Forecast

The four friends sat on a couch in the middle of their living room, all taking turns staring at the television. They were sorting through potential contracts on their phones, and so when anybody had a good opportunity, they streamed their screen to the TV.

Amy sat on the left end of the couch, pressed up against the arm by the two in the middle. Abigail sat with her legs spread out. In between her legs sat Grace, who occasionally would offer the brawler above her a handful of chips out of the large bag she was hoarding. Not one to war for space, John simply sat on the other arm of the couch, occasionally stealing chips from the white-haired glutton.

“What about this one! It seems about right,” Grace stated, streaming her phone’s screen to the Smart TV that resided in their living room.

Title: Stone Garden in Valvia
Summary: A Lesser Gorgon has been turning people to stone and adding them to a garden. Due to the current civil war, there aren’t enough troops to spare to effectively deal with the problem.
Minimum Requirement: 4 Four of Swords
Reward: 100 Valvia Gold

“The reward isn't bad either,” Grace continued, cutting the stream. “Valvia’s pretty nice this time of year. With twenty-five gold apiece we could live like nobles for a week. Each piece is worth around two hundred and fifty American dollars last I was there. It’s one of their higher denominations.”

“I don’t think I’d want to take my chances with a Gorgon any time soon,” John replied, swiping through the many contracts available to them. “What about this one? It’s close, it’s important, and I’ve dealt with necromancy in the past.”

Title: Restless Dead in Springfield
Summary: A barrier has been erected in the smaller Springfield cemetery, St. Mary’s. Information has gathered that necrotic energy is harvested there once a day. In addition, the barrier is weak. Infiltrate the barrier during the time of collection (10:00 PM local), eliminate or subdue the hostile, and collapse the barrier.
Minimum Requirement: 4 Four of Swords, 1 Fateweaver
Reward: $20,000; Additional rewards if the hostile is returned alive*

“That one’s already being done by a Page.” Grace used her foot to point to the bottom of the screen. Upon closer inspection it was indeed true, the contract was already taken by someone ranked higher than them.

“I sorted out the contracts in progress. Guess that one just got taken,” John said, taking his stream off the screen. He refreshed the page, but was distracted when a screen was shoved in his face.

“How about this one? That guy wanted to join us and this needs five people,” Abigail shoved a handful of dark orange chips into her mouth with her free hand as she presented John with her phone.

Title: Tetraphobia in Valvia
Summary: A merchant in Valvia by the name of Josephine Cross is hiring bodyguards to escort her convoy between two cities. Due to the ongoing civil war, the main road is too dangerous. Instead, you will be clearing an old forest path for their vehicles. Due to a personal phobia, she refuses to have four bodyguards assigned to her. Expect light resistance from local fauna.
Minimum Requirement: 3 or 5 Four of Swords
Reward: 200 Valvia Gold, 1 local artifact

“Even though I fought him, I’m comfortable working with Mandruzzo now. He seems like a smart enough guy, and we’re all on the same team. I don’t want to **** that on all of you if you’re not comfortable with it though,” John explained, examining the contract. It does seem good, and it’s in Valvia. Same place this mask came from…

“I trust your judgement, John. If you think he’d make a good teammate, then he will,” Amy chimed in, looking over Abigail’s shoulder to see the contract in question. With a helpful tap, Abigail’s screen was displayed on the TV.

“Likewise. Even though the only partner of yours I’ve ever seen was a snake,” Grace said, causing the two brunettes to glare at her. “What? It’s true! I thought there was something dodgy about her.”

“What’s in the past is in the past. Besides, she’s right, I knew there was something off about Lucille, but working with her slowly made me trust her. That was my mistake, and it won’t happen again,” John said, opening the social media section of the Rider-Waite app and accepting Mandruzzo’s waiting friend request and sending him a message about the contract. He scheduled the departure time for noon tomorrow, noting that he could edit their grouping at any time.

“So we’re agreed to accept the mission? What if Mandruzzo can’t make it?” Amy asked, navigating to it on her phone. There was an air of tension, this contract seemed easy and had plentiful rewards. It was a wonder it hadn’t already been claimed.

“I’ll just sit it out then. Three’s an option too,” Grace said, crumpling up the empty chip bag and tossing it at the garbage can across the room. It hit the lid, and John used Move as it teetered on the edge to ensure it went in.

“Yeah! Did you lot see that? With aim like that, maybe I should be our sharpshooter.” She elbowed John in the ribs, looking up at him with a cheeky grin.

