AN: So, gentle readers... the time has come at least. I have finally completed the first chapter of volume six. I may tweak a few things here and there. If I do, I'll tell you about it when chapter two comes out.

Anyway, as some of you might already know. Volume 5 is out on Amazon and Smashwords as we speak. There is not much difference between the volume 5 seen here and the volume 5 seen there this time since most of what I needed to happen in the story, happened. This volume promises to be a little longer. I am also keeping the lengthier chapters in place. This one's rough draft clocked in at over 9000!!! words... Yes, I could not help saying that...

If you wish to read the cleaned-up version of Volume 5, you can do so at:

Amazon

Smashwords - At Smashwords, as always, you can use this coupon to purchase it for free. Coupon Code: HW28D

I offer this as a way for those without money or interest in paying, to see the final version of a given volume without having to dig into their pockets. The coupon is good until the day after Christmas. Either way, please review the book on Amazon if you wish to share your thoughts. A smashwords review would be nice as well. Thanks! I hope you enjoy volume 6 as it unfolds.

Chapter 1: Missions Not-So-Critical

The night comes on quick for those who work with their hands, and bury their heads in the hard labor of a difficult life. This is true of both the common man living in a homeland ravaged by war, and the traveler who passes through but chooses to help rebuild a shattered city.

Sleep eluded Scott as he lay in his bed. His goddess love snored softly, a sign that her body was nearby but her true self was busy with work back in her homeland.

Ero, the sweet and overly exuberant fairy, rested within his mind. They had shared a few quiet moments during his brief slumber, but he could not rest for long. There were too many thoughts that burdened his mind.

He slipped out of bed and padded softly over to the sliding glass door. They had a room on the eighteenth floor of the Golden Legend Hotel. It was not exactly the penthouse, but it had a nice view of the city due to the fact that the hotel sat atop a high hill. The hotel rented rooms by the day, week, or month. It had taken half of their general fund, but they had set up shop in decent surroundings for the month after they had finished their reconstruction efforts.

Quietly, he opened the door and moved out onto the balcony. The sights and sounds of the city drew his attention immediately. He was high enough that he could not hear people speaking normally, but he was still close enough to the ground that he could easily hear the noise of traffic and the occasional shout.

The people of Valkovia were hard at work, even now. The city and its people were determined to rebuild, to continue with their lives. The resilience of those people was quite the inspiration for Scott. He had once been like this city, more than a little broken. Unlike the people here, he had simply drifted through life and allowed the debris of his lost chances to surround him.

"What the hell have I been doing?" he asked the city softly. He was not a teenager, despite his appearance. His life had been littered with a series of lost opportunity and failed developments that could have allowed him to achieve greatness. It took arrival in a fantasy world that played havoc with his mind and emotions to cause him to properly reflect on his failings.

The people of the city continued to rebuild, and in his heart Scott knew that he must do the same. His goals needed to coincide. He needed to develop his level and his skills, but he also needed to develop his mentality and drive. He had chosen to become a soldier in order to give his life purpose. It had worked to some extent, but the current situation was different.

Uncertain whether the board of directors would truly unleash hell on ARS, Scott could only focus on the immediate situation. The end of the world and the ordinary days for the good people of ARS could come to an end at any moment. Yet, he was in no situation to do anything about it at the moment.

"The government doesn't seem like it's going to be of much use to me." said Scott softly. Captain Johnson may, or may not, prove useful in that regard but Scott already had a strong feeling that he was on his own as far as Earth-based support was concerned.

A gentle breeze played over his skin for a moment. As he felt that gentle breeze, he had to admit that he honestly did not care. Earth did not feel like home to him anymore. His home was Rhea, Ero, and now Herbert. "My life is here, with them." he spoke softly to himself.

Scott stood on that balcony for quite some time before another defining thought crossed his mind. He closed his eyes then slowly nodded his head. "It begins tomorrow."

"What begins tomorrow?" asked a sweet voice.

His eyes opened slightly and a small smile arose on his lips. "Everything, Rhea."

The elf maiden walked over to him then stood at his side. She gazed out at the city, just as he did. What she might have seen, Scott did not know for certain. In time, she spoke again. "I have good news, and bad news."

Scott reached out and placed his hand atop hers then squeezed it gently. "Tell me?"

"The good news, first?" she asked.

"Sure."

Rhea nodded then said, "I love you."

Scott's smile grew slightly. "Good news indeed."

She chuckled softly then unleashed a heavy sigh. "Bad news... I've caught up on my work, but I've been dragged into a working tour of the Divine Commonwealth."

"Divine Commonwealth?" asked Scott. He had never heard her mention such a thing before.

"Yes. The Divine City is separated into hundreds of wards and boroughs. Billions of us live there. However, there are satellite cities and other smaller towns surrounding the area as well."

"I see. How long will you be gone?" he asked.

"It's going to be four days on and about a week off here due to the time difference. I'll visit a few towns or wards per day, but each day there is four days here. My mother has agreed to help me make the schedule work so that I can be with you here for four days of ARS time every third day during the trip."

Scott glanced at her and noted the fact that she had closed her eyes. "We'll just have to make every moment count when we are together."

Rhea's eyes fluttered open and she looked over at him. "Yes. Yes, we will."

He slipped his arm around her waist casually. "We all have things to do in this life, I guess."

