Aella gasped as the figure vanished without a sound, leaving the alley silent.

She took a deep breath, pulling her hands into fists to calm her trembling figures.

"Luke?" she whispered.

There was a crackle in her headset before his voice came through her earpiece. "I saw. I think you should find Prince and tell him what happened."

Aella shook her head, frowning. "I want to find out what that was first. Where is the Library located in Arvium?"

She heard Luke sigh, and almost smiled.

"As you wish. If you go back down to the main square, there should be a map on the side of the High Council's Main Building. It will tell you where most of the main landmarks are located."

"Thank you," she said. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she turned around and placed her foot on the ladder, and started to make her way down to the ground below.

***

Aella stopped in front of the door to the small library, looking through the wide double doors at the dozens of glass hand pads on the bookcase in front of her and to the nooks with cushioned chairs behind it. The receptionist in the Atrium had told her that the Game Library was a virtual copy of the Consortium Library in the Capitol Complex, where hard copies of the books were stored in over twelve different buildings.

She made her way to the console on the wall just inside the entrance and tapped on the screen, waiting as the keyboard loaded. She flipped between libraries and chose the one labeled I.L.S. Game, and typed in wraith and I.L.S. Chronicle. Within seconds, several entries popped up. She clicked select all, then scanned her wrist under the scanner. She turned to the bookshelf and watched as one of the hand pads beeped and glowed with a pulsing green light.

She pulled it from the bookshelf and headed to the back of the large room, curling up in one of the chairs in the nook farthest from the doorway. She tapped the pad and the surface lit up with sections from the I.L.S. Chronicle, a daily gathering of posts from players on monsters, quests, and items found in the Alpha Game. She selected the first one, and began to read.

Player 165 (Lero): Month 7, Day 5, 17:35:02; World Four, Oedipus Mountains

Was ambushed by a player or NPC made out of smoke in Sector 36. Lost two teammates to the demon wolf that accompanied the wraith. Both had glowing eyes. Be on alert for any sightings, and beware as none of my team's attacks seemed to have any effect on it.

Replied to Player 165 (Lero)

> Player 53 (SkySong): Month 7, Day 7, 17:35:05; World Four, Oedipus Valley Region

Saw wraith mentioned in earlier post, but two death wolves were present. Our team was ambushed, the wraith used a two-handed sword with a fireblade, common to the Volcan Oedipus Mountain quest which may mean the wraith is a player. The wraith seemed to be able to teleport from one area to another, and knives, arrows, and magic seemed to have little effect. Every blow it gave drained both magic and life meters by 10 units. Possible weaknesses is healing potions: when our healer teammate accidentally spilled cleaning fluid on a weapon, the weapon disappeared into the wraith's smoke and the wraith vanished.

Player 87 (King'sGambit): Month 7, Day 8, 18:20:58; World Four, Oedipus Mountains

Saw wraith on the ridge located at 31°26'56"S, 14°50'12"E. I was 200 meters away and saw the wraith through a scope. No attempt was made to engage the figure, and it disappeared in a cloud of smoke several minutes later. Ability to teleport verified when I spotted it lower down the mountainside.

I tested the situation for three days, and the same thing happened each day. The wraith appears around sunset and seems to move around the HighTop Mountain and Oedipus Valley region.

The wraith may be guarding a treasure or quest somewhere in the mountains, or be an advanced boss for the area, but is too high-powered to be a player, unless the player managed to gain an Anubis spell.

Mortia Guild: Month 12, Day 2, 8:15:30; World Four, Capital City

Mortia guild requesting any and all sightings or information relating to wraiths seen in World Four. The wraiths are believed to be under the guidance of player:Bringer of Death, and include players: Ender,, LightningStrike, Sorena, BattleBulldog, and Ken.

10,000 credit reward for the capture of each wraith.

Aella laid the handpad down on her lap and frowned. I need more information. She twisted in the chair and threw her legs over the arm, hanging her head toward the floor and mumbled "but I have no clue where to look."

Somewhere just outside of the library, footsteps echoed in the hallway. Each one reverberated through the silent building, slow and thundering.

She froze, her muscles tense.

Bringer of Death was a Legend of the Alpha Game. No one had seen him in the Game Center, and no one had seen him in-game since he and Prince opened the portal for the Beta Game. What if he was the wraith? What if he is coming to kill me because I saw him?

