"No thanks, we're good." (Part 2 - LONG)

(If you missed it, part 1 is here: http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=185581)

To recap: Level 70 Veno and level 35 Buddy Cleric are getting a beat down from Dismal and his minions. Our lowly party of a level 44 Barb, 47 Veno, and 47 Cleric have suddenly been asked to help out, despite having been told "No thanks, we're good" at our initial offer/request to join forces.

So, what did we say and do?

Did I transform back into wolf form, and then repeatedly select the "Point" and "Laugh" actions? Unfortunately, no I did not, because I didn't think about it in time. Instead, my fingers practically flew of their own volition back to my keyboard and typed:

"No no, you're good."

My Veno squadmate/girlfriend/faction leader was only slightly behind me in typing:

"I thought you guys were good?"

Yes, that's right. We didn't do the decent thing; we gloated. If I'd have had popcorn, I'd have been eating it. While I took advantage of my Barbarian's toughness to stand right smack dab in the middle of the action, quite visibly doing absolutely nothing to help, my girlfriend sat back a safe distance and watched.

Our Cleric was almost as quick with his own biting, deliciously-ironic, haha-in-your-face-sucker!, response:

"Sure thing, no problem."

...

...

...

*sighs*

Clerics. Gotta love em, huh?

They're just so gosh-darn... well... nice. Always helping out. Always giving free rezzes and selflessly sacrificing themselves for the good of others in need, even if those others really don't deserve it. They can't help themselves, they're just so genuinely decent.

Or at least, that's what the good ones are like. And our Cleric is an excellent Cleric. He saw somebody who needed help, and he helped. Stimulus->Response. No petty grudges. Just like Clerics are supposed to do.

So now I'm looking like a total tool. My Cleric is trying to help out some poor random level 35 player who is now in trouble over his head, through no fault of his own, while the two best minion killers in our squad are just standing there.

Shamed by our Cleric's genuine selflessness and decency, we start killing the minions. Things immediately improve for the 2 person squad, and Buddy Cleric thanks us.

Level ~70, "No thanks, we're good" Veno goes right back to killing Dismal.

I ask for an invite. No response. My girlfriend asks. No response. I ask again. We finally get a response:

"---MAYBE---"

Now, I know that this means, "No". Of course it means no. In fact, it means, "No bloody way in hell am I ---EVER--- swallowing crow and inviting you", but we keep helping anyway.

They kill Dismal. We go back to our corner to wait for the next batch of potential squad mates.

And that's when somehow, someway, the universe enacts its own sense of justice:

"Did you get it?"

"No."

"WHAT!?"

"No, I didn't get credit."

"Check your quest log! Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"I don't believe it!"

Now, I don't know how or why he didn't get credit. Perhaps he was supposed to be killing Shade Eido, or maybe it was some sort of glitch. I don't know. It doesn't matter, because at that point a big group of potential rivals pours into the room and it becomes pretty clear that without our help after all, Buddy Cleric won't be getting his quest reward any time soon.

So we get our invite. We try our best, but our rude rivals, who decide they really don't need to wait their turn, clearly have the upper hand in DPS, and we're not going to get this one.

At some point during this futile melee I get attacked from behind by an unseen attacker and reflexively press an attack hotkey without looking. I realize my mistake within about 1 second, but it's too late.

Sure enough, to my horror, my Barbarian has run straight towards a Guardian Tombstone that is standing right in front of Silver Frost. I pan the camera just in time to see him spring to life like a happy puppy that has just spotted his favourite chew-toy.

OK, I'm dead.

I realize there's a well-established tradition in situations like this: Panic, then run towards your party.

I break with tradition and instead run out the door, away from my party. On my left are a group of hopefuls waiting their turn for a crack at Dismal. They scatter like caffeinated-grasshoppers as me and my buddy Silver Frost stroll out of the room together.

Again, I realize there's a well-established tradition in situations like this: Run towards the innocent bystanders in hopes one of them will somehow miraculously save you.

I break with tradition again by choosing to deliberately run away from everybody. I know I'm going to die, so at least I'm trying to do it honourably.

I die. Of course.

And our party fails to get the credit for Dismal. My Cleric of course immediately risks his own safety by trying to make it to me, but the minions are a bit too dangerous. I tell him not to risk himself for my stupidity. I can just use a scroll and take the XP penalty.

But of course, you know what happens, right?

Having successfully "stolen" "our" kill of Dismal, the rival party of high-levels heads off. As they are leaving, their high-level Cleric casually stops and casts a full level 10 Revive on me. He doesn't even respond to my "Thanks!"

Clerics. Gotta love em, huh?

We eventually kill Dismal. Twice more in fact, since somehow not only does Buddy Cleric still manage to not get credit, but OUR Cleric has the same problem!

By the time we are done all is forgiven and forgotten. I've used up a bunch of my charm, our Veno has had her sizable menagerie of pets killed off roughly 3 times over, and worst of all Buddy Cleric and our Cleric have both had to rezz each other twice. Worn out by the whole mess, we part ways and genuine thanks are shared all-round.

Our tiny, shell-shocked faction of 3 ("Yarr! We be Plunder! We're all about the booty!") retreats to the relative safety of Angler's Village to lick our wounds and count just how much XP / charms / potions were lost in the whole ordeal. It's been a rough night and morale is low.

Heh...

I type, "No thanks, we're good" in the faction chat.

Morale is immediately boosted. Maybe it was a good night after all.