— CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR —

Fritz Runs a Man Over

  -Fritz-

 "Oh my god, is he dead?!"

 The man's body lay face-down in the mud, a set of wagon tracks clearly imprinted across his back.

 Percy spawned his little fairy wand and poked at him curiously. The man let out a faint groan.

 "Nope, still alive!" Percy reported brightly. "Back over him again!"

 I glanced around at our surroundings as I hopped down from the wagon. We were deep in the Badlands, a desolate region of red rock northwest of the Capital. This particular area was called the Rough - a jagged stretch of barren cliffs and mesas broken by tangles of dense jungle squeezed into the gorges below. The thin dirt roads traced precarious paths along the ridge tops, bordered by decaying wooden posts that looked about one strong gust away from tumbling into the abyss.

 The man we'd run over pushed himself up, wiping the dust from his face. I blinked as I read the nameplate flickering over his head: Leonard.

 "It's Leo!" I said in surprise. "Hey man!"

 Leo's eyes went wide as he took in me and Percy. "Oh... hey... guys." he mumbled, clearly embarrassed as he got to his feet.

 I reached out to clap him on the shoulder. "Good to see you're still kickin' it, man! We weren't sure what happened to you!"

 "I, uh, yeah..." Leo stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. He glanced down the rutted road stretching ahead. "Hey, so, are you guys heading to the next town? What was it called again?"

 "Freighton Gorge?" I asked. Leo nodded. I grinned and jerked a thumb at the wagon. "Yeah, hop on! Sorry for running you over!"

 Leo flashed a sheepish smile as he clambered into the back of the wagon. I climbed back into the driver's seat, snapping the reins to get the horses moving again. Percy hopped in the back and picked up one of the Protectorate's manuals from the pile he'd been working through. Leo hunched awkwardly in the corner, twiddling his thumbs and determinedly not making eye contact.

 "So what're you doing all the way out here, man?" I asked.

 He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm, uh... just keeping on leveling, you know?"

 "Right on. Yeah, we're getting into some exploration ourselves. So are you already like level..." I trailed off, frowning. What was the level range for the Rough again? "Yo Perce, what level is this place?"

 "It's a 36 - 40 zone."

 "No no, I'm only 32." Leo said quickly. "I just like getting that bonus XP for fighting higher level stuff."

 "Nice! We're only 29 ourselves."

 Awkward silence fell again as we trundled on. The road climbed higher, winding along knife-edge ridges. To either side, sheer red cliffs plunged down to the green jungles filling the gorge bottoms far below. Up top, we were surrounded by nothing but sky - a harsh blue dome filled with lazily drifting clouds and the incessant, skin-searing sun.

 Lost in thought, the city took me completely by surprise; I didn't see it until we were right on top of it - literally on top of it. Freighton Gorge was built into the cliffs themselves, just under the surface. Buildings were carved right into the red rock, linked by an extensive network of balconies, bridges, and staircases threading across the canyons. At the very bottom, rope ladders dangled down to the dense green canopy.

 I pulled the wagon off the road and down a slope into the blessed shade of the subsurface. As we descended, the scorching heat was instantly replaced by deliciously cool, damp air. Faint animal calls and the rush of hidden rivers echoed up from the jungle depths.

 "Oh man, feel that coolness!" I said, breathing deep.

 We pulled into the stables, a cave-like opening hewn into the rock near the city's exit ramp. Leo and Percy hopped down as I guided the wagon over to the stablemaster. From the menu there, I despawned the whole thing, compacting it into a little item in my inventory.

 "Thanks for the lift, guys!" Leo said, giving a quick wave. He immediately scurried off into the crowds thronging the city's walkways.

 I raised a hand. "See ya, man!"

 Percy and I stepped out of the stables, taking in the vibrant, vertically-stacked city. Freighton Gorge was a kaleidoscope of color and life, people bustling to and fro across the labyrinthine wooden walkways.

 "Alright, first order of business." I said, rubbing my hands together. "Let's see what we're dealing with here."

 I spotted a little pop-up newsstand down the way, manned by a dude with an enormous backpack. Perfect. I strolled down the path toward him, on a track of wood planks sticking right out of the side of a cliff, trying real hard not to look down at the sheer drop a few feet to the side.

 "Excuse me!" I called out as I approached the stand. "You got a copy of the Protectorate's Player Guide for this place?"

