I nearly walk into Helen, opening the door to leave the club.

“You’re back,” she says, surprised. “I was going to ask Malcolm how to track you down.”

Silver is a few steps away.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’m skilled at finding people,” Harry says, behind me.

“He charges for his services in sex,” I say before I can stop myself.

“Sorry,” Helen tells him dismissively. “I’m not into fur. Silver got jumped, so I’m thinking it’s time we got out of this city.”

“I’m fine,” Silver says, sounding exasperated. Looking at her, she looks like she’d been in a fight. Her clothing looks fine, but she’d have equipped her armor as soon as it started. She has a bruise on a cheek, and she seems to favor her left arm.

I glance at the party window and realize I missed a few things. The big one is that Brandon is no longer part of the party. The second, somehow, I’m the leader now, and third, Silver’s health is down by a quarter. Not that I could have done anything about any of it, but the only reason I missed all these things happening was because I wasn’t paying attention like I should have. Instead, all my attention was on the books.

“Was it because of me?” I ask, anger rising. They would have seen us together before Malcolm made sure they all scattered. Her shrug is answer enough. They tried to get her to get to me. It takes a few breaths before the anger is manageable. I can’t afford to lose my head in this city.

“We’re going to get Brandon, then we’re leaving.”

“You know where he is?” Silver asks.

“No, but that’s where he comes in.” I thumb at Harry over my shoulder.

Helen raises an eyebrow. “You paid his price?”

“Malcolm agreed to pay in his stead,” Harry says before I can figure out how to answer her.

“I didn’t think that was something he did,” she says.

“Turns out he likes Dennis,” Harry replies.

“Where do we start?” I ask before this turns into a discussion about my likability.

“First, add me to your party. If you don’t have one formed, do it. The last thing we want is to lose contact with each other,” the bear says. “Then, we’re heading to the East Market. If there’s anything to be learned, that’s where we’re going to find it.”

I add him, then we get moving.

We walk mostly in silence. The only time he speaks is to tell us we’re going around a forested zone because we don’t want to deal with what’s in there. Silver tries to get him to elaborate, but he shuts her down with a, “I’m not being paid to be a touristic guide.” Unlike when he made me the offer to help, the tone makes it clear this isn’t something he wants to be paid for.

The forest has housing next to it the entire time we can see it. Leave it to Detroit to let people live next to a place that’s clearly dangerous, and I don’t even feel bad for thinking that.

When we leave the forest behind, it’s to continue among houses and taller buildings. Harry keeps us on the wider road, and the number of smaller ones reminds me of the neighborhood in Toronto where the Explorer’s club is located. I definitely don’t want to go in those.

Then, we’re standing in front of a field with booths, tables, and just people hawking stuff between them. It’s maybe three blocks deep and four or five wide; all surrounded by building. It’s like a merchant forest in how it reminds me of the actual one we passed. I expect this is just as dangerous.

“Welcome to the East Market,” Harry announces. “I hope you have money, because everything’s available, but nothing’s free. Especially not information. The people I know will give you a better rate, and won’t lie to you while I’m there, but they are going to expect payment. Money. That’s the only currency officially accepted here.”

“And unofficially?” Helen asks.

“You do not want to know.” He starts in. “Stick with me. Don’t speak to strangers, and for the system’s sake, don’t accept anything that’s offered to you. I’m here to help you find Brandy, not protect you from your own stupidity.”

Helen looks at me.

“What? I’m not stupid enough to just accept food or drinks from strangers.” Not after the library, anyway.

The first merchant Harry stops at sells earthen wares. The conversation is cordial in a way that seems alien to the Detroit I’ve experienced at this point. For ten dollars, he tells us he doesn’t know anything.

Helen starts making a fuss about paying for nothing, but Harry tells her to wait for them outside if she doesn’t like how business is conducted. She glares but stays with us. And Harry takes us to another stall.

*

I’m down two hundred and fifty dollars and still no idea where Brandon is. Ten dollars seems to be the going rate to be told they don’t know anything, and after the fifth time, I’m tempted to just walk off when they ask for it, but Harry’s there to make sure we behave ourselves, which means not pissing off his contacts.

“You deal with this,” I tell Silver, opening a trade for five hundred dollars. “I can’t anymore.” Once she accepts it, I stay at the back as we move, looking around for threats, and seeing them everywhere without even trying. And I’m not imagining them. People stand between stalls watching everyone greedily. I even watch as one steps behind a shopper and places a knife to her back.

