Claiming his loot from his first boss was a lot more gory than Felan had expected.

This wasn’t anything like the old non-immersion games where a loot box would pop up and you’d drag what you wanted into your inventory. Nor was this as simple as the work he’d done to skin the wolves he’d killed.

The monster had collapsed in a stinking pile of it’s own innards, which stank like rotting meat even though it was freshly killed. Given it’s armoured hide and thick skin Felan’s knife wasn’t going to have much of an effect on it either.

“Hey, gimme a hand taking this arm off” Felan said.

Keira drew her sword and handed it to him, keeping her distance.

“Seriously? You popped out of a sewer” Felan nodded toward the well that the creature had chased Keira out of.

“Totally different situation. What do you want it for anyway?”

Felan paused between swings of the sword. He was trying to sever the creatures bladed forearm at it’s elbow, like what had happened to the other arm. The monster must have put a lot of effort into tearing it free during their fight, because Felan was struggling.

“Really? You’re asking why I want a giant blade?”

“I mean, you were using a club. I figured blades weren’t your thing.”

“Na, the club was what I got when I woke up. Haven’t had a chance to replace it yet, “ He gave it one massive swing, and the sword finally cut through the arm. The creatures corpse slumped to one side with a thud. Felan handed the sword back to his companion.

“What about its armour? Reckon I could make a shield from it?” Felan knocked his knuckles against one of the armoured plates. They seemed solid enough, though a bit too big for him to wield with one arm. He thought of Keira’s enormous shield.

“Do you want one?” He looked at Keira, and caught an expression of disgust on her face.

“Hell no, I’m sticking to steel.”

Felan took one last look at the armoured hide. He couldn’t exactly blame her, that shield of hers had worked pretty flawlessly. Besides, he wasn’t sure they’d have much luck removing one of the segments without damaging it.

“So, what, you going to swing that arm at people?” Keira asked as Felan picked it up. It was heavier that Keira’s sword, and over a meter long. Certainly not what anyone would describe as a practical weapon.

“Na, but I’m going to need something more than your sword to cut it down to size.”

From the way the blades had scraped along Keira’s shield during the fight, Felan was pretty confident her sword wouldn’t be able to cut through the blade. Truthfully, he had no idea how he was going to cut it down to size, but he was hoping that one of the craftsmen in Greenest would help him come up with a plan.

“So we kill that big bad beastie, and all the loot we get is it’s arm?” Felan asked.

“Oh, there’s more. But it’s down there,” She pointed at the well, and Felan’s heart sank. He’d been worried that was the case.

“Fine, just let me deal with these first.”

He focused on the prompts he’d been ignoring since the victory. He’d definitely levelled up - one of the prompts confirmed what he’d felt after the fight. That granted him another 5 attribute points to distribute, along with another skill point. Currently he only had the healing tree unlocked, so he could only put his skill point into the same three options he was given last time. Goodberry had been useful, and upgrading it with another skill point expanded it’s heal over time to also restore 10 Mana over the course of a minute. That’d certainly be a useful trick if he started adventuring with someone who focused on Mana usage, but at the moment it was just him and Keira. It seemed like a waste of a skill point just to give himself a small amount of Mana regeneration; after a minute it would restore the same amount of Mana that it cost to cast it, so it was basically guaranteed free healing every minute. He wasn’t sure exactly how long they’d fought with the boss, but it wouldn’t have been more than a few minutes. Useful, but possibly not the best use of his only point.

Felan decided to hold onto the skill point for now. That way he’d be able to unlock a new skill tree when he next visited a druid trainer. He might be able to unlock something a little more offencive.

As for his attribute points, Felan added two to his Strength, and the remaining three to Will. This brought him up to 8 and 11 respectively, bolstering his max health to 26 and his max Mana up to 37. Felan realised that his current health and Mana had also increased with each attribute point he spent. He now had enough Mana available to cast Goodberry again. He popped the glowing berry into his mouth as quickly as it appeared, making his health jump up. He’d be back to full by the time they reached the bottom of the well, which should keep him alive if they ran into any traps.

Felan was about to tell Keira he was ready when there was a clap from the woods nearby. Baxter snapped to attention, his ears pricked up and his tail low between his legs. Another clap followed, allowing Felan to zero in on the source of the sound. Three figures were standing at the edge of the clearing. From this distance Felan couldn’t recognise any of them. The leader clapped again as he approached, and Felan realised they were giving him and Keira a slow clap.

“Shit” Keira swore.

“You know them?”

“Yeah. Just keep quiet, let me handle this.”

The three figures had already started toward the two of them. Felan was acutely aware that the bladed monster arm on the ground by his right foot wouldn’t be any use if they attacked.

“Uh, Keira..”

“Don’t worry, they can’t attack us. Just don’t accept any duels.”

