Everyone was in the middle of town, gathered next to the broken fountain that somehow still had water that wasn't spilling. They were there to discuss preparations for the dungeon and for the monster horde event, specifically, how strong people needed to be, and how many supplies they should have. The horde event would be 24 hours straight of fighting, so they would need to be prepared to eat or drink quickly and have an extra set of armor in case it gets damaged. For the dungeon they needed food and water for two weeks to be sure, especially since they all had a feeling that the system was going to be taking off the training wheels even more when the event was over.
The exciting part, especially for Bethany was that she thought that the store would stop growing and that some kind of auction system would be put in instead. While everyone was getting what they needed from the system store, Bethany was working with Theodore, paying him large amounts of money for anything he could manage to make before she left with Eli. She also went around to everyone, buying up any materials they had been hoarding, she was going broke, but she had a plan. Eli just had a few things and the food and water he had her buy him so he was storing almost all of her supplies so that she had room for all of this.
The last five days of training and preparation went by quickly, Eli worked on finding which node would be next, but with his six open nodes and two higher level nodes, the unopened ones seemed resistant. Everyone else was training and fighting monsters, with one trip to Ghost to discuss their contribution to the monster horde event. They spoke with one of his servant level people and planned a place and time to meet before it started. Eli did take a one day break and blinked down south with Bethany to work on their own teamwork, they would essentially be what allowed the others with them in the dungeon to survive it. He wanted them to have their teamwork ironed out.
The night before the dungeon group was going to leave, everyone except Eli had a meeting to discuss how the group would operate after all of this. Only a few knew, but he wouldn't be around much after this event. Stevens was the one holding this meeting since he thought talking it through ahead of time would help everyone plan out goals for the next month or so. The start of the conversation went better than he was expecting, but it started to take a turn when he brought up goals for the next month. With the exception of Beau, everyone seemed to be confused about having to have their own goals, as if they were expecting to be told what their goal would be.
"Eli doesn't want to control us, we need to have our own goals and plans to focus on and to motivate us to keep pushing forward. I think we all know that we aren't done with challenges from the system." Stevens explained.
"What should our goals be?" Cody asked. "I know that sounds lazy, but I've just been surviving and I'm not sure what I should be working towards. Strength?.. Why? Money?... Also why? I feel like we are ahead of the curve on survival so what is next? I've been thinking about this for days and I've got nothing."
"Well," Tara said, and then paused thinking about how she could put it so Cody could understand, and have it not sound condescending. "Why did people want power and money before the system? Why did you work and pay your bills and go to church? I bet the answer is the same now, and not just for you, it's probably the same for most of us, right Bethany?"
"Status," said Bethany. Everyone was quietly waiting for her to elaborate, so she sighed and did so. "I've always been a status climber, it's how I was raised. It's what made me want to follow Eli in the beginning, his power grants him a level of status and I wanted in on it. Now though, I think status is still my goal, but for different reasons than before."
"I think I want to know more about magic, and that is what drives me to get stronger, because it means more magic." Stevens added, hoping it helped Cody.
"I seek only what is needed to serve the prince, but I also think I want a hobby, he said it was ok so I'm looking for something that will help his companions." Lucy said. She was becoming more vocal with everyone since she discovered that there wasn't really a hierarchy within the group allowing her to feel like she wasn't on the bottom being a servant. Also, she wasn't treated like a servant which made her want to interact more so she could find her place in the group. A place that would best serve Eli's interests, but Eli, Tara and Stevens had talked about it and they agreed that it was progress in the right direction so they just let her to her own devices most of the time.
"Maybe you could come up with a name for our group, and design a banner or something so people know who we are when we leave town," said Audrey. This was a task that was given to her and she had made no progress, so she was trying to hand it off.
Tara gave her a disapproving look, then addressed the group, "We all need to figure this out for ourselves, double check your preparations and get some rest, we all have long days ahead."
The group separated but not quietly, Cody, Stevens, and Beau walked off together and were chatting about the difference between a professional goal and a personal goal, hoping to help Cody make up his mind. Audrey grabbed Lucy's arm and they headed in a different direction and Bethany hadn't moved yet and was waiting for the others to walk away. When it was just her and Tara they headed into Bethany's hut after she had motioned for Tara to follow here. When they were both inside, Bethany got out some of her most expensive food and drink and placed it between them to share. Tara took a piece of cooked meat and poured herself a cup of what they guessed the system considered wine and waited for Bethany to speak.
