"So, what are we doing?"

Awesome Dude crouched, bouncing lightly as if it was physically impossible for him to keep still. From what Severance had seen, it probably was.

The two of them were currently hidden behind a large boulder, not far from the northern bridge of Two Bridges. Anyone patrolling the city walls or traveling on the road wouldn't be able to see them.

This was greatly aided by the fact that nightfall was upon them. Soon, the last traces of daylight would vanish. In Severance's opinion, the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

"We," he said, keeping his voice low, "are going to sneak into the city and see if we can find anything about the Valkyrie."

"Oooh." The Shade's eyes went round.

"That means we have to go in and stay quiet. The goal is to not get caught, okay?"

The Shade nodded. "Right."

Severance squinted at his friend. He wondered if he was making a mistake by asking for Awesome Dude's help. The guy wasn't exactly subtle at the best of times. But... he was a Shade. Shades were supposed to be the best sneaks in the game.

"To be on the safe side, though, if you get caught, teleport to Tomorrow's Edge. We'll meet up by the fountain."

"Got it." Awesome Dude nodded again.

Severance peered around the rock. The city gates were open a crack, but they were guarded by four heavily-armored Chosen warriors. Lit torches on posts cast flickering yellow light over the area, chasing away the growing shadows.

"Hmm." Severance tapped his chin. This might be a little harder than he thought. There was only a narrow entry into the city, and with the four guards right in front of it, it was going to take a small miracle to get past them.

Or a distraction. That gave him an idea.

"Dude, do you think you can-?"

"Hey!" Awesome Dude stood up, nearly giving Severance a heart attack. "Let's just follow those guys in."

He pointed at a group of players coming up on the road. They looked like a full team of five and all had a red cloth tied around their arms.

"Follow them?" Severance hissed. "Are you crazy?"

There was no way the guards or the players wouldn't notice them on the spot! He tried to grab his friend, intending to pull him back down out of sight.

Awesome Dude turned away, going just out of Severance's reach. "System, Inventory."

In the next instant, two bundles of red cloth appeared in his hands. He tossed one at Severance. "Tie that on your arm, Sev. Hurry, we have to catch them."

"That's not-!"

"Hurry up!" The Shade twisted the cloth and tied it around his forehead. He did it so quickly that it was obvious he'd done it many times before.

Severance sighed. He wrapped the cloth around his bicep and tried to knot it, a difficult maneuver with one hand. Awesome Dude came over to help. With a few deft movements, he tied it and pulled it up to cover the clan marking on Severance's upper arm.

"There! Now let's go."

He took off before Severance could even blink. With no moon and only a few stars out, it was a perfect night for sneaking. Awesome Dude moved like a ghost, a wisp of smoke dashing over the rocky ground.

Severance gritted his teeth and ran after his friend. There was no time to hesitate. A quick whisper brought one of his war fans out of Inventory, as he wasn't about to face probable death empty-handed.

The two of them soundlessly joined the rear of the group. None of the players noticed them.

Severance's nerves were stretched taut. If one player glanced back, they'd see them. He shared a look with Awesome Dude, who had the gall to press a finger against his own lips, as if saying Sssssh, keep quiet.

Severance just about choked on the irony of that gesture.

Still, it was immensely relieving to see Awesome Dude taking his own advice. The two of them stuck close to the team, silent shadows that followed them all the way across the bridge and right up to the guarded gates of Two Bridges.

One of the guards grabbed a torch and held it towards them, illuminating their faces. His narrowed eyes panned over them. A trace of a sneer curled his lips.

"What's this? You lot want something?"

For one nerve wracking second, it felt like the guard was staring straight at Severance and Awesome Dude. Severance tensed. Behind his back, he held his war fan in its closed position, like it was a dagger. He watched the guards, ready to unleash a Suppress if necessary.

Names appeared in gray text above the guards' heads as they all observed, but he was too anxious to bother reading them. That didn't matter. It still counted as meeting four new Elionans and it was enough for the System.

A chime sounded, followed by a wave of warmth flowing from his feet upwards.

+1 Wisdom

Congratulations, Severance! You have reached Level 35.

Skyfall has been upgraded to Skyfall2.

Severance blinked, taken aback. Skyfall2? He hadn't even gotten a choice this time.

"C'mon man, we're just coming back from a dungeon. Let us in." The tank at the front of the group sounded annoyed.

