— CHAPTER NINE —

A Couple of Boys in the City

  -Fritz-

 "Mob? What mob? How did a mob form so quickly? And what did you do to piss them off?" Percival was sat at the base of a tree on the outskirts of Faustenburg, the morning sun dappling through the branches and breeze rustling the leaves.

 It was August 4th - three days since launch. I had found myself a nice Hawaiian shirt with toucans sitting in palm trees and a pair of khaki slacks - I like to look good when I'm about town. Much more comfortable than hanging around in mail. And, because I put them in the cosmetic slot, I still had the stats of my combat gear! I could go out and grind mobs just fine looking like that - though I did lose some protection from the physical toughness of the metal. Still, every day I got a little bit lazier in changing into proper equipment.

 Percival had not broken immersion yet and was still in his dark-robe, grey-shirt mage outfit, though he had hidden his belt pouches. It did look more comfortable than my armor - and seeing him made me think of getting a fuzzy bathrobe. It'd never get dirty, always have its fluff - I could feel me pulling it close around myself already. I was sinking deeper into the pit; it was only a matter of time before I was going out on quests dressed for a spa day full-time.

 But I was already in financial trouble, so that would have to wait.

 I sighed, "Well, 'mob' might be a strong word; they're not that organized. They're just... a gang of people that claim a corner of the city as their turf, loan money, and threaten to cut your limbs off if you don't pay it back."

 "What could you possibly need money for? We don't need to eat, and you can crash in an NPC house if you can't afford an inn."

 I scratched my head with an embarrassed smile. "Remember how we were talking about letting Excalibur have some booze? Well that got me thinking - what else do they have here? You know when the programmers were making this game, playtesting the feeling of getting drunk, they were whipping up all kinds of trippy effects. They had to! Humans can't keep their hands off drugs! Just imagine - no real side effects, no overdose risk, hopefully no chemical addiction!"

 "Are you trying to sell me something here?" Percival narrowed his eyes.

 "So I went to the casino - the mob set up a casino, by the way."

 "Of course they did."

 "And I may have, uh..."

 "Gotten yourself so deep in the hole it's a miracle you're not a quadriplegic."

 "They did take an arm yesterday." I felt my newly-reformed right arm. That was twice I'd lost it already - thank the devs for being merciful enough to put regeneration in. On the bright side, "But! Now they've given me a job to pay part of it off! It's not hard work, just out of the way. And maybe a little risky."

 "Are you trying to sell me something here?" he asked again.

 "No, it's just... I've seen you moping around town the past few days and I thought maybe you'd be interested in a little adventure! Word is there's this quest out in the Stonehearth Plains with a sweet reward, and I'm gonna go check it out. Figured I'd extend an invite."

 He stared at me for a long moment with that blank, unreadable expression. Then, to my surprise, he shrugged and said, "Alright." He stood up, brushing bits of grass off his robe. I sent him a party invite, which he accepted.

 As we started walking, Percival pulled up his menu and opened the world map. "Stonehearth Plains... that's a level 10-15 zone to the north."

 "Yep. What level are you up to?"

 "Level 4. I unlocked all the base classes and almost all the utilities."

 "Nice! I hit 3 last night. Got my base classes sorted and did some low-level stuff out in the forest, but haven't really delved into crafting yet. How's that going?"

 He made a so-so gesture. "It's alright. Resources are a bit tight - even if you gather everything you come across, without dedicated grinding, you'll only have the mats to make a couple items. My crafting levels are already falling way behind my gathering."

 I groaned. "Man, I should have been gathering this whole time! Maybe I could barter against the debt."

 Still looking at his map, Percival said, "This zone's really wide - do you know where to start looking?"

 "Nope! And barely anyone's even been out there yet. It's way above anyone's level; the highest I've seen so far is 5."

 "Where did the rumor come from?"

 "Someone exploring ahead, I guess, trying to get the jump on everyone else."

 "So we're going to track this person down?"

 "That's the idea! The bosses gave me the name of a guy to try - come on!"

 Smokestacks spewed plumes of sooty smoke into the clear sky, the air filled with the stench of sweat, metal, and progress. Minecarts clattered along tracks, hauling heaps of raw ore from the depths of a gaping maw into the earth ringed by rickety wooden scaffolding. As part of Faustenburg's crafting sector, the south hill of the city had been hollowed out and covered in the trappings of industry.

