Prospecting Endeavor

Vivian’s car pulled into the agreed-upon parking lot right as a perfectly waxed black luxury sedan entered from another entrance.

“Guess Moira had the same thought about being early,” John said.

“How do you know that’s her?” Beth asked sarcastically.

“You mean besides that car looking like it just rolled out of the factory?” John shot back with a grin.

“Could just be some other high-class person looking for directions,” Beth suggested.

“I think that line of thinking fails nowadays since everyone’s phone can pull up a map,” Vivian said in a deadpan voice. “And we should probably step out to greet them. We did arrive first, even if it was only a few seconds.”

“Yeah, let’s not make a bad third impression,” John joked as he stepped out of the car, forcing himself to stand as straight as possible. He turned his attention to the other car. Through the tinted windows, he could make out three shapes, one distinctly male in the front, and two female in the back. The driver shifted in his seat and John felt something like a piece of plastic wrap press against Arcane Sense.

Unable to stop himself, John fired off an Observe at the car.

Error: Anti-Scrying effect in place.

“You okay?” Beth asked as John winced.

“Yeah,” John answered as he shook his head. “They’ve got some sort of protection on the car. Tried to Observe and got noped.”

“I thought I felt something wash over us,” Vivian noted, her eyes closed. “If I had to guess, it’s something to keep people from noticing us. Mostly the mundanes, but also so nothing can remotely watch us.”

John nodded, finding Vivian’s idea to be sound. The driver, a rather plain-looking man in a well-maintained suit, got out and opened one of the car’s back doors. Moira slid out, already dressed in her armor, giving them more evidence that Vivian’s supposition was correct.

Following the Warden was a brown-haired woman their age, clad in a tight-fitting leather top that emphasized her rather generous chest. The rest of her attire was of a similar fit, red leggings that hugged every inch of her legs and boots that reached just above her knees. A thick belt clung around her waist, which quickly gained purpose as with practiced fluidity, the woman affixed the sheathed long sword she carried to it.

Her eyes seemed to be darting around excitedly and she shifted on her heels slightly, as if trying to bleed away excess energy. She froze, however, when her eyes met John’s and she quickly **** herself to stand at attention as Moira took a step towards them.

“I hope you don’t mind if we skip the pomp and circumstance,” the redhead paladin said. “I think after this morning, we could use a break from formality.”

John blinked at Moira’s candid revelation and the look of shock that broke on her companion’s face showed she hadn’t expected it either. Mentally shaking off his surprise, he responded, “Well, we’re not exactly used to the politicking thing, so keeping things casual is probably better.”

Moira nodded before her eyes shifted from John to Beth and Vivian. “I look forward to working with you all and hope that it will be a long and fruitful relationship. I suppose proper introductions are in order.”

She straightened her posture, a small shift in how she carried herself but one that made her seem even taller, grander and more imposing.

“I am Moira Birghton, Shield Warden of the Order of the Golden Rose,” she declared before gesturing towards her companion. “Accompanying me is Squire Rowan Donnelly.”

The now-named squire bowed at them and said somewhat loudly, “It is an honor to work alongside the Order’s associates.”

‘Seems the holy warrior isn’t immune to being annoyed,’ Senka noted as John caught a flash of frustration cross Moira’s face. ‘I wonder if it’s her zeal or volume that Moira takes issue with?’

‘Maybe we shouldn’t psychoanalyze our allies,’ John thought to her. ‘Last thing we need is to screw up and overcommit to the wrong line of thought.’

‘So we should instead blindly wander through our interactions?’ the spirit asked, an amused lilt to her tone.

‘Yeah, that probably won’t end any better,’ John relented. ‘You mind keeping track of how Moira reacts to stuff then?’

‘Given that you want to use Overlay and we don’t want to overtax your mana, I’m not going to be doing much else,’ Senka remarked. ‘And I’m still okay with that arrangement. You need to practice that thing anyway, so why not while having someone like the Warden tag along?’

‘You made that point earlier,’ John retorted. ‘Still doesn’t make me feel any less guilty about keeping you locked in my head.’

‘You’re too nice sometimes,’ Senka thought fondly. ‘I think you should get on with introductions.’

