Crouched behind a fallen tree, D and I peered out through the leaves at Stoneburg. The town was set on a flat shelf on the slope of a tall hill, which continued down to a lake at the bottom. We were high on the slope above town, but could make out the Bindstone, the Healer’s shop, and the top of the Blacksmiths.

“Doesn’t look too busy,” I said, eyeing the sparse group of players mingling around in small groups. “Actually looks peaceful. Maybe people had the same idea as us.”

“Yeah,” D grumbled skeptically beside me. “Or they’re waiting to ambush anyone who comes into town.”

“You think everyone on the server’s suddenly evil?” I whispered. “I mean—evil enough to just kill people?”

“Did we not just get jumped by five guys back there?” D snapped.

“Yeah, but…” my voice trailed off. “I guess you’re right.”

“Come on,” D said. “Keep your sword ready.”

I moved to get to my feet but froze as I felt cold steel against the back of my neck.

“Get up slowly,” the voice instructed me. “No sudden movements.”

I did as I was told and got to my feet with both of my hands raised. After fighting off that group of five, I was feeling pretty confident, but if following orders meant avoiding another fight, I was okay with that.

“Turn around,” the voice said. I did and found myself face to face with a tall man, with a stony face, grey hair, and a grey beard. He was wearing a full set of plate mail armor which, unlike mine, actually matched. “Who are you? Bleed spies? New Sinful recruits?”

“What?” I asked, looking at D.

“Who are you with!?” he roared. He was holding a steel halberd with an enormous curved blade.

Thank God! I thought. He doesn’t recognize me.

Quickly, I inspected him.

Xavier—level 15.

Higher than D, but probably not high enough to be a major threat to me. Probably.

“We’re not with anyone,” I replied. “We’re just—us!”

“Lies!” he roared, pressing the tip of the halberd against my throat.

“Seriously!” D shouted. “We’re not with anybody! We don’t even know who those guys are!”

“You don’t know who Bleed is!?” Xavier laughed, like we’d just told him we’d never heard of Lord of the Rings. “Everyone knows who Bleed is.”

“We’re not lying,” I replied, trying to keep the situation from escalating. “We’ve been leveling out on our own since… since it happened. The merchant we were selling to was killed and we were attacked. We were just coming back to town to sell and buy arrows.”

I could see him contemplating what we were saying, but he was skeptical. Things in town must have been worse than we’d expected to draw this level of scrutiny. His level also impressed me. I’d been helping D and he was still only level 12. This guy was skilled—and dedicated.

He shifted uncomfortably, and I realized he had just inspected me. That meant not only had he seen my name, but he’d also seen my level. So why wasn’t he freaking out? Did he really still not recognize me? I guess it was possible that during all the commotion not everyone had gotten a good view of my face.

“My guild and I are the protectors of this town,” he finally said. “I’ll take you to my leader, but if he doesn’t like what you have to say, you won’t be staying long.”

“That’s fine,” I replied. “All we want to do is sell and resupply, then we’ll be out of your hair.”

Xavier nodded and motioned in front of him with his halberd. I glanced at D and we started down the hill towards town.

“Lot of people here,” D said as we came down the slope, approaching the hut of the general merchant, a large square building with an open roof in the center. There were a lot of people around. It wasn’t the bustling activity center it had been before The Ripper’s appearance, but it wasn’t a ghost town either.

“My guild keeps Stoneburg safe from the Player Killer guilds,” Xavier replied. “At least—we try.”

“PK guilds?” I was shocked. “There are actually people in this game who still PvP?”

“There are,” Xavier said grimly as we passed the Bindstone. “I guess real evil exists everywhere.”

Just thinking about it made my stomach turn. Just fighting those five back at the Bandit Tower and having to face the reality of what would happen if I’d accidentally killed one of them, was enough for me. After everything The Ripper had told us, how could anyone be actively player killing still?

At the center of town there was a mage standing with his back to us. He wore an orange Werren Robe with the hood pulled back and a green plate mail helm. He was leaning on a tall, twisted staff made from some kind of white wood. I quickly inspected him.

Cavey—level 16. Another player with real dedication.

“Found these guys hiding in the woods,” Xavier called out as we approached. Cavey turned around to face us.

“Are you with Bleed?” he asked, removing his helm to reveal a strong chiseled face with a short brown beard. His voice was strong, unwavering. This man was clearly used to being a leader. He and his guild had probably played many other games together.

“No,” D replied. “We don’t know who Bleed is—”

“Sinful then,” he said, as though there was no other option.

“We don’t know who any of those people are!” I protested. “This is our first time back in town since what happened with The Ripper.”

Cavey was less skeptical than Xavier, but I could see he still wasn’t sure about us. Bleed and Sinful must have been serious threats to Stoneburg to warrant this kind of interrogation and suspicion. I watched as he inspected me and began to glance around in case we needed to make a break for it.

The rest of his guild wasn’t paying a lot of attention to us, but I could tell by their gear that at least a handful of them were in their low teens. They’d easily be able to swarm D and I might not be able to fight them all off.

“I don’t know, boss,” Xavier interjected. “I say we strip ‘em of their armor and march ‘em out of town. Sinful spies probably.”

“Did you see his level?” D scoffed. “You think you’re getting any of our stuff, you must be dreaming.”

“Do you see how many of us there are?” Xavier replied threateningly, gripping his halberd as if to strike.

“Relax, Xavier,” Cavey said calmly. “They’re not spies.”

Cavey’s eyes met mine, and I felt my heart sank at what I saw behind them—recognition.

“This is Jack. The one The Ripper is after.”