“Incentive, I like it,” Karen said, taking each Stacia by the hand and running off towards the next closest patrol. “Come on Tiny, we need you.”
Tiny jogged after them while Bob skipped along behind, laughing all the while. Alburet sighed, shaking his head then looked over at Fluff who stood frozen in place. “Sorry, Fluff. This is the way Karen is all the time. She gets worse, it seems, when Stacia is around.”
Shaking her head to clear it, Fluff looked at Alburet. “It… it’s okay. I can handle it.” She gulped as she followed along behind the others, “Maybe I should talk with Lilith soon.”
Alburet gently touched her shoulder as they started after the others, who had already started the fight. “If it gets bad let me know and I’ll rein in Stacia, okay? I don’t want to cause you distress, so just let me know. Okay?”
Fluff paused, glancing over at him, “Thank you, Alburet. You have been very kind to me. Maybe it’s time I take the offer of help and see if Lilith can do anything. Tonight would be okay. I’ll ask Stacia if she can ask her mom if tonight is good.”
“Alright,” Alburet replied as they started moving. The others had already killed the warg and started on an orc. “I happen to have some news you might be interested in as well, Fluff. Mindblown is going to be doing limited testing on month long immersion soon.”
Fluff stumbled at his words. They reached the rest of the group as the first orc died. “What? Where did you hear that?”
“A friend who works for Mindblown told me during the down time,” Alburet said, stepping up behind Tiny to hit him with a heal.
Karen looked over, “What took you two so long?”
“Sorry, was telling Fluff about something I had heard. Mindblown is going to be starting a clinical month long immersion test soon.” Alburet replied, then laughed as Karen stopped attacking and turned to face him. “Oh, did that get your attention?”
Karen turned back and killed the orc with her next thrust, “Fucker, you did that on purpose. Now. Spill the beans.”
Alburet smirked, “So now you want me to talk. Before you just wanted to run off and kill things.”
Karen’s eyes narrowed, “So I have to pummel you to get you to talk?”
Tiny stepped in front of Karen, “No hurting the master.”
Bob just laughed, “Now this might get interesting.”
“It’s fine Tiny, she isn’t going to hurt me,” Alburet said. “Why don’t we keep going and I’ll talk as we kill things, okay? Two birds, one stone.”
“Two succubi, one bed is better,” Bob interjected.
Alburet sighed but ignored Bob's comment, “Is everyone else okay with this plan?”
Everyone agreed, but Karen had to add an addendum, “If you stall I will make it painful for you later.”
Alburet held up a hand in mock surrender, “My word.”
They started towards the next closest patrol as Alburet relayed what Vicky had told him about the upcoming test. “That’s all I really know about it,” he finished, looking at Karen who sighed.
“Well fuck. That means I won’t be able to get in on it then,” Karen said as she furiously attacked the orc she was on, venting her anger on it.
“Why not? Alburet asked as the last of the patrol fell over dead.
“That survey at the end of beta. I said no to potential long term testing, since I couldn’t take extended time off then.”
“Could you really take the time away from work now?”
“I own the damn dojo, my father built it when he retired from the military. I've been running it since his death.” Karen replied, shaking her head, “Time off is fine. Hell, since the tourney ended I've thought about just turning it over to my assistants and taking time off anyway.”
Alburet nodded, “Everyone needs a break now and then, but for business owners it’s always so difficult. I could talk to my friend, see if they have any pull to get you on the list.”
Her head snapped up to meet his eyes, “Will you?”
“For a friend, I will do anything,” Alburet said, pulling his Mindstone out and sending a quick message to Vicky. “There, message sent. I can't guarantee it will happen but I've asked.”
Karen glanced at Fluffball, “Did you ask for her, too?”
“Didn't have to, my friend mentioned she was already on the list when they told me about it.”
Fluff blinked as she gazed at Alburet, “Who is your friend there?”
Holding up a hand Alburet explained, “I will have to ask if I can name drop before I do. I actually know of two people who work at Mindblown, though I haven’t talked to one of them in some time. Anyway, it’s done and I look forward to seeing what happens. Shall we continue on with the slaughter for Karen?”
Fluff nodded slowly, “Okay. Your friend didn't say anything else about me, did they?”
Alburet could see the fear in her face as she asked the question. He was sure it stemmed from her previous trouble with stalkers. He gave her a small smile, hoping to defuse a potential issue. “They said something about your art, but since it wasn’t coming from you I basically ignored it. After all, you would tell me anything you think I should know. I am not about to listen to gossip or pry into another’s life. Goodness knows I wouldn’t want anyone to do that with me.”
Her shoulders relaxed as Fluff let out her held breath, “Oh. That’s good to know. Shall we keep on going then?”
“Sounds good. Let’s get Karen that level or two,” Alburet agreed.
They broke for some jerky and tea after a few hours, sitting in the middle of the grasslands with Tiny and Bob on watch. Alburet had briefly dismissed the double of Stacia and she was joining them for food. “That’s one level down,” Karen said as she finished off her food. “Think we can get one more tonight?”
“Depends on how long you’re going to be on for,” Alburet replied. “An hour out of game to deal with real life would probably be good if you’re thinking of going for another level.”
“I’m going to take off for a few myself,” Fluffball said. “I want to contact some people and verify what Alburet told us about the testing. I should also get some real food and stuff, too.”
“Speaking of the testing, I was thinking about checking out making a guild,” Alburet said.
“That could be fun,” Karen nodded. “If Fluff and I can both get into the test we could really go full out as a team.”
“That might work. If we want to do dungeons, though, we’ll need a tank and healer. Maybe invite Gerald and Marysue to help round us out,” Fluff suggested.
“We could always just ask them when we need them, though. I was thinking of inviting everyone who’s in the long-term testing. If we do that then we could be sure that everyone is around most of the time.” Alburet mused as he considered the options. “Should we start one up now though, or wait until people are in for the long term?”
“Let’s do it tonight after we’re done farming me some XP,” Karen said. “Then we can celebrate our new guild.”
“Patrol,” Tiny interrupted them.
Alburet used Copy on Stacia again and they quickly dispatched the mobs. “Okay, we can do that. Fluff, you want to dip out now for the hours you wanted too? What about you, Karen? You want to take an hour or two as well?”
“What about you?” Karen asked.
“I’m already testing. I’ll sit here and wait for you.”
Karen and Fluff blinked at him. Karen found her voice first. “Why didn’t you tell us before?”
“NDA. I was cleared during the downtime, which is why I mentioned the long-term testing as I was given the okay.”
Fluff nodded, “I’ll be back in three or so hours. Thank you for telling me, Al. I’ll see you in a bit.” With that she vanished, logging out where she was.
“I guess I could go for a bit, too,” Karen said. “I’ll check in with my staff and grab some real food. See you in an hour or so. And Alburet, regardless of if I get in or not, thanks for asking for me. If I do get in, maybe I’ll give you a special reward.” With a wink and chuckle she vanished as well.