Rayna expected Nali to take her back to the temple, but they passed the temple gates, heading instead toward the Eastern side of the city.

They passed a line of storefronts, all of which seemed to be either closed or unpopular based on the distinct lack of people.

“Where are we going?” Rayna asked

“To get something to eat,” Nali said. “Whether you consider yourself a child or not, you’re in a child’s body. Did you even bother to eat breakfast?”

Rayna’s stomach growled at the mention of food. Her cheeks flushed.

“I thought so,” Nali said with a mischievous smile. “Come on. I know a place that makes fantastic caram, and I own it, so we can eat there for free.”

Rayna wasn’t sure what caram was, but it was probably better than the rations from the tutorial and Rayna was sick of stew after eating it for a week straight.

She made a mental note to stock up on various foods before leaving the capital. Who knows when her next week-long detour would be, and she wanted to be prepared.

The place Nali mentioned was a small tavern on the edge of the marketplace. It was plain, with the most notable thing about the facade being the sign that read ‘the Lounging Lyon’ in bright golden letters.

Rayna hoped this was one of those hole-in-the-wall hidden gems that you found in the back alleys of Seoul and not the food-poisoning factories you find on the side of the road near tourist traps.

Nali was the one running it, so it was probably fine.

The inside was as plain as the facade, with tables and chairs filling most of the front room. A visible set of stairs in the back of the room led to a second floor that Rayna didn’t remember seeing when she was outside.

A woman sat behind the front desk. Her glowing blue eyes framed with dark blue feathers and a beak grew out of her face where her mouth and nose should be.

[Din Lan — Level 153]

[Azuranian]

The beak didn’t seem to affect her ability to talk, but there was a parrot-like quality to her voice.

She greeted them with a smile. “Nali! What a pleasant surprise. Table for two?”

“In the back, if you please,” Nali said. “Looks slow this morning.”

Rayna glanced at the completely empty dining room. Slow was an understatement.

“Only regulars in today,” Din said, leading them to a table in the corner. “What can I get for you?”

“We’ll take two specials and a side of erum root,” Nali said. “Over low heat, I think, but it might need more than that by the end of the day.”

Rayna’s eyebrows furrowed. How long was Nali planning on staying that she ordered something that took a whole day to cook? Rayna needed to get back to the hub and make sure the Chosen were settling in all right.

It took Rayna entirely too long to realize that Nali was speaking in code.

In fact, the thing that tipped Rayna off was the sudden appearance of three barriers that coated the walls in a light glow and a shiny bubble around their table. The bubble extended just far enough to include Din.

She nodded. “Wards are up. What are we dealing with?”

“A high noble,” Nali said. “I don’t know if he’ll lash out or not, but I want to be prepared if he does. Who do we have in the rooms?”

“Just Gann, Prai and Trent,” Din said. “Liyal is going to be mad she missed this. She left about a half hour ago.”

Nali shook her head. “She won’t be jealous if she ever finds out who I’m hiding from.”

“Myre?” Rayna guessed.

Din drew in a sharp breath and Nali looked heavenward as if asking the sky for patience.

“Rayna, I think we need to work on your discretion.”

Rayna frowned. “It would be easier to be discreet if someone actually told me what was going on once in a while.”

Din shook her head. “I hope you know that none of my wards will hold up if he comes personally,” she said. “I’ll go get your food and wake the others. We might have to leave here in a hurry.”

“I’m hoping it won’t come to that,” Nali said.

After Din walked away, Nali turned back to Rayna. “I should apologize. You were right, I overreacted back at the castle, and I’m partially responsible for our current predicament.

“As for treating you like a child, I’ll apologize for that as well, but I do need to teach you, both as one of the Chosen and as an Initial. As you pointed out a moment ago, you have little knowledge of Ember’s political system or the people that work within it. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough time for me to explain everything, so I’ll start with the most important parts.

“This tavern is one of my safe houses. My holdings can be split into three categories: capital, provisions and safety. The first earns money and helps me sponsor the many students that I’ve taken under my wing.

