Tara was in a foul mood when we stopped for a break, brushing away my attempt to start a conversation. I gave her some time to stretch her legs while Benji and I shared some water and jerky.

  When she returned, she went straight to the back of the wagon. I followed and found her sitting, legs dangling off the back.

  I plopped my rump right next to hers and cut straight to the point. "Lucard Pass is a bad idea. If a man like Benji says it's cursed, I'm inclined to believe him."

  I held up a hand to forestall her brewing objections. "But I promised to protect you during your journey to Danver, so if that means following you through some cursed mountain pass, then I'll do it."

  Her cheeks blushed as she realized the anger she had been building was misplaced. "Thank you," she said with relief. "You need not worry. It's not cursed. That's just superstitious talk. I've had bad luck with Rook in the past, and I won't go through it again."

  My curiosity burned. I wanted to know why Tara was so adamant about avoiding Rook Pass, but it would have been pointless to ask. She wasn’t going to tell me anything. I looked her in the eyes. "That better be true."

  "Trust me," she said. "I know what I'm doing."

  I nodded politely and hopped back to the ground. I wondered if Tara’s compulsion to go through Lucard Pass was part of the quest design. Val said this was an organic quest, but I felt like it still had a touch of narrative built into it. Val knew a lot about how these games worked, but it was becoming clear that her knowledge of how this specific system functioned was lacking. I was sure there would be some annoying shit at Lucard that I'd have to deal with, but if I was ever going to get stronger, I needed to take on challenges. I trusted that Val wouldn't let me bite off more than I could chew. She needed me alive.

  Benji whistled an unfamiliar but bright tune as I walked to the front of the wagon. I smiled at him. He was the good sort, just trying to get by and willing to help others along the way.

  We hopped back on the wagon and, with a gentle flick of the reins, began moving forward with Tara hiding away in the back.

  "We're sticking with Lucard. How much longer do we have the honor of traveling with you, Benji?"

  He looked into the sky, closing one eye and holding out a finger. “I'd say about six hours till the road splits. I'll be going right, and you'll be going left."

  "Well, I'll be thankful for those hours. It's been nice to have someone to talk to."

  "Aye, don't I know it," Benji said. "I don't like doing these trips alone. My brother used to ride with me." Benji shook his head sadly, "Corbin was his name. Best damn tinker I'd ever known. Far better than me. Man could make a fence out of mud if you gave him a day to figure it out, and there wasn't a contraption on earth he couldn't fix."

  "Sounds like a great man," I said. "Forgive me if this is impolite, but could you share what happened to him?"

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  "I'll let you guess."

  "Well…," I said, carefully considering an answer. "As tinkers, you probably traveled a lot. Much more than most folk. The roads were never safe, but with the war…" I trailed off. "I've heard stories. Long travels can be dangerous."

  Benji nodded. "I've seen my share of trouble. More than I'm comfortable with, to be honest. Your answer was logical and what I expected to hear." He looked up toward the sky, his dark eyes wet under his bedraggled white hair. "But Corbin died in the most illogical of circumstances. Cancer took him two months back." Benji frowned. "Made no sense to me. Why would the world take such a brilliant man? He didn't do anything wrong. Didn't deserve it. There was no logic to it."

  I let out a sigh. That was heavy. Not knowing what to say, I patted Benji on the back. "I wish I'd had a chance to meet him, even if he was only half the man you say he is."

  Benji blushed a little, and for a single moment, I felt like everything was right in the world. But my thoughts caught up to my feelings, and I couldn't help but wonder: Why would the Master Control let an NPC die of cancer? It broke them down and rebuilt them atom by atom. How did cancer and disease fit into this game? It wasn't necessary for immersion. It was simply cruel.

  I felt a rage building inside me, unlike that smoldering hatred that always burned within me now. The Triarchy was letting us die from natural diseases that could be easily cured, programmed out of the game. The NPCs were created to be playthings. Why make them suffer beyond that?

  "Benji, I think I'm going to stretch my feet,” I said. “Care if I jog ahead a while?"

  "I ain't gonna' stop you. Go be young."

  I'd always liked jogging and would exercise when I needed to clear my mind back in the real world. I hopped off the wagon and ran a comfortable distance ahead.

  "Val, why would the AI let cancer exist in its creation? Aren't humans tortured enough?"

  ‘John, you need to understand that the Master Control does not have any feelings regarding humans. To it, you are simply material for the game. If I had to guess, I would assume Corbin already had cancer, and the Master Control reassembled him exactly as he was before. Unless Corbin was a Special NPC, removing the cancer would have wasted processing power. The Master Control likely just ignored it. People get sick in the real world, so people get sick here too.’

  "I'm going to burn their stupid fucking triangle to the ground,” I growled.

  ‘I think you mean 'Triarchy.' But keep that hateful spirit of yours. You will need it sooner rather than later.’

  "Val," I said in a low voice. "Please. Help me grow stronger. Help me win this game."

  ‘You cannot grow stronger if you rely on me for everything. You will benefit more from encountering this world as naturally as possible.’

  "Or you could go all in with helping me, and we could become a force to be reckoned with. What happened to 'we're going to save the world together?'"

  ‘We will. But you do not yet comprehend just how long and difficult it will be to accomplish that goal.’

  "Well, I'm the idiot you picked for it, so a little more help would be nice, okay? I'll take whatever aid I can get."

  ‘I understand. I will try to do more to aid you in this journey.’

  "Thank you, Val, that…."

  Val interrupted me. ‘One way I can help is by notifying you about the small contingent of Kurskin soldiers I just detected about a mile up the road. They are heading this way.’

  "Shit." I turned and sprinted back to the wagon.

  ‘I would appreciate it if you made more of an effort to regulate your foul language,’ Val said. ‘Curse words are an unnecessary form of expression when there are so many other words you could use to make the same point.’

  "Shut up, Val!"

  It took me about thirty seconds to reach the wagon. Benji stopped when he saw me turn around, likely confused by my sudden change in direction and demeanor.

  "What's wrong?" Benji asked.

  "Kurkins," I said. "About a mile ahead."

  Benji squinted. "I can't see ‘em yet, but my eyes ain't what they used to be."

  "They're coming, Benji, trust me. Sorry, but we need to part ways a little earlier than expected."