“Thank you for your report. Once we verify completion, your reward will be deposited to your card,” the receptionist said, smiling down at Myrra.

"Thank you," she replied, taking back her ID. "Is there a place I can learn about undead?"

"Probably the church," she answered, giving directions.

Myrra thanked the nice woman and began to make her way over there. Passing through the bustling streets, her mind began to wander. She wanted to verify her hunch before investigating further. The streets were filled with people, a general excitement in the air. Stalls were being set up, with decorations being hung in shopfronts and on people's houses.

The church was smaller than the one in Weinheim, though like the other one it was modestly decorated and furnished. The inside was strangely quiet, as if enchanted to repel the hustle and bustle of the city. Unlike the other church, this one held a statue of a small, portly gentleman. The statue was bent over, hand offered to an unseen figure.

"Welcome Young Divine," said a gentle, calming voice, its deep timber evoking a sense of peace. She turned and saw a priest emerging from a side passage. He appeared to be in his late thirties or perhaps early forties. His features evoked a feeling of ageless wisdom. He has close-cropped blond hair. His honey colored eyes seem to stare directly into her core. Donned in a blue and white robe which reached down to his ankles. He opened his arms, knelt, and asked, "How may this humble servant be of use to you." 

"You may stand," she ordered uncomfortably, not wanting someone to bow to her. He followed her orders and stared at her expectantly. "I wanted to ask some questions about the undead."

"What do you wish to know?"

"Who is the statue depicting?" she asked, wanting to collect her thoughts but not wanting to stand in silence.

"That is Norel God of Commerce and Charity. He is the patron god of merchants."

"Aren't those mutually exclusive?"

"Not at all, he teaches that those who prosper do so at the behest of others. And as such, it is only right that the prosperous ones share some of that prosperity with others."

"That's really cool," she exclaimed.

"Indeed, but I believe you are here for something else."

"How are undead created?"

"There are numerous ways, but the two most common ones are rituals and curses. A necromancer might use a ritual to raise a corpse or command an existing undead creature. The study of necromancy is allowed, though some people, such as the followers of the God of Life, look down upon those who practice it."

"And curses?"

"Some undead are formed from curses, such as vampires, ghouls, wraiths, and some others. These are people who are afflicted with a curse and will become undead in time. A strong enough priest could dispel some of these curses if treated quick enough."

"What about ghosts?"

"Ghosts are trapped souls, bound to a place of strong emotion," he answered. "They are truly unfortunate."

She opened her mouth to answer again when a pillar of light interrupted her thoughts. 

"Can't believe that…" Kat grumbled.

"Sissy?"

"Huh?" Kat spun around, and glanced between Myrra and the priest. "What are you doing here?"

"I was asking about the undead. More importantly, what are you doing here?"

"Oh… I died to a Minotaur…" she replied, her cheeks slightly pink. 

"You're fighting a Minotaur?" she asked softly. 

"I was helping Rea…" she explained awkwardly. 

Myrra pouted and turned back to the priest, "thank you for answering my questions," she said politely.

"It was my pleasure," the man replied with a bow. Myrra turned around, ignoring her sputtering sister, and left the church. Kat took a step forward, her hand held up for a moment before she let it drop to her side. As the door closed behind her with a thud, Myrra collapse inwards, a single tear running down her cheek.

"Miss Myrra," Hanna spoke, "your body requires sustenance." 

Thanks, she thought back. With a sigh, she resumed walking back to her room.

*****

Sam found herself standing in the pure white space again as her memories flooded back. A wide smile spread across her face as she looked for her mother.

"Mommy?" she asked, spinning around.

"I'm here," Moria replied, somehow appearing behind her daughter.

"Yay!" she cried, throwing her arms around her mother. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetie."

"Is it time for more magic?"

"Yes sweetie," she smiled, picking her daughter up and sitting in a chair that materialized behind the pair.

"Mommy?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"What's mana?"

"Mana is the energy of life, it is used by living things to function. Without mana life can't exist."

"Does that include earth?"

"Yes. Lorianna is near the point of mana depletion."

"How does mana get created?"

"There are two ways, it exists in a fixed amount in the environment. The other way is from spirit energy, also known as natural energy."

"Spirits? Are there spirits on Lorianna?"

"There's only one right now," she answered, a slight glow enveloping the pair.

"I wish I could meet it," she replied wistfully.

"I'm sure you'll meet her," she said. "I'm almost done."

"Aww already?"

"Yes, you got stronger, but you'll need to get even stronger before I can do more."

"Will I see you again before then?" 

"I will try my little seedling."

"Ok…" she frowned.

They sat together for long enough that Sam fell asleep in her mother's arms. Moria smiled at her sleeping daughter before planting a kiss on her cheek. 

"I love you, my precious daughter," she said, setting the girl into a bed before vanishing.

*****

Sam stretched as she got out of bed, her body slightly sore.

“Good morning, your last play session was thirteen and a half hours,” Hanna said, appearing in the corner of her vision. “You received a text from Anthony. Hey, I bought that game you told me about. It's so awesome, we should play once I level up some more.”

