Ser Abelard held out an expectant hand.

"Right." Severance placed the pouch in the artisan's palm. Then he watched as Ser Abelard undid the complicated knot in a matter of moments. It was like he tugged at it in two places, and the entire thing fell apart.

Tipping the pouch upside down, Ser Abelard shook two small gems out into the palm of his other hand. They gleamed, catching the light and shining as if lit from within. To his surprise, Severance recognized them as Ell's Tears.

His mind flew back to the moment he'd brought one back to Olen. The clan administrator had made an offhand comment about getting another one. As it turned out, he had. Severance felt amazed. And impressed. He'd thought the man was just mentioning it casually, but as it turned out, Olen had done exactly what he'd said. And within a matter of days, too.

"Hmm," Ser Abelard eyed the two gems for a moment, poking at them with a fat finger. "Clear, with no visible defects. Wonderful, they'll do the job!"

For what? Severance watched as the merchant set the two Ell's Tears in a wooden bowl on one of the tables. This table barely had any free space. Clutter covered nearly every available surface.

"Hold this for a moment." Ser Abelard held something out. Severance instinctively reached out, and found himself holding a perfect sphere. It looked like it was made of solid glass, clear, heavy, and smooth.

As he looked down into the orb, he thought he saw something swirl inside. A wisp of cloud, maybe. He looked closer, but saw nothing else. Maybe it was just a shadow.

"All right, let's see that." Before Severance could react, the artisan plucked the orb from his hand. Ser Abelard closed his fingers around it, then paused, a thoughtful looking crossing over his face.

"A bit of a storm, hm?" Ser Abelard winked cryptically, which threw Severance even more off guard. "Don't you worry, lad. I know just what to do with these. You can tell Olen I'll have it finished in three days."

"Have what finished? What are you making?"

A chuckle was all he got for an answer. With a solid clap of Ser Abelard's hands, the wall panels rolled back up into the roof, allowing daylight to stream back into the shop. "Off you go, lad. I've got work to do!"

And now the guy was back to full volume. Wincing, Severance sighed internally and left the shop.

Quest Completed: Deliver package to Ser Abelard

The System notification flickered before him, lingering for a moment before fading away. Severance scratched at his jaw. He didn't even know what the point of this quest was. For all he knew, Olen was just getting him to run his errands.

He wandered through the market, curiously glancing at the different shops. There were all kind of things being sold, from weapons to clothing, and toys to food. Judging by the attire of the shoppers, Severance guessed that a good portion of them were Elionans. Unlike players who mostly wore armor or extravagant robes, the natives of Eliona tended to go for simple and plain.

He noticed a lone Valkyrie at the toy booth, holding a small doll that had been carefully carved out of wood. She was smiling faintly as she turned it over, fingertips brushing against its wooden hair. It felt strange to see a Valkyrie wearing such a gentle expression. He wondered if she was getting the toy for her child.

He stopped, a thought striking him like lightning.

Not once had he seen a child in Two Bridges. Or Ascendance. In fact, the only children he'd seen, apart from Taycie and Mirren, had been at the orphanage. And that little brat Jorgie. When he thought about it, there really wasn't a lot of kids in Eliona. Maybe that was just how the game was made, but it still struck him as a little odd.

Two players walked towards him, deep in conversation with each other, so they didn't even notice that he was in their path. Severance wordlessly stepped aside to give them room and ended up bumping into an older woman in a long, brown dress.

"Sorry," he muttered, then quickly moved on.

Now that his errand was finished, he had some time to kill. Going back to the clan House to get more menial quests didn't exactly excite him. It was too bad that Awesome Dude was still busy doing quests for his clan.

Hm, what should I do now?

He could go level up at Fort Valkyrie, though the speed at which he gained attribute points had slowed. It would take a while of fighting Chosen just to get a single point.

Severance left the Merchant Quarter and found himself entering a quiet street. In fact, it was so quiet that no one else was here.

He slowed, brows furrowing. Less traveled didn't mean never traveled. Where did everyone go?

Just as he thought something was wrong, a young woman walked around the corner ahead and entered the street. Some of the apprehension faded, and he told himself to stop being so paranoid.

Severance walked on, heading towards the young woman. She strolled towards him, a pleasant expression on her face. She was another player, he guessed, because she was dressed like a Shade. The agile class preferred dark, formfitting clothing as it aided their sneaking abilities.

Even though players could technically wear whatever they wanted, as long as their attributes supported it, most gravitated to certain styles. Severance himself was a bit of an oddity, since healers tended for light-colored fabric clothing, though that wasn't exactly by his own choice. The Veiled all wore the same style, and it only came in one color.

Severance suspected the Veiled would spontaneously combust if they so much as dared wear even a sliver of color. He snorted at the thought.

The sound of boots scuffing on stone came behind him, alerting him to the fact that one or more people had entered the street behind him.

See, he thought to himself. This street isn't empty at all.

The woman shifted her gaze to Severance. Their eyes met. Her lips pulled back into a sharp smile. That raised a red flag, causing him to take a closer looker at her. There wasn't anything that stood out about her, not at first glance. But as she neared, he was able to see a glimmer of gold on her dark shirt. It was on the left side of her chest.

He tilted his head, trying to figure out what it was. She was maybe thirty feet away now, and he could just barely make out the outline of a chalice in embroidered gold threat. It triggered a sense of familiarity. He'd seen that before.

The sound of boots on stone grew louder behind him. Whoever was behind him was catching up.

He slowed down, suddenly uneasy. That chalice symbol, where had he seen it? Then it struck him all at once.

