Blood Washed by Blood

[Nevar Flat Notes]

[[Closed; and note, this quest takes place before the FQ: To Rule All Flesh]]

Dawn’s first ray was warning against the silence of the night as Alice strode into a large city. Her bare feet barely made any noise against the rough street, but they were much happier walking on these cold stones than they had been on the rough dirt that stretched behind her. Long, the girl had been walking along this road, praying to find civilization. Luckily, she had passed a traveler or two, and though their bodies had been fair and thin, they sustained her until this point. Only a soft yellow ring of malnourishment surrounded her eyes and edged up her finely painted nails.

As she saw a motherly woman pass by with her daily groceries, she coughed pathetically and fell to one knee, feigning injury. Shocked by the girl’s presence and appearance, she mumbled concern in a language that was lost on Alice’s ears. Sharp points tipped each of the female’s ears, and an aristocratic air surrounded her. It was obvious she was of a different species, but at the moment it mattered little to the hungry monster. The mother bent over to help Alice up, and with a soft almost poetic sigh, let out her last breath and crumpled to the ground. Almost as a flag, proclaiming her kill proudly, the girl’s dagger stuck from the woman’s breast. A red stain spread across the soft brown cotton dress like a plague, seeking further sustenance in the dryness of surrounding fabric. With one eager hand, Alice drug the cooling corpse into the nearest dark alley.

A crisp, resounding crunch escaped the darkness, and little else.

A meek amount of minutes after their disappearance, Alice came trotting from the darkness gaily, with a bounce in her step. All evidence of the yellowing had vanished from her pallid countenance, replaced by an innocent smile and eyes determined to find adventure. Though she did not know it yet, her wish for a new quest was already being granted as a man in an expensive suit ran down the street, followed by two heavily armed brutes. They were not chasing him, but instead, just as excited as he. It was not a race, but Alice broke into a dash herself, smiling and giggling as she chased after the interesting men.

Soon a loud announcer’s voice came to her ears, and they reached a crowd gathered in the street around a make-shift wooden stage. Around it were many men and women of vastly different appearances and possibly species. They all had only one thing in common; ready both in body, and in sheer amount of weaponry to take on a dragon. A well-dressed man with the same tipped ears and self-importance as the mother was just beginning to speak atop the stage.

“Come, come, and see for yourself the prize that many of you have traveled so far to hunt. His name is Gamta, the Silver Stag,” as he said this he revealed an enormous drawing that was nailed across the entirety of the billboard that ran along the stage. Depicted was an amazingly beautiful rendition of a stage, painted pure white, standing proud on a nondescript background. Its horns had a very unique tattoo-like design along it that reminded Alice of tribal markings. The most striking feature however lay in the creature’s eyes. Two amazing sapphire orbs that seemed to gaze out of the picture and into one’s very soul. “This image was drawn by one of Raiaera’s very own wizard artists during a chance encounter with Gamta. The beast had been sighted on the edge of the Red Forest, notably the most innately dangerous area in all of Althanas. I’m sure I don’t need to inform any of you of the atrocities that happens to people who wander there. However, I’m certain all of you can handle that place with ease. So here is the offer, the first team who brings back the Stag, alive, will receive a king’s ransom in gold and all the fame of catching this elusive monster.”

At this point he handed colored tickets to an assistant, “Each of you will be given a ticket, and you must find the other who has a ticket of the same color. You will be divided in teams of two, for your own safety. Due to some regulations we have involving hunting this beast, you must return with your teammate and the Stag to receive the full reward or else you will only get a portion equal to what you bring back. Good luck, and may Khal’Jaren be with you all.” The man left the stage, leaving behind his assistant who handed out tickets to any who asked for one, and the magnificent illustration.

Alice walked to the front and quickly grasped a ticket from the box, without anyone noticing, and then began her search for the other of the color. With glee, she held up the ruby red ticket in front of her.

[Taskmienster]

Colin moved across the office space quickly, a coffee in one hand and his other balled and stuffed into the outside pocket of his less than professional hoodie. Did it matter to him if he had been promoted to his position of Chief Programmer faster than anyone in the company ever had? Or that he was the youngest to ever hold the position? Not in the least, he felt like shit. Every sip of the lukewarm liquid was a struggle, as if his throat was going to close shut while flaring up like a wildfire at the same time. Every swallow was followed close behind with a rough sniff and ragged breath. If he used his throat to swallow for too long his air was cut off, since his nose was hardly fit to be inhaling through. His free hand escaped its warm pouch and rubbed at his eyes, wiping away the excess water that build up along the corners. “Stupid weather,” he sighed as he took another sip, followed quickly by a cough. “I wish Florida would decide if it was going to be cold or hot already, this back and forth shit is getting old and making me sick.”

“Morning love, how are you feeling?” The corporate ladder climber turned to his girlfriend, and soon to be fiancé. The lithe, spirited girl had a beaming smile as if mocking the man’s state. In her hands she held out a muffin far too large to be baked in a conventional muffin tray. It was bright orange, coated in a white frosting. “It’s a hope-you-feel-better orange juice muffin from the cafeteria. I know you didn’t eat this morning before we left, or last night before the Nyquil decided to make you pass out. Just thought I’d help…”

He took the monstrosity, eyeing it curiously before taking a less than tactful chomp out of the top of it. Icing lined his lips and made Brittany smile and giggle at her sick boyfriend. With short, manicured fingernails she quickly brushed aside the rogue elements of the muffin from Colin’s scruffy, unshaven chin and upper lip. “Thanks doll,” he muttered before quickly sipping at his coffee to help swallow the mouthful. “I feel like I was run over, my body wants to fuckin’ quit on me… but I’ve got work to do on Althanas. About done with the report for the head-figures.”

“Well, you get to that then, I’ve got work to get started on, boring figures and such… you know? I’ll check on you in a little bit to make sure you’re doing well.”

The taller man leaned over to allow her to give him a peck on the forehead before turning with his breakfast in hand. The cubicles were filled with gossip, he could hear the lower employees chatter like birds in the early morning, most likely about the way he was dressed. A watery look from him made them stop as he passed, but only so long as he was outside of range to hear what nonsense they were making up about him. Colin took a long, laborious gulp from the coffee before setting the mug and the muffin down on a table close to his VRpod.