"I guess..." she said, a hint of petulance in her tone. It was obvious that she did not relish the upcoming tour. "It'll take the better part of a year in Divine City time to finish the tour, though."

Scott kissed her softly on the cheek. "I'll be here."

Her smile brightened a little even as her cheeks reddened slightly. "At least there is one good thing to come from this."

"You'll be able to drum up more business for ARS?" asked Scott. He was rarely accused of being the brightest bulb in the room, but he could easily discern the use of such a tour.

Rhea's entire face lit up with joy. "Yes! That's exactly why I'm doing this."

Scott pulled her closer. "We all do our parts. Who knows, maybe the board won't be able to start their shenanigans."

"I doubt that, they're notorious for forcing world resets. Still, this might buy us a few more years." She paused briefly then quickly added. "To prepare." It was obvious what she really meant.

His arms moved slowly, and after a moment he wrapped her in a warm embrace. He placed his forehead to hers then spoke in a quiet, confident, tone. "We'll have forever. No matter what comes, we'll face it and win."

"Scott..." said Rhea in a soft, warm, tone. Her eyes began to shimmer in the light as unspent tears welled up. "I don't... What if it doesn't...?"

He silenced her fears with a kiss. His nose gently brushed against hers. His arms held her tight, and for quite a while, before that kiss broke. Silence reigned for a moment. When he spoke, it was to say. "It will. We will win."

Bright green eyes widened. Rhea pulled her head back and she looked at her husband to be in a strange new light. His expression caused strange sensations to fill her both in body and mind. "You have that look..."

"Which look is that?" he asked her lightly.

Her nostrils flared a little then she looked down slightly. "It's the look you had in your eyes that day when we met on the street."

"Is it?" he asked her in a soft tone.

She nodded mutely, then bit her lip a little. "You looked at that guy just like that and he left."

Scott understood her meaning completely. His expression, what he felt, it was the expression and sentiment of a man who would not give in to anything. There had been few moments in his life where such an expression had arisen. Most of them had occurred during difficult, dangerous, assignments in the military.

Hidden under a small mountain of emotional debris, random amounts of bullshit, and a lack of ambition, there was a man who would succeed at all costs. It was that man who Rhea saw in Scott's eyes at that moment, the man she had fallen in love with decades ago.

The loving couple spent the next two hours together. They spoke sweetly, and made love even more sweetly. Exhausted, and thoroughly fulfilled they held each other close and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow promised to be the beginning of a new adventure, and a new chapter in their relationship.

Morning came, as it often did, subtly and without warning. Scott awoke then sat up in bed. He glanced to his side and saw Rhea slumbering peacefully, the silk sheets draped across her naked body like a sensual second skin. Her impossible beauty caused the man to take a shaky breath. She was a sight to behold in the moonlight, but in the light of day she took his breath away.

He reached over and lightly traced the curve of her face. He did not wish to wake her, but he could not resist. Hers was the face of a woman, a goddess, who had loved him for decades without him even being aware of it. No man was that fortunate, and yet it was the truth.

Scott spent a little time simply gazing at the architecture of his fiancé's face. A brief moment passed where he wondered if such a thing was a masculine activity, but he silenced the unworthy thought. He had to develop a thicker skin and a determined attitude. The attitudes of other people and their critique of his lifestyle and personality were something he needed to discard entirely. The elven goddess slumbering so sweetly next to him, the fairy in his head, and the Grassrat who currently practiced dance moves on the balcony, these were the people who mattered most.

Once he finished gazing lovingly at his fiancé, Scott took care of those morning rituals that are common to most people. He was quite pleased to have access to an actual toilet and working sink. Such things existed at various inns back on the casual server but they frequently required people to share space with others. When they went out to the field they had often spent days, sometimes weeks, in dirty clothes. They could be cleaned easily enough. Simply putting them into storage had helped with that to some extent as most of the dirt and debris would be removed. However, such a luxury no longer existed.

"I wonder if we can just go back to Earth to do our laundry and take a crap from now on?" he mused idly, before he set about brushing his teeth. It was a worthy thought. Further, doing so might actually cut down on expenses. If not for the time difference, they would probably just avoid inn and hotel fees altogether and live on Earth.

"Good morning!" exclaimed a vivacious voice inside Scott's head. He could not help but smile. Ero had woken up.

"Morning, Ero. Did you sleep well?" he asked mentally, while he continued to brush his teeth.

She made a soft, cute, noise. "Oh fairy well after we spent that quality time together mister motor boat."

Scott nearly choked on his toothpaste. "Ero... You could have killed me."

A warm giggle echoed through his head briefly, before the smiling fairy slipped out of his mind and appeared next to him. She hovered in the air for a moment then began to grow. Soon, she was human sized. "Did you miss me, Scott?" she asked, a warm smile on her soft pink lips.

"Of course. Who wouldn't miss their best fairy friend?"

Ero leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Good. Can I have the sink, or are you still trying to pretty yourself?"

"All yours dear lady." he said lightly before making a grand sweeping gesture toward the sink.

"Thank you, gentle sir." she said enthusiastically. She took charge of the sink. While she brushed her own teeth she looked at Scott in the mirror. After rinsing once, she said. "So, what's the plan?"

Scott slipped his arms around her then lightly caressed her stomach. "Depends. How is the little mama doing?"

