Xyler launched himself into the air, a small smile on his face. â??Sorry, Katinka. No time to play now.â?
The female Hawker watched wordlessly as Xyler flew off, his large wings beating against the still air. She thought about chasing him, ordering Ruven to turn the ship around to follow the fleeing man, but decided against it. The ship would be slower than his form of flight. Besides, she had other errands to run for Hebarn. There was little time in her world to be chasing random men.
Xyler looked back once to see if the ship would follow. When it did not, he slowed his pace. He did not know where Esseff had disappeared to nor did he know where Galexy was currently located. She made no attempts to contact him, which may have to do with the fact that her User-Interface was still deactivatedâ?¦and he was under a new alias.
His encounter with The Affliction clansmen had be profitable. He learned a lot about the events unfolding in their worlds and how everything was seemingly connected. And he knew who Galexy was last seen with.
As he flew, the Raider flipped open his UI and scrolled to the Personal Messaging tab - the only thing still functional on the attachment. He typed in Ellyâ??s name, thankful that the male Affliction member had recalled the Museâ??s entire ID-tag, and sent her a quick query.
â??Elly?â? He typed, fingers flying across the glossy screen. â??I know you donâ??t know meâ?¦but Iâ??m aâ?¦friend of Lexyâ?¦Galexy..Is she with you now? Have you seen her? Iâ??ve been looking for her everywhereâ?¦Please contact me as soon as you can!! My new ID-tag is Xyier now, instead of Xyler.â?
He trailed off at the end, not sure of what all he should include in a text message. He added his old ID-tag at the end and pressed send. The message box blinked away and the message was delivered. All he would have to do now is wait. He wondered how long it would take the Mage to answer. He was anxious to know where the girls were and if everyone was doing well. Essâ??s parting words had made him very uneasy.
A red light blinked on his UI, causing him to pause mid-flight. Hovering hundreds of feet above the ground, Xyler answered. â??Hello?â?
â??Xy? Itâ??s LoPan,â? said the Mercenary.
â??Oh, hey. Whatâ??s up?â?
"You disappeared on us. Just calling to make sure that youâ??re ok,â? replied the Dealer.
"Iâ??m fine,â? responded Xyler. â??I got a lead on Lexy. She was last seen with her friend from the Arumic school for Muse, Elly. Iâ??m trying to reach them now.â? There was no need to tell LoPan where that information came from. He paused. The Affliction clanmembers were fighters. He was sure he could take them in an one-on-one fight, but two or moreâ?¦Plus, one never knew when an extra hand, especially a mercenary, would be useful.
"Where are you now, Lo?â? Xyler said. â??Iâ??ll swing by and fill you in.â?
"In the capital still,â? replied LoPan as Xyler resumed his flight. â??Trying to find out what all happened during the latest â??Maintenanceâ?? from the shopkeepers. Crune reports that the General Managers messed with the refining equipment of all the refiners in every city. Raffle from Zant, Paverick in Eucar, Nel Eldora in Xita Refuge all report similar findings. Even Mairath out in Breezy Hills reported the same thing.â?
Xyler touched down next to LoPan and closed his UI. The Dealer continued talking without missing a beat. â??Theyâ??re all failing a lot more now, saying that its quite difficult to get anything pass 6. Lower grde items donâ??t break as often anymore, but that doesnâ??t seem to appease many customersâ?¦The wealthier elite, spending their IM points, have found new runes that help increase their chances of success a bit. One rune even prevents an item from breaking or degrading!â?
"I am doing the best I can here!â? yelled Crune. He tossed a mangled and broken staff at a disgruntled customer. â??First came these non-stop, incessant Maintenance freezes, then the ramblings of madmen falling from the sky, and now this!! If you donâ??t like my refine rates, go see Raffle!â?
He shoved away from the crowd, pushing his NPC robotic representation out to take his place. The mechanical clone of Crune blinked its glowing red eyes and held out its touch screen monitor. Customers could chose to access Cruneâ??s aid via the screen the robot held or by linking up wirelessly with the robot using their UI system.
"Hi!â? beeped the robot, its voice imitating a happier and friendlier version of Crune. "Please select the help you need from the menu below and Crune will do his best to get back to youâ?¦Option 1â?¦.â?
LoPan motioned for Xyler to follow him towards the back of the store. The robot droned on in the background, repeating its message verbally and electronically every time someone linked up. Those that were hit with the UI virus causing them to lose their NPC text on their UIs had to wait in line to use the NPC robotâ??s monitor.
The pair snuck around the store, out of sight of the seething crowd, and paused at the rear entrance to Cruneâ??s home. LoPan rapped a series of knocks on the manâ??s door, linking the knocks together in a series of short, rhythmical patterns. He paused and repeated the pattern a few seconds later.
The door opened slowly. Crune stared out from the small crack in the door. He scowled at the pair. â??What do you want? Iâ??m a busy man you know.â?
"Is it true?â? LoPan asked. He stuck one hand into his pocket and withdrew a small blue gem. Twirling it through his fingers, he continued. â??Did they change all of the refining equipment?â?
Crune motioned for the pair to enter. He waved them over to some chairs within his workroom, palmed LoPanâ??s bribe, and sat down across from them.
