Princess Ulmenglanz lifted the manhole cover of the final channel and looked out cautiously. Something flew straight towards her face. She turned her head to the side. A small object flew past her and down into the shaft. She let go of the manhole cover with one hand and grabbed it reflexively. The cast iron grating hit the side of the opening. She pushed herself further up the ladder and pushed the cover out of the way. Three pairs of large children's eyes stared curiously at her. She lifted the trapped object before her eyes. A glass marble. Turning her head, she spotted more marbles lying around a black target ball in the street. She held the marble out to the children: "Is this yours?"

A red-haired boy of about six raised his eyebrow: "What are you doing down there?"

"I check whether the sewer channels are clean."

"You don't look like the other sewer workers."

The dryad slid out of the shaft and closed the lid behind her to stall for a moment. "I'm part of the secret sewer guard."

The children looked at each other briefly, but didn't seem convinced. Their spokesperson put it into words: "Never heard of anything like this."

"We are the Guardians of the Deep. You've never heard of us, of course. Because... we're so secret."

"You don't lie often, do you?"

She leaned down to the redhead and sighed, "No. I really don't."

"I can tell. Can I have my marble back?"

She flicked the marble behind her, where it came to rest close to the target ball. Then she stood up and walked away. Turning the corner, she closed her eyes and spread her arms wide. She expected to be greeted by sunlight. At last. After so long underground. The light from the sun crystals in the dungeon could keep her alive, but it just wasn't real sunlight.

The expected warmth failed to materialize. She opened her eyes. She had been sure that she had ended up here on the south-facing main road. She looked around. She was indeed on the right street. Except that she was still in the shadow of the wall fortress.

She sighed and marched off to the north.

The dryad looked around. The walls all around were whitewashed and covered with a pattern of exposed beams of dead wood. The floor of the alley consisted of tightly laid square stones. She saw only a few plants that had managed to make their way to the surface. She bent down and touched a small white flower that was bent over and sticking out between the cobblestones. A tiny amount of healing magic flowed into the plant. She straightened up again and the flower opened once more.

The people of Mulnirsheim were out and about in the alleyways. Simply dressed men and women, as well as a few children playing. One young woman immediately stood out from the crowd for Princess Ulmenglanz. Dressed in black skin-tight clothing, she crept through the alleyway, bent over close to the wall. She jumped up to a window on the second floor and swung herself up onto the window frame. From there she jumped up to a window on the second floor, held on to a window frame with one hand and swung herself upwards. Her outstretched hand didn't quite make it to the next window frame and waved briefly in the air. The woman waved her hands frantically and barely managed to hold on to the window frame again as she fell. She tried to push herself up again with her feet, but slipped off. Now she struggled frantically under the window. Plaster trickled down under her feet.

The dryad clasped her hands behind her back and sauntered beneath her. "You do realize that your feet are barely two steps off the ground? Just let yourself fall."

The woman stopped fidgeting and looked down: "I could break my legs!"

Ulmenglanz rolled her eyes and raised her arms: "Just let yourself fall, I'll catch you."

"You don't look like you could hold me."

"I'm stronger than I look."

"Sure?"

The dryad lowered her arms and turned to leave. "It was just an offer. I'll ask around the main street to see if anyone bigger and stronger wants to help. From what I could see, the bigger streets are crawling with revenants."

The woman squeaked and then quickly called her back: "Wait! Help me down. I don't want the other players to see me like this."

As soon as the dryad was under her again, she let herself fall. Ulmenglanz caught her by the waist and slowed her down so that she hit the cobblestones with hardly any force.

"Thank you."

"What exactly were you looking for up there? Swallows' nests?"

"What? No. I’m practicing parkour. I'm great at it in real life, but my dexterity here in the game is obviously too low. I thought twelve was enough, but that was far too optimistic. I'll only get the skill for it if I can convince the AI that I deserve it.

The dryad nodded slowly, even though she hadn't understood a word. "I take it this is a climbing technique?"

"The best! This will make me extremely agile." She dramatically raised her fist to the sky: "I'm going to be the best thief in VR!"

The dryad princess didn't sound impressed: "Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but wasn't it always a tradition for thieves not to tell anyone that they are thieves?"

"I don’t mean a thief who steals things. Every adventuring party needs a thief. Someone who finds and disarms traps. Or attacks enemies by surprise from ambush."

