A Game of Heaven - 3. The Kitsune

LEON GRISEUS

0.
Leon opened his eyes, squinting in the light of the room around him. A woman leaned against a wall, watching him, and Leon sat up.
“You’re a fighter, huh?” the woman said appreciatively.
“Who are you? Where am I?”
“Calm down. You’re safe.”
The woman smiled.
“My name’s Arabelle. And you’re dead, but I’m sure you already knew that. You’re in a sort of staging area to the afterlife.”
She studied him for a moment, and Leon stared back steadily.
“I must say I have never met anyone like you before.”
A memory nagged at the back of Leon’s mind.
“I’m… I’m looking for someone?” he said uncertainly.
Arabelle tsked.
“Unfortunately you most likely won’t find them. But I can try to outfit you for your search.”
She picked up a mirror, and handed it to Leon.
“So, you’re not quite human. I’m not sure what you are actually,” she said.
Leon grabbed the mirror, stopping when he saw his hands, covered with a tawny fur.
“What?”
He held up the mirror, and studied himself, uncertain of how to take his reflection.
A fox stared back from the mirror, ears and nose twitching. He moved the mirror around, spotting a fuzzy tail sticking out from his butt. He looked thin, agile.
“A kitsune…” he said, finding a name for what he saw, what he was.
His fur rippled, most of it changing colour to a more auburn shade, though patches remain the orange brown mix he had started as. He flexed a muscle he didn’t know he could flex, and his tail thumped on the bed.
“I’m going to give you some time,” Arabelle said, heading for the door. “When you’re ready, meet me through here and we’ll get to work figuring you out.”
She smiled a little uncertainly herself, and walked through the door.
Leon continued studying himself in the mirror, taking in startling blue eyes and actual whiskers. He raised a hand and ran it down his chest, feeling the soft fur with a shiver.
His face broke into a grin, as he pet himself.
“This is so cool…” he whispered.
Setting the mirror aside, he stood and looked at the rest of his body, running his hands all over himself, and enjoying the fur.
“I guess there will be time for this later, if I am dead,” he sighed, grin fading from his face.
He approached the door, not bothering to conceal his nudity, and opened it, walking into what appeared to be some sort of closet. As his hand left the doorknob, a sudden thought came to his mind and he looked at his hands.
“Fingers, not paws…” he said, relieved.
He flexed his fingers for good measure, then focused on the task at hand. As much as he didn’t want to cover his fur, Leon figured it wouldn’t be good to walk around naked.
Speaking of walking…
Leon glanced down at his feet, seeing normal, albeit furry, feet.
“So I’m really just a furry human with a tail. Cool.”
He grabbed a pair of pants and pulled them on, stopping just below his tail. A simple green jerkin went over his head, and he pulled on a pair of boots.
Feeling overdressed, Leon passed through another door, into a large room filled with weapons.
“Dang, this place is cool…”
Leon turned as he entered, looking at the weapon laden walls in wonder.
“You get to pick one.” Arabelle said.
“Really?”
The kitsune walked through the room, touching every weapon. He felt drawn to a black heater shield, his hand brushing over the wooden surface.
Lifting the shield off the rack, he let it sit in his right hand. It felt completely natural, like something he was born with.
“Can I get a sword too?” he questioned.
Arabelle nodded.
“Of course. You can’t kill monsters with just a shield.”
“Monsters?”
The kitsune stared at the woman.
“What kind of monsters?”
“You’re in a roleplaying game. You’re just creating your character right now,” Arabelle said. “Sorry, I should have explained that earlier.”
Leon nodded thoughtfully.
“So the afterlife is a game then. And I’m assuming we can’t actually die?”
“Nope, you can be killed, but you’ll just revive at a respawn point.”
“Sweet.”
The kitsune grinned as a sword caught his eye. He lifted it off the rack, and swung it a couple times, trying to get a feel for the weight.
“Perfect.”
He found a scabbard for the blade, looping it around his waist.
“Next we pick your starting profession. This is where things get complicated.”
Arabelle led Leon through another door, into a large empty room.
“There is this thing you have called the UI. It’s mind controlled and works kind of like a menu in a video game. Just think, and the option will appear before you.”
“So if I think Professions…”
Writing appeared in front of Leon, and he blinked in surprise.
“Ah, I see.”
Reading through all the options, he glanced at Arabelle.
“This is the money making class, right? Like the subclass?”
“Basically, yes.”
“Sweet. I’ve always wanted to try being a woodcutter.”
The option appeared in blue, the rest of the professions vanishing. A bag appeared on Leon’s back, and a small hatchet hung from his hip.
“Are there stats in this game?” Leon asked.
“If you want. Most people ignore them though,” Arabelle shrugged.
Another screen opened in front of Leon, reminding him of a tab in a computer game. It bore a list of attributes, and Leon quickly scanned through them.
Health: 1
Stamina: 1
Mana: 0
Defense: 3 (1+2 from shield)
Strength: 5 (1+4 from Woodcutter)
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
Personality: 1
“Seems easy enough.”
“So, a small aside here. I was looking through my Codex, and it seems you actually have two forms,” Arabelle said. “You have this fox form, but you should also be able to take on a specific human form as well.”
“Cool! How do I do that?”
“Well, as a mage, to change your shape, you would have to cast a spell, but for you, it doesn’t seem to be attached to any known branch of magic. Nonetheless, I think if you just will it to happen…”
Leon closed his eyes, and focused on changing his shape. He felt strange, almost liquidy. The feeling passed, and he opened his eyes.
