Maya wasn’t sure how to feel. The whole trip to the leypillar, she kept rolling the day’s revelations over and over in her mind. Did it re-contextualize anything Sevard had done? Not really. Probably their meeting was less random, now she thought about it.

He probably got a weird quest like ‘buy every throwing knife in the city’ without knowing what for, and went to do it. Once he realized it was to mess with her, because of her low luck, he decided to put it to use in his favor. Since nothing in the medium-level zone could hurt him, he could use her as bait to draw out rarer monsters. She gains a protector, he gets more money, everyone wins.

It almost made her respect him more, how he’d acted like nothing was the matter after her interlude with the Trickster, though surely he’d been told just like Zarene that she was a target now.

If Zarene was trying to drive them apart, it wasn’t going to work.

Maya reached the leypillar promptly, to find Sevard waiting.

“I’m guessing you’ve never been to Nirsym?”

Maya shrugged. “What’s Nirsym?”

Sevard grinned. “Just don’t go wandering off on your own. It’s meant for mid-high level players, so there are plenty of shady characters around. Stick with me, and you’ll be fine.”

The shared-transit message popped up, and Maya accepted it. The world shifted.

Nirsym, it turned out, was another city. Unlike Kalyx, surrounded by hills and fields and forest, Nirsym was set in a parched scrubland. It lay surrounded on two sides by endless ocean, located in a bit of a temperate band, where sea winds kept back the worst of the heat, but she could see the greenery fading to scrub and desert in the near distance.

The leyportal stood near the city’s southern gate, atop a rounded hill with steps carved deep into its side. Maya and Sevard descended, then he led the way to the city gates. Interlocked sandstone blocks formed the outer walls, looking rather like what Maya imagined made up the great pyramids back on earth. The gates were the same size as those back in Kalyx, and Maya thought they seemed similar in shape as well. Probably some sort of default gate graphic.

It only took a few minutes to cross to the city, now that Maya’s agility was so high. Sevard didn’t even have to slow down his walking for her running to keep up.

“What is this place?”

“The second city. It specializes in rarer items and high-end crafting facilities, which makes it the perfect place to build our new alternate personas.”

“Oh, is that what we’re doing?”

“Yep. You saw how effective Zarene was with it. Any trick an enemy can use, I’m not too proud to use myself. I think I’ll go by Rend. How does that sound?”

“Sure. And I’ll be. . .” Maya cast around for anything but her own name to use. ‘Starra’ was the first thing to come to mind, but that was so obviously a derivative of ‘Starborn’ that she discarded it almost immediately. “Twinkle! Twinny. Yess, Twinny.”

Sevard laughed. “Rend and Twinny it is. I think I’ll go with a warrior build, lots of bright red.”

“And I’ll. . . change everything to be as bright yellow as possible. I’ll be like a canary.”

“Mmm, maybe go with something a tiny bit less memorable?”

“Fine, perhaps more oriole.”

As much as she liked her current appearance, she rather liked the idea of changing her feathers.

“But, how do we actually change our looks?”

“Easy. I’ll buy us each a bunch of dye and then apply it through your mask interface. There should be a list of personas to choose from, unless you haven’t set up any, then you’ll be prompted to make one.”

“And we need to remember not to fight bosses or go into the arena while in disguise,” Maya reminded him.

“I don’t tend to forget things like that.”

“I do. I forget everything.” She opened her journal and made a note not to fight anything high-profile while in disguise. Then she made a note to remember to actually read her journal notes at some point to refresh her memory.

“Not everything, surely.”

“Most things.” Maya shrugged. “I don’t think I ever had a particularly good memory, and then when I was uploaded I guess even more got lost in transition. But it’s fine. I get by.”

“If you say so. I can’t even imagine. I would be so frustrated, if I couldn’t remember important things.”

Maya sighed. “You have no idea.”

“But why didn’t you have it corrected, if you don’t like it?”

Maya glanced at him questioningly.

“You know, why didn’t you have your mind adjusted, or your genetics updated, or. . . something to fix the problem, if it’s so frustrating?”

“Because I died in the early 2000s, and if that technology exists now it sure didn’t back then?” Maya huffed irritably. “Can we just drop it? It’s bad enough I have to live with myself, I’d rather not be forced to think about the fact that I may literally be the only person left in the universe with this stupid problem anymore.”

“Well, we’re here, anyway,” Sevard said, turning down a side-street.

Maya couldn’t help noticing that, apart from the equally out-of-place modern arena featured in the center of the city, Nirsym had a very cohesive architecture style. Square buildings, with bold curves in doorways and used for decoration.

