A/N: Please Enjoy and Review

Chapter 9 – Errands and Sidequests

"And why am I here again?" demanded the Blue Spirit as he sat uncomfortably on a luxurious red velvet sofa covered with padded heart designs.

"Patience," came a sultry voice from behind a thin changing wall decorated with patterns of four leaf clovers, cards, and dice.

The Blue Spirit shifted slightly in his seat. "Patience is a quality I have little need for. Vengeance is swift."

Lady Luck emerged from behind the changing wall wearing a dark purple evening gown that left very little to the imagination. "Like what you see?" she asked with a seductive wink.

Turning his head away, the Blue Spirit scoffed as he got up to leave. "Is this what you wanted from me? I may be bold, but I'm not stupid. I have no desire to give Death a reason to separate my head from my shoulders."

The entrance to the chamber was suddenly barred shut with heavy iron poles as the Blue Spirit reached for the handle. "You think that this will stop me?" Pulling out a set of Dao broadswords from the scabbard on his back, a whirlwind of slashes was unleashed on the barricade. Sheathing his weapons, the bars shattered as the Blue Spirit slammed the blades down. As he reached for the handle a second time, another set of heavy iron bars blocked his way once more. He growled lowly in irritation. Walking back to where Lady Luck sat on a lavish leather chair, the Blue Spirit slumped back down onto the sofa across from her.

"There are many who would kill for the opportunity to be in my chambers," smirked Lady Luck as she waved her hand over the coffee table between them. Multiple plates of elegant looking finger sandwiches, cakes, and treats appeared.

The Blue Spirit shrugged, "I've killed for less."

Lady Luck's smile wavered for a moment at that slight, but she let it go.

Placing his feet onto the table, shoving food out of the way as he did so, the Blue Spirit inquired, "So what is so important that the high and mighty Mistress of Fortune requests my cultured presence?"

Taking an untouched, finely cut sandwich from one of the platters still on the table, Lady Luck sat back in her chair. "I need a job done. One that I think you'll enjoy."

"I seriously doubt that," replied the Blue Spirit in a huff.

A small, neatly wrapped box appeared on the center of the coffee table. "I'm no one's errand boy!" he snarled as he drew his blades again and slammed them down on the package.

With a flash of light, his attack rebounded and left the gift box unharmed as the Blue Spirit was flipped over the plush red velvet sofa he had been sitting on. The large piece of furniture landed on top of him. With a growl of fury, he ripped apart the sofa.

"Now if you had been patient, that wouldn't have happened," teased Lady Luck with a melodious voice. "I need to be sure that this gift makes it to my little Zuko-wuko."

A kunai sank deeply down into the armrest of her dark leather chair. "No."

Unimpressed, Lady Luck pulled out the throwing knife and used it to cut off a piece of chocolate cake from the bounty of desserts in front of her. "Could you please stop ruining all my furnishings?"

"I'm not doing anything that could possibly help that troublesome brat!" retorted the Blue Spirit with finality.

"Oh I think you will," replied Lady Luck as she happily took a bite of her scrumptious pastry. "Otherwise, it might just get back to Lord Death that you were in my chambers taking advantage of little defenseless me."

"Deceitful witch," jeered the Blue Spirit as he picked up the tiny gift wrapped box. "What's inside it?"

A devious grin spread across Lady Luck's face; a smile that was all the more pronounced on her drop-dead gorgeous features. Softly she answered, "Temptation."


It had been one week since the clearing of the first floor. In that time, the news of the brave actions of the Illfang raid party had spread like wildfire. The raid members, holding true to gamer selfishness, downplayed the extent of Kirito's and Zuko's actions during the battle. There was no reason to give credit to two cheating beta testers anyways, they reasoned. Kibaou took it upon himself actually to belittle and discredit both elite players as often as he could when he answered questions from his recollections of the fight for eager listeners.

Still, despite how the battle went, the fact remained that the initial floor had been cleared and for the first time since the official launch of the game, the situation didn't seem quite so hopeless. Players flocked to the second floor main town of Urbus once the teleport gate had been unlocked by the members of the raid party. Shut-ins who had previously locked themselves away at the various inns and hotels within the Town of Beginnings began to venture out into the vast world of Aincrad.