“Wow… that was unexpected…” Arabelle said, staring at them.
“What? What happened?”
An image entered Leon’s mind, one of them as a girl. Her hair was long and flowed down over her shoulders, auburn colour mixed with tawny stripes. Her shoulders were a little small for the tunic she wore, and the fabric hung a little.
“Is... is that me?” he asked, the image fading from his mind.
“Yeah,” Arabelle said. “I put the image in your mind. It’s a psion thing.”
“Cool. Uh, don’t do it again please?”
“I’m not planning to.”
Lean focused on changing back, and again that liquid feeling passed over them. He looked at his hand, smiling at the fur.
“Okay! So, next is your actual class, chosen the same way you chose your profession,” Arabelle said.
“Think class then…”
A pair of options appeared in front of the kitsune.
“Huh… Well, I have the sword for physical, so I guess I’ll stick with that… Probably go with a fighter.”
Again the option appeared in front of him, marked in green this time.
“So, how do you level up? And is there a max level?”
“You earn xp to level up like you would in most RPGs. And level 100 is the max for all classes, but you can take multiple classes. If you use the stat system, you’ll want to make sure you have the stats for the new class though,” Arabelle explained. “It’s why most people don’t bother. Much easier to multiclass that way.”
“And your weapons, do they have levels too?”
“I think so. I haven’t looked into that too much. Oh, and your display. If you look over my head, you can see information above me. You can change what you see and what others see on your display.”
Bringing it up was a piece of cake now, and Leon switched everything off except his name, pronouns, and level.
“Perfect. One more thing before you start your immortality. You need a name.”
Arabelle passed through a door, and Leon followed her, finding himself in an office. He sat in a chair, spinning a little as Arabelle read through a sheet of parchment on the desk.
“You do have a name you want to use, right?” she asked.
“Leon Griseus?” he shrugged.
Arabelle looked at him for a second.
“You are a strange one…” she muttered, making a note of his name.
A minute later she slid the paper across to him.
“I need you to sign, and then you’ll be free to go.”
“What am I signing?”
“Read it. It’s basically just saying you are who you are and you’re starting the afterlife with the things you have.”
“And if I refuse?”
Arabelle stared.
“As far as I know, no one has ever refused. There have been people who reach this point and decide they want to start a different way, but they go through all the same once changes are made.”
Leon looked through the paper, seeing that it was basically what Arabelle had told them. He dipped the quill in the inkwell, and signed his name, feeling memories drain from his mind.
He fought the drain even as he signed, holding onto a single memory. The face of the one he searched for.
“Welcome to eternity Leon Griseus.”

1.
Leon landed on the other side of the last door with a lurch. He tripped over a body, and fell off a dais, catching himself before he could faceplant.
“Whoa…”
He picked himself up, and turned back toward the dais, looking at the body. It was an elf, curled up in the fetal position, his hand on an oaken staff.
“Um… Are you okay? Hello?”
Leon knelt next to the elf and shook his body. The elf’s eyes flew open and he gasped, clutching at his gut.
“I… I’m alive…” he coughed, feeling over his body.
“Do you need any help?” Leon asked.
The elf gripped his staff, and used it to pick himself up.
“Wha- er, who are you?” he asked.
“Leon. I just got here. Is this the respawn point?”
“I guess so… Have you seen anyone around here? Another elf, or a lizard?”
“No. I opened a door, tripped over you, and… well…”
Leon gestured at the two of them.
“Oh. They must not be back yet…”
They stared in an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.
“Well, um, I’m going to look around a bit,” Leon said.
“I can show you where some things are in town,” the elf offered.
“Sure,” Leon shrugged.
“Just give me a second. I want to see if I’m missing anything. Oh, um, and my name is Gareth. Probably should have led with that. Sorry.”
“No worries,” Leon smiled.
The elf sat cross legged in front of the dais, his eyes closed, and Leon started walking around. This place was huge, and he wondered why they were the only ones there.
Leaning against a stone pillar, the kitsune brought up his UI, looking at his skills. His strength had jumped to ten from his level in fighter, and his health had risen to ten as well. His stamina was at five, and Leon wondered why it was lower than his health. He made a mental note to check the numbers after reaching level two so he could see how much each level would increase his stats.
Gareth approached as he lowered the UI. The elf was carrying a quiver half full of arrows and a bow on his hip.
“Should I be ready for trouble?” Leon asked.
“Oh, no. We should be fine. I’m new to this too though, so I wanted to be prepared. I hope we don’t need to use these.”
The elf squinted, and paused for a second.
“Oh. Okay, we should go this way,” he said, leading Leon through a door.
They emerged in the centre of town, both blinking in the early morning sun.
“Are you using some kind of map?” Leon asked, as they walked toward a shop.
“Yeah, in the UI. It looks like it will show possible quest points…”
“Neat. I’ll have to figure that one out.”
“This is the leatherworker’s shop?” Gareth said uncertainly, looking at a sign hanging above the door.
Shrugging, Leon opened the door, and they entered.
“Hello my friend! Back so soon?” a man smiled, setting a shoe aside as he rose to his feet.
“Um, yeah. I saw on my map that you have a quest?”
“Indeed. Here you often become the giver of quests as well as the receiver. And who’s your friend? Is Mythal slacking off and having you teach the new people?”
