The door to the inn creaked open as a wave of warm air washed over Drake. On his back, Anna stirred, squeezing her arms tighter around his neck. Behind them, Lilly and Mrs. Ellie entered, closing the door and shutting out the biting evening chill.

In front of Wade, on the other side of the counter, stood three dwarven guards, weapons drawn and seemingly on edge. “Oren will stay here,” said one of them as he patted the shoulder of the younger, blond dwarf standing in the middle. “Should you hear anything, Wade, share it with him. Alright?”

Sighing, the burly innkeeper nodded his head as his gaze wandered in Drake and the others’ direction for the briefest of moments. “Understood.”

“Much appreciated,” said the guard as he and the other dwarf turned around and headed for the door, leaving the youngest one behind.

Lilly grabbed Drake’s arm, pulling him aside in order to allow the two guards to pass. But as the supposed leader walked by, he stopped to look at Drake and Lilly, raising an eyebrow as he addressed them. “You two are with the Mages Guild, right? I saw you earlier today at the compound. And… is that Pike’s daughter?” he asked, staring straight at Anna and causing her to shrink away behind Drake.

He nodded, frowning slightly at the guard’s accusatory tone. “Someone broke in and tried to take her,” Drake replied. “So, we grabbed her and Mrs. Ellie and brought them here until we figure out who’s responsible.”

“Seriously? Did you at least take a good look at’em?” the other dwarf asked, in a much friendlier manner.

“I did a bit more than that when I knocked him out cold,” said Drake, continuing as soon as he saw the other guard begin to knit his brow at his remark. “He was tall, with somewhat long black hair, and a wide jaw. He was also wearing some pretty crude studded leather armor. I left him unconscious, though I didn’t stick around since I didn’t know if the guy was actually alone or not.”

“I see,” the leader grumbled. “I might have an idea of who that was. Right then. Stay here with Oren,” he said, gesturing towards the blonde dwarf that had taken a seat at one of the corner tables. “We’ll send word for you. That is, once we sit down for a chat with that… individual.”

With that, the two dwarfs had finally left. But even so, Drake and the others approached Wade warily, all while keeping an eye out for the blonde dwarf.

“Was all of that true?” the innkeeper asked once the others had gotten closer, his voice barely louder than a whisper. A prompt nod from Lilly forced a grown out of him. “Great. If it’s one thing Harkon lacked, it’s dregs like that going around trying to nab children…”

“I’m not a kid!” Anna pouted, tightening her grip on Drake’s neck. “Dad said that I’m also in charge of the house when he’s gone…”

Mrs. Ellie smiled as she placed her hand on the girl’s head, lightly ruffling her auburn hair. “We know, sweetie.”

“Well then,” Wade said, “you four should head on up to my room and try to get some rest. I’ll also bring up a bite to eat in just–”

“Before that,” Lilly interrupted, “what business did those guards have with you? What did they want you to tell them?”

Wade frowned as he closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath. He then stared at Lilly in silence for a while, as if hoping she’d drop the subject. But as the brown-haired woman began to tap her feet in response, Wade just shook his head and spoke quietly. “They want me to tell them if I hear anything about Paula the healer.”

“Why? What happened?” asked Drake as he then saw Lilly’s gaze shifting rapidly like she was reading something in midair. But his focus quickly returned to the innkeeper.

“They wouldn’t say,” Wade sighed. “Lilly told me that you were planning to talk to Paula. Now, I haven’t told the guards anything since I didn’t want to draw any attention to you. But I can tell that everything is starting to get out of hand.”

“We appreciate it,” Drake nodded. “And if you do hear anything, could you please –”

“You’ll be the first to know,” smiled the innkeeper.

And so, they retreated into Wade’s room on the first floor. Not long after that, the innkeeper swung by, bringing them a bit of warm food. They ate a bit before Darker sat himself at Wade’s desk, with Lilly leaning against it, still deep in thought. Behind them, Mrs. Ellie struggled to get Anna to eat a bit more as the girl suddenly came down with a prolonged fit of coughs.

