In a few moments, the two of them came to the back entrance. Vivian got down on his knees, peering through the hole. “Hmm…”

“He didn’t come this way,” Kyung stated.

“Oh, come on. Let me do my detective work, first,” Vivian said. He peered at the hole. “Hmm… yes, there’s no fibers caught on the bricks, and the dirt on the ground isn’t recently disturbed. It looks like—”

“He didn’t come this way,” Kyung repeated.

Vivian sighed. He sat back, putting his hands on his thighs. “Alright. So I was wrong. But—”

Small feet slapped over cobblestones. Heavy steps chased after them, drawing closer with every passing second. Noah whipped around the corner, his robes hiked up over his elbows. He blinked. “Vivian?”

“Noah! What happened this time?” Vivian asked. Is this kid a trouble magnet, or what?

“I—”

One of the thugs turned the corner. Pointing at Vivian, he shouted, “Stop him!”

Jolting, Noah threw himself into a slide. “I’ll tell you later!”

As the kid vanished through the hole, Vivian called after him, “See you in the clearing!”

Noah barely had time to nod before he sprinted out of sight.

A huge hand appeared in Vivian’s vision. He raised his eyebrows and shoved himself back, but too slow. Beefy hands wrapped around his collar and yanked him upright. The thug stared directly into Vivian’s eyes from an inch away, his lips raised in a scowl. “I told you to stop him!”

Putrid breath washed over him, full of the stench of rotten meat and death. Vivian wrinkled his face subtly, fighting back the urge to grimace.

Whoa… you ever heard of toothbrushes, buddy?

With some effort, he coached his face into a smile. “Tomatoes are great this season!”

In the corner of his vision, Kyung narrowly dodged a reach from the other thug. His eyes narrowed dangerously. In a tone that threatened violence, he asked, “Would you like a new style?”

The second thug flinched back, surprised. “They’re NPCs.”

“I noticed,” the first thug spat. Spittle sprayed over Vivian’s face.

Vivian flinched, but instantly recovered and forced himself to maintain his smile. Underneath the false smile, he seethed. If you fucking spit on me one more time, I swear…

Glaring at Vivian one last time, the thug threw him at the ground. Vivian landed on his heels and skidded backward, striking the wall. Subtly, he caught himself using the brick and straightened up. “Tomatoes are—”

“We’re wasting our time here. Come on, kid’s getting away,” the lead thug said, turning away.

“What did he do this time?”

“You know this, dude. He stole spoils from the guild. If you bring something out of the Tower, it belongs to the guild. You’ve got to pay to buy everyone else’s share if you want to keep it,” the thug said, glancing over his shoulder.

The other thug frowned at him. “I didn’t say anything.”

The thugs exchanged a glance. Slowly, they looked down at Vivian and Kyung.

“Baby carrots are actually shaved adult carrots,” Vivian said helpfully.

Squinting, the lead thug pointed his palm at Vivian and Kyung. “Scan.”

Scan away! You’ll find nothing! Vivian thought triumphantly.

Noah’s got a shit life, though, huh? Even if he brings something out of the Tower, it belongs to the guild? That’s not cooperation. That’s straight up robbery, no lie.

This kind of shit is why I never joined a guild. Guilds are bullshit! Straight bullshit.

Well, okay. That’s not true. But they can be exploitative, like this one. Which is why I avoided them… or I just didn’t like them. Honestly, it’s equally possible.

Kyung shot a look at Vivian. His hand slid toward his back, where the thugs couldn’t see. Green light glowed, and a straight razor materialized in his hand.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“So?” the other thug asked.

The lead thug shook his head. “NPCs. Must’ve just been some weird scripting. You know how they get, sometimes.”

“Mmm…” the other thug said. He narrowed his eyes at the two NPCs, but shook his head. “C’mon. Kid’s getting away.”

“Right.” Turning, the two thugs ran off once more.

The second the two of them left, Vivian got down on his hands and knees and started through the hole.

“Why did you speak?” Kyung asked.

“Because I wanted to know,” Vivian said. He squeezed through the hole and stood up on the other side. “Come on, hurry it up.”

“What if they decided to attack us?” Kyung said.

“If they’re dumb enough to attack NPCs in the village, that’s on their heads,” Vivian said, shaking his head. “The guards don’t stop coming until you escape, or you’re dead. They aren’t stealth classes, so all they can do is die or leave the Tower after they kill us. No one in their right mind is going to attack us.”

Kyung shrugged. He reluctantly lowered himself to his knees and crawled through the hole on his fingertips and toetips, mindful to keep his clothes from draping over the ground or scraping the roof of the hole.

“A little dirt never hurt,” Vivian said, shaking his head at his fastidious companion.

Kyung shook his head.

As he climbed out, Vivian rested his chin on his hand, regarding him. “Oh, that’s right. You got NPC’d on your first trip into the Tower.”

