Mythran's Master Of All

Once again, Ren was at the back of the group and couldn't see what was going on. He had to rely on his other team members to keep watch. It still urked him; but, until he could figure out how to participate... or at least defend himself properly... it really was safer for him to just let his teammates take care of him. Ren kept up with everyone without any difficulty whatsoever since they were only moving at a jogging pace. All that running he did when he mined the ore really helped him out a lot more than he'd thought. The only thing he lacked was overall speed, but that was more because his legs were so short and he literally had to take more steps than anyone else. Little did he realize that if he'd been the same size as the average player, it would almost double his leg length. He'd by far surpass them all and leave them in the dust.

The expedition jogged across the last bit of distance to the city gates, all the time wondering what was going on inside. The captain picked up speed and was about to ram his way through the gates when they were flung open and a mob of people engulfed him. The soldiers, so close on his heels, were soon engulfed as well. The shouts and hollering continued unhindered by the introduction of the soldiers.

“What do we do?” Someone exclaimed as the players came to a halt.

“I dunno. He told us to check for bandits, but all I can see is townspeople.”

“Yeah, what's going on? I dont think I've ever seen this many in one place before.”

Ren turned to Clint. “What was that you said before? We're going to get lynched?”

“Yep. When Tristan tripped ya, the cap'n said tha' you was the e-ssential member of the party an' we couldn' go on withoucha. He said we had to call off the expedition an' go back to Aurora an' get someone else to replace ya. Seein' as how ya was supposta be dead.” Clint winked at Ren.

“Oh.”

“After Tristan disappeared, we set up camp an' worked to try an' get back across the cavern. Then that there rumblin' happen'd and we got the notice to return to Aurora to complete the quest. If it wasn' fer tha' idiot, we'd at least have had a chance... but because of him, we failed.”

Ren started to talk, but while Clint spoke, the mob had surged forward and engulfed the players. They were completely surrounded. Neither Clint, nor Ren, had seen anything until it was too late.

“But Clint...” Ren shouted over the mob as they were pushed, pulled, and dragged into the city. “...we didn't fail!”

Clint got a bewildered look on his face, like he was trying to decide if Ren really had gone crazy after he'd fallen off the bridge and hit his head or something. The other players were freaking out a little, too. They were being forced into the city but couldn't fight back because the captain of the soldiers had ordered them not to. They reluctantly let themselves be herded along until the mob deposited them in the city's square. Ren didn't see anything that was going on because he was so short... until the crowd around him cleared away. What he saw stunned him a little; but, the rest of the party was in complete and utter shock.

It had been a parade.

For them.

It wasn't a riot at all, but a celebration! Revelers and jugglers and all kinds of people were laughing and hugging each other. Ren had never seen anything like it before. He got lost in his wonderment until someone on the stage cleared their throat. The expedition turned as one to see the speaker. It was Eric, Lord Of Aurora, who stood at the same podium he'd been at to start their quest.

“Congratulations, everyone! Welcome back, and thank you! Your hard work and perserverance has defeated the evil presence that's been building up and tormenting us for months.”

All the players and soldiers were dumbfounded. They wondered if it was all a joke being played on them, but Ren had a huge smile plastered on his face. Clint looked at him and knew that Ren wasn't crazy and what he'd said before had been true. But... how did he know? According to his own story, he was unconscious for most of it!

“It's with great pleasure that I declare this quest completed.”

Ren got a popup. He assumed every other player got it as well, as they all stopped to read something in mid-air.