Ero's face reddened slightly. "We're doing well. No sickness or anything. That doesn't really happen with fairies. Though..."

"Though?" asked Scott before he caressed her ear with his cheek.

"I spoke with a few of the fairies who were helping out during the debris cleaning mission. One of them turned out to be a fairy mid-wife."

"Did she have any words of wisdom?" asked Scott.

"Yes..." Ero leaned back against him and looked at their image in the mirror. It made her heart practically sing to seem his arms wrapped around her. "I should go visit a fairy hospice and have an elder look me over. They'll be able to tell me how our baby is doing."

Scott kissed her on the ear. "Alright. We'll get right on that."

"Uhm, yeah... But..." she said, haltingly.

"But?" he asked.

"If I go..." she said softly before stopping. She took a breath before she continued. "If I go, they'll want to observe me for a month to see how the lunar cycle and tidal forces effect me."

"I'll be without my best friend for a month?" asked Scott. That did not sit right with him, but he would not hesitate to make it happen. The health and safety of Ero and their baby was top priority. If he were to be honest, he would prefer it if she didn't go adventuring at all until the baby was born.

"Yeah..." said Ero softly.

He kissed her softly on the ear then whispered, "I love you Ero. We need to take you to see a fairy doctor."

She made a soft hiccupping sound then turned around swiftly. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at him. "Scott..."

They shared a warm embrace for a time. While they did so, Rhea awoke and checked to see where everyone was. For a moment, jealously and annoyance flared within her, but when she saw that Ero was crying she managed to force those unworthy emotions down to where she kept them caged inside her heart.

"Rhea...?" asked Ero gently after she noticed the elf maiden standing in the doorway.

"Good morning Ero." said Rhea in a soft, measured tone. She blinked once, slowly, took a breath then asked "What's wrong?"

Ero sniffed the air a little then chewed her lip. "I was just telling Scott about what the mid-wife said."

"Oh? We do need to get you to a fairy doctor." said Rhea, a slight smile on her lips. That smile could have meant a lot of things, but it was still a friendly smile.

The fairy girl nodded twice then embraced Scott tighter. "Yeah, but..."

"No buts, young lady. You're going to the doctor." said Rhea with a gentle smile.

Ero made a cute face then stuck out her tongue. "You're not my real mom!"

Rhea laughed a genuine, heartfelt laugh. Scott tried his best to hold it in, but he couldn't help himself. He laughed as well. The girls were trying so hard to get along despite the issues that even he was not too clueless to miss, that he could not help but feel joyful and relieved during moments of such good humor.

"Ero, go hug your fake mother." said Scott. He released the fairy girl then swatted her on the bottom.

"Oh, anything for you daddy." remarked Ero with a grin.

Rhea rolled her eyes then huffed a little, but her smile returned when the fairy girl gave her a warm hug. Ero asked her,

"Forgive me?" The elf lightly stroked her hair for a moment then kissed her on the forehead. "I forgive you."

"Gonna ask me to forgive you?" asked Ero cutely.

"No." said Rhea with a slight and amused smirk.

"My step mother is so cruel." remarked Ero with a giggle. "I should bite her or something."

Scott interjected. "You know... I might be from the South, but not that far South."

"Yeah?" asked Rhea, confused.

"We're starting to sound a little inbred." said Scott.

That brought another round of laughter from everyone. They did have a strange relationship dynamic, but at least it was not that strange.

Morning rituals were finished, and everyone gathered in the common room of their apartment. Ero, once again the size of a doll, fluttered over to the table and sat down on an overturned coffee cup. It was her official seat at the hotel round table until they purchased something more suitable. She could sustain human size for a much greater period of time now that she had gone up a tier, but that did not mean that she could be human sized all the time. It drained her stamina and mana over time.

Herbert sat next to her, and made a concerted effort not to start practicing his dance moves. He was quite dedicated to his craft.

Scott and Rhea sat next to each other on the couch. It was Scott who spoke first. "Alright team. It's time to decide what we are going to do with ourselves."

"What do you mean?" asked Ero.

He looked to the tiny fairy then said, "Well, we've finished our last job and spent half of our general fund on this room. We need to get some money flowing, but we also need to train. You and Rhea both have to leave the group for a lengthy period of time as well."

"Rhea, you do too?" asked Ero. After Rhea nodded, Ero tilted her head to the side and asked, "Why?"

"Business in the Divine City. We need to slow the board down so I am going on tour as the face of our empire. I'll be in and out for the next four years in ARS time."

"Oh! How long will you be gone?" Ero leaned forward, her eyes wide and sad.

"About eight days at a time, with four days here afterward." said Rhea. "Though, I'll log-in every chance I can in between times."

Ero asked a question that Scott had also been about to ask. "Can't you just do that thing where you make more than one copy of yourself?"

Rhea sighed. "Not really. It would be seen as a sign of rudeness if I bifurcated like that. It's one thing to have aspects running the game world. It's another entirely to log in as a player and play while I am supposed to be focusing on the fans. It's like I don't think they warrant my full attention."

"Bad PR?" asked Scott.

"Yes, very much so." said Rhea with a sigh. "That's the last thing we need. Let the player base think I couldn't be bothered to give them my all when my family calls for a tour of the commonwealth."

"Hmm, so we only have you with use for what another three or four days?" asked Scott.

