The forums were buzzing in excitement. A post titled, 'Fans Unite!' had recently been posted by some someone from Trillith. They created the post discuss their newfound fandom in the performers. However, today was different. Shocking news was posted that sent the fans into an uproar.
DarkLordofDebate: I have received horrendous news, fellow fans of Jericho the Bard and Dancing Princess! Lament with me! The Vextor guild has decided to target our beloved performers in Trillith! We mustn't let this travesty occur! Our beautiful Princess must be protected! Jericho mustn't leave the game or our lives will go back to being very dull! According to sources, our beloved performers are risking their lives trying to save a nameless town to the south. The cruel Vextor guild has sent a team of assassins after them! I alone am not enough to stop them. Join with me fellow heroes! We must vanquish the evils that threaten the light these two have brought us!
Random person 2: How dare they?! I'm logging in and charging over right now!
Random person 3: But they are a powerful guild in other games. Won't they be cruel here too?
Random person 4: Above. He is calling for heroes. If you aren't one of us then you can leave.
Random person 5: Death! Death! Death!
…
Random person 52: Who are these Jericho and Princess players that warrant such extreme responses from you all?
Random person 53: A not-yet-fan has appeared! Brothers and sisters, Convert them!
Random person 54: Jericho is a musician. He has ways to bring music into the game world and he is really good at it! I wish he would adventure with me so I could listen to his music all day! {Posted link to some of his music}
Random person 55: Above. Why are you so obsessed with Jericho? It is princess who is the best. Even though she is young, she is a beautiful dancer! {Posted link to one of her dances}
Random person 56: (52 again): So, they are performers? What is so special about performers to warrant the attention of the Vextor guild?
Random person 57: Listen to and Watch them perform. Only then can you understand their glory! Logging on now to go save them! Remember random not-yet-fan, join us! Be a Fan of Jericho the Bard and Dancing Princess!
Random person 58: @DarkLordofDebate, Why are you trying to manipulate an army of fans against the Vextor guild? Your post is filled with subtle psychological verbiage intended to convince the people of this forum that the guild is the evil while putting the useless duo on a pedestal. How dare you manipulate these people!
Random person 59: Above, Go away! Those who are anti-Jericho and anti-Princess are not allowed on this forum!
Random person 60: (58 again): I'm trying to help you all see you are being manipulated by this guy!
Random person 61: How is he manipulating us? He just told us the first task of our heroic duty! Even if he is "manipulating us" as you say, it doesn't matter. We would have gone to save them anyways! Go away naysayer! Well, everyone I'm off to join the fight!
Random person 62: I'm the owner of Higgen's food stall currently in Trillith, while I won't be joining you for the fight, I will have food for you to enjoy when you all return victorious!
Random person 63: Higgen! Thank you! We will make sure to bring back the best news!
Dark Lord of Debate laughed at the ensuing chaos he created. His friend Emerald was right. The one thing scarier in video games other than hostile guilds was a group of angry fans.
***
Oblivious to the turmoil on the forums, Jericho and Moira logged back in to the game world.
{Welcome back, Jericho. Earlier, there were five people that came up the mountain looking for something. I suspect they are the ones your friend wrote you that message about. Now there is a large amount of mortals crowding the area.} Glaw greeted and reported.
Jericho nodded and whispered to Shiarra. [It looks like the mountain we are on is surrounded. Do you have any ideas?]
A message soon replied. [Your lullaby worked great in town. If you are playing that, you may be able to walk past some of them.]
Princess looked over to her brother. "What's wrong?"
"We are surrounded by potentially hostile players. Shiarra suggested I play Moonlit Lullaby so we can sneak our way back to town. But I am not sure how to sneak while playing loud enough for them to hear. Playing loudly and sneaking usually don't go together."
Moira looked around. "Hey brother? What about those special angled pieces of wall you put up in the house? Don't they make your music louder? If we can make it louder then won't your song be heard my more people?"
A follow up idea popped into the bard's head. "Moira, you are brilliant, as always." He smiled.
{Glaw, may I request an odd favor?}
{You may request.}
{Can you use Command water to make the walls of the cave covered in water in this pattern? And maintain it while I play my next song?} He showed the pattern of acoustic tiles with Command water.
{It is simple enough.} The elemental lined the cave with water.
Jericho split himself and started to play on both the piano and violin. The sound echoed out of the cave to cover the whole mountain.
"Jericho's playing that relaxing song again!" One random fan shouted excitedly as he slew the plant wearing healer of the Vextor guild.
Jericho soon received a notification once his composition finished. [Due to the amplification of sound by combining skills with Glaw's Command water, your song has reached 70 people. 56/70 members of the audience have fallen asleep. 13/70 are drowsy. 1/70 has successfully resisted your lullaby.]
Jericho smiled. "Let's hurry to town."
