Wyn groans. “A deal? Right. Because the last deal I made with you worked out just peachy.”

  Blintsy rises to his feet. “Oh, how sorry I am to disappoint you, Wyn. But I did exactly what we agreed to. I reunited you with your friends and got you out of the city, or should I say ruins, of Lethisburg unharmed.”

  Neil folds his arms. “Unharmed? Lothran died. I’d call that pretty damn harmed.”

  Blintsy sighs, clicking his tongue at Neil. “You keep repeating yourself. I grow bored of speaking of that man. Are you interested in our deal or not?”

  “What sort of deal?”

  Blintsy’s eyes twinkle, amused. “The sort where you get that which you so desperately need, and stop flailing in the dark like a blinded bat. And in return, I only ask that you acquire something of importance for me.”

  Mirana groans. “Gods you sound ridiculous. Do you even hear how ridiculous you sound?”

  “Of course,” Blintsy says. “It’s a personal hobby of mine.”

  Wyn takes a step closer, stopping just short of him. She keeps herself between Blintsy and the others without quite meaning to. “Say the terms. No riddles. Just tell us what you want.”

  His smile widens. “Terms. Of course. You bring me what I want. In exchange, I provide information.”

  “Information about the Watcher?”

  “About many things, the Watchers included. Enough to prove to that Virtus character that your claims of danger are true. The sort of information you will claim you always wanted once you have it.”

  “And what exactly do you want?”

  Blintsy claps his hands once, quiet and pleased. “An artifact.”

  Neil scowls. “Not a chance. Knowing you, it’s in some ancient, deadly ruin. Information isn’t worth dying over.”

  Blintsy rolls his eyes. “It’s not far. It’s actually wonderfully convenient. Right on your route.”

  “I said no.”

  “You act as if you have better options,” says Blintsy.

  Wyn’s teeth grind. Neil is right. Blintsy is a snake, never quite lying but constantly speaking in half-truths and lackluster promises. They have no reason to believe that any information he provides will be worthwhile, but given their lack of options, Wyn doesn’t see any other way forward.

  “What’s the artifact?”

  Blintsy’s expression brightens. “Much better.”

  He produces an object from nowhere: a floating shape that hovers above his palm. It appears to be a large, onyx crystal inlaid with unfamiliar golden runes. But the edges of the image appear fuzzy, like some sort of placeholder texture.

  Wyn’s instincts activate Insight before she can stop herself.

  A panel opens in her vision, blank at first, then a line of system text tries to populate and fails, collapsing into broken symbols. The pane wipes itself and attempts to form words again, only to fall apart once more. The third attempt doesn’t even form words, just a flicker of nonsense that settles into familiar error text.

  Item: ERROR. Rarity: ERROR

  Description: ERROR - Data Not Found.

  Wyn drops the skill, and the panel vanishes. Mirana and Neil recoil beside her, their insight abilities producing the same result.

  Blintsy watches their reactions with open enjoyment. “It’s quite a tricky thing, isn’t it?”

  Neil’s voice is tight. “That can’t be good.”

  “No,” Blintsy agrees. “That is why I want it.”

  Wyn, unlike her companions, remains calm despite the error. She’s seen her fair share of them in Eden, from abilities to classes, to the class token she found during her first steps in Eden.

  “What does it do?”

  Blintsy’s smile turns sweet in a way that makes her want to throw something. “Oh, I wish I could tell you, but that would be foolish. You can’t control it anyway. And even if you could, you’d break it and blame me for all your problems.”

  Mirana mutters, “So we’re just collecting cursed junk now.”

  “It isn’t cursed,” Blintsy says, turning his head toward her. “It’s simply… uncooperative. Much like some people.”

  Neil steps forward. “If you can’t tell us what it does, then tell us the risks. What happens if she interacts with it? Where specifically is it?”

  Blintsy’s gaze slides to him. “Helmet man, if you just listen instead of interrupting, you’ll learn what you need to know.”

  Blintsy’s attention returns to Wyn. “The location is simple. You are going to Edelvahn, yes?”

  Wyn nods.

  “Wonderful. Then this is on the way. A small deviation. Hardly worth mentioning. It is near a broken cairn off the old merchant road. On top of a nearby hill, you’ll find a stone well that shouldn’t be there. You will see it, but others won’t. It likes to hide from the less informed.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Mirana snorts. “How are you both so specific yet not helpful at all?”

  Wyn holds his gaze. “If it’s on the way, why can’t you fetch it?”

  “Oh, I am far too busy. Someone has to keep the Watchers off your tail, hmm? And besides, an artifact such as this can be dangerous to those lacking the right set of talents.”

  Wyn exhales through her nose. “Let me guess. I happen to have the right set of talents? Why not get some other spellweaver to do this?”

  Blintsy’s grin returns, bright and unyielding. “Because the rules require it.”

  “What rules?”

  He lifts a finger. “Rule one. Only you, Wyn, can retrieve it.”

  Neil’s head turns toward Wyn. “You can’t be seriously considering this.”

  Blintsy continues, ignoring him. “Rule two. No one touches it.”

  Wyn blinks. “Including me?”

  “Especially you,” Blintsy says. “You do not make contact. You do not attune to it. Never under any circumstances should you feed it essentia. You do not prod it like a child poking a dead frog with a stick.”

  Mirana’s eyebrows rise. “Charming image.”

  “I’m an artist,” Blintsy says.

