Thatâs settled then,â the Mechanist sighed, clearly relieved that none of them had been opposed to this admittedly radical idea. As a matter of fact, the three of them seemed hyped and incredibly excited to finally take action against the Noctem Alliance instead of endlessly plotting out troop movements over the stone brickâblock table of the council room .
There was a knock at the door, and all turned to face it.
âEnter,â ordered the Mechanist authoritatively.
The wooden door swung open, and in marched Bob. He looked somber, and judging by his appearance, he had clearly just come from the front lines. His scarlet jumpsuit was ripped and torn in various places, and his pale face and blond hair were tarnished with soot from being at the back end of a TNT cannon. He was seated on Ivanhoe, who looked equally war hardened; his once-shiny saddle was now worn down, the color faded, and the pig himself bore the marks ofvarious wounds that had been healed by potions.
âAh, good to see you, Bob,â the Mechanist said quietly. âHow are the defenses holding up?â
âWeâre doing pretty good as of right now,â Bob answered wearily. âThe Noctems didnât launch any major attacks today, and we were able to repel the usual bombardments. That being said, it was pretty obvious that the Noctems werenât fighting full force either. They didnât even seem to have that many guys there. I have a feeling that theyâre planning something . . . some sort of stealth mission, maybe.â
âYouâre probably right,â the Mechanist said. âI trust that you and your brothers will have all the alarms online soon, should they try to use the Invisibility Potions.â
âOf course,â Bob replied.
âGood. Now, youâve arrived just in time, Bob. The council has just agreed to our plan. I will stay here and run Element City under your supervision while Kat, Jayden, and G head out into the server and carry out your missions. Are you ready to brief them?â
âYes, sir,â Bob responded, nodding and looking over to the enthused council members. As soon as they realized that he was speaking to them, Kat, Jayden, and G sat straight up in their seats, their ears perked as Bob began to speak.
âAs of right now, all available forces in our army are being used to defend the outer walls of Element City frompenetration by the armies of the Noctem Alliance. However, there is a pressing situation that must be dealt with as soon as possible: the hostages. As of right now, Stan, Charlie, DZ, and Commander Crunch of the navy are being held prisoner on the Greater Mushroom Island. We donât know anything about their status, but we must assume for now that they are all still alive, and the Noctem Alliance will be using them to demand a ransom very soon.
âAlso, youâll remember that when the offensive on Nocturia failed and our armies were pushed back to the city, the Noctem Alliance captured around two dozen residents of the Adorian Village. My brothers and I have sent some scouts out, and weâve determined that these players are being held hostage in Nocturia. If the Noctem Alliance demands anything in exchange for the safety of those players, then we will have to comply. Even ignoring the fact that itâs the right thing to do, if we have the opportunity to help those lower-level players and we donât take advantage of it, the citizens of this city will turn on us like a pack of wolves.
âThis is why I need you three,â said Bob, sounding official. âOne of you is going to have to go with a volunteer to sneak into the prison in the Mushroom Islands and free Stan and the others. The other two are going to have to infiltrate Nocturia and liberate those lower-level players.â
The three players around the table were quiet as theythought about what they had just been asked. The idea of sneaking into Nocturia and