Spirit Game

Cid could almost see the Barren Wasteland Port Town on the horizon. "Finally . . . we're here," he muttered, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "That took days.

This place is really fucking far . . . and hot!"

His grey hair was whipped by the relentless wind, and the hot air burned his skin and eyes. He cursed under his breath, glaring at the desolate landscape. "Ah, goddamn it! If it wasn't for the Player Association, I wouldn't have come to this godforsaken place!" He then addressed his troops, who were busy preparing to land at the port. "Let's get this done and over with, then return home!"

The elves on board nodded in response while Silphie, Cid's elven commander, approached him. "My Lord, there are two warships fast approaching our location."

"Huh?" Cid was startled and grabbed his telescope, focusing on the approaching vessels. Indeed, there was two giant warships heading their way. "What the?! Are they going to attack us?! Captain, you said this town wouldn't attack us. What's going on here?!"

The captain of the ship, an Ilithid with a half-human, half-octopus head and tentacles as limbs, was equally baffled. "I don't know what's going on. This is my first time here, so they must have thought we're a foreign ship. Sound the alarm and give me my Echoshell; I will announce to them that we aren't a threat and come in peace!"

As soon as he got his amplifying voice shell, the Echoshell, the captain immediately announced to the approaching warships, "Don't attack! We have come in peace!"

The two warships didn't falter, but they weren't hasty either. "State your business!" a voice boomed from the lead warship.

The captain looked over at Cid. "Don't be too harsh with your words, boy, or it will be the end for us."

Cid glared at the captain, his pride simmering beneath the surface. Despite his desire to assert dominance, he realized now wasn't the time, but his ego wouldn't allow him to fully humble himself.

Some inhabitants didn't like players and banned them from entering their town. However, others chose to remain neutral for the sake of trade and social relations as well as peace. The Barren Wasteland Port Town was one such neutral town that valued trade above all else. Located in such arid regions, trade was their only means of survival.

Everyone was surprised when the Port Town suddenly turned hostile. They knew it was conquered by the sea-dwellers, but they had heard that the sea-dwellers were passive and merely decorations around the town.

This wasn't what he had heard. Cid thought for a moment before responding, "We've come here on official business, to help our fellow players residing in the wasteland. After we're done, we'll be on our way."

At the port, Druger and Lyncon exchanged a look.

"Player? Could he mean Rain?" Lyncon asked.

Druger frowned and thought for a moment. He didn't want to rush because Rain might be expecting this player, although he hadn't mentioned it before.

"Tell them to wait for a moment." Druger hurriedly sent his pet bird to Rain with a letter about the new arrivals. Skywing was fast and would deliver the message within an hour.

"Roger." The townsfolk onboard the warship affirmed. "Wait right there."

Onboard their ship, Cid was confused and annoyed at the turn of events. "Wait? For how long?!"

The captain sighed. "This isn't our waters, boy, and that warship spells trouble. My ship isn't equipped with the necessary defenses against it. It's best to do what they want."

Cid took a sharp intake of breath and vehemently scratched his head in annoyance. "Damn it! Not only is this place far and the weather fucking hot, but the inhabitants are also so arrogant just because they have warships! Wait until I tell my brother, and you all will be annihilated!"

At the side, Silphie watched her Lord with a poker face. Elves weren't vocal with their emotions. Her Lord was always impulsive, emotional, and impatient, qualities unbefitting of a Lord. If not for his older brother, Cid wouldn't even be here. His initial troops were goblins, but he sold them later on when Cedric gave them to him. Read more on m_vl_em_p_yr

Silphie and the others didn't have any love for their current Lord since they weren't Cid's original troops, but because of Cedric, Silphie had to serve Cid to the best of her abilities. However, times like this made her want to crawl somewhere and hide due to Cid's behavior.

"I don't care if they have warships! Tell them my brother is the leader of Aegis Union, and if they don't want to get annihilated, I demand that they let us dock at the port!" Cid demanded.

The captain was having trouble. "Look, even before your brother hears the words, we'll already be at the bottom of the ocean. So, it's best to wait if they told us to wait. This isn't our land, boy."

Cid stomped his foot in protest, and Silphie couldn't help but sigh. It was time to intervene, or their young Lord would get them all killed.

"My Lord, we only brought ten of our troops with us. I don't think this is the right time to be picking fights with this territory," Silphie said.

Cid growled. "And whose fault is that?! We left half our troops back home, just as you insisted! I told you we should've brought them with us. Who in their right mind would dare attack my territory? They know they'd be annihilated if they even thought about it!"

Even with all our troops present, we still couldn't win this. Silphie wanted to say but refrained. Cid was only a Novice Lord, and having twenty elven troops was already considered lucky, thanks to his older brother, Cedrick, who continued to supply him with troops.

Still . . . "It won't be long, my Lord," Silphie tried to console him. Besides being a commander, her role was also to placate her Lord's mood. "Those warships are trouble, and none of us could swim for long hours.

We're easy pickings for that warship if we rush things."

Cid's anger didn't dissipate; he knew that, but his pride wouldn't let him back down. "Fine then. One hour, then we dock at their port whether they like it or not."

Cid stormed off to his quarters, leaving the captain staring at Silphie, seeking a solution to their docking dilemma. Even after an hour, they couldn't risk rushing to port without a signal from the town. The captain felt caught between a rock and a hard place — facing Cid's fury on one side and the threat of being blown up on the other. The situation was giving him a serious headache.

Silphie shook her head. "Don't mind him. He's still young and impulsive."

The captain sighed. "Players these days . . . so young and arrogant."