Frozen Stars Over Wonderland - Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Time passed far too quickly in Alfre’s opinion. Before she knew it, July third was dawning and she’d hardly gotten any sleep the night before. She stood from her bed and dressed in the nicest things she owned, which was basically everything she’d started with, plus a wonderful white leather coat that billowed out around her calves and supposedly boosted her ice magic. It was a new item, developed to go along with the release of the Element Blade class that the expansion pack had introduced. June had managed to get her hands on it, and sold it to her for what she insisted was a fair price. And by sold it to her, she meant Elias had bought it for her. It was a lovely thing, white with large cuffs of icy blue with swirling black accents. Despite the fact it should have been much too warm to wear such a thing in July, she felt comfortably cool. Siniy was the northern-most continent in Wonderland, she’d been told, and it didn’t get very warm there in the first place. But her status as a Winter Blade made it so that it was consistently cool around her, so she likely would never get warm no matter what she wore. 

She barely ate the breakfast that was served down in the pub, no matter how good it smelled she just couldn’t force it down. Elias seemed just as nervous, his knees bouncing wildly under the table. Spica seemed unfazed, perfectly poised as she sipped her tea. Ren chugged a mug of coffee and gobbled down the omelet her chefs had made. Satisfied, she stood from her table, a wild, confident look in her eye. 

“Alright, everyone who’s coming with me has five minutes to finish their food and meet me at the door.”

Ran groaned and gulped down the last of whatever it was he was drinking and picked his quiche up off the plate and carried it with him to the door. Silver, who’d already finished his meal long before Alfre had even stumbled down the stairs into the pub, stood and followed loyally after Ren. Several other guild members that Alfre had yet to really acquaint herself with abandoned their meals to follow. Alfre grabbed a blueberry muffin from the basket on the table and hoped that would be enough to tide her over until she could eat again and stood to follow. Elias, Spica, and Izo crowded around her as they followed after Ren. 

They marched down the streets towards the palace, joining with June and Atticus’ parties at the gates to the public gardens that surrounded the palace’ grounds. They entered together, streaming into the gardens like a river into a lake. From her position at the edge of the group, Alfre could see another, much smaller party entering the gardens from the western gate. Most of them were large and heavily armored, probably one of the raid guilds. Another group was already waiting at the palace’s large, ornate double doors. Unlike the heavily armored group coming in from the west, these players were all dressed in fancy, flowing robes…save for a young minty haired elf girl in a rather frilly looking maid costume. 

“Looks like Ludovico got my message,” June noted with a pleased hum. 

“Hunter brought the Fell of Duty, too,” Atticus pointed out, looking towards the group coming in from the west. “That’s two guilds. Let’s just hope the rest arrives soon.”

Ren was the one to push open the doors to the palace, leading the group into a large dining hall where a round, pale marble table has been set up. Chairs lined the walls, and Alfre hoped it would be enough to fit everyone. She went to sit along the wall with the others, but Silver caught her arm.

“Ren wants you to sit with her at the table with Ran.”

Alfre paled, which was quite a feat considering her already pale coloring. “I-I can’t sit up there with them!”

“Yes, you can,” Silver insisted. “It’s okay. She won’t let anything happen to you. Neither will Ran or June or Atticus.”

Alfre swallowed thickly, forcing the bile back down her throat. She nodded, letting Silver guide her back to the table. She sat at Ren’s left, between her and Lance. The table and everyone at it felt terribly large and she felt terribly small. She felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Lance smiling down at her, his ruby red eyes warm under the red mop he called hair. Alfre breathed deeply, steeling her expression into something resembling calm determination. That didn’t stop her from hiding her shaking hands under the table.

There was something like twenty guilds present. Alfre wondered if that was all the guilds that were based in the city or if there were still some that were uninvited or refused to come. Most of them only brought four or five representatives with them, nothing nearly as massive as the parade that had followed Ren, June, and Atticus into the palace. The expressions ranged from curious to annoyed, which meant the meeting could go in any number of ways, most of which Alfre didn’t really want to think about. 

“Alright, Tsukino,” the heavily armored man Atticus had referred to as Hunter snapped as everyone was getting settled. “What exactly is this all about?”

