We passed through the citadel’s main doors and entered a foyer. An elegantly attired, if overweight, human stood waiting there to greet. By his garb, I marked him as a civilian.

Simone strolled across the checkered tiles of the foyer. “Constable Richter, it’s good to see you again.”

“Simone,” Richter replied, opening his arms in welcome. “As always, it's a pleasure to have you and your party visiting with us. What can I do for you today?”

“Is Trexton in his room?” Simone asked.

The constable rolled his eyes. “When is he not?” His gaze drifted from the party leader to the rest of us. “Will you be staying long this time?”

Simone shook her head. “We are only here to see Trexton. Then we must hurry back to the Light quarter. We’ve business to attend to over there.”

“As always, all work and no play,” Richter said with a smile. “I won’t keep you, then.” He paused, his gaze resting on me. “But who’s this? Not one of your party, if recollection serves me.”

“He is not,” Simone agreed. She hesitated for only a fraction of a second, then went on. “But he is a friend. I trust he will be welcome in the citadel?”

“If you vouch for him, then of course,” the constable replied smoothly. His lively gaze roved over me as if fixing me in his memory. “A mindstalker,” he murmured. “How nice.”

Before I could respond to that, Richter swung away in what was a clear dismissal.

The foyer had three doors leading further into the keep. Leaving the constable behind, Simone strolled purposefully through the middle one and into a carpeted passage.

“Thanks for vouching for me,” I said grudgingly as I stepped up beside her.

She threw me a wry grin. “Don’t make me regret it.”

I nodded, but the archer had already turned away. We’d come to a fork in the passage, and after a slight hesitation, Simone turned down the left one. She seemed to know her way around well enough but seemed like she needed to concentrate on navigating through the warren of corridors inside the keep.

I turned to the others. “So, I guess the knights don’t let just anyone wander freely in here?” I asked, thinking of the exchange with the constable.

Jasiah shook his head. “Of course not,” he replied. “Even we are restricted to the public sections of the keep.”

I nodded and studied the rooms we passed by through their open doors. Most appeared to be shops, offices, or workshops. On the left, I spied a blacksmithy, on the right, a carpenter’s store, and in the next corridor, a merchant’s shop. All looked open for business, and players freely entered and exited.

I even spotted a familiar-looking red-cloaked figure. Stopping short, I read the sign above the door’s lintel: “Outlet of Kesh’s Emporium.” Marking the location of the shop in my mind, I hurried on after the others.

Eventually, Simone found the room she was looking for and strolled through its open door. I entered with the party, glancing at the sign at the entrance as I did. It read: “Trexton. Herbalist Extraordinaire.”

There were no customers inside the shop and only a single dark-skinned elf behind one of the counters. That had to be Trexton.

“Simone!” the elf exclaimed as he stepped out from behind the counter. “Why am I not surprised to see you here?”

“What does that mean?” Simone asked as she pulled him into a hug. From the enthusiastic manner of the pair’s greeting, I took them for old friends.

Trexton laughed. “Oh, I meant nothing by it. Only that the rumors of a new rift appearing are not even an hour old, and here you are already. Are you and your friends planning on joining the rift-dive?”

“Not exactly,” Simone said, grinning broadly. “This time, we beat the knights to it. We’ve cleared the rift already.”

“Ooow,” the herbalist said, his eyes gleaming. “Then you’re here to sell. Tell me what you have.”

Pulling Trexton aside, Simone began a low-voiced conversation clearly not intended for the rest of us. I left them to it. My sharp hearing picked up their words anyway, and from the sounds of it, the two were haggling amicably. While I waited for them to finish, I perused the store.

Trexton had a wealth of potions, ointments, and ingredients on display, including full health and mana potions that I assumed he’d made himself. He certainly appears to be living up to his self-styled title of ‘herbalist extraordinaire,’ I thought.

Eventually, Simone beckoned me over. “Michael, give him the seed.”

Obligingly, I handed over the item. The dark elf turned it over in his hands, his excitement palpable. “Ah, this will do nicely,” he crooned.

“Then it will suffice?” Simone asked, more stiffly than I expected.

I looked at her curiously. I’d stopped paying attention to the pair’s conversation, and it seemed I’d missed something of import.

“It will,” Trexton replied, and Simone visibly relaxed.

“Excellent,” the archer said. “Now, for the matter of payment.”

“Two thousand gold, just as I promised,” the herbalist said, holding out his hand for Simone’s keystone.

I whistled in appreciation. The stygian seeds were more valuable than I’d thought. The pair completed their transaction, and Simone turned to me. “Your keystone, please.”

Wordlessly I handed it over, and a moment later, the Game confirmed the transfer of funds into my account.

You have gained 600 gold. Money remaining in your bank account: 1,341 gold, 4 silvers, and 9 copper coins.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

“You can sell your other stygian reagents to Trexton here too,” Simone said. “He won’t cheat you,” she added with a meaningful glance at the herbalist.

The dark elf chuckled and held out his palm. “May I?”

After a moment of silent deliberation, I handed over my alchemy stone, and the herbalist extracted the ingredients. “Hmm, for this, I can give you… one hundred gold. Does that sound fair?”