Urbus was nowhere near as large as the Town of Beginnings; however, it was slightly bigger than the last village of the first floor, Tolbana Town. The city itself was excavated from a flat-topped mountain and rested within a crater. The city gates and walls were comprised of the earthen outer rim of the encircling ridgeline. Buildings within Urbus had been carved straight from the limestone of the mountain. A north-south running road cut right through the heart of the city, dividing the residential district from the market district.

And it was out of one of those shops that Kirito walked into the afternoon sun carrying a steamed potato. "Hot!" he exclaimed as he took a big bite without checking the temperature first. Almost dropping his meal, the black haired swordsman scrambled to catch the juggling spud. Swallowing a piece, he noted, "Delicious."

Out of the corner of his eye the flicker of an inconspicuous faded brown cloak caught his attention. Arching his head to the right, he spied a familiar looking olive haired girl running towards the entrance of town. Before he could call out to her, he detected that she was not alone. Two figures were running along the rooftops in an attempt to cut her off. "Are those two supposed to be ninjas?" he muttered. Both figures wore cloth wrapped completely around their heads so that only their eyes showed.

Kirito looked at the still steaming potato wrapped in paper that he was holding and then back at his fleeing friend. Sighing, he dropped his food and took off in pursuit. 'You owe me lunch after this,' he griped inwardly.

The main gate was only a couple of meters away when Argo sensed, rather than saw, one of her pursuers leaping to tackle her to the ground. With a slight of the wrist, she grabbed an NPC passerby and switched positions with the hapless traveler. Hearing the twisting of limbs and the shouts of outrage behind her, the olive haired information broker grinned. "Got to do better than that to catch me kid!" she shouted over her shoulder.

In her boasting, she almost didn't see the barrels of fruit tumbling out from their stall to block her path. With a jump and a twist, Argo used the falling containers to hop over the scattered produce and get on top of the market shops. "Nice try!" she mocked towards her second pursuer, who was still back on the ground level. With that, she leapt over the outer wall and left the city.

Before too long though, her pursuers were already back on her tail. "You guys just don't quit do you?" she grumbled as she ran down the mountainside.

"Not until you tell us the location of the extra skill!" demanded the taller of the two pursuers.

"Not a chance!" shot back Argo as she continued to flee.

"But we said that we would pay your ridiculously high fee!" countered the other pursuer.

"Your money's no good!" she retorted. 'I can't believe I just said that…' her inner voice complained.

Reaching the bottom of the mountain, Argo darted down the left path towards a series of outcropped rocks. Weaving in and out of the area, she eventually ended up staring down three separate large boulders barring her forward range of travel. "Really? How cliché is this?" she groaned as she heard her pursuers stop at the dead end's opening.

"You've got nowhere left to run," chuckled the tall pursuer.

"Tell us what we want to know, and we'll let you go," added the short pursuer.

"And there's the standard threats," replied Argo as she fitted her iron claws onto her arm. "Now all that's left is…"

"Hey! Leave her alone you chumps!" called out Kirito from atop one of the boulders that was blocking Argo's way.

"And there's my timely champion," smirked the olive haired information broker to herself.

The two pursuers hesitated. A single girl they could handle, but this interloper standing on top of the rocks looked formidable. However before either group could make a move, one of the large odd shaped boulders shifted. Reassembling itself, the stone shifted to take humanoid form. "Look out! That's a golem!" called out Kirito from his perch. Laying flat on his stomach, he reached down and offered Argo his hand.

Taking the lifeline, the olive haired information broker allowed herself to be pulled up to safety. "Hey! Not so fast!" shouted the taller of the two pursuers.

The fleshly constructed golem smashed his fist down on the ground to create a large crater with his brutal strength. "We'll be back to get you to talk!" exclaimed the shorter pursuer as the two ran away from the threat blocking their way.

