Eventually Pari had calmed herself enough to start walking again. The sky had clouded up, and it smelled like rain was going to hit any second.

Normally, she was fine with rain. No big deal. But the combination of this horrible news, plus the fact that she had spent a good part of yesterday wet and freezing made her dread even the lightest drizzle.

Pari had stepped up her pace to Oakford Cross and found a tavern—the Drunken Pony—where had she parked herself by the front window and ordered some soup. Then she had sent a message to Justin telling him where she’d be waiting.

Pari had been sitting here for the past few hours and had graduated from soup to beer. It seemed a more appropriate liquid to drown her sorrows in.

“Can I buy you a beer or something?”

She looked up to see a woman in her 40s with frizzy brown hair streaked with grey. She was tall and thin and had a kind face.

:::::. Helene Vorhaus. (Enchanter). Player, Level 5 .:::::

“Excuse me?”

“Or some tea,” Helene said. “Whatever you want.” She sat down without being asked.

Pari sat back in her chair and looked at the woman. What was her deal? Maybe this lady was just being friendly. But after the whole experience with that pink-haired bitch, she wasn’t about to let her guard down.

The woman shrugged at her. “I just saw you there with this expression on your face like your best friend just got run over by a bus.”

“There aren’t any buses here.”

“Okay, a dragon then.” Helene smiled.

“Matter of fact, you weren’t far off. I just learned that everyone in my fellowship wiped. Well, all but one.”

“Are you serious?”

“Totally. And they were all Januarys and Februarys so they’re not coming back.”

“I’m so sorry about that. What on earth happened?”

“I have no idea. They were exploring a dungeon in Hell’s Gate.”

“Not the Underfane, I hope?”

“No, it was some temple.” Pari drained the last of her beer. “The Temple of Xyurn. It must be a really tough run because our first party wiped too.”

“But you didn’t go?”

“No, we had two squads. I was in the other one. We were in the Vexham Maze for like a week.”

“I’ve been there. Not fun.”

“Yeah, that was nasty, but we all made it out alive,” Pari said. “By the way, I’m Pari. I’m blabbing at you and I haven’t even introduced myself.”

“No problem. I’m Helene. Pleased to meet you.”

“So, Helene, what’s your fellowship? And don’t say the Hawks because if you do, I’ll bash your head in with my beer mug. Fair warning.” Pari smiled.

Helene laughed. “No, I’m with the Godz of Greystrand. That’s with a ‘z’ just in case you weren’t sure.” She made a smirky little face.

“I would have bet money on it. What, is your leader like fifteen years old?”

“Sometimes I think she is. No, she’s probably your age. Etra Belaj. Ever hear of her?”

“No.”

“Well, she’s a January too. Kind of a big deal. She was the first to solo the Bloodmotes.”

“Why bother? A group of level threes can handle that, no problem.”

“She wanted to say she did it.”

Pari rolled her eyes. “One of those, huh?”

“Yeah, a little bit.” Helene stood up. “So how about that drink? Offer still stands.”

“I’m good. I’m kind of off people buying me drinks for a while.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I had a bad experience at a recruiting party on Tuesday night,” Pari said.

“That’s why I never go to those things anymore. Plus I’m never invited.” She grinned. “Be right back.”

Pari sighed. This lady was nice, but Pari had definitely learned her lesson. No drinking with strangers. No way.

She peeked out the window which had a good view of one of the main streets in the village. It was now officially pouring out, and the street was gradually turning into a big long mud puddle. Where was Justin? It was getting late and, at this rate, there was no way they’d make it back to Rathenhall today.

Helene returned to the table with a goblet of cider—which actually looked good—and a big freshly baked pretzel, which looked even better and smelled pretty awesome too.

“Pari, help yourself,” Helene said.

“No, I’m fine. Thanks.”

Helene broke off a piece of pretzel. “So what fellowship are you in?”

“The Fellowship of Wood and Silence.”

