"Any preference?" Lucy asked as she and Maya walked back towards Nirsym's leypillar. "I know a few companion quest-lines, though I've never been one for them myself. Too much upkeep."

"Upkeep?" Maya asked, already feeling better with the concreteness of a plan, having someone who knew what they were doing to help her.

"Yeah, if you're going to have an army, you have to feed them. Why do you think Standalone spends so much time running high end dungeons? He's got dragons to keep fed and that isn't cheap. If he didn't have so much maintenance to do, he could be up with the leaders."

"So pets need to be kept fed, that's reasonable."

"Yes, same as recruited NPCs. You're responsible for taking care of them and if you neglect them they'll be useless."

"Will they die?" Maya asked, suddenly stricken with concern. "If I log out, or get distracted?"

"No, they go into a prolonged sleep state. If you ever tour the empty player houses you'll see a lot with guard dogs or servants sleeping everywhere. There's an additional fee to wake them up, but they suffer no ill effects."

"Can you soulbind NPCs as well as creatures?"

"I believe so, but like I said, I've never done it myself."

Maya thought back to her band of mercenaries from the Domitius raid. She'd hired them on a temporary basis, but having them join her on a permanent basis would be incredibly valuable. Not to mention that by soulbinding them to herself, she could prevent any of them permadying if the game decided they'd used their alloted respawns.

Which was weird. Why would a game respawn NPCs, but only a limited number of times? Was it 'realism'? Or something else? She thought back to a conversation she'd once had, 'Once you get past the surface, you'll find a whole lot of weird,' and thought it had been very true. World 9352 was a nonstandard game in a lot of ways.

"So, any preference?" Lucy prompted, and Maya blinked back to the present.

"Oh, yes. Uhhh, I like dinosaurs, and dragons, and fluffy things like cats and tigers. Oooh, I like tigers. And snakes, and spiders, do they have big fluffy spiders? They should. And birds, and... well, basically anything. Let's start with 'anything'. Whatever's easiest. Except maybe not a fish. I want something that can walk on its own, not needs to be carried. Or if it can fly, flying counts as walking too. Do they have flying fish? I wouldn't mind a fish if it could fly."

Lucy laughed aloud. "I think we can find you something. And you don't just want to go to the pet shop?"

Maya shook her head. "I mean, I do, but right now if we're doing something therapeutic, I want it to be something meaningful."

"And you're sure you want to try a companion quest at -100 luck?"

Maya slowed. "Oh. Right. Maybe that would be stupid?"

"I can protect you, and guide you, and see that things turn out acceptably. But I can't promise you won't regret it. Some of these quests you can only do once, and if you take your one shot now you won't be able to try again."

"Then pick one that isn't one-time use?"

"It's not that simple, it depends what instances are available right now. It would be easier to pick something up at the shop."

Maya considered, then shook her head. "Nope, I don't care. Let's go for it. I won't blame you if I end up with an anemic runt. I will love it anyway. Besides, someone has to take the weakling critters. Why not me?"

Lucy nodded. "As long as you're aware of the risks, then let's go."

They arrived back at the leypillar a few minutes later, and Lucy glanced up at the quest board before frowning. "Wait here. I'll be back."

She touched the leypillar and disappeared. Maya spent a few minutes browsing the ever-present caravan traders' goods - though there were noticeably fewer traders here than in the wilder zones, given the proximity of Nirsym City, and their prices were correspondingly higher. This was the bare basics for anyone desperate for a quick transit or replacement weapon, not a place Maya would consider ever actually buying anything.

Then Lucy reappeared, her black cloak whirling around her, armor glinting, eyes glowing, and for a moment Maya saw the deadly player only one quest away from top 5, rather than the friendly stranger.

Then Lucy started talking, and the illusion broke. "There's one open on the plains, and another in Kalyx but we'd have to be fast. Where do you prefer?"

"Kalyx."

"Then I know where to start the quest, but I've never done it myself. Too long, for too little reward."

They transited to Kalyx City, appearing outside the city as usual, and Lucy led the way toward the north-western corner. Maya hadn't been to that area before, the little town called Panaroth Village was still a bit east of where they headed, and the forests north and east of that were where she'd fought the Goblin Champion for her own tier trial. Her map filled in as they went, new areas detailing themselves as the duo drew nearer the edge where mountains and wilderness met.

"We're not going to Panaroth?"

"No. This quest starts in the wilds."

Maya nodded. "What kind of pet is it?"

Lucy glanced over at her with raised eyebrows. "I think I'll leave that a surprise. If you don't know the area lore, then I'm not going to ruin the storyline for you."

"But it's not, like, a locust or something? I'm not sure how happy I'd be with a locust." Though, maybe a locust wouldn't be so bad. As long as it was big enough.

"Not a bug, and that's all I'm going to say on the subject. But we really should talk about you some more."

"I don't want to. How about we talk about you? Apart from being Sevard's friend and one of the top leaderboard players, I don't know anything about you."

"What's to say? I stay on this dead-end world, so I clearly have no life."

"I doubt that."

