Exiting the club room and bar, I followed Jamie’s directions. Ducking underneath a curtain which chimed with delicate, high-pitched noises, I found myself in a bustling marketplace that stank of oil, herbs, and other weird fragrances.

  It felt like an indoor bazar in a Star Wars esq world. Odd creatures hung around stalls peddling carpets and armour and weapons. A strange thing that looked oddly like a meatball with googly eyes watched me from a balcony above. There were guards up there too, lots of them. Dressed in the same embroidered suits I’d grown to detest.

  Following the natural path as I weaved in and out of the cluttered and heavily populated stalls, I came across something interesting. A man with horns and a top hat stood behind a simple table.

  He had red skin and looked a bit like the devil, or a Tiefling. His forked tail swished back and forth like a metronome as I approached.

  “Welcome,” he said in a voice like silk, “I have exactly what you need adventurer.”

  “And what exactly is it I need?” I asked, sceptically.

  “Oh so many things and alas I only have a single piece of the puzzle.” He held out his hand and a small potion vial appeared in it. The glass was twisted in an artful way, like entwined rope in a loose Celtic knot, and the shimmering golden liquid inside looked too bright to be real.

  “This, my good fellow,” he continued, “is an elixir of strength. One sip of this miracle potion and you’ll be as strong as a lycanid. Your muscles will swell and you’ll be able to complete magnificent feats.”

  “That sounds too good to be true,” I said, narrowing my eyes at the creature. I tried to focus on his elixir but no notification popped up. One did, however, come up for him.

  You have discovered a new race:

  Djinn

  You’ve probably heard of these mysterious, wish granting creatures before. I’d wager you’ve also heard of the misfortune they often inflict on those who make imprecise wishes. These guys are nothing like that. They’re charlatans, known for tricking gullible travellers into buying their fake wares at an extortionate price.

  However, every now and again they do have good items to sell. Legendary items to be precise. Don’t call them genies though, they hate that. In fact the only thing they hate more than the genie slur is that bitch Karen who keeps falling for their tricks and then demanding a refund and asking for the manager. These guys don’t even have managers.

  “So, what’s it gonna be?” The djinn said. “I can do you a deal, one sip for one thousand gold.”

  I was surprised to see that the system was actually being helpful for once. Though I had no intention of buying something which was so obviously a scam anyway. The djinn may as well have tole me he was an Arabian prince who needed me to send him money so he could get into the country, where he’d pay me back tenfold.

  “Get away from that genie, Kaleb.”

  Turning around I saw Rex approaching, a hard look in his eyes.

  “Who’re you calling a genie?” The djinn announced loudly. “I am a proper and well-respected business entrepreneur!”

  “You’re a swindler and a bad one at that,” Rex growled, pushing me aside and getting in the djinn’s face. “Now my friend and I have better places to be.”

  Grabbing me under the arm, he dragged me away. I was too shocked to reply. As we walked off I heard the djinn cursing under his breath and saying something about how Rex’s mum looked like she’d been fucked by a stray. He ignored it.

  “You know I wasn’t going to buy anything from him right?” I asked after we’d walked a short way back into the market.

  “You can never be too careful,” he replied in a low rasp. “Back when I was running with the pack one of the pups got caught in the djinn’s webs. Ended up working for him for a year, travelling through towns and selling knock off goods: fake nude Athena statues to be precise, apparently the real ones go for a lot of gold. The djinn got the devil’s cut of every sale and the poor guy ended up destitute and hated by his friends.”

  Did he just describe a pyramid scheme? Growing up a friend of mine tried that. She sold Avon, completely alienated herself from her friends and family. Poor girl.

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

  “That’s good to know,” I replied. “Is there anything worth buying in here?”

  “There are lots of things, but nothing we need right now.”

  “Alright, then let’s get out of here. We’re going to need to come back at some point anyway, Nyx has a vault full of skins locked up in the back rooms.”

  Rex raised an eyebrow. “We’ll need to be a lot stronger before risking something like that. Those guards might not be all that good but Nyx himself is a god. A minor god, but still. He’s more powerful than anything we’ve ever faced and we barely got out of that maze alive, let alone trying to take on this place.”

  “I was thinking of more of a heist than a full-frontal assault,” I said, “but I agree. We need to level up first. Now, let’s find Bell and get back to Regina so we can cash in this quest.”

  ***

  “You’re back,” Regina said, swirling in his chair and raising a single eyebrow at us.

