You can trust a crook to always be a crook.

Herbert Meadows - Father

Kelly and I spent a few days preparing for her meeting with Anderson's men. During that time we had managed to sell all of the mana gems. Individually each of the gems was worth a gold coin. I had managed to get 30 mana gems and after negotiating with the local merchants, we now had a wagon full of goods for the return trip to Windgate. That's right, I decided to escort Kelly home. While a cynical person may think I changed my mind due to our night time activities, that wasn't the case at all. Kelly was a good woman who deserved better than to be abandoned in a foreign city by me.

After coming to the realization that I wouldn’t abandon her, we spent most of our days preparing for the trip back. As I thought, the few items she had in the cart wagon only sold for about 50 silver. With all the goods that we were able to obtain with the mana gems and her 50 silver, we should be able to make at least 100 gold profit from the trip. Of course I would get my investment back with interest.

After completing all the preparations, I went to watch over Kelly as she met with Anderson's men. I had left the inn before her and found a spot out of the way where I could easily watch her meeting. Once she arrived it didn’t take long for a man to walk over to her. The guy didn't look shady, just like any other person we had crossed in the street the past few days. I guessed a smuggler wouldn't want to look shady, that would completely defeat the purpose.

He talked with her. She talked to him. They talk some more. Honestly, it was quite boring. I didn't know exactly what they were saying as I was too far away. Maybe Anderson had given her some sort of passphrase to ensure she was handing the package to the right person.

Finally they went their separate ways and a portal appeared next to me.

Floor cleared! Proceed through the portal for rewards!

I ignored the portal. I had to help Kelly get back to Windgate. A trip there and back would only cost me time and let me gain some more experience.

As Kelly headed back to the inn where we were staying, I followed the smuggler. I didn't tell Kelly that I would be watching over her trade. In fact she told me that she didn't want me to get involved with Anderson and any of the people he used. However, I didn't trust them to leave her alive and figured the best thing I could do would be to follow them to find out where their base was and if they were going to send any men after her.

So naturally I followed him. As he made his way away from the meeting point several other men moved from the crowd and joined him in leaving the area. I was a little concerned they may have sent somebody to follow Kelly, but even she wouldn’t be stupid enough to go to a secluded area after meeting with some smugglers.

Slowly the man and his goons wander through the city, eventually entering a building in what appeared to be a shadier part of the town. I contemplated trying to go around the back or find some other way in, but decided against it. The smugglers were only around level 9. Sure they were stronger than the average person in town but not strong enough to give me any trouble. So like the dashing hero I am, I walked straight through the door.

“Who the fuck are you?” asked the man who met with Kelly. I smiled in return.

“I'm just a young man who saw you harassing a beautiful young woman.”

“The fuck you are” said the smuggler. “Who are you really? One of Austin's men? Clearly not the city guard. Guess it doesn't really matter either way, cuz you're a dead man.”

As soon as he finished talking his men who had been circling me pulled out knives and dashed at me. I didn't even bother drawing my sword. Instead I simply dodged around their clumsy slashes and punched each of them once in the head and they crumbled lifeless to the ground.

Seeing his men so easily beaten, the smuggler started to step back.

“What the hell? Look I don't know who you are but you're making a big mistake here. Anderson's going to come after you. Then he's going to come after your family. Then your friends. Then their family. After all is set and done, there won't be a single person left alive who even knew of you.”

Wow he really went for the full villain motif. I was tempted to start some witty back and forth but instead sprinted forward and he fell as easily as his men.

True this Anderson guy would probably come after me if he realized I did it. Worse yet, he could come after Kelly or her family. The best way to ensure that didn't happen was to make this whole operation disappear. Luckily I had a bag that allowed me to do just that. I started going through what appeared to be a small storage facility and putting anything of value into my bag

It quickly became apparent that the smugglers dealt more in stolen goods than anything. Numerous weapons, paintings, and knick knacks that probably held sentimental value to somebody were all individually stored and labeled.

I eventually searched the smuggler and his men. Each of the goons carried a well made knife and a coin purse containing a couple hundred silver. All the coins went in my money bag and all the goons went into my storage back. If I made it look like they disappeared and tried to steal from Anderson he would go after them, not me or Kelly.