“Thanks, send him a reply. I’d love to, let me know when you’re ready to play.”

“Will do,” she replied before fading away.

Sam made her way to the bathroom and examined herself in the mirror. Her face seemed softer somehow. She squinted and poked her cheeks. With a shrug, she finished her business and went into the kitchen. Her stomach growling as she walked in.

“Sounds like someone is hungry,” Kat giggled.

“Yea, a bit…” Sam said dismissively. 

“You were playing for a long time,” her sister noted.

“Maybe a little,” she replied curtly. 

She walked past her sister and reached into the fridge. Taking out a bowl of fruit, some cottage cheese, and roasted nut salad.

“That’s a lot of fruits and veggies,” Kat remarked.

“Yea, they are tasty.”

“That they are…” Kat laughed awkwardly. Sam sat down on the couch and watched the show playing on the TV. The two of them sat in an awkward silence. Kat sat fiddling with her fingers. “I’m gonna hop back online,” she said, breaking the silence. “Enjoy your food.”

Sam nodded her head and continued to eat as her sister left the room. Once she heard the door close, she sighed.

Maybe I’m being too hard on her, she thought to herself. She made a promise to herself to apologize to her sister. 

“What happened?” Hanna asked.

“Kat is playing without me, and having fun, cool adventures. I died in game, and now she's being overprotective. And I want to have cool adventures, but she isn't helping me raise my rank at all.”

“I’m sure she is just worrying about you.”

“Yea, but it's just a game, she doesn't need to be so protective,” she complained.

“Maybe you should talk to her about how you're feeling?”

“I should, once she’s done with her quest.”

“I have a message from Kat, she said to hurry and get online.”

Sam hurried and finished her food, washing her dishes before returning to her room. She gathered a couple pillows and sat in her computer chair, using the pillows to prop herself up as she jumped back in game.

*****

Katherine the Red: You’re on, hurry to the western gate.

Myrra: What’s up?

Katherine the Red: Just come over!

She hopped down from the bed, where she was wrapped up in her sister's oversized coat. There was a ton of hushed whispers as she descended from the upper floor. A pall lay over the common room. She wondered what going on, but another message from her sister urged her on. When she left the inn, she saw people running in different directions. Mothers carried their children in their arms as they hurried towards the church.

The scenes of chaos continued as she rushed over to the walls. Everywhere she looked, there were people rushing around. Parents called for their children. Several stands were being disassembled. It took her twenty minutes to reach the walls, Kat was surrounded by guards. 

“Myrra come her!” she called urgently.

“What's going on? Everyone's in a panic.”

“There's an army of undead approaching, people are preparing to flee through the other gate.” 

“Urgent!” a runner cried, “Undead spotted approaching from the east.”

“Shit,” Kat swore.

“Why are there undead?”

“I don’t know, Myrra I want you to use the portal and leave. It's too dangerous.”

“No!”

“Listen to me!”

“No,” she cried petulantly. “I can help! Don’t treat me like a child, even if I look like one.”

Kat stared at her incredulously, her mouth slightly open.

“I’m sorry I yelled,” Sam said, hugging her sister. “Like you said, this is just a game.”

“No I'm sorry. After that bone mass killed you, it reminded me how we lost mom and dad, and it scared me. I didn’t want to lose you too,” she murmured. 

“We’ll just respawn, but these people won't. So I want to help protect them.”

“Alright,” Kat said, bending down and hugging her sister. “You’re right, we need to protect as many people as we can. I’ll stay here at this gate, you go to the eastern one and help them.”

“Ok, sissy, I love you,” Myrra beamed.

“I love you too, you little handful,” she teased.

Myrra turned and ran towards the other wall as Kat took charge of the guards and few adventurers that joined her. She ran through the streets, people standing around in various states of activity.

“Hey plant girl!” called someone, jostling Myrra from her thoughts. She looked around as spotted a cat girl running over to her, a pair of golems in tow.

“Do I know you?” 

“In passing, I suppose, we met at the café. My name is Evelyn, I gave you my card and invited you to my workshop.”

“Right, sorry, I'm a bit busy, I need to get to the eastern gate.”

“Why?”

“To try and hold the walls against the undead.”

“This is a pretty cool even, most games won’t put towns in danger.”

“You’re a player?”

“Yea, that's one reason I wanted to talk to you.”

“How’d you know I was a player?”

“Huh?” she tilted her head and looked at the small girl. “Because of the maid outfit. You were so embarrassed wearing it. You were really cute, by the way.” 

“Ugh, don’t remind me. You should come with me.”

“Sure, I’d rather not have to move my workshop.”

Myrra nodded her head and turned back towards the east. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a hooded figure dipping though the crowd before looking around. She recognized the person as the mage from the shop. He glanced around suspiciously before ducking into an alley and disappearing towards the north.

“That guy is suspicious,” Evelyn remarked.

“Yea, I think he’s a necromancer.”

“Why?”

“Because I sold a staff, and he was kinda weird about it,” she replied. “We should follow him,” she added, after a moment of thought.

“Yea, he's up to something,” Evelyn agreed, and the two girl ran down the alley to catch his trail.