She put the handpad on the floor, then slid out of the chair and moved to the side of the chair, crouching behind its arm. The doorway was empty. She searched the library for any other exits, sighing when she saw none. Her hand rested on the hilt of her sword for a moment. She backed up into the wall behind her, then yelped as it gave way and she fell backward.

She twisted to a crawling position and scooted forward into the brightly lit room as the wall closed silently behind her. She was in some sort of storage room, crates and shelves packed tightly together. Through the narrow walkway between the two shelving units was a door marked "Exit."

She stepped forward, glancing at the crates and shelves. There were dozens of old books in the crates, hard copies, not the handpads. Her eye stopped on a book in one of the crates, partially obscured by some rolled up parchment papers. She reached for it, and picked it up.

The cover was leather and worn, and the book was kept closed by a leather tie.

"Item collected: leather tome" the mechanical voice spoke, making her jump. A golden check mark appeared in the air above the book and it disappeared. "Added to inventory" the voice said.

She paused as she heard a noise on the other side of the wall where she had just come from, and she jogged forward, pressing her ear to the door. She heard music and the roar of the crowd just beyond, meaning the exit was close to the where the festivities were. She swiped her hand up. Her player menu appeared and she tapped on the map icon. The schematic of the library appeared, showing she was in between the wall of the library and an alley in between the main High Council building and the smaller conference building.

She closed the menu and pushed the door open slightly, checking the alley. It was empty, and well-lit. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her, then jogged toward the courtyard. She entered the massive area, skirting her way through the crowd to the center. She sighed as she leaned against the fountain, watching the water droplets sparkle from the multi-colored lights strung on the many booths.

"Aella?" a voice called to her.

She looked up, seeing a small woman with a gold pixie cut waving to her, a taller man with the same golden color of hair standing next to her, his arms crossed. The woman wore a blue tunic with lighter blue cropped pants beneath it and golden sandals. The man beside her wore black pants and a red shirt with flowing sleeves, a black cape hanging from his shoulders. An Ocean and Merchant player.

She waved a hand to them, wondering who they were.

The woman ran forward, stopping in front of her. "It's me, Seashell" she said.

Aella smiled, nodding.

"How have you been? I haven't seen you all evening."

Aella stood as the man joined them. "Fox?" she asked.

He nodded then turned his attention away from her and to the crowd around them.

"I've been here and there," Aella said, her attention toward Seashell. "I saw some of the shows and spoke to several people from different guilds. Then I wondered around a bit, checking out some of the residential streets before coming back this way"

"Have you eaten?" Seashell's eyes widened and she waved her hands as she spoke. "Over there is this little place with the best seafood I've ever eaten, and the price is so affordable. And I ordered some clothes. Fox placed an order for a weapon."

"I had a snack earlier," she answered.

"We were about to go find our lodging for the night," Fox said.

Aella turned to him, noticing his golden eyes for the first time. Seashell was different because she had eyes the color of the sea, but the two were twins otherwise. "I have been placed near the docks with Anadon. What about you?"

He shrugged. "We're on Second street with a woman named Nike. It's only a few blocks from here."

"We want to get situated before we meet with our teams in the morning," Seashell said, giggling.

Fox raised an eyebrow as he watched her. He turned to Aella and nodded. "And we can save the house as a permanent log-in point. I don't want to have to walk from the High Council every time I log in."

Makes sense.

"Do you want to come with us?" Seashell asked, bouncing on her toes.

Aella shook her head. "I think I'd better head to my lodging too, and it's in the opposite direction. It's been a long day and I want to be rested for tomorrow."

"Let's meet up for breakfast then, either in the cafeteria in the GC or here," Seashell said.

"We'll let you know what we decide," Fox said, placing a hand on Seashell's shoulder.

"See you later," Seashell called as Fox led her away.

Aella watched them enter the crowd, then she turned her attention to the left, looking over the tops of the buildings and the sloping streets that descended down the hillside toward the docks, where blinking lights lit up the spiny outlines of ships in the harbor. The sea was black, only the tips of white-crested waves appearing in the bright moonlight, tinged red and green from the orbiting planets above.

She closed her eyes, listening to the music as it drifted over the other sounds of the still-busy marketplace. Her limbs were loose and she stretched, feeling a wave of tiredness wash over her. She yawned and nodded.

She started making her way through the crowds, taking slow steps as she took in the sights and sounds, her hands in her pockets.

"One day begun" she whispered.