"I hope you're not expecting a kiss as reward," joked Argo with a laugh as she addressed her rescuer.

"What are you talking about now?!" protested Kirito, suddenly flustered.

Argo grinned widely with a toothy smile. "So you where then!" she continued to tease. Placing a finger under her chin, she thought about it for a moment. "Five hundred Col."

"I'm not paying for a kiss!" countered Kirito. Then his face got really red. "I didn't even want one in the first place!"

Laughing aloud, Argo punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You're so easy to tease." The golem before them started to look around now that his initial quarry had fled. "Maybe we should finish this conversation elsewhere though. I rather not have to fight a golem right now."

A couple of minutes later, the two were walking down another mountain path. "So who were those two?" asked the black haired swordsman.

"A couple of wanna-be ninjas" replied Argo with a sigh. "They were from the beta test. Both were part of a guild that like to role play as those shadow warriors. People pretending to be something they're not are never any good."

"They seemed to know you," Kirito continued to press. "What did they want?"

The olive haired information broker grinned. "First one's free. Follow-up questions are a hundred Col each."

This time it was the black haired swordsman's turn to sigh. Digging out the money, he said, "Fine, I'll bite. What did they want?"

Pocketing the coin, Argo continued, "Somehow they found out about the extra skill on this floor and that I was the only one who knew its location."

The black haired swordsman raised an eyebrow in interest. "You don't say." He sent over another payment.

"It's called the Martial Arts Skill. It will increase your overall strength and hand-to-hand combat ability in the game as you level it up. However, it is a limited skill; only ten people are allowed to have the skill at any given time in game. Hence why I keep the location a secret. You know how selfish players are. If word got out about it, then it might cause people to start fighting amongst themselves with players PKing each other to open back up slots after the limit has been reached." Argo thought for a moment. "Though, since you are a friend, I could be tempted to take you there for the right price."

Kirito mentally debated the offer over for a moment. An extra skill that would boost his overall combat ability? It sounded really appealing. Nevertheless, this was Argo he was talking to. She may be his friend, but he was sure that she would still charge him an arm and a leg for the information. Could be worth it though. "Alright Argo, how much will this set me back?"

"Three thousand Col," came the simple answer.

Kirito raised another eyebrow. "Not trying to argue my luck, but that's pretty low, especially for you. What's the catch?"

Without replying, the olive haired information broker starting walking away with a smirk, knowing that the black haired swordsman would follow now that the hook had already been cast. Sure enough, with a groan Kirito jogged to catch up.


The front door bell chimed once as Zuko opened the door to the bakery. "Good afternoon Piri," he greeted the baker as he approached the counter. "Just the usual again today."

Pulling out two curry breads from the display shelf, Piri rang up the purchase. "Ever since I learned this recipe, it's all you seem to order."

Roma hopped up onto the counter and stared longingly at the new selections of bread. "At least this cutie pie loves to try new things," she smiled as she hugged the tiny kit warmly. Roma endured the embrace because she knew that a free food treat usually accompanied such displays from the passionate baker.

"You look hungry; here try this. It's a loaf of rice bread that I perfected the recipe for this morning." Nabbing the offered treat hungrily in her jaw, Roma quickly tore into her afternoon snack.

"Every time I stop by here, you spoil her," grumbled Zuko as he bit into his own curry bread.

"And yet you still show up every other day," smiled Piri as she placed Roma back onto the counter. "I really appreciate it too. Without your business, I probably would have had to shut this store down a long time ago."

Looking around, the fire prince noted, "This place is off the beaten path."

"I'm positioned completely out of the way from the main roads," complained Piri. "With no extra money to spend on advertising, I can't compete with the larger stores in the market district. And there's nothing else nearby to draw new customers to come to this area to shop."

"And that's one of the main reasons why I like this place," stated Zuko as he finished his first curry bread and picked up the second one. "I don't really like crowds. If it's my business that's keeping this store going, then I'll be sure to come around more often."