“Actually, they haven’t gotten back from the mines yet…”
“Argh, they went to the mines without me? I could have used the practice. I’m thinking about getting back into the game for a bit, spice things up. So you went with them? I’m assuming you met with misfortune.”
Gareth glanced down at his feet.
“Oh, don’t feel bad. Everyone dies now and again. It happens all the time.”
Leon stood back, watching the exchange with a bemused look on his face.
“Oh, but you’re here about a quest. I need some more hides. Boar, specifically. There’s a field a mile west of town where they generally feed. I could use two or three hides, and I’m sure the butcher would pay for the rest of the body.”
The man looked at Leon.
“You’re new, you’ll need some gear, like a money bag. I’ll tell you what, do the quest, and I’ll give you both an upgraded backpack. You’ll be able to store more within, and it will weigh less. As an added bonus, I’ll give you a bag for your coin.”
“Sounds like a great deal to me,” Leon smiled.
“I don’t know how to skin a boar…” Gareth said slowly.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. If you take them to the butcher, he’ll skin them for you and give you back the hides. If you ever want to learn how to do it yourself, he is a pretty good teacher.”
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Leon said.
“Oh, and here’s another tip for you, lad,” the cobbler smiled. “A decent beginner set of chainmail is only a gold. You won’t be tanking any giants in it, but it’s good to about level twenty.”
“Sweet, I’ll start saving up. We’ll be back with those hides.”
The two left the shop and stopped outside.
“Do you know where I could find a bow? I seriously doubt I’m going to take out a boar with a sword,” Leon said.
“I could let you use this one. I have fireballs that I can cast,” Gareth offered.
The half elf removed his quiver, and handed it to the kitsune, who tied it over his sword belt.
Leon opened his UI, searching for a map, and one appeared in front of them.
“Do you think there’s a map to the quest spot?” he asked.
The map shifted, and a yellow line appeared on it, trailing into the unknown regions outside of town.
“I don’t know,” Gareth shrugged. “I don’t think-”
“Found it. We need to go this way,” Leon interrupted, as a yellow line appeared in front of them.
“Wait… How did you-?”
“I just thought about a quest marker and one appeared.”
Leon started following the line, and Gareth hurried after them. They traveled along a dirt road, passing several houses on his way out of town.
The palisade gate was open, and a guard eyed them warily as they passed.
“I hope we won’t have any trouble reentering the village,” Gareth said.
“We should be fine. We’re not poaching from a lord, are we?”
“I don’t think so…”
They followed the road to a field full of grass. At least five boars could be seen at various points in the field, and Leon removed the bow Gareth had loaned him.
“It isn’t strung?”
“Oh, no. Here.”
Gareth took the bow, handing it back a minute later, properly strung.
Leon pointed to a medium sized hog close to them.
“Him first?” he suggested.
“Might as well.” Gareth shrugged.
Leon placed an arrow on the string of the bow, and pulled back awkwardly. The arrow pivoted away from the string, and he focused on turning it back against the bow.
“Screw it,” he muttered, lowering the bow.
The kitsune tried again, and kept the arrow on the bow this time. He aimed at the boar, and let the arrow fly.
The missile flew high and wide, landing a good foot behind the boar. With an angry squeal, the animal turned on them, and charged.
“Oh shit…”
Dropping the bow, Leon unsheathed his sword as Gareth threw a ball of flames at the pig. The fire blew up in the hog’s face, and Leon jumped on the animal. It bucked wildly, trying to throw them off, but he reached around with the sword, and sliced deep into the boar’s throat.
The pig let out another squeal, gurgling as he continued trying to throw Leon off his back. Blood shot out of the cut, and Leon called, “Shouldn’t it be dead yet?”
He cut again, deeper, and finally the hog fell. The kitsune drove his blade into the back of the hog’s throat again and again as a green flash passed over his eyes.
“Dude, I think it’s dead,” Gareth called, and Leon released his blade, panting.
A blue flash followed the green, and he blinked.
“Did we just level up?”
“I think you did. The first one seems to happen pretty fast.”

2.
At Gareth’s bidding, Leon sat and opened his UI. He took another level in fighter, noticing that his strength was now fourteen and his agility three.
“Weird. I just gained a level in hunter,” he said, closing the UI.
“Yeah, I was told you can have multiple professions,” Gareth told him. “Ready for round two?”
“No. But we have to do this I guess.”
“Wait. Let’s move this body so we can find it again, in case something goes wrong,” Gareth called, as Leon grabbed the bow.
The two lifted the body together, carrying it to the road.
“Damn this thing is heavy. How are we going to carry two?” Gareth panted.
“Why don’t we do one at a time? We can drop this one off, and then go after another,” Leon suggested.
Gareth thought for a moment, looking at the sun still rising toward its zenith.
“Yeah, that could work,” he agreed. “But you have to find the path to the butcher. I don’t know how to do that yet.”
“I’ll teach you and you can lead us back here,” Leon promised, bringing up the quest tracker.
He picked up the front legs of the pig, and waited for Gareth to grab the back, before leading them back toward the village.
As they approached the palisade again, the guard stepped in front of them.
“Where are you taking that pig?” he demanded.
“To the butcher,” Leon said steadily.
He could hear Gareth panting behind them. The guard poked at the boar, but let them pass a second later.
“See? No worries,” Leon smiled uncertainly.
