“Matt?” Val asked. Her hands were now on his shoulders. “You okay?”

Then Fallyn and Kurtis were there too.

“Buddy?” Kurtis inquired.

“Did you cast your heal?” Fallyn asked, setting down her staff.

Matt stretched his eye sockets wide, struggling to think.

“Cast your heal, Matt,” Fallyn instructed. “Cast your heal. Matt, cast your heal.”

Matt blinked and the blue sparks began to crawl across his skin, weaving their lines of mist and light. He stared at his hand as they meandered and churned. They reminded him of the light in the stream. Beads of electric light encircled each finger. He turned over his hand, studying their pattern. As soon as he thought he had it figured out, it would change. Then the light dimmed, falling into his flesh. The fog in his mind was gone.

Matt looked up from his hand, a sudden shock of clarity. “I think that fixed it.”

Fallyn narrowed her eyes at him. “Fixed what?”

Matt stood and rolled his shoulders. He stretched his neck, side to side. He felt steady, alert. He was in a meadow. “Uh, fixed everything?” Everything except Anika, he thought. And this place.

“Here.” Kurtis handed Matt his mace.

Then Val window-washered a silky blue hand in his direction.

Matt raised his eyebrows and smiled.

“Just checking,” she replied, then jumped a few steps back and repeated the action. This time she also waggled her bow.

“I can see you,” Matt said, “if that’s what you’re going for.”

“What quest are we doing?” Fallyn tested.

“Ingredients for fish?” Matt replied, realizing Fallyn had a new shirt. She’d replaced her green blouse with sleeveless leather; it was brown and matched her gloves. What else did I miss? Matt worried.

“And how much of it have you completed?” Fallyn continued.

“Um, done the parsley, but none of the other parts.” Matt checked his quest log to confirm. “Yeah.”

“Uh huh…” said Fallyn. “Come loot these leprechauns.”

The group had killed six of them and they were Level 4. The corpses sprawled in the grass garbed in head-to-toe green. They even had sparkly top hats that stayed affixed to their heads, no matter the body’s position.

Val poked at one of the hats. Then she jumped back, yelling “Gross!”

The garment had peeled off a hat-shaped protrusion; sticky threads of blood clung to the sparkly shell.

Matt was the last one to loot and so, each time he did, they started to fizzle. Each corpse yielded two CCs. One gave him another lucky rabbit’s foot and two had something labeled ‘Chip.’ The quest counter popped up, confirming they were the items he needed. The bacon smell felt wrong for creatures so human.

This place is going to ruin bacon for me.

Matt opened his inventory, reminding himself of the bumps on their heads. The chips were green and had card symbols around the edge—hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs—and a white number ‘25’ in the middle.

Maybe we’re not getting ingredients after all?

“Oh, hell yeah,” Kurtis exclaimed. “What do you think?” He turned to the group, modeling an undersized, glittering, green top hat.

Val smiled definitively, all pink hair and sparkling tiara. “You look dashing,” she said and then shot an arrow at an oncoming leprechaun.

It wasn’t long before Matt settled into a rhythm: Blood Slash, step to the side, Blood Slash, loot. Glowing red slashes decorated the air in front of him, back-lit by pale purple bolts intermingling with bacon-smelled smoke. Val looked like a proper archer, loosing arrow after purple arrow from his side. The group huddled close, moving as a unit, tagging in a new leprechaun each time one fell.

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The little green men had a short-range attack that most used once on approach. It spewed gold liquid that wasn’t wet and could knock you off balance if you weren’t careful. Then when they got close, the leprechauns mostly brawled: boxers with stone-hard fists.

The group took on two to three at a time, Matt’s Blood Slash hitting them all. He soon realized he’d gotten lucky, getting two chips from the first six enemies. The next six yielded none. Blood Slash, step to the side, Blood Slash, loot. No chips. Rapid Regeneration, Blood Slash,…

“Got one!” Val called.

It was going to take a while. Matt sank into the rhythm. There was something satisfying about the consistency, something satisfying about swinging his mace. His mind began to wander.

Interface not found. Blood Slash, loot. Did we get abducted? Rapid Regeneration. Aliens aren’t real. Blood Slash, step to the side. Is Anika really gone? Loot, step to the side. They didn’t get Mom and Dad. Blood Slash, loot. Planets don’t get destroyed. Step to the side. But how many people got… Anika’d? Blood Slash, loot. Shit, what about Manuele and Sharkie?

Matt Froze. Kurtis bumped into him.

“Guys, do you…” Matt hesitated. Saying it out loud would make it more real.

“Val, don’t grab the next one for a sec,” Fallyn requested.

Another leprechaun flopped to the ground in front of Matt.

“Do you…” Matt tried again. “Do you think it happened to Manuele and Sharkie?”

They all knew what ‘it’ meant. No one responded.

