“You sure about this? I mean, that ending was pretty solid,” Thomas pointed out.

He and the others had been walking casually through the corridors of the Citadel for some time, taking the scenic route to the teleporter gate. This granted them the opportunity to watch the progress being made as many of Gol and Maia’s machines were being dismantled by the joint efforts of the allied human and lurker tribes. Many were eager to greet and cheer the conquering heroes whenever they walked by, but the sages were always quick to tell them to get back to work.

“Yeah. We should totally go back and give Sandover a major makeover,” Surprise giddily urged.

Silver nodded. “Agreed. That settlement isn’t even worth calling an outpost, let alone a village. It is simply irrational that a sage who commands life energy wouldn’t attract a greater following by his presence alone. Besides, excluding us, what few villagers there were did not seem fit to create a new generation.”

Thomas nodded. “Fair enough. When you think of it like that, the mostly old men and one older woman makes Sandover look more like a retirement village.”

“Be nice ta spruce the place up a pinch. Maybe put that green eco ta work ‘n’ see what all they can grow,” added Honey.

“A larger village would certainly have its appeal, but I would like for something more… personal,” Luna said. “We were speaking earlier about how logical it would be for a green sage to be fertile…” she trailed off.

“Yes! Yes! Kiera’s mom and siblings!” Surprise chirped. “I bet they’re all super cute!”

“I can just imagine,” Moonlight said whimsically, staring off at nothing in particular. “If nothing else, it might be interesting to set up this more expansive world early, so we can add even more the next time we play.”

“That could definitely be fun,” Thomas agreed. Already the image was beginning to form in his mind of what a larger Sandover might look like, followed by the thought that the others must be imagining their own versions of the modified village. And given how this world was tied to each of their expectations and desires… “It’s already done, isn’t it?” he asked matter-of-factly, facing Luna.

She nodded just as the gate came into view. “I believe so.”

“Then let’s get ta sight seein’!” proclaimed Honey as she led the charge.

**********

Hopping through the gate, the players found the top floor of Samos’ hut was much the same as they had left it. The equipment looked the same, the bookshelves looked untouched, and even that one plant with the mouth and teeth looked as placid as ever. The only difference immediate difference observed was that the floor seemed a bit tidier. All in all, it was quite disappointing.

“Kiera. Is that you?” called a matronly voice from down below.

For a moment, all froze, uncertain of who this was or how to react.

Then Luna took the lead. “Nay. She still works with Samos and the others on the Citadel.”

“That you Luna?” the woman called again, her tone giving no indication of alarm. Clearly she was up to date on recent events, at least to some extent. “You should know I just put little Torn and Turn down for a nap, so you don’t have to worry about anyone pulling your tail. Everyone else is out in the village.”

“Well that’s something,” Thomas commented quietly.

Luna, meanwhile, was protectively curling her tail around her waist.

Exiting the top of the hut, the players all assembled at the railing and took in the sight of the much improved Sandover. The sea of maroon shingled rooves stretched out over a much more vast area than before. The cliff side that the village had been built upon had been widened considerably, and now had a line of pulleys trailing up the side of the furthest cliff to even more buildings at the top.

Thomas especially was in awe, estimating this new village to have about thirty buildings, and that was just from what he could see, although it was still probably smaller than Rock Village. Looking down, he spied a much sturdier looking bridge connecting the outcropping of Samos’ hut to the rest of the village. At the rough center of the village was the large windmill taking in the blue eco beam, but surrounding it were numerous powerlines running from house to house. This feature combined with the many smoke stacks put Thomas in mind of a quasi steampunk setting where technological advancement was virtually all over the place. A few other buildings towered over the others, but they did not reveal their purposes so easily. Alas, the curve of the landscape made it a bit harder to see beyond the immediate area.

Honey leaned forward over the railing. “This is a might taller than Ah remember. Looks like evererythin’s gotten an upgrade.”

“I’m going to say hi to the baby,” declared Surprise as she walked around the side of the hut to the stairs leading down. The others followed at a more leisurely pace. With the game’s adventure over, there was really nothing more to do except explore and relax.

“We should pay our respects to the dame of the house,” Silver informed. “I’m curious to hear what she has to say about our recent exploits.”

“Bet-chya she’ll be askin’ if’n we plan on finally gettin’ serious with Kiera,” Honey commented idly.

As Moonlight followed along, she was unable to look away from the expanded settlement for longer than a few seconds. “I’m anxious to see what else the village has to offer now. Maybe they have some bonus quests.”

“Oh, Ah hope so,” Honey said, perking up. “Bet-chya its somethin’ farm related.”

“I just kinda want to see everything,” Thomas said, feeling butterflies in his stomach. “It’s like playing the new game for the first time all over.”

The party went silent when they arrived at the next floor down. Rather than Kiera’s workshop, this floor looked more like an extension of Samos’ lab. There were more books, weirder plants, and even more wooden machines spitting out steam. There was also a second room in the back with a queen sized mattress, presumably belonging to Samos and his wife. Overall, it wasn’t all that special compared to some of the other things they’d seen. That was the reason the players didn’t spend much time looking around; and not because they were afraid of that one purple plant that kept beckoning them over with thorny vines while smiling with several rows of razor sharp teeth.

The next floor down was even larger than the last and looked like an open air living area, complete with leisure furniture and a few toys that hadn’t been picked up yet. Off in the back were children’s rooms, which the players took the time to explore. The one on the far left looked to be a fairly ordinary kid’s room, at least compared to what they’d seen so far. There were twin beds with the room divided between toy swords and training dummies on one side and a small chemistry set on the other. The middle room also had two beds. The kids who slept here were probably younger, on account of just how many toys there were scattered about. The left side was also littered with crumpled up pieces of paper, which turned out to be some very crude attempts at poetry. And lastly, the far right room held the nursery.

