The fresh stink of corpses hung in the air as Meg and the others stood near the camels. The dead assassins lay where they had fallen. Stomachs opened, entrails strewn across the sand, faces burned and limbs broken. The tracks of the lone survivor disappeared inthe shifting sands.

No one spoke. The cloudless night was illuminated by a breathtaking canvas of glittering stars and the radiant silver light of the full moon. A red comet streaked through the infinite blackness far above them. Meg watched it and soon lost sight of it among the stars.

Eight coyotes had attacked them and seven had died. But the fight was not over yet. These quiet moments were only a gap in the violence. A time to gather their thoughts, heal their wounds, and plan.

They knew little about the two foes waiting for them at the watering hole. The assassin they had let go had told them several things. None of them were good. If he was to be believed his leaders were deadly killers, far more capable than he and his comrades.

How bad could it be? Meg thought.

She was only level one. The game wouldn't throw something elite at her. She thought about the DIRE EAGLE she and Bruce had fought. That had been at least three levels higher than her. Meg frowned and opened her party menu.

On the menu she saw her name, level, HP, MP, and stamina next to a small hand drawn portrait of her character. Below that was Bruce, then Master Leroy, and Shaynala. The Zhanglao woman was below them and the photo was greyed out and blurry.

At the bottom of the menu were the words PARTY STRENGTH: 8

She studied the levels of the others and added up the math. Bruce was level 5, Master Leroy was level 12, and Shaynala was level 13. And Meg was level 1. Added together they had a combined level of 31. Then the game divided that by the number of party members and got 7.75. It naturally rounded up to an even 8.

In the last game that number was linked to an encounter table and would make it so a party only ever faced a foe equal too or less than their own power. She assumed it was the same for the new game as well. But there was always a chance they were doing something different. She had purposely avoided any news about the game's launch not wanting any spoilers. Yet another decision she might live to regret.

She wouldn't worry about the unknown. Until she had evidence of a change she would operate on the old way and assume they would be facing a level 30 challenge. That meant the two assassins at the waterhole would both be level 15.

And one of them would be a spell caster which was always a pain in the ass. She had lost too many battles to a last second spell or a poison effect and she didn't want to lose this one. There was too much at stake.

Meg cast herself into the dusty archives of her mind and searched for everything she knew about spellcasters. They were typically ranged combatants. Some of their earlier spells required them to touch their opponent but at level 15 everything they would have would be ranged or an area of attack spell.

All they would have to do is break through the enemy's spell and get in close. Casters were usually weak to physical attacks and had less HP than tank classes. But the other assassin was a tank and that complicated things.

From what the man had told her his leader was armed with a glave. That would give him plenty of reach and damage and it would keep them from getting close to the caster. And they couldn't even get close to him if they were being peppered with spells.

Meg didn't despair. She saw the two in her mind. Vague and faceless they made an imposing foe but they were outnumbered. Shaynala and Master Leroy could engage the tank while she and Bruce attacked the caster. If they could sneak up behind the caster they would have a terrific advantage but even if they could only separate the two it would help immensely.

Meg frowned. She was only level 1. She couldn't take a full hit from Bruce's lightning let alone a level 15 spell. There wouldn't be much she could do except protect the Zhanglao woman. She couldn't stand the thought of sitting back and watching the battle unfold in front of her while her friends risked their lives.

Three against two were decent odds but four against two werebetter. She would have to be extremely careful. Get in and get out. A fast paced hit and run campaign on the enemy. One screw up and she could be toast. A Lot of screw ups and she could be all the way back at level zero. It had happened before. XP loss was a real son of a bitch.

Meg ran it through her mind until it felt good and then shoved the gnawing worry of the unknown to the back of her mind. But as she looked over at her friends she realized she wasn't the only one at risk. The enemy would have ten levels on Bruce. Three on Master Leroy and two on Shaynala.

Shaynala, who had a child and a husband and countless others depending on her. Some npcs were permanent. They could only be knocked out or temporarily banished but the majority of others could be killed and after a ten minute span they couldn't be resurrected with items or spells.

She brought up her party menu again and felt her throat tighten. Nobody in her party had the gold crown icon. None of them were essential NPCs. She could lose them all.

"I'm going to the water hole alone."

Meg's head jerked up and she looked at Bruce. He stood apart from the others with his arms crossed and his head down. His glorious silver hair hid his face but she could imagine its symmetrical beauty twisted with pain and confusion.

"That's not an option," Meg said.

"It is the only one that makes sense," Bruce said. "they want me. No one else has to get hurt."

"You're right," Meg said. "Shaynala and Master Leroy don't have to go but I do."

"Don't be stupid," Bruce said.

"You helped me when the eagle attacked," she said. "and you helped me during the sandstorm. Now I'm going to help you."

Bruce raised his head and through the strands of his hair she saw his eyes glisten with tears. "This isn't an eagle Meg. These are killers the likes of which you've never seen."

"That is exactly why I can’t let you go alone!" She said.

Shaynala's laughter cut through the night air and they both glared at her out of the corner of their eyes.

Shaynala wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and shook her head. "I told you they were in love," she said.

"I never denied it," Master Leroy said.

"Ah but you doubted me early on," Shaynala said. "now look at them, practically confessing their undying love for each other."

"We're not in love," Bruce said.

"Yeah. We're just feeling it out," Meg said.

"I love my husband with a heat that rivals the sun," Shaynala said. "I know what love looks like."

"Fine," Bruce said. "maybe there is a little romance between us but that doesn't matter. I have to insist you let me do this alone."

