“I’m just saying, there had to be a better strategy than just sticking me out in front to take every single hit!”

“W-Well, it did work, and you’ve got the highest defense of all of us now…” Smack. “Ow! Hey!” -2 HP.

“I don’t mind tanking. I do mind being used as a human shield and battering ram!”

“Ve all have our skills and purpose. You just happen to be best used as varrior.”

“Warrior, not blunt instrument!”

“It was kinda funny when he picked you up and threw you, though.”

“Can it, you.”

The citizens, NPC and player alike of Demeter City watched with puzzlement and bemused curiosity as a party came into town, each of them loaded with bags and dragging an oversized sled with a giant sack on it. A closer look revealed most of them to be made out of monster and animal hide. The purple-haired one glared daggers at the short blond one.

“This isn’t over. I’m not forgetting this.” Lina growled.

“I vouldn’t expect you to, dear girl. And I’m sure you vould be able to catch me, vith my shadow grabbing yours.” Alex said cheekily, grasping the air. Lina scowled, seeing his shadow mimic the motion.

“Don’t remind me. *bleep*.” He’d been playing with that new spell all the way here. They got it! His shadow could grab objects and other shadows! Sheesh.

The strange parade dragged the bags all the way to the bank, along with a crowd of onlookers. What was in the bags? Whatever it was, it seemed heavy. A Bard nudged a Priest next to him.

“Hey Phil. You don’t think those things’re full of gold, do you?” he said. The Priest snorted.

“Don’t be ridiculous. They’re mid-level at best, and there’s only four of them. They couldn’t beat the Kalachack Wurm, and he’s the easiest raid in the game.” Phil said derisively.

“Then what’s in the bags?” the Bard said, face pressed against the window with the others.

“Who knows? Maybe they found a silver mine or something. It’s the only way they’d get back alive from a quest like that. Garro took on an abandoned gold mine the other day, he died twice. Took him 36 hours to get back. And the Priest probably carried them, he’s the only one above level 40.” Phil said.

“Maybe, but those bags jangled good. Reminds me of the haul we got from the raid on Captain Barracuda.” the Bard said with a grin. Phil rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, like they have a hoarded pirate treasure.”

“We were only level 30 when we got that, maybe it’s the same thing?” he said as the short one walked up to the teller proudly.

“Riiiight, the Captain Barracuda quest was recommended level 35. I don’t think this’s similar.” Either way, his interest was piqued, so he leaned in too.

“Hello there, welcome to the Bank of RFO.” The teller NPC smiled at Alex. “How can I help you today?”

“Ah, yes. Ve have a rather large pile of cash, ve vere hoping to trade it in for those cards.” he said. The A.I. blinked.

“Sir, we do require a minimum amount of gold, jewels, and trade items to be deposited before issuing such a card.” she said. He smirked.

“Of course.” He turned to his team. “You heard the voman!” As one, the Vampires let sacks fall.

Piles and piles of gold and gems, along with items they couldn’t fit into their inventories spilled onto the floor, coins rolling and crashing in a large puddle around them. It wasn’t even in the ballpark of the treasure trove in Spot’s cave, but the pile still came up ankle-high.There were shocked gasps from the window, and Phil’s mouth hung open.

“W-W-What level were they again?”

The teller tilted her head, then stepped out of the office. She surveyed the pile, eyes glowing blue.

“Excellent, sir. You have a grand total of $12,837,568 in gold and valuables. Would you like to open an account and deposit it?” she said.

“Please.” Alex said, Jamie and Lina sniggering at the looks they were getting from the watching players.

“Very well. Player name: Alexandru Lonescu. Registered account: Allocrax.”

“The Fierce.” he added quickly.

“Allocrax the Fierce. Party/guild: the Victorious Vampires. Would you like to split the deposit between all members of your party?” she asked.

“No, thank you.” Alex said.

“WHAT!?” Lina screeched. He covered his ears and shot her a dirty look.

“As I vas about to say, I vould like to make a joint account vith my party and deposit the lot in that. Can it be done?” he asked, not looking at the embarrassed Knight.