He looked over the white, marble like finish of the outside of the vehicle which would transport him to a world of computer programmed reality. It was a curious thing having the power to create and destroy worlds, or at least the code that created them. Colin was a master of his art, and his latest victim had been the world of Althanas. A quaint, at times egotistical little world in a fantasy setting, the world of Althanas had become his high paying project. It was a creation of the rival virtual reality company TechFront, one of the leaders of VR gaming, a rival that the hacker’s own company wanted to destroy from the inside out. GramVR, Colin’s company, was allowing the man to hack their game and steal information to create their own gaming community. They were paying Colin quite a lot of money to do so too.

He shook his head and sat down in the inclined leather seat. Strapped in and loaded the hacked Althanas entry he had created, a backdoor to Althanas that TechFront had yet to find and destroy. As soon as the blank screen and unimaginative, and quite bland, welcome had passed a strange feeling fell over him. He ignored it, having not yet loaded the server counted it as just his own body feeling like shit instead of checking to make sure all was well. But all was not well…


~*~

Althanas, as nearly every time he had logged and hacked his way in, was delightful. Overhead wispy clouds streaked the sky as if painted by a wayward sweeping stroke with the most minimal amount of paint left on the brush. The sun was high, but the air was crisp and a perfectly average and comfortable temperature. He closed his eyes and inhaled with his nose, taking in the sweet air with the dominant feature that nature had ordained not only as a centerpiece for human’s faces. No sickness followed him into the world, the feeling of being ill and tired were but past memories like a vivid dream that he had just woke from. A smile lit his face and he looked around him.

The pod must have put him in the heart of Raiaera itself, for the buildings were beautifully constructed, architecture of the most aesthetic and functional. If it had not been for the disgruntled state of affairs that he had been forced into the first time he had come to the high elf nation, he would have been drawn in by the wonderful structures that lined the streets and created the cities. He could only think to compare the nation to the beautiful spires of ancient Russian architecture which was so prevalent within St. Petersburg; the Raiaeran construction far more alluring though.

He reached for a cigarette, ignoring the fact that to bring such harsh, acrid smoke to so amazing a place was borderline blasphemy, but stopped midway to his chest pocket. Without warning a man in a very astute suit and his bodyguards dashed by him, a small shoeless girl in worn dress was following in their wake. Ethan “Lars” Calhoun, as the character played by Colin was known to Althanas, cocked his head like a confused puppy and snickered at what appeared to be three men being chased by a small girl.

Following the four people had turned out to be one of the best ideas that Ethan had done in a long while. After the announcer finished his rather emphatic spiel about the hunt, the hacker shrugged and moved towards the assistants with the colored tickets. He was one of the last ones to grab one, a ruby red ticket. He looked around, and saw the most unfortunate sight he had seen in a while… his partner was the little girl. Without turning to her he summoned the keypad that only he could see and use, tapped on the invisible keyboard and started playing with codes. Instead of doing what he wanted, and changing the color of his ticket with another person around him, the keypad lost its smooth look and warped itself as if something was wrong.

“Odd,” the hacker thought as he poked at it a few times. The fourth time he touched where the screen should have been reading a line of code, it vanished, leaving his brows drawn and angry. “Guess I’ll just have to fuck with that later, try and get that shit to work again. I wonder what’s wrong with it?” He turned around, facing the little girl with her ticket outstretched, and showed it for others to see, especially her.

[Nevar Flat Notes]

As Alice walked around the crowd with her tiny ruby red strip of paper held out, the men and women who looked down on her laughed heartily. Murmuring comments were made about her, none of which she really listened to, and her devilish smile stayed plastered across her face. Walking among them felt like striding through a massive forest, except the trees had swords, axes, and very grim expressions on their faces. The warriors were bunching up in twos and heading out, the crowd thinning quickly as everyone was avid to get a head start over the competition. Alice began wondering if nobody had grabbed the other ruby red ticket, her hopes growing weaker at each group that scoffed at her and left the city. Finally a pair of warriors parted and revealed a man who should have stuck out in this crowd of fighters. He wore clothing unlike anything she had seen since coming to Althanas, and held out a ruby ticket in front of him, aimed for her.

“Yay!” She exclaimed, barely able to control her excitement over having found her patner, and instantly ran to him. She stopped a polite distance away and courtseyed, speaking as eloquently as she could manage, “Umm… Good evening, kind sir. I also have a red ticket and am therefore, um, partnered with…er…you!” Involuntarily, she held out one hand as if to let him guide her across a street. Seeing it, she blushed furiously and shoved it back to her side, and nodded her head gently and awkwardly. Her eyes scanned his frame, seeing that he was much taller than her, and very much unlike the rest of the warriors in a very obvious way. The man had no visible weapon, but was equipped with two empty gun holsters.

Alice wasn’t entirely positive, but she suspected that this entire planet of Althanas was stuck in its primeval technology level. Knowing that, the simple fact that he would have a holster designed for a gun that far exceeded the level of development here meant he wasn’t from Althanas. A broad grin spread across her face and the little girl turned, pulling her hood on and pointed south towards where she saw the red trees on the horizon earlier.

“That, I would imagine, is the Red Forest. We should head out, ‘fore we fall behind all these other shmucks.” Without turning to see if he followed, Alice began walking at a brisk pace down the street. Her mind filled with thoughts of her home world, and how the gun that would fit into his holster was an ancient design only shown in museams. It was said to be banned a long time ago, because it was a weapon of violence and war that only brought and continued misery, for it was in her people’s belief that blood could not be washed by more blood. Yet, she knew that she had only recently seen those mechanical death bringers in action, not in pictures and videos.

“Oh yes! Earth!” Alice spun on her heel to stare back at the man following her. Despite her earlier attempt at manners, the girl realized as she opened her mouth to say his name that she never asked. “Erm…what is your name, sir? Mine is Alice but I really like people calling me Red Rose. Rose for short, if you please, um, sir. I also want to know if you know what Earth is. Sir. I’ve been there once, and well they had guns like what goes in that belt and I think people around here don’t have any. Well, guns that is, not belts. Not having belts would be a silly thing indeed.” She finished with a smile that was as sweet as she could manage, her hands behind her back and her body swaying slightly with shyness.

Alice was trying as hard as she might to hide the fact he looked tasty.

