I pretend to be deep in thought, even squeezing the chin of the mask with my thumb and forefinger, "Oh yeah. Male Raincaller, right?" She nods, the spurs on her boots jingle as her horse gets anxious. "It attacked me further back that way."

I point to where we both came from, but she doesn't even turn. She tilts her hat up and for the first time I can see the cold steel in her gaze.

"You got proof?" Her face doesn't so much as twitch, her eyes scanning me for weakness.

"Look, if this is about kill stealing, I'm sorry. I know the system rewards parties and the last person to kill bosses, but that's just how it works." I'm not sure why I'm arguing with her as I withdraw the Wyvern Tip. The moment I hold it up, her eyes flare with hatred. Whether it is meant for me or the object in my hands, I don't know.

"You got a Quest for it?" She asks, gripping her gun, but keeping it holstered.

"No. If you do, I don't mind giving it to you," I say as I offer the thing up to her.

"For a price, right?" She hisses through gritted teeth, the gun starting to glow blue. I'm more suprised by the color than the act, since blue meant Spell while a yellow meant Skill.

"Just one thing—"

She may have taken my words the wrong way, and I narrowly dodge a bolt of ice. I barely had enough time to react to her drawing the gun and firing. Now that it's pointed right at me, I treat the situation with a little more caution.

"Whoa! Sorry! I meant for you to tell me your story. That's all." I toss her the loot, it rattles when she catches, then stows it in a bracelet. Her eyes are still fixed on me with suspicion, but they relax into tired frustration. I check out her name and ask, "Is it okay if I call you Brandy?"

She closes her eyes, sighs, and nods, "Sure. Speaking of which, what happened to your name?"

"Cursed items. So, Brandy, you came from further up stream, right? Were you chasing the Wyvern as part of a Quest?"

She tells me the story of her small group of players and NPCs along with their Major Quest to protect a caravan traveling the Oromin Desert. They failed when several Raincaller Wyverns attacked, wiping out all the NPCs and flying a couple players off to their doom. The male that I had killed took her brother, feeding him to a nest of their young. It was horrific, but it also meant he would respawn in the last town they were in eighty or so miles back from where he died.

As a result, Brandy was given a Minor Quest that involved getting revenge and the tail end of her brother's killer. After her tale, I wonder if the lines I saw near the beginning of my journey had anything to do with them, but keep my mouth shut about it.

We refill and purify her two waterskins, "Not a bad Skill to have, stranger. Any chance I'll be getting your real name?" She takes a quick drink before putting the water away.

I ignore her question for now, taking more interest in her weapon, "Magic gun or Abilities?"

The gun is out again in an instant, glowing a feint yellow, and another icicle shatters on a rock near me. I finally recognize the Quickdraw Skill, which allows the caster to withdraw a weapon and attack in one swift movement. I believe Ren used it on me in our duel, but Brandy didn't call it out like one normally would.

"Both," she says before stowing it and covering it back up with her coat. I'm still expecting her to ask about the drops.

"Say," here it comes, "You ever run into any really strong and weird NPCs?"

The question throws me for a loop and I stammer my way through a response, "Um, yeah. A Necromancer Halfling. You?"

"Full Tigress Samurai. Another player told me about a Bard with a guitar, looked like a bum."

Shit, I hope it wasn't the one I saw at the rest area.

"Anyway, I guess they attack everyone. The others think they might be trying to become bosses or villains or something."

"Can NPCs become bosses? I've fought a few monster bosses like the Wyvern. Um, about the loot…" I couldn't resist.

She shakes her head, "Naw, you killed it, you keep it. I just needed the rattle part." I toss her the whip and she looks at it confused, "What's this for?"

"That's the Boss Bonus, I can't use it. Plus, I think it goes well with your look." Its the first time I see her smile, even if it's just a smirk, "My name's Ardacen, Ardacen Winters." I slide my mask to the side as I walk toward her and extend my hand up for a handshake.