“Certainly. Register team name for account?”

“Yes.”

“Then it is…” the teller froze for a moment. “Done! Here you are.” In her hand materialized four black cards, and the Vampires grabbed one apiece.

“Woo-hoo! We rock!” Jamie cawed.

“Not for long.” Mayhew said, eyeing the crowd outside. “We need to get supplies, and we won’t have it if you keep shouting like that.”

“Ah. Sorry.” Jamie winced.

“Actually, ve von’t be spending it. Not much, at least.” Alex said, ushering them out of the bank.

“Huh? Why not?” Jamie asked.

"Because I have plans for this money. Not to mention, vhat eqvipment vould you purchase that’s better than vhat you got from the boss?”

“I actually didn’t get-”

“Nothing, exactly. Come, come, ve have no time to lose. Ve must make all haste to Olympolis City. How far avay is it, Mayhew?” Alex said, bustling the conversation the way he wanted.

“Hmm. Says we’re only about...150 miles away. About three days travel.” he said, and Alex slapped his forehead. “Okaaaaaaay, that’ll take entirely too long. How much are those teleport crystals?”

“About 8,000 each, if you can find one.” Mayhew said. Lina and Alex boggled at him. “What? Those things’re super useful and thus, super rare. Maguses don’t learn it until level 50.”

“It’s true.” Jamie said sourly.

“Besides, it wouldn’t help you that much anyway. The Teleport spell only lets you travel to places you’ve been. It’s a way to encourage exploration, even at high levels.” he explained. Alex ground his teeth in frustration, a dangerous activity for a vampire. This game was infuriating!

“Then how can ve get there, to get to the Vizard’s Tower! It might be too late in three days!”

“Oh, gee, like I haven’t been worried about that for the last three weeks! You guys were the ones who insisted on getting gear, and now we have to live with that.” Mayhew said. Alex looked apoplectically murderous, so Lina sighed and stepped between them.

“Chill, guys. We do need to get there, yeah, but we also need the gear to get in. The Wizard’s Tower has traps and monsters, right?” she asked the Priest.

“Right. In that regard, it’s like any other dungeon. The recommended level’s 65, with Verringale at the top. He’s not a boss though, he’s there to reward or moniter players. Even without his security protocols, we would’ve seen by now wandering around.” Mayhew said.

“And no doubt these brigands have bolstered the Tower themselves. Ve must hurry.” Alex muttered, placing his chin on his fist.

“W-Well, we could try to fly again. On a winged summon, I mean. It worked for Mt. Skyshear. Err, maybe not like that though.” Jamie said, immediately trying to backtrack once he mentioned the mountain. He’d be having flashbacks to that for years.

“It does seem the fastest route. Very vell! Ve shall purchase summon crystals and ascend vunce more to the skies!” Alex said, pointing up dramatically. “How much are they?”

“Comparable to a teleport crystal. And that’s assuming we find one. It took half a day to track just one down.” Mayhew said gloomily, and Alex deflated.

“Or you could just ask nicely.” Everyone jumped as the voice came from the middle of the group. They whirled, weapons and spells ready, only to see they were menacing a little girl. She giggled.

“Hi, guys! Long time no see!”

“Wally!” Lina exclaimed, putting Hellcrusher away and scooping the diminutive Bard up in a hug.

“D-Don’t scare us like that, please. We’ve had...a time.” Jamie said, sighing in relief.

“I see you’ve been practicing, Vallendora. Excellent, keep it up.” Alex said solemnly. “But vhat did you mean, ask nicely? Do you have a vay to Olympolis CIty?”

“Uh-huh! See, I’m one of the Gazelles. And we’ve been bust gathering info to sell, every one of us! I was sent to Demeter CIty because it’s pretty safe, and there’s been some weird rumors about challengers on Mount Skyshear. Should’a known it was you guys!” Wally said cheerfully.

“Yes yes, ve’re magnificent and glorious. How do ve get to Olympolis CIty?” ALex said impatiently.

