Parties, and Parties at Parties

Dreams, the city of wonders. Not your actual dreams, of course. Dreams is a real place, a city on the main river that provides water to Glynn’s World. From the great mountain of Mara, all rivers flow from its peak, and given that the area was a flat plane, the humans in this realm found it a good place to set up shop, and by the same coincidence, so did the goddesses.

Every year, Dreams hosts its yearly festival, where Rani, Elbeth, and Marine possess an avatar of their most loyal followers and lead a big party for the kingdom. The churches provide food, the king provides the festivities, the merchants provide the space, and the sisters provide blessings. And with some fifty-odd champions attending, no expense was spared for this year's event. Despite the danger ahead and the looming threat of a Great Devil, the party would carry on as usual. In fact, it was time to be as extravagant as possible. The goddesses had their guarantees.

The way to Dreams wasn't hard. The city was centralized, and the goddesses were keen to ensure their attendance, so psychic calls were made to guide them. It came as no surprise then that heroes would find each other on the path.

“Hey, you’re from Tokyo too, right?” one of the heroes waved. “I’m Shige Sakakura, and this is my party.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Fuuma Toyotaro, and these two are in my party.”

Every hero's party was different. Based on the type of class, weapon choice, and school of magic, any combination of party members could be made to support the budding power of the protagonist. As the two sized each other up, their datasheets were exchanged telepathically.

Team Shige:

Leader: Shige Sakakura (17M) Magical Swordsman, Lv 30

Support: Vel Ambrosia (180F) Elf, Wizard, Lv 32

Support: Nice Rania (21F) Human, Warlock, Lv 25

Support: Fura Wellsee (18F) Human, Priestess, LV 21

Team Fuuma:

Leader: Fuuma Toyotaro (14M) Long Range Rogue, Lv 42

Support: Kuroni Letasique (24F) Human, Shinobi, Lv 40

Support: Tama Letasique (15F) Human, Shinobi, Lv 28

They shook hands. “Nice. You have excellent taste, my man.”

“Such are the benefits of being a protagonist, right?”

“Is that what we’re calling ourselves?”

By afternoon, the protagonists made their way to the colosseum in the city center. Their energy was electric, and their arrival was met with nothing but the finest foods and compliments the city over. Of the two, Shige received more praise, but only because of his familiarity with the local people, some of whom he recognized. Like an older brother, he led the way, made introductions, and shared some prized offerings.

“So where’d you find that gear?” Shige asked. “Is there a ninja village somewhere? I’ve been eating nothing but bread. I'm desperate to get a rice dish.”

“I made this myself,” Fuuma replied. “A little printout from my lab. Unfortunately, no ninja village. If you couldn't tell, those aren't their real names."

"You're going full character creator on them, dude. Is that your power?"

“What, are you kidding? No, I got this!” Fuuma held out his hand, and from thin air, a large rectangular rail gun materialized. It looked like it weighed a ton but was light as a handbag. “I call it the Night Thunder.”

Shige observed carefully. “So it's like the Atlas railgun, right?”

“Yeah, you got it! Finally, someone understands. No one understands sci-fi in this world. What do you have?”

“Nothing fancy. Just high-level magic.” Shige waved his hand, and a series of incomprehensible circles formed around him, promising to do something very cool.

While this led to some geeking out, the girls made moves to slip away for the festivities.

"So yours is like that, too?"

"Mmhmm."

Once inside, the gladiatorial arena became a breeding ground for casual conversation. Three months had passed since their arrival, and Japanese faces were few, so a moment to catch up and reconnect with old acquaintances was welcome. It also opened up time to talk shop. Glynn's World did not give its secrets easily, so exchanging information was vital.

However, after hours of jubilation, the room quieted as King Theod took the stage with his daughter Cordelia. His voice echoed cleanly across the colosseum stone.

