Marcus’ day was going well. Kyrie had announced that she had reached the top position in Frodos. They were going to go to the next town on Artorios. Marcus had thought they would go to Shellemanos. It was a coastal town and one of the books he was supposed to find was hinted to be in or near that town.

Marcus had also been chatting with Selena. It seemed that the champions and their team were exploring the Durnhold forest on Urtor as a part of their major quest. They were doing well but it seemed that Selena was bored. She had sent a last message that she needed to focus and Marcus was okay. They would chat when she would be free.

Marcus was getting the feeling that Selena was interested in him but he was not sure about his feelings. He considered Selena his friend. He did not know whether he wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with her.

Kyrie said, “Are we ready to go?”

Marcus blinked, coming out of his thoughts and looked at Kyrie who was standing with her hands on her hips. They were in the common room of the adventurers’ guild. Marcus was sitting at one of the tables waiting for Kyrie.

Marcus stood up and said, “I am done. Shellemanos. Are we flying or taking a portal?”

“Shellemanos is close to Frodos. Just about a little over one fifty kilometers north west if my information is correct”, said Kyrie thoughtfully, “We can fly. I mean we are taking this adventurer business slowly for now, after all.”

“And there has been no update in the major quest”, said Marcus cheerfully, “Which gives us some time.”

“Well aren’t you a ray of sunshine?”

“That’s a human expression. Who taught you that?”

“You did.”

“When?”

“I don’t remember.”

“I don’t remember either.”

There was a somewhat awkward moment of silence after that. Then Marcus and Kyrie simply exited the adventurers’ guild. They summoned their flying mounts.

Marcus’ flying mana wyrm hummed at Marcus when he greeted her. The wyrm’s body was flowing and Marcus gently stroked her scales and he could hear Lara purring. Kyrie was greeting her mana wyrm Nala beside him. She was talking to her in the lines of ‘who is a good girl? Who is a good girl? Yes, you are. Yes, you are.’

Marcus grinned as he got into the saddle on Lara. Both Lara and Nala took off eliciting a whoop of joy from both Marcus and Lara. Marcus noted the direction of the sun and adjusted his direction towards the northwest. Kyrie followed.

They flew for an hour feeling the wind but not getting hurtled out of the saddle because of it. Lara had a bubble around the saddle which prevented her rider from flying out of it even at faster speeds. It led some wind through, enough to cool the rider. Marcus enjoyed flying like this.

They were well about halfway by Marcus’ estimate when he got a message from Selena. Were the champions done with the quest? He however stopped short as he read the message. There was only one word.

‘Help’

Marcus for some reason felt a chill at the sight of the word. He tried replying to Selena but got an error.

Error. The adventurer you are trying to contact is out of Una System Range.

Marcus gave a cry of alarm and Kyrie looked at him with shock. He gestured to Kyrie to land and nudged Lara to land faster. Kyrie followed. She was shouting something, but Marcus could not catch what.

Marcus landed on the side of the main road and Kyrie landed beside him.

“What is wrong, Marcus?” Why are you panicking?”

Marcus shared his screen with her. A look of concern passed on Kyrie’s face.

“What does this mean?” asked Kyrie.

“I don’t know”, said Marcus gravely, “Do you have contact details of any of the champions or their team members.”

Kyrie shook her head, “Only Selena’s.”

Marcus pursed his lips and looked around thinking what to do.

“Although”, said Kyrie slowly, “Considering the error, I do have contact details of someone who could help us.”

“Who is it?”

“I cannot tell you. Just trust me, will you?”

Marcus nodded. If there was someone who could help, then Marcus had no problem. He trusted Kyrie anyway.

Kyrie summoned her screen and seemed to be chatting with someone. Marcus could not see who, as Kyrie was not sharing her screen with him. She chatted with the person for some time and then turned towards Marcus.

“Five minutes”, said Kyrie.

Marcus nodded. Kyrie went up to Nala and stroked her snout while Marcus paced around with nervous energy. Five minutes later she appeared. Marcus stopped pacing and simply stared. He was surprised to see who had come. He took a deep breath and started to say something, but no sound came out.

“Hello Marcus and Kyrie”, said Leyda Lightweaver, “How have you been?”

