So, I had a full sized chapter for you guys on Wednesday . . . . . and then the internet goes out and drags the chapter with it. Blows . . . and Easter family yada yada, so slow couple of days. Sorry about that.

I had something for this author's corner, but I forgot it, so oh well. Thank you for the second readable review, it really helps :)

ENJOY!

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The Adventurer's Tavern was in a festive mood as Steel and his charges exited the basement. Loba and Akami slightly drooled at the smell of cooked meat, causing rowdy laughter with their antics. Steel took a moment to marvel on how quick the tavern had changed since he had gone down to the basement and completed the quest officially. There was even a time limit bar above the tavern that showed how long the festivities would last before returning to normal.

Mema winked at him from her place behind the bar, passing out drinks and plates to happy customers. "Celebrate the traveler of the hour, Steel Resolve! He killed the mice that be filling your bellies!"

The patrons let out a resounding cheer and lifted their classes.

You have received 30 fame for being acknowledged as a master mouse killer

No, you do not get a title for making your beasts do the work for you.

Steel shrugged, "Not like I want a mouse slayer title anyway. Still, 30 fame is good to get I guess." He mentally increased his fame to 140.

Mema finished handing out a plate before walking over to Steel with a wrapped meal. "Little Steel, here take this. A customer of mine is terribly busy this time of year and won't make it here in time to have some of this meal. He works as a tanner in the training district, so I would be a favor to me if you could take this meal to him."

Quest AddedDeliver the MealMema the Tavern Owner has asked you to deliver a meal to a loyal and helpful patron. He works as a tanner in the training district.Objective:Deliver the meal before the day is over.Reward:Intimacy with Mema, fame within the city, exp

Steel nodded his head, "I'll be glad to deliver it to him." As soon as he confirmed the quest, Mema turned away and resumed serving her customers.

"Thank goodness for this marker on the mini-map, otherwise I'd be screwed on where to find a random tanner." Steel muttered to himself as he left the tavern and began walking toward the training district. Loba and Akami scrambled after him, their bodies quite used to their new forms after battling for so long. Loba was now a bit bigger than Akami, but both had their teeth grow to a reasonably terrifying length. Their intimidation factor was slightly ruined by the excited look in their eyes as they chased after Steel. They obviously were looking forward to the meal he had promised them.

Steel nodded at the two, "I'll cook it for tonight's meal. We have to work hard until then though." Pacified, the two animals trotted and hopped alongside him for a little bit before disappearing back into Steel's body. Steel rolled his eyes at their laziness and followed the arrow on his map.

It took a little bit, but Steel easily found the tannery where the patron worked at. He walked on in and was met by a manager on the inside. The manager smiled and said, "Esteemed traveler, are you here to learn the art of tanning?"

Steel shook his head, "No, I have a deliver from Mema at the Adventurer's Inn. She sent this as thanks for your patronage."

The manager perked up and clapped his hand excitedly, "Really, it's from Mema? I was actually fretting because today's work load was going to be too much for me to leave for a meal. You have really helped me with this, even if you seem scary."

Quest CompletedDeliver the MealThe tanner received his meal and will not go hungry this day.Reward:Intimacy with Mema has risen

20 Fame

Exp has been acquired.

A quick check confirmed that Steel was barely under the level 8 marker. Privately gritting his teeth, Steel turned to leave when the tanner called out behind him.

"Excuse me sir, but I was wondering since you did me this favor if you were interested in helping me with another?"

Steel paused, and then turned around. "I happen to have a lot of small pelts that need to be tanned."

The tanner grinned, "I heard about your achievements at the tavern; I'd be happy to work on your mouse pelts for a discount if you helped me. You can accomplish this request even with the unnerving feeling you give me." The tanner didn't seem to notice the annoyance on Steel's face, as Steel disliked being reminded of his curse, as he removed a letter from his pocket, "My mother lives on the other side of the city, but I'm so swamped during this spring season I never have the time to visit her. Can you take this letter to her so she knows I'm alright and will visit her when I can?"

Steel quickly accepted the quest and took the letter, "I'll deliver it for you. Here are the pelts I need to be tanned." He handed over the pelts to the tanner, who eyed them and nodded his head.

"At a discount, that comes to 10 silver."

Steel nearly coughed out blood from biting his tongue in shock. That was a high price for just a bunch of mouse skins; he had handed over the other pelts to Marie earlier. "It's not a lot though."

The tanner nodded his head at Steel's expression, "It cost the same coin for 10 mouse pelts to 1 cow pelt. I must use the same rack whether it's for one small pelt or one large pelt, so the price is set. I should have your pelts completed by tomorrow morning. Thank you for delivering my letter." The man bowed with his palm outstretched.