“Poor thing,” Lilly whispered.

Drake simply glanced back and sighed, taking out the Basic Runes Overview that he had gotten from Roy. He then frowned, recalling the message that the master had left him, and flipped to the book’s leather marker before willing the Runic Quill into his hand from his inventory. He then unclasped his padded, bronze bracers and stared at the pattern that he had started during their trip to Harkon.

“What’s that?” Lilly asked, leaning embarrassingly close to him.

“I’m trying to carve some runes into these,” he replied, scuttling slightly away from the brown-haired woman.

“What for?” she said, leaning even closer so that she could take a better look at the pattern: two jagged, spiral-like flourishes stretching out from the design’s central point.

“Runes sort of work like enchantments,” said Drake, resigning himself to the breach of his personal space. “If you channel your mana into this quill and trace the pattern properly, you can add various properties to your equipment.”

“Cool!” she grinned. “So, when are you going to enchant my stuff?”

“Oh? Offering your gear as practice fodder? By all means!” Drake mocked, taking a look at Lilly’s starting equipment. “I guarantee that I’ll at least try my best to carve up that shirt of yours and that old apron.”

She rolled her eyes. “Very funny. I don’t mean this stuff. Anyway, what sort of rune is that?”

“They’re Manashield runes,” he said, arranging one of the two bracers so that the pattern drawn in chalk could align with the one in Roy’s guide. “Based on your Intelligence, it allows you to use your mana in order to absorb some of the damage coming your way. I’m not that sure on the specifics yet, but at least I’m almost done with this one.”

“Don’t let me stop you,” said Lilly, eager to see the thing in action.

A bemused sigh, although a sigh nonetheless, escaped Drake as he picked up the ornate quill. He then slowly channeled his mana into the icepick-like tip, lighting up the runes along its wooden handle. He held his breath, trying to steady his hand as he did his best to gently trace the pattern he had marked beforehand. He applied just a bit of pressure, allowing the hook at the quill’s end to just scrape a fine layer of metal. Any more and the enchanted tool would risk puncturing straight through the bracer's plating. And as he drew the quill towards him, etching the pattern’s final line, the rune glowed a bright blue, forcing Drake and Lilly to cover their eyes, the image of the intertwined spirals still lingering in their vision.

Runed Brass Bracer

One bracer out of a pair of leather-padded, brass bracers that has been enchanted with a Manashield rune by Drake, one of the Mages Guild’s adepts.

By channeling their mana into the runes, the wearer can then use the enchanted item to absorb damage by expending their mana instead, up to twice their total Intelligence (maximum 90 damage, per source of damage).

Manashield (Active): 1 Mana/1 Damage Absorbed

Equipment Slot:Wrist ArmorEncumbrance:0.5

Durability:20/20Physical Defense:7.5

“A warning would’ve been nice,” Lilly grumbled while rubbing her eyes.

“W-what was that?” asked Anna, prompting Drake to turn around. Standing upright on the bed and with the blanket pulled up all the way to her chin, the little girl looked at them with a worried face, as did Mrs. Ellie who sat right next to her, holding Anna’s shoulders.

“S-sorry,” stammered Drake, seeing the two like that, “I just finished carving a rune into this.” He inspected the item’s updated tooltip and got up. Bracer in hand, he approached the bed where Anna stood, causing the girl to squirm as she now had the blanket covering over half of her face. Drake then knelt next to her and, as gently as possible, held out the bracer with the rune facing towards Anna. “Look here,” he smiled, handing her the piece of armor. “This is called a Rune of Shielding.”

Slowly, the girl’s apprehension subsided, outdone by her curiosity. Anna slid a finger over the rune’s shallow grooves as she tilted her, shooting Drake a puzzled glance. “Why isn’t it glowing anymore?”

“I’m not quite sure,” he smiled, placing his index finger on the bracer, right next to her tiny one. “So, let’s find out!”