 Strolling through the processing yard outside the mine, we picked through the NPC workers in grease-stained overalls looking for our contact. He was sat on a minecart near the mine entrance, lounging on a couch of crushed rocks and reading a book - a tall, bored guy in a mage robe with dark hair and bleak, tired eyes. Everything but the fed-up, dour expression and ore dust covering his clothes was out of place in the industrial yard.

 "Howdy there, friend-o!" I called out with a wave.

 Shingen, as his nameplate read, glanced at us with a flicker of annoyance. "Can I help you with something?"

 Closing my hand where my belt pouches should have been, as if I hadn't cosmetically hidden them, I pulled an orange poker chip out of thin air and held it up for him to see.

 "Ah." He snapped his book shut and sat up straighter in his tub of rocks. "And what are you looking for?"

 "Hear anything about the Stonehearth Plains? The bosses are under the impression there's a quest out there with a good reward."

 Shingen set his book down and sorted through his inventory for a journal. "Yeah, I know the one." Flipping through the pages, he said, "There's a few different versions of the rumor, but they all lead back to the same source - a guy named something Ted. Could be Turnabout or Tourmaline or Tumultuous; some long T- name that the drunks can't keep straight. Apparently he's a regular down at the tavern on Wisteria and Crabapple, but he wasn't around when I got there. You might try there at night."

 "Alright, thanks." I flipped the chip to him.

 Shingen snatched it out of the air and put in his inventory, then stopped to glare at Percy. "What're you staring at, kid?"

 Unfazed, Percival asked, "Of all the places you could hang out, why are you out here on a pile of rocks?"

 "Get lost, kid." Shingen rolled his eyes and picked his reading book back up.

 But Percy kept staring at the man's shoes. In an almost disappointed tone, he said, "Oh. You're camping the copper nodes in the mine, aren't you?"

 Shingen blew out a puff of air and slowly turned to Percy. "Buzz off, you little shit."

 I gently set my hands on Percy's shoulders and started to steer him away.

 "What?" he asked. "I respect the dedication! If someone want's to inefficiently gather slow-spawning, low-yield nodes intended to teach people mining mechanics, that's their business!"

 "Well respect it in your head - you don't want to make enemies out of these people."

 "I'm not making enemies; I'm just curious."

 "You know what they say about curiosity and cats, right?" I asked.

 "My mom always said curiosity is the stem of half of humanity's discoveries."

 "Really? What's the other half?"

 "Accidents."

 "Well you're going to get in an accident with cement shoes if you piss off the wrong temperamental jackass. - And they are all temperamental."

 "I don't think that would be effective; we can cut our feet off and swim away."

 "Not the takeaway, Perce. Just... let me do the talking around these guys."

 "If you say so. So what was the deal with that poker chip?"

 "It's from the casino." I explained. "They only give 'em to people they send on official business. Their partners can cash them in for their pay - and it comes with the connotation that not helping someone with one is an insult to the bosses."

 "How did they set up this system so quick?"

 "You gotta move fast if you want to get ahead of the competition."

 The two of us headed across the city down Wisteria street, a winding avenue known for the drooping trees that leaned over it. Lovely place for a stroll.

 "Do you think he's back at the bar already?" Percival asked.

 "The bars never close here. Chances are someone that saw him last night will be around; they might give us a tighter timeframe of when he shows up."

 "Oh, isn't that him there?" Percy pointed into the window of a store.

 We were still a few blocks from the tavern, but sure enough, there was a man scrolling through a menu at the counter of a store. Nameplate: 'Tumultuous Ted'. He looked ready to set out on an adventure, with light leather armor strapped over comfortable traveling clothes and a sword swinging at his hip. It all fit; that was our man.

 We entered the shop, a small bell tinkling as we pushed through the door. Racks of weapons lined the walls - swords, spears, bows and more. A suit of engraved silver armor stood on a pedestal in the center, watching us come in. Around it, glass cases held neat rows of colorful potion vials. Barrels overflowed with spherical elemental crystals, sparkling with frost, flames, and lightning. I hadn't looked too closely at the combat consumables yet, and reminding myself I was in the negative, I didn't have time then, either.

 "Hey, Teddy!" I called out, strolling up to the counter.

 Ted looked up from his menu, one eyebrow raised. "Do I know you?"

 "Nah, but we've heard of you! Rumor has it you've been up to the Stonehearth Plains recently. That true?"

 Ted looked us up and down. "Yeah, I've done some exploring up there."

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 "It's a high level place; even the basic mobs must be dangerous." I commented.

