Stationed in front of the backdoor leading inside the abandoned warehouse, the two men’s dehumanizing stares managed to send shivers down Vala’s spine. She had seen her fair share of lowlifes, petty thieves, and worse. Even so, she had never seen anyone glare at her quite like that: a mixture of distrust, paranoia and hatred. Behind her, Bane and Mia seemed even more unnerved than her. ‘They’re… wary of us. Unsure if we are or aren’t Strangers.'

“Seriously?” Kim sighed, snapping Vala out of her thoughts. “I busted my ass to get you in, and now you want me to take you back out? Why would you even want me to do that?”

Meeting her gaze, Vala couldn’t help but notice the sliver of a smile on Kim’s face, no matter how hard the information broker tried to hide it.

“Because,” said Vala, narrowing her eyes, “we need to know whether or not Strangers are the ones responsible for the disappearance of those two guards and the… other two. But unless we actually find them, we won’t actually know, since almost everyone in town is on guard. Which means that our chances of quickly finding out what happened are basically zero. Also, we have to be able to get back in as well. So, you up to the task or not?”

“Hmmm…” mumbled Kim, scratching her chin in an exaggerated manner. “I might be able to swing something. However, it would be extremely unprofessional of me to just do this as a favor to you three.”

“Then do it as a favor to yourself,” Vala sighed. Seeing Kim’s brow go up, she continued. “With this whole mess, I imagine that the scope of what people want to know has shifted. And not in a way that advantages someone like you.”

“Oh?” Kim grinned. “How so?”

She waited, staring impassively at the info broker and cutting Kim off the moment she tried to speak. “Business is never good when people are on edge. They make poor choices. They start doubting each other. And more importantly, they start doubting you. Supplying information isn’t easy when it’s about something new. Or when the things that people want to know are impossible to keep track of.”

With a defeated smile, Kim shook her head and sighed. “You’re no fun. Alright, fine. Wait here for me, I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Vala nodded as the purple-haired woman then left, entering the warehouse under the watchful gaze of the two men stationed outside the door.

“Hey,” said Bane, coming up next to her. “I know our options are limited… But are you sure we can trust her with this?”

“I am,” she answered. “Getting back to something at least resembling normal is far more appealing to someone like her, since the alternative of selling us out would, at most, be a onetime thing.”

The lycan pursed his lips. “Indeed.”

“But where should we even start?” asked Mia. “Those players might have already left for some other place. Or, for all we know, they might be hiding out somewhere in town.”

“True,” said Vala. “But the odds of that being the case are a whole lot lower than them just hiding out somewhere around Harkon, for two reasons. First of all, players are still an unknown quantity for the NPCs. So, while people like Wade certainly exist, most will choose to stay cautious around those that could turn out to be players. All the more so for the type of people that would pay for Kim’s services.”

“And the second reason?” Bane asked.

“Look at the map,” she said, pulling out and unfolding the yellowed parchment. “The closest thing to here is this village down south. And even that is at least three days away on foot.”

“Yeah, but it’s not that far away,” said the lycan.

“Of course, it’s not a guarantee,” replied Vala. “However, given the situation, I doubt that those players would attempt the trip without proper supplies and gear. I mean, think about it. They were desperate enough to try and rob a store here. You’d have to be pretty desperate to do that when you’re just starting out.”

“Fair enough,” said Bane as he continued to tap his foot against the alley’s stone pavement. “In the meantime, I hope that Drake and Lilly find a better lead to follow.”

****

With every passing moment, Drake’s anxiety rose. Him and Lilly had made their way inside of the healer’s house, sneaking through the creaky, main hallway, past a room filled with sleeping patients. They had then reached a flight of stairs leading up to the second floor. The old wood groaned with every step they took, stretching Drake’s nerves so thin that almost any sound he now heard made him jerk. Once Lilly had checked all of the rooms, making sure that no one else was there, he took a deep breath and sighed in relief, the stuffy air making him feel a tad light headed.