They approached the butcher’s shop, and Gareth opened the door with a word.
“Merciful Cathedral!”
The butcher, a balding man around forty years of age, hurried around the counter of his shop, and slammed the door shut behind them.
“Use the back door next time!” he snapped.
“Um… The leatherworker said you could skin this for us. We’re going to bring a second one too,” Leon said, as he and Gareth moved to set the pig down.
“NOT THERE!”
The two froze, Leon suddenly aware of the blood dripping onto the wooden floor of the shop.
“Just give it to me. And bring the next one through the back so I don’t have to clean my floor again.”
“Uh, I can clean it for you,” Gareth offered. “How long will it take to get the hide off that?”
“Tell Marcus I’ll have it done for him tomorrow. Both of them.”
Gareth cast a series of spells, and the blood on the floor vanished.
“Thank you sir,” he said, and the two left the shop.
Gareth led Leon to a tavern.
“What are we doing? We need to catch another one,” Leon said.
“Yeah, but we need to wait for my mana to recover. Those fireballs take a lot out of me,” Gareth replied, walking up to the tavern owner.
Leon sat at a table, and Gareth joined them a minute later, a plate of bacon in one hand, and a pair of mugs in his other.
“I don’t think I can eat…” Leon said, looking at the bacon.
“Yeah, I don’t want to eat either, but I need to get my mana back,” Gareth said, taking a bite of bacon.
Leon sipped at the ale in the mug, watching the half elf eat.
“You’re covered in blood, by the way,” Gareth muttered.
“Really? Shit, blood can’t be good for fur. Can you magic it away?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure we can find a stream or something though. It isn’t too obvious.”
The half elf finished the bacon as Leon drained his ale. He felt a slight buzz, but it didn’t seem to affect him too much.
As Gareth started on his ale, Leon pulled up his UI, trying to find an inventory screen. It appeared for him as readily as the other screens had, and he looked at his sword, trying to see if it had any stats.
“Huh. Weapons have a certain durability to them,” he said.
“So I’ll have to fix my staff at some point?”
“Or get a new one,” Leon shrugged.
He brought up his clothes as well, spotting a whetstone for his sword as the screens switched. His clothes shared a durability with his weapon, though it was surprisingly high.
“There you are!”
Leon turned around, and saw a red lizard walking toward them.
“Loreen? You guys are finally back?” Gareth asked.
“Yeah. We didn’t think you’d be up until tonight. Who’s your friend?”
“Hi, I’m Leon,” Leon said with a small wave. “I’m new here.”
“Oh. I guess I should have stayed behind. I’m Loreen. Usually we have someone here to help new spawns.”
“Gareth has actually helped quite a bit,” Leon smiled.
“I’m glad,” Loreen smile warmly. “Oh, and Gareth, I managed to grab this scroll before Mythal could get his hands on it. He already knows the spell; he just hates the ten minute cast time.”
She handed a tightly rolled scroll to the mage, and he unrolled it.
“Nice! But why didn’t he use it last night?”
“Two nights ago actually. You lost a day in the cathedral. Mythal doesn’t like using it. Plus, the entire trip was supposed to give you an idea of how dungeons are run.”
“Oh. Thanks,” Gareth smiled, tucking the scroll into his bag.
“I’ll make sure we have a bed waiting for you in the cathedral tonight, unless you already have other plans,” Loreen said to Leon.
“Not that I know of. But do you know anything about hunting boars?”

With Loreen’s help, they quickly brought the second boar down, carrying it into the back of the butcher’s shop. The man grumbled, but paid the two of them two silver a piece for the animals.
Loreen left the two of them, reminding Gareth that curfew was at sundown, and the two of them made his way back to the leatherworker.
“Typical, he always makes me wait…” Marcus grumbled when they told him he would have the hides tomorrow. “Still, you did bring in two boars. I trust that I’ll have the hides tomorrow. Thank you.”
He handed Leon a small sack for his coins, which the kitsune gladly took, and then bade them to pick from a selection of bags of various designs.
As Leon picked up a single strap shoulder bag that he was sure would not fit all his supplies, he saw another green flash.

3.
Another level gained, and more strength gained. Leon discovered he was only actually gaining two points of strength per fighter level, but it was still helping his damage.
He and Gareth quickly transferred the contents of his old bags to the new ones.
“So master guide, what else should I know?” he asked as he and Gareth left the cobbler’s shop.
“Well, there’s the Warzone, but I’d rather not go there, You’ll have to ask Mythal to take you if you want to check it out.”
“Sounds entertaining.”
“Other than that, I really don’t know. Let’s head back to the cathedral. The guys there can probably explain all of this better than I can.”
“Lead the way.”
They walked to the cathedral, where Gareth reunited with the rest of his friends. He introduced them to Leon, and the kitsune sized them up.
Terian took the newcomer aside the first chance he got.
“Hey, so, I’m kind of the fighter of this group. I don’t know if you’d be interested in learning from me because I tank from a distance, but I figure I could still teach you a thing or two if you want,” he said.
“I could use all the help I can get,” Leon smiled.
“Great. We’re actually leaving in a couple days, after we recover a bit from the last journey. Mythal and I have been here for a while and the quests start getting stale eventually. If you’d like, you can come with us to Ythila. You’ll need to go there anyway to train with the Fighters Guild if you reach level ten in that class.”
