TQG 39. Negotiation

“Lord Hail, this is not the time for a temper tantrum,” Tarisha scolded once she had caught up to me.  “You are in grave danger at the moment.  We are surrounded by powerful travelers and any one of them could kill you with a single blow.  I understand that you are upset, but please calm yourself and try to think rationally.”

“My father hates me,” I complained.  “And I don’t understand why.”

“He doesn’t hate you, Hail.  He just … isn’t a good father.  I’m not certain that you understood the discussion between the administrator and Gideon, but it sounds like he did not understand what he was agreeing to when he agreed to provide your seed consciousness.  For that matter, I remain unclear what a seed consciousness is, except that it seems to be what makes you special,” Tarisha said.  “It doesn’t matter to me.  I am your sworn sword.  Please, come with me back to your grandfather.  You will be safer there.”

Reluctantly, I allowed myself to be led back to the command tent, which had survived the destruction the watchtower golem had caused.  My grandfather was inside with Lady Gwen and Lord Tom, but Malkios was yet to return.

“Hail, thank goodness.  I was worried about you,” Grandfather exclaimed when Tarisha and I came into the tent.  I ran over and embraced him, burying my face and hiding my tears in his blue robes which were somewhat disheveled from the recent events.

“I was watching over him, Your Majesty.  I kept him well out of harm’s way.  From the golem, at least,” Tarisha said.

“Yes, thank you for that,” Grandfather.  “Have you spoken with Gideon?  Has he agreed to help Bust the Raid?”

“Other things came up in the way.  I have sent him a message through the forums, but I am uncertain if he will see it in time.  However, I will not leave Lord Hail’s side at this moment.  If Gideon does not respond to my request for an audience then I suggest waiting until--”

“Gideon Lachlann is approaching, Your Majesty,” a guard said, poking his head in through the door.  “Will you grant him an audience, or shall we turn him--”

“Let him through!  I have urgent matters to discuss with him,” Grandfather said, waving the guard away.  “It seems that your message has gotten through, Tarisha of Miami.  Yet another service you have provided the realm.  Someday soon I shall have to settle the accounts with you, although I am uncertain what reward could equal your selfless service.”

“Service is its own reward, Your Majesty.  I am enjoying myself greatly in your grandson’s service and would not trade a moment for it for all the riches in Yuikon,” Tarisha said.

“Even so, I shall not allow you and your guild to go unrewarded,” Grandfather said.  “I shall give the matter some consideration.”

A moment passed and I began to calm down, steeling myself to encounter my father once more.  I felt foolish at the public display of emotion that I had just put on and decided to make myself small in the corner while the adults spoke.

Gideon Lachlann, the greatest hero in the world, pushed aside the tent flap a moment later and strode in, his silver armor glistening in the candlelight.  He knelt briefly, then stood.

“Your Majesty.  I understand that you wished to speak with me?  I thought that you had decided to sever all contact after the unpleasant misunderstanding two years ago.  I stand by my words, yet I meant no insult to your daughter or grandson,” he said.

“Unfortunately in this crisis I have nowhere else to turn,” Grandfather admitted, the words sounding bitter in his mouth.  “I require the help of <The Endolphins> in reclaiming my home.  How would you like to be the first Traveler to ever be considered a Raid Buster?”

“It sounds like something I would find quite appealing indeed, if I had any idea what you are talking about.  I was uninterested in the [Zhesa Castle Dungeon] event before it became a raid, however the rush is now on for a first clear.  I apologize if I am being disrespectful, but I am in a hurry to--”

“To Bust the Raid will likely cost you the glory of a first clear.  But it will give you the prestige of being the last to clear the Raid, ever.  Once the Raid Core has been destroyed, the instance will be removed from this world permanently.  It is not an easy task, as--”

“I accept,” Gideon said, rudely interrupting my grandfather, the king of Yuikon.  “How exactly do I accomplish this task?  Is it possible to bust any raid, or is the [Zhesa Castle] event special?”

“Every dungeon and raid has an instance in which the Core resides.  To Bust the dungeon, to destroy it permanently, you must find the core and either reclaim it or destroy it.  I had hoped to reclaim the core of [Zhesa Castle Dungeon] and add it to my armory, but now that it has evolved to become a raid it the Core must be destroyed.  The possession of Raid Cores is prohibited by treaty.  You will face additional challenges as the Core will seek to defend itself once it awakens to the threat.  I am uncertain what challenges a newborn Raid will be able to provide, but of the six documented instances of Raid Busting, the fatality rate exceeded eighty percent.”

“Sounds like fun,” Father said.  “You don’t have to keep selling me, Rain, you know I love a good challenge.  How do I access the core instance?  Is there some sort of key?  Why has this feature never been exploited before?”

“It has.  By my grandson.  Normally a Dungeon or Raid is able to defend itself against your kind by shunting them into duplicate instances and away from the Core instance.  Only natives of this world are able to travel into the core instance.  I lack the forces to bust the raid myself, and so I require your guild to escort me and assist me in locating the core.  Once I have discovered the location, I will take care of the rest.”

“An escort quest in a raid?  I guess I should have seen that coming.  That will add to the difficulty significantly.  I hate escort quests, but I’m still willing,” Father stated.  “So long as you stay in the back and out of the way, we’ll be able to keep you safe.”

