Ordinarily, Maya might've objected to a stranger assuming he could order her around, but Sevard had been helpful and nice so far and right now she had no desire to argue.

He led the way to a section of the city Maya had never been to before, cutting through several twisting back alleys and actually climbing over someone's fence at one point. He moved with unconscious stealth, sometimes almost disappearing into the shadows. Maya was sure that any watching guard would be unable to see him.

Her own attempts at stealth were not nearly as successful. First, while Sevard had pale skin, very little of it was visible, while Maya’s plumage was primarily white and her equipment did nothing to conceal it. And her stealth stat was negligible. But whoever they were attempting to evade, it must have been successful, because no one stopped them.

They arrived as an unmarked door in a private garden, again after climbing over a wall. Sevard knocked softly on the door, which opened almost at once.

"Who is it?" whispered a cracked female voice.

"The whisper in darkness," Sevard answered.

The door opened the rest of the way, revealing a dark-skinned older elf with short white hair. She wore the most chaotic, mismatched set of nightclothes Maya could've possibly imagined, giving her a highly eccentric appearance. Or insane, if one was feeling uncharitable.

The elf grinned widely, revealing several gold teeth. "Sevard! I've missed you. It's been so boring without your bizarre requests. What do you need today?"

"Something to make this pathetic level eight creature look less like the walking embodiment of noob," he said, nodding to Maya as he entered the house.

Maya followed him inside. She considered objecting, but caught sight of herself in a nearby mirror and really couldn't. Her haphazard accessories did nothing to smooth out the combination of excessively revealing dancer top and tattered newcomer leggings, which overall made for an utterly ridiculous image.

“So you’ll be wanting something custom, I take it?” the elf asked.

Maya tuned out their conversation as she looked around the room. At first glance, it appeared to be some sort of tailor's shop, with overflowing shelves of fabric and thread. Not to mention the many mirrors set up by the door.

But that wasn't all. In one corner she saw a forge and anvil, though the fire wasn't lit, surrounded by stacks of raw metals. In another section she saw cases of gemstones and delicate tools for jewelry crafting, gold and silver piled haphazardly beside them. In another corner were arrowheads and sacks of feathers, set beside stacks of wood cut to the proper size for arrows, more wood shaped for shields, and yet more in other sizes she couldn’t immediately guess the use of.

In fact, the more she looked, she saw stations and supplies for every type of crafting. She took another glance at the elf, noting her chaotic outfit in a new light. Perhaps this wasn't an eccentric NPC.

"Excuse me. Are you a player?" Maya blurted, interrupting the conversation.

They both turned to look at Maya, then Sevard laughed. "Of course. Player crafting is about the only way to get good equipment, short of raiding dungeons nonstop. And even then, the chances of getting the exact item you're looking for are negligible. You don't think an NPC can work with high-level materials like these, did you?"

Maya shook her head. "I don't know. I've only been playing for less than a week."

"A week?” The elf tilted her head to stare at Maya. “And you're already level eight? What, do you have no life outside the game?"

"No, actually I don't. I'm permanent."

The elf stared at her incredulously. "People actually do that? What kind of a crazy person would really kill themselves just to go live in a fantasy game? That's insane."

"Come on, Dalra," Sevard cut in before Maya could think of how to respond. "You know as well as I do that some people have it off pretty badly out there. I can think of dozens of reasons without pausing to think about it, why people would rather live in here. Just because you have a fine life, doesn't mean everyone does."

Dalra shrugged. "If you ask me, there is no possible reason sufficient to justify throwing away your life to move inside a computer game. What about your friends and family? What about doing something worthwhile?"

"Says the woman who spends 18 hours a day logged into the game," Sevard said, chuckling.

"That's different and you know it. I'm retired. I'm allowed."

"How about in another twenty years? How will you feel about it then?" There was a familiarity to their banter, as though they'd had variations of this discussions for years and neither was going to be convinced away from their stance.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," Dalra said dismissively. "But until then,” she turned to Maya. “What can I get for you?”

"Me?"

"Yes. Sevard tells me you're a mage? Level eight?"

"Yes. That's me. Level eight mage."

"So, what's your archetype? Basic mage? Arcanist? Spellchainer? What are your emphasized stats? Intelligence? Flexibility? Control? Attunement?"

"Oh. I don't really have a build yet, I've just been trying to stay alive. My original build was going to be intelligence and momentum. I'm not sure if that's viable."

"Momentum is a physical stat. I trust you have a specialization to accommodate?"

"Er, maybe? Path of Life. I don't want to be a glass cannon."

