Andy and Kermit made their way through the back streets, avoiding any rioters. They arrived at the lounge as the sun began to set. Security was a bit tighter to get into the royal compound, but the guards recognized them and waved them through.

“Where’ve you been?” Arlene asked as the pair walked through the double doors into the warm lamplight of the lounge. “We’ve got a whole stack of mail to sort through!”

“Arlene!” Kermit cried as he ran toward her. “Arlene, we have to save PL!”

“The boar?”

“Yes!”

Andy spoke up. "They're keeping him on the other side of town, and it sounds like they're planning something… bad for him. We're not sure what."

"You've been away trying to steal a pig?" Arlene asked, incredulous.

"We're trying to help our friend," Kermit clarified. "And we need your help. We're not sneaky enough."

Arlene paused. "I need to talk to you," she said, pointing to Andy.

Andy nodded, and the two stepped out into the hall, assuring Kermit that it would only be a minute.

"What is going on with you?" she asked. "You took Kermit across town to steal a pig? What is that? We've got work to do. We've got offers to consider. We need to be ready for the council tomorrow."

"Look," Andy said. "He's really attached to that boar, and whatever they did to the boar, he looked awful up there in that cage… shaking and shivering. He was terrified."

Arlene looked in Andy's eyes. What was she trying to discern?

"How would you like it if you were forced to fight in the arena for the entertainment of nobles, and then paraded around in a cage afterward?"

"Well, I suppose I've experienced half of that, and I didn't love it," Arlene said. "Look, I don't think it's bad that you want to save the boar. I'm just caught off guard and surprised. I've been trying to think through our next few moves, waiting around on the two of you, and you barge in with a new side quest all of a sudden."

"Think about it this way," Andy said, "Wouldn't it be kind of awesome to have a giant boar on our team?"

Arlene paused. She was lost in thought for several moments.

Andy knew that she cared deeply for Kermit, but she was in a strategic headspace. Hopefully the tactical promise of a giant boar was enough to win her agreement.

"Well..." she started. She paused again. "Fine."

Before Andy could say anything else, she opened the double doors and the two of them reentered the lounge.

"Listen," she said to Kermit, who was eagerly waiting. "We'll help you save the pig."

"Yes!"

"But here's how it's got to go: we need to wait until night. Like night, night. That way I'll be able to use Blend into Shadow to its maximum potential. I have no idea what things are like in Cresthaven at night in the noble district, or the district across the bridge, and I'd feel better if I could be practically invisible at all times."

"Ok," Kermit said. "So in a little while?"

"Exactly, in a little while. And until then, we've got some decisions to make. We're going to do our homework first, before we play. I want to spend our dinner tonight getting extremely clear on how we're going to handle the council tomorrow."

"And then we go help PL after?"

"Yes," Arlene said.

Kermit looked toward Andy, smiling.

Andy couldn't help but smile himself.

After a few minutes, Brea opened the double doors to announce dinner, asking the three to follow her to the dining room.

Arlene gathered up all of the mail they had received on the way out.

"I hope you have all had a restful day," Brea said, leading them down the hall and through a doorway into a modest room with a large dinner table, set with silverware, water, wine, and a basket of breads. "Please have a seat and we'll have the first course out very soon. You're going to receive the very finest cuisine that Cresthaven has to offer."

"This city has lots of good food," Kermit said. "I really like the zah! We saw Ultimate Pete today in the parade and we got try one of his–"

"I'm sure the junk food that the street vendors hand out is tasty," Brea said, "but that's not true dining. Our meals here in the Noble Court are nutritious, delicious, and artful."

Everyone found their seats and Brea bowed slightly, exiting the room.

"I'm sure dinner is going to be good, but I'm not a fan of the classism," Arlene said as she dropped the pile of letters on the table in front of her. She began sorting them into piles, one in front of her, one in front of Andy, one in front of Kermit. "It's been like that around here today. They really think they're something exceptional here, huh?"

"It's pretty clearly a two-tiered system here," Andy said. "We were among the commoners for the parade, and they were getting pretty rowdy. Sentiment is generally pretty low regarding the nobility, it seems."

"Good to know I'm not alone," Arlene said.

"Why do you care so much about pleasing them then?" Kermit said. "If the nobles gave you homework, but you don't like them, then why do your homework?"

Arlene paused.

"It's because whether or not I like them, we need to play this game for the time being in order to access the power to make a difference."

Confusingly, Kermit nodded at the same time that he said "I don't understand."

"You want to find your brother right?"

A spark returned to Kermit's eye. "Yes, more than anything."

"We're probably going to need a lot of help doing that," Arlene said. "And we're probably going to need to be a lot more powerful. The nobles here can provide help for us if we're on their good side, and the guild masters can give us access to powerful feats."

