Pag stepped through first, adjusting the strap across his chest, gear rattling lightly at his side. His shoulders ached from the last fight, but the relic’s pulse in his satchel hummed like a second heartbeat — quiet, alive, and watchful.
Aviva followed at a measured pace, her cloak drawn close, hood pulled halfway back so the desert sun lit her silver-streaked braid. She carried little beyond a satchel, a shortblade, and the weight of knowing too much.
They walked in silence for a time, the world around them bright and open, a sharp contrast to the corridors of the Core.
Then Pag broke it.
“Feel like we’ve been exiled.”
Aviva arched a brow. “We have.”
Pag glanced sideways at her. “You’re not very good at making me feel better.”
“Not my job,” she replied dryly. “My job’s making sure you don’t get killed. Or worse—taken.”
They crested a ridge, the stone beneath their boots crunching soft under dust. The wind carried the scent of dry grass, sun-baked ruins, and something older — a hint of ozone and unsettled mana.
“You think they really sent us to help Eadrin?” Pag asked.
Aviva shook her head.
“They sent us away. Far enough they could maneuver without you breathing fire down their necks. Close enough to pull you back if things spiral.” She paused. “Classic maneuver. Give the asset a task. Buy time.”
Pag ran a hand through his hair, still half-damp from the morning’s wash.
“They’re not wrong to be cautious,” he muttered. “I don’t even know what I’m becoming.”
Aviva turned to him, walking backward a few steps, expression softer.
“No one does. Not yet.” Then she smirked. “But if you were going to explode again, I figure you’d do it dramatically. In public. On top of a temple.”
Pag huffed a laugh.
“Great. That’s my legacy. ‘Guy Who Exploded on a Temple.’”
“Could be worse,” Aviva said, spinning forward again. “They could’ve stuck you with a handler and a leash.”
He raised a brow. “You’re not my handler?”
“I’m the knife they send with the leash,” she said simply. “So when you burn the first idiot who tries, I’m not surprised.”
They walked in silence again, the road flattening into a long gravel stretch bordered by sun-blasted rock.
Then Pag asked, quietly:
“Why’d you really volunteer to come?”
Aviva was quiet for a beat too long.
Then: “Because I’ve seen what the Empire does to people like you when no one’s watching. And I’m not interested in watching.”
Pag looked at her — really looked — and saw the weight behind her usual poise. The wars she’d lived through. The things she hadn’t said in front of the tribunal.
He nodded once.
“Thanks.”
She shrugged. “Don’t make me regret it.”
He smiled faintly. “No promises.”
Pag stopped and turned to Aviva. “Question, why do the maps have next to no information on them?” he asked her crossing his arms.
“Your maps skills are probably low level.” she said simply with a shrug. “Most people tend to ignore those skills because they don’t majorly affect the game.”
“Ok, so how do I raise the levels on those skills and, will raising the levels add like monster levels and terrain?” He asked scratching his chin as he glanced at the mini map again.
“Well there are a lot of skills regarding maps but yeah those would be some of the things that you would be able to see with high enough levels.” Aviva nodded and cocked her head to the side as she watched him.
“What's the fastest way to level them and would that be something that can be done along the way to our main quest objective?” He asked.
Aviva stared at him for a moment before glancing off to the side, making a few gestures then looking back to him. “It looks like for the first few ranks its fast leveling, even without a trainer. Looks like there are books that can be bought or borrowed for it or you can go the traditional path. Study a lot of maps and make a lot of them by hand.”
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Pag laughed and gestured. “Ha, I knew you were a dev.” he said turning to resume the trek to the mount stall.
“What?” she asked in disbelief. “For accessing the system?” she asked with a scoff. “A dev can’t do that if they’re in game, candle boy. They have the same access rights as a player does in game.”
Pag didn’t respond as he stopped at a particularly dark intersection, merely glancing both ways before he stepped off the curb continuing towards the stall. He glanced down and grimaced as he realized the puddle he had just stepped in was actually another one of those foul trenches that ran through the city. A sigh slipped from his lips and he rubbed the back of his neck as he looked up at the horizon.
