Tristan

"They're all idiots!" Opie proclaimed as he sloshed his drink around.

Chessa, seated beside him at the table, was now leaning about as far away from him as she could while still remaining in her seat. She'd fully embraced the all-dark-green color scheme that so many hunters seemed to have adopted lately. Tristan had also lost count of how many times she'd rolled her eyes at Opie, and they'd only just arrived maybe twenty minutes ago.

"They're not all that bad," she said. "The raid leader is kind of uptight, but--"

Opie cut her off. "He's a control freak. I can already tell he's a control freak."

"He's a Dwarf of the Petrified Woods," Chessa tried to explain, rubbing one of her temples.

"Oh, one of them assisted me in creating my [Portable Forge]," Tristan chimed in with a smile. "Aldra was talented, but also really formal."

"They all tend to be like that," Sophie confirmed. "It's a cultural thing. They care very deeply about propriety, tradition, and respect."

"Oh," Tristan groaned, looking toward Opie. "Is that going to be an issue?"

Chessa laughed. "And now you see why Opie kind of hates him already. I'm praying it doesn't last."

"He's uptight and all about his stupid rules!" Opie objected.

"Drannis is pretty straight-laced. He's also experienced, and running a successful raid isn't easy," Chessa replied. "You're just lucky you're one of the best healers in our tier."

"At least the best within earshot," Opie said, setting his mug down as he raised his staff up high, laughing. "Though I definitely am holding the best wood!"

Tristan hadn't taken the opportunity to examine the staff before. He'd been more excited to see and hang out with his friends. But now that he really looked at it, he had to admit the staff was every bit as epic as [Identify] made it seem.

[Ytissadab's Echoing Word (epic)(growth)]: [Echoed Heals], [Spell Booster], [Mana Battery]

A staff granted only to the purest of heart who have proven their worth through trials of character and skill.

Ignoring the laughable flavor text on the staff, the most notable quality was that it was a growth item! That meant that at least in some way it could stick with Opie for multiple levels, possibly even all the way through the next tier. It might get outshone at some point, but still... a growth item meant Opie wouldn't need to consider replacing that particular item for a long time.

Then came the first property, which was obviously what gave the staff its name.

[Echoed Heals] Any time you cast a healing spell, the target receives an additional heal for the same amount over 10 seconds.

The other two added passive spell power and increased mana regeneration to anyone in Opie's party. Not to Opie himself, mind you, just the others in his party.

In terms of appearance, it was much more in the "natural beauty" realm than anything Tristan could make. The staff might have resembled a tall, thin, gnarled tree limb if it wasn't for the bright orange glow flaring out of the top any time Opie ran mana through it. At the very end, the thin twigs almost formed a sunrise, or a crown. It looked majestic despite its ruggedness, even in Opie's tipsy hand.

Chessa, unsurprisingly, rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's crass remark. "You're really lucky that I love you. You know that, right?"

"I'm more and more grateful for it every freaking day," he responded.

As Chessa briefly pecked him on the cheek, Sophie turned to Sneakers, who had perched upon her shoulder, and laughed. "They are kind of like an old married couple, aren't they?"

"Gross," both Chessa and Opie said at the exact same time.

Tristan leaned his new sword against his shoulder as another patron moved carefully by. Seated as he was, it was now taller than him, and without a way to store it properly, he found it constantly in the way.

Sophie must have noticed, as she leaned over and offered, "You said it fit in that new magical storage bag you got from the Ark. Just put it in there, and I'll reopen it for you later."

"It's fine. I don't really mind," Tristan lied. But the truth was that he didn't want to rely on someone else to have access to his own gear.

"Oh? I feel like it would be pretty annoying. I'm kind of surprised you haven't tried to rig it yet to keep the bag open or something," she whispered back.

"I haven't really had time yet. Not very likely I'll have it before tomorrow either. I'm thinking after the raid for sure though."

"What have you been thinking about now?" Opie perked up. "Hopefully it's ways to dominate this raid! Have you done any of the reading about it? It's got a pretty cool story, what with all the fire spreading out from the volcano, and being challenged by a water demon!"

Sophie leaned forward, too. "Oh, I've actually read all about this raid! There are so many different routes we could take, and different variations for a few of the boss fights! Not to mention the hardmodes!"

