Chapter 88

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Rosa L. Burney Park, Atlanta - 7:54 AM

Despite the relatively quick time we would have taken to get to Merder Stadium, we stopped a lot on the way. The park we were traveling through had a large baseball field with no fence, playground, a few courts for tennis and basketball, and a pool. It looked like it had been a nice place to gather, once upon a time. Now the grass was browned from the cold weather and molehills littered the place. That wasn’t what stopped Kayla and Jeff, though.

“There’s so many people,” the man remarked as he stopped his bike again. Kayla, riding on the pegs, stepped down. “Just more than I was expecting, I guess.”

I looked around at the scores of people inhabiting the park. While a good few were on the sidewalk, walking around us as we blocked one side of it, the majority were out in the fields. People of all ages and builds were standing around the molehills, with some being exclusively surrounded by children. Everybody had weapons whether they were bats, pipes, or something like a proper spear or sword.

Every so often, one of the groups of people would start savagely beating and stabbing the ground. A flash of light would appear followed by a wisp of smoke and they would begin waiting again. Another group would follow this trend, and then another. For as many molehills as there were, it seemed this cycle reset every three or four minutes.

“They’re farming,” Kayla realized as we continued watching. “Right, Ant?”

“You’ve got it,” I answered with a nod. “Wisp Moles are creatures that respawn quickly and disappear in a flash of smoke when they die. No mess that way. It’s a neat monster that allows a lot of these people to get points and kills under their belt. Strong people come and clear it out every morning so these people who are behind for whatever reason can farm points and, on the rare occasion, get loot. They do this all day.”

“It’s not dangerous?” she asked, concern heavy in her voice.

I pointed out men and women on the outskirts of the field who were keeping a vigil. Most of them had guns, though some had bows or crossbows and a few had melee weapons.

“They keep an eye out for monsters wandering in. The Razortail Viper, a type of snake that ends with its namesake, sees the Wisp Moles as food and often comes to hunt. Also, there’s…” I trailed off as I looked off into the distances towards the baseball field.

There was no fence around it, but the pitcher’s mound was much taller than it should be. I jerked my chin towards the field. “This is what makes it worth it for the protectors.”

“Boss monster!” one of the people on the outskirts yelled. Half of the protectors ran towards the baseball field while the others stayed put, guns and weapons raised as they were put on edge. I began jogging towards it, leaving the relative safety of the sidewalk. Kayla and Jeff followed after me.

The pitcher’s mound erupted, showering dirt everywhere. When it finally stopped raining soil, a mole the size of a buffalo stood in the center of the diamond. Its white hair was shaggy and took on an ethereal glow in the morning sun. Its long claws dug through the dirt as it looked around at its surroundings with milky eyes. Aside from its size, it didn’t appear to be much of a threat.

Whatever the threat level of the boss monster was, the holes all around the park started going crazy. Each of the groups started hitting the mounds in a murderous frenzy, fiercely attacking the Wisp Moles attempting to crawl out. A symphony of death and effort rang out as I pulled out one of Talspra’s javelins from my inventory and stopped.

“Here, throw this in front of me,” I said, holding the javelin out for Jeff who stopped beside me. He took it without question and did as I asked.

Once the javelin was between me and the giant mole, I Pushed it towards the boss. It sailed through the air and struck the creature in its right leg, causing it to chatter and hiss. The boss looked in our direction, but couldn’t see us at this distance.

The attack didn’t go unnoticed by the protectors rushing towards it, and I saw their leader’s gaze turn to us. I gave him a nod, and then crossed my arms.

Jeff looked from me to the creature and then back to me. “Are we going to help?” he asked, Betin’s Fairy Dagger already in his hand.

“Nope, Emmanuel’s got this,” I stated. When I saw the look on his face turn curious, I continued. “His group is helping him get more points by letting him kill the bosses while protecting the people, and the people get to gain points every time the Wisp Mole Mother starts a respawn frenzy. Speaking of, do you think I could get a quest, Sara? Please and thank you.”

[[Patron Quest: Defeat the Wisp Mole Mother and Protect the People!]]

You’re welcome, Anthony.

