The more Maya played this game, the more she wondered about the tutorial. It had really done a terrible job of preparing her for the gameplay. No wonder 9352 had been neglected for so long. Between the disjointed appearance of the main city, the weirdly skewed perspective of the tutorial, and the lack of even the most basic social controls, she was beginning to wonder if she might be better off anywhere else.

But the thought was fleeting. She didn’t seriously consider the option. Maybe from fondness, maybe the same sense of an unknown waiting to be discovered that Sevard claimed as his motivation to stay here.

9352 may be an unbalanced mess of a world, but it was her unbalanced mess of a world. It may be abandoned by its creators, left to run on its own devices for who knew how long, but that only made it all the more interesting. Like a mysterious quest orb left forgotten in a noob shop, this world had so many undiscovered secrets.

And, thanks to the extremely public rivalry taking place between Domitius and Shardlord, right now it was alive with other players. If it had been a ghost world, empty but for Maya, she would have been less eager to remain. But she’d made. . . friendly acquaintances, at least, if not necessarily actual friends yet. And she’d been, for the most part, having fun.

Even the frustration, even the panic, even the bad decisions. It all only served to make the world feel more important to her. This was the place of her triumphs and failures alike.

She wasn’t going to abandon ship just because she’d learned that it was even less cohesive than she’d assumed.

Sevard reappeared, holding a squirming monkey that kept biting his hand and trying to grab his hood.

“You’ll have to come down,” he called from the bottom of the steps. “The platform is a no-combat area.”

Maya joined him, and he tossed the monkey to the ground. It immediately switched targets, leaping at Maya’s face.

She flailed out wildly with her dagger, taking as much damage as she dealt in the process. Sevard twitched, as though to attack, but restrained himself and stood back.

The monkey was too close and moving too fast for Maya to consider throwing knives or Wind Whisper as a solution, so she simply continued with her freeform slashes and ignored the alerts as her health dropped lower and lower and lower.

She could finish one tiny monkey before it killed her. Surely.

It turned out she couldn't.

When she respawned two minutes later, Sevard stood just outside the platform, a half smile on his face, one foot holding the scrambling and clawing monkey still.

"Don't say anything," Maya hissed, stalking down the steps to join him. Sevard released the monkey, which again switched targets to immediately attack Maya.

This time, since it was already injured, she was able to finish it off with 18 of her health remaining.

And just like that…

Trickster quest completed.

Items gained: none.

Your favor with the Trickster has increased by five.

Maya was a little disappointed not to get an item, but not surprised. She turned back to Sevard, then froze as a new alert insinuated itself in front of her vision.

Alert! The Trickster requires your presence at Asgard. You have one minute to accept.

There was no decline button, and the alert didn't zoom away from her view like most popups. Maya scowled, wondering what would happen if she waited it out and refused to accept. But she didn't feel like pressing her luck that much.

"Sorry, Sevard. I have to go somewhere. I'll be back as soon as I can. Will you still be around? Or are you leaving?"

"I'll stick around, unless you’ve given up on us hiring each other."

"No, you've been very helpful, and I still need to earn every bit of money I can. I'll be back."

With seconds left, Maya clicked accept. To her surprise, the location was a repeat of last time, the endless staircase spiraling through a starry sky. She'd begun to think it was always random, but now wondered if the choice of location might be an indicator of the Trickster's mood.

The Trickster grinned at her. "Ah, there you are, my dear little trickster. I wonder if you could help me solve a problem."

"Okay? What do you need help with?" Maya had been expecting a trap or reprimand, and didn't know what to make of his opening.

"It seems that I am displeased with you for some reason, though I've no idea why. I don't suppose you could clear that up for me? You wouldn't have been tampering with time, have you?"

Maya frowned in confusion, then her heart jumped as she realized. She had loaded the game. Her previous conversation with him never existed. Though debuffs carried over between saves, relationships with NPCs must not.

She was still cursed, for the moment, but she had a second chance. And this time, she was the one with all the knowledge.

Or was she? She couldn't be sure how saves worked with NPCs. This could be a trap, or some kind of test. He might want to see if she would try to lie to him if she thought she'd gotten away with it.

The more she thought about it, the more certain she became that that was what he would do. That kind of a test would be just like him. But if he really didn’t know, she certainly didn’t want to tell him.

She cleared her throat. "Yes, I loaded the game. I did something that I didn't realize would be a big deal, and you were very angry. And I didn't want to stay in that world, so I loaded. But apparently debuffs carry over, so your curse is still there even if you don't remember placing it."

There. That should be vague enough not to provoke him, while also being completely honest.

"What could you have possibly done to upset me so?” The Trickster sounded utterly baffled, an emotion Maya would never have expected him to display openly. “I admit, I quite like you. You're creative, unique, and interesting. Why, with a bit more effort, you could give any of my current favorites a run for their favor. So I find myself wondering. If I were to ask for the exact details of what happened in your alternate reality, would you tell me?"