"Then why didn't you choose dungeon-scout as a class? They lack pickpocketing, but they're better at finding traps."

The thief flinched. She waved her hands in the air as she called up a menu. "Why didn't I see that? There's a whole bunch of new classes popping up. What's a master of the dark arts supposed to be? Plus three new types of scouts, Dark Paladin and... Clown? Can they just add new classes like that?"

"The voice of the world alone can permit new classes. In the history of the world, it has always done so when the balance of order was disturbed and new paths had to be taken. A new plague has begun. So it is only natural that some new classes will be added."

"World voice?" The thief raised an eyebrow. "Only the NPCs call the AI that."

"I'm a local, if that's what you mean."

"But then how do you know so much about character classes?"

"The revenants who fought on our side were very talkative."

The thief visibly lost interest as soon as she learned that Ulmenglanz was an NPC. "I'd better find another terrain to practice on then. Maybe I'll practice the basics again first. Four-point landings, rolling and precision jumps." She walked to the end of the alley in the direction she had come from.

Shaking her head, the dryad turned around and walked in the other direction. She didn't make it five steps when a shrill cry of terror rang out behind her. She sighed and looked back. The thief stood trembling at the mouth of the alley and peered around the corner. The dryad walked back to her: "What else is there now?"

"Monster! There's a giant troll in the middle of the city!"

The dryad pushed past her. The wider road was designed for wagon traffic. There was indeed a troll standing in the middle of the road. Over three steps tall with the usual green warty skin, short legs and more muscle in its upper body than would be needed for a creature twice its size. Thick belts stretched around his chest. He also wore an iron collar. The dryad looked at him calmly, then turned to the thief: "Have you never seen a troll wagon before?"

"Troll wagon? What are you talking about?"

"What do you revenants actually learn before you come here?"

The thief crossed her arms: "I read the info file." She hesitated. "For the most part. I've at least skimmed the important stuff."

"Well, our mages have discovered that trolls are particularly sensitive to certain mind-control spells. After the troll raids near the troll swamps became rampant, an army of almost all the mind-control mages on the continent marched there. All those who could not flee fast enough, and trolls are very reluctant to flee, were dominated and given a yoke collar. This makes the spell permanent. They can't be used for much, but they can pull wagons really well. One troll replaces about four oxen. They are also more frugal and easier to maintain. Trolls prefer meat, but can also live on practically all plants. They have no diseases and heal wounds in minutes."

The thief looked at her in disbelief: "You've got to be kidding me. When is that supposed to have happened?"

"About fifty years ago? Wait till you see one of the troll palanquins. Two trolls carrying a war palanquin or the royal palanquin. No idea if they can even get through a town. Probably only on the main roads. Even though I don't really like dead wood carvings, the High King's palanquin is really impressive. Masterful carvings, inlays, gold and copper... I hope I see it here again sometime. It only passed through the Border Forest twice, when High King Cariolus made his rounds through the realm."

The thief peeked around the corner again: "Sounds fascinating. Short version: trolls are harmless?"

"Trolls in town or harnessed to a wagon are harmless. When in doubt, see if they are wearing a metal collar. Free trolls are still among the most dangerous monsters you'll find on the road."

The revenant nodded and ran off without another word of thanks. The dryad shook her head and walked after her a little. As soon as the narrow alleys became streets, she saw more and more of the annoying revenants. She moved back into the narrower alleyways, where mostly locals moved about.

Stones under their feet, walls around them. The sky was barely visible between the three-storey buildings. She trudged on. The locals moved out of her way.

After a while, the alley opened up into an open square with an active construction site. She looked around, looking for a safe way through the many people carrying materials and hurrying about. The dryad stopped. She had never seen people building a house before, but this struck her as unusual. Humans weren't usually this hectic. She stopped a construction worker who sprinted past her with a bucket of mortar. He simply tried to push past her, but she stood in the way, smiling kindly. "Hey, I've got to get through here."

"Forgive me, stranger. I'd just like to ask a question."

"What is it?"

"What are you building here? And why are you in such a hurry?"

The man put down his bucket and wiped the sweat from his brow. A gesture included the construction site. "We need more accommodation for all the revenants that are suddenly appearing everywhere. Baron Othello has ordered the construction of numerous new inns. The bonuses he promised us if we finish quickly are insane."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The dryad sighed: "Gold. It's always about gold. Thank you, I won't interrupt any further."