A moment later, a dim, blue light seemed to course through the delicate pattern, whose sheen then extended all throughout the brass plate. Anna gasped and pulled her hand back, however, her eyes couldn’t leave the sight of the enchanted item. With every moment that Drake spent pumping mana into it, the bronze-colored surface shimmered with a pale, almost iridescent gleam.

“Wow…” the girl gasped. Next to her, Mrs. Ellie was also gawking at the glowing item. Her mood had also recovered, probably from seeing the sheer look of wonder on Anna’s face.

Drake raised his finger slightly, just enough to break contact as the rune’s light died out, much to the girl’s disappointment. “Hey,” he grinned, tapping the pattern a couple of times, “how about I carve you a rune just like this one? That way, you can use it to protect yourself and Mrs. Ellie even when we or your dad aren’t here. Does that sound like something you’d like?”

Hearing this, Anna’s eyes grew wide as she began to nod eagerly.

“I think that’s a yes,” Lilly giggled.

“Okay, Anna,” smiled Drake. “Then before we leave, I’ll make sure to carve you one!”

Around half an hour later, he had finished etching the same rune on his other bracer, only this time, he had warned everyone to close their eyes. Having equipped his runed bracers again, Drake turned to Lilly. She’d been fidgeting around ever since they talked to Wade. But before he could say anything, the door to the room swung open as Bane, Mia and Vala entered.

“The prodigal son, and his two henchwomen, have returned!” Bane cheered, prompting Vala to roll her eyes as she shoved the lycan forward, much to Mia’s amusement. And upon seeing the newcomers, Anna shuddered in the corner of the bed, craning her neck to look up at the tall, muscular taur woman.

“You okay, sweetie?” Mrs. Ellie asked as she drew the blanket over the girl’s shoulders.

“She’s… so awesome!” Anna exclaimed, forgetting to even close her mouth as she continued to stare at the shield wielder.

“Heh, I like her,” Vala grinned, plopping herself down next to Anna, which caused both the little girl and Mrs. Ellie to bounce on top of the bed for a little while. “I can see why someone would try to snatch her up!”

“Indeed,” smiled Mia as she approached the bed, kneeling next to the girl as she then extended her hand. “You’re Anna, right?” Nodding, the little girl took the blonde healer’s hand, a slightly confused expression beginning to settle on her face. “Drake and Lilly told us that you haven’t been feeling that great recently.”

“Yeah,” said Anna, lowering her gaze as she sighed. “I wanna be able to go outside and play. And I want dad and Mrs. Ellie to stop being so sad because of me…”

“Oh, sweetie…” the caretaker sighed, gently grabbing the girl’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault. We know you’re doing your best, so you just focus on getting better!”

Mia placed her hand over the girl’s, causing Anna to flinch. “You know, Mrs. Ellie’s right. I know what it’s like to not be able to run around and play because you’re not feeling well.”

“Really?” Anna asked, somehow unconvinced.

“Really,” Mia smiled. “And that’s exactly why I know how hard it must have been for you to be so patient with everything.” The blonde healer then closed her eyes, exhaling softly as a warm, golden radiance enveloped her hands that then began to spread towards the girl. “Mending Light,” she muttered upon finishing the incantation as the glow around her and Anna became even brighter, before disappearing a moment later.

“Wow,” the girl whispered, pulling her hand back and staring at it, her eyes wide with awe. She turned it around on both sides, inspecting it as if to see if she could still find a trace of the spell. “That was amazing!” she yelled, throwing both of her arms up as she then blinked incredulously, seemingly realizing something. “I… I can breathe easier again!”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Mia winked as the caretaker slowly spun the girl around to inspect her.

“You do look a little less pale!” Mrs. Ellie exclaimed before turning towards the blonde healer, bowing her head as she held Anna close to her chest. “Thank you… what can we ever do to repay you?”

A weak smile graced Mia’s lips as she raised her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I only healed Anna a bit, but it looks like I couldn’t cure whatever underlying condition is causing her sickness.”

“Right,” said Lilly, curling her lips into a dour smile. “I’m actually sorry to cut this moment short, but we really need to talk.”

