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I tested them straight away. First I activated the shield. A mesh sphere snapped open around me and, spinning, disappeared, replaced by a new buff icon just out of focus.

In search for a target to test my control magic, I headed for the Gnoll Hill. I still had to pick up my stuff. After a couple dozen paces, I met another bunny rabbit.

I selected it as target and glanced at the spell icon to activate it.

The ground bulged. A decaying hand reached out and grabbed the bunny's leg. The rabbit screamed and struggled, trying to free itself. Really, this spell stuff could leave you scared for life.

The rabbit finally pulled itself free. It covered the distance between us in three long leaps and clawed me with a vengeance. A familiar knock was followed by a combat chat report telling me that the Bone Shield had absorbed 6 points Damage. It worked.

The shield lasted five more hits. Not much, but this was only the first step. Later, when I invested more points in it, I could expect more impressive results. Most importantly, the shield absorbed all damage allowing you to concentrate on casting the spell despite the hits received.

I finished the bunny off, picked up the pelt, refreshed the Shield and trotted toward the Gnoll Hill. You couldn't miss it. My tombstone flashed like a beacon on the interactive location map. I selected it as destination and set off, following the compass which showed direction and distance left. How's that for GPS?

The scenery had now changed. The forest parted, letting me through toward the hills. Wary of entering the aggro zone bustling with mobs, I gave a nearby gnoll gatherer a wide berth and crouched by my grave. I knew of course that back in the real world I was probably heading toward the same end: a small wonky tombstone with my name on it. Surreal, wasn't it, me sitting here admiring my own sepulcher. I reached out to shake off the dust and dirt. The stone vibrated under my touch.

Laith, Level 5. The grave will be teleported to the City of Light North Graveyard in 2 hrs. 12 min. Would you like to collect your possessions?

Yes/No

Yes
. The tomb crumbled leaving behind a bag with my stuff. I kicked the gray handful of dust. I'd live.

The moment I crouched over my bag, a female player ran up the hill pulling a train of four gnolls. She rolled down the slope and turned to face the mobs. Despite her level 11, she seemed to have bitten off more than she could chew: a level 7 overseer and three level 5 workers.

The Elfa didn't seem to know what she was doing. Such low-level mobs wouldn't give her much loot or experience.

A growl came from behind her back. A messenger gnoll rushed to his buddies' aid and joined in the scuffle. The Elfa noticed the new threat and shook her head in dismay. Our eyes met. She sized up my embarrassing level-five frame, bit her lip and hurled herself back into what now looked like a hopeless fight.

I dug deep into my bag and produced the dagger and a couple Soul Stones. Too little time to rummage through the rest of it. My mana was at 75%. Not much but I couldn't allow a lady to be wasted in front of me. I'd done enough eye-averting in real life pretending I had no business in other couples' fights.

I raised the pet—only a level 3 zombie, dammit. Had neither time nor mana to raise another one. Rover, attack! Try to pull a gnoll or two, pup, even if for a moment.

The gnoll who until then hadn't received a single hit and hadn't gained any aggro, switched to the zombie with ease. I chose the weakest messenger and cast the DoT. Then, clutching the dagger and the spare Soul Stone, I lunged into close combat.

The Elfa didn't appreciate my efforts. She swung her bangs out of her eyes and snapped, "Run, you idiot!"

"Relax, babe. We'll do 'em," I shouted back. She shrugged and continued fighting.

Now it went quicker. A gnoll collapsed, slain by the girl. The zombie groaned and gave up the ghost. My opponent followed. We were two against four.

Throughout the brief fight I kept casting Life Absorption, aiming to kill my gnoll as fast I could. Which was why I came out of it with full life but only 25% mana. The gnoll worker—who'd kicked the shit out of my pet without losing more than 20% hits—now turned his attention to me. I received a couple of hearty blows before I could cast Deadman's Hand, draw out and raise a new pet. Success. Level 4.

Rover, attack! His mana dropped to zero. I waited a few seconds for the pet to gain some aggro, sneaked up behind the gnoll and put my Grym-awarded hole puncher to good use.

