NIGHT

"why not extend that to the possibility of using every other tool on hand to bypass mitigation?" night perked up, elbow against the top of her seat. she'd found the information just as unintuitive to work with, even after taking down notes on her interface, and was starting to scribble -- or doodle -- images unrelated to them, but pertaining to their scenery instead. she tapped at the screen with an impatient tempo. "and not to mention hearing of odd voices being a factor to become aware of... unless it's something most of you have somehow become accustomed to, in which you might have so

“before we start, however…” she took a few steps forward, and offered a hand when she got close enough. “i’m giovanna.” the dragon took it. “idianth. and that over there is night.” night simply bowed, but was offered a handshake too, and she couldn’t find it in herself to refuse it. “so here’s the terms of our pact,” giovanna declared. “when groviat goes down, what remains of his hoard will be distributed between all three of us.” night put her hands up, her head bowed. “uh, no, no thanks — i’m not really in it for the treasure.” “okay then,” giovanna replied, qu

“there used to be a third dragon between them — my mother. uncle liked her very much. father regrets even now that she’s gone. but uncle’s seen it as a reason to advance his position: take more land, claim further rule, and eventually bring the fight to his family.” idianth placed a paw upon his chest. “that includes me. is that good enough a reason for you yet?” “what is this,” day echoed in the back, just as the bandits started to discuss in hushed whispers, “family feud?” the player snorted. “next, you’re going to tell me that’s the whole reason i’m progressing through this quest

“his reign of terror?” idianth had the head of the axe pointed towards him. he nodded. “and what do you suppose you know of how he ‘rules’?” “well, father has had to narrow down his hoard ever since the territories were split, because uncle kept stealing from him,” the dragon began. “i’ve seen his home a few times. beyond father, surely there must have been other places that treasure must have been coming from. am i right?” the chieftain lowered her weapon. “go on.” “and, say…” idianth closed his eyes and remained silent for an extended period of time, as things began to se

idianth landed on the ground, as stern as stoic as ever. “what’s the meaning of this?!” the chieftain yelled, turning around to face the party. “who are you, and what are you doing following a red dragon?” “i’m here to complete a quest—?” instantly, night’s words were decimated by an elbow jabbed in her side. she sputtered and groaned, before righting herself. “i’m here to escort him. we’re looking for a much larger, much older red dragon that almost resembles him. i think his name is groviat? do you know where he is?” the closest bandits started to talk amongst themselves.

the player moved quickly with a sidestep to her right, against the swing of the hand-axe. then she curled into a low tumble, as the woman followed through on tracking night’s movements. one angled and well-timed jump allowed night to pull her blade out and strike where the bandit was most vulnerable — where her shield wasn’t facing, and the impact of her oath caused it to ring. doubtless, if the fight hadn’t meant to be stopped the moment night had weakened her foe enough, it would’ve by sheer knockback, that slash of cardinal’s orders for both of them to distance themselves. the woman ro

bandits — more of them, which explained better why they might’ve gotten ambushed or attacked earlier. with the duo participating in the fight, it seemed quick that the tides of battle had shifted. so it was to their surprise when someone who looked different than the rabble rushed out from the heart of the camp to follow through on the skirmish. “hai!” “a woman?” day queried, if only to catch night’s attention. the latter dove in, cutting off the new entrant with an overhead swing after she’d disengaged a bandit, finding that her strike was halted by the raise of her shield. it

“oh, hardly,” day returned. they followed after idianth. up the mountain, right at a crossing plateau ahead, there seemed to be a campsite. the duo had hid behind an outcrop to study it better; after the fights from earlier, it didn’t seem too sound to explore the area without exercising a hint of caution. the camp was surrounded by makeshift fences as blockades, and was manned by two guards at the entrance they were approaching from. to night, it felt like a rather odd fixture: given its location, out in the open, it was a rather indefensible position… which made her question why

they simply didn’t have time to stand around all day and talk about the past. idianth seemed ready to get a move on, the way he started on the path forward after night had asked her question. she gingerly followed behind him, eyes upon his back as he sailed through the air, steering his maneuvers to be one of ambiguity, even though she knew he would not stray from the road ahead. “wow,” day said, “you’re really good at getting under everyone’s nerves, huh?” night groaned, a thumb and index upon her temples, hand stretched across her forehead. “it was an innocent question,” she tried.