The slight change in Lilly’s attitude gave Drake pause for a second. Ever since they met, she had been nothing but a bright ball of pluck. He glanced over to the others, whose expressions most likely mirrored his own. “Lead the way,” he said, gesturing towards the opposite end of the room.

“Hey, Mia,” Bane said as he leaned against the desk in the corner of the room, “what did you mean when you said you couldn’t cure Anna? Her health looks full to me now.”

Drake glanced over at the girl, a slim, red bar coming into focus as his gaze lingered on her for a moment. By all accounts, the lycan was right. Anna’s health seemed fine and he couldn’t really see anything else.

“Well,” Mia sighed, “right after I tried to heal her, I got a notification telling me that one negative status effect was still active on my target…”

“And that’s all it said?” Bane asked.

“Yeah,” she answered, opening her tome as she then started to flip through the sturdy, yellowed pages. “I don’t know if I can find something in here, but I’ll take a look.”

As Bane and Vala watched over Mia, Drake turned towards the unusually silent Lilly. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

The question suddenly snapped Lilly out of whatever state of mind she was in. “What? Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just been going over the transcripts of the talk that you and I had with that dwarven supervisor, Goldur.”

Vala raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Transcripts? Inside Prism?”

“Well,” said Lilly, flashing everyone a mischievous grin, “they’re not exactly transcripts. I just sent myself messages using the in-game chat as we were talking to Goldur. But that’s neither here nor there… The point is, that throughout that entire conversation, neither him or us ever mentioned anything about the healer.”

Recognizing the woman’s expression, Drake took a deep breath. ‘Okay, here we go. Another one of her hunches…’

“Boss,” he heard Zeph’s voice, “that’s a bit unfair, y’know? Her hunches have actually been spot-on until now.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Bane asked.

“Quite a bit, I think,” said Lilly quietly, glancing over to the bed where Mrs. Ellie was trying to get Anna to rest. “When we came back to the inn, a few guards were asking Wade for information on the healer. Now, why would the dwarfs be asking about Paula, especially right after Drake and I went over there to talk to Goldur?”

“They could very well have some other business with her,” offered Vala as she rubbed her chin. “But the timing does feel off.”

“I know, right?!” said Lilly, her voice morphing into a strange sort of whisper-shout. “Why the hell would the dwarfs be concerned about the town healer, when they already have their hands full with an invasion of players, dead guards, and the disappearance of two adepts?”

Drake sighed, leaning his head into his palms. “Can’t they just need her help with something?” he asked, knowing full well that his question was fangless at best. But having guessed where Lilly was going with this, he felt like he had to at least try to struggle against the current, regardless of the act’s futility.

“Then why didn’t they just say that?” she retorted, drawing a groan out of him. “That’s actually what they should have done if they had half a brain cell, since that at least wouldn’t invite any sort of awkward questions. Then there’s Goldur. He really wasn’t thrilled with neither our visit, nor our talk. But the highlight of that entire exchange was when you mentioned the Conclave. He jumped out of his chair, as if you had just splashed ice water over him.”

“So, let me get this straight,” said Vala, crossing her arms. “You’re suggesting that he or someone else knows about the link between Paula and the Conclave. And, at the very least, he’s now trying to sweep things under the rug before we manage to dig any deeper?”

A wide smile stretched across Lilly’s lips. “And at most, he’s somehow involved in this mess. That or he knows someone else and he’s trying to cover it up.”

“Someone else, as in Pike,” Bane whispered.

“Precisely,” said Lilly.

A weak, exhausted groan left Drake’s lips. “And if that’s the case… it basically means that we have to go up against the dwarfs as well…”

Lilly smiled. “In so many words… yes.”

“It isn’t set in stone,” said Vala, placing a firm hand on Drake’s shoulder. “It’s still just a theory at this point. But there really is one coincidence too many for us to dismiss this line of reasoning.”

“Unfortunately, there’s more to it,” said Lilly. “It’s safe to assume that whoever sent that thug after Anna knows about the link between Pike and the healer. Goldur can just get a hold of Pike whenever he wants, so I kind of doubt that he’d send that goon if he’s involved. But say that Paula or her mysterious benefactor got wind of the foreman talking to us, then they’d definitely want to shut him up somehow.”