Being the first to enter, Thomas’ eyes immediately found the crib and his blood went cold. Hearing the first gasping inhales, Thomas’ spider sense kicked in and he immediately ducked to the side. He’d acted just in time as the others stampeded past him towards the crib, surrounding it. Upon their arrival, the female players immediately began quietly cooing over twins within. Once he felt it was safe enough, Thomas followed after for a look of his own. The twins were both asleep, dressed respectively in pink and blue. The boy’s green hair looked to be messy and fuller while the girl seemed to be struggling to grow her slightly darker hair out. Once the women had their fill of gushing over the babies, they headed down to the next floor.

Along the way they spotted odd folds of fabric attached to the edges of theopen walls. Upon closer inspection, they resembled Silver’s wings with a series of large sticks connected to gears on the sides of the hut, and a membrane of fabric folded up between the sticks. Upon spying a switch, Surprise turned it and the mechanism activated. The folds of fabric were stretched tight as the sticks extended along railings in the ceiling and floor. In just a few seconds they’d completely spread across the formerly open wall and darkened the room.

“It’s some sort of retractable wall,” Moonlight analyzed. “The weather around here must normally be quite pleasant, so they decided to let it in most of the time. When it isn’t, they just need to activate the wall to protect themselves from the elements.”

“Ah’ll bet Kiera made this thing.”

“It also says something about just how safe things were before Gol and Maia,” Silver added while pressing her hand experimentally against the fabric. “The material is strong, but a good knife would cut through it quite easily. Clearly this was not built with defense in mind.”

The party lingered a moment to play with the switch and watching the fabric wall fold and unfold before eventually resuming their trip down.

“It’s about time you kids got back. I was beginning to worry I’d have to put most of this away for leftovers.” The large room was divided between equal parts of open air dining room and kitchen. In the latter stood a tall woman with chocolate brown hair, a soft tan, and a curvy, matronly figure. She wore a light blue dress and apron as she worked away at the stove, humming a quiet tune to herself. Her name, as everyone was telepathically informed, was Kara.

“Good to be back, Lady Kara,” Luna said, breaking the silence.

“Lady?” Kara asked with a soft laugh. “I’m no one’s ‘lady’. Just a proud mother and wife trying to do her part to keep the chaos at bay.” She turned around, drying off her hands with a towel, and smiled kindly at the players. “Well you lot look like you’ve been dragged through hell and a handbasket.”

“Technically it was a swamp,” Moonlight corrected, “but we bathed after that.”

“So I hear,” Kara replied, narrowing her eyes on the others. “Kiera doing alright?”

“She’s in her element,” Thomas answered. “Got machines to take apart for days to come.”

“Good. And my stud of a husband?”

Stud? Thomas thought incredulously. Must be true love.

“Like you, he’s smacking heads around until the juveniles learn to play nice,” Luna informed from Moonlight’s shoulder.

Kara laughed and set the towel down on the counter. “He finally getting through to those old codgers, I take it?”

“End of the world has a way of bringing folks together,” Thomas said.

“Wait! Something’s wrong here!” Surprise declared, much to the shock of the others. They all braced themselves, ready for combat as they waited for her to elaborate. Kara, meanwhile, just watched with a patient smile, like she’d dealt with this before. Then Surprise smacked her forehead. “Duh. We haven’t hugged yet.” With her intentions made, the white woman charged forward into Kara’s open arms. The two embraced strongly and made playful, friendly growls at one another.

“I was wondering when you’d remember,” Kara said playfully.

When Surprise had gotten her fill of huggles, the others took their turns. Honey engaged in the same bear hug as Surprise, Silver and Luna offered more cordial bows and handshakes, and Thomas and Moonlight partook of softer hugs.

“It’s good to see you all doing so well,” Kara appraised. “You should all head down to the village. I can think of a few certain youngsters who’ve been just itching to hear what you’ve been up to.”

“How are the young’n’s doin’? Honey asked.

Good thinking, Thomas thought and smiled up at her. Great excuse for exposition.

“Well,” Kara began, looking off at the village. “Kale’s probably been the most anxious to see you. He’s all but taken over the defenders, running drills and putting them to their paces in case of another attack. Kacey’s been off overseeing the eco collectors to make sure everything’s running smoothly. Kale’s tried to stop her, saying it’s still not safe out there, but you know Kacey,” she said with a laugh. While the party didn’t know Kacey, they were starting to get an idea. “Kaat and Kai have been running around, making mischief, and overall trying to give their big brother an aneurism.” She laughed again. “You can probably find them playing off playing on the beach.”

“Thank you, Kara. I believe we shall do just that,” Luna said with another cordial bow.

“Oh, and if it’s not too much trouble, could you bring the twins back here?” Kara asked as the party began to depart. “It’s almost supper and I’d like as much of the family to attend as possible.”

“No worries, Ms. We’ll have ‘em back before ya know it,” promised Honey, and the party was off.

Walking past a similar unfolding wall as upstairs, the party stopped to examine one last building that was on their little outcropping. Although the hut was similar in aesthetic to the rest of the village, the primary materials were metal instead of wood and clay. Inside there was a half-constructed zoomer with numerous parts littering the floor. The walls were lined with various tools, sketches for machine designs, and plenty of wires and tubing connecting to machines similar to those of the blue sage’s lab. A ladder led up to a small loft up top with a single mattress and more sketches strewn about, no doubt the result of late night inspiration. It went without saying who lived here.

Onwards to the village proper, the players did as had become the norm and assumed themselves invited as they entered people’s homes. Unsurprisingly, they were warmly welcomed each time. The first few houses were of similar designs to the originals, but the people within were all new and followed a similar family structure that they’d observed so far: one husband, between one and three wives, and a few children. None had anything especially interesting to say and mostly just recommended the party get on with meeting the Sage’s children. Once they’d gotten their fill of this new norm, the players proceeded to a building that actually looked important.

