1??????????????Soul Bound


    1.1????????????Finding her Feet


    1.1.7??????????An Extreme Response


    1.1.7.2????????Massimo''s vow


    The moment the final enemy died, Kafana felt relief that all her friends have survived the combat. Was that Wellington? She concentrated upon the sensation for a moment, looking for the foreign ''touch'' she''d asked her tiara to added to feelings from external sources, but failed to find it - that reaction had been all her. She re-wound a few seconds and focused on the direct feed from Wellington''s tiara. Nope, not even a momentary feeling of triumph at having his plan succeed. As far as she could tell, the victory was just another piece of new data, which he processed before sending a message to Nastya: {Gregorio’s got a unique strength based combat skill. If Crimson is interested in learning it, I can arrange a lesson.}


    Wellington walked over to the corpses of the Wombles where Massimo and Mary-Lynn had been looking them over, to see if any were still alive. Massimo was on his knees next to her badly beaten and pissed upon body, looking torn inside, having some form of fierce internal argument, as Mary-Lynn explained to him about Kullervo’s sword, and the number of Questing Spirits Kullervo had destroyed in the past on other worlds.


    He must have received an answer because as he stood up, the whole beach was gradually bathed in intense golden light coming from Massimo’s pendant. Everyone gathered in a circle watching him, including the rest of Fra Gamal, and Columbina who was carrying WraithLock’s knives with a satisfied expression on her pretty heart-shaped face, that was accented with a few drops of fresh blood.


    Massimo: “No more. In Kafana’s name, I vow that unlawful killing between Questing Spirits shall receive no toleration in Torello nor in any other land, as far as Torello and Cov’s influence can reach. I call upon every Questing Spirit to aid me in this, and hereby pledge the Sanctum’s resources to this effort.”


    [[Special Regional Event Started: “In Kafana’s Name”.]]


    [Event Quest available to all players and parties in Torello and surrounding lands. “Find the killers”.


    Gain event points by supplying information to Torello’s Sanctum that helps locate and identify player killers and those aligned with them. Extra points for those aligned with the group falsely known as The Immortals.


    At the end of the event, the Sanctum will trade points for rewards, with special prizes for the individuals or parties with the most points.


    Restriction: If you make an unlawful attack upon another player during this event, you lose all your points and others may gain points for helping Torello’s watch or other authorised forces to detain or execute you. Warning: this may result in you being forced to restart at level 1.


    Event duration: Less than 1 day.]


    Wellington, in Womble chat: {Are you guys respawned yet? Did you get the quest message.}


    Bulgaria: {Yes, we’re at the Sanctum, trying to comfort Vessel-Kafana. Her song of grief nearly brought the roof down.}


    Bungo: {Literally. I can see the cracks in the stone of the ceiling.}


    Wellington: {Kullervo bragged to me that Questing Spirits bound to his sword never last as long as a day. 24 hours arlife time, I think he means, based upon my reading of him. Did you note the strange duration on the quest? I hypothesise that, if we can get our hands upon Kullervo’s sword and bring it to Torello’s Sanctum before time runs out, we can reunite Spirit-Kafana with Vessel-Kafana. No other explanation fits as well.}


    Tomsk: {I’ll pass that onto Vessel-Kafana.}


    Bulgaria: {I’ll talk with Isabella and Rudolfo, then send a message to Ruffiana.}


    Bungo: {Wellington, did you kill any of them? I’ll head to the Sanctum’s respawn area and start tracing them.}


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Alderney: {Guys, I’m triggering Mary-Lynn’s prepared media plan. This is the moment to launch The Burrow. Wellington, tell her to finish up interviewing people at the site of the massacre then get her butt over to The Burrow to help me. If we’re going to get that sword back in time, we’re going to need every bit of help we can lay our hands upon. Don’t count on getting much sleep any time soon. This is going to be the busiest day you’ve ever had in your life.}


    What the heck? She told The Burrow’s viewing room to disconnect her from Wellington’s live feed, to find Mary-Lynn and Alderney standing next to her, busily making changes on multiple display screens. It looked like mission control for a rocket launch. Which, given Alderney’s connection with spacers, it might actually have been modeled upon.


