Chapter 9: Chapter 8

Helena could not excuse her actions this time. That had not been instinctive self-defence where she barely was conscious of what she was doing. Killing Bakag had been murder and done with an ice cold, calculating anger in her heart. This world she found herself in was a harsh place and it appeared she was well suited for it. She did not know how she felt about that, her emotions were presently a confused mess.

She emptied Bakag's purse into her own and then tossed the empty pouch. She almost threw away the token but at the last second changed her mind. A hasty decision might be a bad one. Keeping the black token meant she could be tracked but she also had ideas how it may also have a use, so Helena left it in the purse. Then she checked herself over and could thankfully see no signs of blood spray on her clothes before returning inside. Inside the store it was as if nothing had happened. The quiet conversations of customers and staff, no one panicking at her earlier abduction, no one had heard or seen anything. It all felt quite surreal to Helena.

Helena thought again about ditching the token but she did not know how many Ravens were looking for her, or what other tricks or magic they might have. Without the token there was a chance she might be safe but could she take that risk? It wasn't just her life being threatened, it was Kiara's and the others. The only benefit she had was with Bakag's death they did not know who she was, at least for now. She needed to learn more about The Ravens. Bakag had told her where they would be tonight, Talvox Square. Once she got directions to the square, and if she was careful, she could go there and look, listen, and learn. However she would have to make sure she was prepared for if, when, events turned bad. What could she do if she was attacked again? Helena was still level one with no gear, she knew that so far she had been incredibly lucky. As her anonymous friend's message told her, she had been underestimated. Could she still use that to her advantage?

Helena aimlessly wandered around the ground floor as she was lost in her thoughts. She had the beginnings of an idea how she could defend herself when something caught her eye. A mannequin wearing a dress like nothing she had seen so far. It was astonishing, it was almost perfect. There was more than one way to stay hidden. Misdirection could be a useful tool. Helena stood there entranced as her mind raced with ideas.

"You have excellent taste. That is my best work in many years."

Helena turned to her side and found Madam Danielle standing next to her, her eyes also fixed on the dress.

"It's extraordinary. It's exactly what I'm after but it's too big. If it was in my size I'd take it."

"It's appearance is deceptive. However, and I mean no offence my dear, but you cannot afford it. None of my usual customers can. It is a one-off bespoke commission. That fabric is lussore silk made from the larvae of the Askan death moth. An exquisite material and one that will magically resize itself to the wearer. That is only partly why it is so desirable and so expensive. Such a rare cloth is difficult to come by even at the best of times and takes a high level [Weaver] with specific skills to produce."

"I see. So it would fit me then. Hmm. Out of curiosity, and if it is not rude to ask, how much is the price?"

"In total the client was going to pay eight platinum coins."

"Eight platinum?!" Helena couldn't help but exclaim.

"That is the price for exclusivity, rarity and the highest quality craftsmanship. For such material and the price of my labour I actually undercharged the customer. Ten is closer to its true worth, maybe even twelve, but she was a long term and valued patron. Sadly she died along with her family in the explosion.

"Even if I reduce the price by the four platinum she had already paid for the deposit I will need the blessing of Tellus to find anyone in a position or the inclination to buy such an expensive piece now. There's no aristocracy left in Nodel anymore."

Helena was pressed for time and this could be a fortuitous opportunity.

"So would you accept the outstanding four platinum?"

Madam Danielle gave her a quizzical look.

"I will give you everything I have for the dress and some other small items, and if you can deliver everything to the Golden Griffin inn before sunset. My request is urgent, the Griffins leave soon for Feymarr." She handed over the purse full of every bit and coin she had taken from the nightclan members with the exception of the black token.

Opening the purse Madam Danielle quickly totalled up the contents.

"I apologise for my earlier presumption. You can afford it. Well now, I do believe we can come to an agreement but that depends on what the other items you mentioned are."

"Something to securely hide my face. I do not want it falling off by accident."

"Why would you want to ... oh, yes, yes, I see. For a masquerade, how exciting! Hmm. Something that will go with such a dress, something delicate, refined, but also provocative."

"As long as no one can tell who I am I will trust your judgement. Also some quiet, comfortable shoes but ones that I can walk for long periods or move quickly in."

"I understand my dear. Such society balls can consist of nothing but hours of standing around and dancing."

Helena nodded. As long as she got what she wanted, needed in fact, she did not care what fanciful ideas Madam Danielle was imagining.

"Now, I cannot in good faith sell you this dress without first warning you. You may want to think again about selecting this garment. Let me ask you this, how daring are you my dear?"

"Daring? I'm not sure I follow."