"Two actually..." said Rhea.

Scott winced. "It's really going to impact your training isn't it?"

"Can't be helped. I can make up for it in various ways, but we do need me to do this if we are going to buy a little more time. Even if it only gives us an extra year or two, that's a lot of time to plan and train." said Rhea.

"True. Maybe it's not so bad." said Scott.

Rhea gave him a mildly hurt look and he waved her off. "Don't take it like that. I'm talking about everyone. Ero needs to have proper medical care, Herbert needs to get a little older, and my magic needs a lot of time and effort to develop."

"So, what are you saying?" asked Rhea.

He took a moment to respond. There was a lot of say and he wanted to say it right. He leaned forward and allowed his eyes to grow hazy, a distant look arose within them. "When I first came to ARS, I was like a little kid. I ran around like a happy idiot and did stupid things at times."

Scott's eyes narrowed a little. "I can't do that again. It's fine to have fun, but we can't just wing it. I need to be better than

I was before, more focused. I can take the next few years to develop my powers and train. Out of all of us, I am the only one who doesn't have an innate capacity to mesh properly with this world."

"You don't mesh?" asked Ero. Herbert chittered a little and she translated his mousy chatter as a similar question.

"None of us are native to this world, but everyone here besides me has spent most of their life dealing with a similar state of being. I've only dealt with it for a few months. My game playing knowledge only helps a small amount. I need to redefine myself completely." said Scott.

"So, what do you intend?" asked Herbert by way of his fairy translator.

Scott looked down at the tiny Grassrat. "I need to become what I pretend to be. I am a sorcerer, a twilight master. I need to live up to that and stop merely playing a game."

"You need to train." said Ero, on Herbert's behalf.

"I need to train, true training." said Scott in agreement.

The Grassrat waddled forward and reached over the gap between the table and couch to place one paw atop Scott's knee. He chittered something then inclined his head.

"I understand." said Scott.

"Wow! You can speak Grassrat now, Scott?" asked Ero.

Scott shook his head. "No. I just don't need a translation to know what he meant."

Herbert had left his world behind and sought to become something remarkable as well. Though they were of different species, they were brothers of a kind.

"What will you do then?" asked Rhea after a moment.

The sorcerer took a breath. "I'll spend most of my time in training or challenging tough opponents in the field. When everyone is together we can go on specific missions. Once we have things sorted, I'll need to head to Twilight Desert to undergo real training."

Rhea nodded her head. "I understand. That would help a great deal. Though, the monster level in that area is quite high, we could all undertake training there."

"We can? I only knew that it was a place where twilight sorcerers gathered." said Scott.

The elf maiden grinned at him. "Yes, it's one of the better places to train since the monsters tend to be able to take a lot of punishment. Good for skill development. There are even a few dungeon areas that have cropped up there recently."

"Cropped up? You make it sound like the gods didn't just put them there." Scott smiled at her, a twinkle in his eye. It was nice to just sit and talk about things like this.

Ero reached over and lightly stroked Herbert's fur while Rhea explained the truth about the dungeons of the world. "Dungeons, monsters, and things like that happen on their own here. There are certainly many pre-set areas, but mostly a dungeon happens when creatures at odds with the local government take over a location. The levels, bonuses, even the layout of the dungeon can change drastically after an abandoned place becomes a dungeon and the new owners start tinkering with it."

"Some of that dynamic world-building stuff you mentioned before?" he asked.

Rhea raised one hand up and made a magnanimous gesture like she had become royalty. "But of course, good sir." she said with a soft laugh.

The group discussed various things for a time. The discussed plans for the future and plans for the present. Eventually, plans for that day came up. Scott brought up a subject that he thought might be beneficial. "I think we should get a transit pass and ride around for the next two days to unlock the major towns in this kingdom."

Rhea immediately nodded her head. "Good idea. Right now, the way that the stats work would make taking the train the better idea compared to world travel, but by the time we leave this area altogether we could probably run faster than the train."

"My thoughts exactly. At that point we could save a lot of money when we need to come back here simply by using world travel instead of keeping up with the transit pass." said Scott.

"We should get the weekly pass for you and two day passes for me. It costs more than buying two day passes, but it would still let you travel around quickly for the rest of the week." suggested Rhea.

"So, one silver and forty copper. Doable."

"What about Herbert and I?" asked Ero with a pout. Were they being left out?

"You can ride for free. Small children, small pets, and fairies ride for free. At least you ride for free as long as you stay fairy sized." said Rhea. "Though you do need to ride with a paying customer."

"Neat!" said Ero lightly. She then unleashed a throaty chuckle. "I'm a free ride."

Scott laughed at her antics a little then looked at the group. "So, we're agreed then? We're going to spend these two days setting up shop in the area by going to all of the major stopping points and making fast travel markers?"

The others agreed readily. However, after they stood up another thought occurred to Scott. "We should check the local bulletins to see if there are any easy delivery jobs..."

"Ah, there we go. I was just about to suggest that." said Rhea. "If we're lucky we can earn a little coin and social experience for doing easy missions."

"Let's hope so. We go to the city courthouse right?" asked Scott.

"We need to do that today, but we both have a Crysta-com. Once we get there we can register for day labor assignments and download the local bulletin app for Valkovia. After that we can just update it whenever we arrive in a new town in the kingdom. We'll have all of the general quests and missions available to the public right at our finger tips."

