A system message jolted me out of my fog of anger.

Attention! Jethia Ravenborn has died! Her Death Penalty was, “Player Lorevinel Silvercat will be informed of information that was previously hidden due to a Harsh Level Death Penalty he received 6 in-sim years ago.”

The Bitch finally died in the sim!

Crimea laughed. “Oh, this is good.”

“What is good?” Mia asked.

I turned to the Burntwind. “What information was hidden from me?”

“You’re very fortunate in a way.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“It’s not that we didn’t want to tell you. We tried many times over the years but you merely ignored us as if we were standing there not speaking. So over the years, everyone who wanted to tell you stopped trying.”

I blinked a bit and thought back. If I remembered correctly, I died in a very strange forbidden area when I first entered the sim while trying to escape the Ravenborn clan. But I never thought about it because it just never affected me. Also, there was a time when I first entered the simulation when every couple of months or so a close acquaintance would come up to me, stand there and then leave in a huff. But it was so long ago I barely recalled it.

Frankly, I had too much to worry about, what with me escaping actual death only to be collared, chased down like an animal, and then killed by my own stupidity.

“Okay, so what information was hidden from me?”

“There is another way to release you and it doesn’t require some obnoxiously antisocial Artificer either. It’s also reasonably close by, being only a 5-day journey.”

My hands shook. All this time and something so close could have freed me? But wait. What prevented others from going there and freeing themselves?

“There has to be some sort of catch to this.”

“There is,” Burntwind said gravely. “It’s inside the Tainted Prison.”

Ah? Prisons, the very very few of them that existed in the sim, did sound like they might have a way to release a prisoner. But I think the one time I researched them I only found information on how they used to be run and that now they were all adventure areas. Was this lack of information also part of that death penalty? Wait, she said Tainted Prison!

A chill ran down my spine. “Oh no. You all can’t be serious. I can’t go there.”

“Why not?” Mia asked from beside me.

I sent her a side-eye and she flinched. Most of me wanted to hug her and beg for forgiveness for being such a shitty bonded but then I remembered that she stole my fucking mirror so I glared harder. It took a lot of energy to stay angry at her.

“Lore doesn’t want to go because that whole area is tainted by eldritch horrors that can make a person lose their mind. And, damage to the mind is something that, oftentimes, can not be fixed even after dying. At least not at these low levels.”

I crossed my arms. “And what she’s not saying is that the area is under a barrier that prevents the horrors from leaving. So if you get infected, you’ll be stuck there and unable to leave, forcing you to suicide. And if you’re lucky, you won’t end up returning from death still under the barrier and still infected.”

“The reason it was put up in the first place was to prevent the horrors from leaving. Not people.”

“I refuse to lose my sanity over this and I refuse to be trapped in that area. Mia, hand me my mirror.”

“Wait, isn’t there a way to prevent sanity from being lost and, maybe something that can prevent being tainted? Like a magic item or scroll?”

Crimea looked at Burntwind with adorable pleading eyes. The guild leader softened visibly and patted her head.

“You two are in luck. We received two items that can prevent loss of sanity, which also has the effect of lessening the chance of becoming tainted.”

“And what do we have to do to receive those items?” Mia asked.

“Well, this is convenient timing. We have an asset that’s having trouble on a quest in the same vicinity as the Tainted Prison. If you agree to help him with that quest, then we can give you a box that contains the two necklaces. Once the quest is complete, the box will open.”

I really wasn’t sure. All this time, I’d been doing one thing. Preparing for it, but all of a sudden this new direction was just, out of nowhere.

“Lore, let’s at least try it. If we can’t succeed then we’ll still have time to use the mirror to find an artificer for you.”

I clenched my jaw. “So that way you can use the mirror?”

“Didn’t we promise?”

Huh?

“When we became partners. I help you remove your collar and you help me find out about my dad.” She held up the mirror. “This can do that. It took you years to get it so I’m sure we’d be unable to buy a second one if you use it up now. So let’s try this first. If we fail, we’ll use it to find your artificer, but if not then we can use it to find someone who knows the information I need.”

And with those words, like an idiot, I forgave her for stealing it. Now that I thought about it, this prison, for sure, had some way to remove my collar or the information wouldn’t have been hidden. But if I went in the direction I’d been planning all this time then I didn’t know if I could even get to an artificer within the deadline Jethia gave me. I clenched my hand into a fist and then relaxed it.

“Okay. We’ll try.”

She beamed at me, looking so beautiful that I really wanted to kiss her again. This was going to be a problem, wasn’t it?

“Excellent!” Crimea clapped her hands.

Your team has been Given the Quest, Help a Colleague Out. Quest Reward: Necklace of Sanity x2

There is no failure penalty as failing this quest is enough of a penalty as it is.

Burntwind stood up from her throne and handed me a box with an envelope on top of it. I immediately placed them inside our shared inventory. She then hugged me. I stilled in shock.

“Lore, you’re good. I hope I never see you around here again.”

That’s when it hit me. If I really did this and succeeded, I’d be leaving the area around Grey Skies Fall on the Weary. I couldn’t stay since the Ravenborn clan would just find me and put me in another prisoner’s collar. I had to leave and go far away until I was strong enough.

But I was still leaving this area. There were so many people and places here that had been both home and horror to me. Six years was a long time. I never made any close friends, but I did know a lot of people and I even had several dedicated fans who loved my poetry and songs.

I hugged her back grinning. “I hope I never see you again too.”

She released me.

“The quest details are in the envelope on top of the box. Make sure you go over them before you head out.”

Then Crimea hugged me.

“Take care of yourself, Lore. And if you see any of my students, tell them I’m waiting for them to come back to try to kill me.”

Ah, maybe she wasn’t as oblivious as everyone thought? “I will.”

Then she hugged Mia. “I was only your teacher for a short time… So, go out and find a better one, okay?”

“Okay—Ow!” My bonded rubbed her waist and glared at Crimea’s beaming face.

“I didn’t tell you to agree with me.”

With narrowed eyes, Mia said, “No. How could I ever find someone to replace you?”

“That’s more like it.”

Burntwind sat back on her throne and made shooing gestures. “You two have been in here long enough. There are people outside waiting their turn.”

I bowed formally to them both for the last time. When Mia saw, she copied me. Then we both left, neither of us looking back.