The structure ahead was the largest building in the main village, second only to the windmill tower. It was rather fierce looking with metal spikes sticking out along the rims of the doors and windows. The walls were also covered in heavy metal and there were even two guards standing at the door; defenders, presumably.

“Oh, it’s you!” exclaimed one of the guards. He was a scrawny looking fellow with light armor and holding a spear straight at attention. “Glad you’re back.”

“Does this mean the threat’s over?” asked the second guard, a young woman. She only wore a few plates of armor here and there, but that was probably because the armor the man was wearing looked like it’d slide right off her lithe frame.

This question puzzled the players. “Kara seemed to already know,” Moonlight noted suspiciously.

“Oh thank the Precursors,” gasped the first guard. “Maybe you can tell Kale to, you know, calm down a bit? He’s kinda been a little tyrant ever since you guys left.”

“So we’ve heard,” acknowledged Silver. “Might we speak to him?”

“By all means,” the second guard affirmed as she and the first gestured for the players to go inside.

It was a fairly standard guard house, all things considered. There were racks filled with weapons and shields, cots tightly packed in the back, and a large map table at the center of the room. Looming over that table was a young man, probably no older than 16, with short green hair and a lean build. He was also dressed in light armor, but carried a short sword sheathed on his hip.

“And we need to redirect our forces from the beach to the jungle,” the young man said. He was giving orders to much larger armored men, the youngest of whom looked to be at least twice his age. “The bombs have all been safely disabled, but there are still reports of dark eco mutants in the jungle. We need to find whatever crates are still there and haul them off for storage until we figure out how to dispose of them.”

“What about Misty Island,” one of the older men suggested. “That’s what we used to do.”

“Can’t,” the young commander said with a sigh. “Father said we’re trying to make peace with the lurkers. Dumping a bunch of dark eco on their heads might provoke an attack, which we really aren’t able to handle right now.”

“Because you’ve got us spread too thin,” a second older man said curtly. “We’re Sandover’s defenders. That means our place is in Sandover!”

“We’ve been over this,” the young man said in exasperation. “Staying only in one place was careless. It afforded the enemy the opportunity to set up footholds in the nearby regions. That’s why we were unprepared for the first attack.”

“He’s good,” Moonlight whispered.

The young man’s ear twitched and he turned to see the newcomers. “You guys!” he gasped elatedly and ran up to the players. He stopped a few steps short and offered a salute, which they returned, as his beaming gaze darted between each of them. “It’s great to see you back.”

“Good to be back, Kale,” Surprise inferred. “How’ve things been?”

Kale sighed. “It’s been a chore getting these old farts off their asses to finally do something.”

“Watch it, boy,” one of the elderly men warned. “You’d best speak kindly to your elders, or-”

“-you’ll what?” Kale snapped back, making the elder man flinch. “If it wasn’t for me and my family, Sandover would have already fallen. If it weren’t for these six,” he gestured at the players, “braving the wilds to fight the enemy on their own turf, everyone everywhere would be drowning in dark eco while you guys wanted to just stay in the village and hope everything worked out. Now shut your ass up before I come over there and knock you one-for again.” He shook his fist threateningly and the elderly man flinched back.

“You should not be so harsh on them,” Luna counseled. “It is not their fault they are soldiers of peace. Grappling with the demands of actual combat is simply beyond them. They are still your elders and hold much repute with the village, after all. You would be better served persuading them with reason rather than bludgeoning with force.”

Kale nodded his understanding. “Yeah. I’ll try to keep that in mind.” He smiled up at Luna. “Thanks. You always know just what to say.”

Luna beamed atop Honey’s shoulder. “So I have been told.”

“Was there anything you guys needed?” Surprise asked. “Demolitions, sweeping for enemies, cakes? Please say cakes.”

“You should talk to the quarter master for that,” Kale said, gesturing with his head over at a man with an impressively long beard in the corner. “He’ll let you know if we have any missions we can spare. Meanwhile, I have to stay here and make sure our other troops stay on task.” With a nod farewell, he turned around and marched back to the table.

The players, wanting to lend a helping hand, did as Kale suggested and talked to the quarter master. He was a grizzled old fellow, covered in scars and weighed down by far too many packs. He offered out a varied selection of missions for them to carry out; including missing armor pieces, safe disposal of the dark eco, investigating sightings of lurkers that weren’t wearing capes, and a request to bring back any Precursor items that looked like they might be valuable.

Leaving the guardhouse, Silver took the lead and headed straight for the mayor’s windmill as the next logical place to pick up quests. The door was open, so they let themselves in.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” bemoaned the mayor from behind his desk. The dimensions of the first floor had a similar layout as before, but the furniture was more in line with a typical office with waiting couches and a desk. Presumably the spiral stairwell going up led to his living area. As the mayor muttered and scribbled away at his stack of paperwork, a young man darted about the room organizing files and retrieving books at the mayor’s request.

“And old man Mc’Gucket says his yakows escaped again,” the assistant reminded.

“What!?” exclaimed the mayor. “I thought Samos’ kids fixed that before they left.”

“I thought so too,” the assistant confirmed. “They must have escaped again.”

“Has that idiot never thought about locking up the damn animals at night?”

“Oh.” The assistant paused and shuffled through his pockets and pulled out a small slip of paper. “He’s also saying he needs a new lock for his gate.”

“How the hell is that my problem?” asked the mayor, throwing up his hands in exasperation and sending a few papers flying. “If you want a lock, just go to the blacksmith and get one yourself. Hell, just tie up the damn gate with rope. Doesn’t he know we have bigger problems right now?”

“Evidently not, sir,” the assistant answered the rhetorical question.

“If it’s not one thing it’s another,” grumbled the mayor as he went back to reviewing papers. “Everyone wants a wall to protect against another invasion, but no one’s willing to volunteer their time to put the damn thing up. Do they expect me to build it myself?”

