"How's Rachel handling her new position?" QJ grinned when he asked, not really concerned with the answer. He recommended Rachel step in as acting Dean to his father. Surprisingly, his dad agreed, freeing QJ to work on other things.
Ringo snorted. Their small group of Breeze, Lotte, Sato, and QJ sat at the Songbird's OP booth. "She feels overwhelmed, but she's pretty sharp; she'll be fine."
A small man wearing a white apron approached the table. "What would you like, QJ?"
[OP: Ringo] Isn't this Lonnie? Your resident thief?
[OP: Sato] You have a thief? Damn... What kind of stuff does he steal?
"Beer all around, Larry," QJ called him by the name Robin gave him.
[OP: Sato] Larry the Songbird?
[OP: QJ] Larry the Jailbird.
QJ caught Ringo's eye. "I was thinking about those skill books we pulled from the Maelstrom Palace library."
"Hmm? It was a nice haul; too bad there wasn't more." Ringo laughed suddenly, remembering QJ's screenshot in the guild chat. It showed Sato with an armful of women's underwear.
QJ rubbed his hands together greedily. "I have a plan... it's a bit crazy."
Ringo nudged him with an elbow. " Don't keep it to yourself. I like crazy!"
QJ's words caught everyone's attention. The OP Vice Leader was a magnet for glorious opportunity. He brought up his hud and contacted Wu.
Wu's smiling face looked back at them. "Hey, guys. What can I do for you?"
"We need a target. Bring us up a World GnG territory map of the Legends server." QJ ignored the surprised looks of his guildmates.
A world view of the GnG territories popped onto the hud. QJ studied it for moments. "Fora is going after their HQ, which, of course, means Maelstrom. Haven will attack RH here on the Southern Continent if things work out. Once that happens, perhaps there will be an opportunity to reap some benefits for OP."
Breeze shook her head. "We can't go to the Legends Server."
"You aren't wrong... but the TAP characters we created a few weeks ago can. Leah would have brought you into the Fora Faction if you went on the Academy tour."
Ringo looked up from the map. "Those were trial accounts."
"Well... yours was, mine is a permanent Legacy Account. Even so, there's an extension option for those accounts. A few credits, and you can reactivate the account for another three days."
Ringo's lips curved into a smile, "What about the level problem? We are all level one."
"This is a stealth-robbery mission. We'll avoid fighting." QJ grinned at Wu. "Find us a target that might be left exposed."
Wu looked like he was still trying to figure out how serious QJ was. "A target that a bunch of low-level TAP players can hit?"
Ringo nodded; she was starting to see the possibilities. "GnG's significant weakness is that only one class has stealth. There are almost no real stealth items in GnG. TAP doesn't have that problem; stealth rings are fairly common."
QJ waited until Ringo gave him the thumbs-up before continuing. "I'll get us jetpacks. We have a few hours; you guys should be able to get the basics by then. Ravenwood is the best place to practice."
"Will a jetpack fit my character?" Sato asked.
QJ shook his head, trying not to laugh when Sato moaned miserably. "Sorry, Sato. You'll have to sit this one out."
Ringo gave the suddenly downtrodden scout a conciliatory pat on the pack before returning to QJ. "Let's do it."
[OP: QJ] Me, Breeze, Lotte, and Ringo are out for the rest of the day.
QJ stood up. "Everyone log in with their TAP characters. I'll make sure the Ravenwood permissions are good."
Wu's heavy sigh could be heard through the hud. "A target that you can take with flight and stealth capabilities?
I'll do my best." He made a sour face at QJ and then closed the comm.
QJ brought up another hud and contacted Leah.
Leah smiled at him through the hud. "Great idea bringing in Chainy QJ."
"Thanks, Leah. Hey, class is over for the day. We thought we'd log in our TAP characters and fly around Ravenwood. Me, Ringo, Breeze, and Lotte."
Leah raised an eyebrow. "My son is telling me fibs."
"Okay, it's a partial truth. We are going to fly around Ravenwood." QJ backpedaled a bit; Leah was really good at reading people.
Leah's pretty face looked amused. "I see... And the rest involves?"
"A stealth mission to the Legends server," QJ admitted.
"Oh, I see. That's fine then, do your best." Leah didn't hesitate. She knew they wouldn't face any real danger. "I'll give them access to Ravenwood. I assume you'll need jetpacks and equipment?"
QJ grinned, "You're the best. Thank you, Leah."
"Have fun!" Leah waved at him and cut comm.
QJ brought his group through the Ravenwood Portal, he knew it would wow them, but they froze in place for several seconds.
"Damn you, Prince of TAP!" Breeze stomped her foot and walked into the Courtyard.
