I opened the door to the rooftop and looked around. The view was rather nice, close enough to the center of the city that the walls didn’t fill my vision, and tall enough I could see past all the smaller buildings to the river and entertainment districts. Zooming my vision in again, I could even see the smithy I’d been buying all my weapons.

  “Stairs after lunch is never fun.” Deacon grumbled behind me. I refocused my eyes before turning to look at him. He wasn’t out of breath, but he was leaning against the wall next to the door. “He here?”

  Looking along the rooftop, I didn’t see Adelhard. “Probably. I doubt he’d get us up here just to run.”

  He started to focus, “What’s the plan here, anyway?”

  “Talk with him, offer a job. If he accepts I don’t have to worry about keeping Jason alive when I run into him.” I said, looking around to the buildings nearby. Enough were the right height to hop between easily enough, but I would wait before hopping over. The gaps weren’t that big, after all.

  Deacon hesitated, “So… we’re for certain killing him?”

  “I don’t think there’s a reason good enough to stop me.” I said after a moment of thought.

  “Good.” He said with a nod. “I still feel we should be careful, but you seem pretty confident here.”

  “One of the few things I am absolutely sure about is that Jason needs to die. He hurt my friends and is just the right amount of stupid and powerful to hurt a lot more people.” Memories started to stir at the edge of my mind, but I slammed the mental door on them. Not the time. Not the place, Alexei.

  Almost as if they heard me, they slipped back to wherever they came from.

  Concerning… I thought before walking to the other side of the roof. “Where are you at Adelhard? If that’s your actual name.”

  “Might as well be at this point.” A voice sounded from behind me. I turned and he was leaning against the wall covered in shadows. “Play a character long enough and soon enough you turn into them.”

  Just like that, there he was. He looked different from the last time I’d seen him. His hair was brown and cut just long enough to cover his ears. The clothes were a good fit, but painfully boring looking. Though, I suppose I shouldn’t say anything. They’re the same as mine, just without any touch ups. There were some solid boots on his feet, and a belt that had a plain dagger sheathed in it.

  Deacon came around the side and took one look at the kid and snorted. “This is him? He looks like a stage actor trying to look impressive.”

  Adelhard looked Deacon up and down, “You look like your parents told you it’d be a phase and you built your whole identity around proving them wrong.”

  Deacon considered the words and I looked between the two. I was surprised when Deacon nodded, “Least I did.” He turned to face me, “I like him.”

  I blinked in surprise, not getting it. Adelhard had visibly relaxed, though so I figured Deacon knew what he was doing. “Whatever. It is good to see you again, Adelhard.”

  He shrugged, “Thanks for the knife.”

  Deacon looked between the two of us and started to moving so he was an equal distance between us. “Small talk first, or straight to business?”

  “Business first. What’s the job?” Adelhard asked.

  I sighed, “We need you to find, and, if you can, rescue someone. We believe a man named Jason David took her during the guard escort attack.”

  Adelhard hummed thoughtfully, “Why don’t you do it?”

  “Politics.” Deacon said the word as if it was something vile. “He’s supposedly working with a group called the Xaihen General Conglomerate. Heard of them?”

  The little assassin shook his head, “Nothing beyond how many places they own. They’ve got this dumb symbol that looks like a missile surrounded by a lake. It’s on a bunch of shops.”

  “A what?” Deacon asked.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Both Adelhard and I said. The word brought up an image of a smooth, cylindrical thing with protrusions next to a spot that shot fire out to propell it forward. I also got the impression it was rather destructive.

  Adelhard looked at me, “So, find where this guy has her and see if I can get her back… don’t you already know someone who could do that better than I do? Tall, patchy cloak?”

  I shook my head, “I assume you’re talking about Max, no he works for the adventurer guild. He can’t get involved for similar reasons.”

  The boy tapped his foot and looked up as he spoke through his thoughts. “So… this group is powerful enough that it’d be at least political, if not literal, suicide to go against them. Which means they have money. Money means security, but that’s not a problem. How fast do I need to do this?”

  “I plan to confront him at the party in two days one way or another. I’ve done some reading, and I’m pretty sure I can get him to say something damning enough to warrant at least a duel, if not arrest.” I said, confidently. “I’ve got two others who can help with that.”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Adelhard nodded, “I can work with that. I already have a couple ideas to find where he might be holding her. And if I know when he’s NOT going to be there… yea I can make this work.”

  Deacon stared at the kid, “What, you’re just going to walk in and bring her out?”

  The boy looked between Deacon and then to me, “Thats… what you want, right? It’s not the most difficult thing I’ve ever attempted.”

  “You’re twelve.” Deacon said.

  I sighed, “Deacon, you know how I’m different from before I was killed in an alley?”

  “Yea, and this isn’t the same thing. I don’t care how many years of experience you have mentally, physically, he’s twelve.” Deacon argued.

  “Think I’m closer to fourteen, actually. Still not sure.” Adelhard said. “I also only just finished my base class. Pretty sure I broke a record.”

  “You got twenty levels since I last saw you?” I was genuiniely impressed. “I didn’t think you’d had time to go out and kill bugs.”