"Sweet, like a local online job board." said Scott. That would prove to be quite convenient!

"Exactly like that, yes. The general jobs tend to be numerous, but don't pay much. We should snag several at once, though there is a limit of two at a time per person or four for an official work group. Group work is more dangerous but pays more so we should get those sorts of jobs when we are all together." said Rhea.

"Think we should just get eight separate jobs today?" asked Scott.

"Six. I hate to say it, but they probably won't recognize Herbert as a qualified applicant." said Rhea. She looked down at the tiny Grassrat and smiled. "Though, I think he is more than qualified for most jobs."

Herbert chittered his appreciation at her sentiment. She reached down and rubbed the top of his head. In response his left foot started tapping in excitement.

"Alright, well if Herbert can't accept jobs on his own we should just do group assignments. That way everyone receives experience and a fair share." said Scott.

"Sounds good." replied Rhea.

The foursome finished everything they needed to do in order to prepare for their day then headed down to the courthouse. Along the way, they stopped at the mainline bus station on Tenth Street near the East Gate and purchased their transit passes. Money seemed to flutter away like butterflies on a warm summer breeze of late, but such was life. In order to live there were expenses to be paid.

Since they had a pass they decided to take the bus to the courthouse. They waited only a few minutes for the next bus to arrive as they had luckily picked an opportune time.

A Valkovian city bus was both similar and quite different to one from Earth. It had no wheels. Instead it hovered a few feet above the road and glided through the air without sound. There were two types of buses, the standard transit bus, and the express bus. The transit pass only paid for the standard bus fare. Express bus rides did not make stops save for the two bus terminals that they operated between. There were several such buses and each one took passengers to a different quadrant of the city. Four of the major bus terminals were situated near the gates, so the express buses were decided to fairy people into, out of, and around the city at a high rate of speed. Such convenience cost a great deal more than the standard fare.

Once they were seated on the bus, each of them took in the sights and sounds of the local people. The bus occupants alone comprised a large number of different species. Humans were the most common of course. But there were a few fairies, blood trackers, and Scott was certain that he even saw an elf near the front of the bus. He stared at the probably rare sight of an elf riding a city bus without shame. Sure, Rhea rode the bus with him, but she gave him other reasons to stare at her. Soon he discovered that the elf in question wore a well-crafted business suit. He had a brief case chained to his wrist, and wore dark sunglasses.

For a moment Scott wondered if there was such a thing as an elven mafia, but let it go. Whatever that guy was doing was none of his business.

The foursome chatted amiably and noted several sights of interest as the bus continued on its silent way across the city. Two stops later, the well-dressed elven courier left the bus and a familiar sight got on. It was the mother and daughter honey badger duo he had seen on his first day in town. A slight smile crossed his lips. It was good to know that they had made it through the attack. The little girl was adorable.

The third stop was the one they needed. The foursome exited the bus only a short distance away from the courthouse. Rhea pointed out that the actual place they needed to go was next to the large intimidating building. The courthouse had large stone pillars and short staircase. It looked fairly similar to the sort of big city courthouse one might expect from Earth, but instead of a statue of a blind woman wielding a scale, there was a massive eye superimposed over a symbol for the sun. It was carved just above the entrance doors. The inscription below the eye read: Let us shine the light of Civilization upon the world, that the eye of truth might discern justice from vengeance.

The imposing building was not their stop that day, however. The place they needed to go was a small side-building off to the left of the courthouse. Rhea led the way as she had actually been there before. Once inside the two story office building, they filled out the appropriate paperwork and moseyed on over to the local job board in order to acquire the app.

Rhea showed Scott how to scan and download apps from local sites such as the job board. He used his Crysta-com to do as asked and soon he had a list of all of the generally available local jobs.

"What about specialized or private jobs?" he asked.

"Well, there are guilds and organizations that we could join." said Rhea. She looked over her own job board information for a moment then looked back to Scott. "You might seek out the Grande Cabal, I have never been to one of their guild offices, but they like to take in magic users and I hear that they don't impose too many restrictions."

"Sounds promising. I suppose there are a lot of places and people in the world that we could get more specialized jobs from?" he asked.

"Absolutely. They don't generate a quest screen like on the casual server, but they still count toward social experience and if you sign a contract for payment it is enforceable at the courthouse." she said.

"Hmm, and the chances some quest giver might skip out on paying us?" asked Scott.

"Well, these general jobs are paid in advance. So, all we do is show proof that we finished the task and the payment is released to us." said Rhea. She took a breath then continued, "Private jobs are different. You work for a specific client. If they renege on their part of the deal, you take the contract to court. If it seems plausible that they did fail to pay the government awards you a settlement and puts out a public warrant for the apprehension of the client."

"They get arrested for non-payment?" he asked, surprised. People failed to pay their debts all the time back home. Few people went to jail for it unless there were specific criminal actions attached to it. Failure to pay debts was a civil issue and not a criminal one.

"Sort of. They are brought in and made to pay their debt to the government, plus court fees. If they pay, then there is no problem. If they don't they are taken to jail and are required to work off the debt at standard minimum wage, minus accommodation expenses."

"I see, so a non-paying client gets brought in by the cops and made to pay their debts?" asked Scott.