“So, is there a different guild for every class?”
“Oh no,” Terian laughed. “Most classes have other forms of organization. And some overlap, like mine. I’m kind of a psion, so I studied with the Fighters Guild for a few weeks, then with the Mages Guild to learn how to apply psionics to my fighting style.”
“Is there a crafting guild that can teach me how to carve wood?”
“That depends on what kind of carving you’re looking for. If you mean weapons, that’s covered by the Fighter’s Guild. They make sure you know how to keep your gear in working order.”
Loreen stuck her head into the room they were in.
“Hey, I drew up a bath for you. You kind of need it,” she said to Leon.
“Oh, thanks,” the kitsune said.
“Go ahead and get cleaned off,” Terian said. “We have time to talk whenever you want.”
Leon nodded, following Loreen out of the room. The lizard led them into another room with a tiled floor. A tub full of steaming water sat in the middle of the room, and a towel lay nearby.
“I got this scroll off Gareth. You can use it to clean your clothes,” Loreen said, handing the kitsune the parchment.
“I’m not a mage though…”
“You can still cast from scrolls. I’ll leave you to it. Don’t worry about running out of hot water; that tub stays warm.”
The lizard closed the door as she left the room, and Leon pulled his shirt off, eyes widening at the amount of blood on it.
He unrolled the scroll, staring at the strange writing.
“How do I use this thing…?”
Leon opened the door, and walked through the cathedral, searching for Gareth. He found the mage writing in a book.
“Hey, what did you write this in?” Leon demanded.
“What are you talking about? That’s plain writing,” Gareth replied.
“What? No it’s not.”
“Fighters can’t read at level one!” Terian called.
The two stared at each other.
“Well shit… Um… Can you teach me to read please?”
“Uh, yeah…”
Gareth chuckled at the absurdity of the situation, and Leon glared at him.
“I’m going to take a bath,” the kitsune muttered, storming back to the bathroom.
Closing the door, Leon kicked off his pants, and stepped into the tub. He had just sat down when the door opened.
“Oh, um, sorry. I thought I’d be faster,” Gareth said, looking down.
“What do you want?” Leon demanded.
“I was going to clean your clothes. I can do it later…”
“No, you can come in. You’re not going to see anything.”
Leon flicked his tail so it hung over the basin, and Gareth stared at the appendage.
“Your clothes… Yeah…”
The half elf knelt next to the discarded clothing and cast two quick spells. When he stood up, the garments were clean of all dirt.
“Thank you,” Leon smiled.
“Yeah, no problem,” Gareth stammered, backing into the door.
Leon laughed as the mage spun around and hurried through the door, leaving it ajar behind him. The kitsune felt the weight of his fur, weighed down with water, and he took a deep breath, relaxing into that liquid state. When he came back out, he was hairless.
Quickly washing off, Leon stepped out of the tub, and wrapped her body in the towel. It dried her in what felt like record time, and he figured there must be magic in it. Dressing, she drained the tub, and left the room.
“Hey Leon. Love the new look,” Mythal smiled as they passed in the hall.
“Thanks. Do you know where Terian is?”
“Oh, he and Loreen left. Curfew dropped about five minutes ago.”
“Wait, there’s a curfew?”
“Yeah. Nothing to worry about. Just stay indoors after sundown,” Mythal said. “Terian said something about getting a good night’s sleep. We’re taking you to the Warzone tomorrow.”
“Really? What’s that like?”
“Honestly, it’s usually quiet. You’re mainly running quests for NPCs, or watching your back to keep from getting ambushed by bandits. But tomorrow several of us are going to clear out a bandit’s den.”
“Sounds like fun. Where do I sleep?”
Mythal showed them into the sleeping chambers, where Bathan and Gareth were talking quietly to each other.
“You can have this bed,” Mythal pointed to the far right. “I’m sure Loreen won’t mind.”
Leon sat on the bed, unfolding the blanket laying on it.
“When do I need to be awake tomorrow?” she asked.
“We need to meet up with the others an hour after sun up in the Kalin cathedral, so sunrise should give us all the time we need,” Mythal replied, laying on another cot next to the kitsune.
Satisfied, Leon laid down, certain it would take her a while to fall asleep.
She was wrong.

Leon’s eyes opened into darkness, and she sat up quietly. A candle flickered in the corner of the room, and her eyes were drawn to the light.
A rustling sound came from his left.
“Light…” Gareth yawned, and a bright light flared to life in his hand. “Shit!”
It dimmed a moment later, and Leon snickered.
“Ugh… What time is it?”
“I don’t know.”
Gareth stood up, the light going with him, and he let a beam escape his hand, He picked up his bag from the floor.
“Well, I promised to teach you to read, so let’s see if we can make any progress with that,” he said.
Leon followed the mage into an alcove, wincing as Gareth let the light in his hand shine freely.
For the next hour, Gareth showed Leon various letters and words as he scribed several simple scrolls, using light spells and prestidigitations in equal measures. A yellow light lit Leon’s eyes as they worked, learning from the mage.
As Gareth cast his last spell into a scroll, they heard the cathedral door open. A minute later, Terian looked into the alcove, armour covering his body.
“You two are up early. Is Mythal still sleeping?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll get him up,” Loreen called.
“Did you two have fun last night?” Gareth asked innocently.
“As a matter of fact we did,” Terian smiled. “Get ready Leon. I want to leave in thirty minutes.”