Helene’s eyebrows raised a bit as she munched on her pretzel. “And you were making fun of our name? Do you guys have your own monastery too?”

“Yeah, we get that a lot. I’m not sure why Lazarus picked that name. I think might have been into Eastern philosophy.”

“I know Lazarus,” Helene said. “Tall guy, pale, with the cheekbones?” She took a drink of her cider.

“Yeah, he’s pretty pale.”

“He kind of looks like that actor Sean Ford, right?”

Pari smiled. “Yeah, that’s him. Very interesting guy. I learned a lot from him. How do you know him?”

“We sold him some stuff a month or so ago. I don’t remember what. Potions maybe. I remembered his name. Just Lazarus, right? No last name?”

“That’s him. Or was.” Her stomach knotted at the thought, but she took a deep breath. “So I’m actually the fellowship leader now. But with no fellowship.”

“But didn’t you say that one of your team survived?” Helene asked.

“Mariel. But she’s not answering her messages, so I have this horrible feeling she’s trapped someplace dying and it’s just a matter of time before—” Pari’s voice faltered and she began to tear up. “Sorry.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I mean, this whole thing is a game, but that doesn’t make it any less painful, right?”

Pari nodded. Helene was right. This was a game—technically—but it was also one of the intense experiences she ever had in her life.

“Do you want to talk to Etra?” Helene asked. “I can set something up. We’re full right now, but we had a bunch of our team hit five recently, so it’s just a matter of time before we lose folks.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do just yet. I have to find out what happened to Mariel and then there’s this guy I sort of recruited. I need to figure some stuff out.”

“Well, if you want to talk, we’re based in Jodrell. We have a pretty nice hall. I did all the decor. And you probably won’t forget our name, right?”

“No way. Godz with a ‘z.’ Burned into my head.”

Helene laughed. “Good to meet you, Pari. I need to get going. I’m here on a supply run and if I’m not back by noon tomorrow, I’m going to have a bunch of pissed off crafters to deal with.” She drained her cider and stood up.

“No problem. Have fun shopping, Helene.”

“You hang in there.” She squeezed Pari’s shoulder on her way out.

“Will do.”

Well, at least this she survived this encounter. She hated to be so suspicious. Most of the players in this beta were actually pretty cool. It was just a handful—like those asshole Hawks—that really soured her.

But the whole thing got her thinking about the fellowship and what she should do next. The thought of Mariel out there also made her upset. She was never very close with the healer, but they were team mates, and now the only two members of W&S left.

Pari looked longingly at the pretzel bits that Helene had left. Should she?

A tapping sound on the window caught her attention, and she looked up to see Justin grinning at her. Klothar the ranger was standing beside him looking serious. She motioned for them to come in out of the rain.

Still smiling Justin came around to her table.

“Hey stranger,” he said.

“Good to see you, Justin.”

They hugged a little awkwardly.

Klothar gave a half nod/half bow and said, “We have much to discuss, my lady.”

“Well, have a seat,” Pari said. “But maybe take your cloaks off first so we don’t flood the place. I’ll get us some drinks.”

After a few minutes they were all settled with pretzels and beer for the guys and a cider for her. It was a little weird at first, but soon they were talking like old friends. Justin explained what had happened with his initiation and then what happened with Klothar and Chad.

“Way to go, Klothar!” she said. “You took that asshole out.”

The ranger just shrugged. “I could tell he was a knave from the moment I laid eyes upon him.”

“More than you know,” Pari said. “Wait until you hear my story. But I don’t get it. What did you want Justin for? He’s what you might call an apprentice adventurer. Kind of wimpy. No offense, Justin.”

“Yeah. Uh, thanks.”

“I was told to find the both of you. We were to form a group.”

“Told? By whom?”

“Patience, dear lady. Let Justin finish his tale. I promise you, it is a worthy one.”