Helen grabs my arm before I can go help her and doesn’t release it until it’s too fucking late. It doesn’t help that I know she’s right to have stopped me. Even if that’s not to target me, I’d be an idiot to go after them and end up system knows where surrounded by people more than happy to cut me down.

I fucking hate this place.

When Silver and Harry are talking to a merchant, I look at what the stalls surrounding us offer. One look at my expression makes it clear I’m not shopping, and if that’s not enough, my tone, when I almost tell them to go fuck themselves and settle for “no, thanks.” Clarifies things.

How fucking hard is it to find out where Brandon’s gone to? It’s not like he’s hard to miss.

*

“Hey,” someone whispers forcefully for a third time, pulling my attention from whatever’s on display. The woman’s between two tents and moves back when I glance her way.

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Oh sure, like I’m going to follow you away from the others. Silver looks tired as she talks with yet another merchant. Helen looks about to set something on fire. I’ve lost track of how long we’ve been at this, but the sun’s now approaching the skyline.

“Hey,” she whispers again and motions me to follow as she retreats.

Really?

She returns to the edge of the tent, looks around furtively and when she motions this time, she stands still. She’s dressed normally enough for the area, and doesn’t look armed, but I know better than to take that to mean anything.

She motions again, and this time I approach, stopping when I’m still well out of reach.

“I have something for you,” she whispers.

Fuck this. I turn to leave.

“You’re looking for Brandon?”

I stop and face her again.

“What do you want with him?” she asks. She backs in the shadow as someone passes behind me and I split my attention between them until the man’s moved on. And only then do I remember to look at my inventory, but nothing’s missing.

She’s back. “What do you want with Brandon?”

“He’s my friend.”

Tension leaves her. “Thanks the system. I was scared you were after him, too. I know where he is. He’s hurt and—don’t,” she hisses as I turned to call to the others. “You can’t trust the bear.”

“What are you talking about? He’s helping us find Brandon.”

“Is he? I’ve been watching you for a while. Other than getting you to give money to people he knows, what has he actually done to help?”

“He guided us here. He said we can find out anything here.”

“So why hasn’t he led you to someone who knows something already? I’ve seen him here before, with people like you. When they’re out of money, he takes them out, and no one ever sees them again.”

“You’re wrong.” She has to be. There’s no way Malcolm would have let someone like that guide us.

But does he know? It can’t be just explorers Harry offers to help. And if Malcolm asks. He just says they left once they go what they were after. It’s what I’m planning on doing. Did I tell him that? Even if I didn’t, he knows we’re only here until we find what I need, so Harry telling him we left is credible. He can’t know me so well to know I’m not leaving without first thanking him for the help.

“Look, I’m just telling you what I know. The bear bleeds people of their money, then just bleeds them. I don’t want to risk Brandon’s life.”

“Okay, I don’t tell him, just let me get…” I can’t get Silver and Helen without making Harry suspicious.

I open the party chat and see his name there. Fuck. Is that why he told me to add him? So we wouldn’t be able to tell each other our suspicions without him knowing. I can’t even remove him, because he has to be alert for that. Unlike me.

“Look, Brandon’s hurt bad,” she says, “and I don’t have anything to heal him.”

I glance at the others, but I’m on my own with this. “Lead the way.”

She hurries around tents and stalls.

“How do you know him?” I ask as I follow.

“I don’t. He came stumbling out of an alley, all cut up and bruised. Said people were after him, that he had to get to someone names Dennis, then he crumbled. I dragging deeper, then some people came running by. Nasty looking people. He isn’t healing as well as I think he should for how tough he looks. He might have been poisoned. I was trying to find someone here who’d sell me an antidote for cheap when I hear your group asking after Brandon. Then, well, once you were far enough from them, I could get your attention without the bear noticing…”

We exit the market and enter an alley. Three turns later, I can see a form on the ground partially covered by a dirty blanket or something.

“Brandon!” I pull ahead of her. I can’t see him breathing. It’s the distance. It’s got to be. “Brandon!”

I drop next to him, pull the blanket off, and can’t make sense of what I’m looking at.

Junk, piled together into something that doesn’t even remotely look like someone. I look over my shoulder to ask her what’s going on, and I get my answer by the three guys stepping out of the closest alley.

This was a setup.

This was a fucking setup, and I fucking fell for it! I tell myself she must have magic or something. There’re races that can charm people. She has to be one of those.

But I know better. She told me what I wanted to hear, and, like the idiot that I am, I bought it.

Silver: Dennis, where are you?

I stare at the message in the team chat. I almost answer, not that I can tell her where I am. It’s not like I was smart enough to pay attention to where she led me. I dismiss the window, set it not to reappear as I stand.

