Time Elapsed: 03:42:23

The appearance of the strange wanderer should have been a warning.

Because when Severance and his team came out from another dungeon attempt, they found Vast guarding the mine entrance and rumbling like a powerful subwoofer. Severance tugged the hood off his head so he could get some air on his sweaty face, and immediately trotted to see what the problem was. His teammates were right behind him.

Three players stood outside the mine entrance. They weren't trying to approach nor were they trying to attack Vast, which was smart of them. But any sliver of respect Severance had for them died a tragic death when he noticed the golden chalices embroidered on their attire.

"Traders," he muttered, eyes narrowing. Exactly the kind of players he wanted nothing to do with.

The players all smiled at him, their eyes flickering to the space above his head. No doubt they saw his name emblazoned in red there.

"Well, looks like we finally found you."

The one who spoke was a tall evoker named Teddy Roo. The other players were two girls, both blonde and gorgeous. They could have been twins, if it weren't for slight differences. The one with blue eyes and a bored expression was Rainda, while the one with green eyes and a lopsided grin was named Unrooly One.

Jack's armor clanked as he came to stand beside Severance, his presence cold and unyielding as always. "What do you want?"

Both girls smiled at Jack, looking him up and down in an obvious matter. Jack didn't even blink at their attention. They might as well have been invisible for all he cared.

"Hmm." Teddy Roo gaze passed over Severance's group, a knowing glint in his eye. "A full team, I see. The rumors were right."

"What rumors?" Severance asked.

He scratched behind Vast's ears, even though the vastlhidan still rumbled like an idling engine. Tension thrummed through the muscles beneath his fur. The beast was ready to go at any instant. All it would take was a single word.

Such a good boy, Severance thought. He scratched a little more thoroughly, while keeping an eye on the three Trader players.

"How'd you get the red name?" Unrooly One asked before Teddy Roo could answer. Now she was eyeballing Severance with open curiosity.

That kind of attention made Severance uncomfortable. He wasn't really in the mood to chat with a bunch of Traders.

"I killed someone." Well, that wasn't exactly accurate, but he didn't feel like explaining the fine details. "Why are you here?"

"Heh." Unrooly One grinned. "Did you know red names are really hard to get? You have to do some really awful things to piss off the NPCs. The only other guy I know of was a Chosen who went on a murder spree in Tomorrow's Edge." Her smile faded, her eyes becoming flinty. "He also played with the girls before killing them. They were just NPCs, but still. A real scumbag, that one."

Severance's expression tightened.

"All the Vigilant ganged up on him. Killed him again and again and again." Slowly, her smile returned, but it wasn't friendly anymore. It was downright sinister. "Eventually, he quit the game because he couldn't take it any more."

Her eyes bored into Severance's. Her threat wasn't as subtle as she thought. Nor was Severance particularly threatened. For a long second, he considered letting Vast go. See how much she could talk with a giant predator hanging from her throat.

Teddy Roo sighed. "Look. We're not here to attack you guys. We just wanted to make you an offer."

"No," Severance said.

Behind him, Snow snickered.

"You haven't even heard it," Rainda softly said.

Jack folded his arms, expression stony. "He said no."

"We know you have a key," Teddy Roo stated, his gaze shifting back to Severance. "And that the dungeon here is impossible to complete without it."

Severance stopped scratching Vast's ears. They knew?

"So, here's our offer," Rainda went on, her voice pleasant despite the sharpness of her eyes. "Let us party with you and in turn, we won't tell the world chat about your little dungeon expedition."

Ice prickled down Severance's spine. Questions arose like the flutter of wings, swarming his mind in a startled frenzy. How did they know about the key? How did they know to come here, to the Mines? What rumors had they been listening to?

And now they were threatening to tell the entire player base about this. It would make completing the dungeon a hundred times harder. Severance could already picture the hordes of players gathering here, trying to shoehorn their way in with the very few who had keys.

Wait.

The keys.

Severance narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the three players. If they knew, then it was safe to assume the majority of players knew about the keys. Which meant a few had already been found. Enough for word to get out.

Armor clanked gently as Jack Coyote shifted beside him. The tall Sentinel with the cold golden eyes merely stared at the Traders like they were filth on the bottom of his shoe. The faint curl to his lip oozed disdain.

"Our answer," Jack Coyote said, "is still no."

On the other side of him, Kiah's fingers gently curled around the hilt of one of her blades. Her normally friendly expression was completely unreadable. With the hood of her leather coat shadowing her eyes, she had a distinctly sharp air about her.

