there was a strange intimacy to sitting here together, and just chatting like this. Most of his friendships were structured around doing things and going places, and that was fine, but he couldn’t remember the last time anyone had just been interested in who he was and where he was coming from.
[Group][Orcarella]: You were right. Its nice here.
[Group][Solace]: :D
[Group][Solace]: I know this is silly but it feels like my place
[Group][Orcarella]: Yeah, its just you, me, a bunch of mobs, and a kobold herbalist
[Group][Solace]: Don’t spoil it :P
[Group][Solace]: Oh look, the sun
Drew brought his camera back into alignment, and turned east. A sheen of light gathered at the far horizon, gilding the edges of the ocean, setting fire to the sky, and rushing over the ruins of Raziel’s kingdom in shades of crimson, purple, and gold.
[Group][Orcarella]: nice
[Group][Solace]: Yes
[Group][Orcarella]: its kinda weird nobody ever sees this anymore
[Group][Solace]: Yeah
[Group][Orcarella]: seems like a waste
[Group][Orcarella]: its good stuff
[Group][Orcarella]: looks good
[Group][Orcarella]: i like it
[Group][Solace]: There’s some nice quests here too. It’s all spooky lore type stories, and you help ghosts find peace and stuff
[Group][Solace]: It’s also where you first meet High Theurgist Venric
[Group][Orcarella]: oh i hate him
[Group][Solace]: He’s pretty cool when you first meet him. He’s all betrayed and lost his faith and things
[Group][Orcarella]: and now he won’t shut up
[Group][Orcarella]: it’s like you can’t walk into CoT without him whining about his ex-gf before you’re allowed to kill anything
[Group][Solace]: Ahaha
[Group][Solace]: He’s probably going to be really important in the next patch as well
[Group][Orcarella]: if he kill steals us on Raziel I’m going to be so pissed
[Group][Solace]: :D :D :D
[Group][Orcarella]: Shit its like 2 in the morning
[Group][Solace]: I had a nice time
[Group][Orcarella]: me too
[Group][Solace]: Night night
[Group][Orcarella]: Gn
[Group][Orcarella]: Aren’t you going to bed as well
[Group][Solace]: I’m going to fish for a bit longer and then head off
[Group][Orcarella]: kk
[Group][Orcarella]: sleep well
[Group][Solace]: you too
Drew gazed blearily at the screen. He really did have to go bed, and he’d just said goodnight about twelve times, but he felt oddly reluctant to log off, like if he did, he’d break something fragile.
After dithering for an embarrassingly long time, he typed /hug.
And was weirdly touched when Solace /hugged him back.
Then he shut down the game, followed by his computer, and went to bed, slightly confused.
A couple of nights later, Drew joined his first official raid as a member of . He arrived in good time to set up Mumble, repair his armour, make sure he had plenty of buff food and potions, and was standing outside CoT just in time to see Anni gathering across the way.
They ignored him.
Morag showed up next on a flying Halloween goat. She was a dwarven champion, with long red braids and the guild tabard discreetly covering her otherwise quite skimpy armour. She waved and invited him into a raid group.
Heurodis has joined the raid.
Ialdir has joined the raid.
Solace has joined the raid.
Jargogle has joined the raid.
Prospero has joined the raid.
Caius has joined the raid.
Ignatius has joined the raid.
Dave has joined the raid.
[Raid][Morag]: Come on guys, get your arses to Briarsdeep
[Raid][Morag]: -50DKP for anybody not here in the next 5mins
[Raid][Dave]: But we don’t use DKP
[Raid][Morag]: But when we start, you’ll be at -50
Drew’s ears filled up with chimes as people started logging into Mumble.
“Uh, hi,” he tried.
“Hi, Ella, Morag here.” She had a youngish-sounding voice, with a faint brummie accent.
“Yo.” Somehow, Bjorn/Heurodis sounded exactly the same on Mumble as he did in chat, laconically Scandinavian.
Drew spent the first few minutes just listening, trying to fit voices to names to character names. Ialdir/Jacob turned out to be a softly-spoken American expat, Jargogle/Magda a straight-talking German woman, Dave a Scouse teenager, and the rest sort of blurred into a background of in-jokes and disconnected chatter. He listened for Solace but couldn’t pick her out.
At last they were all assembled, on their various flying creatures, under the thorny archway that was the portal to the raid instance.
[Raid][Morag]: Anyone not on Mumble?
“Everybody in,” came Morag’s voice, and they all piled through the portal into the Crown of Thorns.
The loading screen was Lady Bloodrose herself, wearing, it seemed, basically nothing but flowers. And then Orcarella was standing at the entrance to a vast spiral maze of thorns and blood-red roses. For some reason, various handy shopkeepers and armour smiths had set up camp here. Drew wasn’t sure, but he thought it was meant to be some kind of forward base.
High Theurgist Venric was standing amongst them, emoting and making speeches.
[High Theurgist Venric] says: Brothers, I have anticipated this day with