"Heh. Fine." The guards moved aside, armor clanking. The opening they left was narrow, and the players were forced to pass by single-file.

Awesome Dude strolled past the guards with a bright smile. He didn't even try to hide.

Severance followed closely. He lowered his eyes, worried about showing his face. If this went bad, he didn't want to be remembered.

Once they were inside, Awesome Dude tugged him off the main road. They slipped into the shadow of a nearby building without the Chosen players even noticing they had been there.

Severance released all the breath he'd been holding. "I didn't think that would work."

"Of course it works," Awesome Dude lifted his chin. "I do it all the time."

Somehow, that didn't surprise Severance at all.

"We need to get moving," he whispered. "Let's start with... that way." He pointed to the nearest side street. Two Bridges was a maze of streets, bridges and stairs, and it was very easy to get lost in. Especially when it was dark.

There were less torches and guards on patrols, Severance noticed, and the city itself had become a lot quieter than he remembered. The faint smell of smoke hung in the air, like the aftermath of a campfire.

"This place is kind of gloomy," Awesome Dude remarked. He looked up as they passed beneath a bridge. Soft voices drifted down from above.

Severance turned left at the next corner, which led to a broader street. This one had lit torches every third block or so, and a handful of people wandered about. It felt eerie and unwelcoming, and he had the urge to immediately turn around and go back the way they had come.

"I don't think we're going to find anything like this," he murmured. There were no signs of Valkyrie anywhere. He didn't know what he expected, exactly, but the complete absence of the warrior women was more jarring than he'd thought it would be.

"Yeah, you're right. We should go ask someone."

Severance gave his friend a disbelieving look. "You want to get killed?"

The Shade grinned. "Why would we get killed? We look like Chosen right now. Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

"All right." Severance doubted that, but it wasn't like he had any better ideas. He let his friend take the lead as they wandered towards the nearest duo of players. These were Traders rather than Chosen, since they had the golden chalice embroidered on their breasts.

"Hey!" Awesome Dude bellowed, his voice carrying through the street at frightening volumes. It nearly gave Severance a heart attack. And the players as well, because they startled just as badly as he did.

"The heck you want?" demanded the larger one, a lanky fellow with dreads hanging about his face.

Awesome Dude revealed a blinding grin, gold tooth and all. "We're just wondering where the rest of the Valkyrie are at."

The other Trader scoffed and muttered something that sounded a lot like 'dumb idiots.' Severance pretended he didn't hear, even though he warily kept a firm hold on his war fan.

"There's none left," the first player curtly said. "You guys been living under a rock or what?"

Awesome Dude shrugged. "It's been a few days since we've logged in."

"Not my problem. C'mon Marla. Let's get out of here." The two Traders left.

Severance waited until they were out of earshot before saying, "That was helpful."

"Eh, it's okay. We'll just find someone else."

But the next group they talked to had much the same response. As did the one after that. Growing discouraged, they found themselves turning down a new street. What they saw stopped them dead in their tracks.

The entire ground floor of the towering buildings were homes that had busted-open doors. Debris and personal belongings were strewn across the street in careless abandon. It looked like looters had gone wild.

Severance couldn't believe what he saw. His imagination supplied him with a disturbing scenario: Chosen breaking down doors, pouring in homes and dragging out Valkyrie while their buddies trashed the place. Or maybe it was the players who came afterward and did that, looking for valuables. He wouldn't put such a thing past them. If it gained them experience or items, most players would do anything.

"There's someone!" Awesome Dude hissed, and pulled Severance into a shadowed spot.

At first, Severance didn't understand why his friend had done so. But when he saw the solitary figure striding down the street, it made sense. This guy was different. Strange.

He was very thin and tall, and wore a long, swallow-tailed coat in a deep violet. The purple only showed when he passed under light; otherwise, it appeared black.

Severance's first thought was that this was Ervante himself come back to haunt him. But as the man drew near, he realized that was false. This man was neat and tidy in comparison to Ervante's ratty mess. His hair was slicked back, his beard trimmed, and his dark eyes sharp.

Both Awesome Dude and Severance held still as the man passed. They both saw the glimmering gold chalice of the Traders blazing on the back of the man's coat.

This was no player. Even though the man's name never materialized since he failed to notice them, they understood this fact instinctively. He held himself with confidence, like he belonged in this place and knew what he was doing.

