Amolinn, Elder of the Cursed Walkers (NPC, Level 280) was a wretched figure like the rest of the townsfolk, but she wore a much nicer silk robe and a crooked staff. Being level 280, if we messed with her, there was a good chance she’d blast us back to the menu screen.

  She sat on her knees on a floor pillow behind a round table, which was so low to the floor that my knees touched its edge when I stood. More pillows were set up for us to sit. The five of us barely fit into the mushroom hut. A single more person, and we would have had to touch shoulders.

  “You possess the Ray Dragon’s egg,” Amolinn said to the group as a whole, though everyone here knew Veyra had it. “It’s as I’ve feared. The egg is cursed by the fake dragonborn. If it hatches, the offspring will be born petrified. There is only one person who can help you get rid of the curse.”

  “What do you mean fake dragonborn?” I asked.

  “The traitors,” Amolinn snarled. “The ones I once called our kin, now betrayers that sealed Goddess Embridge in a curse of petrification, who cursed us devoted followers into the wretches we are today.”

  Ah, a lore dump, I thought. I felt like I was missing a few details here, considering that I had skipped through all of the lower villages of the event. I sent Veyra a quick message.

  Assassin: “Have you kept up with the story?”

  Veyra: “You haven’t?”

  Amolinn frowned at us while we wrote, clearly suspicious. Warmaxx was also typing amongst each other and not saying anything. We were rude guests, perhaps.

  Assassin: “I’m not very interested in the lore, to be honest. I’ve just been accepting quests mindlessly and assassinating people.”

  Veyra: “The plot is simple enough so far. 1 sec.”

  Veyra: “The dragonborn used to all follow their Goddess, Ray Dragon Embridge, until a part of them grew dissatisfied. Those followers betrayed the Goddess, sealing her in that petrification curse. The original followers were repulsed and an internal war started, which the betrayers won. Now the betrayer dragonborn are trying to petrify the eggs as well, and the devoted followers are hiding.”

  Assassin: “So these are the original followers? They got cursed after losing the war. And how do the eggs relate to this?”

  Veyra: “The original followers are looking to wake the Ray Dragon up again, I think. I don’t really know. The Ray Dragon event is a disappointment lore-wise. It’s not nearly as interesting as with the Endlich event.”

  “Travelers,” Amolinn suddenly said. “It is rude to use telepathy when in the presence of an elder dragonborn.” The end of her crooked staff glowed, and some sort of spell appeared.

  [You have been blocked from sending private messages inside this room.]

  Amolinn frowned. “Let us discuss like real sapients.”

  The system didn’t offer any dialogue options, I realized. “Apologies,” I said. “We have the egg. How can we lift the curse on it?”

  Amolinn snorted. “I am not certain if I can trust you. You have retrieved the egg from the betrayers, which I am grateful for, but how do I know you won’t attempt to steal it the moment the curse is lifted?”

  “What do you want us to do?” I asked.

  “Prove your faith,” Amolinn said. “Only those who are loyal to the Ray Dragon—”

  “Yeah, fuck that,” Lapadin suddenly said, slamming his gauntleted fist on the round table. The blow ripped straight through the wood, and he grabbed the remaining table, snapping it in half with superhuman strength. He tossed it aside. “We’re not doing any faith-proving quests. I’m using violence. Tell us where we can get this egg’s curse lifted, or you and all of your villagers are all fucking dead.”

  Oh, okay, I thought in surprise as I watched the paladin stomp his way to Amolinn.

  “You traitors!” Amolinn shouted, her staff flaring bright. A discharge of purple arcane magic shot forth, landing straight on Lapadin’s chestplate.

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  He was knocked back by a step, and his health bar dropped to 80%. Amolinn stood up, her staff pointed defensively at us. “I should have known! No travelers can be trusted.”

  “Did you just ruin the quest?” I asked, frowning at Lapadin.

  “Play along,” he said.

  Veyra nodded and whispered, “Just watch, this is a questing technique. He’s helping us.”

  I raised my eyebrows, genuinely not knowing what was happening. So I stayed by the side and watched.

  Lapadin cast a buff on himself, and the runic pattern in his cloak brightened. He went into stance, and a crystal greatsword appeared in his hands. Warmaxx’s members prepared for a battle, weapons pointed at Amolinn.

  “Tell us, or die,” Lapadin said.

  Amolinn responded with the glow of her staff as she prepared to cast another spell.

