The rest of day 14 ingame was rather unremarkable. Except for the fact we were quite lucky with our dives into the two dungeons. In the Rabbit Warren we got a 5 to 1 time compression, meaning we got to spend ten hours inside the dungeon. Which was great for my Butchery, Herbalism and Mining skills. When we hit the ancient dwarven outpost we were almost as lucky, ending up with a 3 to 1 dilation.

That evening Kira tried to get her class, but found that she could not get it as long as there was an unresolved criminal complaint against her. It also marked another trip to the crafting halls to attempt my luck with crafting Lucky Charms. Only a single of the three attempts succeeded, but it meant that all crafters were now equipped with one.

One hour before sundown, we were all gathered in the square for our guild mates who would be standing trial. To be honest I was not too worried about it. Sure they had acted rashly, but not without reason. Just to be certain however, I had made sure the guy who the Bears had blocked and gotten killed was there. There were a pretty large gathering, and the Bears were rather rambunctious, laughing and making a general nuisance of themselves.

“Don’t say anything up there,” I said to those who were about to be judged, as guard sergeant Tirsho stepped up to the fountain. A priest was following close by.

The sergeant called for silence, in a loud voice amplified by a spell intoned, “We are here tonight because accusations were levied against five members of Blue Lotus. Are the accusers and victims here to see justice?”

The three Bears in question and Iron Bear stepped forward, waving to the crowd as if they had won some sporting event. The crowd just looked with cold stares at them. Tirsho seemed to pay them no mind, and continued, “Are the accused here?”

One-Eye, Kira, Petals, Robert and Elize stepped forward, grave looks on their face. Tirsho nodded at seeing this, and started to speak once more, “Since all parties are gathered, we’ll call on—”

Interrupting him, I said in a loud voice, “Apologies for interrupting, but we have counter charges to press.”

“Just shut up and take your punishment, you little prick!” Iron Bear shouted, the victorious grin turning into an ugly grimace.

“Hardly the time, Traveller,” Tirsho said with narrowed eyes.

“Actually it does, since these charges speaks to the reasons why my people acted like they did.”

“We did nothing to your guys,” one of those who had gone over the wall protested.

“You’re right, you didn’t do anything to my guys, but you did to Tristolas,” I said and gestured for the guy they had gotten killed and robbed to step forward.

“This is bullshit,” Iron protested. “Pass down sentence at once!”

“Don’t presume to tell me what to do,” the priest said in a quiet voice that somehow still reached everyone.

“Stupid fucking AI, this is st—” Iron started ranting, but was hit with a Silence spell from the priest.

Tirsho looking over the crowd would be seeing that the Bears were starting to get restless. So was Robert and One-Eye. Probably Blaze as well, but I could not see him since he was behind me.

Finally Tirsho said, “Fine. Traveller, what charges do you bring to the Judgement that can bring to light the reasons for attacks within the town itself?”

Stammering Tristolas started explaining what had happened, “W—well, I was at the battlement, when suddenly those three started pushing me and blocking me in. They ducked down as if not to be hit by all those spells flying around, but the way they placed themselves and their shields prevented me from doing the same. I died, and from what I hear they started looting my items.”

The Bears had tried to protest while he was speaking, but a round of the Silence spell from the priest and some angry glares from Tirsho took care of that. When Tristolas stopped speaking Tirsho nodded to the priest.

“Let Qhemtyx pass judgement on those charged in front of us,” the priest started intoning. “Let his wisdom see through the deceit and wills of those charged with foul deeds. Let his benevolence pass a just verdict for all to bear witness.”

The five members of my guild, Tristolas and the three Blood Bears were enveloped in lights, almost like beams of light from the sky falling down on them. A couple of seconds later the light faded, leaving behind all of them no worse for wear.

“The individuals known as Acid Bear, Rusty Bear and Stout Bear are all found guilty of the charges levied against them. They’re to pay a sum equal to the amount lost by the individual Tristolas, plus ten percent. Until such time that reparations have been paid, the Gods will not allow them to grow,” the priest stated in a clear voice. There were a few protests, but the protesters were hit with a Silence spell.

