The next morning dawned as every morning had before. The knock on Glenn’s door came shortly past breakfast, which suggested Mayor Coleman had taken longer than needed to agree to assist Leo in his search. Glenn raised a hand to assure his parents he had it, walked to the door, and opened it to find Joanne, hair in disarray, standing outside in a red [Commoner’s Dress].

The dress looked to be wine-stained, which suggested she’d come to get him directly from ... whatever she’d been up to.

“Trouble sleeping?” Glenn asked.

Joanne didn’t smile. “Wasn’t sleeping. I’m supposed to be not sleeping right now, but duty calls. Or Coleman, in this particularly wretched case.”

Glenn winced in empathy. “Sorry.” He felt tangentially responsible for Joanne being interrupted in the middle of whatever tryst she’d arranged, but there’d been no help for it.

“Coleman’s called up all the guards to run a search for the fugitive Leo came here to locate, who is here, apparently. We’re staging in the Town Square, then coordinating for a house to house search.”

Glenn nodded his understanding and looked to his parents. “Got work. Thanks for breakfast.” Joanne had given no indication she was aware he had any part in today’s events.

Tania waved. “Have a good day, dear.” She’d obviously been listening to every word, and her features told him she was indescribably curious. Yet she didn’t ask.

“Let me know if you need my services,” Hal added from his space at the table.

Glenn knew what his father was offering. [Phantom Correspondence]. That service was expensive and Glenn had never felt comfortable asking for it, but Hal knew Glenn was supposedly working with Leo and, by extension, the Blazers. It reminded him he had other options if worst came to worst ... like directly informing the Blazers, over phantom correspondence, that they’d been tricked.

Having a record of Glenn’s claim to the Blazers would, of course, document his involvement in helping Anna and Alan evade Leo. That would certainly get him in trouble. Yet Anna’s fate if her brother took her before the truth came out could be worse, so Glenn would do what he had to do.

He stepped out and closed the door. “Lead the way.”

Joanne rolled her eyes as they walked off for the square. “Gods, you’re not even upset. Even with me rousting you away from breakfast first thing on your day off, you’re bright-eyed and eager to work. I’d be jealous of your work ethic if it wasn’t so annoying.”

“Sorry,” Glenn said again, even though he knew she was mostly kidding. “If it helps, I’ll try to be more openly sullen about extra duty in the future.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Joanne said.

They walked in silence until they reached the town square, where Glenn expected to find the other Town Guards waiting. Three were already present and in armor—even with their helmets on, he recognized Seth, Scott, and Linda—but moreover, there were a number of Adventurers in the square as well. Far more than there should be this early. What was that about?

As he and Joanne walked toward the barracks, Glenn glanced at her. “Did someone post a big Quest? What’s with the crowd?”

“Gathered for the show,” Joanne said. “Our very own Leopold Argentshade, who is no longer making any attempt to hide his true identity as a Blazer, announced a new open Quest this morning. To find one Anna Bronzelight, a missing fugitive, right here in the walls of Wolfpine.”

Glenn felt a chill as he realized what this meant. “He can do that?”

“Apparently he has both the authority to commission a Blazer Quest and the coin to fund one,” Joanne said, though her tone didn’t reveal if she was annoyed or impressed by this fact. “He first made known his intentions in the Beast yesterday night, when it was packed to the brim.”

“Oh,” Glenn said, mentally resisting the urge to clench his fists. “That was smart.”

“He’s a smart man. He informed all those interested that they should gather this morning to see a sketch of Anna, and that finding her would offer both a significant amount of coin and the experience that goes with completing a Blazer Quest. Hence, this crowd.”

Glenn hadn’t counted on Leo creating a Quest to locate Anna that was open to anyone. Such a Quest would draw the attention of every Adventurer who came through Wolfpine, both for how unusual it was and how easy it seemed to complete. That would exponentially increase the number of people looking for Anna Bronzelight in a small town she couldn’t escape.

Yesterday night, Glenn had been confident Zack could hide Anna and Alan from the Town Guard for a few days. The guard were eight people, some of whom hadn’t slept. Yet now that Leo had opened the search for Anna and Alan to every Adventurer in town, the odds of Zack and his charges staying hidden dropped dramatically. Some of these Adventurers likely knew Anna by sight already, given she’d been Adventuring in Grassea for almost three months now.

Glenn had underestimated Leo, but then again, so had everyone else he hoped to protect. He knew Leo was simply doing his job, and strongly suspected the man had absolutely no idea that Anna’s brother had deceived the Blazers. Still ... Leo remained a threat to Zack, Anna, and Alan.

A threat that Glenn was no longer fully confident he could hold at bay.

They entered the barracks to find them empty save for Chelsea Mistarrow, who waited patiently. She was already in full [God Armor] save for her helmet. While Chelsea was only a few years younger than Logain, she still looked scarcely out of her twenties, with short dark hair and equally dark eyes Glenn had always found impressively calm. She had a serenity about her he envied.

“Thank you for coming in on your days off,” Chelsea said warmly, probably trying to make their extra duty slightly more palatable. “Martin and Logain are already on the gate, so I’ll help you both get into armor. We’ll knock this search out before lunch.”

