"This is not working for me!"
Heidi glanced over at the dramatic announcement. As expected, a girl was tossing her shield and sword to the ground, her face contorted into a snarl while her two companions, both boys rolled their eyes in long suffering silence.
Heidi narrowed her eyes. She could understand the girl's anger. She was clearly a newbie to the game and not much older than Heidi herself.
She was dressed in some cheesecake replica armor while her compatriots were in full head-to-toe chain and leather. There was a bow slung over one boy's shoulder while the other was balancing a giant mace on his.
The girl looked like a refugee from some old comic book on fantasy warrior women. She wore a tight bikini armor that covered the strategic areas, but it was a full piece that was transparent between those areas. The sword and shield she'd tossed down were not strong enough to do serious damage from Heidi's point of view, and the tiny shield looked like it belonged more with a cavalry than a melee fighter.
She paused. It looked like all those afternoons stuck watching television with her grandmothers and Cora's Aunt Jerry weren't entirely wasted. Those old ladies had favored ancient war dramas and often debated what went wrong with various campaigns.
She, Cora and Lorenz had found it terribly dull at the time. Nate had usually soaked it all up before absconding to do some vitally important thing. The younger trio always thought that Nate had someone just call him and plead for help. They just couldn't figure out how he'd done it.
Still, Nate got all 'A's in his courses despite taking so many semesters off that he was now graduating with them. His college had a healthy endowment and therefore didn't care what he did as long as he eventually walked.
"Ah, come on, Sandi! You need the sword to fight," the archer said, bending down and picking up the sword.
Heidi pursed her lips as he slowly straightened up. It didn't take a rocket scientist to understand where his eyes were. The other one had drifted back a step to just behind the fuming girl.
Heidi glanced around at the slowly forming crowd. There was nothing strictly wrong with her armor, but most of the females she'd seen wearing variations of it were older women who would have already beheaded those two idiots trying to low-key salivate over the girl.
The girl looked angry and bewildered. Clearly, the armor hadn't been her choice, but she couldn't pinpoint why she was in the wrong to protest. She couldn't have been more than seventeen. Just the sight of her was making twenty-one year old Heidi feel old.
Heidi sighed and stood up from her table. She fished a few gold coins out of her pocket and slapped them down. The table flashed subtly, and the coins disappeared.
"Come back soon, April June July!" The waitress caroled as she set another order down on a neighboring table. She paused, glancing over to the increasing crowd. "Another one swindled into wearing that stuff, eh?"
Heidi nodded before jumping over the short fence that separated the eating area from the rest of the street.
"Alright, there's nothing to see here," Heidi called out.
The grumbling crowd slowly parted. Heidi glared at a couple of slower moving men, making them flinch just a little. She held just a little bit of a reputation in the town from all the little side quests she did, and she was considered a high-value patron amongst the tavern and restaurant owners. Heidi's palate was highly refined.
"Mind your own business, newbie," the archer growled, glancing over at her.
"I am minding my own business," Heidi retorted. She snagged the girl's arm. "Sandi, wasn't it? Let's get you something that works."
Sandi paused long enough to scoop up the sword and store her shield. Then she tagged along behind Heidi, almost crowding her.
"They're not going to be too happy with you," Sandi said, sighing.
"I don't worry about nimrods," Heidi replied with a light laugh.
She led the girl towards a dim street of dusty storefronts. Here, none of the shopkeepers were lingering by the doors to entice buyers. There was an overall sense of ennui, as if nothing could coax them outside.
"Are you sure there's something here?" Sandi asked, glancing around uneasily.
"Of course," Heidi assured her. She pulled Sandi to a stop in front of a particular storefront.
The storefront was fronted by dirty, smeared glass. You couldn't see anything inside from the outside. The cracked and broken sign above proclaimed it 'Sebastien's.'
"You just wanted to PK me, right?" Sandi asked, frowning.
Heidi gave her an exasperated look.
"Your level is higher than mine," she explained as she pushed open the door with some difficulty. "You're part of my questline."
"Me?" Sandi squeaked as Heidi dragged her into the store.
"Yep," Heidi said, throwing the two shadows following them a sardonic look.
She knew they weren't just going to let her drag off their eye candy. Heidi could tell that Sandi was most probably a casual player who had been suckered by these two. Whether or not she knew them in real life was immaterial.
Well, perhaps not, Heidi mused as she swung the door shut. Blackmail material was always so useful whether it was digital or not.
She turned towards the visible part of the shop. Sandi was eyeing the dilapidated surroundings with cautious disfavor. Once inside, the bikini armor was even more glaringly unsuitable.
"Why are you wearing that," Heidi asked.
"Oh, Heinrich said that it was the most suitable for dungeon diving after you hit level 10." Sandi brightened up and then looked down at her armor, shaking her head. "Well, it does improve my speed a little."
'Fear of rape would do that to a girl' darted through Heidi's brain in Cora's voice. Heidi closed her eyes and gave herself a shake.
"So, you've been partying with this Heinrich a lot?" Heidi asked.
"He's one of dad's friend's sons," Sandi said. Her tone had gotten a lot more neutral.
"And his buddy?" Heidi walked to the counter and hit the little bell resting in the center.
"Liam? He's just someone who follows us around, I think," Sandi replied. She jumped as the dusty curtain behind the counter shook.
"Ah, Heidi! Mi amour, moi dorogoy, Liebchen! You've returned!" The tiny gnome climbed a ladder to the countertop and doffed a tiny red hat in Heidi's direction.
