Astra breathed in, breathed out.

Usually, NPCs didn’t give Players much notice; their AI didn’t allow them to talk to Players. The crowd noise was another language. Even though Porters could understand commands, they only had a few phrases they could reply with. Astra’s experience with Xander had been that he was helpful, such as picking up things she’d not asked him to or lending a hand in towns when fights with monsters took too long and other NPCs got hurt. She’d seen him give out meals to other NPCs. She frequently did this because they acted so startled and grateful.

She turned a full circle, looking around carefully, searching for the telltale green text of a Player’s name and title.

A seagull honked overhead.

Pulling out her Menu, she opened Settings and Options. Where the heck were her HUD settings? Where were her Game settings? Where was Log Out?

Her tail thrashed in agitation, something it had never done in the past. Still, people were staring at her. She’d only ever had a vague awareness of having a tail while playing Ashguard, but now it really felt like it was part of her and had a mind of its own.

The wind whistled against the hairs in her ears. The sound of armored boots was unbearably loud. Five pairs, she could tell, moving in unison towards her. The crowd parted, allowing the troop of five city guards through, their spears leveled at Astra. The sun had fully set by now, leaving the plaza lit only by enchanted lanterns.

Clutching her useless Menu to her chest, Astra shrank back. She’d never seen the Aesir City Guard pull weapons on a Player before. Usually, they just walked in set paths around the city, patrolling, dealing with incidents between NPCs. Their low levels made them less than annoyances to a Player, which meant that bad apples frequently took advantage of the fact that they were practically gods among ants. Other Players had created guilds to police such activities since the NPCs didn’t respawn.

Now that she was facing those spear tips, the thought of fleeing crossed her mind. But Astra knew it was useless. She had the Death Penalty, meaning she couldn’t use Skills or Teleport. She was utterly helpless until it was removed or wore off in a few hours. Dying again with the Death Penalty still active would mean a hit to her stats, which were difficult to raise.

“I-is there s-something wrong...? Officers?” Astra tried saying. She targeted the guy in the front to see that he had a name, a male, tabby-colored Felis with mostly cat features.

The squad captain cleared his throat. “Did you just come from that Soul Stone?” he asked.

Astra looked up at the Soul Stone, then back at him. “Yes? I spawned here,” she said. “I died in the Southlands.” This was the weirdest conversation.

A collective gasp and rustle went through the crowd. They backed away further. A baby started crying. The Lycanth with her cub hurried off, retreating as if she thought she was in mortal danger.

“You—come with us,” the squad captain said. He looked very uncomfortable saying that, but given everyone else’s actions up until this point, he showed immense bravery in creeping toward her. “Put your hands up.”

Astra closed her Menu, shoving it into her pocket, and put her hands up. Complying in the situation seemed like the best option.

The Felis guard grabbed one of her hands, bringing it down behind her, then the other, cuffing them together. “Please don’t do anything,” he said and nudged her forward. The crowd had started whispering. Her ears turned, catching snippets of conversation.

“Mommy, what’s going on?” a child asked.

“What kind of person just appears out of a Soul Stone?” an old man asked.

The crowd had come to life. Was this a massive update? The situation felt uncomfortably real. Astra was not enjoying this. “Where are we going? Why am I getting arrested?” Astra asked. “I don’t understand why or what’s going on?”

“I don’t either,” he admitted. “The Holy Mouth and king will figure it out,” he said.

“Oh... okay,” Astra said in a small voice. This had to be some kind of instance; a cut scene only she could see. That’s what it was. An RP event she’d accidentally triggered! Her shoulders relaxed with relief that she’d finally figured it out, and she walked calmly with the guards. This must be a massive update where they finally put a story into the game—what a strange way to start a plotline, though. The NPCs were acting as if they’d never seen someone respawn from the Soul Stone before. If they were going with the angle that Players were new, four years into the game’s release was a bit late...

The city looked different. It looked older. She didn’t recall so much greenery on the buildings last time she was in Aesir.

Her guards looked more nervous the more relaxed she got. Maybe they had some dialog?

“I’m Astra,” she said.

The Felis man looked back at her, his whiskers twitching. It looked like he wasn’t going to answer. She couldn’t see his ears because of his helmet, but his tail was puffy and flicking nervously. “Squad Captain Tensin,” he said finally.

Astra nodded. “Nice to meet you.” She focused on the other four men: another mostly Human Felis, a Human man, and two Lycanth. Targeting each in turn, she found that they all had names too. Surely this wasn’t a squad of Named NPCs? They had arrived at the foot of the stairs leading up to the nobility district.