Sevard led her to a shop better appointed than most, with several bold ornate swirls ornamenting its walls and the sign hung beside the door gleamed with gold lettering.

“Tadira’s Curiosities,” Maya read. “Have you been here before?”

“Of course. I’m basically Dalra’s errand-boy, you know. She doesn’t leave the house much. Prefers to stay and craft when she’s online.”

Maya spun to face him as she remembered something. “You’re a trickster. So that means you must be permanent? And you made me think you had a life outside the game!”

“Did I give that impression? I do have obligations in other worlds, I don’t play here nonstop like some do.”

“What kind of obligations?”

“Well, a job for one. Just because I’m virtual, doesn’t mean I can just play around all the time. How do you think I pay my upkeep fees? Otherworlds can’t keep the power on for free.”

“Upkeep fees? I haven’t heard anything about this.” Maya frowned, heart sinking. If she had to find an actual job, well, from the vague impressions of despair that flickered through her mind at the thought, she rather believed it hadn’t gone well for her in the past.

“It was in the agreement I signed before uploading. Though, come to think of it, it may be different for founders. Since you never had a chance to choose one way or the other.”

“How do I find out? What happens if I don’t pay? Will they delete me?”

Sevard shrugged. “In my case, I’d be mandated to offload into a private server rather than remaining in the shared network. And that server would be responsible for my upkeep. So if I moved into my cousin’s mainframe, and he died, I could be shut off without anyone knowing or caring. Much safer to stay centralized. Otherworlds may have questionable business practices, but if there’s one thing they’ve never skimped on it's their virtual worlds.”

He pushed open the shop door, setting off a collection of gentle chimes.

A bustling woman in an ivory dress stood smiling behind a counter, draped in sheer white fabrics that only accented her rather rotund physique. Her eyes gleamed faintly, and her smile revealed pointed fangs.

“How can I assist today?” she asked, nodding politely in greeting.

“Personal and equipment dye, and a lot of it. What’s your biggest pack size?”

“The twenty pack, for 100 gold.”

Maya gasped at the price, but Sevard only nodded. “Two of each, and one of universal.” He tossed a sizeable sack of coins on the counter, and accepted the clinking boxes of vials in return. “And do you know a good restyler?”

“South three streets, then turn west. It’s the green sign with a snake on it. Don’t ask me who designed his branding.” She shook her head.

“Thank you.” Sevard flipped her another gold coin as a tip, then nodded to Maya and left the shop. “Here, one of each for you, and a handful of universals just in case.”

“Really? But you just spent a fortune—”

“And you’re going to more than earn it back once we get back to fighting again,” Sevard said pointedly. “We have an agreement, remember? We just need to get the crazy woman off our tail, then we can fight monsters for fun and profit. And levels, for you at least.”

“Right.” Maya swallowed the lump in her throat. “Lead on.”

They passed several more shops on the way, all with the same desert-coloured stone walls, but the streets were not dusty or sandy. Trees lined the avenue, flower boxes or small gardens commonly graced windowsils or side yards. The ground wasn’t the solid cobbles of Kalyx City, instead interlocking sandstone tiles formed geometric patterns. The combination of yellow, gold, and whites with frequent splashes of green gave it a much cheerier atmosphere than Kalyx City’s more uniform greys and browns.

The restyler’s sign was as perplexing as the shop woman had implied, showing only a thick snake’s head and no words. It sat tucked between a florist’s shop on the right, overflowing with coloured plants, and a tailor’s shop on the left, exotic fashions on display in the thick front window.

Inside, it reminded Maya of a hairdresser’s. Which, she soon learned, it basically was. Sevard paid for two chairs, and they sat back as the modification window appeared.

“Mentally drag it into your mask,” Sevard whispered while the owners stood by, waiting for their customers to make a selection. “Assign it to a persona if you haven’t already. Then go ahead and make your selections.”

Maya did as he instructed, and found the interface reacted intuitively to do as she’d wanted. She named her new persona ‘Twinkle (Twinny)’ and chose the most dramatic difference from her current design.

Maya Starborn was a regal and dignified harpy, with white and black feathers and only a few discrete splashes of purple as an accent. Her crest flowed halfway down her back in a feathery cascade from her head.

Twinkle, however, was a different sort altogether. Maya shortened the crest until it stuck up in all directions, then backtracked a little to give herself long trailing feathers down the sides and a horned-owl-esque crown on top. It took a bit of tweaking before she was satisfied, by which time Sevard had finished his own restyling and already begun applying colour changes, but she was a bit pickier about any avatar she’d be using for the foreseeable future.

