David, Sam and Alera had been right. Anvasa was simply gorgeous. Onyx obelisks, monuments to something, were on nearly every street corner. Temples devoted to every god, Egyptian or otherwise, were all over the city. Pyramids served as buildings for pretty much anything. The largest, over twenty stories tall, was situated in the center of the city and was the palace of the ruling family.

Ethan could see why the city was popular amongst the player base, it’s beauty and size were so great that he felt he could spend a week or longer here just exploring and not run out of places to see. And that didn’t include the dungeon underneath the palatial pyramid.

“Anyone heard from her yet?” Leah looked nervous as she played with her braided red hair. “Ethan?”

“Hmm? What?” The city wasn’t the only beauty on his mind. He hadn’t had a chance to speak with Alera very much on the ride that day, small glances and smiles had been the extent of their conversation. And when they’d gotten into the city, she’d rushed off to meet with the Silent Council. He was hoping that when she got back from her mission, he could actually get a chance to talk to her.

But it was almost time for dinner, and he hadn’t heard from her. Did I still manage to fuck it up? I mean, she kissed me, that had to be a pretty big fucking sign, right? He had gone back and forth with himself. Usually, the idea of romantic entanglement with a guild made was a bad idea, historically, it had been very bad for him.

“Have you heard from her yet?” Leah asked him again. She, David and Ethan were seated at an outdoor cafe in the alley between buildings could, several small plates of a variety of local specialties were on the table in front of them. A canvas canopy had been stretched between the structures giving diners a break from the desert sun.

“No, nothing yet.” He shook his head. “It’s only been a couple of hours though, she may have had to wait in line, or something.”

“That’s not uncommon with, where she is,” David said cryptically, “she’ll be back soon and we’ll know more then.”

Leah crossed her arms and tapped her foot against a table leg impatiently. Ethan knew she was getting more impatient by the minute.

“When she gets back,” Ethan leaned forward onto the table, attempting to change the subject, “I want to get us into the dungeon as quickly as possible.”

“Agreed.” David said, nodding his head vigorously.

“Agreed with what?” Sam interrupted, walking up with Miguel. The two of them had been out shopping. Sam said he’d forgotten how much he loved the look of the Egyptian inspired town and gear and wanted to pick out some pieces for a new outfit. He could get an Artificer in Startesgarde to transfer the stats of his current gear to a piece of equivalent level, but with the new item’s appearance. It was one of the classes Enchanter Archetypes could take, it didn’t provide much in the way of upgrading, but vanity was often a good money maker. Sam certainly spent a small fortune to maintain his aesthetic.

“Underworld dungeon. We want to get in today and get started.” Ethan said, motioning for the new arrivals to eat any of the small plates of food off the table. “You guys find anything good?”

“We’re going to be twinsies!” Miguel said excitedly. “He went dark and disturbing, or course, but I got almost the same outfit in white and gold.”

“I really asked him not to.” Sam followed up, taking a particularly large fig from a plate. “So my look may not last long.”

“What else is new?” David said with a laugh.

“That supposed to mean something?” The warlock asked, with mock indignation.

“Please, you’re pickier than a high school girl trying in dresses for prom,” Ethan smiled, “but better dressed.”

“Did you get one of those fake beard things?” Leah asked him, trying to distract herself from worrying about her husband.

“No. I did not.” Sam replied flatly.

“He got an ornate mask in the shape of the head of Anubis.” Miguel helped himself to another one of the figs. “I tried to see if I could find a smaller one for his familiar,” he paused and hung his head in mock shame, “I could not.”

Ethan’s enjoyed friends bantering. Since they’d respawned almost a month ago, they hadn’t really had a chance to just relax. They’d rushed to 15 and then separated for their own quests. Then they’d recruited Alera and the dynamic had changed a little, but it was still enjoyable. It was nice though, to just hang out with the people he was closest to in the entire game world.

The sun was just beginning to set behind the buildings when Alera finally rejoined them.

“Ugh,” she moaned taking the seat next to Ethan, “I thought I was never going to be able to leave.”

“Everything okay?” He asked her as he poured her a glass of wine, trying to appear calm. He was nervous about asking directly about Tae-Won out in the open, but it was also the first time he’d been close to her since they’d kissed the night before.