He then took his place near the top of the stairs, peeking down occasionally as Lilly started going through the rooms, one by one. “What exactly are you looking for?” he asked, using the game’s automated friend chat.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “Pretty much anything out of the ordinary. Call it whatever you want, but I just have a gut feeling that something’s off with this woman. I mean, she asked us who we were, which is a fair question. But she also wanted to know why we were asking.”

“I really think that you’re reading way too much into it, Lilly…”

“Could be, but it’s still a bit weird. I get asking who we are, but when people ask a doctor about someone, they usually just want to know how that person’s feeling.”

Shaking his head, Drake dropped the subject as he continued to keep an eye on the house’s entrance, flinching whenever something creaked around him. A few minutes had passed when he suddenly heard a voice coming from the room downstairs, followed by the sound of footsteps.

“Almost time for your six o’clock treatment, Mrs. Cole,” said a high-pitched male voice. “I just need to grab the ointment, bring it to you, and you’re good to go!”

A moment later, a teenage boy slogged out of the room, groaning and stretching. “Shit…” Hearing the boy yawn as he walked up the stairs, Drake tiptoed next to Lilly, looking around for a place to hide. But apart from a table that served as a desk and a few wooden cabinets, the room was barren. “Lilly, we need to get out of here, now!”

Pulling his sleeve, the woman dragged him next to an opened window as she then climbed out, leaning down all the way from the windowsill before jumping to the side of the house. With the footsteps growing louder, Drake followed suit and hopped out directly. With a sickening crunch, his legs gave way upon impact as he collapsed to the side. Hands glued to his mouth and eyes squeezed shut, he tried to bring his knees up to his chest as a sharp wave of pain radiated from somewhere deep within his calves.

You have taken damage! -21 HP.

Slowed by environmental damage.

-95% Movement Speed for 5 seconds.

“You okay?” he heard Lilly asking quietly.

As the pain began to subside, Drake nodded, a few tears streaming down his face. He hesitated, feeling the dew-soaked weeds beneath him as he then hoisted himself up slowly. ‘Shit… now I at least have a vague idea of what it’s like to break bones…’

“Boss…” he heard Zeph’s whimper inside his head, “please don’t do that again…”

“Didn’t plan on it in the first place,” he replied, his legs still a bit shaky. Sensing his spirit’s relief, he smiled as he took a step towards Lilly who was waiting for him at the corner of a nearby shack. “Seems like the link between us goes both ways in more than just me being able to feel your state of mind, Zeph.”

“Why the hell are you smiling?” Lilly asked, frowning slightly as she grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the tiny shack. “I think you might’ve whacked your head as well back there…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he grinned, tapping both his feet against the slightly damp dirt as he checked for any sort of lingering effects.

“Y’know that telling someone not to worry about something will just make them worry even more about it, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Drake, waving Lilly away. “So, the question of my sanity aside, did you find anything back there, or did I fracture both my legs for nothing?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” she said as a folded piece of parchment and a grayish-blue crystal appeared inside her palms.

Taking the parchment, he unfolded it only to find what looked like a partial, hand-written calendar. Throughout the months, various dates had been circled every four to six days, with the later ones marked in pencil instead of ink. Next to one of the last days circled in ink, was a large, bolded question mark. And while the second to last mark looked like all the others before it, the final mark had at least a dozen dots scattered all around it, as if someone had tapped their pen repeatedly against this particular date.

“Okay,” Drake sighed, picking up the square-like crystal. “Some random scribbles. What about this thing?”

Waterstone (Depleted)

Used by many across Enoa, especially within arid areas or areas with limited access to bodies of water, enchanted Manastones such as this are capable of conjuring a small, steady stream of fresh drinking water.

“That,” said Lilly, “is a spent Waterstone.”

“I can see that,” he mumbled, inspecting the crystal’s rounded edges. “And why exactly should we care about it?”

“Well,” she smiled smugly, “I found it stashed away in the back of a cupboard, over that folded calendar.” But seeing Drake’s visibly confused expression, she sighed and shook her head. “It’s weird because no one would normally keep something like this. And since you can get a few silvers by trading it back to literally any merchant, that makes it even weirder.”

“Again, I really think you’re looking too much into it,” said Drake as his fingers fiddled around with the crystal. “And hell, say you’re right and this thing really is a clue. What are supposed to make of it?”

