This story start with a flock of seagulls flying up on sky, shouting they iconic tweet call, as if they were laughing on good jokes. The scene is a morning beach of fine sand, a place where roaring sea washes up the debris of night current. Like a pieces of wooden ships and a cargo that fallen to the raging sea and oceans, or just random stuff of sea.
And the waves brought another trash to the shore. A dummy, hulk size Barbarian, with really muscular body, rise above the foaming water surface. As he walk out from water, he was carrying under his armpits, the bodies of his drown teammates. With heavy steps and heavy breathing, he reach a dry part of beach and dropped on sand: a bard, a wizard, and a priest.
After he made a quick stretching of his own limbs, he reach onto his sealed pocked and pulled something like a small metal plate. No!; It was a card, that has engraved a magic circle formula as alternation to spell scroll that using paper and ink, which are a poor chose for a swimming activities. He give it a curious look, with his chin resting between pointing finger and thumb, while thinking aloud: "So?; how it was again? Oh! There are instruction on other side. (Put your finger on the small empty circle at bottom, as if it was a card from a game, then holding it like that, gently bonk forehead of each of us.) Hmmm. Simple enough."
He crouch toward the pretty ladies playboy Bard and tap his forehead. The graving on the plate shined with light, as the spell got activated. The drowned body got awakened, as if someone heavy-kick the death out of it. Or in our variation a gazer of water sprinkled out of its mouth. After a strong reverse dying groan, that pretty boy start scream like a frighten girl, covering his face from imaginary hits and scratches, as if he was wake up from nightmare where bunch of ladies giving him a serious beating. "Not the face! Not the face! Not my pretty face!"
Big boy do the same for the mischief pyromaniac Wizard who love party trick spells. Especially when they do a flashy (Ka-boom!!). After a strong reverse dying groan, that educated guy start to laughing maniacally, like the person who dint cared how big that room was, when it casted/conjured a fireball. It wiped out everything, including himself. And as he was super dead from what he did, he laughed to his last breath, until the blast caught him. The cause of the current situation of the party, maybe wasn't so far from the previous example. But soon, he got hit hard by realization of what actually happened, that he is alive, followed by pain from manna depletion paralysis. So the maniacal laugh changed to sad one, accompanied by crying of desperation.
So the barbarian crouch down above Dear-folk (having a dear antlers) suspicious Priest, a diplomat in services of forest goddess Fa-fa. He place that plate card on the priest head an the procedure to bring person back to life occurred, ans his body flitches moving to grasp for its own life. But it was failure, as the priest drop dead again, with a dying scream of a deer who fallen to a hunter. So the hulk do that procedure once again, and this time priest start to coughing. Then its body stop moving again tired from pain. Or actually it look more like the alcoholic priest was taken down by alcohol intake, or the cold turkey from its absence [Withdraw effects].
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Barbarian was going to use that card for the third time, but this time the priest manage to barely spoke up, before went that procedure again. "I,-- I am alive. You don't need to… again… I need... to rest." It still looked like he is one leg in a grave.
So the big guy, backed a little to sit on his butt. Once again he look at the metal card in his hand. "This thing is really useful. Can I keep it?" Antler guy, take a tool by making a single nod of agree. That light up the mood of barbarian. "Now, with this in my pocket, I can add to my list of titles (a healer)." His revelation optimism was not shared by his beat up companions who groaned in disagreement, while unable to move.
First one who responded was of course talkative bard. "Buddy, you stamina is monstrous that I muss spoke up. Any of us, who will try this black trick will hardly success once, before got knock out by fatigue for a week. I know we saw it a countless times, but the fact you still standing and throwing jokes, is nothing but heroic." Now the playboy redirected its attention to wizard, without moving a single part of his body other that his mouth. "Du~ude, hows you feelings?"
That pyromaniac was crying silently. "I don't wanna talk about it. No artist shall live long enough, to outlive his ultimate creation, his final art. I had enough of existential crisis for a single day. So, I am not going to ask what those Titles of our Buddy are. Not even I going to ask, as (How the heck, we get here?). Or address the elephant in the room."