Steel paid the man reluctantly and once again made his way across the city to the faith quarter, where the tanner's mother lived. This time, he had Loba and Akami walk with him so they could see this part of the city. The too seemed oddly cowed as they walked through the faith quarter.

"She lives next to graveyard huh; this is one ominous game." Steel remarked as he walked up to a little house next to one of the graveyards. The house was small and in the midst of other, similar houses. Steel knocked on the door and took a step back.

"Who is it?" A small voice came from within.

"Letter." Steel called out from outside.

There was a pause, and then the voice spoke up in an angry voice, "I can feel your ominous aura from here beast. Curse you land-shark, leave me alone!"

Steel coughed awkwardly at the old woman's dementia, "Um, I'm a traveler with a letter from your son the tanner. What's a land-shark?"

"HA! Just what a land shark would say!" The old voice cried out in triumph.

Steel rolled his eyes and began to talk smoothly, activating his 'Persuasion' skill, "Your son was very worried about you since he's so busy during this time of the year. He asked me kindly to give you this letter so as to reassure you he was okay and would be visiting when he had the time."

There was a slight pause, and the door cracked open a tiny bit. Before Steel could move, a cross-bolt hit the ground in front of him, startling Loba and Akami into running behind the gate behind him. They peeked out slowly to make sure the coast was clear. The door fully opened to reveal a muscular grandmother holding a crossbow in her hands. Steel observed a large naval tattoo on her arm, as well as a permanent scowl on her face.

"Darn, I thought I had the beast this time, but it's just a traveler boy." She muttered to herself, putting the crossbow down. She looked him up and down a moment before barking, "Letter boy, give it here now come on then."

'Maybe he makes himself busy on purpose.' Steel thought to himself as he handed over the letter. The old lady took it and read it, a warm smile blossoming over her face. She hugged the letter and stowed it away before grabbing Steel into a hug.

"You've made this old woman very happy young traveler. My son is such a good boy, but he doesn't have time to visit me nowadays because of his new family. I'm just glad he keeps his dear old mother in his thoughts while I wait for the grim reaper."

"Ma'am, no offense, but I doubt the reaper wants anything to do with you." Steel could not help but let the comment slip before he could stop himself.

The old lady laughed a hearty laugh and nodded her head, "I served as a ship captain for many years boy, and I had to deal with all sorts of lowlifes and bastards in my day. Only the accursed beast followed me here, but I'll get it someday." Her eyes gleamed ominously as her hand twitched toward the crossbow."

Steel took a quick step back; he had no desire to trigger any quest related to a land-dwelling sea monster. "I hope you son visits you soon ma'am." A hand grabbed his shoulder before he could make his getaway. Loba and Akami watched him with pitying eyes from a distance. Seeing them give up on him, Steel resolved to make their meat super spicy.

"Hold on there sonny boy, come on in for some tea and biscuits whilst I tell you the tale of the beast." The old lady remarked as she tried to drag Steel inside.

"Personal circumstances ma'am forbid me from staying; I really must be going to find a place to stay the night." Steel told her as he wormed his way free.

The old lady nodded, "Fair enough; not like we're old friends anyway. Now, I do owe you a favor for this letter, so if you ever need help just come back here and I'll see what I can do. By the way, be careful to avoid that alley at sunset. And beware land related sea monsters." With that lovely note, the old lady closed the door and Steel found himself on the street again.

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Status WindowName:Steel ResolveAlignment:Chaotic NeutralLevel:8Class:Centurion WarriorRace:HumanGender:Male

TitlesStrength Seeker, Rabbit Friend, Cursed OneFame:200Infamy:0

Health:200Mana:150Stamina:200

Constitution:20Dexterity:21Intelligence:15Wisdom:9Strength:30Endurance:20Leadership:12Luck:5Charm:10Faith:0

Elemental ResistancesFire:0Water:0Wind:0Earth:0Light:0Darkness:0

Thanks to his eighth quest, Steel had finally grown to level 8. A quick check confirmed his stats as he boosted his dexterity, and he also found a pleasant surprise. Due to his actions, using 'persuasion' and teaching the monsters to work with each other, his charm and leadership stats had received a nice boost. Also, a notice told him that his many random encounters had awarded him with 5 luck, to which Steel found incredibly ironic.

"I guess bad luck is still luck then." Steel grimly chuckled as he made his way toward the alley the old lady had told him to avoid, "Now, let's see what kind of quest I can find here." He crossed his fingers so as to ward away this quest if it was marine related.