Squad Captain Tensin pointed at one of his men. “Private Lloyd, alert the captain that we’ve taken her to the holding cells.”

The human soldier saluted, running off at great speed.

Astra’s tail flicked slightly. She would have preferred to go to the church where she could get the Death Penalty lifted, but this was a cut scene, and she couldn’t exit out of it. She focused on the guard that stood next to the tower door at the base of the stairs, marking the wall between the nobility district and the merchant’s area.

[Lieutenant Emmerson]

He had a name too?

Though time passed differently between the game world and the real world, she’d spent several hours in the Southland just gathering. It was probably time for her to get to bed. She had an opening shift at the QuickQ, and as much as she hated the place, it—barely—paid her bills.

Tensin stepped behind her and nudged her. Glancing up and around the dimly lit guardroom, she found stone walls, a worn-down wooden floor, and a table and chairs set to the side as a break area for guards. Stairs led downward across the room, where Tensin took her.

Carefully moving down the wooden stairs, Astra folded her ears back again when a spiderweb hit her across the eyes. Shaking her head, she wrinkled her nose, trying to get the sticky feeling off, and finally resorted to rubbing her face with her shoulder as best she could. At the bottom of the stairs, they turned right. Tensin pushed her forward.

Astra caught her balance a few steps in, tripping on the worn cobblestones. She turned around just as he locked the metal bars closed.

“Will you uncuff me?” she asked.

Tensin’s tail flicked in agitation. “No.”

“I can’t do anything,” Astra pointed out.

He walked away.

Ears folded down again, Astra sighed. How long was this going to take? Her eyes roamed the tiny cell. A bench across the back wall provided a seat but little else in the way of accommodations.

She sat down.

* * *

Xander stood before the king in his study. He knew he’d passed Astra Diane on his way to the palace. She’d been taken to the holding cells at the edge of the markets, which confused him. Why had she been arrested?

“I’ll cut straight to business,” King James said. “We need your help.”

“I told your son no,” Xander interrupted. “But I suspect you didn’t give him time to report my answer.”

King James sighed. “I didn’t send him.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Xander said flatly, clasping his hands behind him. “Have you considered that perhaps war with Vanaheim is not a good idea?”

“I’m getting pressured by the Merchants’ Guild. These tariffs are going too far.”

“Then find some political way to negotiate with Johnas,” Xander suggested.

“I’ve tried!” James said, slamming his fist on the table as he stood. “He’s only allowed one emissary to return with his head still attached. He’s demanding that Aesir become a vassal state.”

Xander shook his head. “War is not going to fix the problem.”

“Then what would you have me do? Kill Johnas? How? We don’t compare to a Cursed One’s power, and you, the only one openly in Aesir, are refusing to get involved.”

Xander remained unmoved. He couldn’t care less. His mind was on Astra Diane. Her Death Penalty would wear off soon. What kind of trouble would she cause? He’d never heard of an Immortal being locked in a cell before. Would she be offended? He didn’t think she would put up with it for long, even if she’d never intentionally destroyed things the way other Immortals had.

James stared at Xander helplessly.

“I’ve been informed that a woman appeared at the Soul Stone Plaza,” James said.

“An Immortal,” Xander said.

“You knew?”

“I was aware the moment she revived there,” Xander said.

James rubbed his forehead, pulling the crown off his forehead to set it on his desk. It had left a ring indention, which combined with his balding was not a flattering look.

“I’d suggest not keeping her locked up for much longer. Immortals are frequently unpredictable and can be violent. Their power exceeds Cursed Ones because killing them is only an inconvenience,” Xander said.

“Would she be willing to help—?”

“I can’t answer for her,” Xander said, already deciding that he would try to keep Astra Diane away from the politics. “But involving her in any battles within city limits would result in many casualties.”

She was Healer Class, but her Raise Undead was an army in and of itself last he remembered. She won fights with monsters by whittling them down and continuously Curing herself. Unfortunately, that led to a lot of collateral damage. She did at least try to lure monsters out of populated areas whenever she fought them, but still... She just wasn’t very good at it, and Xander usually took on the task of making sure any innocent people were out of the way and healed while she played bait. The idea of her fighting Johnas was... not pleasant. He’d destroy the entire city of Vanaheim before he died.

Xander glanced up and left as a flash of light let him know that her Death Penalty had just worn off. He needed out of this damn office.

“Your time is running out to decide the Immortal’s fate,” Xander said. “She may decide to break herself out at any moment.”

James pushed his hands across his balding head. “Fine. Go deal with her.”

Xander bowed out of politeness and turned, leaving the room.