“The second consists of inns, restaurants, taverns and shops, all designed to make travel easier for those in my employ. It is cheaper to provide establishments that can fulfill their needs than to provide a stipend for each individual under my care.

“Finally, the last category consists of safe houses like this one. There is at least one in every major city, entirely staffed by players that are or were my students. I should mention that even those that have graduated out of my tutelage may continue to seek food or supplies at my stores.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“All right,” Rayna said. “More pressing question: Why do we need a safe house?”

“As I said before, I don’t know how Lord Myre will react.”

“To me getting his name wrong?” Rayna asked. “Isn’t that a bit petty?”

Nali gave her a flat look. “You’re not stupid, Rayna. I don’t know where you heard the name Emberan—I didn’t even know what the man’s real name was—but you should have never said it aloud. Powerful men keep dangerous secrets, and you’ve just shown the most powerful man in the country that you have a way of learning his.”

Rayna groaned. “I can’t seem to catch a break here!”

“Speaking of your suspiciously bad luck,” Nali said. “Would you like to tell me where you’ve been for the past week?”

Rayna shook her head. “I think I’ll plead the fifth.”

Nali frowned. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”

“No, not really.” Rayna took a deep breath. “All right, speed run. Are you ready?”

Nali nodded.

“I was chased by Arachnes—” Rayna began.

“Arachne,” Nali corrected. “There’s no ‘s’ on the plural.”

“Arachne,” Rayna acknowledged. “And I passed out after getting to a safe place. Then I was kidnapped by a tree who I think wanted to keep me as a pet. I used my portal thingies to get out of that situation, but they dropped me into some sort of mirror dimension, and I couldn’t figure out how to make a portal back.

“After walking for a while, I felt monsters, so I headed towards them—it was pretty much the only thing I could find in there—and ended up in a dungeon through a back door or something. I fought my way through the dungeon, but when I came down the mountain to come talk to you, I was turned away at the gate and spent the night in the tent city.”

Nali sat in silence for a full minute, seeming torn between disbelief and laughter. “That was indeed short… I would like to hear some more details, but I’ll respect your privacy if that is all you wish to tell.”

Rayna nodded. “I think that’s all the details that really matter.”

In truth, she was just tired of catching people up. She would tell Nali about any details that became relevant, but for now, that was enough.

“There is one thing I would like to know, however,” Nali said. “When you say that you fought your way through a dungeon, were you speaking figuratively or literally?”

Rayna hesitated. “Literally. Is that a detail that I should have kept to myself?”

“Not necessarily,” Nali said slowly. “But it’s hard to tell how the people of Ember would take that news.”

Din brought out their food while Nali was talking and disappeared up the stairs, presumably to wake the others as she said she would.

Caram was a casserole of some sort. The dish was stuffed with small round noodles and topped with a generous amount of cheese.

It was like a twist on mac and cheese with chunks of meat throughout and a salty herb-filled cream sauce.

Rayna’s mouth watered and she scooped a heaping spoonful into her mouth, swearing as she burned her tongue on the cheesy goodness.

She healed it away, savoring the pesto-like herb base. She had never been so happy to not be eating stew.

Nali waited for Rayna to rejoin the conversation, eating her alien mac and cheese at a much more controlled pace.

Rayna blushed, wiping her mouth on her napkin and taking smaller bites.

Nali just laughed. “It’s good, isn’t it?”

Rayna nodded. “But back to what you were saying. Why would the people of Ember react badly to mention of the dungeons?”

“Well, as far as I’m aware, no one has set foot in a dungeon in a few thousand years,” Nali said. “Some people believe they’re myths.”

Rayna paused with her spoon halfway to her mouth. “But the dungeons are part of the Administrator’s welcome speech.”

Nali nodded. “And while we are aware of what he says, most of the people on this planet were born here. Those that weren’t are hermits and nomads, they don’t regularly interact with society as a whole. Many believe that the words from the tutorial are nothing but empty promises and fancy lies designed to draw unsuspecting fools into a never ending battle for survival.

“Those that view the System more favorably believe that it is more of a metaphor for the hordes of monsters that plague us.”

