Maya kept an eye out for Desi or Trixy as she walked across the mage academy grounds to the archway leading out into the city, but didn't see either of them. The NPC on guard today didn't say anything as she left, though she thought she saw him raise an eyebrow at her. She glanced down at her present garb. She really did need to upgrade her wardrobe at some point. But, having exactly 0 coins of any sort at the moment, that wouldn’t be happening just yet.

Her first priority was to find some quests and finish them quickly. She had 23-ish hours to earn three silver and get back to the arena. Even if she wanted to strangle the Trickster with his own toga. She glanced at the bracelet on her arm, reminding herself forcefully that at her level the class quests were her best chance of getting decent gear. However frustrating the process, the result would be worth it.

She headed to the north gate to check the quest board. Only one quest remained the same as she'd seen her first day. She considered for a moment which quest-givers would probably have the most money to spend, before realizing that it was a game and there is no reason for any one occupation to be any more lucrative than another. A knight or a peasant, they’d probably give roughly the same rewards for their quests.

Join Dazzlemurg the Hunter in her search for unicorns.

Collect two goblin shaman’s headdresses.

Assist Sir Thomas with charting the North Forest.

Construct a new gazebo for Maylon.

Rescue the lost lovers.

Collect 40 moonblooms for Nonn.

The unicorn search and mapmaking quests sounded like they could take a longer time than she wanted to spend. She wasn't entirely confident in her ability to take on goblin shamans yet either. That left the gazebo quest, rescuing the idiots, and collecting flowers. Maya was pretty familiar with the construction interface after her work at Windy Creek. And she didn’t doubt that he moonblooms would be somewhere in the forest. If she was in the area, she might also try to take out some goblin shamans. Might be worth a shot.

She had one place to stop: the nearest guard. This one, an older human woman, was more than happy to direct Maya to the location of all the quests she'd chosen to attempt. The gazebo construction quest was the nearest as well as the simplest, taking place in that same section of the city. She pointed out the address on Maya's map, about 10 minutes' walk away, then drew some more detailed directions for getting to the other, more distant quest locations. Though she did frown at the pamphlet.

"Your map is not very accurate. I hope you don't get lost. You should look into getting a better one."

Not anytime soon. She needed her money for other purposes. "I'm sure if I do get lost, there are other guards who can help me find my way then. Thank you!"

When Maya arrived at the gazebo construction site however, there was already another player there. A pink-furred felinis woman whose exaggerated figure was heavily accentuated by her clothing (or lack thereof) stood talking to who Maya assumed to be the quests NPC.

Maya had the immediate impression that the player responsible for creating that character must be a guy, because whoever it was clearly had no idea how to be a woman. Her outfit was the skimpiest approximation of undergarments Maya ever had the misfortune of seeing, and she moved with such an exaggerated swaying motion even just taking a single step that Maya was surprised she didn't fall over.

Maya wasn't sure if it was a one person quest, or if the two of them could work together and then split the rewards. She approached the pair anyway.

"–really think three is sufficient? I would have suggested four, myself…" The pink felinis trailed off suggestively, then turned to glare at Maya. "Excuse me,” she said in a harsh whisper. “We're in the middle of negotiations here. In private. I would appreciate it if you wait in line."

"I'm just here to help construct the gazebo." Maya turned and addressed the NPC. "Do you know where I might find the blueprints?"

Said NPC shook himself, as though to break out of a daze, and perked up immediately. "Oh yes! Of course. If you are here to help, then of course. I'm paying two silver for the job. So that's one for each of you if you can get it done."

The pink felinis bared her teeth and snarled, whirling back to face the poor NPC. "I thought we agreed to three?"

The fellow stood his ground, though he flinched at her sudden aggression. "That was if you get it done, by morning, on your own. Of course, it'll be much easier to finish on time now that there are two of you. But, yes, you make a good point. How about one silver, 20 copper for each of you. That sounds fair, yes?"

"I suppose it will do," the felinis said tersely. She turned her glare back on Maya, then smirked. "Or, how about this. If you tell him to shove off, I'll do all the work by morning for two silver by myself."

"Hey! If you haven't even started yet, you have no call to go kicking me out. This is a public quest. Not something private that you own."

Maya didn't care very much about the quest, but she didn't like this felinis one bit. This sort of entitled attitude, bribing NPCs to exclude other players from quests, made her angry.

"I was only going to pay 80 copper originally."