"And that will help us even if we don't like them?"

"Yes," Arlene said. "Once we're properly equipped and powerful enough, then maybe we can have our disagreements with the rulers of Cresthaven more publicly."

Kermit nodded.

"Alright," Andy said. "When we're choosing our first offers to accept, we need to keep in mind: our main goal is finding Millford."

"Yes!" Kermit said.

"And we don't know exactly what that involves," Andy continued, "but it will more than likely involve travel, and travel will more than likely require combat. I'd love it if we all learned how to fight, at least a little. But in any case, we need to plan our progression as a party, and we'll need to stick together. That's the fastest route toward success."

"Wow," Arlene said. "I'm impressed. I thought I was the min-maxer."

***

The first course came out: roasted vegetables in a tangy, spicy sauce served on sticks with chunks of seasoned fried chicken. Kermit decided he'd prefer to eat each piece by hand.

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The group ate them as they sorted through their offers. Kermit's letters became increasingly covered in sauce.

Andy received guild offers from the fighters, monks, berserkers, and warlocks. They each promised different assets in addition to a class level for completing an induction quest, a difficult errand that prospective guild members ran for the guild in order to demonstrate sincere commitment. The fighters promised a fine weapon, the monks promised a secluded meditation space, the berserkers promised glory in life and death (it was unclear what that meant), and the warlocks included the cryptic promise of 'inconspicuous but very real social power, along with utter discretion.'

Arlene received letters from the fighters and rogues. The alchemists and paladins had, for whatever reason, decided against extending an offer, but her performance in the cooking challenge as well as her bravery in battle had apparently earned her recognition from the farmers and berserkers, who extended an offer despite her lack of level zero feats in their classes.

Kermit got the most offers: druids, farmers, clerics, and sorcerers, along with berserkers, fighters, rogues, builders, and enchanters.

In addition to guild fighters, the three of them also received a joint letter from the duke, who invited them to complete a quest for him. The letter was short:

New Arrivals,

Your impressive performance in the Arena has attracted the attention of the Duke of Cresthaven. The duke is always on the lookout for powerful heroes who may benefit the kingdom, and would like to offer you short-term employment. The quest involves retrieving some valuables stolen from the duke. The difficulty level should be low to medium. In addition to any levels you may receive from the quest, the duke will compensate you generously. Satisfactory performance may result in further employment.

–N.C.

"So, looks like we have lots of guild letters, and a joint job offer from the duke," Arlene said, summing up the discussion so far.

"Do we really have a choice?" Andy asked. "As much as I would rather join a guild first, how can we turn down the duke? Don't you think that would have political consequences for us?"

"I'm not sure," Arlene said. "I'm really not sure."

"Can we do it second?" Kermit asked.

Arlene and Andy paused.

"Maybe," Andy said. "That's a good argument, actually. We could say that a guild job will make us more powerful and capable of handling the duke's mission successfully."

"I'm on board with that," Arlene said. "But which guilds should we consider?"

"I'm inclined toward the fighters," Andy said. "They have a good spirit, and their offerings seem the most pragmatic. Who doesn't want a fine weapon?"

"Me too," said Arlene.

"Me too," said Kermit.

Wait, what? Andy thought, looking at Kermit. He seemed nothing but sincere.

"Really?" Arlene asked.

"Yes!" Kermit said.

"I thought you wanted to be a chef," Arlene said.

"I do," Kermit said. "But I want to find Millford more. I don't like to fight. But you're right. I need to learn at least a little if we're going to ever find my brother."

Andy was impressed with the kid.

"Are you sure?" Arlene asked.

Kermit nodded. "At least just for this first level."

"So all three of us will either join the fighters or take the duke's mission," Andy said.

"Yes," Arlene said. "We can think on it a bit. At least now we have a basic plan. We can argue that a fighter level would benefit all of us, duke included, and then take his mission second."

After a few minutes, the main course arrived as night fell definitively on the city, the skyline visible through a small window in the dining room.

Brea arrived with a pitcher of lemon water and behind her two other wait staff carried in the dinner plates. The plates consisted of roasted green beans, exquisitely marinated steak tips, and mashed sweet potatoes, hearty and nutritious.

The group dug in.

***

"Now, about the pig," Arlene said. "What's the scoop?"

"Well," Andy said, "In the nighttime it should be pretty easy. They're keeping him in a stable on the other side of town. With the cover of darkness, we could probably bust him out. Security was minimal and the lock they used wasn't particularly heavy duty… I think we could bust it up with a rock or something."

Brea entered the room.

"How was it?" she asked. "Judging from your empty plates, pretty good, huh?"

