Liam Barrett:
"SkyGlimmer," I yell. I take a step back and start pointing fingers at her, my hands shooting back and forth. "Yo--You bit---"
About to swear, I slam my mouth shut and stop myself. In my videos, I work hard not to swear or say anything bad because I want to keep it safe for kids to watch.
"Yoouuu," I moan through my sealed mouth, still shooting my fingers. "Youuu bastard! You stole the ring! You left with it!"
"Hey, hey, hey," SkyGlimmer shouts back, putting up a finger. "First things first. Hello EpicFailGamer. Glad to see you again."
I stop shooting my fingers for one second to wave.
"Hello, SkyGlimmer. Likewise. Glad to see you again, too."
"Second," SkyGlimmer yells, putting up a second finger. "I am sorry, okay? I didn't mean to log out and take the ring with me. It was purely accidental. In my defense, I thought maybe, since we were in the same party and I was logging out, the ring would transfer to you. I didn't know it stayed with me. I did not mean to ruin your quest."
"You still did!"
"Okay, okay, okay, calm down. Calm down, you big baby."
SkyGlimmer taps her wrist and stares into space.
"She must be accessing her inventory screen," I think. "Hmm. Other players' inventories are invisible to others. Noted."
A few seconds later, SkyGlimmer lowers her wrist and looks at me again. She raises her hands, and a shining stack of gold coins appears out of thin air.
"Here. This is half the gold I got from the quest. Hold out your hand."
A little confused, I still raise my hand. The gold coins in SkyGlimmer's hand vanish. A second later, my inventory screen appears before my eyes.
"+35 gold coins," my screen says. Bold, white lettering appears before fading away.
"Only 35 gold," I say.
"It was a beginner quest. What were you expecting?"
"A little more," I sigh, deflating like a balloon and lowering my hand.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it," SkyGlimmer replies with a wave of her hand. "For the record, I do believe in fairness. You worked with me on the quest, so you do deserve a portion of the reward money."
"Again," I say, nodding. "Thank you very much."
"So, if you don't mind my asking, what are you going to do with my generosity? Buy it, or save it for later?"
"Buy it," I quickly answer. Tapping my wrist and looking at the new amount of gold I have, I smile.
"Be right back! Please don't go away yet."
With that said, I quickly run out of Pella's Potion shop. Running back into the market, I look around before seeing a weapon stall. Running up to it, I spend the rest of my money on a shiny new iron axe, with a metal handle and blades at both ends.
"EpicaFailers," I say, holding up my new weapon so my drone can see it fully, "Look at this beauty. I guess if there's one thing I learned from all of this, it's that when life stabs you in the back, it sometimes pays you back in cash. No, not cash. Gold."
Returning to SkyGlimmer and showing her my new shiny axe, we then leave Pella together and start exploring more of Briardstead. While walking, we talk, and then SkyGlimmer laughs.
"You're only at level 2," SkyGlimmer laughs. I think she tries to be polite by covering her mouth, but it was pointless. "I can't believe you're only at level 2."
"Well, what are you at?"
"I'm at level 6," SkyGlimmer brags. My legs go numb and freeze. My head empties itself, and my vision suddenly goes blank.
"EpicFail? EpicFail? You still there?"
Shaking my head and regaining all my senses, I nod.
"Level 6, uh? Wow. That is...fast."
"Yeah, I know. That's why I don't understand why you're still at level 2. I mean, you walked all the way here from Honeywood. How did you not level up between here and there? What did you do?"
"I don't know. I killed a few more goblins, ran from a bandit--"
"You ran?"
"He was a level 5 bandit!"
SkyGlimmer laughs through her nose again, and I lower my head.
"I also ran into three warriors. They mentioned something about joining a Guild."
"Oh, was one of them named Lyra? Uhh, Lyra Ashbreeze?"
"Yeah! Their names were Lyra Ashebreeze, Aren Brightshield, and Rhydan-I can't remember his last name. Did you also run into them?"
"Yeah. I ran into them at the Drunken Lion. They offered an invitation to their Guild, but I have no idea where their Guild is."
"You and me both. This city is massive."
"Hey, speaking of the Drunken Lion, I'm going there now. Have you been there?"
"Yes. I brought some food there. What, hungry?"
"No. I'm going there to get a quest."
"A quest? From Marta? She gives out quests?"
"Yes. You didn't know? No wonder why you're only at level 2."
I sigh, shake my head, and mentally kick my own butt before following SkyGlimmer back to the inn. As I walk through the same heavy wooden door, I freeze when I see even more people inside the inn.
"How long was I gone?"
Each table is already taken and covered in food. I see bowls of stew, loaves of freshly baked bread, giant cuts of steaming meat, and even mugs overflowing with beer, and judging from the names above their heads, most of the people in here are players, not NPCs.
"I'm telling you," a player with the username TotallyNotAFK says after taking a spoonful of a red stew with green spices. "This is delicious! Way better than anything I could ever cook."
"That's not exactly saying much," his table buddy, another player named BladeofDestiny, replies with a chuckle. From under the table, TotallyNotAFK kicks BladeofDestiny.
"Ouch!"
"Ahhh," another player, SmokeNinja99, moans over a plate of cooked fish.
"You okay?" A player named LightningLunchbox asks while making a sandwich with bread, meat slices, and lettuce.
"No," a third player, SilentShadow77, answers. "No, we are not. Ahhh, just got back from a quest involving wolves. Damn, those stupid things are fast."
"Should've waited for me. I could've shot those wolves with lightning."
"We did," SmokeNinja yells. "Where the hell were you!"
Before I can hear LightningLunchBox's answer, SkyGlimmer bumps me with her elbow.
"Come on, EpicFail," she says with a nudge. I nod and follow SkyGlimmer. We approach Marta Stewwell again, who is still wiping her counter with a table.
"Hello adventurers," Marta repeats, "How about some food and drinks?"
"As much as I would like," I reply, "I will have to say no this time. Sorry, Marta."
Marta ignores me, which I'm not going to lie, hurts a little. She focuses on SkyGlimmer.
"Hello Marta," SkyGlimmer starts, "What have you heard today?"
Marta stops cleaning and reaches down. She pulls out a piece of folded paper and gives it to SkyGlimmer.
"A couple of farmers stopped by with this bounty," Marta says before walking away. I watch her for a bit. She walks a few steps before grabbing a broom and swiping the floor.
"Marta really likes to clean," I say.
"Hey, check this out," SkyGlimmer says. She hands me the paper. I unfold it and start reading.
"Dear adventurers," the letter starts, "Bandits have been raiding and looting our harvests. City guards cannot watch us. We farmers are seeking protection and will pay."
My screen appears in front of me.
"New quest discovered," a message on the screen reads. "Harvest protection. Protect farmers from enemies as they harvest. Do you accept?"
I don't waste a second and push the big, green accept button. The message vanishes and is replaced by an arrow.