"You told me," said the felinis, calming enough to speak again in her soft slinky voice, "that you are willing to pay extra for speedy construction. If that is not the case, you should not have offered it. I will get the job done, and done quickly. With or without this harpy. How much will you pay me?"

"How about this? I can give you both the blueprints, and you work on the project, and I'll decide on your pay based on what proportion of the final project each of you does. That's fair, right? That way neither one of you can slack off and get paid for the other's work. Yes?"

"As long as I get at least two silver out of it, I don't care."

Maya stepped closer to the NPC. "I'll do the job for one silver. You don't need to give into this kind of nonsense. I can work quickly, I have experience with the construction system, and I'm confident I can complete the job in the specified timeframe."

The pink felinis snarled, whirling, and without warning she charged at Maya with her claws extended. She leapt, slamming her claws right through Maya's light clothing and into the skin beneath. Maya was shocked to notice that her health had dropped by seven points.

"Hey! This isn't a PVP area!"

"Every area is a PVP area if you're a PVPer," hissed the felinis. She backed up a few steps, then charged and pounced on Maya again.

This time, Maya saw her coming and twisted aside. The attack grazed her arm, dropping her health but not by as much as before.

Maya immediately began charging a Wind Whisper. The felinis hissed and jumped backward, gaining space for a charge again. The moment the felinis committed to the charge, Maya pushed the Wind Whisper at her and jumped to the side.

She underestimated the power of her overcharged Wind Whisper. It stopped the charge flat, preventing the felinis from using her high damage attack, but also preventing her from rushing blindly past Maya. She used the momentum of the Wind Whisper to spin in place, flawlessly redirecting herself toward Maya.

Too quick. Maya took another slash without the chance to react.

"You don't need to fight over this!" The NPC shouted. "I can pay you both! Please, stop!"

Maya wasn’t going to stop until the felinis did, and the felinis wasn't stopping.

Maya started overcharging another Wind Whisper. The felinis launched herself forward again. This time, Maya’s spell didn't have time to put as much force into it. It didn't stop the charge, but it did decrease the damage dealt when she slashed into Maya's chest.

This time the felinis didn't immediately back off, slashing her claws at Maya's face. Maya retaliated by punching her in the face.

The snarling woman slashed another 5 from Maya’s health as they grappled.

Maya punched again, then again. She had no idea how much damage she was doing, and had stopped paying attention to the damage notifications.

“Nyah! Stop that!”

“Then stop attacking me!” Maya raised her fist again, but the felinis batted her hand aside before she could use strike.

“My quest!” she shrieked, holding Maya down by her arms. “Mine! I was here first!”

“No! If you were politer about it, I might have been willing to let you keep it, but you’re being a jerk.”

Maya kicked her knee into the felinis’s leg. She snarled, but Maya twisted her legs and sent them rolling across the ground.

The felinis jumped up and backed away, hissing. “Stupid birdy. I’m going to pluck your feathers one by one for this.”

Maya couldn’t reply. She was already overcharging another Wind Whisper, ready to release it the moment her opponent charged. Was that charge-slash the only special attack she had? It seemed so.

The felinis charged. Maya fired the Wind Whisper. Triple overcharged, it knocked the attack back just enough for her to jump aside. The pink-furred blur tumbled past her, colliding with the building behind her.

The NPC man held up his hands, trying to wave them down. “Please! I’ll pay you both 2 silver. Just stop this ruckus before you wake the whole street.”

Maya would have gladly taken him up on his offer, but the felinis wasn’t giving up. Maya spun and cast another quick Wind Whisper. No time to overcharge it. The felinis was rushing her again. The spell connected, but didn’t even slow her.

No time. Maya grabbed her knives from her inventory. She couldn’t even raise them before the felinis collided with her, slashing another 7 off Maya’s health.

She didn’t have any skill with melee, no ability to aid her, but there was someone right on top of her and she had knives in her hands. Maya started stabbing. The felinis clawed and bit. They scrambled about in the dirt, neither able to disengage.

Then, without warning, the felinis fell limp. Maya could feel her shuddering breaths, gasping for air. The felinis wasn't dead, but she'd just collapsed on top of Maya.

"Get. . . off," Maya grunted. "We can work together on this, there's no need to fight."

"No," snarled the felinis, but without as much vehemence. "My quest. I was here first. Take your feathered butt off and do something else."

Maya raised her hands, pouring the rest of her energy into a Wind Whisper, then shoved it out at the felinis atop her. It was enough, the ability working perfectly despite Maya's prone position, to push the felinis off and flop her over onto the ground.