“The Gazelles are based in Olympolis. We’ve got a guildhall here, too. We can teleport you, if you’re nice and ask.” SHe stuck her tongue out playfully at him.

“Can ve please teleport to Olympolis?” Suddenly, Alex was kneeling down, hands clasped around hers to beg her. Wally blinked. She’d barely seen a blur.

"Sure! It’s no problem at all! Provided we get the exclusive dirt on your adventure. We can sell that for hundreds’n thousands!” she said, eyes gleaming. The Vampires sighed.

“Spoken like a true Gazelle.” Jamie muttered.

“That is no problem. Besides, I have much I need to do. Vally, your assistance may be reqvired again. Can you accept this mission?” Alex asked. She saluted immediately, ramrod straight.

“Sir yes sir! Private Wally, reporting for duty!” she barked. The sight of this tiny little girl acting like a hardass soldier was too much for Mayhew, and he sniggered. She turned to glare at him. “Something funny?”

“Oh, no, it’s just…” the Priest trailed off, trying to suppress his snickering and failing. “You’re quite a serious…(snrk) soldier…” He couldn’t help it, the game had been stressful and now this nine-year-old wanted to be an army man. He was expecting a saucepan on her head as a helmet any second, and it would be adorable. SHe scowled at him.

“I'm An official private deputized by Sergeant…” She trailed off, looking lost.

“Alex.” the vampire prompted.

“Sergeant Alex of the Vicious Vampires! I’m as serious as can be!”

“Victorious Vampires.” Lina corrected.

“Yeah, sorry. Only heard it once, and that was a while ago.” she said in apology, then turned back to the giggling Priest. “So shut your trap!”

“R-Right. I’ll do that...P-Private Wally…eh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” He nearly collapsed in a laughing fit. Wally’s face puffed up, red and nearly in tears. Lina stepped forward, but Alex grabbed her arm. He tried for her shoulder, but Rizelkhrad was much bigger than Allocrax.

“Don’t. I taught her vell. Vallendora can resolve this issue.” he said confidently.

“She’s nine.” LIna pointed out.

“Indeed, high time to learn the ins and outs of life. She von’t be little forever.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. It’s just, she’s so small, and so serious.” Mayhew said, wiping a tear from his eye. “Look, sorry Wally. You’re a very good...huh?” He blinked. Wally had disappeared, Jamie and Lina surprised too. “Where’d she go?”

“AAAAAHHHHH!” came right into his ear, freezing his avatar and screwing up his user interface. His form buzzed and fell over. Wally crawled out behind his back and held a small dagger to his throat.

“That was Stunning Song, one of the Bard’s specialty spells. It freezes you for ten seconds. Plenty of time to do whatever I want to. Underestimate me again ,and you’ll regret it. Understand?” she said coldly, jabbing him with the blade. Not hard, only for -3, but enough to get the point across.

“E-es!” Mayhew muttered through a frozen jaw.

“Good. Um, now then.” She looked helplessly at Alex. “DId I do it right?”

“Vonderful job, Vallendora. But you have to finish strong too, othervise it might all be for naught. Like this.” He went over, took the dagger, and pulled Mayhew up by his chin, blade at his neck.

“You vill never underestimate a child again. They have no mercy, and vill kill you the second they have a chance vithout hesitation. To prevail, you need to match them in kind and surpass their natural viciousness. Understand, vurm?” he said harshly, glaring at his captive.

“Uh-huh!” Mayhew squeaked. The spell had worn off, but he didn’t dare move a muscle.

“Oooh, so that’s how.” Wally said. Alex nodded.

“Torture is unreliable. However, the threat of torture is even vorse than anything physical, and so much more effective. Now you can’t use this on the strong-villed or fanatic, but it makes up an important part of interrogation.”

“Ah, I see.” she said, writing it down in a small notebook. Mayhew whimpered. He hadn’t let go yet.

“S-Should she really be taught this kinda stuff?”

“I’m not sure why I haven’t been taught anything like that.” Jamie said.

