After a brief but impressively condescending welcome from Niall, Gunnar and Em were asked to leave the meeting while the masters finalized plans with Niall and other leaders who arrived as the two of them were leaving.

Both Gunnar and Em would report at the docks in two days for what would end up being a days long quest. Possibly multiple quests.

In the meantime, Gunnar was left with multiple instructions to carry out in preparation and little time with which to do it. Not to mention the things he would need to finalize at the crypt before leaving for an unknown length of time.

He and Em parted ways outside the side entrance of the theater. Now that the opera show was in full swing, there was not much activity in the surrounding streets.

“Did they like me?” he asked. “I kinda feel like I’m back to square one.”

Em patted him on the back, a little patronizingly. “Everyone starts low. Even you.”

Gunnar sighed. “There’s no way Niall is going to give me anything good for my first guild quest.”

“You’re hardly the first recruit who thinks they’re hot shit when they enlist.”

“Enlist? What is this, the Army?”

“Might be more similarities than you’d think.”

“Know a lot about that, would you?”

Em smiled and shrugged. “Not supposed to talk about that stuff, right?”

Gunnar nodded. It reminded him that although he and Em were allies and had been through a lot, they still knew nothing about one another. Other than that they were criminals in the same prison system, and even that probably wasn’t a guarantee, considering the game was at the end of the beta. Perhaps he could find out more about Em’s background later.

“Look,” Em said. “Niall’s got a stick up his ass, but he’s also your captain now. And in case you didn’t notice, he is dying to prove himself to the guild.”

“How does that help my case? He sees me as competition for Leilani’s attention or something.”

“You are in a spot to make him look good, Gunnar. He’s not going to cut you out if he thinks you’re going to help the mission. Prove yourself, and try not to let your success go to your head. You’ve had a lot of help, and a bit of luck. And this is only the beginning of our path.”

Gunnar sighed and nodded. “All right.”

Em smiled and gave his hand a brief squeeze. “I’ve got some things to sort out before we ship out. I’ll see you later.”

“Sounds good. Hey, thanks for everything today.”

Em shrugged. “It’s panned out pretty well for me too.”

“I’m glad you came after me in the crypt today, that’s all.”

“I know.”

And with that, Em headed out into the night.

***

It had already been a long and tiring day, and the AI made sure Gunnar knew it as he set out across the city.

[Debuffs Added — You are approaching complete exhaustion! Maximum Stamina now capped at 40%. Stamina regeneration rate reduced by 20%. If you think you’ll sleep when you’re dead, well, you are already making that more likely to happen. That’s nothing new, though.]

Gunnar rolled his eyes, but his body felt that exhaustion. By the time he’d covered half the distance to the western gates of Thailen, his Max Stamina was down to 40%. His movements were slowed and his limbs felt heavier.

But he supposed he would have some time to catch up on sleep once they shipped out. And he wasn’t exactly looking for a fight right now, so the debuff was probably no problem, so long as he didn’t flag any Red Cloaks. Though, he did wonder how far those debuffs could go. Could he kill himself from pushing too hard?

Gunnar kept his hood up, though the streets were mostly empty anyway. He paused every so often to let his Stamina catch up, taking one opportunity to pick up a very greasy sandwich from a street vendor parked outside a pub. The large man was cooking over a small barrel fire. It was grossly delicious, like most street food. Back IRL, his stomach would have bitch-slapped him for the meal choice, but there were no bowel movements in Pantheon, one of the few times that the game’s realism lapsed.

But he was not complaining.

The meal temporarily bumped his Max Stamina back up to 60%, which was just the boost he needed to reach his destination. A half hour later, he stood outside a thick wooden door on the backside of the market square near the western gates.

He raised his hand to knock, but paused.

Am I an idiot for coming here?

It was a risk. There was no doubt about that. But he also needed gear, and although the orc trader had ties to Sykes, he had not gotten the vibe that she was loyal to anything but coin.