Glaw merged again into Jericho and the three headed to nameless town to meet Shiarra. They quickly but quietly slipped past small crowds of sleeping people. As they reached the foot of the mountain cackling broke the silence.
"We finally found you! Well, I did!" Adler voiced from the shadows. "I didn't know there were so many crazy people in this starting area."
Princess frowned. "So are you just going to keep talking while remaining unseen, strange woman?" She made a few motions like she was sending a message to someone.
"Tell me, Jericho. How did you obtain the ability to make two of yourself? How do you make things happen with music? Answer or I will kill Princess in front of you."
Princess's frown turned into a scowl. "How dare you threaten my brother!" She mumbled angrily. "You are probably just afraid to show yourself because you are too ugly and jealous that a fantastic man like my brother is out of your league." The 12 year old viciously spat despite being wrong, the one being threatened was her.
The bard was mildly shocked at his sister's tongue. She was normally a very sweet child and he almost never saw her lose her temper like this. Thinking back though, the last time was also because someone was badmouthing him.
{Jericho. I can deal with the mortal. Let me be the one in control of our merge for a bit.} Glaw stated.
The bard nodded, closed his eyes, and relinquished control.
[Glaw cannot maintain the stability of your human body. You will take 1 point of damage every 3 seconds while he is in control. Health regeneration is currently disabled.]
"Fine, I'll tell you. But first come out where we can see you." Glaw spoke using Jericho's mouth.
The woman laughed. "You think I am dumb? First your sister tries to viciously bait me out and then you are suddenly co-operative? The good cop bad cop act is so last millennium."
The young girl turned to her brother. "Don't tell her."
Glaw half smiled; "worry not, little dancer."
Princess fell silent in thought since her brother never called her that. "Alright." She replied after she realized what was going on.
Glaw looked up. "First, in order for someone like you to obtain the ability split you must swallow the core of an elemental. However, weak elementals don't possess the ability to split. So you must choose the correct type of core. If you swallow the wrong type of core, you will only harm yourself."
"How do I know you aren't trying to trick me?" Adler questioned.
Glaw smiled bigger. "You don't. However I have no guarantee you won't target my sister again either."
{Hey, Glaw, what would happen if she swallowed an elemental core?} Jericho inquired.
{Her body would become filled with the core's element and cause her to die. She wouldn't become an elemental since the core is merely the compression of the water elemental's power. The core you swallowed was unique and without the Gemini lilies your human form would have vanished completely.}
"I get it." Adler replied. "So what about the second question; how does your music affect things?"
Glaw laughed with Jericho's voice. "It is so simple. All I do when I play music is create a resonance. I create a series of vibrations that reverberate through everything and then everything that is already vibrating responds back. Just like how we are talking right now. My words are reaching you and you are reacting to my words."
Princess smiled and sent a whisper over to her brother and the elemental possessing his body currently. [Elemental friend, brother, Shiarra and my friend Ken are here watching from a slight distance. They said to delay time and keep trying to draw her out.]
Glaw smiled at Princess to acknowledge they got the message.
{Nice way to over complicate things, Glaw.} Jericho laughed at the pseudo-scientific answer the elemental gave.
{There is no point in keeping it simple when dealing with an enemy. The more they over-complicate the process the more difficult it becomes.}
{You have a point. Now how do we draw her out?}
Adler interrupted the conversation behind her back she didn't know was happening. "Then how do you feel these vibrations? How do you produce these vibrations?"
The elemental scoffed. "You are a living thing and you don't know this much? Are you really alive? You are already feeling these vibrations. You see that tree over there? If you touch it you will feel the vibrations it gives off and the tree will feel the vibrations you give off. If you don't believe me do it and concentrate on what you feel."
{Ouch Glaw, even I didn't know that much.} Jericho replied.
{My apologies, the goal is to draw her out, is it not? I believe you call what I am referring to the sense of touch but it is basically the same thing with all the senses.}
Jericho laughed. {You are telling me you used all those fancy words to insult her about not knowing how to feel something by touching it?}
{Yep.}
"Hmph." Adler replied.
Jericho's health dropped to 8hp.
"Now that I have answered your questions, may we go?" Glaw inquired. {I'm giving you back your body, I don't want to harm your flesh, further.}
Jericho returned to controlling his own body again. {That was weird having you control my human body.}
[Glaw is no longer attempting to control your human form. Human form has stabilized. Health regeneration has resumed.]
Adler frowned. "Both of you join our guild and then there will be no conflict between… Ack!" the woman shouted. Her hiding ability canceled as she stumbled out from a nearby boulder.
Moira receive a message from Ken. [Finally found her.]
Shiarra charged the stumbling rogue and slew her. She sent a message to Jericho's fan club. [The hidden rogue is down! Mission accomplished guys!]
© J Eranoth