“Thanks, K. That means a lot.” Justin continued with his account, and described what had happened in Tashon’s Gate and the quest Wreman gave him and the ambush by the args.

“That sounds like a higher level quest. I’m surprised he gave it to you,” Pari said.

“Well he did, and I completed it, but I died in the process.”

“Get used to it. So what are you up to now, experience wise?”

“I’m at 1535.”

“You’re way behind. You should have dinged by now.”

Klothar’s face reddened. “You youngsters! I can’t believe that you speak of these things so openly. In my day, if a man had such needs, he’d ding in private.”

Pari stared at Justin and rolled her eyes. Okay…

“Anyway,” Justin said, quickly trying to change the subject. “The really scary part was when Wreman put on the amulet. He freaking turned into a lich right there in the tavern!”

“A lich? Get out!”

“He did. And my man Klothar here started wailing on him with his hammer. Putting on the hurt—”

Justin stopped himself and turned to Klothar. “By the way, where is your hammer?”

The ranger stared down at the table. “Lost.”

“What? No way! That was a sweet weapon.”

“I fear the spirits took it as payment for my resurrection.”

“We’ll help you get it back,” Pari offered.

“’Tis not that simple. Though I appreciate your loyalty.”

Justin took another swig of beer and said, “So the lich—Cree’arak was his name—is all ‘Justin, you must join me. Together we will rule the universe as father and son—’”

Pari elbowed him. “He did not say that!”

“No, I’m kidding about the ruling the universe part but he did want me to join him on the quest for the Iron Veil.”

“The what?” Pari asked.

“The Iron Veil. Please tell me you know about the Iron Veil.”

“Nope,” Pari said.

Justin’s face fell. Then he got very serious. “C’mon, Pari. Don’t mess around.”

“I’m not. I’ve never heard it. Then again, I haven’t run into any lich quest givers.”

Klothar said, “The Iron Veil is of the greatest import.”

“According to him, it’s the world quest,” Justin said.

“I don’t know which world quest you guys got, but I’ve been working on finding the Shadow Lance since I started and so has my fellowship and every other fellowship in the game, p.s. and by the way.”

Justin rubbed his eyes then looked up. “That can’t be. Master Desiderius told me about the Iron Veil and Klothar knew about it too.”

Pari shook her head. “Well, I haven’t heard of any place like that. Not the whole three months I’ve been here.”

“It’s not a place,” Klothar said. “It’s a thing. A very important thing.”

“Wait a minute. Isn’t it vale as in ‘valley’?”

“No,” Justin said. “It’s veil as in ‘shroud.’ Something you wear on your face.”

“You know that doesn’t make any sense, don’t you? A veil made of iron? How do you know it’s not Iron Vale, v-a-l-e? Like a valley where they mine iron ore. Don’t you think that would make more sense logically?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Justin said as he stood up. “Where’s the restroom? I need to piss.”

“No restrooms in Greystrand. But there’s a privy in the back yard.”

“Great.” He walked away clumsily.

Pari turned back to Klothar. “You really know about this Iron Veil thing?”

“Aye.”

“But you can’t tell me what it is?”

“That’s part of the mystery,” the ranger said.

“And this has something to do with the dragon?” Talking to the ranger was like pulling teeth. It really was.

Klothar leaned back in his chair, tipping it up on two legs. “I believe someone sent the dragon to destroy you. Or me. Or Justin. So we wouldn’t meet. And wouldn’t form our company.”

Pari crossed her arms. “Okay, but how did you first hear of the Iron Veil?”

A strange look played across Klothar’s features. He looked off into space and muttered. “I fear I don’t recall.”

“You don’t remember who gave you the most important quest in the world?”

“No… It may have come to me in a dream. But then the oracle confirmed it.”

“Oh, an oracle’s involved? Ok. Great.” She was having a hard time with this whole Iron Veil thing.

Justin returned to the table. He still had a defeated look on his face. “So there’s more to my story.”