“A pleasure to properly meet you,” John said, hoping his recently increased Charisma wouldn’t fail him. “I’m John Newman and these are Vivian Renoux and Beth Gryff.”

“Sup,” Beth nonchalantly said, cutting any sense of propriety off at the knees.

“That’s a bit too casual, Beth,” Vivian sighed, unable to keep herself from commenting.

“She’s the one who wants to cut out the formal bullshit,” Beth retorted, jerking her head towards Moira.

Moira joined Vivian in sighing, muttering something that sounded like, “Not another one,” under her breath before more loudly saying, “It’s a pleasure to properly make your acquaintance. Now, I believe we agreed to only have two per side for this display, so…”

“I was just the transportation today,” Vivian quickly interjected.

“Yep,” Beth cut in. “John and I are the ones going in.”

“Lovely,” Moira said after a beat before affixing her steely gaze on John. “How is this going to work?”

“Well, the first thing is for me to invite you to my party,” John explained. “Invite Moira and Rowan to ‘Gamer Party’.”

The invitation screens popped into existence, causing both Order members to flinch back slightly, Rowan more than Moira.

“So this is what my father saw earlier,” Moira quietly said, her eyes sweeping over the display before flicking back to John. “I do have a few questions about what exactly being in your party means.”

“Basically, it lets you see whatever my powers let me see,” John explained, gesturing to the screens. “And for what we’re doing today, it means there won’t be any experience penalty. That’s basically it. There might be other features, or skills that only affect party members, but we haven’t encountered any yet.”

Moira hummed before pressing the ‘yes’ button, Rowan following enthusiastically a moment later.

“Now what?” the paladin asked as the displays faded.

“Now,” John said, opening Instant Barrier’s selection page and moving so Moria and Rowan could see the options, “we decide the settings for the barrier. Since we’re trying to collect that metal we told you about, we need to fight in the ‘machine’ setting. There is one thing we have to decide: whether to pre-select the average level of what we’re going to fight in there or leave the average as our level average.”

“Level?” Rowan repeated before letting out a gasp and quickly uttering, “My apologies, Lady Warden! I overstep my bounds.”

“There is no fault in you asking questions, Donnelly,” Moira said in a stern but soft voice. “Knights of the Order must use their mind as much as their might to carry out the Lady’s will.”

“Understood, Lady Warden,” Rowan quietly said as she flushed red, her eyes downcast.

“Anyway, levels,” John cut in, hoping to push past the now awkward air. “So, my powers give everyone a level, which as best as we can figure, represents a rough idea of where they compare to me in terms of overall ability.”

“And that’s in very broad terms,” Vivian interjected. “While I’m a few levels higher than John, I’m fairly sure he could beat me using his magic. It’s only the slight lead in terms of overall mana capacity and book knowledge that puts me above him.”

“So someone could be high level but with skills in entirely non-combatant areas,” Moira surmised.

“That’s our working hypothesis,” Vivian said with a nod.

“And what are our levels?” Moira asked, locking eyes with John.

“Well, I won’t know until I use my scrying skill, Observe,” John replied. “Which might have some details you’d want to keep private.”

“What are your levels?” Moira inquired.

“Twelve and Thirteen,” John revealed, pointing to himself then Beth. “So if it was just us, we’d get stuff at our level. Um, guess I should say I did Observe you last week when school opened back up.”

“I figured that’s what I felt,” Moira said. “What level was I then?”

“Seventeen,” John recalled.

Moira hummed. “I don't feel any stronger than I was last week, but it would be foolish to assume things are the same.”

“So, that’s permission to use Observe on you, right?” John asked, wanting to get the all-clear before using the skill.

Moira nodded and John cast Observe.

“Looks like you did level up,” John said, quickly looking away from the display to give the impression he wasn’t looking at any of the more sensitive portions of the sheet.

“Indeed I have,” Moira muttered as she studied the information his powers presented. “What do these stars mean?”

“Basically, it’s a comparison of your stats and mine,” John answered. “With seven stars, your physical and social abilities are at least seventy-five percent greater than mine. Six would mean between fifty and seventy-five, five between twenty-five and fifty. Four stars means you’re within twenty-five percent of my score, either high or low. Then three down is the reverse of four through seven.”

