“What was that all about?” Justin asked. “I think you actually killed Chad. I didn’t know NPCs could even do that.”

After leaving the training grounds, Klothar had led Justin north along a farm road to a fence where two horses were hitched. Then he and Klothar had saddled up and set off, riding parallel to the Dark Tree Forest, until they met the trade road.

Now they were riding east on the road between Holgate and Tashon’s Gate. Privately Justin was very impressed with himself. He had never been on a horse before but here he was riding it like a pro.

“That man was a craven, flap-mouthed miscreant!” Klothar said. “The world is better off without him.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Justin said. “But at least he was going to help train me.”

“What do you mean, lad?”

“I mean, I haven’t progressed very far. It’s the second day. People say I should be level two by the end of today, but that’s not going to happen, is it?”

“Level two? In all truth, I have no idea what that means.”

“Right,” Justin said. “You’re just an NPC. That means you pretty much role-play 24/7.”

“Again, you are speaking in riddles, lad.”

“Whatever.”

They rode for a quarter of an hour in silence, then Justin asked, “So this quest we’re on now, do you want to tell me about it? I mean, don’t I have to accept it in order to get credit?”

Klothar shook his head. “You certainly do have a strange manner of speech, lad, and if the oracle had not told me that you were a key part of this endeavor, I might not—”

“Whoa. Hold up. What oracle?”

“I call her an oracle, though in truth, I’m not sure what she is.”

“But she knew about me?”

“You and your young companion both.”

“Pari?”

“Indeed. It is she who we must locate next.”

“Okay, but who is this oracle? And how did she know about the two of us? I mean, I just got here yesterday.”

“I am not sure that anyone knows the answers to the questions you ask,” Klothar said. “But after the attack of the ebon dragon, I wandered the woods until I found the oracle. She was sitting upon a throne of blood in the Dark Tree.”

“Okay, that’s a little creepy, but go on.”

“She told me that two souls will accompany me on my journey: a childlike lad by the name of Justin—that’s you—”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“And an impulsive woman by the name of Pari. I informed the oracle that I had already met you both, and she then charged me with locating you.”

Justin still had a tough time believing that he was named in a quest. Could NPCs even go on quests?

“Okay, I’m definitely up for helping you with your quest, but I need to get something out of it. Are you cool with that?”

“You shall have one third of any treasure we amass during the adventure.”

“I’m actually talking about XP—experience points. I’m supposed to earn 1500 a day and I am way behind.”

Klothar shrugged like he had no idea what Justin was talking about, which he probably didn’t—being an NPC.

“I am confident that you shall earn some valuable experience on the way,” Klothar said. “It’s obvious that you’ve led a sheltered life up until now.”

“Couldn’t we just go boar hunting? There’s got to be something around here that will give us experience.”

The ranger ignored him. Instead he continued to lead them along the road through the Dark Tree forest, a dense and forbidding wood. But at least the tangled mass of beech and elm trees had been cut back ten yards on either side of the road for safety.

“Are you hungry perchance?” Klothar asked after a time. “I have fresh-baked goblin’s fart bread from Sausie the Baker.”

“I’m not going to even ask what that is. And, no, I’m not hungry. I just need to improve my hunting skills.”

“Why didn’t you say so? Once the forest thins a bit, there will be plenty of game.”

As they rode, Justin decided to ask the ranger more about Greystrand and specifically about the world quest. He was finding this all very confusing. Master Desiderius had told him one thing, but then Ten-Spot confirmed what his own knowledge of lore had told him.

“Hey, you know about Dynark, don’t you?”

Klothar’s expression darkened. “All too well, lad. All too well.”

“What do you mean?”

Klothar sighed. “I mean that I had a hand in releasing the demon lord.”

“You did?”

“It was an accident, of course. Kevon and I were exploring Hell’s Gate, and we inadvertently loosed the dark lord from his magical tomb.”

“Bummer,” Justin said. “Did he try to kill you?”

“No, he had been greatly weakened. He was more of a man than a demon at that point. Quite pleasant, actually. It took him years to regain his strength.”