[Taskmienster]

As soon as the program loaded, and the relatively unknown and devious character Ethan Calhoun was once again back in the only world he could consider reality, the man behind the scenes jerked. It was not a particularly violent, seizure like movement, but one that caused him to kick the front of the pod nonetheless. The noise made the closest employee nearly jump as they walked past the pod, in turn spilling scalding hot coffee. “Whoa!” the man known as Carl yelled as the burning liquid dripped from the side of his hand. He quickly and carefully, so as not to spill any more, placed the mug on the table next to Colin’s pod and shook his hand. When he looked away from his hands he saw the eyes of the office upon him, as if looking for more gossip to spread. “I just spilt a bit of coffee, nothing to worry about…”

Another jolt from Colin and the inside of the pod was suddenly a percussion section from an offbeat school band. Carl took a step away from the machine and put a hand to his mouth, clearly confused by what was happening. Within second the office had stopped their idle chatter, stopped their morning rumors, and stopped working altogether. The masses of people gathered towards the pod and listened helplessly as the man inside the machine thrashed wildly. Powerless do anything more than watch, not knowing the intricacies of the way the Virtual Reality system worked, the people listened awestruck, shocked, and silent.

“Move!” the peel split the crowd like the Red Sea. Through the broken waves of people the tiny, frantic form of Brittany rushed towards the outside of the pod. Her hands met the edge of the white metal, the cold surface still warmer than the fear that gripped her as she listened to the irregular strikes of her boyfriend’s converse on the plastic that sealed him away. “Someone! Do something! Open this fucking thing, he’s dying!”

Nobody moved.

Seconds passed in the span of time that normally hours would have consumed before a single word was issued. It was not one of comfort. It was one of solemn indifference. “We cannot open the sealed pod while he is hooked up.” The voice belonged to Heartcliff III, the vice president of the GramVR Company. He strode through the crowd, no word necessary to make them move. “His mind is away from his body; look at the screen against the wall. Colin is in a state of subconscious disengagement… a state that’s never supposed to happen…”

Brit looked at the man, her boss, with an open mouth and a confused look. Some eyes were split between the two; others were on the rhythmic intonation of the monitors that kept a careful, mechanical watch over Colin. Finally the slight woman spoke; “Wh-What? Are you saying that he’s trapped in this… this fucking coffin?”

“Watch your words, Brittany, I am your boss.” He said with the least sympathy behind his tone. “And yes, as you said this… coffin… is going to be where he stays until the issue resolves itself, or we find some way to resolve it from the outside. I will be talking to people in the meantime to see what we can do to alleviate the situation.”


~*~

The girl was a curious little individual, full of spunk and vivacity. On the tips of her toes, so to speak, she asked questions one after another, interjected by only more phrases that were out of place and odd. She transitioned from statements regarding the necessity to leave and be on with the task ahead, straight to questions about earth. It was not the first time another ‘character’ had asked him questions that struck far too close to home. As a hacker in Althanas, it was completely necessary to keep not only a low profile, but remain hidden from the public eye so as to not draw attention to him by the moderators and administrators that helped create and maintain order in the world. To do so would undoubtedly, and regrettably destroy him literally from the inside out.

“My my, you seem to be all kindsa excited and happy. My name is Ethan, though most call me ‘Lars’. It’s good to meet you little miss… Alice, or Rose… whichever it may be.” The hacker carefully and tediously picked his words as he danced around the prospect of talking about Earth to another person in Althanas. That was to include any talk of his gun, or the holsters that could potentially hold them. The first time it had happened it was blunt and to the point, a man asking what he knew about the real world and how to get back. This time, it came in the form of exuberant exclamations and what seemed to be half thought out and in turn altogether ignored by the cacophony of further speech. “My dear, shall we be off? I’m certain the others will be a big head start if we don’t start now. Whatcha think love?”

[Nevar Flat Notes]

Alice watched the man take in everything that he said with a slight smile on his face, amused at her excitement. Then, as he responded, the tone was light and almost humorous, but she could see in his eyes that he was doing the same thing many adults did. More often than not she was shown this face when something had gone wrong or was about to, and the adult didn’t think her little brain needed to know. However, he was only a little different, dancing around a few of her questions and trying to distract her away. With a grin, she nodded to his offer to head out, “I guess you’re right, Ethan, we should leave before we’re the last ones into the forest!”

She was actually surprised to find out that not a single group remained in the city, and the last one could only barely be seen entering the crimson tree line. That forest cast an ominous shadow, as light filtered through the blood-tinted leaves and left the ground looking as if years of strife had permanently stained it. With a slightly gulp of fear, Alice’s feet started moving again south, this time moving at a much more relaxed pace and watching the canopy rise up ahead.

Not even ten minutes had passed from their previous short conversation when Alice spoke up again, trying as hard as she might to sound disinterested, “So, you forgot to answer my question, do you know about the place called Earth?” Afraid that he would ignore the question in substitute for another, she asked no more, waiting simply for a response. Some part of her also wanted to delay entering that haunted place, and talking let them walk a bit slower, for they were not far now. The girl thought she could hear silent screams echoing out on the wind, and a chill crawled slowly down her spine, clawing at her courage. She was accustomed to being the only monster around, and feared to find out what was higher in the food chain than herself.

[Taskmienster]

The hacker nearly sighed with relief when the little girl agreed to leaving instead of pressing with further questions. With a soft smile he looked past her, not a hard feat being almost a head taller, and saw that the other groups of randomly arranged individuals were already on their way. They moved quickly, as if speed was going to be the determining factor in catching the illusive animal. The Red Forest had its own perils to worry about though, and the eager groups before him were far to rash to just jump into the fray the flora offered. He was hardly looking forward to journey ahead, but Althanas had a strange way of bringing up random quests to fulfill… especially into territory that was hardly worthwhile or intelligent to travel into.

“Damn that glitch,” Lars thought as he popped the end of a cigarette into his mouth and lit it. The little girl was already starting, but he had time. One stride for him was close to two of hers, catching up would require little more than a slow jog. With a slightly faster pace than he normally assumed he started after the little girl. “If I had my keypad this would be a lot easier to deal with. All that research I’ve been doing could finally come in handy; exploring how the nature works here I could have at least done a rudimentary and base hack to keep the shit from attacking us…”

From large, unsettling trees red leaves draped towards the ground; majestic tapestry to cover the face of a less than welcoming host, illusions of regality for the easily deceived. He saw right through it though. Those boughs were sagging and drawn to the surface instead of the sun, the nutrients the forest required was not the life giving light but a life taking act that tinted their foliage. “Now that’s foreshadowing if I ever saw it,” he muttered under his breath.