 Ted just shrugged. "They're no smarter than any mobs around here - just stronger."

 "We were thinking about heading up that way ourselves." I said casually. "Would you mind giving a few pointers to some rookies?"

 "Stick to the roads if you don't know what you're doing." he advised. "Mobs don't aggro onto people on the roads."

 Percival peered at Ted's open shopping menu. "Ice crystals. Can they freeze mobs that are above your level?"

 Ted quickly dismissed the menu with a swipe. "That's a trade secret."

 "So..." I cut in before the kid pried too far. "The rumor is you found a quest out there, but people are telling me different things about the reward - what was it really?"

 Ted's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "5 marks and I'll tell you everything."

 I scratched my head. "Uh... you got money, right, Percy?"

 "Don't you have those poker chips?"

 "He's not part of the network; he can't cash them in."

 "Oh." Ted shifted his feet and crossed his arms. "You're Eagle's guys, aren't you?"

 This was either going to go very good or very bad for us. "Yeah." I admitted. "Official business."

 "20 marks then."

 "Come on, man."

 "Take it or leave it." Ted said with a shrug. "Oh, and I'm leaving town later today, so make up your mind fast."

 I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. "That's more than I have."

 Ted scoffed. "Then ask your bosses for a raise - and don't get exact change; it'll be higher when you come back." With that, he brushed past us and walked out of the store, the door chiming cheerfully behind him.

 "People are already fed up with the mob, huh?" Percival remarked.

 "Can't blame 'em. If there's one group that can afford those prices, it's them. Still, it takes some guts to be so open about it."

 "He must feel safe." Percy noted. "Could the reward be a weapon?"

 "Maybe he's just cocky, or he thinks he'll be outside their range once he's out of town."

 As we exited the shop, Percy asked, "Are you going to get the money from your bosses?"

 "Nah;" I shook my head, "they'd tack it onto my debt, and we're tryin' to reduce that here." My gaze followed Ted as he turned a corner. "... Let's see where he's going. Maybe he'll let something slip."

 "Alright." Percival pulled his group chat up. "I'll circle around the surrounding streets, watch for where he's heading."

 He slunk off to stalk from a distance while I hurried up to the corner Ted had gone around and peeked after him. He was there on the next street, casually walking along. Hands in my pockets, I kept my distance, letting a throng of NPCs fill the space between us. When he turned another corner, I gave him a wide margin before following.

 A ping popped up from my chat.

[Percival]: He stopped at another adventurer's shop. Probably getting those ice crystals.

[Fritz Carlton]: Can you see what else he's buying? Could be some clues in that.

[Percival]: Not at this distance. We need binoculars.

[Fritz Carlton]: I hope this isn't a regular-enough thing to warrant that.

[Percival]: You can never be too prepared.

 Coming out of the store, Ted headed east, cutting through alleys and parks to go straight for the forest.

[Percival]: Could be gathering some mats to craft something for the journey.

[Fritz Carlton]: Can you make any good CC consumables?

[Percival]: Not with my levels.

 But as the minutes ticked by and the trees drew closer, Ted made a sudden turn and entered a small building in a cluster of trees. Laughter and shouts floated from the playground out front where a motley of player children ran wild. I ducked into a row of bushes across the street. It was good to see the kids had found a little haven in this mess of a situation, but what business did Ted have there?

 Percival slipped into the bushes behind me a moment later and sat down with his back to the wall behind us. "Whatcha thinking?"

 "Maybe he's got a younger sibling here?" I suggested. Even if that was true, I wasn't going to use that to blackmail him or anything. I worked with the mob; not for them.

 "I don't know, but what's your excuse?"

 "What do you mean?"

 "You're a grown man spying on a playground full of kids. If we're found, how are you gonna talk your way out?"

 "Oh... that is... real sketch, isn't it?" I slumped back, dragging my hand down my face. "Maybe we should just get out of here. This whole thing seems like a bust."

 "Yeah..."

 An excited shout rose above the general clamor of the playground. "Hey Ted! There's someone in those bushes!"

 Ted had come back out of the schoolhouse, and his jaw was clenched and eyes fixed on our hiding spot.

 "Shit."

 Percival snickered. "Better get your excuse ready."

 Ted stomped over, looming over us with his arms crossed. "Hey! What the hell're you doing peepin' on little kids?!"

 I scrambled to my feet, holding my hands up in surrender. "FIRST OF ALL, we're after you, not the kids. There's no reason to make this more untoward than it already is. Second, you know exactly what we're doing here!"

