I dream of wolves. Friendly wolves, for some reason, that we slaughter nonetheless. My subconscious mind has a way of making things just a little more fucked up.

I’m not sure how many hours pass. When I wake up again, it’s still pitch black. I toss the quilt off and turn over, hoping that sleep will find me again.

Something creaks. Fresh air wafts into the room as a window shutter flaps open.

Two hands grip the window sill. A figure emerges.

My twin daggers are in my hands, and I’m at the figure’s throat before I even realize what I’m doing.

My blade stops short of his neck, the point prodding his flesh.

“Ow, feck off, will you?” Éogan whines. “I’m here to talk.”

I sigh as I resheathe my weapons. “That is not a rational thing to say before 9 a.m.”

“Whas goin’ un?” Luci slurs. “Éogan?”

He slides off the sill, climbing over the nightstand and onto the floor. “I need your help.”

“Can it wait?” I mumble, returning to the bed. “Quest givers aren’t supposed to sneak into your room and wake you up in the middle of the night.”

“It’s an hour until dawn,” he argues.

“I mean, still,” Luci agrees. She sits up and drapes her legs off the side of the bed. “We kinda got a big day tomorrow. Lord Cathal wants us to kill the sorcerer.”

The boy leans on the nightstand. He’s still cradling his hand slightly, the bulge of the bandage visible around his lost fingers. “That right? How are you goin’ to do it?”

I yawn. “By not getting a full night’s sleep, obviously.”

“We don’t know yet,” Luci answers.

“Well, then it’s good I’m here, isn’t it? I have somethin’ that may help. But I need your help in exchange.”

“Of course you do,” I groan. I fumble in the dark for my jacket, then cross my legs and rest my chin in my hands. “Alright. Go on. What do you want. What’s the quest.”

Éogan takes a deep breath. “My little sister is locked up beneath Lord Cathal’s hall.”

“Sorry, you what now?”

“Your sister?” says Luci. “The one on the poster? She looks nine.”

“Does she?” Éogan asks.

“You don't know?"

"Sure I do," he replies, not elaborating further.

"Okay. Well, why in the world would that skeeve have her locked up?”

“No bleedin' idea. You’ve heard about him paying off farmers to live in town, haven’t you?”

“Yeah...”

“Well, he did the same for me and Afric. It was just us two livin’ on the farm at the time. Cathal’s men arrived, and they promised us a home in Glasbaile just like they did everyone else. Only when we arrived in town, they took us to the dungeons instead.”

“And you don’t know why?” Luci asks.

“I don’t. There were dozens of us. All kids. Most orphans. At first I thought we were just waitin’ for folks to take us in, but… it felt wrong. So one day, when they were servin’ us food, I escaped with Afric. We fled town and were livin’ fine in the fields. That was until Cathal’s men found us again. I fought back. Or, least I tried. I was knocked out. When I woke, Afric was gone. ‘Course by then, the town had vanished, and I couldn’t get back in. That was four months ago now.”

“And so you used us to get here,” Luci replies.

He nods. “Somethin’ is happening in that hall. Somethin’ wrong. But I know Afric is still alive. I can feel it.” His voice grows raspy, that smug edge gone. “I know I have no right to ask for your help after what I did. But I’ve seen how you move. How you fight. I know you can do it, and I know I can’t do it alone. I’m asking you. Please help me save my sister. Not for me. For Afric.”

Stifling a yawn, I sit upright and stretch my arms. The window shutters flap lazily in the breeze, emitting stray slivers of moonlight. It’s hard to see what Luci is thinking. It’s hard to see anything at all. And to think, I thought tonight would be peaceful.

“So. Let me get this straight. You’re asking us to invade a lord’s hall,” I say. “In the middle of the night. After stealing from us.”

“Oh! The weapons!” he exclaims. “Lord Cathal has an armory. I’m right sure he’s got magic too.”

“Other great reasons not to invade,” I reply.

“That you can use to defeat your sorcerer, is what I was going to say,” he quickly adds. “I can show you exactly where to sneak in. There’s a back door. It’s hardly guarded. This is a small town. This isn’t breaking into a castle. It’s just a small lord’s hall with six guards at most.”

“Uh-huh,” I groan.