"Thank you," replied Piri gratefully. "You know, there's a standing quest that all merchants have for adventurers. If they provide enough funds, then they can buy into a business to level it up and expand its influence to open up new stores in towns and villages on higher level floors. Though, that's probably too much of me to ask of a single player like yourself."

Shrugging, Zuko got up to leave. Pausing for a moment he pointed back to the display shelves. "Wrap a couple more of those up for me, to go." As the female baker handed him his food, the fire prince thanked her and departed.

Walking out into the vacant side street, the young firebender scanned the immediate area. For the first time, he took notice of the boarded up windows and empty shopping displays from the few other shops that had previously been in the area. "Guess this tiny shopping zone really was too far out of the way to generate any real revenue," he muttered.

As he started to walk towards the main streets, he felt the weight of his short sword strike against his side. "I should get this crumbly thing replaced or repaired before I head out again," he grumbled. In the week since his iron short sword had broken during the fight against Illfang, Zuko had gone through four other run-of-the-mill swords.

"They were all the same model as the one I had previously too," he noted as he examined his blade. "Lisbeth really must have had an eye for picking out quality weaponry from the junk they sell in these stores."

Entering the main marketing district, Zuko ventured over to the first blacksmith shop he saw. "These types of stores are all the same anyway. Maybe I should buy a spare weapon this time too."

"What can I do for you today?" asked the weapon vendor as he stood in front of his store.

Placing his iron short sword on the counter of the open air stall window, Zuko directed, "I need another one of these."

Examining the weapon, the weapon vendor nodded. "Of course, that shouldn't be a problem. Though, might I interest you in something stronger? We just developed a new method of refining metal to reinforce the structure of the blade."

"Fine," replied Zuko.

"I will have to charge you extra of course, you understand?" smiled the vendor. Zuko didn't reply, instead he only placed more Col on the counter. Grinning again, the vendor called out behind him. "Hey newbie! Go tell Doug to craft another one of those steel blades! I've got an interested customer up here."

A female voice answered his request. "Go tell him yourself! I'm still busy organizing the mess of a storage room you two chuckleheads have." Roma's ears perked up at the sound of the voice as Zuko looked at his pet.

The weapon vendor struggled to keep his smile in front of his potential customer. "We hired you out of the goodness of our hearts when you said you wanted to learn the blacksmithing craft. This type of grunt work is what apprentices do."

Emerging from the storage room, the female voice rebuttaled, "You hired me because you two are too lazy to keep this place organized. And Doug's been the only one to show me how to become a smith, not you."

Darting pass the weapon vendor, Roma charged into the back of the shop. "Hey wait! Control your pet!"

The tiny kit pounced on top of the figure walking to the front of the store. "Whoa! What the?! Roma, is that you?!"

Golden orbs met pink as Zuko locked eye contact with Lisbeth. "You!" they both exclaimed as they pointed at one another.

Recovering first, Lisbeth yelled, "Get out! We're not doing business with the likes of you!"

"Now just wait a minute," started the weapon vendor.

"I've already paid for the sword!" shot back Zuko. "I'm going to get what I paid for."

"What are you even doing here in the first place?!" growled Lisbeth. "Shouldn't you be out there on the second floor getting other people in trouble?!"

"I've only fought with one other group once since you and your brother! And that was for the floor boss fight!" retorted the fire prince.

"Don't! Don't you mention my brother!" screamed Lisbeth. "He died because you didn't want to help him!"

"He died saving you! He knew that not all of us were going to make it out of that forest! He made his choice! Just like I had to make mine!"

"And what about my choice?! Both of you didn't even bother to listen to what I wanted! We should have stayed and all fought together!"

"And we would have all died together too!"

"That's better than living without my brother!"

"What about your grandparents?! They would have lost both of their grandchildren that day instead of just one; if Mark and I didn't make the choices we did."

Angrily, Lisbeth reached for the first thing she could get her hands on, which was a small metal crafting hammer laying on a nearby shelf. Throwing the instrument at Zuko as hard as she could, she shouted, "Enough! I told you before I never wanted to talk to you again!"