By the time the little girl spoke again the looming forests were holding Ethan’s attention. He nearly jumped when she spoke. Instead he shifted uncomfortably and attempted to keep his resolve. It was a little girl after all, the last thing he wanted was to instill in her even half as much concern that he felt. Dodging the question was not a possibility; Alice had calmed down since their first meeting and instead was going down the specific route for questioning. He shook his head and answered anyway.

“Earth, love, is a very difficult thing for me to talk about…” it was true, but what angle was he going to go for? His mind raced, should he make up some gibberish about being pulled here from the twentieth century like the first guy he had met had? What other choice was there, she had caught him in a very precarious position. “I’m not from Althanas,” he continued, “I mean, I’m here now… but my body isn’t really here. I’m not even a real person, nobody here is from what I can assume, though who knows what insane improbabilities could occur that could trap a person in a game. I mean… game by… that’s what this world is.”

“Earth is a real world, where people live and breathe. Althanas is a game, a very realistic game, where people can get into through technology back on Earth. It’s hard to explain, but I can manipulate reality here… since this is just a place made by computers and programs and such I can re-write them and change the way things work…” Lars shook his head and chuckled. He had never told anyone everything about where he had ‘come from’ and how it all worked. For some reason, even though the little girl was young, he felt that she’s more than likely just ignore it as random babble as he hoped she would. “Sorry, that was random and more or less nonsense… how about we get into this mess and find that deer, or whatever the fuck it is?”

[Taskmienster]

Suddenly the stag seemed less important, much less important than the foreboding flora that licked its lips as the participants grew close. The voracious jaws of the devious plant-life opened wide and let all the groups enter untouched. The hacker and his small partner followed suit as they joined the darkness that was so well lit by the beautiful Raiaeran sun. The crimson light that created an almost beautiful ambiance was an illusion that was always first to come to the eyes of any adventurers. It was like the red petals that interested the victims of the fealotë, a flower drawing in the nourishment it needed before absorbing their souls. The Red Forest was no less hazardous.

“Hey, takin’ a kid with ya’ to find this stag? That’s like askin’ to get killed, huh?” The voice was harsh, deep. Ethan turned to see a pair of men that looked like good old fashion adventurers. Eyes were deep set on both, framed by thick wrinkles that spoke of years of harsh life. The graying eyes of the two were hardly a tell tale sign of their age, it was the hair that both took little care of that gave it away. “Be careful out there ya’ too… don’ look prepared for what yer getting’ inta.”

The swords that either carried were long, the scabbards were elegant, but looked like nothing more than something for show. Numerous weapons lined their waist as well, unique weapons for each that the hacker couldn’t identify. He shrugged at the two, unimpressed by their arsenal or apparent experience with the task at hand. “Should I have a collection of shiny objects like yours to make the stag impressed enough to just hand itself over? Or should I wait about sixty years till I’m as old as you stupid fucks?”

A mix of anger and annoyance was all that could be gathered from his tone. The men smirked and turned away from the hacker and his young partner, leaving them to enter the forest at their will. Ethan touched the first tree on the edge of the nearly perfect line that separated the wicked woods from the rest of the world. “Now or nothing,” sighing and moving into the wooded region the quest for the stag truly began.

[Taskmienster]

“Is it set?” The question was asked in the monotonous and drone tone. The computer screen was a blank blue, a set color that was almost ambivalent in nature. The electronic voice was a cover for the speaker behind it, a mask to hide behind. Whoever it was supposed to be was in charge of everything; even through the technological façade the power in the words was self-evident. On the other side of the screen was the elderly man who held power over the immediate company of GramVR. “Has the plan put in place succeeded?”

The old man scratched his balding head and sighed. Things were complicated, far more so than the vice president of the company could understand. He was an aging man, lost in a world of advanced technology that had long since left him outdated. If it had not been for the skills he had long since perfected in business and finances he would have become just as useless as the computers that threatened to dominate the world years before. “I suppose,” he finally responded to the small black box that clung to the top of the air-thin monitor. “I don’t know what exactly this plan is supposed to do or how it is supposed to work. The backdoor is opened though, but it seems like there are a few that believe that it is just for looks.”

“It’s not for just looks; that is just a guise. If he is in, he is free to do as he wishes, though the rest of the world will suffer for his ignorance. Too long he has been wearing at our wits and freely doing as he wishes. Now he will be the tool for our use, more so than he has already been.”

Heartcliff III shook his head as he stood from his seat, spinning the chair around and around when he does. Behind him the half-finished glass of top-shelf whiskey waited for his warm touch, the liquid had long since warmed beyond the perfect temperature that only the most perfected of palates would have noticed. The vice president did notice though; he always did. Shaking hands grabbed one of the many cigars that waited for him behind the glass to his personal humidor. A quick pinch of the end, a flick of his years old zippo, and the cigar was lit.

“He is being paid well,” the man said as he dragged at the cigar and let the smoke slip from his lips. His yellow smile sparked to life, understanding finally finding his wizened mind. He turned and sat before the voice. “There is no question that he is great at his job, and that when we make the new world we will be extremely powerful. But, do we have to take from him all that he knows? Do we have to destroy his ability to work in the future as well as any chance he has of ever becoming something more to the gaming community?”

“Yes.” The response was quick and solid. Heartcliff’s smile was turned to a grimace. Colin was not a bad kid. His ability to perform in a world of mock-vigilantes and do-gooders was unparalleled. His ability to steal the technology advancements that the rival company was also unbelievable, the loss of him was going to be the loss of an asset in the long run. However, it was also an always unstable character that was finally going to be removed from the virtual reality scope. He was unable to keep protocol for the company, gave very little heed to any rules, and the worst thing about him was that his ties to the world of Althanas and the rival company was quickly growing. His benefit to the company had become reliability; he had to be removed.

“Understood. We will wait for him to complete his mission within the virtual reality game and then will go through the necessary, precautious way of ‘saving’ him from his plight. If the plan is going to remain in place after this, we can continue allowing him to use the system until his research is compiled and our own game is created.”

[Taskmienster]

Lars sneezed on a random leaf, the soft red-lined plant appendage seemed to grow towards the edge of the vein as if in flushed anger. He barely noticed the change, even if he had noticed he wouldn’t have taken note. The place he was forced to venture into was one he had heard much about; nothing he had heard of the Red Forest was ever good. Devious desires were held at the heart of the plants, ones that Ethan made sure not to incite. His hands were in his faux-leather jacket pockets or toying with the faux-fur that lined the coat. It seemed though, that his real life sickness was being displayed through the code and expressed through his character.