"Don't try to be a hero," Meg said. "you're too pretty for it."

"Nine tails of the fox, what does that even mean?" Bruce said.

Meg didn't really know. The words had come bubbling out of her and now that she thought about them she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Even a small portion of the audience was spamming the word CRINGE in chat.

But even though the words didn't make sense they felt right to her. He was gorgeous. Stunning. A tall, lean, elven work of art and even if he could get on her nerves sometimes she adored him. Her newest playthrough wouldn't have been half as fun without him and if she lost him now she wasn't sure she would have the strength to keep playing.

Sure she had lost favorite NPCs before. She kept a list of them on her rig and celebrated the anniversaries of their deaths but it hadn't been easy for her. And she didn't want to have to add Bruce to that list.

Meg blushed. What if I never get to see him naked? She thought.

"Meg is right," Shaynala said. "you are not the hero type but few are. And there is no real choice in the matter. The camels need water. We need water. So we must go to the water."

“And I have sworn on my honor to help the Zhanglao woman walk her path,” Master Leroy said. “I would not abandon her even if we were facing the Eternal Serpent herself.”

Meg shuddered and shut down the memories of poisonous blood and snapping fangs and all the dying screams that accompanied them. She had enough to worry about without bringing up the past.

Bruce sighed and lowered his head. "Alright, have it your way," he said.

"You're welcome by the way," Meg said.

"Thank you," Bruce said. "I didn't really want to go alone. I just couldn't bear to lose you. Any of you. Well, I wouldn't lose much sleep over Master Leroy but. Don't look at me like that Meg, of course I'm kidding."

“While we’re discussing the topic of loss I feel I must bring up an uncomfortable suggestion,” Master Leroy said.

“You think Shaynala should distract them with some tasteful nudity?” Bruce said.

“No. Unlike you I’m not a pervert,” Master Leroy said.

“I was only trying to lighten the mood,” Bruce said.

“And failing,” Meg said. “how can you think of boobs at a time like this?”

Bruce looked down at his groin and smirked with a joke but decided not to share with the class. She was grateful for that. Her head was already dense enough with the matters at hand, she didn’t have room for Bruce and hers sitcom shenanigans.

“I was going to say that our opponents are clearly killers,” Master Leroy said. “it will be imperative to end the fight as quickly as we can with an overwhelming amount of force.”

“I’ve been giving that some thought,” Meg said. “at the very least we will have to separate the caster and her tank. It’s the only way we’ll be able to get close to either of them. Bruce and I will handle her and the two of you should focus on the guy with the glave. Maybe Shaynala can keep him busy and you can get a throw on him.”

“A sound strategy but it overlooks one thing, young dragon,” Master Leroy said. “you are reluctant to kill. There is no shame in avoiding a battle you are not ready to fight.”

“No one is ever ready for battle,” Meg said. “and when you think you are, battle has a way of proving you wrong.”

“There is a mountain of wisdom in your heart,” Master Leroy said. “but you still have much to learn about yourself and the world around you.”

“If it means saving Brue’s life or the woman’s, or the two of you, I’ll do it and I won’t even blink. I appreciate the concern Master but the proof of what I’m capable of is laying over there with a melted face.”

Master Leroy looked over at the dead woman and her gleaming white skull, caked in the charred clumps of a once beautiful face. “The matter is settled,” he said. “we shall fight as one.”

The four of them gathered the camels. They checked the straps and lead lines, inspected the hooves and legs and their snouts. The camels were fine. The night was beautiful and Meg’s stomach twisted like a thousand snakes in a breeding pit. Shaynala took the lead camel by the reins and got it walking. The others followed and they drifted after them.

It was a slow walk, made slower by their lack of water and the dread conflict looming ahead of them. Meg crunched numbers and checked her stats but it was a futile effort meant only to calm her down and give her the illusion of control. The answer to her problems would not be found in numbers. She wouldn’t get it until the fight was over and she could tally up all the points. Hindsight was always twenty twenty and the future was always murky.

Bruce dropped back to join her and slid his hand into hers. She squeezed his hand and smiled at him without mirth or much of anything at all. “I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”

“Don’t sweat it,” She said.

“Now I HAVE to forgive you for rejecting me,” He said.

“I’ve been thinking,” She said. “if we get through this alive I definitely want to kiss you again.”

“Maybe we’ll do more than kiss this time,” Bruce said.

“We can totally hold hands while we make out,” Meg said.

Bruce chuckled. The sound came out all wrong. Too light and forced for the heaviness of the night. His ears drooped and the corners of his mouth rounded down into a deep and troubled frown. It was almost comical. Like one of those old school clowns.

“Don’t take any unnecessary risks, okay?” He said.

“I would never,” She said.

“I mean it,” Bruce replied. “Stay close to me and stay alive. I’m not naive enough to say I love you yet but...losing you would be worse than having to leave Yueliang City.”

Meg leaned into him as they walked and squeezed his hand. “I’ll promise as long as you promise.”

“I promise,” He whispered.

“Then I promise too,” She said.

The wind shifted and the cold night air buffeted around them. He leaned into the heat of her body and they stumbled slightly. She thought about kissing him. They could stop the whole procession and stand there for hours. Lip locked. Hearts pounding. Bodies burning. She exhaled the passion out of her and looked down at her free hand. Her fingers were still crossed from when she had made her promise to Bruce. She might have been weaker than all of them but there was no way she wouldn’t risk it all to keep them safe.