"Just agree to work together and everything can be fine."

"Yes, yes!" said the quest-giver. "Please, work together and don't destroy anything else."

"This is the first quest I've had a chance at all day," the felinis hissed, rolling over into a sitting position and running her claws against each other. "And now some noob wants to come snatch it away? No. I'm done being pushed aside."

With combat ceased for the moment, Maya's energy and stamina were beginning to return. So, she had to assume, were her foe's.

It felt underhanded to attack while the other player had exhausted herself, but Maya wasn't going to give her any advantage. If she was so stubborn she refused to cooperate, she'd just attack Maya again the moment she'd recovered. She was higher level. Maya's health was already low. If she stood by and waited, she'd be the one to die.

So she attacked. Or, at least, began charging a Wind Whisper with every intention of attacking.

The felinis must have noticed the same moment as Maya that her out-of-combat regen stopped, as she leapt to her feet with a snarl.

"Stupid bird!" She charged again, claws extended, and Maya fired her Wind Whisper just in time to duck aside. The claw attack still hit, but it was another graze, not the full slash.

Maya wasn't going to let her grapple again without something to defend herself with, so while she waited for Wind Whisper to cool down she pulled out a throwing knife in each hand and charged, hoping to knock the felinis off balance. Maya wasn't as low on stamina, having been focused more on her spell attacks, and should be able to outlast her enemy if the past were any indication.

Maya stabbed and the felinis clawed, and Maya's health dropped to 40, then 22, then the felinis fell back with another snarl of frustration.

"Why won't you die?"

"Path of Life."

Maya backed up, charging another Wind Whisper before the crazy cat could begin recovering.

She had to cast the spell four times, bringing her energy back down to almost-out, before the felinis finally collapsed and faded, flickering out of existence.

You have killed player Kittykitty!

Item(s) gained: Minor Chestpiece of the Dancer, Minor Waistwrap of the Dancer, Acrobat's Footwraps, 12 copper.

Total players killed: 1

Your level has increased! You have 3 stat points to allocate.

Maya could hardly believe it. She’d won, beaten someone over twice her own level? Well, it was only thanks to her specialization. Without the hugely increased health, she’d have definitely died.

She waited until her energy and stamina reached full, then stood up a bit shakily and bowed to the NPC.

“Thank you for your patience. My apologies for the noise and making a scene, I don’t know why she attacked me. I hope we haven’t disrupted your night too much. Can I get those blueprints now? I think I can still finish your gazebo before morning.”

The NPC handed over the page, looking a bit stunned.

“Thank you.”

Maya sat down on the steps of the house behind them, spreading the page out before her, and set to work.

She finished the gazebo just as dawn was appearing over the horizon. Kittykitty’s body had long since dissolved, but the felinis player herself never reappeared. Probably too embarrassed about losing to the lowest level player on the server. Hopefully not out for revenge.

“Finished!” Maya exclaimed, dusting off her feathers. She walked over to the NPC quest giver, grinning. “Before morning, as promised.” She was getting pretty good with the construction system. She rather enjoyed the building quests.

“Not bad, especially working alone.” The NPC gave the gazebo an appraising look, then pursed his lips thoughtfully. “You know, if you wanted to stay another hour and put a layer of varnish on to protect it, I’ll throw in another silver piece.”

“Deal. Where’s the varnish?”

Maya set to work, painting the thick clear liquid over the entire structure, starting at the top and working her way down. Then she cleared the scaffolding, leaving the finished structure gleaming in the morning sunlight.

“Good?”

“Perfect.” He handed her a sack of coins. “Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome.”

Maya grinned as she peered into the sack. 3 silver, 50 copper. Lucky day! She’d gotten all she needed to finance her Arena quest and then some, on the first quest of the day! She wasn’t sure if she should go duel now, or try some other quests first. But, no. However she looked at it, any quests outside the city could be dangerous. If her new class quest reward was half as good as the last one, it would still be better to have.

Speaking of items, though.

She pulled her new Minor Chestpiece and Waistwrap of the Dancer from her inventory, contemplating the skimpy garb with distaste. Still, it had better stats than her newcomers' outfit.

You already have an item equipped in this slot! Replace Newcomer Tunic with Minor Chestpiece of the Dancer?

You already have an item equipped in this slot! Replace Newcomer Leggings with Minor Waistwrap of the Dancer?

Maya sighed. “Yes, and yes.”

