It wasn’t hard to find a way to sell their excess goods, once they’d reached Dawnbreak City. Like all cities, it had a market, though there weren’t that many people walking around in the open, so it was easier than they could have expected to find trade. Kyraa and the Sisters actually purchased a stall for a few days, in order to sell their equipment more easily. The Progenitors left their items with them to sell and devoted their time to quietly investigating the city.

Oscar, of course, was nowhere to be seen. He’d vanished shortly after they’d entered the city. Riley too had wandered off, saying he was going to look around the shops and see if anything caught his eye. This left Caius and Azalea alone together, in an open PvP zone, surrounded on all sides by people they didn’t know. Naturally, Azalea was a giant ball of nerves. She kept her spear sheathed, but fingered her silver bracelet every few seconds, casting a quick glance around.

“I don’t like this,” she muttered, just loud enough for Caius to hear. “I feel like we’re going to be attacked at any second.”

Caius glanced around as well, but he hid the motion well. He could see several people around, but none of them were paying him any attention. Furthermore, he couldn’t see any sign of that hidden watcher that he’d noticed at the gates. Were they no longer following the strangers, or had they picked a better hiding spot? He put the thought away for now, focusing on soothing Azalea’s worries.

“They won’t attack us,” he said gruffly. “It’s not worth their trouble.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. “We walked into town with thousands and thousands of Yemon and all that loot.”

“Which we are no longer carrying on us,” he reminded her calmly. “As for our Yemon, they’ll only get ten percent. That’s hardly worth it.”

“Ten percent of our Yemon is a lot.”

“Yes, but they also carry the risk of being killed and losing Yemon themselves.”

“But what if they all attack at once?” Clearly, his attempt to calm her was failing. He tried a different approach.

“They won’t. Remember, no single guild owns this city, so it’s highly unlikely that they’re all allies. If one attacks, they risk getting ganked by the others while fighting. Not even a crazy person would take that risk.”

That seemed to mollify her slightly. Still, she cast a nervous glance over her shoulder once again. “So you don’t think we’ll have to fight?”

“Not yet,” he said confidently. “Right now, I’d wager they’re still trying to figure out exactly what we’re doing here.”

“Well, we’re here to sell our extra loot.”

“That’s what it looks like, yes. But they’re trying to see if we have an ulterior motive. So they won’t attack. They’ll watch us closely, and see if we reveal something or if they can deduce our goal by spying. Then, if they find a weakness, they’ll try something.”

“So they’re just watching.”

“Yes. At this point, I’d say our biggest concern is schemers or cons. As long as we keep our heads on and stay on the main road, we should be safe.”

Azalea supposed she could accept that, for the time being at least. Besides, she knew that the safest place for her was at Caius’ side. On top of being a great fighter, he had a sharp mind for tactics in games like this. She forced herself to take a deep calming breath, and let it out in a long sigh. “Okay. Well, we still have to work on that goal, you know.”

He nodded slowly. “That’s why we’re going to gather some information. I’m sure Oscar is doing the same thing. But we don’t have his connections, so we’ll have to try the classic route.”

By that, she was surprised to learn, he meant visiting a tavern. There was one closer to the gate where they’d entered the city, and it was a busy location. Azalea wasn’t sure that going into a tavern in a city crawling with bandits was a good idea, but her concerns were wiped away as soon as she realized the entire building was a safe zone. It also seemed full of much friendlier figures than she’d expected. The man behind the bar - Terrian by the looks of his clothing - smiled cheerfully at them as they approached.

“Welcome to the Tumbling Leaf,” he said brightly. “What can I get for you today?”

“Two of your house ale,” Caius replied. “Also, any local gossip, if you don’t mind.”

It was a popular trope in games, one that Azalea was sure had come from popular fiction. The bartender was always painted as the one who caught the gossip of customers, whether they told him themselves, or if he overheard them talking. It made sense, and the bartender’s smile proved that the trope was well alive here.”

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“It’ll be fourteen Yemon for the ales,” he said. “For the rest, it depends on what you want to know.”

Caius let out a snort of laughter, and opened a Contract screen, giving the Terrian two hundred Yemon. “Let’s see what that gets me for now.”

The bartender touched a finger to his forehead in a grateful salute, then vanished around a corner and returned minutes later with two full tankards of a frothy liquid. He set them down, but before he could speak of any gossip he’d learned, a voice interrupted them.

“So you’re the Slayer.”

Azalea froze, recognizing her title. Her damn title. How could she have forgotten the effect it had on other people? She’d been so wrapped up in the fear of the other players attacking them for their loot and money that her title had - for the first time in weeks - faded from her mind. Steeling herself for another confrontation, she turned to view the stranger.

