I'll be busy for a while, do what you can without me. See you soon.

-Butler

'Is this all he left for me?' Ragen turned the letter over, inspecting it for more.

'That's the lot, son.' The inn keeper shrugged.

'OK. Well, thank you very much.' Ragen gave a courteous bow and then left the inn where he and his friend had been staying.

Butler had seldom been seen by Ragen since the younger of the two admitted everything about his sister. He thought that maybe Butler had turned his back on him, disgusted by Ragen's behaviour toward his sibling. Butler acted otherwise when they were together, even for those short few times since. But now after this letter, the boy was sure that Butler was lost to him. He was ashamed of himself.

But why should I be? His sister ignored him as much as he did her. It's not entirely his fault, everything that has happened, how both siblings had acted towards each other. People just don't understand. I'm better off not telling them anything about me, or her... Bloody stupid Butler!

The morning light had only just begun to show itself. The city streets were still dark and the populace was yet to stir. Ragen was carelessly wandering, no objective on his mind.

If I'm going to find out anything about her, I'm going to have to do it alone. He kicked a stone. That's not right... I have no idea how to do it alone. Butler doesn't like me any more, he's no good to me now. I need to find someone who knows her. But it's a big game. Too many people, too much ground to cover. If I knew what nation she was a part of, maybe then I'd have a chance to find her, but even that would be time consuming, never mind searching all three countries. He kicked the stone again. Bloody hell! Bloody Butler!

Maybe if I meet new people, join a band or army, make a name for myself. Maybe then I'll find the people who can help me. Ragen threw his arms into the air. 'Who am I kidding? I won't make it anywhere fighting the way I do.' He shook his head and kicked the stone farther down the street. The small chipped rock bounced from the shadow of a building into a ray of light shining out through an adjoining alleyway. The sun was rising in the sky, the chill air falling to its morning warmth. I'm going to have a hard time of it, no matter how I try. Maybe I'll never find out about her... Lauren. Broadway.

As the grey blue sky brightened, Ragen found himself at the Soldier Academy. The yard appeared empty, the instructors would not arrive for maybe another half hour. Which was a shame, as Ragen had taken a liking to them. Despite this, it was the perfect time to practise. No one could judge him when he was alone, save for himself. But this was not the case today.

A thud, a clanging, a loud crack and the swish of pouring sand. Ragen caught it just in time. The sword tip took the hanging dummy in the belly. The barrel swayed and broke open, and the sand bags inside let out their contents all over the ground.

A leather clad woman swished her blade after the thrust, impressively graceful. The first thing Ragen noticed was how masterfully she handled the longsword. The second thing was her long legs clad in leather, then her round... He blushed.

The player quickly turned to scan the yard, embarrassment in her eyes. When she spotted Ragen, she near jumped out of her skin. 'I didn't...' She started, high pitched and uncontrolled, then corrected herself with a cough and a sudden turn with a cocky grace, like some catwalk model. She ensured her hair bun was neat for the onlooker, but then hardly looked at Ragen at all afterwards. A familiar experience.

I'm not an NPC. He thought, and it was as if she could read his mind.

'You're not an N-' She corrected herself quickly, having forgotten in-game etiquette. 'Citizen.' She ensured the tone of her voice was low, almost seductive.

'No, I'm a Soldier.' Ragen replied, trying not to stare at the woman's shapely body.

Her face contorted, both with surprise and disgust. 'But you're a kid!' Her voice was high pitched again, and distinctly American.

'And you're a bad actor!' Ragen blurted out.

The woman was stunned, but then she laughed. 'I know!' Her catwalk stride turned to a skip as she approached Ragen. 'Don't tell anyone though, I have a reputation to uphold.'

Like I know anyone to tell. 'Sure.'

'Good.' She sheathed her sword at her hip and smiled. 'And don't tell anyone that I made this mess... Thanks.'

'But-'

'I'll see you around! Bye!'

The woman exited out of the yard and left Ragen with the damaged dummy. What a pain. He kicked splinters of wood out of his way, sand too, and proceeded to hack at the next hanging target on the gallows. His technique paled in comparison to the player he had just encountered. She's had a lot more practise than I have.

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'Practise doesn't make perfect, you know.' It was as if she was reading his mind, and as if she wanted to give him a heart attack. 'Perfect practise makes perfect.'