“What do I need to take?”
“Your weapons. You and I will be on the ground assault, while Mythal throws ranged. There’s going to be six NPCs that run with us, but I don’t know who they’ll be, and a cleric named Ailica will be keeping us on our feet.”
“Ailica? Say hi to her for me,” Gareth said.
“Alright, I’ll go pack. Should I leave my bag here?” Leon asked.
“No, bring it with you. We won’t be back for a couple days.”
The kitsune nodded and walked out of the room. Light peeked through the windows high on the cathedral walls, casting large shadows on the floors. Leon passed into the sleeping area, grabbing her sword, shield, and bag. Mythal was up, gathering his things, though Bathan remained asleep.
“I thought we’d be leaving earlier,” Leon mentioned as she belted on his sword.
“No. We’re going to teleport there, so we still have about thirty minutes,” Mythal replied. “Excuse me.”
He left the room, and Leon followed. The kitsune found Loreen on the dais, spreading out a mat.
“Hey, Terian said for you to meet him out front,” the cleric said.
“Did he say why?”
“Sharpening practice. He said you’ll need it.”
Leon stepped out of the cathedral, finding Terian sitting on a step sharpening an axe.
“You wanted to talk to me?”
“Yeah. Your blade’s new so it won’t need to be sharpened, but it would be good for you to learn how to do it,” the battlemind said.
He motioned for Leon to sit, and continued grinding his axe on the whetstone in his hand.
After a minute of silent observation, Leon cleared her throat.
“So… You know how to read, right?”
“Yeah. I picked it up a few years ago. It’s a useful skill to have.”
“Gareth was showing me some things today, and a yellow light flashed. I know green is level and blue is profession, but what is yellow?”
“Skill. Generally they’re attached to a profession, but not always. You probably picked up the reading skill. It’ll take years to max it out, but every word you learn will increase it.”
Terian smiled kindly.
“Even mine isn’t maxed, and I doubt Gareth’s is either. Oh, and red is a weapon level. Those come with practice. It will take about ten hours of practice to get your first level with sword.”
“Will the Fighter’s Guild teach me other weapons?”
“Yeah. You’ll learn to use maces, axes, polearms, swords, bows, and daggers. About five ranks in each.”
“That sounds like it will take a while…”
“Oh, it will. You’ll be training for about a month, and you’ll be level eleven when you get out.”
“So… I won’t be gaining xp while I’m in there?”
“Well, you’ll be gaining experience in professions, skills, and weapons,” Terian said.
Mythal stepped out behind them.
“Are you two ready?” he asked.
The stone vanished from Terian’s hand and he slid his axe into its holster.
“Ready when you are.”
“Is Gareth coming with us?” Leon asked, as Mythal held out his hands to them.
“No, he and Bathan have a date or something,” Mythal replied as the two took his hands.
There was a brief moment of intense darkness, and then brightness.
Leon opened her eyes, blinking in the light of the new cathedral.
“Welcome Lord Terian,” a halfling said, bowing to Terian.
He wore a green cloak, and carried a bow on his back. Leon pegged him as a ranger immediately.
“Anthor. I did not expect you to be here.”
“I was reassigned here after the siege of Achton. My rangers and I found the bandits we’re hunting today.”
“These are my friends, Mythal and Leon. They are both champions, and Mythal supports our cause. Leon has not yet sworn to a cause, and I hope to sway her to ours today,” Terian introduced the others.
“It is an honour to meet you sers,” Anthor bowed to them in turn.
“Do you have an idea of who we are facing?” Terian asked.
“Aye. My people tell me Baron Ferel has risen once more, with a champion. Together they have called nigh a score to their banner.”
“Do you know the champion?”
“Not by name, but I am told he is an expert with sorcery.”
“When we get there, I would like your people to take out the champion, through stealth if possible.”
An elf strode toward them, a mace swinging at her hip. She curtsied to Terian, a smile on her face.
“Lord Terian. It has been far too long,” she said.
“Lady Ailica. It has.”
Terian bowed, then straightened and opened his arms.
The elf stepped into his embrace smoothly, and the two kissed.
Leon stared at the two, unsure what to make of the display.
“This is my charge, Leon Griseus. This is a learning experience for her, and we’re hoping to get her ready to join the guilds by tomorrow.”
“That is an ambitious goal,” Ailica smiled. “It is a pleasure to meet you Ser Griseus.”
“And you as well,” Leon said, bowing her head.
“Of course you already know Mythal.”
“Aye. Are we ready to set off then?”
“In a second. Anthor.”
“My liege?”
“Lady Ailica and I will be providing a distraction to allow you to reach good sniping positions. If all goes well, we will be along five minutes after the bandits return to report they have successfully killed us.”
Leon’s jaw dropped as Terian continued.
“If we are not there by that time, take out the champion the first chance you get, then return here.”
“Yesser.”
Anthor bowed, and walked away, five humans and elves falling in behind him.
“We best be moving as well,” Terian said, trailing after the rangers. “We’ve got a bit of a walk.”

“So Mythal, how’s your friend doing? I haven’t seen him around,” Ailica said as they passed into a forest.
“Yeah, Gareth decided he didn’t care for the Warzone.”
“Oh, that’s a shame. He seemed like a promising recruit.”
Mythal shrugged.
“Stay on your guards. We should be attacked any time now.”
“What exactly is the plan here?” Leon asked, stepping over a log.