“But now he’s, like, terrorizing the world, right? Subjugating the free folk?”

“No, in truth, no one has laid eyes on Dynark for a very long time. Many people think he has departed this world.”

“I don’t get it. What about the Shadow Lance?”

Klothar shook his head. “I have never heard of such a thing.”

“C’mon—the world quest? You know?”

“If the world is on a quest, I would have heard about it,” Klothar said matter-of-factly.

“Well, I’ve heard about it. And my friend Ten-Spot heard about it too. Everyone’s searching for the Shadow Lance because apparently, it is the only thing that can defeat Dynark.”

A smile played across Klothar’s face. “Sounds like a fairytale to me, lad.”

“Really? You’re talking to me about fairytales? You just said some old lady sitting on a bloody throne told you to find me.”

“The oracle is not an old lady. She quite comely, actually. And I am to locate both you and Pari.”

“Whatever. But what’s the end game? If we’re not supposed to be looking for the Shadow Lance, what are we looking for?”

“The Iron Veil.”

Justin almost fell out of his saddle. “You know about the Iron Veil?”

“No, not really. That’s part of the mystery. No one knows what the Iron Veil is. All I know, lad, is that we must find it. And soon.”

“Why? What happens if we don’t?”

“Bad things.”

“What kind of bad things.”

“The kind of bad things you don’t want to speak aloud.”

Klothar didn’t elaborate, but Justin’s mind was reeling. So there were two different world quests out there. Ten-Spot had known about the Shadow Lance and he said that other people were talking about the Lance too. And that’s what was in Justin’s lore memory as well. But then Master Desiderius basically shut him down and said that the world quest was about this Iron Veil thing. And now Klothar said that he was looking for the Iron Veil too.

This was so weird. Was it possible that NPCs had their own quests that were different from the players’ world quest?

He really needed to talk to Pari. She knew a lot and would be able to set things straight. He decided to send her a voice message.

“Message to Pari: hey, it’s Justin. I tried to find you this morning, but Chad said that you had gone home or something. Anyway, you’ll never guess who I’m with now—”

Klothar rode closer and asked, “Who are you speaking with, lad?”

“Shh! I’m leaving a message here,” Justin said to Klothar. Then he resumed his message.

“Yup that was Klothar. I know, crazy, right? So we’re doing this quest and apparently you’re part of it too, and I have a ton of questions. I really hope we can meet up. We’re heading to Tashon’s Gate. Okay, I don’t know how much time these messages give you so I’ll leave it at that. Call me, please.”

“Are you done conversing with the spirits?” Klothar asked.

“For your information, I was leaving a message for Pari.”

“You two have a telepathic bond?”

“Something like that.”

“And you know where she is, lad?”

“Afraid not. But hopefully she’ll get my message and call me—err, contact me telepathically, so, yeah.”

They rode for another two hours before the dense forest gave way to a scrubby meadow dotted with the occasional pine.

“We’ll stop here and hunt,” Klothar announced, swinging off his horse.

“That’s what I’m talking about!”

“Are you partial to the taste of roasted spider mandible by any chance? I certainly am.”

Justin gagged a little, but turned away so Klothar couldn’t see him.

“The silk sacs are also quite tasty.”

“I’m up for whatever. As long as it yields experience.”

They found a little brook so that the horses could drink and then Klothar tied them up using special quick release knots.

The landscape was different here. Justin could tell that they were at a higher elevation. And instead of the rich farmland surrounding Holgate, the earth here was rocky and dry.

Klothar was true to his word. They spent the next hour or so hunting all kinds of creatures, including giant spiders that were truly disgusting, fast-moving boars, and sylvan lions who were pretty tough. Justin would tag the mob and Klothar would assist with his bow or warhammer. The ranger was so fast that even when Justin got overwhelmed and nearly killed—which happened several times—Klothar was able to take out the monster before it could slaughter Justin.

At the end of the hunting session, as they were washing the blood off themselves in the brook, Justin checked and saw that he was up to 1185 experience. Oh man! Not even half of what he should be. This was definitely a grind.