“It is not me that I am worried about being kept safe,” Grandfather said.  “In order to access the raid, you must have a native within your raiding party.  I am unable to join, although I believe I will be able to join and assist you in the core instance anyway.  No, Gideon.  One of your raid spots must go to your son, Hail Jeoran, a level twenty-four [Spellsword].  If he dies, not only will you be removed from the core instance, I shall instruct all of my allies to consider all members of <The Endolphins> as hostile.”

Father whistled.  “That’s some high stakes.  I hope you can offer the rewards to match.”

“Destroying a dungeon increases the rewards ten times over.  Not simply drops, but unique items, and possibly Dungeon Cores.  Travelers cannot interact with Cores, as I mentioned, but Natives may use them to create new dungeons.  You will be able to trade them to native factions for --”

“My condition for accepting is that I will be allowed to control the disposition and use of any Dungeon Core that drops.  There are several places I would just love to turn into a dungeon, or better yet, a raid,” Father announced.

Grandfather sighed.  “That is a hard bargain you are driving.  I cannot be certain that a Core will be created at all.  Or there may be ten of them.  The first will be yours, the second mine, and you may have the third and fourth and every third one after that.  Is this acceptable?”

“Deal,” Father confirmed.

“There is another condition.  The use of the Dungeon Cores must be sanctioned by the ruling faction of the land in which they are used,” Grandfather added.  “Otherwise it shall be considered an act of war.”

“I accept this condition,” Father said.  “Is there anything else?”

“No, that is--”

“Yes!  I will not go without Tarisha!” I shouted.  “If you want my help, she must be part of the raid.”

Father turned to me and frowned, then glanced at Tarisha.  “Let me see your status.”

Tarisha frowned.  “I don’t show it to anyone I--”

“If you want in on the raid, I need to know your capabilities.  Look, I’m already impressed.  You’ve gotten in good with an upcoming faction.  If half of what I suspect about ‘my son’ is true, then you and your guild are about to become hot commodities.  But I run my raid my way, and I need to know what my raiders are capable of.  You’ll be taking a spot away from someone I have known for years, both game years and real time.  I know how they’ll respond to certain circumstances, and how they’ll react, and how much damage they’re capable of putting out.  I’m not happy that they’ll be excluded from this fight, so if you want to take their spot, show me your stats!”

Tarisha hesitated for a moment, nodded resolutely.  “Display status, abreviated, public.”

[Blue boxes]

Father examined the status screen for a moment while my eyes just about burst out of my skull.  Almosttwo million health!  And so much Dexterity and Strength!  Was this the true strength of an elite?  Tarisha was--

“You barelymeet the minimum criteria for an audition to our raids as a melee dee pee ess,” Father admitted, interrupting my amazement.  “You understand we use Dee Kay Pee?  You have zero chance of earning any loot.”

“I’m not in it for the loot,” Tarisha said.

“You’re a bad matchup for the dungeon.  We’re assuming that the monster types will be the same in the raid as they were in the dungeon before it.  Resistances might not matter too much in green raids, but they’re brutal in reds.  The players you and Hail will be replacing are sitting out on this because of that very reason.”

“I won’t go without her,” I insisted.  “Either--”

“But we do need a babysitter for the en pee sees,” Father continued.  “And you can both carry Hail and move him quickly to avoid danger.  Can I trust you not to stand in the stupid?”

“I have the highest survival rate in my guild when it comes to raiding, and that’s while focusing on damage.  Focused strictly upon survival and keeping Hail safe, you’ll have nothing to worry about,” Tarisha promised.

“Fine then, you can come,” Gideon relented.  “I hope you’re a good babysitter.  Invites incoming.

Gideon Lachlann has invited you to join a Raid

Accept?

Yes

No

I accepted the invite, and blinked at the sudden change in my vision as inconveniently placed boxes appeared, blocking my sight.  Annoyed, I opened my HUD menu and began toggling them off.

“Alright lads and lasses, listen up.  There’s been a change of plans.  <The Endolphins> are no longer aiming for the first clear of the <Zhesa Castle Raid>,” Father said.

“Whatchyu talking ‘bout Gideon?” someone called.

“What the hell, man?  We’re just giving up?”

“Come on, we haven’t even tried yet! <Bloodmoon Choir> has gone in, but the others are still trying to find their asses and put a team together.”

“We’re not trying for a first clear because thanks to yours truly, we have a unique opportunity to clear this event and reclaim Zhesa Castle for the kingdom.  This is a canon event, people.  We’re on a quest to find the Raid Core, and when we do, we’re turning this raid into a one-time only thing.  It’s going bye-bye, people, and we’re getting unique rewards like you’ve never dreamed!” Father said.  “And that’s on top of being making an official contribution to the story, folks.  And you know what that means!”

There was a slight pause, then someone cursed.

“You mean that they would really create a Raid just to destroy it a few hours later?” a female voice demanded.  “People are going to be pissed that they didn’t get a chance to delve this place as a raid if we clear it toofast.”

“Exactly,” Father said, sounding quite pleased.  “Trololololol.”

Raidchat echoed with laughter.