Frank redirected his next blow to knock Benny backward. Simultaneously, he used his leg to sweep Benny’s foot forward so that the man would be unbalanced. Once he got Benny to the ground, he pinned him there.

“You have five seconds,” Frank said as he tried to hold down the struggling man.

Syrian disarmed Benny and Cole came up to them.

“I can’t believe you beat my brother,” Benny said.

“Why did you guys attack us? Why are you after Bau’s Light?"

Benny laughed. “You’re going to need more than that to stop The Dead Lord. You’ll never beat Lord Necro or his undead army.”

Frank’s eyes widened.

Cole continued his interrogation. “Lord Necro? The necromancer? How are you working for him?”

Benny never got the chance to answer. Cole’s five seconds were up, Benny’s health hit zero, and Frank ignored a system notification that came in. Frank rose from the corpse and turned to Cole.

“You never told me that this was about Necro,” he said.

“I did. I told you that we needed Bau’s Light to defeat a necromancer," Cole replied.

"Exactly, ‘a necromancer’, not ‘the necromancer’.”

“What do you mean? What’s the difference?”

“Why did you get this quest? It’s way out of your league. If it wasn’t for me or Daniel, you’d have never completed it. Did you do something to the game? A hack? Did a player give you this quest?”

Cole looked rattled. “What the hell, man? Why are you being like this? I paid you! You could’ve said no. I would’ve managed fine on my own.”

“No! You wouldn’t. You can’t.” Frank turned away as his mind spun.

Syrian looks from one to the other. “I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but where’s Riverrun?”

“He died,” Cole said, his eyes never leaving Frank.

Frank spun frantically. “Who killed him?”

“Another player. An archer. This guy's brother, it seems,” Cole came closer. “What the hell is going on? Why does it matter if the necromancer is Lord Necro?”

Now that the battle was over, Frank’s health and stamina were replenishing at a quicker rate.

He looks from Cole to Syrian and then back to Cole. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”

Cole reluctantly agrees. “And Bau’s light?”

“It’s in this statue.”

Frank pointed at it as he went to its base. His fingers traveled along the seams. He felt a series of notches and pressed them in sequence. Once he did, a white pulse of light traveled through the statue. The statue’s forehead opened up, Bau’s Light came out and floated to the ground.

Frank caught it in his hands. For a second, he contemplated whether or not to hand it over. Even though he had a reputation for being honorable about his jobs, he didn’t want Cole to go down this path. Not if the destination is what Frank now believes it to be.

“I paid you to hand it over,” Cole said. “Come on. Give it to me.”

Frank hesitated but ultimately did. The room grew dark save for the moonlight filtering in through the holes in the ceiling. Frank heard the distinct sound of black goo slithering toward them. Cole opened his control panel to confirm the quest as complete. Frank ignored the notification once he did.

“Now, tell me what’s going on.”

“Log out. I’ll tell you on the other side. Your mom’s gonna be home soon anyway. She’ll cuss me out if she sees that you’re still playing.”

Cole nods and then disappears. Just before he did, another notification came in. Frank ignored that too.

“You know his mom?” Syrian asks.

“Yeah,” Frank replied.

“Did she give you that bracelet?”

Frank wasn’t sure what she was talking about until she pointed at his left hand.

“Got it from a friend.”

“It looks good on you. Looks fancy.”

Frank sighed. “Why are you still here?”

“Look,” she began, “I know you probably get this a lot, but there’s a good reason why. You’re the best thief in the game, Saint Loki, and I want you to help me become as good as you are.”

Frank’s eyes narrowed. “You’re asking me to be your teacher or something? Like an apprentice kind of thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Syrian,” Frank said, “you should get out of here because things are gonna get pretty hairy. Bau’s Light was the only thing stopping that black goo from covering the whole temple. And once it does, it will consume the building.”

“I will, but—”

Frank cut her off before she could say anything else. “I don’t teach. I don’t want an apprentice or a sidekick or a travel buddy. I work alone. The best thieves work alone. You don’t. You’re not even a thief.”

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“I am a thief.”

“You’re a bandit.”

“But—”

Frank didn’t give her the chance to continue. He didn’t hear a word she said once he invoked Slip Stream. If she was smart, she would stream out of that temple too, and out of Arradian territory. If Necro was really behind this, he’ll be showing up once his goons tell him that they failed. Neither of them would survive a fight with Necro.

Slip Stream took him off temple grounds, but he wasn’t out of the woods just yet. As long as he was in Arradian territory, he was in danger. As he scaled the ridge, to enter Lord Necro’s camp that Cole had attacked, he sent a message to Ed requesting a meet-up. Ed agreed to meet in Uruke. It was Sonner’s largest city, a trade hub, and a major stronghold. It was too many miles away to get there on the foot.

However, all he needed to do was get to Bablon, and then use one of their fast travel points. Frank activated Sneak as he entered the camp and stole a horse. Since he was on the edge of Arradian territory, the horse would make the trip to Bablon much shorter. Bablon hadn’t taken a definite stance in the war yet. Some parts sided with Arrad, others with Sonner. It was a mill for both sides of the war, housing mostly spies, thieves, sellswords, and propaganda artists.

