7pm, January 20

  Leon, Vivi, and Pip. Those were the three we had saved. All three were siblings, along with Regen who’d made it back to Paelgard to alert us. None of them remembered just how they had gotten from a pitfall to the boss room, but all three confirmed that Honsol waking them up was the first thing they remembered since seeing Regen leave. Even the passage of several days seemed to escape them, as if they were in some deep coma during the whole ordeal. Still, I felt as if an immense weight was lifted from my shoulders as we walked out of the forest.

  Honsol interrogated them as we started walking down the path, but I didn’t join in, content to let Honsol deal with it. It took a little prodding before they revealed why they had even gone to Shardin in the first place, but he didn’t stop until the whole story was out.

  “Money.” Leon finally said. “I’d heard that Shardin had a massive treasure trove inside it.”

  “I didn’t see any treasure while I was up there.” Honsol frowned.

  “I’m pretty sure it was the flowers.” Leon said mirthlessly. “Their oil sells for a bit.”

  Honsol was silent for a second while he processed that. Far behind us the fire still raged, a hint of smoke upon the air. I didn’t personally mind of course, as I didn’t take the quest for money, but from the little I knew of Honsol’s financial troubles it was obvious he had several regrets.

  “Regardless.” He said once recovered. “Why not pick an easier location? Shardin isn’t exactly known as a beginner’s dungeon.”

  “That's what we’ve been doing all month.” Leon stared ahead at his two siblings. “But even with as much as I like them, Vivi and Cip can’t exactly earn their own food questing. Paying for four on the salary of two isn’t an amazing experience.”

  Pangs of sympathy ached in my chest at the story, but I stayed silent. There wasn’t really anyone in Paelgard who didn’t have the same issues. Only a select few earned money beyond what went to lodging, food, and especially equipment.

  “Why take the younger two then? Why not leave them in Paelgard?”

  “I can't just leave two young kids in that city.” Leon scoffed before considering something. “And… Well I mean even if they can’t fight too well they DO have hit points…”

  “Leon…” I said while Honsol nodded in understanding.

  “I’m not saying I put them in great danger of course.” Leon backpedaled. “But it doesn’t hurt them if they absorb a hit or two meant for me…”

  “It’s alright.” Honsol put his arm over Leon’s shoulder. “I’d do the same thing in your situation. I have a sister as well.”

  I rolled my eyes as they laughed together. Disengaging myself under the excuse of pathfinding, I pulled out my map and compass from my inventory. The trip had gone better than I had ever anticipated, and I was sure Elin would be ecstatic that I was able to succeed. Though as I reviewed what had happened in my mind I couldn’t shake the thought that Honsol had more than a small part in that success.

  Maybe forming a guild wouldn’t be as bad as I’d thought.

…

  I’ve never felt bored while journeying in Finkar.

  I didn’t know if that was just the game messing with my mind, or if I actually enjoyed it, but even in silence I found solace in the deep snowdrifts and massive surrounding mountains. They made me feel somehow safe, as if they protected the plateau from the worst Finkar had to offer. The npcs in Paelgard even called them ‘The Bastion’ or ‘The Wall’, and gave them the credit for their freedom and independence from the other nations farther down the pass.

  The storms that had previously plagued the plateau didn’t come on our way back, leaving us only with the deep snow left by them before to deal with. If this long period of meteorological peace meant that Paelgard was finally through the worst of it I didn’t know, but it did mean that adventurers could finally leave the city and do quests.

  We encountered a few of the waystations on the way back, but none of them were inhabited. The snow had at least fallen below the roofs of most of them, and now I could see that all of them had hatches set into the shingles for easy escape. I was glad to see that they’d all gotten out, though a large part of that was because I wouldn’t have to dig them out by hand. As we passed yet another I made a note to buy a shovel once we got back to the city.

  Without the storms the journey was much easier, and before the end of the third day of travel we were already in sight of Paelgard’s smokestacks once more. The roads had been relatively empty the whole way, and we only passed a few isolated parties on the road closer to the city. From them I confirmed my thoughts about the storms passing, along with the information that Paelgard was still relatively normal.

