19 Chapter 18: Into the Phoenix Refuge

The entire team formed up in the order that Tatiana had established. The closer they got to the gate, the more hesitantly Luca followed as memories triggered by the suffering he had experienced the last time he went through one of the portals. The memory of the pain he had endured made his stomach churn in unease and residual fear. Still, Luca was different now than he had been then. He had no intention of running away or balking at moving forward. He had his own goals to reach, and judging by the sideways glances, Tatiana kept throwing at him to make sure he didn't run. Luca knew he had no real choice in the matter. His fate was sealed.

Rather than one at a time, everyone in the team steed through the gate at the same time. Pushing through the portal, Mother had activated in the basement of the shared Guild Hall of the Legends and Chaos guilds. Much of Luca's anxiety passed away when sunlight hit his face rather than finding himself stumbling out of the other side of the portal into a dark cave.

Luca was surprised to see the portal had led them to a floating island, suspended in the air above a vast abyss on the outskirts of a lush forest that extended in front of him for as far as the eye could see. It was an impressive sight, further complemented by the sounds of life he heard coming from the forest, the cawing of birds, and nestling of leaves.

Steel interrupted his musings as she took the lead, grasping at the railing of the narrow bridge that led downwards to the forest floor. "Pretty impressive, isn't it? Every time we come here, I'm always awestruck by it. It reminds me of a lot of the Redwoods full of Sequoias back home. Just don't get too distracted once we get off the island. Things aren't safe here."

A barrage of notifications hit Luca, causing him to lose his balance as a sense of vertigo struck him. Falling to the ground, 2Face was able to catch him before Luca completely collapsed. all the prompts before dismissing them and continuing on his journey.

Notification: Now Entering "The Phoenix Refuge"

Details: The Legendary Phoenix, the symbol of rebirth, is said to reside deep within these forests ruled by the Avian God Garuda.

Notification: Quest Discovery - Clear Phoenix Refuge

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Details: The God of All Birds stands between those who would dare to ascend to higher planes. He is but the first of many gatekeepers.

Condition: Defeat the Avaian God GarudaQuest Reward: Gain 10,000 Sol and 3,000 experience.Conditional Reward: To whoever strikes the killing blow on Garuda will be granted (1) legendary accessory.

Note: This only applies on the first clear per team.

Notification: Quest Discovery - Phoenix Feather

Details: It is said that the power inherent in the feather of a phoenix can revive the dead and restore to them their vitality.

Condition: Recover (1) Phoenix FeatherReward: To whoever finds a Phoenix Feather, they shall be granted the ability to completely resurrect, without penalty, one person within the dungeon, regardless of time elapsed since death, so long as the target of the resurrection died within the dungeon.

Each member of the group looked away from Luca, stopping in place where they were. Wanting to give their newest member some space. Each having experienced the same thing before, information overload.

The group looked away from Luca, wanting to give their newest member space, having all experienced the same thing before.

"Hey, Luca, what your feeling right now is a totally normal thing. It's all right. If you need to vomit, just vomit. We've all been there before. That unsteady wobbly feeling like you've been out on a bender? It happens to all of us when those notifications pop up, made much worse when it's a bunch at a time on top of a floating island. " Explained Mother, trying to comfort Luca, making sure that he was ok and trying to talk him through it.

"He's fine. Don't baby him." Interjected 2Face, annoyed that the party was already showing this much difference towards Luca. "He's not a pet that you can keep. You heard him before. His strength stat is higher than mine. A big strong lad like him should be able to carry this whole team on his back."

"That's enough." Ordered Tatiana, silencing the group while Steel shifted nervously on her right foot, not saying anything, waiting to finish descending on the bridge. "Never forget where we are. Complacency kills. If any of you can't handle it, turn around now. You can handle grudges later in the Guild Arena if that's what you really want."

"Alright, Tatiana, you're right. I'm being way out of line. This isn't the place for it." Admitted 2Face, in embarrassment as he held out his arm and an outstretched hand towards Luca, helping him up. "When we're done here, the arena it is. You and me are going to settle things there."

"Ok, fine. Whatever you say 2Face, and thanks for helping me up." Luca said, reluctantly tolerant of the man's attitude. Luca agreed to go fight in the arena at a later time. He didn't want the trouble but knew when guys like 2Face and their position threatened, they always responded poorly. It was a case where the only way out was through.

