The further they ran the harder they laughed, until Brin was laughing so hard he started thinking he would collapse.

A group of Watchmen arrived from a side street behind them, running towards them in full plate armor and halberds in hand. “Halt in the name of the law!”

Brin and his friends looked at each other in horror, smiles draining from their faces. What were they going to do? Were they actually going to stop and take their just deserts, or were they going to try to escape?

Brin had got them into this. He’d be the only one to get in trouble if he–

“This way!” shouted Zilly, and pulled them down a side street. That was it. They were running.

They ran past a long row of stylish townhouses, with little staircases up to the doors and matching shrubs and lollipop-shaped trees in front. No place to turn or hide, the group focused on sprinting forward to make up some ground.

Zilly led the group, running faster, and faster and faster. Brin realized that on her own she could probably outpace them all easily, and she was slowly increasing the pace to see when they would start falling behind.

As the speed increased, he actually started to feel the burn. His lungs started to burn, and he felt a wear in his legs; a rare feeling ever since he’d started training [Athleticism].

Sion was the first to falter with his heavy backpack, so they all slowed down to match his pace. Even so, they seemed to be making progress against their pursuers.

For his part, Marksi wasn’t having any trouble keeping up at all. The little dragon scampered alongside him, looking happy and excited.

“I’ve decided on what I will do with the General Skill point I’ve been hanging onto. [Running]. It seems to be a theme with you lot,” panted Sion.

“Good choice,” Brin gasped back.

Despite the complaining, they were doing it. They were gaining ground against the members of the Watch, but then when they reached a side street, they heard the alarm whistle coming from their left. Another group was coming to cut them off.

Zilly led them down the other direction. This was a more commercial area, with tall shops and workhouses and tighter streets. She ran through backstreets and alleyways, doing her best to help them lose their pursuit.

This area of town looked poorer. Not that the buildings were shorter; in fact, they were taller. Apartments. Unlike the careful blocks in the big cities back home, these seemed to wander in every direction. Often buildings would grow into their neighbors, or expand from brick into what looked like trash and driftwood and had Brin wondering why the whole thing didn’t come crashing down.

They zigged and zagged through the chaotic streets and alleys. Brin thought for sure they’d lose their pursuit here, but the Watch knew this area better than them. Every time they turned a corner, the whistles seemed to be just a bit closer.

Then a group of the Watch dashed around the corner a block away. “Halt!”

More of the Watch were behind them, and the other direction was a dead end. They were trapped.

Marksi scampered to the dead end and climbed up the side of the building, up four stories to the top. He looked down and nodded at them as if to say Just do that.

“Got it,” said Davi. He pulled out his oud and began to play.

This time, he broke every single rule about how [Bards] were supposed to act in cities, and Brin felt a swell of power and confidence surge into him. That, and instructions.

He pulled the backpack off of Sion and swung it up into the air as hard as he could. Zilly scampered up the side of the building as easily and quickly as Marksi had and caught the backpack up above. Then Brin and Sion scaled the side of the building. Brin moved a little more slowly than Zilly, but his Dexterity was more than high enough for the task. Instruction from the song made him reach down once without even looking to grab Sion’s hand and prevent him from falling, but then they both made it to the top with little trouble.

Davi threw his lute up towards them, and then climbed up himself with the casual ease of a gorilla.

The Watch arrived at the base of the wall just as Davi crested the top, but their armor would give them at least a little trouble.

They ran across the rooftop, and Davi started playing again as they ran, bolstering their confidence.

Zilly turned suddenly and jumped off the roof, and without second-guessing, Brin turned and followed suit.

Below them was a ten foot drop onto a steeply slanted roof. They landed and slid on their feet down the roof, then jumped off at the last minute across a small gap to yet another roof. It was impressive that Davi did this all without ever stopping his music, and guided by the song, even Sion managed to pull it off.

They crossed the last roof and then dropped down to the ground. Zilly guided them onwards, into a section of town that looked a bit more industrial.

As they ran behind a tall red-bricked factory with tall smokestacks rising into the air, Sion took his backpack back from Zilly. He swung it around and pulled out a few shirts and hats, tossing them at the others. “To change our appearance!”

Brin shoved a red shirt on, and a blue cap. The party slowed to a walk, trying to conceal the fact that they were panting and flushed from running.

“Your pet will give us away,” said Sion.

“No he won’t,” said Brin.

