After meeting at the Death’s Friend tavern in Salem, Ragnar, Julie, and Havoc were preparing for the journey to Torino Village. To avoid being recognized by more crazed fans, Julie equipped a long gray cloak and a hood to conceal her identity.

  With the necessary precautions taken, she whistled for her mount. A purebred horse appeared in the distance, approaching at a quick trot until it stopped beside its owner.

  By this point, Ragnar was already in his Iron Bear form, attracting unwanted attention from the curious. He warded them off with aggressive snarls whenever someone dared to approach or bother him.

  Havoc looked from one to the other, then said, "I don't have a mount."

  "Didn't you have a horse?" Ragnar asked. "I remember seeing you ride out of the fortress when I... ‘borrowed' the iron."

  "It belonged to the guild."

  Julie rode her horse closer to Havoc. "You can hop on," she said, patting the empty space on her saddle.

  Havoc prepared to climb onto the horse, but Ragnar presented an alternative.

  "How about riding a bear?"

  Between a renowned professional player and a mad druid, the choice was obvious.

  "No, thank you."

  But Ragnar wasn't giving up so easily.

  "Do you know how many people have ridden an Iron Bear? Zero! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

  Havoc shook her head.

  "Suit yourself," the Iron Bear finished.

  Havoc mounted the horse with Julie's help, and after settling into the saddle, she noticed the qualities that set this chestnut apart from the horses in the Black Paw stable. This one was taller, more robust, with a brushed mane and lustrous leather.

  The time she spent admiring the mount caused Julie, the animal's owner, to look over her shoulder and say, "Sweetie, hold onto me if you don't want to fall when we start moving."

  Even though they were inside a game, the act of touching someone evoked sensations similar to those in the real world, so these actions carried the same taboos and implications.

  She practically asked me to hug her from behind, Havoc reflected, feeling a little embarrassed. But she quickly overcame her shame and held the fighter by the waist. Julie didn't even react. She gripped the reins and spurred the horse, causing it to advance north toward Torino Village.

  ***

  The group advanced across the green fields until they came upon a trail flanked by tall, jagged rocks. While Julie and Havoc talked, Ragnar couldn't stop thinking about the mission.

  Mergraff's return was a threat of epic proportions that could attract the attention of famous and professional players, as he was a historical figure in the world of New Avalon. If the Dawn's Path managed to resurrect him, the mission rewards would escalate to an unattainable level for someone at level 18.

  Defeating the cult was a priority, a golden chance to acquire treasures.

  Ragnar set these thoughts aside and noticed how the number of surrounding stones was decreasing, giving way to a small forest. When they crossed the woods, the village appeared on the horizon.

  Julie pulled the reins, slowing the horse until it stopped at the edge of the dirt path, where thick green grass extended to the strip of land preceding the village's outer wall.

  All three stood slack-jawed.

  Torino Village was in the center of a long, shallow depression. There were buildings as far as the eye could see. To Ragnar, it was a "village" in name only.

  "I think this village is bigger than Bremer," Havoc observed.

  Ragnar returned to human form and addressed the fighter.

  "Julie, are you sure this is the place?"

  She opened the region map and consulted it for a moment.

  "It is," she confirmed.

  "They plan to attack... that?" the druid asked, pointing toward the settlement.

  Julie nodded.

  "The situation might be worse than I thought," she said. "To attack that place, they'll need five hundred soldiers to defeat the local garrison, maybe much, much more."

  Havoc was silent, staring at the fighter, hoping she had a solution to the problem. Noticing this, Ragnar approached her and asked in an excited tone, "Havoc, have you ever been in a big battle like a siege, a guild war, an epic raid, or a global event?"

  She scratched her cheek and began to think. For some reason, she felt ashamed for not having participated in any of those events yet. After analyzing each situation the druid presented, she replied, "No."

  "Then you haven't witnessed the chaos of the battlefield yet. If you decide to join my guild, I promise we'll participate in all those events whenever possible."

  Havoc didn't respond. She barely knew him, and all she knew about him was his ambition and dueling skill. There was something peculiar about him, a low-level avatar who was also one of the rare possessors of a legendary class. For her, the best thing to do was control her expectations and observe until she found out more about him.

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  Amidst that reflection, Julie spurred the horse and led it toward the left fork, which would take them to the village entrance. The swordswoman's train of thought was broken, and her attention returned to the game.

  Ragnar shape-shifted into a bear and dashed to catch up with them. They remained silent during the trip, merely contemplating the endless rows of brown wooden houses covered with reddish tile roofs.

  The group didn't enter the village immediately. Instead, they stopped ten meters from the wooden gate where, on top of the arch that decorated it, three pairs of enormous horns were fixed as the village's official symbol.

  Ragnar paused to contemplate the decoration.

  "Funny, they look like the horns of a Megalotaur, only much bigger," he reflected aloud.

  "What did you say?" Julie questioned him from atop her horse.

  Ragnar returned to human form, walked toward the two girls, and explained, "Those horns look like the ones from a boss-bull I faced a while back."

  The two looked at each other and decided to ignore him.

  "You can get off now, sweetie," Julie told Havoc.

  The swordswoman dismounted with a jump, landing gracefully on the ground in front of the gate. Julie, on the other hand, dismounted without fanfare. As her feet touched the ground, she stroked the horse's face and dismissed it with a tap on its side. The animal whinnied and ran off until it was out of sight.