Vala frowned. “Then taking the girl would definitely be one of the most effective things to do.”

“So?” Bane asked. “That’s all fine and dandy, but what’s the plan?”

“First, we find Pike,” said Vala. “Once he’s safe, we corner the healer since it’s a hell of a lot easier to maneuver around her than it is to have the entire dwarven population on our head.”

“Makes sense,” agreed Lilly. “And if Paula turns out to be the patsy, we’ll just have to ask the Mages Guild for backup.”

“Uhm,” said Mia, raising her hand, “we could also ask Kim. Maybe she knows something about the man that tried to kidnap Anna.”

“That’s… a very good point,” said Drake. “Bane, didn’t you say you talked to her to get you in and out of Harkon today?”

“Yup, we talked to her this morning,” said the lycan. “We can pay her another visit, I guess.”

Taking out his Link Sphere, a swirling mass of blue light began to illuminate the palm of Drake’s hand. “Let’s see if I can get a hold of Arthur, first.” After a couple of minutes, however, he shook his head. “I’ll try again later,” he said, pocketing the crystal orb.

Suddenly, the sound of a thundering boom pervaded the air, followed by a tremor. Everyone scrambled to grab onto something as the inn’s wooden frame creaked, faint plumes of dust racing towards the floor from the room’s old ceiling. A moment later, another boom and tremor ripped through the building, dislodging even more dust while also rocking the ceiling lamp.

“What the fuck was that?” yelled Lilly. “And earthquake?”

“No,” Vala frowned. “Those were explosions.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Wade barged into the room, quickly shutting the door behind him. “Are you all okay?!”

“For now,” said Drake. He then jerked his head towards the window as the long, drawn-out tolls of a bell reverberated throughout the evening sky.

“The town’s warning bell…?” Wade muttered as all the color began to drain from his face. The innkeeper’s gaze snapped towards his desk and, as he reached underneath it, a large drawer slid out of the desk’s side with a click. “Lilly, come here. Now!” he ordered as he shoved some sort of weapon into the brown-haired woman’s hands.

“W-what the?” she mumbled as she then took a better look at the thing that so clearly resembled some sort of gun. Nestled between the gray, wooden handles, the metallic barrel had no trigger to speak of as it instead had a dark, brown crystal inserted into its center.

“That’s a Stone Bolter,” said Wade as he then darted over to Anna and Mrs. Ellie’s side. “Channel your mana into it and it can shoot Stonebolts. Now, follow me into the basement! We’ll block the door and wait out whatever this is in there.”

But as the innkeeper reached the door and turned around, he saw that neither Lilly or the rest of them had actually budged.

“Sorry, Wade,” said Lilly, her usual cheer still absent from her smile. “But we can’t stay with you here.”

A look of desperation creeped its way into the innkeeper’s eyes as he opened his mouth to speak, but the weak whimper of the little girl holding his hand stopped him. Trembling ever so slightly, he pursed his lips and nodded. “Alright, take care!”

An inkling of Lilly’s can-do spirit flared inside her eyes as Vala stormed out of the room behind Wade. “Come on, after me!” she yelled.

They rushed outside, still hearing the warning bell’s tolls as they stumbled out and into the chaotic alley behind the inn. Everywhere they looked, frightened people tried to get away from the sounds of screaming and fighting. And further away, two great fires lit up the darkened sky.

“Just what the fuck is going on?” Drake asked. Cutting through the uproar, a system chime then rang out inside his head.

The Master’s Task → The Culling of Harkon

Update: Two massive explosions have sent Harkon into a frenzy as fires are blazing near the town’s back gate and near the entrance to the mining compound.

If left unchecked, the turmoil will surely claim the lives of many. However, focusing solely on helping the town will jeopardize your existing mission.

Find foreman Pike and Paula the healer, investigate the two conflagrations and try to bring the situation under control.

Quest Difficulty: C+

Do you accept this quest?

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