Ashlyn, the more talkative of the two, told Eriladar everything that had happened to them before they found themselves in the system space. When they had finished, Ashlyn’s chest felt lighter, but worry for Faye still plagued them. Here in Farwich, none of them could know what was happening in Reiftan.

This was a situation Eriladar had never experienced before; the only ones who could get into the system space were the discarded NPCs, so it was unusual for the two of them to appear there for no reason. Unless there were external factors that allowed them to enter the space.

"Could it have something to do with what was in the shop?" Asked Nox, his voice broke through the silence and drew the other's attention.

“It is possible,” replied Eriladar, adding, “when that thing exploded in the shop, something happened in the area closest to it, and since you two were standing right out front, it sent you into the system space. Or maybe it was the Main Computer; it sensed something was wrong and saw you two and thought you were bugged, so it sent you out of the game.”

Seeing their faces growing more worried and tired, Eriladar stood up and said, “let us leave this for today and go over it again tomorrow. Perhaps with a clear head, it will all make more sense.” Ashlyn and Nox agreed and allowed Taegen to show them to the guest rooms.

It was simple and not very furnished, but after the days in the system space and the journey through Farwich, it was still welcome. After putting on the nightclothes they had been given, they both fell onto their beds and fell asleep immediately.

☽

In the morning, they were awakened not by the sun shining through the cracks in the blinds, but by a commotion going on in the living area. When they arrived downstairs, they were greeted by Taegen and led into the dining room, where breakfast had already been served.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“What’s happening out there?” Ashlyn asked curiously.

“Master has a guest today.” Taegen sat before his own breakfast and explained further: “Skyreach is a place where people come to make requests and get help for things they can’t solve themselves.”

“I see,” Ashlyn commented, and continued to eat their breakfast. The helping business was interesting, but not something they could see themselves doing. “Then your master must be very popular.”

“Yes!” Taegen beamed and spilt compliment after compliment for his esteemed master. “He has helped many people in the city and made a name for himself. Everyone looks up to him. Also, he is...”

“That’s enough, Tae.” Eriladar interrupted him before he said anything he shouldn’t. He patted the little assistant on the head and addressed the two unaware NPCs. “I have to head out today on official business and won’t be back for a few days. When I’m back, I’ll do all I can to send you back to where you need to go. In exchange, I was wondering if you would both like to join me.”

“You want us to come? Won’t we get in the way?”

“Not at all.” Eriladar reassured them with a smile and said, “this task isn’t an easy one, and requires more hands. Right now, there aren’t many people around to ask for assistance. You being here today helps a lot.”

“Well, if we can be useful to you.” Nox had been up half the night thinking of how he could repay the older man for everything he had done for them so far, so this came up at the right time, and now he could thank him. In addition, all things physical were something that Nox was good at; he had been a Final Boss, after all.

Ashlyn had no choice but to go along with him, even though they had wanted to rest at the Skyreach for the day before exploring the city tomorrow. It was what they had done since they ‘woke up’ in Archeline, and staying still for too long was something they couldn’t do for long; they had to be constantly on the move or they’d get antsy.

“Great.” Eriladar clapped his hands together and placed a piece of paper down on the table and said, “this is what the client gave to me. It’ll tell you all you need to know about the task. Read it over and then rest up for today. We’ll set out at dawn tomorrow.”