Lucy grinned, her fangs gleaming. "Perceptive for someone so willfully blind."

"I don't think anyone has no life," Maya said. "Everyone wants something. So what do you want?"

"What everyone here wants. I want to win."

"Is that why you're wandering around Kalyx forests with a noob?"

"Yes, actually. Sev told me you found a cheat to get past his tier trial. I wasn't planning to ask until you'd made some progress on yourself, but if you'd be willing to take a look at mine, I'd appreciate it."

"My cheat only works on puzzle doors. And honestly you can probably get it yourself. You just need to take off your trickster mask in front of Gurth, he’s a harpy crafter in Nirsym, and he'll give you a black star tile that unlocks any riddle door. Though you might need a certain amount of luck, I don't remember what my number was that day."

"Is that all? Interesting."

"There are a lot of NPCs hidden around to give free things to tricksters." Maya held up one of her custom Unique daggers. "A smith in Kalyx made these for me. Being a trickster really is overpowered."

"I didn't know you could get freebies. I never took the mask off after the beginning, huh."

"I was feeling particularly reckless that day, it was only by chance that I ended up with the freebies. I haven't tested it many other places."

"If it's repeatable, this is a very valuable secret. Thank you for your trust."

"Just don't tell Domitius." Then Maya frowned. "Though if Judah already knows about it, I don't know how he hasn't told Domitius yet. I got the impression they were working together. But Domitius seemed surprised by what I was able to do, so maybe Judah is keeping things back from his partner?"

"Who's Judah?"

"Oh, a trickster who was sneaking around Domitius's back door. I haven't looked him up, but he was pretty powerful and knew more about the class's secrets than I do."

"There's no one named Judah on the leaderboard."

"Well, there's no one named Lucy there either," Maya pointed out. "I'd have no reason to associate 'Xaneta' with 'Lucy' unless you'd told me. He probably has a really embarrassing username and prefers to go by his real name. Or he's a trickster with multiple mask identities and keeps them separate."

"We have a database of most known tricksters and their identities, it's pretty easy to find them once you know the trick to it. We haven't screened the new arrivals yet, but I'm betting we'll have another dozen or so once the dust settles and the quitters filter out."

"How?"

"How would you do it?" Lucy turned the question back on Maya.

"Well, ah, anyone gaining levels too quickly."

"Might just be lucky the old fashioned way. Think. What do tricksters have that no one else does?"

"Variable luck, so if they do very well one day and very badly another—"

But Lucy was shaking her head. "No, something more basic. You can figure it out."

"Multiple identities?"

"Anyone can change their look if they have the money, doesn't mean anything. People say they have a different name all the time, as we just discussed."

Maya frowned in concentration. Tricksters had their mask, to change appearances, the orb to contact the Trickster, and the die to change their luck. That was it. If there were a deeper secret, she couldn't think of it. She shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know."

"Oh, right. -100. That'll mess with your intuition something awful. Let me give you a hint. Maya Starborn, Maya Starborn."

The second time she said the name, it echoed in voice and also mentally, and Maya jolted with sudden realization. "You can see who responds when you call to them."

"Exactly. Experienced tricksters can ignore or close the connection, but newbies? They usually go 'huh, who's there, what do you want?' and then you know."

"That's devious."

Lucy grinned. "We are tricksters after all."

Maya laughed. "You're right. That's good. Very clever, very simple. So who all is a trickster in the top twenty?"

"I don't have the list memorized, but we can look it up when we're safe. Right now, it's time for the hunt to begin." She gestured to a small encampment set up in the foothills outside the impenetrable barrier that led to the still-locked zone north of Kalyx.

Maya hesitantly walked forward, not wanting to disturb the camp's inhabitants, but as she neared the single campfire she realized there was actually only one person. A middle-aged elf woman paced before her fire, mumbling as she scribbled in a notebook held close to her face.

"Hello?" Maya called. "Um, I'm here to join the hunt?"

"Indeed? And what makes you think I need your help? As soon as I finish calculating the likeliest lair locations for this time of year, I’ll be on my way."

"What are you searching for?" Maya asked.

"You came to try and barge into my expedition without knowing? Unicorns, of course."

And then it came back to her, glancing at the quest list in Kalyx so long ago. Join Dazzlemurg the Hunter in her search for unicorns. She'd passed up the quest at the time because it sounded long, and somehow she'd assumed it was a hunt. But it was a search, not a slaughter; a way for new players to earn an awesome pet.

Maya smiled. She could see why Lucy wanted it to be a surprise. And she didn't mind. Unicorns were a good surprise.

"So where do we begin?" Maya asked. Lucy lurked in the background, not interfering, but ready in case Maya got into something over her head.

"Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out, isn't it?" Dazzlemurg snapped. "I don't have all day to sit around, do I?"

"I guess not. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Sit there and stay quiet. I'll let you know when I'm ready to leave, if I decide to let you join me."

Maya sat on the stump, lamenting her minimum luck. She imagined that the elf woman could be quite friendly and helpful on a good day, but today everything Maya said seemed only to make her more irritable.

