I was in a tower, in the middle of a ghost town. It was impossible for anyone to be there. Despite the killer gorillas and locked doors. Hell proved me wrong, someone was indeed there.

I was frozen, my foot still on the piece of broken glass that had given away my presence. Yav - as soon as he heard the voice - crossed the wooden shelves that blocked the view in the direction it was coming from. He reappeared just as quickly, his body still in the shelf and his head out, looking at me.

"I've got good news and bad news," he told me, with his usual cool demeanor.

"Speak up!" I whispered, but in an almost aggressive tone. I was under pressure.

"The good news is that the guy who's there isn't in a condition to be a threat to you," he began.

"But?" I pressed.

"But he's half-baked," he said next.

"Baked?" I was still whispering.

"He doesn't have much time left among us," explained Yav.

"Is he going to die? Is he injured?" I asked.

"He's a wannabe Drifter. He hasn't paid his debt in a while," the ghost replied.

"What, he's a threat then?!" I was stressed and my voice was rising with each vague response from Yav.

"I hear you, who are you?" asked the voice.

I froze again. This voice sounded weak and worn.

"I'm just a guy who got trapped by the monsters outside," I replied.

"If you're just trapped, you're lucky. No one survives these things," he said in a calmer tone.

I started to move forward, then turned right at the end of the small corridor formed by the shelves. There, sitting against a wall on the ground, was a man. He was holding his stomach and looking at me. He was dressed in gray fabric pieces, which looked like curtains. He had long hair and a beard. What struck me the most was the extreme whiteness of his skin.

"What, have you seen a ghost?" he asked me, seeing that I was not moving.

"Sorry, I didn't expect to find anyone here," I simply said.

"Neither did I," he replied.

I looked around, but it was just him. Some light came from a hole in the wood blocking a window.

"Is there a way out?" I asked.

"Why would you want to? The monsters are waiting outside, and then there's the poison in the tunnels. You're done for. Enjoy your last abode," he said in an ominous tone, with a smile revealing yellowish and slightly pointed teeth.

"I'm not even sure he'll make it until the end of the month," Yav told me, watching this spectacle.

I wanted to check his profile, and my screen suddenly appeared.

"PLAYER PM0VWS311 - LVL 31 - 110/110HP - CLASS: MAGE"

A Mage? What does a Drifter Mage look like?

"What are you looking at?" the Mage asked me.

"My name's Yav, and you?" I asked, without answering his question.

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, then took a few seconds to give me his name.

"A... Allen... Yeah, that's it. Allen," he said after a lot of hesitation.

"He's baked," Yav commented.

"Pleased to meet you, Allen. How long have you been here?" I asked next.

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"I don't remember. A long time, that's for sure," he said.

"And do you know what those things are outside, those gorillas?" I questioned him further.

"The things... Gorillas... Yeah, those are the merchants' machines, I think," he replied.

"But how do they work? They were all broken," I continued.

He started to hold his head, then raised his voice as he swayed. "The... The... The roots... The damn roots control everything..."

"Avoid talking to him too much, the more he searches his memories, the more unstable he will become. Remember, he's not alone up there anymore," Yav explained.

His explanation matched Allen's unsettling reaction. I backed away and started searching the room for clues.

The roots control everything? So I did see right, it's the roots that are using the carcasses of the robots.

I started to open the drawers of the small wooden desk I had seen earlier, if there were any useful information to be found, they were surely in a piece of furniture like that. All I found were notes about trade deficits, interests, tariffs. I didn't understand anything.

"So these were indeed tunnels used by Merchants. The question is, why? and why abandon the place?" Yav asked, thoughtfully, looking at the paper over my shoulder.

"Merchants only think about their PP, the answer must simply be there. The cost was greater than the gain," I replied, whispering again.

"I know. My question was: why didn't they see the point of staying anymore? They abandoned buildings, furniture that looked in good shape, and even robot carcasses? A Merchant wouldn't miss out on that," Yav explained.

"The roots? Or even Drifters?" I proposed.

"Roots are opportunistic, they saw a hole, they filled it. No, it's something else," Yav said.

I didn't need to worry about anything else. The killer robots controlled by roots, and the poison were enough. I continued to search the desk. I opened every compartment, looked at every paper to see if I could discern something interesting.

"Wait, go back, the paper there, yes that one," Yav told me.

I put it on the desk for him to read, while I continued to search.

"I think I'm starting to understand," he told me.

"Share," I replied.

"Can you lay out all the sheets that were with this one?" He asked me.

I put the sheets in question, he read them quickly. Then he looked at me.

"So?" I asked.

He took some time to answer.

"This place was a hub used by a group called 'The Merchant Guild'." The ghost said.

"The Merchant Guild? Is it a merchant organization?" I asked.

"I imagine, but I don't know, I don't find any other mention of them except on this paper. It is indicated that a tax is levied on each exchange, and on each passage, for the Guild. It was this Guild that seemed to manage this place." The ghost then said.

"Maybe that's just it, the reason for its abandonment. The Guild disappeared and the players here could no longer manage without them." I proposed this theory without really believing it.

"That doesn't explain why they would have abandoned valuable things." Yav then said.

"Mm... And you found something else?" I asked.

"Just one thing, a strange detail. On the customs system, there is mention of different districts. And of the customs barrier that also serves as protection against intruders." He said.

"Customs barrier? I think I saw a paper that mentioned that, wait." I started to rummage through the papers I had put aside.

There it was, a red stamp marking a special authorization. I began to read the title of the page: "The six frogs of the pond."

"The pond, I've seen this mention a bit everywhere. I'm almost sure that's the name of this place!" Yav exclaimed.

Good, we're making progress.

"Here, read all this and look for a mention of these six frogs. I'll take care of these pages." I pointed to the ghost.

We were going to unravel the mystery of this place.

"Hey, what are you doing? Talking to yourself? You freak, are you turning into a Drifter, is that it?" Said Allen, the Mage, still sitting on the ground.

Damn, this is not the time.

"Yav, you told me he wasn't going to be a problem!" I held the ghost accountable.

"Calm down, we're not in much danger for now, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to stay here for long. These damn semi-Drifters are unstable." The ghost indicated. Then he nodded at me, indicating to answer him.

"I'm trying to find a place to lie down to rest, that's why I'm making noise, I'm moving the sheets." I told the mage.

Yav looked at me with a satisfied look, probably glad I had lied.

"Ok, but make less noise!" The Mage replied, raising his voice.

He was making much more noise than me. Not caring at all about the chance of seeing one of the creatures that roamed below arriving. I returned to reading the sheets in front of me.

"Good idea not to stir him up more by telling him we were planning to leave here." The ghost told me.

I nodded, remaining focused on the letters in front of me.

I wasn't reading, I just let my gaze slide over the words. I was looking for mentions of the pond, the frogs, the Guild, or the poison. But there, my eyes passed over a word I hadn't thought of, but was just as important: antidote.

The sheet I had in my hands didn't seem as formal as the others. It looked more like the personal notes of an important person.

I read it carefully: "A supply problem? No, it's a disguised attack. Someone is trying to dry up the pond. Soon the frogs will no longer defend us, we must leave before being devoured by our own defense system." The letter said. I felt like I was reading a coded message. But I got the idea.

I turned to Yav. "Do you think these frogs are creatures that are still around here?" I asked him.

He turned to me, then said: "No, I found out what it is."