'What the bloody hell!' Ragen yelped. 'I thought you left?' He turned to the leather clad woman who was directly behind him, sword quivering in his hands.

'I came back.' She shrugged and giggled. 'I did say that I'd see you around.'

'Yeah...'

'Your technique is wrong.' She began.

'No.' Ragen appealed, though he knew otherwise.

'Yes.' The woman said confidently.

'What's wrong then?'

'You're hacking like you're using a flail, not a sword.' She unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Ragen's dummy target. Even one handed, she showed incredible strength and control. The blade was perfectly parallel with the ground. The weight was not an issue for her at all. 'You're using a blade, the sharpness means you don't need a lot of power to cut a person. You just need to be accurate, make contact, make a little slice and then you'll do damage.'

'OK...'

'Don't rely on your arm and shoulder strength to attack, they're reserved for controlling the weapon. Use your body to generate power in your weapon.'

'I am, I'm stepping-'

'Yeah yeah, you're stepping, but you're not taking advantage of the motion. You're stepping and hacking in two different actions.' She demonstrated on the dummy, stepping forward first. 'One.' Then swinging the sword at the barrel, doing no damage at all. 'Two.'

'Right...' Ragen nodded, but he was still not sure what the woman was getting at.

'If you step and strike at the exact same time, you produce power using the momentum.' She took a step back from the dummy. 'Do you know what that means?'

'Yes.' Ragen scowled. 'I know what momentum is.'

'OK, chill out.' She pointed her sword at the dummy. 'Your arms and shoulders give stability to the weapon, your wrists and hands help direct it. If you're using two hands, the way you are now, use your dominant hand to push and the lower hand to pull the hilt, that produces more power. Keep your shoulders pinned, and step with straight hips, that keeps your structure strong, meaning you have a more accurate strike. And don't overreach, you can hurt yourself and lose balance.'

Ragen made to speak, but the woman continued. 'And don't step on the balls of your feet, you were doing that, it's bad form.' Again he tried to speak, yet she carried on. 'And don't hold your breath, that tightens you up, you need to be relaxed and fluid, so breathe when you strike.'

'Thank you!' Ragen shouted.

'OK! OK!' The woman sheathed her sword. 'I was only trying to help!'

'I know.' Ragen smiled, trying to calm her. 'It's just a lot for me to learn at once.'

'Well.' Her broad accent suddenly changed to that of some upper class snob, her character returning. 'Not everyone can be as smart as me.'

'They can certainly role-play better.' Ragen retorted.

The woman laughed and then covered the boy's mouth with her hands. 'Don't talk like that, you can get in trouble.'

Ragen backed away. 'Thanks for your help.'

'You're welcome.' She giggled.

'Why did you come back here?'

'I thought it was interesting.' She began to whisper. 'That someone was playing as a kid. Why is that?'

She's reminds me of Butler. I can't trust a person like that. 'I...' He hesitated. What do I say? For some reason he could not lie to her after all. 'I am a kid.'

'Woah.' The woman smiled. 'How?'

'I'm not, I mean, I can't-'

'It's cool. Don't worry. And I won't tell anybody.'

'Thanks.'

'No problem.' She smiled and nodded, then it became awkwardly silent. They stood starring for a minute, until the woman made the first move. 'Well, it's been nice meeting you, I'm going to go now.'

'Ok, sure.'

'One thing before I do. Someone once gave me this advice, it helped a lot: fight wolves.'

'What?' Ragen half laughed at the odd advice.

'If you fight wolves, you'll learn something. When I first started playing, I was weak too. You're just like me, so fight wolves.'

'I already have.'

The woman scowled. 'Fight more of them!'

'OK, I will.' The woman made to leave, Ragen turned away, but then called out. 'Wait!'

'Yeah?' The woman in leather replied, raising a hand to fix her black hair.

'Do you know anyone called Broadway Mohon?'

'No, and you're the second person to ask me that this week. Who is she?'

Second? 'Who else asked you?' He ignored her question.

'Don't know his name.' She sighed. 'Sorry.'

His name? It's a man. 'That's fine, thank you, for everything.'

'You're welcome. I'll see you around.'

'Bye!' Ragen shouted with a smile, heading back to the dummy to train.

Butler..! He smiled a wide smile. It was then that he saw a shadow move quickly past him. When he looked for the source, he could have sworn that he saw a person high in the sky, but it faded out of sight far too quick. The woman had vanished too.