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Big guy start to reminisce. "Hmm. I think it start when I was a young aspiring barbarian."
Except pretty boy, interrupted him without any sassy hint in his voice. "You went to far in that origin story, Buddy." To escape that story telling session, he already address the priest. "What about you bro? Anny chance that you will patch us together anytime soon?"
For a second it seemed that the deer-folk man will die on spot, just from that question. But barely staying awake he denied that hope. "Not going to happen. Speaking of a week, I think I will be out of service for several days, maybe a week or two."
An unhappy wheezing come from a mage.
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But it was, when Bard asked: "What's wrong bro?"…
That when priest snapped at him. But the antler man was too paralyzed to bark properly. "First of all: Do I tell you?; That I really don't like the subtext in how you call me a bro. You are nice to me, only to look good in eyes of my sister. That you can tell her how useful and loyal you are, on our journey, while blabbing all kinds of tuned up stories. All that while you can receive an adequate petting and pampering from her. You dint stop even when she reveal to you how she really look."
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An exchange began between the two of them. "You shall know, that judging the book by its cover is irresponsible. What is more important is that story inside the book. Plus…" He smiled sinfully. "Preferences." Instantly he got called a (Pervert!) by antler guy, but pretty boy dint mind. "Don't blame me, for you to be a sis-con, but you love interest is not a bro-con. A siblings romance is quite high on the pervert ratting. Or…" He paused dramatically. "She is a secret bro-con. But she is worried, that if she drop her clergy mask, you will stop love her if you learn how a massive pervert she is. I telling you to stop idolizing her already."
This time the wizard spoke up. "Aren't you race a know shapeshifter pranksters?"
But priest groan unhappily. "I cant kill him! My sister only borrowed him to me for adventures, expecting that he will be returned for matting season. Especially in a good, healthy shape."
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Pretty boy tried to smile, through the pain. "Its a job for me. You don't need to be mad at me. Take my example and grand some experiences, and techniques. For… you know… if the opportunity finally rise."
But antler guy hiss. "Second! You know exactly what wrong is with me. All of you have only one body form to maintain, I have three. All of them got a beating. And (No!) I cant faze us to astral realm, for relief, either. Our astral flames are just a smoking firepit. Except for our Buddy, as his astral fire is not actually a fire."
Barbarian, who look like he is in the role of thinking leader, asked a question. "Cant you just ask Fa-fa for a miracle?"
It take a moment, but wizard complain. "Objection! Fa-fa is well know prankster and troller. You cant never know, what kind of prank seed will plant in us, for her own amusement, as a payment for a divine intervention from her. Plus, she know to be impulsive petty. You know the story, when she restore a cut down forest at the cost of a village? I mean at the cost of villagers, who summoned her, but were responsible for cutting down the forest, in the first place. She turn them onto sapling. Just look how her followers look. On other hand, its too risky to hope, that she find our struggle amusing, and decide to be our patron on a whim. Just to troll, you know who." As priest call him infidel, mage bark back a fact, that he is a man of knowledge, not a faith. He is not allowed to have faith as wizards are responsible for they own destiny.
At last, it was the pretty boy, who states the obvious. "So that's what we are for now? A minor inconvenience? Guys, we selling ourself pretty low."
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That's a heavy blow referring at they current situation as an adventurers. So the group take an unspoken decision of a moment of resting. To just lie down on a beach and listen to the seagulls laughing at the sea waves crashing on a shore. Maybe taking a sip of a fresh water.
This was going for a while until a familiar sensation alerted all four of them. A gentle breeze create a soft vortex of glitter particles. Followed by gentle tune evolving into a jingle, a 15 cm (a half foot) tall female pixie fairy, got summoned right between them.
As usual she give her entry introduction, with a big smile and a singing voice. "Guess, who is it! ♫"
And as usual response, the boy's mood got lifted high as they got excited with "(Ye~ey! ♪) Its Sugar. ♪" But even with them, having a smile on they faces, third quartes of them were still beaten up.