"Ah, they did indeed.â? The manâ??s face drooped sadly. â??That Maintenance we just had a few hours agoâ?¦Everyone thought it was just for those blasted flyersâ?¦but they replaced all of the smithing equipment while we were more or less frozen. Refine rates are shotâ?¦To do half as well as before my customers now have to supply me with some special IM refines. Venarunes, I believe theyâ??re called. To make matters even worse, Monsters donâ??t seem to have such a hoard of regular refines stashed on them anymore either.â?
"I never understood how it is that these Monsters all seem to know where to find the stores of materials and refines to hoard when regular people like us canâ??t find them anywhere,â? Xyler said.
"It would be nice to go straight to the source instead of defeating Monsters to obtain them,â? Crune agreed.
"But it is a nice bonus to each kill, to find a mat here or some zulie there,â? added LoPan. â??They all sell well in town to all those who donâ??t or can't go out to hunt and battle for them.â?
"Thereâ??s that.â? Crune sighed. The clamour in front of his store increased in volume. â??Things were bad before. Itâ??s just going to get crazier from here.â?
A red light flashed on Cruneâ??s UI. â??Excuse me a moment.â? He pushed a button on his UI and answered the phone. â??Hey. How are things going there?â?
Nel Eldoraâ??s recognizable voice streamed from the attachment. â??Horrible! Like we didnâ??t have enough to worry about already hereâ?¦Did you check the Item Mall listing? Apparently a new refine rune has just been discovered! Againâ?¦within moments of this Venarune. Itâ??s very, very, very rare though. Neptarune, I believe theyâ??re called.â?
"Neptarune? What the *^.^* does that do?â? Crune swore.
"Increase success rate by 10%, like the Venarune, but no chance of breaking or degrading when failed.â?
"That sounds like a mixed blessing,â? Crune stated. His head started to swirl with the heated, day long debates that were sure to ensue. It was not a good time to be a refiner, he thought silently. â??Thanks for the update..â?
"Yea, thought you should knowâ?¦â? Nel paused. A loud uproar could be heard in the background. â??Gotta go!â?
There were a few minutes of silence as everyone took the newest information in. When it seemed that Crune would not speak again, Xyler spoke up.
"You mentioned a man falling from the sky? Earlierâ?¦outside in the crowd. What did you mean by that?â? asked the Hawker.
"Oh, that.â? Crune shook his head and pulled his hat off. He twisted the thing in his hands as he spoke. â??He came down out of the sky around the same time the second wave of flyers came down earlier today.â?
"Before or after the GMs came?â?
"After. A few minutes or so after they left. He fell right out of the sky. Landed a few feet from my shop. A Mage was there to freeze him mid-air so he did not hit the ground. A Cleric saw to his injuries.â? Crune shook his head. â??But he was raving mad, that man. On and on he droned. Metal Monsters controlled by fictional bad guys. Raving about diseases and disasters that will befall us all.â?
Crune paused and scratched his head. â??They took him to the Arumics to see if he was..â? Crune whispered the next word. â??infected.â? The man shivered. â??Arua protect us. That madness needs to stay in Eldeon. We have enough troubles with the Devil Pest here. We donâ??t need any extra infections.â?
"You didnâ??t recognize this man?â? asked Xyler. Being Junonâ??s main refiner, Crune dealt with a lot of people. He usually knew everyone by name.
"I donâ??t think so,â? Crune started. â??But there was something vaguely familiar about him.â? He shrugged. â??I didnâ??t get too close to see, though. No good risking getting the infection, you know.â? He stood suddenly. â??There now. You have your story, paid in full. Get out. Things to do, things to do.â?
LoPan stood first, pulling Xyler up with him. It was obvious that the Hawker still had a lot of questions to ask.
"Thank you for your time, Crune." Lo Pan said. He opened the door and pulled the Hawker out with him.
"Uh, thanks!â? Xyler called as he was hauled away. Outside, out of earshot, Xyler turned to loPan. â??What was that all about? I wasnâ??t done.â?
"I know, but you canâ??t bombard him with questions. We need to leave him happyâ?¦or relatively happy, so we can come back later to ask more questions. Canâ??t tire a source out, you know!â?
"A source?â? Xyler asked incredulously.
"A mercenary is in the need-to-know profession," LoPan explained. â??If thereâ??s something that I do not know, I ask the vendors here. Crune, for example, knows everyone. Thereâ??s a lot that doesnâ??t get past him.â?
"Except for the identity of the man falling from the sky..â?
"Well, we can rectify that. Letâ??s go have a little chat with Chelsie. She works for the Arumics.â?
Xyler stared at his UI. Elly had either not gotten his message, had her UI set to silent, or did not want to answer him. He itched to send another message, but decided to wait a little longer. He returned his attention to the Dealer and raised one eyebrow. â??Just like that?â?
LoPan smiled. â??Just like that.â?
---
Author's Note: This chapter reflected one of the first few refine updates that I've experienced in my (comparatively) short time with Rose. Refine rates were changed, as were levels of degrading and breakability. Developers also introduced Venarunes and Neptarunes at this point. Plutorunes were soon to follow. Monster drop rates, horribly, were decreased during this time - making it even harder to refine items. The chaos that followed these changes, both in game and on the old forums, was not unexpected...and merely served as a small precursor for the changes that came much later with the introduction of catalysts in our refining world.
Edited by Galexy, 02 September 2010 - 06:28 AM.