“That is because you do not listen. Or observe closely. Do you think that little demonstration vas for Vallendora’s benefit alone?” Alex asked from behind him, making him jump.

“Gah! The *bleep*? Crazy *bleep*.” Mayhew said, rubbing his throat.

“S-Sorry. Are you alright? Just wanted to scare you a bit. Alex’s right, it really does work better with an implied threat.” she said, writing down notes.

“Anyvay, ve’re not here to discuss training techniques. Ve’re here to...vhat vere ve doing again?” he asked, furrowing his brow.

“Teleporting to Olympolis with Wally.” Lina said dryly.

“Ah! Right. Forvard, march!”

--------------------------------------------------------------

The party had given Wally an abridged version of events by the time they got to the Demeter City guildhall, which she recorded eagerly. Once there, it was a mere hop onto a giant rune, and they were suddenly in Olympolis CIty. They emerged from the Gazelle’s hall to the town gate, the streets bright and marbled, filigreed with gold and platinum, jewel-encrusted gold statues everywhere. The Vampires boggled at the sight.

“O-Okay, now my treasure reserve is feeling inadequate.” Lina whimpered. NPCs were dressed from all sorts of time periods. There was definitely a Greek theme, with many in togas and laurel wreaths, but others were decked out like the late Victorian era, crisp and pristine. There were a few steampunk-esque designs among them, while others looked ready to attend a royal ball. The only commonality among them was they were all supremely elegant.

Even the player avatars were dressed to impress, with formal-looking armor or stately robes prevalent. Of course there were a few whose asthetic clashed with the surroundings, as they watched a girl go by in garish hot-pink with oversize sunglasses. But they were notably less than other cities.

“Yeah, it can be overwhelming at first. I think it’s a bit ostentatious, but I wasn’t on the design team.” Mayhew said, adjusting his hat. Lina and Jamie were quiet, subtly polishing her armor and wrapping his cloak around him more. Alex rubbed his hands together.

“Ah, at last. Vally, about how many players are here right now?” he asked.

“About...two, three million. This is the capital of Kazerlande, after all.” she said.

“Excellent, just excellent. And how many guilds are based here?” She blinked.

“Um, I think two hundred? Something along those lines, anyway. All the major guilds in RFO, at least. It’s a sign of prestige. Y’know, I think I should be charging you guys for this.” Wally said, bemused.

“Oh? And the lessons of stealth and survival I instructed you in, those came for free? You expect your schoolmarms to vork for nothing? My dear, you have qvite the credit of debt to vork off yet.” Alex said, smiling craftily. Behind him, Lina tilted her head and mouthed ‘schoolmarms?’

“R-Really?” Wally asked, suddenly nervous.

“Of course not!” Alex laughed. “But it is very helpful. Just vun last thing: where is your leader? The head of the Gazelles? I’d like to meet him, if possible.”

“Um…’bout that…” She shifted, embarrassed. “Uh, I kinda...don’t know.”

“Huh?” Lina said.

“W-Well, I was recruited in Apollo City see, and I’m based there, and...I, don’t really come to Apollo City much? It’s why we couldn’t just zip to the headquarters.” she said nervously. Alex frowned, but Jamie piped up.

“Orlin Goldstar’s the head of the Gazelles. The head hall’s down on Vermillion Avenue, that’s where they coordinate between the locations in other cities. They also have the largest number of Telepads of any non-combat guild, and many of the combat ones too, despite only having a hundred or so members. They don’t have nearly as much overhead, since they rarely go out on quests or raids.” Everyone stared at him, and he pulled his hood up. “W-What? There was an interview with the fifty top guild heads online a few weeks ago.”

“Brilliant, Jamie! That’s the vay!” Alex slapped his back, making him yelp. “Ve’re going to need that keen mind. But first, ve need to meet Mr. Goldstar.”

--------------------------------------------------------------

Wally strode into the Gazelle Guild Hall confidently, belying her frazzled nerves. She was flanked by Jamie, Mayhew, and Lina, but that did little to reassure her. Alex had entrusted her to get them in there, while he took care of other business.Before they could ask what other business, the vampire dropped a smoke bomb and leapt out the tavern window.