“Shoot.”

He went on to tell her about what he had found in Wreman’s satchel, including bell and the Ring of the Spectre.

Whoa. That was intense. “Yeah, you’ve got to watch that,” she said. “There are things in the game called ‘cursed relics’ that can really mess you up. Especially at your level.”

“Exactly what I told the lad!” Klothar said.

“Yeah, I know about cursed relics. I got XP for this one.” Justin pulled something out of the satchel. “Oh, but there’s one more thing,” he said theatrically.

Pari leaned in closer as Justin placed what looked like a wax tablet on the table. When she saw what had been drawn on it, she took a sharp breath.

“I saw that thing!” she said, pointing to the alien-looking stick figure carved in the wax. “I saw it yesterday.”

“What is it?” Klothar asked.

“It’s a Cormorian—a freaking huge giant. Like a hundred feet tall. I saw it just off the shore just like that map says.”

“Do you know anything else about it?” Justin asked.

“Just what popped up when I inspected it. As I said, it’s called a Cormorian. It’s legendary. And hostile.”

“Of course it is,” Justin said.

“But it was just standing out in the water. It didn’t attack or anything.”

“Did you happen to see it around dusk?” He pointed to a pictograph on the tablet which looked like a setting sun.

“Yeah, I did. It was just before dusk.”

“What about this little shape near the Cormorian’s foot? Is it an island or something?” Justin asked.

“I didn’t see any islands, but it was pretty foggy.” Then it hit her. The guys in the canoe. They were right there paddling out into the water. They must have been looking for the island.

She filled Justin and Klothar in about that. The ranger looked particularly concerned.

“If this is indeed part of our quest, those men are ahead of us. We need to find that island.”

Pari didn’t know what to think. This could be a whole new quest chain that was different from the Shadow Lance. Or maybe it was another branch. Who knew? But the weirdest thing was that Klothar—an NPC—had been given a quest. And not only that, the quest had named her and Justin. That never happened. Players did quests; they weren’t part of quests. This whole thing was making her brain hurt.

She took another sip of cider and said, “I need to start at the beginning.” Next she told them what had happened at the party with Zoë and the wine and the ghir.

Justin smirked at her. “You know your gal pal is actually Chad’s girlfriend, don’t you?”

“No way.”

“Swear to god, I saw them kissing right before we left the inn.”

Pari rocked back and forth in her chair, rage coursing through her. She needed to pull it together.

She took a deep breath and said, “Well she was a lying sack of shit, so it doesn’t surprise me.”

“Language, my lady!” Klothar admonished.

“Whatever.”

“So what do you do in a situation like that—revenge-wise?” Justin asked.

Klothar said, “Vengeance is folly. Remember that, lad.”

“I don’t know,” Justin said. “If it was me, I’d take her out. Or something.”

Pari sighed. “You can’t kill other players. You can’t even hurt them.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah, it does. But back to my story—it gets worse.” She took another breath and continued. “So I wake up on this boat—stark naked by the way—three hours out of Lorque.”

“What?”

“It was my own fault for getting messed up, but…” She trailed off.

“But what?”

Pari rubbed her eyes. She might as well level with them. “I’ve been really depressed since my sister died.”

The guys were silent for a few moments and then Justin asked, “You had a sister? In the game? Like a real sister?”

So Pari told them everything. About Iniya, about the fellowship, what had happened to them all, and the fact that now she was all alone.

Justin moved closer and hugged her. “Hey, you’re not alone. Not at all.”

“The lad is correct,” Klothar said. “We are in this together, my lady.”

“But we don’t even know what this is.” Pari went on to tell them about the Storm Reavers and her escape in the weird diving bell thing.

“That’s how I ended up on that beach—staring at a giant. But I don’t understand what any of it means. It feels like I am on a quest that I never chose. I don’t know the objective. I don’t even know who gave me the quest. It’s totally bizarre.”