Sion looked around, probably noticing that Marksi was nowhere in sight. When they’d all started changing their appearance, he’d recognized camouflage and activated his own. Even Brin had lost sight of him. He didn’t know anyone who could find Marksi when he didn’t want to be found.

Exiting from the narrow alley behind the factory, they walked into rush hour traffic. Busy-looking workers walked every direction, probably on break between shifts. There were lots of small, dingy restaurants and bars, where the workers would have their lunch before returning to work.

There was also a group of Watchmen, standing up on the crossroads ahead, scanning the crowds with looks of intense interest. Sion handed Davi his backpack and Davi handed his oud to Zilly. Brin pulled his hat down and put his hands in his pockets to hide what scars he could.

They approached the crossroads with the Watch, and then walked straight by. No one called to stop them.

A block after they passed the group of Watchmen, the four of them let out a huge sigh of relief all at once, followed by a laugh.

They trudged along a little further, keeping their eyes open, but the alarm seemed to have died down. They didn’t hear any more alarm whistles, and no more members of the Watch ran through the streets.

Stolen novel; please report.

A couple blocks of walking in no direction in particular, they found an old gazebo, weatherworn with chipped paint. Maybe a remnant of a time when this had been the nice part of town, rather than what looked like an industrial district. Now it was the perfect place to cool their heels.

Brin stepped inside and took a chance on an old bench that creaked when he sat but held his weight. Zilly collapsed onto her back in the grass just outside, drawing a wince from Davi whose lute she was still holding and Sion who’s clothes she had borrowed.

He’d given her a hooded coat for a man five times her size. It was much too wide and hung down to her knees. Brin noticed for the first time that Davi had been given a yellow shirt two sizes too small. When Brin snickered at him, Davi struggled to pull it off and hand it back to Sion. Brin took off the red shirt and blue cap Sion had given him as well, though Zilly looked to be in no hurry to ever move again.

She lay on the ground, panting, and he noticed she’d grown dark rings under her eyes.

“You doing ok there?” Brin asked

“One night in a lousy hostel is not enough time to recover from two weeks in the wilderness,” said Zilly.

“How did that go, by the way?” asked Brin. “Did you get the Achievement you were looking for?”

“Yep! I got [Rough Traveler] with bonuses against heat, cold, and poison, and [Survival] evolved to [Survival Sense]. It helps me do stuff like find water and avoid monsters, ” said Zilly. “I’m sure you guys got all kinds of stuff from fighting monsters.”

“Nothing like that!” said Brin. “Now I feel like I missed out. Maybe Hogg will let me solo the next leg of the trip.”

“I don’t know about that. I just want to sleep for a week,” said Zilly.

Marksi chose that moment to come out of hiding. He scampered over to Zilly and jumped onto her stomach. She squealed in delight and wrapped both arms around him, still holding Davi’s oud.

Davi stood, probably to walk over and take it from her, when they heard a shout.

“You there, with the lizard! Halt right there! We have some questions for you.”

Zilly froze, then gently set Marksi aside and stood up. “I’ll lead them away.”

“What? No!” said Brin. “We’ll go together.”

“There’s no point. They haven’t seen you yet. And if Marksi comes with me, I’ll have no trouble finding you guys again. Right Marksi?”

Marksi nodded in determination.

She was right; the other side of the gazebo was blocked from view by a warehouse. If the three of them ran that way, they’d be out of sight before the Watch ever knew they were here.

In his moment of hesitation, Zilly acted. She stood and put the hood over her head. Then she raised Davi’s oud in the air and shouted “I’m a kukubaru!” and ran down the street.

Brin found himself running the other direction with Sion and Davi. They didn’t make it very far before an exhausted Sion needed to stop.

“I just took [Running] an hour ago and I already have seven levels in it. What a day!” said Sion.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think we’re done with running for today,” said Brin.

The System seemed to agree with him, because it chose that moment to give him a notification.

[Athleticism] leveled up! 19 -> 20

Congratulations! You have earned an Achievement! Athletic (Rare) You have reached level 20 in the Athleticism Skill. +10 Vitality You may use 1 general Skill point to upgrade Athleticism to Athletic Training

That was a no brainer. Brin spent the point.

Congratulations! Your Skill has evolved. [Athleticism] -> [Athletic Training] +100% [Athletic Training] Skill growth +3% increase to physical attribute growth rate per level of [Athletic Training]

Not seeing any reason to hide it, Brin read the Skill out to Davi and Sion.

