"Event begins at eighteen hundred," Morgan said.
"We enter the game no later than quarter till."Everyone acknowledged the words, and Lancelot left them, heading up and up until he reached the sunroom built out from the attic space that had been converted to additional rooms long ago.The sunroom flowed out from one side, a patio encased in glass with delicate fairy lights that could be turned on if preferred, seats and tables and sofas, the perfect place to relax or host a quiet, private get together.An intimate date, maybe.Lancelot stretched out on the long sofa nearest the bay of windows opposite the door and stared up at the stars, sighing heavily.
Galehaut would love the spot; like Gwen, he had always enjoyed the beauty of a forest or garden, the fall of rain or swirling fog.He'd often lounged on the bank of whatever river or lake Lancelot swam in, nibbling on the rest of their meal as a half-giant required far more sustenance than humans.
Would they ever get such moments again?
Would he be facing off against Galehaut tonight?What was he supposed to do if he did?How many times would he have to fight his lover off and hope to return for him another day?
Soft footsteps drew his attention, and he turned his head to see Merlin approaching."Need something?"
"I'm sorry for earlier."
"I don't want anyone to not be happy just because I'm in the room.My suffering does not negate your joy.I'm happy for everyone, and fervently hoping we get everyone back."
"We have not forgotten about him, not any one of us, not for a single moment.We jest and play because we take it as given that one day Galehaut will be back at your side, just like we will get Arthur, and Elaine, and Galahad, and all the rest."
"I am grateful for your faith, but he is already enslaved, which is nearly the same as being lost wholly."
"Nearly, not exactly.You and I are the reason we got this second chance, my friend.Do not underestimate us."
Lancelot had to smile faintly at that."Fair enough."
"Come eat, and then it will be time to retrieve our favorite rapscallion."
"As you wish."
Downstairs, the others were surprisingly quiet as they sat down to a meal that Merlin called Spaghetti Bolognese, another old-fashioned dish that had once been popular but fallen away as the price of things like tomatoes, spices, and especially meat went entirely beyond what the overwhelming majority of the world could afford.
When they were finished, they separated to get a couple of hours of rest, howsoever they chose to do that, before reconvening.
Lancelot wasn't surprised when he stepped into what had been dubbed the 'war room' at seventeen thirty to find everyone else was already there."Shall we, then?"He stepped into his rig and got settled, waited as Merlin ran a final diagnostic on all of them before activating them as one.
Barely two seconds later, they were in the game.Everything was gloomy and gray, the clouds heavy, and in the distance, thunder rumbled, lightning following close behind."Storm will be here in minutes.Is that part of the special event?"Funny how he'd been so excited for this game.It had been the only real bright spot in his life.
Now it was a battlefield for the fate of the whole damn world.
Though it also, strangely, felt like home in a way his actual home never had.Maybe because he was Lancelot here, surrounded by the things he'd known in the only other life he remembered.
Merlin cleared his throat, and they all turned to him."The event starts in exactly twenty-three minutes now.I hacked into the targets and friended all of them for each of us.Eighteen total, I've flagged six per pair to investigate.I've also equipped flares to your packs.If you find Arthur, shoot up a green flare.If you're in danger, shoot up a red flare.Anything else of importance that you think requires the attention of the whole team, purple."
"Arthur green, danger red, other purple," Lancelot repeated."Split up and spread out."
He skimmed through what had been provided about the event, which like most tried to keep everything a mystery.'A great storm has come upon the land, like naught ever seen before, and in its depths something fierce and terrible lurked.All the warriors of the kingdom will be needed to unite against this mysterious force and drive it back into the dark.'
"This sounds like something Maleagant could easily bend to his will," Guinevere said, sighing as she dismissed the message from her own screen, scrolling through settings and more to tweak and adjust.Like Morgan, like many women in their lines of work, she had worn breeches and a tunic.Scandalous in noble circles, nothing she would ever wear in court, but she'd spent hours upon hours in the forest collecting the ingredients and tools of her craft, going places where a gown would be not just impractical, but deadly.
She was dressed the same now, in dark brown breeches and a dark green tunic with a linen undershirt, her hair plaited and wound around the back of her head.She also wore a dark brown cloak, the hood currently down around her shoulders, and carried a staff made from rowan wood and carved with all manner of runes.The crown of points at the top, from branches cut and trimmed down, cradled a crystal ball that swirled with stored magic."That is your exact staff."
"Strange, right?It's not like you boys and your magic swords.There was no reason for it to carry forward like us.Which reminds me: why is—"
"Arondight a katana?A quirk of magic and the game."
"I see," Guinevere said, poorly smothering a grin."Poor Lancelot, wielding a katana instead of his proper broadsword."
"It's growing on me, even if I'm not using it at all the way a katana is meant to be used."
Guinevere laughed, but before she could speak, her attempt was drowned out by a crack of thunder so loud it thrummed right through him, making his chest vibrate and his teeth ache.Lightning cracked through the sky, but the lightning was all sorts of colors, like a rainbow of crackling death.Then came another sound of crashing doom.Not thunder, though, but something far more ominous, like a hundred dragons roaring and growling all at once.
