Month 1, Day 2, 8:24: 37; Arvium, Shipyards

Aella walked behind the others, listening to their conversations half-heartedly. Maeva had already left the group, stating she wanted to focus her skills on fishing at first.

She surveyed the houses as they walked through the dockyards where they had left Maeva. They had walked half the length of the boardwalk already, seeing the sights. The streets were busy, bustling with vendors hawking their supplies and wares, and players who were logging into the Game.

She spotted several Alphas in full armor standing on the massive ships in the bay, their white sails rustling in the wind. Their prows were tipped in metal and their hulls were constructed of various designs. Some were massive ships with spaces for oars and enough room for fifty players, and others were only big enough for a team. There were a few single Alphas milling about in smaller floating aircraft tied to the pier, their metal exteriors sleek and glistening with the reflection of the deep blue water.

She looked up as Sigmund moved to her side, keeping in time with her pace. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye,

He walked with his hands in his pockets, a carefree attitude in his movements. His face had not shown much emotion, but she noticed hints of emotions as they passed over his face. But she frowned as she looked at his eyes, seeing a fierce intensity within the gold-speckled green. A fox, indeed.

"See something you like, my lady?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

Aella laughed, hanging her head for a moment. "Just trying to figure out who my housemates are."

He nodded. "Ask me any question you wish, as long as you agree to answer any question I might ask."

Any question? That might not be a good idea.

He smirked, the corner of his lip turning up, showing white teeth and a canine longer than normal. "How about this--I will only ask of you what you ask of me."

Aella looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "Ok."

"Let's cut through here," Gemini said, pointing to a small side-street between two warehouses on their left. "It should come out on the green."

"Green?" Aella said.

Gemini turned his head to look at her and smiled. His eyes crinkled everytime he smiled, and his whole body seemed to laugh. "Yeah, we haven't seen it yet, so it would be a good idea to stop by. It's Arvium's main green center, and is used for ceremonies. There's gardens there too."

Aella smiled as well, letting herself mirror his actions. They're so full of life, Chloe. They're so much like you. She frowned as she heard a ping, followed by a trumpet blaring a fanfare.

A banner appeared in front of her, sparkling gold with blue lettering.

"An event on the Green?" Gemini said.

Aella scanned the text. It stated that the event would start in forty minutes, and that players would race through a series of underground tunnels to find a flag at the end of the maze. The first three players to reach the end would receive credits and prizes.

"Shall we do it?" Gemini asked, his face lighting up with a giant grin.

Sigmund shrugged, looking to her.

"Why not?" Aella said, nodding to Gemini.

"I don't mind," Gemina said.

Gemini laughed. "Then let's go--it's not far."

Aella started to follow after them, then she paused, frozen to the spot. A cold breeze swept over her skin, and a shiver ran up her spine.

"Aella?" Sigmund asked.

Her head swung back and forth as she searched the crowds on the pier, then at the tops of the buildings. There, a shadow moved past the open window of one of the warehouses. She watched as it passed another, recognizing the black armor.

"Don't wait up for me," she said. She took off to the right, dashing through the crowd of people going up and down the ramp into the warehouse. A few looked at her as she hurried, but gave her no trouble. She stopped in the entrance, her eyes landing on a small metal staircase leading up to the second floor.

She made her way through the crates and boxes, then climbed the stairs. The stairway continued up a small hallway, shielding her from sight.

"Hey," someone shouted at the entrance. "Get out of here."

A door stood ajar at the top, revealing a large, space empty of crates on the second floor. It was lit by open windows and a crackling hole in the ground that spat sparks and smoke from somewhere inside of it.

She crouched at the doorway, peering through at the people inside.

A female body lay on the ground, her black armor dented and dirty, blood coming from a wound on her arm. She seemed to be unconscious, and her helmet lay on the ground a few yards away, a sword next to it.

The black figure stood in front of her, both of its swords drawn. From its size and shape, she guessed it to be a man. Smoke seemed to be coming out of the chinks in his armor, and his swords glinted in the sunlight, making it look as if they had electric sparks coming out of the dark surface. His head moved slightly in her direction and she shrank back, hoping he hadn't seen her. She frowned as it shook his head slightly, then turned back to what was in front of him.

The fiery hole separated the figure and three scarlet-armored players who had their own weapons trained on him. One was injured, and limped as it kept its bow pointed at the two.

A wolf howled, splitting the air with the sound. It jumped out of the pit next to the three, its fangs bared, a deep growl rumbling in its body. The body was apparition-like, almost as if it was made out of solid smoke and fire, its own eyes gleaming red.

The three started to move backward, inching toward a door she hadn't noticed before. One of the three pointed its weapon at the wolf.

"You don't want to do this, wraith," one of them shouted. "You'll call all of Mortia down on you."

Aella frowned, watching as one of them put away his weapon and pulled a small item out of his pocket, a silver chain dangling from it.

A whistle split the air and the wolf attacked, jumping on the nearest player and knocking them both into the hole, and disappearing. The figure vanished, appearing in between the two scarlet-armored players. Its swords moved so fast she could barely see them moving, and within seconds the two players were on the ground.

The figure bent over one, pulling the item from its trembling hands. It looked over it for a second, then tossed it into the hole.

"No," the player yelled, ending with a hoarse cough.

The figure bent over and whispered something in the players ear, then snapped his fingers. Two wolves appeared and ambled over to his side, sitting down on their back legs, their tails wagging. The figure pointed to the unmoving player and one of the wolves moved forward, its teeth enclosing the arm of the player and dragging it into the hole.

The figure moved away, leaving the second wolf to guard the last player. He walked around the hole to the woman. Her head moved slightly and her lips moved, but she was too far away to be heard. The figure slid his swords into the hilts on his back, nodding to her. He walked over to her helmet and sword, picking them up and walked back to her, sliding the sword into the sheath at her side. He laid the helmet on her stomach, then reached down and picked her up, walking toward the hole.

He whistled again, a softer sound this time, and the wolf stood up and growled at the players, then turned around and faced the hole. Together, it and the figure jumped into the hole and the hole vanished with a small puff of smoke.

The last player groaned as it raised an arm to its helmet. She watched as the door opened and two players stepped inside, dressed in black uniforms much like her own, but augmented with light armor and helmets. They quickly bent over the player, applying what looked to be a salve to several places on the players armor.

Then they helped the player to his feet, and slowly walked him out of the door.

Aella moved, sitting down on the top stair and letting her legs dangle down the steps. Some kind of vigilante? Who were the wraiths?

She sighed and stood up, sliding her hands into her pockets. Her eyebrows drew together as she felt something and pulled it out, her eyes widening. She trembled as she unfolded the piece of paper, reading the short message contained on it.

Don't come after me. You will be targeted by my enemies.

She sat down on the step, her eyes blinking as she shook her head. How did--

She leaned over her legs and took deep breaths, then chuckled. "I am seriously out of my league here."

She heard a metallic ping and she frowned, swiping her hand to show her player menu. The chat box had a red flashing dot on it and she tapped the icon, showing a message from Sigmund.

"We stopped at a small bookshop, but we're heading to the High Council green next."

Aella smiled. "Answer 'on my way'."

She swiped her hand again and the menu disappeared. She sat there for a moment, then stood up and made her way down the steps.