"Gods, don't get him started. He barely skimmed the reading."

"Meanwhile she practically delivered a lecture when she first got accepted into the raid," Opie countered. "And that was before we'd even met Drannis, or any of the others face-to-face. She did all this reading, and then she wouldn't shut up about it for days."

"Hey! It's good to be prepared!" Chessa proclaimed.

"It's better to be drunk with friends," Opie countered, sliding his now-empty mug to the center of the table as he raised his hand high in the air.

Chessa tried--and failed--to get him to put his hand back down before a server saw it.

"Another round, sir?" the serving girl asked as she sashayed up to the table.

"Yes please--!" Opie said.

"Absolutely not," Chessa countered. "We've got to be ready for this raid first thing in the morning! We're meeting up with Drannis and the others in like nine hours!"

Opie waved a hand at her. "Plenty of time to recuperate!"

Chessa looked over his head at the serving girl, who was clearly looking a bit torn about what to do. "No, he's done," Chessa said, shooing the girl away.

"Fine, fine. But I'm going to think really hard about healing you for the first hour or so tomorrow, so you'd better not take too much damage."

Sophie, in a move that Tristan would have never made, baited him: "That shouldn't be a problem. The first hour is going to just be trash. There are some tricky pulls before the forest path splits, and even once we choose which way to go, there are at least a few more trash packs before the first boss in any wing."

Tristan tried to pull away from the crisis of an egged-on Opie and instead confirmed, "And 'trash packs' are big groups of linked enemies, right?" He was pretty sure that's what Sophie had told him before.

"Yes, interlinked enemies that engage as one if someone establishes aggro on any of them," Chessa supplied, "just like in a dungeon, but bigger packs."

"How much bigger?"

"Big enough to challenge two tanks," Chessa answered. "That's also why we're taking a 10-person group. Two tanks, two dedicated healers, a support, and a lot of DPS."

"You're still able to off-tank though, should the need arise, right?" Opie asked. "Did you ever upgrade that shield of yours?"

Tristan actually smiled as he said, "I did better than that. I made this sword."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Opie began to rub his temple. "That looks an awful lot like a greatsword to me." He turned to Chessa and asked, "I'm not that drunk, am I? That's a greatsword. He's saying he's going to tank with a greatsword?"

Chessa laughed lightly. "You heard him right. I'm kind of excited to see it, honestly."

Opie grumbled. "Because you won't be the one healing him."

Tristan straightened up, jaw jutting out. "You'll see, man. This sword is, well, I can't wait for you to see it in action!"

This time Opie was the one to roll his eyes. "Yeah, sure, Tristan. I'm sure I'll see tomorrow. Just please don't let me down, OK? I'm hoping to count you as one of the NON-idiots."

Trisan sighed, letting Opie's humor pass him by as easily as the wind in an open field. Tomorrow would be a big day, for sure, but first he had a letter to write.

He sat down, trying to think of the right words to say, but it was more of a struggle than he'd expected. Eventually, he decided he'd just write it like he would say it if they were right there with him.

Dear Mom and Dad...

- - - - -

The raid assembled just before sunrise at the enormous, crimson portal standing deep in the heart of Perpetua. While Tristan was admiring the construction of the archway around the portal, Sophie pointed out no fewer than three other groups already huddled together, probably going through their own strategies. There were also a handful of singles drifting from group to group, asking if any of the raids had open spots.

"We did a dungeon with a pick-up once," Opie said. "I was able to keep the dude alive, but only just barely. He kept standing in the fire, even though it was clearly telegraphed for several seconds by a freaking ring on the ground! But he just wouldn't freaking move because it was going to 'ruin his damage rotation.' Do you know how much damage a person does when they die? ZERO!"

Chessa coughed, nudging her boyfriend. "At least you were able to keep him alive."

Opie took the hint, plastering on a forced smile. "Yeah, just... looking forward to a better run. That's all."

"That does sound frustrating, but perhaps not as bad as the last raid I was in," said one of the other members of the raid, a very broad dwarf in shining silver plate armor, perfectly contrasted by his braided, pitch black beard. He stood with a shield nearly as tall as he was. This was Drannis, their raid leader. "There was one foolish human called Leeroy that decided to run into a room before we were all prepared. He aggroed twenty monsters, possibly even thirty, at the same time and summarily became their meal."

