The journey to Bayfrost took a few hours. Anika had nothing to do but to stare at the sea and try to avoid the other passengers as much as possible. It looked like most of them were traders of some sort, carrying various goods and chatting about the price of resources and things like that. Anika didn't feel like joining in. She just wanted to deliver her letters, complete the contract and get on her way.

Bayfrost was another trading outpost, similar to Belhaven. But the main difference was the icy water and colder climate. This meant that there was less activity around the stalls, with most people huddled inside tents around small bonfires and cauldrons. It was cold, and the wind was biting. Anika could feel the cold chilling her to the bone, so she sewed together two furs from her bag to make something to go around her shoulders.

Peter the Grim, the person she was supposed to deliver the letters to, was marked on her map. His appearance was similar to that of the recruiter she had met in Belhaven, he had the same long greasy overcoat and didn't look like he took good care of himself or had a proper diet. His breath stank, and he was unpleasant to look at.

"I see, Adam asked you to deliver these for him? Clever boy. If I had seen him back here, he would have got a punishment like you wouldn't believe. But, that's none of your concern."

He examined the papers while Anika was waiting for her contract to show as complete.

"Right, I need you to take these papers to Wildhold. It's only a couple of hours from here, shouldn't be a problem right?"

"Hang on. Your colleague told me that all I had to do was deliver these papers to you that was it. In return, he gave me a pass for the boat. I think I've done my part and I have somewhere to go."

Peter scrunched up his face and looked displeased.

"Here's the thing. These papers have to be delivered to Wildhold today, and I need you to help. The way I see it, you don't have a choice in the matter. I'm starting a timer right now, and if they have not been delivered in the next 6 hours, you will get teleported back to Belhaven where you started. Questions?"

It was clear that this guy would not be sympathetic or listen to anything she said. He had already turned his back on her and was checking a shipment of goods that had arrived from the same boat she had got off. Anika felt cheated once again and made a promise to herself not to accept any more contracts from people like this going forward.

"Lady, before you go. I know we didn't get off on the right foot, but business is business, right? Just to let you know there is plenty more work for you to do here, and it's relatively safe. I could use someone like you to bring goods back and forth from here to Belhaven and there might even be some coin in it for you. From Wildhold onwards you will find nothing but killing and fighting, I suggest you stay away from all of that trouble. War is good for business, and like I said I can use some help around here. Think about it."

No thanks, Anika thought to herself. Why would anybody choose to ride on a boat and deliver goods back-and-forth for fun? She understood that there was money to be made, but realistically, what was the point in spending all your time in a cold climate with people that stank of fish and were pretty bad company.

She checked her map and saw that there was a small road leading north towards Wildhold. It was marked on her map as a League of Ash stronghold. In the corner of her view, she could see that her contract was still not completed and the six-hour timer had started ticking away. With all the warnings she had received in the last few days about getting killed on sight by other players, she decided that she would follow the main road, but do her best to stay out of sight.

The road itself was nothing more than a dirt track. On some parts of it, she was able to keep herself out of the way of other players by hiding in bushes and taking cover in the trees. There were different stretches where she had no choice but to move as fast as possible over barren terrain. She didn't come across many other players, but the ones she did spot in the distance were travelling in groups most of the time. This whole place, since arriving on Gliphos, had a very different feel to it compared to where she came from. Here everything was quite structured, it was apparently a war-zone. She had seen caravans of weapons and food in Bayfrost being escorted out of the town by armoured NPC's, and most of the traffic on the road was set up similarly. Apparently, nobody travelled alone here, and nobody was running around just having fun. Everyone was busy and serious.

Anika's need to stay off the road meant that she wasn't making as much progress as she would have liked. She was over halfway to her destination, moving through some trees when Loki swooped down to warn her about something. Someone following them, quite a distance back.