Catching the anticipated thrown object with his right hand, the fire prince stated lowly, "I told you I'm truly sorry. If there was anything I could have done differently…"

"You could have stayed and fought!" growled Lisbeth as she threw a small buckler shield next.

Catching the shield with his left hand this time, Zuko set both objects onto the counter without saying another word. Lisbeth stormed off back into the storage room where the sounds of things crashing and breaking loudly echoed in her wake.

Excusing himself, the weapon vendor rushed to try and prevent as much property damage to his merchandise as he could from the maelstrom of rage unleashed within his store.

"She dyed her hair pink," noted Zuko as he stared at the back rooms to the blacksmith shop. "I guess that was one way she's coping with her loss." Pulling out one of the bargain swords from the barrels up front, the fire prince secured the weapon to his belt. "This will do for now." Leaving the store, he started walking in the direction of the inn he last saw Hannes and Anka at, more than a month ago.

It took some searching, but the young firebender eventually found it. However the clerk at the front desk recalled that that party had checked out a couple of weeks ago. Without any other leads on where the two might be, Zuko discarded the notion of checking up on them and continued to wander throughout the Town of Beginnings.


"Here we are," announced Argo as the duo finishing climbing the small mountain to reach a flimsy looking straw hut swaying back and forth in the high attitude winds.

"Here?" parroted Kirito doubtfully. "This place looks like it's going to tip over any second."

Walking up to the entrance, the olive haired information broker waved him forward. "Come on you scaredy cat. It's fine."

Entering the straw hut, Kirito immediately took notice of a frail old hermit meditating on a worn old carpet in the center of the tiny structure. "I've been waiting a long time for a worthy discipline. I wonder how well you will fair," stated the old hermit without opening his eyes.

"I'm here for the Martial Arts skill," replied Kirito with authority.

"Hmph," grunted the hermit as he opened one of his eyes. "Many have attempted to learn my technique. Many have failed." His one open eye narrowed knowingly at the information broker standing behind Kirito.

"I can handle it," grinned the black haired swordsman as he held up his sword proudly.

"You can leave that here," ordered the hermit as he slowly rose to his feet and walked pass Kirito on his way outside. "You won't be needing something so cumbersome."

The swordsman glanced back as his innocent looking partner. "Yeah…I don't think I'll be leaving my Anneal Blade just lying around. I'll put in my inventory instead." However as he tried to store his weapon, a rejection screen kept popping up. "What?!"

"I told you to leave your weapon in my hut," repeated the old hermit as he pointed to a weapon rack in the far corner. "It will not be touched by anyone else as long as it is in my possession."

Placing the blade in the sword rack, Kirito still looked uncertain. "That's a really powerful, really hard to acquire weapon. It better still be there when I return."

The hermit did not answer and walked outside as Argo and Kirito both followed. The old recluse led them to a giant indestructible looking boulder sitting a few paces away. "Will you accept my quest?"

"Yeah, bring it on!" boasted Kirito as he psyched himself up.

Turning back to the boulder, the elderly hermit stated, "In order to learn the Martial Arts skill, you must break this boulder with only your bare hands and your strength of will."

"You're joking?!" retorted the black haired swordsman. "There's no way that's possible at this low a level. My strength statistic can't be anywhere near high enough to pull that off yet."

The aged recluse bowed lowly at the boulder before stepping back into a horse stance. Focusing inwardly, the old man's physical energy seemed to glow as he concentrated intensely. Without warning, he lashed out with an open palm strike from his right fist. "Break!" shouted the hermit with determination. Time seemed to freeze as his palm made contact with the boulder. Then, suddenly, the entire rock exploded outwards as shrapnel from the force of the blow.

"No way!" shouted Kirito as he observed the event. Then he felt a light brush wipe across his face quickly a couple of times. "What the?"

The old hermit stepped back holding a small paintbrush and bowl of black paint. "One other thing, I gave you the mark of the beast. Now you can focus your inner strength easier." Putting the painting supplies away, he added slyly, "Oh, and the mark cannot be removed until you complete this quest. Good luck." The elderly reclusive walked back towards his straw hut.

