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  There were plenty of upsides of being on this haphazardly made Barge instead of the ship we were used to.

  The main one was that there was no lack of space. Whereas before, two people were forced to share a room, the concept of walls had just been done away with in the name of efficiency and speed. So everything was an open-floor plan. However, no walls also meant no personal space and no real privacy. Thank the Dwarven god, the Smith and Forge, that he decreed that bathrooms should have walls no matter what the cost.

  This meant that there was plenty of time to mingle with the other parties. Plenty of time to eavesdrop and scant few moments to have with someone you really wanted to talk in private with.

  I can’t speak to the other parties. But my party liked to have regular meetings and discuss things. Of course, the final decision always fell to me; but I still had them voice their opinions.

  Currently we were in the ‘below’ parts of the deck; where the Dwarves had set up a makeshift workshop. It wasn’t a forge. There was no smithy bellowing fire –that’d be a death sentence out here in the open water. Instead, the clanging of metal, grindstones sharpening blades and the loud yells and terse replies of dwarves filled the silence. Smiths sweated, adventurers haggled and sailors swore.

  Instead of walls, we used this noise as a makeshift method of gaining what little privacy we could.

  Aurora and Stole waved as I walked over.

  “Mister! How’d the meeting go?”

  “Ms. Stole, perhaps it’d be best to give him a moment to gather himself.”

  I sat down between them as Kyrian gave me a short nod. “Lock, how are you?”

  Grunting something that was supposed to mean somewhere between ‘OK’ and ‘Not Good’, I looked around the workshop area. It was huge, easily enough to fit a small marketplace of a village or town. “Where’s Skaris?”

  Aurora frowned. “I informed Mr. Skaris of our meeting here. He’s not here yet.”

  “He must be at the sparring circle then.” Kyrian sighed, “Let me go grab him.”

  The Sparring Circle.

  With the auxiliary forces and main adventuring party traveling all in one ship, there was bound to be tension. Us adventurers, especially since we were all recruited around Miltus –one of the larger cities in the Free States of Jayu– everyone kind of knew each other. So now was a good time for old grudges and misgivings to surface, snaking its way in the expedition party like a disease. In the first week, more than a dozen fistfights broke out between the adventurers.

  Normally, it shouldn’t be a big deal. These sailors got into fights all the time. But when adventurers got into fights, it became a big deal. A lot of them had Cores which were powerful and short fuses. Many times they had enough of a temper to realize that first blood wasn’t always the end, and weapons had been drawn.

  Those times, Borealis had put a stop to it immediately. The circle of advisors that Zenom gathered, where I just came back from, had been keeping the peace and to come up with an idea. Idea to keep the adventurers from breaking the barge to pieces, because dwarven craftsmanship or not; any of the upper-grade adventurers could easily do irreversible damage.

  So Delas gave an idea: the Sparring Circle.

  Everyone loved the idea.

  The Dwarves got to work immediately, somehow finding sand (I had no idea where they got it from) and creating a makeshift arena, large enough to contain a house or two. I call it arena but really, it was just large hole filled with enough sand to pat it down flat. I’d been against it; it was unnecessary weight and would only slow us down. But I’d been outvoted.

  So for the last three weeks, it became a custom to issue challenges –no real distinction between the adventurers were made here; whether you were a party leader, auxiliary force, mage or even one of the clergy, you could participate.

  I’d gotten over a dozen challenges in the last week alone.

  Delas, Borealis, Astelion, L’teya, Maria Akka Xalud, Dorocian just to name a few.

  Of course, I turned all of them down.

  “Don’t bother.” I said to Kyrian, “I’ll find him at the Circle and fill him in later.”

  “Oooh! Are you finally going to the sparring circle, Mister?” Stole’s eyes sparkled.

  I sighed, “No.”

  Stole had been an avid advocate of my participation in the Sparring Circle. I think she was jealous of the other parties, where their party leaders went and participated. Stole kind of reminded me of a daughter or a little sister if I ever had any –wanting her dad or older brother to get out there and show everyone what he’s got.

  But I had my own reasons for not participating in the Circle.

  For others, it might be fun and games. But for me, I didn’t want to give away what little advantage I had. Namely, what other secrets I might be holding up my sleeve. Even if I didn’t actively use my abilities, someone could deduce something –my footwork, my swordsmanship, how I react to certain situations.

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  No. What fun was there in temporary victory where I had nothing to gain and everything to lose?

  When I fought, I fought for keeps. None of this sparring nonsense where I wasn’t allowed to use my hard-earned Cores and Aura.

  Besides, I had a good idea of my own standing in the Circle Rankings.

  Why? How?

  Well, Skaris was among the strongest fighters there.

  Technically, he fought over #1 with Dawn and Maria Akka Xalud a lot. Still, from what I could see, Skaris was just… better. His physique was just too domineering –only Astelion from the Giantler Clan were taller than Skaris. He had better reach, better battle sense and more power and speed. Of course, this was sparring; so no Auras or Core abilities were allowed. I doubted that even with those handicaps, the other adventurers were going all out.

  If it was a fight to the death and everyone could bring all their Core abilities to bear, no one could predict what would happen.

  Still, it was nice to see Skaris up there in the upper rankings, duking it out with Scions.

  “Oh. Well, will you watch later?” Stole deflated then changed tactics, “I heard Borealis and Zenom are going to spar today!”

  Now that got my attention. “They didn’t mention anything about that during the meeting.” I muttered. It made sense, knowing their personalities. They wouldn’t mention anything that didn’t pertain to the actual expedition during that discussion.

  I shook my head, freeing myself from distractions. “Enough. Here’s what was discussed during the meeting.” Then I shared with them everything.