Climbing free, Kyung dusted off his hands. He raised an eyebrow at Vivian.

Vivian shook his head. “That’s rough, man. That sucks. But wait, if you studied the Tower as a kid, how did you not know about the infinitely spawning guards?”

“Tower Studies involves the history and societal impact of the Tower moreso than its Floor-specific mechanics,” Kyung explained, as one might to a child.

“Sounds pretty useless to me,” Vivian said.

Kyung snorted. “Too many people make a living off selling useful information about the Tower for schools to be allowed to teach any of it.”

“That’s fair, I guess,” Vivian said, shrugging.

They walked on. The familiar lands near the Starter Town passed them by yet again, replete with the usual array of low-level Players, wandering around, fighting Pigbeasts, feral rats, and wolves. Passing them by, they quickly reached the dense hedge maze, the bell tower standing sentinel over the maze, as always.

A Lost One hovered in the entrance of the maze, something clutched in her hands, her eyes empty and dead. She looked up as they approached and beckoned wanly, welcoming them closer.

Vivian blinked. “Uh… that’s creepy.”

“Should we go?” Kyung asked.

“Normally I’d say we should get the hell out of here, but Noah’s in there. So I guess…” Vivian walked warily up to the Lost One, calling out his clippers as he drew close. If I die, I die, but I won’t go down without a figh—

The Lost One held out a ragged envelope, its ends dirty with age. A phosphorus-green seal glowed faintly in its center.

Vivian looked at her, then the envelope, then back at her. He reached out, watching her every move. Moving quickly, he snatched away the envelope.

She turned and floated away, eyes as dead as ever.

“What is it?” Kyung asked, peeking over his shoulder.

Vivian frowned at the retreating Lost One, then slit the envelope open. A note fell out, written in an elegant, spindly hand. He squinted.

To the gentleman whose acquaintance I made recently,

I invite you to my humble abode for tea. Please come with all haste.

--Lady of the Lost

“I think I made a friend…?” Vivian mumbled. He put a hand on his chin, squinting thoughtfully. I killed her. There’s no way she likes me. But… I mean, if she respawns too…

No, no. She’s a Boss. She doesn’t have any intelligence.

Unless…

He tucked the note back into the envelope and put the envelope into his storage. He nodded. “Let’s pick up Noah and go meet the Lady.”

“Are you sure about that?” Kyung asked.

Vivian shrugged. “Worst case, I respawn.”

“And me?”

“And you get to learn something very important about your mortality!” Vivian said, smacking Kyung on the back with a grin.

Cold metal pressed into his throat. “Do not touch me,” Kyung growled.

“I’m sorry, dude, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again,” Vivian said, putting his hands up.

With a snort, Kyung retracted his razor. “How do we get to the Lady?”

Vivian gestured.

Ahead of them, the Lost One who’d handed him the invitation floated distantly in the fog, just far enough for them to see, but not close enough to see any details. When they drew close, she floated off again, but stopped before she left their line of sight.

“Hey, we’ve got to stop by the clearing, do you mind?” Vivian asked. He turned away from her, starting the turn sequence to reach the clearing.

The Lost One floated after him, a mournful expression on her face. Still, she said nothing.

“Creepy,” Kyung muttered.

“Eh, you get used to them. After a while, they’re kind of cute. Like weird, dead puppies,” Vivian said.

“Dead?” Kyung asked, startled.

Vivian squinted at him. “Yeah? I mean, they’re ghosts or something.”

Kyung regarded the floating child, then shrugged. “Huh.”

Turning the last corner, Vivian put his hands on his hips. “Noah! Hey, man! What on earth did you get up to this—”

The thugs turned around slowly. One of them held Noah by his ankles, and the other drew back his fist, ready to punch.

“—season for tomatoes!” Vivian finished, backpedalling. Shit, whoops. Didn’t expect the thugs to know the secret to the clearing!

Er, or… or they just followed Noah here. Or, you know, should have expected them to know it, since they’re from the same guild as Kors, and Kors knew it. I mean, it wasn’t unreasonable to expect they might not know, but… yeah. I should have seen that coming.

The thug with his fist drawn back squinted. “No way these guys are NPCs, right? Following us around like this…”

“Even if they are, I’m in the mood for killing, now that they’ve interrupted us twice,” the other thug agreed, tossing Noah to the ground. The boy bounced into a corner and curled up into himself, trembling slightly where he laid.

The first thug snorted. “That’s right. What’s the kid gonna do, run?”

The two of them laughed, as if he’d just told a hilarious joke. Cracking their knuckles, they rounded on the NPCs.

Vivian drew out his clippers. Beside him, Kyung brandished a pair of scissors in each hand.

“I’ll take left,” Vivian muttered.

Kyung nodded, just once.

A rose struck the ground with a soft pufft. Dirt flew. The two of them dashed toward the thugs.