The elf choked and sputtered indignantly. "Path of Life? You're a mage! You don't want a specialization that drains your energy! What is wrong with you?"

"Now, Dalra, be nice,” Sevard reproved, though Maya saw he was laughing again. “She's new, remember?"

"New, new. Listen here, you…” Dalra paused. “What are you anyway?"

"A mage?"

"No, not that. Underneath all this," she gestured at Maya disdainfully, "you're either a guy or girl. I refuse to use those stupid 'non-binary pronouns' all the NPCs are so fond of. So which is it?"

"Oh!” Maya laughed nervously. “Sorry. Yes. A girl. Definitely a girl. I only chose this for the stats."

"And you don't mind prancing around dressed like that?"

"Obviously she does," Sevard said. "That's why we're here. To get her something respectable to wear."

Dalra looked Maya over again. "Path of Life is stupid. You need something better. Momentum you say? You should look for Star Chainer. Or, if you're not going for a fast attack style, at least trade out Path of Life for Steadfast Body. What kind of stupid mage drains their energy pool into health?"

"The kind that wants to stay alive?” Maya retorted. “I only get a limited number of stat points per level. I didn't want to waste them on strength. This way, I can keep putting them into attunement and still gain health every level."

"And with Steadfast Body it will drain your stamina instead, which you'll keep getting since you're stacking momentum."

Maya sighed, giving up. "So where can I find that specialization then?"

Dalra threw her hands in the air. "Find it? You mean you don't already have it? What have you been doing?"

"Leveling, obviously," Sevard said. "She's at eight, remember? After four days. Do you think she had time to go hunting down specializations between dungeons?"

"Dungeons! Where did you find this creature?"

"Having a picnic with an NPC. If that doesn't tell you exactly how much she needs our help…"

"Good job,” Dalra said wryly. “You found another lost soul."

"So, can you help her?"

"Of course. You don't think I would abandon her just because she didn't know what she was doing in her first week of gameplay?" Dalra turned back to Maya. "So, do you want all your equipment to be intelligence and momentum, or something else to compensate?"

"I don't know. Whatever you think is best. I'm planning to have a lot of spells, so I’ll need enough ability slots to cast them all. I don't want to have to worry about switching during combat."

"Good. Stacking intelligence sufficiently will make the switch penalty basically irrelevant. So you don't need to worry about flexibility. Did Sevard say you run dungeons?"

"Occasionally. I'm not planning to make it an occupation or anything. But yes."

"Then you'll need attunement. Higher-level dungeons are killer if you don't have enough will. How much do you have now?"

"18."

"18? That won't do it all. All right. I think I know enough. What about visuals? What's your angle?"

"Angle?" Maya felt more and more lost the longer this interrogation went on.

"Visual style." Sevard said. "I tend to go with black, stealth. But I am a rogue. Not sure it would work as well for you."

"Let me think a minute."

Maya had spent so much time using whatever items had the best stats, regardless of what they look like, she hadn’t given any thought at all to what sort of image she would choose if she had the chance.

“Something that looks good for a mage, I guess,” Maya said at last. “I don’t have a particular style in mind.”

“Hmmph. Then which resistance do you want?”

“Resistance?”

“Elemental? Physical?”

“Um. . .”

Sevard broke in. “Different materials provide bonuses against different damage types. Since there are so many attack types and you can only have a maximum of one resistance, it’s not going to make you invulnerable or anything, but there’s no reason not to have one.”

“Fire?” If they kept needing Fire-related items like the phoenix feathers, they had a higher probability of facing fire-aligned enemies in the future.

“Fire it is. And colour preference. . . mmm, I’m thinking, indigo, with black and silver?”

“Sounds perfect.”

“I think I have most of the materials on hand. It should take me about seven hours, but I need to log out and get some sleep at some point, so come back tomorrow evening, game time.”

“This evening,” Sevard corrected. “It’s past midnight. By a lot.”

Darla waved her hand. “The evening. Give me an hour or so to finish up, then come see me.”

“Thank you,” Maya said, overwhelmed. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

“Don’t thank me, this idiot is the one paying for it. Can’t imagine why. Custom gear is a waste of time at low levels. You’ll outgrow it in a day or two at this rate.”

“But it’ll look good forever,” Sevard said, winking.

“Yes, indeed. Bring it back to me if you need an upgrade. It’ll max out at around level 20, 25, but should last until then.”

“Thank you.”

“You already said that, girl.”

"And I still mean it."

Maya followed Sevard back out through the maze of buildings and streets. Again she was reminded of just how large the city was, and how little of it she'd actually seen. She tried to keep track of where they were going, but knew that without Sevard she'd never find her way back to Dalra's house.