“You ok Ethan?” The little girls concern made the hacker smile. He looked at her bright red coat, bloodied and tattered. She was an anomaly that made him feel awkward. Though her upbeat tone from their meeting to the genuine apprehension in her voice dealing with his sickness was appreciated, her bloody and strange attire contradicted it all. He let his hand slip out of his jacket and squeeze her small shoulder as they continued to walk through the trails. “You sound sick. How are you sick if you aren’t from Althanas?”

The question made goose-bumps rise across his arms and his back. Suddenly he was unsure whether the small girl was someone sort of person from Earth herself in the way she understood his issues. It was not just her question that was profound though, but it was also the uncertainty to the answer that also made him speechless. She was correct in her assumption that as a hacker in a virtual reality world, influences from the real world should not affect him. So why, if he was sick and sitting silently back in a pod was he conveying the sickness on Althanas?

“You know… you’re right love.” Lars shrugged and put his hand back in his pocket. His green, streaked eyes fell on the plants around him as he moved. His mind was abuzz with issues that were rising around his pastime and job. He thought to bring out the keypad again, but it was barely visible and behaving erratically. When he touched it nothing happened, even the reset code that he had created for it only made it fuzzy and stall. It disappeared at his will and he continued through the pre-made path.

“I think a new question to ask is… should we be following this path so much? It seems that following such a broad path means that others have walked it countless times. I don’t think that any old shmuck, as you say, would have seen the stag. This is definitely a regular shmuck’s path. Watcha say? Get off this—“ he sneezed again, barely stopping his words and turning away to a close plant as he sprayed the feathery leaves. “—excuse me. How about we start forcing our way through the underbrush and find some game trails or something.”

“Oooh, good idea! Do you know how to track? You sound like you know how to track, with game trails and such.” The girl smiled and pointed at a tree ahead. The light yellow, papery bark was tainted with a crimson coat. “We can start after that little tree. I think it’s some kinda yew or something.”

“Oh, I’m no tracker. I don’t even know how to track, which is probably not the best thing to admit to a young woman of your age. We’re looking for a stag that can’t be found, in a forest that could eat us if we aren’t careful, and I have no clue how to begin trying to find this thing. I was thinking… why not just rummage around and see what we can dig up. We’ll find a game trail, follow it till we get good and lost, and then try and find our way back if we have the animal, or if we don’t and just don’t feel like being out here anymore.”

The little girl giggled as they continued to walk, as if not caring one way or another about getting lost in the Red Forest. Ethan looked at her through his peripheral vision. She was smart in ways that he wasn’t certain she knew. She was also a creepy little one, laughing at the prospect of getting lost in arguably the most dangerous place in all of Althanas. “Sounds good to me!” She gave him a thumbs up and a grin as she started to skip slowly towards the tree she had pointed out.

[Taskmienster]

What a creepy child, it was all the hacker could think when he watched the little red riding hood nearly dance through the crimson forest. She looked at home, as if this was what had created her, where she would be welcomed. Ethan worried for a second that it was a set-up, as if he had been pared by some creation of the forest to lure him into its depths and his demise. A quick chuckle, mostly to calm his nerves, and he was once again at ease and ignoring the little girls quirky similarities with the forests. The hacker followed behind, at some distance due to the lack of wanting to skip after her. Instead, he kept his pace steady and watched out for other groups wandering the forest.

“Whatcha think the chance of finding this stag is anyway? One in a thousand? One in a million? It seems like a long shot, but I bet nobody finds it. I bet this entire contest is nothing more than a sham to get adventurers lost for a good day or three, and those of them that survive get to have a hella story for their kids later in life. Those that don’t, well they can’t complain about any entry fees or any lack of prize, huh?”

Ethan waited for a response, knowing the girl could hear him. Instead of a giddy laugh he was greeted with an unwelcoming shrill cry. Quickly his eyes darted back to the path he was following, she wasn’t there. He turned his eyes to the tree and looked around the area, but she was gone. A vicious sneeze rocked his body, but he forcibly ignored it and wiped the budding tears from his eyes. “One fucking second, that’s all I looked away. Just one god-forsaken second and she’s gone. Jesus! Whoever’s in charge of this one is going to be so angry. Where the hell would she have gotten off to?!”

Instantly his gait went from steady stroll to sprint, pushing the envelope on his own speed limitations to clear the brush and get to the tree. He turned around, searching for the girl. She wasn’t in the open, up the tree, or hiding on the other side of it. Whatever had happened, she had just vanished, leaving him alone in the deadliest forest of Althanas. “Blood! There must be some sort of trail, even if it’s blood.”

The hacker searched for any sort of clue as to what could have happened, but found nothing but untouched foliage and fauna barbed with deadly thorns. Not even a drop of blood was to be found, not a scraped leg or even a torn piece of her clothing. “Alright, what the hell is going on… first I’m sick, then I have some urge to talk to a little kid about Earth, next everything’s just flipped upside down and I’m not turning with it. Althanas, you silly game, what the hell are you doing now?”

[Taskmienster]

Heartcliff opened the door of his office, finding the concerned eyes of the gathered workers fixed upon his frail frame. They were looking for answers, probing him like the damned inquisition for anything about what happened to Colin. The first eyes he caught and stopped on were those of Brittany. Her eyes were tinged with dried tears, red and puffy from crying since the entire catastrophic event had begun. The vice-president of GramVR could do nothing but shake his head in silence and walk past the congregation, sending the poor girl into another fit of tears and excessive screaming. He walked to the coffee pot, tapped a few buttons on the front of the screen, and instantly coffee was streaming into the pot.

“I have talked to the technical wizards on the seventeenth floor.” His words were calm, nearly reassuring, certainly had enough power behind them to stop the woman from her fit. Heartcliff poured a mug of coffee, sipping from its blazing hot edge and inhaling the aromatic scent of a freshly ground brew. As he pulled it from his lips, he saw what was on the front. #1 Dad! . The cup screamed its resentment at the man. It wasn’t his cup, must have been some relic of the past belonging to one of the workers. Instead of just being another gratuitous claim, it was a pointing finger. What if it had been his son that had been in that position? What if he had to watch his sons fiancée scream in terror and watch her lover be lost in a void? “They say they have no clue how this could have happened, or what could be causing it. Some internal flaw as of yet unknown.”

