New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Once they had almost reached the location they were looking for, Astaroth suddenly stopped. His head snapped to the left, as his hand blurred, lifting to catch something.

Right before his face, now clamped in his hand, an arrow. When he looked in the distance, to see where it came from, he noticed something moving in the trees.

Many silhouettes were jumping from branch to branch, and tree to tree, getting closer to them. Suddenly, one silhouette dropped next to him.

That was when he recognized it.

"Athena. You could have told your friends not to shoot at us."

"I'm sorry, Wolfie. I wasn't expecting you so quickly."

"Don't call me Wolfie…" Astaroth growled.

From the trees all around, more people dropped from the trees. Ten Elven men and women suddenly surrounded Astaroth, Violette, Phoenix, and Gale, all of them wearing little clothing.

The tribal paintings they had on their skin, in tones of brown and green, set them apart from the elves they had seen a few hours prior. Astaroth felt like they had a more savage air to them, too.

"Who are your friends, Athena?" Phoenix asked, eyeing the elves warily.

I'die was the one to respond, as he slipped down a tree trunk.

"They are a tribe of wild elves. We met them not too long ago."

"Ahh, there you are. I should have known you wouldn't be far away from Athena."

Astaroth's comment slid off I'die like water off an umbrella.

"They are the reason we found a place for our guild base. Follow us."

I'die took off, heading in the direction of the guild base. Phoenix looked at the pin on her map and acknowledged they were going in the same direction.

They wouldn't need to travel far, as the marker showed they were merely a couple of miles away. But the forest didn't extend all the way to it.

After walking for half the remaining distance, the forest abruptly ended. In front of them, in the distance, they could see a large stone barrier.

From over the rocks, they also saw the top of a humongous tree as it overshadowed the stone formation. It looked like the tree was closing the top of a stone bowl.

Between the woods and the stone wall, rows upon rows of bushes and trees filled their sight. It was too well placed to be the work of nature, and they understood it was a farm.

On the trees and bushes, fruit and vegetables could be seen hanging. Some animals were wandering amongst the rows of plants, nibbling on the occasional fruit or vegetable.

If Astaroth and his friends hadn't just exited a zone chock full of monsters, they would believe they were nearing a city. It was so serene here, one would never imagine monsters were mere meters away in the forest.

Seeing as I'die, Athena, and the wild elves kept walking forward, the four of them followed behind. They soon reached a small village-like outcropping of tents, just outside the stone wall.

A tall, muscular elf was standing before the largest tent.

'The village chief,' Astaroth surmised.

I'die and Athena kneeled in front of the man. Seeing this, the four other players did the same.

"Huntress Athena. You bring more strangers into our village. I hope you have a good reason."

"Village Chief Elrond. I had already warned that my friends would be coming. They are here to help reclaim the bastion, as I had promised."

'The bastion?' the four players thought.

"Hmm. Then they shall be allowed passage into our lands safely. As long as they do not show hostility toward my people."

"I promise they will be respectful and mindful of your people. And I will maintain the promise I made to you, for after we reclaim the bastion."

"Very good. Then go, and good luck."

The village chief turned on his heels, entering the tent behind him. His small entourage quickly followed behind.

Athena waved her hand at her friends, signalling them to follow her. Astaroth walked up to her as they approached the stone wall, which now seemed much larger from up close.

"Athena. What is this about us reclaiming a bastion? I thought we were here for our guild base…"

"We are. This is it."

Athena pointed forward, toward the thick stone, and the tree above it. Astaroth looked at her in confusion.

It was Phoenix who understood first. She was sliding her hand across the stone surface when she sensed something in the rock.

'This… something magically erected this stone!'

"Astaroth. I think she means this structure is the base."

Athena nodded at Phoenix, smiling at her. But Astaroth only looked more confused.

They kept walking as they talked, and soon everything fell into place. The group of six players and one wolf arrived at a large hole in the rock, and Astaroth understood.

Barring the hole in the stone was a large metal gate, which stood out from the rest, since it was clearly forged. That was when he understood this wasn't a natural rock formation.

This was a fortress wall, made entirely of solid stone. Across from the gate, Astaroth could see inside a bit, and he noticed what looked like crudely shaped buildings made of earth, wood, and stone.

"Is this… Is this a city?!"

Athena grinned widely.

"Bingo!"

"But why are these elves living outside? Wouldn't they be safer inside?"

"That's the catch. The only reason I could lay claim to the city was that I snuck inside and touched the throne, or what was left of it. The city is infested with monsters."

"Why haven't they tried killing the monsters? If they live here, they should at least be capable of that much."

"Because the zone is now considered a dungeon. And there is a boss monster, much stronger than the others, guarding the top levels of the palace. It's at the top of the tree."

"So you are saying if we can clear this place, it's ours?"

"It's already ours. But we need to chase out the vermin if we want to live here."

Astaroth looked at the humongous stone wall, the thick metal gate guarding the entrance, as well as the extremely wide space inside. He knew this place would be an amazing guild base already.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" he exclaimed, smiling madly.

But before he could lunge inside, Phoenix bopped him on the head.

"We should at least get the others here. More people wouldn't hurt us if we need to fight a boss."

Astaroth sheepishly agreed, as Athena laughed at him loudly. Phoenix then sent out a message to all the other guild members with a location pin link.

She knew they could all make it here, even if it took a bit of time. All they needed to do now was to warn the villagers and wait for their reinforcements.