Danika's day passed pretty normally, apart from one minor power outage that only lasted about five minutes. She didn't worry, since it was a pretty typical event during the first few days of harsher winter weather every year. She completed another small ordinary job, from one of her ordinary job sites.

The winter weather outside did make the midsummer scenery in the game feel a little disorienting when she logged back into "Living Jade Empire" that evening. But winter would come and go in the game while it remained winter in the region Danika lived in, since a year in the game passed every three months. 

SaltySiamese had sent her a reply sometime during the afternoon since she'd checked for messages last. The message her cat delivered read: "Justin said Windbur is a fairy town between the village his tower is in and the human capital. He said if I want he'll portal us to his tower when he gets home tonight, and then take us there! Let's meet there! Send me a party invite and then you'll be able to track my location to it after we arrive!" 

Danika frowned and sent a message to Aishin asking: "Is Windbur the fairy dell with the ducks?"

Then she sent the requested party invitation and wrote to SaltySiamese: "Are you already on your way there?" 

SaltySiamese answered almost instantly: "Yup! We're all coming! Don't wait for Shrubbery, she said to tell you she can't play until late tonight if at all! I'll accept the invite as soon as we arrive in Windbur!"

Danika activated her wings and headed for the gate she'd first entered the human capital through with Aishin. She wasn't sure who "all" included, but she knew that SaltySiamese would complain if she had to wait around for too long after doing Danika the favor of finding the city.

A short reply from Aishin arrived in the familiar grasp of his little bat before she'd gone far, it read: "Maybe? I might be able to login in a few hours and check."

Danika sent back: "It's ok, by that time I'll have met up with SaltySiamese in Windbur."

Aishin's little bat hurried back a moment later: "Ok. Be careful." 

Danika spotted the traveling merchant walking along the lane ahead of her after she'd traveled for a while, and zipped up to him. 

"Good morning ZipZing!" he called out cheerily. "Where are you off to?"

"Hi," Danika replied happily. "I'm looking for a place called Windbur. It was recommended as a good starting town for me after the update, but I'm afraid that since one of my party members may have been attacked by ducks there, it might not be safe."

The traveling merchant said, "Hmm, let me think," and came to a halt. 

Danika hovered beside him and waited. After a minute she realized that he was so still because he didn't even appear to be breathing. She couldn't swear that he'd breathed before, but he'd always seemed very natural. She asked hesitantly, "Hello? It's ok if you don't know?" 

He didn't move or respond and after a moment she filed a bug report. She hovered beside his frozen avatar worriedly, and then sent another message to SaltySiamese: "It might take me a bit longer than I expected." 

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

A couple of minutes later SaltySiamese's cat arrived and dropped a reply: "Us too, we ran into an injured Centaur being attacked by a surprisingly high level band of goblins!"

It was only a bit later that a dark haired man in elaborate oriental robes similar to the Jade Emperor's appeared suddenly on the path beside the traveling merchant. A label appeared above his head even without bringing up her lens that read: "Celestial Servant Lin Hao".  

Danika stared at him. After a minute she ventured, "Hi?" 

"Let me just go over the logs first," Lin Hao said quickly, and made swiping motions at the faint shimmer of his screens.

Danika asked worriedly, "For you to show up so quickly, are all of his instances frozen?"

"Good question," Lin Hao replied, then tapped something and vanished.

He reappeared a moment later and announced cheerfully, "Fortunately it's just this one. It looks like he's just stuck in a loop determining the correct reply." 

Lin Hao was still tapping at his menus with a puzzled frown when the traveling merchant looked up at Danika and replied at last, "You are correct on both counts, it is the recommended starting city for you, and you are likely to be attacked on arrival since you were in the party that provoked the wrath of the herders. Let me accompany you there and you can register yourself as a resident with the mayor, that should calm the herders." 

Lin Hao looked up from his screens and stared at the traveling merchant. "He ended the loop and came up with an active solution!" he exclaimed.

Danika asked, "That's good right?" When he wasn't frozen, the merchant did appear to breathe and occasionally fiddled with the strings of his pack. 

"It's excellent! I'm so proud," Lin Hao replied happily. But then he muttered, "But why did it take him so long." He continued to swipe at his screens under Danika's curious stare.

"Is it ok if I agree and continue then?" she questioned.

"Sure sure, I should go back to my space while I untangle this anyway," Lin Hao agreed with a nod and vanished again. 

Danika told the merchant, "Thank you, I'll be glad to have your introduction to the mayor."

The merchant smiled and replied, "Let's try to arrive before the mayor sits down to lunch then ZipZing," and set off down the path with long strides. 

Danika zipped after him. After they'd passed through the second village, she asked curiously, "What happens if you meet yourself somewhere?" 

The traveling merchant winked at her and replied, "That won't happen." 

"How can you be sure?" she questioned. 

"I always know where I am," he answered simply. 

Nothing attacked them, as they traveled beyond the lanes and fields onto a narrow and unfamiliar path through the forest, the way things had when she'd traveled with Aishin. The path aligned itself along a stream and hills rose gently on either side as they progressed. Eventually they passed into a deep valley that the stream continued to tumble out of.

Fruit trees became more common along the path before the first buildings came into view. The buildings were almost entirely built into large trees. Spiraling staircases wound around trunks and suspended bridges crisscrossed the air. Pretty fairy children were herding ducks along the banks, and Danika zipped closer to the merchant as they all turned to watch her, even the ducks. 

Other fairies flitted here and there among the tall buildings. Most of them were the standard small half human beings, but there were other fairy creatures here and there. Danika spotted a tiny flame winged person that blazed calmly like a small fire while sitting on a metal perch and talking with a small human sized person with the dark wings of a crow. Another tiny butterfly winged fairy seemed to be being followed by little rain clouds as it flitted from flower to flower. 

The traveling merchant led her straight up to a broad knotty tree and ascended the spiral stairs up to an elaborately carved door. He tapped on the door, and it popped open to reveal a pretty fairy maid in a frilly apron.