It took me a second to shift myself to the emergence-point I had set for the Door, the timing just coming out right, with me regaining my awareness a few moments before Maggie appeared in my space.

“I bid you welcome on the Frozen Spire. Act without malice, leave without hindrance.” I formally intoned an utterly pointless greeting. She couldn’t really act in overt malice, not within my capsule-space and I lacked any ability to hinder her leaving but I thought the formality was appropriate. It certainly served to throw Maggie for a pause, especially when she looked to the side, into the abyss with a layer of clouds far beneath. If nothing else, having her squeak and press against the side of the tower brought a smirk to my face.

“Can… can we go in?” she asked, her voice devoid of her previous pep.

“Certainly.” I agreed and we began to climb the stairs I had placed within the tower, through the spooky cavern. It had been something I had invested a bit of time into, trying to make the shadows just right, to make the forms of frozen creatures appear as if they had been frozen in horrible pain. To make visitors feel… welcome.

For once, Maggie wasn’t chattering on as we walked, it might have been the longest in our short acquaintance she remained silent. I considered whether to guide her into my throne room but decided that it wouldn’t quite send the right message, instead I showed her onto the meditation-platform, allowing us to stand in the open, with nothing but empty sky and clouds around us.

“Now, what did you want to talk about?” I asked, standing with my back to the void. It wasn’t quite the same polite business-setting Tobiuno had set up, but I had no actual intention to make her comfortable.

“Would you like to join the Arms of Helios?” she asked, without preamble or set-up, the blunt question stunning me for a moment. Before I could respond, she pressed on, beginning to laud the advantages of having a large guild, promising all sorts of help if I joined up, her sales-pitch quite enthusiastic.

“After Howardlight made me out to be Evil incarnate, you want me to join?” I asked, more than a little amused by the time I managed to cut in.

“Eh, sure, why not? We can make up some trite about Darkness being the other side of the coin, or that one has to wander the darkness to see the light, or something along those lines.” she waved me off, before adding, “Not like it really matters.”

“Why the interest? Even if we leave Howardlight, as far as I know the leader of your little Crusade, and his antics out of it, there has to be a reason why you’re interested in me.” I pressed a little, curious what reasoning she would give. I was almost certain that it was due to my relatively conspicuous use of magic, showcased in more than a few videos, but I wanted to know her answer.

“The biggest would be that you are near one of our major groups. The Ladrin-Group has taken some damage from that failed raid and from that video you posted a few days ago, you are nearby. Getting you to join would raise the morale of that group while adding your considerable ability and knowledge into the mix. From what I could tell, you’ve been travelling since the start of the Beta, so you should know quite a bit about northern Aretia, which is where Ardros wants to lead his group next. They need some new prey, something that has fewer legs and not as much magical fire-power. Though you might be able to close some of that gap in fire-power.” she explained, giving reasons but nothing unexpected.

“I thank you for your offer, but I’m not looking to join any guilds, clans or whatever you want to call your organisation. If anything, I regard Road to Purgatory as something akin to an active retirement from the professional gaming-circuit, something I’ll stream as long as I enjoy it, without taking on any responsibilities.” I rejected her offer, giving an explanation that was somewhat true. I didn’t want any responsibilities that linked Mundus to the real world.

There was a part of me, that wanted to be able to, one day, say “Okay, that’s it, I’m not going to upload anything, ever again.”, maybe even “That’s it, I’ll never play Road to Purgatory again.”. Just the idea to play Road to Purgatory without Sigmir being there was uncomfortable, I could console myself with the idea that, after the Beta ended, I would be able to find her again, but without that consolation, I didn’t feel like the game would be enjoyable.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“That is regrettable.” she replied and for a moment, the pep and happiness that had been present on her face most of the time were gone. Not gone in the same way they had faltered when she had looked down, into the valley, but replaced by something else, the careful, cunning look Mrs. Wu had sometimes during our lessons. After freezing for a moment, I pushed on, forcing the realisation to the back of my mind.

“However, if you are interested, we can share some of the information over an, let’s call it, inofficial and private channel?” I suggested, curious how she would react.

“Always in cash, never in writing?” she chuckled, a grin on her face that seemed a little more genuine than the earlier pep.

“No need for cash, but we can trade information. Not like either of us is able to actually verify what the other trades, we can just treat it as gossip.” I explained, drawing on the lessons Mrs. Wu had given me.

“What do you have in mind?” she asked, curiosity shining in her eyes.

“Hrm, I’m certain you have heard that there are parts of Mundus that you cannot record, beings that block that feature and only appear as distortions in recordings, yes?” I mused, carefully keeping an eye on her expression.

“Yes, I know. Guess Pantheon Entertainment can’t let us record everything and give away the whole fun.” she grinned, to which I nodded. While we, the players, could talk about what we had seen, video was out of the question. That way, the rumors, testimonies and impressions turned into one giant rumor and advertisement-campaign, making everyone want to see those beings for themselves, to experience what some people described in glowing words, with overwhelmed awe.

“If your people go North, they are most likely going to travel past Neamov, the Dwarven City near one of the passes through the Turan Mountains. In those mountains, further south than Neamov, in a difficult to find Valley, there is one of them. One of those beings that cannot be recorded.” I told her, noticing the widening of her eyes and that momentary flash of desire on her face. She was just as curious as I was, her methods and the focus of her curiosity were just a little different from mine.

“Would you tell me more? Maybe how to get there, and what you saw?” she asked, her eyes shining as she focused on me.

“Ah, I gave you a small sample as a taste. For more, we’ll have to make a trade, you know? I would be interested in opportunities in western Aretia, especially north of the White Mountains and further west, on the Idorra Peninsula and in the Dorrian Mountains.” I explained, combining a false trail with a true request. For a few moments, she was simply staring at me, as if trying to look past the controlled expression on my face and guess at the true thoughts beneath.

“Mhm, I see.” she muttered, her voice now utterly free of the earlier pep, instead there was a distinct seriousness in her voice. “I will have to take a look at my documents, make some inquiries, that kind of thing. Can I send you a message regarding another meeting? I think I will enjoy working with you.”

“I will set my filters up to notify me of your messages.” I accepted, making a mental note to register the account she had used to connect to my capsule-space.

“Excellent. Do you mind if we keep the forum rhetoric going? It makes for good entertainment.” she asked, sounding so much more like a business-partner during negotiations.

“I actually don’t mind, as long as it remains on the forum. In addition, I think we should encourage a sense of Travellers’ conflict to stay between Travellers. I have no doubt that you have some native allies, just as the Blades of the Realm have their noble backing and I don’t think anyone would enjoy having the world of Mundus sunk in an ocean of Blood and fire as everyone tries to take away those support-networks.” I suggested, trying to keep my own motivation under wraps.

“I hear you. Sadly, I’m not sure something like that will ever be feasible, not with the way Road to Purgatory is set up. At best, Travellers will begin treating Mundus like a real world, without distinguishing between Travellers and Natives, maybe even trying to keep their conflicts generally non-lethal. So far, there are not enough Travellers to make an actual, serious impact on that World, but once it goes live? I just don’t know.” she admitted, mirroring some of my own thoughts. Just a few hundred trolls who decided that they wanted to watch the world burn? Not even coordinated, simply people who didn’t care for anything but the satisfaction they felt by destroying the fun for everyone else.

Within my mind, I spoke a short prayer to any deity who might be listening, especially those of the Pantheon.