Pinky fell from the top of the wall down to the ground.

She landed face-down with her arms and legs spread to her sides.

'That looked like it hurt.' Lars' voice grew nearer as he floated down. 'I mean, falling isn't a big deal, but couldn't you land... better?'

Pinky hopped to her feet. And stuck her tongue out at her dead friend. "It's a [Pratfall]. Now who's the [Fool]?"

She climbed to her feet and dusted herself off before looking around. She was in the shadow of the wall, and there didn't seem to be anyone else in sight.

'Tallfolk cities are usually a lot busier than this.'

"And how would you know that?" She rolled her eyes. "You're such a liar, Lars!"

'Hey, Runt, ghosts talk, okay? I didn't spend all my time in the tree, I went and explored!'

"Uh-huh." She replied flatly as she started sneaking. A [Rouge] might not be a [Rogue], but she was able to move quietly and unseen.

Plus, she was a Fraerling. She knew how to hide from things bigger and meaner than her... which was basically everything.

'Fine, don't believe me.' He walked next to her with his arms crossed. 'But look around, shouldn't you see someone?'

"If they can't see me, then I can't see them!" Pinky continued to sneak deeper into the city.

'Really?' Lars glared at her. 'Really?! What's next? Throwing a towel over your head to avoid detection?'

"Hey!" She looked at him. "That's the best idea you've ever had, Lars! Let me just fish one out..." She started rummaging around in her backpack.

'What? No! That was a joke!' He straightened up and looked around with a worried expression on his face.

"Here we are!" She pulled a bright red blanket out of her bag and draped it over her head. "There! Now no one can see me!"

'I can see you!' Lars hissed.

"You don't count, 'cause you're a ghost." Pinky replied confidently before tripping over the sheet that she'd blinded herself with.

'Took, this is serious!' His voice was getting higher and higher pitched.

Pinky wondered if ghosts could have heart attacks.

"No, no, I'm fine..." She began to fumble with the cloth. "I just need to wrap it around me so it doesn't trail along the ground..."

'Are you insane!' His voice was shrill now. 'I thought you got rid of your blood class!'

Pinky sighed and took the blanket off. "I'm still a [Fool], how do you think I'm supposed to level without doing [Foolish] things?" She put her hands on her hips and smiled - arguing with an invisible friend was pretty good for leveling too.

'Don't do it now! This is a dangerous place!'

"And that's exactly why I have to do it now." She rolled her eyes and resumed her trek. Her conversation with Lars didn't seem to have attracted any attention, but she felt like someone was watching her. "Let's go."

She slowly made her way across the street and finally arrived at the building that was next to the wall. Whew. She wiped her forehead. Tallfolk cities really were big!

Luan froze for a moment as the crab-bear-thing barreled into the group of [Soldiers]. Each of its two massive claws grabbed a Centaur, lifted them into the air, and then bashed them together. At the same time, it batted away Lizardfolk with its front legs.

A detached part of him noted that it was similar to the Centaurs in that it had four legs and two arms.

"What in the world is THAT?" He yelled.

Bit looked up at him and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "That's Badgy." The little girl smiled. "Don't worry. I've made sure to teach him how to subdue people. He doesn't like it, but he won't hurt them very much." A Lizardfolk went flying over their heads. "See?" She turned to follow the body's trajectory. "That won't even break a bone or give him a Periosteal bruise." Bit walked over to the groaning Lizardfolk and knelt down. "Intramuscular. You're going to want to take a least a week of bed rest. Be sure to lay on your back so the bruise is above your heart. You don't want your blood to pool."

Luan froze for a moment.

She sounded just like Geneva giving medical advice.

"What's going on!?" He tried to keep his voice calm, but things had clearly escalated from something unknown to something worse.

"That's what I wanna know." Bit dragged the Lizardfolk over to a building and leaned him against the side. "You okay? Any other pain? I can heal you."

The wounded [Soldier] shook his head. "N-No, I have a..." He took a deep breath and winced. "...healing potion." He reached into his pouch and pulled out a vial full of green liquid. "Thanks for offering." He smiled at her as he took a swig. "I guess that shows us for underestimating some of the Titan's students."

