The blue-skinned merchant rose partially from his chair, sending it scraping back across the mosaic-covered ground. Surprise washed over his features and he splayed his hands out over the table. “Vivian. What are you doing? I’m in the middle of a meeting! This is most inappropriate. Remove them at once. You should not be bringing—”

“Master Mako, these visitors have come bearing a Harvester,” the clerk, whose name appeared to be Vivian, said, her tone terse. “They would like to sell it.”

The merchant froze mid-sentence. The expression on his face shifted at the flick of a switch and a welcoming smile split his features. “Ah, of course! The circumstances are a little unfortunate, but I would never be a poor guest to any soul who graced my doors. Please, come inside.”

Thoughts spun in Alex’s head like it had turned into a washing machine. He fought to keep his expression from revealing his thoughts.

You can’t be serious. She’s an Outworlder? How the hell was she in the Leaderboards, then? I thought Outworlders only showed up after the 3rd Initialization!

What’s she doing here? And what is she after?

Shit, could she recognize me?

No. That’s pretty unlikely, right? Unless she happened to use that identifying item on me back in the Nexus Point, my silhouette really shouldn’t be that recognizable… but I might be in trouble.

I’m supposed to be pretending to be an Outworlder, but I don’t know what they even really are.

Several seconds of uncomfortable silence ground by.

“You don’t mind, do you, Orchid?” Mako asked with the practiced smile of a car salesman. “I can assure you it will not interfere with our deal.”

“It’s your building. You can do what you want with it as long as you don’t try to stiff me on my Credits,” GoGently — or Orchid — replied. She did not sound nearly as okay with the situation as her words would have implied. Her gaze bore into Alex and Claire like she was trying to peel their skin away with her eyes. “But I was unaware that there were two more Outworlders in the area. What family are you from?”

“One that prefers not to air their laundry out in public,” Claire replied curtly. “We don’t want to waste any more time than we have to.”

“A sentiment I can assure you that we all share.” Mako adjusted his collar and nodded to the empty chairs in front of the desk. “Sit. Please.”

Alex and Claire moved to oblige the merchant. They sat down beside Orchid, who didn’t take her eyes off them for a second. Alex was tempted to scoot his chair away from the woman from keeping her from getting too good of a look at his face, but that would have been an insult at best.

At least I’m using the Band of Shadowed Shroud so my face is partially covered.

Mako cleared his throat and sat back down himself. “Well, then. I wouldn’t want to waste any time. Miss Orchid, have you decided on what you want in exchange for your offer yet? Will it just be Credits, or are you looking to purchase anything else?”

“I’m still thinking,” Orchid said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. “Feel free to help your new visitors. There’s no need to make them wait while I mull over your offer. It seems they wanted to sell you something.”

“That’s a kind offer, but we don’t need to intrude,” Claire countered. “We can wait. Don’t let us bother you.”

“There’s no reason to delay for my sake,” Orchid said. Her eyes narrowed. “We’re both customers here, and it’ll take me some time to figure out what I’m going to be purchasing. Don’t worry about me. I’m not interested in quarreling with the other families. We’re all here for the same reason, more or less… right?”

Orchid let the question hang in the air like a noose. It was clearly meant to be a trick question, but it didn’t work nearly as well when Alex had absolutely no idea what the Outworlder was talking about.

Claire sent Alex a questioning look — but it was more than that. The pointed glance was so obvious that the others couldn’t have missed it even if they’d been half blind. She’d exaggerated the motion on purpose.

Alex was confused for a moment before he suddenly realized what Claire was trying to do.

Ah. She’s trying to give us some mystery of our own. If Orchid and Mako are trying to figure out what family of Outworlders we’re from and who we are, their minds will automatically skip past the bit where they wonder if we’re Outworlders in the first place. It’s like sleight of hand. That’s genius.

I guess I have to play the part of the secretive boss. Shit. I should have watched more Godfather. How do I sound cool and mysterious?

“There’s only one thing in this world I care about, and it isn’t you or your family.” Alex thunked the Harvester down on the table between himself and Mako. “So long as you don’t stand in my way, you can do what you want.”

Big lofty goal. That seems like it should keep them distracted.

Mako lifted the Harvester from the table. He pulled a small metal disk from out of his pocket and set it on the coral desk before him, pressing down on a small indent in its center. There was a small click as three prongs jutted out from it, curling up like the claws of a bird.

The merchant set the Harvester on the claws, and a dull hum filled the room. Energy buzzed at the tips of the prongs and, with a pop, purple words scrawled themselves through the air above the humming metal marble.