It took a minute, but she finally got her thoughts together and spoke, "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes," Tara answered immediately, already knowing what this was about.
"I just want to make sure, because I've got plans and I don't want any bad blood between us."
"Yes, I'm sure, if this new world has taught me anything, it's that I can't live my life as if the old world still exists. I am going to find the new me and just be the heck out of that person. It might take me a day or a year to figure that out and things are moving too fast right now. I have nothing but thanks for you being here because I will need your help too."
"Ok good, now let me fill you in on how I think this auction stuff will work…" Bethany said. They talked long into the night then went their separate ways and both got some rest.
Eli came back at first light via blink and was sitting on a bench near the fountain, some small roots had picked up the pieces of the broken fountain and were slowly moving it all back into place. He was still amazed everyday at what magic could do, he just imprinted his will on this place and it undertook actions he didn't even have to think about. This was something he was very grateful for since he didn't have the slightest idea on how to do most of the things his town did. The most odd part to him was that it didn't feel system assisted, it felt similar but like his imprinted will was working in place of the system to accomplish the tasks.
As everyone else started to wake up and join him for the journey to the dungeon, he nodded and said greetings but no one seemed to be in a talking mood. They all looked tired or contemplative or in some cases both, Eli wasn't sure what the big deal was but he would take it a bit easier on the trip down so everyone could relax a bit. The big thing for him was that he wanted to be inside the dungeon before the monster horde started, he figured the system wouldn't have a reason to mess with the event for the safe zone if he wasn't there. However, that did make him afraid of what the system might do to mess with the dungeon and how that might affect his group's chances at survival. If it ends up being as bad as he thinks it might be, he will have to do most of it himself, but he hoped this would be an opportunity for them as well.
With everyone assembled Eli addressed them, "I hope everyone survives and for those doing the event I wish you good luck. Keep an eye out for each other, I don't think Ghost is stupid enough to try anything, but I'm sure some of his people would if they thought it would help him." Eli let out a slow breath and slowly breathed in, he was nervous about who had decided to come with him. He wasn't going to force anyone but it would be nice to have some people along. "Whoever is coming with me, step over here and we will get going shortly."
Bethany, Lucy, Beau, and Cody stood by him and he did his best to hide his smile at having them go with him, he felt like it was a show of faith that they had in him. He told them to double check that had enough for two weeks as he pulled Tara aside for a goodbye.
"I know we have been distant lately, but I still love you. I know it's not right for me to ask you to wait until the world stops moving so we can actually work on our relationship, and I don't think it will for a long time. But I would hate myself if I didn't ask you anyways." Eli said in an almost apologetic voice.
"I'm not going anywhere, I don't know if things will ever slow down enough for us to get things right, but until it does, we need to adapt quickly and keep pushing forward, grasping onto whatever we can that will allow us to keep up the endless march of survival."
"That was quite poetic," Eli said, teasing her.
"You know what I mean, we both need to survive, that is all we can do right now."
"So, about this stuff with Bethany, I'm not sure it feels right…" Eli said and then was cut off by a gesture from Tara.
"You listen to me Elias Konzak. You take comfort when you need it, I need comfort too, and I just don't think we can be that for each other right now." Tara looked to be in despair when she said that, but then she seemed to force her face back to normal as a single tear fell down her cheek. "You come back alive, I don't need to know how you survived, just come back to me alive. EVERY TIME!" She said the last part while holding both sides of his face and pulling towards her own.
"I'm more worried about someone getting killed in the group than I am about me dying, but hopefully with me in the dungeon, the event out here will be far easier." He said as Tara looked angry all the sudden and she crossed her arms. She tapped her foot for a while while she practically stared a hole into his face, then she sighed and relaxed, gave him a kiss and sent him on his way. He wanted to say more but just couldn't find the words so he left and met up with the others. Their adventures in the raid dungeon started now, and he was happy to not be alone for a dungeon this time.