"So where are we going?" Maya asked.

"I need to stop by my house and drop off some things before we go into the wild. And I think I have a few items low enough level that you could equip them while we wait for Dalra’s gear. Once we're equipped, we can head out. I generally tend to hunt in the Crystal Mountains, but if you been running the Phoenix dungeon, your team must be based out of the Ashen Plains?"

"No, actually the mage academy is right here in the city."

"Oh." Sevard seemed so surprised, he couldn’t think of anything else to say, and just stared at her with a perplexed expression.

Maya shrugged. "I do have a quest to leave the area and kill something high-level. Do you suppose you could help me with that?"

Sevard smiled, his attitude shifting back to carefree in a blink. "Yes, I suppose I can."

He led the way past the arena and somewhat to the north, into the section of town dedicated to neat rows of player-owned houses for those less extravegantly wealthy than Standalone. Sevard's house was just a single story, significantly smaller than Dalra’s two-story abode.

Maya tried to follow him inside, but bounced off the invisible field protecting it.

You have attempted to enter a player’s home uninvited.

>Request invitation

>Begin conquest

>Leave

Maya selected ‘Request invitation’ and Sevard granted access immediately. “I forgot I had it set to always ask."

Maya entered a small, cramped front room. Every wall was lined with boxes and chests, shelves of boxes and chests, and interspersed with the occasional full-length wardrobe or bookshelf. Sevard crossed to one particularly drab box on the floor and stood next to it without speaking for several minutes.

Maya counted twenty chests, three wardrobes, two bookshelves, eight boxes, and a shelf of trinkets and trophies. There was a second doorway, barely visible between two shelves, with a chest half-blocking its bottom half from view. It would not be easy to access, and she got the distinct impression it was not in frequent use.

“Do you live here?” Maya asked, hesitantly.

“It’s my house,” Sevard answered somewhat absently, his attention on whatever he was doing with the crate. “Home base. Secure storage. Everything a rogue could need.”

“But it looks so. . . um, utilitarian?”

“So? It’s not like I need a bed or kitchen in a game.” He gestured vaguely at the collection of chests and crates. “Organized storage. What else would I need?”

Maya shrugged. “I guess. If it doesn’t bother you that your home looks like a poorly-organized warehouse.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know it’s extremely organized.” Sevard stood, grinning, and turned to her. “Here. I don’t tend to sell anything unless I have to. Not sure how useful they’ll be for a mage, but they’re better than nothing. And this is a bit too high level for you to use yet, but I’m sure you’ll get there soon.”

He offered her a pile of items, and she hesitated. “Really?”

“Yes, really. If we’re going to be fighting together, I can’t have you running around half-equipped.”

She accepted.

Items gained:

[Uncommon] Survivor’s Bracelet

(lv5, +1 str, +1 foc, +1 int)

[Uncommon] Meager Bronze Dagger

(lv7, +2 agi, +2 int, +1 con)

Acrobat’s Ring

(lv7, +2 agi, +1 foc, +1 flx)

Dancer’s Ring

(lv5, +1 mom, +1 foc)

[Legendary] Greater Ring of Focus

(lv7, +16 foc)

Cape of Deceit

(lv7, +1 str, +1 agi, +1 con, +1 foc)

[Legendary] Athlete’s Talisman

(lv5, +7 agi, +7 con)

[Rare] Shirt of Meditation

(lv15, +8 flx, +7 att)

[Exceptional] Rogue’s Jacket

(lv4, +3 agi, +2 con, +1 foc)

Rogue’s Belt

(lv8, +2 agi, +2 con, +1 foc)

Maya laughed weakly, glancing at her luck to be sure it hadn’t somehow flipped to +90. But, no, still negative. Maybe it didn’t do anything to other players? That would make sense. It could mess with her, make NPCs and monsters react differently, but at least other players would still be in control of themselves. She felt relieved at the thought, glad that even the Trickster's vengeful influence only stretched so far.

“I’ll get them back to you as soon as we’re done,” Maya promised.

Sevard shook his head, crossing to a large wooden chest banded in iron. “Nope, they’re for you. Keep them, sell them, whatever.” He paused only briefly, then moved to yet another chest, swapping out his current equipment with a set of thinner, sleeker black shirt and pants without quite so many buckles. Shadows shifted around him where he stood, making his form indistinct in a way even his former outfit would envy.

“You don’t even need the ring or talisman?” Maya couldn’t quite believe that anyone would just give away Legendary items of any level.