He asked Klothar if there were any more powerful monsters they could go after.

“What, like args?”

Justin’s lore kicked in and he recalled that args were brutish, tusked, ogre-like creatures who lived in the highlands north of Tashon’s Gate. Arg warbands frequently raided Cotter’s Mill, Marby, Tashon’s Gate, and even the city of Skelheim. He had a faint recollection of his dad mentioning args as being the old Caves & Beasts version of orcs. Maybe they would yield more XP than wild boars.

Justin asked. “How tough are they?”

“You might be able to vanquish one,” Klothar said. “If it was old, blind, and missing a leg, that is.”

“Thanks. Way to be encouraging.”

“Lad, never forget that args are canny foes. They are twice as strong as humans and nearly as quick. Pray that we don’t encounter any. For your own sake.”

They continued west on the road for another hour until a big wooden fort came into view. It looked like something out of the Old West with a high stockade wall made of massive tree trunks which had been carved into sharp points. Guards patrolled the upper wall as well as the area outside the fort.

“Tashon’s Gate,” Klothar announced. “We’ll spend the night here and get a fresh start in the morning.”

“But it’s early yet,” Justin said. “We have plenty of time left to hunt.”

“We hunt when I say we hunt.”

They rode through the front entrance, a pair of twenty foot tall wooden doors that were easily a foot and a half thick. The interior of the fort was as big as a football field with various low buildings. Justin could make out a stable block, a blacksmith, guard barracks, an inn, and some shops. On the northwest corner a stone tower rose up at least five stories. The yard was filled with people, but at least half of them wore the uniform of the guard. Most of the rest looked like merchants and farmers.

Klothar led Justin towards the stables. “This outpost is not as welcoming as Holgate, and it can get a little rough. Best to keep your head down.”

“I killed a giant spider today,” Justin said. “I’m ready for anything.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of, lad.”

They dropped their horses off at the stables and walked over to the inn and adjoining tavern. Justin ducked into the tavern half of the building, which was a dark, ramshackle place with ceilings so low, Justin could reach up and touch them. Unlike at the pub last night, there was barely anyone here in the common room—just a few grimy-looking old-timers. No players from the looks of it.

“I think we’ve officially discovered the armpit of Greystrand,” Justin said.

Klothar gave him a sharp look and said, “I’ll see about a room next door. Don’t move from here.”

“Yes, dad.”

The ranger left the tavern and Justin crossed over to the bar. The guy behind it was heavyset and had an epic beard which hung down so low it nearly touched the top of the bar.

“Your finest ale, barkeep.”

The man didn’t say anything. He just went out to the back room, where presumably, he kept the good stuff.

Justin looked around the room at the old-timers. A few of them were playing some sort of card game at a corner table. Others were deep in hushed conversation. And a third group was looking at a large piece parchment spread out on their table. There was one guy sitting by himself.

The barkeep returned with a large dust-covered bottle. He wiped the bottle down and presented it to Justin like a sommelier at a fancy restaurant.

“Catfish 99 Bourbon Barrel Ale. Not only the finest ale in Tashon’s Gate, but likely the best in all of Greystrand. That’ll be one shield.”

“A full shield? Are you serious?” Even though this was his first time actually buying anything, Justin knew the how the currency worked. A shield was worth 10 gold crowns, which was the basic unit of money here.

“It’s exceptional beer. You want it or not?”

“Okay, but it better really be good.”

Justin took out his magical money bag and opened it for the first time. He remembered that he had earned 200 gold from his very first quest with the ratkin. Inside the magic purse were a number of different sized coins. Each was stamped with a different symbol that signified its worth. In the purse he could see two eels (worth 50 gold each), eight shields (worth 10 gold each), and twenty crowns (worth 1 gold each). He didn’t have any of the more valuable coins: goblets (worth 100 gold each) or pikes (worth 1000 gold).

Easy come, easy go.

Justin plonked the shield coin on top of the bar and the barkeep snatched it up in a fluid motion.

After inspecting it with a practiced eye, the man tucked it into a pouch at his side and fetched a heavy ceramic mug from a shelf below the bar.