  "What now?" Havoc asked the two.

  "We need to look for clues that can help us disrupt the cult's plans," Julie said, then looked at Ragnar: "And your friends, are they coming today?"

  "Yes, ma'am. Skiff just sent a message saying they should arrive in a few minutes."

  "Alright. We don't have time to waste. Since the village is much bigger than we imagined, it's better if we split up. Ask the residents if they've seen any suspicious people lately. And if one of them says yes, ask where that person was seen, and let me know immediately. Understood?"

  Havoc nodded, and Ragnar agreed, saying, "Yes, ma'am."

  "If you call me 'ma'am' one more time, I swear I'll pluck your bear hairs out one by one."

  "Yes, Miss Julie."

  The fighter gritted her teeth, narrowed her eyes, and threatened him, "Don't push your luck, Druid."

  Ragnar glanced out of the corner of his eye at the swordswoman beside him. Her intrigued expression might signal that she was becoming suspicious of the relationship he and the fighter shared.

  I better tone down the jokes, Ragnar thought. Then a shout drew his attention. He turned around and saw Skiff, Artic, and Niki crossing the city's grand wooden gate.

  The hunter was wearing a new outfit, a puffy green suit reinforced by dozens of leather straps. By this point, Ragnar was no longer surprised by his friend's extravagances. Artic and Niki, on the other hand, sported the same clothes and armor; they were likely planning to change their equipment when they reached level 20.

  As soon as the hunter set eyes on the swordswoman next to Ragnar, he stopped waving and alerted the knight and the assassin about the presence of Havoc from the Black Paw. They drew their weapons and raised their guard. It was up to Ragnar to reassure them:

  "It's alright, she's no longer part of that guild."

  Artic tilted his head, his analytical gaze verifying the truth of his words.

  "It's true," he said, lowering his shield and sheathing his sword.

  Niki remained suspicious but put away her daggers when Artic approached and whispered something in her ear. She shook her head, and the knight stepped away.

  "Why did you leave?" Niki asked her.

  "I didn't leave, I was expelled because of you guys."

  Ragnar walked to stand between the two groups. First, he looked at Julie and Havoc, maintaining a placating expression, then at the newcomers, and only then did he open his mouth to speak:

  "I promise to explain everything to you later, but now it's better for the six of us to unite to finish a very... promising mission."

  He paused before looking at Niki.

  "Havoc is our friend. The Black Paw leader blamed her entirely for the iron heist, which is why she was kicked out. So you can be sure there's no reason to hold grudges anymore."

  The assassin relaxed. "Fine, but I'll still have my rematch for that duel."

  "Just name the time and place," Havoc replied with a mocking smile on her face. "I'll defeat you as many times as you want. And feel free to call your knight friend to help, like last time."

  Until that moment, Julie had remained quiet, hidden in her cloak and hood, but seeing the furious expression Niki made upon hearing the swordswoman's provocation, it was impossible to stifle the laugh that burst out of her. This act ended up drawing the attention of the three newcomers.

  Niki fixed her green eyes on the fighter, then walked purposefully toward her. Artic tried to warn his friend when he saw her charging forward:

  "Niki, wait."

  But she didn't listen, going straight to the fighter.

  "What are you laughing at?"

  Julie raised her hands and grasped the hood covering her face, then, in a swift motion, threw it back, revealing herself to everyone present.

  "I was laughing at your reaction, friend."

  The assassin's heart stopped. She swallowed hard and admired the fighter who looked identical to the image of Juliet printed on the poster in her room.

  The resemblance was clear as day. She felt stupid and tried to invent some excuse to justify herself, but couldn't.

  The Julie in front of her was an identical copy of the Dark Age avatar, Juliet. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't believe she was standing before a celebrity of that caliber; her mere presence made it difficult for Niki to articulate her thoughts. Her half-open mouth was silenced.

  Julie brought her hands back, grabbed the hood, and pulled it forward, covering her face again. She finished by bringing her index finger to her lips, asking the assassin, the knight, and the hunter to keep her presence in this village a secret.

  Short, sharp, dry thuds reverberated. They looked toward the source of the noise and found the druid hitting the butt of his spear against the ground.

  "Friends. Our time is short, so I'll be brief. First of all, I'd like to thank the three of you for answering my call."

  He spoke, looking at all his friends present:

  "Some of us may still hold some grudge toward Havoc, so I ask you to put that aside for now, for the sake of this mission. I guarantee that this rift will pass with time. The truth is, I'd like all of you to be friends, but if that's not possible, I implore you to tolerate each other. Can I count on you?"

  "Of course," Skiff said.

  Artic and Niki nodded in agreement. Havoc accepted the request by raising her right thumb. Then he explained the mission to the newcomers.

  "We suspect that the Dawn's Path might attack this village, but we don't know when yet. My idea is for us to divide into teams to question the residents of this village. I thought we could separate like this: Julie and me, Niki and Artic, Havoc and Skiff. Do you agree with this division, or would you like to suggest another?"

  Artic and Niki immediately agreed; after all, this division seemed logical to the two friends, but not so much to Skiff and Havoc, who had barely spoken since meeting. Ragnar's goal, however, was actually to spend more time with Julie. And to his relief, no one contested the suggestion.

  "Julie and I will take the city center. Artic and Niki, you'll be in charge of the west zone, while Skiff and Havoc will take care of the east.”

  Everyone agreed.

  “Good luck to us all.”

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