“Where is the cartographers’ safe house?” Eldren asked as he and Ink sprinted through the mud and cobblestone streets of Yarko Village.

“Uh — here’s the thing,” Ink said, pausing to crouch behind a rain barrel at the corner of a building. She looked left and right, surveying the street, and then turned to Eldren. “I don’t exactly know.”

“You don’t know? You don’t know where your guild is?” Eldren asked furiously. “I followed you because you said you had a safe house!”

“I do have a safe house. I didn’t say that I knew where it was. And, to be clear, you followed me here because I broke you out of the dungeons, wiz kid,” Ink said. “And I was hoping that someone at the tavern would have the mark.”

“The mark?”

“The cartographers’ brooch.” She opened the flap of her cloak to reveal a small silver pin depicting several rolled-up scrolls that combined to create a compass rose. “It’s how we identify each other and know to offer help,” she explained.

“Is that why you were so insistent on being in crowded places?” Eldren said.

“Bingo.”

“Well, what now?” Just as he asked the question, several town guards turned into the far end of the alleyway behind them, torches blaring. They weren’t gray cloaks, but the Iron Square must have enlisted the city watch to help them hunt down stray tavern goers.

“Hey! We found two of them!” They began sprinting toward Ink and Eldren, about twenty meters away. “It might be the dwarf!”

“Gotta move!” Ink darted across the street with Eldren hot on her heels. He could again feel Ardos flopping around in his backpack. Cam would have felt bad for the tortoise but Eldren reminded himself that the wizard had tried to possess his body just a few days ago.

They dashed along alleyways and over barrels as the guards pursued. Eldren wished he knew half the magic that his character did in the tabletop game. That Eldren could have made short work of the guards. Or he could have simply flown them to safety. As it was, one wrong turn would have them cornered with no magic and no weapons.

“Ink, we need a plan!” Eldren called. “We can’t just keep running!”

“Up here!” she shouted back at him as she scampered up two crates onto a rooftop. "Wish you knew some more useful magic,” Ink said. “That would be helpful right now.”

They raced along rooftops and Ink hurdled a large gap between two buildings, clearing the alleyway in between them. Eldren paused. He wasn’t athletic enough to jump it. He swung his bag over his shoulder and pulled out the spell book.

“Double jump!” He felt a queasy sensation in the pit of his stomach as his mana drained. He started to run forward, this time expecting the spell to take over. He pushed off with his foot and flew through the air. When he was directly over the alleyway, he kicked his foot again, initiating the second jump. He sailed forward. And then crashed with a loud thud onto the rooftop across the way.

“One out of ten,” Ink said, offering a hand to help him. He took it and rose to his feet. They kept running and he focused on trying not to trip on the wooden shingles under his feet. He could hear guards clambering up the crates a few rooftops behind them.

“That seems worse than not knowing where a secret guild house is,” Ink said. “Does your globe say anything?”

“My what? Oh! The crystal ball!” He swung his backpack around on the fly as they ran.

“Watch it!” Ardos’ muffled yelp came from inside.

“Sorry,” Eldren said. He wasn’t sure he meant it. He and Ink slowed momentarily and ducked behind a chimney while he unzipped the bag and pulled out his crystal ball. He waved his hand quickly in front of it.

Quest Updated:

- Find the cartographers’ safe house in Yarko Village. (0/1)

- Procure a weapon. (0/1)

“Ardos, does this thing ever help or does it just repeat tasks other people give me?”

“It’s mostly just to track tasks you’ve been given,” the tortoise replied, its legs flailing in the air trying to roll upright.

“It says to procure a weapon. Nobody said anything about that,” Eldren said.

“That’s because the weapon is already in the inventory.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“The inventory?” Eldren asked. “I swear to God, Ardos, when we get to a safe place you’re going to explain everything to me clearly. How do I get the weapon?”

“Wave your hand the other way,” Ardos huffed, still struggling to get up.

Eldren dropped the bag pack, eliciting a loud harrumph from the turtle, and wildly waved his hand in front of the crystal ball, the opposite way he had to show his stats.

A small collection of circular icons appeared inside the glass, floating in a neat grid.

“Extend all five of your fingers and then retract them quickly to zoom in,” Ardos said, poking his head out of the bag, having managed to get himself up.

As Eldren did so, the icons enlarged so he could see them more clearly and read the tiny white text in the smokey glow of the crystal ball. Most of the item slots were empty gray spaces, except for the first one.

Staff of the Novice (Rubbish)

This beginner’s staff is made of reinforced ash. It does not have any magical enhancements or abilities but is stronger than ordinary wood.

Great. He had a garbage item to fight with. Still, it was better than nothing. Without asking Ardos, he instinctively made a pinching motion with his thumb and index finger in the air and pulled his arm back. Using the crystal ball was not totally dissimilar to using Cam’s iPad.

