Before leaving the hub, Rayna updated her System map. Unlike the map from Amon’s hub, the city map was more detailed, showing buildings as solid shapes with streets and side streets crisscrossing between them.

“I haven’t been able to update it in a few thousand years,” Aila said. “But I scanned the city as soon as you woke me. The size, position and general shape of the buildings should be accurate, and I went ahead and labeled the buildings that are probably the same as they were before.”

The largest building on the map sat in the center of the city, labeled ‘City Hall’. The hub and the wall surrounding Ellis were labeled too, as well as a few businesses scattered around the city.

Rayna thanked Aila and turned to Corban. “Tell the humans to bundle up on their way to Amon’s hub.”

“I know,” Corban said. “I just walked it, remember? The cloak really helped though. You wouldn’t happen to have a spare?”

Rayna shook her head. “I want that back at the end of the day. Tell everyone that moving to the hubs is optional. This is an offer, not a demand. If they’d prefer to wait until the Emberians cool off, I won’t force them to go anywhere.”

Corban nodded. “I’ll see you in a few hours then.”

“Hopefully,” Rayna said.

She didn’t have the best track record with showing up where she was supposed to be. In fact, she could count at least five instances in the past month where some new development had catapulted her out of her future plans and into a new situation entirely.

Part of Rayna’s motivation for opening the hubs was to give herself a quick and easy way to reset her location if things went sideways again.

As Rayna made her way through the city, she took notes on shops and buildings that she passed to update Aila’s information. If the hubs stored the System information, then the more detailed it was, the easier it would be for the Keepers to do what they needed to do.

Whatever it is they actually do, Rayna thought. She was sorely lacking in information about the Keepers’ role in the System hierarchy.

Rayna brushed the thought away. She was Administrator in name only. She would open the hubs, wake the Keepers and find the humans places to stay, but that was where her responsibility ended.

She wasn’t doing any of this for Ember.

Rayna made it to the ‘City Hall’ which was apparently an enormous castle. The overall construction was flat and wide, and a metal-barred gate wrapped around it, giving it a similar vibe to a gated community.

Rayna marked the change on the map and moved on. She was looking for the Temple of Eldar. She didn’t really care what the castle was for.

Rayna wanted to ask Nali for advice about her Class choices, then ask her and Father Esh for financial support for the Chosen. Someone had given the humans a shield and Rayna had a feeling it was one of them two. They were the two most vocal about helping the Chosen.

It took her three more tries to locate the temple. The first building she looked at was a large warehouse and the second was a mansion for some nobleman that spent way too much money on topiaries.

The temple gates were wide open, so Rayna slipped inside and headed for the main courtyard. It was the only area that she knew she could still find, and her best bet to locate Nali or Father Esh was to ask for directions.

“Rayna?” a woman said, catching her in the hallway. “Well, I’ll be! We all thought you’d died! What’re you doin’ walkin’ around here by yourself?”

It took Rayna a moment to place Shela Alane, the friendly Cervinale that had greeted her and Nali on the way into the temple the week before.

“Shela,” Rayna said with a smile. Then the woman’s words registered. “Died? What are you talking about?”

Shela grinned. “Well, on account of you bein’ chased by Arachne, of course. Where’ve you been hidin’ out? Lady Emery is still sulkin’ that she lost a student so quick after bringin’ you on.”

Rayna finally put two and two together. She had been the girl that ‘died’ in the Arachne attack, which was a relief. If they thought Rayna was dead, that probably meant that the others had made it out safely. Jade hadn’t mentioned more than one person dying in the forest.

“It’s a long story,” Rayna said. “Do you know where Nali is now?”

Shela nodded. “She’ll be up at the castle to discuss the problem with the Chosen. Bunch o’ folks are bein’ ridiculous about their arrival. Want me to show you where she’s at? I’m sure she’ll be downright tickled to know you’re still kickin’.”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Rayna said, following the woman out of the temple.

On the way, Shela updated Rayna on what happened while she was gone, which wasn’t much. Nali spent a good portion of the last week combing the forest for her. Father Esh tried and failed to gain support for the Chosen, a problem that was only exacerbated by the Chosen’s early arrival. All in all, the week had been a complete failure, and it was technically Rayna’s fault, since her disappearance threw a wrench in most of their plans.

“We’ve got rooms ready in the temple for a good number o’ people, but that won’t do us any good if the capital won’t let them in,” Shela said with a disapproving shake of her head. “As if they’ve done anythin’ to deserve such treatment, but folks are quick to punch down when the target of their anger’s outta reach.”

Rayna couldn’t help but agree. Different world, same problems.

They came to the castle gates and Rayna had to bite back a groan. It was Jennal, the Hellinak guard from the night before.

