Tides of Twilight - Chapter 10C: Lake Duty

First day on the job!

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The next morning, you wake up only to ponder the meaning of that last dream. At this point, you've almost begun to accept the fact that your dreams only consist of strange events persisting to Stiff and the people tied to him. 

~*~

You: (Sitting up on your bed) Another dream...? (Rubbing the corners of your eyes then looking down in thought) Draven and Moku... Just who are they? 

You start recalling the name Vincent from the dream, and remember that you heard the name from Nael and Mel during the tour. But before you could think on it any further, your room door bursts open and Salnar walks in with a wide smirk. 

Salnar: Rise an' shine, matey! There's work ta' be done. (Claps his hands and blows on his whistle while leaning forward) 

You:  Can't you see I'm already awake? Something tells me this is your favorite part of the job... 

Salnar:  Arr! There be nothin' funnier than seeing the face of ye' poor sops every morning after a rude awakening! Especially them's with those hang overs after a night 'o partying. (Suddenly, his head snaps in Roki's direction, who shares the recruit room with you) 

Roki:  (Wrapped up in his blanket like a burrito, sound asleep) 

You: Wow, he managed to sleep through all that? That's impressive. 

Salnar: Oi...  I'll be seeing 'bout that. (Starts tip toeing over to Roki's bed) 

You: Why even bother tip toeing over there if your entrance earlier didn't so much as make him flinch? 

Salnar: (Stops to think about it, then points at you as if you just made a genius point)  Now that be an interestin' concept, me dear recruit! Think like that and ye' be swimming with the Brigade's big fish in no time! (Gets back to his plan) 

Salnar grabs onto the edge of Roki's bed and starts dragging it across the room. Roki continues to sleep, undisturbed by the tossing that the bed's movement is causing him to do. You realize what Salnar is up to once he pushes the end of the bed up against one of the room's windows. Sliding it open, he positions Roki properly and latches his fingers onto the edge of the blanket. Giving a large, sinister grin, Salnar pulls on the blanket with all his might and causes Roki to tumble rapidly into awakening. 

It was too late, though. Roki could hardly let out a high-pitched scream as he rolls straight out of the window and falls down below into the building's surrounding moat. 

Roki:  WHAT THE HEEEEEEELL! (Splash) 

You: Holy crap... (("I better get used to not sleeping in, for my sake!")) 

Salnar: Arr', he'll be fine! Just a wee bit cold, is all. Well, then. Get yerself cleaned o' last night's toxins an' jump into yer gear for a rendezvous at the training room with the other sops. Ye' got ten minutes. (Walks out with a casual smile) 

You: Okay. (("I feel sorry for the massive hangoverers of last night... coughBearcough.")) 

~*~

 After taking a quick shower, you jump into your recruit equipment and open up your personal room locker to find that your Initiate's Sword is gone. However, in it's place you see a new sword. It appeared to be a little better than the last. Oh, and your crappy Onion Sword is lying around in there too.

You have received a Recruit's Sword!

Description: It is similar to an Initiate's Sword, but sharper and more durable. 

That's not all. You also find a pistol in there. It looks like any ordinary pistol, but with a Brigade insignia etched into it. 

You have received a Recruit's Handgun!

Description: A firearm issued to Brigade Recruits. Effective against hard-to-reach targets.

Question 1:

Which weapon do you prefer to specialize in? Both options will always be there to use, but you can only truly excel in one. 

**A wider versatility of weapons will be available later on. You will be given the option to change your weapon specializations then, even if you choose one now.

1).  I've been having too much fun with swords... STAB-STAB! (0 votes)

2).  I can use guns!? Hell yeah! Tides of Duty: Modern Twilight! (3 votes)

**Results have been tallied.

~*~

After gearing up, you follow Salnar's orders and make your way down to the Training Facility on the same floor. Many of the other recruits, including Naaj, were already there. They looked just as tired and hungover as the next person from last night's party. Roki was soaking wet.

Lucky for you, you hadn't drank too much, so you were feeling okay.

The facility was practically a large square room covered in grayish and white tiles. In the very center was a large sphere attached to a panel mechanism that had too many buttons to count. 