With Loba and Akami close behind, Steel carefully made his way down the alley as the twilight set in. The alley appeared to be nothing special; the city was full of similar alleys that criss-crossed the main roads behind the buildings of the city. Steel soon began to pick up on sniffling and crying ahead, and he slowed down to peak around the next corner. Loba and Akami copied him and stared.

A beautiful young woman was sitting in the alley and crying. She was wearing a whore's outfit, but it was obvious she was still not used to wearing it as it was still new looking. Thinking for a moment, Steel decided that his aura would make it impossible to talk with the woman without upsetting her, so he settled down to listen.

"Curse you Roger, sniff, curse your silver tongue and my foolish heart. Why did I believe you would take care of me after my gold was gone? Damn you for leaving me to this humiliation and terrible life." The lady cursed and wept as she lamented her fate.

"I see, so it's a revenge quest." Steel quickly figured that this type of quest was meant for a chivalrous assassin or thief, as few would have the ability to take the quest without facing repercussions. This was not meant for a person who had to remain in the eye of the public, especially one like him that was rather conspicuous in a crowd.

"I guess it's time to bring him back out." Steel sighed as he began messing with his necklace of disguise. He had the advantage of his necklace to assume a different guise to do quests. Naturally, the magic was easily found, but most common folk would lack the ability to figure out the ruse.

Steel only hoped this wasn't the start of a chain quest. Most quests in Everlife were repeatable quests; quests that an unlimited number of players could take an unlimited amount of times. They had no impact on the course of the game, but were easily affected by nearby events; such as a quest provided by a shepard would no longer be given if the shepard lost his flock. Chain quests were series of quests that each led to the next in the series and would require a long amount of time to accomplish. On the other hand, chain quests would provide a much higher reward than normal quests.

Taking on the skeletal disguise of "The Spirit of Justice", Steel took a moment to mix his voice to a gravely cold before turning to his two charges.

"You two, stand still for a moment." The necklace could actually be used on more then one person, but at the constant cost of mana from Steel. As he was cursed to half his normal mana amount, he could barely have a guise on the three of them for 5 minutes before his mana would run out. He tested out the magic and turned the two into shadowy forms of themselves, complete with red, glowing eyes.

He nodded and turned off the magic, opting to wait for the twilight to change to nighttime before making his move. Once the twilight began to fade, the lady stopped crying and got up to leave.

"Show time." Steel nodded at his charges, and the two quickly ran to the other side of the alley, using the shadows to hide from the lady. Steel activated the necklace and winced as his mana began to rapidly drain. He walked forward toward the lady, his appearance spelled to appear as if he was gliding forward.

The lady, picking up on his aura, turned to face him and gasped in fright as she turned to run. Loba and Akami, in their shadow guises, moved out of the darkness and growled at her. Faced with no where to go, the lady began to cry pitifully and rolled up into a ball as she began to pray to her god.

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Steel began to speak in his grim voice, "I have your pleas and curses and have come."

The lady paused and looked up at him, her eyes searching his skeletal sockets in resigned fear, "Who are you?"

"I am the spirit of justice, the one who answers crimes that go unanswered." Steel answered, wincing internally at the middle school like speech he was giving.

The lady gave Steel her full attention now, standing up slowly with a little smile on her face, "I thought you were a hoax, a myth fro unfortunate women. Spirit, I need your help."

"Speak." Steel commanded, his aura in full blast.

"I was once a noble lady from another city. I fell in love with a traveling minstrel and eloped with him to here. When my purse ran dry, he abandoned me to use my body to survive while he began his search for another rich girl to swindle. I beg of you, take vengeance for me spirit. If not for me, then do it to prevent another girl from falling to his evil tongue."

Quest AddedVengeance of the NobleA crying girl has told you of her pitiful plight after giving in to the charms of a roguish minstrel. Se has asked you to take vengeance for her so that no other girl will fall into his hands.Objective:Punish the evildoer

Note; Do not get caught otherwise the quest will failReward:Fame within the city, exp

Intimacy with the lady will increaseSpecial Note:All fame gained during this quest will be attributed to your disguise. If you reveal yourself, then the fame will revert to you.

Steel inclined his head, "It shall be done." He walked backwards and deactivated the magic; just in time as his mana was about to run out. He quickly recalled Loba and Akami and checked the map, curing when the quest indicated he had to return to the Adventurer's Tavern.

"Oh great, now I have to sneak around that scary bar lady." Steel groaned as he began to trudge back across the city.