“Afternoon, Jennal,” Shela said with a bright smile. “I got myself a missin’ ward here to return to her patron. You mind lettin’ us in?”

Jennal raised an eyebrow. “A missing ward, ey? Who might—” He frowned down at Rayna. “Do I know you?”

Shela jumped in before Rayna could respond. “Don’t see how you coulda met her. She’s been runnin’ ‘round the forest for a week, drivin’ poor Lady Emery mad.” She leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. “You know that Initial that got eaten up by Arachne last week? Turns out, Rayna’s more slippery than we gave her credit for.” Shela winked at Rayna.

Jennal sniffed. “You temple folk are insane.”

Shela grinned as if he had just paid her a complement. “Guilty as charged! You gotta be a bit nuts to stay sane around here.”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Jennal snorted at the inherent contradiction in Shela’s statement. “At least you’re good for a laugh. Go on in, Shela, and take the little brat with you.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “This is your one free pass, girl. If I hear you claiming you’re a human again, I’m going to treat you like one. Got it?”

Rayna didn’t dignify the statement with an answer. She hurried after Shela, leaving the grumpy Hellinak behind.

“Have you two met?” Shela asked, sounding concerned.

“He was gate guard last night,” Rayna said. “And he’s a crotchety old goat.”

Shela laughed. “Well, that’s as accurate an assessment as I ever heard, but don’t let anyone else hear you say that. Jennal’s an ass, but he’s respected as a knight. The man can take down a C-8 monster at his own level without breakin’ a sweat. Likeable or not, a lot o’ folks’ll come to his defense if they hear you badmouthin’ him.”

Rayna nodded. “I’ll be careful.”

The interior of the castle was a strange mix of plain stone walls and intricate tapestries. The hallways were lined with a thick rug that made Rayna feel almost guilty for wearing her nasty blood stained boots and every few feet a mage light hung in midair.

“This place is needlessly extravagant,” Phira said, popping into view.

Shela jumped back, startled by the Tinkerer’s sudden appearance.

“Your timing is terrible,” Rayna muttered. To Shela, she said, “This is Phira. She’s a simulacrum of a player from a few thousand years ago.”

Shela blinked. “Where did an Initial get a simulacrum stone?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Rayna said.

Shela raised an eyebrow. “Try me.”

Rayna shrugged. “The tutorial. She hitched a ride as part of my reward for the first trial.”

Shela frowned, visibly confused as she tried to follow Rayna’s statement. Then realization dawned on her face. “That’s what Jennal meant about you claimin’ human. You’re sayin’ you’re one of the Chosen?”

“I said you wouldn’t believe me,” Rayna said, trying to mask her annoyance. “Can we just find Nali? I—”

Shela’s delighted laughter echoed through the hallway. It was Rayna’s turn to frown in confusion.

“Did I miss a joke?” Rayna asked.

“If you did,” Phira said. “I missed it as well…”

Shela shook her head. “I knew you were spittin’ angry when that moron Brother Lenqu dragged you to us. Most Helians would have shrugged it off, knowin’ that Father Esh’d sort him out.” She started walking again. “Are there other humans who look like you? Or are you unique? I’ve managed to catch a peek at a few Chosen in their tent city and you lot do seem to have a good amount of varyin’ in your looks.”

“Is that so?” Phira asked, walking beside them. “I haven’t had the chance to see many humans yet.”

“They got all kinds o’ humans in the camp,” Shela said. “Short ones, tall ones, buff ones, scrawny ones. I saw at least ten shades of skin and every one of them has a different way of keepin’ their hair.”

“I look like this because of a System error,” Rayna said. “It’s refreshing to have someone believe me without any kind of proof.”

Shela chuckled. “No one in their right mind would claim to be a Chosen unless it was true. That Jennal is just mad that he can’t ascend until the ban is lifted.” She wrinkled her nose. “Which apparently is stickin’ to the schedule. We’re all still stuck for another week, which isn’t helpin’ with relations.”

Rayna frowned. “He’s nowhere near ascension though. Why would he care about waiting another week?”

Shela raised an eyebrow. “He says he’s Level 75. Why? Did you hear somethin’ I don’t know?”

“No, but—” Rayna closed her mouth with an audible click.

Had she seen anyone without their name tag since becoming Administrator? Corban was still an Initial, but most of the people in the line weren’t, and the guard at the back gate had specifically told her not to let Jennal bully her into showing her name tag.

Even Kalin Jenka, whose level was well over two hundred had kept it visible for all to see.

Unless, that is, it was only visible for Rayna to see.

“Hey Shela,” Rayna said, trying to sound nonchalant. “How do you turn off your name tag?”