"Not just the police, no. A public warrant means anyone can bring the client in." She thought about it for a moment then grinned. "There are even cases where the wronged party takes up the warrant and arrests the person who failed to pay them properly. In that case they not only get their money owed from the job, but they get to earn bounty hunting money and a little more respect from the local government."

"Good to know." said Scott. There were financial dangers to the acceptance of private jobs it seemed, but at least there were options to enforce payment for services rendered.

Ero fluttered over to Scott and landed on his shoulder. She leaned forward, her expression curious, and asked, "Are there any good jobs?"

"Not sure, yet. We need four group jobs. Herbert can't take any, and we have not gotten you a Crysta-com, yet." said Scott.

Rhea spoke up. "Here's one. We can even start it before we leave town."

"Oh? Which one?" asked Scott.

"Public service announcement thirty-six." she replied. Scott immediately scrolled down till he found the announcement that she had mentioned.

[Public Service Announcement #36]

Barbecue Delivery

Downtown Bar & Grill is looking for someone to deliver two cases of barbecue to Primrose Acres by 12:30 PM.

Mission Requirements: Acquire the package at Downtown Bar & Grill then deliver it to the Primrose Acres Militia headquarters by 12:30 PM.

Success: Deliver the package before time expires.

Failure: Fail to deliver the package before time expires.

Rewards: 120 Copper Fayth

Penalty: If the delivery is late, you must pay the purchase cost. Each package is valued at 600 Copper Fayth.

[--]

"Holy crap, that's pretty good pay for a simple delivery!" Scott stared incredulously at the amount of coins offered. How could they afford to pay so much to deliver barbecue?

"It's typical for out-of-town deliveries. See the penalty. If we're late, it will cost us twelve silver. Our pay is ten percent of the item value to ensure speedy delivery. I'm sure the Downtown Bar & Grill factored the delivery charge into the order fee." said Rhea.

Scott checked his Crysta-com. It was eight in the morning. "Can we get to Primrose Acres by noon?"

"No problem there. It's only eight miles outside of town, and on the bus route." said Rhea.

"Sweet. Let's take it." said Scott before he accepted the contract. He did have a curious thought cross his mind afterward.

"You'd think that a business would have someone on tap for this sort of thing."

Rhea shrugged. "They probably only do out-of-town orders for special occasions."

"Right." said Scott. That made sense. He looked over his Crysta-com again and soon found another job that he liked, and then another. Delivery jobs seemed to be the simplest thing to do at the moment and there were several more that involved Primrose Acres.

"There is another job we can take that goes to Primrose. PSA fifty-three." said Scott.

Rhea checked it over then nodded. "A flower delivery. Let me check my city map." She did so and made a few calculating noises. After a moment passed she nodded once more. "The flower shop and the grill are within five blocks of each other.

We could probably get in and out with both packages within about a half hour."

"Shouldn't take that long to get to Primrose Acres by train once we get to the train station, and the flower delivery just says to get there by the sundown." said Scott.

"I say accept it." said Rhea.

Scott did so, then they started looking through the apps once more. Herbert climbed up onto Scott's other shoulder and looked at what they were doing. After a moment he started to chitter.

"He says that he thinks he sees a good job." said Ero.

"You can read, Herbert?" asked Scott.

"Of course." said Ero, translating for the tiny Grassrat. "It is one of my miscellaneous skills. Common language: Written and Spoken."

"Oh, does that mean you'll be able to speak to us without a fairy translator soon?" asked Scott.

Herbert chittered then smiled as only a rodent could smile then turned sharply on Scott's shoulder and flared his cape for effect. Ero laughed and translated what he said. "Of course, who do you think I am?"

Scott laughed as well then checked the mission Herbert had chosen. It was a short-term subjugation mission that took place, once again, in Primrose Acres.

[Public Service Announcement #93]

Caterwauling Cats

Mrs. Kilman of the Primrose Dance Studio has requested help in reducing the feral cat population outside of her studio. The wildland cats cry and sing off-key at all hours of the night, and frighten her students during the day. The cats seemingly hate anyone who dances and attack any dancer that they see on sight!

Mission Requirements: Bring in at least forty [Wildland Cat Paws] gathered in the Primrose Acres area. Do so before sundown to cut down on the number of caterwauling cats.

Success: Gather at least forty wildland cat paws by sundown and turn them in to the local militia headquarters.

Failure: Fail to turn in forty wildland cat paws by 6:17 PM

Rewards: 6 copper Fayth per paw gathered and turned in by sundown. Increased respect from both Mrs. Kilman and the Primrose Acres Militia.

Penalty: Failure to complete the assignment on time will result in the loss of respect from both Mrs. Kilman and the Primrose Acres Militia.

[--]

"Which one was it?" asked Rhea. Scott told her and she checked it out. Her first response was a grin. "I can see why Herbert would be interested."

"Yeah, kick some feline ass and crush a few critters that hate people who dance at the same time." said Scott.

Herbert chittered happily, and it needed no translation. His reasons for suggesting the mission were quite transparent and he would not deny them.

"That should be an easy job for us." said Rhea. She counseled acceptance of the gig. Scott accepted it readily.

They chose to look for their fourth job while heading toward the bus stop. They did not need to be in the building to acquire new jobs, and they would not be taking anything else that started from Valkovia this time.