“he likely means his territory,” night offered. idianth simply hummed, claw to his chin, before nodding. “i suppose… you must be right.” “why’s everyone so bad at reading riddles…?” day suddenly commented. she was slouching. “father has been king for so long, it’s of little wonder why uncle wants to try his hand at rulership as well. there are boons,” idianth considered, “like free reign of the animals that roam among the grass.” “surely,” night thought, “there must be adequate resources for groviat to live by just as well, right?” idianth nodded again. “indeed. but f

night and day exchanged looks. “you say that,” night began, with the raise of her palm. “but surely kevranth is in a state of capability that he could so easily take down groviat himself, if your strength resembles anything like his own capacity for combat. why not take the fight to him directly, between the two of you? isn’t it a little strange to be sending you out with a stranger he’d only just met?” idianth thought about it for a moment. “it is true,” idianth said, “that father is of equal strength to uncle himself. it was a question i’d posed to him once, but he issued a ri

in the air, idianth himself was an asset, a proper distraction against their enemies with his size and combat supremacy, airborne. attacks couldn’t reach him proper as he danced away from the strikes incoming, leaving night and day to clean up the distracted rabble, given their stolen attention on the dragon. going for their legs first was easy, if not chaotic — after the bandits had fallen, they were hardy enough to need a second strike to put them down. night hesitated after the first, and the second there after, until she focused on pushing the humans to the floor instead. day, ever the min

so therein laid the effectiveness of his dragon scales. only a small amount of health had been lost, even if the fact that he wasn’t indestructible had already placed night and day both on a razor’s edge. “sorry, we made it in late…” “it is not of great concern,” idianth replied. his wings took him to the skies. “my father is right in allowing me to prove myself. scars like these,” and the dragon gestured to where he got hurt, although it was spotless of hatched lines and bright lights, “are but proof of my experience and strength.” he dove towards the next batch. the pair followed s

the word that day wanted to eek out was lost to actions, and the followthrough to that put to a halt as well. hands under night’s cheek, the only reason they were interrupted was the sound of immediate conflict. so they abandoned their argument just to make sure that their dragon escort was safe. “idianth!” up ahead, there were bandits. a number of them — almost a pack full. cardinal usually only let 4 enemies totter around their target, for fairness’ sake, but noticing another approaching in the distance made this reliability difficult to assert. night dove in with a slam against th

“um…” night scratched the side of her cheek. “because i’m human, and i’m greedy, and i don’t know when to stop asking for things?” day blinked, bewildered at her partner’s response. she gave their conversation a pause. “i mean,” day started, “you’re not… wrong? and as much as that’s exactly the thing about you — er, players — that makes you lot so — er, likable…” day trailed off. night looked to her, almost aghast and devoid of thought. “you’re stuttering when complimenting me? wow, day, i see how it is.” “okay,” day decided, a hand to her hip. “i take what i said

through a stone valley they went. idianth had mentioned that groviat lived in the midst of a different set of mountains on the floor, which was where they were headed towards. along the way, night had expected nothing of much note to happen, except for some sight-seeing opportunities. “no,” night decided on second thought, just as they were halfway through their trek. the road had been tedious, and winding, and she was pretty sure that the quest was instanced, to the point that the sun continued to hang low in the sky. all it took was a glance towards their clock, and night could’ve sworn

day: oh you’re right! day: but they’re not lions “it will be my honor,” idianth said with grace. he bounded over to night’s side, just as she’d finished typing out her last text. night: actually it might b hamlet instead “hello,” idianth started, with a nod. night returned it. “we shall be working together to hunt down groviat, it seems. shall we head outside to talk of strategy?” “honestly?” night replied, starting on her way out the cavern. “i think i could use a map a little better.” “no better scout and guide than i,” idianth said. “what a boast,” day object