Salnar: Alright you bleedin' newbies! It's time we go over some simple basics of combat and maneuvering that even yer ol' granmammies wouldn't mess up! But first, some quick-like natural selection... (Unsheathes his large katana from his back and eyes every single recruit in the room) 

Salnar: My, oh my.... Ain't ya just about the sorriest bunch o' shrimp-- nay, of plankton I ever seen in my shite excuse of a life! I've half the mind ta' call this training off an' just flunk ye' all at once...

Salnar locks his gaze on a single recruit who's standing there hunched over, rubbing his eyes and yawning. 

Salnar: Aha! Ye' right there! (Points the end of his sword at the recruit) 

Sleepy Recruit: (Points at himself in surprise) Me...? 

Salnar: Git' the bloody hell outta' my training facility! Ye' don't belong here. I'll have ye' hit the books once over before seeing ye' here again! Now scram! Lest ye'd rather fight for this privilege. 

Sleepy Recruit: But-! Why? I was among the lead in the Coliseum's charter! I was just yawning... Sir!

Salnar: (Shakes his head fiercely, swinging his katana towards the door) Ye asking why? Well, listen here, krill. They say if ye' look in a man's eyes hard enough, yer able ta' see his life's story. Ye' know what I saw lookin' in them gougable, pretty little blue pearls o' yers? I saw ye' writhing in pain screamin', "No Cap'n Salner! Please, don't! I'll listen to ye' and leave next time! I promise!" 

Sleepy Recruit: (Gulps) 

Salnar: Unfortunately fer ye', there never was a next time. That was yer story. Do you really want it ta' end that way, recruit? (Brandishes his blade and smirks) Or do ye' choose ta' believe in destiny? 

Sleepy Recruit: (Shivers and runs out of the room, screaming) 

Salnar: (Presses his hand to his stomach and lets out a cackle) An' that be exactly why he don't belong here! Ta' be put off by somthin' as basic as scare tactics... Shameful! Let that be a lesson to the whole lot of ye'! 

Every single recruit was at full attention now, including you. Everyone responded to him with a loud, "Sir, yes sir!"

Salnar: (Sheathes his blade and dusts his hands off) Well! They're all yers, Annie. (Starts making his way over to the sphere panel) 

Annie: (Makes her way past the recruits with a light shrug) Not bad, Salnar.

Salnar: (Grins)  Hehe, well I take me cues from the most vicious. (Is referring to her) 

Annie: Is that so? Hmm.

Salnar: (Rubs his hands together and chuckles in delight) If ye' poor sops thought I was bad, yer really in fer it now with Annie. She's the one who be training ye'. 

Annie: (Turns to the recruits)  It's for days like these that I'm glad we have a death and injury accountability contract... 

Everyone: 

Salnar: Ergh! (Slams his hand on the panel) This bloody thing is on the fritz! Somebody get Flint in here! (Looks at the recruits and points at Roki) Ye'! Sleep-Like-Ox! Get out there and bring us Flint. 

Roki:  (Still freezing from his water dive) Yes, sir... 

In the midst of the sphere panel's malfunction, Mel makes her way into the training facility and pulls you forward by your wrist. 

Mel: Sorry, Annie, I'm going to have to borrow this one for today. Lady Claire's orders; she wants Rook on Lake Duty. We're a little short-handed today, so she asked for the most viable recruit to come with me. 

You: Huh? (("What's Lake Duty?")) 

Annie: (Places her hands on her hips and looks at you) Well, damn. Aren't you just the luckiest little sheep of the bunch. (/sarcasm) I'll get to you soon enough, "Rook". You may have the recruit, then. 

Mel: Thankies! Come on, Rook. (Hauls you past the crowd of recruits) 

She stops abruptly when Flint makes his way inside the training facility holding a box of tools, Roki following behind. 

Mel: Problem? (Pokes him on the forehead) 

Flint: (Rubs the back of his head) Yep. The Field Grid, as usual. I think I know what's wrong with it, though... (Hurries over to the big sphere and tinkers with it while mumbling to Salnar) 

Mel: Well, good luck with that! (Looks at you) Ready for work? 

You: Oh... Well, yeah but, what's Lake Duty? 

Mel: (Smiles) Oh, you'll see when we get there. It'd be a lot better if I just showed you. 

Flint: Ah! (Stands up) I've got it! (Grins and pumps his fist) 

The large sphere in the middle of the room begins to glow brightly, refracting its light against the white and gray tiling on the walls, ceiling, and floor. Each tile glows, forming a wave that consumes the entire room with light. But its only brief; as Flint hits one of the buttons on the panel and causes the area to become a completely different environment.

