Winner Winner!

Final Result:

Winner! - Violet: 201
2nd - Robin: 183
3rd - Ellie: 175
Dead last - John: 172

“Oh, come on! Did you really have to say it like that? And it’s not like I’m even that far behind. I feel like that should be a pretty good win for me since I feel like I was at a big disadvantage,” John complained, looking at the scoreboard. He then looked back at Violet, half-storming in her direction. “Also, what was that about? I thought we were all gonna work together to take the boss, and what did you say to him?”

Violet lifted her legs up onto the armrest to lay across the throne. “I don’t remember making any plans. I saw an opportunity and took it. As for what I said to the warchief, that’s between us, gamblers' confidentiality and all that.”

“What’s that supposed to m-” John started, but was cut off by a hearty laugh.

“Well done!” Hemet’s voice boomed around the throne room. “Come, git in ‘ere. Let’s have a gander at what ya managed tae snag.”

Everyone joined Violet at the throne while Hemet stayed at the bottom of the plinth. “So, who’s your friend then?” Ellie asked John in a hushed tone.

“Long story, kinda. But I don’t really know a lot either. We’ll talk more about it after the barrier’s finished,” John whispered back, to which Ellie nodded.

Hemet gestured out to the large open and empty throne hall as it slowly filled with goblinoids, the war chief standing front and centre next to a glowing burlap sack.

“Startin’ wi’ our victor,” he announced, looking back at the group with a smile.

Violet stood, before climbing onto the chair. Confused at what was happening, John watched. She played with some of the straps on her armour before removing the breastplate. She then pulled the leather jerkin open revealing an empty space inside.

“Here’s your reward, Mr warchief,” she laughed.

“What the fuck?” Ellie and Robin said in unison, while John stared partially frozen due to not knowing how to react.

“Getting a good look there, John?” she asked with a laugh, before securing her clothing and armour once again, as the warchief yelled and cried out in anger. He fell to his knees as he tried to rush forwards, his feet refusing to move forwards.

“What was that about?” John asked, still shocked.

“I thought it was a clever way to hold up my end of the deal. I said I’d expose what’s under my armour, I didn’t say I’d do it while visible.” She moved closer to John, wrapping her arms around him from behind, resting her hands on his chest and her head on his back. "I would never be underhanded with people I care about though, like you, John.”

John could see Ellie smirking in the corner of his eye as Violet continued to press the cold hard metal of her chest plate against his back.

“If yer finished, A think it’s time tae continue,” Hemet interrupted, motioning at the room once again.

The goblinoid crowd vanished, replaced by a new one. Two burlap sacks appeared at the front of a crowd, which was substantially larger than the last.

“Robin, ya did a good job o’ clearin’ oot the palace dungeon, which was no easy task, especially after gettin’ caught off guard like ya did,” Hemet praised.

Robin smiled, giving a proud nod at John as he folded his arms.

“Next, Ellie’s haul,” the dwarf announced. The room emptied and was replaced by a meagre number of goblinoids, not even a quarter of what had just vanished. Though in place of goblinoids, there were twelve glowing burlap sacks.

“Ya did stoatin findin’ sae many secrets, lassie. A didnae expect ya tae be the one that focused on ‘em. A’ll nae lie, A thought Johnny boy woulda bin the one tae latch after ‘em,” Hemet explained. “Finally, Johnny boy. Let’s take a look at yer haul.”

The room filled once again with goblinoids. Similarly to Violet’s, only a single glowing bag stood in front of the crowd.

“Ya did well, considerin’ the disadvantages ya faced, ‘specially since ya didnae go after the secrets in the palace. A hope ya can at least take a lesson from this barrier fur yer next adventure. Anywho, A understand yer gonna be headin’ oot on the town, so tae take oot some o’ the headache, yer experience will be added after ya’ve slept. However, A dae owe a certain winner a special bonus prize, so lassie, what’ll it be?”

Violet was quiet, while Robin and Ellie argued. John’s focus was split, between being amused at his girlfriend and friend and at the silent fourth player.

After maybe five minutes Violet cleared her throat. “Uhm, I don’t really want anything for myself, could I just ask for something to help John?” she asked.

Hemet laughed. “Sure ya can. In fact, A may just have the perfect idea fer what ta give ‘im. Ya willnae see it right away but A promise in time yer gift will make itself known. Noo, how aboot we git ya oot of this barrier; A’m sure ya have some talkin’ tae do with yer new friend ‘ere.”

John felt like he was standing on a bus that came to an abrupt stop, as the world shifted and he appeared back inside the tower ruins.

The group, Violet included, took a moment to get their bearings again. Once ready they all exited the basement and headed out of the tower into the forest once again. “So… Who’s your new girlfriend then? How do you-” Ellie started but was cut off by John.

“Ah, shush. I have questions, and if I don’t ask them, I’m going to end up pushing them aside in favour of going with what’s happening. So you can wait until after I’m done,” John stated, coming to a stop in front of the other three party members.

“Uh, alright?” Ellie replied, confused by the entire situation.

John looked pointedly at Violet. “So, Violet, now that we’re out of the barrier, can I ask questions? Because I have a lot.”

Violet seemed to shrink in on herself, her posture shifted from confident to timid. After a brief pause, she gave a nod.

