Zack was leaning against a tree just off the Safe Road, all but hidden by the shadow of its thick branches, when Anna Ironstar finally strode out of the gates of Wolfpine. Anna had emerged just past eleven, exactly as he’d suggested, which left him pleased. That suggested she actually trusted him to know his business.

After his conversation with Becka and his look at the Blazer’s Guild representative, one Jenny Ambersun, he’d spent a few hours this morning hunting Gloamwolves. He’d killed three of the monsters for his trouble, resulting in a fresh 30 experience and a few more Life Crystals. Had Anna arrived earlier than he suggested, she’d have found herself waiting, so her arrival now worked well for everyone.

As Anna had promised, her annoying brother was nowhere in sight, and as he’d promised, not a soul witnessed her departure save the two silent Town Guards. Anna’s curly blond hair bounced in the midmorning light in a way Zack found quite fascinating.

Anna once again wore her [Cotton Robe]—a small patch beneath her left breast showed she’d spent a few coins to repair the hole that Crackpaw arrow had left as it penetrated—though she carried no [Healing Staff] today. It likely remained out of charges. Zack had a few [Light Healing Potions], and hopefully Anna did too, but it would still be ideal if neither of them got injured during today’s “tour”.

Anna walked south at a determined pace without a look back. If she feared anyone following her, she knew better than to give them a reason to suspect her of fearing she’d be followed. Zack let her walk until she was out of hearing distance of the Town Guards, then detached himself from the tree’s shadow. He strolled out onto the Safe Road.

Her eyes snapped to his. Yet the tension he’d seen in her shoulders fled as their eyes met, and she actually smiled at him. She kept walking.

Zack casually fell into step beside her. Neither of them said anything until they were well out of sight of the town gates and the Town Guards who stood watch. With the Deepscorn Woods to the west and the Dewdrop Hills to the east, Zack whistled softly to catch Anna’s attention.

He motioned, with his head, toward a dense copse of trees, then slipped off the Safe Road. Anna followed, and more importantly, she asked no unnecessary questions. He really could get to like hunting with this woman—though getting truly attached, he knew, wasn’t an option.

Anna wasn’t ever going to become his Adventuring partner, not with Alan to take care of, and Zack had no plans to remain in Grassea longer than it took to reach Level 8. Yet for now, they could enjoy each other’s company and perhaps a bit more. And Zack could take comfort in the fact that he’d in some small way helped her stay ahead of whatever unfortunate fate drove her all the way to Grassea.

Only once they were well into the tree line and hidden from anyone who might use the Safe Road did Zack slow. He looked around, spotted a stretch of open ground wide enough for the both of them to kneel comfortably, and turned to face Anna. She stood right behind him.

Zack settled into a relaxed crouch with his back to the bigger of the two trees. “Should be safe enough to talk here. So tell me. What kind of tour did you have in mind?”

Zack didn’t call Anna “gorgeous” or “beautiful”. He used her name. She’d specifically asked him to use her name, and he didn’t want to seem rude.

Anna settled herself into low sit across from him and watched him with calm, blue, and newly cautious eyes. “Could you tell me about the Blazer first? If you don’t mind.”

Zack liked that she’d asked him to fill her in instead of demanding he do it. “Arrived at eight, just like I thought she might. Went off to tour the city with Mayor Coleman.” Zack described Jenny Ambersun in as much detail as he felt necessary, and when he finished, Anna looked relieved.

“Not so worried now?” Zack asked.

“Not about this Blazer.”

“So you’re telling me there’s one you are worried about?”

Anna leaned close. “Just how much can I trust you, Zack Silverstone?”

That was a reasonable question. “What if I answer your brother’s question first? Would that make you trust me just a bit more?”

“About if you’re with the Shadower’s Guild?”

Zack nodded.

“It might,” Anna agreed. “But you’re not.”

Zack couldn’t help but frown. “Ouch. That quick?”