“I’m gonna kill him all the way dead this time.” Lina growled, but Wally shushed her as they approached the front desk, manned by a player with a giant bow slung across his back.

“Hey. Can I help you?” he said casually, leaning on the desk. Jamie raised his eyebrow.

“Don’t guilds have NPC secretaries to man these desks?” he asked curiously.

“That’s an optional thing, and it turns out the A. I. sucks when it has to handle anything more complicated than informing a guildmember or adding jobs to the board.” He thumbed at the board to his right, covered in papers. Quests, notifications, guild-assigned missions, and lists absolutely covered it, spreading out from the cardboard like an octopus.

“Look at that, a flaw in the program. Imagine.” Lina smirked at Mayhew.

“Don’t make me delete you.” he muttered back.

“U-Um, we’re here to see Mr. Goldstar. Can we, please?” Wally said, giving him her best puppy dog look. He shifted, looking down at the schedule.

“You got an appointment?” he asked.

“Erm, no…do we need one? It’s kinda important.” He frowned.

“Well...he generally doesn't allow unannounced visitors, but…” She stood on her tiptoes, staring at him in that hope-beyond-hope, ready-to-be-crushed way that only young children can muster. He sighed, seeing the emblem on her arm. She was one of them, after all.

“His schedule is pretty free for the next twenty minutes. I can’t give you any official announcement or anything, but if you convince him to talk to you go ahead. Straight down the hall, hang a left, it’s at the end of the corridor, you can’t miss it.” he said.

“Yay! Thank you!” She clapped her hands and led the Vampires down the hall. They passed tons of players writing down reports, passing messages, running to and fro. It reminded Jamie of a beehive, all hustle and bustle as the guildmembers collected and compiled information.

“It’s like this even in Apollo CIty. Information’s a powerful commodity, and won’t keep long. We have to work hard to bring the latest goings-on to the highest bidder, before it becomes old news.” Wally explained in a tone that sounded like it’d been recited to her a million times.

“Sounds exciting. And complicated.” Jamie said.

“It’s not hard, really. All you gotta do is scout out dungeons and encounters’n stuff and report back. You don’t really have to do a quest, but a few guys do, including Mr. Goldstar. And since we’re trapped in RFO, we’ve gotten super busy. Looking for any way out, you know? If someone found a way, we’d give everything we got to know.” Wally said sadly.

“Know the feeling.” Lina said noncommittally. The weight of the mission to free Verringale pulled at her mind. The Tower was twelve miles away. It would be over soon.

It had to be.

They came upon the door to the guild leader’s office, finely crafted but simple, polished wood with brass filigree. There weren’t any guards, and Mayhew breathed a sigh of relief. A rich guild could have NPC guards, fairly high level too. Not to mention a player could serve as well, which was what he’d feared. A.I., as advanced as RFO’s was, was still infinitely easier to fool than a human. Wally gathered her courage and knocked. It opened, a gorgeous woman in a suit and cloak stepping out, with ash-grey hair, glasses, and a frown.

“Yes? Hello? Who are you?” she said. Her stat screen proclaimed her to be Marlinna, lieutenant in the guild.

“Uh...h-hi. I’m...we’re…” Wally stuttered, her mouth dry. All her confidence in getting here was used up. Lina smiled demurely and took over.

“Hi there, I’m Lina, with the Victorious Vampires. And no, I didn’t choose the name. We’re here to see Orlin Goldstar, we’ve got very important business concerning the chance to escape RFO with him. I’m sorry we’re dropping in unannounced, but we really do need to see him, and Wally’s a member of your guild, she generously allowed us to teleport here.” she said as brightly as she could, slipping into the tone of a business meeting discussion. Marlinna snorted dismissively.

“You and about fifty thousand others. I don’t know how you people keep getting in here, but leave before I call security. Or worse, make you leave myself.” she said with a glare, grabbing the handle of a scythe strapped to her back. It appeared to be made out of pure darkness, waves of black rolling off it like mist. Jamie gulped and stepped back. She was level 57 and not limited by artificial intelligence. She could kill them all in PVP, and looked mean enough to do it.