“I am,” she said, trying her best to sound stern and intimidating. If she couldn’t scare the person off, she’d have to rely on Caius again, and she didn’t want him to do too much. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not get into a fight here. I just want a drink and to relax.”

A male avatar stood smiling, a few feet away. That was strange, she thought. He wasn’t trying to get in her face or boast about how he was a better fighter than her anyway, so she didn’t deserve the title. He was smiling. Not leering, but actually smiling. She scanned his frame for any sign of weapons, but he was unarmed. He wore dark pants and a thick white shirt with long sleeves, rolled up to reveal his large forearms. That outfit looked vaguely familiar…

“I’m Patsy,” the man said, stretching out a hand. “Sorry, I don’t mean to bother you. I’ve just been looking forward to meeting the guild that’s caused such a stir around here.”

Befuddled, not to mention a little thrown off by such an earnest, polite greeting in a city known to be full of thieves and thugs, Azalea shook his hand. “Azalea. This is my friend, Caius.”

“Ah, the legendary warrior,” Patsy replied, his grin broadening to show he didn’t take the title seriously. “They say you were one of the first to figure out the secret to combat.”

“I don’t know if I was the first,” Caius replied gruffly. He’d turned just long enough to nod in greeting and now returned to his tankard. “But we are the first guild to complete a raid.”

“So I’ve heard,” Patsy said with a laugh, moving to sit on a stool to Azalea’s right. Again, he didn’t claim the one directly beside her but left a gap to give her space. He was awfully polite, she thought. Was this some kind of ploy to earn their trust, or perhaps get them to let their guard down so he could attack?

“So you’re a baker?” She asked, finally remembering where she’d seen that thick white coat before. “Or do you just like putting flour on your clothes?”

He glanced down at his uniform, almost as if seeing the patches of white dust on his clothes for the first time. He let out another laugh. “Yes, well, I heard that your army had come to the city, so I rushed right over. Didn’t really have time to clean up.”

Well, that was strange, Azalea thought. If his purpose here was to get their guard down, why would he admit that he was here to see them? That kind of thing could only make them more suspicious. Indeed, Caius was shooting Patsy a subtle glare over the lip of his tankard. But the baker didn’t appear to notice their suspicion, and was paying for a drink of his own.

“You should try the meat pie here,” Patsy told Azalea and Caius. “Brian there really knows how to cook.”

“You know the Terrian’s name?”

“Well, I’m here every day. It only makes sense that I’d learn the name of the building’s owner.”

That got Caius’ attention. Rather, he was surprised enough that he forgot to act as if he were ignoring Patsy. “Just how rich are the NPCs in this world?”

“You know, I’m not sure it’s fair to call them NPCs,” Patsy replied quickly, glancing in the bartender’s direction. “With how advanced the AI in this game is, they look, talk, and act like real people. Hell, they have more personality than most players I’ve met.”

He finished with another laugh, then thanked Brian as the man brought him his drink. Then, before Azalea and Caius could continue the subject, he added, “So, what brings you all the way here from Silver Village? I’m surprised you’d want to leave your farms behind.”

“How do you know about my farms?” Azalea asked, shocked out of her thoughts. “I haven’t had them up that long.”

“You know people are talking between the city with Contact, right?” Patsy asked, a sly smile spreading across her face. It was very much the look you gave someone who’d just asked a dumb question. “Plus, you had three or four of them when I left for this city.”

“You’re from Silver Village?” She asked, settling back in her seat. For some reason, she felt flustered from being caught in such a ridiculous trick. Of course, she knew about the Contact spell being used between the village and the city. It was how they knew so much about it beforehand. “I don’t recognize you.”

“Well, you were busy,” Patsy replied, taking a long pull from his tankard. “You set up your land while everyone else was still busy learning the basics of the game. Besides, there were almost two hundred people that spawned there. I doubt you could remember all of them.”

That was certainly true. “Sorry,” Azalea said quietly, but Patsy waved her apology aside. “You’re quite alright. Unlike you guys, I haven’t made much of a name for myself in this game. That’s why I wanted to meet you guys as soon as you arrived here.”

“What?” Caius asked, glancing around again from his presumed ignorance. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, sorry,” Patsy said, his smile fading as he set his tankard down. “Damn, I’m never good at this.”

“Good at what?” Azalea asked.

Patsy took a deep breath, almost as if he were working up the courage for something. “I wanted to meet you guys and ask if I could join your guild. I can’t fight that well, but I’m willing to learn. I’m also a really good cook and baker, so I can help you with your food stall, Azalea. I’m also a pretty damn good carpenter, so I think Riley and Oscar will like me. So… yeah. Can I join the Progenitors?”