Ervante. That deranged Free Trader character that MissMe had him meet. The one who talked in extravagant, confusing words, and had tried to get him to switch sides. The one who had threatened him.

With that, Severance instantly understood two things. This Shade happened to be a Free Trader. And that savage sort of grin on her face—it was full of malice. She wasn't here by accident.

He stopped walking. She didn't.

Danger breathed down his neck. Severance danced sideways before he even realized he was even moving and a short blade thrust past his ear, close enough for him to feel the faint whoosh!

Alarmed, he whirled, only to see another Free Trader—a grim-faced teen, though he couldn't tell if they were player or Elionian—lunge at him again. The blade swung in a short, savage arc, clearly intending to slice through Severance's throat.

Severance jerked his head back. The sword missed him by a hair, and a look of irritation crossed his attacker's face. To Severance's surprise, the teen moved aside rather than continue with the attack.

The reason why became apparent in the next second, for an icy wind abruptly gusted around Severance, carrying sparkling ice crystals with it. The temperature plummeted, the air freezing within moments. Severance found his limbs stiffen, numbness slowing his movements to a mere crawl.

A cryomancer? You're kidding me!

He could only stand helplessly where he was. Past the teen with the short sword was yet another Free Trader. An obvious player, because she wore the flowing robes that cryomancer's favored, and she had her hands lifted, a squall of snow swirling around her. Only players had those kinds of skills.

When she saw Severance looking at her in disbelief, she blew him a kiss. "You shouldn't have said no."

He never saw the attack that killed him. But as his world exploded into white snow, he guessed it was from the first woman he'd seen in the street, the one with the sinister smile.

Severance would have shuddered if he could have felt his body. The attack had been too quick, too coordinated—not once had he been given a chance to react. Feeling a little green, he prepared to Revive at the Two Bridges spawn point.

Yet that didn't happen. Instead, he was marginally aware of lying on the ground in the street, sounds and sights muffled. Three people stood over him, peering down curiously. One of them said something, but her voice was garbled like she spoke with a mouth full of cotton.

You have Fallen. the System told matter-of-factly. You have gained Weakness.

Would you like to activate Precaution?

Oh! Realization dawned on him like a warm wave of sunlight. That was right. He'd stored a Revive, hadn't he? He almost jumped at the opportunity, but then hesitated. The Free Traders... they'd probably just kill him again.

Yet when he looked again at his fuzzy surroundings, he could no longer see anyone looming over him. Maybe they were gone? He hesitated, then decided to chance it.

With a little mental nudge, Precaution burst apart, releasing a flood of cooling energy that surrounded him. He was aware of being lifted, tilted, then set on his feet. A moment later, everything snapped back into sharp focus.

When he opened his eyes, the Free Traders really were gone. In their place was a pair of grim-faced Valkyrie. They watched him, little frowns on their faces.

"What happened here?"

Wasn't it obvious? Severance blew out a huff of air, while a part of him considered retrieving his war fans from Inventory to heal his health to full. It wasn't exactly necessary, since it'd regenerate soon enough, but who knew if he'd be attacked again?

"Free Traders attacked me," he said carefully. He watched as their frowns deepened.

"Again?" muttered the Valkyrie on the left. Her name appeared over her head: Emiala. She placed a hand on a hip, lips pursing. Her gaze lowered, and he realized she was looking at the knotted cord on his wrist. It might have been his imagination, but he thought her expression softened slightly. "I'm glad you seem to be alright."

"Yeah, thanks."

He felt a warm trickle slide down his neck. He brought his fingertips to it. Blood. How many times was he going to get murdered?

"I thought it was just the Chosen, but now it's the Traders, too?" He wiped his hands on his pants, grateful that the black material wouldn't show it. Not like the white trousers he'd started the game with.

The Valkyrie on the right just shook her head mutely. Her eyes briefly met his, before narrowing. She looked sharply away, refusing to reveal anything. Her name also appeared: Nala

Fortunately, Emiala had no such qualms.

"I suspect they're working together," she said, ignoring the sharp look from the other Valkyrie. "They claim they're independent, and that they're only purpose is contact Outsiders, but we are not foolish. The Chosen attack our sisters, and the Traders seek to weaken us."

Severance's thoughts went to Ervante and his disorienting words. The creep had been certain of his clan's strength. He'd even insinuated that Severance was on the losing side, although Severance doubted that Ervante even knew who the Veiled where.

"Why are they attacking Outsiders?" he asked. "Is it because we're helping you?"

Nala scoffed. "You are not of our clan, boy. Do not speak of help—"

"Sister," Emiala gently said.

At once, Nala fell silent. She crossed her arms, and stared coldly at Severance, like he was an eyesore that she couldn't wait to get rid of.

"The Traders have been trying to steal Outsiders," Emiala explained. She almost sounded apologetic. "It is dishonorable to do so, but honor means nothing to them. We have done what we can to provide safety, but their numbers grow every day, and we are so few. Our sisters have—"

She cut herself off, exchanging a look with Nala. Nala frowned, and Emiala's lips thinned. Her gaze returned to Severance.

"You must be careful. While the Chosen are like wild dogs, the Free Traders are cunning. You should not linger here."

Severance didn't move. A reluctance built in him, fusing his feet to the stone beneath him. We are so few, she'd said. It was similar to what the Veiled had told him. While he doubted the Valkyrie were as small a clan as the Veiled, there still was that same quiet sense of acceptance.

Emiala knew it was a losing fight, yet she wasn't about to run and hide. She and the Valkyries would face it head on.

"Can I help?" he asked her.

She smiled slightly. "Take care, Outsider."

And before he could respond, both Valkyrie turned and left the street. He stared after them, a deep furrow between his brows.