 "That I do!" the guy replied cheerfully, pulling a slim notebook from a stack. "Latest edition - printed right before I left the city two days ago."

 "Groovy!" I grabbed the guide and snagged a chocolate bar off a nearby rack. "Hey, is there a mailbox around here?"

 He pointed across the bustling market square. "Over by the stairs leading down."

 "Alright, thank you!"

 "Mind the ledges!" the merchant added.

 "No kidding!" I chuckled nervously.

 Breaking the candy bar in two, I handed one half and the book to Percy. He held the chocolate in his mouth as started flipping through the guide while I went and picked up my subscription of the Celestial Daily. Quickly glancing down the article titles, I lead the way down the walkway, looking out for a tavern and keeping well away from the edge of the path. It had guardrails, sure, but I didn't trust that rickety wood for a second. We'd busted a bunch of posts just driving there.

 The front page headline caught my eye as we walked. More World Guard drama, apparently. A growing number of smaller guilds that objected to their governance had started to organize. To 'preserve the peace', the Guard had gone and exiled the rowdiest ones from the Capital. Their official statement acknowledged the controversial nature of the move, but insisted it only applied to those unwilling to discuss things in a civil manner. 'Violence will not be allowed on the streets.'

 The exiles, collectively branding themselves as the Fringe Consortium, were now flocking to the other major cities, especially Stonehearth. I couldn't wait for the follow-up article where the residents of the outer cities were complaining about their ruined property value. Moving the problem wasn't going to help anything!

 I blew out a long breath and shook my head. "What are these clowns doing? Don't we have bigger issues?" God, I felt like my dad.

 Percy pointed across a ravine, voice muffled by the chocolate. "Thrrr itt ith!"

 "Good eye, buddy." We crossed a wobbly rope bridge to reach a large wooden platform built right into the corner where two chasms met. Nice view of the lush jungle canopy below though. And being on the wide intersection let some natural light spill in, even this late in the day. Prime tourist real estate. No wonder they built the tavern there.

 I pushed open the heavy oak door. Muted conversation and the stale smell of spilled ale greeted us. The cavernous interior had a dark vibe with stalagmites serving as table legs. Chandeliers made from stalactites, metal-braced and strung with glowing lanterns, cast shadows on the walls. Still early yet, so the place wasn't exactly jumping, but a smattering of players and NPCs already peppered the room.

 "Our guy's supposed to be sitting at the bar." Scanning down the line, it looked like it was all NPCs, except... I did a double take. Leo? He was sat on the far end, nervously twiddling his thumbs. Percy and I exchanged looks.

 "You don't think...?" I whispered.

 He shrugged and chewed his chocolate. "Muth be."

 We sidled over, trying to act casual. "Hey, Leo! You, uh... waiting for someone?"

 He practically jumped out of his seat. "Wh-what? No! No, of course not. I mean - I just got here. I don't know anyone!"

 Riiight. I dug an orange poker chip out of my belt pouch and held it up with a raised eyebrow. "So you're not here doing a favor for a friend?"

 Leo's eyes widened as he saw the chip. Grimacing, he fished out an identical one from his own inventory. "Oh. Huh... Small world, eh?"

  (Percival)

 A haze of blue motes swam in front of me as Fritz held my legless body up. Eagle passed the claymore back to his bodyguard - a giant in a Frankenstein's monster suit of bolted-together mismatched plates. He paced in front of us, agitated, stirring up the office’s dust that swirled in the stale air. No matter how much money they poured into that place, the game's natural grime seeped from the very walls.

 "Why can't the two of you ever do a single thing right?! It doesn't matter how basic or stupid the job is, you find some way to mess it all up!" he snarled. "Maybe I should tell you to go help the World Guard! You can stumble into some way to accidentally screw them over; get 'em off our case! Ugh. You're lucky Gary likes you -" He jabbed a finger at Fritz. "- and don't think I don't know you went behind my back to give him that dreamleaf stuff! You pull that stunt again and I don't care who is protecting you! He does the business, I handle the operations, including you - get that through your thick skulls!"

 We'd heard it all before; we stood there - well, Fritz stood there propping me up - and we just let him go.

 He finally paused his rant to suck in a breath, sagging against the mahogany desk. "Right then. I've got another job for you. Even you two can't get this wrong. Word is there's an area where a new set of mobs are spawning. Kill, I don't know, a thousand of them, and bring us back a copy of their drop table. Got it?"

