Four and a half hours later, I was awake, dressed, and making more coffee. Blaze was out cold on the couch, her phone resting on her lap. I let her sleep.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [You awake?]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [Yeah. In the shop thinking about making a shield. What’s up?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [Me. Blaze is asleep on the couch. I wanted to know how you three are doing, and I’ll have some MANA batteries made for Ingrid when we meet again. Takes about a half hour to make ten. What type of shield?]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [I’ll tell her. Don’t know. Game shields never mattered what type. Just defense rating.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [Yeah. It’s all that way. You want something you can carry on your back and your arm. Best defense would be something like a Roman scutum or a curved rectangular shield. Covers most of you. You need a carry strap, and your arm goes in at a diagonal toward the upper corner…not all the way to the top.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [Don’t do a center grip behind a boss like the Romans did. Google it and the harness. It’s easier to use this way. If you can do it in quarter-inch steel or more, it might be bulletproof for most handguns and some rifles without needing anything extra.]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [Roger that. How you n Blaze doin?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [We talked about things…backgrounds, mostly stuff like that. She’s got info on where to find the game rules online. Library of Congress is doing it.]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [Got it. We’ll look it up. Thnx.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [How’s Shadow doing and taking things???]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [Last I saw, she was camped out in front of my bookshelf devouring manga. Did you know she’s a business major? Minor in Japanese?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [Not a clue. Business?]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [Yeah. She’s doing it so she can run her family’s restaurant someday. She’s a damned good cook, too. Learned it from her parents.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [She said she worked as a cook in a restaurant. That explained the knife comment. How’s she gonna do the next time she has to fight…maybe kill someone?]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [I’ve talked to her. She’s avoiding it. But she’s tougher than she thinks. She thinks she’ll pull thru. Give her time and space.]

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [Happy to. Ingrid ok?]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [She’s fine. She’s seen a lot as an EMT. Blood don’t bother her. She found out Valkyrie get a spear bonus. I’ll make her one. Gotta hit the hardware store for a pole.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [Sounds good. When do you want to go out again?]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [No idea. When we’re needed, I guess.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [Do me a favor and you 3 think about how we get this more organized. We’ll do the same when Blaze wakes up. I got batteries to make. Next time we’re together, I’ll do some enchants on your gear. Tell me what you want done.]

  [Bartholomew Ironshaper:] [William of Brinsford] [Roger that. Talk later. bye]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Bartholomew Ironshaper] [Bye.]

  The next two hours passed with me cranking out MANA batteries and fixing gear. I really needed those in-game magic gear repair guys instead of stabbing myself with a needle while sewing up ice punctures in my doublet. It was something to do while waiting for my MANA to recharge.

  During the downtime, I also skimmed the Game Rules. I needed to plan out where to drop my next points and levels once I leveled again. I kept looking for new ways to game the game.

  “Will?” came a voice from the kitchen.

  “In the garage,” I called back. Blaze was up.

  She came down the three steps into the garage, eyes sweeping across the clutter filling most of the garage floor. “Now I see why you park in the driveway. How can you find anything in here?”

  “Depends on what I’m trying to find…and how old it is,” I said, grinning. The place smelled faintly of detergent, old cardboard, and other things. The faint hum of the freezer in the corner provided background noise.

  “Extra food storage, freezer, and supplies are back there.” I pointed to the far wall. “Laundry and cleaning stuff’s on this side of the door. Workbench and gear near the garage door. Lawnmower’s there too. The rest? Eh…not so organized.” I added, laughing at the mess.

  “I see that,” she said, a small smile tugging at her lips. “I guess I overslept. You let me crash.”

  “I did. You needed it. Looks like you passed out reading something on your phone. No alerts while you were out. Bhaarrt’s in his shop…building a shield and a spear tip for Ingrid.”

  “Why’s a Healer need a spear?”

  “It’s a Valkyrie thing. They get a spear weapon bonus. Plus, she’s a Norse Pagan Cleric…she can use it as a focus. We’ll talk more about it when we regroup.”

  “How are they doing? How’s Shadow?”

  “Bhaarrt says they’re fine. She’s devouring his manga collection. Turns out she’s a business major…learned to cook working in her family’s restaurant. Says she wants to run it one day.”

  “I knew she was smart. I’m learning she’s more than I thought.”

  “She didn’t want most people knowing, apparently. Said folks used to give her crap for being smart. So, she hid it. But a cook…” I trailed off, scanning back through the Rules. “Shit. Should’a thought of that.”

  “Thought of what?”

  “A cook. Buff food. Cooking skill can make buff food just like in online games. If she works as a cook, she might start with a Cooking level bonus.”

  “That’s good. I remember cooking in some games…but it was just something you did with stuff you killed.”

  “Pretty much. But early game recipes don’t need much. Might mean more grocery runs. Maybe some hunting. This game’s got grinds. Just what we needed.”

  [Sheriff Harper:] [Irregulars] [We got a problem. We need all of you at City Hall ASAP!]

  That’s when it hit the fan. Again.