Kyrie’s contact was Leyda Lightweaver, the Game Master! How the fuck had that happened?

Kyrie greeted Leyda, “Lady Lightweaver. I am sorry to call you, but this is an emergency and you told me to call you in case of an emergency.”

“What is the emergency?” asked Leyda politely.

“Marcus, show her the error.”

Marcus did so. Leyda looked at the error message and then at Marcus and Kyrie.

“I shall take care of this. Continue on your journey. I will call as soon as I get any news. Do not worry. This shall be resolved soon.”

Leyda disappeared in a puff of smoke. There was even a sound effect of poof as she disappeared. Marcus blinked at the display. Then he looked at Kyrie.

“Since when do you have the contact details of a fucking game master?”

Kyrie winced at Marcus’ question. Marcus checked himself. Had he asked it too harshly.

“I am sorry I did not tell you”, said Kyrie, “But it was one of the conditions of getting her contact details. I cannot tell anyone unless it was an emergency. And I have a feeling there is something wrong as she clearly wasn’t perturbed that I called her in front of you.”

“You got to tell me how you got her contact details in the first place. I mean. She is a game master. You do not contact her. She contacts you.”

“I know Marcus. It is a weird story though. For reasons unknown to me, she approached me in one of my monthly visits to a water source and gave me a deal. Her contact details. I could call her in case of any emergency or if I thought I really really needed her help or favour. There were certain conditions to sharing her contact details though. I cannot share them with you, I am sorry. However, she said if I was okay and wanted her contact details. This was an excellent opportunity, and her conditions were manageable. So, I said yes.”

“Wow. And you don’t know why she did this?”

Kyrie shrugged and said, “No. I genuinely have no idea. I mean, after the first visit, she has visited me twice. But it was just to check up on how I am doing. And I have no idea why I am being singled out like this.”

“Or is it just you?” pondered Marcus, “She could also have made a similar deal with other adventurers without your knowledge.”

“Possible. And I have no way of finding out except for asking her and I currently have no intention of doing so.”

“Wise”, nodded Marcus, “You have no idea how she would react.”

“Oh, she would not get violent considering her nature. But she would definitely not be pleased.”

“Possible.”

They discussed for some more time regarding the game master and Kyrie’s deal and then they were again on their way to Shellemanos. As they flew Marcus worried about Selena and hoped that she was alright. He hoped that this was nothing major and the game masters would be able to fix whatever was causing the error.

They reached Shellemanos in a couple of hours, faster than they had planned. Their mana wyrms were tired and Marcus could see Lara panting a bit as he got off of her. He dismissed her feeling guilty for pushing her. Kyrie was sort of shadowing his expression. She had actually apologized to Nala before dismissing her.

“What now?” asked Marcus.

Kyrie said, “I wanted to go to the arena, get a feel and register for a fight tomorrow, but somehow, I… I don’t know what to do.”

Marcus nodded. He could understand. They were both concerned about what Selena’s message and the subsequent error message from the system meant. Till they heard back from Leyda, Marcus was sure they were both going to worry about it.

“Let’s go to the adventurer’s guild. Set our spawn points at the resurrection stone. Then we search for a good inn and rest at it. We will decide on our way forward when we get some news from the game master.”

Kyrie agreed to Marcus’ plan, and they soon found themselves in a highly crowded adventurers’ guild.

“What the fuck is going on?” asked Marcus out aloud. The guild hardly had any room to move, and all the adventurers seem to be crowded around the quest board or in the common room looking at something.

One of the adventurers nearby who was trying to get in, said, “Have you not heard? Major quest update related to the dwarven kingdom has arrived. It is getting everyone excited.”

Marcus looked at Kyrie who nodded at him. They made their way away from the guild and to a cafe some distance from the guild which was less crowded. They gave their orders of coffee and sat in a booth which ensured some privacy for them.

Marcus then called their favourite dwarf, Orin Gurnhold. Orin was one of the princes of the dwarven kingdom, and the youngest of the sibling adventurers who called themselves the Ori brothers. That was because the names of Orin’s brothers were Orik, Oril and Orim.

Orin picked up Marcus’s call, “Marcus, it is good to hear your gorking voice.”

“Hello Orin”, said Marcus, “How are you?”

