The three companions fell into silence as they moved forward into the darkness beneath the city. They were surrounded on all sides by the same fluted, natural rock with the subtle, dwarven-built arches at tunnel entrances and exits. The current tunnel appeared to widen out a little as it approached a larger opening into a cavern ahead.

“Look!” Dargan, his dwarven sight helping him to see the inscriptions in the rock—runes, and geometric dots and lines—every few yards.

“What does it say?” Connor asked.

The dwarf squinted, and Connor held his glowing arm a closer to the wall.

“Greetings from the Joint Human-Dwarvish Outpost of Welcome, established between the two worlds,” Dargan said with an appraising nod. “I guess we’re in the right place, then?”

“We can’t be far,” Olanna whispered, nodding not only to the dwarfish script on the walls but also to the golden glow emanating from Connor’s arm.

“If that is getting stronger the nearer we get—” the dwarf started to say.

“Halt!”

There was a shout from up ahead and a sudden crack against the stone walls as something flew toward them.

“Freeze!”

Looking ahead in horror, the party saw that, in the large chamber they were about to enter, there were two passages—and Union City guards streamed through one of them with crossbows cocked and pointed at them.

“You’re under arrest for the destruction of the Pettigrew Express and murder of all aboard, the destruction of the King’s Head and murder of seven, the murder of four city guards going about their peaceful work two nights ago . . .” the Union City soldier intoned, waving the other soldiers forward.

“Wait!” Olanna said, holding her hands up. “None of that was us—none of it!”

“You will come with us now, elf, or we will be forced to treat you as unfriendly,” the Union City soldier growled, clearly ready to shoot first and ask questions never.

“Oh, I’ll show you unfriendly, alright,” Dargan snarled in a promise, hefting the war hammer up a little higher.

The Union City soldier sneered at the dwarf. Connor reached for his hand ax—

“Urk!”

The talking soldier giving orders coughed, staggering forward as he held his hand up to his throat, where the barb of a crossbow was poking out. The party of three watched in shock as the man who was obviously the captain took one staggering step forward and then fell to the cavern floor, dead.

“We’ll take it from here, boys,” said a cruel voice. A tall figure clad in dark leather stepped from the second entrance to the chamber—a human woman with a bob of bright hair cut short, and a sinister black crossbow in her hand.

The woman wasn’t alone, either. Clustered about her was her gang of similarly clad and armed criminals.

“Mae-tsu!” Connor gasped, just before all hell broke loose.

“Fire! Get them!” One of the remaining soldiers shouted and suddenly crossbow bolts were flying in every direction as the two groups attacked each other.

“Get down!” Connor hissed, ducking and darting to one side of the cavern as a stray crossbow bolt hammered into the rock wall near his head. “We have to get past them!”

The soldiers and Mae-tsu’s gang crashed into each other, drawing swords and clubs as they fought for who would capture the party of three.

“Which way!?” Olanna crouched at the tunnel mouth with Dargan just behind her. There were sounds of Union soldiers coming from behind them, now, as well.

“Past the soldiers.” Connor checked his arm, ducking to one side. “Right-hand tunnel!”

“Don’t let them get away!” Mae-tsu snarled as Connor made a run for it, drawing his hand ax in one stride as a Union City soldier suddenly darted toward him.

Union City Soldier attacks Connor with Longsword. Attack dodged; no damage done.

Connor swerved to one side as the soldier’s longsword swiped through the air near his ear. He flung his own hand out, reversing the blade of the ax as he swung.

Thwack!

Connor attacks Union City Soldier with Hand Ax for 8 Health points damage.

There was a crack from the soldier’s wrist where Connor had struck it, and the soldier screamed in pain, dropping his sword as Connor raced by—pressing on instead of further engaging the soldier. Dargan and Olanna broke from their cover to follow him.

“Urgh!”

There was another of the soldiers directly in front of Connor, but before he could engage him, there was a sudden gurgle of agony behind him. The half-elf glanced over his shoulder just in time to see that the soldier whom he had just attacked—and whom he had only broken the wrist of—was falling forward, Mae-tsu’s blade springing from his back.

Union City Soldier has been killed.

Your group has been awarded 200 Experience Points for slaying Union City Soldier

Experience points will be divided among all participants.

I didn’t want that experience! Connor thought.

Mae-tsu kicked the body she had just killed aside and sprang forward. She was coming for him!

Hells! Connor swore, as now he was between two enemies—the soldier ahead, the criminal killer behind.

The soldier ahead hadn’t seen Mae-tsu behind Connor but took advantage of the momentary distraction and rushed forward, intending to run the half-elf through with his sword.

The half-elf turned his body and stepped to the side, at the same time swinging his hand ax around into the charging soldiers back, sending him stumbling past.

Union City Soldier attacks Connor with Longsword. Attack dodged; no damage done. Connor attacks Union City Soldier with Hand Ax for 9 Health points damage.

Connor continued to push past the soldier, flinging himself to the wall of the cave and out of reach. The tunnel out of the chamber was just ahead, and most of the soldiers were already engaged in fighting Mae-tsu’s killers. They just might get out of this mess!

