The tavern was lively, filled with adventurers swapping stories and planning their next ventures. Fayne entered, her presence drawing a few curious glances. She approached the center of the room, her heart pounding as she prepared to speak.
"Listen up!" Fayne called, breaking through the clammer as the voices died down to a hush. A few small groups continued their conversations in a whisper, while the rest turned their heads to address the source of the interruption. "I'm going to cut to the chase. I will pay anyone willing to help, with real-world cash." She paused to ensure that got their attention and noted that even those who had actively ignored her were now eagerly attentive."What're we killing?" a burly man in tarnished, well-worn armor asked before taking a deep swig of ale. "Or is it a who?" a cruel grin twisted his lips and he knocked back the rest of his drink, slamming the wooden tankard on the table, disrupting the silence that weighed in on the room."Monsters" she replied, an awkward laugh sounding off somewhere in the back. "Any and all monsters in the area. We need them as intact as possible. We're going to designate a dumping spot for the bodies."A murmur rippled through the crowd, skepticism evident in the faces around her. One burly warrior leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "What's the bounty set at?"Fayne hesitated, thinking it over for a second, "It depends on the size of the beast, but probably ten bucks a kill, split among the party.""How many are we talking?" it was clear this man was taking the role of leader in this discussion. He appeared much too powerful to still be in this region, which was likely was no one was trying to talk over him."Depends. It's the meat I need. I'd say if it's all goblins, two-thousand, she rounded up, willing to bring the monster too much as opposed to too little. If Dire Wolves, a fifth of that, bears or bigger, half that still. It starts at ten dollars a goblin, I'll pay more for larger beasts." she said confidently.The room fell silent, the weight of her words sinking in."Ten dollars?" a rogue repeated, his interest piqued. "Per goblin?"Fayne nodded. "You bring the kills; I pay you. Simple as that."The adventures in the tavern contemplated the offer. It wasn't a lot of cash a piece, but for most players, they made no money in the game, they simply played for fun. The equipment required to join Transcendence wasn't cheap, easily a thousand times the bounty that was being offered. That being said, Most of them could kill nearly a dozen monsters per real-world day safely, but with time dilation, they were looking at $600+ a day. Hell, they could use up a couple of days of PTO and bring in a week or two of cash while power-leveling their character. Even the stingiest gamer couldn't decline this offer. The biggest question was, is this offer too good to be true? The second biggest question is, what's in it for her?Fayne figured, for twenty adventures of a decent level–likely what sat before her–it would take about 85 goblins per player and a whopping $17,000 in total to seal the deal. She seriously doubted there were that many goblins in the area, but should they branch out to other creatures, it might only take a week in-game to save the entire party, so what, like 20 some-odd hours in the real world? That wasn't so bad. If they really gave into greed, this tavern would be more than enough to save the trapped players. Again, the biggest issue was running out of creatures. She wasn't sure how long it took them to respawn. Likely a full in-game day, and depending on how many beasts were in the area, that could set them back a couple of days. If she could bring in more players, willing to travel further out, maybe they could save everyone. Regardless, she had to try, even if she could only save a few."Alright girl, I can only speak for myself in this, but I'm in. Hell, I'll start tonight, make use of my time in this shitty little town." he spat out a laugh as he rose to his feet. "I'll be expecting payment for every delivery though, I don't want you screwing me out of a pile of monster meat" his laughter died down as he stared daggers at Fayne. "You fuck me over on this, and you'll never have a moment of peace in this game." his serious tone hung in the air for a moment before bursting back into laughter, "But you do well by me, and we'll be good pals in no time hot stuff, just get that cash ready and I'll be back with most of the load by tomorrow." the man nearly made it out of the tavern before turning to face her again. "Hold up" the gears in his brain were almost visible as they turned to form a thought, "Where the fuck do we bring the meat?""Just send me a party invite and I'll mark the map for you when you are ready to turn it in," Fayne watched as the adventurer grinned in approval and shoved patrons out of the way, plowing through the door without a response.That went better than I thought. Fayne thought to herself as she looked on upon the other adventures, who after a short pause, followed the man and streamed out to slay anything and everything they came into contact with in the woods.Fayne was a bit shocked as she was rapidly becoming the only person in the