Brandy's grip is firm, "Brandy Ariella. So—" her smirk transforms into a grin and I can already see where this is going, "—I get to meet the legendary Dragon Tamer. It is indeed my pleasure, Ardacen."

She sends me a friend request and I accept.

"You have enough potions or healing magic for your journey back?" I ask, skimming through my inventory.

"Actually…" she rubs the back of her neck, looking away for a moment. When she looks back at me, I lob a few bottles at her. She catches them and stores them in her bracelet. "Seriously?"

"I'm an Alchemist, I'll just brew some when I get back to greener scenery." I turn, throwing a hand in the air in departure, "Good luck out there, Brandy. Send me a message if you ever plan on heading northwest."

"Take it easy, Ardacen. By the way, what level are ya?"

"Fifteen," I say without looking back.

"Damn. The next milestone is mine, ya hear me?"

I didn't see Brandy or Squiddie or any monsters for the remainder of my walk in the valley. By the time the walls of the valley shrank down and patches of green grew everywhere, the stream continued north while my own path lie west. I fill up my waterskin one more time and estimate another hour or so of walking to go.

The sun is already up and I can see Higo in the distance. I use my sniffer to find a road and it doesn't take me long to end up walking on packed gravel again. I stow my Brigandine and Helmet to appear more casual, even though it ends the set bonus. I don't really need the effects right now. I don the Hedge Mage's Hat in the hopes that my appearance would confuse onlookers and they would just leave me alone.

I should probably walk off-set to the road, but I'm tired from lack of sleep. I yawn, covering my mask's mouth and then realise how silly that might have looked. Coffee. How could I go without coffee for so long? IRL I can drink several cups of coffee before lunch and a cup before bed won't keep me up at all. I yawn, covering my mask's mouth and then realise how silly that might have looked. Coffee. How could I go without coffee for so long? IRL I can drink several cups of coffee before lunch and a cup before bed won't keep me up at all.

In game I've gone a couple weeks without a good brew. Does it have something to do with Stamina? I haven't seen it drop during non-combat. I think I just need sleep.

I yawn, covering my mask's mouth and then realise how silly that might have looked. Coffee. How could I go without coffee for so long? IRL I can drink several cups of coffee before lunch and a cup before bed won't keep me up at all.

Weird. Deja vu.

[Warning! 24 Hours without proper sleep will result in suspension of Regeneration and multiple Debuffs. 30 minutes until suspension.]

Damn. By the time I get back I'll just be dead weight until I can get a nap. I shoot Dawn a message concerning my ETA and my current dilemma. If she's up, maybe she can send someone to meet me. If not, I'll have to sniff them out. Wait, if I die now, where will I respawn?

A dark-wood, gold trimmed carriage passes me by, the sounds of laughter spill out like cheap wine. I'm almost certain that it's aimed elsewhere, but I still feel a pang of embarrassment as if I'm the joke they are laughing at.

[Minor Quest: Defend the Carriage]

Craaaaaap. Right now of all times?

[Defeat all the bandits 0/10. Keep everyone alive 5/5.

[Reward: 100XP, ???

[Punishment: none]

The Quest says there's no punishment, which means I really don't have to do anything. I can just walk past, like drivers avoiding cars on the side of the road. Oh. I groan loud enough for a bandit to glance at me and then continue his work. I made the analogy and I immediately thought of my parents, the "right" thing to do shines bright in my face like neon. I begrudgingly don my Brigandine, swap headgear, and bare my claws. Everyone is around level five and I yawn again. The novelty of a nosy masked man gets the better of them and I call out when their attention shifts to me, "Okay, cut it out guys. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

They look at me incredulously, one on top of the carriage drops a body to the ground. I think that was the driver. I check his health (2/36Hp) and I cast Healing Breeze, topping everyone's health off. Several shrieks erupt from the carriage as lecherous hands reach in the windows. I wince as the sound refuses to let up. So I sign "Silence" and the dome covers most of us. The Spell has already paid for itself as I reap the lives of the bandits as easily as one would pick flowers and in peace and quiet. The dome pops after I make my way to the driver.