“Actually-”

“Very impressive, Grace. Maybe I should take you to the shooting range,” John cut in, shooting Amy a conspiratorial wink.

“Being able to defend myself when I run out of stickers wouldn’t be so bad,” Grace mused, eyeing the empty gun belt around John’s waist. “One of the rewards is a local artifact, that’s pretty vague. Think it’s going to be a gun?”

“The word artifact makes me think it’s just going to be vendor trash,” John said, adding everyone sans Grace to the mission and hitting accept.

“Worthless for anything other than being sold,” Grace explained, laughing at the confused look on the clueless brunette’s face. “It’s a video game thing.”

“Why not just give us the money then?” Abigail said, launching out of her seat into a standing position. Grace jumped in surprise as her muscular sofa cushion disappeared, nearly toppling forward from the sudden change in position. “What’s the point in giving us anything else if we’re just going to sell it?”

“Easier than selling it themselves, I guess,” John said, the various games in which he had encountered such items flashing through his mind. “Sometimes they have other uses, like for crafting. The terms are pretty vague though…”

“I’m going to sleep. Let’s get up bright and early tomorrow to see Valvia. It sounds interesting,” Amy yawned, arms stretching toward the ceiling as she rose to her feet.

“Sure,” John agreed, following suit and rolling sideways off the couch. “I’m going back to my apartment, but I’ll meet you guys in this living room at seven.”

“Do you think you could take me to the shooting range before we go?” Grace asked, looking up at him. “It’d be nice to be able to protect myself with more than just stickers.”

“Do you have a gun?” John raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by the sudden change of heart. Did making it into the trash really do that much for her?

“Do you have a spare I could use?” Her face was crimson as the extent of her ill-preparedness hit her. Patting her head, John opened his inventory with his other hand. Scrolling down, he found the old pistols he had used before getting Ebony and Ivory.

“Take these. They’re powerful, so try to get used to them. Go tonight, and I’ll see what you’ve learned tomorrow. Meet me in room B401 at six.” John ordered, pulling the guns out of his inventory and using Move to float them over to her lap. “Be careful with them. The safety is on, but they’re loaded. Always assume a gun is loaded, and only point it at the paper targets.”

“Oh… sure.” Grace was taken aback by his sudden intensity, and held the two pistols in her hands almost with reverence. “I’ll see you then.”

“John? Do you mind if I use your waypoint? I’ve been texting Jenny and she’s going to put more music on the uPod she gave me.” Abigail pulled the aforementioned device out of her cleavage, and his eyes widened at the image even as he reasoned that without pockets, she had to keep it somewhere.

“No problem, just make sure you’re holding my hand while I teleport. And don’t stay up too late! We need to be well rested for tomorrow.” John took off his hat and belt, stowing both away in his inventory as he walked into his room. He grabbed Abigail’s hand and then the waypoint, his apartment in his mind. After less than a second of blackness and uncomfortable compression, he felt his feet land on his bedroom carpet.

“Jenny?” John called into the apartment, letting go of the waypoint. “I’m home, and I brought Abigail! I’m going to sleep soon though.”

“‘Kay,” Jenny called back. Abigail gave him a sly smile before she walked out the door and into their living room. With her out, he took off his shirt and equipped a pair of pajama bottoms before falling into bed. He heard Jenny and Abigail laughing together in the other room, and a feeling of longing rose up in him.

I love Jenny, but I think I’m starting to return Abigail’s feelings too. It’s not just going to go away on its own. He rolled over, getting comfortable as he pulled the blankets around himself, a little cold despite the August heat outside. Jenny liked the apartment cooler, and he never mentioned minding. It was relieving anyway.

We’ve had a few problems before, but Jenny and I have been smooth sailing for a while now. We’re both so much happier than we were when we met each other. I can’t blame her for not wanting me to have sex with anybody else. It’s not like I want her to have sex with anybody else, John reasoned, staring up at the ceiling. This goes even beyond that though. Abigail’s not a very sexual person. We’ve been pretending we can just be friends, but we feel the same way. It doesn’t really matter though. I love Jenny more than anything in the world.

He heard quiet music start to play from the living room, and smiled to himself. Two girls loving me is a problem I would have fantasized about having just three months ago. I was also kind of a little bitch three months ago, though. Hiding away all the time. Randomly getting powers and those same powers giving me the confidence to actually start living my life is something out of a cheesy movie.

I’ve got more pressing issues to worry about. I can talk to Jenny and Abigail after I complete this next contract. Until then, I need to prepare myself for the coming battle. His body much more restful than his mind, he fell into an uneasy sleep.