"I thank you for celebrating this wonderful occasion with us. I will speak briefly to allow my adored ladies to speak, but simply wanted to say that I appreciate the work you have performed for this kingdom and its surrounding lands. I wish to remind you, however, that we are a land of people, and even those below us deserve respect, especially the nobility, who work tirelessly to uphold the realm's safety. Please keep this in mind, as we honor our goddesses. Thank you."

The civilians applauded their king as the protagonists chatted amongst each other. Which one of them screwed up? Was the question, because it certainly wasn't them.

"Will the avatars, please step forward?"

The stadium went quiet for some time until several figures made their way out of the crowd. Elbeth's appeared first as a noblewoman close to the stage, while Marine's was a disheveled, if attractive bard. Toward the back, Rani's struggled to escape the protagonist bubble.

"Make way, guys, c'mon." Shige shoved. "You got this, Nice?"

"Yeah, thanks."

The young warlock made her way up with the others, and as if heaven was descending upon them, the goddesses literally descended and inhabited the three like ghosts. With a brief pause, the avatars sprang to life with magic, giving a light show to denote their divinity. Each of their eyes glowed with each goddess's color. Orange, green, blue, the day, the night, and the water.

For the residents of Glynn’s World, their arrival signaled hymns and prostration, submitting to their grace in the hopes of great blessings. The party members were also part of that camp. The protagonists were not.

“Who’s playing that music?” Marine asked. “Where did those sticks come from?” 

“Must be some kind of native, rain-bringing dance?” Elbeth said. “I’m surprised they all know it by heart.”

“Oh, that’s one of my guys back there,” Rani stepped forward. “Hey! Cut that out! This is serious!”

The celebrations stopped, and the young men ceased.

“Wow, you guys are really happy to see us,” Rani continued. “Are we that popular?”

The small crowd sounded like thousands.

“Wow, we are that popular.”

“D-Do we have all of our champions in attendance?” Marine asked. “I think we’re missing a few people?”

“Let’s see…1, 2, 3, 4…El, do you recognize your people?"

"Oh, I'm sure they're here."

“Raise your hand if El summoned you.”

Half the people responded.

“And me?”

The other half answered.

“I’m not going to be picky. This is more than enough muscle.”

Marine fidgeted. “B-But, what about my-?”

“He’s right there.” Rani pointed.

The crowd looked to the back and confirmed. The horse did attend. With an loud neigh, the arena burst with laughter, and Marine's avatar became red with embarrassment.

"Daddy, I want that horse," hushed Princess Cordelia. "Will you please get it for me?"

"In a moment, dear."

The laughter overtook the stadium for a minute, and then a loud bang silenced them. Quiet murmurs overtook, as an iron door crunched with a cacophony of battering bangs until it burst off its hinges and crashed into the sand. For anyone on the floor, all they could hear was the battle cry of some loud, indistinguishable creature. For the people above and up front, they saw a very small, very wide man charging at them a lot faster than his stature would let on. Eventually, one of the protagonists perked up.

“Oh cool, is that a dwarf?”

“AKIRA KASUGA!” Dige roared. “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

The protagonists all turned and looked at each other, wondering who he was referring to. All except the closest one being charged.

“Oh shit!” He pulled out his sword in time to block the axe blow, but its force threw him back into two others. 

“Hey, stop it!” Another unsheathed his blade, but a second axe swing also sent him flying several meters. His magically enchanted armor handled the blow but took a massive dent in the chest.

For a few seconds, everyone ran around in a panic. They were dealing with less of a monster and more of a rampaging bull, his eyes pure white as if hidden underneath his steel helmet. They couldn’t catch a bead on how to handle such an intimidating opponent, and his constant shouts for this man left several on edge.

Eventually, one of them analyzed his stats. “Wait a minute, this guy is weak!”

And that moment of clarity, a party member sealed the dwarf in a water-filled bubble. It was a woman with green hair, glasses and a small pair of spectacles. The bubble floated toward her general direction.

“AN ELF!?” The dwarf was even more furious as he bubbled. This would take some time.