"Wait, what?!" demanded Kirito as his hands reached up to touch his face. Spinning around, he was greeted by the biggest cheshire wide grin on Argo's face. "You! You knew this was going to happen!"

"And it was totally worth it! You look like a cute little monster with those whisker marks!" burst out the olive haired information broker as she doubled over in a laughing fit. "I can't, I can't breathe…" she managed as she continued to crack up over Kirito's new look.

Digging a mirror out of his pack, the black haired swordsman examined his misfortune. Three pencil thin black whisker marks ran down either side of his face like a one would see on a poorly drawn cat. There was no way he could let anyone else see him like this; especially not after that elaborately, cool boast he gave at the end of the first floor dungeon. He would be a laughing stock for the rest of his time trapped in this game.

"If only I had a portable image crystal!" whined Argo. "This would sell like hotcakes among the female population!"

Suddenly the whisker marks his friend's face jumped to the front of his mind. "Wait! Those marks, you got them while trying to perform this quest during the beta test yourself didn't you?"

"Bingo!" smirked Argo. "That's why I knew where this place was. After the beta ended, I lost my whisker marks during the official launch of the game. But it felt like something was missing though. So I've been painting them on myself daily. What can I say? I like the look."

"But yours are so much better drawn!" complained Kirito. "I can't leave this place looking like this!"

"Then you better learn how to break that boulder," pointed out Argo as she gestured back to where the rock once stood.

Looking at where she was indicating, the swordsman was surprised to see another boulder already waiting in place of the former stone. "I couldn't beat this quest, but I'm sure that you can, eventually."

Grimacing, Kirito walked up to the indestructible looking boulder. The surface was rough to the touch and obviously weighed a ton. Putting his entire body weight against the stone, he couldn't even get it to budge an inch from its current position. Sighing, he stepped back. "Alright, well here goes nothing."

Settling into a horse stance like the old hermit had before him, Kirito closed his eyes and focused his concentration. He visualized the boulder exploding after he struck it. Snapping his eyes open, he shouted, "Break!" and lashed out with a closed hand strike against the indomitable rock.

Time slowed as he struck the boulder and Argo did a double take as she stood there watching the grin on Kirito's face. "Argh!" screamed the black haired swordsman in anguish as he held his swollen wrist in pain.

"Pfft," laughed Argo. "I thought you somehow managed to do it on the first try. That would have been crazy." She examined the boulder closely. "Not even a hairline crack. You need to try harder."

"Are you insane! That's solid stone! How the heck am I supposed to manage this?!" shouted back Kirito as he shook out his hand.

"Well for starters, in the real world, all the phalanges and metacarpals in your hand would probably be broken from that hit," explained Argo matter of factly.

"Meta-what?" repeated Kirito, confused.

"Metacarpals, they are the five bones that are in your palm," lectured the olive haired information broker. "And phalanges are the fourteen tiny bones that make up the five fingers in one of your hands. Don't you pay any attention in class?"

"That's a little higher than my education level…" grumbled Kirito to himself.

"Anyway, what I'm getting at is that it looks like you're free to keep trying to break this boulder with your fists. Though, I would recommend an open palm strike next time. At least that's how the old hermit managed it," finished up Argo. With a wave, she added, "Good luck!"

"Hey?!" protested Kirito. "That's it?! You're just going to leave me up here?"

"I'm not going to waste all my valuable time up here all day long," smirked Argo with another cheshire grin. "Don't worry, I'll be back to check up on your progress! Have fun Kiriemon!"

"Kiriemon…" choked out Kirito in humiliation. Turning back to the stone, he punched it as hard as he could manage. Walking down the mountain, Argo flinched in mock pain as she heard the black haired swordsman cry out in anguish a second time.


"Guess it's time to get back up to the second floor," muttered Zuko as he headed back towards the teleport gate near the center of the Town of Beginnings. "I should have enough good food stocked up to last us a while." Roma seemed to nod as she walked alongside him.