[Field Boss] Mid-High Grade Initiate Core

Mako’s expression flickered for an instant, but it was impossible to tell exactly what emotion he’d felt.

“This isn’t half bad,” Mako said, leaning back and crossing his arms in front of his chest. “It’s only a Field Boss, of course. Not a bad find, but I fear it won’t be making either of us rich.”

The effect of his words didn’t quite hit home. While the merchant might have been an experienced salesman, it very quickly became evident that Orchid was not. Interest lit behind her eyes and she leaned forward, her gaze sharpening.

She didn’t say a word. It didn’t matter. Alex and Claire alike caught the motion. So did Mako. The merchant grimaced, but it was too late. The Core was obviously worth more than he had let on.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with something worthwhile,” Claire said.

Mako’s lips thinned. He definitely wasn’t happy with Orchid, but he didn’t say so much as a word to her. Mako just coughed into a fist and pressed the beds of his fingers together. “Did you shatter your soul in order to arrive on 274-50? I could arrange for a decent Visualization in exchange for this.”

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Shatter my soul? Is that something Outworlders have to do before they arrive here, like some form of balancing measure by the System? Finley did say that Natives were the ones with the most potential on this world… but the way Mako posed the question implied it was possible to get to Earth without breaking your soul.

Do I even want a ‘decent’ Visualization? Finley said they’re what people use to form their Mind Palace. If all the stuff I’ve built so far is the foundations, I don’t want to ruin all that work by using something that’s only average. I think I’d rather just have Credits so I can choose what I’m getting myself.

“I would prefer to be paid in Credits,” Alex said. He paused for a moment, then tilted his head to the side. “Unless your family is running low on them at the moment?”

Mako stiffened. “We are doing quite fine, and I can assure you that we will have no troubles paying for this core. If you wish to be paid exclusively in Credits, then I can offer you 50.”

“75,” Claire said without so much as a breath in between Mako’s words and hers.

“75?” Mako exclaimed, distraught. “This is just a mere core. It’s hardly worth—”

“A Field Boss core,” Claire corrected. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Perhaps, but—”

“I’ll accept your offer,” Orchid said abruptly, extending her hand. “Effective immediately.”

Mako’s eye twitched at the constant interruptions. He extended a hand to Orchid, and she grasped it. A shimmer of purple light passed between rings on each of their thumbs.

“It was a pleasure,” Mako said with a smile. “Our scouts have already identified a dungeon likely to possess this region’s Town Token. I will a map of it to you shortly. But, now that our business for the day is done, please—”

“80 Credits,” Orchid said.

They all stared at her.

“What?” Mako asked.

“80 Credits,” Orchid repeated, jerking her chin for the Harvester floating on the table.

“I — you — what? No! You can’t do that,” Mako sputtered, slamming his hands down on the coral table with a thud. “You don’t even have that many Credits!”

“I do now,” Orchid replied. “You just paid me a fair sum. I’m offering 80 Credits for that core. I can use it.”

“90 Credits,” Mako growled. “Watch yourself, Orchid. You do not want to make an enemy of me.”

Orchid let out a huff. She rose to her feet and her staff floated into the air by her side. She grabbed it, then lowered her wide-brimmed hat over her face. “All yours.”

With that, she swept out of the room.

What was that about?

Alex could hear Mako’s teeth grinding from across the table. He repressed the urge to bust out laughing.

“So,” Mako said, dragging the word out. “Perhaps we could ignore—”

“90 Credits,” Claire said. She extended her hand.

The merchant heaved a sigh and took Claire’s hand, giving it a shake. With his free hand, he reached out and plucked the Harvester from the clawed contraption. There was a high pitched whine and a stream of purple energy poured out of the Harvester, forming into a fingernail sized bead that the three claws clenched down upon.

Mako released Claire’s hand and gave the Harvester back to Alex.

“Ring?” Mako asked.

Alex and Claire stared at him blankly.

“Spatial Ring,” Mako said, his expression narrowing in annoyance. He beckoned impatiently. “Come on. We’re all busy people.”

Spatial Ring? The things both Orchid and Mako are wearing? Ah, shit. I don’t have one. What do I —

“Give us a clean one. No traces of the interaction,” Claire said. “We’d prefer that our passing goes unnoticed.”

Mako’s head tilted to the side. He studied them for several long moments, then shrugged. “Very well. That will be 10 Credits. System pricing. No negotiation.”

“Done,” Claire said. “So long as you don’t break your end of the deal. When we say ‘no traces’, we mean it.”