“What, more guys coming in with ‘sure-fire’ methods to spring us?” a man in pearl armor called from the desk, peeking around the door.

“Yes sir. One of them from our own guild this time, no less.” she said.

“Really?” He cocked his head.

“How old’re you?” she asked Wally.

“Uh, nine, but-”

“Listen kid. You can’t let every Tom, Dick, and Harry sell you info. You gotta verify it first, one of the first rules of journalism, they serve us well too. There, your lesson for the day, take it to heart and don’t come back.” She slammed the door in their faces over their desperate protests. Sighing in frustration, she stalked back over to the desk. “We have to get a proper receptionist. That’s the fourth one this week.”

“And they all show up unannounced. Look at all this. I don’t have time to deal with it!” Orlin Goldstar siad, sweeping his hand across the desk, completely inundated with reports, permits, receipts, and other cluttered paperwork. “Do they know what I have to deal with, especially since we’re all stuck here!?”

“Probably not, that’s why they think they can just waltz in here whenever they feel like it.” Marlinna huffed, falling into a leather chair.

“The absolute nerve of some people.” Alex said, pouring himself a glass of brandy from the liquor cabinet and sitting on the couch next to the desk, leaning his elbows on the precarious papers.

“I’ll sa-huh!?” The both of them jumped and drew their weapons, pointing them at the intruder. “The *bleep*ing *bleep*! Who’re you!?” Orlin demanded.

“Alexandru Friedrich Campanella du Fontaine de la Bridore Lonescu, of the Victorious Vampires. I have an appointment.” he said placidly, swirling the liquor.

“I-I don’t recall an appointment for you…” Marlinna said uncertainty, wanting to check the schedule but unwilling to drop the scythe.

“Vell, it vas rather sudden, ve just got back. I don’t believe you vere informed.”

“That doesn’t mean you have an appointment then!” she snapped.

“On the contrary, just because ve neglected to tell you doesn’t mean ve didn’t schedule it, do try to keep up, you von’t make it as a secretary or lieutenant that vay.” Alex responded in a dismissive tone. She ground her teeth, but Orlin cocked his head. He didn’t seem to want to fight.

“How’d you get in here, anyway?” he asked.

“That vas my team at the door just now. I suspected ve might reqvire an alternate route to gain an audience, so I sent them ahead to scout and distract vhile I discerned your location. Your vindow vas unlocked.” he said. They looked at the window, wide open on the third floor.

“It was locked!” Marlinna exclaimed.

“Vell if you vanted to keep people out, that vas a poor lock to choose then.” Alex sipped the brandy. “Security around here is atrocious.”

“Tell me about it.” Orlin deadpanned. “What do you want?”

“Same thing you do: a vay out of this videogame. There is a vay. Ve learned it from vun of my party members, he’s a programmer for RFO. Speaking of vich, Shadowgrab.” His shadow reached up and opened the door. “Ve have an armistice! Come back forthvith!” he shouted, the Vampires turning around down the hall.

“Hey, we don’t have any truce, or meeting, or anything!” Marlinna protested. She pointed her finger at him to blast him with a spell, but Alex just rolled his eyes. Before she could incant, his shadow reared up and grabbed her hand, twisting it to point at her. She froze. The move was so sudden, how could he react that quick? Alex smirked; 200 years of dodging gunfire had made the motions of projectiles familiar to him, and magic in this game was much slower than pulling a trigger.

“There really is no cause for violence. I have a very profitable proposition, after all. Tell me, gatherer of information: have you ever heard of a man named Richard Mayhew?” the vampire siad, sipping the brandy. Dear lord did he miss alcohol. At least the taste was still there.

“No, don’t believe so. Should I have?” Orlin said, lowering his sword but not putting it away. Inside his custom boot, he flipped a switch, and a tiny hatch opened in his heel. A very small spider crawled out, dark and fast. It wasn’t a tamed beast, but it functioned like one. It’s venom could cause a massive penalty to STR and TGH. Orlin was willing to hear him out, but his spider was poised to strike if necessary.