Once Frank notified Ed that he was in Uruke, Ed pinned his location. The city was busy as usual. Vendors touted their wares, armies moved through the streets, and players ran around on their quests. Uruke had been untouched throughout the war. It was too nestled in Sonner’s kingdom to be easily touched. Its soldiers and defenses made it a hard target too. As Frank approached the inn, he tethered his horse to a post outside, beside eight other horses.

Ed was drinking at a table when Frank stepped in.

“You smell like death,” Ed says.

“Well, that’s exactly what I’m here to talk to you about.”

Ed stood up. “Come on then.”

Ed led the way upstairs to a private room where they couldn’t be heard or interrupted. They sat at a wooden table, where Ed continued drinking. He offered Frank some.

“I’m good,” Frank said.

“It’s a lot better than it looks,” Ed said. “Somehow, it gives me a little buzz. I don’t know how the game does it, but it helps numb the brain.”

“Now’s not the time to numb our brains. We need to figure this out.”

“Loki,” Ed said, “those fuckers took everything from me. My Immersion Gear was in the basement for months. Under lock and key. I couldn’t look at it without losing my mind. I’m working three times as hard just to get back to the same level I was when they attacked.”

“And now you’re at Level 55. Practically halfway there.”

“Even when I get there, it won’t be enough. Not if they find me again. That’s why I’ve laid low for so long. But—”

“You couldn’t stay away from the game.”

“It has hooks in me, Loki. It’s like… I don’t know… I don’t know what to call it.”

“Addiction. You’re addicted. That’s what the devs designed the game to do, get you addicted.”

Ed shook his head. “It’s more than that. Something… else. I can’t explain. A calling? A compulsion? I don’t…” Frank’s eyes narrowed in on Ed. Ed shook his head again. “What did you want to me meet about?”

“The Plague Doctors,” Frank said. “Do you think we can beat them?”

Ed shook his head again. He seemed a bit distracted. “When I fought them, it was six months after the game came out about a year ago. Loki, I made it to Level 115 in just six months. I stopped PVPing because people were afraid to take me on because of my gear, so I never got past Gold 1. But I could’ve. Everyone knew it. They all said it. I soloed dungeons and bosses that raid parties were afraid to touch.” Ed took two gulps of his drink. “Those fuckers beat me in ten moves. They dismembered me. They cut off my goddamn arm! How the fuck could they—?” He slammed his drink on the table and his grip around it tightened. “Us? Beat them?” He shook his head as he took another drink. “We’d have to be gods. They must have leveled up exponentially since I last fought them. It would be impossible now. They’d demolish us. We’d have to be gods, Loki.”

Everything Ed said made sense. It put Frank’s aspirations into perspective. It made him realize how difficult his mission would be. It wasn’t an official quest, just self-appointed. Frank hated the idea that someone had stolen from him. He wanted back Loki’s Cowl. The only way to do so was to take it from the Plague Doctors.

“What if we didn’t fight them all at once? What if we just went after one of them?”

“Just one?” Ed sighed. “Which one? How would we find them? How would we beat them?”

“Have you ever heard of Bau’s Light?”

“When I was researching strategies to defend myself if they ever attacked me again. But no one knows where it is. According to the lore, it’s been lost for ages.”

“I think we could use it against Necro.”

Ed nodded. “Maybe. That makes sense. But how would we find him? If we went after him, then we would have to make sure the others don't show up.”

“I have a lead I’m going to follow. It could be promising. I have to meet with some of my contacts. But if it works out, Ed, would you help me stop him?”

Ed looked away, out through the window. “We’d have to be gods, Loki. Both of us are still sub-100. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“I can help you get back everything they stole, Ed. You know I can. I might be sub-100, but my Swipe is the best out there.”

Ed spoke without looking at Frank. “Meet the contacts, and tell me how it pans out. After that, if you can come up with a perfect plan, then we talk some more. If not, then we don’t have anything to talk about.”

“I thought you wanted to stop these guys. You made a hundred posts on nearly every gaming forum.”

“I was bringing awareness to the situation. Warning players who didn’t have a clue. I’m not delusional to chase them down. Not like this.”

Frank finally reviewed the many notifications he got during the fight with Benny.

System Notification

You’ve bested BennyAfterRemmy

XP Gain:

3466

Rank Gain:

Gold I (1/10)

You helped me rank up to Gold I, punk. Frank checked the other notification he had ignored earlier.

New Item Added to Inventory (Swiped)

Bau’s Light [Divine]

Description: Everything Bau has hoped for the world to become has been condensed into this seemingly harmless yet incredibly potent ball of light. It was Bau’s last attempt to rid the world of darkness for good. Some say she was blinded by her power and ambition, and her inattentiveness fostered the rise of Zuna.

Use Mode: Activate

Effect: Range. Where applicable, decreases the damage, health, and stamina of all dark forces, elements, or objects in the affected area by 50%.

“Ed,” Frank said as he stood up from the table and headed for the door, “be careful with that compulsion talk. That’s how the Minders started talking before they ended up in asylums and offed themselves. I don’t know who or where you are in the real world, but I’d hate to be at your funeral. Stop dumping points into the Mind stat.”