"Step right up people! Find the pebble among the three swirling cups and win some money! Nothing to it!" shouted out a nearby caller for a gambling table set up on the main street. "Think the eye is faster than the hand? Or is the hand faster than the eye?"

They pair of swindlers had already seemed to draw a decent sized crowd of both NPCs and players alike. Zuko pressed forward, walking pass them without bothering to pay too much attention until Roma darted off to see what was happening. "Hey wait!" he called out after her.

The tiny kit worked her way to the front of the crowd. "So any brave volunteers willing to try their skill?" urged the caller. "Only a hundred Col to start! And each round becomes double or nothing!"

"They're both kids," noted Zuko as he reached the assembly of onlookers. Both the caller and the swindler shifting the cups around looked to only be about eight or nine years old.

"I'll take you little tykes up on your small game," smirked a hefty looking middle aged player. His companions next to him cheered the volunteer on as they pushed him forward.

"Very good sir!" stated the caller as he welcomed the player up to the table. "The game's pretty simple. Just pick a cup after my buddy here swirls them around for a bit and if the little pebble is underneath, then you're a winner!"

"Yeah, yeah, I've seen this style of game before, just get on with it kid," replied the middle aged player.

Nodding to his partner, the caller placed the pebble underneath one of the cups and the second swindler started to shift the cups slowly, eventually reaching a decent speed that was still very manageable to follow.

As he stopped, the caller asked, "Now which one is it under?"

"This really is a kid's game isn't it?" sneered the middle aged player as he tapped the top of one of the cups. "If that's as fast as you can go, then I'll going to win a lot of money here."

Turning over the cup, the sitting swindler revealed the pebble underneath it. "Excellent choice sir!" cheered the caller. "Are you going to cut and run with your two hundred Col or keep going?"

"Silly runt, of course I'm going to keep on playing," laughed the player. "This is the easiest money I've made all day."

"Let's give him a hand everyone!" announced the caller to the crowd. "He's going to continue!" This solicitation sparked a couple of the gathered people to clap and cheer at the start of the excitement.

Picking up Roma so that she could see better, Zuko whispered to his pet, "I've seen this kind of gimmick out on the streets of several Fire Nation towns multiple times before. This oaf doesn't seem to have any idea that he's already being played." Roma looked up at her master curiously.

"They'll let him win the first few games easily enough; that way he can build up his overconfidence over the diluted notion that he'll always win. However, once the money reaches a certain point that they're comfortable with, they'll pull some sort of trick to ensure that they'll win and he'll lose," Zuko continued. "The fact that they're kids and he's an adult will only help this act of theirs along."

Sure enough, the middle aged player won the next several sets of games without too much effort; his companions cheering him on the whole time. "Congratulations sir!" smiled the caller as he lifted up the tiny pebble again. "That's three thousand, two hundred Col you've won so far. Care to keep going?"

"Hold up there kid," stopped the player. "How do I know that you even have the money to keep on going yourselves? Next time, I'm going to win sixty four hundred Col. Can you pay out?"

The caller stepped back in mock hurt. "Your words wound me sir. To act as if we humble sportsmen wouldn't be able to support our own game."

"All the same brat, let's see the money," prompted the player as he slammed a meaty fist down onto the flimsy wooden table the pair had set up.

"Seeing is believing I guess," summarized the caller as he nodded to his partner. Lifting up a nondescript money bag, the second swindler placed it onto the table with force. "There's our end good sir. Three thousand, two hundred pieces of Col, as promised."

Placing his own bag of money onto the street table, the middle aged player smirked, "I guess you kids are good for it after all. Alright then," turning back to his companions he finished, "After this next game, let's all go get dinner, my treat."

With his head turned, he failed to see the slight nod the caller gave to his partner. An action that did not escape Zuko's watching eye. "Here it comes Roma. The game's already over and the chase is about to begin."

The cup shifting swindler slammed one of the cups over the little pebble, immediately drawing everyone's attention back to the table. What followed next could only be explained as a flurry of hand motions as the whirlwind of cup shifts became impossible to follow with the naked eye.