Severance wasn't going to let this chance escape. This Trader might be going somewhere important. He gestured to Awesome Dude, and the two of them began to follow.

They kept to the shadows as the man turned down one street and the next. Neither of them made a sound, and not once did the strange Trader slow or look around.

Eventually, he stopped before a narrow building wedged in by two others. They were on the edge of a large rest area, with trees, benches and flower beds. It was, Severance realized, very similar to the Fifth Monument area where Augustine had lived. But there was no fountain here, no picturesque statue, and no sign of the world-weary veteran that once guided him on the path of a healer.

Was the man even alive now? Had he escaped? Or had he stayed to fight to the bitter end?

Awesome Dude elbowed Severance sharply, drawing his attention back to the Trader, who entered the building through a plain, gray-painted door that blended in with the stonework around it.

Severance exchanged a look with Awesome Dude. They didn't even need to speak, for the same thing was on both their minds. They slipped from the shadows and went to the gray door.

When Severance pulled it open, darkness yawned before him. He paused. It struck him, at this particular moment, that this was a bad idea. If any of the Veiled found out...

He suppressed a shiver. Let's not think about that.

He went inside with Awesome Dude right at his back. It gave him some confidence, because at least he wasn't alone. Maybe that would count for something if he got caught.

It wasn't as dark inside as he'd first thought. Lanterns hung from hooks on the walls, revealing a narrow, open room that only had one feature: a set of wooden stairs descending into a lower floor, one that was well below ground level.

There was no sign of the strange man.

Severance turned to see that Awesome Dude's face had lit up at the sight of the stairs.

"This is so coool!" The Shade whispered. The place was so quiet that it sounded like a thunderclap.

Severance winced. "Ssshh!"

For good measure, he pressed his finger to his lips. Hopefully Awesome Dude would get the hint, or he'd get them both killed.

Severance cautiously went down the stairs, easing his weight down as gently as possible for fear the wood stairs would creak. Whether it was due to his care or his passive Veiled ability, the stairs didn't even sigh.

Awesome Dude was also careful coming down, half-crouched like he was some kind of ninja. It looked weird, but it also allowed him quiet passage.

So far, so good.

At the bottom of the stairs, they were greeted by a dimly lit underground room lined with uneven stone walls. The floor was packed dirt and the air was much cooler down here. Shelves littered the place in a disordered maze, blocking off their view of the rest of the room. It looked like they had found their way to a cold storage room, because wooden boxes and cloth sacks covered nearly every shelf in sight.

The two of them crept forward, careful to avoid the occasional lantern hanging on the stone walls. They only had taken a few more steps when voices reached them.

"...impressive, little brother. I must commend you."

Severance met Awesome Dude's eyes. There was more than one person down here! Gesturing for his friend to keep quiet, Severance crept close to a shelf and tried to peer between boxes for a glimpse of the speakers. He only saw a dark sliver of movement.

"Your efforts have won us this battle," the same voice went on. "And for that, I will ensure your name is remembered throughout future generations."

"How very... gracious of... you," a terribly hoarse voice croaked in response. It was impossible to tell if the speaker was being sincere or sarcastic. Tilting his head, Severance tried to decipher if he knew the second voice. Something about it raised a red flag, but it was so rough and weak that he couldn't place it.

"Of course. It is the least we can do for your sacrifice. But do not grow lax, brother. Our enemies grow bolder even as they become weaker. There are Outsiders yet that require your attention, more now than ever before."

"Do not... presume... to tell me... my role. Brother." The last word was all but hissed out.

The other chuckled. "I dare not. Finish up here, and then get some rest. You can give me your report tomorrow."

Shortly after, footsteps drew close to their hiding spot. Severance immediately crouched, pressing himself against the shelves and making himself as small and still as possible. Beside him, Awesome Dude did the same.

They stared at each other in wide-eyed silence as the tall Trader came around their shelf. His leg passed barely a foot away, and the tails of his coat actually brushed Severance's face.

If the man looked down, he would have seen them, shadows or not. He was too close to have missed them. But he did not, and so he walked by and went up the stairs, the wood creaking faintly beneath every step.

Moments later, he was gone. But that did not mean they were in the clear.

Slowly, Severance rose. He went to the shelf's corner and took a cautious peek around.

A pair of familiar gray eyes met his. Immediately, glee lit them up, and thin lips pulled back to reveal yellowed teeth.

"Well, well... look who... it is," rasped Ervante.