Matt sighed as they reached the top of the long access stairways, and once they did the city proper came into view, there was a vast field of shacks using the former framing of the mall as support, even though most of the material of the mall was removed to make this town high above the ground. He looked around at all the people milling about, not knowing who was real and who was an npc.

“Welcome to this city of Glassglo, first things first let's get some tokens,” Willow said angling herself over to a stall that was off to the right side of the entrance. Monica and Matt looked at each other, neither of them understood.

“Tokens?” Matt asked as he moved to catch up with Willow.

“Tokens, they are the currency used by this city, each city has its own economy based on what would be most realistic and conducive to the environment, Glassglo is one of the few the mints its own currency, it is called tokens, they are small rings made out of pug iron stamped with a seal and they typically come in links of five or so.” she led them right to the counter. “You can trade to a player, trading gear for other gear but it is easier to lug around a pocket of links than several suits of armor and guns.” she said with a small laugh. “Also just a suggestion, there are three types of links. There is the pug token, made of scrap iron, it's cheap and 100 of those make a steel token, and then 100 steel tokens make a glass token, ” she looked back at the two making sure they were following, “and I suggest you keep all your money in steel and iron, it is easier to pinch a single glass token then it is to pinch 100 steel tokens.” she said, and then began unloading her pack of goods onto the counter, it didn't take long, the woman behind the counter smiled and set to working. She moved quickly, examining each rifle and gun, sorting them into bins, checking the fluidity of the slide on pistols and the lever on rifles, feeling the stocks and giving the guns a good shake to see if they made any noise that they shouldn’t. She then went about checking the armor, looking it over and not saying a word about the bullet holes in the fabrics, simply sorting them into piles. When she was done with Willow’s pack she did the same with Matt’s and Monica’s/

“10 glass, 96 steel and 12 pug.” she stated simply, pulling the tokens out from under the counter. The tokens were not quite like what he was expecting, they looked like coins that had their center drilled out. A twine string went through each coin, with a knot on the end looping it to the next, and making sure it could not move. The pug ones were black and about the shape of a quarter, the steel ones were silvery and were slightly smaller in size, but they were also linked in the same way, but the glass, those were like marbles, they had swirls and bubbles in them, making them look like balls of ice. All the currencies clinked against one another, and as she lay them out on the counter she folded and counted them, at the proper coin she brought up a knife and sliced the cord that held them to the others, separating the proper amount. She then placed them in a stitched leather bag and pushed them across the counter. “Is there anything else I can help you with today?” she asked with a smile. Willow reached into the bag and pulled out the glass tokens, and held them up.

“I would like to exchange these for steel.” she said, and the woman took them without complaint and then pushed over another bag of steel links. Hefting the two bags Willow dumped one into the other and pocketed the loose bag, and then handed the other carrying all of their money over to Matt.

“Oh goody, I get to be the one with all the money, Aka the one everyone wants to rob right?” He said with a small sigh as he put the money bag on his belt under the leather duster making it much much harder for anyone that might want to rob him.

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“But of course,” Willow laughed and grabbed Matt by the hand, dragging him off toward the crowded market district of the city, Monica’s eyes flashed and before he could get out of reach she grabbed his other hand and drew herself close, resting his arm in the cleft of her breasts as she hugged his arm. Matt said nothing but was sighing in his mind as he watched the sparks fly between the two women, one on each arm.

The city of Glassglo was an interesting place, over half of the buildings were actually market stands, some manned by people and others manned by Npcs. “Is there a difference in the quality of gear crafted by players and by Npcs?” Matt asked looking around at the stalls as they slowly meandered through the crowd.

“Of course,” Monica said, “The crafting system is quite complex and only a few sets of more basic gear is ever crafted by Npcs, the better stuff has to be made by the players.” she explained. “Armor, for example, has three different parts, first you have the base, then there is the lining and then the binding. All three of these materials can be anything, and I mean absolutely anything, and considering there is over 15,000 different materials that can be used to make these it means there is a ridiculous amount of armor each different from the next, add that to the fact that we haven't even started talking about the styles of armor, of which there are 46 different types and well I think you can catch my drift, right?”

“So is there any point of wearing armor made by Npc’s?” Monica asked, and even as Willow scowled she answered.

“It is cheap and plentiful and will always have a source without you ever needed to do the farming required to get the matts.” she giggled, “matts, not Matts ha.” she snuggled up to Matt’s side still chuckling to herself. “We are currently wearing Npc armor,” she said with a shrug.

“So where can we get some better gear?” he asked looking around until he spotted a small stand that was tucked away in the corner of the market, there was not a huge amount of people but the ones that went there all had the air of confidence and competence. The woman standing there selling had an uncaring air about her as she spoke to the patrons of her wares. Much to his surprise he even saw a flash of golden curls and the swirl of familiar black armor, without thinking he loosed himself from the two girls who looked both surprised and hurt as he pulled away from them and crept up behind the assassin, she never even noticed as he wrapped one hand around her throat and one around her belly, he held her tight as she stiffened, tight but not to hostile. “Long time no see.” he whispered in her ear and she loosened her tight muscles and smiled, the woman who was running the stall had looked at Matt like he was mad when he had walked up behind Risa like he was insane but now was looking at him with undisguised shock.

“Risa, do I need to call the guards?” she asked in an unsure voice, in her head however she was wondering who would be dumb enough to grab ahold of Risa, that was practically asking to make your life a living hell for as long as you played the game.

“No need Rach,” Risa smiled slightly and fell back in his arms with a contented sigh, which seemed to surprise Rach even more, and not just her, there were now onlookers with shocked looks on their faces.

“Ahem,” Monica cleared her throat, “What exactly are you doing holding that woman Matt?” she asked in a low and dangerous voice. He quickly let go of Risa and took a step back, and Risa sighed.

“We need a guide, someone who knows all about the best haunts,” he said with a shrug.

“And you are not worried about me killing you this time?” Risa asked with a playful smile on her lips.

“Neutral zone.” he said waving his hand around, “On top of that I am pretty sure I have already proven I am the dominant one,” he said with an answering smile.

“Oh yes, after you penetrated me like that...” she shook, a distant look on her purple eyes as she licked her lips with a sensuous motion of her tongue over the plump pink mounds. Both Monica and Willow’s eyes narrowed to a dangerously thin line, even as on looker’s eyes widened in shock and awe. “So deep, I could feel it plunging in, me sheathing- oh my heart could hardly handle it.” she laughed, and before he could respond she wrapped herself around his arm and pulled him along, “I would love to show you around Matt.” she said pulling him away from the growing crowd of onlookers.

As they walked away Willow spoke up, “Hey Monica, I have a proposition for you,” she said, her narrowed eyes never leaving Matt’s back.

“What is that?” Monica practically growled, her eyes also on the departing pair.

“Truce.” Willow spat out, her hand crossing over her body towards Monica who gripped it with a death grip.

“Agreed,” Monica growled.