Justin was the last one to wake. In fact, it took Pari tickling his feet to actually rouse him from his slumber.

“I was beginning to think that your Ring of the Spectre had drained all your life energy and you were in a coma.”

“What?” He sat up quickly. “It can’t do that, can it?” A jolt of panic snapped him awake.

“Maybe.” She grinned at him.

“Rise and shine, lad. We’re off to see the oracle.”

Justin cracked up, and he heard Pari giggling too.

“Don’t you mean ‘we’re off to see the wizard’?” she asked.

“What wizard?” Klothar looked genuinely perplexed.

“Never mind.”

They got some food downstairs and then set off to find a weapon smith. There Klothar spent a half hour testing various long-handled hammers and axes. Finally he settled on one.

“This is a poor substitute for Foebasher, but I supposed it will have to do.”

“Foebasher? That was the name of your hammer?” Justin asked.

“Indeed, it was.”

Justin wanted to get a new short sword, but Klothar steered him towards an iron-tipped shortstaff which was about four feet long.

“This is much easier than a sword to wield,” the ranger said. “And it can be even more deadly.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, especially in the hands of a novice.”

Justin made a face.

“I want one of those too,” Pari said.

So they ended up with a shortstaff each plus a lightweight leather sheath so they could wear their new weapons on their backs. Klothar also insisted that they get long knives and belt scabbards.

“This is cool,” Pari said. “Maybe we can train together.”

“I’m definitely up for that,” Justin said.

Next they purchased a palfrey for Pari. She explained that her horse Milly was being boarded at a farm in Holgate, so she would sell this palfrey once she got back to the village.

“They should have horse rental here,” Justin said. “Does that exist?”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Pari said. “But you should suggest it. You know how to do beta reporting, right?”

Justin shook his head.

“It’s voice activated like messaging. Just use the phrase ‘beta report from’ and then say your name and then what you want to report. Give it a try.”

“Um, okay. Beta report from Justin Boone. I think it would be cool to have horse rentals, so you could ride from one town and drop the horse off at another.”

:::::. Feedback received. Thank you .:::::

That was pretty cool.

“It worked,” Justin said.

Klothar shook his head. “If you youngsters are done with your tomfoolery, we need to set off.”

It took them three and a half hours to get to Tashon’s Gate. As they got closer, Justin asked Pari if the guards would try to arrest him if he entered the fort.

“Did you have a run-in with them?”

“Yeah. I ran from them after Wreman turned into the lich. It was kind of dumb, but I panicked.”

“Bad news. Guards don’t forgive and forget. Ever.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, there was this one guy, Brant, who went to every single town, village, city, and outpost in Greystrand and broke a whole bunch of laws and pissed off all the guards.”

“How come?”

“I don’t know. Maybe just to see what would happen. He literally could not go anywhere without getting locked up.”

“So he couldn’t buy anything?” Justin asked.

“He couldn’t buy anything, he couldn’t sell anything, he couldn’t get quests, he couldn’t join a fellowship. He ended up committing suicide and starting over.”

“That’s rough.”

“It was his own fault for being an idiot.”

They rode past the fort at Tashon’s Gate and continued on for a half hour or so before taking a break to rest the horses.

“Do we have time for a little hunting?” Justin asked Klothar.

The ranger nodded. “As long as we stay nearby. We need to be back on the road within the hour.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the horses,” Pari said. “Unless you need me to heal.”

“No, I think we’ll be good.”

Klothar spent the next fifteen minutes tracking his prey which were four foot tall bipedal wombat-like creatures that looked like taller, chubbier ratkins. They were polachars, but Klothar kept referring to them as ‘swamp hogs.’

They cornered a group of four polachars against a tall moss-covered rock formation. The creatures fought like frenzied Tasmanian devils, but Klothar and Justin’s “tag and bag” strategy continued to work well. Justin would make first contact—sometimes by throwing a rock to get the mob’s attention—and Klothar would provide most of the DPS.

The only close call was when Klothar nearly brained him with the new warhammer. Justin actually had felt the breeze as the hammer flew within centimeters of his head. Yikes.

At the end of it, though, Justin earned another 250 XP, bringing his total to nearly 1800. Still slow going, but at least he was making some progress.

When they returned to the horses, Pari asked, “How’d you do? Did you kiss the Life Tree?”

“What?”

“Did you die? You haven’t heard that expression yet?”