“Everyone’s just busy dealing with their own problems after the attack, sir,” reminded the assistant. “Besides repairs, lots of stuff went missing. We might have a thief in our midst.”

“Splendid,” growled the mayor. “In addition to all the enemies without, now we’ve got an enemy within to deal with.”

“We could help,” spoke Silver. Her words startled both the mayor and his assistant. Apparently neither of them had noticed their entry.

The mayor placed his hand over his heart while hyperventilating. “You… what?” he asked breathlessly.

“We could help,” Silver repeated. “We just got back from saving the world,” she said with a proud smirk. “It would be nice to relax with some more mundane problems.”

“Really?” The mayor beamed and wiped a handkerchief over his brow. “Well, that really would be splendid.” He exhaled and straightened up. “Listen, kids. I don’t really have anything to give you right now. All our power cells are in use at the moment. But if you could go around and do a few favors around Sandover, you’d free up a lot of time to start building this wall everyone’s wanting. And if you can catch this thief, well, I’d be in your debt for life.”

“Easy peezy,” declared Surprise with a salute. “No worries, Mr. Mayor. We’ll do all we can to help.”

“Darn tootin’,” echoed Honey. “It’s what we do.”

“Thanks kids,” said the mayor as he relaxed back into his chair. “Knowing you guys are on the job really takes the edge off, ya know.”

The party split up in teams of two to cover more ground. Thomas and Honey decided to head for Sentinel Beach to start things out. They followed a well-traveled dirt road that hugged the cliff side. The landscape of the extensive beach, grassland atop red stone cliffs, and sparse housing had changed little from the last time they were here.

The sand pits where the lurker serpents had been hiding were still present, but they were all empty. All of the old lurker-based enemies were absent, although the crabs were still scuttling about. They must have been native wildlife and not part of the invading army. The first new opponents were these brown dinosaur-looking things with large sails on their backs. They were about the size of lurkers and followed the same behavior pattern of patrolling around a small plot of land, minding their own business, and then attacking anything that got too close. However, these enemies were found exclusively on the beach.

Heading up the cliff, the players saw why there were so few enemies up on the cliffs when they found a defender backed up by a modified scout fly fending off a red beetle the size of a Doberman. Naturally, they helped by smashing the beetle to bits.

“Thanks guys,” offered the defender. A nearby dog voiced his approval as well. The fly retracted its weapons and buzzed impassively. “Those cliff crawlers things just don’t know when to quit.”

“Much obliged,” Honey returned. “Ya’ll heard anythin’ ‘bout Kacey?” She looked up along the beach where the eco collectors were supposed to be.

“Only that she refuses to budge,” the defender replied with a sigh. “Says that lurker activity disrupted the local wildlife, which is why there are so many more beasts than usual. We’re trying to push them back, but she doesn’t want to take the chance of any of them messing with her equipment.”

“Sounds like she takes after her big sister,” Thomas observed. He turned to Honey. “Although, I’m guessing it’s more than just eco collection.”

“No idea,” the defender replied and pointed up the beach. “The rest of us are holding defensive positions around the collectors. You’d be doing us a big favor if you cleared out some of the dens along the way.”

The pair nodded and set about the task. They moved from den to den, punching every beast they encountered until it either died or ran off. Some of the dens even had some of the missing armor pieces and a few bits of glowing, gravity defying Precursor tech. They collected everything of value.

“Ah like this,” Honey commented after they’d cleared out the last den. “It’s peaceful now, but it really gives ya the impression of how dangerous this place’d be if’n we’d made the changes from the start.”

“Agreed,” replied Thomas contentedly as he examined an artifact. It was a triangle with a hole cut in the middle and several spheres orbiting around the outside and through the opening. “Sounds like pretty standard power cell quests.” He hummed thoughtfully to himself.

“Somethin’ on yer mind?”

Thomas cracked a half grin. “Just thinking how cool these mods are. On Earth, that’s kind of become a major attraction for a lot of games. The companies put the code out for everyone to play with, new content is made for free, and players keep interested in the game a lot longer than they would have otherwise.”

Honey smiled softly as she regarded Thomas. She liked when he became impassioned about things. “Ah can’t say Ah’ve ever cared ‘bout video games ‘efore, but Ah like the idea o’ lettin’ folks make up their own stuff ta play how they like.”

“Not everyone is a great artist. Fewer are ever able to make a living off their work. However, fan content is kind of a saving grace for folks who want to make something, anything, and have it experienced and appreciated, even if only by a few.”

Honey walked up beside the man and patted his shoulder. They shared a look, not saying a word as they pressed close together. It was just a quiet moment of understanding as the two appreciated one another’s company while the ocean provided a calming ambience. Eventually the sound of distant yelling brought them back to reality and they continued their quest.

The pair moseyed on past the remaining defenders to where the eco collectors had been set up. Rather than simple balloons tied to the ground, the new mechanism involved funnels situated above each vent. The funnels guided the eco into pipes of leather and fabric, leading up to a central mechanism similar to that which the lurkers had been using to steal the blue eco from the Jungle Temple. This mechanism, rather than hoarding the eco, had several dispensers along one side to release the eco into large fabric containers. A large pipeline extended out from behind the machine and climbed up the side of the cliff to parts unknown.

“Kacey,” Thomas addressed the young woman at the machine’s controls.

“One second,” she growled distractedly as the machine gave a high pitched wheezing sound. Her attention was fixed squarely on the device’s various gauges while she fiddled with the controls. With a grunt of frustration, she lifted a large wrench from the ground and smacked the machine like it owed her money. The sound changed to a much steadier low churning. The sighs of relief from both Kacey and the nearby defenders said that this was the desired outcome.