While they waited for the bus, Ero found an interesting mission. Scott smiled softly then looked it over in greater detail.

[Public Service Announcement #137]

A Seat for Baby

Hi! My wife and I just had a baby, and we have not had a chance to get to town in order to buy a proper car seat for our newborn bundle of joy. Can you please pick one up, preferably a blue one since our little wonder is a boy. We'll fully reimburse you, plus ten percent, though... we do have a certain budget to keep. If we could get it within the next two days that would be wonderful!

~ Proud Papa in White Oak

Mission Requirements: Purchase a [Blue Baby Seat] for a little boy. The value of the seat cannot exceed one gold coin.

Success: Purchase a baby seat and deliver it to [Proud Papa] at his farm near White Oak within the next two days. Do not charge him more than 11,000 copper Fayth for the task.

Failure: Fail to deliver a blue baby seat before time expires. Charge more than the budget outlined for the car seat.

Rewards: Reimbursement of the purchase price for the car seat plus ten percent, up to 11,000 copper Fayth. Increase in respect from Proud Papa and the people of White Oak.

Penalty: Proud Papa will lose respect for you and become sad.

[--]

Scott reached out and offered a finger to Ero. The fairy girl hugged his finger tightly and giggled a little. Rhea thought it was a good mission as well, so they accepted it. While they rode the bus over to the flower shop, Rhea checked through the prices for a baby seat online. A low whistle escaped her lips as she noted the cost for most of the decent looking ones.

"Expensive?" asked Ero, hesitantly.

"A little. We can get a medium priced one for about thirty-seven silver on premium sale, even less with our discount, and have it delivered to the farm." said Rhea.

"Won't the delivery fees eat up our reward?" asked Scott, curiously.

"Not really. We are VIP customers, remember? We get a discount that varies a little by store, but will reduce the cost by at least ten percent."

"I see... So, are we charging Proud Papa full price?" asked Scott.

"Can't really do that and not fail the mission. We can only charge what we paid, plus ten percent." said Rhea. She smiled after she said it, however. "What we can do is order it online and have it shipped to their farm. It'll arrive by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. The delivery fee they charge us will raise the price a little, but won't go over the budget."

"Ah, I see. So we have it delivered to them and they just pay us a little more since the total cost would be higher than what we would have had to pay if we went into the store in person."

"Yep. I'll make it a rush delivery." she fiddled with her Crysta-Com for a moment then nodded. "With one day rush guaranteed, we can get it to them for forty-five hundred copper... If they'd tried to buy it themselves they would have had to pay full price and then some since I doubt they are VIP customers. The sale was for VIPs only."

"What would they have had to pay originally? Can we send a note with the package to show them how much they saved for working with us?" asked Scott, a bit of mercenary marketeering had arisen within his heart upon realizing what they could do.

"Original price for Non-VIPS was forty-two silver. It would have been forty-five or so with delivery fees. We get a further ten percent discount, so the thirty-seven hundred copper cost, dropped to thirty-three hundred thirty copper. Total cost of purchase and delivery thirty-six hundred sixty copper."

"Not bad... were there any more expensive ones within the budget?" asked Scott. By working the delivery system they would gain an extra thirty-six copper for the deal.

Rhea shook her head. "If we had more time to comparison shop, we could probably find one. But most of the affordable blue colored ones are within the same price range or less expensive. The ones in the next tier up are roughly one gold, and I don't see one on sale."

"Alright. We do have other jobs, so we can't spend as much time shopping today, I suppose. Besides that, if we take too long we'll have to hand deliver it and possibly not earn as much." said Scott by way of agreement.

"Done deal. Ero's assignment choice is already complete then. I also included a small note in the package delivery citing how we used our connection to save them about five silver overall and got the best quality item we could find within their price range." said Rhea.

Ero clapped her hands happily. "Yeah! That's great. I bet they'll be fairy happy with that car seat Rhea."

The elf smiled at the little fairy then nodded. "I think so too. It should arrive at their farm by tomorrow, fairly early."

Another few minutes passed and they arrived at the flower shop. The delivery was ready, and the bored shop girl merely annotated that they had picked up the delivery on time. The same sort of reception occurred at the Downtown Bar & Grill. However, two cases of barbecue turned out to be fairly bulky. Each case held one hundred barbecue sandwiches! It was no wonder that the penalty was fairly high for a food stuff. Scott was sorely tempted to try one once he discovered that they had coleslaw on them and that the barbecue was finely shredded like the kind he found back home in North Carolina. That was one of the few things he missed about Earth, North Carolina style barbecue.

Rhea took the flowers and Scott lugged around the cases of barbecue. He had to hold them low and prop his chin on top of the topmost box in order to see. They were not heavy to him in any way, but their bulky nature did cause a few minor issues now and then.

They caught the next bus, and rode until they reached the train station. It would take another few minutes for the train to arrive, but that was no problem. Scott sat down on a bench and parked the care package next to him.

Rhea had to wander over to the lady's room to answer a call of nature, and Ero chose to accompany her in the fashion of women all over the multiverse. That left Scott and Herbert to guard the flowers and the barbecue.

Herbert sniffed at the boxes a little then released a small rodent sigh then chittered once. Scott figured that he had probably said the Grassrat equivalent of "Dude." He nodded his head then said. "I know."