“For now, I don’t know,” Lilly answered. “But what sort of healer, dealing with I don’t know how many sick people, keeps something like this around as a glorified paperweight? I didn’t even see a single glass or mug upstairs.”

“Then again, you could just use it like this,” said Drake, leaning his head back and holding the Waterstone directly above his mouth.

“You really are an animal…” she sighed, rolling her eyes.

“I prefer to think of myself as being practical and not–”

But before Drake could finish, they heard a short creak coming from the entrance to the healer’s house. A moment later, a teenage boy came into view, heading towards what seemed like the town’s center.

“That’s who I saw inside,” he whispered, as Lilly immediately jogged past him, following the teenager from a distance.

They trailed him around for a while, going from shack to shack until it soon became apparent that the boy wasn’t going to lead them anywhere. Not to mention the fact that, with the morning sun having come into its own, it had become a lot harder to follow him without anyone taking notice. Lilly’s mood had also soured the moment she realized the instant she realized that this was a dead end. Their ‘lead’ had simply gone out to deliver some medicine to people.

“Come on,” said Drake as his eyes followed the teen having to duck to get out of the shoddy shack he had just entered. “Let’s see if we can dig up anything downtown.”

Lilly, however, in what had undoubtedly become an extremely annoying habit, dashed past him. Ignoring his words, she grabbed his wrist and yanked him all the way up to the boy, startling both him and Drake.

“Excuse me, young man,” she said, with a voice so sickeningly sweet that it made Drake shudder. “I’m sorry to take up your time.”

“No worries, ma’am,” the boy replied, an earnest smile strewn across his face. “As Mrs. Paula always says, ‘we’re here to help everyone, no matter who they might be!’”

“That’s precisely why I wanted to talk to you,” said Lilly, pulling out the piece of parchment and placing it in between the boy’s hands as she then held them tightly. “We found this in front of Mrs. Paula’s house, earlier this morning. She might have dropped, so we picked it up, hoping that we could return it as soon as possible. I’d feel absolutely horrible if this was something important.”

Blushing slightly, the teenager pulled back his hands as he then unfolded the piece of parchment, his gaze skimming over it.

“Ah, you don’t need to worry, ma’am,” the boy said in a practiced, reassuring tone, “this is just a routine treatment schedule for one of Mrs. Paula’s more difficult patients. I’m sure she knows it by heart!”

“Oh dear! Difficult how?” asked Lilly, upping the concern in her voice to what Drake could only call comical levels at this point. “Is the patient refusing their treatment, or not responding to it?”

“No, no!” said the boy, shaking his head. “It’s just the daughter of one of the miners. It’s a pretty stubborn illness, but Mrs. Paula said that she’s doing a lot better now.”

“I see,” Lilly sighed in relief, placing her hand on her chest. “I’m so glad to hear that. Thank you again, young man, and I’m sorry we took up so much of your time!”

“No such thing, ma'am!” said the boy as he took his leave, waving goodbye to the both of them.

“You’re horrible,” Drake mumbled the moment they weren’t within earshot anymore. “But don’t get me wrong, that performance was definitely worthy of an award, though I’m just not sure which.”

“Joke all you want, but is it really a coincidence that that calendar I found just so happens to be related to something that sounds a lot like that foreman’s situation?”

Somehow, admitting that Lilly had been right proved a lot harder than even flinging himself out of a window without so much as a second thought. But it seemed like he didn’t have to bother, as a system notification popped up which did just that.

The Master’s Task

Update: According to the rumors floating around town, a group of Strangers hiding out in the woods surrounding Harkon could be the ones responsible for the disappearance of the two adepts.

And, while unsubstantiated for the moment, a link does appear to exist between the town healer Paula and foreman Pike. More precisely, it appears as if the healer is currently in the process of treating the foreman’s daughter.

Quest Difficulty: D

As Lilly read through the quest update, her eyes lit up. “Hah, I knew it! Now, we just have to get in touch with that foreman. And it looks like the others also have a lead on where those players might be holed up. So,” she grinned, tilting her head to the side, “I distinctly recall you saying something about me looking too much into it, that it could all just be a coincidence.”