“Hey guys,” Kacey greeted, finally turning around. Atop her corn row braided head were cartoonishly large and elaborate goggles. The goggles were set up with many alternate lenses off to the side, resembling the devices optometrists used to measure a patient’s eyesight to determine the best kind of glasses they needed. The result, in addition to obscuring most of her face, made her look especially dorky. She was dressed practically with red jean shorts and a red top that showed off her midriff. “I’m hoping your return means that things’ll start calming down around here.”

“You bet’ch’ya,” affirmed Honey with a fist pump. “What ch’ya’ll workin’ on here?” she asked, leaning to one side for a better view.

Kacey beamed proudly. “This,” she smacked her wrench to the metal, “is my modified eco collector. Now we no longer have to waste time and eco pulling the old balloons down and putting them back up. Everything goes straight to the machine’s central storage hub. We use these babies,” she pointed at a pile of cloth balls, “instead of lugging wooden crates around all over the place. Green eco is the least volatile of the bunch, so there’s no need for anyone to break their backs with heavy lifting. Much more efficient.” She adjusted her goggles with a self-satisfied grin before pointing back behind the machine. “And if ever the storage compartment gets too full, we release the surplus through the relief valve.”

“And where’s that go?” Honey asked, entranced by the machine.

Kacey chuckled. “You wouldn’t know it, but Sandover used to be like an oasis in the middle of nowhere before daddy came along. Nothing but barren rock for miles. The eco vents had been blocked off, you see. Daddy was the first to unblock them and really get life started in these parts, but there’s still work to be done.” Kacey turned her gaze up the cliff. “There’s this spot up there that daddy thinks would make a lovely little spring, but he’s getting too old to haul the eco up himself anymore. That’s why I set up the pipe to feed the surplus straight into the budding spring. Give nature a good old performance enhancer to help get the job done.”

Honey beamed her elation and whispered to Thomas. “It’s like concentrated earth pony magic taken right from the tap. Ah’ll bet the folks back home’d flip their lids if’n they saw a doohickey like this.”

Thomas smiled back, also glad to see Honey excited about something. However, the moment was short-lived when he heard Kacey clear her throat. She’d missed mention of Honey’s home –vague as it was – and was waiting for them to reply to her explanation.

“Sounds like ya’ll ‘re doin’ a bang up job jump startin’ the land,” Honey praised. She walked up to the younger sage daughter and gave her back a hardy slap.

“Hehe. Yes,” Kacey said, rubbing her now sore back. “Well, ahem. Since we can safely infer that the immediate danger is passed, can I also infer that Kale sent you here to bring me back home?”

“Well, Kara asked first,” Thomas corrected. “She wants everyone back home for dinner.” He took a step back to better examine the machine. “Sounds like you’ve got everything working out here. Don’t suppose there’s anything that might keep you here and potentially make your mom angry?”

Kacey whickered. “Not really. I mean, I guess there’s a bit more calibrating to do, but I should have that done by supper time.”

“Oh thank the Precursors,” gasped one of the defenders. “Does this mean we’ll finally get to go home, too? Kale won’t let us leave without you.”

“Ugh. Yes,” Kacey said, sounding like she was rolling her eyes behind her elaborate headwear. “We can start heading back around 4. You guys help me carry the eco and we can all make it in one trip.”

The defenders eagerly agreed. Some of the especially anxious ones began loading up the eco containers onto a wagon and hauling it back to the village. Kacey ignored them as she returned her focus back to her work, having nothing further to say.

This freed Thomas and Honey to explore the beach at a more leisurely pace. They kicked sand, chased seagulls, entered some of the homes along the cliffs, and observed an incoming flutflut; a beast of a bird the size of a small house. The pair picked up whatever Precursor items that caught their attention, but it quickly became clear that Sentinel Beach had little else to offer in the realm of quests.

“Hard ta believe this is all happenin’ in jus’ one night,” Honey offered, just wanting to break the silence.

“Agreed. Then again, time flies when you’re having fun.”

“‘N’ it’s been a hoot ‘n’ a half,” she agreed. She walked a bit closer and threw an arm around his shoulder, pulling him in until his face was half hidden by her breast. “Can’t wait ta see what else ya’ll have in store.”

***

Moonlight ventured on to the Forbidden Jungle with Luna perched on her shoulder. Along the way they passed old man Mc’Gucket’s farm. He was sleeping, again, and they quickly herded the yakows back into their pin before he even knew what happened, tying the gate up just for good measure. They also passed a guard post with three defenders cooped up inside.

“I sincerely hope you’re not the only ones standing between the village and a horde of eco mutants,” Luna commented contemptuously, making the defenders flinch back.

“No. I mean… kinda?” one replied uncertainly. “There’s three other guys who went out scouting, but they haven’t been back in a while. Those are some of our toughest warriors and Sandover can’t afford to lose them. But…”

“If they’ve been caught or worse,” another defender picked up, “then what good are we?”

“Civilian conscripts?” whispered Moonlight.

Luna nodded. “Likely their true role is to run back to the village and warn if any danger comes.”

“Don’t worry, fellas,” assured Moonlight. “We’ll go out and find your warriors. Who knows. Maybe we’ll even crush a few mutants before they can cause any trouble.”

“You guys serious?” the third defender asked. “I mean, I know it’s you guys, but…”

“No buts,” Luna proclaimed. “Except for those that need a good kicking.”

“Nice,” Moonlight whispered.

“Naturally,” Luna beamed.

Continuing on, the ladies were once more assaulted by a foe far more cruel and unrelenting than any lurker or dark eco mutant. The noon sun beat down upon them like a hammer. Heavy humidity trapped by the canopy made the jungle feel like a sauna. Neither woman said a word as they stripped down, leaving only gloves and foot guards for the inevitable punching and kicking.

