Hunted

The three horses were stretched in a single line, with each rider pulling every ounce of speed out of their mounts. 

[Basilisk: Damon] Veer left at the fork, and we'll attempt to outmaneuver them by crossing the river.

Galaxia shifted her weight in the saddle, a grin plastered on her face as she ducked low under the overgrown path, causing branches to whip against her head and shoulders. 

[Basilisk: Roman] Rori and I are cornered; we aren't going to make it.

Damon's dark, somber face held a hint of amusement. The boring instruction block for the day had become a valuable teaching tool. His second-year class was the prey, hunted relentlessly by the wolf pack. After the first chaotic clash, QJ had quickly set up guidelines, safe home bases, and dead zones where the departed would spend the round until they were reset. 

[Basilisk: Galaxia] I'm in the final three! How much time is left in this round?

[Basilisk: Josie] Six minutes.

The score was five rounds to one, each contest lasting twenty minutes. You were out when one of the wolf pack riders managed to touch your horse. Rider and mount teamwork on both sides improved substantially as the day progressed. Those who lost hung out in the dead zone and chatted with their friends until the next round. The 2nd years managed to win one of the middle rounds, and been competitive several times. 

Damon watched as the two riders he followed ducked under the low-hanging branches, opting to detour a few meters. A blur of black followed by a loud 'thwack' told the second-year instructor that he had made a mistake. 

"Shit," Damon eased up on the reins, sharing a glance at Ringo, who had been hiding in the nearby gorge. "Did you herd us into a trap?"

Ringo's broad smile and the sudden howling of dozens of wolves echoing through the hills answered his question. For fairness, once tagged out, guild chat was disabled.

[Basilisk: Josie] Shit.. They got Damon. Let's split up. 

Galaxia charged her horse into the angry river, forcing the mount to swim hard for the other side in a race to find dry ground before getting swept into the rapids. "Yes!" The rider pumped her fist when her horse scrambled onto the bank.

The rainbow-haired rider turned downstream and let her horse run all out down the smooth terrain of the river bank. The roar of the rapids drowned out the howls as Galaxia glanced at her hud before opting to find a hiding spot. 

[Basilisk: Galaxia] I can't follow the bank any further downstream. Is anyone still alive?

The rainbow-haired rider eased up on the reins and walked her mount into a dense thicket, hoping to wait out the time limit.

[OP: Ringo] Gal forded the river right before the rapids. None of our mounts are willing to follow. 

[OP: QJ] Head upstream; the wolves will cross where it's calmer. I'll head downstream and see if there's a break in the rapids.

[OP: Sato: We have three minutes.

Flame ran tirelessly along the river while QJ looked for a calmer spot to cross. The wolves had been impressive all afternoon: excellent endurance, quick learners, and natural pack hunters. 

Suddenly, the red wolf veered toward the water, slowing down to an easy lope.

"You can't be serious..." QJ centered his weight and held on tight. "You won't cross by the rapids, but you'll cross here?

Gal hid in the thicket, her eyes watching the red wolf run downstream. The rapids were deep and angry, and no mount could make it across.

[Basilisk: Galaxia] What the? No way...

A single dry fall, less than two feet in diameter, spanned the width of the rapids. Flame took the path at a trot, nearly five meters above the raging water, and tilted steeply downward. The wolf immediately charged into the dense thicket. QJ had yet to learn Galaxia was there, but Flame was aware.

"Got ya!" QJ slapped the black horse's flank lightly when it appeared out of thin air and then turned upstream.

[OP: QJ] That's the last one. 

"Oh, man... I was about to be the hero!" Galaxia shook her fist at QJ, walking her horse out of the thicket while the red wolf rider watched calmly. "You couldn't have let me go?"

"Why would I do that?" QJ asked. 

"Cuz I'm pretty?" Galaxia laughed at her own words. 

QJ smiled but didn't comment. The afternoon had worked out well for both sides. "Going to be a regular performer at the Songbird?"

Galaxia nodded. "Robin is pretty amazing. So is your sister, Ren. I met Ra, too... Damn, you know a lot of cool people."

"I suppose I do."QJ agreed. 

The pair were joined by Sato and a half dozen wolf riders as they returned to the stables in a much calmer fashion than they exited earlier in the day.

[OP: QJ] That went well. Unsummon your mounts whenever you want.

Ringo fell in beside QJ and was joined by Damon as they walked toward the main building. 

Ringo smiled pleasantly at her Vice Leader; it was QJ who adlibed the training exercise. "When we first got these mounts, I worried we'd have problems training them. This worked out well."

"I thought the same thing," QJ admitted. 

Damon watched Ringo and QJ interact. The latter was given complete free rein. It is evident that they shared a high level of trust. "Those wolves remind me of the Wargs in Iron Mount, but those beasts would eat our horses."