“I believe you should, it’s qvite relevant. He’s a programmer who’s vorked on RFO, and he’s here vith us. See?” Alex gestured at the Priest, walking into the room.

“Huh?” he said.

“Really?” Orlin cocked his head again. He reminded Alex of a cockatiel.

“Yup. How much vere you responsible for programming, Mayhew?” Alex asked. He whirled on the vampire.

“You told him!?” Orlin discreetly nodded to Marlinna and she nodded back, pulling up the credits for the game.

“Of course. Ve’re almost at the endgame now. Secrecy has gotten us far, but ve need more than that now. Sir, I believe a member of your guild gave you a report recently, a certain green man, Krugmek, I believe the name vas?” he asked the guildmaster. Orlin’s eyes bugged.

“That was real!? We thought he’d cracked!” he exclaimed.

“S-Sir, Richard Mayhew is in the game’s list of credited developers.” Marlinna said. Orlin’s eyes went to the screen, then to the Priest, then at Alex. He narrowed them shrewdly.

“It seems we should take you seriously, Mr. Allocrax.” With a mental command, the spider returned and he sheathed his sword. “Very well. Forgive the rough welcome, but…”

“Completely understandable.” Alex said demurely.

“Marlinna, clear everything else. This’s more important.” She nodded and left, and ORlin sat down and swept all the paperwork off the desk. “I have to deal with that enough in the real world. Ok! So! You came to us for a reason. Get me up to speed, what’s going on?” he said, clasping his hands.

“Hoo boy.” Jamie muttered, and Lina nodded.

“It’s good you cleared your day. You see…” Alex began.

--------------------------------------------------------------

One abridged explanation later, Orlin sat still, stone faced. Alex leaned back.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, but believe me, it’s been no pleasure to live through. These terrorists vill pay, of course. All ve need is to infiltrate the Vizard’s Tower.” he said.

“This’s...even worse than I thought. Leading theory is it’s some kinda severe technical glitch. Guess that’s out!” he cried, grabbing the bottle of brandy. He looked at the glass, then shrugged and chugged the bottle. Once he’d downed the whole thing, he stared at the label. “God I wish I could get drunk in here. I am far too sober to deal with any of this bull*bleep*.” Idly tossing it away, he regarded the Vampires. “Well, thank you for the information. I’d pay you in gold, but it does seem a little pointless now.”

“Mm-hmm! Vell if gold is pointless, perhaps ve could be compensated some...other vay?” Alex said with a sinister grin, steepling his fingers. Orlin suppressed a shiver. Allocrax was a small avatar, but he looked like a shark. Or a wolf. Something with long teeth, anyway.

“W-What did you have in mind?” he asked.

“You see, I have a plan. The Vizard’s Tower is heavily guarded vith monsters and traps vithout these Radiant people, I’ve no doubt they’ve improved security. Ve’re going to need a massive force to have any hope of victory.” Alex said.

“I see. My guild’s not the biggest, or as combat-ready as the others, but I’ll do what we can.” Orlin said, but Alex stood up.

“No. If I vanted a combat guild, I vould have vent to vun. No, you have greater power.” he said.

“They do?” Jamie asked.

“We do?” Both Wally and Orlin said, the latter tilting his head again.

“Indeed. After all, the other guilds and players know the information sold by the info broker guild is good, right?”

“Wouldn’t be able to make a profit otherwise.” Orlin said.

“Correct. That’s vhy vhen the Gazelles release this information for free, they vill know the situation is dire. That is step vun of my plan, gather eveyvun to attack the Tower, two days from now.”

“Two days? Is that gonna be enough time?” Orlin asked.

“It is vhen the info dealers are offering the information for free.” the vampire pointed out, and he nodded.

“So what’s step two?” Lina asked, and Alex’s red eyes gleamed.

“I’m glad you asked, my dear. Ve’ll need the Gazelle’s resources for qvite a lot, including this. Step two: real estate.”