Of Worries and Wills

Moira looked over her shoulder, watching as the door clicked shut behind John and Ela as they left the room. Magic flowed over the door as she turned back to face her father, whose normally stony expression was now creased in thought. Her own mind was racing as well, replaying the previous conversation over and over.

Her father’s explanation of the problem mostly made sense to her.

Ever since they’d banded together more than a century ago, the demon cults had waged war on the Order. Though her mother had destroyed one of the founding groups, four more remained, each as powerful as the others. When the Shield branch of the Order had chosen to move to America, primary stewardship of that frontline had shifted to the others, though part of Moira had always known that, someday, she would be drawn back to that conflict… once her training was completed.

This was far sooner than she’d expected, though.

She wasn’t ready.

Without thinking, she brought a hand up to her neck, running her fingers over a faintly warm golden charm - her holy shield, shrunken down. There was some part of her that was genuinely unsettled by the thought of an opponent stronger than her father.

Shifting uncomfortably, Moira clenched her shield necklace in her hand. In theory, this was where John’s proposed solution came in. That was the part she was still trying to process.

She knew precious little about video games. Maybe if it had been a hobby of hers that formed the basis of his ability, the redhead might have better understood the strangeness that predicated all of this. Most of a lifetime ago, perhaps, she recalled having some sort of small handheld device, though it had long since been shelved as her training to become Warden had begun in earnest.

’I wonder why the Lady chose such a thing to base his abilities on…’ Moira thought. ’Maybe it helps him understand them better. He certainly seemed to have a very detailed grasp on his power for someone who was introduced to the Abyss only a few days ago.’

Uncertainty was a mostly foreign feeling to her.

With this, there were too many moving parts to consider. Despite all the years she’d spent in training to become Warden of the Golden Rose, she felt woefully unprepared for the situation at hand.

Moira moved her hand down to her side, where she’d been shot the previous day. The white-hot pain was unforgettable, burnt clearly into memory. Almost as clearly as the moment after the fight when light had washed over her, and all those wounds had vanished, as if they’d never happened. It wasn’t exactly the same light that her own powers channeled, but she could feel the Lady’s touch in it all the same.

That made John’s explanation easy enough to believe, no matter how impossible it sounded at its face.

“Moira?” Lord Brighton's voice made his daughter jump in her seat, despite him using a softer tone he reserved only for her. “What do you make of this?”

The Warden blushed as she settled back into her seat, taking a moment to organize her thoughts. Increasingly, her father had become insistent on her contributions to these discussions, often insisting that she lead them, at least to start. She appreciated that trust, though she still wasn’t entirely used to it.

“Well…” she said, cautiously, double-checking every word, “based on the information we have, the situation is highly volatile; the enemy has caught us at an inflection point. With my training incomplete and our forces split between Europe and America, this may be the weakest the Shield branch has been in decades.”

Moira paused to take a breath, trying to subtly check if her father’s expression gave away any opinion on that analysis. It didn’t.

“Despite that, we do have some advantages,” she continued, undeterred. “They bet their element of surprise on that ambush, and they lost it. I doubt they would have made such a gamble if they thought they could have taken us head-on, which means that they are either weaker than we think or they lack the manpower for such a task…

“Unless we have any more information, then I don’t think we have any way to know which it is,” Moira concluded, meeting her father’s gaze again.

The Lord-Protector allowed the faintest smile through - imperceptible to most, but not to his daughter. That small gesture was enough to ease her nerves, for a moment.

“You know as much as I do, currently,” he said, shuffling some of the papers on his desk. “We have agents in the field, though the only reports we’ve received so far are preliminary - with limited detail.

“That said,” the man continued, his voice growing more serious, “if experience has taught me anything, it is that we should not assume we have any advantage that we do not know for certain.”

Moira brought a hand up to her chin, considering that. “Which means that we should act as if, whichever flaw it is, they will move to correct it now that their first plan has failed. Essentially, prepare for the worst.”

“Agreed,” her father echoed. “Which is why I have reached the same conclusion as Newman; they will try again - as many times as they are allowed. That brings me back to his suggestion. What do you make of that plan of his?”

“The general idea makes sense to me,” Moira said. “Though, I do wish I better understood his powers. He was doing his best to explain them clearly, but, from his explanation of video games, it almost sounds like a second language.”