As she spoke, the lead stranger’s indistinct figure solidified into someone Felan recognised.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

Before Keira could respond, Andross shouted to them.

“Well done Keira. Top of the leader-board.”

“Andross” she nodded first to him, then each of his associates. Felan recognised neither of them but judging by the ornate hilts of their swords, and the stockiness of their armour, they were both higher level than him.

“Why are you here, Keira?”

“Bosses to kill, loot to plunder. You know how it is. Why are the Sirens in town?”

Felan remembered Brutus mentioning that Andross’ group were called the Sirens of Silence. It seemed Keira knew about them as well. And they knew about her. Andross and his compatriots came to a halt a few meters away.

“It doesn’t concern you. We just thought we’d give you your one warning. You’re not welcome here Keira. Keep out of Greenest.”

“Fuck that,” Keira growled, “you don’t tell me what I can do”

One of Andross’ lackeys took a menacing step forward. Keira held her ground, the ferocity in her glare stopping him in his tracks.

“Same ol’ Keira. You’re right though, I can’t pull rank on you any more. All I can do is warn you. Don’t let a Siren see you anywhere near Greenest. You know what can happen.”

After threatening Keira, Andross turned to face Felan. Felan saw a flicker of recognition, followed by what might have been confusion, and then Andross’ face was impassive once more.

“What’s your name?”

Felan held his tongue, letting the question hang in the air like a bad smell. The other goon flexed his muscles, but didn’t follow his implied threat with any further action.

“Very well. Whoever you are, you should take heed as well. Neither of you are welcome in Greenest. We’ll remember you.”

With that vague threat, the trio were bathed in a flash of blue light. A moment later they had vanished.

“Did they just -”

“Teleport, yeah. Do you know Andross?”

Felan debated telling her about their previous encounter. He’d known her long enough to fight a giant centi-mantis and face down an apparent player gang. Was that long enough to share everything with her?

He decided there was no harm in telling her about his first death. His situation in the real world would be better kept private.

“He killed me. Lured me out of the safe zone on my first day.”

“Shit. I’m sorry. That’s probably why they’ve set up here - the spawn point for new players rotates between different starting towns. It must have settled on Greenest.”

“What does he get out of killing new players? There’s no challenge in that!” Felan was seething. His sense of justice in the world was being called into question again. They’d never be able to get away with something like this in the real world; why were they able to do so here?

“Risk free kills I guess. He’s gathering Essence, but I don’t have a clue why”

“Essence?”

“Essence is like a… a currency I guess. If you’ve got the right gear, you can gather some whenever you kill another player. It’s why PVP is enabled everywhere outside of settlements and small safe zones, to give everyone a chance to farm it.”

“Oh, I guess - Wait, how do you know Andross? Certainly seemed familiar with each other just then.”

“I -” She took a big breath, studying Felan’s expression for a moment, “I used to be one of the Sirens. Back when it first started. Andross wasn’t as bad back then”

She was looking at the ground now and shame burned on her face. Felan wasn’t sure whether he wanted to comfort her or punch her. She had been on the same team as Andross? He was suddenly glad he hadn’t shared any more of his life story with her.

“You were a Siren? Aren’t they, like, the biggest dicks around?”

“They are now, yeah. Back when we formed… we were just a bunch of friends running dungeons. Things started going down hill when Andross started calling the shots.”

Keira went on to explain that the Sirens had become embroiled in a guild war, and the guild had voted Andross in as the guild-master to coordinate them during the war. He’d led them to victory, but many of the members had disagreed with his methods. Afterwards, he’d refused to step down as guild leader. The previous guild leader and his closest friends had been expelled, and Andross’ devout followers had taken their positions. Keira had stayed in the guild a while longer, but eventually Andross had turned everyone against her. No matter how hard he questioned her, she wouldn’t elaborate on what had happened between her and Andross to spark his rage.

Ever since being forced out of the guild, the Sirens had made it their job to run her out of any town they found her in. Apparently this clearing was close enough to Greenest to warrant their anger.

Their conversation slowly shifted from a history lesson about the Sirens of Silence, to a discussion about Andross. Andross refused to duel with Keira since she’d last bested him - when she’d been expelled from the guild. The Sirens had been plaguing her since she’d left the guild, taking any opportunity to attack her. They normally travelled in groups, and even if she could beat most of them in single combat Keira didn’t think she’d be able to take on many of them at once.

It seemed like the two of them both wanted him dead.

“You’re serious about going after him aren’t you?”

“Deadly. Just need to get myself some decent weapons and a few more levels I guess”

“Well, I can help with at least one of those.”

Keira led the way to the well, looking back at him at the last moment.

“You coming?”

