The ride back to town was uneventful. Drag marks off to the side of the trail were all that remained of the would-be bandit from before. Kai led same directly back to the nest. She settled down to let him off and then promptly shook off the saddle. The dwarf waited for him at the back door.

"Welcome back," Hank said. "Did you drop off the delivery?"

"Not so much," Sam replied. "Bar-T Ranch is under new management."

"Oh?" The dwarf asked. He crossed his arms and looked Sam over. "By who?"

"The Oli Clan," Sam replied.

"That," Hank said. "Is good to hear. They'll get the bandits in order quick like."

"Do you know where I can turn in a bounty ring?" Sam asked.

"The Sheriffs Office," Hank replied. "There's a message for you, once you get settled."

"A message for me?"

"That's what I said," the dwarf countered.

Hank disappeared back into the Inn. Sam followed a few steps behind.

"No one knows I'm here," Sam said in a low tone.

"A messenger dropped it off to your name," the dwarf said. "Don't know more than that. It's waiting at the front desk."

"Thank you," Sam said. "I guess I'll read it now."

Hank led him to the front desk. Just as he said there was an envelope waiting when they arrived. Sam looked down at it and then at the doors. He stepped to the side to get a look at the street. The townsfolk were going about their day. No one seemed particularly interested with the Inn, nor was anyone studiously avoiding it.

"Do you want it or not?" Hank asked.

The elf turned to see Hank holding the envelope out to him.

"Thank you," Sam said as he took the letter.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Sam'uel Willowthorn,

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know you're still getting your bearings, but you've come to our attention. As the Active Cast Member Gorignack mentioned, there is a contest coming up. Across the world there are hidden artifacts that must be retrieved. The person to gather several artifacts and activate them will be granted a reward. This being a top of the line, custom order artificial body.

We are contacting you because you fit a certain profile. If you accept our offer, you will be rewarded for every Active Cast Member that has entered the contest for which you kill. Each one will grant you one thousand dollars of hard currency, which is the equivalent of ten thousand dollars of in-game currency.

If you accept you knowingly, and of your own free will, will have turned the Active Cast Members into Resources. They will have their memories adjusted to fit in with the world around them with no further recollection of their previous lives.

Should you decide to reject this offer then this letter will be purged from your memory.

You have twenty-four hours to decide.

Good Luck

Sam'uel read the letter again. Carefully going over the offer in his mind. If the basic artificial body ran about two million, then a top of the line model had to be incredibly expensive. A thousand per Active swapped over would be pennies on the dollar to their bottom line. On the other hand, it was essentially killing these people.

But they were already dead. He was already dead. This entire world was just a game, and they wouldn't even know they had a life before their new one.

Do I want a new body? Sam thought. Do I want to go out into the real world?

He looked down at the hand holding the letter. In this world he would come back if he died. This was a world of magic and adventure. What did the real world have to offer?

The words on the letter shifted.

* Optional Quest Started: Gathering Resources

* Track down and kill any Active Cast Members hunting the artifacts

* Reward:

* $10,000 per kill

Sam smiled at the text. The withered away until his hand was empty. His gaze shifted to where Hank was now flipping through some sort of ledger.

"The Sheriffs' Office," Sam said. "Where is that located?"

"To the right, end of the street," Hank said without looking up from his ledger.

"Thank you," Sam said. He tipped his hat at the dwarf, only to realize he didn't have one. "I need some fresh clothes and a hat."

"Swoons Market," Hank said.

"I know where that is," Sam countered.

After the room for a week and the raptor rental he had a total of seventy-five dollars. He had no idea how much a hat and some new clothes would cost. A fresh set, or two, wasn't a bad idea. His current outfit was already a bit ripe.

His stomach growled loud enough for Hank to look up at him.

"Any chance at a late breakfast?" Sam asked.

Hank smiled.