Nox and Ashlyn were not aware of the events that had taken place in the game world and were roused from their sleep by Taegen the next morning. They quickly washed up and changed into the outfits given by Eriladar. When they had finished getting ready, they went to have breakfast with him and his assistant.

Eriladar and Taegen were once NPCs who were created for a game that had long been shut down. If a game was going to disappear entirely, there wasn't much that the NPCs could do except wait for their doom, and for themselves to be lost in the void.

As an NPC, Eriladar had been working as a tour guide. When the players first arrived at the newbie village, they would be greeted by Eriladar and shown the various parts of the village that would be most beneficial to them, and he would answer any of their questions. It was an interesting job and at the end of the day, he wouldn't feel the exhaustion that normal people would feel. Instead, he would stand in place at the entrance of the village and wait for the next batch of players.

That was what it was like for the beings created for the game. Before their consciousness awakened, they would do and say things that were inputted into their data. After gaining sapience, they would then do things for themselves, but they had to be cautious so as to not be discovered and discarded.

During this time, Taegen worked as his assistant and would help to guide the newbies. And then later, before the game went dark, they had become conscious and before everything around them disappeared, a rift opened up and they found themselves in the system space.

Confused and lost, they stumbled upon Farwich and were greeted by the NPCs there. They taught the two of them everything they needed to know and helped them settle down in this new place.

It took a while for them to become accustomed to their new ways of life and make a place for themselves there. That was how Skyreach came to be. Eriladar used his expertise from the game to his advantage, and Taegen asked around to see if anyone needed help with anything.

After several successful tasks, their reputation grew, and soon people were coming to them for help, from miscellaneous tasks to more dangerous ones. Eriladar didn't mind what they were asked to do and was happy to help in any way he could.

And that led up to the day before when he was given a new task, and he asked the newly arrived NPCs for help. It was known as an exchange: you do something for me and I'll do something for you, and everyone will go away feeling happy and fulfilled. Nox and Ashlyn knew that this was the only way for them to go back to Archeline; they still did not know what was happening, and how Faye was doing.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Eriladar started to explain: "Farwich is a large city that is split into different parts with their own names. The lady who came yesterday was from a place called Dreila. It's a small part of the city that is covered with fog most of the year. It's home to the elderly and a few young people who were born and raised there." Eriladar paused to take a breath, then continued to say, "the young ones would work and do all the jobs that the older ones could not. And that was how things had always been done there until a couple of months ago when people started disappearing."

"There are only a couple of young people left and a few elderly who have hidden in their homes since the start of the disappearances." He took a sip of his drink and said, "one of them braved going out and managed to make it to Skyreach to ask for help. The old woman wants us to go to Dreila and investigate what is going on there and find the ones who disappeared."

Nox and Ashlyn took some time to process the information and Ashlyn asked, "how can we help?"

"Taegan and I will show you the way to Dreila in a moment and once there, we'll need help to find clues and question the inhabitants there." Eriladar replied and smiled, "I don't know how long the task will last, so we'll need to take some provisions with us, and might have to stay there overnight. Do you have to get back urgently?"

Although they wanted to go back to Archeline right away, there was no way for them to get there and could only shake their heads and help Eriladar with this task. The question was: how did he know how to get back? And could he really help them?

☽

After breakfast and getting all the things they would need, Eriladar took them outside and brought them to a vehicle parked before the kerb. It was long at the front and was open at the back, revealing four seats at the back made of plush leather. A single piece of metal was curved over the top of the seats, which provided some shade and would offer some protection if it rained. Metallic wings were folded in a concertina shape and were placed on either side of the car.

It was something that Ashlyn and Nox had never seen back in Archeline, as they were more used to getting around on foot or using the teleports. There was no need for any other transportation, so seeing the car in front of them was kind of a novelty.

Eriladar got into the front seat and Taegan sat beside him, and Ash and Nox got into the back. They sank into the leather seats and sighed in comfort at the unique feeling. Their bodies relaxed against the back of the seats, and they marvelled at the surrounding sights. It had been late when they arrived in Farwich, so they hadn't been able to take everything in, now they could look to their heart's content.

The car broke away from the kerb, and then they began the journey to Dreila.