Given the ungodly time, my first instinct is to give his tragic story a fat thumbs down and pass out again. But we do need gear and levels to fight the big bad, and I have been telling Luci about how, despite NPCs being fake, the consequences of our actions may still feel real. The kid’s clearly got a taste for fighting. Maybe it’s time we do something good too. Saving a little girl might be just what we need.

And honestly, I agree; Lord Cathal’s hiding something. The weird eye sculpture on his desk, the iron hand jewelry, the town enchantment, the ability to lock up and kill anyone who practices magic… He may just be a lord from the mainland, but he’s also sketchy as fuck. If this were a game - which it is - then there’s no way there isn’t treasure in that place.

Saying that, when we get back to Pharos, I am spending my entire visa on sleep.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I look across the room toward Luci. In the dark, I can’t see her expression, but I can see the outline of her foot as she traces her pointed toes along the floor. She always dances when she’s nervous.

“What are you thinking, Luce?”

“Not sure. I’m kinda thinking this is what we get for saving him.”

“In a good or bad way?”

“Both,” she says with a chuckle. Éogan crosses his arms but rightly says nothing. Luci grabs her boots from the end of the bed. “But I think I wanna do it. Only, can we not tell Tío Elias?”

“Ha. No. No way. I know you’re getting tired of the helicopter parenting, but if we leave him behind, he will kill me. Also, as soon as you accept the quest, he’ll get the notification and, if he isn’t with us, he will storm that building alone to get to you. So either we have him in the party now, or we have him in the party when he’s extra pissed off.”

“Why do you always have to be so reasonable,” she huffs. “Okay, Éogan. We’ll do it.”

“Thank you. You’re right good people. I swear it’ll be worth it to you,” he replies.

1.

New Quest! INNOCENCE LOST

A young girl named Afric has gone missing inside Lord Cathal’s hall. Her brother Éogan has requested that you find her and bring her to safety.

Objectives:

* Enter Lord Cathal’s hall: In Progress

* Locate Afric: In Progress

* Return Afric to safety: In Progress

Rewards: XP, Gips

You have obtained a quest. This quest is no longer available to other parties. (2) quests are in progress by your party. (3) quests remain.

2.

Quest Updated! THE PROBLEM WITH MAGIC

You’ve heard tell of an item or items that may help you in your fight against Laserian, the sorcerer that Lord Cathal has requested you handle.

Objectives:

* (Optional) Retrieve a weapon worthy of defeating Sorcerer Laserian: In Progress

* Deal with Sorcerer Laserian: In Progress

Well, that quest update sounds good at least.

I snag my yoga pants off the floor and shimmy into them - backwards at first, because that’s about where I’m at right now. After slapping my hair into a shitty ponytail, I rummage around the dark for my gym shoes.

“Did you do your point allocations?” I ask.

Luci nods. “Dexterity. Oh, and I unlocked some hidden class ability? I can recall a projectile within five seconds of hitting a target. I don’t know if that means like, into my hand or my quiver or what. But it says it’ll penetrate anyone in the way. Cool, right?”

“Wow. Yeah, deadly.”

I bring up my profile.

Helen Gables

Lv 10

Health: 28/28

Stamina: 72/72

Strength: 4

Fortitude: 6 (+3 armor)

Dexterity: 32

Wits: 7

Resolve: 10

Charm: 5

Available Attribute Points: 3

Wallet: 894g

Ooo, that Level 10 looks good, doesn’t it? Also no fatigue status. Guess I got enough sleep, despite how I feel.

That health is atrocious though. To get it higher, I’d have to increase my fortitude. But do I want to increase my fortitude or do I want to increase my wits? In other words, do I want to protect myself against physical attacks or magical attacks? The guards in Lord Cathal’s hall likely just have swords, so upping my fortitude would make sense.

However, we may find ourselves up against magic farther in, and the battle against the sorcerer will most definitely involve a spell or two. In which case, wits makes more sense. That and I’ll need wits if I want to wield magic myself.

At this point, I don’t know if that’s possible, given my class. If spell scrolls exist, can I use them? Are there wands? Magic scepters? Is Lord Cathal’s hand jewelry magic, and who do I have to kill to get me one of those? So long as I have enough wits, I should be able to use it.

Of course, the resolve attribute helps me bounce back from injuries no matter what the source is, so that sort of covers both, so long as the attack doesn’t kill me out-right. And the stamina recovery I get from that stat is clutch too. As of right now, I can only use my shadowstep once per fight. Twice if I feel like draining myself completely. If I can use that ability more often, I can avoid getting hit entirely.