When I searched the lead smuggler I found the small box that Kelly had handed him.

Congratulations you have found the hidden treasure: Experimental Team Communication Crystal.

Item: Team Communication Crystal.

This first of its kind experimental crystal enables a team of climbers to communicate when not in close proximity. The owner of this crystal is able to duplicate this crystal a total of 10 times. Duplicate crystals can send verbal or written messages. Messages will transmit instantaneously when in the same dimension/plane. All other times messages will be archived and received when the holder moves between dimensions/planes.

0/10 times duplicated.

While it was neat, I had no idea what any of it meant. The crystal was about the size of a deck of cards and dark green in color. For the time being I tossed it inside my storage back.

I headed back to the inn where we were staying. Instead of going into the inn, I headed around to the back where the wagon was waiting fully loaded. Kelly was already sitting in the front waiting to go. We quickly left as she steered the wagon towards the gate out of the city.

Kelly was initially concerned about leaving through the gate that led towards the Wilds, but I wasn't worried. As I told her when we first arrived, the guards’ primary concern was the safety of the city, not the individual traveler.

“You two aren't planning to go through the Wilds are you?” asked the guard. “Not that I can stop you or anything, but you're going to die if you go through there.”

“Oh don't worry about us,” I said. “I've made the trip with her once before and we made it just fine. I do thank you for your concern.”

“Well, when you do realize that you have bit off more than you can chew, do me a favor and don’t lead a pack of monsters back to the city. I hate having to shut the gate and listen to idiots like you beg for their lives while getting torn apart.”

“Again, thank you for your concern.”

“And I always get blamed for it,” continued the guard. “The boys at the barracks are always saying ‘Roy, I heard another monster attacked a merchant at your gate”, then the captain makes me clean the blood off the gate.”

Luckily Kelly decided to just keep moving as the guard continued to rant. We made great time on our way back. Now that she wasn't trying to hide who she was and she knew that I could handle the monsters easily, we just moved forward at a steady rate. It seemed most of the monsters under level 25 avoided us, and all the remaining ones I defeated with ease. Five days later we arrived at Windgate with 58 new mana gems. I had even managed to gain a couple more levels on our way back pushing me to level 42.

“I can't believe I made it,” Kelly said. “I can't believe we made it.” She turned and flashed me a grin that just melted my heart.

“See you hired the right mercenary. Ready for the next step?”

“Yeah, I better meet up with Anderson.”

“I don't think that's the next step. The next step is talking to your father.”

“You're wanting me to introduce you to my father?” she asked, surprised. “That's quite the step in our relationship.”

“I wouldn't mind meeting him for that reason. However, I was thinking that he might be worried about you since he hasn't seen you in two and a half weeks. The last time you talked to him, Anderson was trying to get you to marry into his family.”

“I completely forgot about that.”

“You completely forgot that the whole reason you started this ill-advised adventure was because you were going to be married off to Anderson or his son?”

“I kind of forgot after all the other things I have been through with fighting monsters and dealing with smugglers in Tinder City. Not to mention you have a habit of distracting me every evening since we connected in Tinder.”

“All are good reasons to be distracted, but now we better talk to him. We need to make sure everything's been alright since you left.”

On the journey back I had spent some time thinking about this situation from everyone’s perspective. I couldn't help but think of how my dad would feel if I had left town against his advice on an ill conceived plan all because of a proposed engagement. Luckily I was a good son and would never do that to my pops. If I had, he would be constantly worrying about me to the point that his business might fail. He may be the best merchant in town but he was still human. If Kelly's dad was anything like my old man, he was probably fretting and tearing his hair out from the moment he realized she had gone missing. Best thing to do would be to put his mind at ease.

“Are you sure? He’s going to be mad.”

“Let's talk to your dad. If for no other reason, we need to make sure we haven't missed any changes since you've been gone. If Anderson is like most of the scumbags I've heard about, he may have tried to swindle your dad out of some more money even though he sent you on a suicide mission.”

“He promised me that he would leave my family alone if I attempted to deliver the item.”

“And smugglers never go against their word, seeing as they are law abiding people and all.”

“I guess you’re right. Let's just go talk to him and see.”

