“Where is he!”

My back hits the door again.

[You have been slammed for 10% damage.]

Either I’ve got terribly low hp, or I’m getting beaten up by a gorilla of some sort.

“Don’t make me ask you again, fuckwad. You didn’t even try to hide your trail, I know you were there, now where. Is. He!”

Each word is punctuate by another slam, more damage. By the end I’m so dazed I’d swear I saw a girls face in the darkness. Her voice feels hollow somehow, like it’s coming from far away.

“Where’s who? I don’t know anything, I’m a new player, please stop hurting me!”

I brace myself for a slam that doesn’t come. The darkness dissipates a little, and the light from outside starts shining through. I’m being held in place by a short girl with a dark hood. The hair spilling out is filthy, unwashed, and the stench is horrific. When she looks into my eyes, the shadows cover her features, leaving her milky white eyes to stare at me.

“You’re not a player, are you..”

She releases me, and I absentmindedly rub my shoulders where she held me.

“What were you doing in the hole in the forest? What did you see?”

I shudder slightly before answering.

“I didn’t see anything, it was empty. How did you know about it?”

“Already told you, you’re terrible at hiding your tracks. I found it as the workmen were torching the place. I need to know what was down there.”

I look at her for a moment. Not a player, just a really dynamic NPC.

“Are you S?”

She reaches for me, grabbing me by my throat.

“How did you know! What did you see!”

I croak a sound and she relaxes her grip again. It’s clear that she’s out of patience now. I tell her everything, about the note and the conspiracy. By the time I finish, she’s let go of me again, slowly shaking her head, muttering to herself.

“I’m too late. They must have killed him. How could I let it happen.”

I stand perfectly still. I want to leave, but interrupting her now would be really awkward.

“I can’t be seen in this village, not yet, but I need to know more about the conspiracy. If you’ll help me, I’ll pay you for your trouble.”

Blinking in confusion, I nod.

“I’ll happily tell you whatever you need, but I don’t know who you are, or how to contact you. Besides, I only have until tomorrow before I get hunted by the authorities for not paying a debt.”

She nods.

“Take this. Consider it your commission. You work for me on this investigation now. If you need me, just hold this amulet in your hand and think of me. I’ll hear you and come as fast as I can.”

She hands me a pouch, and an amulet with a feather on it. I accept it, thanking her, then put out my hand.

“My name is TeeCee, what’s yours?”

She shakes my hand.

“You can call me S. Remember, hold the amulet and think my name, and don’t tell anyone else I was here, yeah?”

I nod, and the darkness surrounds us again. When it lifts, she’s gone. I put on the necklace, placing it under my shirt, and open the pouch. Silver coins, lots of them. There must be over a hundred. Who the hell was that? I put away the pouch as I look around for anyone who might have noticed, then I finish cleaning the outhouse. By the time I finish, the party is over, and I get to clean up inside as well. It takes longer than normal, since Yadra insists that I clean myself thoroughly first. Finally, after a long day, I get to go to sleep again, dreaming of strangers and undead stalking the night.

[You have 6 hours left of your quest: Clean the dress]

[You have 5 days left of your debt to the Salty Swine]

[Your current debt is 50 silver coins]

[You are well rested]

The morning brought with it new hope and an influx of energy. Stretching, I hurry downstairs to get my chores started. A surprised Yadra stands in the doorway, then dashes after me to the kitchen.

“What’s crawled up your ass today?”

I smile at her.

“You actually ran downstairs just to get that lame barb in? I’m beginning to think you just enjoy my company.”

Her face darkens, and I can tell she’s winding up to shout at me. I raise my hands in a defencive gesture.

“Hey, no, I don’t want to start anything. Please excuse my existence, I’ll try to be better, let’s get the morning business out of the way, yeah?”

Disarmed, she grumbles and stokes the fireplace, getting the water boiling for morning cleaning. By the time I’m done, there’s less than two hours to go before my quest is forfeit, or before I have to pay much more at least. I finally get permission to leave, and hurry out the door. During breakfast I got directions from one of the workers, and dash up the road, towards one of the largest farms in the area.

[Ability increased: Endurance]

I’m told the Candrids are pretty hostile towards anyone who isn’t ‘kin’, and that I need to be on my best behaviour unless I want a real hiding. As I reach the ranch with more than an hour left on the clock, I’m not particularly worried. I approach the farmhouse to knock, and am interrupted by an arrow hitting the ground in front of me. Looking around, I spot the tiniest archer I’ve ever seen standing on the roof. He notches another arrow, gesturing towards the way I came.

“Hi, excuse me, I’m here to talk to Tiene. I’ve got something for her.”

My smile vanishes as he looses another arrow at me. I throw myself at the ground, fully intending to roll and end up on my feet, but crash unceremoniously on the ground. A mad crawl towards the front door ensues, and I barely reach it before another arrow hits the ground behind me. He’s no longer in a position to see me, which is a small blessing at least. I knock on the door, then wait. In a few minutes, the door opens, and an ancient man is standing in front of me, a large pipe in one hand, a cane in the other. He looks at me expectantly.

“Hi, I’m looking for Tiene. I have a surprise for her.”