“No on both counts. But I am up 250 XP.”

“Better than nothing.”

“I guess,” he said unenthusiastically.

Pari came close and gave him a playful tap on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, tiger. You’ll ding before you know it.”

Klothar sighed loudly and facepalmed. “Please! Be a little more delicate in your speech, I beseech you.”

Pari and Justin both laughed. They all saddled up and continued east on the trade road. As they rode, they passed a few groups of players—mostly low levels venturing out of Holgate for the first time.

Pari explained that once you hit level two, you’d either be sent to Marby or Tashon’s Gate, depending on your quest chain.

“What about Rathenhall?” Justin asked. Thanks to his lore skill, he knew that Rathenhall was one of the three largest cities in Greystrand. It had over 5,000 citizens and a thriving wool trade.

“The road from Holgate to Rathe isn’t particularly safe for level ones or twos. Once you’re done with the Tashon’s Gate quests, you’re sent to Oakford Cross then Lorque.”

“Do you think it’s bad that I’m not doing the quests I’m supposed to be doing?” Justin asked.

It was something that was gnawing at him. Every game he had ever played had a clear progression of stuff you were supposed to do. Was he totally screwing this up by hanging out with Klothar and Pari?

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Pari said. “We’re in new territory here. That’s for sure.”

“You must trust your heart, lad,” Klothar added.

They rode on in silence and before long the road was swallowed up by the Dark Tree forest. Vine-tangled trees blocked the afternoon sun, and it even felt like the temperature dropped a few degrees.

“You ride in the middle,” Pari said. “It’s a bit safer.”

“Okay…”

Justin was getting a little creeped out. He and Klothar had traveled on this same road yesterday, and nothing had happened to them. But now, the forest seemed a lot more forbidding.

Pari must have picked up on his nervousness. She said, “Don’t worry. This stretch of road is relatively safe. It gets much worse to the north and the south.”

“We turn south in a mile!” Klothar announced.

“Do we really need to leave the road?” Pari asked.

“It’s the only way to reach the oracle.”

“So Justin,” she said. “In case anything goes wrong in there, you’ll just rez back in Holgate at the Life Tree there. You remember that?”

“I think so. The ratkins, right?”

“Yes. It’s actually no big deal. Just wait for us in the square if we get separated.”

“But I want to see the oracle too!”

“Then don’t die, lad,” Klothar said. “It’s as simple as that.”

After a quarter hour more, Klothar found the mark he had made on a tree and told them to dismount.

“This is where we must leave the horses,” he said. “It is too dangerous to bring them into the wood.”

“But what will happen to them?” Pari asked.

“My steed is well trained. With any luck he’ll persuade the others to follow him back to Holgate. There’s a pasture he is particularly fond of. Hopefully, we’ll find them all there when this expedition is complete.”

They removed the horses’ saddles and bridles and reins and their gear and then Klothar whispered something to his horse. The steed neighed and snorted at Klothar but then started walking east down the road, with the other two horses eventually following.

“It’s five miles to the village. I hope they make it,” Klothar said. He shrugged into his backpack and slung his coil of rope around one shoulder.

“I hope we make it,” Pari said. “We should figure out a plan.”

“I told you the plan, young lady. Don’t die.”

With that, the ranger readied his bow and entered the forest.

“Hang on, we need to group,” Pari said.

Klothar shook his head. “That’s more suitable for climbing, my lady. In the forest we need freedom of movement. We do not want to lash ourselves together.”

“Um, I meant something else. Justin, if you get a group invite, just say that you accept.”

“Huh?”

She murmured something and a second later, an invite popped up in his overlay.

:::::. Pari has invited you to join a group. Accept? .:::::

“Yes,” Justin said aloud. “I accept.”

:::::. You have joined Pari’s group .:::::

“Did you get it?” Pari asked.

“Yes. I accepted.”

“Ok, now focus on me or think of the group. I know it sounds weird, but just try.”

He focused on Pari and said the word ‘group’ to himself. A new overlay popped up:

:::::. Group: Pari (Undamaged, Energized), Klothar (Undefined) .:::::

“You see the status?” she asked.

“Yeah, but it says that Klothar is undefined.”

“I think that’s because he’s an NPC. He probably doesn’t have an overlay.”

“What are the two of you babbling about?” Klothar asked. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Almost done,” Pari told him. Then she explained to Justin that the Group overlay displayed all members of the party and their relative health and energy.