It turned out Kelly's father, Samson, had been distraught with worry over the past two weeks. He seemed suspicious of me but was grateful for my role in helping Kelly. While Kelly seemed like an amateur trader, he was clearly a professional. As soon as he was assured she was safe he asked about all the items that we brought from Tinder City.

After reviewing all the profit we were about to make, he opened up about the difficulties he'd been having with trade. Over the past several years bad luck led to many simple trades going wrong. His funds were slowly dwindling and he was forced to take on riskier and riskier shipments. I had a suspicion that Anderson had likely been influencing and affecting the success of his trades for a long while. Despite my concerns, Anderson had told Samson about Kellys trip and agreed not to bother their family anymore as long as she returned successful.

After all was said and done, Samson asked me to escort his daughter to the meeting with Anderson. Kelly revealed that she had received a token from the smuggler along with a phrase to give to Anderson to prove that she had completed the handoff.

Despite our new found closeness, I had not told her the fate of the smuggler or the mystery item I had gained. As for the rest of the smuggler's goods, I decided to keep those items for myself knowing stolen goods would only get Kelly’s family in trouble.

“Kelly I'm surprised I took you so long to see me.” An older gentleman greeted us. And by older I do mean older, his wrinkles had wrinkles. “The city guard told me you arrived two days ago. Since you arrived from the direction of the Wilds, I assume your trip was a success. Is this the adventure who accompanied you?”

“I am,” I answered. “I was the one who ensured she made it through the Wilds.”

“Congratulations on a job well done. Judging by the fact that you are both completely unscathed, you must be a man of diverse talents. Perhaps I can interest you in some work?”

“I'm just a simple adventurer and don't really have any desire to be involved in any sort of black market dealings.”

“Indeed. In that case why are you here?”

“Just to ensure she is safe.”

“Wouldn’t this meeting be considered involving yourself in the very dealings you say you want to be involved in? You fell for a honeytrap didn’t you? Well, you are young and you will learn eventually. Enough of the small talk, you best handover proof that you delivered my merchandise.”

Kelly walked over and handed him a small token which he reviewed then whispered a phrase that I couldn't really make out.

“Seems you have completed the task. Very well, your family's debt is forgiven. I do hope our families can work together again in the future.”

Man, the guy was a sleazeball. Just everything he said rubbed me the wrong way. If Kelly's dad had half a brain, he would never involve himself with this guy again. We politely excused ourselves and headed back to Kelly's family's house.

“I don't really know how to thank you,” Kelly said.

“You thanked me enough,” I said. She and her family had thanked me numerous times since we arrived safely. An even better thanks was when her father sold all the items along with the mana gems I have attained. My share of nearly 120 gold greatly increased my fortune. If I ever made it home I was going to be rich.

“I talked it over with my father and we would like you to stay. I know you don't like talking about your past, but it's clear you feel like you aren’t able to return to your home. Why don't you stay with us for a while? I know I would enjoy spending a little more time in your company.”

I was really grateful her father was not around to see the mischievous grin on her face. My initial reaction was to say ‘no’ and to hurry to the next floor. I already spent too long on this floor and knew that I would have to go back to Tinder City to get to the open portal. But something held me back from denying her request.

This whole climb was weird. Kelly felt real. She looked real. Her body's functions were definitely real enough. How long have I been in the Tower now? I thought over my time on the other floors and realized it was likely over 6 months since I first started the climb.

What was I really hurrying home back to? At this point, John would have been home for a couple of months and everyone would think I was dead. Sure, I missed my family but this was just the start of the Tower climb and there's a good chance things would eventually get more difficult. On the easy and hard medium difficulty, every 10 floors became more challenging. I definitely wanted to see my parents and sister again, I even wanted to see John and Joanne again. But the need didn't feel as urgent as it did when I first started.

While I hated to admit it, having wild sex every night with Kelly did change my view on things. And this floor didn't have a time limit. In theory, I could stay on this floor forever. Is it even really right to call it a floor? It may be better to think of this as a whole new world.

Maybe I would just stay here for a little bit. I could help Kelly and her father with their trading company, while going into the Wilds on occasion to increase my levels.

Making up my mind, I decided to stay for a few more weeks, at least until I could gain a couple of more levels.