A ping sounded from Reef’s goggles and he glanced down at the lenses to find that Aedric had messaged him. The intrusion brought his simmering anger to a boil.
“This is a list of Alt items I’m keeping an eye out for,” Aedric said. “I’ve got some clients on the isle who’ll pay big for these, so put yourself to good use.”
Reef gritted his teeth. But there was no way he was going to fight a guy with a stronger vorpal. And he couldn’t in front of the girl anyway. She was still staring at Olly’s goggles. She held a round sucker up over each of her eyes and peered out at him.
“You’re at level three hundred?” Aedric asked Reef.
“Three oh one,” Olly said for him. “How about you?”
Aedric shrugged, dismissing the challenge in Olly’s tone. “I don’t have much time for games.”
Reef didn’t believe him. The goggles sticking out of Aedric’s jacket pocket weren’t the slim design most people chose. They were big, powerful. Built for gaming.
Aedric followed his gaze and shoved the goggles deeper into his pocket. “I help my clients level their characters sometimes.”
“You ever figure out the Fated Blade quest?” Olly asked.
Reef shot him a look that said Are you serious? But then he noticed that Aedric’s alien friend had perked up and was waiting for Olly to say more.
“Can’t say I’ve run into that one,” Aedric answered.
“Ask him,” Reef said, nodding at the alien.
Aedric studied Reef for a moment. Then he turned to the alien and said something in his language. The alien didn’t reply. Just moved his gaze from Olly to Reef.
Aedric shrugged. “I guess that’s your answer.” He flicked Reef’s goggles. “Keep in touch.” He walked away. The maze of containers swallowed him up, the alien following, the little girl last of all, waving one blue glove at Reef like an old-world royal waving a hankie.
A burst of curiosity hit Reef, something to do with the Fated Blade and Aedric’s alien friend. But Reef couldn’t tell if it was his own feeling or someone else’s, pressed upon him by a vorpal.
Reaching level 301 gave Reef access to places he’d only read about in forums. The holographic caverns in Pike Place Market, where he fought off crystal-fanged Dark Elves while maneuvering around the crowded stalls. An enchanted glade inside the public records hall, where he safely sealed up his stock of blood rubies to be harvested later for a potion. Even the sage’s warren in the old monorail, where he looked out and took furious notes on the marked locations of rare items hidden all over the city.
He sold weapons and spells and information. He sent Cadence her twenty percent.
She had only minutes at a time to give to him—while she ran out for an order of fish and chips, or collected some package or other from Aedric’s contacts. Once they met at the harbor, where Reef had to keep scowling patrol men at bay by flashing the bracelet that said he had a right to be with the girl next to him. And then Cadence had to return home anyway, and Reef was left alone to gaze out at the sleek residences on the Floating Isle, yet another world he’d never be given entry to.
One morning, Reef thought she’d finally come to his container, but it was only Olly.
“Want to run an instance on the waterfront carousel?” Olly asked, tossing an apple to Reef after he opened the door. “Should be able to pick up a Dogsbreath Spell.”
Reef pocketed the apple and jammed his feet into a pair of grubby sneakers. “I’ve got to finish a quest that expires in a few hours. It’s all the way uptown.”
“Yeah, I figured you’d be too busy picking up higher level loot.”
Guilt gnawed at Reef. He hadn’t gone questing with Olly since he’d hit level 301. He took a couple of food tickets from under the mattress and held them out to Olly.
Olly let out a snort. “Keep it. You don’t need to pay me off.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Where’s all your money going?” Olly grimaced at Reef’s disintegrating shoes. “You giving it all to that girl?”
“Not all of it,” Reef mumbled, pulling on his jacket. “Twenty percent. Sometimes extra if she needs—”
Something fell from his pocket and hit the floor with a thud.
Olly stared for a moment at the gray brick of resin while blood pounded in Reef’s ears. “I guess it’d be a waste to get past level three hundred and not get high while you play,” Olly said darkly.
Reef’s face burned. “I didn’t mean to—I suddenly had all this money—” He snatched up the brick from the floor and jammed it into his pocket. “I’m an idiot.”
“Don’t expect me to argue.”
Reef squeezed his eyes shut. It had been stupid to buy so much. But he’d had the money in his account, and then suddenly he was buying enough resin to feel what he had once felt, to escape into Alt with his senses turned up high.