 "Roger that, boss man." Fritz saluted.

 Eagle leaned down to look me in the eye and pointed a finger in my face. "And you - for the last time - enable your goddamn messages."

 "Yes sir."

 Fritz lifted me up to cling onto his back like a monkey as we left.

  -Fritz-

 Leo nodded knowingly as he sipped his IPA. "Yeah, sounds like Eagle alright."

 The three of us were sitting at the bar - me with a cider and Percy with his hot chocolate piled high with whipped cream.

 I turned to Percy. "So what are we lookin' at, Perce?"

 He laid out the dog-eared copy of the Protectorate's Player Guide on the bartop and flipped to a page detailing mob spawns by subzone. Running one finger down the columns, he explained, "The mobs we're interested in are spawning in the southeast section of the Rough - not too far from here. New animals are appearing in the bottom layer of the jungle. So we'll be looking for anything that doesn't match these tables. Once we find a good farming spot, I'll keep a tally of our kills. After every 50, we'll AoE loot all the bodies and I'll record what drops."

 "Sounds dull." I said. "But hey, at least we'll be grinding some high-level mobs. That's bound to give us good experience - should be a decent boost. Whaddya say we head out tomorrow? It's been a long day on the road already."

 Leo raised his glass. "Seconded!"

 The next morning, I respawned the wagon and we continued riding across the zone to the southeast, the wagon's wheels kicking up clouds of rusty dust. The canyons steadily widened as we approach the Rough's border with another part of the Badlands - the Celestial Quarry. At Percy's direction, we stopped at various points along the way so we could scope out the jungle below.

 At one, he pointed down and said, "There."

 I squinted against the glare of the sun, shielding my eyes with one hand. There was an oasis in the intersection of several canyons. At all exits, dense jungle plunged the gorges into deep darkness, but the clearing was nice and open. The lake was picturesque enough, but nothing jumped out at me as unusual. Clearly we were looking for different things. "Where?"

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 "Those mobs aren't the ones listed in the guide."

 I focused my eyes and then, sure enough, I caught a glimpse of a squat, armored armadillo trundle out from the underbrush to take a drink. "Oh, yeah, that's definitely not a jungle critter. This is our place then?"

 "Looks like it."

 After a bit of scouting, we found a narrow, switchback trail that snaked its way down the cliff face. The descent was nerve-wracking. On one side, the stone rose in a sheer wall. On the other, it dropped away into absolute nothingness. I gripped the reins with white knuckles and tried not to look down. Meanwhile, Leo and Percy abandoned ship and scampered down the rest of the way on foot, the traitors. Though I can't say I blamed them.

 About halfway down, I realized we should have just left the wagon at the top - we didn't need to go anywhere down there - but it was too late at that point. By the time I guided the wagon to a halt on the valley floor, my arms were burning from the strain and I was drenched in sweat. I breathed out a shaky sigh of relief.

 As I unhitched Caesar's Palace and started setting up a camp, Percy and Leo were already getting into the grind. When you're going for 1,000 kills, you don't want to take the time to get a decapitation quick-kill on every single one. So, while Leo sprinted around collecting mobs into dense clusters, Percy stood back and unleashed torrents of fire, engulfing dozens at a time in hungry magical flames. The jungle lit up with flashes of orange and red as they methodically burned their way through the roaming critters. His magic was finally starting to hit a turning point - especially when it came to AoE damage.

 As night fell, they came over and joined me as I was roasting some fish I'd caught in the lake. The sizzling aroma mingled with the earthy smoke and the sharp ozone scent of magic. Percy ate his alone with a calculator and his list of drops. Meanwhile, Leo sprawled on his bedroll and pulled out a joint of dreamleaf. He took a deep drag, sighed contentedly, and passed it to me.

 As we ate, we talked about our jobs. I said, "Yeah, Eagle's had us running around all these high-level zones looking for unique quests and rewards. Lookin' to get that edge, y'know?"

 Leo chuckled. "Lucky! They've had me running errands for Gary!"

 "Well, when you've got to report to Eagle, how lucky is it?"

 "True that. Gary tips well, at least - he gave me that." he indicated the joint.

 "Really? Then it might be one of the one we gave him!" I took another puff and squinted at Leo. "So what'd they trap you with?"