“Right. Were you sent by Gaia? Are you my guardian angel or like a family guardian? Is there a time limit for how long you are supposed to guard me? Oh, also, how long have you been watching over me... us?” John’s stream of questions paused when Ellie placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, making him realise how tense his body had gotten.

Again Violet paused for a moment, almost like she was **** or anxious of answering. “Uhm. I, well, I’m not sure… Uhm…” She stopped to take a deep breath. “I didn’t reveal myself sooner because I needed to figure it out myself… but also I wanted to be able to explain everything properly.” She shifted from one foot to the other. “To try and answer your questions, yeah, I think I was sent by Gaia and I’ve been watching over you and your mom for around a decade. I don’t think there’s some kind of time limit for how long I should watch over you, and I’m not being **** to do this, I’m here for you and your mom, not for Gaia or anyone else.”

“How can you not be sure? And how do you know that you aren’t being ****?” John asked.

“I don’t think it’s that straightforward. I wasn’t thrown at you and told to look after you and I didn’t have some immediate desire to protect you. We just crossed paths, but saying that after finding out you’re a late bloomer… it does seem like a coincidence, but I refuse to believe that my feelings aren’t my own,” Violet tried to explain, a slight conflict or contemplation on her face.

“Shouldn’t you know that kind of thing for sure? You’d think that a guardian angel would have either been given orders or something, wouldn’t you?” John asked.

“Hey, not to butt in on your eighty questions, which I’m proud of you for asking by the way, but we should probably do it while walking to the exit,” Ellie interrupted.

John nodded and pulled out the feather, that they had been given by the hunter, from his inventory. The feather reminded John of a writing quill due to the small arrowhead that tipped it. ’Should have asked the guy how this thing works,’ John thought, running his fingers over the eighteen or so centimetre grey and white feather. As he inspected it, he cast Observe hoping to find the answers he was looking for.

Guide’s Quill

This homing pigeon feather is tipped with an iron pointer in the shape of an arrow.
By thinking of a location they know, the owner can imprint it on the feather as they give it to someone.
The one loaned the feather can then throw it into the air and it will guide them to that location.
Once the location has been reached, the feather will return to the owner of its own accord.

Created by Wodd industries, for all your pidge-related needs.

Current Owner: Information not available

John nodded to himself before tossing it into the air. As expected of a feather with an iron weight, it rose up and began to plummet, but then it stopped maybe half a metre above John’s head.

The feather levelled out as if it had been placed on a surface and similarly to a compass it slowly spun, slowing down until it bounced back and forth and then stopped, pointing in a diagonal direction right of the path that led from the tower. The group all began walking and the feather stayed ten or so paces in front of them, matching their speed as they walked.

John cleared his throat before looking at Violet. “So, about what I asked?”

She nodded. “I guess you’d assume so, but I was never actually directed to look after you, and I don’t really know the answer myself...”

John had a second where he thought he should probably press, but Violet seemed to be as forthcoming as she could be, and if she had something she was holding back, John felt that he could afford her some trust.

He smiled before continuing, “Okay, uh. Right, so what if I don’t want you to fight my battles for me all the time? That’s what a guardian angel does, right? I mean it’s nice to know I have another person to watch my back, but I’m never going to get stronger if someone is always protecting me. Also, would you only try to protect me, or would you also have Ellie and Robin’s back if we were in a fight? Like, would you be more like a bodyguard to me or would you be more like a party member?”

“I’d much rather be seen as a friend than some mindless merc. Also, I haven’t been acting like a helicopter bodyguard so far, so I didn’t plan on starting now. I showed up with the Order because you had your lips tied,” she winked, “and I showed up earlier because that bugbear was ready to split your skull without you even knowing it existed. The bottom line is, I want to help you, not hinder you. You’ve grown so much this last week, I wouldn’t want to be the cause for you to stagnate or regress because I fought all your battles for you.”

That answer caught John off guard. Her voice was sincere, and for a moment John felt as if a long-time friend had just opened up, almost making him feel bad for the question.

The walk back was surprisingly short; John wasn’t sure whether that was due to some magic fuckery going on inside the barrier, they had managed to backtrack during their chase with the hunters in some way, or he’d gotten carried away with his questioning.

The feather came to a stop, pointing itself directly down before flourishing and zipping away into the forest.

Violet meekly got John’s attention by rubbing his arm. “I know you have more questions, and I do want to answer them, but my head is still all over the place. Would you mind if I retreat back into the amulet until we get home?”

John let out a sigh. ’I can’t exactly **** her to answer, and I did just bombard her with questions she answered despite seeming uncomfortable,’ he thought before nodding. “Yeah, I think you’ve been kind enough to answer most of my questions without really pushing back on most things.”

“Thanks, this will give me a chance to get a modicum of order to my mind. I would prefer not to have to ask something else of you, but would you mind storing my armour and weapons in your inventory?” she asked. A glowing mass streamed from the armour to the amulet around John’s neck, and the armour crumpled into a pile on the floor.

“I can’t exactly leave it on the floor, can I? But yeah, don’t worry about it, I’ll keep it safe,” John said, chuckling as he reached out and touched the pile of metal and leather. Interestingly, it was stored as a single item in his inventory. “Okay, let's get out of here, and then we’re off to that mall place you were talking about, right?”

Robin nodded before walking past John and vanishing. Ellie grabbed John’s hand and the two followed Robin, feeling the rug pulled from under his feet as vertigo hit him.

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