Lord Brighton reached one hand up, scratching at his beard. “I recall when arcades became popular many decades ago, though I have never been to one myself. Perhaps one of our younger seers could compile a better summation.”

He made a quick note on one of the files in front of him.

“Regardless of that, Father…” the Warden said, faltering for just a moment as she searched for the right words. “I would be willing to entertain John’s idea, to enter one of these dungeons and see if he really can do what we hope.”

The Lord-Protector did not respond for a moment, letting silence settle between them for a moment as he considered that.

“Father?”

The graying man exhaled heavily, a more neutral expression settling upon him. “Under any normal circumstances, I would dismiss such a suggestion out of hand.”

Moira frowned, but offered no counter as he continued speaking.

“To allow an outsider - an untested Late Bloomer and a man - such access to your training would be highly unusual, at the very least. Even with your endorsement of his character, I would be **** to seriously consider the offer without more time to test both his powers and his loyalty… but these are not normal circumstances, nor is Newman a normal Late Bloomer.

“You are also right that much of our manpower is overseas, either maintaining our old bases in Europe or on loan to the other Wardens for the war… I fear, for good or ill, the situation at hand calls for decisive action.”

“Oh!” John exclaimed, looking up in front of him.

Next to him, Ela looked over to see what had startled him. The two had been sharing a set of headphones, humming along to music together as they waited for any sign of Moira or her father. They were still alone in the hallway, though, leaving her confused as to her boyfriend’s surprise.

“John?” she asked, curiously, tapping her phone to pause the song.

He kept staring straight ahead. “I think they’ve made their decision.”

“How-?”

Her question was answered faster than she could ask it as John shared a window with her - a new quest.

“Pretty sure that’s a yes,” he said, “unless there’s some way for this to be ‘Order-sanctioned’ without them knowing about it. Don’t think that’s how that works.”

“I would be inclined to agree,” Ela sang back. “On both counts.”

John scratched the back of his head, thinking back over his own hastily-thought out plan. “Well, there goes the afternoon, then, eh?”

“It is not like we had plans.”

“We coulda made more,” he said, only halfway joking. Then, he sighed. “You know, I know I already decided I was doing this - I know that I want to do this… but I’m still nervous.”

The Gamer held a hand out to his girlfriend. It trembled gently, as he held it between them.

She reached up, placing her hand on his and squeezing gently. “We will all be fine.”

“Yeah.” He smiled, holding her warm hand tightly. “We will… but I’m still gonna look for an easier way to do this in the future.”

“I would not object to that,” she replied, warmly.

They sat in peaceful silence for another moment before she continued, “We never did get a chance to read through everything we brought back from the last dungeon we did. I must have a dozen books in my bag still.”

“Oh, and that map, right?”

“Yes, that too, I believe,” Ela answered. “My bag is still in the office, so I cannot look right now, but it should be there. I never took it out.”

“If nothing else, hopefully it might mark some places to avoid. Then again, the quest did give a bonus for clearing a side area, so maybe we ought to go off the beaten path.”

The Bookworm Knight placed a hand on her shoulder. “We should see what the lay of the land is before making any decisions. We do not know if Moira’s presence will make the monsters of your dungeon much stronger.”

“Fair enough,” John said, clenching his hand and forcing on a weary smile. “You sure that you’re up for another dungeon after everything that happened yesterday? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I will be fine,” she assured him. “It may even be better for my long-term health to guarantee more levels from your powers, to make sure that whatever it is doing to my old injuries is complete.”

“Yeah, that does make sense, I guess,” he conceded. “Let’s just try to avoid any more near **** experiences this time. I’ve had enough of those for a lifetime.”

“Agreed,” the blonde said, smiling softly. “Now, shall we get ready to meet with them again?”

John squeezed her hand again, nodding. Then, taking the one headphone he had out of his ear, he stood, picking up the egg basket and looking over at the corner that led to Lord Brighton’s study. Ela took a second to wrap the cable of her earbuds around her fingers and stash them away in her jacket pocket before joining him in heading down the hall.

The two nearly bumped into a fiery flash of red as they rounded the corner, suddenly face to face with Moira, whose approach had been muffled by the magic permating the manor.

“John? Ela? We’re- Did you know I was coming?” the Warden asked, eyebrow raised.