Kurtis’ ears lowered on either side of the sparkly hat. He rested his staff against one shoulder and grabbed his tail.

Fallyn pressed her lips into a smile but her eyes betrayed sadness. “We need to keep going.”

Matt nodded. He adjusted his grip on his mace as Valkyrie drew back her bow.

He estimated that it took about fifty leprechauns to get enough chips. He lost count somewhere in the thirties. Once that part of the quest was done, the blue map marker shrunk to a tiny dot. They followed it to find the lemon.

A few more leprechauns aggroed, as they hiked through the grass, but the group knew what to do. The rhythm took over and the little green men didn’t stand a chance. The land sloped upward and Matt found himself at the top of a hill. At the bottom of the incline ahead stood a rainbow-clad leprechaun and a golden treasure chest.

“Lemon?” Kurtis guessed, nodding to the scene below.

“One way to find out,” Matt said.

“Let’s go!” Val cheered.

Matt ran in. The rainbow leprechaun’s name lit up, along with Matt’s heads-up display. ‘Lucky the Leprechaun,’ it read. He was Level 6 and had an extra golden border around his health bar.

That can’t be good.

Lucky the Leprechaun unleashed a spew of liquid gold, knocking Matt back before he could reach him. It hurt! Matt’s health line dropped to almost 70%.

Shit, Matt cursed silently.

He pushed forward with a grunt and cast his heal. He reached the enemy and Blood Slashed. Bolts and arrows arced overhead. Lucky punched Matt’s stomach. Back to 70%.

The Lucky the Leprechaun strode past Matt, in the direction of the rest of the group. Matt ran up and Blood Slashed from behind. Lucky glared over his shoulder, then smiled revealing sharpened golden teeth. The monster pivoted and delivered an uppercut that made Matt’s ears ring. His health shot down to half.

“Agh.” Matt blinked hard and fixed his glasses. How is Lucky only at 75%? Die already.

Matt chased the leprechaun who was lumbering to the group. Then crystal spikes shot up from the grass. Lucky struggled against them. He yelled, let out his golden spray, then broke free.

“Raaaaah!” screamed Lucky and sprayed something green.

It sizzled as it hit. Val screamed. Their health bars plummeted to match Matt’s.

Matt Blood Slashed Lucky’s back. Crystals spiked up around him, then fuzzed. Lucky charged at Kurtis and the girls.

“I would like to know what human tastes like,” Lucky growled.

This thing can speak?!

Lucky spewed gold and green. The others’ health bars were getting too low. They couldn’t keep this up.

“Hey! Attack me!” Matt yelled.

Lucky ignored him.

“Come on!” Matt yelled, Blood Slashing his back.

Then dark green smoke rose around him. Matt jumped back, to mitigate damage, but then the damage didn’t come. He searched the smoke but could only see Lucky.

“Here pretty humans.”

That meant that Lucky could see him. Green spray flew at Matt. When it hit, it hissed and burned cold.

“Holy crap!” Matt yelled, trying to flick off the slime. His health kept dropping. His vision tinted red. He’d let Rapid Regeneration drop, distracted by the smog. Matt hurried to cast it. Heal faster! he begged.

Lucky smacked his lips and smiled, showing off those horrible golden teeth. The smoke receded from around him. It was suddenly gone. Val, Fallyn, and Kurtis stood off to the left, health restored. They pelted the leprechaun with wave after wave of light and arrows.

Lucky turned and stared. Then stomped towards them. But with a final purple arrow to the forehead, Lucky the Leprechaun fell to the grass.

‘17,500 XP’ floated up and away as Matt’s heads-up display dropped. Matt puffed out his cheeks and exhaled slowly as normal color returned to the world. The corpse at his feet didn’t look so scary anymore. Lucky’s mouth was closed, hiding those monstrous teeth. His eyes were sad and empty.

The small black loot window listed ten ‘CCs,’ one ‘PB&J Sandwich,’ and one ‘Lucky Rainbow’ something—no lemon. Matt opened his inventory to inspect the last one. Its thumbnail looked like a rainbow donut. ‘Lucky Rainbow Brooch (Level 6),’ it read in green letters. ‘Bind on equip,’ ‘+100 critical chance.’

The body shriveled and popped, converting to smoke.

Yep, this place is officially ruining bacon for me. Matt sighed.

“Hey guys, should I…?” Val stood beside the golden treasure chest, about ten feet away, and mimed opening it.

“Probably,” Matt said.

“Another one a him isn’t gonna jump out at me, right?” Val grimaced.

“I hope not,” Fallyn said.

Kurtis raised both arms in an 'I don’t know’ gesture.

Matt closed the distance between them and readied his mace, just in case. Then he gave Val a nod.

Princess Valkyrie closed her eyes, then opened one eye. She carefully lifted the lid.