I shrugged, having no idea of their actual value. “I’ll trust you.”

~~~

You have lost 5 x lumps of necrotic plasma and 2 x vial of nether residue. You have gained 100 gold.

After I and the others concluded our transactions with Trexton, we ducked out of his shop to gather in the corridor, where Simone wasted no time in addressing me. “This is where we part ways, Michael.” She held out her hand. “Bracelet, please.”

I nodded, having expected this moment, and handed over the item in question. “It's been… educational.”

You have lost a farspeaker bracelet.

“Good luck in your travels,” Simone said, smiling as she shook my hand. “If you ever find yourself in the Light quarter, look us up.”

“Perhaps I will,” I replied.

Jasiah stepped forward and clamped a hand down on my shoulder in farewell. “You can rest here for the night,” he advised.

“I’ll do that,” I said. I hesitated, my gaze drifting across the group, wondering if I should ask the question on my mind. When it came to dungeons, I knew players didn’t like to share what they knew, but some of the party—notably Moonshadow and Jasiah—had been more forthcoming with their knowledge than I expected, and I thought there was an even chance they’d answer me. “Before you all go, will you answer one question?”

“Go ahead,” Simone said, waving permission.

“What do you know about the dungeons in this quarter?”

Barac snorted in laughter. “Goddamn, Michael. Your ambition is going to be the death of you!”

I waited, not saying anything—his response I’d expected. And at least the centaur was addressing me by my name now and not ‘noob.’

The others looked amused too, but there was no mockery in Simone’s gaze when she turned to me. “Do you have a party with which to tackle them?”

I shook my head.

“Then I'd advise you to stay away until you do,” she replied. “Dungeons are serious business. One misstep can mean final death for you—no matter how many lives you have remaining. Without players who you trust guarding your back, things can quickly go wrong.”

I rubbed my chin. I knew better than to ignore her advice, but I needed to know how far it held true. “Does the same go for the public dungeons?”

Those are cesspools,” Moonshadow scoffed. “You are better off avoiding them.”

All the others nodded in vigorous agreement, even Jasiah.

I frowned. “Why?”

“Because dungeons are all about risk versus reward,” Moonshadow answered obliquely. “And the rewards in the public dungeons just don’t justify the risk.”

I wasn’t sure I agreed. Even if I didn’t gain any monetary rewards in the public dungeons, I still thought I could use them as a training ground to advance my player level and skills.

But I didn’t bother arguing and returned to my original query. “So, are there no other dungeons in the plague quarter?” I persisted.

The party exchanged glances, seeming hesitant to answer, and when they did, it was Simone who fielded a response. “Dungeon locations are not freely shared, Michael,” she said softly. “And normally, I’d ignore the question.” She held my gaze. “But you’ve done us a favor that has more than made up for your earlier mishaps.”

Barac snorted.

Ignoring him, Simone went on, “So I will tell you this. Excluding the public dungeons, there are three others in the quarter—that we know of, of course.”

“Three, I breathed. “Where?”

“The first is here, right below your feet,” Simone said.

My eyes widened. “Here?”

“Don’t get too excited about that,” Jasiah warned. “The entrance portal is in the keep’s basement and heavily guarded. The Triumvirate own the dungeon, and its depths are reserved solely for their knights.”

Simone nodded. “The dungeon is the real reason why the Triumvirate chose to build their citadel here, and it is one of the knights’ most prized possessions. You will not gain access to it,” she concluded with disheartening certainty.

I nodded slowly in understanding but probed for further information, nonetheless. “How high-leveled is the dungeon?”

Simone shrugged. “From the little we know, the dungeon sectors within are suitable for a wide range of players. Knights of all ranks train here.”

I stroked my chin. “I see. And the next dungeon?”

“That you will find at the stygian brotherhood chapterhouse,” she said. “Like the knights, they’ve chosen to locate their faction’s main base at the dungeon’s entrance. It, too, is heavily guarded and reserved for the exclusive use of brotherhood members.”

I didn’t let my disappointment show. Finding a suitable dungeon to enter seemed like it was going to be more of a challenge than I expected.

“And the last one?” I asked finally.

For a long moment, Simone did not say anything. “That one I know little about. And truth be told, I'm not certain that it even exists.”

My curiosity was piqued. “Why’s that?”

“We’ve never seen it,” Simone admitted. “Nor has anyone I trust visited it either. But the rumors of its existence are too persistent to shrug off as mere gossip.”

“Where can I find it?” I asked eagerly.

“In the saltmarsh, on the very outskirts of the quarter,” Moonshadow answered.

I frowned at him. “The marsh?”

The elf nodded. “If I were you, I would stay well away from there. The saltmarsh is disease-ridden and not with the run-of-the-mill variants you see in the rest of the quarter. If you venture into the marsh’s depths, you will be infected with high-tiered blights and plagues. Don’t do it.”

My frown deepened, but I said nothing.

“Moonshadow is right,” Jasiah added. “No one is foolish enough to venture into the marshes.” He paused, then added almost offhandedly, “Well, no one, except for the werewolves, that is.”

A thrill of excitement shot through me at his words, and I struggled not to show my sudden interest. “There are werewolves in the marsh?” I asked as nonchalantly as I could.

At my question, Jasiah’s eyes narrowed a touch. Clearly, I had not been as successful as I’d hoped in disguising my interest. “Yes, there are,” he replied. “Only they have a strong enough constitution to resist the diseases infecting the region.”

“Damn shapeshifters,” Barac muttered. “They can regenerate even faster than a bloody hydra.”

Interesting, I thought.

“Well,” Simone said. “We’ve told you all we know.” She stuck out her hand again, and I shook it.

“Goodbye, Michael,” she said. Pivoting on her heel, she strolled away without further ado. The rest of the party exchanged their own farewells with me before following in her wake.

I watched them go, a faraway look in my eyes. As unexpected as the encounter with the party had been, I had learned much from them.

And they’d given me much to think about.