Maya checked the leaderboard for the next lowest player above her. If she had to instigate PVP with anyone, it would be the lowest level she could find. And there it was.

Kittykitty, Felinis, Level 7.

The tutorial seemed to indicate that normally players gained their specializations at level 10, so it was probably safe to assume that Kittykitty didn't have one.

Each level gave 5 extra health. At level 7, that came to roughly . . . Maya tried to remember what hers had been before taking Path of Life. 30-something? She couldn't be sure.

She estimated that Kittykitty would have at most roughly the same health as Maya herself. But she also somehow doubted that the sort of player who'd choose a name like Kittykitty was going to be a min-maxer like that. If she had to guess, she'd peg Kittykitty as a thief, rogue, or ranger.

No one who wanted to be a frontline fighter would call themselves Kittykitty. Surely.

But all the speculation in the world still left the problem of finding her target. She couldn't very well go running around asking every stranger she met, 'Are you Kittykitty? Will you fight me?'

Then that red-and-brown player barged past her again. She spun around and watched him go, racing out through the gates and across the countryside, moving probably ten times faster than she could. Clearly an agility type. Maybe that was something she should consider putting a few points into.

Come to think of it though, Maya hadn't seen anyone else coming in or out of this gate any time she'd been here. Just this one crazy fast blur of a player.

Curious, she approached the door the stranger kept entering and departing. The wall around the town was huge, thick enough for any number of halls and rooms within, and high enough that this close it blocked out the sky almost completely. Towers stood to either side of the main gate, and it was the door at the base of one of these towers which now swung closed in the wake of the departing traveler.

Maya tried the handle. It wasn't locked.

She walked over to one of the guards standing nearby. "Where does that door lead?"

"It's one of our captains' lookout room. He's always up there keeping watch. I don't remember his name, he never comes down."

"Would it be alright if I go up and talk to him?"

The guard shrugged. "About the only way you can talk to him is if you go up there, seeing as he never comes down. It'd be hard to find him otherwise." The guard hesitated, looking at her sideways, then added, "I'm not sure you're really, ah, ready for the kind of missions he has to offer, though."

"You're probably right, but I’d just like to talk to him for now."

The guard shrugged in an 'it's your life' kind of way.

Maya opened the door onto a small round stone chamber with a door to the left, which presumably led off into the wall, while a heavy stone spiral staircase dominated the center of the room. Lanterns hung on the walls illuminated the small space.

Maya started up the stairs, surprised to find her vertigo acting up. It was one thing while in The Trickster's midair floating environments, anyone would feel nervous standing on an unsupported balcony or endless rope bridge, but a simple stairway? Given how much she hoped to be able to fly one day, she hoped there'd be some way around it.

She stuck close to the center of the spiral stairway and tried not to look down, or think about looking down, or think about how high she was getting. It was harder then she'd have anticipated.

The stairs went up and up, at least four stories if not five or six. She lost track as she attempted to keep her dizziness and instinctive desire to return to the ground under control. At the top of the stairs she found two doors, one straight ahead and the other to the left. She tried the one on the left first, as it was closer, but it was barred from the other side and she couldn't get it open.

The other door opened smoothly at her touch. It wasn't even latched, let alone locked, and swung easily on silent hinges.

A crisply-dressed merla stood with his back to her, looking out the window. His fins were blue speckled with white, standing out vibrantly against the silvery grey of his uniform tunic and pants.

He spoke without turning. "Back so soon?"

"Ah, no. I've never been here before."

He did turn when she spoke, his brow raised in surprise. "Someone new? Interesting. I haven't had a new visitor in, well, at least two or three months. What brings you here, young harpy?" He crossed to the desk which filled the center of the room, sat down and faced her, finned hands clasped as he learned forward to give her his full attention. Maya found herself staring at his eyes, huge and deep blue like a sky just after sunset, and forced herself to look away.

"I'm new to the area and keep getting almost run into by this other player charging up and down your stair. So I thought I'd come see what all the fuss is about. Ah, what is all the fuss about?"

He smiled fondly. "Yes, Rominian isn't the most careful individual. He does good work though. He has been of great help both to me personally and to the Council as a whole. I'm almost convinced the man can do anything. He's never yet failed in a mission I set him."

"How often does he do these missions? I've seen him here every time I'm around, is that just a coincidence?"

"Oh no, he's in and out of here everyday, all day. His current mission should take about 20 minutes, judging by his average completion times of similar missions. If you wish to speak with him, I can arrange it."

"How can you arrange anything? He didn't even stop when I tried to grab him, just knocked me over and rushed off."

The merla officer chuckled. "Well, I am the one giving him his tasks. If I set him a mission to speak with you, I assure you he will put his full effort into doing so.” He smiled to himself, then added, “It's also the only way I can get him to come over to dinner."

Maya laughed at the thought of an NPC tricking an overeager player into attending a family dinner. Then again, if the guy was completing so many quests this quickly, his reputation with this guard captain had to be insanely high. No wonder he wanted to invite him over to dinner.

"Would that be alright? I don’t want to impose,” said Maya. “I just joined the game and he's the only player I've even seen so far. I don't know what I'm doing yet, apart from running little quests for people in town. Is there a bigger storyline I'm supposed to be following? Any main quests I'm missing out on?"

"I was told that all the visitors have access to an otherworldly information resource which details everything about our world." The captain said the words delicately, as though they were dangerous or uncouth things to mention.

"If you mean the wiki, I'm a permanent player. I don't know how to access it, or if it's possible at all. Yet another thing I would like to ask a fellow player about."

"We are happy to assist those in need. It is part of our duty in the Guard. If it would aid you to have the services of my loyal friend for an hour or so, I will gladly allow you to borrow him. None of the tasks I have for him today are so urgent they must be completed immediately."