  It had taken longer to find Bell than I’d expected and it was almost night when we finally arrived back in his penthouse suite in the clouds. She’d been drinking at a strip club inside the Morningstar called The Cheesy Dick, a classy name that aptly summed up most of the dancers. Poor Panda was covered in girlish lipstick and sporting an oddly greasy lay when we’d finally found them.

  “You sound surprised,” I said, removing Marquess Tabitha’s crushed head from my inventory and tossing it onto his desk.

  Regina didn’t even flinch. Instead, a dangerous smile curled on his lips. “Not at all, I can see that I hired the right people for the job. Though I’m a little disappointed in you Jack, you were supposed to stay by my side. They didn’t need your help, look at what a good job they did.”

  “I had my own business with the marquess,” he replied stoically.

  “Oh,” Regina raised an eyebrow. “And did you get what you wanted?”

  “No.”

  “Well that’s a shame, I suppose you’ll want in on the quest reward as well?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t do it for the reward.”

  I wasn’t quite sure what was going on. The two seemed to be talking in code and it bothered me. Though I perked up slightly at the mention of the reward.

  Regina clicked his fingers and the notification appeared in my HUD. I’d never seen anyone do that before.

  Quest Complete:

  The Hunter Games

  Rumour has it that a certain noble house has organised an illegal soiree for the elites of Castalor. The entertainment? Why, nothing short of the torture and execution of non-combatant peasants of course.

  Supposedly this annual tradition spans almost a century, but this year Emperor Regina put a stop to it.

  It seems that the ruling class plans to undermine his authority and hold this event in secret.

  Objectives:

  Put a stop to this farce 1/1

  Hidden Objective:

  Slay the mastermind 1/1

  Rewards:

  X1 God Slaying Arrow (legendary)

  I had to stop myself from gasping when I saw the reward. I’d never heard of something like that before, but it sounded powerful. I quickly found the item in my inventory and looked at the description.

  God Slaying Arrow

  Despite the name, this arrow probably won’t one shot a god. If they were that easy to kill they wouldn’t be gods now would they? That being said, it contains the power of a single strike from a diamond rank, former adventurer. This is like a Masterball in a Pokemon game. You only get one, so don’t use it on a non-legendary.

  Ignoring the game references, I was shocked to see what an awesome prize this was. It appeared that Regina had made it himself, even if the description didn’t outright say it. Panda had once told me that he was the only diamond ranker on the continent.

  I wondered about his past life. He didn’t seem the adventuring type but I supposed most people couldn’t achieve the level he had without being in that line of work.

  “Holy shit!” Bell exclaimed, “this reward is awesome. Thank you Mr Regina.”

  It was the sincerest I’d ever heard her be. I glanced over at her and she messaged the group.

  Bell: I got a scroll that unleashes a diamond rank fireball attack.

  Rex: As did I, a single potion that will give me diamond rank vitality for ten seconds.

  Kaleb: It seems we all received a unique legendary item from him.

  Bell: I bet Jack’s kicking himself right about now. He shouldn’t have turned down his own reward.

  Kaleb: I get the feeling he has his own agenda. Keep an eye on him.

  “Not at all,” Regina replied. “And please, call me Havier, Mr Regina is my father’s name.”

  “So, what now?” I asked. “You said something about knowing the time and place you’ll be attacked and need our help the last time we spoke. I still don’t get it, but I intend to fulfil the contract with Lucas before we move on.”

  “Indeed I did. In fact it is going to happen very soon indeed. Have you heard of Chrysus’ High Priest tournament?”

  Not this shit again, I thought, sighing aloud. “Unfortunately.”

  “Good, that will save me some time explaining it then. It’s due to start in a few days, they’re already setting up the arena on the other side of the city. Naturally, as the leader of the city I am expected to attend. It is there that the assassination attempt will take place. It is there that you will fulfil your contract.”

  Looks like Nyx’s plea didn’t matter in the end. I was always going to end up going thanks to this quest.

  Havier continued. “Leaders from all over the world will be attending alongside the pantheon themselves. It’s quite the event. We will attend together, all of us.” He looked at Jack who nodded solemnly. “Until then, do whatever you want. Just don’t leave the city.”

  “Alright,” I sighed. “For now then I guess we’ll head home and get some rest. It’s been a long day.” I turned to leave and as my hand touched the door handle Regina spoke once more.

  “Oh, Kaleb I almost forgot. My good for nothing son will be arriving tomorrow. He’s going to be in attendance as well, as the new king of Havar. I’m sure he’d love to see you.”