"I'm not sure."

"You. . . aren't. . . sure." The Trickster regarded her for a long moment. "I must have been very angry. It is extremely rare that I invoke a curse on anyone rather than simply setting my tricksters on them. What could it be? I admit, I'm having a hard time imagining anything that you could've done to upset me so." His voice trailed off, and he watched her with a half smile.

Maya sighed. "I'm not even sure why you were so upset. Do you fault me for not wanting it to happen again?"

“Ah, of course.” The Trickster smiled, back in control at once, his voice returned to its usual light teasing tone. "Then how about this. I give you my word that, not only will I refrain from any further punishment, if you tell me truly and completely what is you did to earn my disfavor, I will restore your position. Undo my curse. Reset your favor to zero. What would you say then?"

“Give me a minute.”

He nodded.

Maya thought about it, hard.

By choosing to soulbind his class, she had thrown her lot in with him for good or ill, but that didn't mean she trusted him. She wasn't sure she could take him at his word. And she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Right now, she had the Diviner's Orb back and no one knew about it, player or NPC. The moment she shared that secret, it would be no longer hers. And the Trickster was the last person she wanted to tell. Given recent events as an example, he would almost certainly destroy it. And that she would not allow.

She may have bound herself to his class, but that didn’t mean he owned her. Keeping the Diviner’s Orb, keeping her word to the Oracle, keeping part of herself hidden even from him - that was something she wanted to hold onto. Whatever the cost.

"I can't,” she said, voice firm. “I want to forget it, and I want everyone else to forget it, and I want to pretend it never happened. I'm sorry, I know it was a mistake, it'll never happen again, and I'm willing to accept my penance."

"You don't have to be quite so upfront and honest, we are tricksters after all." The Trickster giggled.

Maya said nothing.

"Not going to change your mind?"

Maya shook her head.

"Hmm. Well then. If that is your decision, I will respect it. But don't expect me to go easy on you. If you won't tell me, I must assume the worst. The very worst. That you set yourself against me. That you tore Asgard from the sky. That you led an army into my deepest sanctums, that you enslaved my family. You would truly prefer those consequences to simply telling me the truth?"

It was a trap, an impossible question. But the answer came without hesitation.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but yes. I promise it wasn't as bad as that, but I know I can't expect you to believe me."

Maya hadn’t realized before now just how stubborn she could be. But, then, she supposed that most people would never realize where their lines were until someone tried to push them across.

The Trickster's eyes narrowed, turning cold, though his smile remained unchanged. "So be it. See you in a week, trickster. I would wish you good luck, but I think we both know that would be insincere."

He stood silently glaring at her for so long that Maya began to wonder if he just planned to never let her go until she answered him, but then he laughed and spoke, any coldness gone as suddenly as it had appeared.

"If at any point you change your mind, I will reward you well. I admit, I'm incredibly curious. I actually cannot imagine what you could possibly have done, and I would love to know. I understand the desire to put it behind you, but know this. I have only invoked my curse twice since the beginning of the world. To have done so a third time and not even know why is rather maddening."

"Maybe being in the dark for once will be good for you.” Maya couldn't help but grin a little, despite the terrible tension in the air, a bit surprised at her own daring.

He laughed, an unrestrained, almost childish laugh. “I can assure you, it will be very unpleasant for you.”

Maya shrugged. “I was already resigned to a miserable week. I’ll survive.”

“Don’t think too highly of yourself, little trickster. Just remember, I’ll reward you well if you tell your tale, but the longer you wait the less I’ll offer in return.”

“I understand.”

“Then our business is concluded. Have fun with your hunt.”

Immediately, the world shifted around her, the endless stairway with the starry expanse beyond fading and the bright morning jungle returning.

To her surprise, the confrontation hadn’t done anything to crush Maya’s spirit or even taint her mood. Instead of vulnerable, she felt determined and confident.

Why would that be? What had changed?

Then she understood. By taking the choice for herself, by protecting the Oracle and refusing the Trickster, she was accepting a challenge rather than receiving a punishment. She’d already resigned herself to a terrible week. This might make it worse, but it would still only be a week.

And she’d be able to keep her Diviner’s Orb, keep her secrets, keep her promises to the Oracle.

They could try to make her choose a side, but just because her class was locked in for good didn’t mean anything for her actions. She may be a trickster, but she was still her own entity. And if she wanted to dance between two opposing quest-givers, then she would make a way to do so.

She felt almost buoyant, a strange lightness that made her grin, even as Sevard stared at her like she was crazy.

Maybe she was crazy. But right now, she didn’t care.

