How does he do that? I wondered. My conversations with Loken, as always, left me doubting. Not about how far I could trust him—because I didn’t—but about what to believe. The Power had a way of twisting truth and lies together, making it impossible to pass one from the other.

Shaking my head at the mystery that remained Loken, I left behind the fading echoes of his laughter and resumed my crawl through the shadows. I kept pondering his words nevertheless as I made my way towards the hotel.

As much as I hated to admit it, Loken was right—about some things at least.

I had overreached with my attempted crossing off the wall. Nexus was altogether different from the previous two sectors I had been in. Here high-level players abounded, and I couldn't afford to assume that any challenge was surmountable.

If anything, the experience had proved the opposite.

I would have to take matters slow. After all, there was no reason to rush. Step one would be getting stronger. And from every indication, the plague quarter was the only place to do that. Decided on my course, I hurried on my way.

I reached the hotel without anything more noteworthy occurring than the occasional strange look from a passer-by. Head down, I rushed through the foyer, intent on reaching my room without attracting further attention, but halfway there, I stopped as I spotted a familiar-looking robed form.

If I didn't miss my guess, the figure was one of Kesh’s servants from the emporium. He or she was making a beeline towards me.

I stood my ground and waited. “What is it?” I asked as the figure came to a halt before me.

“Mistress Kesh has heard back from the blackguard captain,” the emporium servant replied.

My eyebrows lifted. “Already?” How had Kesh managed to elicit a response from Wilsh so soon? I was sure it would take days, if not longer.

The robed figure nodded.

“And?” I prompted.

“The mistress has negotiated the captain down to five hundred gold.”

I nearly sagged in relief. Five hundred gold was a lot, but it was a pittance compared to how much my gear meant to me. “What did she do? Threaten to blacklist him or something?” I asked, only half-joking.

The robed figure smiled. “Something like that. The mistress offered the captain a one-time opportunity to use her service for free. He was quick to accept.”

I grinned. The merchant was proving an unexpectedly valuable business partner—or was that ally? “Tell Kesh to proceed with the trade. She can deliver my items here when she receives them.”

“As you wish, sir,” the robed form said before silently retreating.