"Thank you very much. Do you need me to wait here, or should I go and come back?"

The guard captain grinned in sudden humor. He rummaged in his desk a moment and pulled out a sheet of paper. He wrote for a moment, pen scratching quick and precise characters in heavy sweeping handwriting. Then he folded it, sealed it, and handed it to her.

"I'll tell Rominian that he must find the bearer of this letter, answer your questions and assist you if required, and collect the message when you’re done with him. That should slow him up a bit. And this way you can go wherever you please, and it's his problem to find you. Ingenious, don't you think?"

Maya laughed. "Sounds fun to me." For an NPC, he certainly seemed to have the heart of a trickster.

"And in answer to your other question, I can't say that I'm aware of any main quest line. Most people just choose what they want to do and get on with it."

Maya sighed. "But what I want is to learn magic. And thanks to the current faction tensions, it's ridiculously hard to come by."

“Did the mage academy turn you away? I was under the impression they accepted anyone interested in joining them. Unless you’ve joined Domitius . . ."

"No, I haven’t joined anyone; I haven’t even met anyone. And I don't know anything about the mage academy. Do you know where it is?"

"Of course. It's on the north side of the city. Big round dome, towers with crystal spires sticking up, lots of flashy buildings like gemstones. Can't miss it."

"People keep telling me I can't miss things, but it would be a lot easier if there were an introductory packet or something with a map." Maya knew she sounded as frustrated as she felt, but couldn't help it. "The only thing I have is this farmer's map with helpful directions to the apple orchard if I ever need a thousand bushels of apples, but not useful for finding the mage academy."

"Didn't the Travelers' Hall give you one?"

"What's the Travelers' Hall?"

"You haven't been there? It should have been the first place you visited."

The guard captain opened another drawer in his desk and flipped through the papers inside. He pulled out a folder and read its contents, his expression darkening.

"What is it?" Maya asked.

"It seems a certain mission has been systematically overlooked. It could be deliberate sabotage, or that no one cares to complete it, but either way it is an oversight which must be corrected. Nothing you need to concern yourself with, definitely beyond your abilities at the moment. Town criers have been disappearing and no one's investigating. I'll have to elevate this mission's importance immediately. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Is there anything else you require? I really must address this. I'm afraid your meeting with my friend Rominian will have to wait. This requires his urgent attention."

Maya shrugged and sighed. "Not really. I want to check out the mage academy so I'll probably be in that general area."

"Here. In appreciation for your trouble. Feel free to visit me another time."

He tossed her a silver coin which she tried to catch, fumbled, and finally grabbed just before it hit the floor. Hooray knife throwing training!

"Thank you. It was nice meeting you."

She hurried down the stairs, holding tightly to the rail and pointedly not looking down. She was glad the tower room had only had the one window. She'd managed to forget how high up she was while inside, and it was a relief to be back safely on the ground.

Character Maya Starborn Average Androgynous Harpy Level: 3 Affinities: Magical Physical Tier: 1 Class: Trickster Specialization: Path of Life Total Base Items Modifiers Sturdiness: 8 8 0 0 Momentum: 12 9 0 3 Agility: 9 8 0 1 Control: 8 8 0 0 Attunement: 10 9 0 1 Focus: 9 8 0 1 Intelligence: 11 9 0 2 Flexibility: 9 8 0 1 Luck: 8 18 - -10 Unassigned: 3 Health: 93 of 93 Will: 18 of 18 Stamina: 56 of 56 Energy: 58 of 61 Speed: 82% Switch penalty: -52%, 10.2 secs Stealth: 78% Chain bonus: +4% Awareness: 66% Cooldown: 95.5% Max abilities: 3 Abilities Abilities: [3 of 3] Wind Whisper

[5 energy] Blow into cupped hands, then push the air toward the target.

Creates a light breeze, a quick gust, or a damaging slash.

[Overcharge: +5 energy, +0.2 sec cast time, +50% force/duration/dmg] 2.2 sec

5 dmg

(wind) Throw Knife

[5 stamina] Throw a knife at a target with high accuracy. Requires a knife. 1.1 sec

3 dmg

(physical) Sense Balance Discern if an area is lacking in or has an excess of any materials, creatures, etc. Equipment & Inventory Item Name Slot Stu Mom Agi Con Att Foc Int Flx Newcomer's Tunic Body Newcomer's Leggings Legs Trickster's Mask (Mage) Special Money: 2 Silver 65 Copper Quality Item name Details Soulbound Trickster's Dice Soulbound Trickster's Orb 3/5 uses remaining Flimsy Shary's Orchard Brochure Normal Apple x2 Consumable Special White and Blue Orb 3/3 uses remaining Special Key - Arrival Plaza Apartment Expires in 30 days Normal Basic Throwing Knife x24 3 damage (physical) Missions Mission Description

Time Reward Trickster Day 2 Lose a fight to another player in PVP. 12h 17m Trickster's Reward

??? Windy Creek Reconstruction Complete all Windy Creek reconstruction tasks. DONE 3 silver, 25 copper

25 reputation with Windy Creek village Reconstruction Prerequisite Locate the missing workers' tools. DONE Access to Windy Creek construction missions Damaged Dam Construct a new dam to redirect Windy Creek to the mill run. DONE 1 silver Windy Creek Cleanup Clear the wreckage of the old Windy Creek Dam. DONE 70 copper Building Bridges Complete construction of the new Windy Creek bridge. DONE 85 copper Trickster Day 1 Side with a person who is losing an argument or disagreement. FAILED -5 reputation with The Trickster Missing Delivery Find the overdue delivery boy. Ensure his safety and the successful delivery of apples to Shary's Produce Stand. DONE 5 copper

3 apples

+10 reputation with Shary and Elaph