“I see,” Moira remarked with a nod. “Donnelly, are you comfortable with Newman using his power on you?”

“If ye take no issue with it, Lady Warden, then I will allow it,” the squire said, though her eyes reflected her nerves.

“Thirteen, huh?” Rowan muttered as her eyes swept over the display. John caught her expression growing darker when she looked at the less-than-stellar stats.

‘Wonder if she’s more upset with how she stacks up to someone ‘weaker’ than her, or how far below she is from Moira?’ Senka chimed in.

‘Going with a mix,’ John thought back. ‘Being on par with the guy who got his powers a week ago can’t feel good and she clearly wants to live up to whatever standards the Order has.’

Unaware of John and Senka’s conversation or her subordinate’s possible self-flagellation, Moira said, “So a twelve, two thirteens and my eighteen means the average level would be fourteen. What level did you encounter previously?”

"I think the first time was ‘nine’,” John replied, which got a nod of confirmation from Vivian. “We did a smaller run at a level lower to minimize risk later. We only ran into the weakest enemies then, and zilhavrum was only a minor by-product of one of their drops. So we’d have to go higher to get better rates. Doing it at fourteen might not spawn any of those weaker ones and could summon something new.”

Moira cast a glance at Rowan before saying, “I think doing it at fourteen is fine. You’ve managed to tackle barriers higher than your level before, yes?”

“Yeah, we have,” Beth interjected, her tapping foot a clear indicator her patience was wearing thin. “We’ve cleared them easily enough.”

“I know I don’t have a direct stake in this,” Vivian said, “but I think that you four should be able to handle things. With most of you only a level or two weaker, it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, especially with Moira being four levels above the average.”

“Just like Pokemon then,” Moira said. “Send out the weaker party members to fight, and if they are at risk, switch to the stronger one so they can still get experience.”

Of all the things John had expected to hear, Moira Brighton casually referencing Pokemon had not been one of them. It seemed none of the girls had either.

“What?” Moira asked, an eyebrow raised slightly. “Is it odd that I have a hobby to relax with?”

“I’ll be honest, I would have expected books or something like that,” John answered.

“I thought you never relaxed,” Beth honestly admitted with a shrug.

Rowan remained silent, looking uncomfortable about learning her leader’s personal life.

Moira let out a huffing exhale before saying, “So, we’re good to use the party average, yes?”

‘Guess we’re just going to ignore the Pokemon thing,’ John thought before answering, “Yeah, that sounds good.”

He opened Instant Barrier’s option sheet and selected the ‘machine’ option. When he tapped the level select, he hit the back arrow, the displayed ‘1’ turning into a ‘Lv Avg’.

“Alright, here we go,” he said as he initialized the barrier.

He vanished, along with Beth, Moira and Rowan, leaving Vivian and the Order’s driver alone in the lot. She looked at the rather dull-looking man and asked, “Have any tips for passing the time?”

“Crossword,” he simply answered, pulling a newspaper and pencil out of his pocket before beginning to work on the puzzle.

“Okay then,” Vivian muttered as she pulled out her phone. “Guess I’ll just do some work then.”

---

Machine Barrier Created. Average Enemy Level: 14. Defeat all enemies to clear the barrier. Barrier will repopulate five minutes after all enemies are defeated.

John blinked away the display, his attention more on the environment they had dropped into. The ruined cityscape remained, though now the architecture had a more futuristic look, with every building in sight, even the ones under three stories, made of various metals built with sharp angles and sweeping curves.

“By the Lady,” Moira softly gasped, her head tilted upwards as she looked behind where they had manifested. John turned and followed her gaze, quickly realizing what had surprised her.

There were few buildings in that direction, mostly due to the ruined steel wall that stood a dozen meters from them. Several holes had been punched through it, the jagged edges reaching out towards the city.

Through those holes, the party could see only two things. The first was an endless expanse of misty white clouds and the second was a large chunk of stone floating some distance away, the gleam of metal towers twinkling in the sunlight.