“Yeah, ooh figs!” She greedily grabbed one of the dark purple fruits and popped the entire thing in her mouth, “just had an errand I had to run. I’ll tell you about it later.” She patted his leg as she finished talking.

“And?” Leah looked like she was about to have a stroke, she was straining against flat out asking about Tae-Won, but she was desperate for information.

“I’m sorry Leah,” Alera swallowed the fig and frowned at her new friend. “No.”

“What do you mean no?” Ethan whispered. Everyone at the table leaned forward to hear better. This wasn’t the news they had been expecting. David and Miguel were holding Leah’s hands in support. “He’s not here?”

“He never made it here.” Alera said drinking from her glass. Her demeanor was more akin to discussing the weather than the disappearance of a friend’s husband. “They’re actually quite pissed about it.” Her eyes flicked between the rooftops of the alley and Ethan was positive she was making sure no one from the House of Whispers had followed her.

“Guys, I’m really worried about Tae-Won,” Leah said, her eyes glazed over and her fingers tapping on an invisible keyboard, “I just sent him another message, telling him we’re in Anvasa and no one here has heard from him.”

“Has he said anything yet?” Sam asked, reaching for a small pastry stuffed with some sort of sausage.

“No,” Leah shook her head, “the messages are going through, but he’s not answering.”

“So what do you want to do?” Miguel asked, “Stay here and run Underworld, or head back to Startesgarde?”

“We may as well run the dungeon,” Leah said, crossing her arms over her chest, “We’re here already.”

“That’s the spirit!” Alera’s speech was loud and slurred as she unexpectedly slammed her wine glass down on the table, “Yous needs a distraction!”

“Umm.. yeah.” Leah stuttered out, looking between Ethan and Alera.

“Now,” Alera began again, pouring herself another glass of wine, “I gots me a fine distraction right here.”

The blonde rogue chugged back her wine and kissed Ethan hard on the mouth. If he hadn’t been so surprised by her sudden public display of affection, he might have enjoyed it more. As it were, he was slightly embarrassed as he attempted to kiss her back.

“Meet me back in my room in ten minutes,” she whispered loudly into his ear, before making a show of standing up and sauntering away.

Ethan stared blankly in the direction Alera had just left. Around him, his guild mates all had shocked faces as they looked at their leader. Miguel’s mouth was hanging open as his eyes flicked around the table.

“Umm.. so.. Ahem” Ethan cleared his throat, trying to find any words at all to diffuse the strange situation he suddenly found himself in.

“Well that was awkward as fuck.” Sam finally spoke up, taking an exaggerated sip of wine before continuing. “I mean, congrats I guess.”

“Yeah,” Ethan said, his entire body burning in embarrassment, “I, uh, I don’t know why she did that. But, um, I’m, I’m going to, uh, go…” He trailed off as he stood up.

“That was a fast ten minutes.” David smirked at Ethan as he walked past.

“That’s what she said.” Miguel giggled next to him.

Ethan wandered around for a few minutes, the inn they were staying at wasn’t that far from where they'd been gathered. I don't want to come across as desperate, right? Should I take flowers? How’s my breath? Shit! Even his inner monologue was nervous

His heart was pounding in his chest as he climbed the stairs to the room Alera was staying. Okay, Ethan, you’ve got this. You’ve had sex before, the only reason this is any different is that your entire guild knows exacly where you are and what you’re doing. But screw those guys. Weird word choice, but I stand by it.

As he hurried up the stairs, he was caught off guard by the sight of Alera leaning against the wall next to the door to her room.

“That wasn’t ten minutes,” she smiled at him when he approached her.

“Uh.. yeah.” He said, slowing his pace. He’d expected to find her inside the room, which would hopefully give him a couple more minutes to psych himself up. “Fuck it.”

Ethan grabbed the smaller woman in his arms, pulling her in close. The warmth and weight of her body against his felt incredible. For the first time, he kissed her. He was elated to find her kissing him back.

“Easy there lover boy.” She said with a wide grin, gently pushing him away.

“What?” Ethan tilted his head to one side as he questioned her, “Isn’t this why you asked me up here? Why you shoved your tongue down my throat in front of four other people?