"How did you do that?" Sevard asked. "That was not dust of recall. What in the world are you? High-level monsters rush to kill you, and you can disappear and reappear at will? Are you a developer undercover? Or does being a founder grant you special privileges to mess with the world?"

Maya shook her head, still grinning. "No, nothing like that. It's for a quest."

"A quest. You know, I've been playing this game for years, and I've never even heard of any of these quests. There's something going on with you that is not normal." Then his serious expression lightened into a wide grin. "Not to say that I won't exploit it. Bring on the rare monsters, I say! And if you have to randomly disappear sometimes, well, maybe you could try to do that in combat?"

"No, I can't do it at will. It's just a side effect of the quest. Once I finished killing a higher level creature," Maya shrugged, "it happened. That's all. It's not an ability or something I can do over and over."

Sevard shrugged. "Whatever you say. So, if your quest is taken care of, can I assume that you're working for me now?"

"Yes, you can in fact it assume that." As she spoke, a message flashed across Maya's vision, demanding her attention.

Area alert! Durg-Grom the Vengeful is on the warpath! Prepare yourselves!

Sevard laughed. "What would I do without you? Come on, let's go." He started off running down the path, moving so fast he was almost out of sight before Maya started after him.

"Wait! I only have normal person speed!" The last thing she wanted was to get lost in an unfamiliar forest full of deadly creatures. Of course, she would just be killed and respawn, but then she wouldn't be able to help Sevard and then she wouldn't get paid.

And right now, earning enough to hire Sevard onto their Standalone assault team was the best option Maya had available to her.

Sevard did slow, though he looked impatient. "Come on! We don't want to be late."

"Um, this may seem weird, but could you try carrying me? Rominian grabbed me and carried me halfway across the zone when he kidnapped me back by the city, and it didn't seem to slow him down much. If you're that impatient… Whoa!"

Before she'd even finished talking, Sevard scooped her up in his arms with a very goofy grin, then they were running through the forest, trees and vines and snakes and monkeys becoming a blur around them. Maya wasn't sure if she'd need a high agility to let her move quickly and make sense of her surroundings, or if it was just the perspective of being carried by someone else that dizzied her and made everything so hard to distinguish. Either way, the trip was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying.

And it worked. Within moments they arrived at a huge clearing in the forest, where Sevard set her back on her feet. The trees around them loomed dark and majestic, somehow both sinister and pleasing to look at. It was old growth, everything larger than she'd seen elsewhere in the zone so far.

Maya counted at least eight dead monkeys scattered around the clearing. She instinctively started toward them, but Sevard put out a hand to stop her. "It's just decorative, part of the event. Trust me, you do not want to be any closer to the center."

Maya took his advice and backed up a bit, leaving the center of the clearing open.

She began to hear distant crashes, the creaks and groans of trees falling, the distant rustle of branches, and then the crashes and snapping as they were violently shoved aside.

Somehow, the fact that she could picture the scene so clearly, despite being unable see anything, was somehow more terrifying than if she'd been able to watch whatever approached them.

Then the monstrous creature burst into the clearing in a shower of broken branches, roaring its defiance and rage. At first, she thought of some kind of gorilla, but that was very quickly disproven. No gorilla had six arms, nor did gorillas generally have stone shells on their backs. Even if it's general movement was vaguely gorilla-esque, it was clearly something entirely unnatural.

Hit point bars appeared on both sides of the screen, ramping Maya's concern up several notches. That only happened in boss fights or the arena, and this was obviously not the arena.

"Should we have a group for this?" Maya asked, her voice shaking.

"Sure, if you're on-level. I am considerably higher than that. Just don't let it hit you and you'll be fine. Don't even worry about trying to fight back. Just keep yourself alive, and we'll get through this."

Durg-Grom reared up on his hind legs, beating his chest with all six arms in a terrible overlapping rhythm as he bellowed a warcry.

Maya felt herself collapse to the ground, her knees weak with sudden terror. She heard Sevard curse, then he picked her up and they were moving again.

She couldn't force herself to speak, couldn't bring herself to move. That creature was too big, too powerful. What could two people do against it? It was clearly a raid boss, never intended for a solo player. She didn't care how high level of a rogue Sevard was, this creature would eat them both.

"Snap out of it!" Sevard shouted, shaking her. She heard the distant roar of Durg-Grom, then its thundering approach as it charged them on all eights.

Maya shook her head, unable to do anything more.

Sevard sighed, a short huff of exasperation, then he set her down and drew his knives.

"Help if you can, try not to get killed. I've got to stop him before he builds up too much momentum, or we're both dead."

Sevard charged, leaping aside at the last second as Durg-Grom barreled past. He spun as he landed, somehow turning his momentum into another leap, and landed solidly on Durg-Grom's back, slamming both of his daggers into the back of the beast's neck, just above its shell.