Klothar said, “I know where we can find some answers. We need to return to the Dark Tree.”

Pari shook her head. “You can’t take Justin into the Dark Tree. He’ll never survive.”

“I can keep him safe. I can keep both of you safe.”

“But why?” Pari asked. “What’s in there besides a crap load of monsters?”

So Klothar told them about the oracle. Apparently after the dragon had attacked them, Klothar was compelled to seek answers in the Dark Tree. He didn’t know who or what he was looking for. He wandered for hours and then he came upon a ruined fane.

“A what?” Pari asked.

“It’s like a temple,” Justin said. “I’ve never actually seen one. I just recognize the word. Somehow.”

Klothar went on to describe how he found the oracle—which was actually more of a statue of an oracle—and it told him about the Iron Veil and the importance of finding Justin and Pari.

“See, the same thing happened to you. A quest with no details,” Pari said.

“I’m no poet, my lady. I’m afraid I’m doing a poor job of conveying what I saw in the fane, but do not fear. You shall see the oracle for yourself.”

Pari drained the last of her cider. She was a little buzzed now and all this was very overwhelming.

“Well, it’s too late to go anywhere today,” she said. “We’re going to have to spend the night here. And then get an early start in the morning.”

“Agreed,” the ranger said. “I’ll secure us some lodging.”

“I’ll do it,” Pari said. “I need to get up. I’ve been sitting for way too long.”

“Cool,” Justin said. “Let’s all walk around. I want to see the town.” He pointed out the window. “And it looks like the rain finally stopped.”

After Pari had arranged for an upstairs room with three beds, she and Klothar took Justin on a tour of Oakford Cross.

It was a market town—easily four times as populous as Holgate, with tightly-packed buildings of stone and timber. Once a week all the farmers from the southeast would bring their goods to Oakford Cross to sell. The rest of the time you could buy a wide variety of crafted items and supplies—as well as the occasional piece of treasure or magic item sold by a player.

They strolled along quaint twisty cobblestoned streets with pubs and specialty stores ranging from cobblers to ink sellers. And the streets were pretty full of people for this late in the afternoon. Maybe everyone had waited until the rain stopped before going about their business.

“What’s that place?” Justin asked, pointing to a square filled with wagons. “It looks pretty happening.”

A bunch of people were hanging out watching some jugglers and other street performers.

“It’s called Jubilee Plaza,” Pari said. “Let’s check it out.”

There was another tavern with outside seating so they stopped for some wine and a light meal of bread and cheese.

Before long, a troupe of actors set up two of the wagons as a makeshift stage and began performing a play called “The Owl and the Dragon.”

Pari, Justin, and Klothar stayed for the whole thing. It turned out to be kind of a mystery story about a village girl who suddenly goes missing.

Pari thought that the main character trying to solve the mystery was kind of unbelievable. He was a big hulking barbarian type who just happened to also be a brilliant detective. Conan the Barbarian plus Sherlock Holmes. Yeah, right. But she liked the female lead, a barmaid named Wylla. She was plucky and kind of cool.

The guys liked the barbarian dude, though. Typical.

After the play ended, the actors moved through the audience with a hat and everyone threw a few coins in.

“So this is what the civilized folks do?” Justin asked.

“A little more civilized than dwarf tossing, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, the play was cool. I haven't seen a play since I was a little kid.”

“You should get out more.” Pari yawned. She needed to sleep and soon. “Let’s head back. I’m beat.”

“Good idea, my lady,” Klothar said. “We should leave tomorrow at the first light of dawn.”

“I’m going to need a horse.”

“And I am going to need some weapons,” Klothar said.

“Me too,” Justin said. “And I need a bunch more experience points.”

They returned to the inn and made their way up to their room. Klothar secured the door and each of them climbed into bed.

What a day. Pari realized that this was the first night since Monday that she was sleeping in an actual bed. She fell asleep thinking about Klothar and wondering if NPCs could dream.