Today is Day 11 of NaNoWriMo! I can't believe I've been at this for this long. It boggles my mind, because never have I written so much in so little time.
My total for day 10 of NaNoWriMo was 2,138 words! Very good day for me, even though it was hard to maintain. This brings me to 31.3k words out of my 50k goal. I think this book will be far larger than 50k, but my min requirment this month is 50k so as long as I accomplish that, I'm good.
I am starting to lose steam from the rate I've been going. I haven't had a lot of "me" time because of my job and it's starting to effect me. So, as a warning, the next few days I might have lower word counts than usual so I can have those "me" times. I really need them to be able to keep this up.
All passages were in order from yesterday's post, so here's what I wrote:
"It's because they're all dead…" The room grew still and I couldn't stop myself from speaking. "It happened late at night on the way to a tournament. The rain poured down relentlessly but they weren't willing to give up the chance at this tournament. Their mission was to prove that women had a place in the PvP community." My voice faltered. "Then, out of nowhere, and unmarked car appeared and ran them off the road. Out of the six people in the car, only one surprised…me."
"Rinneth…"
"If you were in the car, then you knew the team personally," Rial mused aloud.
"Rial," Vesser warned.
"Yes, I did," I said. I looked out the window in front of the sink, rain beginning to fall from the sky. "Saria was my mother…"
No one spoke, the only sound to be heard was the rain splattering on the window. Our messengers all went off at the same time.”
“Game is back up,” Vesser said. “We should get some battleground time in to get Rinneth some better gear.”
I turned away from the sink and smiled. “Sounds like a great plan.”
“I’ll finish these dishes for you,” Ramos offered.
I nodded my thanks and sat down next to Vamir who handed me a game helmet. After I strapped the device to my head, I closed my eyes and allowed the game to take me to a place where I could escape reality.
*******
I looked over the armor selection one more time in hopes to find something I could afford with my PvP battle points, but found nothing. With a sigh, I thanked the shopkeeper and left.
"What's got you down?" Erin asked me as we walked down the tight street.
"This gear issue," I said. "We're making great progress on getting me the next sets of gear I'll need, but it's taking so long. We need to win a ranked match within the next three days, or it could affect the team's standing, and it's all because of me."
"So, why not just do a ranked match even without the gear?" Erin suggested. "You're really good even without all the top gear. And even if you lose, the results can't be any worse than if you lost with good gear or missed the needed number of matches."
I clapped him on the back. "Erin, you're a genius! I'll catch you later, okay?"
He nodded. "Sure, and good luck with the match!"
I took off and connected with the guys. "Hey, I want to propose something. Meet me at Hellhound."
"Why not just talk over the chat?" Rial asked.
"Because we're in the same town and I want to talk to you guys face to face," I said.
"Sounds like a valid reason to me," Vesser said.
"We'll meet you there," Vamir agreed.
I continued down the street and then took a sharp right for shortcut purposes, but crashed into a player clad in full plate armor. The two of us fell to the ground, him on top of me.
"Vesser?" I questioned when I looked at him after the world stopped spinning.
"Oh, hey, Rinneth. Sorry about that." He got off me and helped me up.
"No, need. I shouldn't have taken such a quick turn."
Vesser groaned when Zaro licked him on the cheek. "That hurts…"
I giggled. "You get used to it. C'mon, we still nee to meet up with the others."
"You're not even going to tell me why you're assembling us?" he asked as he followed me down the street he had just come from. "I am right here."
I pushed him. "You have to wait."
He sighed with fake irrigation. When we arrived at the pub called Hellhound, the others were already there.
"So should we order a drink, or are you just going to tell us what's on your mind?" Rial asked.
"I think we should queue up for a ranked match," I blurted out.
They all stared at me in shock.
"Ye be crazy, lass," Thuldren said. "Ye don't have the gear."
"I know, but I've done well so far without the top gear, and we're running out of time to win a match." I shrugged. "I just don't see how it could hurt to try out a match."
Vamir nodded. "I agree."
Vesser shook his head. "Rinneth, this wouldn't have to do with what we talked about at the store, does it?"
"No," I replied. "I got this idea from Erin. We don't have much more time to get in a win for the team, and if we don't get our win in, it's be just as bad as us never winning. So, why not give it a try and see what happens? If we win, I get arena points and that'll help me get even better gear that what I can get with just PvP battle points."
Vesser sighed. "All right, I'm not going to say no to that logic."
Rial shrugged. "Why not?"
Thuldren chuckled. "Hope ye be ready, lass, ye about to go play in the sandbox with the lads."
I laughed as Vesser queued us up for a ranked match. It didn't take long for a match to be found and my gut tightened with nervousness and anticipation as we all accepted and were transported.
"You'll do great," Rashta encouraged.
"Thanks, I hope so."
I looked around the arena curiously when we finished phasing through. "Interesting. I didn't think it'd be a literal arena."
"There are other map types, lass," Thuldren explained. "We just so happened to get the o' arena map the first time."
I nodded with understanding and then paid attention to the team that phased in before us. The trash talking started immediately.
"Well, look what have here," a player running a risen knight class said. "A washed up team who had to stoop so low as to pick an unskilled PvP player." I studied the player and he grinned. "What's wrong, girlie, have I already scared you?"