The Gamer shrugged. “You could say we got a tip, yeah.”

Once more the trio entered the Lord-Protector’s office, where the sun had begun to cast long shadows as the afternoon went on. John and Ela stopped at the chairs where they’d been previously, while Moira continued further back to her father’s side, a more contemplative look on her face.

“Moira?” Lord Brighton asked.

“It appears as though the Lady has already made them aware of our decision,” she answered.

The older man turned his gaze forward, one eyebrow raised.

“In only a vague sense,” John clarified. “A couple minutes ago, I was given a quest to complete one of my dungeons with Ela and Moira. I, uh, guessed that meant you were going to say yes.”

The Lord-Protector nodded. “Perhaps that means she endorses our decision. I take it, then, that you are still willing?”

“Yeah…” John said, starting softly, then correcting himself, “Yes. I am.”

Ela glanced over to him, hoping that he could feel her silent reassurance.

“Good. Now,” the Lord-Protector continued, his voice growing more rigid and commanding, “given the sudden threat we face, I am authorizing a single expedition into one of your barriers for the purposes of confirming both the scope of your abilities as well as to measure their impact on Moira’s own magic.

“All three of you were already checked over by our medics yesterday, so we have a baseline for your current health and ability to compare against, once at least one of these ‘level ups’ has occurred.”

The Gamer nodded in understanding. It made sense to him that the Order would want to see a “real” test before committing to anything, if only to track what the actual results were. He didn’t mind, especially if he got to check out that data, too.

“To the end of completing the mission, the Order will provide a standard set of equipment and armory access, as well as field rations and supplies suitable for three days’ travel, in case issues returning arise. Of course, compensation for your time will be provided upon your return. Does that sound agreeable?”

“That seems about right to me,” John said with a shrug, looking around at his companions.

“Actually, Lord-Protector, sir,” Ela said, “might I request a set of recording equipment to take with us into the barrier? It may be useful to document things we see, for the future.”

The older man nodded, quickly scratching something on a paper in front of him.

“If that is all,” he continued, “and you are otherwise prepared to depart, I would have Moira take you to the armory now to find suitable arms and armor. Reginald will retrieve the supplies and other equipment, then meet you in the southern training room.”

John nodded his agreement, as did Ela and Moira. Part of him wanted to find a way to delay, but he knew that it was pointless to waste time. His powers had long since restored any weariness from the morning’s activities. Better to do this while they were wide awake and rested still. Still, he sighed, looking out the large windows to the orange of the just-afternoon sun.

’I’m not ever really gonna get used to this, am I?’

Some would consider that a good thing.

He smiled at those words - Ela was probably one of those people.

Meanwhile, Moira exchanged some words with her father, just too quiet to hear, then walked around to join the couple. “Shall we head to the armory?”

The couple nodded, each standing and grabbing their things - Ela, her bag, and John the basket - then moved to follow her out of the room. As the door closed behind them, a thought occurred to The Gamer as he looked down at the small bundle of life he was carrying.

“You know,” John said, drawing the attention of both the women with him. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this little guy. Can’t exactly be carrying him around in a combat zone.”

“You could leave the egg with my father or Cornelius,” the Warden suggested. “The Lady has bid the creature be protected. I am sure they would do so without issue.”

“Yeah, maybe… feels a little weird to leave it behind, when it’s my quest to protect it. A little more time in my inventory probably wouldn’t be that big a deal.”

“You do have an hour to think about it,” Ela said. “Lord Brighton said that Reginald would meet us in one hour.”

John nodded. “I’ll figure it out after we’ve got everything else sorted.”

With that sorted, Moira turned to keep moving, leading the group down a different hallway that John hadn’t been to before. At the end was a sleek black set of metal doors - an elevator, he realized. The trio filed in, finding plenty of space for all three of them. Then, the Warden pressed the button for a lower floor, and, silently, the elevator slid down to its destination.

“The armory’s underground?” The Gamer asked, raising an eyebrow towards the redhead next to him.

“We have more than one,” she said. “This one happens to be the closest.”

“Gotcha.”

A tap at his side got John’s attention again. He turned to find an inquisitive look on Ela’s face, and an idea behind her eyes.

“How much space is left in your inventory?” she asked. “I think I have a couple things that I would like to try.”