Finally the man turned towards the crowd, his eyes stationed intently on the deep brown brew in hand. He didn’t see the hand until it was just barely in his vision, and by then it was far too late. The thin fingers of a woman wrapped around the outside of the mug, gripped the sides without heed to the heat of the liquid contained within. The vice-president looked up to see the other hand wrap the other side, and the eyes of Brit lock with his. She tore the freshly poured coffee from his hands, spilling it across her hands without a flinch, and threw it against an opposite wall. “You tell me to my face. Tell me that there is absolutely nothing you can do, and your highest paid, most influential, most devoted employee is going to be trapped in that thing until the second rate geek squad downstairs finally gets their shit together and figures out what’s going on. Fucking tell me to my face!”

The rest of the office stepped back, leaving the two locked in a gaze that would have made even the most heartened man wither. Brit was giving the ‘look-that-would-kill’, as Colin would say, and Heartcliff was meeting it with a pathetic and altogether saddening glance. “Brittany, I am telling you to your face, there is nothing we can do right now. Whatever it is that is going on, it will either have to run its course, or the wizards downstairs will find a solution.”

A sigh tinged with curse words that would make a sailor blush passed the lips of the woman. She pushed her glassed back up on her nose, and swung as hard as she could at the nearest wall to a cubicle. The soft, padded wall absorbed the blow without so much as a hint of being struck. “If Colin was here… if he was here… and this happened to someone else… he would have had them out already and safe and sound with the ones they loved. Those wizards downstairs are nothing more than tech-jocks, high and mighty in their supposed knowledge. But they don’t know shit… they don’t know shit…”

“Come here dear,” Mary, a middle-aged employee wrapped her arms around the young, brash Brit and hugged her close. Instantly a flood of tears met Mary’s shoulder, soaking through the outdated shoulder pads of her blouse. “Your hands are burnt, let’s take a look at those first and make sure you’re ok. Then we’ll wait for some results. If you need me to stay with you, I’m here.”

Brittany couldn’t respond, so overwhelmed by adrenaline and emotion. She nodded her head into the shoulder and sniffed deeply, trying to keep her running nose from adding to the mess she was making on Mary’s shoulder already.

[Taskmienster]

Ethan was slumped against the tree he would have met the little girl at minutes ago, slumped and waiting. What he was waiting for he couldn’t even imagine, perhaps the girl to stop being invisible, perhaps the tree to wrap branches around him and swallow him as well. It was a conundrum in the virtual world he had never encountered, followed by another and another. Things were out of place, something had happened when he had sat down in the pod back in the real world; that much he had figured out. But what it was, he couldn’t bother to guess. Perhaps it had malfunctioned, a freak accidental surge of power that overpowered the multiple lines of protection at the exact moment he had logged in?

“Now what…” The world was becoming a blur, and the hacker didn’t give two shits anymore. He turned his eyes to the sky and watched the blue dome tint purple, the white flecked clouds twist into sea foam riding the waves of the wind. Ethan closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, exhaled, and inhaled again before he opened his eyes. Instead of a crimson tinted forest, lined with trees and underbrush that seemed to have a mind to eat him as much as part for him he was looking at something completely unreal. All around him was grass, in all directions.

“Now I’m being zipped around Althanas, for whatever reason the damned game sees fit? This is not the work of the admins… can’t be…” The hacker was left with a single thought, what if the TechFront INC staffers had finally caught up to him, trapped him in the Red Forest with a decoy? What if they had created their own code, one that would trap him in a world of eternal grassy plains, alone and unable to toy with the server ever again? Ethan stood up, ignoring the dirt and grime that covered his pants. His OCD was completely lost when his mind was at work.

He touched the blades of grass, and truly felt them for what seemed like the first time ever. They were soft, hairy, with a clean edge. Each piece was independent of the other pieces, some flowing certain ways, others going opposite. The coding was changed, that much was for sure. He hadn’t seen grass like that which Althanas was showing him other than in real life, surely no grass in any other virtual reality game had the server capacity to load such fine perfect detail for every character. With a gentle finger he pricked the small blade, listening to the crisp snap as it tore in half in one quick motion. The scent that filled his nose reminded him of his days playing soccer, how the grass carried the sweet scent just after it was mowed. The edge of his tongue touched the broken part, and the running fluids from within startled him with how clear and perfect it tasted.

“Alright,” he said as he flicked the blade of grass and watched it catch the wind and drift down the hillside. “Either I’m no longer on the Althanas server, I’m back on Earth somehow, or the prison they trapped me in was specifically designed to make me feel like it was real.” The last option seemed the most viable to the hacker. What would be better for a prison than something that reminded him of the world of reality so perfectly, but was masked by complex codes and data? It was a torture worse than a single cell for years, left to listen to the outside world in the dark, alone.


~*~

“Heartcliff.” The word made the old manager turn with a snap back to the darkness of the screen on his desk. He quickly flicked the monitor on, as if that would show him the face of the speaker, but it did nothing but become a brighter black. “You can tell them that the wizards of the seventeenth floor have found a solution. Ethan should be able to return within an hour or so.”

“Yeah? That’s great! So did we find out what we wanted to?”

“I, I found out what I wanted to know. There is a way to enter the virtual reality world on a more personal basis than originally thought. This glitch, I am certain it will be called, is going to be remembered, but the reason behind it never will.” The voice went silent, the screen darkened and the vice-president was left with a smile on his face. He stood up and spun his chair around, looking out the scenic window and smirking. “You will need to fire Colin immediately after he exits. We cannot have him figuring this out. Ever.”

[Taskmienster]

The world was so vivid, so full of life, color streaming clearer and cleaner than he had ever seen, and yet Ethan was disturbed after spending twenty minutes in the world. He felt at odds with the creation, as if he was not supposed to be there. Reality was impossible to discern with such clear, concise, fluid projection of virtual reality into the mind of the gamer. If anyone was offered this life, living in a world other than reality without being able to discern the difference between the two…

“That’s it.” Ethan laughed and laid back in the grass, finally having figure out the plan behind the new world. People would pay handsomely to escape reality, leave behind what they know and live in any type of world they could possibly imagine. If they could somehow project the consciousness of an individual into the pixilated body of the character they could realistically be no different than if they were truly living in their ideological world. “But that means… that means that if I die here, I die out there too. If my brain registers this as real, that means that all of this is nothing more than… than the fucking Matrix!”