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She flap her wings as she fly around to look what's going on, radiating an heart-full welcome.
But in mere moment of flipping an inner switch, she start yapping at them angrily, scolding the trouble making boys. No! She exploded in rage. "What,-- the,-- F**k!!??" All the boys wide they eyes as she start barking at them. "There is not enough big F in F**k, to say how much you F**k it, this time. The fleet is gone! Everybody are scattered! The Entire guild is in F**king chaos! And its all, yours fault!!" She seemed, that she's going to pass out from the high blood pressure itself.
While trio of boys were unable to move, it was Bard who got curios. "That don't make a sense. Aren't adventurer guild the one who pressured us to do something about it?"
And of course Wizard catch on. "The instruction were; (Your words); Get creative! So we do! We outdone ourself."
Somehow even Priest join the gig. "We will not be able, to make it half the way in our adventurers, without your faithful guidance, miss Sugar."
Finally the dumb big one, was a person of a nice hearth. "You are the best, Sugar."
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She facepalm herself in (I don't believe,-- those guys!!) exhausted expression. "Then how long?; it will take to you to finish the dam quest??"
That was a fire-match that forced the pretty boy onto alert. "Are you serious? Do the adventure guild have no idea how thought this guy is? We throw at him everything we had!"
Pyromaniac grinned adding only one word. "Literally."
But its is always the suspicious priest who have a side intention. "Well, if guild is not satisfied with our ongoing performance, regarding this particular quest, we can agree that is a time to transfer it to more qualified party." The other members agree to that idea with mumbling.
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Except melee fighter of the party, who whined in sad tone. "I though we have already figure it out for the next encounter." And he rise that plate card as a triumph card of his.
So the boys start the intervention, with spell caster. "Shall we mentioned, that the Big Bad Boss know it too, and that's why he come up with a whole new spell to keep especially you out of his skin, automatically ruining half of our strategies."
Musically gifted singer add to that. "Sorry Buddy, you don't even get close to deliver the blow we all wishing for. That bad guy have us read through like a book."
Healer of clergy, followed. "I shall inform you, that the black method is really a last resort of a fake resurrection spell. The pain it cause is such on another level, that we don't know how to express it, yet. The crying or screaming itself, just don't cut it."
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That big guy got sad, and decided to scratch his big head. But unfortunately for him, he hold that card in that hand, in a way ready to use it. The moment that metal piece touch his head, the spell god activated. In a blink of eye, a shock went through his entire body. Like when doctor press down an acupuncture point, his entire body like on cruel command got shockingly stunned. With a really dumb expression, he crashed down on sand: his body got stretched out like a wood log, with hands tightly next to his torso, like a corpse ready to be put into a coffin. At that moment he was cold like a stone.
Of course boys frown.
Pretty boy dint believed it. "Don't tell me that he…"
But educated guy confirm it. "Yep! He did it. Even he is not immune for the receiving full impact of the black method."
Now was time for the dear folk, to said the harsh truth. "And with that developing done, our team is official out of commission as every its member is bound to be send to sick bed."
Yet the fairy got tired by they antic. "Your morons don't get, that there is no other party free to take it on! And that damn stunt of yours caused that several parties don't yet reported back."
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Suddenly, Barbarian gasped for air eyes wide open in sudden awakening, returning to them from whatever his mind went. He shine at start: "Ouchie. That was a weird experience. I flew up to clouds, where I saw my parents. They were wearing those plain white sheet clothing something, that show they pretty worked-up muscles. But when I stand in front of them asking if they truly are my parents; they turn me around and power kick me into but, and I flow out of the plateau. I fall through clouds, back down here, crashing like boulder onto my body. That hurt more that when I was send up. But…" His short frown showed, that there is a more important piece of puzzle that he just uttered about his out body experience. "A fun thing is, that I saw everything while falling down. And I saw the triple-B heading toward this beach." Then he must ask as he turn his head toward them. "Is that important somehow?"
But it was once again the talkative Bard who point at something. "Guys? While trying to ignore that absurd adventure of our Buddy, I had a very troubling thought. A really scary image reached into my mind."