When we had done away with all of the Elfa's enemies but one, her life bar was already blinking in the red zone. The girl was finished. Still, she was full of surprises. She raised her sword and shield and activated some spectacular skill, completely restoring her life. Apparently, she wasn't a warrior but rather some hybrid class. With her heavy steel armor, the sword and the shield, could she be a paladin? The amazing skill had to be Holy Hands which allowed you to heal completely once every twenty-four hours. I remembered reading about it at some forum or other. She could have probably done without me. Then again, maybe not.

The wet blades kept slashing flesh. Another minute's worth of growling and two agonizing sobs later, we'd run out of enemies. We, however, were still very much around.

Taali—that was her name—began looting the corpses. The Elven auto translate offered a prompt:
 
Ta
 
meant
 
a fox
, while
 
Ali
 
stood for
 
a shadow
. A Shadow Fox.

Apparently, I shouldn't have wasted my time waiting for signs of appreciation. "You're welcome," I mumbled and began dressing. The rustle behind my back stopped and I could barely hear her guilty voice.

"Thanks..."

I turned round and gave her an encouraging smile. "Not bad for a train. What was it, a pull gone wrong?"

Taali stood there looking over me as if wondering whether I was worth continuing the conversation. She swung her bangs again, squinted at the sun and lowered herself into the meditation position. Finally, she condescended, "Yeah, kind of. Pulled a couple too many."

"What's the point? Virtually no experience, is there? They're small fry for you."

Taali cringed. She didn't seem to be too forthcoming. Still, eventually gratitude got the best of her. She took the gnoll's bracelet out of her bag and showed it to me.

"Do you farm them?" I asked. "Are they for sale?"

A tear glistened in the corner of her eye. Biting her lip, she nodded and looked away. I just didn't get it. She got sadder with every question. Better leg it, if I didn't want to get stuck here for the next thirty minutes serving as a shoulder to cry on.

I crouched over my gnolls and picked up my loot. The
 
gnoll worker dropped a couple coppers and a pretty blue stone.

"Sorry," I couldn't help asking. "One last question. Any idea what this is?"

She barely glanced at it. "A laurite. A rare drop. In a shop they'll give you three silver for it."

"And if I offer it to other players?"

"Could be four. Could be more. Those who level jewelry, they buy them sometimes."

Then she lost all interest in me and stared ahead, meditating, as she waited for hits and mana to restore. The girl could use a bit of cheering up. I fumbled with the stone and handed it to Taali. "A present. Take it. From a surviving partner in combat."

She looked up at me, surprised, and shook her head with apparent regret. "No, thanks. You keep it."

"Just take it. It's my second one today," I lied.

I forced the stone into her narrow hand and smiled. "I'm off to town, then. Good luck and good hunting!"

The girl gave me a shy smile.
 
"Thanks."

"Come on, Rover. Great deeds await us!"

After a few more minutes of leisurely walking along a well-trodden path, I reached the edge of the forest with a view of the town wall. Here, Rover and I had to part ways. I was running a high chance of walking into a guards patrol, and Elven warriors wouldn't appreciate a zombie visitor. I had to tread carefully in my dealings with the city.

Higher-level Necs normally had a special spell to put the raised undead to rest. I was forced to utter the trigger word, "
Begone!
" With a guttural groan, the zombie fell apart. Its translucent soul flitted up to the skies while the earth swallowed the remains of its flesh. RIP, dude.

The small area in front of the town gate bustled with people. Players and NPCs—that is, AI-controlled characters—buzzed in and out of vendors' stores, either getting rid of petty loot or stocking up on basics. Others searched for hunting parties to join, while even more were busy striking deals in the safety of a popular public place.

I wasn't in a hurry, though. The vendors weren't interested in offering a fair price, exploiting the gamers' penchant for a quick sell. Not that I had something to worry about, not with my few pelts and petty gnoll loot. Still, it wouldn't hurt to investigate. I networked with the vendors a bit, memorizing a price or two to compare them later to those in town.

Ten guards stood watch by the gate, mainly level 100, plus a sergeant and a mage, both 130.

I respectfully spoke to the mage, "Would you be ever so kind, Sir, to direct me somewhere where I could spend the night without too much strain on my wallet?