“father,” he said. “i’ve returned with enough for our dinner.” “oh, that’s wonderful,” kevranth replied. he almost looked like an excited puppy. with a clear of his throat, he gestured his kin to look to the player present. “night, this is idianth. idianth, say hi.” “greetings.” idianth chose to do as best a bow as he could manage, head down and body shifted backwards to accommodate his royal greeting. night wasn’t sure how deeply she should nod in turn, so she thought herself to follow japanese customs and return her respect. “idianth,” kevranth continued, “night is going on a

“better they don’t exist,” night chose to agree, and then pulled day along to meet kevranth once more. it was as though nothing had changed within the cavern itself. “welcome back,” kevranth called to night, as the duo walked through the entrance. “any luck this time?” “yeah,” night replied, choosing not to solve the riddle at all. “so where’s your rival?” “rival?” “the one you need killed because he’s evil, or whatever.” kevranth looked surprised. less so because night had ‘figured out a truth’, but more so from the intention of the player herself. “alright,” he said,

“right, so the puzzle.” night had made up for day’s loss quickly. the two of them were stationed right near the glade they were planning to rest at if the quest took too long to complete, because idling near kevranth seemed to invite his commentary to the women’s antics. they didn’t need a third opinion on their squabbling, so they left. day simply shrugged. “isn’t it the same as always? you talk to a dragon, you ask them to point you to the direction of the big evil dragon, and then there’s a kid along the way.” “isn’t there someone who’s supposed to be following us?” night til

outside the cave, they reconvened. “what the hell was that,” night asked. she’d still had her arm over day, almost forcing all of her weight upon the construct. it wasn’t as though day had minded, but it did seem rather silly for both of them to be operating as one unit when night could’ve just walked on two legs. “how’s that answer going for you?” “poorly,” the player rebuked. “are you making fun of me? i know this isn’t the right way to solve the riddle — or whatever that was. can i put my foot down now?” “you didn’t have to ask for permission.” night stood upright,

“i’m really bad at puzzles,” night prefaced, and kevranth tutted back. “nay, merely not unlocked thine own potential for thought yet,” he said. “when you return on three legs, then perhaps, the answer will come to you.” day kicked night in the shin playfully. “that’s not what he meant,” she shot to her construct. “oh,” kevranth grinned, tail flipping about excitedly. “did you hazard a guess to the riddle yet?” “fuck.” day tried to topple night once again. agitated, and near stumbling, night held onto her companion with an arm slung over her shoulder, and her attac

“probably other players,” night mumbled to day, even quieter this time. “they were quite justified, actually,” kevranth happily replied. night decided then, in her entirety, that it was not time for gossip just yet. “how so?” “hmm…” kevrath thought to himself for quite some time. then, he began. “the trophy you seek is under key, behind a mirror.” night tilted her head, before turning to day. day simply shrugged back. “i don’t have it.” “where one,” kevranth continued, “wields strength by divine right, the other manifests it, by ambition and devil’s wrongs.

night found herself unable to argue, so she didn’t. “i’m night,” she said. “kevranth,” the dragon replied, with a bow of its head. “for lack of structured rule, i am this land’s designated ruler.” “does it count if nobody made him king?” day asked. “maybe if he pulled the sword from the stone,” night whispered back. “yes,” kevranth interjected, corners of his lips upturned. “i once did that, i’ll have you know.” “that’s no basis for a system of government,” the construct muttered back, to which nobody chose to acknowledge. night pulled a number of stones out

the last thing she needed was attention, so she brushed it off. horn sent back to her inventory, night simply shook her head. "nothing important." and she meant every word. the moment mac had started off towards the plaza, she followed, in pursuit. the twenty-fifth was as dreary as always. white walls and dim lighting; the floor was meant to be focused on ambushes from enemies that caught players off-guard. the whole thing was a maze, a trap – night sought out the chalk necessary to guide their way back home, and handed out a piece to everyone else present. the maze weaver wasn't a b