“So. So. I am alive. That’s what counts. Where’s Kyrie?”

“She is here with me.”

“Get her on a gorking conference call.”

Marcus did what Orin asked and a round of greetings passed between Kyrie and Orin.

“How can I help you today, Marcus?” asked Orin when the pleasantries were out of the way.

“Kyrie and I heard about some major dwarven kingdom quest”, said Marucus, “We wanted to know more about it, but the guild was full of adventurers, and it would have been a bit cumbersome involving a lot of jostling to get information. So, we thought we could ask you. You would be up to date.”

Orin laughed at that. Then he said in a serious tone, “First, I am setting this call on private mode. Second, you were right to call me. If you would have taken that trash invitation of the quest, I would have been disappointed.”

“Oooh”, said Marcus, “This sounds serious and juicy.”

“Please behave Marcus”, said Kyrie.

“You are no fun sometimes, Kyrie.”

“Well, Marcus” said Orin, “Do you consider yourself to be too much fun then? Holed up in a library, reading book over book till God knows when.”

“Hey, reading is fun. That was so uncalled for.”

“Fighting is fun, Marcus. And Kyrie does more fighting than you do.”

Marcus sulked at that, and Kyrie laughed.

“Thank you, Orin”, said Kyrie, “Someone needs to remind him from time to time that other people are normal.”

“I am normal”, muttered Marcus.

“No, you are gorking not”, said Orin.

Kyrie interrupted them, “This is not the time to argue, gentlepeople. Orin, please tell us why we should not take the quest.”

Orin let out a deep sigh and replied, “To make you understand this, I need to tell you a bit about my family history.”

At that time, Marcus’ and Kyrie’s order arrived and there was a lull in their conversation. Once the waitress had left, Orin continued to talk.

“My father is Throwrin Gurnhold, the king of Karzasham. I am sure you know that Karzasham is the capital city of the landmass Golimath, the seat of power for the dwarven kingdom.”

Marcus nodded at that, but Kyrie silently shook her head. Orin ignored both of them and continued his explanation.

“My father has sired many children, ten of them to be exact. Four of us are male dwarves while the six are female dwarves. I am the youngest of the ten while Orik is the third child. Oril and Orim are fifth and sixth respectively. You do not know my sisters and I will tell you about them later. For the sake of simplicity, my elder city is Furorin Gurnhold and as per dwarven laws, she would be in line to the throne of Karzasham.”

Orin took a deep breath and continued, “All of the family members were okay with Furorin being the heir. Many actually said that Furorin was indeed a good choice as the next queen of Karzasham. However, recently there have been some problems.”

“I don’t know why he has been behaving this way but my uncle, Jarison Gurnhold, the fifth sibling of my father has challenged Furorin’s claim to the throne. He has brought in some technicality and invoked the old laws. He wants a king on the throne of Karzasham and not a queen. He has nominated his second son Gorin Gurnhold to be the heir to Karzasham. Jarison would have nominated his first born but Durorin is an adventurer and has no interest in dwarven politics.”

“We all don’t know what has come over Uncle Jarison and we are concerned. Normally, this would not matter but there is a sense of urgency.”

Orin paused, took a deep breath and a sad emotion was infused in his voice when he continued, “Marcus. Kyrie. My father is dying. We do not know how long he has but he is going to die soon. He wants this situation of his heir resolved before he passes away. That is why he has proposed a solution. Left to our own devices, I am sure that this issue would have evolved into a whole out civil war amongst the dwarves. But my father has invoked another old law, albeit with some modifications.”

“As Jarison invoked an old law on a technicality, my father did the same and announced the contest for the heir. In such a normal contest, those who wish to seek the throne, fight against each other to the death and the one who is alive at the end of the fight becomes the heir to the throne. My father did not want either Furorin or Gorin to die. So, he suggested that champions fight on behalf of the heirs. As a result, two teams are being formed. The first team would support Gorin’s claim to the throne while the second would support Furorin’s claim to the throne. And the team would be formed of adventurers. They would fight on behalf of the heirs they support, and a final victor would emerge. The heir would be finalized based on the team which the victor belongs to. The teams would be formed of adventurers. Makes sense as adventurers can respawn after they die.”

Marcus said, “I am sorry to hear about your father. What does he have? Can it be cured?”

