The citadel that Simone spoke of was the Triumvirate castle in the center of the quarter. According to Jasiah, it was close by.

Once we set out, I turned my focus inwards and saw to my player progression. I’d gained seven attribute points in the battle. Before spending them, I pondered over my performance in the rift.

I had done well in melee combat, and my thieving skills had not let me down either, but it was my Mind skills that had made all the difference. If not for charm, shadow blink, and slaysight, I would not have been able to overcome foes so much higher-leveled than me.

What had made them so effective? I wondered.

Part of it, I realized, was Moonshadow’s buff and my own Class trait, mental focus. Then, too, thanks to my Wolf scion trait, my Mind attribute was higher than what I guessed to be normal. All three, working together, had let me achieve more than most players at my level could.

I pursed my lips. It was certainly food for thought and highlighted the benefits of specialization.

My gaze darted towards my companions. I would need to enter a dungeon soon, and it was unlikely that I would find a strong party to accompany me. There would be no Moonshadow to buff me again, nor any dead-eyed archers to cover my back.

Perhaps, I reflected, it’s time to specialize. Both my telepathy and chi had also reached rank two, making the idea of doubling down on my Mind skills more attractive, and I just did that.

Your Mind has increased to rank 48.

Refocusing on my surroundings, I noticed a commotion up ahead. A large squad of players was approaching from further up the street.

“Bloody knights,” Barac snorted. “Always too late.”

I studied the nearing figures more closely and, sure enough, realized that at least half were Triumvirate knights. Catching sight of our party, the two figures at the fore of the group made a beeline for us.

“Who’s holding the rift?” asked the first—a scarred face human dressed in knight’s armor and with the look of a brawler about him.

Before anyone could answer, the second—a mage, I thought—spoke up. “And what can you tell us about the emerging stygians?”

Jasiah smiled broadly at them. “Gentlemen,” he said. “The rift is closed.”

The two players stared at him blankly for a moment.

“Impossible,” Scarface spat. “The knight-captain dispatched only a single troop to deal with the menace. Us,” he added, in case any of us mistook his meaning.

Jasiah’s grin broadened. “We closed the rift.”

I glanced at the duelist askance. Jasiah was toying with the pair, and I wasn’t sure how wise that was, considering how large and well-equipped their group was. Still, Simone and the others seemed content to let Jasiah do the talking, and I didn’t interfere.

“Then where is the seed?” Scarface growled.

“Safe,” Jasiah said, his own face hardening. “And where it is, is no concern of yours.”

The faces of the mage and knight tightened at Jasiah’s curtness, but before they could say anything, Simone intervened. “Relax, friends. You don't have to take our word for it.” She pointed over her shoulder. “As I am sure you know already, the rift opened up somewhere back there. Go and have a look for yourself if you don’t believe us.”