Tendrils of light were just beginning to claw at the inky midnight sky and the stars were fading from view. He had never been to this part of the city so he had no clue exactly what time the stall that sold the mounts opened or what the best time to stop by for a good deal would be. With a wave he brought up his menu and looked at the time he had logged so far in the game for this shift. Thankfully the walk this far had eaten up most of the time. He only needed another four in game hours, or one real world hour, before he could log out and get full credit for a shift.
Pag waved the menus away and looked around. “Do you know of any taverns or pubs around here? I’m not sure what time this place opens and it also may be a good idea to eat something before we head out on the quest. Also I need to set my God.” His voice, though quiet, carried on the cold air across the cobbles in a thick white mist.
“There's a tavern a ways down that avenue. Has some pretty good stew and always makes their bread fresh.” Aviva said gesturing to the left. “It's not particularly fancy, looks dreadful in fact but the owner is a really nice widow. She should be there, doesn’t go out much in the winter.”
“Let me guess arthritis?” Pag snorted
“Nah, this far north we get some pretty rough winter squalls that will destroy your ship in a blink so most people don’t ship much in the winter months.” Aviva said as she headed off in the direction of the tavern. She threw a grin at him over her shoulder. “She's a pretty high level player, knows a lot about maps. What God did you want to select?”
“Either Oelia or Ruhna.” Pag said with a shrug.
Aviva turned to him arching a brow. “Best to go with Ruhna then. Oelia is about Creation. Your class is about Destruction. I don’t think you two would get along. We can hit a temple on the way out, all you need is to walk in and accept the invitation to make Ruhna your god if you don't already have a primary one.”
Pag felt his brows raise and he stood there for a moment before following her down the avenue. Despite the lack of street lamps or torches they were still able to see fairly well with the growing golden light that was rapidly beginning to burn away the shadows blanketing the city. The buildings down this street were obviously old, though some showed signs of renovations and repairs, many looked like they were a breath away from collapsing into their foundations.
The building they approached was three stories of pale blonde wood that leaned on its neighbor, an obviously newly renovated smithy with all red wood and twisted black metal accents. The blonde wood showed signs of patching and repair but its age was evident on its weather worn exterior. The covered porch and the massive door that it led to were both obviously new, so much so that the supplies used to install them were still lying where they had been discarded.
As they made their way up the stairs and across the porch Pag marveled at the solid and quite even construction, noting that aside from their foot falls it was silent and not a single board squeaked. Not even the door made a noise as it swung inwards, a wave of rich smells pouring outwards in its wake and immediately making his mouth water. He swallowed hard and picked up his pace, closing the distance between him and Aviva as they approached the bar.
The main room of the tavern was dimly lit by two small fireplaces on either side of the room and various small candles nestled in green or clear bottles that occupied nearly every table in the room. Pag looked around, his brows furrowed at the complete emptiness of the place.
“Stay here for a moment, she doesn’t like it when strangers wander about her tavern and has a tendency to shoot first and ask second.” Aviva said resting a hand on his arm for a moment before walking behind the bar and through a narrow door.
He stood there for a moment then looked around the room and found a reasonably trustworthy seat near the fire that still had a direct line of sight to the door that Aviva had gone through. His muscles began to loosen as they sat there, the heat radiated by the fire sinking into him. He drummed his fingers along the table quietly as he fought, unsuccessfully, to swallow back a yawn. Pag blinked and rubbed at his eyes to clear the moisture that had risen from his yawn and looked around the room again.
“She’s not here at the moment but Neb is. He is one of the guys she hires to keep an eye on the place for her while she's out on the seas, she’s currently doing some quest to take down an octopus or something. He said he’ll have breakfast up to us in a few minutes though. That stall that sells the mounts opens up in about an hour or so.” Aviva said as she trudged through the narrow doorway and over to the table he now occupied. “He also said that he has a few of the basic map skills books you can borrow but most of the stuff is gone with Scout but he has no idea where she went exactly, she didn’t give many details about her quest.”
“Well at least it’s something.” Pag forced out around another yawn.
Aviva arched a brow at him and snorted leaning back farther in her seat. “Any idea what sort of mount you want?” she asked nonchalantly.
“Something that won’t eat my face preferably.” Pag muttered as he rested his chin on a fist. “Knowing my luck though.”
