After respawning at the jungle ruin outpost, Maya occupied herself while waiting for Sevard with a not-quite shopping trip through half-dozen NPC shopkeepers. They all seemed unkindly inclined toward her, and she was certain that the prices they quoted were completely inflated, but she was done worrying about her bad luck.

There was a surprising variety of items available, from a weaponsmith - who curtly informed her that she had no thrown weapons available and she could check back in a week - to a tailor, to a general store. There was a magician trainer, with the same spell list as Harold back in beginner plaza.

But it was the exotic goods merchant that proved to be the true treasure trove of the trip. Alongside a stock of various rare woods and bolts of fabrics which Maya felt sure were crafting resources, he also had a full complement of dyes and cosmetics. For everything from armor, to fur, to feathers.

Maya barely resisted the urge to stock up then and there. She’d yet to try out the Trickster’s Mask’s ability to switch between physical appearances, and couldn’t wait to try it out. The only places where a full player name was stated outright were the leaderboard, the Arena, and dungeon bosses. Anywhere else, a player could be as anonymous as anyone on Earth. But she was nothing if not frugal with her resources, and to buy anything with her luck this low would be wasteful.

She opened her journal and made an entry reminding her to return when she had time, then flipped through and realized she’d lost her notes on Standalone when she loaded the game. She quickly typed in what she could remember, 1300 for him and 3000 for his dragon? Maybe? She needed to switch back to Seer as soon as her luck debuff was over so she could get his detailed stats again.

It felt strange, not rushing from one thing to another, with nothing to do but wait and browse, but it was also strangely freeing.

Still, as nice as it was to have nothing to do, Maya felt relieved when Sevard finally rejoined her.

He handed her a stack of monkey pelt with a grin. "I know you've been collecting these, as I picked them up for you on the way back."

Maya accepted, increasing the size of her stack to 21. "Did you finish the quest?"

"Yes. Of course. Though Jessa’s fight would've been quicker with a partner. I hope you weren’t terribly bored waiting so long."

"I just spent some time shopping. It was weirdly relaxing, knowing there was nothing I could do but wait. Everything's been building up so much, it's hard to be willing to take the time to stop. You know? I've been on these two different questlines, things getting crazier and crazier. And then I made one mistake and everything got a thousand times worse."

Maya laughed a little and took a breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you. This is exactly what I needed. A chance to get out, away from it all, and just… be. You know?"

Sevard shrugged. "I can't say I know exactly what you're dealing with, but I understand. Sometimes you can deal with one thing, you could do another thing, or you could deal with the third, but having to deal with them all at once is overwhelming."

"Exactly! That's exactly right. I could deal with any of them, but not all of them at once." Maya exhaled slowly. "So, apart from getting myself poisoned and slowly dying, what's next on the agenda?"

"Well, let's see what quest came up next?"

Sevard crossed to the mission board, then laughed and raised an eyebrow.

Maya glanced at it, but she didn't notice anything different about the list. “What?”

"Remember how I said Jessa’s is one of my current favorite quests?"

Maya nodded. "Yes? And?"

"It reset already."

Maya looked where he pointed, and indeed it was the same quest.

Jessa the Bandit Queen.

"Did you not complete it?"

"No, I definitely finished it. I've never heard of a quest resetting immediately after being completed. You really are my good luck charm."

"That's impossible. I should be the furthest thing from a good luck charm." Maya checked her luck, still only -27 thanks to Sevard’s amulet. Speaking of. . .

Maya reluctantly unequipped the necklace and offered it back to Sevard. “Thank you for letting me borrow this. It's an item I’d very much like to own.”

“Maybe someday, but for now I’m a bit attached to it.” He tucked it back into his own inventory. "Want to give the quest another try? I won't leave you behind this time, I promise. I'm used to being a solo rogue and forgot you were so low-level, but I won't abandon you again."

“Thanks. I would definitely not last long out there alone.”

She tripped on the way down the stairs, stumbling into Sevard’s back, and only his exceptional reflexes prevented them from both tumbling to the ground.

“I’m just clumsy today,” Maya said, waving off any concern. “Lead on.”

This time, they were ambushed by monkeys five times, and twice by groups of the Crimson Coil Cobras which Sevard set about slaughtering gleefully. Maya still hadn’t managed a killing blow on anything, but at least with multiple snakes she’d managed to hit one before Sevard could finish it off.

Sevard asked if she was sure she didn't mind him taking snake venom, which she didn't. In return, he continued giving her all the monkey pelts and snakeskins, despite the fact that he was doing nearly all the work and she was basically just tagging along.

