Avilien: Tutorial islands

Pathetic

All three moons high in the sky, darkness descended across all of Avilien. Having Squeeks torn from her and him gone for so long Brit became even more unstable. She prowled the streets in a mood so unhinged her face didn't know what to do. In a state of half tears and reckless anger, she kept her head low and walked the cold streets of Ice.

Red players in groups that belonged to smaller guilds kept their gear on show. Black and red seemed the more staple choice of attire as most adopted black leathers or black with gold seems plate armour. They sniggered and mocked Brit as she walked past, a few of them even pushed her out into the road. Not that there was any traffic as the red players deleted anything that spawned.

Being high up on the mountainside, the town of ice was flat for the most part. Cold, the snow that lay on the roads, paths, and rooftops was white chocolate. Brit clutched her arms as a tall fellow named Gron pushed her and laughed. Weedy, with a bulbous nose Brit knew she could snap him in half, level four or not. Recovering from a near fall Brit glared at Gron and he spat at her feet. She remained calm and paid it no attention. Rubbing her arms to try and keep warm her belly was next to complain.

Around every hour some townsfolk would respawn in and not long after they would scream as red players hunted them. The reds took great delight in deleting the AI and it angered Brit. She could delete them all, but she wouldn't. Unable to battle and do as Damocles demanded to win Squeeks back Brit found an alley that had little snow in it. Back against the wall, she slid down and sobbed into her arms. All of this was her fault. Her husband wouldn't come and save her and Brit knew of no one else to ask for help.

Mind flashing to Luke, Brit expected him to be near the end of the islands by now. She even thought of Lance and his big blockhead. Nagori and her innocent charm and endless snacks that Brit loved to eat, also flashed before her. Next came Cissy with her stern posture and Anna who was a kitten filled with darkness and wrath. Even they couldn't help Brit as she had forgotten the guild name and the characters they played.

"Miss Brit!" Bellowed a familiar voice as Squeeks spotted his old master crying at the back of a dead-end alley.

Head lifting and eyes blurry with tears, Brit watched as Squeeks bolted towards her and jumped into her arms.

"Squeeks?" she sobbed as she clutched tight enough to feel the full warmth of the fur. "How did you escape?" Brit started to fill with joy.

"I didn't escape. You're a loser," said Squeeks as he vanished into a cloud of smoke.

Down the alley, a group of reds laughed. One of them called Nixs had an illusion ability. In his early teens with scraggy ginger hair, he laughed the loudest.

"Oh Squeeks, Squeeks!" he mocked as his friends laughed along. Once they had their fill they left Brit be and continued.

Broken beyond all doubt and rage bar brimming, Brit stood up and summoned Tenderiser. Her feet wanted to move forward, her arm wanted to swing the flaming hot sword, but her head wouldn't let her. If she deleted them, she would be four steps closer out of ten towards her guide. Awesome Biscuit wouldn't delete other players, regardless of their crimes so neither would Brit. Sword dismissed, she slouched back down once more and continued to sob.

*

Beyond the main road and the dark chocolate lampposts stood the white chocolate townhall with its sugar-coated windows. Damocles, Moto, and Salamay were laughing within as they ate food and drank beer together. All sat on the leather sofas surrounding a table they threw bits of food at the tiny black Grenchitty who danced in the middle. Smoot was the guide's name, and as he danced on his two back legs for the group's amusement, his stomach growled something fierce. For fifteen minutes he danced, and then he collapsed, unable to move.

Damocles and Moto laughed louder and Salamay snorted like a piglet. Smoot tried to get up, but he didn't have the energy.

"Throw him back in the cage, Moto and pick another one to dance," said Damocles as he picked up a roasted potato from his plate. He waved it under Smoot's pink nose before he then ate it.

"Should I feed him, boss? If we leave it any..." Moto silenced himself as Damocles glared at him.

"Don't suggest what I should and shouldn't do with my guide," snapped Damocles as he lifted Smoots head up in a tight grip.

"Please... Master... One potato..." Damocles released Smoot, and he fell back into a heap.

"Feed him half a rotten potato." Damocles picked up his glass of beer and glugged down the contents.

Each commander under Damocles' rule had roles to fill. Nook supplied intelligence and was the second range user in Damocles' group. Salamay filled the role of healer, curses, and making sure merchandise was ready for sale. Moto was the tank of the group and also the cook. The four of them worked well even though they were on the bottom rung in the Corpse Collectors guild.

Doors opening to the town hall, Nook waltzed in and stood under the guilds black banner. "I bring word from scouts in Mixten," he said before then strolling over and taking a seat at the table.

"They claim they have come across quite the rare guide. Four-tails, purple and pink, and of Grenchitty origin. I hazard a guess, but I believe the guide to be of royalty, or at the least, high up in Grenchitty rankings." Nook reached out and grabbed a helping of food from the multitude of dishes on the table.

"Sounds interesting," said Damocles as he filled his glass back up and took another large sup. "Mixten eh? Guess I can head there in the morning. I have business there anyway."

"Want me to come with?" asked Salamay as she twirled her hair around a finger.

"Sure. Nook can hold down the fort. Be sure to refresh all of the curses and check up on our little damsel." Damocles burped and then continued his drink.

Nate and his cell neighbour Atom hadn't said a word to one another as they sat content in their prisons. Figuring out the best course of action on how to deal with Damocles, Nate couldn't judge how skillful he was. For what he couldn't judge, he made up for in intelligence gathering and knowing. He knew for a fact that he alone couldn't take on that group of four, and doubted that he could take Damocles at his current level.

Itchinghis chest Nate lifted his cloak to peer inside. Bones had started to gnaw at him again to scratch his teeth. Damocles and the others believed Bones to begone, but he was an eternal summon. So long as Nate lived, so would Bones. And with enough knowledge of the area and his enemy, it was time Nate got to work. He was going to devour this group of reds.