tavern. The bartender looked out onto the empty building and shook his head in disappointment. She could only give an apologetic smile and a shrug.Fayne fell back into the nearest chair and let out a deep sigh. "I think there's a shot we might actually save those adventurers" she muttered, unable to add much to her tone, despite the overwhelming satisfaction that filled her body. "So, I guess I should find someone to team up with before everyone takes off. It might save me a few bucks. Here in a couple of hours, there isn't going to be anything left in the woods to hunt." she felt surprisingly calm at this point, just wanting to keep busy while she waited for Ryan and her new group of mercenary hunters to return.Fayne pushed herself to her feet and scanned the room. A few stragglers remained, players too cautious, skeptical, or just slow to act. Most of the serious adventurers had bolted for the woods, eager to start racking up bounties. The remaining few were either eyeing her warily or draining their mugs as they discussed their options.A young man leaning against the bar and chatting with a few of his companions caught her attention. His leather armor was clean but scuffed, suggesting he'd at least been in a few fights and had a basic idea of what he was doing. He glanced up, noticed her looking, and gave a small, awkward smile."You still looking for a party?" she asked.He raised an eyebrow. "Depends. What's the catch?""I'll heal you and your group, no charge, as long as you hunt near the designated drop point. That's the deal. Interested?" Fayne replied.He considered for a moment, then nodded. "Fine by me. Never had a healer before so it should be interesting. Name's Wren." He extended a hand and Fayne shook it."Fayne," she said. "Let's move. There's not going to be anything left to hunt if we wait too long."The next several hours were a blur of combat and transactions.Fayne followed Wren and his group into the woods. It was a standard party: Wren was a rogue, which explained the armor. He wasn't half bad from what she saw. His damage was steady and he had advanced his stealth skill enough that she was never sure where he was lurking. Thankfully he was on her side. There was a heavyset tank named Brodin with a massive axe. Unlike the tank she had seen with Ryan, this one opted not to use a shield. He was some kind of berserker, which meshed well with her addition to the team. She was able to keep him going while his armor and class mitigated the rest of the damage. Then there was Sienna, a ranger like Ryan, but, and she hated to say it, Sienna was a lot more competent than her friend, not to mention more reserved. She fired a seemingly endless barrage of arrows, and was obviously very knowledgeable about her prey, as the shots landed in vital areas more often than not.Fayne kept to the back, her heals almost exclusively going to the tank as he kept the rest of the party out of harm's way. With her on the team, they pushed a lot harder than she would have expected was possible.They tore through goblin camps, packs of wolves, and even a few stray trolls that she wasn't even aware lived in this area. She guessed with a mountain nearby and an abundance of caves, it wasn't unlikely that there would be trolls. Her mind wandered as she thought about Darian, and if he had been hunting these powerful monsters as well. Fayne watched carefully as each kill was processed, the meat packed up, and marked on the map for delivery. After a while, she excused herself, needing to acknowledge the flurry of messages she had received as other parties were reaching their capacity and were eager to get their pay.At the drop point, adventurers came and went, hauling sacks of monster meat and demanding payment. Fayne sent payments out like clockwork, keeping her tone brisk and professional to avoid questions."Payment's sent," she confirmed, dismissing a trio of adventurers who had delivered a dozen wolf carcasses. She didn't recognize them and wasn't even sure they were in the tavern when she made her announcement, but in the end it didn't matter. All that mattered was the steady flow of monster flesh.One particularly grizzled warrior—scarred and clad in mismatched armor—dropped a bag of dire bear meat at her feet. "Hell of deal you've got going," he muttered, eyeing her suspiciously. "What's all this for, anyway?""Special quest I received, it'll be worth it in the long run" Fayne replied smoothly, keeping her voice even. "Don't worry about it. You get paid either way."The man grunted, accepted his payment, and trudged off without another word. Fayne exhaled slowly.When Fayne joined this team, it was getting rather late and she was thankful she rested before logging in. Now, the sun had set yet again, and her party established a camp to rest before the journey back to town. The campfire crackled softly as her party members were scattered about the clearing. The Ranger was fletching new arrows, the Rogue sharpening blades, the Berserker passed out by the fire, and Fayne had leaned back on a tree stump. The hunt had been a grueling one, but the haul had been worth it, they alone had acquired a staggering amount of meat.She tallied up the sum and it came to nearly $200 per