The Wisp Mole Mother is a Field Boss that only appears when enough of her offspring have been slain. It seems as though you have made it here just in time, but in truth she appears at least once an hour with all these people working on mole extermination.

They are in danger, and the more people who are alive at the end of this quest, the more points you will gain.

Objective: The Wisp Mole Mother is slain.

Reward: +100 points, +1 point for every survivor in the park.

“Oh, nice, a two for one,” I said, smiling up at the sky. “Double thanks, Sara.”

“Did you have to attack it for the quest?” Kayla asked, taking Jeff’s hand.

“And if so, why did I throw the javelin for you?” he added.

I shook my head. “That’s because it’s a boss. Killing it means that we get another notch in our magic items. Don’t tell me you forgot about your Stinging Yellow Jacket already?”

“Ohhhh! That makes sense,” Jeff said, nodding. “Alright, I’m on the same page now.”

“Good,” I chuckled. “Your jacket should show two bosses defeated already, Amlex and Waltermelon, and after this fight it’ll be three out of five. It doesn’t matter how much damage you actually do to it, just so long as you get points. It’s a little bit of a dick move because he’s a competitor, but it’s fine.”

“You sure? He’s making short work of it,” Kayla stated. I refocused my attention on Emmanuel. While I didn’t give him much of a look at first, I assessed him now.

The only skin he was showing was his head. He was a handsome man with thick, curly black hair, a bushy mustache, and olive skin. His body was covered by a thick suit of pearlescent blue scale armor, though his boots were made of black leather and his gloves were pure white. In one hand he held a round shield that glowed brighter every time the Wisp Mole Mother struck at it, and in the other was a fearsome axe.

Not just fearsome, but anxiety inducing. It was a bearded axe made of steel so black it seemed to drink in the light from all around it, and there did seem to be a connection to the depth of its void and the brightness of his shield. The wounds it inflicted didn’t seem to spray blood, though the boss was bleeding from the gouges it left behind. Almost like the axe was drinking in as much as it could in a greedy manner. Light, blood, it didn’t matter what as long as it was allowed to consume.

The protectors who had gone to fight the boss had surrounded it, leveling their guns and crossbows in its direction, but they hadn’t started shooting yet. All in all, the group seemed content to let Emmanuel handle it and he was proving up to the task.

“Well, that’s just what you can expect from someone who’s going to be competing in the Chaos Cup,” I told Kayla. “You’re going to find that Atlanta is very different from what Etson has become. There’s a lot more people who have been able to take charge and lead groups, and it’s not so much a mad scramble because there’s only two safe zones. The one we’re heading to can easily handle thousands of people, and while it’s a bit crowded, it’s still nice.”

“There wasn’t any of this around Etson, for sure,” Jeff stated, looking around.

“I’m surprised to see the kids farming these moles, too,” Kayla said.

“Kids get points, too,” I said with a shrug. “They’re vulnerable just like everyone else, but this prevents them from being lambs in a slaughter if they find themselves in a tight spot.”

Kayla frowned. “Why not just keep them in the safe zones?”

“Because they’re kids,” I answered. “That’s not going to work forever. Plus, they still grow up, and what do you expect them to do when they’re old enough to fight and they don’t have any experience?”

“Get experience?” she replied hesitantly.

“Could be too late by then. I’ve heard this debate from all different angles, and it’s never easy,” I said, shaking my head. “Places are all going to treat children differently. This is a way to make sure they get points and experience in a mostly safe, controlled environment. Is it ideal? Not really, but it’s as close to ideal as you can get. Plus, their safe zone is run by an administrator, and what happens if Benedict Merder decides he doesn’t want to play nice anymore? They're right not to trust it.”

“I suppose.” Kayla looked up at Jeff. He was only paying a little bit of attention to us, but he put his arm around her as if he knew she was staring.

I turned my attention back towards Emmanuel’s fight. He held his axe high into the air and a giant, ghostly version of it appeared above him. As the Wisp Mole Mother charged at him, hissing loudly and covered in blood, he brought his arm down. The ethereal axe moved with it, merging with the bearded head of his weapon at the moment of impact as it easily cleaved through the boss’s head. A second later the rest of the body fell into two pieces as if he had bisected it.