Amazed, you and the other recruits who are seeing this for the first time now stand in Eden Forest. Even the temperature, sound, and wind is emulated by the facility. With how large the area was, it felt as though you were inside the real thing. 

You: Amazing... (Reaching for one of the holographic trees in front of you) 

Mel: (Giggles and continues dragging you out of the facility) Sorry, Rook, but you've got other work to do. Let's go. 

Flint: (Dusting his hands off and winking) Piece of cake! 

Annie: Good job! Now get out. (Kicks him on the butt) 

Flint: Ouch! I'm going, I'm going! (Scrambles for his toolbox and hurries out) 

You and Mel make your way outside of Eden through the eastern gate and travel a few yalms in that direction until you arrive at your destination. 

~*~

Lake Eden

When you get there, you can't help but stop and admire the vast lake surrounding this region. Lake Eden, as it was named, came to be during a great battle in this region. However, you stopped gazing abruptly as something really off caught your attention. Ice. Lots of it. Despite the perfect weather, countless ice beds were forming along the surface. 

You: Is that ice...? Where is it coming from?

Mel: (Starts walking towards the edge of the water) Mhm. Look closely. 

Doing just that, you follow behind Mel and squint your eyes to scan the area. It's then that you're able to see many little creatures gliding on the water. From far away, they almost resembled icy fairies. But when you got a closer look at one as it swerved closer to your side of the lake, you didn't see many features at all. You didn't quite know what to think of them.

You: (Blinks) What are those things...? 

Mel: We call them Frost Angels. Well, to be precise, they got that name from a bunch of kids because of their shape and form. 

You: Frost Angels? 

Mel: Yes. Contrary to their pretty name and appearance, though, they pose quite a threat to our city's water supply. When we first saw these things three years ago, we didn't think much of them. Just a bunch of pretty creatures that liked to fly around, like butterflies. Then they started making the ice...

You: Wait a minute, these things are making it? How? 

Mel: We figured they were some sort of elemental-type creatures that migrated here somehow. It's odd, though. Elemental creatures don't normally leave their natural habitats. Technically, these things shouldn't even exist here. Still, we ignored them for a while at first thinking the bit of ice they formed as they danced along the water's surface wasn't hurting anyone. It wasn't until it was too late that we found out we were wrong... 

You: Did they... manage to freeze the whole lake over or something? 

Mel: (Sighs and nods) Yep. We didn't see it coming. We turned our backs and allowed more of them to drop in. I guess they wanted to freeze the lake over and make it their new home. Nonetheless, there wasn't much to do in terms of water with a lake that was frozen solid! It took us quite a few days to get rid of them all and melt the ice using magic. It's not normal ice... It's very cold and can sustain some pretty high temperatures. 

You: I see... And now that you guys let it happen back then, these things are going to keep coming, right? So we have no choice but to get rid of them ourselves. 

Mel: Mhm! We're still investigating where they're coming from, but for now this will have to make do. Well, I think that about covers it! I can lure them to shore with my magic for you if you'd like, or we can split up and walk atop the ice they made to get to them, which would be faster....

You: Hmm... 

Question 2:

You can either save time by splitting up and traveling the Frost Angel's ice, or have Mel lure them out to shore for you to handle. What will you do? 

1).  Mel's magic would come in handy in the event that my butt is frozen. (0 votes)

2). This is adventurer's work! I want to get this done fast and go on a real mission. (3 votes)

**Results have been tallied.

~*~

To be continued...

(Leave your choices in the Comment/Review section below)

Reviews

[thatpandanamedcalvin :D]

i pick Q.2 i prefer gun just because i could probably scare the living s**t out of the other characters with it x) also 2 again for the last question

[Buddha]

Q1). I pick 2 and lmao @ tides of duty: modern twilight
Q2). I pick 2 i thought this seemed more like the nael quests and not very brigadey..

lol salnar is officially cool now i thought he was only in charge of waking people up

[Taly]

Q.1, I pick 2. Cover both melee and range! :D
Q.2 I pick 2, time to get some guts -.-

[okina]

Q1.) I pick 2! Guns would be so much fun >:D
Q2.) 2

lol I love Salnar xD crazy funny pirate