 "Well... I thought maybe if I got some rare gear, I'd..." He trailed off with a shrug.

 "I get it." I said. "These games are usually all about the stats, aren't they? Get the good stuff to take on the harder enemies."

 "Yeah, I..." Leo sat up. "I don't want to run out of mana next time I need it. So, I, uh, tried to follow some rumors, wound up in Faustenburg, and started doing favors for information. Next thing I know, I'm getting threats if I don't do what they say. ... Do you think they can get to me if I hide in Celestia Grand?"

 "Who knows?" I said. "I doubt they're as strong as they want us to think, but I'm not going to test it." I leaned back, lacing my fingers behind my head as I gazed up at the star-strewn sky. The campfire crackled, sending embers spiraling up to join the constellations. Strange animal calls reverberated through the night, bouncing off the cliff faces. "We're out here, and that's good enough for me."

 "I don't think 1,000 will be enough kills." Percy called over.

 I glanced over at him. He had several menu windows opened around him, along with his calculator, a pen, and notepad.

 "The number of trials needed to confirm the existence of an item is the log of the p-value divided by the log of one minus the presumed drop rate. To obtain a 1% drop with a probability of 95%, you need 298 samples."

 "That sounds fine to me. So what'll 1,000 get us?" I asked.

 "99% probability of capturing all items with a drop rate greater than 0.5% - that's 1 in 200." he explained.

 "Okay, so what's the problem?"

 "That's hardly anything!" Percy exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "We only have a 63% chance of getting a 1 in 1,000 drop! 40% if there's two separate 1,000 drops! And that kind of rare drop is what the bosses would be interested in!"

 "Man, who cares? The guy said 1,000, so give 'em 1,000!"

 "Fine." he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But I'm not taking the blame for imprecise confidence intervals."

 "Ooh, yeah, throw in as many numbers and big words in there as you can! Make sure they don't know what they're looking at so they can't say we messed it up!"

 He kept tapping away at his calculator. "So why do you think these mobs are appearing here, anyway?"

 "Smells like a quest, doesn't it?" I said.

 "We should easily wrap up the grind tomorrow; should we take a look around?"

 Leo sprung up into a sitting position. "I'm down for that! I haven't seen a good quest in weeks!"

 I said, "You know I'm in; that's our specialty! You got any theories?"

 Crossing his arms and putting one hand on his chin, Percy said, "Well, if you look at the types of mob, they aren't native oasis or jungle animals - they're desert dwellers. They must have come from more rugged conditions - either down from the surface or in from the quarries."

 I said, "Well we didn't see anything on the surface, so let's keep moving outward."

 The next day, we spent most of the morning gathering the rest of the data. We were right that it was repetitive work. However, we got a massive boost because Percy had been funneling all of his experience into one class. Even though classes usually got reduced gains when they outleveled your character, the sheer volume of mobs we were churning through, combined with the hefty bonus for fighting above our level, pushed him over the edge. He capped Pyromancer at the class level cap of 50. And hoo baby, the final spell unlocked at max level - for the first time, I was a little jealous I'd been ignoring the magic classes. Ah well; throwing spears is pretty cool, right?

 Anyway, we finished up early in the afternoon, and I maneuvered the wagon back up the steep slope to the surface. From there, I turned us to follow the gorges toward the Celestial Quarries. Our copy of the Protectorate's Player Guide didn't cover the quarries - just a brief mention in the surrounding areas section. Apparently the quarries were crown-owned and sourced all of the red stone used to build the Citadel.

 "You think the corruption could be coming out of the rocks?" I asked.

 Percy closed the Player Guide. "It's possible."

 I smirked. I'm pretty sure that was his way of saying 'You're completely bananas.' It made sense to me!

 Not too long later, we came to the edge of a massive open-pit mine. Hundreds of yards wide, it curved away into the distance, strata of rock laid bare like a layer cake. The worn-down terraces of the old mines left a -slightly - more gentle slope than the sheer drops of the Rough. It was quite the sight, but... the only way to go from where we were was down. So, once again, I angled and edged the wagon down a narrow road carved into the cliff face. Here, at least, the paths were designed for hauling big loads of rock.

 When I joined the boys at the bottom, they were staring off into the distance, listening for something. Bringing the wagon to a stop beside them, I asked, "What is it?"

 Percy cocked his head. "You hear that?"