The priest continued pronouncing the sentence, “Since they’ve already suffered a death and loss of equipment, no further punishment is deemed necessary. For carrying out vigilante justice, the individuals One-Eyed Dragon, Sensei Kira, Crimson Petals, Elize Ewers and Robert Skullsplitter is fined one platinum each. To be paid within the week or suffer the Gods wrath. Qhemtyx’s Justice have been delivered.”

“I don’t have a fucking platinum to pay a stupid fine,” Robert immediately grouched.

Shaking my head, I said, “I already said the guild will pay for it. Kira you’ve permission to withdraw five platinum without it counting towards anyone’s contribution points. Go pay it at once and get your class.”

As they nodded and started to leave, Ed asked, “Could I withdraw two platinum to pay for the fusion of my Essence Shards? I got enough money to pay for one fusion, but not both.”

“Sure, but we’re getting pretty low on funds,” I said after a moment to think about it. It would seem it was time to deposit some of all the funds I had been saving up. I had seven platinum, so I could afford to donate five of them.

“That was a noble thing you guys did,” a gruff male voice said behind me. Turning around I saw a group of five. All of them equipped with melee weapons and some kind of armour. The guy who had spoken offered his hand. When I shook it, he said, “Sir Miller, leader of the Knights of the Squirrel, at your service.”

“Damian Heosphoros, but Damian is fine. May I congratulate you on your first place in the event?” I matched his formal tone. In my previous lifetime I had met a few, who wanted to embrace the medieval culture. It might seem weird to some, but I liked it.

“Thank you. And to you and your guild for your splendid placement.”

“Thank you. How may I or my guild be of assistance?” I queried.

“We just wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate you, and say that we’re sorry for doubting you after those false accusations. The way your guild comports itself, it lays to rest any remaining doubt we had about you,” he said with a somber expression. “We hope that you’ll start selling food again. You might be more expensive than the Dusts, however, we will support those of good moral fiber.”

“Thanks for that, and I should be at my usual spot from dawn till dusk tomorrow. Anytime you guys need food, just come by and I’ll start cooking some for you.”

“Sounds good,” he said before tilting his head a bit, as if to look behind me. “There seems to be others who want to speak with you. Good night, and safe journeys.”

“To you and yours as well,” I said without giving in to the urge to see who was waiting to speak with me. With a nod the five Knights left. Turning around I saw Tristolas hanging around, seemed to be waiting for me to finish my conversation, while Blaze was trying to chat up Hannah.

I nodded to the unfortunate man, dressed in the free clothes provided on his respawn. Not that they were any different from what I was wearing, since I had still not bothered to buy new clothes. “What can I do for you Tristolas?”

“Uhm, you see,” he started hesitantly and then stopped.

“Yes?”

Exhaling loudly, he seemed to deflate. “The Bears said they’d rather reset their accounts than pay.”

I could not help but laugh at that, which made Tristolas glare at me. “Sorry, not laughing at your situation. But their stupidity. Their punishment will follow on to every character they make, until they pay restitution. Meaning they can’t earn XP until then.”

“But what am I to do?” the unfortunate man asked.

“Tell you what. Since our second party hasn’t been formally made with someone picking up the Leadership skills, you can join them when they go hunting. A fifth of the rabbits are yours, and then I think you should sell them to the Dusts.”

A confused look warred with an excited one on his face. “Not you?”

“No, they pay way more than I would ever do,” I said with a smile.

“Thanks. That’ll help me get back on my feet,” he said. We agreed on a time he could meet to join them, and after he said goodbye I turned my attention to Hannah. I was about to go up to her, when Ed and the others returned. Ed made quite the entrance, and everyone was staring at him. More precise at his forehead, where two small horns had appeared, growing backwards. They followed the curvature of his head, their length about a handspan.

“Holy shit, you look awesome!” Blaze exclaimed, which immediately set off everyone else who had tons of questions. Chuckling I looked in the Announcement Panel. Sure enough, Kira was the first Templar Assassin in the World, while Ed was the first to start the transformation into a Draconian.

When I managed to get up to him, I gave him a pat on the shoulder and a congratulation. I could see Hannah was trying to get a word alone with him, but I had other ideas.

To Ed I said, “When you’re done with your fifteen minutes of fame, come to the Inn. No interviews for the moment.”

After receiving an affirmative nod, I turned to Hannah. “Hannah, how about I we go talk for a moment. You can have an interview with Ed later.”

“But—” she protested.