Orin shook his head, “It is a natural part of dwarven aging. Nothing anyone can do. It is alright. We have all accepted it.”

Kyrie was somehow vibrating with excitement. She said, “I am sorry about your father Orin. However, I have a question. From what I understood regarding what you said, is this competition of heirs a giant adventurer versus adventurer setup?”

Orin laughed at that, “Of course this would interest you Kyrie. Yes. In crude terms, it is a giant adventurer versus adventurer setup.”

Marcus said, “I get that. This still does not explain why you do not want us to accept the quest being put up in the guild. I mean, if we join, we can help you. Especially Kyrie.”

Kyrie nodded to that.

Orin said, “The quest that is being circulated everywhere is set up by Jarison. If you accept the quest, you will be fighting in his team.”

There was a moment of silence after that.

Kyrie said, “Well, it is good then that we did not accept the quest.”

“We did not even have the chance to even look at it”, mumbled Marcus.

Orin said, “Yes. It is good that you did not read it or accept it. That gets me to the second point. I want you and Kyrie to join my sister’s team. We are inviting a select group of adventurers first to join our team before we send an open invitation like Jarison. I had asked Furorin to invite you two, but it seems that her representative has not reached you yet. Give me some time. I think you will get the quest soon.”

Marcus, Kyrie and Orin chatted for a bit more regarding the quest and then said their goodbyes. Marcus and Kyrie finished their drinks and stepped out of the cafe.

Marcus said, “Well, this is a new twist. This is going to be a major quest and it does not even involve demons.”

Kyrie was still vibrating with excitement, “Adventurer versus adventurer, Marcus. And that too as a part of the quest. Are you not thrilled?”

“Not as much as you are. Let us wait for the quest.”

They decided to go to a river which was flowing beside the town. Kyrie wanted to relax a bit in the river’s waters and picked a place which was quite far from the town but still kept the town within visual distance.

Kyrie swam in the river in her water form while Marcus lay a blanket and lay at the riverbank. The flow of the water was gentle, and the environment was peaceful. Marcus remembered the anxiety and worry he felt for Selena and the pain in Orin’s voice, but here he let his troubles melt away for the time being.

Marcus did not even realize that he had drifted off when Kyrie shook him awake.

“How long was I out for?” asked Marcus, yawning.

“About three hours”, came the reply.

“Did someone from Furorin’s team call?”

“They called me and extended the invitation to you too. I thanked them but have not accepted yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because I asked her not to”, said another voice from behind Marcus.

Marcus turned to see Leyda Lightweaver standing there with her daughter, Tasha. Tasha gave a grin and a short wave when Marcus saw her.

“Hello there”, said Marcus.

“You are no general”, said Leyda.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Okay”, said Marcus slowly stretching the word out, “Why did you ask Kyrie not to accept the quest helping Furorin.”

“Because”, said Leyda with a hint of amusement in her voice, “I have a personal quest for you and Kyrie.”

Marcus gave a deep sigh and stood up. He had not realized he had been sitting till now. He stretched a bit as he stood up earning a short kick and a glare from Kyrie.

Marcus said, “Let’s hear the quest then.”

Leyda said, “I checked on the error message you received Marcus. The champions and their team were on Urtor, a locale known as Durnhold forest when they were performing their part of their major quest. They had to find the source of demons in the Durnhold forest. However, there seems to be a problem that they have encountered. They had split up in teams of five while searching for the source. It was a team of five. A good safe number. The team consisting of Tamara, Shania, Thalia, Tim and Selena seems to have disappeared from the face of Una. The other teams converged on their location. They found a large runic formation in a clearing but no signs of the champion and the rest of the four companions. Tamara had sent a quick message of help and her location before disappearing.”

Leyda paused for a moment and then continued in a tired voice, “When I investigated the rune, it showed me that the rune is sort of a teleportation rune. It is definitely the source of demons. However, it should be only one way. There is no way that people from Una should be able to go through it to the other side. However, considering the circumstances, I deduce that it has happened so. Tamara, Shania, Thalia, Tim and Selena have somehow gotten themselves teleported to the demonic realm.”