All eyes turned to Ren, who gave Hunter a tight smile. “Well, I guess there’s no need to thank you for coming, since you obviously want to skip the formalities. Which is fine with me. I’ll get straight to the point. The atmosphere and living conditions in Spade suck, and it’s partially the guilds’ fault. So we’re going to fix it. And if you don’t comply, you’re going to have issues.”

There was a commotion as guild leaders and members began to shout protests or whisper amongst themselves. Ren’s expression never changed, even as Hunter spouted insults that even Alfre would never dare repeat. Well…maybe if someone chopped off her arm she might.

“Enough!” Atticus’ voice resounded against the marble and decorative metals of the room, the deep, booming baritone startling all present into silence. “Hear her out first.”

The other guild masters settled back into their chairs, save for Hunter, who continued standing, looking like he was going to leap across the table and tackle Ren at a moment’s notice. 

“Sit down, Hunter,” Ran ordered, a barely veiled warning in his voice. 

Hunter growled loudly, but did take his seat again, arms crossed tightly over his chest. The two on either side of him looked just as wary of him as they were of Ren. 

Ren leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and steepling her fingers as her eyes swept over the group gathered around the table. “Like I said, living conditions in Spade are far from ideal, and a lot of that is the fault of the guilds.”

“What are you saying?” the man with fox ears that Alfre remembered June referring to as Ludovico interrupted. 

Ren glared at him. “If you let me talk, Ludovico, instead of interrupting…”

Ludovico made a ‘go ahead’ gesture, but didn’t look a little bit sorry for interrupting. 

“When the Incident happened, lots and lots of new players were caught and trapped here with the rest of us more experienced players,” Ren explained. “While those of us who’ve been in Wonderland a long time could take all this is stride knowing we were strong enough to handle most threats that came our way, the new Fell didn’t have that luxury. So they came to us, the guilds, for protection and help. Instead, they are swept away, forced into subclasses, and used as free labor. Not only that, but because respawing still occurs, bandits have popped up around outside the city walls were PvP is and always has been allowed. They prey on these low level players, attacking, killing, and looting them. Is this really what we want our city to be known for? Is this really the reputation our guilds desire?”

Many of the guild masters shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Others shot accusatory looks towards other guild masters. 

Hunter, however, shrugged nonchalantly. “They came to our guilds, it’s up to us how we deal with them. If they don’t like it, they can leave.”

Hands slammed down on the table. Alfre’s neck popped as she looked to see June standing, hands planted firmly on the table. Her hazel eyes blazed angrily. 

“That’s not the point!” she shouted. “No matter what circumstances they joined your guild under, or what level they were at when they did, they deserved to be treated with basic human decency! They’re not your slaves or indentured servants that you can boss around and keep locked up in a gilded cage. They’ll never be able to protect themselves if you don’t take the time and help them grind! You were a newbie at one time! How would you feel if this happened to you?”

“When I joined the game, it was still a game!” Hunter argued. “I’m not going to put my best men at risk just to help a bunch of noobs who joined at the wrong time! They wanted protection, so I’m protecting them!”

“You’re imprisoning them!” 

“Your logic is flawed, Hunter,” Ludovico interrupted smoothly. “There is no risk to your men, since respawn still exists. And are your men really so weak that helping newbies fight level five goblins and wild boars is going to put them at risk? Looks like the Fell of Duty guild isn’t as powerful as you boast.”

“What did you say, you fa-“

“Don’t you dare use that word!” June snapped. 

“Everyone, let’s calm down,” Atticus suggested, his deep voice calm and soothing. “We’re not going to get anywhere by yelling at each other.”

Ludovico smirked at Hunter, who sat back in his chair with a huff. June sat, her hands still pressed firmly against the tabletop, as if ready to push herself up again should it be necessary. 

A dwarven man with an intricately braided ruddy red beard cleared his throat. “I am in agreement. Playing within the city was fun because it was lively. But it’s been anything but since the incident. And this atmosphere is bad not only for my guild’s business, but for everyone.” 

Another guild master, a young looking human woman with dark hair in sorcerer robes spoke as well. “I agree. It’s obvious that we’re going to be here a while. We might as well make the best of it. What were you thinking, Ren?”