Sure enough, the jungle was exactly as dangerous as they’d predicted, bringing a smile to both women’s faces. The dark eco mutants came in a variety of shapes, each more hideous than the last. The giant frogs with electric tongues were fairly slow witted, taking a full second after each hop before processing their environment and making their next move. Less simple were the lizards the size of cats. They were small, but they were obscenely quick as they darted between the trees and fired dark eco bolts whenever their targets stood still for too long. Thankfully, Luna was more than able to keep pace with them as she matched their hops into the canopy. This left Moonlight alone to fight what used to be a lurker. The creature was twice as large as its kin, green as sick, and wore a comically large spiked glove on its right fist. Fortunately, the mutant’s exclusive reliance on its right had left so many openings that Moonlight almost felt bad exploiting them as she closed in for a fatal uppercut.

The pair continued their venture through the jungle and it quickly became clear as to just how vast this level had grown in their absence. The paths were less blatant and the foliage much thicker. More than once the pair had gotten lost and Luna had to climb up to the canopy and use the reflector mirrors to navigate their way. The first two defenders were easy enough to find; out in the open and under attack by mutants. With the mutants vanquished, the defenders – after they’d finished gawking – doubled back to the guard post and the real adventurers went on their way. Every now and then the pair would find some knickknack or other that wasn’t a Precursor artifact, but still looked important enough to hold onto for later.

Apart from tactical communication in the heat of combat, few words were shared between the ottsel and former mare. They’d both volunteered for the jungle mission because both were in the mood for one last fight before the game ended. And as humid and horrible as the jungle was, the scenery and smells more than made up for it. Something about being this far out into nature was tapping into something primal in the both of them, compelling them to run, jump, and just be free; which they did. Moonlight likened it to the two tapping into their inner foal and finding more than enough entertainment in a simple game of run.

“Oh thank heavens. You’re here!” called the last defender, bringing both players to a skidding halt. She was a rather buff woman, probably in her late thirties, most of her armor had been scattered about, and she seemed to have gotten herself entangled in a bit of bondage. “These vines are too tight. I can’t get loose. Do you think you could…” Her words trailed off as her eyes trailed down Moonlight’s naked body.

The orange woman smiled as she posed for her audience. Even if she had a quest to fulfill, it still felt nice to be appreciated. “Alright. Keep your panties on.” Moonlight snickered at the phrase that leapt from her lips and quietly chided herself as a “hypocrite.”

“Uh… too late,” the defender replied, averting her gaze in embarrassment.

Moonlight just giggled at the woman’s plight.

“Hold fast,” Luna called from a branch just overhead. “I will try and untangle these vines from here.”

Moonlight’s eyes narrowed as her lips twisted into a sadistic grin. It was subtle, but she managed to catch a rather mischievous undertone in Luna’s words. She then took a closer look at the defender and exactly how the vines had entrapped her. Somehow, they had coiled themselves around her body in just the right way to accentuate her feminine features, making it hard to believe this had been accidental. Moonlight then licked her lips in anticipation of the fun she and Luna were about to enjoy.

***

Surprise and Silver, as the self-appointed most social among their little group, had stayed back in Sandover to deal with the more domestic ordeals. They started by visiting every single house in the village. Surprise would talk to the residents to see if they had anything of value to say, or just make conversation, and Silver would take inventory of all their things. Most of the missing possessions were found in bushes or hanging precariously over the edge of a cliff. They had simply been lost or otherwise misplaced. However, others had been under rocks or in crates. Some were even found in the homes of the owner’s neighbors.

“Hmm, suspicious,” Surprise hissed as she stroked her chin with a finger.

Silver imagined herself in a crime noire, dimming the light of the sun to make the scene look extra grim and foreboding. For herself she imagined one of those classic brown overcoats the detectives often wore, and she even threw in a bit of rain for good measure. With the setting established, she decided it was time to speak. “Agreed. If I had to guess, it looks like someone is trying to set up these people for crimes they didn’t commit. To what end, I wonder.”

“That depends on how long these thefts have been going on,” Surprise offered.

“How so?”

“Well, if it started before we left to save the day, that probably means a spy or some other nefarious bad guy in need of a good whoopin’. Buuut, if it happened after, that could be something else, right?”

Silver, after giving the matter a bit of thought, nodded. “Good instincts.”

Surprise beamed in pride from the compliment.

Although Silver had taken note of several flaws in Surprise’s theory, she let them all pass because of the simple fact that this was a game. It made the most sense for problems to happen while the player was in proximity to solve them. Then again, she had observed a small backtracking compulsion with things like activating the eco vents. Still, she got the impression that this was not meant to be a core gameplay mechanic and so decided to go with her gut feeling. Besides, now that Surprise had said it out loud, it was likely already true.

“So we should form a profile of persons most likely to cause trouble,” Silver concluded.

“Right.” Surprise’s nod caused her poofy curls to bounce. She then pulled up a notepad and pencil. “Okay, so who do we know?”

The two quickly dismissed the few named characters from the original Sandover. None of those old codgers had the temperament or the ability to pull off something this elaborate. The muse seemed more likely than the sculptor try anything. The mayor could have used agents to act on his behalf. On the other hand, he seemed too cowardly for such a risky plan, not to mention he lacked any logical motive.

“So that just leaves the new characters,” reasoned Surprise. “So, who have we seen that sticks out as the sort who might want to steal stuff and mess with people?”

“Better question,” Silver countered with a snap of her fingers. “Who have we not seen?” she turned a self-assured grin up at Surprise, ready for her friend to reach the same conclusion so that they might share a ‘eureka’ moment.

“Uh…” Surprise trailed off as she eyed the list. “I’m not sure we have enough paper for that.”

Silver’s expression fell as her face met her palm. I really should have seen that coming.

“Hey! Why don’t we ask those two over there?”

Silver lifted her face up to behold a pair of green-haired children. The boy and girl were fraternal twins, each dressed in simple clothes, but both carrying sacks of supplies that clanked and jingled as they walked. The snickering younglings came to a halt, frozen like deer in headlights as they locked eyes with the women.