  Waves of relief washed over me when we finally walked through the city gate that night. Though it wasn’t boring the days of walking had definitely been tiring, and nothing sounded better than sinking into my soft bed back at Elin’s inn.

  The town itself was old and weathered, the buildings solidly built of grey stone bricks and red-orange tiles. It was located on a flattened cliff looking west over the rest of the world, though the clouds were so pervasive over the western skies as to make a solid floor stretching on to eternity. Several popular plazas overlooked this vista, though only extremely rarely could anyone make out the great forests far below the mountains. Hanging from nearing every wall and roof was tough blankets and quilts in warm colors and muted patterns, a crucial aspect of color to combat the naturally depressive appearance of stone and rock.

  The city contained three large forested parks filled with walking trails and unpaved plazas. The largest of these was called the Pelsken Forest, though it was less than a square mile in size. It was named such due to the Pelsken cathedral on its western edge, one of two rival religious institutions in Paelgard, the other being the Leceanth Church. The Pelsken church was where players respawned in the beta, though now it only contained leveling clerks and priests.

  The city streets were long and winding, some of them even making oval-like loops around the city. The principal of these was Fortress Avenue, which connected the main gate, the town hall, the Leceanth Church and then passed along the southern edge of the Pelsken Forest before intersecting with itself near the gate. Off of this vein dozens of smaller roads splintered off to adjacent plazas and squares like branches of a tree.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Fort Snov overlooked the main gate, a decrepit titan of a building only nominally guarded by npc soldiers. The military apparatus had apparently long since moved to the town hall according to the townsfolk, though that didn’t really affect the playerbase too much. Still, its looming square tower was an essential part of Paelgard’s skyline, and served together with the town hall as landmarks to help newcomers orient themselves.

  We walked through the open gates under the watch of two sword wielding guards, a fact that I was told spoke volumes about Paelgard’s supposedly huge blacksmithing industry, though this was far surpassed by the huge number of books produced in the city. Past that we entered the second largest square in the city, though it was by far the busiest. Fortress Plaza was the heartbeat of the city for the adventurers, the place where most quests, the best lodgings, and the most expensive merchants lay. It was also in this plaza that Elin’s Inn sat, tucked into a quieter corner on the other end from the majestic unicorn fountain.

  I led the way across the plaza, thankful that Elin had gotten a building so close to the gate. The windows were dimly lit, and a sign over the door informed oncomers that the dining area was closed for the night. Opening the door, we walked into the warm light of the magical lantern hanging from the rafters, only a soft jingle of the door bell announcing our passage. The roof was low, though not suffocatingly so, nor did anyone have to stoop. Ten tables, each with four chairs, were scattered around the first floor in an orderly pattern in front of the large hearth, while directly in front of the door stood a desk and stairs leading up to the next floor. Directly behind the desk was the door to the kitchen.

  Sitting behind the desk was a sharp faced girl, her blue eyes intently reading a thick book, the principal pastime of most players who stayed in Paelgard. Her long black hair was bound behind her in a long braid with a simple white ribbon. She was dressed in simple slacks, a white skirt, and a black jacket. She didn’t seem to notice our arrival, so I walked up to the desk and tapped on the bell beside her. Her knee instantly slammed into the counter as she turned.

  “Shit! How can I help…” She stopped. “Pao! You’re alive!” She instantly dove over the desk and pulled me into a hug.

  “What kind of welcome is that? ‘You’re alive?’”

  “I was so worried!” She squeezed me harder. “I was going to chase after you if you didn’t show up before tomorrow!”

  I pushed her back to arm’s length. “How could I ever fail to come back?” I gestured back to the others. “Might want to tell Regen I’ve got his siblings back.”

  Her eyes lit up again. “He's still staying in the inn. This calls for a celebratio!” She looked past me towards the glyphworker. “Is that Honsol? Your guild stopped by earlier, I’ll go call them!” She jumped away and ran out the door into the night.

  “Can’t that wait…” My voice trailed off as she disappeared from view. “I guess it can’t.”

  “She’s a little energetic.” Honsol commented.