 "Did you follow me?!" Ted snapped.

 "Of course we followed you! We need to know about that quest!"

 Ted jabbed a finger in my chest. "Well you can tell your bosses to shove it! And don't you dare think about telling them about this place - these kids have nothing to do with any of their business."

 "Look, man, I'm doing this because I'm in debt and I'm tired of losing my arms. I'm not helping them any more than I have to, and I'm especially not going out of my way to cause trouble for some kids."

 "Look, man, that's rough, but that's your problem, not mine."

 "Is there trouble out here, Ted?" Another adult had come out of the school - a man well into his middle ages going by the name 'Benedict Clerk Pascal' watching us with a concerned frown.

 Waving vaguely in our direction, Ted said, "No, just a couple of..." he trailed off.

 Pascal brightened. "Are they here to make a donation?"

 I shifted awkwardly. "I'm afraid I'm a little strapped for cash right now. Are you taking care of these kids?"

 "As best we can, yes, but money's not the only thing we're looking for! Come in, come in! Ted's a frequent contributor of ours; any friend of his is welcome here!"

 Even Ted couldn't interrupt the guy to explain the situation; before any of us knew it, he was herding us into the school, chattering all the while. A useful skill for handling the kids, I'm sure.

 The interior was one big classroom. Chalkboards and posters covered the walls, including some interesting pro-Loyalist war propaganda. A handful of kids were scattered about, some reading in the beanbag chairs, others working on assignments. Pascal led us to the back corner where a disaster zone of a desk was sitting under scattered papers and overstuffed folders. He shuffled some lesson planning materials into a loose pile off to the side. I wasn't paying attention to the week, but now that I thought about it, it was a Sunday.

 "What is this place?" I asked.

 "It's an orphanage!" Pascal beamed. "And school. And help center!"

 "Wow. That's a lot of hats."

 Pascal nodded. "I've been playing these games since I was in high school, but I think this one's a little above my skill level. However, I've also been a teacher for thirty years - how could I not help out where I can?" His smile turned wistful. "There are a lot of children that have been separated from their parents here, and we don't know how long it will take to get out. School starts up again next month, so we should be prepared to compensate for that lost time."

 I scratched the back of my neck, feeling a twinge of guilt. "That's one hell of a noble goal, but if you're looking for volunteers, I'm sorry but my schedule is all kinds of whacked right now."

 "Oh, no no! Well, that is a shame, but that's not what we're after! You remember what that admin said, don't you? Preparation is everything! We're collecting everything we can - the goal is to create a centralized resource that anyone can use to find the information they need."

 "Oh, you're making a wiki!"

 Pascal's smile widened. "I suppose so! I was thinking of it in terms of a library. Some of the players - like Ted here - have been kind enough to come by and tell us about the things they've found."

 "Do you have anything on the Stonehearth Plains?" I asked. "That's where we're heading."

 "Ooh, that's a tough one. Level 10, I believe?" Pascal forced a drawer open and began rifling through the packed contents, sending a few sheets of paper fluttering to the floor. "I know we have some scraps, but... Elie, do we have an official file for the Stonehearth Plains started?"

 A young woman looked up from where she was helping some of the kids with their work. "I'll check." She got up and started looking through a bookshelf. Meanwhile, Pascal had pulled up a folder full of handwritten notes and was flipping through it.

 As he skimmed through them, Ted sidled closer to me. "I didn't tell them anything." he hissed. "That information is too dangerous to give to the public right now - not while Eagle's goons are sniffing around."

 "You were going to sell it for 5 marks earlier." I whispered back.

 "I was going to lie to you."

 "I think you're full of shit."

 Ted snorted. "I don't care what you think."

 To Pascal, Percival asked, "What kind of information are you looking for?"

 "Oh, any and everything - quests, tasks, where you find them, what they require, what they give, where the objectives are - we'd rather have too much than too little. Sorting through it sure can be a hassle, though." He let out a chuckle.

 "Is this the kind of thing you want?" He summoned his menu tablet and pulled up the world map, than handed it to Pascal. From where I was standing, all I could see was that it was absolutely vandalized with colorful notes - there was hardly any map left on there.

 Pascal took the tablet and squinted at it. "Are these... resource nodes?"

 "And a map of the forest paths with general mob locations. I have all the class quest bosses marked, too."

 "Do you mind if I copy this?" Pascal asked.

 "Go ahead."