Anna chuckled quietly. “My knowledge of Grassea’s current affairs is nowhere near your fault. It just so happens I’ve met the Ringleader who handles Shadower business in Grassea, and they’ve already informed me they have no agents in Wolfpine. Not right now.”

Zack almost let his calm face slip. He couldn’t be sure Anna wasn’t lying about knowing the Shadower’s Guild Ringleader in charge of Grassea, and he also couldn’t be sure the Ringleader had told her the truth. He did, however, feel more than a bit jealous.

Every zone in Balarel had a Ringleader, supposedly, the person who had ultimate approval over who took what jobs in the Shadowers Guild. The Ringleader also settled disputes between members and ensured no one muscled in on anyone else’s jobs. Only the most experienced assumed the position, and only for a few years. That ensured no Ringleader ever became entrenched.

It had seemed odd to Zack, at first, that a group as apparently lawless as the Shadowers Guild would appoint someone to lay down law, but the alternative was anarchy. Anarchy was bad for business, and if the Shadowers Guild stood for nothing else, it stood for good business. There was no money to be made when everyone willing to bend the law was constantly stepping all over each other and their jobs, hence the need for a Ringleader.

Who Anna had met. Supposedly. Now, Zack wasn’t entirely sure how much he could trust her.

“That’s how we arrived in Grassea,” Anna said quietly. “We were smuggled into this zone by members of the Shadowers Guild.”

Zack whistled quietly. “That couldn’t have been cheap.” He pondered all this revelation must mean. “And your name really isn’t Anna, is it?”

“It’s Anna,” she assured him. “But not Ironstar.”

“Fair,” Zack agreed. He knew it was easier to keep one’s first name when traveling anonymously, if that first name was common enough, since one instinctively responded to their real name.

“And it gets worse,” Anna added. “The person who hunts us is determined and, I fear, has both the funds and the connections to ensure we will eventually be tracked down if we remain anywhere too long. Even with the aid of the vaunted Shadowers Guild, I fear I’ve only bought us a few days of safety.”

“Just what in the Six Hells did you two do?” Zack asked quietly. And then, he asked a far more important question. “And why would you possibly trust me with any of this?”

“Simply put?” As Anna smiled again, her smile looked a bit frayed. “I’m extremely pressed for time and I don’t have a lot of options. Or any options, really. It’s trusting you to help me or wandering Grassea blind, and I fear I don’t have time to wander.”

Zack pondered being offended that Anna had decided to trust him out of desperation rather than anything more noble, but he wasn’t. Were he in her shoes, he’d likely make much the same choice, so the question now is if any of this was true. Or if she was playing him with a sob story.

Yet this didn’t feel like a con. First, Anna had nothing to gain. Zack wasn’t rich, he wasn’t high Level, and he wasn’t that important in the grand scheme of Balarel, as much as he’d never admit that aloud. He could see no reward for Anna should she successfully con him, and he saw no reason she’d spin such a fantastical story if she intended to gain his trust. Yet he couldn’t entirely dismiss his caution.

Caution was fine. Caution kept an Adventurer alive. So he’d hold onto his caution, listen to Anna’s words, and keep the option open to back out at any time if he felt like he was no longer safe.

“All right,” Zack said. “You’ve enlisted my services, and I’ve agreed to accept your story at face value until I see something implying I shouldn’t. So just tell me what you need.”

“I’d like you to help me find Grassea’s Shrine of Ralun,” Anna said.

Zack took just a moment to wrap his head around that. “Can I ask why?”

“You can, but I can’t offer any explanation that would satisfy you.”

Zack watched her with newly wary eyes, his previously quiescent sense of caution now on high alert. Unlike a Shrine of Celes, which was found in the Chapels of Celes in every town in Balarel, Shrines of Ralun were found only in the wilderness and always in remote locations far from prying eyes.

Because Ralun, God of Undeath, was the patron of Deathcasters: Balarel’s forbidden Class.