But Sevard only shrugged. “Nah, all yours. I don't need them back, it's all lower level than what I have now. Enjoy.”

Character Maya Starborn Average Androgynous Harpy Level: 8 Affinities: Magical Physical Tier: 1 Class: Trickster Specialization: Path of Life Base Equipment Modifiers Total Strength: 8 2 0 10 Momentum: 11 2 3 16 Agility: 8 19 1 28 Control: 8 32 0 40 Attunement: 17 0 1 18 Focus: 8 22 1 31 Intelligence: 15 3 2 20 Flexibility: 8 1 1 10 Luck: -25 - -45 -70 Unassigned: 2 Health: 186 of 186 Will: 62 of 62 Stamina: 164 of 164 Energy: 126 of 126 Speed: 2.16 Switch penalty: -20%, 7 secs Stealth: 1.1 Chain bonus: +5% Awareness: 0.9 Cooldown: 95% Max abilities: 4 Abilities Abilities: [5 of 4] 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] 1.9 sec

5 dmg

(wind) Throw Knife

[5 stamina] Throw a knife at a target with high accuracy. Requires a knife. 0.8 sec

3 dmg

(physical) Windborne Blade

[45 energy, 5 stamina] Cast Wind Whisper in a loop up and behind, aligning with throwing arm.

Throw knife straight at target with wind as augment. 4.3 sec

33 dmg

{physical} Spark

[5 energy] Draw magic into palm and snap fingers to ignite into a spark of fire.

Can be used as a light or thrown at a target. 1.1 sec

3 dmg

(fire) Sense Balance Discern if an area is lacking in or has an excess of any materials, creatures, etc. Perks: Quick Strike Decrease one ability’s activation time by 30%.

Lasts 3.5 minutes.

1-hour cooldown. Inventory Item Name Slot Str Mom Agi Con Att Foc Int Flx Rogue's Jacket Body 3 2 1 Ordinary Gloves of Control Hands 14 Newcomer Leggings Legs Footwraps of the Acrobat Feet 2 Lesser Bracelet of Control Arm 1 4 Survivor's Bracelet Arm 2 1 1 1 Bronze Dagger Held 1 2 1 2 Acrobat's Ring Ring 1 2 1 1 Dancer's Ring Ring 2 1 1 Greater Ring of Focus Ring 3 16 Cape of Deceit Shoulders 1 1 1 1 Athlete's Talisman Misc 1 7 7 Rogue's Belt Misc 2 2 2 1 Trickster's Mask (Mage) Special Money: 70 Gold, 2 Silver, 12 Copper Quality Item name Details Flimsy Newcomer Tunic Flimsy Newcomer Leggings Soulbound Trickster's Dice Soulbound Trickster's Orb 2/5 uses remaining Flimsy Orchard Map Normal Apple x2 Rare Diviner's Orb 1/3 uses remaining Normal Throwing Knife x509 3 damage (physical) Special Key - Arrival Plaza Apartment Expires in 26 days Special Key - Room 6, Sapphire Hall Special Arena Equipment Token Registered to Maya Starborn Uncommon Juggernaut’s Collar Level 29, +12 mom, +11 str Uncommon Boots of Fluidity Level 29, +6 mom, +6 con, +6 flx, +5 foc Rare Crimson Flame Charm Level 30, +12 att, +12 foc, +6 int Legendary Ring of Concentration Level 29, +24 Int, +12 Con Legendary Necklace of Acuity Level 29, +18 Flx, +18 Foc Legendary Circlet of Acuity Level 29, +18 Flx, +18 Foc Normal Peach Normal Pear Normal Mango x3 Rare Shirt of Meditation Level 15, +8 flx, +7 att Uncommon Minor Chestpiece of the Dancer Level 4, +1 mom, +1 con Missions Mission Description

Time Reward Trickster Day 5 Visit a higher-level zone and defeat an enemy more powerful than yourself. 18h 12m Trickster's Reward

??? A Private Grudge Claim Standalone's house in Conquest and hold it for at least 10 hours. Personal House Trickster Day 4 Claim in Conquest the home of the next player you see.

Once claimed, hold it for 24 hours. 5d 18h 12m Trickster's Reward

??? Arena (Shadow) Spend at least one day every week fighting in the Arena Ongoing Variable Trickster Day 3 Lose a fight to another player in the Arena DONE Ordinary Gloves of Control

+5 reputation with The Trickster 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 by Windy Creek

Help clear the wreckage of the old Windy Creek Dam

Help construct a new bridge over Windy Creek 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 Help Shary the Produce Merchant Find the missing apple 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