"It is a dress for the heiress of a major noble house when she wants to be the standout figure at a party thrown by royalty. You would be fully covered but every curve will be on display. It does not hint, it flaunts. Not everyone has the confidence or the wish to be the focus of every eye in the room. You would garner every kind of reaction, both positive and negative. From admiration and desire to jealousy and malice, all of which such a dress was intended to elicit by the one who commissioned it."

Helena thought about the man she had just killed and the nightclan that would possibly be coming for hers and the guild's lives if they were not stopped.

"As long as it's comfortable, allows ease of movement, and looks mysterious I am not bothered about irrelevant concerns."

"Wonderful, I do so enjoy the boldness of youth. As for the rest, it is lussore silk my dear. It will keep you cool during balmy summer evenings and warm during frosty autumn strolls. It will feel as soft against your skin as a lover's kiss. The cloth is also impervious to all stains and fluids."

Helena blinked rapidly several times, unsure how to respond as her thoughts were suddenly derailed.

"It's magic protects from the rain, and prevents any blemishes from disastrous wine spills or dirty hemlines."

"Ah, of course. I can see how that would be an incredible boon for such an expensive outfit."

"If you will let an old woman be brutally honest, only someone like yourself can do such a dress justice and display it to its full effect. I could not wish for a better canvas for one of my finest creations."

First taking out the four large platinum coins, she handed the purse back to Helena.

"Keep the rest. My dresses are made to be seen and you are as fine a model for my work as I could dream of. I will be content knowing it has a worthy owner. All I ask is that if anyone asks where you bought it you tell them about my store."

"That is very generous Madam Danielle. I promise to remember your kindness and your request."

For what she had planned Helena would never be telling anyone where she got the dress, so she had some guilt about the half-truth. Maybe she could find another way to thank the woman in the future.

"Come now, let us find the rest of your accessories. I think I have just the mask. It even has an enchantment to conceal your voice. Another one-of-a-kind piece a master artisan ..."

---

"Let's go inside this one."

Kiara looked at the store sign hanging over the doorway. "A perfumery? We don't need anything from here. It would be better to go to one when we are in Feymarr if you want something."

"I'm thinking about getting some gifts before that."

"Oh, that would be nice. What a thoughtful idea."

The storekeeper was more than happy to fill Helena's unusual request after buying three small, but expensive vials of perfume and one of a musky aftershave. She would give one to each of Kiara, Jillian, Eruwen and Horrace, for saving her life and everything they had done for her since she had woken up. The shopkeeper had even written down a simple map to Talvox Square for her when she asked about directions. Helena was about to leave the store with her purchases when she noticed a special section in the corner. Ah yes, there is one other I should be gifting. According to the label this should be perfect. Now that Helena had everything she could think of it was time they returned to the inn. As they walked back Helena listened with one ear to Kiara telling her about all the new clothes she'd bought, while also making a list in her head about what she needed to do for the mission tonight.

***

Hendrick was in a good mood, a great mood in fact. He thought he might earn a bit of cash when he monetized his video of the Cataclysm but then the Council came along and offered a huge sum for the exclusive rights. He would have been stupid not to accept. With no mortgage and money to spare he was seriously considering handing in his resignation and going pro in eXalta. The prospect filled him with nervous excitement. And then there was Rathgar:

(Rank 394155) [Name: Rathgar the Unyielding] [Race: Human] [Grade: Bronze] [Level: 50] [Kills: 14]

It was crazy just how far he had climbed in the rankings because of the disaster. Then there was the fact his character was about to reach the next milestone and achieve Iron Grade. Things were looking up and his luck was running good. Hendrick tapped on the bow strapped to the back of the person next to him.

"What are you doing?" asked Ingrid. Her character, Ingrid Stormcloud II, was a flame-haired level 41 [Elemental Archer]. He admired her no-nonsense attitude and they had a good in-game camaraderie. There may have even been some occasional light flirting between the two of them.

"Knocking on wood. I almost jinxed myself by thinking how well everything was going. That's a sure way for this game to screw you over."

"Seriously?" she said with exasperation as she rolled her eyes.

"He's not wrong," said Chris. "Leon has died enough times for me to know the devs are vindictive little shits."

"If that were true you think saying that out-loud is going to help?" Ingrid asked.

"Nothing I say now can make things worse and I'm learning their devious and subtle tricks."

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Hendrick thought it was instead the fact Chris was being less of a reckless fool after each death but he didn't dissuade the man from his superstition. It was probably better that way.

They chatted amongst themselves as they walked from their party-owned house towards their favourite local pub down the dimly lit streets. Thankfully their home and this district had been protected from the explosion since it sat outside Nodel's huge wall. The majority of Nodel that was left standing was now in these outer suburbs. One of the best perks about this faux-medieval fantasy setting was that the bars opened early and stayed open as long as the owner was earning coin. No one in eXalta had heard about licensing laws. Hendrick was in the mood to celebrate tonight.

