good at it.”

Lily laughed and said, “Don’t worry, anyone who opens up a can of whoop-ass like you do is someone I personally want to keep on my team.”

“So how do we want to handle this?” I asked.

Lily answered, “I’d say we split up a bit when we’re done here. Richard goes looking for information on where we can find trouble and loot. I’ll see about supplies, a map, and lodging; while you see what you can find regarding the class cores.”

“I can work with that. I’m curious to see if there is an adventurer’s guild or something for freelance troubleshooters, or if it is all controlled by the military,” Richard said.

I wasn’t sure how to answer that without violating the restriction on speaking about game mechanics. As I was trying to think of a response Sir Adam called out, “Thank you all for waiting. There were no objections from the council about trying this, so if each of you that carry the crystals will step forward and place them on the spire we can all find a hot meal and a warm bed.”

Seven of us stepped forward, each hefting a crystal of a different shade: red, purple, green, blue, yellow, black, and white. As we held them to the spire of crystal the glow intensified before they lifted from our hands to orbit the spire. We each stepped back as the spire began to shimmer like a polished opal under a lamp. The shards of crystal tightened their orbit around the peak of the spire and a figure began to emerge from the crystal. This figure looked like a tall human female in a sleeveless gown with lightly tanned skin, medium brown hair that flowed down her back, and light grey eyes that took in the assembled players and soldiers with a warm smile.

“We thank you for restoring the light of this crystal. Know that so long as the light shines the corruption of the void will not be able to approach the city,” she said.

Sir Adam shook himself and asked, “My Lady, who are you? You don’t seem like one of the guardians that we encountered before.”

I had to fight to keep my mouth shut as my analytical side made some slight modifications to the hair and eye color, along with the skin tone, and realized we were looking at Kathryn. The lady said, “My name is Fiona, and I was one who offered my services to the Aicrys in ages long past in an effort to protect my home. Now I am here to offer my aid to you and those who battle the voids darkness.”

“Is there anything we can do to aid you in this task?” Sir Adam asked.

Fiona smiled and answered, “Nay brave knight. So long as this crystal remains intact the protection of this city will remain. The further blessings the Aicrys offer will be of little use to you and your brethren. It is for those you call ‘Pioneers’ that more can be done.”

The knight bowed and stepped back as Fiona turned to the players and stated, “For you who bear the crystals aether within your being we can aid you further. Across the land you and your fellows have restored crystals such as this to life. At each of these you may be reborn.”

With a wave of her hand a small piece of cut clear crystal, similar to the old quartz necklaces, appeared floating in the air before each player. She spoke, “Take these, they will aid help in this process.”

I grasped the crystal and looked at it. As I looked I found a display screen opening up with a list of locations that were grayed out, but one was not: Traham, Kingdom of Vendras. There were also a number of locations that were listed as question marks. I looked back up to ask a question only to see Fiona stepping backwards into the crystal, the light dimming so that the reflected colors of sundown shone off of it.

Sir Adam spoke into the silence that followed Fiona’s departure, “Ladies and gentleman. In thanks to your service we would like to offer you what aid we can. We will find you rooms to rest in our barracks and you may join us in our meals. I know some of the squad leaders offered recompense for your aid, and this will also be settled shortly. Some of you have suggested you wish to join our company as soldiers. Those who wish this I will clear time over the next few days to speak with you. For now please see the squad leader you arrived with. I bid you a good evening.”