“Don’t worry, he won’t talk with any reporters before talking with you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I asked him not to,” I said with a smile. If it had been just a few days ago, I was not certain he would have followed that order. However, the last few days had been good in that regard.

“Okay, so where are we going?” she asked after following me away from the crowd.

“To the Inn.”

“That’s a weird way of asking me on a date.”

Her comment made me falter for a step or two. Probably a little red from embarrassment, I said, “Sorry, no date. I’m nowhere near being in your league. However, I would like a moment to talk privately.”

With a laugh, she said, “Not sure the Inn is private.”

“Well, there are small dining rooms you can rent that are plenty private,” I countered.

After I paid for the room, and we had closed the door, she turned to me with a serious look. “So what did you want to talk about?”

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way,” I started.

“Which is not a very comforting way to start a conversation,” she pointed out.

“Sorry about that. But I’m worried about you.”

“Worried about me?”

“I had a visit from Marcus, Aragoth’s new advisor,” I said. As soon as I mentioned Aragoth’s name she seemed to become more defensive. She pulled a bit away from me, her arms crossed and she was glaring daggers at me.

“And?”

“Well he was very intimidating. However, he said some things that made me think that he or Aragoth might be targeting you, somehow.”

“And you want to know what that is?” she asked icily.

“No. I just wanted to warn you. The guy seemed pretty unhinged to be honest, he pretty much insinuated that they were behind my false arrest. I’m afraid they might try something else in the real world,” I said.

She just looked at me for a minute. The silence in the room was thick enough to cut, or at least that was how it felt to me. Finally she said, “They tried something, but I made them back off. I’m safe.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m keeping all my members in the pod-hotel just to be safe.”

“You really think they would try something violent?” she asked, just a bit of doubt in her voice.

“I just know I don’t feel safe, except when inside the pod-hotel. We even have a whole floor to ourselves. Anyway, I don’t know what is between you, I just wanted to warn you. I hope you’ll play it safe. If he can have me arrested, they can pull a lot of strings,” I said and stood up to leave.

As I left, I heard her say, “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”

Outside I saw Ed was sitting at the bar, looking around. Waving him over I told him to give her an interview, not to spare details about the achievements. However, not to reveal anything about Dawnguard, and see if he could play it off as pure luck, and that we did not have any plans to meddle in guild politics.

I spent the rest of the day until dawn, with the exception of a quick meal break, butchering rabbits and seagulls. Enough to earn me two levels of Butchery.

Day 15 dawned with me already inside the game at my usual spot outside the east gate, and cooking up a little breakfast for myself. It was also harvest day for Nise, but except for the chamomile the others had been trampled in the large rabbit attack on the town.

The morning was unremarkable, and that set the mood for the rest of the day. With one exception: Nise barely got any chamomile from her plot. In fact she got so little from it that she needed to use it all for Lesser Transmutation, which she also failed. It would appear that the law of average had caught up with her.

True to Sir Miller’s word, they dropped by to buy food from me. So did a few independent players. It was nothing like it had been before, but it was a start. Since they had more money on hand, it meant they wanted more food with buffs. Even though they kept selling their rabbits at overprices to the Dusts, it was totally fine with me. Let Dawnguard waste coins and credits was my thinking.

The only thing out of the ordinary for myself was that I decided to pick up Horticulture and planted a plot of chamomile next to Nise’s. It might seem silly to have the overlap in skills, but the output was too small, and at length I would need a lot more to sustain anything suitable. More importantly, it was the skill needed to grow the plants needed for Alchemy. I could not keep relying on luck in the Rabbit Warren, which I rarely ran, so I would have to grow my own herbs for potions and poison. Also in the future Nise would need to shift her crops towards feeding animals, if she wanted to take up any form for animal training skill, so it would only make sense if I had some skills that could grow what I needed.

On the morning of the 16th ingame day. The first thing I did was making my way to Fillard’s Sundries. As usual the man was up early and in quite the good mood. “Good morning Damian, here to sell a lot?”

“Not today, I was focused on other pursuits yesterday. Mostly grinding bones and making glue,” I said and started stacking up the few items I had to sell. “Not too many rabbits available for butchering.”

“Shame, but it all helps fill the crates,” he said. While counting out coins, he started whistling.

“You seem chipper today, more so than usual,” I remarked.