She also did not strike him as much of a fighter, so he was pretty sure he could make an escape if it came to it.

He glanced back up the back alley, making sure no one was watching. When he turned back, the door was open and a very large desert orc scowled at him.

“Shit or get off the pot!” Hel growled. “But yeh stand there any longer, and yeh’re gonna bring the Red Cloaks down on both of us.”

“Er, can I come in?”

In answer, Hel grabbed him by the cloak and pulled him inside her shop, quickly shutting the door behind her.

“It’s nearly midnight,” the orc said.

“I figured someone like you might make time for after hours transactions.”

Hel’s yellow eyes narrowed. “Maybe. But let’s get something straight first. Yeh’re a wanted man.”

“Heard about that, did you?”

“The Red Cloaks have posters up. A reward and everything.”

“How much?”

“More than yeh’re spending, I can tell yeh that.”

Gunnar felt uneasy.

“Lucky for yeh, Helgerazandgra is not a damn rat. But know that there’ll be a mark up for increased risk of transactions.”

“How much?”

“Does it matter?”

Gunnar shrugged. “Probably not.”

“Twenty percent. Company policy.”

“Company?”

“All right, my policy. But it goes for everyone flagged as an enemy of the Reddik Empire.”

Enemy of the empire, Gunnar thought. Don’t hate the sound of that.

“I can do that,” he said. “These transactions are just between the two of us?”

“I don’t discriminate who I deal with. So long as yeh en’t a bloody Red Cloak.”

“But seedy barkeeps who have their mitts in the Imperial purse are fine, right?”

“Yeh got yer lines, I got mine. We all do what we got to survive in this city. And I don’t talk about the other people I do business with. Trader-client privilege.”

“All right, deal.” Gunnar stuck out his hand, and Hel shook it.

“Let’s get down to business, and make it quick, I’ve got a young man waiting upstairs.”

Gunnar barely held back his smirk, shuddering to imagine what sort of creature the orc woman might take for a lover. She turned her carapace back to him and led him into the shop by the light of a small lantern. Towering shelves lined the back room, stacked haphazardly with all sorts of random wares.

“If yeh’re needing papers, it’ll take a couple days,” Hel muttered.

“No papers. I’ve got that handled.”

“Yeah?” Hel asked, turning and glaring. “With who?”

Gunnar shrugged. “Trader-client privilege.”

“Touche. But rest assured, yer new papers will be shit compared to mine.” Hel led him to the main room, where things were only slightly more organized. Dark curtains had been pulled over the windows.

“What do yeh need, then?”

“Throwing blades for a start,” Gunnar said. “And some more sheaths.”

Hel rooted around behind a counter and produced a shoulder sheath and another that strapped over his chest. Each held four throwing blades. Including what he already had, he would be able to arm twelve at a time, which felt very respectable. The sheaths and blades cost fifty coins total.

He did not know what lay ahead exactly, but there were a few general things he knew he could improve upon.

“Anything that could help me improve my Stealth?”

Hel grunted. “Of course.” She crossed the room and pulled several items out of a box in the corner.

“I’ve only got one of these, and probably won’t get another for a long time.” She unraveled an iridescent cloth and wrapped it around herself. In an instant, she vanished from sight.

“Wow!” Gunnar said as she removed the cloak and returned to view. “An invisibility cloak?”

His mind whirred with the possibilities that an item like that might have.

“Like all enchanted items, it costs a certain amount of Mana.”

“My pool is getting pretty descent.”

Hel nodded. “It’s also an epic-grade item, so it will cost you.”

Gunnar groaned. “Yeah? How much?”

“Six hundred coins.”

“Damn… well, I’m afraid that’s a bit beyond my means.”

Hel huffed, clearly annoyed. He had a feeling she’d not had success at that price for a while.

“But speaking of enchanted items,” he said, producing his Enchanted Blunderbuss from his Inventory, “you got any Spellshot?”