QJ laughed at her, "Lots of people live here; it's not like I own it."
Lotte stuck her tongue out at him. "Half of the Knights of Ravenwood are your relatives; the other half treat you like their own son."
Ringo was all smiles. "Thanks, QJ, I always wanted to see this place.
"Follow me." QJ walked toward the Town Hall; halfling kids were running everywhere.
"Did you know that the Halfling race had died out? When the Knights of Ravenwood defeated the Gnoll King, they were revived."
"Yeah... I read the history of this place a million times. You probably can build a house here if you want?"
Breeze's pretty face was full of mischief.
"Who says I don't already have one?" QJ grinned at the instantly defeated Breeze.
Inside the Town Hall, several items were sitting on the conference table. Nuna was inventorying them when they walked in.
"Nuna!" QJ wrapped up the halfling Quartermaster in a big hug and spun her around. She laughed and held on tightly.
Her cute face was split into a wide grin; QJ had the same open, friendly nature as his dad. "That's a good greeting, not so much spinning next time!"
QJ shrugged apologetically, "I can't help it, Nuna."
"That's what your dad always says." She gestured toward the table, "leather armor, weapons to match your class, stealth rings, flashbangs, and jetpacks. Did I miss anything?"
"Thanks, Nuna, that should cover just about everything."
"Oh wait, Yaya asked me to give you this." She handed him a small square box. "She said to bring it back after you are done."
[Box of Everything]
Unique: Spatial Magic
Description: Activate the
box in a closed space. Everything
nonbiological in the room transfers to the box. This effect lasts only one hour, then the box will
be emptied.
"This is a Time Artifact?" Ringo whistled softly. "TAP has nice things."
"For real, let's not waste this chance." QJ had everyone geared up, quickly walking them to the river. "It's best to practice above water. The jetpacks are waterproof, and it's way softer when crashing."
"Crashing? No crashing, QJ!" Lotte was fiddling with her jetpack; he could see the eagerness in her eyes.
"Okay, quick lesson. These are really easy to use." He pulled the control glove onto his hand. "The Jetpack works on a mimic system. Make a fist to power up and hover in place. Move your hand in the direction you want to move. Use small, slow movements at the start. Turning your fist sideways will increase or decrease your altitude, depending on how you move. Clockwise to go up, the opposite for down."
QJ made a fist, causing the jetpack to fire up and lift him off the ground. He moved forward and then backward slowly.
"The best way to learn is to do it."
Ringo noticed the ease with which he handled the jetpack. "You've used these before?"
QJ nodded. "Made them, flown them, even crashed a few."
He watched and helped them over the next half hour. All three picked it up rather quickly, which was unsurprising given that they were all top gamers. "Now, practice following. We are gaining some altitude; what do you do if you find yourself out of control?"
"Pull your fist back toward your body." Ringo understood the easy maneuvering system faster than anyone QJ had ever seen.
QJ nodded. "Follow me closely then."
They flew for two hours, and by the end of their training, everyone's First Level Flight ability was in the mid-50s. QJ had just landed near the dock when his hud blinked at him. He opened it to see Wu's smiling face.
"Bro! You're going to love this!"
QJ felt his group crowd around him, "What do you have for us, Wu?"
Wu's face was split into a wide grin, "Falcon's Pride!"
QJ glanced at his groupmates; each had the same blank look. "Sorry, Wu, we don't know what that is."
Wu sighed heavily. "Damn noobs. Falcon's Pride is the personal retreat of Prince Morbin! Oh wait, he's dead on the Phoenix server, but thankfully alive and well in Legends."
Wu brought up a map of the mountainous region north of Maelstrom. Morbin had built a castle in a remote area that was nearly inaccessible. "Normally, he will have the pass blocked with several companies of knights; however, when Maelstrom comes under attack, odds are that he's going to bring those knights to the palace to help defend."
QJ pointed toward the river canyon that was east of Falcon's Pride. "We could come in here at the river, follow it toward the keep. Up the side of the cliffs and in through the back door."
Wu nodded and highlighted the route. "Morbin likes his views. He had gardens put in place near the cliffs. There are no scout towers or emplacements anywhere on the cliff side."
Ringo had been silent the entire time. "What kind of stuff are we looking at?"
"I can't say for sure. There's a large treasury there. It's generally agreed that Morbin keeps some pretty serious items there." Wu watched the expressions in the group. They were his kind of crazy.
QJ looked at each member, and they all gave him the thumbs up. "We'll do it. I'll need you to stay on comm Wu. The War starts in 25 minutes; we should get in position. Order some pizzas for dinner tonight; it's on me."
"Sweet, you're the man, QJ."