Of course Wizard, bitten onto it without a hesitation. "Like the one who is on our asses?; walking tirelessly on bottom of the sea?; toward our current location? What with that maniac anyway?"
And of course it was the Priest who finished that though with preaching. "You mean, like there is something else?; that more serious; that trespassing into his property, doing an uninvited break and entry, causing wide spread vandalism, be framed for unprovoked assault, and incite shameless violence? Most importantly: be responsible for an intellectual generation long insult? Plus there is the little thing, where our party claimed the entire credit, for the black castle firework incident, that was previously his home."
That fairy had really a fake smile on her face. "That screw up made the BBB even more dangerous. I think, that I shall found a new party to supervise."
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All four of them put (Oh no!) expression.
Pretty boy tried to sweet talk. "Sweetheart, honey, what are you talking about? We weren't even make this far if it wasn't for your kindness."
Sparkly boy tried tingle her sense of duty. "Dear Sweetheart, please understand that you are valued member of this party, without you, we are incomplete."
Dear boy on other side, tried to inspire her. "Miss Sweetheart, you are such inspiration, like a light in our hearts."
Bud the big dummy has been sweat in hearth. "You are best, Sweetheart."
That little fairy, made this childlike wide smile, of melting from all those praises. But then she delivered them the bad message. "I will go now."
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Boys got desperate and it was the bard whose tongue was quick to sugar talk. "Sugar, babe, can you take us with you?"
But fairy frown as she put her hands on hips in (giving them a scolding) posture. "I really don't like that fake flirting of yours. And, why shall I do that? Its tiring! Because the objective of your commission, went out of control? Because of your unbeaten streak line of screw ups?"
Wizard try to move, but he hissed as his body screamed from pain. "Sugar, due the informations we obtained about our target, we can say that the commission ranking on quest we got, was gravely under-ranked. We need to deliver the intel to the guild. We drop on him a catastrophe and he tank it! The higher ups need to hear us!"
Plus, tricky Priest was already playing with words. "At last, you really don't want to be responsible for abandoning the party, that have most experiences of dealing with that guy."
But the little one don't bite. "A bad ones, I guess."
Except there was still the big one with big heart and maybe serious obsession with melee fighting, who was once again was making this serious thinker expression and gestures. "Hmm. I don't think I was ever be in your home Sugar. I wonder if the prices for local specialties are that crazy high toward the sky, as people are used to talk. By the way, Sugar, you say that everything have its price; Right? So I wonder how much that teleport will cost us."
There was this (Kat-ching! ♪) sound of a cash register bell, announcing opening its drawer to accept the hard money from a customer. The fairy face was beaming with very happy smile.
The trio of boys who tried to talk out its way, felt quite stupid for forgetting the basic about money obsession, that fairies have. Also, the tear they uttered from corner of they eyes, may have something to do with an unspoken farewell to they savings.
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So it was on Barbarian to once again pick up his teammates under his armpits, as fairy flew around his feet's, drawing a circle to sand. Only when she sit on his head into prayer position, she start chant a spell in an ancient tongue, that turned into a musical tune. The circle in sand lit up in silver glow. A soft vortex of sparkling glitter risen from it, covering them from bottom to up like a curtain.
Then that spell farted… Curtain dispersed into air, while glitter fall toward sand.
Dummy duo of barbarian and fairy glared stupidly at fact that they are still at the beach. (What?!)
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So fairy drop the harsh truth, as she stretched her limbs. "Well, I tried. It dint work. Have fun to figure it out on your own."
Mage shout urgently. "At last fix our cleric, before you puff out!! Without him we are doomed. We pay!!"
But that 15 cm tall lady frown at them from top of barbarian head. "I don't know any restoration spell, that will help with your double condition." But she frown as she give them a more observable look. "A triple?… Quadruple condition?… What the heck happened to you?" But she averted her gaze. "Newer mind! I don't wanna know! But, to show that I don't abandoning you. (Yet!) I will relay your situation and request to the guild. Lets see if I can manage to obtain a high recovery potion, and send it promptly to you. Or an other type of quick help."
