“Boy, it's quiet without those 'Queens on...” Rabbit the GM remarked as he observed the goings-on of Harmonia. There were some outlaw attacks on trade caravans in the central parts of the map, and some piracy in the eastern seas, but nothing too spectacular.

  “No entertainment tonight, huh?” Athena sighed.

  “Well... there's Venomheart...” Forseti said, looking over at another screen.

  “Ohh, right, those guys have been going at it since their former leader quit...” Rabbit recalled. “And the other 'Queens' group is making a small wave of momentum too, now that I think about it.”

  “Eh? Oh, Desert Skies,” Athena recalled. “I'm glad Rayna got them back. That was a dirty trick those other two played... should we take another look at the way we implemented the guilds?”

  “Nah, not unless something more serious comes up.” Forseti shook his head. “It's not like they cheated the actual system; they just cheated expectations.”

  “That's exactly right!” Lumpstein nodded. “Not like that has-been... but anyway. If players set up their guilds a certain way without looking at the fine print, then they can't come crying to us if if gets taken from them, can they?” he snorted.

  “I guess not, but still...” Athena said sadly.

  “Bah. She got it back, didn't she?” the dwarf shrugged.

  “Hm! Where are you going? Trying again, huh?” Rabbit then said to his screen.

  “Oh-ho, something interesting?” Lumpstein asked as he turned to look.

  “Just that loose-screw assassin from Venomheart,” the other replied.

  “What's up?” Athena said as she joined them. “Isn't that the...?”

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  “Silvernight Queens' Bethelia estate.” Rabbit nodded to her. “Inching along, inching along... hm! Is that a can of--why, yes it is! A can full of little pests, to eat up their gardens, I take it? Oooh, Fyu Dongtian is sniffing the air... looks like you might get scented! Heh... I don't always do this... but!” he gleefully chuckled, inputting a command so that a small breeze blew from the assassin towards the dog-beast.

  “Favoritism, Rabbit?” Forseti bluntly asked him, taking a gentle hold of the other's ear.

  “I just added a light breeze; it's not like I opened a hole in the ground under him... though that would be fun to try on someone...” the other said.

  “Heh! Don't dock him for it! I wanna see this!” Lumpstein said as the dog-beast became more alert, and Forseti relented.

  “Just this once,” he agreed. “At least for tonight!”

  “Hee! He's onto him!” Rabbit said as the dog-beast arose from his spot, looking around. “Oop! And now Melasine is on the alert... ooh!! An unexpected bonus! The dragon came back!”

  “Hah!!” Lumpstein cackled. “Look at 'im run!”

  “What, just like that?” Forseti shook his head. “You're an assassin from a guild who literally has 'venom' in their name and you have neither that nor poison? Boy, that one's screwier than we thought,” he remarked.

  “Oh no, I bet he has it for sure, but that Melasine can heal the other two, and herself, if he uses it. As I alluded to, he's tried this before!” Rabbit explained. “And: there he goes, completely incinerated.”

  “Phew! That dragon doesn't hold back,” Athena remarked with awe.

  “Nope! Nyeh-heh-heh!” Lumpstein cackled as he returned to his own station.

  “Leave it to those girls to find pets and hirelings just as tough as they are,” Forseti grinned.

  “Right?” Rabbit said with a chuckle. “Hmm... it's about nine-thirty in the city, isn't it? At least one of them should be on by now...”

  “You'd think.” Athena agreed. “Must be something pretty spectacular going on in real life for them to not be here.”

  “Whatever Lana's doing, I'm sure she's making as big a splash there as she does here,” Forseti said.

  “Hear, hear!” Rabbit agreed.

  “So long as I don't have to go through complaints and forum-posts about it,” Lumpstein grunted, and the others laughed.