"We weren't asking you," Teddy Roo snorted. His gaze went to Severance. "It's the guy with the red name who has the key, isn't it?"

"How do you know that?" Severance rested his hand on Vast's head, right between the beast's ears. Vast rumbled softly, his gaze fixated on the players.

"We have our sources. Now, are you going to do the smart thing, or do you-"

"Vast, go." Severance lifted his hand.

Silver flashed between them, and a strangled scream mingled with a fierce snarling growl. Seconds later, Teddy Roo's body hit the ground in a rather gory mess.

Unrooly One let out a startled shriek. Her pale robes had been splattered with blood.

"Vast," he softly said, and the large beast immediately trotted back to Severance and sat down beside him. Though the vastlhidan's silver-blue eyes fixated on the remaining two Trader players.

Severance was pretty sure he would never get tired of watching Vast deal with irritating players.

"We were just talking," Unrooly One exclaimed, her green eyes wide. "Why would you kill him?!"

"Oh come on," Snow scoffed. He was standing on Severance's other side, while Valentin quietly watching behind him. "If Sev hadn't sicced the scary dog on you, I would have frozen your feet to the ground and used you for target practice."

The other girl, Raina, sucked in a sharp breath. "Fine. Have it your way. We tried to be nice about it. Let's go, Unrooly."

With a last scowl at them, Unrooly One and Raina wheeled around and left. Teddy Roo's body vanished, only to reappear moments later on a dust-covered platform in the middle of Ironback Town. He gave them all a wary glance before hurrying to catch up to the girls. Within moments, the Trader players were out of sight.

"Well," Kiah mused, "This could be a problem."

Jack grunted. "Yes."

"Why is it a problem?" Snow asked. "Just means we can't camp here anymore. Now we get to beat up players on the way in. It'll be a great warm-up."

"No problem." That was Valentin's two cents. He looked around the surrounding area, almost as if wishing more players would turn up.

Feeling both worried and amused, Severance rubbed the top of Vast's head, who had quit rumbling and now wore a happy doggy grin. The beast's long tail curled loosely around Severance's ankles.

Since they were nearly out of time, they travelled out of the Ironback Mountains together. There were no other players in sight. After making plans to meet up at a certain safe location tomorrow, the team parted ways.

Severance walked on down the path for a bit, Vast at his side. He wanted a few minutes to sort out his thoughts before returning to the House.

Things were going to change now. Max level players would soon start swarming the Mines. And not only that: considering there were six towers to be discovered, reason stood that there were other secret dungeons to be found.

Where were those, then?

The whole situation was like waiting for the ball to drop.

Then there were the Gifts that were affecting people, even on Earth. Snow was going to talk to Jack Coyote about it, but Severance contemplated bringing it up with Kiah and Valentin. They needed to know, before things got really crazy.

Severance opened up the World Chat window, scanning over the contents. There was nothing but the usual chatter, but he moved it over to the side and kept it open anyway. Just in case those three Trader players tried anything.

Vast suddenly snarled, his large body suddenly shoving against Severance.

Severance stumbled back. "What's-?"

The ground imploded before him, a concussive wave smacking into him. He nearly lost his footing, but was far enough away that he was able to steady himself.

He snapped his head up, searching for the culprit. That had been a concussive shot from a wanderer.

With the mountains looming behind him and the large boulders dotting the rolling hills before him, he couldn't spot anyone. Vast was low to the ground, rumbling louder. He kept close to Severance, tail flicking against the ground in obvious agitation.

Should I log off?

The idea popped into his head. It was the easiest escape route. But a part of him rebelled at the idea. He still had some things to do in Eliona. Besides, he had agility that few could match. Escape should be a fairly simple thing.

Severance broke into a run, moving quickly down the road. A faint whistling sound was the only warning he got before a volley of arrows hit the road just in front of him. Sucking in a breath, he veered off the road into the field of boulders. But a second volley of arrows cut him off, forcing him back towards the road.

He grit his teeth. The wanderer was herding him like some kind of farm animal.

"Vast," Severance called out, intending to send his pet killing machine on a hunting trip. The silver-furred beast slunk low beside the road. Since the arrows were directed at Severance specifically, Vast hadn't had too much trouble evading them. Before Severance could finish his sentence, the ground started to shake.