The construction worker looked around quickly and then leaned forward conspiratorially: "They say that if the revenants log out inside a safe room inside an Inn, they reappear there later. Instead of just on the spawn points as usual. This spreads them out instead of constantly clogging up the main streets. Even with the new spawn points. Everyone benefits from this."

"New spawn points? I've never heard of new spawn points."

The man shrugged his shoulders, picked up his bucket and hurried on.

Ulmenglanz looked after him and then weaved her way through the piles of wooden beams and the construction workers hurrying around.

A block away, her path was blocked by another building site. Here, however, the work had come to a standstill while a dozen men and women huddled around a spot on the ground. Annoyed, she pushed her way through until she could see what was upsetting everyone. A man was lying on the ground between splintered pieces of wood. His leg had a clear bend in the shin area, indicating a double fracture. Two men tried to straighten the leg while two others held the screaming man on the ground. Despite a belt strapped around his thigh, he was still bleeding. The dryad concentrated on her mana reserves. She felt just enough for a light healing spell. It wouldn't be enough to fix the leg. She whistled through her fingers. The workers around her turned and the chaos of conversation quieted for a moment. Before any annoying questions could arise, she straightened up: "Out of the way! I'm a healer!"

She pushed herself forward, scolded the man who had just started to aggravate the internal injuries by shifting the bones all wrong, and got down on her knees. She placed her hand on the wounded man’s chest and concentrated. His screaming stopped in surprise as she numbed his pain. She pulled a dagger from her belt, cut his pants fully open, tightened the belt, straightened the bone with practiced grips and applied a bandage. She placed her hand on his chest again and grimaced. She looked around and quickly identified who among the bystanders was in charge. An older man, who stroked his long gray beard with concern and by now had sent most of the bystanders back to their work. She searched his gaze: "His bones are splintered. Splinters and sharp bone ends have damaged numerous blood vessels. He is bleeding internally. If I loosen the belt, he'll bleed to death. If I don't, his leg dies. I no longer have enough mana to heal him. You have to get a healing potion or another healer. Fast."

The man nodded reassuringly to her: "Don't worry. I already sent one of our journeymen out to buy a healing potion immediately after the accident. Normally we always have one on the building site for emergencies, but we used it yesterday to heal a carpenter who had a roof tile fall against his back. He was lucky that it only damaged his spine, but didn't sever it."

The dryad nodded gravely. A severed spine was one of the most difficult injuries to heal. It required one or even several extra strong healing potions or special elixirs. The only healers who could heal such a wound with magic were in the capital.

She kept an eye on the injured man's vital signs until a boy came running up. He slowed down, braced his hands against his knees and struggled to catch his breath. The foreman held out his hand impatiently: "Give me that, Mikhail."

The boy continued to gasp for air, but shook his head. "Merchant... had... none..."

"Then why didn't you just go to the next one? Or the mages' guild. They're more expensive, but what the hell."

The boy just shook his head, panting, then slowly caught his breath: "Sold out. Sold out everywhere. The revenants are buying up everything. Potions of all kinds, but especially healing potions. Everyone wants one. The merchants have already raised the prices several times."

"How much?"

"The simplest healing potion, brewed by a journeyman, costs fifty gold pieces."

The foreman flinched. His bushy eyebrows did their best to cover his high forehead: "Fifty? Before the plague, it was five. How can we afford that? What happens if someone gets hurt?" He looked down at the injured worker: "What about Dalen?"

Princess Ulmenglanz intervened: "Haven't you been able to find another healer or cleric?"

"There are only three real healers in the whole city. Revenants hired them and went out with them. Healers have few opportunities to level up in the city."

The dryad narrowed her eyes for a moment, then nodded: "In the long run, that's a good thing. The revenants will powerlevel the healers. After that, they can use much stronger healing spells. In return, the revenants have a much better chance of surviving their first adventures. I just wonder where they got so much gold for healing potions so quickly."

The foreman spat out, "Pah, I can tell you that. They march from the spawn point straight to the Temple of Peituwin and trade those weird green translucent rectangles they summon out of empty air for good gold."

"So, healers aren't available, but the clerics of the local temples won't just run off like that, will they?"