“Atticus had an idea to set up a public works system,” Ren mentioned. “I know no one likes the idea of taxes, but if each guild contributes….um, lets say one gold coin per member of the guild every month or so, then we could easily fund improvements to the city. Atticus thought a public training ground like the one his guild has might be a good idea. That way, even if you don’t want to take newbies out into the Wilds for grinding, they could grind in the city in a more controlled environment with fewer risks. Fewer surprises.”

“Who would be in charge of the funds coming from these taxes?” the dwarf asked. 

June spoke up this time. “I propose a council made up of the different merchant and trade guilds. They can also come together and discuss proper pricing on projects and services. We used to have the game market for that, but we don’t exactly have access to that information anymore. If necessary, we could enlist the help of the Wonderlanders for this.” 

“We must also allow newbies to choose their own subclass,” Ren insisted. “No more sweatshops of tailors or blacksmiths.”

“We need to let everyone know that even if they aren’t in a guild they aren’t without a safety net,” Ran said. “I suggest we see about setting up a cheap housing program within the city. Inns are expensive, and most of the new players can’t afford them. Guilds with extra rooms in their guild hall could rent them out to Fell at a discounted rate, to be decided by the Market Council.”

“Also patrols,” Alfre blurted, feeling her throat go dry as everyone turned to stare at her. “Patrols to cut down on the banditry around the city. No one’s going to leave to go questing or grinding in the Wilds if they’re scared to step outside of the walls.”

“Raid guilds and other combat focus guilds could be in charge of that,” Lance suggested. “We could set up a rotating schedule. Each guild would be in charge of setting patrols during a certain week of the month.”

Murmurs of agreement bubbled up around the table as more suggestions were thrown out. Even Hunter, who seemed the least excited about the whole event in general, seemed to relax and listen intently. His eyes lit up at the idea of patrols. Alfre supposed the best way to redirect his apparent need to lord over those weaker than him was to give him power to dole out punishments to people who were just as big of an asshole as he was. 

“But what about when unexpected things come up…or decisions need to be made on what to do next?” the dwarf that Alfre had come to understand ran the Wall Street Spade guild asked. “Who’s going to make those choices?”

“A guild council,” Ren answered readily. “I propose the creation of a seven member council, made up of the guild masters or other high ranking members of some of the guilds present here. Of course, as the guilds behind this initial meeting, Sweet Summer Children, Knights of the Burning Oak, and Crystal Moon Kingdom will all have guaranteed seats on this council. The other four seats can be decided amongst the rest of you.”

Hunter opened his mouth to argue again, but a small, rabbit eared girl spoke first. “That sounds reasonable. We should try to have a fairly even number of each kind of guild on the council, yes? So if we have a general guild, a raid guild, and a merchant guild already on the council, then we should have another one of each, right? And then the fourth seat can go to a scholars guild or some other specialized guild.”

“As Ouroboros is the only scholar’s guild on the continent, I suppose that fourth seat is ours,” Ludovico declared, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

“Wall Street Spade is the largest merchant’s guild in the city,” the dwarf (Alfre never did catch his name) stated. “The second merchant guild spot should go to us.”

“Fell of Duty is on the council,” Hunter snapped. “Unless someone else thinks their guild is a better choice?”

There were mutters and low growls around the table from other combat guilds, but no one was willing to argue. This was likely the only way to get Hunter to agree to everything else that had been proposed.

“Cherry,” Ren turned to the little rabbit girl who’d spoken up earlier. “Would your guild like that last spot? I know it’s pretty small, but we’ll need the perspective of the smaller guilds too.”

The girl’s eyes went wide and her ears twitched excitedly. “Well, if you’re offering, then we’ll take it.”

Ren grinned. “Perfect, then the Guild Council is decided. Other councils like the Merchant’s council or the City Guard can be decided later. Though it probably should be decided before the end of the week. Don’t want to loose our momentum, yeah?” 

“I’ll have my scribes draw up a declaration to post about the city,” June offered. “So everyone knows what’s going on.”

“Sounds good,” Ren agreed. “Well, shall we adjourn for the day?”