Durg-Grom roared, twisting to shake Sevard off. It worked, the shell too solid to provide Sevard purchase, then Durg-Grom spun and smacked him out of the air before he could even fall to the ground.

Maya winced as Sevard flew across the clearing, smashing into a tree so hard that its branches rattled and she heard something crack even from where she lay. Sevard landed in a heap.

Durg-Grom roared again. Maya had almost begun to recover from his first roar, but this was a hundred times worse.

She lay frozen, unable to think straight, much less act.

She faintly heard the slish of Sevard's weapons, the thudding of Durg-Grom's many hands.

The only thought in her mind was to flee.

If she could just get to her feet, she could run…

She was too weak to even do that.

She lay in a frightened huddle, listening to Sevard get beaten to death, wondering how long it would be before the creature came for her too.

"Halyar! Stand and fight!" An unfamiliar, accented female voice roused Maya from her fugue. She sat up abruptly, frowning at her own inaction. This was a boss fight! She had no time for cowering on the ground.

She jumped to her feet, readying a Windborne Blade as she spun to face their opponent.

Sevard was no longer fighting alone. A new player had joined him, a tall slender woman with glowing violet hair, a sword in one hand and some sort of trumpet in the other, named Zarene according to her health bar. She slashed her blade along Durg-Grom's flank, then raised the trumpet to her lips and blew a long bringing blast.

Maya felt new courage burst through her. The last lingering aftereffects of Durg-Grom's terrifying roar faded away with the trumpet's echoes.

She fired her Windborne Blade, following it up with Spark, then a standard Wind Whisper. Then another Spark, then Windborne Blade again as she fell into a simple spell rotation.

Durg-Grom's health bar wasn't falling nearly as fast as Maya would've hoped. Still, they were making progress. Sevard and the newcomer traded aggro back and forth between them with such expertise that Durg-Grom barely got a hit in on either of them.

Maya's attacks, though a constant irritant, were insufficient to draw attention away from the two much higher level players. Which, if she was honest, was exactly how she wanted it. She would not have enjoyed having Durg-Grom's full attention, not in the least.

Before the fight ended, they were joined by another new player, this one in heavy armor and carrying a shield bigger than himself. The moment he appeared, Sevard and Zarene left the aggro to him while they focused entirely on damage output.

Though Maya still trembled every time Durg-Grom roared, she was sufficiently buoyed by Zarene's constant shouts of encouragement and occasional trumpet blasts that she managed not to collapse into a quivering ball again.

After ten long minutes, the group finished off their monstrous foe. Durg-Grom fell to the ground with an extremely satisfying earthshaking thud. Maya felt the urge to cheer, and she wasn't the only one. The tank didn't bother waiting, just let out a of excitement and punched his fist in the air.

"Yeah! You're going down!"

Everyone began looking vaguely into space, presumably checking over their new high-end loot. Maya received nothing, which didn't surprise her. With her current luck, she fully expected to gain neither levels nor items for the remainder of her unfortunate week. But as long as Sevard gotten something, that was what mattered right now.

Maya looked at him questioningly, and, once he finish looking through his list, he turned to her and grinned.

"You're definitely getting a bonus for this one,"

"I'm still not entirely sure that I'm responsible."

Sevard shrugged. "I've been in this area many many times. Usually, Durg-Grom only spawns when there are dozens of players actively slaughtering monkeys for hours, with the express intention of forcing him to spawn. The fact that the two of us and these guys managed it makes me pretty sure it's down to you."

Maya couldn't very well deny it, Sevard definitely had more experience in the game that she did. Even if she wanted to protest, she wouldn't know how.

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: 153 Gold, 0 Silver, 1 Copper Quality Item name Details Flimsy Newcomer Tunic Flimsy Newcomer Leggings Soulbound Trickster's Dice Soulbound Trickster's Orb 2/5 uses remaining Normal Apple x2 Rare Diviner's Orb 1/3 uses remaining Normal Throwing Knife x488 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 x70 Uncommon Crimson Coil Scales x5 Normal Short Sword x3 Level 19, +7 Flx, +6 Mom, 1 damage (physical) Uncommon Broadsword x4 Level 22, +6 Foc, +5 Mom, +5 Str, 3 damage (physical) Rare Longsword Level 20, +5 Att, +5 Int, +5 Str, +5 Flx, 2 damage (physical) Rare Tiara of Vision Normal Leather Armor of Agility Level 19, +13 Agi Normal Leather Leggings Level 19, +3 Int, +3 Flx, +3 Foc, +1 Agi, +1 Str, +1 Att, +1 Mom Missions Mission Description

Time 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 12h 22m Trickster's Reward

??? Arena (Shadow) Spend at least one day every week fighting in the Arena Ongoing Variable Trickster Day 5 Visit a higher-level zone and defeat an enemy more powerful than yourself. DONE +5 Reputation with The Trickster 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