Shela glanced at the spot where Rayna’s name tag should be.

“It’s still broken,” Rayna said quickly. “But it’ll probably come back eventually, and I figured since I look so different from the other humans, it might be better to keep mine off.”

“It’s actually—” Phira began.

Rayna sent her back into her stone, making a note to apologize later.

Shela frowned. “What happened to the simulacrum?”

“She’s limited in how long she can stay out per day,” Rayna said. “She must have hit the time limit.”

Shela nodded. “I suppose that makes a fair bit of sense,” she said. “I’ve never seen a Simulacrum, but I heard there were limits to what the magic can do. Anyway, you can turn your name tag off in your settings. Here, let me show you?”

Shela pulled up her Menu, navigating to her settings.

She made her screen visible, which didn’t change anything in Rayna’s vision and pointed to the toggle for her name tag. “You can just turn it on and off right here.” She said, toggling her name tag off.

Her name tag didn’t disappear, instead, it just dimmed slightly in Rayna’s vision. Then she toggled it back on and it brightened again.

“See?”

Rayna forced a smile. “Thanks.”

Shela closed her screen. “Of course. Now I know you must be one of the Chosen because there isn’t a little one on Ember that doesn’t know where the name tag function is. Most of them are itchin’ to turn it off as soon as they hit Level 25. Of course, at that point they’re not very little anymore.”

Shela kept up a running dialog until they reached a large door guarded by two servants.

“Could you go in and see if Lady Emery might be willin’ to come out?” Shela asked politely. “Tell her that Shela from the Temple of Eldar has news about her ward.”

One of the servants disappeared and a few beats later Nali came bursting out of the room.

“News of Rayna? Did they find her?” she asked, missing Rayna’s presence entirely.

“I, umm… Sorry for disappearing…” Rayna said awkwardly. “I kinda got sidetracked.”

Nali grabbed Rayna’s shoulders and turned her left and right. “Are you hurt? What happened?” She cast three healing spells in quick succession even though Rayna didn’t need any of them.

Rayna frowned. “I’m fine. I just got lost.” This seemed like an overreaction, considering she had only known Nali for a few days.

Nali shook her head. “You’re an Initial with no knowledge of Ember. I shouldn’t have let you out without teaching you the basics.”

Let me out? Rayna thought incredulously.

Nali grabbed Rayna’s hand and started pulling her down the hallway. “We’re going to fix that right now. I had Esh save your room so we can sit down and cover safety guidelines first and why you should never hunt alone. Then we can talk about your spell and skill choices since you’ll want to have a plan for that. Did anyone tell you about those yet? Also—”

Rayna pulled her hand out of Nali’s and backed up several steps. “Would you stop talking for five seconds?” she snapped. “God, why is everyone always dragging me somewhere?! I’m twenty-seven years old. I’m not a kid!”

Her voice got loud and whiney at the end of it, making her sound very much like a kid. Rayna resisted the urge to growl. She needed to find a transformation potion or a skill or something. She was sick of being treated like a child, and as long as she looked like this, it wasn’t going to stop.

The door behind Rayna opened.

“Is something wrong, Lady Emery?” a cool voice asked from behind Rayna.

Rayna’s hair stood on end. The owner of the voice was old, and the power emanating off of him made Rayna want to run and hide behind Nali despite her previous statement about being an adult.

She turned slowly, her shoulders tense.

The man didn’t look as old as he was. Scars crisscrossed his face, giving him a rough appearance, but beneath it, he looked to be in his late forties at most. His muscles were visible even under the heavy fur that coated the back of his arms, and his pupils contracted to slits when he focused on Rayna.

[Enathar Emberan — Level 328]

[Keltak]

Rayna swallowed hard, taking a step back and bowing. She didn’t know who he was, but this man was important enough for a bow.

“It’s good news, actually,” Nali said with a bright voice that only held a hint of tension. “My ward has been returned to me unharmed. I told you about Rayna?”

The man’s eyes never left Rayna. “Rayna? The ward that was killed in the Arachne incident?”

Rayna nodded. “Umm… it’s nice to meet you Lord… Emberan?” she tried.

The man drew in a sharp breath.

Rayna’s eyes widened as she realized her mistake. His name tag was slightly darker than it should be.

Rayna was the only one that could see it.

She cast about for a way to cover her flub, but Nali spoke first.

“Lord Myre,” she corrected. “Apologies, Lord Myre, I haven’t had a chance to teach her about the current nobility. I will rectify that immediately.” She grabbed Rayna’s hand and this time Rayna let Nali drag her away.

The man watched them go, not looking away until Rayna and Nali were out of sight.