I don’t want them to come save me.

I got myself into this. I’m going to fucking get myself out of it.

Or not.

But I’m going to make them pay for this first.

I make fists. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

They exchange amused looks. They’re in their early twenties at most. Definitely strength based builds. Which means I probably look like a weakling to them.

“Come on! You’re after the fucking journal, right? Well, you can be fucking sure I’m not handing it over, so you’re going to have to beat me unconscious and have someone pick my inventory for it.”

“You want him?” the toughest of the three asks the one on his right.

The guy grins and rubs his hands together, stepping toward me. “Won’t take me long.”

I rush him. I’m not fucking waiting for this to start. He gets over the surprise and swings, but I step out of the way. I miss my punch, but I’m not surprised. I’m being an idiot for trying this unarmed, but I don’t care. I’m barely adequate with my fists. I should equip my sword and cut him down.

I stop to turn, and his fist connects with my face. It stings, but I ignore that. I punch him, and he grabs my arm. I fly over him and land face first in the ground. That hurts too, but I roll and kick at him. My foot lands in his stomach and he staggers back. I’m up and on him. I land two punches before he can hit me back, one in his side and one that breaks his nose and has it spill blood down his face.

His punch snaps my head to the side hard enough. I’m the one who staggers this time. I can taste blood, and I grin at him. Not the reaction he wanted. Well, sucks to be you, I’m not cowering my way out of this. It’s what I deserve for being an idiot, again.

I meet him halfway and put an arm around his neck to keep him from moving away as I punch him in the stomach as hard as I can.

He hits me back, but my armor, as well as my toughness and ability, means I barely feel it.

He doesn’t feel my punches all that much from what I can tell, so I change tactic and knee him in the balls.

He drops and I’m on him, striking him in the face until he isn’t moving anymore.

“That’s one,” I snarl as I stand. “Who’s next?”

The leader sends the other one at me and this fight goes more or less the same. I take a beating until I land my knee in his crotch and he goes down.

“Going to send the girl at me next?”

The leader steps forward as the person who led me here backs away. Oh, no, you don’t.

I run as hard as I can, and at the last moment, I put my hand on the wall and run up it, over the guy, and throw myself at the girl. We crash down, and I pull her up as I stand, only to shove her the way we came.

“Stay the fuck there. We aren’t done.”

The leader looks at me, at her, and a knife is in his hand.

“That’s how you want to do this?” I ask and equip my sword.

“That’s not fair,” he complains.

“Come at me and see if I fucking care.” I block the way out, so it’s not like he has a choice.

Knife against sword. No contest. When he goes down from the pommel in his face, he’s covered in cuts and one puncture through the biceps. I sent my sword to my inventory and turn to the girl.

“About this talk you ow me.” I grin as I approach, and she looks terrified.

Good.

I grab her by the collar and pull her to her feet. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know!”

I punch her in the face. “Don’t fucking lie to me! Where’s Brandon?”

“I don’t know!”

Another punch.

I get in close and she recoils. “You’re going to tell me, or I swear to the system, There isn’t going to be anything left of you for these guys to help when they wake up.”

“I don’t know! I was following you!” she yells as I raise my fist. “Heard you say the name. The bear said yours. I just made things up, figured whoever you were looking for could be hurt.”

“I don’t believe you.” Hit. “You knew too much.” Hit. “You fucking used the fact I care!” Hit. “What is wrong with you fucking people!” Hit.

I fly back and hit the wall hard enough I see stars.

“Dennis, stop it!” Helen yells. The glow around her hands matches the one surrounding me.

Harry knells next to the sprawled girl. “She’s still alive,” he says, sounding relieved.

“Let me down and I’m going to take care of that,” I snarl. I touch the ground, but Silver is in front of me before the glow’s completely gone.

“What happened?” she asks. “Why weren’t your replying?”

“She said she could take me to Brandon.”

“And you believed her?” Harry demands.

“Shut up!” I’m in front of him. “Shut the fuck up. You aren’t any better than them. All you’ve been doing it taking our money and leading us around to nothing. So you fucking don’t get to talk about me actually trying to find my friend, you got that?”

A hand on my shoulder makes me jump and turn, fists in the air. Silver looks at me.

“It’s okay,” she says gently. “We know where he is. One of Harry’s contacts knew people who… it’s not important. We know where Brandon is. We can go help him.”

“You know?” Behind her, one of the guy I beat up groans. His face is a bloody mess. A look at the girl and she’s in worse condition. Then Silver’s supporting me.

“I wanna go home,” I whisper in her shoulder, crying.