She could get through this. It had been her idea, after all. Everything would be fine.

No more than three minutes passed, then Dazzlemurg nodded. "I know where to begin. We'll start at the Lih Ravine and check the riverbank for tracks. Well, more a stream than a river, but it'll do the trick." She glanced at Maya disdainfully, then gestured. "If you’re coming, come."

Maya came, hurrying in Dazzlemurg's wake as they headed further north and further west, deep into the valleys between the mountains bordering zone 2. Before hitting the abrupt change in scenery that separated Kalyx from the next zone, they reached a small crack in the ground that quickly widened and deepened until it was a chasm stretching out like a snake. Dazzlemurg descended into the ravine, splashing through the water gushing from the wall and cascading down to form the stream at the bottom.

Maya quickly realized that the ravine had been carved by the river over countless years, winding its way deeper and deeper into the ground as it went. She did wonder how unicorns were supposed to get to it, for the cliffs on either side grew rapidly too steep and tall to climb. Within a few minutes, they were taller than she and Lucy combined, and the indication seemed to be that they'd only get deeper the further they went.

Then, after another ten minutes or so following the twisting stream, the place abruptly shallowed out into a wide flat pond. Dazzlemurg motioned for silence and slipped into stealth. Maya crept along behind her, her high stealth helping to offset her negative luck clumsiness to an extent.

"There," Dazzlemurg whispered, pointing to the bank of the pond. "It's softest there, see if you can find any tracks."

Maya crept forward, feeling silly. Why was the experienced hunter sending a noob to search for tracks? But then she found the hoofprints and remembered it was a questline. "I found them," she called back, trying to resist feeling proud of herself. The unicorn hoofprints were immediately obvious as distinct from anything else, due to the complex star-shaped imprint. She had no idea how she knew that was a unicorn's hoofprint, but it was immediately obvious.

"Good. Which direction do they go?"

Maya hesitated, searching the ground, then pointed north. "That way, I think."

Dazzlemurg grunted, then set off toward the indicated direction. "Well, come on."

They had apparently come south a decent way while following the stream, for they weren't close to the border any longer.

Either that or the border curved. Maya wasn't sure it mattered.

They followed the unicorn's trail for another minute before Lucy froze. "Shh."

Maya stopped, stepping on a particularly crunchy piece of grass that crackled with a startling sound in the darkness. She winced. Stupid luck.

"What?" she whispered.

"Everything's gone quiet."

Dazzlemurg nodded. "Good, you've noticed. We are getting close." She continued forward sedately, seemingly untroubled by the silence, so Maya and Lucy fell into place behind her.

Then the ground dipped suddenly into a concealed hollow, bushes growing around its edges and tall grasses matted down in its heart, and Maya saw a glint of gleaming blackness a moment before something flew out of the darkness and stabbed her right in the chest.

-20 health.

As the gleaming black unicorn withdrew its horn from her body, Maya stared at the blood dripping along its length, stunned. The unicorn was smaller than Maya would have expected, smaller than horses, smaller than deer, lithe and nimble. She'd never actually seen an antelope, but that's what it reminded her of. At least if antelope were glossy black one-horned hell-eyed creatures of pure evil.

Then Lucy kicked the unicorn hard enough that it stumbled, almost falling to the ground.

"Oh no," Dazzlemurg whispered. "These are Dark Unicorns! We must raise the alarm! If Dark Unicorns have taken over the area, then there's no time to waste!"

"Trying," Maya said, then started charging a Wind Whisper.

"Do not try to fight them!" Dazzlemurg shouted, too late. Maya shot the triple-overcharged spell at the first unicorn, the one whose horn still gleamed red with her blood. The spell splashed off its side, and its horn began to glow white. Maya could swear it seemed to be rotating, swirling like a drill, and she backed up so fast she tripped and fell flat on her back. -2 health. Then a star-shaped hoof slammed into her stomach as the unicorn leapt atop her, driving its glowing-drill horn straight toward her face.

Lucy grabbed the horn with one hand, yanking the unicorn's head up and to the side, as she stabbed its throat with a curved blade in the other. The unicorn screamed, then turned to mist and galloped away, incorporeal.

Maya gasped out a shaky laugh as Lucy helped her to her feet. The second unicorn was nowhere to be seen. "Heh, thanks. I'm glad I never tried this solo."

"It's not a solo quest," Lucy agreed. "Come on, your quest giver is escaping."

Maya hurried after Dazzlemurg, who was running toward the distant lights of Panaroth Village as fast as she could.

"What are Dark Unicorns?" Maya asked Lucy as they ran.

"Unicorns that have been corrupted by evil, who can only spread evil. I think they turn people violent with dreams? I don't remember, I'm not a lore person."

"Dazzlemurg probably knows, but I bet she won't tell me today."

"Want me to ask?"

"Sure, thank you."

Once they caught up to the fleeing NPC, Lucy jogged alongside her and asked for an explanation about Dark Unicorns, but Dazzlemurg shook her head. "Wait until we reach the town. I'll explain everything while we assemble a posse."