Leyda paused letting Marcus and Kyrie digest what she had said. Marcus was somehow feeling very very troubled at that statement, and he looked at Kyrie. Kyrie looked back at Marcus, her worry reflected on her face.

Marcus said, “Can you not just get them back?”

“It is not that simple”, said Leyda, “When they were on Una, they were under my power. They were in the system. So, it was easy to manage them. However, the demonic realm is a neutral zone, out of the jurisdiction of any game master. Neither I nor Rauros or any game master can do anything about their charges in such neutral realms.”

“So, you are simply going to give up on them?” Marcus realized he had just shouted that last question.

“No”, said Leyda patiently, “Rauros and I are going to go to the demonic realm to negotiate their release. However, considering how the demons are, I am pretty sure that this process will take a very long time. Time is not what we have. We need them back, especially Tamara as she is the champion. Otherwise, the demonic invasion scenario will decimate Una.”

“Can you not cancel the demonic invasion scenario or select a new champion while you negotiate for the release of the five adventurers who are in the demonic realm?” asked Kyrie.

Looking at Leyda’s face she hastily added, “I am not trying to insult you. I am just curious.”

“No, I cannot”, said Leyda and offered no other explanation.

“Okay”, said Marcus, “So, what do you want from us?”

“I have another plan to get them out”, said Leyda, “However, I cannot divulge the details unless you accept the major quest. I am sorry. I cannot give you much time, but you have about an hour to make your decision. Which major quest would you do? Rescue Tamara and her group or help Furorin win her crown. Please decide fast. I leave you two to confer.”

“Can we choose only one?” asked Marcus.

“Yes”, said Leyda and she walked away from them, out of their hearing distance. Tasha followed her mother.

“I have further questions”, shouted Marcus after them but received no reply.

Marcus looked at Kyrie and said, “What now?”

Kyrie said, “What do you want to do? Should we go help Orin or should we go help Selena?”

“Well, helping Orin seems to be a clear-cut case. It is a simple quest as of now. Win fights against other adventurers, help Furorin get the throne. However, I don’t know about Leyda’s quest. She hardly gave any explanations. I don’t want to do anything without knowing something. It is not my style.”

“Yes, you are hardly getting any time to research.”

“Exactly! I mean I vote we should not do that and go for helping Orin’s system.”

There was a pause when they were both lost in thought.

“You want to help both Orin and Selena, don’t you?” asked Kyrie with a grin.

Marcus gave a short laugh and said, “You want to help them both too, don’t you.”

Kyrie nodded. Marcus could see that they were at an impasse. The solution was clear. He did not like it but he did not like it.

“We have to split up”, said Marcus slowly.

Kyrie nodded, “Makes sense.”

“Fuck this shit”, said Marcus, “I don’t like this, but it would be helpful if we split up.”

“I got that, Marcus.”

“I know. I am not telling you. I am convincing myself.”

“Ah!”

There were some moments of silence after that.

“So, who goes where?” asked Kyrie.

“Do you even have to ask?” said Marcus with a sigh.

“No. But will you be alright going into the demon realm with no research?”

“Well, I have read a bit about the demons.”

“But not their realm.”

“No, not their realm.”

“Why do you think Leyda is asking us for this quest?”

“I don’t know, Kyrie, but something tells me that for some reason, this is the right direction for me.”

“Yes, and you know I cannot resist an adventurer versus adventurer fight.”

They both laughed.

“This is goodbye for now”, said Marcus.

“Oh, shut up Marcus. We will meet again. Don’t talk as if you are walking to your doom.”

They hugged. Kyrie then called the representative of the dwarven kingdom and accepted the major quest of helping Furorin get the throne. She waved goodbye to Leyda and Tasha and started walking towards the teleporter. Marcus knew she would teleport directly to Karzasham and get the details of her quest there.

Marcus turned towards the game master and her daughter, and they were still standing where they had been before but seemed to be waiting for him. Marcus walked up to them.

Marcus said, “I know this is not my forte, but I am ready to go save the champion and her companions without any prep work. I accept your quest Leyda Lightweaver.”

Leyda clapped her hands as Marcus got his notification for the update of the major quest.

“Excellent”, said Leyda with a glint in her eyes, “We have some work to do now.”

Marcus hoped as Leyda teleported him out of Shellemanos that he had not made the wrong decision.