“I also said that we should head downtown,” said Drake in an attempt to change the subject. “There are a couple of things I’d like to buy, including supplies for you.”

“If you’re buying, then by all means! Follow me.”

With Lilly leading the way, the rickety shacks around them were soon replaced with sturdier stone buildings that grew taller and wider the further they went into town. Everything around them also seemed less dusty, since the area of the slums where the healer’s house was located, bordered the southern edge of the mining compound.

For the moment, they kept away from the main streets while keeping an eye out for any dwarven guards. Picking up a few rations and potions for Lilly also went smoothly enough, with the exception of a very confused apothecary that they had asked to take a look at the depleted Waterstone.

“I actually feel bad for her,” said Drake, returning the crystal to his inventory. “She was so confused when we turned down those three silvers.”

“Can you blame her?” asked Lilly as she turned around to face him. “Where to now?”

They then spent a bit more time at their next stop, a tailoring shop. While Lilly’s apron managed to obscure most of her starting gear, changing into something new would definitely help when it came to avoiding any unnecessary attention. Gone were her drab, gray shirt and the brown pants, replaced by slightly tighter black trousers, a white, short-sleeved shirt, and a dark brown vest. Just as they prepared to leave, a sturdy-looking trench coat caught Drake’s eye.

The dark gray fabric didn’t stand out too much, and the various pockets strewn about its inside looked useful. And while his shirt did a poor job of hiding the ring mail underneath it, this at least held a lot more promise. Its length, however, posed a problem. After having paid the owner to shorten the back and trim the sides so that they wouldn’t get in the way while fighting, they left the shop and found themselves near Harkon’s town square.

“You really know how to treat a lady,” Lilly winked as she then grabbed Drake’s arm. “Keep this up and you’ll spoil me rotten!”

“Keep this up and I’ll also tack on some interest to your tab,” Drake smiled. “We just blew almost all of the three gold pieces that Bane gave us.”

“Fine,” she sighed. “But you know? You really should try to loosen up that guard of yours. At least a bit. This is just a game, after all.”

Watching the few townsfolk scurry about their business, Drake couldn’t help but wonder if things really were that simple. Those thoughts, however, had to wait as his gaze fell upon several pairs of guards patrolling an area further ahead of them. “I take it that’s where new players spawn?”

Just as Lilly nodded, a pair of players materialized out of thin air, right in front of the ornate well located at the center of the square. Mere moments later, the dwarven guards had already surrounded the two, axes and maces drawn. One of the two, a lanky human man, took a step back and fell, tripping on the raised edge surrounding the well. And before he could even get up, a couple of dwarves grabbed him by the arms, hoisting him up as another two escorted the other one away.

“Where the hell are they even taking them?” Drake asked, furrowing his brow.

“Probably to the office of that Khadar guy,” she said. “There’s nothing quite like a friendly interrogation to start your game.”

“Right…”

****

“No! Don’t leave, dad!”

Seeing Anna’s tiny fists tremble as she looked down… it was almost too much for Nathan. Her curly, auburn locks draped over her face, hiding the eight-year-old girl’s tears.

“I want to stay home with you as well, sweetie. But you know that I have to leave for work soon.” He sighed and scooped Anna up, tucking her in bed as he then parted her hair out of her eyes. “Come on, Mrs. Ellie should be here any minute, and we can ask her to make you some Betobulb pie. What do you say?”

“I guess…” she said, followed by a little sniffle. “I’m sorry, dad…”

“Oh, sweetie.” Nathan sighed, kneeling next to Anna’s bed so he could hug her. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about,” he said, flinching slightly as he then heard a loud knock coming from the front door. “I bet that’s Mrs. Ellie.”

He wiped her tears and got up, heading towards the door as another couple of knocks resounded from the massive, wooden door. “Just a moment!”

But as he opened the door, Nathan didn’t see Mrs. Ellie’s smiling face. Instead, he saw a young man wearing a plain set of clothes, accompanied by a young, brown-haired woman.

“Mr. Pike?” the man asked, lowering his voice. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve been sent here by the Mages Guild. My name’s Drake.”