Lars was not going to let the technology rest. It could potentially place prisoners in a world the government created, send them to a false world to let them carry out their days. That application would allow them to feed the inmates with feeding tubes, IV’s, and any other means to keep a vegetable alive in a hospital setting. However, that meant that the people that wanted to follow that path by choice, the people that wanted to live in the medieval lands of Althanas, or the cyber-punk worlds, or any slew of imaginary places. Those people would be possibly killed if there was a raid, if they thought they were a hero and ended up being nothing more than a joke carrying a sword. The people that took games too seriously and ended up accepting the fake world would die left and right.

“Oh, but how much money would they make on this…”


Yeah, gonna go ahead and finish the thread here. My only reason for doing it was to give a reason for a few things, which I’m going to request here:

1 :: Lars, as the first test subject, is involuntarily recruited to this new form of technology… whether he wanted it or not. As such, if he dies on Althanas, he dies in real life as well. The connection is ONLY a connection between Colin and Ethan, not any other persona he may assume. (see 3)

2 :: When he joins the server of Althanas, from now on, he will not see it as a virtual reality world, but will see it as an actual world that he is part of. As if it was Earth, but he has no knowledge of anything outside of Althanas when logged in.

3 ::I'll be making a new character profile to make number 2 valid.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

∼Blood Washed by Blood∼

Kyle and Nevar, I am so sorry that this thread took so long to judge. Mainly it was my own fault for the delay. I had a number of I.R.L. things happen to me recently that I have since taken care of. Anyhow, I am going to get right to the point. My judgment will follow. I will be doing full commentary since I made you guys wait for so long.

***

∼Story∼

∼Continuity∼Both of you guys did a really good job here. Ethan, you provided a strong and simple history for your character that worked for the purpose of the thread. I was not choked down by any need to check out multiple threads to check out where your Character was coming from. Rose, though I knew nothing about your Character prior to reading about her, I got a general sense of who she was as an individual which is a strong showing on your behalf. Your writing has both strengths and weaknesses.

Ethan-I got the sense that Ethan and Colin are a dualistic individual both with their own sets of agendas. It was clear that Colin had a lot of personal problems in the "real-world" versus his problems in "Althanas" proper. These problems were addressed through the thread. You mentioned Colin had O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which is a very serious psychological problem. If I were you, I would have played this Character flaw much more to make Ethan and Colin even more dynamic individuals. See more about this in Persona below.

Rose-Rose, your writing style is an effective tension builder. I kept waiting for her to give me something, anything. She has a clearly mysterious air about her which I really liked. Your Character has a lot of potential and what you DID give me about the Character, worked. You got into some of the mysteries of her past, but it wasn't enough. It was really too bad that you had to bail on this thread, I was really enjoying your writing. It is quite strong.

5/10

∼Setting∼I thoroughly enjoyed the struggles both in the "Real World" of Earth proper, and Althanas Proper. Most people depict Raiaera as a war-torn Nation torn apart by Xem'Zund's relentless assaults. I would have gone out of my way to show BOTH of the stars struggles in the "Real World" as well as in Althanas. Rose did an effective job in her first few posts hinting at the traumatic past always giving, just enough information to leave me wanting more and more. I found Rose an interesting Character with a lot of potential.

Ethan-Your use of Setting here was astounding. The dual conflict between Colin and Ethan should have been played up even further. I would have gone a step ahead of the game and had Ethan attempt to figure out exactly -where he ended up- and -how he got there-. The situations and struggles in the Real World created a sense of tension too strong to ignore. I kept waiting for Colin to awaken at some point during the story, but alas, it was not meant to be. I look forward to reading about Colin/Ethan's future struggles. I especially loved your interaction with the blades of grass at the end of the thread, kudos.

Rose-You showed a tremendous understanding of the world of Althanas. Your introduction posts were extremely strong and I really liked the direction that you were heading. You really hinted at the strong points of Raiaeran culture, as did your partner. Both of you contrasted the realities and planes of existence that your Characters have been too with exceeding expertise. I enjoyed your use of Setting and would have liked to see more from you. I wish you could have stayed to complete the thread.

6/10

∼Pacing∼Ethan, your partner leaving really hurt the Pacing Score tremendously. I could even slightly feel the frustration on your behalf as you were attempting to complete the thread as a Solo Quest. You stuck with the thread anyway and you get Kudos for that my friend.

Ethan-Your partner left, but you performed admirably despite this sudden handicap. I would have liked to see more from the struggle that Colin was having in the Real World. There was a deep struggle going on there, and I would have worked to really hit that point on. Many questions were left unsolved, but I have a feeling that this was deliberate. I hope that you will answer some of these questions in the future. What actually happened to Colin? Will he be stuck in Althanas forever? Why did he suddenly get "teleported" to the other area of Althanas or where ever he was? Many other questions were raised which I will be addressing in the Story section of the Rubric.

Rose-Again, Rose, you have a tremendous writing capacity. I was really impressed that you were able to hang with one of our very own veterans. Your work put a big smile on my face and it was a real treat to read. However, your sudden departure left a huge gap that your partner had to fill in and hurt the overall Pacing Score. I hope you one day return to Althanas and finish impressing me with your writing talents. I refuse to accept that I will never judge any of your work again.

3/10

∼Character∼

∼Dialogue∼I honestly feel that I had a really good time reading about your two Characters. Both of your Characters "spoke" in a clear and understandable fashion. I even found myself enjoying Ethan's strange accent. I know it was done deliberately, and you get major props for that. Accents can easily be overdone sometimes but this time, I didn't have any problems with it. Rose was a clearly intelligent individual, way ahead of her age group. She had a lot of interesting stuff to say. I wish I could have gotten more from her Character.

Ethan-The thick accent made the otherwise serious nature of the thread very light-hearted and easy to understand. Ethan came off as a generally upbeat person, except, when those two NPC's pissed Ethan off. I found myself cracking up at that and would have liked to see a rivalry develop with those two Characters.

Rose-Rose is clearly an Intelligent person who is very observant. I got that she's very traumatized and went through some tremendous event in her recent, or, perhaps far-off past. However, aside from the mystery factor, I didn't get much else. Granted, you left early in the thread, but I still would have liked to see you guys develop a long-lasting friendship or allegiance within your storyline.

5/10

∼Action∼The thread was about the chasing of a rare Monster in Lindequalme. However, it soon became more than that. At once, the dual nature of Colin's struggle with whatever it was that ailed him, and Rose's sudden disappearance made the thread so much more. Several conflicts were going on that were played out beautifully. I would have loved to see more between the conflict that Brittany and Heartfield were having. You had a chance to make a decent thread, an excellent one despite your partner leaving early on.