The foreman looked questioningly at the journeyman, who had almost completely recovered by now. Ulmenglanz nodded at him, impressed. That required a clearly above-average constitution. The boy noticed the questioning looks: "What? Oh, the clerics. The cleric of Peituwin only works for gold and is busy keeping the onslaught of revenants under control. I didn't even get into Pallandur's temple because of all the adventurers, Gjodsel's clerics are all out in the fields, trying to stop the madmen from burning down the crops and all three of Lieselotte's clerics are out settling disputes. No one in her temple knew exactly where they were."

"Are there any other temples with clerics in the city?"

The journeyman shook his head: "Only if you think Cofefe's cleric can help you."

Ulmenglanz just grimaced: "Cofefe's clerics have no magic whatsoever. And no other useful skills either."

The foreman just laughed tightly: "Ha, we could try to find the secret temple of Llurd, of course."

The injured man couldn't help but laugh, but this ended in a loud groan as he moved his leg.

Ulmenglanz put a reassuring hand on his chest, but could do no more. "The painkilling spell has stopped working. His wound is still bleeding. I'll have to change the bandage soon. I've already loosened the strap a bit, otherwise his leg would have died due to the lack of blood flow." She briefly considered lying, but immediately rejected the idea. The man deserved to know the truth and be prepared for it: "Too many veins are damaged. If we don't get magical healing here in the next hour, you'll bleed to death."

The last remnants of the laughter disappeared. He paled a little more, but then just nodded with a fixed expression on his face. "Can you... can you tell my wife Magga? Tell her... tell her that I love her."

The foreman straightened up: "We still have one option." He raised his voice and declaimed loudly: "If only a hero would appear who could heal poor Marvin..."

A red exclamation mark briefly lit up on his forehead... and then went out again.

Quest "Heal Marvin!" has been added to the Adventurers' Guild questbook.

Ulmenglanz saw the same message from the World Voice. "There are dozens of active quests. It will take too long for someone to find them even at the best of times." She stood up from her crouched position beside the wounded man, "I'll look for a healer myself."

"There is none. We've just clarified that!"

"Not a native. In the legends, there were also healers among the revenants. Not many, but they do exist. Healers, clerics, or simply one who carries a healing potion. I'll bring one here, if I have to carry him."

She hurried off through the alleyways. When she reached the main street, she looked around. She climbed onto the pedestal of a statue and used the elevated position to get an overview. Farmers on their way to market, craftsmen, guardsmen from the city watch, people of all ages. Humans, elves and the occasional dwarf shuffled about.

She hurried towards the first group that stood out from the crowd. A troll, a scandalously scantily clad mage, an anubian and a motley bunch of humans of various classes. The dryad stood in the way of the group and tried to see who had the say. The anubian eyed her and let out a suggestive howl: "Hellooo. What brings a daughter of the woods to town?"

The Anubian had well-groomed black fur and looked at her with a lecherous but friendly puppy dog look. Still, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something about this guy was... creepy. Wrong. But maybe it was just because he was a revenant. She pulled herself together: "Greetings, heroes from distant lands. I would like to draw your attention to an urgent quest. Just a few alleys away lies an injured construction worker. If you have a healing potion or healing magic, you can quickly earn a few experience points."

The mage pushed herself forward: "A dryad. Fascinating. But I don't see a quest giver sign."

"The quest is in the Adventurers' Guild quest book, but the patient is dead before you can get it there. If you fulfill the quest objective, it counts as such."

The mage tossed back her long hair: "Nice try. We're supposed to follow an unknown NPC into the narrow alleys. On a quest that only consists of healing another NPC. This can only be an ambush."

Princess Elmenglanz blinked: "What? No!"

The Anubian put his hand on his weapon: "She's right. This is not a challenge. So it can't be a quest either."

The dryad threw up her hands in annoyance and stepped aside. The group marched past her. She questioned other groups and individual revenants. None had a cleric or healing magic with them. Most pushed past her without a word and paid her no mind. They were already on quests or wanted to do something else or meet friends. Not even the green skin of the dryad healer attracted any attention worth mentioning in the confusion.

She sat down on the steps at the entrance to the house and bowed her head. She didn't know the construction worker. Nevertheless, she felt responsible for him. She had started to help him. She had given him hope. False hope that was now crumbling. She had only prolonged his suffering. At this moment, the bandages were getting wetter and redder. Blood was flowing in the tissue of his leg where it had no business to be. The gangrene was probably already starting. Rested, she could have healed him effortlessly. But she wasn't. She was tired. So tired.

