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Once Toasty had managed to get himself back up onto his feet, Nostromo followed him down the lengthy stairwell from his private quarters to the Copper Hall. Mary attempted to follow with her hefty chest of medical supplies, but a firm look from Nostromo gave her the hint to set it down and carry on without it. He’d send a runner for it later, it was really of little consequence. And so the three emerged into the Copper Hall, King followed by Vampire followed by Zombie.

Nostromo seated himself in his appointed chair, immediately to the left of Toasty. It was a fine seat for one such as himself, inlaid with onyx and ivory, and rubies wrought about the headrest to form a crimson halo about the vampire’s head. It was a strange thing, how much power Nostromo had begun to assume in the syndicate once they had emerged into this New World. He had never been among the most powerful, nor the most influential when the guild still exerted its influence over YGGDRASIL. Perhaps it was his strength in the face of these new challenges, combined with his already close relationship with the guildmaster that had elevated him to essentially the second in command among the remaining players. Toasty seemed to think that Nostromo was needed in such a position, at least. If one were to judge him having Nostromo’s seat moved next to his. Thinking back on the matter, Nostromo remembered objecting to being positioned at Toasty’s right side. He far preferred his position on the left; he was the left hand of their leader, Shammura was his right.

In any case, as Nostromo sat down, Wolfgang had already been waiting for him, stood dutifully behind his chair. Looking about, Nostromo saw that many of the NPCs behaved similarly, standing behind the seats of their absent masters, as though attending to their ghosts. It really had a pitiful appearance to it, sharply contrasted by how complete Nostromo and his underlings appeared in comparison. Even Mary, who usually didn’t attend these meetings, knelt dutifully by at Nostromo’s right. They seemed like a family, whole and complete, compared to the others that had lost their masters.

Toasty began the deliberations, and Nostromo could tell what a toll this change had been taking on him. To say nothing of Shammura, he seemed to be straining under the pressures of leadership. Nostromo had no doubts that Toasty could rise to the occasion, but the guildmaster may not have shared his sentiments. Managing a guild in a game was far different from managing a fortress full of living, thinking persons, he admitted, and Toasty had not changed as a person since the end of YGGDRASIL. He gained nothing in this New World.

Nostromo, however… he had gained everything. Perhaps it was because he had become undead, but Nostromo felt more confident now than he had ever been while he was a human being. He felt power coursing through his body, and he felt the willingness to use it. For the first time in his life he was [i]strong[/i], he was a wolf among sheep, and he loved every second of it.

In any case, Toasty was now calling attention to Nostromo. The vampire had sent out some of his Vampire Brides and other summons over the last few nights for reconnaissance on the local area, and the findings had been… underwhelming. Nostromo stood up, his long coat flourishing, as he took the floor. He held out his hand to Wolfgang, who delivered the papers to him with a bow, and then immediately resumed his half-subservient, half-threatening posture.

“[color=9e0b0f]Yes, the scouts returned this morning. The Ragnavault seems to have been relocated to a mountain range near the southern coast of this continent. The region immediately north of us is temperate woodland. Geopolitically, it seems to be in the early stages of feudalism. There are a several scattered villages, each apparently subservient to a nearby keep or city-state. Farmland is abundant, and there are several rivers sufficient for fishing and milling that run nearby. [/color]” Nostromo moved on to a second set of notes. “[color=9e0b0f]Regarding my own personal tasks, I plan on making more regular visits to the nearest of these city-states, Sur-Rain, and consult any centers of education or archives they may possess. This is to further our attempts to decipher their written language, which will be invaluable when we reach the point of forging contracts with the locals. Mary and I have made little headway so far, but as our spoken languages are identical, once we have greater resources on hand, progress should be swift.[/color]”

Nostromo bowed and took his seat, looking out over the other guildmates and NPCs. He was honestly starting to tire, though he could not tell if that was because of some strange effect of his vampire physiology during the daylight hours, or because he was working himself ragged. Being second in command meant fulfilling a large number of roles in the guild; especially considering that the other guildmates and their underlings were currently accomplishing very little. Nostromo had always been a generalist, never quite good enough at any one thing to achieve notoriety in the guild among such powerful specialists. However, in this New World, the roles were reversed and Nostromo’s numerous practical skills were far more advantageous than the extremely focused abilities of his “stronger” guildmates, most of which that had become useless.