An arrow slammed into the wood next to his foot, and Leon gulped.
A group of people charged out of the trees, glaives and staves in their hands.
“Everyone grab Mythal’s hand,” Terian said, lifting his axe.
Leon placed a hand on Mythal’s, drawing his sword as their enemies approached.
“Now!”
Sudden darkness took Leon, then he was thrust into daylight again. Glancing around, he saw he was standing on a tree branch. Below he heard fighting, steel clashing on steel in the middle of a dark cloud.
As the cloud cleared, Leon saw Ailica fall, a glaive thrust through her chest.
A hand covered his mouth, and he squealed into it. Turning, he saw Ailica sitting on the branch beside them, her hand still held over his mouth.
Mythal was the next down, and then… herself?
As Terian joined them on the ground, the people below all let out a whoop. Five of their own number lay slain, and they gathered the bodies, carrying them out of sight as the other bodies dissolved into nothing.
“Alright, time to get down,” Ailica whispered a moment later, leaping onto the ground.
Leon hesitated, but followed the elf, gasping in pain as she landed. She collapsed as her leg gave out, and Ailica knelt beside her, murmuring a healing spell.
“Tell me Leon, has anyone shown you how to reduce your pain setting?” she asked.
Gulping, the kitsune shook her head.
Ailica smiled, helping Leon find the setting as Mythal and Terian joined them on the ground.
“What-?”
“Illusions given my weapons,” Terian said. “We need to follow those people, but don’t let them see us.”
They set off without further conversation, Terian tracking the group to a cave.
“Mythal, kindly show Leon to the back door.”
“With pleasure,” Mythal smiled. “Come on Leon.”
The two set off, Mythal in the lead and Leon jogging behind him.
“You guys act like you’ve done this before,” she said as they ran.
“Yep. It’s not the first time we’ve fought Ferel. He’s actually a really good friend of mine outside of the Warzone. I’m not sure who his new friend is though. There. You see that crag?”
Under Mythal’s direction, Leon climbed up a steep slope, slipping into a tunnel. A torch burned brightly a few feet in front of them, proof that the tunnel was in use.
“Just stay there and don’t let anyone past,” Mythal called, before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
“Right… easy…”
Leon unsheathed her sword and made sure her shield hung properly on her arm. She could hear the sound of fighting further up the tunnel, and she waited eagerly for she chance to join.
She didn’t have to wait long.
Feet clattered along the path in front of her, and a man came into view, panting.
He slowed up as he noticed Leon standing with drawn sword.
“Uh, hello.”
“Hi…” Leon said.
“I’m assuming I can’t get out this way…”
Leon shrugged.
“Maybe?”
She could see the man calculating in his mind, leaning on a spear.
“I’m Leon,” the kitsune offered.
“Matthias. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Shouldn’t we wait to see how this turns out before we go that far?” Leon smiled.
“I’m pretty certain I’m done for if you keep stalling for time.”
Matthias smiled ruefully.
“I’m sorry about this. You seem like a decent fellow.”
An ice shard flew from Matthias’ spear tip, and Leon held up her shield, sliding back from the force of the shard.
The fighter stuck out a foot as the man tried to sprint past, and Matthias dropped.
“Yeah, so do you. Maybe we can meet for drinks in Ythila someday,” Leon said, before plunging her blade into the mage’s throat.
She was greeted with the now familiar green flash as Terian walked toward her.

5.
“Well done,” Terian said, as the mage’s body vanished.
“You don’t think he’ll hate me the next time we meet, do you?”
“Oh no. Well, he might have a slight grudge, but eventually you learn that things aren’t personal in the Warzone.”
Leon opened her UI to level.
“Hey, I went up two levels!”
“Yeah, I expected that from this fight. He was level five.”
“Wait, you knew I’d be fighting him?” Leon asked.
“Let’s just say I had a hunch. A good leader leaves nothing to chance. If the snipers didn’t get him, you would.”
“Huh… So, what now?”
“What do you mean? We still need to clean this place up.”
Terian walked back through the tunnel, and Leon followed after a second.

Half an hour later, they stood beside a pile of bodies, Leon holding onto a new bow and five copper heavier.
“So is the Warzone to your liking?” Terian asked, leaning on his axe.
“Eh… It’s interesting for sure. I’m just not sure yet.”
“Well, let’s get back to Kalin, and I’ll explain the rest of the zone to you.”
Mythal approached the two, sheathing a sword.
“You two go on without me. I’m heading up to Achton. Something about a Naril spy snooping around.”
“Have fun,” Terian winked, and the mage snorted.
“I’ll be back to take us to Malkar tomorrow,” he said, before vanishing in a black cloud.
“I’ll go with you two,” Ailica said.
They left the caves behind them, Terian leading them back through the forest.
“So Leon, do you have any ideas on what to do with your immortality?” Ailica asked as they walked.
“Um… Not really,” Leon shrugged. “Terian says I need to go into the Fighter’s Guild, but other than that, I’m just winging it.”
“Hmm. I would start thinking about it. Generally you have a mentor who will see you to level ten in a class. For you, that’s Terian. However, eventually the two of you will split ways, and it is a good idea to have a plan.”
“It’s actually coming a bit sooner than you might think. When we return to Malkar, we’re going to start the journey to Ythila,” Terian said. “It shouldn’t take more than a week to complete, then you’ll be at the guild.”