"No, actually I was trying to figure out why your face is so familiar," I said. "And I just figured it out. You momma wouldn’t shut up about you before I sent her home on her walk of shame last night."
My team laughed while the other team had to hold back their player from hitting me before the match officially started.
"Well, looked at what the cat dragged in," a female voice said.
The opposing team parted and a red-haired woman clad in fur-lined leather armor and bludgeoning fist weapons walked closer. Her Earth Wolvrin, a wolf-like elemental creature with horns similar to my Calacour, stalked up next her. It growled at Zaro who hissed angrily back.
I smirked. "Aw, Liana, you sound bitter. You're still not upset about not getting that title are you?"
"You stole that title from me, bitch!" she seethed.
"Yep, she's still mad," Rial said.
I wagged my finger at her. "tsk, tsk, don't be like that, Liana. You know as well as I do, you're nothing more than a filthy casual can got kicked out of that group because you couldn't keep up with what the quest line demanded from you."
"Shut up, whore," she said. "That title, ability, and gear set belong to me."
I pressed my finger to my lips. "Hmm, last time I checked, I didn't suck any dick to get on my team, unlike you. So who's really the whore here?"
She pounded her fist weapons together. "I am so going to enjoy pounding your ugly face into the back of your skull."
"Jealousy ain't very pretty," I teased. "But, tell you what. I'll make you a deal. I'll wager the rewards from that legendary quest on a one-on-one match--just you and me. I'll even make it a ranked one."
"You can't do that," she said smugly.
I grinned and began sending a message. "I could if I know someone who can make it happen."
I got a response almost immediately and smiled at the reply.
The Evenstar Dev team would be happy to arrange this, under certain conditions we supply.
Saran
I sent a reply by telling them I'd be happy to accept their terms and our current match was immediately place on hold. All player's menus pinged with a request of change and none of the male players declined the opportunity to "watch the cat fight" as one of Liana's teammates worded it. The moment all member accepted, Saran appeared on the field.
He smiled at us. "I'm glad all of you are willing to give this a shot. We've been working on a new game type and feel this rivalry will be a good test before we implement it."
"What are the rules you're putting in place?" I asked.
"We devs will be inviting all who wish to attend last minute to see how well our new game type will work. We devs will be picking the classes the participants use from a list of classes they have available and it cannot be changed by the player. We will also provide the top PvP gear available for that class to make it an even fight."
"That's it?" Rial asked.
"That's it."
"What does everyone get out of it?" one of Liana's teammates asked. "Besides what the girls wagered."
"Rinneth and Liana will get the gear set, title, and special ability that had come with the dragon invasion questline. On top of this, the winning team will get a new tier set and weapons upgrade to the newest designs we'll be releasing in the next PvP season."
"Liana, you'd better win," her teammate threatened.
"Don't worry, I plan on it," she replied, not taking her gaze off me.
I only smiled. "When will this start?"
"Now." Saran snapped his fingers for effect, and everyone but Liana and I disappeared from the arena, and reappeared in the stands, along with hundreds of other people.
"You can do it, Rinneth!" Erin yelled in group chat.
I looked around for him. "Where are you and how did you get in on this chat?"
"They were seated next to us so we figured it couldn't hurt for them to join in," Vamir said.
"They?"
"I'm here too," Ramos chimed in. "You're pretty balzy to be doing this, Rinneth. You know Liana is a good player."
"I know, but I'm better."
He chuckled and was quiet for a moment. "Don't panic, but your father is here to."
"He's what?" I nearly shouted. "He hasn't touched this game since mother--"
"Well, my guess is he wanted to see what kind of fuss you were stirring up. A good portion of the clan is here with him actually."
"Fantastic," I grumbled.
"You're do fine, lass," Thuldren encouraged.
"He's right," Vesser agreed. "We know you can do this, even with them watching."
I smiled. "Thanks guys."
Saran stood up and the boisterous crowd quieted. "Let this match commence. Ladies, please go to opposite sides of the arena."
The two of us looked at each other and then did as told. Zaro walked close to me and I gave him a quick pat. I hoped I'd get this class, so I could show her how a real beast tamer worked, but I had a feeling I wouldn't be so lucky. I turned around to face Liana when I made it to my designated spot and waited for the devs to work their magic.
Saran smirked when the two of us were in position and then clicked his fingers. Smoke filled the arena to hide the change of classes from the crowd and from our opponent. Saran really liked being dramatic. Zaro was banished by the class change and my gear switched from leather to intricate cloth robes. My fist weapons were switched out for several swords and daggers that were strapped to my back, as well as two leather bound books that were strung on chains that wrapped around my body.
I closed my eyes and crouch down with acceptance of the unusual choice the devs made for me. This battle would be difficult with this class, but not impossible. The fog cleared and the crowd collectively gasped at the sight of the matchup. I opened my eyes and found Liana had been assigned the warrior class while I had been assigned the sage class.
"Throw the match!" Vesser yelled to me. "Rinneth, you can't win with that class."
"Shut up, whelp," Ramos ordered.
"Don't you tell me to quiet down," Vesser warned. "Sages aren't meant to be an offensive class. The few builds out there that are, require teammates."
"Vesser," I said quietly. "Have some faith in me."
"But--"
"Please."
He sighed. "Okay."
"Rinneth," Ramos said. "Show them was a sage can do."
Mother, I do this for you.