He continued to be incredibly patient. Though with his high agility he could have left her behind easily, he always kept his pace slow enough that she could keep up, pausing when necessary.

It seemed that after her first death he wasn't going to take any chances with her safety. She imagined his protectiveness might become stifling after a while, but for the moment it felt amazing to know that someone else was watching out for her and she didn't have to worry about taking care of herself.

Everything about this trip was starting to feel like a vacation. And, though she'd only been in the game for a few days, it felt like a well-earned one.

When they arrived back at the ruins, everything was as it had been. The torches were lit, the traps reset, and enemies respawned.

Without snake venom slowly killing her, Maya actually made herself useful this time around. The tomb robbers were much sturdier than the monkeys in the jungle, so Sevard couldn't one-hit them and Maya had time to get in a few hits before he finished them off.

As they worked their way further into the dungeon they begin to fall into something of a synergy. With Maya drawing attention, Sevard was better able to utilize his sneak attacks about being spotted. Maya had never planned to be a tank, but her Path of Life specialization meant that, for a mage, she was as close as they could get.

They sat down between each pair of rooms to wait for Maya's health to recover, and spent these breaks trading stories about their exploits.

Most of these were Sevard's. Maya had only been in the game for four days, and thus had a very limited stock of stories to draw from. Though Sevard was suitably impressed with her tale of defeating the Risen Phoenix in the Crimson Flame dungeon.

The further into the dungeon they progressed, the more difficult their opponents became. So much so that, even with Sevard so over leveled for this area, their pauses became longer and longer as his health needed to recover as well as Maya’s. He had a lot more of it.

Still, though there were a few close calls, he always managed to pull aggro at the last second, throwing himself into danger to ensure Maya's survival.

"I don't think I've ever seen this tomb be quite so difficult," Sevard commented as they sat waiting outside the final room. "I didn't realize it would scale just by adding a single low-level player."

"It's my fault. I'm sorry. Dungeons tend to get more difficult when I'm around. I did try to warn you."

"I'm not complaining," Sevard said, laughing. "This is awesome! I've gotten more experience and more loot than ever. I should bring you along on every quest if this is the kind of effect you have. Rare monsters in the jungle, better rewards in the tomb? What more could I ask for? You really are my lucky charm."

"I do have other things to do," Maya started, then changed her mind. "You know… my team and I are working on something pretty difficult. You said that players can hire you, right?"

"Yeah. I'm not picky who I work for, as long as I get something worthwhile out of it."

"Are you at all familiar with Standalone? He's ranked somewhere in the top ten on the leaderboard, a solo player."

"Oh yeah, the tamer. He made quite a splash a year so ago when he managed to make an ice dragon his companion. Until then, everyone assumed tamer was unviable at high levels."

Maya's heart sank. "Ice dragon? Not fire?"

"Oh, he has fire dragons too by now, it's just the ice dragon is what he made his name with. Why? You thinking of cross-classing into tamer when you hit tier 3? That might not be a good idea for a mage. They get some pretty serious penalties."

"No. I want to take over his house. Do you know anything about Conquest?"

"Sure. It was supposed to be a system to encourage PVP scenarios beyond just fighting one another in a field. And there is a lot of potential for that, people can set up their land like a dungeon or basically anything they can imagine with enough work. It's just that the rewards are lacking. Most players are happier with the bonuses from keeping their house unconquered than they are interested in engaging with those who would take it from them. With the predictable result of fortifications being overpowered and no one caring to attack them."

"Well. I need Standalone's house, for at least a day."

"You know you can't take any of his possessions, right? You could use his crafting stations, but only if you have the materials yourself. You can't access his vault, can't rearrange any of his furnishings. If you're looking to get into conquest, I would choose someone a bit closer to your own level. And if you’re in it for the reputation, Standalone is not one to cross. He has a vengeful streak a mile wide. I’d steer clear of upsetting him, myself."

"I don't care. It's for my current quest."

Skepticism showed clearly on Sevard’s face. "A quest? To engage in conquest? With a specific player?

"Is that unusual?"

"Try unheard of. Conquest is a stupid side diversion. The only quests related to it are its own quest chain which gives nothing but useless Conquest reputation."

"Well, it must just be a very rare quest, because I definitely have it. Anyway, the point is, no one on my team is even close to his level. You're the highest level player I've met. Even Rominian is weaker than you. So, I was wondering if you could help us with the conquest."

"Normally, I would say yes in a heartbeat. But if there's one person I do not want to get on the bad side of, it’s Standalone. Tamer is a hard counter to rogue, and he has a reputation. Things could get very uncomfortable for me if I crossed Standalone."

"So I couldn't persuade you in any way?"