"And Eventide to you, Makarmi," Heidi returned gravely, biting back the smile his arrival generated. "I have a challenge for you and the Master."
"Bah! There are no challenges anymore. Just people wearing bad, ugly outfits," Makarmi humphed as he slapped his hat back on his head. With it on, he looked just a little garden gnome.
"My outfit is ugly," Sandi mourned. Then she frowned at Heidi. "Is this why you brought me here?"
"If anyone can help you, it would be Makarmi and the Master," Heidi returned. She fished out a little card from her breast pocket. "Can I use this?"
Makarmi scowled at her. Then a long arm reached past him, took the card and tucked it back into Heidi's pocket. It was followed by a lithe elf dressed in flowing silks a multitude of colors. It seemed that they should clash, but they flowed together seamlessly.
"Your discount card is no good today, April June July!" The elf pronounced solemnly. It blinked long golden lashes towards Sandi, making a 'hmm' of approval. "You brought me such good material today!"
"I'm Sandi," Sandi half-whispered, her eyes wide and glued to the elf.
"And you may call me the 'Master,'" the elf returned. It directed a brilliant smile towards Sandi that had the girl melting. "April June July, how is it that you always find the most perfect models for me?"
"I have an eye," Heidi replied solemnly.
She fought from rolling her eyes. As far as she was aware, part of the reason she had the chain quest was that the Master's charm didn't work on her. Heidi wasn't interested in pausing her current quests to moon after some hottie. If she wanted to do that, she'd hunt down Nate and his little coterie of guildies.
Nate had sent her a promo pic to entice her to join. What Heidi had seen beyond the good looks, were her two grandmothers pestering her to find a 'good guy, sweetie' who 'wasn't broke as your grandfather's promise to buy me a new Maserati last Christmas.'
She still wasn't sure why her Grandma Xiao was still hung up over that. Her grandfather had bought her a Tesla Cirrant instead. That car cost more than her tuition.
It was more than enough for Heidi to go scurrying in the opposite direction from Nate's guild and towards the more esoteric quests she'd heard rumored on the Forums.
"And it is such a good one," the Master replied. "Dear, what in all the Seven Burroughs and Nine Kingdoms are you wearing?"
Sandi bit her lip, staring at the floor. She hunched over just a little bit.
"No, no, don't hunch," Makarmi scolded, sitting on the edge of the counter. "You're ruining your posture. Come, come! Eyes up, chin straight with the floor."
Sandi immediately straightened up.
"Bikini armor for newbies?" The Master sounded baffled. "I thought most of those were older?"
"She's been taken advantage of," Heidi supplied. She pulled out a pork bun from her inventory. After another moment, she pulled out a smaller one that she handed to Makarmi. "I thought that she would be perfect for that Summer look you were working on."
"She would!" The Master proclaimed, sucking in a dramatic breath. He frowned at Makarmi. "Eating again? You're going to turn into a ball."
"But I'd be a happy ball," Makarmi retorted, taking another bite. He stood up, using his free hand to brush imaginary dust off his trousers. "I'll go see where the green is."
Heidi was silent as the gnome disappeared through the curtains.
"While he's doing that, let's do the measurements, shall we?" The Master said, turning towards the curtains. "April June July, please bring her."
"He's gorgeous," Sandi muttered, eyes on the curtain.
"I suppose," Heidi agreed with a shrug. "So, do you want to be a model?"
Sandi jerked.
"My status screen just announced I have a quest and an employment contract?" Sandi's eyes widened more than Heidi would have thought possible.
"Then you should accept," Heidi urged. She grabbed Sandi's hand and tugged her towards the counter. "This is a limited opportunity that not everyone gets."
"Really?" Sandi asked, letting herself be tugged.
Heidi knew that Sandi was half-convinced already since she both outweighed and outleveled her. Heidi never bothered to hide her own level which was only the mid-teens. She heard that there was a way to hide it on the Forums, but she hadn't bothered to do so yet.
They went through the dusty curtain and into clothing nirvana.
"I'm accepting!" Sandi's voice rang through the front of the store.
A few minutes later, Heidi fought free of the curtains, breathing hard. She stared back the way she'd come with wide eyes before shaking her head.
"It gets harder and harder each time." Heidi let out a hard breath. "I wonder what it's going to be like when I finally find 'Winter.' That's going to be interesting."
Heidi called up her status screen and flipped to the quest tab. The quest 'Inspiration for the Master' was glowing slightly. Nearly all the tasks were clicked save for 'Find a Winter inspiration.'
Heidi glanced at her own skin and let out a relieved sigh. She liked running around outside for all her grandmothers both protested so her skin was a healthy wheat color. But when she was younger, it had been almost the color of milk.
She could easily imagine that young her would have been a perfect solution to the last quest.
However doing that would bar her from running off to bug Cora. She wasn't sure what Cora was doing, but it did sound interesting in a Cora-ish sort of way.
Heidi paused as she made to close the status screen. There was a weird purple line on the quest screen. She frowned at it before tapping.
'Clothes Doth Make the Realm' came into view. There were a variety of dots following it, denoting cleared quests.
"When did I get this one?" Heidi muttered to herself. Then she gave herself a shake. "I can't believe I didn't see it before."
She took one last look towards the curtain before leaving the store. Outside, she grinned at the busy market.
"That never gets old," Heidi chuckled. She glanced in the direction people had to go to reach the store. "Hope they don't piss off the Master."
Then she strolled towards the market.