The Trough, Meteo City

Of the bars in Meteo City, were you to rank them from seediest to classiest, The Trough would not rank as being the seediest - but the second-most. A gathering spot for thugs, ne'erdowells and smugglers ferrying goods over the border into the Kingdoms of the south-east, taking full advantage of the corruption in the City Guard presided over by Geronil - primarily the patrols and jailers. Those more military in purpose like those manning the walls are the ones the man is worried about offending, as their loyalty to the Empire of Stone and from a meta-perspective the system of Astral Reckoning can't be bought. Otherwise, Meteo City would really have gone to shit by now.

Unfortunately, they're also pretty apathetic to the activities of the people already inside the walls, as they're so far up their own asses when it comes to their sense of duty that when it comes to anything not under their direct purview, such as the gatehouse, they won't act or even report it unless it gets bad enough that they can no longer safely ignore it.

Another irritating side-effect is that they're laxer than they should be when it comes to the Infamy system and players flagged as Infamous. They don't particularly care what you may have done out of sight, so long as you don't cause trouble in it.

Thus, even though at least one place like The Trough is expected to exist in any given city, it's hardly the tip of the shit-flavoured iceberg that is Meteo City in it's current state.

In a heavily stained corner of the boisterous common area, a crowd is gathered to spectate a pair of bloodied and swarthy shirtless men duke it out with their fists. Wrestling matches like this can earn a Newborn some decent cash if they're of high enough level to not get their faces crushed inwards by a single punch from one of these veterans - with the proviso that they won't have any of their gear equipped to inflate their stats.

At one point I had considered using them as a way to get money before changing my mind and settling on the plans I've already completed and plan to complete in the future. It's simply less efficient, and getting the real money requires you to be an Infamous player with over a hundred wins in the brawls and a win-loss ratio of 3:1. There's also very little potential for growth beyond the acquisition of Empire of Stone currency - whereas now I have a reputation amongst the playerbase, crafting proficiency, good gear, not to mention a valuable friend and ally in Henna.

They hardly compare.

Moving cautiously between the tables and patrons, careful not to touch or otherwise attract their attention, I lead Jade over to the darkest corner of the room, at which sits a cloaked and hooded man nursing a tankard of water. Juleus doesn't drink alcohol, but being the poser he is, he likes to maintain appearances.

I can't say I know the man all that well, having never needed to personally interact with the man, but being an important NPC to a lot of new players in a starting zone, it's rather inevitable that awareness of his character bleeds through via cultural osmosis. In some respects, he's similar to Gragg in that they both adore money - but while for Gragg this is a result of his disinheritance and the loss of his arm making mercenary work nigh-impossible - Juleus is just that greedy, and properly embodies the cliche of an RPG Rogue that's trying too hard.

His fleecing of new players by offering deceptive Quests that ultimately boil down to him ripping them off in exchange for Skill Gems is, or will be, legendary.

'Oh, you want to learn a Skill that costs 30 Stone Silvers? Well, if you bring me 20 Stone Silvers and a Dire Wolf Pelt (worth 12-15 Stone Silvers) I'll cut you a deal...'

Things like that.

He does teach an important lesson to Scout players that not all NPCs can be trusted just because the System recognises their job offers and scam artistry as a Quest, I'll give him that much.

Noticing our approach and interest in him, Juleus looks up from his mug, taking care to keep the hood covering his face, "You need something, travellers?"

Jade steps up, "Steady Hands and Camouflage Skill Gems, one of each."

He looks at the two of us, "You look like adventurers of excellent means, would yo-"

"We're paying Empire of Stone currency," I cut him off immediately. Don't even fucking try me, I'm tired and cranky.

"Tch," He clicks his tongue, "45 Stone Silvers."

"35," I glare, well aware he's upselling, "Standard Empire prices."

He pauses, "You really are no fun, sir. Fine, 35 Stone Silvers."

Reaching inside his cloak, he pulls out a pair of Skill Gems and places them on the table, exchanging them for money taken from my own supply. Between this, the gear upgrades and the dungeon supplies, I'm back down below 50 Stone Gold, but that's easily rectified. I do need to stop by the bank to withdraw more tomorrow, thinking about it.

"Check them first," I instruct Jade as she takes them both in hand.

"Yuh-huh, Camouflage and Steady Hands," Jade nods.

"Sir, you wound me. I would never dare to sell fraudulent products," Juleus croons, as though either of us believes him, "I do have an offer of work, if you're interested however."

Jade answers before I can reject him, "What's the job?"

I inwardly groan. I should have been more specific with my warning.

Juleus gives off a smug aura, "Well it just so happens that an acquaintance of mine is looking for some hired muscle to pressure a certain blacksmith."

My face hardens, "Not interested. Good day. Come on."

Grabbing Jade's shoulder, I immediately start leading us out, ignoring her indignant protests and the irritated stares of the patrons. When we exit out onto the street, I finally let go of the small fox, who glares bloody murder at me, "The actual fuck was that?!"

"We're not taking a hit job on Henna," I growl poking her forehead for emphasis.

"Ow! Sure, ok whatever, but you didn't have to push me out like that asshole!" She fumes, "Maybe, I dunno, stick around a little to find out who put out the bounty if you care that much?!"

I roll my eyes, "I already know full-well who's responsible for the bounty."

She looks at me half-mocking and half-questioning, "Oh, this another thing that's 'not important' enough 'right now' to talk about?"

I level an even stare, "Yes."