Nothing changes in his expression, but he turns away from me, hitting the wall with his cane. As he turns back, he’s wearing a terrible grin, filled with promises. Before I even get to answer, a giant of a man comes from behind him. As the walking mountain of muscle sees me, his eyes go wide, and he rushes towards me. With an eloquent scream, I run along the side of the house, towards a bunch of buildings on the other side of the courtyard. A sharp pain in my shoulder reminds me of why I was hiding.

[You have been hit by an arrow for 5% damage]

The crazy girl from last night did as much damage as an arrow piercing my shoulder! I start running serpentine to avoid the follow up arrows, but I soon realise that only means the big guy is going to catch me. I decide to suffer the arrows rather than being caught, and make a beeline towards an open barn.

[You have been hit by an arrow for 5% damage]

[You have been hit by an arrow for 5% damage]

[You have been hit by an arrow for 5% damage]

Feeling more like a pincushion than a dryad, I look around the barn. With only a few seconds to spare, I throw myself into a pile of hay to one side, laying perfectly still as the brute enters the barn, stalking like a jungle cat. I can see him from my vantage point, as he looks around the room, trying to guess where I’m hiding. A smile spreads across his face when he looks at my pile of hay, and he grabs a pitchfork as he walks towards me. I briefly consider becoming religious, but I suspect Thenida has had her fair share of born again followers after agricultural mishaps like this one. With a heave, he stabs the tool into the stack, narrowly missing my backside. I take the opportunity to move about, hoping for the best. Another stab, and the implement is right next to my arm. I slide as far to one side as I can get, frantically trying to find a way out of this situation. Should I call the darkness girl? Nah, probably not the kind of situation she was thinking about.

“Sel, what the fuck are you doing?”

I recognise Tienes voice. Sel stabs the pitchfork right into my leg before he answers.

[You have been stabbed for 15% damage]

“There’s another suitor for you. A green one this time, some sort of goblin I guess. Don’t worry, I’ll get rid of him for you.”

I let out a scream of indignant rage.

“I’m not a goblin you jackass!”

I hear movement, a grunt, then someone grabs the pitchfork. More damage is caused as it’s pulled out than when it went in.

[You have been hit for 20% damage. Warning: Your health is below 50%]

I sit up, trying to stop the bleeding as best I can. Someone slaps my hands away and starts working on my wound, binding it with bandages. I look up to see Tiene, the aristocrat with the dress, wearing dirty overalls. Her hair is tightly bound in a bun, and she’s carrying a satchel. To the side I see the giant, Sel, and the little kid. Both of them are giving me angry looks promising a long talk later. I focus on the girl instead.

“I’m really sorry to distress your farmhands there, I just came to pay you back for the dress.”

She scowls at the others while working on my injuries.

“They’re my moron brothers, and they’re the ones who are going to be sorry when I’m done with them. They keep thinking that it’s their job to protect my virtue, or some nonsense like that.”

She tightens the bandage, making me groan in pain. The little one snickers at this, and Tiene walks towards him.

“And you, you little shit. You’re going to put that bow in the common room, and you’re going to bed without supper tonight. We do not shoot our guests!”

He runs off in terror, and even the large brother looks uncomfortable as she turns her attentions to him.

“And you, you big palooka. We’re people here, not animals. You bring dishonour on all of us by behaving like this. If you listened for a second, we’d be able to avoid going to talk to dad about this. But no, you have to ignore that part of your brain, the one that makes sense. Go back to the abattoir, it’s where you shine.”

Her voice is calm, but somehow it tears the tall man into ribbons. As he walks off, his body language screams defeat. She turns back to me and helps me up. The bandage healed some damage, and gave me a buff to regeneration, so I was already feeling better, but I leaned on her a little bit to make her feel better about things. Or worse, I wasn’t really certain anymore.

“Let me just pay you the money I owe, and I’ll be on my way, okay?”

I get my pouch, but she puts her hand on mine, stopping me.

“No, Tee, I can’t take your money now. I put you in real danger by having you come here. I was too upset before, so I didn’t think clearly. Consider your debt repaid.”

[You have completed the quest: Clean the dress. Reward: Increased standing with Tiene Candrid.]

She helps me get the arrows off, and escorts me off the ranch. I can feel angry eyes at me from every window on the farm.

“They really don’t like outsiders, do they?”

She sighs sadly.

“No they do not. I wish they’d just open up a little bit, talk to people some more. But the only people they want to talk to are the ones with land and riches so they can marry me off for a profit.”

I look askance at her.

“And you’re not interested in that, are you?”

She kicks a pile of mud in annoyance.

“Not even a little. If I marry one of those old, rich miseries, all I have to look forward to is a sad life caring for an ancient man until he croaks, then spending the rest of my life dodging his relatives who’ll want to kill me. If I marry one of the young, promising ones I’ll be expected to function as a breeding mare. Neither option is really for me.”

Talking to her feels so natural, I keep forgetting that she’s an NPC, and she’s obviously trying to give me a quest.

“Is there anything I can do to help your situation?”

She looks at me with a worried look, as if considering something. She decides, looking away.

“No, not really, I couldn’t possibly involve you in the drama that is my life. But I really am thankful that you attempted to help with my dress. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to come and talk to you again some time, away from the arrows and pitchforks.”

I smile at her.

“I’d like that very much. Thank you for saving me.”

She curtsies, and I head back to town. Lunch is coming up soon, and I think I have some ideas on how to improve the service a little bit.