“Fear not,” Mako said with a wry smile. He waved a hand through the air like a magician performing a trick. A black ring materialized between his fingers and he extended his hand, palm up, to Alex. “Here.”

Alex took the ring and slipped it over his pointer finger.

A tremor of energy prickled against his skin. The moment he sent his attention toward the new piece of jewelry, dim gold words shimmered to life in the air above it.

Lesser Spatial Ring (Rare)

Bonded Effect: The Lesser Spatial Ring contains a 5 x 5 x 5 foot cube of extradimensional space folded within it. Inanimate objects and up to 1,000 Credits can be stored within this space.

Credits: 80

“It was a pleasure,” Alex said, rising from his chair.

“Don’t you want to see any more of my wares?” Mako asked. “Information, perhaps? Weapons? I have it all.”

“Another time, maybe,” Alex said with a small shrug. He had other things on his mind at the moment — and he wasn’t so sure he trusted Mako. Right now, he was more interested in actually answering a few questions rather than getting more of them. Making purchases when he didn’t know the value of what he’d just gotten was a dangerous move.

“In that case, please return another day,” Mako said. “We value your patronage greatly.”

Alex and Claire just nodded. They headed out of the room and down the stairwell, making their way through the still-crowded lower floor before stepping outside.

“Let’s find somewhere to stay for the night,” Claire suggested.

Alex couldn’t have agreed more. They kept to the side of the market square to avoid the thicker crowds as they headed toward the main street in search of an inn or lodgings.

As they walked past an alley at the edge of the square, Alex caught something out of the corner of his eye. Orchid stood within it, just a few feet away from them and cast partially in the shadow, watching him from under the brim of her large hat.

He and Claire ground to a halt.

“I didn’t have the Credits,” Orchid said.

Alex stared at her. “What?”

“The Credits I offered for your core. I didn’t have that many. I was just driving up the price. You’re welcome.”

Alex blinked in surprise, and Claire beat him to responding.

“Why?” Claire asked.

“A gesture of good will. I have a proposition for you. Something that I believe will be mutually beneficial,” Orchid replied, turning on her heel and starting into the alley. She paused several feet in and turned to look back at them. “I trust you’ll hear me out? The extra Credits I earned you should be more than worth the time I ask.”

Alex exchanged a glance with Claire. Their fake identities as Outworlders were tenuous at best, but if they could get any information from Orchid… they couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.

“You’ve got 10 minutes,” Claire said. She stepped into the alley after Orchid, and Alex followed after her. It was wide enough for the two of them to walk side-by-side.

“I won’t need that long. My offer is to the point. I—” Orchid’s eyes abruptly widened. She lifted her staff, pale blue power gathering at its large end. “Behind you!”

Something scuffed in the alley behind Alex. There was a wet thunk and he staggered forward as a force drove into his back.

He looked down in surprise.

What the hell?

A sword protruded from the center of his chest.

“No!” Claire yelled. She shoved Alex behind herself, but the alley behind them was empty. There was nobody there.

“Invisibility,” Orchid spat, driving her staff into the ground. A wave of frosty air rolled from its head and past Claire.

The form of a man appeared, rapidly covered in whitening frost crystals. He let out a hiss of pain, and staggered back, raising his hands to protect his face. Claire’s fist slammed into his stomach and the man doubled over. Blood splattered across her and the ground.

Black veins carved across her flesh and she drove her hand forward like a knife. It burst through the man’s neck, painting the wall behind him red.

Alex’s stomach felt cold. He pressed his fingers to the edge of the sword. They came back wet — and blinked.

“Don’t move a muscle. You aren’t dead yet,” Orchid barked, striding toward Alex and reaching for her side. “We can get a—”

Alex ignored her. He reached behind himself and found the sword’s handle. His fingers tightened around it and he gave it a tug, sliding the blade out of himself with a grunt.

The fluid on the blade wasn’t red.

It was black.

Alex held the sword up before him, then looked back to the dead man lying behind them in the alleyway. His chest squelched as black sludge dripped from the wound, sealing back over the hole until nothing but whole flesh remained.

A wave of dizziness threatened to choke him. It took every single scrap of strength he had to stay standing. Practically all his magical energy had evaporated, having been drained in mere instants — but the injury was gone.

Alex would have laughed if he’d had the energy to spare. Princess was still dead. Her powers had saved him.

Orchid ground to a halt before him, her mouth hanging slightly askew in disbelief as she stared at the now-sealed wound.

“How did you do that?” Orchid breathed in awe. “Who are you?”