Rayna shook her head. “They’re definitely real, and they give a lot better rewards than fighting in the forest. I hit Level 25 after the final boss.

“Which reminds me: I came here to ask you about Class Ascension.”

“You can’t ascend for another week, I’m afraid,” Nali said. “Unless there were special exceptions made for the Chosen.”

Rayna shook her head. “Not that I know of. All right, we’ll jump to the other thing I wanted to talk about.”

Rayna briefly explained her plan to house the Chosen in the System hubs. She was careful to avoid anything that might indicate that she had become the Administrator, and she left out the existence of the City Hub for now. She didn’t want the citizens of Ellis to torch the place if they thought it was a way to sneak into the city.

Technically it was, but Rayna didn’t plan on using it that way.

“With housing covered—once I can open more dungeons, that is—we need help with the other necessities: Clothes, food, communication and gear. I understand that you can’t outfit ten million players on your own dime, but any little bit would help.”

Nali nodded. “We can deal with that after the current situation has passed. Though, I do wonder how you plan on locating more dungeons, considering that no one knows that they still exist let alone where they are.”

Rayna paused. Nali was right. She didn’t have a clue where to find the next hub. She opened her map and scrolled around to confirm that the scan from Aila’s hub hadn’t found a new one. What was Rayna supposed to do, wander around until she found the next location?

Could she use some sort of long range scanner? There had to be one that wasn’t tied to the hubs, since Ronari was teleporting people all around the continent.

She groaned inwardly. This meant she would have to talk to Ronari again.

Nali spent the rest of the meal explaining the governmental system in Helia. Apparently, the nobles were elected every thirty years based on who was the strongest at the time. This was because the nobles were the ones that did most of the fighting. The knights and other strong players guarded the cities and helped people evacuate in emergencies, while civilians focused on keeping themselves and their families safe.

It wasn’t a very efficient system, but Nali assured Rayna that it was one of the better ones.

Rayna only half-listened as she laid plans for where she would go after this. She needed to show Nali the hubs, but she was planning on convincing her to go up the mountain with her. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do about Ronari. She didn’t care if Ronari wanted to keep playing Administrator, as long as she wasn’t too vocal about Rayna’s role in everything.

The more Rayna could fly under the radar, the better.

“As for the small scale politics, that varies from village to village,” Nali said. “And some towns have their own governing bodies that only turn to the nobility when the Dark Ages are approaching. We don’t care, as this minimizes cost during peace time and allows us to focus on growing stronger.”

Rayna nodded. “And Lord Myre is at the top because he is the strongest?”

“By far,” Nali confirmed. “He is also the oldest and the most respected.”

“And yet, a single wrong word and you run straight to your safe house?” Rayna asked.

She had made up her mind about this Lord Myre. He was either a tyrant or an ass—maybe both.

She’d stick to not interacting with nobility for now. She didn’t have the energy.

“That’s complicated,” Nali said. “He’s a good leader, but I don’t know him well as an individual, and I’d rather not get to know him either.”

She glanced around the empty room. “In any case, I may have overreacted. We should have heard something by now.”

As if on cue, Shela burst through the door, slamming it behind her and leaning against the wood. She breathed hard, clutching her side as if she’d been running.

Nali stood up, moving between Rayna and the door.

Shela grimaced. “Didn’t mean to startle ya, Lady Emery. Father Esh sent me with this here note, see, and I may have forgotten the knockin’ half o’ his instructions.”

“I assume he gave you a way to get in as well,” Nali said, clear exasperation in her voice.

Shela nodded, holding up a wooden coin about the size of a quarter. “Don’t worry, I was given strict instructions to give it to ya when I gave you the note.” She glanced back at the door. “But I wonder if I might hang ‘round here a mite longer?”

Nali tensed. “Why?”

“I seem to have attracted a few stickers,” Shela said, nodding at the window where a hooded figure could be seen standing on the street corner. “And they’re provin’ harder to shake than I expected.”

Nali cursed and pulled the curtains shut.

“Din!” she shouted over her shoulder. “Turn up the heat! We’ve got company!”