  Wyn’s throat tightens. “Then how do I retrieve it?”

  Blintsy’s hand dips into nothing. Two objects appear with a soft chime, landing in Wyn’s inventory before she can refuse them. Her interface flashes a brief notification.

  A pair of spell tomes.

  Wyn pulls them up, materializing them in her hands. Their covers are plain, with no ornate script to speak of. The kind of thing a beginner might purchase in a starter town if they were playing any other VR game.

  Item: Telekinetic Spell Tome - Common

  Description: A Spell Tome allowing the reader to potentially learn the Basic Telekinesis Spell.

  Item: Containment Spell Tome - Common

  Description: A Spell Tome allowing the reader to potentially learn the Containment Spell.

  She frowns. “Spell tomes.”

  “Yes,” Blintsy says, as if explaining a spoon. “You’re going to learn two spells.”

  Wyn flips one open. The pages are filled with system-formatted instructions, diagrams, and casting posture notes. It isn’t spellweaving, as it doesn’t focus on using her instinct and will to cast and combine spells. Instead, it functions as a recipe, instructing the reader through steps to cast the spell.

  Thumbing through the pages, Wyn finds that they’re very simple spells. Far simpler than the spells she’s been able to craft herself.

  “These are basic spells. How could these help?”

  “Individually, they are quite simple,” Blintsy says, pleased. “That is the easy part.”

  Blintsy leans forward a fraction, as if sharing a secret. “Containment isolates, and telekinesis moves. Your job is to weave them together in the moment of casting so the artifact is never touched by flesh; never allowed to… converse with the world.”

  Wyn’s fingers tighten on the tomes. “You need me to craft a specific weave?”

  Mirana crosses her arms. “What do we do? Just sit here and watch Wyn play wizard?”

  “You,” Blintsy says, gesturing vaguely at Mirana and Neil, “keep your hands to yourselves and your opinions to a minimum. Truly, it should be easy.”

  “If she fails, what happens?” Neil asks.

  “Then she will learn something important.”

  Wyn groans. “Stop saying that.”

  He straightens. “Fine. If she fails, the artifact will be uncontained. If it is uncontained, it will create… ripples. That will be bad. In ways I will not specify.”

  A thought occurs to Wyn, so she changes the subject. “Let me guess. This deal has nothing to do with the favor I supposedly owe you.”

  Blintsy’s eyes gleam. “Correct.”

  “So I do this,” Wyn says, “and I still owe you.”

  “Yes.”

  She laughs once, humorlessly. “You are unbelievable.”

  Blintsy shrugs his shoulders. “Some would argue the same of you, Wyn.”

  Neil watches Wyn, waiting for her to refuse. He wants her to refuse. Wyn can feel it. She can also feel the weight of what they don’t know. They need Virtus to help them if they have any chance of standing up to the Watchers. Making another deal with Blintsy is foolish, even dangerous.

  But there is no other option. If they’re going to convince Virtus to help them, they need the information only Blintsy can provide.

  “Fine,” she says. A soft chime echoes in the ears of Wyn and her allies; a new quest they all now must take part in.

  Quest: Secured Anomaly

  Description: Blintsy offers information in exchange for the retrieval of an anomalous artifact. The item cannot be identified by Insight and is described only as “uncooperative.” You are to secure it without direct contact and deliver it to the entity known as Blintsy. This artifact is near a hidden well atop a hill beside a broken cairn along the merchant road, which is only visible to a select few.

  Objectives:

  Discover a means of safely transporting the artifact — 0/1

  Reach the location of the artifact — 0/1

  Retrieve the artifact from its current location — 0/1

  Bring the artifact to the entity known as Blintsy — 0/1

  Special Rules:

  Only the player “Elowyn Abulata” may interact with the artifact.

  Do not touch, attune to, or channel essentia into the artifact under any circumstances.

  The artifact must remain contained at all times during retrieval.

  Failure Condition:

  If the artifact becomes uncontained, it may create “ripples.” Further details are not provided.

  Reward:

  Blintsy’s information, including details relevant to the Watcher and evidence intended to convince Virtus of the threat.

  Neil’s head snaps toward her. “Wyn.”

  Wyn doesn’t look away from Blintsy. “We need what he knows.”

  “We don’t need this,” Neil insists, gesturing vaguely at Blintsy.

  Mirana’s voice is dry. “We already agreed. We all got a quest for it.”

  Neil’s jaw clenches, but he doesn’t argue. Already, the gears in his mind turn, planning their next move.

  Wyn lifts the tomes slightly. “We’ll do it, but you will give us what you promised. No games. None of your fancy tricks.”

  “Oh, there will always be games. But I will be fair.”

  Wyn’s eyes narrow. “Your definition of fairness is far different from ours.”

  “My definition is consistent,” Blintsy says. “Unlike certain artifacts.”

  Wyn holds his gaze, trying to find the line where he’s lying. But in all his smiles and half-truths, Blintsy has never lied.

  “Where do we deliver it?” Wyn asks.

  “You’ll find me when the job is done.”

  Mirana groans, and Wyn can almost hear Neil’s teeth grinding against one another. Blintsy laughs, delighted, and steps backward into nothing. The air hesitates around him for a moment before it gives way, leaving the space in front of them empty, with no sign of the well-dressed trickster.

  He is gone.

  Neil exhales, slow and controlled. “Shit. We need a plan.”

  Mirana scoffs. “We need to sleep. Camp first, then we talk.”