"I wouldn't say there's no way," Sevard said, with a grin. "I am a mercenary. If you pay me enough, I could be persuaded to take the risk. It’d just have to be significantly higher than my usual rates."

"What is your usual rate?" Maya asked, though she dreaded the answer. His idea of a fair trade for the amulet was in the tens of thousands of gold, what would he ask for his help?

"50 gold an hour is my standard rate."

"And how much more than that would you need to be willing to go up against Standalone?" Maya asked faintly.

"It depends. How long would it take?"

"Maybe a few days? But we won't need you for all of it. Just a few hours or so when we're actually attempting the conquest. Though we may have to try multiple times, and I've only got a few days left on the quest timer, so sometime within the next week."

"Sounds to me like a 1K job, if I'm gonna be on call for the next week. Add to that the fact that it's Standalone, 1500 base plus hourly."

Maya stared at her inventory screen, looking forlornly at the 70 gold, which was all the gold she'd ever earned, which was entirely and exclusively from Standalone's bribe. As long as she'd been in the game she hadn't heard of any way to earn gold.

"I don't know of any way to earn money in that quantity. I have 70, but my best source of income is the arena, and that's based on level. I'm not high-level."

"How about this then? I'll hire you, and then you can hire me. Circle of life."

"What could you possibly want to hire me for?"

"Just this sort of thing." Sevard waved his hand at the room they just cleared. "I'm getting so much more of everything as long as you're along. I mean, we've killed more snakes in a day than I've even seen in weeks. It's like you're irresistible to them. And if this works in higher-level zones too? I could make a fortune."

Maya burst out laughing. She wouldn't have imagined her bad luck would be so useful to someone. Even if all she did for the next five days was walk around being protected, the promise of Sevard's aid in their assault on Standalone's house would be more than worth it. She couldn't think of anything else she could do with even close to that benefit.

"If all you want is for me to follow you around attracting monsters,” she said once she got her laughter under control, “I can definitely do that. But will it be enough to cover that fee of yours?"

"Not completely. In the three hours we've been at it so far, I've made about 20% more than I usually can in this area. Which isn't much of an absolute scale, maybe 10 gold so far today. But if your luck holds in a higher-level area, I bet we could triple that number easily."

If they went from three gold an hour to 10 gold an hour, it would take 10 hours to reach 100 gold, 150 hours to get to 1500, and that was without accounting for his hourly rate. Even if Sevard never logged out for the next five days, they wouldn't be able to earn enough.

Maya would really prefer not to spend her own gold. Even though Savard really helped her equipment problem, she still hoped to upgrade to exceptional or legendary equipment if possible before taking on Standalone.

Still, anything was better than nothing. "What hours would you be online?" she asked.

"My shift starts at seven. That would be around 1 PM game time, though I need to log out at least a half hour before so I can get ready. I'm off tomorrow, then I'll be working the next eight days. But generally between midnight and noon I’ll be in-game, give or take a half hour or so."

"Can we do this every night?"

"Sure. You're the closest thing to a customer I have at the moment. I was hoping to catch some of the weekend crowd, but we're in a bit of a lull right now. I keep waiting for chaos to break out and it keeps not happening.”

“Why would chaos break out?”

“Something is building, you can tell. Shardlord isn't expanding, Domitius isn't expanding, they're up to something. They're both consolidating the power for something. They haven't so much as clashed with their scouting parties in weeks. Whenever that breaks, that's where I'll make my fortune."

Maya didn’t have a good enough handle on the relationship between Shardlord, Domitius, and the rest of the server to feel qualified to comment. She knew a lot about their relationship with the NPC factions, thanks to the tutorial, but not the players. She redirected the conversation.

"And how much is my presence worth to you?"

"Let's see how today goes, and we can negotiate from there. Sound fair?"

"Sure."

Sevard stood, brushing imaginary dust from his armor. "Ready?"

Maya glanced at her health, which was again full. "Yep."

"Last room. This is where the Bandit Queen herself waits. I'd like you to hang back during the cutscene if you don't mind. I've heard rumors that there’s a secret unlockable quest if you say the right thing, so I'll be talking for a while. If - or, judging by past attempts, when - negotiations break down, feel free to open fire."

"Got it. Good luck." Maya had more than one reason to hang back. She didn’t want to jinx Sevard’s attempts.

Sevard strode confidently into the room.

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 Minor Waistwrap of the Dancer Legs 1 1 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 Normal Monkey Pelt x39 Uncommon Crimson Coil Scales x5 Missions Mission Description

Time Reward Trickster Day 5 Visit a higher-level zone and defeat an enemy more powerful than yourself. 13h 41m 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 13h 41m 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