Once finished with the head, she rearranged the shape and size of her arm feathers. Formerly a flat curve, longest near her body, tapering out to short by her hands, she decided to push the boundaries a little further still.

She shrank the winglike feathers to a minimum, then fluffed them out across her arms instead. Since armor automatically conformed to her body, she didn’t need to worry about unrealistic shapes. So she added flaring feathers to her shoulders, the backs of her calves, and across her cheeks in a quasi-beard.

That amused her so much, she spent another twenty minutes adjusting her feather density to imitate a strong masculine facial shape, and grinned as she pushed her fluffed arm-feathers down in a few places to emulate a buff physical physique as well.

When she was done, she doubted anyone would connect Twinkle the obviously-male harpy with Maya Starborn.

Selections completed, she verified the changes and waited while the restylers went to work. It was a brief process, clearly intended to give the illusion of realism, while there was nothing realistic about changing the shape and orientation of how feathers grow.

“Done?” Sevard - no, Rend, she had to start thinking of him as Rend - asked. He’d changed his eyes from their brilliant gold to a dull blue, darkened his skin to a medium tone, and added a streak of vibrant red through his black hair which he’d also considerably lengthened, and now hung halfway down his back, tied in four bands to hold it in place.

“You look good,” Maya said, grinning.

“And you need to do some colour changing.”

“Right.” Maya took out the dyes Sevard - Rend - had given her, and set about adjusting her character’s colours. Using them was as easy and intuitive as the adjustments interface had been, and she quickly dyed her entire character pale yellow, adding orange and white sections for ornamentation. She went with a jagged white line across her cheeks, further accentuating the new masculine feather shape.

“Done,” she said, twirling to see how the new shapes felt. There was remarkably little change internally, and she guessed that was part of the whole package of being a digital reconstruction of a person. Things like adjusting the physical shape you occupied wouldn’t have as dramatic an impact as it would have back on earth.

“Now, equipment. That armor of yours is pretty stand-out.”

Maya had already forgotten she wore unique, sleek black armor. She didn’t want to part with it, since it gave such a major boost to her agility and speed. But he was right. It was very distinctive in its current form.

“Would making it white be enough, or does it need to change shape?”

“You can’t change the shape. Make it white, and we’ll find a detailer to add personalized heraldry. You’ll look like an arrogant rich kid who could afford whatever she wants.”

“He. Twinny is a guy.”

Rend chuckled. “Alright. He it is.”

“This is going to be very strange,” Maya confessed. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever tried pretending to be someone else.”

“If you’re going to survive as a trickster, then it’s good practice. Quite a necessary skill. Especially once you make a few enemies.”

“I thought you stayed the same?”

“I do. Now. But I also make an effort not to make enemies. Like you, for instance. I could easily join Zarene - heck, I could probably gather a posse of all the current tricksters to bring you down, if I wanted. But that would be a short term gain, with the long-term consequence of alienating you entirely. And something tells me you’ll be a more valuable ally in the long term.”

Maya scoffed. “Because I’m so naive, easily manipulated, and ignorant?”

“Because you’re honourable. There is a difference between tricks and cruelty. Not everyone seems to understand that. When I make an agreement, I follow through on it. And I get the impression that you’re the same.”

“Yeah, I’m not cut out for straight up lying. Sneaking, maybe.”

“Then if you’re done preparing, Twinny, let’s get sneaking.”

Maya grinned. “After you, Rend.”

Maya Starborn Average Androgynous Harpy Mask: Twinkle (Twinny) Affinities: Magical Physical Level: 9 Class: Trickster Tier: 1 Specialization: Path of Life Base Equipment Modifiers Total Strength: 8 3 0 11 Momentum: 15 2 3 20 Agility: 8 91 1 100 Control: 8 30 0 38 Attunement: 18 0 1 19 Focus: 8 21 1 30 Intelligence: 15 3 2 20 Flexibility: 8 1 1 10 Luck: -25 - -45 -70 Unassigned: 0 Health: 233 of 233 Will: 60 of 60 Stamina: 274 of 274 Energy: 127 of 127 Speed: 3.44 Switch penalty: -22%, 7.2 secs Stealth: 2.54 Chain bonus: +6% Awareness: 0.93 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 Midnight Armor of Agility Body 75 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 Cheap Ring of Strength Ring 4 1 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, 6 Silver, 51 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 x481 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 Uncommon Dust of Recall Uncommon Universal Dye x11 Exceptional Rogue’s Jacket Level 4, +3 agi, +2 con, +1 foc Normal Personal Dye x 14 Normal Equipment Dye x7 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 6h 36m 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