“Ahk!” Connor’s attention was drawn back to the fighting by another very close shout of pain as Mae-tsu darted forward, skewering the Union City soldier’s neck with the tip of her sword. Connor saw the man’s death almost in slow motion as he stumbled forward, gasping and struggling for air, spilling blood all the way.

Union City Soldier has been killed.

Your group has been awarded 200 Experience Points for slaying Union City Soldier

Experience points will be divided among all participants.

Leave me alone, woman! Connor thought, disgusted that he was gaining experience from her murders as he was glanced toward the tunnel to freedom.

At the same time, he saw that Dargan and Olanna had a clear shot at it.

“Go! RUN!” Connor yelled, stopping himself from running ahead. How could he if that meant sealing his friends’ fate?

He turned on his heels as Olanna and Dargan raced toward the the tunnel.

Mae-tsu strode toward him.

“Connor!” the killer hissed, circling around him, blocking off his chance at escape. Her blade flicked toward his face, almost taking out his eye, but the half-elf threw himself backward just in time.

“I see you were lying about the ring.” Mae-tsu’s eyes glanced to his shining arm.

“But then again, what else can you expect from a low-grade Thief?” the woman said sharply, darting the tip of her blade forward at him again.

Mae-tsu attacks Connor with Longsword. Attack dodged; no damage done.

Connor jumped backward again, painfully aware that every step was taking him further and further from his escape route and the others. This must have been Mae-tsu’s plan, he realized, as she raised her sword once more.

“Perhaps the best thing for me to do is simply to cut off your arm and take that.” Mae-tsu raised her longsword.

Connor cried out, knowing that he was barely a match for her, but that he had to try, somehow. He threw his hand ax upwards to block the blow.

Mae-tsu attacks Connor with Longsword. Attack blocked; no damage done.

He felt the jolt of pain in his arm as he blocked the woman’s larger weapon with his own, pushing it aside with a snarl before turning to sweep his blade down at her.

Connor attacks Mae-tsu with Hand Ax. Attack dodged; no damage done.

“Ha!” She laughed as she danced lightly out of the way.

“And here I was thinking that you were one of the best gamers in the world.” Mae-tsu moved lightly on the balls of her feet in front of him, grinning. “All of those hours of experience. I thought that you would somehow be good at this.”

Connor snarled, striking out with his hand ax once more.

Connor attacks Mae-tsu with Hand Ax. Attack blocked; no damage done.

Another silvered laugh sounded as her blade flashed upward, easily slapping Connor’s hand ax to one side, opening his guard wide. Her sword flashed forward into the half-elf’s unprotected torso.

Mae-tsu attacks Connor with Longsword for 16 Health points damage.

“Argh!” Connor roared in pain as the sword lanced into his chest and tore itself out again. It wasn’t a deep cut, but the pain was unbearable. The half-elf stumbled backward, his feet almost slipping on the floor as the killer advanced.

“This is just too easy, Mr. Breen,” Mae-tsu taunted. “Did you really believe that you were a match for the might of the Yakuza?”

“The Yakuza!?” Connor gasped, dodging to one side as once again, Mae-tsu’s blade sliced toward him. He still had his hand ax, but he didn’t even bother to try to parry this time. It was easier to just dodging, and it kept him further away from Mae-tsu longer weapon.

“Or did your late employer, Mr. Grey, forget to tell you?” Mae-tsu asked calmly, almost charmingly. Behind him, Connor could hear the grunts and cries of the other Union City soldiers fighting and dying. The sounds of battle were diminishing, and he didn’t think that it would be long now before the Yakuza controlled the cavern.

“Of course, you’re probably dumb enough to think that you can steal from the Yakuza, aren’t you?” Mae-tsu darted forward once again, and this time, Connor spun to one side as the blade whispered in front of his face. Behind it, he could see the woman’s large smile and the shine of her teeth.

“I’m going to take your arm and use it to get through the First Gate,” the Yakuza killer promised. “Mr. Grey was wrong to trust a lowly gamer like you with this. It takes a warrior to win this game—and that is what I will do! No one will stop us from laying waste to everyone in our path!”

For a moment, Connor truly believed what she said. She had already managed to track him down, more than once, and had damn near started a civil war inside Union City. How much more damage would she do? How many innocent lives would she take?

“You’re just as new to this game as I am. You’re not unstoppable,” Connor snarled back as Mae-tsu casually flicked the half-elf’s blood from the tip of her blade. It spattered against the rocks of the walls.

“Well, what can I say? While you were out chasing Goblins and undead Liches—me and my men were out plundering villages.” Mae-tsu smiled cruelly. “They hardly put up a fight, you know. But, oh, they gave us so many experience points.”

“You—you have no idea what you’re messing with,” Connor burst out as Mae-tsu menaced him with her blade. The tunnel opening appeared to be a long way on the other side of her now.

“Annwn. This other realm—it’s something bigger than all of us. Bigger than you and me and even the game itself,” Connor tried to tell her. “Something bad is going on here . . .”