 Pascal summoned his own menu and opened the camera, using it to take pictures of Percy's map.

 As he handed the map back to Percival, Pascal frowned looking at the kid. "How old are you, young man?"

 "I just finished my sophomore year."

 Pascal nodded. "We're currently focused on the younger children, but our plan is to extend across the whole public school range - and possibly college subjects if we can find the right teachers. If you would ever like to continue your education, please come by."

 "Thank you for the offer, but I..."

 Pascal held up a hand. "I understand; it's just an offer. Unfortunately, education is a secondary goal to the immediate problems we face. Take care of yourself - you have a lot of future ahead of you."

 Suddenly, Pascal's eyes lit up. "Oh!" He snatched up a little dish of caramels from the desk and offered it to Percival. "Please take one! It's the least we can do for the people that help us!"

 That emotionless stare broke into a childlike smile as Percy plucked a caramel from the dish and popped it into his mouth. His shoulders melted with a satisfied grin.

 "We did start the file," Elie called over, "but Pete took it with him to Stonehearth City!"

 Pascal slapped his forehead. "Of course!" He shuffled the papers again to get what he was looking at out of the way. "I'm sorry, but our man is out updating the book as we speak. However, I know where you could start." He opened up his own menu map and showed us. "There are six big cities in the game: The starting cities of Faustenburg and Townsville, the capital of Celestia Grand, and three others on the outer parts of the continent. Stonehearth City is located in the western section of the Stonehearth Plains, deep in the zone you're looking at. You can get there in a matter of hours by train - there's a station in each of the five outer cities that connect them to the Capital. Faustenburg's is in the north of the city, near the keep."

 I nodded, committing that to memory. "Alright, thank you. You seem busy, so I'll let you work."

 Pascal waved off the concern with a warm smile. "Any time; we're here to help!"

 As we (meaning both Percival and me and Ted) stepped out into the streets, Ted turned to face us. "Alright, maybe I was a little rash lumping you in with those bloodsuckers. But... whatever you find out there, just think about what those guys will use it for. If it will help people, potentially save lives, it should be made available to everyone. And if it's dangerous, you could do a lot of harm handing it to them."

 I said, "I'm right there with you, man. I'm not happy with it either, but I've gotta do this."

 He sighed. "Well... I won't wish you luck, but I hope you come back alive." He turned to leave.

 "Any survival tips for us?" I called after him.

 Ted paused, glancing back at us with a smirk. "Nothing personal, but no, sorry."

 I smirked back. "Fair enough. See you on the road, friend!"

 Once again, Percy and I set off through the winding streets, this time making our way north toward the train station. As we walked, I took a closer look at my own map. Or farther, as it may be - I hadn't taken a lot of time to look at the whole world in detail.

 The continent was laid out roughly as a circle with the capital city of Celestia Grand in the dead center. To the southwest of it, separated by only the sea of verdant hills and sprawling farmlands, was Faustenburg. Then, directly west of the Capital and northwest of us now was Stonehearth City.

 Townsville was way out to the northeast of the Capital - deep in the dense forests of the King's Woods. The other two cities were clear out on the coast - the frosty citadel of Falconworth in the snowy north and the tropical paradise of Florin in the balmy southeast. If they were all connected by trains, it should have been safe to visit them. I'd like to see what else the game had to offer, but that was business for another day.

 Closing the map, I asked, "Did you know this city had a train station?"

 "It's underground. You wouldn't see it unless you'd been inside."

 "Oh, ok. And it only goes to Celestia Grand? Not straight to Stonehearth?"

 "Yeah, the outer cities only have the one connection. They wanted to keep the Capital the center of it all."

 "Mind leading the way to the station then?"

 But Percival shook his head. "I don't think that's our best option."

 "What do you mean? If anyone knows about the zone, it'd be the people in the city there."

 "This rumor was discovered by a person. The location of its discovery can then be estimated by the distribution of people moving throughout the zone." He opened his map and drew a line between Stonehearth and Faustenburg. "There is a road that leads directly between the two cities. Most people traveling through the zone will be walking along that road - there's very little reason to go poking around anywhere else yet."

 "So the rumor originated somewhere near that road." I nodded.

 "Statistically-speaking."

 "Well shoot, better than anything I got. Alright, let's walk. If we don't find anything by the time we reach the city, we go back to asking around."

 And so we set out from Faustenburg heading north-northwest, the edge of the desert on one side, the plains on the other, and dead ahead - Stonehearth City!