“Sorry, but not this afternoon,” Alera looked guiltily at him,”Not saying never, just not today.”

“So why did you do that?” He wasn’t angry at her, just confused. He could tell by her mannerisms something was bothering her. For starters, she wasn’t slurring her words or acting nearly as drunk as she had been at the table.

“I needed a distraction.” She said bluntly, “And public displays of affection work as great ones, makes people uncomfortable and more likely to look away.” She paused and smiled at him again, “Also they’re way more fun.”

“Is that true?” He asked, now even more confused, “And why did you need a distraction?”

“I dunno if it is, I saw the exact same thing happen in a movie one time and thought it would be fun to try today.” She shrugged her shoulders and pushed on the door, “This is why I needed the distraction though.” Alera pointed for Ethan to enter her room.

Inside, bound to a chair with a burlap sack as a hood, Ethan saw a man. He was wearing completely nondescript clothing, just a simple brown long shirt and black pants. Ethan assumed he was gagged underneath his hood, he could hear the man grunting and mumbling through some sort of obstruction.

“Jesus, Alera,” Ethan panicked and looked down the hallway to make sure no one was coming as he rushed into the room.

“Who is he? Is he with the.. You know…?” Ethan was terrified. All thoughts of his kisses with Alera were gone as he tried to make sense of the bound man sitting in her room.

“Nae, he’s not with them.” Alera attempted to reassure him. “If he were, I wouldn’t have caught him so easy.”

“So who is he?” Ethan asked, not wanting to get too close to her prisoner.

“Not entirely sure,” she shrugged, “Saw him following us this morning before my meeting, and then when I was coming back I spotted him on a rooftop watching you lot. Figured it might be worth it to see why he’s paying such close attention to him.”

“Have you questioned him or searched him yet?”

“Aye,” she replied with a nod, “Only two bits of interest.” Alera held out a small bag to Ethan. It reminded him of just a few days ago when he’d given her a similar back filled with gold to go buy her mount. He didn’t think this one would have a thousand gold in it though. Whatever it contained was something important if she didn’t want to just come out and say it.

Ethan reached in the bag, feeling a box and a small metal object with a pin in the back of it. Cautiously, he pulled out the pin first. His heart sank when he was a familiar red, embossed metal dragon. This man was a member of the Blood Dragon guild. Ethan had had a run in with one of their members on the way back to Startesgarde, not long after he’d met Alera. He’d thought it was over, he’d reported their griefing to several leaders of the raid clan.

His hand shook as he held the pin between his last two fingers and reached into the bag for the box. The small wooden container was about the size of a pencil case back in the real world. It wasn’t that heavy and he didn’t hear anything move inside it as he lifted it from the bag

“Do you know what’s in here?” He whispered to Alera.

Wordlessly, she nodded at him. Her face was hard and stern.

“Did it hurt you? To open it, I mean.” He asked her, still whispering.

Alera frowned and shook her head.

Ethan nodded back to her and placed his hand on the lid of the wooden box, preparing to open it.

“Ethan,” Alera grabbed his forearm before he could open the container, “I’m with you. Whatever you need, I’m with you.” He could see sadness behind her beautiful green eyes, and it scared him.

He let out a long drawn out sigh and removed the lid of the small box.

“Go get everyone else.” Ethan said softly, his eyes closed after seeing the contents.

Alera nodded at him and turned to leave, but he grabbed her hand to stop her.

“Make sure Leah gets here last.” He told her quietly and sadly.

Ethan sighed again and sat down on the empty bed, placing the open box beside him. He was so shaken by what was in it, he couldn’t even appreciate that this wasn’t what he had been hoping to do on this bed.

“I don’t know who you are,” he addressed Alera's bound captive for the first time since he’d seen him, “or why he sent you, but you and I both know that this isn’t going to end well. And honestly,” he snickered softly before continuing, “I’m not the one you need to be afraid of.”

Ethan placed his hand on the box beside him. Inside of it were two items he never would have guessed in a million years. A greying finger with a golden ring still around it and an eyeball with a rich, brown iris. The message was clear, the Blood Dragon guild had Tae-Won.