 I strained to listen, but all I caught was the wind blowing through the gorge. I shook my head.

 "It's a 'tinking' sound." Percy said.

 Then I heard it - a high-pitched ringing, echoing rhythmically through the valley. I glanced around. "Let's stash the wagon here. Best we keep things low-key." I guided the horse over to a cluster of boulders and unhitched him, locking it up before rejoining the others.

 The three of us set off on foot, following the sound. As we drew closer, the ringing intensified, resolving into the unmistakable clink of metal on stone - dozens of picks chipping away at the rock. Gruff voices bounced off the walls of the mine, the words indistinct.

 We rounded a bend and pulled up short. There, scattered across the far wall of the valley, was a whole mess of people, working away at the stone.

 "What do you think?" I asked, keeping my voice low. "A quest to bust an illegal mining operation?"

 Percy pointed at one of the figures stalking along the top of the rock face, watching over the workers. "Is that a player?"

 I squinted and realized he was right - a player's nameplate hovered over the man's head, plain as day. I checked the other overseers, and sure enough, they were all players, every one I could target. But the workers were NPCs.

 As we watched, one of them lashed out with the butt of his axe, catching an NPC across the back. The NPC stumbled, and the overseer shouted something that was swallowed up by the distance.

 "Holy," I breathed. "Are they...?"

 "Using NPCs as slave labor is quite the idea." Percy mused. "Incredibly suspect, but I suppose there is a logical foundation for arguing it's free labor. No one is technically getting hurt."

 I shook my head. "It's messed up is what it is."

 "It certainly feels wrong."

 Leo piped up. "So the migration of animals is, what, the game responding to the situation created by these players?"

 Percy nodded. "That seems in-line with the other ways the game responds to player interaction within quests. Relocating the NPCs could move the protective boundaries of their town, displacing the mobs that normally live here. We changed the ecosystem of a rainforest out in the King's Woods, too."

 Leo asked, "So what do you guys want to do?"

 Percy glanced at the mining operation again. "There's gotta be a couple dozen players - we're outnumbered."

 Yeah, this one... If this operation was big enough to shift the environment of the game, it may have been out of our hands. We wouldn't have been able to finish the cleanup in the Star Marsh without a gang of the Protectorate's volunteers. This may have been a similar situation.

 "We could report it to the World Guard." I suggested.

 Percy looked at me with uncharacteristic annoyance "... What are we, narcs? Screw those guys; I'd rather die than treat them like a proper authority."

 I blinked at him. "Where did that come from?"

 "Mama didn't raise no fool that trusts authority - especially if they don't have any accountability to their people."

 I held up my hands. "I mean, you're right, but... maybe this one's worth talking to them about."

 Leo chewed on his lip. "Can the Guard even do anything?"

 "They kicked the Fringe out of the Capital; it looks like they're willing to take action there at least." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Well, we did our job. Let's go back and report the drop table, then send a tip in to the Celestial Daily. The least we can do is spread the issue to the public."

 Percy frowned poutily. "I bet the Guard will start their own slave labor operation."

 I clapped him on the shoulder. "Have a little faith in humanity, Perce."

 We slipped away from the rocks, creeping back toward where we'd left the wagon, then rode back to Freighton Gorge.

---

 It was late evening by the time we rolled into town, the sun dipping below the mesas on the horizon and coloring the sky in fiery pinks and purples. Too late to push on to Stonehearth, so we stabled the wagon and rented a few rooms at the inn.

 Percy mumbled a goodnight and went straight down the stairs to the rooms. Leo and I parked ourselves at the bar and got lightly baked and a little tipsy. Soon enough, we had a good little smoking circle going, passing around a joint of dreamleaf as the night wore on and more locals, both player and NPC, drifted in.

 One hulking bear of a man, an NPC who worked the winch that carried cargo up and down from the base level of the gorge - apparently salvaging stuff that fell off wagons travelling the surface roads was a whole industry there - anyway, this guy was pounding back tankards of ale like it was his job. But one hit of dreamleaf and he keeled over backwards off his stool, dazed the rest of the night. I couldn't help but chuckle. It was... each one of them was so unique. Spend five minutes talking to one, and I just didn't understand how anyone could beat them or force them to mine like that. But hey, humans did plenty of things I'd never understand.

 It was around midnight, as people were starting to drift off and thin out, when the door slammed open.