It was cold and damp. Felan was surprised how bright it was though, torches burned in sconces every fifty meters or so along the tunnel. The torches were in pairs; one on either side of the path. They didn’t give off any heat, just a flickering orange light. Despite it being bright enough to keep Felans fears at bay, his flesh was covered in goosebumps. He’d never done well with enclosed spaces.

Keira was leading them, and Baxter had been left in the clearing by the well. It was the first time since befriending the wolf that Felan and Baxter had been separated by choice, and Felan was painfully aware that his friend was alone up there. And that there was no one to watch Felan’s back.

They’d been walking in silence for about five minutes, the tunnel occasionally curving to the left or right, but always leading them away from the ladder and it’s promise of safety. The walls were made from head-sized cobblestones, glued together with thick wads of blue-grey mortar. They were clearly in a man made structure, an old one, though Felan couldn’t guess at it’s purpose. As far as he knew, wells were supposed to drill down to a water source. This didn’t seem like the kind of place that flooded.

Keira had sworn him to silence before he’d descended the ladder, so he couldn’t ask her why it was here, or even how far they had to go. Given that she’d been chased up the well by the boss, Felan figured she must know where it’s lair was. That said, the tunnel didn’t have any forks in it. There were two directions they could have chosen from the foot of the ladder. The torches had stretched off in both directions, but the other way had turned a corner only a dozen paces from the ladder, so Felan hadn’t been able to see much.

Perhaps the whole thing was one long tunnel with no off shoots. Felan wasn’t sure how to feel about that. On one hand, it meant nothing could sneak up on them. On the other, they’d have nowhere to hide if they ran into something. He just hoped Keira knew what she was doing.

It took a few more minutes, but eventually they came to the end of their path. It opened out into an enormous cavern that was shrouded in darkness. The last of the torches burnt in the opening of the tunnel, but the light didn’t reach far enough. Looking upward, Felan couldn’t see the roof. An image flooded his mind - an enormous bat hanging upside down from the roof waking from it’s slumber and swooping towards them.

“Here we are” Keira announced, pulling Felan back to reality.

He stepped around her to get a better view of the cavern. The floor sloped downward toward the centre, and at the lowest point was a small pile of treasures. There was a wooden chest that looked too big for the two of them to carry, let alone haul up the ladder. Piled against it were a collection of gold coins and a few rusted swords and axes.

“Is it safe?” Felan asked, scared to approach the treasure. It all seemed to easy.

“Absolutely. Normally you have to fight the boss in here, but since we handled it up there we just get the loot” She laughed, and led the way.

The chest contained a number of crafting ingredients that Keira quickly gathered into her inventory. Felan couldn’t begrudge her that - he knew nothing of crafting, so couldn’t have said what he might need. She seemed reasonable enough anyway, he was sure that she would give him any crafting equipment he might need. There was an old leather scroll left by the time she’d done claiming her goods.

“That’s a navigation scroll” Keira said, as if that explained it. The puzzled look on Felan’s face prompted her to elaborate.

“You don’t know about the navigation spell? It’ll help you find your way if you’re lost. Like if you get turned around in a dungeon or whatever. You’ll probably need it” she laughed.

Felan grabbed the scroll and dropped it in his inventory. A single use scroll that would help him navigate no matter how lost he got sounded like something he’d definitely be using. He had a fairly decent natural sense of direction above ground, but even this simple tunnel had him feeling a little unsure of exactly where to point to aim at that ladder.

The weapons leaning against the chest seemed useless. Felan took a rusted short-sword anyway. The creatures amputated arm was taking up a sizable chunk of his inventory but it wouldn’t do him much good in a fight. The rusted sword would at least give him something to swing if they encountered any trouble. It’s edge was dull, but he could probably use it about as well as his old club.

Keira let him gather all of the coins, but she swooped in to claim a small blue gem that was buried amongst the pile. Again, Felan didn’t argue the point. He was pretty sure he was getting the lions share of the loot already.

Once they’d gathered what they could the pair started on their path back to the ladder. Keira took the lead once again.

“So, are we going to Greenest?” Felan asked as they walked.

“I don’t suppose you can teleport to Yaldhurst?”

“Never heard of the place”

“Shit. It’s up to you I guess. We should probably avoid it though”

“What can Andross do? I thought he couldn’t attack in town.”

“He can’t attack us, no. But he and his goons can hurt the NPCs, and that gives them the chance to threaten them. We won’t be able to do much trading there”

“Seriously? The devs let players go around bullying NPCs?”

“Seems ridiculous right? But it’s what the players wanted. They fought hard for the right to do shit like that. It’s what Ether was created for - it lets guilds buy perks that let them influence the world more directly. Some of the frontier towns are pretty tightly controlled by the bigger guilds. The main centres are too big - no guilds can gather enough Ether to really mess things up.”

“And Andross is here farming Ether?”

“I guess so”

“Then we need to stop him.”