Mythical Artifacts

Chapter 6: In Unity

We had figured out the people we wanted in the team, and had sent them invitations through private messaging. We had invited a variety of people, a few of which we weren't totally sure would be a suitable part of the team — and others that wouldn't likely want to join at all. The set meeting date gave everyone a week's notice.

I woke up on March 12th, knowing exactly what day it was. Everything about it excited me, and it was one of the biggest things I had ever tried putting together. I hastily cleaned up anything that could remotely be seen as dirty, then sorted out the papers and went over what I was going to say.

About five minutes before the appointed time, people started to arrive. One . . . then another . . . then two together . . . and before I knew it, all nine people that had been invited were there. They were talking with each other as I quickly got chairs for everyone to sit on, since I had forgotten to do it before anyone arrived. Once everyone was seated around my living room, they all looked at me.

"Hey . . . everyone," I said. Only then did I realize how awkward it was, probably because I had invited a bunch of people who don't know each other for something that they still don't know about. Somehow they had all decided to show up, and now I had to give the reason why I had gotten them all there . . . somehow.

I deeply inhaled, then slowly let it out. "The whole thing with this 'sword' is big; I think it's safe to say we all know that?" There were some nods, but others just stared at me. "I've invited you guys here because I've had an idea. If you're uninterested, no offense taken if you leave."

I looked down, as I found it hard to look people in the eyes. I chose my next words carefully: "I want to start a team — a club, if you will — to search for The Sword, united. This wouldn't mean that only one person will end up getting the prize; I intend on having the staff team split the prize between all team members. It would basically give all of us a better chance of getting something out of this — the only downside is that the reward would be less great.

"Now . . . I'm not doing all of this solely for The Sword, though it is the prime reason. Another reason would be that we can get to know new people — as I can tell you guys aren't all acquainted with each other." A few of them looked away from me and at each other. "And, as a team, we could practice fighting each other, eventually getting better at combat; I know that at least I could benefit from training with some of you."

"Sounds like a lot of reasons for something that might not last very long," noted IcySoulz, one of the nine people I invited. Also called Dylan, he was someone I occasionally talked to, and we would often fight with each other about nonsense. I knew him through a line of friends, and I felt like he would suit the team — being fairly good at combat, he could be helpful if he genuinely wanted to.

"Well . . . that's the thing, though: I was thinking this could be a permanent thing," I replied. "There's little set in stone right now, really, but I was thinking we could remain a team after The Sword is found."

"I probably will want to stay afterward," said MineAPI. I looked at him: he made it seem like he was going to join — which made me glad, because I thought he would be an interesting addition to the team with his creativity, humor and loyalty. . . .

"So why'd you invite me?" asked Typoing, who I invited because I knew he was good at combat — like a lot of people I invited, unsurprisingly. "Or any of us, actually."

I looked at every one of them: Melongan, Typoing, and MineAPI . . . Ferbooper, MICHAEL5, and IcySoulz . . . SlightlyPlant, xDiqmondz, and JetRaidz. I had invited every one of them for a reason — whether because they were skilled or because they would be a good part of the team, I took interest in each one of them for one reason or another.