She checked her stats. The items each gave her +1 to Momentum and Control, bringing her health up by another two. She glanced down at her almost-bare feathered chest, wincing at how ridiculous she looked. On her androgynous body type, the ‘chestpiece’ was more of a pair of ornamental spirals that didn’t conceal anything. Even Kittykitty had at least a slight amount of coverage. But she wanted the stat bonuses. . . ugh.

Maya left it on, swearing to herself that the minute she could afford proper clothing she’d get herself a set of wizard robes and never be caught dead in something like this again.

Then she tensed, realizing something as she stared at her bare arms. Her magic was gone!

All the power Shardlord had given her, enough to learn spells and more spells, no longer clung to her arm. She must have lost it when she died.

“Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Going into a PVP carrying that kind of a fortune?”

She wondered if she could find Jaydu, convince him to give it back. But who was she kidding. He’d probably infused it into his magic bow by now, or sold it to Harold, or decided to multiclass into mage.

The gazebo construction NPC was staring at her oddly, so she stopped ranting aloud at herself and gave him a sheepish smile.

“Something the matter?” he asked kindly.

“I just made a few really dumb decisions yesterday. I guess I wasn’t as lucky as I thought. It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.”

But could she? She felt rising panic at the thought of just how much she’d lost. With that much magic, she could have learned almost anything! Shardlord, the Archmage, had entrusted it to her himself. And she’d carried it around uselessly only to lose it through a careless oversight?

“Thanks again for the excellent work on the gazebo!” the NPC called after her, in a half-hearted (and doomed) attempt to cheer her up.

She nodded in acknowledgment and sprinted for the main road. She had to get to the arena now. If there was any chance of finding Jaydu before he spent or sold all of her power, if there was any way to convince him to give it back, she had to try.

But when she reached the arena, the NPCs at the door informed her that Jaydu had logged out for the night hours before.

“Is there anyone low level I can fight?”

“Depends what you mean by low. We have an aggressive little felinis girl, new tonight. Been tearing through our lower level regulars.”

“Kittykitty?” Maya asked, her heart sinking. She did not want a rematch, especially not one she was destined to lose. Well. There was no law saying she had to lose the first match. She grinned. Maybe this could be fun after all.

She thanked her informant, allowing herself to be ushered inside by the ever-present attendants.

Only one player sat in the waiting area, so she crossed straight to the registrar.

“I’d like to fight whoever’s available.”

“There is currently a match in progress, and another scheduled for directly after. Would you like to attend the matches, or continue to seek a fight of your own?”

She set down her three silver on the counter. “Just sign me up for a fight, I don’t care with who.”

“Ah, as a level four, the sponsorship fee is four silver.”

Maya slapped her forehead, scowling at her forgetfulness. “Of course it is. Alright, thanks for your time. I’ll be back.” She scooped her silver back into her bag.

But that reminded her. She was level four now. She still needed to assign her new stat points! No time like the present. Two more into int, another one into mom. That would bring her energy up to 65.

That gave her enough energy for one more cast of Wind Whisper, or an extra overcharge level. She was really growing to love that ability. It may be the cheapest, most basic spell there was, but it was serving her well so far. And between her new items and the levelup points, her health was looking much better at 103.

At full overcharge, with every drop of her energy, Wind Whisper would deal 35 damage and require about five seconds to cast. That was a serious tradeoff, though, the energy cost exponentially higher compared to casting slowly and singularly.

It was far faster to double overcharge the spell than cast it twice, but went through energy twice as fast. The energy-efficient use of the spell would be to always cast it at its base level and wait out the cooldown, dealing the most total damage for the energy spent.

But Maya couldn't afford to rely on a long drawn-out fight. She wanted to hit hard, fast, and fatally. She was always going to be the weaker party in any fight, and attrition would almost always play out in her opponent's favor. She couldn't count on a foe running their stamina dry like Kittykitty.

She needed more energy. A lot more energy.

She looked down at her coin purse, then nodded firmly. She couldn’t complete the arena quest now, so she’d go shopping for some mage clothes. A nice int and att boost would go a long way—

“Excuse me. I couldn’t help overhearing that you wanted to fight.”

Maya jerked her head around, searching the street for the source of the voice. No one.

“Up here.”

She turned, and there he was. A dark shape, outlined against the arena’s brilliant lights, crouching on the roof of the atrium.

“Who are you?”

“A concerned citizen.” He laughed. “No, that won’t work on you. Not today. I am a professional sponsor. I choose fighters to back, place wagers on their success or failure, and generally see to it that the Arena keeps functioning at its fullest potential. There are a few fighters who sponsor themselves, of course, but for most it would be an expensive and fruitless endeavor.”