Maybe Hendrick had jinxed it or maybe he should have been more aware that after the Cataclysm the playerbase had shifted. The streets of Nodel at night were no longer what they used to be. There were those that saw opportunity in sudden weakness.

Their path was blocked by a group of three players. Two melee fighters in expensive looking, heavy leather armour and another man in a patterned magenta robe clearly magical in nature.

"Give us yer gear and you can go," said the man carrying a vicious looking double-edged axe. "It doesn't look good enough for you to be dying over it. None of us want to risk a wipe."

"Scared are you?" said Chris with derision.

Shut up Chris. Stop acting without thinking first.

"Identify us and ask that again."

Hendrick had already used [Identify]. A Level 62 [Axeman], a Level 61 [Swordsman], and a Level 60 [Pyromancer]. All their gear appeared to be a mixture of [Scarce] and [Rare] tiers.

Damn it to Hel. They were far too strong for Hendrick's party to take on. Rathgar may be level 50 but he wasn't damage focused. Leon was only level 37, a [Spellsword] with no spells and a mundane blade. The [Pyromancer] especially was a serious headache. The two mages in Hendrick's group were offline for the night. Apart from Rathgar's shield they had no other protection against magical attacks.

The pedestrians on the road seeing the signs of impending conflict made their escape. A small NPC boy started to run away but collided with the mage in their panic. The [Pyromancer] grabbed the boy and snarled, "Watch where you're going worm." He then kicked the child in the chest, flinging them along the street towards Hendrick's party.

A furious Chris shouted, "Hey man, what the fuck! Leave the kid alone, that's seriously not cool."

"Kid? Shut the fuck up. I hate people like you. It's just code."

The [Pyromancer] then formed a large ball of flame with both hands and flung it at the prone child. Hendrick leapt forward with his kite shield extended and slammed it upright into the ground in front of them both. He was rocked hard as he was buffeted by intense heat and what felt like a small car slamming into his shield. Only his new [Indomitable] skill kept him upright and in one piece.

Odin's ballsack that's a powerful spell. Don't think I can take many more of those.

He'd saved the child, for now. The poor thing was curled into a ball, hands over his head, screaming with fear.

Ingrid fired an arrow that crackled with lightning at the mage but it bounced off a barrier that sparked electric-blue at the point of collision. The two fighters rushed forward but Chris went to intercept them with a screaming charge of his own, his sword barely managing to hold them off as he fought one versus two. The [Pyromancer]'s hands started to move again as he began the casting for another deadly fireball. Hendrick prepared himself to use a taunt skill to ensure the mage focused on him and not the others. It might mean he was sacrificing Rathgar to allow the others to survive for a few moments longer. Even then their prospects were slim. They were all going to wipe.

Something moved in the darkness behind the [Pyromancer]. A hand appeared from nowhere and wrapped around the mage's throat. Behind their back a silver blade caught the moonlight as its tip sped upward, piercing through the base of the mage's skull killing him instantly.

Taking advantage of the sudden change in the fight Ingrid switched targets and aimed at one of the melee fighters. The arrow was a blur as it leapt forward. Hendrick knew Ingrid was a great shot, it was what had first made him notice her character, and her arrow easily avoided Chris on the way to her target, and as their companion defended himself from the two attackers. The [Axeman] whipped up his weapon and used the face of his axe to deflect the projectile behind him.

Shit. These guys were good.

Hendrick picked himself up and charged. He pulled out his own shortsword and taunted the [Swordsman] letting Chris face the [Axeman] alone. Even one on one they both struggled, they were out-levelled and out-classed in every sense of the word. Unfortunately Ingrid no longer had a clear shot on either of them.

Chris screamed in pain and almost dropped his sword as the axe sliced deep across his arm. The [Axeman] lifted his edged-weapon high and swung downward with force at Chris's head, looking to cleave it in two. Gripping his sword with both hands Chris barely managed to lift his blade in time to save himself, but before the axe could strike Chris's sword something flew through the air and slammed against the side of the [Axeman]'s head with a loud crack leaving the man stunned. Not one to miss the sudden opening Chris thrust his sword through the man's chest. With a shout of rage he pulled out his blade and stabbed the [Axeman] again.

The last attacker remaining saw all his companions had fallen, but due to Hendrick's still active taunt he could not retreat. Between both Hendrick and Chris they finally managed to take down the [Swordsman] though Hendrick took a nasty cut to his leg in the short but vicious fight.

Chris slowly collapsed until he was sitting on the ground, while gasping for breath he managed to say, "That was the toughest and most insane fight I've ever had in my life, all ten of them."

"Same. That was intense. My heart is still pounding." He looked behind him and saw Ingrid comforting the child, telling him he was safe now. "If it wasn't for someone taking out the [Pyromancer] we were all toast."