Alarmed, he lifted his gaze to the surrounding area. Nothing could be seen. Literally nothing, because the air suddenly condensed into thick fog. It was impossible to see through it. He could barely even see the road beneath his feet, even as it bucked and heaved like it was trying to knock him over.

A growling rumble came from Vast, somewhere off to the side. It increased in volume, even as it deepened in pitch. The vastlhidan was not happy.

And then Severance became too busy to worry about the beast.

Half a dozen arrows plummeted through the fog. The first few struck the road before him. He stumbled back, struggling to keep his footing on the heaving ground. An ominous orange glow spread throughout the fog.

What kind of skill was this?

Sharp pain speared through his shoulder. Severance cried out, staggering and then falling to a knee as the ground nearly bucked him off his feet. Right where he'd been about to step, a crevasse shook open in the ground. With a burst of intense heat, deep orange magma bubbled out.

"The heck-?!"

He struggled to his feet, one hand going to his right shoulder. His fingers found the shaft of an arrow buried deep within it, probably embedded in his bone. His entire right arm had gone numb and unresponsive.

More arrows came whistling down. He lunged out of the way. It was hard to move with how the ground heaved beneath him, but he managed to keep his footing. The fog was disorienting and it was hard to even tell which direction he was going in.

More pits opened up around Severance, bubbling with superheated magma. The ground did its best to chuck him right into them. His superior balance was the only thing that kept him alive, his body automatically adjusting for each shifting movement beneath him.

Somewhere, he could hear Vast, which filled him with relief. He hoped the beast didn't try to reach him in this death trap. Because that's exactly what it was.

Ward. The bubble snapped into place around him, only to burst open when more arrows fell in a deadly rain. One cut across his face, and another skimmed his back before he managed to evade them. But he didn't dare try and heal – not until he got the arrow embedded in his shoulder out.

Severance pressed on with gritted teeth. The road was beneath him. He could tell that much by the scuff of dirt beneath his shoes. He used that as a guide, altering his path whenever he stepped on grass instead of dirt.

It'd been over a minute now since the strange skill began, but it still was going strong. The fog was icy, even th0ugh magma heated the air in a strange contradiction.

Abruptly, the earth before him split open. He didn't see it, but he saw the sudden orange glow appear before him. Instead of evading, he took a running step and leaped. He landed roughly on unsteady ground, a grunt exploding out of him as his wounded shoulder shrieked.

Arrows pierced the ground behind him. Severance's breathing turned ragged, but he kept going. Then he was through, bursting out of the swirl of fog. And from one step to the next, he went from shaking earth to steady ground.

Severance didn't hesitate. He sprinted, pushing the pain of his injuries to the back of his mind. He veered off the road into the grasslands filled with boulders, zig-zagging through them like a ricocheting bullet.

Vast was beside him in an instant, galloping easily with his long tail stretched out behind him. The vastlhidan's rumble stopped, and the two of them fled in utter silence. A few arrows came and fell short, but then there was nothing. The terrain prohibited a clear line of sight and their sheer speed wasn't something most players could hope to keep up with.

Eventually, Severance stumbled to a stop. He dropped to his knees on the grass, wheezing.

"Keep an eye out, Vast."

With an answering rumble, Vast raised his head, ears pricked as he scanned the area. Severance grabbed the arrow sticking out of his shoulder and tugged. His vision went white and everything sort of faded for a bit.

When he came back to himself, Vast was vibrating like an engine, a low, dangerous growl emanating from him. He stood directly in front of Severance, hackles raised and teeth bared.

A low, resonant chuckle came.

"Are you awake now, little cibel?"

There was a man standing before them. Or perhaps, it would have been more accurate to say a barbarian, for this was a burly fellow wearing a mismatched set of gray and brown furs. They looked like they'd been skinned off the animal and roughly stitched together to form something that resembled clothing. Cord wound around the footwraps and arm wraps to hold them in place.

Both the man's wiry brown beard and hair looked like they haven't ever seen a comb or a pair of scissors. Gray streaked through the beard, and heavy creases around his eyes and mouth showed he was someone accustomed to laughing.

That didn't make Severance feel any safer, as he was pretty sure this guy was also accustomed to wrestling bears. Scars covered every bit of exposed skin, twisting up the man's neck and gnarling his face. An ear was missing, with only a knotted mess of scar tissue showing where it once stood. And the two smallest fingers were missing from one hand.

Severance stared at him for a long minute. Then his eyes shifted to the name floating above the man's head in gray:

Eusebius the Madi.