“Oh. Well I don’t even know what the guild offers.”
“You are not limited by the guild resources. If you decided to learn enchanting as a fighter, you could pay for the Mages Guild to teach you. In fact, one of the first things you need to do after reaching level eleven is pay off a 25 gold debt to the Guilds. That covers the cost of materials, room, and board.”
Leon stared at Terian’s back.
“So, in other words, get questing.”
“Basically,” Ailica laughed. “You have a month to pay off the 25 gold. It should only take about a week though, if you go through the normal channels within the city.”
They passed within the town walls, and Ailica took her leave, saying she needed to visit the smith. Terian pointed Leon to a tavern, and handed the owner a silver for a huge plate of food.
“I am a magic user, and that kind of took a lot out of me,” he said at Leon’s look.
The kitsune shrugged, and they sat at a table outside.
“Feel free to eat some,” Terian offered.
Leon took a leg of meat and bit into it.
“This is kind of bland. What is it?” she asked, swallowing.
“Probably goat,” Terian shrugged. “With all the bandits and Champion fighting, trade is a little messy here.”
“Can’t other Champions bring in spices to trade?”
“Oh, they do. But it is kind of rare. You come here to fight, not to make money. In fact, you need to be prepared to lose money if you’re in the Warzone. You lose ten percent of your gold when you die, and it appears as loot for the person who kills you.”
“Really? Maybe I’ll stay away from here for a bit…” Leon said.
“Eh, the more money you have the more you lose when you die,” Terian said.
“Huh. Well, in the interest of leveling and making money, are there any easy quests around here?”
“You really just have to look around for that. Or ask your UI. You can go explore if you want. Just tell me before you leave the town, because if you die, we’ll be stuck here for an extra day.”
Leon nodded as she stood up. Her map appeared, and she began walking toward a yellow dot, leaving Terian finishing his food.
The dot was in what looked like a guard house. Lowering her map, Leon approached an armoured woman standing outside the building.
“Excuse me, but I’m looking for some work,” the kitsune said.
“A champion? You’re so young…” the woman said, looking the fox over. “Commander Caloth may have some work available. Inside, up the stairs on the right, and all the way back.”
“Thank you,” Leon smiled, opening the door.
She followed the woman’s instructions, finding a man seated behind a desk full of papers.
“Damn it, I said no intrusions,” the man snapped, throwing his quill on the table. “What do you want?”
“I am looking for work,” Leon said confidently.
“Fine. There’s a stack of letters that need to be taken to the butcher, the smith, the bowyer, and the magic store. You can handle those. There will be a silver in it for you. See Gerald for the notices.”
Leon bowed her head, spun on her heel, and left the room, bringing up her quest tracker. She followed it to another office, where a man handed her a stack of papers.
Leon stuck the stack in her bag, and set off, using her map as a guide. She reached the smith first, wincing at the noise of the forge.
“The captain of the guard wanted this given to you,” she said, handing a letter to the smith.
“Another five glaives? Crap, looks like we’re working overtime again tonight,” the man sighed.
His elven apprentice groaned, pausing in his sharpening of a glaive.
Leon bowed to them, then went about her business once more, tracking down the butcher.
“I don’t have that many hogs…” the halfling woman grumbled, picking up an ax. “Tell you what, will you help guard me while I hunt? The area is a little dangerous of late.”
“I’m a little busy at the moment, but I can help after I finish delivering these letters,” Leon offered.
“No, it’s okay. I need to get started right away to fill this.”
“Sorry…” Leon trailed off, as the butcher walked away.
The kitsune continued her walk into the town centre, stopping under a sign with a wand on it. She stepped inside, and a bell chimed somewhere.
“Hello,” a tired old man said, standing up behind a counter.
“Um, hi. I have a letter for you from the guard captain…”
“Does he not know we’re picked clean?” the man groaned, reading the letter.
“I don’t know, but it seems like everyone is having supply issues.”
“Thanks for bringing me this. Did you want to look at anything?”
Leon shrugged.
“What do you have?”
“Scrolls, mostly. I also have a magic longsword. It’s said that a cut made by its blade will never heal.”
“Hmm… I doubt I have the money for the sword, and the scrolls won’t be useful to me,” Leon said. “Sorry.”
“Oh, that’s okay. Feel free to come back and browse any time you’d like,” the man smiled wearily.
“Thanks, I will.”
Leon left the store, and walked towards a sign with a bow on it.
The place was empty when she entered, and only a single bow hung on the far wall, behind a counter.
“Hello?” the kitsune called.
The sound of clattering wood came from a door on the far wall, followed by a muffled curse. An elf hobbled in.
“Hi, sorry about that. Do you need anything?”
“Um, I was told to give you this letter.”
Leon handed the letter over, and watched the man’s face sour.
“Fuck… Well, I guess it could be worse. You can let the guards know I got the message.”
Leon bowed slightly and left the shop, making her way back to the guardhouse. She turned in the quest and pocketed the silver as a green flash appeared behind her eyes.
There was a ear splitting roar, and the room around her shook, bits of ceiling falling.
“DRAGON!” someone bellowed, and Leon sprinted for the stairs, reaching them right as the ceiling caved in on top of the kitsune.
Opening her eyes, Leon looked at her gut, where she felt a sense of burning. A wooden beam had crushed her waist flat, and blood flooded out of her upper body.
“Ow…” she muttered as her eyes closed.