Around the circle, most of the heads shook, some even gasping.

The dwarf sighed. "It was, in fact, one reason I chose to lead this raid: to ideally eliminate such failures."

At his suggestion, they went around the circle, introducing themselves. Besides Tristan, Sophie, and Poof, there were Opie and Chessa; the heavy-shield toting Drannis; a tiny, fluttering fairy named Kitara; a huge bear of a man, with a beard larger than the fairy, called Manama; an elf and half-giant couple, Laura and Cross, respectively; and their last member was, surprisingly, the scaleborn warrior Tristan had previously dueled, Xanax.

"How many of you have been in a raid before?" Chessa asked.

Only Xanax, Cross, Drannis, and Manama had. Tristan was surprised that Cross's girlfriend, Laura, didn't raise her hand, too.

"I do have DBN though," Opie offered with a satisfied grin.

The second tank, Cross, grunted. "Typical healer. It must be nice to have that much money. Most of mine goes to repairs."

Tristan leaned in to Sophie and whispered, "What's DBN?"

"The [Deadly Boss Notifications] skill?" she replied, just as quietly.

Tristan couldn't believe he'd forgotten about that skill, especially given the price the shop aboard the Crafting Ark had been asking for it.

"Relative inexperience should not be an issue," Drannis reassured them. "This is designated as an entry-level raid, and our composition should be more than capable."

Tristan definitely agreed with that assessment. If nothing else, they were well balanced in terms of what each member brought to the raid. Opie and Kitara were healers. Drannis and Cross were tanks. Manama was literally a "selfless entertainer" Class, which was a pure support with the goal of making all those around him better. The rest of them were damage dealers, including Tristan, who Opie had been sure to point out was able to "off-tank" if the need arose. Paired with his new [Inspiring Blade] aura, increasing the damage of everyone in his group by 5%, no one seemed to question his inclusion at all.

A few of the others were still looking a bit uncertainly at Sophie, though, who held by far the lowest level. Luckily, the astralist did a great job speaking up for herself and explaining just how that wouldn't matter. "Poof here is a great mage, and she excels on big packs where her AoE damage can more than keep up. I'm also able to summon a scout/distractor named Sneakers who can fly, and then there's Mister Biggs, my tank, who can AoE taunt, and with his new [IronFur] ability--"

"You have an astral with an AoE taunt?" Cross interrupted. When Sophie politely smiled and nodded, he said, "That is impressive at your level. I was under the impression astralists were just support at this tier." The massive half-giant was an antagonizer Class, which Sophie had quietly explained was a tank that specialized in handling lots of smaller enemies rather than one big one. Not that he couldn't do that. He just had extra bonuses that grew the more opponents were targeting him.

"I've taken a slightly different approach," Sophie admitted, "as my title might suggest."

Cross held up both hands. "That's fair, and rightly impressive. It'll be nice to have someone that can back me up should the need arise. It could even enable us to do one of the hardmodes..."

There was no further push back against her after that. In fact, Drannis gave a full bow to her. "I am impressed that so young an astralist has such versatility. I predict that this will prove most beneficial as we work through the various challenges before us. Among my people, astralists are a revered Class with stories sung of their strengths. It will be an honor to have one of my raids serve as even a single step along your Path."

Sophie smiled straight through the awkwardness as though it didn't bother her at all.

"I suppose that's settled then," Manama said. There was something melodic and moving about his voice, as if every word held a power capable of changing the realm. He stood head and shoulders taller than Tristan, and he was somehow even broader. Truly, he was a striking figure, especially with his huge, bushy beard, vibrant blue silk clothes, and a matching, fancy hat atop his head. "Shall we head out? I've been waiting for weeks to see the inside of this raid."

Sitting on his shoulder, Kitara was the smallest member of their party at only about two hands high. Her voice was airy and reminded Tristan of windchimes. "I think we should plan, or at least discuss, our route first." She looked at Drannis. "I should also ask if you have a preferred ending?"

Tristan was curious what she meant. "Wait, so some raids have multiple endings? That's kind of cool."