Ethan-You masterfully spun a story that was many conflicts woven into one, powerful spectrum. Whereas you missed a few opportunities to tell an even greater story, (I would have really gone overboard with the corruption struggle in the Real World) you did fine with what cards you were dealt. I was thoroughly impressed that you stuck to the Story despite the fact that your partner left the thread. My only problem with the thread was that I strongly feel you didn't give me enough towards the ending of the thread. Events came at me at a somewhat fast-pace and I found myself a little confused after a certain event occurred. The event in question was Ethan's sudden teleportation, to Thaynes-know-where. You had several events like this in the thread that left more questions than answers.

The other big event was the lack of explanation of what actually -happened- to Colin. You hinted at a greater conspiracy going on, but again, I would have played this up even further. I feel that an opportunity was missed that could have made this an even more memorable story. Also left unanswered was Rose's sudden vanishing. (Explained in her section below)

Rose-You gave me so much of your Character in the short time that I got to know her. I became really interested in her, really felt attached to her, and then, bam, it was all taken away from me! How could you! Despite the fact that I was impressed with your strong writing capacity, the fact that you left really hurt the thread. Furthermore, with what you did show, you never really explained too much what actually happened to Rose. How did she become a Monster? What made her that way? How often does she have to feed? What you did give, raised more questions than an episode of Lost. Your Character performed several Actions, including feeding, that was very consistent to her apparent dark-side. I kept waiting for her to turn on Ethan.

6/10

∼Persona∼Again, both of you guys have very interesting Characters, and in your case (Ethan) you are developing an interesting Character. I am so used to how your Character was -before- his sudden transformation that I didn't expect the changes to your Character to be so absolute. Rose, your Character is very interesting, and I just would have really liked to see you stick through to the end of the thread. Please come back!!!

Ethan-From what I knew of your past incarnation of Ethan, he seemed to be a fairly level-headed guy. Quick on his toes, ready for anything. I got the same sort of deal from the new iteration of Ethan, except I got a whole lot more. You clearly -enjoy- writing the -new- Ethan out. Ethan seems to be a smart individual, but not a veteran. He's been through some things and uses that knowledge to his advantage. Now Colin on the other hand, Colin is a -very- interesting individual. Colin came off to me like someone at the top of his game, ready to take the world head-on. I felt immediately absorbed by his struggles in the Real World and would have liked to see more from Colin. Colin and Ethan are both interesting people with their own agendas. I am eager to see more from you.

Rose-I got the fact that she's a trouble individual with a troubled-past. She's cold, calculating, and perhaps, even menacing. I would have liked to see you develop Rose's hunger even more, and as stated earlier in the Rubric, I would have loved a confrontation between Ethan and Rose. I kept waiting for Rose to turn on Ethan at any moment as would have been true to her apparent nature as a Monster. The strongest point of your writing style was the depiction of the dark nature of your Character. I thoroughly enjoyed reading what you did give me.

7/10

∼Writing Style∼

∼Technique∼Generally speaking, both of you guys are strong writers. Ethan, I saw some errors on your part here and there, but they were minor typos I am not gonna give you too much grief over. Rose, your writing skills were nearly flawless. You are clearly someone with something to prove.

Ethan-A few minor typos here and there hurt your score just a little bit. But I think that you missed these small errors in your attempt to simply finish the thread. I won't knock your score down -too- much cause of these minor errors.

Rose-I saw no mistakes in the few posts that you did give me. You have a clear understanding of the English language. Your writing, in general, impressed me. Once again, I found it really cool to see a newbie playing with one of our veteran writers. Kudos to you Rose.

4/10

∼Mechanics∼Both of you used strong Foreshadowing techniques and other literary devices. I saw a lot going on. Ethan's use of the accented spoken verse showed a clear understanding of English. I was impressed. Rose kept hinting at a darker nature to her Character and was foreshadowing a possible conflict between Ethan and Rose. I would have liked to see said conflict occurring.

Ethan-Your use of Ethan's accent, strong understanding of Foreshadowing and other literary devices, and good use of stylized writing impressed me. Despite some minor typos mentioned in Technique, your writing was almost flawless.

Rose-I was thoroughly impressed by your apparent skill in writing. Each post immediately sucked me in, and I had an understanding of what you were writing. More importantly, I felt attached to your Character. You used Foreshadowing effectively, and several other literary devices. I would have liked to see you finish the thread.

8/10

∼Clarity∼Superb job you guys, I have nothing else to say.

Ethan-Again, except for the minor typos you left in the thread, the thread was sheer awesome. Keep up the good work.

Rose-I understood what you were trying to say at all times. I didn't have to re-read anything.

6/10

∼Wild Card∼To both of you guys, I was really impressed with the good job you guys were performing. I could really tell that you two were planning an awesome thread that had a TON of great potential. There were points of the thread that really, really shined, and there were other points that could have used a lot of help. Ethan, you get a lot of props for sticking to the thread despite the fact your partner ditched you. Rose, you get kudos for your strong showing in what was apparently your first outing here on Althanas. I would love to see more from you in the future.

Ethan-You had a lot of stuff going on here bro! It was almost overwhelming. You built up a great deal of tension with the dualistic nature of Colin's struggle, and then Ethan's apparent loss of Rose towards the end of the thread. You kept the thread moving quickly, and kept it going despite the loss of a highly skilled partner. You guys may have even scored a J.C. (Who knows) with this one, I was that impressed. I look forward to reading the adventures of the -new- Ethan as you finish them up.

Rose-Just wow! It breaks my heart when our newbies quit off the site. I am sure you had your reasons, but it still hurts me nonetheless. All of us were newbies at some point and to see such a strong first outing really hits the point home. I strongly feel that our newbies make Althanas the great site that it is, and this showing proves my point. I wish you could return one day to finish what you have started. You are a talented writer, and I was extremely impressed by what you showed me. I want more.

∼6∼/10

∼Total∼56/100

∼Experience/Gold Pieces∼

Ethan-Ethan receives 2,464 Experience and 90 Gold due to Spoils being accepted.

Rose-Rose receives 308 Experience and 100 Gold for effort. (My Reward to you)

∼Spoils∼All Spoils Approved!!! Kyle I trust you will not power-game your Spoils so I will allow you to implement your Spoils immediately.

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added.