“I’ve never heard of a Skill giving a growth boost to itself. It’s good, though. That’s the perfect Skill for you,” said Davi.

“What do you mean?”

Sion answered, “General Skills will often evolve to make you better at what you’re using them for. You mostly use [Athletics] to train your attributes, correct?”

“I guess…” If Brin had been able to choose, he would’ve rather had it turn into something that would help in combat. Although he supposed the extra attributes he’d be getting would help him fight. It might be better in the long run, honestly.

He was already thinking about how he could work in a training regimen to his traveling days with the caravan. The System knew him too well.

Then he remembered that Zilly was out there running for her life, to take the heat off of them for a crime that he committed. He didn’t get to feel bad about that for long, though, because another notification arrived for him.

Alert! You have received a new Achievement! Celebrated (Common) You have authored and performed a song which has been sung by one hundred people. You wrote the hit song “They call me Kukubaru.” You can make this Achievement visible to [Inspect] as proof that you’re the original author. You can sign anything you create with messages visible to [Inspect] as proof that you were their creator.

No way. People were singing his song? No wonder the Watch was so persistent.

The three of them wandered around the city for a time. They passed several groups of the Watch, but they must not have had good descriptions, because without an oud or Marksi to give them away, no one gave them so much as a second glance.

Eventually, they wandered into a part of town Brin recognized, and he was able to make his way to the street where his inn was. They’d been walking for nearly an hour, and everyone was ready for a break.

When the inn was in sight, Brin said, “We can regroup and wait for Zilly here. Hopefully she’ll be–”

Another notification interrupted him.

Alert! Your Achievement has advanced. Celebrated (Common) -> Celebrated (Rare) You have authored and performed a song which has been sung by over one thousand people. You wrote the hit song “They call me Kukubaru.” You can make this Achievement visible to [Inspect] as proof that you’re the original author.

You can sign anything you create with messages visible to [Inspect] as proof that you were their creator.

+20% to all attributes while creating, performing, or inventing. This bonus cannot be applied during combat.

Oh. He was in trouble, wasn’t he? He couldn’t help the smile that crept across his face.

“Brin? What’s wrong?” asked Davi.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just got an Achievement,” said Brin. He noticed that his smile had moved into “Scarred One” territory and focused on making it more normal, not sure if he was succeeding.

They reached the inn, and a bellman opened the door for them, causing Sion’s eyebrows to rise. “This is a nice place.”

In the lobby, Zilly was already waiting for them. She was sunken into a couch, and drawing frowns from the staff at her shabby appearance.

She jumped to her feet when she saw them arrive and struck a triumphant pose, hands on her hips. “What did I say? Easy!”

Still somewhat distracted by the Achievement, Brin gave her a quick hug. “Thank you. But never do that again!”

Zilly chuckled awkwardly, growing a bit red in the face. “Oh. Um. You’re welcome.”

“Thanks, Zilly. How’s my oud?” asked Davi.

“Not a scratch!”

Brin felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to find a frowning Hogg.

“I could just about kill you right now.”

Brin grinned. “What? You didn’t like the song? I figured you’d think it was hilarious.”

Hogg’s frown cracked slightly. “I about laughed my head off when I heard you sing that, I’m not going to lie. But now the damn thing has been stuck in my head for the past two hours!”

Brin laughed. “That’s cuz I’m a kukubaru!”

“Stop it!” Hogg’s frown broke completely into a smile. “Your dumb song is everywhere. There’s no stopping it now.”

“I know! I got an insane Achievement for it.”

“You’ll have to catch me up on it later.” Hogg looked at Sion, Davi, and Zilly. “You kids mind waiting here for a minute? Brin and I have something we need to take care of.”

“What is it?” Brin asked.

“You’ll see.”

Hogg marched him up to their rooms, feeling a familiar sort of confusion and dread. Hogg really loved this sort of thing. They were probably heading towards their room so they could talk in private, and no doubt Hogg was going to drop some tidbit of information that would absolutely shatter his entire worldview.

He opened the door towards the common area of their suite, and found that they wouldn’t be alone after all. A large, stout man with a bushy red beard and fine noble’s clothing was sitting at their table with a mug of ale.

Brin recognized him from earlier in the morning. This was Baron Neves, the ruler of Oud’s Bog.

Neves smiled widely when he entered, like a man whose fishing pole had just reeled up a big one.

“Kukubaru, I presume?”