player. The goblin camps provided a pretty hefty boost to their gains, accounting for the vast majority of the meat collected. She sent off payments to each member and got ready to pack up."Woah," the Rogue broke the silence as the Ranger perked up upon receiving the payment, but watched silently. "We worked ourselves to exhaustion, but it couldn't have been more than two, or maybe three hours in the real world?" his mind churned through the numbers but got stuck."Something like $65 an hour" Sienna chimed in, "Thank you."Wren whistled in astonishment, "Not bad," he said to himself."Time to go back?" grumbled Brodin as he wiped the sleep from his eyes, "I need a real bed…" he paused before correcting himself, "Err, you know what I mean""You've all done great today. Go get some rest, you all deserve it. We can meet up again later, just shoot me a message when you're ready" she said."Sounds good Fayne, really appreciate this whole project you got going." Wren loaded up his gear and raised a hand in a polite farewell.Brodin grunted in approval and Sienna gave a curt nod, "The experience alone makes it worth it, but the cash is certainly welcome. Thank you" she finished, grabbing the last of her supplies and heading back."I'll catch up," she replied, shrugging. "I want to double-check everything we've collected before I head back. Make sure it's all accounted for.""Suit yourself," Brodin said with a yawn, already turning toward the path.With one last thing on his mind, Wren called out to Fayne again, "You good with everything just layin' here, or you need a hand?""Don't worry about it, just get some rest, with the transaction complete it's bound to me till the next day cycle, so it's not like anyone can try to resell it." she waved them off and said her goodbyes as they made their way back to town.She waited until their voices and footsteps had faded into the woods before dusting herself off and gathering her stuff Her gaze flicked toward her minimap, where the faint red glow of Darian's hive marked the distance."I can't believe I'm already going back," she muttered to herself, tightening her grip on her staff. But the thought of another human raid, more bloodshed, more losses on both sides, was enough to get her moving.After a decent hike, the entrance to the hive lay ahead, the disgusting fleshly stuff had expanded even further, climbing up the trees and pushing into the forest. In theory, with the deal they struck, she should be perfectly safe as she stepped onto The Vescora. She wasn't sure how close she needed to come before the bugs came out to investigate, though she didn't have to remain clueless for long, as clacking and skittering radiated from the cave mouth.To her surprise, several Prowlers revealed themselves from the trees behind her as a flood of Drones, Hunters, and several Mireguards poured out. They rushed into position and took a crescent formation around her before parting in the center to reveal their master."Fayne," Darian said as he continued his casual stroll toward her, "I did not expect you to visit so soon. What brings you here?"Fayne straightened, forcing herself to meet his unblinking gaze. She was rather taken aback by how quickly he was learning her language."I have some of your meat, but we can't keep it sitting in the forest and there's no way I can bring it to you without help." She had gotten straight to the point, not eager to stay here any longer than she had to.Darian tilted his head, absorbing her words and determining a course of action. "Yes, I understand. Direct me toward the meat and I will have my drones tunnel to the stockpile.""It's… over that way. You should be able to reach it if you just head straight," she pointed off to the direction she had just come, toward the camp they made. "You'll run into what my group gathered first, and then if you keep going from there, you should find the rest relatively easy. Just don't let anyone see you. If this escalates again, I don't know if I can stop them from going after your hive. And I don't want to see anyone else get hurt."For a long moment, there was silence between them. Finally, Darian nodded."You care for them," he said quietly, his tone unreadable.Fayne frowned. "I don't have time to explain this to you. I need to go back and rest to fulfill your ridiculous quota."Darian nodded, but he said nothing more. He turned toward the drones, silently delivering a series of commands. They moved in unison, disappearing back into the cave.Fayne watched them go, her stomach knotting with tension. . "Are we done?" she said softly, her moment of confidence having passed as quickly as it arrived."We are done" Darian replied, his voice echoing as he moved toward the tunnel leading deeper into the hive. "And Fayne, your effort to redeem your people does not go unnoticed."She blinked at the unexpected remark but didn't respond. Instead, she turned and made her way back, her steps brisk as she rushed to return to town.The stars above were bright, but her mind was heavy with unease. She had done what she could and prayed that Darian wouldn't slip up and connect her to this insane plan. She just wanted the players returned safely. The aftermath would have to be addressed later.