After a few more moments of staring, it's pretty clear Jade's holding back some choice words that describe her feelings on the subject. She clenches her fist tightly, raises her middle finger, then stomps off without me, summarising them as succinctly as is possible with a single gesture.

Following after her, I rub my temple, "I realise you want to hear more than that, but it really isn't important until we reach the appropriate stages."

Jade looks back at me, not stopping, "Just drop it, or I'm going to end up breaking my promise to Win to play nice."

The rest of our journey in spent in silence.

---

 

The Golem, Meteo City

Arriving at our temporary base of operations, I suppose you could call it, I move to go straight to a free table when the soft-spoken barkeep calls me over to the bar - though Jade doesn't deign to follow, flopping into an empty chair.

"Someone asked me to pass on this message," He takes a folded piece of parchment from beneath the counter and hands it across.

Opening it up, I find a short message:

'Found him. We need to talk. Will be waiting at The Mole and Field Tavern tomorrow at noon. Don't be late.'

There's some good news, at least. It might not be a high priority, but more interactions with Olrica prior to her public resignation are valuable - there's also the matter with the jailbreak I brought up to Rambling Rose as both insurance and as a diversion tactic to keep them from finding the evidence to exonerate the Appraiser. I should be able to hear an answer from them if not tomorrow, then soon.

I'm not all that eager to do the Quest so soon, but I have a few days of relative peace and quiet where all I can do is craft while we look for a fifth party member close to our level that isn't already affiliated with one of the local powers. While I can enforce silence in-game, any loyalist hireling I take along can just as easily send a private message in reality to their bosses, and I don't want to be crowded out of The Farmer's Secret.

Once we've gotten the last person locked in, I think I'll release the location of Miner's Nightmare publicly if it hasn't leaked by then. The others can carry new guy/gal through to get up to speed while I set up my Appraisal booth since they already know what to do, and with all the players swarming the area, the Infamous players will have a hard time keeping anybody out short of starting an all-out war with the local teams for control.

I nod to my landlord, "Thanks. Could I get three bowls of soup?"

"Yep. 15 Stone Coppers," He holds his pale yellow hand out to receive the dregs of my coin pouch.

Asking him to save Windy's portion until she arrives, I carry the other two over to Jade's table and lay them down as I sit. Not bothering to thank me, Jade takes up the included wooden spoon and eats in silence.

"You're working tomorrow, aren't you?" I look for confirmation.

She swirls her spoon through her soup, "Yeah. Day shift."

Rolling my spoon in my fingers, I start to eat the bland meal as well. Jade's attitude problem is becoming a more pressing issue by the day, and with the two of them being awkward as they are around each other following some argument I'm not privy to, I don't know if I can wholly rely on Windy to keep a handle on it. While it sounds like she forced Jade to promise to behave, it's not dealt with any of the underlying issues.

At risk of putting my foot in my mouth, I'll refrain from confronting her at this moment. Instead, I'll need to grill Windy on what exactly the problem is between them, and what Jade's problem is with me. This whole situation is stress I don't need.

God, 49 years old, forced to travel back time and now having to deal with 20-something relationship drama. What a world we live in, huh.

---

 

Jupiter

Well, I'm officially bored of waiting around in that cell for someone to rescue me. And bored of being tortured, on top of that, since by now I'm pretty numb to the whole process. It's the same song and dance every time I log in.

On the bright side....Hm, no there's not really a bright side. I want to be optimistic but my character has been jailed for about a week now, and the only thing that's changing is the amount of players that Silver Nosster is dumping in with me, like he's trying to bury me so deeply under PKers he can forget I exist.

Ah, what the hell. I'll see one more time if he'll respond to a message on the official forum. Odds are it'll just get buried under a fuckload of deaththreats and beggars looking to mooch off his fame, wealth and the location of the new dungeon he cleared. Y'know.

Again.

Yawning, I pull up my laptop, minimise the file for tomorrow's coursework hand-in and get on the forum. God, it's two am? Shit, I gotta get up for school in like, five hours.

"Hey, I don't know if you saw my last message, but we met last week when you were jumped by some hobos and told me about the Quest you were on. Long story short, I've been in City Jail for like a week because the City Guard are in on it, and I am bored off my non-existent tits here.

Like, I don't know what it'll take for you to get me out of this hellhole, but name your price man."

If he asks for a handy out by the bleachers, well, I won't say yes but at this point I'd almost consider it if I wore like, three pairs of really thick gloves.

An electronic tone signifies, would you just look at that? A reply.

"I had to mass-delete the contents of my inbox, so I apologise for missing your message the first time.

I'm aware that someone was jailed, but until now didn't know who. I was already planning on freeing an NPC involved in the quest by proving his innocence to the Guard Commander in City Hall, but when I learned of your involvement, I realised that would not be possible as freeing you will likely also be part of the next step of my Quest as a fun little extra.

As such, more drastic measures will likely be called for, and that's dependant on whether or not the people I've contacted are willing to assist in this matter. Furthermore, the moment I move onto the related Quest, I fear that I may be subjected to a time limit.

I ask that you exercise patience, as callous as that sounds. Help is, regardless of my own wishes, on the way. We can discuss the consequences of your interference and any payment after.

Regards,

Silver."

Yeesh, that last bit sounds ominous. But he's coming to help, so, sweet.

A quiet, yet insistent knock comes at my bedroom door, and a bleary-eyed man sticks his head through a slight crack, "Bed, Kieran."

"Yeah, dad, I know," I wave him off, and shut my laptop's screen.

Guess I've just got have faith and wait, eh? For now, I need to get into bed before dad glares a hole in me with his deadly dadly authority.