  “Zenom provided an escape route…” Kyrian reiterated. “That’s smart.”

  I turned to him. “How so?”

  Kyrian shrugged. “Look at the state of this expedition. We aren’t even halfway there yet and we’ve already lost our ships. We are at the mercy of Dwarven… Barges… for our lives.” He shrugged. “Us adventurers are a suspicious and superstitious sort. It bodes ill tidings. Then there’s the fact that we might have to continue without the auxiliary forces…”

  “Are they that big a deal?” Stole asked.

  “Food. Logistics. Rescue. Transport. Protection during camping time. Communication.” Aurora explained kindly to the less experienced Stole. “An expedition of this scale requires the combined effort of dozens, if not hundreds of adventurers. Not having auxiliary forces for support drastically cuts down on the window of opportunity that a large force can stay at a dungeon.”

  Stole frowned in response. “But then… why is it smart to go without them?”

  “I don’t think he means it.” Kyrian followed up, “I think it’s a test.”

  “A test to see who’s after the Key.” Aurora cut to the core of the matter.

  I nodded. As always, Kyrian and Aurora had an insider perspective to all the moves that Zenom was making. “Those who stay on the expedition despite all the disadvantages want something else.” I asked my own question, “What rules out simple greed?”

  “I predict that Zenom will go and have little sit downs with the party leaders soon enough. Just him and the leader.” Kyrian answered, “So he can gauge what they really want. The Akka Xaluds used to employ same tactics to try and sniff out spies.”

  “The Vetillians employ a similar method.” Aurora confirmed.

  “The Turina Special.” Stole chimed in dryly.

  I sighed. “Test or not, we need to make a decision.”

  “How so?” Aurora asked.

  “It drastically changes how we’ll spend our money.” I said.

  We had a hefty sum saved up. From my stint in the Scavenger’s Hideout, plus the hunt I had while testing the Crow Totem… we could afford a lot of new things. We had close to a million gold.

  That’s either a Grade-3 Core or above; or even a Legendary Item. A weapon, not armor or shield. A Legendary-class weapon.

  I licked my lips. “At the Free Trader’s League, we’re going to get in touch with Zenom’s contact. We have to get an invite to the Closed Curtain Auction.”

  “There’s such a thing?” Kyrian asked. Even Aurora looked confused.

  “Yes. There has to be. I’m sure of it.” I made it sound like it was guesswork, but I knew it existed.

  Why? Because I’d been there countless times when I was playing the MSS game.

  Back in the game version, the Jayu States hadn’t been as developed. They didn't even call it that, if my hunch was right about the roots of the Jayu States. But every single time I visited a city that was centered around merchants, there had always been –without exception– a Black Market or Closed Curtain event. Always. This time would be no exception.

  “What if we decide not to continue with the quest?” Aurora said softly.

  I’m not sure why but something in her tone sent alarm bells ringing in my head. “We still have to enter it. The only fact that changes is that we might not spend as much.”

  “Mister! Does that mean I’m going to get a-” Stole started.

  I quieted her down. “Yes.”

  Stole leaped up. “YES! HA!”

  “Stole, settle down.” I said.

  From our previous discussions, the number one priority for the auction was clear: a new Core for Stole. I wished I could see character sheets, just to take a look at Stole’s stats. From how useful she was in our party, despite being behind on levels and total Core count, it had to be extremely high in a lot of different areas related to scouting.

  From the corner of my vision, Aurora fidgeted.

  Just for a moment. Barely perceptible.

  The Aurora? Aurora Candrian Vetilian? Fidgeting? The one was the noblest and highest ladiest and fairest of them all? Who never flinched in the face of danger? Fidgeting?

  No, it was probably just my imagination.

  Dismissing it, I returned my attention to the meeting. “We don’t have to decide on whether to continue the expedition right now. But for now, I’m leaning towards yes. Still, I want to hear what everyone has to say.”

  “We should definitely-” Stole began.

  I stopped her with a hand. “I want everyone to think about it before making a decision. Again, as always, the final decision lies with me; but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to take everyone’s wishes into account. Our party exists for everyone. So if enough people want to back out of the mission…” I trailed.

  “But Lock,” Kyrian said softly, worried, “You can’t.”

  Of course. He was talking about what everyone else knew but didn’t voice.

  My deal with Oung.

  Before I started this voyage, Oung gave me a quest: One to save Arrosh. The other, relayed through Clover, was to find the Autarch’s Key from Claw’s Nest –luckily the expedition for which was organized by the church. It sounded easy in theory, but there were a lot of different people aiming for the Autarch’s Key here.

  The Church, whose efforts were spearheaded by the immovable Holy Knight, Zenom Saintred. The mysterious Player’s Guild, whose presence I had still yet to nail down as of yet. Then Arione and Clover, who might be working under the guise of working for Oung but who knew what went on in their heads.

  I sighed. “I’ll figure something out. You guys don’t need to worry about me.”

  Because if worst came to worst, I’d head to Claw’s Nest alone with the Church.

  The three of them shared a look and nodded to each other. For what, I had no idea.

  I stood up, “Alright. That’s all.”

  “Sis Aurora, where are you thinking of going?” Stole clung to the older adventurer.

  “I will be checking out Zenom and Borealis’ spar.” Aurora answered. “Mr. Kyrian?”

  “I’ll accompany you all.” Kyrian answered. “Lock?”

  “I’ll be there in a second.” I answered and watched the three of them walk off.

  Before I could go off and enjoy the Knight-Captain and Holy Knight fight over nothing but pride, there was one thing I wanted to do.

  I had to go talk to Clover.

  And I dreaded every moment of it.