  “Bugs? No, I’ve been robbing people in the streets. I’d be Tier 2 already, but something weird is going on and I’m not getting the amount of EXP I’m supposed to.” He said, frowning. “Kind of pissing me off.”

  “That’d be the taxes. Last I checked, national was around eighty percent and local at ten percent. If my math is right, everyone in the area gets about eighteen percent of what they’re actually supposed to.” I paused, thinking about it. “Yea, that sounds right.”

  “Eighteen percent?!” Deacon was the one who shouted, rather than Adelhard. He just looked grumpy, but Deacon was actually angry. “I knew taxes were high, but that’s ridiculous!”

  Adelhard groaned, “No wonder leveling has been a pain in my ass. It’s literally faster to pay with PEC. If I get my hands on that piece of shit Turing…” He made vague strangling motions.

  “We’re a bit off topic. Will you do it?” I asked.

  “Hm? Oh, yea. A mod asks you for a job, you take it. I want enough to get to Tier 2, though.” He held his hand out, “I’ll accept half now and half on completion.”

  I stared at his hand and then back to him. I thought about how much it cost for the different levels. 154,000 isn’t that bad… but that’s just class experience. If I want it based off the conversion from the bank… The number I landed was 616,400 PEC, and checking my balance I didn’t have anywhere close to that.

  “I don’t have enough to take you from one to twenty in a Tier 1 class.” I admitted.

  “Oh, I’m level 12 already.” He said. “It should only be around 500,000 PEC.”

  Deacon let out a choking noise and I looked in his direction to make sure he was alright. He waved me off, and I sighed. “I’ve got a little over 150,000. I have no reliable way to get that much within the timeframe.”

  Adelhard frowned, “You’re using personal funds for this? Don’t you moderators have access to a quest system or something? Just take it from that, or whatever.”

  I blinked, and tilted my head as I went to access the panel.

  [Moderator 3312883-E6 Control Panel]

  [Name: Thorn]

  [Role: Moderator Class NM-02]

  [Processing Access: Green]

  [Combat Rating: Low]

  [Judgements in Good Standing: 13]

  [Complaints: 0]

  [Salary: 150,000 PEC per Year]

  [Active Exemptions: EXP Taxation, Simplified System Interface]

  [Inactive Exemptions: Stats Limitations, Spell Target Locks]

  [Active Abilities: Moderator’s Veil]

  [Inactive Abilities: Trajectory Vision, Spectator View]

  It wasn’t exactly helpful. So, I decided to dig into the Moderator Manual that I still needed to read through a few more times. It was just so dull considering how horrifying some of the consequences in it were.

  Adelhard was tapping his foot as he watched me, and I was pretty sure it was obvious I was looking through menus. I found the options for Quests in the manual, but I didn’t have access to them. My role was apparently not high enough, since NM-02 was still the base level moderation access. I didn’t know how to upgrade it… but I did have an idea.

  Zeratus.

  This is a personal request, but I don’t have the funds to hire someone to find my friend. She’s been captured and likely being held against her will and… other things. He mentioned there is some kind of quest bank I should have access to as a moderator, but I don’t have permissions for it. Is it possible for you to make one for him on my behalf? I can send you the details.

  Thorn

  I sighed, “I don’t have authority, but I just sent a message to someone who might.”

  “Oh! You have access to the messaging system? Mind if I add you to mine? It might let me give you updates, and it’ll be easier to get in touch with me.” Adelhard looked his age for once, excited for a reason I couldn’t figure out.

  “Sure… Why?” I asked.

  “Because unless you paid for it at the start, your contacts get reset each new char…” He looked at Deacon, “Reincarnation? It’s reincarnation now, right?”

  “Ancestral memories here.” Deacon replied.

  “Right, that.” Adelhard said. “Fucking annoying.”

  “Sounds like it.” I said. I brought up a new message and focused on Adelhard. A new name populated the To: section. “What’s this name here? I thought your name was Adelhard?”

  The boy blushed slightly. “I… came up with it when I was younger. I can’t exactly change it now.”

  Deacon raised an eyebrow but I waved him off. I’d tell him later.

  Thorn

  That is closer to an official request with personal reasons. I’ll set everything up. Please send me the information required and I will process it quickly. The man you are describing is likely a player. Be careful around players, they do not always share the same values as you.

  Zeratus

  I typed out the appropriate information and then sent it off. Then I returned my full attention to the rooftop. “Alright, so I think I managed something. You should be getting a quest soon. Will that work?”

  Adelhard nodded, “Sure. Do you need anything else?”

  I shook my head, “I’d like you to keep me updated, but it’s not a requirement. Just don’t get yourself killed.”

  “Aw, do you care about me already?” The little shit had a grin on his face, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it handled. I’ll try and get it taken care of sooner than later. Later.” He did a little hop and then just… fell through the shadow on the ground.

  Deacon walked over as soon as he was gone and I thought I heard something coming from him. Then he shrugged, “He’s gone.”

  I slumped my shoulders, “Think he’ll get to her?”

  The bard shrugged, “No clue, but we knew it was a long shot from the start. The most we can do is hope for the best, and plan for the worst.”

  He guided me back towards the stairs. I just tried not to think about how Paige was doing right now, and focused more on what I’d do to get her back. The only thing left was to prepare for the party, and pretend everything was fine.