"Amazing!" Kermit said enthusiastically.

"Well hang on for dessert, then," Brea said, picking up their plates and stacking them onto her arm. "It's going to be a good one."

"Actually," Arlene said, standing up, "we were thinking about getting out into the city for some fresh air."

"Oh," Brea said, frowning. "I'm afraid that won't be possible."

Andy's heart sank. They weren't allowed outside?

"What do you mean?" Arlene asked.

"I'm afraid there's a curfew. Unfortunately the festivities today got some people a little too excited and the guards have had to deal with rioting all evening, so they've demanded that all civilians remain indoors after nightfall. But don't worry, there's plenty here to keep you occupied, and if you'd like, you can visit the bar on the rooftop to get that fresh air you wanted."

"Are people in trouble?" Kermit asked.

"Some people are," said Brea, "but you don't need to worry about it at all, you're highly favored already by the nobility and the guild masters. You're not in trouble at all." She took the plates and disappeared into the hallway.

"I really hate the politics here," Arlene muttered once she was sure that Brea was gone.

"So we've got a curfew to contend with now," Andy said. "How should we handle it? By morning it might be too late."

"Does that mean we can't go now?" Kermit asked.

Arlene paused and thought for a moment.

"No, we're definitely going out tonight," Arlene said. "Fuck the curfew and fuck the nobility. I completely understand why they riot against these assholes."

Andy nodded. "Maybe you and I could go but leave Ker–"

"I want to help!" Kermit said. "PL is my friend and I need to be there when we break him out."

Andy thought for a moment. Kermit was probably right in more ways than one. It wouldn't be right to leave him here when he had so much at stake in the operation, and plus, PL would likely be more relaxed and cooperative in Kermit's presence.

"What do you think?" Arlene asked.

"I think Kermit comes along," Andy said.

Kermit beamed with pride and excitement.

***

They hung around the table until dessert arrived: mango cream pie. Andy suggested they take their time in order to avoid suspicion, so they ordered a second round of dessert, as well as some coffee.

Afterwards, the group headed back to the lounge down the hall to prepare to leave.

The lounge had a wide view of the city streets. Its huge window overlooked the main avenue and many of the elaborate structures of the noble district.

The courtyard below was completely evacuated, except for a line of guards preventing anyone from coming in. Out in the city streets, there were isolated small flames and smoke, commoners protesting, objects being thrown through windows.

Andy couldn't hear anything from below, but the scene he saw was chaotic. On the one hand, that was a bit scary, as the guards would be on high alert. On the other hand, it was a great distraction that would enable them to pass through the streets stealthily and unnoticed.

Kermit found a couch facing the great window overlooking the streets and began to jump on it, bouncing up and down in bored anticipation while Andy and Arlene headed to gear up.

Arlene picked up her bow and Andy reached for his sword, but then hesitated.

"Hey, uh, do you think we should go without weapons tonight?"

"Why would we do that?" Arlene asked.

"Well, this morning Brea didn't want me to take my sword out… I think it might be considered aggressive or confrontational or something. In any case it could attract a lot of attention from the guards, and I'd guess there's a lot of them out there tonight."

Arlene paused. "The riots are a great cover, though," she said. "The guards will be too distracted to bother us."

"I think it cuts both ways, actually," Andy said. "I think the guards will be on high alert, so if we are caught out past curfew, and we do have all our weapons, then we may be considered hostile. They might even assume we're rioting too… I don't like it, but I think the best move is to leave them."

"You may be right," Arlene said. "But Brea said we have gained a lot of favor with the nobility, don't you think that would go a long way? Couldn't we chalk it up to a misunderstanding if we were caught?"

"To an extent," Andy said. "But if we were caught with our weapons, I think that would be pushing our luck. Let's leave them behind so that we can retain whatever favor we have, and if we get busted, it won't be so dire."

Arlene sighed.

"Look, I've got Fluid Strike and Wallop. Both feats apply to unarmed strikes. It's not as good as a great sword and a longbow, but it's not nothing."

"Alright," she said. "Let's do this quietly, let's not attract attention, and let's certainly avoid combat at all costs. And let's be quick."

They left their weapons in the corner. Andy produced the cheap purple robes.

"What's that?" Arlene said.

"Event staff uniform," said Andy. "I don't know, maybe it will come in handy. In any case, it's a dark color, and it's a cloak, so Kermit and I should probably wear them in case we get separated from you. Could help with cover, or provide a cover story if we need one."

"Good thought," she said.

"Ready Kermit?" Andy asked.

Kermit nodded and bounced on the couch one last time, landing squarely on the floor, and scurried over to the door.

They headed down to the streets.