Scott glanced over to his rodent friend. "Ready to kick some feline ass?"

Herbert stood up on his hind legs and crossed his forelegs over his chest. A gentle breeze chose that moment to blow causing his cape to flutter heroically to emphasize his pose.

"I'll take that as a yes." said Scott with a smile.

"Oh, hell yeah? Is that barbecue?" called out a vaguely familiar voice.

Scott and Herbert turned to see three people had gathered nearby. He recognized one of them immediately and soon, the other two seemed familiar as well. "Random elf girl?" Scott asked the red-headed elf.

"What do you mean Random Elf Girl!" snapped Redhead. She was the common elf who had appeared before Scott and the others at dinner a short while back. She had tried to cause a scene.

"How rude." said a man with beady eyes. He was the beady eye man sitting at the random elf girl's table before.

The other man, demoted from Firstguy to Secondguy since he was the second guy to talk this time, snorted. "You should apologize for that."

"True enough." said Scott. He turned to the elf girl and said, "I'm sorry. What was your name?"

"As if I'd give my name to someone so rude!" she said in a scoffing tone of voice.

"Then what do I call you other than random elf girl?" he asked her curiously. He had seen the trio sniffing around near their worksite and hotel room a few times, but had decided to let it go. This seemed a bit much though, and he wanted answers.

"You bastard. How dare you talk to her like that." snapped Secondguy.

Scott looked at him curiously for a moment, then quietly began circulating his magical energy. This confrontation had probably been coming for a while, though he was surprised that they planned to try something in a busy train station of all places.

"Oi? Whatcha lookin' at? Do you like what you see?" asked Beadyeyes in an angry and suggestive tone of voice.

"No. I see it far too often." said Scott without a hint of hesitation. "What do you three stalkers want from me, anyway?"

"Stalkers! What are you talking about? We're just three people who want to take the train." said Secondguy.

"Fine. Go right ahead." said Scott with a smile. He did not buy what they were selling for a moment, but it did not matter. They were not likely to actually do anything in a public place.

"Like we need your permission." said Secondguy.

Scott shrugged at the man then looked away like he was nothing. The complete dismissal caused Secondguy's face to turn red.

"Look at this bastard. He calls us stalkers, insults my woman..." said Secondguy. Redhead interrupted. "Not your woman." but Secondguy continued on without missing a beat. "He even takes up space on a public bench with boxes. What a jerk."

Scott and Herbert sat quietly while awaiting the train. The idiot trio continue to harass and annoy, but they did not make any openly hostile movements toward them. It was obvious to Scott that they wanted him to make the first move. He denied them the opportunity to claim self-defense.

Rhea and Ero arrived just in time for the train to come thundering into the station. It was similar to the lightning spewing vehicle that the law enforcers used in town. Electricity skirled underneath the train and magical forces kept it aloft. The train itself looked more like something fit for the military than for civilian use.

Scott looked it over casually and tried to hide his surprise when he saw the twin-gun turrets mounted on top of each train car. It seemed to be heavily armed and armored. For a moment he wondered and just how dangerous the world outside of town really was.

Rhea glanced at the common elf and then at the two idiots with her before looking down at Scott. "Hey, looks like the train's here."

"Yep." said Scott lightly, before picking up the precious barbecue cargo. "Let's get on board."

The three idiots followed them, naturally, but did not board the train. They merely stared at Scott and the others with cruel expressions as the foursome boarded the public transit.

After the foursome found a seat in the passenger car, Rhea snorted. "Those idiots are so obvious."

"The turd trio back there?" asked Scott rhetorically. He was merely carrying the conversation forward.

"Exactly. I bet they can't ride the train because they have a warrant. We should check on that on the way to doing our jobs." said Rhea.

Scott agreed readily then pulled out his Crysta-com. The train pulled away a few minutes later, but in the meantime he had already found something on the second guy who had talked. "Clarence James? Dude's name is Clarence? Wanted for strong arm robbery, and communicating threats to the elderly."

"Oh, no way." said Rhea with a laugh. She finished a search of her own and discovered the identity of the random elf girl.

"The red headed girl is Barbara Banks. Wanted for... promiscuous solicitation and petty theft."

"She's a busty hooker who works a side job as a pickpocket?" asked Scott. What a cliché.

"Seems so... Though, I could have done without mention of the busty part." said Rhea. She fought down the urge to pout at Scott for noticing the bustiness of other elves. She kept searching the public warrant database but gave up after a few minutes. "I don't see the guy with beady eyes."

"Maybe he just likes to hang out with those two?" asked Ero. "Also, what the heck is that?" She pointed at a warrant notice for a man who had the head of a catfish. She had been looking at the warrant notices curiously as they scrolled by.

"Disturbing is what that is." said Scott. The guy had an actual catfish for a head. His face did not look like a catfish, his entire head was a catfish sitting atop a normal human neck.

"Catfish Jack? Wanted for petty theft. Oh he stole crickets and worms from Dave's Bait and Switch angler shop near the city pond." said Ero. "I wonder what he did with the crickets and worms?" she asked curiously.

Scott snidely said. "Well, maybe he had to feed his catfish head."

Rhea groaned at Scott for his lame attempt at humor, but then they all began to laugh a little. It was entirely possible that Scott was right. Who really knew what a guy with a catfish head wanted out of life?