  “Wait!” Veyra said in an exaggerated tone, as if acting. She grabbed my hand and pulled me next to Amolinn, facing Warmaxx. She, too, held her staff for a battle. “We’ll help you. Let’s defeat these traitors.”

  “Hmph,” Amolinn said. “Very well. Show me your faith.”

  Veyra cast an icicle at Lapadin’s chestplate. She didn’t aim for a critical strike. The icicle dealt no damage.

  Lapadin tsked. “Three against three. You’re a higher level than us. Looks like we can’t beat you. Scum.”

  He then turned around—and almost comically, all members of Warmaxx walked out of the building. Amolinn kept her staff up, watching them go.

  “There,” Veyra said. “Does that prove our faith? We helped you defeat traitors.”

  Amolinn’s brows were furrowed. “You, young woman,” she said, “are making fun of me.”

  An awkward smile appeared. “Uhh, no?” Veyra tried to say.

  “Those were your allies,” Amolinn said. “You are acting. If you killed them, maybe the act would have been convincing. You won’t prove your faith by defeating fake opponents for me.”

  Veyra turned to me and shrugged. “Well, looks like the devs fixed this bug. This used to work.”

  “You travelers are always such jokes,” Amolinn said, looking genuinely upset. “Quest this, quest that. My children and their grandchildren are cursed, having lost their god, their lives, and their futures! And all you can think of is fame!”

  “Amolinn, I’m really sorry,” Veyra said. “But the truth is, we don’t have time to prove our faith. We’re in a difficult situation as well. Many other travelers are trying to kill us. The only way we can survive is if we gain the holy powers from allying up with Ray Dragon Embridge.”

  For once, the NPC seemed to take Veyra seriously.

  “Yes, Veyra is speaking the truth,” I said, improvising something. “We might appear rude, but it’s because we’re desperate. Just like you. We know that the Ray Dragon will reward us greatly if we help her free from the curse. That’s why we’re looking to lift the curse on her egg.”

  Veyra nodded three times in quick succession. “Yep, exactly that. And you must agree, it’s better if we hatch the egg, who you might suspect are enemies, over betrayers who you know for certain will eat its contents for breakfast.”

  Amolinn scowled at her. She took a deep breath, and let out an equally long exhale. “Perhaps you are correct.”

  “Please tell us where the egg’s curse can be lifted,” I said. “We’ll promise you that the dragon’s offspring will make it safely to their mother. We will help you cure the curse that your children bear.”

  Dark shadows appeared underneath her eyebrows. She sat back down, resting her chin on her hands.

  “You must find Heywin,” she said. “My husband. Former husband. He is a betrayer as well. Not as heretical as the rest—but a coward nonetheless. He is the only mage who still possesses the ability to lift the curse.”

  “Heywin?” I asked. “Heywin the Great Time Mage?”

  She nodded.

  I grinned. I knew that guy.

  “And his whereabouts?” Veyra asked.

  “I last saw him in the Farheight, a village called Ravine Valley,” Amolinn said. “Now, please exit my home before I regret trusting you, travelers.”

  I bowed, and Veyra awkwardly did the same. We exited the mushroom house, where Lapadin stood with his arms crossed. He’d clearly stayed to eavesdrop everything.

  “So, Farheight,” he said. “That’s a high level zone. The average monster level is 290. I doubt you know where it is, and even if you do, you’ll need luck to find that village.”

  I suppressed the grin, barely managing to keep a stoic expression. I started typing a message to Veyra now that we weren't in the mushroom house anymore.

  She was biting her lip, and sent a message first.

  Veyra: “We probably need to abandon this one. Lapadin knows the location. He can easily find it first. Even if we make it there, we’d need to be fast.”

  “The offer is still up,” Lapadin reminded. “Let us kill you, or give us the egg. Whichever works. We’ll sign a contract for five thousand gold.”

  “Yes…” Veyra said. “That would probably be smart.”

  Assassin: “Wait. There’s no need to give it up. This is a perfect situation.”

  Veyra: “What do you mean? Don’t tell me you already know the village’s location?”

  I couldn’t suppress the grin anymore. Assassin: “I know something a lot better. Trust me and play along.”

  “Five thousand gold?” I asked Lapadin. “Yeah, we’ll take that. Can you wait here while we go store our gear pieces?”

  “The offer is only for Veyra,” he said. “But yes. We will wait.”

  I nodded and pulled up my teleportation stone. I held hands with Veyra and navigated the menus to my location.

  [Teleporting to The Wizard’s Tower…]

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