“Hey Kaat,” chirped Surprise. “Hey Kai. You guys wanna help us find the ones who-hey! Where you going?” she called after the now fleeing twins.

“In hindsight, I should have seen this coming as well,” deadpanned Silver.

“Wat?”

“After them,” ordered the smaller woman. She and her larger compatriot quickly fell into pursuit of their quarry.

The twins were actually quite good. They quickly shimmied their way up some vines onto a roof, where they proceeded to demonstrate their masterful parkour as they jumped from roof top to roof top. The women, however, were better, and quickly closed in. Kai tried distracting their pursuers by throwing his sack of loot behind him. It worked in forcing Silver to slow down to catch the bag before its contents could be damaged in the fall, but Surprise was not so easily distracted… for once.

The twins tried to take a detour by sliding through a second story window. This caused them to pause when the saw the strange getup the (presumably) married trio were wearing. Surprise, upon arriving hot on their heels, was also stopped in her tracks at the sight of costumes resembling Gol, Maia, and a Maia with inverted colors. The second Maia had been strapped down to a table while Gol stood dumbstruck with a flogger in hand.

“Go home, children,” the man dressed as regular Maia requested politely. He was leaning at the second Maia’s feet with a feather held threateningly in hand, struggling to keep himself stoic and in control.

Kaat and Kai were the first to come to their senses and jump out the opposite window. Surprise eventually snapped to as well, waved a polite goodbye to the trio engaging in ‘healthy’ marital experimentation, and followed after.

“Just dump the loot,” Kai said to his sister. They’d left the village, scaling down the craggy cliffs to the beaches below. “You’re slowing us down.”

“Nuh uh! I’ve got the valuable stuff,” Kaat argued. “If they catch us with this, then we’ll really be in trouble.”

“How is that not trouble enough?” Kai gestured to the white steamroller barreling at them at a speed of roughly 88 mph.

“Okay fine!” Kaat relented and readied to toss her bag to the side. However, before she could manage, a silvery blur darted from the shadows of the rocks and tackled her to the sandy ground.

“Sis!” Kai’s moment of distraction was short lived, for the steamroller continued on her track until she collided with him. The steamroller’s subsequent confusion caused her to lose track of her footing, leading to the two rolling on the ground as momentum carried them a short ways along the beach, leaving quite the skid.

“Kai!” Kaat shouted, even as Silver pinned her to the ground like she was making an arrest. “You alright?”

“Ugh. Yeah,” Kai groaned. “Good thing I landed on something-” *Pomf* “-soft?” He felt around his immediate vicinity and found his torso almost completely engulfed in feminine softness. While he was still a few years off from being able to fully appreciate such a predicament, his cheeks did tint pink. “Uhhh…”

“Gotch’ya!” cheered Surprise, throwing her arms around the boy and pulling him deeper into her pillowy prison. “Whoa boy! You guys gave us a workout,” she said as she pulled herself up.

“Agreed,” Silver panted, not being as gentle with her captive. “So you’re the ones who have been stealing.”

“Nuh uh!” Kaat countered eloquently. “It wasn’t us.”

Silver reached for bag she’d brought and pulled it open, revealing quite the collection of miscellaneous items. “So where did this come from?” Her tone dared the children to argue their case.

“We, uh, found it!” Kai asserted. “Yeah. We’d, uh, found it and were bringing it back to the village.” He beamed, clearly pleased with his masterful deception.

“Uh huh,” Silver replied, sounding less than convinced. “So how did you know which bag had the valuables?”

“Well obviously we checked inside,” Kaat said as if it should have been obvious. “How else would we know that these were the stolen items that needed to be returned? See, we had been playing on the beach-”

“Like mom said we could!” Kai interjected.

“Right. We’d been playing on the beach when-”

“Why’d you run?” Surprise asked conversationally, her tone free of accusation.

“… wat?”

“Agreed,” added Silver. “If you were doing the responsible thing by returning what you had merely found, then why did you run?”

Kaat rolled her eyes. “Well obviously it was because we knew you’d jump to conclusions and assume we were guilty just because we happened to have the stuff.”

“Typical,” Kai scoffed. “Everyone always assumes we’re the bad guys. Missing pie? Blame us. Someone unsorted Kacey’s charts? Blame us. Kale is late for a meeting because he misplaced his armor? Blame us. Kiera’s underwear gets strung up from the flag pole? Blame us. It’s so unfair.”

Surprise and Silver shared a look, with the former struggling not to giggle.

“Wow. Those sound like some funny pranks,” offered Surprise before surrendering to the snickers. “You two must be super smart to pull all that off.”

“You bet we are!” Kaat beamed. A silence fell, save for the washing of the waves and a chirping cricket. “… wait.”

Given that Kai’s arms were presently confined, he was unable to facepalm. Instead, he settled for the next best thing and smacked his head into Surprise’s bosom.

“Seems you are not that smart, after all,” Silver gloated. “Pranks and youthful hijinx are one thing, but this was going too far.”

“No it wasn’t,” Kai argued. “Everyone’s been so busy worrying about the lurkers, we thought giving them something else to think about would help make things more normal.”

“That’s a nice thought, but that just added to their worries,” Surprise countered. “You got everyone fearing that there was a spy in the village. Worse, if people found their possessions in their neighbor’s homes, it could have led to something even more serious if they decided to take their anxieties out on each other.”

The twins blinked at this revelation. “We… did?” At the confirmation from their elders, the siblings hung their heads in shame.

“No!” Silver asserted, trying to avoid meeting Surprise’s puppy-dog eyes. “Definitely not.”

“Pleaaase!”

“They broke the rules. They should face the consequences.”

“But they didn’t mean any harm. They were just not being too smart about helping. It was a mistake.”