[[Victory!]]

You have contributed to the defeat of the Field Boss [Wisp Mole Mother]; +10 (200) points.

[[Patron Quest Complete!]]

Good job, Anthony! I mean, I know you didn’t do much, but enjoy your free points.

Reward: +100 points, +1 point for each survivor x147.

Emmanuel looked at the ground as the Wisp Mole Mother started dissolving into a cloud of smoke. He was no doubt looking for loot, and shook his head when he didn’t see any. He turned towards us and started heading our way with his group in tow. While he kept his shield out, the axe went directly into his inventory.

All around us, the people who were keeping the molehills in check stopped attacking. They grunted and groaned from the effort as the constant flow of smoke from their kills started to slow down. Collapsing, they pulled out water and snacks from their inventories and took a break. With the Mother out of commission, the respawn rate would zero out for ten to twenty minutes. Plenty of time for some rest.

“Hey!” Emmanuel called, reclaiming my attention. His voice was deep, smooth, and seemed fitting for the polished armor he wore. He beckoned us over and I obliged, meeting him in the middle. “I don’t think I’ve seen you three around here before. First time at the park?”

“We only just got into the city,” I told him. “We’re passing through on the way to Merder Stadium.”

“You get the call too, then?” he asked.

“We’re here for the arena, yeah,” I answered, jerking my thumb towards Jeff. “He’s the scenario MVP for Cordele.”

Jeff took a step forward and offered his hand. “Jeff Mills, pleasure to meet you. This is my wife, Kayla, and that’s Anthony.”

Emmanuel took Jeff’s hand without hesitation. “Damn, that’s a long way from here. Emmanuel Marino, but call me Manny,” he said before shaking Kayla’s hand and then mine. Turning around, he made a few hand motions and everyone except for a teenage girl carrying a submachine gun and chewing bubble gum remained. “This is my sister, Ramona.”

Ramona was about fifteen or sixteen years old and had many of the same features as her brother, though the expression on her face made it seem like she was trying to look tougher than she was. Her thumb toggled the safety of the submachine gun, a Heckler and Koch MP5, as she blew a big pink bubble that promptly popped. Both Kayla and Jeff looked at the safety with concern as it was flicked back and forth.

“Sister and manager,” Ramona said, her voice sharing the same deep quality as her brother’s. “And I don’t appreciate you taking some of my brother’s points before he has a chance to show off what he can do in the Chaos Cup. Now, what do you plan on doing about it?”

Jeff seemed taken aback by Ramona’s tone, but Manny nudged her with his elbow. “They’re new, they didn’t know any better. Cut them some slack, kid,” he said.

“Ugh! I told you to stop calling me kid!” she yelled. “How are people supposed to respect me as your manager if you keep treating me like that? Huh?”

“You need to stop being so abrasive all the time if you want them to respect you. Why do you need me to show respect for other people to do it, huh? Just get by with your own merits.”

I could tell that Manny was having some brotherly fun with Ramona, but he clearly got under her skin. She threw her hands up in the air. “Whatever. I’m going to go help reset everything. Do what you want.”

Ramona stormed off, leaving Manny chuckling. Kayla politely cleared her throat. “She seems… spirited.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it,” Manny agreed. “It was only twenty points, so I’m not mad about it or anything. Ramona’s a bit overprotective of me, is all. Being a manager is getting into her head, too, but I know she can take care of it.”

“What’s it mean that she’s your manager?” Jeff asked, but he was already glancing at Kayla. She gave him a nod, and I knew she already decided to be his manager.

“You really got an MVP Token?” Manny asked instead of answering the question. He looked Jeff up and down as the man pulled his token out of his inventory. Just as he was about to hand it over, the man nodded. “Damn, for sure you do. Alright. Let’s get you to the stadium and signed up, and I'll tell you on the way.”

Manny turned towards the people and waved, then pointed towards the stadium. They waved back, and he indicated that we should follow him with a jerk of his head. “Let’s get to the stadium, then,” I said with a grin.