used to appeared on the roof.
All eyes turned to Toby, but no one but Paul moved. He stood before the much younger man. “Nice throw.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t ever fucking do something like that again.”
Toby blinked. “It could have worked, if he hadn’t-”
“And he could have killed you. You were safe in the middle. You are not safe out here on your own. You only get one shot, kid. One . You fuck it up and we are all in trouble. No more showboating. Do I make myself clear?”
Toby nodded.
Paul nodded. “Good.”
Claire and Amos had moved out of the group now. “We did learn something from that.” Claire nodded to Toby. “The sword Miller made can hurt him, even now.”
Amos nodded. “We learned more than that. Given what he said, I doubt he’s even in the states. He’s not concerned at all about being found. He’s that confident in his hiding place and who is hiding him.”
Claire tilted her head. “But he heard the explosion. It was only a few blocks from us.”
“Maybe he didn’t hear it, so much as gauge our reactions to it.”
Paul rubbed at his beard. “It’s not much to go on.”
Toby held up the sword a bit. “Also this comes back when I throw it.”
All three sets of eyes turned to him.
“You see, two of you had tried to take it and not been able to. And when I was looking at it in the inventory I clicked it a few more times than necessary trying to figure out what I was doing. I can’t unequip it even if I wanted to. So, putting two and two together…”
Paul was staring at him now. “You just thought you’d risk losing the one item key to our already minuscule chances of success.”
“Er… yes?” Toby shrugged. “I was pretty sure…”
“Pretty sure doesn’t cut it.” He bit off the end of each word. “We got lucky that the bomb he already set off didn’t kill anybody. We have no idea where he is or who he is working with. There’s no room for ‘pretty sure.’ There’s no room for anything beyond certainty.”
The gaze was unsettling. It was one rendered 3D character looking at another… but Toby felt small under that gaze. He nodded as he lowered his eyes. “Okay.”
Paul shook his head and moved back to the others. “Alright, form up and get ready to move out. I want someone to check in with our remaining GMs. Don’t let them do anything crazy, just have them hover and keep tabs. I have a sneaking suspicion Miller has a plan for them if we don’t keep them on a leash. We’re breaking into four groups as planned. Six per group and two alternates. For now, all four groups are moving together. Myself, Mark, Kelly, and Mike are still the group leaders. Get it done.”
A window popped up in the center of Toby’s vision. He accepted the group invite without reading it.
The name “Celan” appeared over Paul’s head in a shade of green. His name appeared to the far left of Toby’s vision as well, with a health and mana bar beneath it. The icon beside his name was a helmet with wings.
Well, that was a surprise. Paul wasn’t happy with him at all… but then, he was the linchpin of this whole train wreck.
The name “Kelara” appeared below Paul’s on the side as Claire joined them. Her icon was a sun symbol laid over a squared off cross like paramedics wear. He blinked at her.
“You’re a cleric?”
She looked mildly confused. “Uh, yeah?” She held up her hammer. “Not really by choice. I usually roll fighter or rogue, but they needed a cleric this morning for a dungeon test and I was game to give it a try… and now it’s what I’m stuck with.”
Paul gave her a nod. “We make real clerics here. Your hammer will break things just fine, and your armor isn’t for show. You’re no clothie.”
Amos joined the group next. His icon was a bow and arrow. No surprises there. He had all the trappings of a ranger, aside from a few scimitars and a cougar.
The next name to appear was Amallia. She walked through the crowd to stand by them.
All eyes turned to Toby, but no one but Paul moved. He stood before the much younger man. “Nice throw.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t ever fucking do something like that again.”
Toby blinked. “It could have worked, if he hadn’t-”
“And he could have killed you. You were safe in the middle. You are not safe out here on your own. You only get one shot, kid. One . You fuck it up and we are all in trouble. No more showboating. Do I make myself clear?”
Toby nodded.
Paul nodded. “Good.”
Claire and Amos had moved out of the group now. “We did learn something from that.” Claire nodded to Toby. “The sword Miller made can hurt him, even now.”
Amos nodded. “We learned more than that. Given what he said, I doubt he’s even in the states. He’s not concerned at all about being found. He’s that confident in his hiding place and who is hiding him.”
Claire tilted her head. “But he heard the explosion. It was only a few blocks from us.”
“Maybe he didn’t hear it, so much as gauge our reactions to it.”
Paul rubbed at his beard. “It’s not much to go on.”
Toby held up the sword a bit. “Also this comes back when I throw it.”
All three sets of eyes turned to him.
“You see, two of you had tried to take it and not been able to. And when I was looking at it in the inventory I clicked it a few more times than necessary trying to figure out what I was doing. I can’t unequip it even if I wanted to. So, putting two and two together…”
Paul was staring at him now. “You just thought you’d risk losing the one item key to our already minuscule chances of success.”
“Er… yes?” Toby shrugged. “I was pretty sure…”
“Pretty sure doesn’t cut it.” He bit off the end of each word. “We got lucky that the bomb he already set off didn’t kill anybody. We have no idea where he is or who he is working with. There’s no room for ‘pretty sure.’ There’s no room for anything beyond certainty.”
The gaze was unsettling. It was one rendered 3D character looking at another… but Toby felt small under that gaze. He nodded as he lowered his eyes. “Okay.”
Paul shook his head and moved back to the others. “Alright, form up and get ready to move out. I want someone to check in with our remaining GMs. Don’t let them do anything crazy, just have them hover and keep tabs. I have a sneaking suspicion Miller has a plan for them if we don’t keep them on a leash. We’re breaking into four groups as planned. Six per group and two alternates. For now, all four groups are moving together. Myself, Mark, Kelly, and Mike are still the group leaders. Get it done.”
A window popped up in the center of Toby’s vision. He accepted the group invite without reading it.
The name “Celan” appeared over Paul’s head in a shade of green. His name appeared to the far left of Toby’s vision as well, with a health and mana bar beneath it. The icon beside his name was a helmet with wings.
Well, that was a surprise. Paul wasn’t happy with him at all… but then, he was the linchpin of this whole train wreck.
The name “Kelara” appeared below Paul’s on the side as Claire joined them. Her icon was a sun symbol laid over a squared off cross like paramedics wear. He blinked at her.
“You’re a cleric?”
She looked mildly confused. “Uh, yeah?” She held up her hammer. “Not really by choice. I usually roll fighter or rogue, but they needed a cleric this morning for a dungeon test and I was game to give it a try… and now it’s what I’m stuck with.”
Paul gave her a nod. “We make real clerics here. Your hammer will break things just fine, and your armor isn’t for show. You’re no clothie.”
Amos joined the group next. His icon was a bow and arrow. No surprises there. He had all the trappings of a ranger, aside from a few scimitars and a cougar.
The next name to appear was Amallia. She walked through the crowd to stand by them.
Similar Books