“Don’t give me that garbage!” Mae-tsu laughed cruelly. “There is a glitch in the game; that’s all. All of this talk of Annwn is just some scare story—”

With her victory a foregone conclusion, Mae-tsu turned a condescending gaze on the half-elf to gloat for just a moment before taking his arm—and his life.

Connor instantly recognized his opening—probably the only one he would get—and threw himself at her with all of the skills that he had learned from Brother Yuri plus all of the skills that he had learned from every other game he had ever played.

Mae-tsu had been right about one thing, at least: that no matter how you started in the game or where you had gotten to so far, your previous experience also mattered. Just as the Yakuza knew a a lot about fighting and killing people in the real world, Connor knew an awful lot about battling in game worlds.

He flung his hand ax up toward her, at the same time sliding a foot forward so that he could turn on his hip.

Mae-tsu brought her sword up to casually block the attack, but Connor turned his body at the last moment, pulling his hand ax back then quickly changing directions as he spun and brought the ax around from a different angle.

“Ach!”

Connor attacks Mae-tsu with Hand Ax for 9 Health points damage. Hand Ax scores critical hit to chest increasing damage by 200%. Total damage: 27 Health points.

Mae-tsu gasped, staggering back from the blow as the half-elf saw his chance and leaped over her and started to run toward the exit tunnel—

Pain and white light suddenly exploded in Connor’s head.

Yakuza Footpad attacks Connor with Metal Club for 12 Health points damage. Surprise attack increases damage by 100%. Metal Club scores critical hit on head increasing damage by 200%. Total damage: 48 Health points.

Connor crumbled to the floor clutching his head. He rolled over, groaning in pain to see the bowler hat-wearing Yakuza Footpad glaring down at him, a large metal club in one hand.

“Got him for you, boss.” The Footpad was panting for breath. As Connor’s senses returned, he realized the cavern was eerily silent. A quick look around showed him that all of the Union City soldiers were on the floor, dead, as were most of the Yakuza. That left just him—barely alive himself—Mae-tsu and the Footpad, both of whom were also injured.

“I reckon one more blow will do it, ma’am,” the Footpad said, raising his club to finish off the half-elf.

“No! He’s mine!” Mae-tsu growled, struggling to her feet with one hand clutched to her bloodied chest. She staggered to her feet and leveled her blade at Connor on the floor.

“I’ll give you this much. You play a good game, Connor Breen,” she panted, looking down at the bloody hand clutched to the wound in her chest.

“It’s almost a shame that you chose that side and didn’t throw yourselves at our mercy soon enough,” she growled, nodding to her second who quickly kicked out.

Footpad attacks Connor with Boot for 5 Health points damage.

“Hss!” Connor hissed in pain as the man’s boot connected with his wrist, skidding his hand ax out of the way and across the floor. He was defenseless and at their mercy. His Health was down to single digits and the next blow, in whatever form it came, would likely end his life.

“Keep his arm free,” Mae-tsu growled. Connor felt the sudden, painful pressure as the footpad grabbed his wrist with one hand and pulled up his shirtsleeve, exposing his forearm and the shining half-ring that glowed in the darkness.

“Yeah, perhaps we could have used someone with your skills here.” Mae-tsu took a breath as she tested the weight of her longsword, readying her strike.

“And really, that’s what your problem has been, hasn’t it?” Mae-tsu gloated. “You’re a Thief. A hacker. A Rogue and a criminal like us. You’ve been thinking that you’re the hero of this story, when really, you’re just another villain.”

Mae-tsu lifted her blade.

“Stop!” Connor cried out. “This . . . this won’t help you! Annwn is bigger than both of us. We need to figure out a way to defeat it,” he gasped.

“Stop it, Mr. Breen. Don’t give me your fanciful stories. All I see is a man before me begging for his life. This is a game, Mr. Breen, and it is one that I intend to win.”

Connor saw her heft her longsword for a heavy, powerful stroke, one that would doubtless take his arm and kill him in the process too.

In a desperate move, Connor began chanting. He was no mage, but he had cast the Light Spell from Grimoire of Hebspeth several times and was pretty sure he remembered the words.

Connor threw his free hand open as he finished the short spell and a ball of summoned light flew forward into Mae-tsu’s face in a blinding display of dazzling brilliance.

“Ah!” The Yakuza captain cried out, falling backward as she was blinded.

Connor rolled, grabbing a hold of the Yakuza Footpad’s ankle and pulled, sending the man to a sudden, backward fall and a terrible—thump!

Yakuza Footpad falls and hits head causing 10 Health points of damage. Fall causes critical hit to head increasing damage by 200%. Total damage: 30 Health points. Yakuza Footpad has been killed.

You have been awarded 300 Experience Points for slaying Yakuza Footpad.

There was, once again, a terrible crack as something vital in the Yakuza was broken. But Connor wasn’t stopping to think about it as he scrambled to his feet, pausing only to shove Mae-tsu backward where she was attempting to blink back the tears.

Suddenly, he was free, jumping over the bodies and running toward the tunnel, as his forearm started to flare brighter and brighter . . .