    Alderney: “Kafana, you’re back with us. All caught up?”


    Kafana: “I got as far as you declaring you were triggering the launch plan. Is it true? Does Wellington think I’ve actually got a chance of being reunited with my vessel?”


    Alderney: “Bulgaria says he’s confident, after having spoken to people, that the ritual team at the Sanctum can manage it if we get them the sword in time. And you know what Wellington is like. If he says something’s doable, then you can bet on it.”


    Alderney gave her a hug. “I know you’re feeling terrible. Will you forgive me if I get excited and enthusiastic about this? I’ve never tried a caper this big, and I’ve put so many hours into this site and into editing recordings.”


    Kafana: “Sure. How could you not feel excited about this? What’s the current status?”


    Alderney: “Tomsk and Vessel-Kafana are heading down towards the start of Mud Road where it leaves Mercato. They’re going to record a segment for us. Bungo is coordinating with all the players. He’s standing at the entrance to the Sanctum, and actually being pretty amazing, sending them off after leads, getting them enthused, building up an atmosphere. Bulgaria is doing mysterious stuff, as always. Wellington has flipped out and is programming an area for The Burrow for this special event. He’s planning to suck in live feeds from players, display their data on a giant ‘man hunt’ map, and feed the results to Bungo and anyone who logs in, to help coordinate the search. I’m betting he’ll have his finished before anyone else even thinks to start. His Vessel is going back to Torello with Fra Gamal and the others. It is almost like a procession escorting your body for a state funeral. All it lacks are black feathers for their horses.”


    Mary-Lynn: “We’re aiming to open The Burrow’s doors to the general public just as dusk falls in Torello. ‘The Darkest Night’, very symbolic. That’s in 15 minutes. Then I’ll be doing live commentary, and Alderney will be frantically busy here, so try to stay out of her way.”


    Kafana: “Staying out of her way I can do. Is there anything else you’d like from me? If I can be helpful?”


    Alderney: “Very womble of you. We’re trying to make that catch on as an adjective, by the way. Yes, three things. Firstly, it will be really helpful if you can bear to log into the game on a regular schedule and look around for a few minutes. I’ll set an expert system to analyse your feed for clues as to where Kullervo’s hiding.”


    Mary-Lynn: “Secondly, post a bit in the forums from time to time, so people get a sense of you being here and being real. If you have time, use the viewing room to watch our feeds or at least summarise them, so you’re up to date with what’s happening, if we need to get a reaction video from you. Sorry to use the trade language, but you’re the hook for our product and we need to package and brand you.”


    Kafana made a face like she’d bitten into a sour lemon, but nodded dutifully.


    Alderney: “But chiefly, I want you to look after yourself and your arlife. Don’t let all this get to you, treat it as an adventure. Come tomorrow, whether we recover the sword or not, whether the Burrow takes off or not, I want a happy smiling friend there to greet me, not a shattered wreck who feels she has failed. You may be the, ugh, ‘hook’, but the success or failure doesn’t hinge on anything you now do.”


    Kafana smiled, warmly this time. “Thank you. Win or lose, I promise you a hug when this is over. And now here are two hugs. The first is for you.” She gave Alderney a hug, then released it.


    Kafana: “The second is for you to pass onto Vessel-Kafana next time Vessel-Alderney is near her. Give her the hug and pass onto her a message.” She gave Alderney a second, tighter and longer hug.


    Alderney: “What’s the message?”


    Kafana: “The message is just one word. ‘Mittens’. And no, I’m not going to explain it to you. She’ll understand. Especially if you tell her that you don’t understand.”


    Mary-Lynn: “10 mins.”


    Kafana: “Ok, I’m gone. I’ll tell my tiara to read any messages you send me, even text ones, so just let me know where and when I’m needed. Link to anything you particularly want me to watch. Bye!”


    She disconnected from The Burrow and returned to reality.


    *flip*


    This time, when she left her room to go down to the kitchens, she took with her not only her crown, but also the earrings and visual display disguised as a drip cloth.