I pull him to his feet, "You alright?" A sharp pain in my abdomen sobers me up in an instant and I look down at the dagger that snuck between the small plates of dark metal.

[Carriage Driver stabs you for 8 damage!]

I see frustration in his face, his rotted teeth grinding into dust, "Shoulda minded yor own business, boyo." Oh, that's why he still had some HP left when they tossed him aside. And that's why there wouldn't have been any punishment, it wasn't a random attack. I assumed that he was the fifth person I needed to keep alive, but you know what it means to assume.

Let's see. Multiple giggling females. Garish carriage. Angry poor people. Disgruntled subordinate.

I sigh, "Is the guy in there some kind of asshole?" The driver tries stabbing me again, but I'm very much awake now. I simply throw a bedroll over him and tie him up, flopping him on the ground. I check the Quest and see that he must be bandit number ten.

"Please! Please let me go!" He quietly begs me while trying to squirm out of the confines of the bedroll. "Please don't kill me!"

"Listen, buddy," my exhaustion catches up to me again and my eyes feel like they're swimming in my head, "Give me a good enough reason and I might change my mind."

"Ee raped and killed my sista. Left 'er on the floor of me 'ouse like a broken doll." Man, his accent is thick.

"Im gonna level with you, buddy. I'm a Traveler with a Quest. I need you to submit for now and we'll see where it goes, okay?"

"Lorgan?" a snotty voice creeps out of the carriage, Mr Asshole I presume, "Everything alright out there, Lorgan?"

The bedroll nods furiously and I dismiss everything. The notification tells me I completed the Quest but I tell the driver, Morgan not Lorgan, to play dead.

A face peaks out of one of the windows and spies Morgan's body lying on the ground. I have to stop myself from clawing at the clean, effeminate features of the male passanger. He pushes his wavy, golden hair back, almost moaning from the touch, "Oh no! We're so close to the city! How shall we ever make it there now?"

A voice from inside the carriage teases him, saying, "Why don't you drive, Sir Aristeo? We know you can handle a whip and some reins…"

"Hush, Delilah. Or a spanking will be the least of your worries. You there!" He gestures me to come closer and I order Morgan to stay still under my mask. I shuffle over like the zombie that I am. "Be a dear, drive us inside the gates. I have people waiting for me and it would be terribly rude to be later than I already am."

"I'd rather die…"

"Hm? What's that?"

"I'd like to try," I say a bit louder, still rolling my eyes behind my mask.

"It's so hard to understand you behind that frightful thing on your face." He pushes his hair back again as another head pops up from behind him and three appear from the opposite door window of the carriage. Four fair ladies, curious to the voice conversing with their patron. Three blondes and a brunette. Rouge lips, pale skin, hair curled just right. One of them, the brunette has a little extra powder on her face, trying in vain to cover the bruising around her right eye. As they appraise me, I Analyze Aristeo.

>Scan

I don't bother with his description, though I did notice his relationship with his uncle, Lord Bertrand and his mother, Lady Anne, baroness of Higo. He gestures me to the driver's seat, "Come on, then. Let's not waste any more time." He pushes his hair back a third time before disappearing back inside amidst a cloud of whispers. I ignore them and kneel beside Morgan, "Take all the loot and Life Crystals. Become something better than this. I'm sorry about your sister and I promise you justice, but not yet, okay?" I pat his back and take my temporary place as driver.

[Reputation +350 with Morgan Grainer]

[Reputation increased to Respected]

I almost call out the vardo's commands, but I crack the reins instead, grateful that I don't have to walk for at least a little while. Before I know it, we reach the city and I get a message from Dawn.

[Message From: Dawn Nobel

[Great! Meet us at the Grey Rooster pub. Someone will be waiting for you inside.]