“Are you offering to pay for my sponsorship fee, is that it?”

“Yes. To be blunt, you are just what we need right now. That. . . pink thing is tearing through my other contenders in her level bracket, but I heard a rumor that you’re sturdier than most. You lasted more than two shots from Jaydu, so I hear, and he’s tier two.”

“Yes. Is that uncommon?”

“At your level. Most times, that black bolt of his takes ‘em out in no time. And that was you at level three. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do at level ten.”

“I’m not intending to become a duelist. I just need to do one fight for a quest.”

“Yet you were here yesterday, and you’re back first thing this morning. I’ll make you a deal. Fight for me one day a week, any day of your choice, and I’ll see to it you’re paid for your time whether you win or lose.”

“Can I think about it?”

“You have until the sun reaches me, so think fast.”

She glanced up at the sky. The nearby buildings, though most were only two story in height, blocked the morning sun from reaching the lower Arena entry area. But not for much longer.

“Do you have a name?”

“Of course I do.”

Maya sighed. “What’s your name?”

“Private. You may call me Shadow, if ‘my sponsor’ doesn’t please you.”

“Alright, Shadow. Give me a few minutes.”

He nodded, leaning back on his heels, and Maya began pacing as she thought it over.

At face value, it sounded like a great deal. Someone to pay her fees, and pay her whether she won or lost. But she didn’t like tying herself down with long-term contracts. It was part of why she hesitated to join Shardlord’s or Domitius’s factions, even if either could offer her great benefits over playing solo. It’s why she didn’t join guilds, didn’t join parties.

But she needed money for better equipment, and she needed to fight a duel, and this would take care of both of those things right away.

Which mattered more? The present, or the future?

“How long would this contract last?”

“As long as you’re willing to fight for me and I’m willing to pay for you to do so. How about we say three months, with the option to renegotiate at that time?”

Once a week for three months. Fifteen days total. It didn’t sound like too much in that light.

“Alright. You have a deal.”

“Excellent. But first, we’ll have to do something about your attire. That creature may get away with traipsing about like a harlot, but my fighters must present a more respectable face. Meet me at 37 South Street as soon as you’re able, and we’ll find something better for you to borrow.”

He nodded his head back toward a side street a few houses down from the arena, and Maya nodded.

Shadow nodded once, then leaped upward. The moment his body touched the rays of sunlight cresting the roofs, he vanished entirely.

Maya stared at the spot where he'd disappered for a long moment, but he never came back down.

Maya Starborn Average Androgynous Harpy Level: 4 Affinities: Magical Physical Tier: 1 Class: Trickster Specialization: Path of Life Total Base Items Modifiers Sturdiness: 8 8 0 0 Momentum: 17 12 2 3 Agility: 9 8 0 1 Control: 14 8 6 0 Attunement: 10 9 0 1 Focus: 9 8 0 1 Intelligence: 14 12 0 2 Flexibility: 9 8 0 1 Luck: 40 35 - 5 Unassigned: 0 Health: 103 of 103 Will: 18 of 18 Stamina: 66 of 66 Energy: 65 of 65 Speed: 103% Switch penalty: -46%, 9.6 secs Stealth: 78% Chain bonus: +5% 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 Minor Chestpiece of the Dancer Body 1 1 Minor Waistwrap of the Dancer Legs 1 1 Lesser Bracelet of Control Arm 1 4 Trickster's Mask (Mage) Special Money: 3 Silver 62 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 29 days Normal Basic Throwing Knife x24 3 damage (physical) Special Key - Room 6, Sapphire Hall Flimsy Newcomer's Tunic Flimsy Newcomer's Leggings Normal Acrobat's Footwraps Level 5, +2 agi Missions Mission Description

Time Reward Trickster Day 3 Lose a fight to another player in the arena. 17h 28m Trickster's Reward

??? Gazebo Construction Construct a new gazebo for Maylon the Poet

[Optional] Also varnish the entire structure once built DONE 3 silver 50 copper

+5 reputation with Maylon the Poet Trickster Day 2 Lose a fight to another player in PVP. DONE Lesser Bracelet of Control

+5 reputation with The Trickster Windy Creek Reconstruction Locate the missing workers' tools.

Construct a new dam to redirect Windy Creek to the mill run.

Clear the wreckage of the old Windy Creek Dam.

Complete construction of the new Windy Creek bridge. DONE 5 silver, 80 copper

25 reputation with Windy Creek village 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