Then she start to dance as a type of chanting to teleport out, followed by know tune. A small vortex of glitter covered her like a vein…
Then the spell fart occurred again…
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...and she got fully confused. "Wait! That's shall not happened!"
So the boys got supportive like a four older bros, and younger baby sister, lead by pretty boy. "Don't worry Sugar, a little stage fright happen to everybody, from time to time. Just give it a moment and trust yourself."
Sparkly boy, followed by logical observation. "Are you sure, that the system is not overwhelmed? You said it yourself, everybody is scattered. So the guild can gather the lost one for a next step? Maybe there is a waiting line? Or a recharge period?"
Antler boy, spoke up a prayer. "Lets have a faith in the guild to figure it out."
Finally the Dummy boy, had been on his own plane of though processing. "Are you hungry, Sugar?"
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But all they sweet talk was in wain as Fairy was getting more stressed out by every moment. She was holding in front of herself a piece of colored stained glass, and she looked at it as if it was a book. A clear panic showed in her body language, as she moved other hand on it, trying to solve some puzzle not perceived by others. She was visibly sweating. "System! Forced login! User name: Stella Ursula Gara Anita fon Rosaline."
That development surprise the boys, but it was the educated wizard who was the first one to talk. "Wait! Do all fairies names, are acronyms?"
Barbarian still holding the party who though again. "What is a Rosaline? And why I think its important somehow?" The trio look at him, or at last tried to turn an eye, then at her.
Bard was freaking out. "Sugar?? Are you princess? Or at last noble?"
But once again, Priest was the voice of reason. "Guys. Do not pry onto our lady secrets. Wait until she will be confident to share it with us."
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But she violently shake her head in (No!) and shout. "No! You don't get it! Its not just the teleport lines network, that is down. The system itself wont responding. That's not an issue of data saturation or not having enough power. Something serious muss happened at HQ, for the system to stop working entirely! If they shut it down, there will be at last a notification about it, but there is nothing." She start to shake in panic attack, holding that glass like a mirror, glaring at faint reflection of her. It almost felt, that the spirit of magic mirror was long gone, and now it was only a cheap mirror. "The system is dead? How do I get back? I must return!"
This was a moment for Priest to catch the fish. "Do not worry, miss Sugar. We will make sure, to escort you back onto Headquarters of adventurer guild. We promise!"
Somehow it lighter the mood of a little fairy, so even the big guy smiled. "Oh, that's awesome. Sugar, now we can do adventure together. Don't worry, even if some baddy tries something, I will protect you."
It worked and the emotionally moved little one, look like she start crying from shown kindness. So the Bard smirked. "Welcome onboard Sugar, life is an adventure and we are lively party."
She smiled, but there was a fact needed to be address by the Wizard. "I am also for this, but I doubt our strong buddy have enough patience to carry us like a bags of grains under its armpits. Well unless one of his many many titles contain: (a carpenter, maker of carts and carriages); we will probably drown here at evening, whit the rising tide. Or you know (Who), will show itself, catching us like this."
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That take the supposed winds from the sails of a ship, but barbarian look at fragments of ship at beach. "About that, I saw inside that ship wreckage, something that will help us. Just give me a moment."
He put down the party, the fairy include and went inside. After few sound of hammering a wood, he return dragging (a wheeled cart?). Or something that can fit that description.
On a unspoken question of them staring at him, he answer, as he start moving his companions from sand onto hull. "Well, I can do a little things like those, myself. But that was before I found out, that breaking stuff is more fun, that making them. But don't ask me, what I used as lubricant, its better to not know."
So they asked him if he had received some revelation or an enlightenment, that unlocked his inner potential. But he only shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Everything seems to be the same to me as before. But look at it from the better angle. Now all five of us, can go on an adventure, together."
As he made this (Ye~ey! ♪) shout of encouragement, the rest of party followed that example, by the amount they were capable to do.
And with that the next chapter awaits for them.