Okay, wits will have to come later. And with a rogue class, I think I need to focus on resolve and then pad my fortitude with whatever gear I can.

So resolve it is then. I finish lacing up my shoes and stand. “Let’s do this.”

Weapons in hand, Luci and I head to the adjoining room where the other half of our party sleeps.

True to form, Elias shows zero signs of grogginess. The second we wake him, he’s alert, no bags under his eyes, no slur in his speech or stumble in his step. The bastard. He’s wary of breaking into Lord Cathal’s hall, obviously; “caution” is the guy’s middle name. However, he’s more on board with the plan than I thought he’d be. He points out that quests dish out pretty damn good XP, and if we want loot, we’ll do better raiding an armory than strolling through some Irish plains.

Ron, on the other hand, will not wake. He just snores like a dinosaur, his breath reeking of peppery ale. Apparently, he got on quite well with the guys downstairs. He lumbered into the room late last night, muttering something about seeing a leprechaun and then passing out fully clothed.

Honestly, good for him. Also, good for us. I think we can all agree that a stealth mission wouldn’t be Ron’s type. We’ll try to bring him back a mace or something.

It’s too bad there’s no in-game messaging. And, as it turns out, we can’t leave a note for him. Ink wells and paper are pretty rare around here, so in lieu of that, Elias pays the innkeeper 50g to tell Ron where we went. Hopefully, we’ll make it back before he’s unceremoniously dismissed from town. Of course, if we kill all the guards, who’s going to kick him out? Got ‘em.

We also down a couple eggs, on Elias’ insistence. I’m not a breakfast person, but he’s right; we shouldn’t be fighting on an empty stomach.

By the time we head out, the town curfew has ended. Turns out medieval Ireland is full of early-risers. Still, the morning light has yet to show. There’s nothing but a cloud-covered moon and the errant flicker of candles to guide our way. According to Éogan, we still have half an hour before sunrise.

Given that Lord Cathal’s hall is just across the square, it only takes a minute to reach the alley behind it. Unlike the dark, trash-congested death traps I’m used to, medieval alleys are just like streets, only more narrow and overshadowed by arches and wooden beams linking one row of buildings to another. Uneven stoops lead up to darkened doorways bordered by patches of green shrubs. The scent of woodsmoke lingers - another sign of medieval Ireland’s early-risers.

Where the weathered stones of Lord Cathal’s hall meets the surrounding shops, there’s a small courtyard.

Éogan holds up his hand, stopping us before we get too close. With his back against the wall, he peeks around the corner into the courtyard. Then he turns toward us.

“There’s the servant’s door. Most live just there,” his whispers, nodding to the houses across the street. “Cathal only has a handful. The kitchen workers will already be inside. The chambermaids switch an hour after dawn. You won’t be seen goin’ in. Can’t say about the rest.”

“Guards?” I ask.

“Just the one.” He steps back, allowing me a turn.

I hug the wall, melding with the stone like a chameleon. I haven’t tested out my Silent Step yet, but I can feel its effect.

Usually, I’m not patient. I’m not sneaky. But in an instant, I feel just a little closer to the rogue I’m meant to be. I step along the wall, moving with precision and grace as I disappear into the dark.

Around the corner is the courtyard. It’s twenty feet wide at most and only ten feet deep. There’s a bench, a few shrubberies. Most importantly, there stands a wooden door, its perimeter studded with iron. A guard stands beside it. His head droops slightly, the grip on his halberd flimsy and loose. I bet he’s bored out of his mind.

Gofraid - Town Guard (Level 10)

One of the guards from earlier.

“So how do you want to do this?” I ask the others.

“Uh, kill him?” suggests Luci.

Elias nods. “Your class serves this exact scenario.”

“Right. Yeah, I got a sneak attack now too, it’s just… I haven’t killed a… person.”

Éogan’s brow furrows. “You haven’t? Thought you were warriors.”

“Monster hunters, at best,” I say.

“They’re not real,” Luci adds.

“Sure,” I say. I breathe deeply as I palm my dagger. “Um, no you’re right. I can do this.”

I peek into the courtyard again. The guard covers a yawn with the back of his hand and shifts his feet.

Yeah. I can do this.