It was the elf thunder mage, Laura, who responded first. She wore thin, almost sheer, robes and held a staff that seemed to spark--but only when it wasn't directly in Tristan's line of sight and he wasn't paying attention to it. "Well, from what I've heard, not necessarily with all raids... though this one does. There are multiple different points at which we must make a choice on how to proceed, and those choices can change the fights--including the difficulty of those fights."

Sophie nodded excitedly. "That's correct. According to the guides, there are over a dozen different ways this raid can be done."

"So like variants?" Tristan asked.

"No, not at all like variants," Drannis replied with a frown forming as he looked at Opie. "The astralist seems prepared, but are you sure about this one?"

Opie's chin raised. "I'm more sure of him than most of you, honestly. This dude Awakened after I did, but look at him now. Two levels above me! And look at that title." He thumped his staff on the ground, using the sound to emphasize his point. "You want to doubt Jamal?"

Xanax also spoke up. "And I have had the pleasure of facing him in one-on-one combat. He bested me, and it was not close. I look forward to seeing his performance in this arena."

Kitara's laugh cut through the conversation like a tinkling bell. "What do you know about variants, anyway, Tristan?"

"I've seen a few."

"Already?" She looked impressed. "Well, raid paths are much more incremental. They're like... shaping the dungeon to fit our abilities. It can change the difficulty of a single fight--or the whole rest of the instance!" She flitted off Manama's shoulder and began bobbing up and down as she approached Drannis. "How do we want to do this though? Any thoughts on wing order, or which ending we want?"

"All Sides Lose," Drannis and Cross said at the same time, catching each other's eye by the end and nodding.

"Good tank loot that way, I expect," Opie said with a chuckle. "Not that I mind, or really care. I just want to raid, man. As for the order and all the rest, I say we take it one boss at a time."

Cross spoke up, interlocking his fingers and flexing his long arms overhead. "I won't lie: there's great loot for tanks that only has a chance to drop if we defeat the Heart of the Mountain and the Water Demon. An amazing shield, for starters."

"And the mace is a tremendous boon to any tank's Path," Drannis added.

"Indeed." Cross's hand went to his hip, where a fairly unimpressive, but no doubt well-used, mace rested. "As long as we go All Sides Lose, the rest of our choices matter less to me. I'm here for the challenge more than anything."

Sophie tapped her chin. "But as I recall, that's widely considered the hardest path possible, right? It won't be as much of an entry-level raid experience that way."

"That's correct," Drannis acknowledged. "But given the talent gathered here and the strength of our composition, I truly believe that we will be more than capable of overcoming it."

"A greater challenge will make the song I sing of it later that much more epic!" Manama said, strumming a few chords and beginning to hum softly.

Chessa cracked her knuckles. "I'm never going to turn away from a challenge."

"Neither will I," Tristan added.

Sophie groaned. "Gods, that's true. You see a challenge and run straight toward it, worse than a moth to a flame."

"Meep-meep, meep," Poof said, probably agreeing given the way her eyes had narrowed while looking toward Tristan.

Tristan tried to let the comments slide off his back, but he also had to admit that he had taken a few risks that... might not have been the smartest. He'd always had his reasons, but maybe in the future, now that he was working with others, he'd try to be more considerate, at least for their sakes.

Laura chuckled. "Sounds like there's a good story there. Maybe we should talk about it while we begin clearing the opening trash?" She gestured toward the crimson portal that loomed behind them. "I am beyond excited to get started!"

"Please," Manama agreed, pausing his song briefly. "The sooner we begin, the sooner the loot will flow, and the sooner I can spread the songs of our glorious exploits!"

"Right then," Drannis said. "Cross and I go first, always. Do not engage with anything until after we've had time to establish aggro. DPS, you should focus fire on one target at a time. Chessa will serve as the shot-caller. If you're able to follow all those directions, we shall arrive at the Central Clearing expeditiously. Only then shall we finalize our first wing and move toward our first boss."

The group lined up before the portal with the tanks in front.

"Ready?" Drannis called out, glancing momentarily at Cross, who returned a nod. "Then let's move out!"

"This will be great," Tristan said perhaps a bit too loudly. "There's no way this won't be great."

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