"Hold up, slow down there," muttered the hapless victim as he gripped the edge of the table with both of his hands while his eyes scoured the rapid twists and turns of the cups. "How are you even spinning these things this fast?!"

In response to the panicked cries of the victim, the performing swindler only sped up his motions. The cyclone of moves completely unfollowable to all gathered around the table. The caller only smiled wider in response to the amazement of the crowd. With a thunderous stop, the cups were all stopped at once, each looking identical to the next.

"Whoa," muttered Zuko as the swindler finished. "Even I couldn't keep up with that. He's better at this than I thought he would be."

"What…what kind of trick was that?" stuttered the middle aged player as his panicked eyes stared at each of the cups, desperately trying to spot any difference that could give away which had the pebble underneath it. "Where did that speed come from?"

"And where is the pebble good sir?" smiled the caller. "You've got about ten seconds to make a choice."

"Huh?!" spewed out the hapless victim. "There wasn't a time limit before!"

"Of course there was," grinned the caller. "You always just picked so fast, that I never needed to give you the count. Six seconds." Turning to the crowd, he urged, "Let's cheer him on people!"

Amidst the cheers and call outs from the gathered assembly of players and NPCs alike, the middle aged player started to panic. Especially after they all started to count down with the devious caller. "Four! Three! Two! One!"

With desperation, the hapless victim threw over one of the cups to reveal an empty table. He could hear a mixture of disappointed sighs and mocking laugher from the crowd behind him.

"Ah! Too bad good sir! Better luck next time!" consoled the caller. As he gathered up the bag of Col that the player had placed onto the table, he addressed the crowd. "Well, that's all the time we have today folks! Thank you for watching! Hope you enjoyed the show!"

With a backswing of his hand, the middle aged player knocked over the two remaining cups. The crowd gasped as both overturned cups revealed empty table space. "Hey, what are you trying to pull here kid!" demanded the enraged victim as he slammed his meaty fist onto the table again.

From the force of the blow, the bag of Col the swindlers had placed onto the table shifted and spilled open to reveal nothing but rocks. "You dirty little cheats!" shouted the infuriated player as he flipped the entire table over, smashing the wooden stand into pieces as it collided with the cobblestone road.

The two swindlers backed up next to the line of bushes behind them as the angered player and his companions drew closer. "Well, it's been fun and we hate to have to cut and run, but Now!" the caller shouted as droves of kids exploded out from behind the shrubberies.

"What?!" exclaimed the middle aged player and his companions as they were overrun by the sea of rascals, toppling onto the cobblestone road from the surprise. However, the mischievous rush didn't stop there. The charge continued into the crowd of people who all shouted in surprise at the onslaught.

Zuko felt several children scuttle near him as well in the confusion. Stepping back, he let the scoundrels run past him without any conflict on his part. It wasn't his job to police this rabble after all. "Well this was actually pretty unexpected," he commented as he watched the street urchins finish up their charge and push pass the multitude of players and NPCs. As quickly as they had arrived, the rascals dissipated into the various side alleyways and away from the crowds on the main road.

Shaking his head at the incident, Zuko whispered to Roma once more. "And that's why I don't get involved with con artists. Way too troublesome." The stories of a thieving little earthbending friend of his invaded his memories. "Something tells me that Toph would have gotten along quite well with these kids, if the tales Sokka told me about their time in the Fire Nation are true."

Turning in the direction of the teleport gate, Zuko placed Roma back onto the road. "Time to go."

"My wallet!" cried out a man from the crowd. "It's missing!"

"My bracelet!" added a woman from elsewhere among the assembly.

Various other shout outs erupted as well as numerous players and NPCs reported to have lost either money or some valuable on their person. Zuko's hand instantly shot down to his own wallet. "Damn it!" he groaned. "They got me too."

Then another thought entered his head and Zuko quickly patted himself down. His Water Tribe necklace was still secured tightly around his neck and underneath his tunic while his White Lotus Pai Sho tile was still resting protected within its pouch on his person. Then the fire prince's expression fell. The Earth Kingdom pearl handled dagger, ever vigilant at his side, was gone.