"You've played Iron Mount?" Both QJ and Ringo asked at the same time.

Damon nodded. "I played a human Warden for three years. My guild was absorbed by a larger one, and I decided to change up. Attended the Academy for GnG and played several years on Orion."

QJ considered his luck with a sly smile; someone who knew Iron Mount could be essential to teaching the [Red Player] raiders a lesson. "Pick five of your best, and we'll include them when we give payback to the Iron Mount Alliance."

"Really? None of my guys have leveled up yet; we'd have to grab mid-level Striker bands." Damon's dark eyes flashed with interest. "Paying for equipment will get spendy."

Ringo nodded in agreement. "OP will supply the equipment, and QJ can make some stock weapons. Bring ranged dps and healers only, no tanks or melee."

Stock weapons were weapons that could be mass assembled with a template by a journeyman Smith. Generally, the quality was rated as Good, but if the original template and gunsmith were high enough, they could become Master-ranked weapons. The weapons issued to Strikers during raids were all stock weapons with a ranking of Good.

"How about one rider, two slingers, a medic, and a shammy? Damon asked.

QJ nodded. "Good enough. That means five pistols, one rifle, and... What's the shammy's weapon?"

"Bearded axe, the long variety," Damon answered. 

"Got it. We aren't going to wait long. As soon as the [Red Player] patch is live and we figure out logistics, we're going to make them hurt." QJ held the door for the instructors and followed them into the building. 

[OP: QJ] I got a thing in Ravenwood with Remmy at 1500.

[OP: Ringo] Get going. I'll wrap this up. Great job today, QJ.

QJ exited the Academy and walked toward the Songbird. 

[Whisper: QJ/Barti] I could use a runner for a few hours.

[Whisper: Barti/QJ] Is this paid or a favor?

[Whisper: QJ/Barti] A favor, but I will bring you to the Summit.

[Whisper: Barti/QJ] I'll do it and consider this as me owing you a big favor.

[Whisper: QJ/Barti] Thanks. Head to the Exodus market; I'll send you a list of supplies shortly. 

QJ stopped at the Songbird long enough to pick up the Gibson he ordered and proceeded to his destination.

Past midday in Ravenwood, the sun warmed the portal platform, and the lilac bordering the cobblestone courtyard lent its fragrant scent to a soft afternoon breeze. Having followed this path thousands of times, QJ turned slightly left and walked toward Remmy's workshop.

"QJ!" Remmy pushed open the wooden shutters that covered her shop window, releasing a cloud of black smoke into the air as she coughed a few times and then grinned, her dimpled cheeks liberally smudged with soot. "Help me open more windows," she said.

QJ nodded and entered the shop, leaving the door open; he crossed the rough wooden floor and unlocked two windows on the opposing wall. "What were you working on?" 

"Smoke bombs," Remmy grinned suddenly, hopping on a crate she kept next to the full-sized workbench. "Almost there. The chemical composition isn't quite right."

"You know they have these in Martial Law?" QJ smiled at the Gnome's surprised expression. "Let's order a few, and then we can reverse-engineer something that works better." 

"Hmm... Good idea." Remmy opened a large trunk and placed a chunk of crystal on the workbench with a loud thud, which was echoed by the high-pitched ring of the crystal activating.

Wrapped in red velvet, QJ gently handled the Gibson and placed it on one of Remmy's display tables. "How's your knowledge of musical instruments?"

"Scant," Remmy pulled down her goggles, examining the instrument. "Run me through what I need to know."

"I'll have you start cutting the crystal. We'll require three or four practice pieces since we're dealing with projectiles driven by sound amplification."

Remmy smiled wider. "How are we going to do that?"

QJ brought up a 3-dimensional model of the Gibson on his hud. "This is a scanned image of our project. See the base here? Behind where strings are attached? That's called the bridge. These grooves that the strings sit in are known as the saddle."

QJ used his hud to zoom in on the image. "We're going to modify the connecting point on the bridge where the strings are anchored."

"With a crystal base?" Remmy adjusted the focus on her goggles.

"Partly, a crystal base extends into the guitar's interior where the crystal core will be located. It's delicate work." QJ smiled at Remmy's focus. "Can you handle the crystal shaping?"

Remmy nodded. "How big is the core going to be?"

QJ pointed toward the Gibson. "This is called the body. I will split it in half and hollow out the chamber for the crystal core. Ideally, I want the biggest core that we can fit inside."

"Should I imitate the contours of the guitar when I shape the crystal? Or do you want something more geometrical, like a square?" Remmy rummaged through her files and cutting blades while talking. 

"I was thinking a square, but following the contours is a great idea; the more crystal we use, the better." QJ ruffled the Gnome's pink hair. "While you're doing that, I'll break down the Needlegun schematic you sent me and start making adjustments."