“It was a learning experience. And I believe they’ll learn this life lesson much better after a solid spanking.”

The twins flinched.

Surprise scoffed. “Well you would know.”

Silver scowled back.

“Oh come ooon. They didn’t mean any harm, and they’re clearly sorry.” Surprise gestured down to the pleading faces of the twins. At the very least, they’d learned enough to keep their mouths shut to avoid saying anything stupid.

After a long moment, Silver gave a defeated sigh and released Kaat. “You wanted us to play tag while we were investigating,” she instructed firmly. Both children listened attentively, their delinquent instincts recognizing instantly when a scheme was being shared. “We followed you to the beach, where you tripped over the missing items. They’d been left strewn about, possibly after being collected by an animal with a fondness for shiny things.” The twins beamed, loving this plan. “We,” Silver gestured at herself, “had some spare bags from previous quests, so we stayed behind to keep searching for clues and sent you back with the items. A simple and straightforward story,” she assessed before leaning close and lowering her voice to a threatening level. “Don’t forget.”

The twins nodded fervently. Once Kai had been released, the youngsters gathered up the items and quickly scaled the cliffs to the village above.

“Softy,” Surprise teased.

“Says you,” the smaller woman replied as she watched the children disappear up the cliff. She tensed when a soft pair of lips planted a warm, wet peck on her cheek.

Surprise giggled, crouching down to be at eye level with Silver. “I like soft things.”

Silver struggled to keep herself from smiling and averted her gaze. “I gave into peer pressure,” she huffed, folding her arms. “You guilted me, and I gave in.”

“Aww. Would it help if I hugged you until you felt better?” Surprise cooed, leaning ever closer into Silver’s personal space and opening her arms wide in anticipation.

“Chh,” the smaller woman scoffed. “I think you already know the answer to gah!” Silver gasped as she was pulled into a fierce embrace. The effect of Surprise’s warm breasts was almost instant, erasing the façade of Silver’s discontent. She relaxed into her lover’s embrace, reciprocating as best she could by wrapping her arms around Surprise’s.

Surprise nuzzled Silver’s cheek from behind, making a sound that was almost a purr. “Were you just putting on a show so I’d hug you?” she teased.

Silver chuckled and returned the nuzzling. “I dare you to prove it.”

Surprise merely giggled and contented herself with the close contact.

***

The players returned to the village at roughly the same time, meeting up at the guardhouse with their quests complete. Moonlight had gotten herself dressed and reported that the Forbidden Jungle was safe(r) and that all of the defenders in the area had been successfully recovered, barring one that had asked for a little time of to recuperate. All stared at the orange woman and her ottsel, knowing or at least suspecting the kinds of shenanigans they’d gotten up to. Thomas and Honey were far less interesting, given that they had done nothing to feel guilty about. Sentinel Beach had been cleared and, as they were giving their report, Kacey and her defenders were already making their way back to the village. Surprise did not look the least bit suspicious as her eyes constantly shifted back and forth. Silver had insisted on giving the report and everyone just pretended not to notice how certain parts made the taller woman snicker.

“Glad to see everything is in order,” Kale thanked. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we have anything to reward you for your efforts. I mean, you guys aren’t planning on going on any other adventures anytime soon, right?”

Thomas wobbled his hand uncertainly.

“Hypothetically, what would we have gotten if we’d completed these quests earlier?” Moonlight asked on behalf of the others.

Kale tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I suppose we could spare some armor; something light yet durable. Smithy had been bragging about this new design he’d come up with, but now he’s working full time on designing the wall.”

“That’s fair,” Moonlight accepted. She was just too impatient to wait for next time to learn what would happen. Then again, it was probable that next time would be influenced by their latest experiences and become something completely different.

Kale sighed and pulled away from the table. “Well then, I guess I’m all out of excuses. Tell mom I’ll be home for dinner in just a bit.”

“I know she will be happy to hear it,” Luna offered and the players departed.

They took the long way back to Samos’ hut, exploring the expanded village at a more casual pace. They described their latest adventures in fuller detail to one another, properly confessing their sins this time and earning uproarious laughter and subdued snickers in the process. There was some discussion on what further changes could be made to the game, along with arguments that expanding things too much would ruin the current aesthetic. Thomas laughed, enjoying lording his knowledge over the others. However, discussions slowly declined as the party chose to just enjoy the way the light of the setting sun cast shadows across the humble village. It was a peaceful ordeal.

In following game logic, dinner did not start until after they had arrived. Samos and Kiera had arrived as well, much to Kara’s delight as she set up everyone’s plates. Kiera’s younger siblings fought for the right to tell of their own little adventures, all while competing with Surprise for no other reason than she wished to prove she could talk the loudest. The players switched to more pedestrian conversation topics, discussing the logistics of this new wall and how things were going to work now that the villages had made the commitment to start working together.

Kiera caused quite a stir when she’d insisted on moving to sit in Thomas’ lap, which was only compounded when Kara decided to prove that her husband’s lap made for the better seat. Naturally, this set off a rather heated debate over who had the most comfortable lap. Kiera was utterly embarrassed, but those too young to know any better were inevitably swept up in the zeal of it all, playing musical chairs with those who’d volunteered as contenders. Thomas, for the sake of his own sanity, resigned his lap so that the naïve youngsters would keep their distance.

And so it went until dinner came to an end. The NPCs left for bed while the players simultaneously received a signal that the game was ready to end. All that was worth doing had been done, and there was no real reason to continue. The players were a little sad to see the game end, but could not really argue. Besides, there was always next time.

Been working on this little epilogue ever since the proper story ended, but I’m glad I finally made the time for it. I just wanted to further explore this modded world before the events of the second game happen and destroy it all. Fanfiction is fun and following games like this has really helped to get my creative juices flowing, so expect more of this sort in the future.

That’s all for now and thank you for reading.