Aviva laughed and shook her head. “First things first. There is no such thing as an absolute herbivore. If given the chance most animals will try meat. Example number one, chickens, chickens are cannibalistic if given the chance. So much so that rose tinted glasses for them are a thing. That being said there are horses and there are Leprin. Neither should try to eat your face unless you’re grievously wounded or they’re starving and both have fairly decent travel speeds.”
Pag nodded and thought for a moment. “What’s a Leprin” He asked, sitting up straighter and turning to face her.
“They are magically created creatures that no one is sure where or when they originated from. They are the antlers of a deer, the torso and head of a Hare but the hind quarters and wings of a bearded vulture. They also seem to have the weird need to rub themselves in red stuff that a bearded vulture has.” She said picking at a splinter on the table, glancing up as a man approached them with two loaded trays of food. “Thank you Neb.” She said as he sat them both down on the table.
“No problem, I’ve got the coffee started in the back. Should be ready in a few moments. Got a new shipment in last week, had a really good blend called ‘Hylanders Grog’ in it. It’s pretty good. Coffee roasted to have notes of caramel, chocolate, and vanilla while not being overly rich. Not as acidic so its easier on the stomach despite being a darker roast” Nick said as he waved and padded back to the bar area before he disappeared back through the narrow doorway.
Pag watched him go, marveling at the incredible yet functional and neatly trimmed beard that the man sported, shaking his head to refocus on the conversation.“That sounds like a rather odd creature. Are they docile?” Pag asked as he grabbed a bowl of stew and a thick hunk of still steaming bread.
“Yeah if they bond with you they’re super docile and sweet. The ones sold here in town are young and can’t fly yet but are big enough that they can carry a rider and supplies for about 10 hours a day at a constant pace and only need the occasional break.” She responded off offhandedly as she mimicked his actions.
“How do you get one to bond to you” Pag asked before taking a bite of the stew. He closed his eyes and relished the rich flavor of it. The sweetness of the carrots with the sharp earthy flavor of the herbs and celery chasing the chunks of meat and potatoes through a thick gravy. He slowly opened one eye as he dipped the bread into the stew, letting it soak up the gravy, and popping the chunk in his mouth.
“Easy, offer a bone to eat or something red that they can roll around in and dye their feathers with. If one of them is interested then they will bind themselves to you.” Aviva said around a mouth full of bread with a shrug.
Pag blinked and swallowed. “That sounds too easy.” he said cautiously.
Aviva shrugged again. “That’s how it is. There’s nothing more to it. They’re actually the most common mount because of how docile they are, especially compared to a horse that needs a ridiculous amount of training and lots to food while on the road.
“But why the antlers?” Pag asked leaning closer watching her for any hint of deceit.
“To defend the rider from bandits and such I guess.” she said with a shrug.
Pag frowned but said nothing and shoveled the remainder of the stew into his mouth, barely tasting it as he finished it off. He sat the bowl back on the tray and grabbed another hunk of bread, this time taking note of the bowl of butter and smearing a generous spoonful on the warm bread and grabbing a piece of cheese. “I thought there were books?” he asked as he took a bite of the bread.
Aviva nodded. “Yes, there are but seeing how you eat it’s probably best you wait until after you eat to look at them.”
Pag stopped chewing, cheese halfway to his mouth, and looked down at the crumbs coating his new clothes. He grimaced and brushed them away. “Right” he sighed and sat the cheese back on the tray. “I kinda forgot that we have to eat in game or we feel it. Then I got carried away” he grumbled as he rubbed at a drop of gravy on his robes. Aviva glanced at him but offered no response as she continued to eat. Pag leaned back in his chair and picked the cheese back up, this time eating slower to avoid another mess.
Once they had finished the food on the trays Nick returned, replacing them with a new tray of coffee, cream, sugar and steaming pastries dripping with jams and icings. Next to that he sat a small stack of books. “Let me know if you need anything else.” He said before disappearing again.
Once again Pag was struck by how incredible the other man's beard looked. He shook himself grabbing a pastry and one of the books. “Basic map reading and creation.” He read under his breath before taking a bite of the pastry. The flavor exploded into his mouth and he groaned as he glanced down to see a system message.