 A young woman - a player, Yunica according to her nameplate - staggered inside. Her clothes were a thick, reinforced material, likely a design of leather armor, but they'd been cut to tatters. Her exposed skin was more wireframe than body. A pair of rifles clinked together on her back.

 Several locals rushed forward to help her to a stool. She waved them off with a grunt. "I'm fine. Fine."

 "Need a drag?" I held out the smoldering joint. "It'll take the edge off."

 "No, thank you." Yunica shook her head, her focus quickly shifting between everyone there, like she was looking for someone.

 "What happened to you?" one of the other patrons asked.

 She pushed a tuft of singed hair from her eyes. "I was camping on a ridge a couple miles over when some goons ambushed my camp, tried to rob me. I managed to drop into the jungle and lose them. I had to leave my tent and some gear, but I'll be fine."

 One of the local players said, "Yeah, that'll be the Fringe Consortium."

 "You've got Fringe this far out?" I asked.

 The local took a swig from his tankard. "'Course. Where else would they go? 'Peaceful rejection' of the Guard my ass; they're a bunch of bastards that've taken to robbing people in the countryside."

 "Are they the ones running that slave mining operation over in the quarries?"

 The man shrugged. "I don't know anything about that, but I wouldn't be surprised."

 "They're doing what?!" Yunica snapped. Her face, however, remained perfectly neutral.

 "They've got a bunch of NPCs out there and are forcing them to mine." I explained. "We were just heading back to the city, so we're going to tell the Guard about it."

 Another one of the locals let out a derisive snort. "Please; the Guard is useless. What are they gonna do? Put out a stern announcement condemning them? Again?"

 Yunica stood up. "That's... if they won't, I'll do it myself."

 The locals erupted into concerned protests. "Woah there! Think about this for a second." one man said, holding up his hands. "The Fringe is a big group! They're not something you can just go in and break up - not on your own!"

 Yunica adjusted the straps of the rifles on her shoulder, face impassive. "Well, I'm going to try. They made this personal."

 Leo, who had been contemplatively silent, staring at the floor, suddenly looked up. He hopped off his stool. "I'll help you!"

 Everyone turned to look at him. I glanced between him and Yunica, then said, "I guess I will, too." Be the change you want to see and all that.

 Yunica glanced over the rest of the room, then nodded at us. "Thank you."

 The three of us gathered around a table, the crowd of locals muttering amongst themselves.

 "You saw this operation of theirs, yes? Where is it? How many of them are there?" Yunica asked, leaning forward. She had very intense, staring eyes. Like an owl.

 I rubbed the back of my neck. "You know what, let me go get the kid - he's better at this planning stuff."

 Leo shook his head and stood up. "I need some fresh air."

 As he and Yunica walked outside, I climbed the stairs down to the rented rooms.

 I knocked on Percy's door. A moment later, the door swung open. The kid stood there in a grey t-shirt and sweatpants.

 "You're in room 3, Fritz." he said flatly.

 "I know!" I said defensively. Geez - you forget your room number one time. "Listen; we've got something happening upstairs." I explained the situation with the mugging, maybe slurring a few things. "I can't just leave this, Perce. She's gonna get herself in trouble, and these Fringe guys are causing problems all over the area."

 "Okay." He slipped on his shoes and shrugged on his robe.

 I blinked. "...That's it? I thought it was going to take more convincing."

 "I don't like it either. And this isn't a quest - it won't simply reset. It's something truly worth doing." His voice was quiet but firm.

 "Are you awake enough to make a plan tonight?" I asked.

 He brushed past me, heading for the stairs. "Are you?"

 I wobbled as I followed him. It'd been a long night and I'd had a few... of multiple things. But that's... you know, I'm used to it. "Of course I'm good!"

 We walked outside into the chilly night air. I shivered, the cold cutting through my buzz. "Oh, that's nippy!"

 "It's a desert." Percy said. "The lack of moisture causes the temperature to rise and drop quickly."

 "Why couldn't they build this place closer to the oasis?" I grumbled.

 We approached Leo and Yunica, who were standing by the railing. "Hey, guys! So this is-!" My foot caught on an uneven plank and I stumbled, crashing into Leo. The railing he was leaning on cracked and swung outward like it was on a hinge.

 "Whoa!" Leo shouted as he tumbled over the edge, plummeting into the darkness below.