“Right you are. The ship is coming in today, means I can ship off these wares and collect my pay from the Auctioneers. Should be here within a couple of hours.”

“Right, I had forgotten about that. Importing anything interesting?”

“The usual. If you want something outside of that you need to order it, and I’ll make sure it’s on the next ship heading our way,” he said and pushed some coins towards me.

“So going to be grinding bones today again, or can I expect a proper volume tomorrow?” he asked with a cheeky grin.

“I’m going to the beach.”

“Sounds unproductive,” he said with a frown.

“Need a lot of rocks, I’m trying to build up a large cache of manastones. Are going to need a lot of them soon,” I said.

“Something to do with one of them fancy achievements you have?” he asked with a sly look on his face.

“Maybe, and if it is. I promise you’ll be the only Local retailer in Blackport that get to sell it.”

“Sounds good to me. See you in the morrow,” he said. Dismissing me as a new customer walked in. It was a player I had never seen before. That I even took an extra look at him came from the fact that he was wearing a tabard with four big As sewn into the front. I remembered that tabard though. It meant he belonged to Almighty Al’s guild. They were starting to make themselves known, which meant I would have to find a good solution to the Butcher’s quest sooner rather than later.

I made my way down to the beach, where I spent almost an hour collecting rocks. It was about the time I finished, when the ship docked. Just out of curiosity I stayed for a bit, to see how much was moved off and onto the ship. With the help of some special bag of holdings, emptying and filling the ship was quite easy. Men were running up and down the gangplank,

It took me almost a minute to notice that there were a group of people that were not running around ferrying goods. I took a closer look at them, and noticed they were players. Their low levels of eight and nine cemented that fact. I wondered why any player would spend so long travelling to Blackport.

It was while checking the fifth guy, I got my answer. The first thing I noticed was that he was level 11, which made me wonder why he was higher levelled than the rest, but all musings went out of the window when I recognized his name: Hei the Reaper. Hei had been one of Shadowguard’s most proficient fighters, and a personal friend. Friend might be a bit of an exaggeration, but he spent a lot of time in the archives requesting files on targets, and we struck up a casual acquaintanceship.

If Hei was here, it meant that the rest of the group was also Shadowguards, which meant a whole lot of trouble for my guild. They might be lower levelled than my Original Five. Nevertheless, I did not think that anyone but Kira could take them one on one without trouble, and that was not accounting for Hei. Even with her level fifteen, I doubted she would be able to go toe to toe with him.

Muttering curses the entire way, I hurried to the training area where all combatants of my guild should be. At least that was what I hoped. My hope was not in vain, all of them were there, and I noticed that the Knights of the Squirrel and a few independents players had also found the spot and was sparring there.

I decided not to hide anything from the guild, even the more uninformed of them. When we were all gathered off to the side, I said, “Guys, we got a problem.”

“What now?” Blaze rolled his eyes.

“Just saw five players getting off the ship.”

“So what?” Robert asked.

“They’re all members of Dawnguard’s assassin squad. They are not members of the guild, so no guild tags, and they’re here to mess with our development.”

“How do you know that?” Elize asked.

“Because I know someone who used to be a member, who told me what to look out for. Also one of the higher ups in the guild made a point to send some threats our way,” I said. Technically not lying.

“Okay, should we go kick their asses now?” One-Eye wanted to know.

“No, they might be lower level than you, but they’re all expert fighters. Some of them are probably better than Kira.”

Kira started almost bouncing in place hearing that. With an eager smile, she asked, “Really?”

“Yes, especially the one called Hei,” I said.

“I’m with the kid, let’s go kick their butts,” Robert declared with a booming voice, which drew the attention of some of the others.

“No,” I said sternly. “We’re not going to start the fight. Just be careful, and make sure that you’re not alone at any point.”

“Damn pussy,” Robert grumbled, loud enough for me to hear.

“Listen, we’re not going to provoke a fight with the biggest guild around, but if they start it, I promise that I’m not going to stop you from fighting. Understood?” I asked, staring at One-Eye, Robert and Kira. Those three were most likely to start a fight.

“Fine, I had just hoped for a worthy fight,” Kira agreed with a pout. After a few more moments One-Eye and Robert agreed to wait as well.

“Good, I’m going to warn the others. Be on the lookout for these five players,” I said and then gave them the name of the five Shadowguards.