  I sighed as I went around the desk and opened the door to the kitchen. There was no stopping that party now. What a shame too, the trip was so tiring…

…

  I sat down at one of the tables with a cup of water, the food coma threatening to take me. Content to watch the others, I glanced around to see what everyone was doing. Near the desk Svite had pulled out a violin and was singing something about winding roads while Regen and Kyoura listened. Cetal was sharing stories with Leon and Elin, recounting a fight with a pack of white wolves. Running around with their iron swords playing was Vivi and Pip, reenacting a scene from a recent film. Curiously, Honsol sat in a corner seemingly talking to himself, revealing that he might be even more tired than I was.

  To be honest, there were too many people for me to feel completely comfortable, despite the fact that I was at least acquaintances with all of them. It felt like too many variables to keep track of, too many different personalities to take into account. I didn’t regret coming however. Seeing the happy faces of Regen and his siblings sort of made the past week completely worth it, even if I ended up losing money through it.

  I admonished myself silently. You can’t do this all the time. This was just a moment of weakness during the storms. You still need to focus on your objective. I’d never get anywhere if I spent all my time helping randoms. If I continued like this I’d never be able to defeat him, especially if his group was already out by Fredric Village like I’d heard…

  “Is this seat taken?” Honsol sat down across from me before I could answer, snapping me out of my thoughts. “What’re you doing over here by yourself?”

  “Just tired.” I yawned pointedly. “I could ask you the same though.”

  “I’ve never been one for parties.” He said. “You and Elin seem to be the same though.”

  I must look almost antisocial form the outside, don’t I. It wasn’t true of course, as I’d met dozens of people doing quests around town, and Elin had introduced me to plenty of people besides that. I couldn’t seem to stick to working with any one party however.

  “So what’re your plans now that you’ve made it back?” I asked. “Planning to join up with Svite?”

  “Probably.” He scratched his head. “Though I still plan to hack the small quests alone.”

  “That's how most parties function anyway nowadays.” I replied. “Most only come together for the big quests and jobs.”

  “Really?” He leaned back in surprise. “That’s nothing at all like how it was in the beta.”

  I shrugged. I didn't have the chance to play the beta, as it had been released right in time for exams.

  “That might’ve been because the beta was pretty short.” I said. “Even if you like a group you still want to do things by yourself after spending a month with them.”

  “Huh."

  Before he could respond, we were interrupted by Leon and Regen, a curious sack between them.

  “Do you guys remember when I said we went to Shardin to collect flowers?” We nodded in response. “Well what I didn’t tell you is that we actually collected a few before we got trapped. I’ve decided that the least I could do was offer you guys some of them.”

  He opened up the sack, and inside was a huge bundle of those flowers with twine binding the tops of the petals. I didn’t know how much this was really worth, but if it was supposedly worth going to Shardin then I knew there had to be quite a sum sitting in that pack.

  For a second I was tempted to take it too, but instantly the memory of Leon talking about feeding his brothers and sister came to mind. It was true that we’d gone out of our way to save them, but I didn’t want to put such an unnecessary burden on them. I pushed it back towards him.

  “You know, I took that quest to save a party in trouble.” I took a breath. “And accepting this would put you guys in trouble again. So keep my share. Just be sure to frequent the inn, alright?”

  “Are you sure? I mean, you did go all the way…”

  “It’d be impolite to make me change my mind.” I interrupted. “Just take it!”

  Leon and Regen looked at each other and smiled at me. “Then thank you so much Pao, for everything. And don’t worry, we’ll be in here all the time.”

  “Looking forward to it!”

  Everyone looked at Honsol at that moment, and he gave out a fake sigh.

  “Well now I can’t take mine either! It’d make me look bad!”

  Laughter passed around the group as Leon and Honsol started to get into how much neither of them wanted the flowers. It brought back a friendly nostalgia from my friends back at home, and I couldn’t help but smile at the ensuing antics.

  As everyone gathered around one last time to joke and talk, the only thought that could come to mind was that Paelgard wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe there is a road to recovery here, even in the sharpest hurt.