It had been a battering day, yesterday, but the magical bed had done its work.  Rayne felt spry and healthy; sure, she still would rather sleep in, and she needed a few seconds to become coherent.  But she soon cheered up, especially as it sank in that she really could see, could operate properly again.<br/><br/>"...good morning, Youmu.  Yes, good morning!  Thanks again... and it's good to be able to put a face to the voice."  Rayne rolled out of bed, checking herself by touch, and by sight - she seemed reasonably intact, though she did notice that her chain shirt was definitely fastened with a single clasp under her right arm, not the two it used to have.  It was a minor design change - even something of an improvement, since the old way had a bit of a weak point under her left arm that normally faced her targets.  Not all the recent upgrades were to mess with the players, then... though being able to doff her armour a little faster wasn't something she was looking for.<br/><br/>She had figured Youmu for a swordswoman, and wasn't surprised at the Japanese flavour to her equipment either.  EHO offered great variety, for those who could afford the nicer things.  Speaking of which... Rayne slipped her bow back over her shoulder as she stood, blood starting to pump less sluggishly.  "Now let's see about Stags, and Wishes."<br/><br/>She took note of the others in and around the inn, smiling to all, and feeling relatively bouncy once more.  Stag's End itself had bounced back much less, but hopefully that would improve over time.  Time would bring other things too - of course some things developed much faster in this virtual world, and judging by the state of the NPCs, there would be a new horde of half-orcs soon enough.  Perhaps they would fill in some of the empty posts of NPCs in the town?  Rayne chose not to voice her speculation on the short walk to the temple.<br/><br/>The rather profaned temple... but it still worked, and Rayne avoided staring at the pair of priestesses that roamed the interior as if nothing was out of the ordinary.  She happily transferred the gold over - she still had quite a bit, and it was well worth it to bring Dixon back to life!  He got a few vigorous pats, and then he was led to the gate.  Rayne took advantage to toss another question to her saviour: "Youmu... this G4, has it figured out anything more about why this Change happened?  What the goal, or... what solution might there be?"  If anyone else had received a glimpse of the outside, as Rae-lynne had... maybe there were more pieces of the puzzle to put together.  Though for now, Rayne wasn't quick to share her own piece.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>"Sylvia, hello.  I'm Rayne, Arcane Archer, umm, guildless.  But from Port Lannis."  Sylvia had apparently ... well, she had apparently decided to fully enjoy the armour options available, and the statuesque elf was pretty striking, even by the standards of this place.  And Rayne hadn't met any Horizon Walkers in her time here yet and didn't know much about them... though she had considered going Ranger herself, which to her mind was probably a little similar.  More interestingly though, she had done this quest before, successfully.  The Arcane Archer listened attentively, nodding at first, then looking appropriately shocked at the idea that they might have sabotaged with another party on their quest!  "Good... this isn't the time to be interfering with other players."<br/><br/>Rayne certainly had seen the downside of collars - there was only a downside, so far as she could tell.  "That would be a good Wish.  Oh!  I hadn't heard of a player using one on another..." she shivered, and brushed her arm with a hand.  "Nasty."  It didn't make her feel any better to know that the Mainland was having such issues - that it was probably worse there, by the sound of it.  Such a mix of player levels and challenges on the Mainland, it was a bit scary to think of how that must have gone, right after the Change.<br/><br/>And with Youmu in that group - Rayne did owe her for the rescue.  But then she turned her attention back to the Horizon Walker, who obviously was less enamoured of the plan.  Sylvia had the major advantage of having succeeded in this very quest, so was worth hearing out.  Her ambition made Rayne gasp.  "Do you... really think a Wish could do that?  I ... hadn't set my hopes so high.  But that's ... that's really the one thing that matters.  Anything else... once we can get out, anything else is secondary."<br/><br/>She looked back and forth - the one downside to Sylvia's plan was Rayne's fear that such a Wish would simply fizzle, relying as it did on altering some essentially outside-of-game function.  Whereas the collars could surely be modified in-game.  But if it could work... surely they should try the boldest stroke first?  "Youmu... I really like your plan, and I owe you for the rescue too.  But I think Sylvia's Wish is what we have to try as our first priority.  Hopefully we'll all succeed; I suppose even with the logout function restored, from what I heard, the collars might be able to prevent people from accessing it.  They are awfully potent."<br/><br/>She stepped closer to Sylvia.  "A party of two, then?  Unless others want to reconsider?"<br/><br/>She hesitated over Dixon.  "I ... believe you have some special abilities, regarding travel.  Can we all go together?  Or do I have to leave Dix here?"  She didn't know much about Horizon Walkers, but had heard they could pull others along with them.  But how many - and how large?<br/>