“You’re going to like this, young sir.” He removed the wax seal on the bottle, then the cork, and then filled Justin’s mug. The beer looked creamy and dark and smelled delicious. Justin let the head settle for a moment and took a swig.

Wow. This really was good. Very intense flavor with a slightly sweet aftertaste. It was much better than the mead last night.

“What did I tell you, lad? Worth every penny. Now, speak the truth, was that your very first sip of beer ever?”

“No. Why would you say that?”

The barkeep shrugged. “Just a feeling a got.”

All of a sudden, Justin felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see one of the old-timers beside him. The man had a scraggly wild fringe of white hair that ringed an otherwise bald pate. And he was a mess. His clothes were torn and crusted in mud and what very well might have been blood. His face was all busted up, too, but the man’s eyes were bright and the most intense pale blue color Justin had ever seen.

“Didn’t mean to startle you, sonny boy.” He stuck his hand out. “The name’s Wreman. Wreman of Durrow.”

“Justin of, um, Sacramento.”

“Well met, Justin. So are you enjoying your Catfish 99? ’Tis a fine brew, in my humble opinion.”

“Yeah, it’s not bad.”

“You know where the name comes from, don’t you?”

Justin shook his head.

“Old fishing story. The hundredth fish is one that got away.” He gestured at the mug. “Thus, 99.”

Okay, that didn’t make too much sense, but Justin forced a smile and nodded at the old guy.

“Listen, Justin, I’ll be brief so you can return to your ale. I need someone to do something for me. It’s a quick little task.”

Here we go. Could this be a quest?

Justin looked straight into Wreman’s baby blues. “I’m listening.”

“This morning our wagon was attacked by args, just south of here—no more than a quarter hour away. They killed everyone but me. I managed to crawl away and hide under some bodies. I’m not proud of that, but I’m a merchant, not a warrior.”

“Okay… I’m not judging…”

“In any case, I can live with the loss of my merchandise. They were only rugs, after all, but in the fracas, I lost something that was important to me. Very important. It was an amulet. My wife’s amulet. A keepsake of sorts. You see, Andra died many years ago, and I kept her amulet to remember her by. It is my most prized possession.”

“What happened to it?”

“In truth, I do not know. I wore it close to my heart at all times. I can only assume that it somehow was lost during the attack.” Wreman licked his lips. “I want to hire you to go to the site of the ambush and search for it. I’ll pay you handsomely.”

“And how will you do that?” Justin asked. “Didn’t you lose everything in the attack?”

“Not quite everything.” Wreman reached into his satchel and pulled out something. He dropped it on the counter.

It was a light grey-colored cut gemstone the size of a walnut. Flickers of light danced within the gem’s interior.

A cloud diamond!

Justin’s knowledge skill told him that the cloud diamond was worth a fortune, but he decided to try to play it cool.

“That must be some amulet,” he said, keeping his voice even.

“As I said, it has tremendous sentimental value. Will you help me, Justin? Will you return my wife’s amulet to me?”

Justin took another swig of his expensive beer. “Sure. Why not?”

:::::. Quest accepted: locate Wreman’s amulet south of Tashon’s Gate .:::::

Cool! It really was a quest!

“So tell me what this amulet looks like,” Justin said.

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll show you.”

He took a wax tablet and stylus from his satchel and proceeded to sketch a design.

Justin leaned in closer. The sketch almost looked like a five pointed star, but broken so it was missing a point.

“Is it supposed to be a pentacle?” Justin asked.

Wreman shook his head. “I’m not a very skilled artist, I’m afraid. It’s just a design. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Well, okay. And you say that your wagon was attacked south of here?”

Wreman slumped into a chair with a sigh. “No more than a mile south. It should still be there, although picked clean, I wager.”

“So all I need to do is go down the road and look for the amulet?”

“You certainly ask a lot of questions, sonny boy.”

“I like to be careful.”

“Careful is good.” Wreman limped back to his table.

Justin finished up his beer and then went out to find Klothar. He couldn’t wait to tell him about their new quest.