As Joanne walked to her armor rack without a word and picked up her chestpiece, Glenn frowned Chelsea’s way. “We’re the last to arrive, aren’t we?”

“It’s fine, Glenn,” Chelsea assured him. “Everyone knows you two weren’t even supposed to work today. I’m simply glad you’re here, and I know Captain Cliffbreeze agrees with me.”

Joanne approached Chelsea with her chestplate in one hand. “Strap me in.”

As Chelsea helped Joanne into her armor and tightened the straps and buckles, she scarcely glanced down at her hands. Chelsea had fastened this armor so many times it was as second nature to her as breathing. Glenn picked up his armor and waited as Chelsea helped him with it as well.

Once all three of them were appropriately armored up, they grabbed their helmets and donned them before heading out the door. They emerged to find Leopold Argentshade standing on a wooden box he’d found somewhere. He addressed the crowd in a loud, clear voice, presumably repeating his speech from last night for any newcomers.

Seeing Leo today, with his gleaming blond hair and glistening [Steel Armor], Glenn could see how the Adventurers in this Town Square must see him. This Blazer was someone to look up to and respect. Leo was Level 10, while most of those gathered in the square today likely weren’t even Level 8.

Even if Glenn convinced Jenny Ambersun of the truth, would anyone else in town believe him?

“The reward for finding Anna Bronzelight is one full moon,” Leo continued, his confident voice filling the square. “This is in addition to bestowing experience equivalent to a Level 8 Quest. Any can accept the Quest, however, there are only two ways to claim its completion.”

Leo really was a talented speaker when he put his mind to it. Had Glenn been a young Adventurer in this crowd, he’d be chomping at the bit to complete this Quest. Back when he was still Level 5, a moon would have bought him a set of heavy armor and a new blade besides.

“First,” Leo said, “you must convince Anna to come to me in this square, where I will remain throughout the day, and arrive with her. Or, you must report her location to a Town Guard, who must then apprehend her and bring her here in your stead. I trust your Town Guards to honestly report who gave them the tip, and the Quest completion will remain yours even if a guard brings Anna here.”

Glenn counted the Adventurers in the square. Today, there would be twenty-one extra sets of eyes scouring the tiny town of Wolfpine for Anna Bronzelight. Far worse odds than he’d hoped for. He’d simply have to hope that Zack’s hidey holes were even harder to locate than he’d hoped.

“I have a sketch of Anna here on the box,” Leo continued. “Please review it if you haven’t met her in person before. As I said when I first spoke, you may know her as Anna Ironstar, the alias she has been using as she Leveled here with one Alan Ironstar, also in Wolfpine. I have a sketch of him as well.”

So locating Alan wasn’t included in the Quest? Interesting. Glenn wondered if creating a Quest to find two people doubled the cost of commissioning it.

Perhaps not. Perhaps Leo only had authority to create a public Quest to locate Anna because of the severity of her supposed crime. As Glenn understood it, Alan’s only offense had been giving people a false name as he Leveled. There was no law against that, so Glenn doubted even a Blazer could simply create a Quest to track down an Adventurer who’d committed no crime.

“While finding Alan does not satisfy the completion requirements of the Quest,” Leo continued, “I will compensate you directly if you can either convince Alan to come here, or show a Town Guard to his location, provided that Town Guard then brings him to me. Thank you for your attention. Speak to me directly to obtain the Quest or ask any questions you may have.”

A line quickly formed as every Adventurer in the square seemed eager to take the brand new and remarkably lucrative Quest from Leopold Argentshade. Glenn’s gut churned with worry for Anna, Alan, and Zack, but luckily, his helmet hid his expression from both the Adventurers and his fellow guards. He’d simply have to trust Zack to be Zack ... as in, elusive and incredibly annoying.

“And that’s our cue,” Joanne said to Glenn and the other guards, speaking too low for any Adventurers to overhear. “We can’t leave the gates unprotected, so this search will just be the six of us. We have almost thirty houses to search top to bottom, as well as every nook and cranny in Wolfpine. All of you grew up here, so I trust you know how many places a person can hide.”

“I volunteer to search the Rose,” Scott Willowrose said cheerily.

Linda elbowed him with a snicker. “You would, lecher.”

“I’d simply like to visit my very good friends.”

“We’ll also be working in pairs today,” Joanne added, which surprised Glenn. “Scott, you’ll be with Seth. Cover all houses to the southwest of the town square.”

Glenn could feel Scott’s disappointment even though his full face helmet. The Scarlet Rose was on the northeast side of town. Despite the circumstances, it was difficult not to be a bit amused at the way Scott’s entire body sagged with disappointment.

“Linda,” Joanne continued, “you’ll be with me to search all houses and buildings on the southeast side of the square. Glenn and Chelsea will search the northwest area. Once everyone reports back here, I’ll take a volunteer with me to search the northeast side of town and wrap things up.”

So Glenn would be working with Chelsea today. Glenn didn’t know her that well—despite Chelsea and Logain being promised to each other, she rarely joined them for drinks after a shift—and this would be an opportunity to get to know her a bit better. He would have preferred to partner with Scott, who would be easier to misdirect if he feared Zack was close, but he couldn’t reasonably protest.