“It used to give you actual numbers, but they nerfed the display so now it’s just descriptive. ‘Partially injured.’ ‘Critically injured.’ Stuff like that.”

“What’s energy?”

“That’s my healing energy. Basically spell points. So you can tell if I have enough power to heal you.”

“Very cool.”

“You don’t need to do it now, but if you look at your Circle of Reckoning, you’ll see a dot for me, so you can track my location.”

“Like Find My Friends.”

“Yup. But it only works like within a mile or two radius.”

“Are you two done with your hokum talk?” Klothar asked.

“Sorry, Klothar.”

The ranger huffed and strode into the forest.

“You’re next,” Pari said. “I’ll take up the rear. Just keep your eyes open and let us know if you see anything.”

As they pushed through the underbrush, Justin asked, “What exactly is in this forest?”

Pari ducked under a low-hanging branch draped with a blackish lichen. “It varies depending on where you are, but none of it’s fun.”

“Well, I’ve already fought the big spiders.”

“I would rank them towards the bottom of the food chain.”

“Seriously?”

“Sure. You’re going to find your standard kobolds, goblins, and arbor spiders in just about any forest. But the Dark Tree has some especially nasty mobs.”

“Like what?”

“Like haggoths, draug, green rhaders, foot worms, and balvadors.”

“Foot worms? I think you’re making that up.”

“She’s not, lad,” Klothar said. “Stay on the game trail. Don’t be stepping into any puddles or marshy ground or you’ll find your boots full of them.”

“Your boots and your feet. They can burrow through leather and into your body in less than ten seconds.”

“Stop. I am going to hurl.”

Pari laughed. “I didn’t even mention the loam ticks yet.”

They made slow progress through the forest, winding through ivy-strangled trees that looked like birch or oak but had sickly grey leaves and gnarled branches. A thick carpet of rotting leaves obscured the ground, and only Klothar could pick out the game trail.

Everything was intensely quiet and even the sounds they were making as they trudged through the wood seemed muffled. The air was stagnant and stuffy. Oppressive. Maybe it was his imagination, but Justin actually felt like he was having trouble breathing.

“Do people have allergies in the game?” he asked Pari.

“No, that’s just what it’s like here. Try to breathe through your nose. It will filter some of it out.”

“How much longer?” he asked Klothar.

“Hard to say. Not more than an hour, I expect.”

Great.

The ranger abruptly raised his hand and called for them to stop. He slowly crouched down and motioned Justin and Pari to do the same.

There, a dozen yards away, a net of thick fibrous webs stretched across a stand of trees. From some of the trees hung weird grey papery pendulum-shapes, three or four feet tall. They almost looked like elongated wasp nests.

“What the hell is that?” Justin asked.

“I have no idea,” Pari said.

“Me neither,” Klothar said. “Although those webs appear to be from arbor spiders.”

“We better go around,” Pari said.

The ranger nodded and guided them down a slight slope into a dry stream bed lined with boulders and dead leaves. It ran perpendicular to the wall of webs. He motioned for them not to speak as they carefully moved past the webs along the stream bed.

Then without warning the ranger toppled backwards, knocked off his feet.

Justin watched in horror as Klothar was dragged through along the ground in a flurry of dead leaves.

“Grave vines!” Pari shouted as she jumped out of the stream bed. “Watch your legs!”

But it was too late. A vine as thick as his shortstaff whipped around his ankle and jerked him to the ground.

“Help!”

Everything was a blur. Pain jolted through him as he smacked against rocks and was dragged along the ground. An alien chittering sound echoed throughout the stream bed, chilling him to the bone.

In front of him Klothar struggled as well. It was like they were being dragged behind a pickup truck.

Justin slammed into another boulder and felt his ribs crack. The pain was unbearable.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted Klothar chopping down with his hammer. Pari ran along, trying to keep up with them.

“Hang on!” she cried.

Justin tried to do what Klothar was doing; he tried to strike the vine with his shortstaff, but it was impossible to aim as his body twisted and turned. It was all he could do to hold on to the weapon.

Then he flew by Klothar. The ranger had been able to dislodge the vine. Justin caught a glimpse of Klothar staggering to his feet with Pari helping him out of the stream bed. Then black spots started clouding Justin’s vision. He could barely see what was around him—

And then all of a sudden there was a rush of icy cold air and Justin was sucked underground.