He looked me over with his typical customs officer's eye and laughed. "Won't do your wallet any good, straining. It shouldn't even try to cough if you ask me. Past the gate, turn left and keep walking until you come to the market square. Ask for the Three Little Pigs Inn. Their prices are set to suit any wallet.

I froze, thunderstruck. The mage guffawed. "Love to see this sort of reaction from your kind. The inn belongs to the Olders clan. Was started by one of the Immortals. Get off then, I've got work to do. And keep an eye on your wallet. It may be thin but our local guys aren't squeamish."

I nodded and followed his instructions. Leaving the thick tunnel of the gate tower behind, I turned left. The lower city didn't resemble the Elven architecture of online fantasy pics. A normal medieval hole in the wall, some of it dusty, some clean. Could be cleaner, actually. Closer to the city center, a few celestial blue spires showed in the haze. There, a magic beacon glinted next to the iridescent bubbles of dome shields. All the sightseeing had to be done there: the palace buildings, the arsenal, guilds, banks: whatever captured the game designers' fancy and whatever wealthy players could afford to invest into pricey Sector A lands. Whenever I needed a break from gnolls, I could always go there for a peek.

I found a small shop that traded in everything that moved. Their prices indeed were five percent higher than those behind the city limits. Now I was nine silver richer. The coins bore a profile of a stern-looking Elf against the backdrop of the rising—or, alternatively, setting—sun. Add to them two handfuls of coppers I'd farmed earlier, total count 260. Their current rates were 1:100 silver to copper and 1:10 gold to silver. In total, I had one gold, one silver and sixty copper.

On top of that, I could sell a
 
dozen bracelets for a couple dozen copper apiece. Virtual gold converted to real-life US dollar at 10:1. So all of today's loot wouldn't buy me a beer in the real world. Not good.

My eye caught on a shop sign which featured, besides various blades and armor, also a few octagonal Soul Stones. That's funny. I pushed the heavy door and walked in. A scarred beast of an Elf glanced over me, his heavy eyes deceptively indifferent.

"We don't buy trophies," he murmured and continued polishing an equally beastly broadsword.

"I wouldn't dream of insulting you with any such offer, Sir Gunnar," I said in my best deferential voice. "As I walked past your shop, I noticed the picture of some excellent stones. I have a funny feeling I've seen them somewhere before. Could you be ever so kind to tell me what they are?"

Gunnar cringed, exposing an excellent pair of fangs. Did he have an orc or two in his family tree?

"Keep going, stranger. These stones don't drop from rabbits nor are they sold at jewelers'. You don't look as if you can afford rabbit crap."

That hurt. Really. I undid my bag strings and dug in for a handful of stones. "How's this for crap?"

His face froze. In one smooth swift motion, he stole past me and barred the door. Then he turned round and laid his heavy hand on my shoulder. I braced myself for more trouble.

"Welcome, brother."

Quest completion alert! You've completed a secret quest: Dark Brotherhood.

Reward: 1 gold

Your relationship with the Dark Alliance has improved!

Your relationship with Gunnar has improved!

Congratulations! You've received Achievement: The First in Town. You've become the first person in this town who has completed the quest: Dark Brotherhood.

Reward: +100 to Fame

Fame points are extremely valuable. Famous characters can access unique quests, develop rare abilities or acquire secret knowledge.

See Wiki for more details.

New quest alert! Dark Brotherhood II.

Quest type: secret, rare

Find the Fallen One's secret supporters in the cities of the Lands of Light. Every new worshipper will double your reward.

Would you like to accept the quest?

Good. Time to breathe a sigh of relief. That guy Gunnar looked scarier than he really was. And I got a ton of goodies to boot. Accept:
Yes
. No question about it.

The unexpected piece of gold doubled my property. My inner greedy pig, still mourning the loss of the laurite, purred as it bit the coin to make sure it was real.

And I couldn't even have hoped for Fame points. Normally, to get them, you had to either engage in some back-breaking farming, earning weird achievements like Rat Catcher that you got for every ten thousand rats trapped. Alternatively, you could get them for some truly rare, if not unique, achievements in a particular location or city, if not in the whole world. Without Fame points, you couldn't even dream of having access to the elite game content open only to the Top 5% of all players.