"Guys, its time to move out." Shouted Tatiana as she followed behind Steel, walking along the bridge leading off the island. Luca followed, concerned that the bridge wouldn't be able to support their combined weight before dismissing the idea, This bridge is attached to a floating island, and I'm worried about the bridge collapsing under our weight? Stupid.

Once they reached the bottom of the bridge and had settled onto solid ground, the starting walking alongside the beaten paved that led through the treeline. Luca looked around at the high treetops all around him as they walked, and though it was light outside, the forest was dark and forbidding. The thick canopy of the leaves in the trees was woven so tightly that he couldn't even see the sky and cast a permanent shade of dark.

"I'm wondering you guys if you don't mind me asking. Just how far do these trees go. How long is it going to take for us to get to where we are going, and do we need to be worried about stuff up in the trees?" Luca asked, pointing upwards at the green canopy.

Steel responded, speaking to him in a far more friendly tone then she had since first meeting him. "No one has ever attempted it and come back, but pretty sure it goes on for hundreds if not thousands of miles. It might even just loop in on itself. No one knows, there's not a lot of point to try and find out. The thing you do need to know, though, is that it never gets dark here. Just stays in this perpetual state of dusk when you're in the forest. Completely turning your idea of night and day upside down."

"I seem to be repeating myself. This talk is over. We need to move out before the next team arrives." Said Tatiana. "The five of us will be traveling in a wedge formation. I'll be upfront, while 2Face will be in the rear. Mother and Luca will be in the middle, and Steel, you'll be a roaming guard between the front and back, peeling and tanking if needed. Luca, keep your eyes peeled on the treetops. Make sure you call out if you see anything, anything at all. We don't need any surprises dropping on us."

Tatiana stopped talking for a second, making sure everyone was paying attention. "So long as it's safe enough, if we come across any monsters, I'll do what I can to injure it and pass it along to Luca. This way, we can go ahead and try to power level him to 10. It shouldn't take us that long to get him to reach the level 10 threshold. Does everyone understand?" Tatiana asked, looking around the whole group, making sure she got an affirmative nod from everyone. "Any feedback, comments, concerns, or throats? What about you 2Face? You've had a lot to say today."

"Yeah, actually, I've got a few ideas," 2Face commented, clearing his throat nervously as he looked at Tatiana and the group. "I think we all should head over to the Accessory shop. I doubt Luca has any Sol to spend at it, but we never know. He might be lucky enough to pull a useful ability, and I'm willing to lend him at least 500 Sol if everyone else will match it to get him outfitted."

Luca looked at 2Face in dubious surprise, not trusting the man or his motivations. As far as Luca was concerned, he thought 2Face hated him, or at the very least, couldn't stand him and actively disliked him. "Why are you helping me? What do you get out of this? I know your not exactly my biggest fan," Luca challenged 2Face, pressing him for an answer, genuinely curiously, wanting to know.

"Alright, Luca, since you're wondering, I still dislike you. Actually, I hate you and everything about you. You're not one of us, not really. But that's not my decision to challenge. If you're going to be part of this team, I need you to be able to watch my back and perform to standard whatever tasks you get assigned. If my life is going to be dependent on yours, I want you to have the tools to do that. I'm not doing this to help you. I'm doing this to help myself." 2Face explained in unapologetic hostility.

Luca wasn't sure how to take it, but he figured he would just accept it as is. "Alright, thanks, I guess. Is that how everyone else feels?

The rest of the group took no time at all to agree with 2Face's position. Mother tried to put it in as nice of terms as possible under the circumstances. "It's nothing against you, Luca, but you've been added to our team, a well oiled, high functioning team, because our bosses boss thinks you have merit and carry potential, but so far, none of us see it. You've got high stats, but so far, that's all you bring to the table."

Tatiana chose that moment to interrupt, trying to ease the tension a bit. "You need to understand it from our perspective Luca, you wouldn't be the first new guy to get attached to our team, and new guys have problems. Your dangerous, you don't know what you're doing, and you tend to make mistakes that get yourselves killed or get members of the team killed. I'm telling you from experience. That's just the way it is. Let's go."

Luca understood and shook it off. They're going to need to get over that. I'm not some liability.