Whistling happily, I headed to my rooms to await my gear and make what preparations I could to enter the plague quarter.

~~~

You have lost 550 gold. Money remaining in your bank account: 841 gold, 4 silvers, and 9 coppers coins.

Two hours later, I was dressed in my old gear once more.

Kesh had come through spectacularly and had regained all my lost items. She had not done it for free of course and had charged me a fee for playing the role of intermediary.

I didn't begrudge her her cut though. I didn't imagine I would have been half as successful negotiating with Wilsh.

Feeling restored again, I strode out of the hotel and towards the south gate. I passed through without pause, barely sparing the Triumvirate knights on duty a second glance.

You have left a safe zone.

After I exited the gatehouse, I drew to a halt and took a long, slow look around. This was the first time I'd seen the plague quarter in the light of day. I expected I would spend the greater part of my time here in the coming weeks and knew I needed to familiarize myself with the layout.

The first thing I noted was how rundown everything appeared. I’d vaguely noticed it during my earlier foray into the area, but in the stark light of the day, the true extent of the quarter’s disrepair was more evident. Dilapidated buildings, broken windows, and filthy streets characterized the surroundings.

But it was not just poverty that afflicted the quarter. The signs of battle damage were everywhere. Doors were clawed through, stone walls were burned, and roads themselves were pockmarked and scorched.

This is an active battle zone.

The people, too, were different. Hunched shoulders and downcast eyes were commonplace—shooting glances and darting gazes too. More surprisingly yet, many of the quarter’s residents were not players. There was no shimmer to the air around them, nothing that signified the presence of Marks. Few of the non-players walked alone, most gathering in groups to seek protection in numbers.

I frowned as the extent of the quarter’s misery seeped in. Lawless. Poor. Ravaged by stygians. And abandoned. Truly, the quarter is plagued, I concluded.

I was sure none of the Force quarters were anything like this. The brief glimpse I’d caught of the Dark quarter while standing atop the safe zone wall had certainly suggested otherwise. It left me wondering why the Powers allowed this blight in the very heart of their world.

Was it because of the stygian menace in the quarter? Or was it because most of the residents were not players—not true participants of the Game? Or was it for some other reason entirely?

I didn’t know, but it left me with a sick feeling in my stomach.

I resumed walking, my steps heavier. Given the state of the quarter, it was no wonder that I had been mugged last night. Alone and unaccompanied, I would have made for a tempting mark.

But forewarned was forearmed.

Hands hovering close to my blades, I strode down the middle of the street. My first order of business was to visit the information brokers office, then the bounty hunters’ guild. From the little information I had managed to gather on both, I knew they were near the border with the safe zone. If I followed the safe zone’s wall, I would find the guild and office soon enough.

Reaching a crossroad, I glanced left and right. The road down both directions ran parallel to the wall. Randomly choosing one fork over the other—the left one—I kept walking.

I had not gone far when a curious tang to the air caused me to pause. Tilting my head upwards, I sniffed delicately at the air. There was a... saltiness to it. I stumbled to a halt. The smell on the wind was familiar.

Long forgotten memories stirred.

It's the sea.

I was sure of my conclusion as I was of anything—which was more than passing strange. I had never encountered the ocean or it's like in my time in the Forever Kingdom.

This has to be a memory from my former life… or from one of the fallen scions.

Both possibilities were equally disturbing.

I exhaled slowly. So far, the plague quarter was doing a good job of distracting me. Not even five minutes in the area, and I found myself losing track of my original goals. You have a plan, Michael. Stick to it.

I started down the street again. As I did, motion around the corner of my eye drew my attention. Someone else had resumed walking in time with me.

Already, I had picked up a tail.

Displaying no sign of my awareness, I extended my senses, and picked up the tread of another three sets of feet walking in step with the first. A gang of four was hunting me.

Continuing my nonchalant stroll, I unfurled my mindsight and analyzed the hunters.

The target is Senuka, a level 121 elven thief.

The target is Actus, a level 101 human brawler.

The target is Rose, a level 105 gnomish scout.

The target is Sata, a level 108 human fighter.

Hmm... My would-be hunters—muggers?—were lower-leveled than I expected, but that didn't mean they weren’t a threat. All four were still players, and even the lowest had more than twenty levels on me.

Keeping my stride even, I scanned the nearby buildings while I searched for inspiration on how to deal with the four. I was still looking right, gaze roving over an abandoned building on that side of the street, when my pulse abruptly spiked.

Danger!

I reacted instantly, heeding the premonition. Leaping forward, I threw myself into a tumble. Legs and arms tucked in, I rolled over the rough cobblestones.

You have evaded an unknown hostile’s attack.

Beneath the distraction of my own sudden motion and the flashing Game alert, the hiss of an object striking stone went almost unheard. But I didn’t fail to catch the sound.

What was that? It was something small. Not an arrow, too big. Not a rock either, the impact had been too soft.

A dart? Possibly.

Whatever it was, I was too exposed in the center of the street. I kept rolling, aiming for the shadows of the closest building.

You have evaded an unknown hostile’s attack.

A second projectile hit the ground behind me. This time I caught a glint of polished metal and sharpened tip. I’d been right, it was a dart.

Where is my attacker hiding? I wondered. Whoever it was, was not one of the four trailing me. That much I was certain of. They were still too far back to be firing darts and the angle of attack was all wrong.

Reaching the building’s shadows, I hit the control stud on my belt.

You have activated the combat mode enchantment of the belt of the chameleon. Your armor and weapons are now exposed.

A moment later, I wrapped myself in darkness.

You are hidden.

Rising silently to my feet, I braced my back against the building and scanned the surroundings both with my physical senses and mindsight.

I failed to spot my attacker with either.

Damnit! Either my attacker was shielded or—

Psssh.

At the whisper of sound, I flung myself to the left.

A hostile entity has detected you! You are no longer hidden. You have evaded an unknown hostile’s attack.

My lips twisted in an unhappy smile as the shadows slipped away from me. My foe had to possess high Perception to have uncovered me so easily. More alarming still, was that I had failed to detect him in turn.

What am I up against?

Rolling back to my feet, I summoned psi. I may have not spotted my foe, but I had marked from where the dart had come. The moment an astral blade materialized in my hand, I flung it in the selfsame direction.

The glowing dagger of violet hurtled through the air and a curse erupted from the middle of the seemingly empty street.

You have detected a hostile entity. Gintalush is no longer hidden!

Your target has evaded your attack.

The dagger failed to find its mark, but it served its purpose, by flushing out my foe. Although, I had no idea what to make of him—or her.

I couldn't tell my attacker’s species. He was wrapped in reams of green cloth from head to toe. Only a narrow slit revealed his eyes. Two crossed swords were sheathed across his back and in his right hand he held a blowpipe.

Seeing that he had been uncovered, Gintalush turned about and ran the other way. He was making for the building on the opposite side of the street. To conceal himself again?

Reaching out with my will, I analyzed the green-clad figure.

You have failed a perception check and are unable to analyze your target.

I hesitated for a fraction of a second, debating whether to let the fleeing figure escape or pursue him in turn.

I bared my teeth in anger. No, I can’t let him escape unscathed. He attacked me!

Gintalush was too far to reach with shadow blink. So, I did the next best thing. Drawing ebonheart and spider’s bite, I kicked off the building and gave chase.

A dozen steps later, I was in the middle of the street, and under the glare of the bright sunlight streaming down, but no closer to running down my target. Damn, he’s fast. This may be a waste—

Psssh.

At the dreaded sound, I dove forward, and the dart whistled harmlessly overhead.

You have evaded an unknown hostile’s attack.

Bloody hell! I could still see Gintalush racing ahead of me. He hadn’t fired the dart. It could mean only one thing.

There was another attacker.

I skidded to a halt and spun about in search of my second foe. Almost as if on cue, Gintalush spun about and charged back towards me, drawing his own blades.

I cursed bitterly, realizing I'd been played for a fool.

Gintalush’s flight had been a decoy. He’d only fled to draw me out of the shadows. Unsurprisingly, a moment later, the second attacker revealed himself. He, too, was dressed in green from head to foot, and like his partner raced towards me with twin blades in hand.

I was trapped, caught between my attackers and with nowhere to hide.

Goddamnit. What now?