Stop thinking of Cam as a different person.

“Hold out your other—” Ardos was cut off as the Staff of the Novice materialized out of a thin mist in the air and clattered onto the shingles. “—hand,” he finished.

Eldren picked the staff up and the crystal ball vibrated.

Quest Updated:

- Procure a weapon. (1/1)

- XP gained: 1

- XP total: 6

“Cool!” Ink said. “Now that we both have a weapon, let’s have a little fun.”

“You’ve had a weapon this whole time?” Eldren constantly felt like was asking questions and always a step behind everyone else.

“Watch this,” Ink replied. He could hear the guards lumbering across the rooftops, the footfalls getting closer. He watched as Ink fidgeted and unclipped something from her back, hidden under her cloak. She pulled out a small rectangular object made of wood and metal.

Her fingers deftly flicked and the contraption quickly unfolded and latched. It was a miniature crossbow that folded up.

“On my count, get ready to do your thing,” she said. She pulled a small dart from another hidden compartment on her belt, holding it up to inspect it in the moonlight. “This is the one, I think.” She loaded it in the crossbow.

“I don’t know how to fight,” Eldren said. That was Cam talking. Eldren could figure it out.

“Good time to learn, I suppose,” she said. “Plus, they’re probably only Level 2 or something. They’re guards.” Then Ink flipped herself around the chimney, out of cover. Eldren stood watching dumbly, trying to process what she had said. He didn’t think NPCs could be aware of their stats in the tabletop game world. Did everyone here have stats and know them? If so, how?

“Hey you dolts, come and get some!” Eldren heard the guards shout and the footsteps became a sprint. He heard the click as Ink’s crossbow fired. He took a deep breath, clenching the Staff of the Novice, and spun out of cover.

What he found surprised him. Whatever Ink’s dart had been filled with had exploded into a fine pink mist that enveloped the guards. He could hear them coughing. Then, as he tentatively stood, staff in hand, he heard a thud. Had one of the guards fallen?

Another thud. Then another.

“Whack them while they’re asleep!” Ink said. She pulled the rope they had used to climb the palisade out of her satchel.

“What?” He couldn’t have heard her correctly.

“Knock them out!” she said. “Were you born yesterday? I feel like I have to explain everything to you twice. Whack them in the head a few times with that staff and then I’ll tie them up.”

“They’re already sleeping.” Cam surfaced, reluctant to smash a thick staff over someone’s head. “Just tie them up.”

“Won’t be for long. The dart only holds a small dose. Make sure to cover your mouth and nose.”

Cam pulled the collar of his hoodie up over his nose and slowly walked toward the mist. Ink was right and he could see that it was already beginning to disperse, revealing three slumped-over forms on the rooftop.

You’re going to have to do worse than this, he thought to himself trying to summon Eldren’s mindset. He took a deep breath and raised the staff. He brought it down on the first guard’s helmet. A slight clink echoed softly through the air.

“Harder than that,” Ink said as she sliced the rope up with a small hunting knife. “Take their helmets off first, too. That’ll help.”

Eldren’s stomach was queasy. Unfortunately, there was no other choice. They didn’t know where the safe house was and they couldn’t keep outrunning the guards all night. He bent down and slipped their helmets off. One guard stirred.

“Hurry!” Ink hissed.

He sighed. This time he raised the staff high above his head and brought it down hard on the top of a guard’s head.

THWACK.

He repeated this twice more, feeling worse and worse each time. His legs grew a little wobbly as he turned back to Ink.

“Nice work. For a wizard.” She smiled and began to tie the unconscious guards’ wrists and ankles together. “Should buy us some time, come on.” She slipped her satchel back over her shoulder while Eldren retrieved his backpack from behind the chimney. As he grabbed it, the crystal ball vibrated again.

- Combat XP gained: 2

- Total XP: 8

“Ardos, what happens when I gain more experience points?” he asked, pulling the backpack onto his shoulders.

“You’ll level up. Every ten points. But at every level, you’ll need to do more impressive deeds to earn the same amount of experience. It’s diminishing. And do try to be—more careful—as you’re running. It’s like being inside of a salt shaker in here.”

“Sorry,” Eldren said. He still wasn’t sure he meant it.

They raced along the rooftop until they came to a gap between buildings that dropped into another alleyway. Ink jumped down and Eldren followed.

He tumbled onto a soft, lumpy surface. The mound under him let out a grunt.

What the…

He had fallen on top of someone.

“Get yer hands off me, I’ll shoot yer bloody eyes out, you false worshippin’ bastards!”

Eldren instantly recognized the voice. He hadn’t just fallen on top of someone. He had fallen on top of Baltran son of Baltran, the Bullseye of the Bride Water.