He looked over at the dead [Axeman] and saw a brick laying by the corpse. No wonder he'd been almost knocked out cold. That had been one hell of a throw. "Him too."

When Hendrick looked back at the body of the [Pyromancer] standing beside it was their saviour.

At first his mind failed to grasp what he was looking at. It was like those pictures of an illusion he had seen shared online, where you could stare at the image for ages without seeing anything until suddenly it clicked.

Their outfit was part threatening ninja, part sultry catsuit, part exotically elegant (what were those Chinese dresses called again?) qipao, and part ultra-feminine little short-skirt. What really make it difficult for his eyes to follow was that it was made from layers of an incredibly thin silk, the threads of which were each continuously shifting between shades of lightest-to-darkest grey; it made it appear like the fabric was constantly flowing over their entire body, as if they were wearing smoke from the top of their neck down to their feet, only their hands were left uncovered. Nothing except deep magic could produce such an effect.

Over their face they wore the night sky. A smooth, ovaloid mask as black as onyx, almost as black as their hair. The mask appeared to wrap around the edges of their face and hook over their ears. Gleaming silver specks were splashed over the surface, with a thick, diagonal brush-stroke of the flecks across the centre like a milky-way of lustrous stars. The only part of their face Hendrick could see were piercing eyes of a remarkably vibrant pale-brown. The overall aspect it affected was of someone otherworldly.

Hendrick used [Identify] on the woman, and it was painfully obvious a woman under that clothing, but he could barely believe what he read.

[Race: Human] [Grade: Tin] [Level: 1] [Class: none]

"Who are you?" he asked cautiously.

"Funny you should ask that ... I will remain nameless." Her voice was clear, precise, and without accent, and did not appear to be muffled in any way by the mask she was wearing.

"Fair enough, you're entitled to your anonymity. But why would you attack him? Don't you realise how dangerous that was? You're only level one. He was level sixty!"

"That is true." The woman glanced at the body and shrugged. "Though that doesn't appear to have helped him. Do you mind if I loot him now? You were all in my way and I'm in kind of a hurry, there's somewhere else I need to be."

"Err. Sure. You got the last hit." You one-shot him! Even if they were Level 1 Hendrick was not ashamed to admit he was slightly intimidated by their demeanour. His gut was telling him not to get in their way or piss them off.

"I'm not sure what that means but thanks." With that the woman stripped the dead [Pyromancer] of a purse, all his many rings and a pendant with an impressively sized blood-red ruby. Hendrick almost protested, some of that looked like it could be valuable or high-tier gear, but she'd earned it. She had saved Rathgar and the others, and there was still the two other bodies left to search. Rathgar has also levelled up thanks to this woman! It was encounters like this that made Hendrick love eXalta so much. The pain and the terror were brutal but the sense of accomplishment was visceral and bone-deep.

The woman then put everything inside a pocket inside her (outfit? dress? combat gear?) clothing that had previously been near-invisible to Hendrick.

"Thanks again. You should be careful. I've already learnt there are dangers everywhere in this city so we all should become more vigilant." The woman then waved at them and ran off down the street. Hendrick quickly lost sight of her as she seemed to fade into the shadows.

Did a level one NPC just warn me about the perilous nature of eXalta? He shook his head in disbelief.

"Any idea who she was?" asked Ingrid. The young boy was nowhere to be seen, he'd presumably run off back home.

"None but I think we accidentally found ourselves in the middle of a major quest. The amount of experience I gained was huge. I'd only just reached 50 but now I'm already at Level 51 and Iron Grade."

"Congratulations. That's amazing. Let me check mine ... whoa. I levelled up twice even though I did nothing. Party XP for the win."

Ingrid tilted her head towards the body of the [Pyromancer]. "She left his robe. You think maybe she doesn't know it's heavily enchanted? Could be worth a fortune if we sell it to the right player."

"I don't think she cares. The gear she was wearing, I couldn't even [Identify] whatever that was."

"I saw you staring for long enough," she said with a grin. "I'm no girly girl but I have to admit that was one of the most beautiful outfits I have ever seen. Practical too, though extremely figure hugging. Think I'd look good in something like that?"

Hendrick coughed awkwardly. "Is there even a correct answer to that question?"

Ingrid laughed and gave him an enigmatic smile. "Maybe there is."

Chris was sitting wide-eyed in the middle of the street, still panting for air. His bloody arm dripping fresh blood onto the ground.

"That was actually kind of impressive Chris, the way you held those two off for so long," complimented Ingrid. "Great job, you actually helped to save all our asses. Guess you aren't such a bad guy to have around after all. Still think the AIs are out to get you? An NPC just saved Leon's life, saved us all." She offered her hand to Chris to help him up.

"Goddamn she was hot."

Ingrid smacked him across the head. "I stand corrected. You're still an idiot."

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