The Triumvirate knight’s look turned sour. “We will,” he said and motioned his company onwards.

~~~

We waited for the column of players to pass us before continuing onwards. The streets grew busier, but no one else accosted us, and eventually, we reached our destination: the Triumvirate citadel.

Barac paused at the edge of a large square, and the rest of us drew up alongside him. The entrance to the citadel was on the opposite side, and a near-continuous stream of players flowed in and out of its open gates.

It seemed the castle itself was the hive at the center of all the activity.

While the others stood idle, I studied the Triumvirate citadel. It was a veritable fortress, consisting of a separate, independent outer wall and an inner central keep.

The outer wall and central keep were replete with ramparts and looming towers, and both boasted a heavy presence of patrolling knights. But despite the display of martial strength, the citadel’s gates stood open.

It’s been built both to intimidate and defend, I thought. But defend against what? The stygian incursions?

“Everyone ready?” Simone asked.

I frowned, glancing at her. What was there to be ready for?

The archer pursed her lips as her gaze crossed mine, and she correctly interpreted my confusion. “You do have a ward of disease protection, don’t you?”

I didn’t. I planned on purchasing some from the citadel itself, but before I could say so, Barac snorted in disdain. “Of course, he doesn’t. He is a bloody noob. I bet he doesn’t even know why he needs to activate his disease protection before entering that bloody pile of stones.”

He was right—not about me being a noob, but about not knowing why I needed one right now. Still, I ignored the centaur’s caustic remarks and addressed Simone directly. “I don’t.”

The archer sighed and gestured to Moonshadow. Tugging a crystal off his belt, the elf tossed it my way.

You have acquired a crystal of disease protection.

“That will protect you against the more common infections running rampant in the quarter,” Jasiah said from beside me.

“Why do I need it?” I asked, voicing the question most on my mind. “I thought it was only in the saltmarsh that I had to worry about disease.”

Barac crowed in vindication, “Told you! He is as ignorant as a day one noob!”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t retort.

Jasiah’s eyes twinkled, but he too ignored the centaur as he explained, “You’re right, the saltmarsh is the biggest source of disease in the quarter. Unfortunately, it is not the only place you may contract an illness. Us players are surprisingly—or perhaps not so much—the biggest carriers of plague in the quarter.” He gestured to the fortress. “You will not find a bigger concentration of players in the quarter than in there. If you enter unprotected, you will likely find yourself diseased within a few hours. And you don’t want that, not if you can help it.”

“Alright, lecture time is over,” Simone said impatiently. She glanced at me. “Activate the enchantment already.”

I did as she bade and broke the crystal in my hand.

You have activated a single-use enchantment, casting ward of disease protection around yourself. For the next 4 hours, you will be shielded from rank 4 and lower infections.

“Right, let's go,” Barac said and, without waiting for a response, entered the square and made for the citadel’s gates.

The rest of us followed on his heels. “Why are the knights in the plague quarter?” I asked of no one in particular.

Simone glanced at me. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, they’re tasked with protecting the safe zone, right? Why would the Triumvirate construct a fortress here?” I gestured to the castle ahead. “It seems a bit much to go to all that trouble just for the benefit of having a force ready to close the occasional rift.”

Simone nodded. “True,” she said. “But it’s not only to fight off stygian incursions that the knights are here. They have other reasons for occupying the quarter.”

Before I could inquire further as to what she meant, we neared the gate and joined the streams of people entering and leaving, and of necessity, the conversation lapsed.

Swiveling my head left and right, I studied the crowd. Most, I noticed, were players, and they almost all appeared to be in a hurry. Although many of the players were near the party’s own level, few appeared nearly as well-equipped.

We passed through the gate without fuss and entered a large bailey full of merchant stalls and carts. While the courtyard was not as congested as the market square housing the global auction, it was certainly busy. Barac forged a path through the square, and most players got out of his way readily enough.

“So which merchant should we approach to sell the seed?” I asked, yelling to be heard over the crowds.

“We won’t be dealing with any of these,” Jasiah said, gesturing disparagingly at the packed bailey. He pointed to the central keep. “The more prosperous traders are inside. Our contact is there too.”

“Your contact?” I asked, realizing only then that the party was looking for someone in particular.

“There are not many who can afford to deal in stygian reagents,” the duelist replied offhandedly. “If we don’t want to be ripped off, we have to approach the right trader.”

“I still don’t know what’s so valuable about the reagents,” I pointed out.

Jasiah shrugged. “Necrotic plasma, nether residue, and even stygian seeds themselves are all used to make one thing: stygian powder.”

“And what’s that?” I asked.

Jasiah pointed to the blade sheathed on my back. “The powder is what’s used to craft stygian artifacts like the shortsword you’re wielding.” He grinned. “In fact, most enchanted items require a pinch of stygian powder to make.” He shrugged again. “But if you want to understand more of the process, ask Moonshadow.”

The mage snorted. “How many times do I have to tell you, Jas? I'm no alchemist. I'm a damn mage.”

The two began bickering, and I left them to it as I scanned the surroundings. By this point, we’d nearly traversed the length of the square and had almost reached the doors to the central keep. A squad of knights was standing guard outside the doors, and by and large, they turned away all the players that approached them. Almost no one was being granted access to the citadel, I realized.

This didn’t faze Simone, though. Strolling forward, the archer exchanged a few words with the sergeant-in-charge, and a moment later, he drew back the doors to let us in.

I seem to have fallen in with a well-to-do bunch, I thought in bemusement as I followed the party inside.