"Are you all right?" She looked up. Bending over her stood a young elf in a white robe. The bottom edge was stained with mud. His smile was infectious. But not infectious enough. She just twisted the corners of her mouth wearily, "Nothing's wrong." She scrutinized him a little more closely. His magic staff was covered in copper runes and had a ruby tip. A battle wizard. Probably specialized in fire magic. She shook her head, "You're a battle mage, not a healer. You can't help." She hesitated, "Unless you have a healing potion to spare?"

The elf mage shook his head and looked at her worriedly: "Are you hurt?"

"No, but someone is dying a few streets away."

"You're a dryad, aren't you?"

"Keenly noticed." She forced a faint smile onto her face.

"Then you have mana with an affinity for healing. You're wearing the golden bracelets of a healer. What's the problem?"

"My magic is exhausted. I can't do anything."

"That must be bad." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He considered: "I don't have a healing potion, but we could try casting the spell together. You create the matrix and I'll feed my mana into it."

"That doesn't work."

"Magicians know a ritual for this. I've never tested it in practice, but this would be a perfect opportunity."

The dryad opened her eyes and stood up hastily. "Let's go then!"

She led him to the construction site. He cleared the area around the already unconscious worker and drew a large circle around him with a piece of golden chalk. He and Ulmenglanz sat down on either side of the injured man with their legs crossed. The elf pulled out a knife, cut his left hand lightly and motioned for her to do the same. She hesitated: "A blood companion ritual? Normally it's customary to invite your partner to dinner beforehand. Then an evening of wild dancing, honey wine and intense..." She broke off when he stuttered and tried to say something. Then she continued teasingly: "I don't even know your name."

The elf's long ears turned red at the tip. "I... Legolias. Legolia's Firebrand. A blood ritual is the quickest way to synchronize our auras. We could also try a longer meditation..."

The dryad waved it off and cast a guilty look at the injured man: "Forget it. That was inappropriate." She scratched her hand and the two clasped hands. The elf placed a finger on the golden ritual circle and the line began to sparkle. After a few deep breaths, the air around them also began to sparkle.

The dryad breathed in and out deeply. The air tasted slightly metallic. Her eyebrow raised slightly, "You're saturating the air around us with mana?"

"That's the only way. At least the only one I know. The method is extremely ineffective. I'll lose all my mana so you can cast a healing spell." He waited a while longer, then nodded as his supply of magic was depleted. "Do it."

She drew air and magic deep into her lungs, placed her free hand on the injured man and cast a healing spell. His face contorted in a coma of pain as the bones in his body rearranged themselves and splinters were pulled into place. The veins healed and the bones were joined together in a makeshift fashion. The sparkle went out before the wounds on the surface were completely closed. The foreman, who had been watching the two nervously, handed her pieces of wood and bandages. She changed the bandage and then applied a splint. The elf mage helped her, even though his hands were shaking. She concentrated and then nodded: "The internal injuries are closed. The rest will heal on their own or he can see a healer in a few days when one is available again. Thank you." She looked at his trembling hands, "Are you alright?"

"I'm all right. I've used up all my mana reserves in one go. I'm sure I'll feel better again in a few minutes."

Both looked up as a message from the world voice appeared in their field of vision:

Quest: "Heal Marvin!" (completed)

Reward: 5 XP

Ulmenglanz winced at the ridiculously small reward and waited for the mage to protest. He grimaced briefly. Then he laughed: "Of course. No attack, no ambush, not even a few stray cats to disturb me during the complex ritual. It's a wonder there was a reward at all."

"Aren't you mad? You won't be able to do magic all day. You can hardly start another quest with that."

He waved it off: "I was planning to take on one of the easy quests near the town. But then I'll just have a look at the town today. I'm in no hurry. Most of us want to level up as quickly as possible to be the first to get to the important world quests. I think that's the wrong tactic. I want to get to know this world better. Its inhabitants, its secrets... There's still time for combat and quests." He stood up. "It was an honor to help. Perhaps we'll meet again sometime?"

She smiled at him, "I hope so. I take it you've already joined the guild?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll leave a message there when I'm in town."

"Unfortunately, that probably won't often be the case, since you're a dryad." He waved to her as he left.

She looked after him. Only when he was out of earshot did she reply: "I'm not so sure about that."

Then she set off again to finally find a place with direct sunlight. Maybe she could climb up one of the larger buildings?