Behind them there was an explosion of light as a troop of Dullahans had charged down another street to engage... what had she called it? 'Badgy'? Luan knelt down next to the slowly recovering [Soldier].

"I'm not the student of anyone. I don't know a Titan. I'm a City Runner. I'm not playing in any game."

"I'm not a student either." Bit nodded. "But a game sounds fun."

"Ha." The Lizardfolk smiled at them. "You're both in it whether you want to be or not. Tulm the Mithril's the seeker this time. I heard that last time he burnt down half a city." He shook his head and looked at Luan. "You should've let us take you in. You'd be safe in the square."

"I have a delivery I have to make." Luan tightened his grip on Venaz' bag. He was going to kill that Minotaur for getting him involved in this.

The [Soldier] chuckled without wincing. "Good luck to you then. Hope you're getting a tip that makes it worth it."

Their conversation was interrupted by another combatant group blowing open the doors to the stables in which they'd been hiding. Eighteen people charged out on horses, past the commotion of the [Soldiers], Dullahans, and enraged white crab-bear.

"Ha." The Lizardfolk laughed. "Look at them go." He staggered to his feet as the rest of the fighters ran after the students that were making a direct charge towards the plaza. They threw glass bottles at their pursuers. Flashes of light, exploding vines that gripped everything, and a pink mist that put people to sleep exploded through the ranks of the people who'd ran after them.

The crab-thing looked upset.

Luan decided it was time to leave.

'Are you sure it was a good idea to leave Bit behind?' Lars snuck along beside her despite the fact that he was a ghost and nobody else could see him.

"Of course it was." She whispered back. "My [Foolish Thoughts] skill was certain that it was an absolutely 'Foolish' thing to do!" Pinky wondered how people who didn't have a skill that had evolved from a blood skill, and that let them know how to act to advance their class managed.

'You know that's NOT a good reason!' Lars shouted at her.

Pinky, in return, turned to him with her finger on her lips. "Shhhhh!"

Lars looked affronted. 'Did you just shush me?!'

"We're on a stealth mission." Pinky rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm going to shush you."

'No one can hear me!' Lars waved his arms. 'I'm a ghost!'

"And I'm a Fraerling." She stuck her tongue out.

'I'm a Fraerling too!' He shouted.

"Then you should know better than to make noise on a stealth mission." She nodded, having made her point, and resumed sneaking down the road.

'You know that's not the point.' Lars crossed his arms.

"Then why are you sneaking too?" She smirked at him. "Huh?"

'I, er, I'm, that is...' Lars' cheeks flushed. 'There might be someone around who...' He frowned and held up a hand. 'No, wait, that's not it.' The pair paused for a moment before Lars perked up and smiled. 'Moral support! It's only natural for a Tallguard to provide a good example for a civilian when they're in a dangerous situation.'

"Is that so?" Pinky smiled as she resumed moving unseen down the street.

'It is!' Lars strolled next to her, with his arms folded behind his head. 'And it won't work.'

"What won't."

'Trying to distract me, runt.' He looked down at her with a smug smile.

Uh oh, the jig was up. "Distract you from what? That giant rat?" She pointed behind him.

'From you using a Skill to make your decisions.' Lars rolled his eyes. 'You know what the Titan says about that.'

"Yeah, yeah." She mumbled. "Relying..."

'...on a skill makes you complacent.' Lars finished the quote. 'And that's not even considering the skill's name is Foolish Thoughts.' He let out a sigh. 'Honestly, Took, you know better than that.'

"First of all, it's a great skill!" She ducked behind a crate and looked around for rats, cats, or other predators before continuing. "Second of all, we're being followed. Or, at least, I am."

'What?' Lars peeked out of the narrow space. 'I don't see anyone. How do you know?'

"[Foolish Thoughts]." Pinky got down on her stomach and crawled so that she could scan the Tallfolk-sized street. "It's a lot more intricate than you think, Lars. Like, I know that it would be foolish to run out into the middle of the street and yell at the top of my lungs. It would be foolish in another way to break into the building behind us." She nodded towards an empty alleyway. "And it would also be foolish to go into there."

Lars looked down at her. 'It can do all that? What will happen if you go into the alley?'

"There's only one way to find out!" Pinky shot to her feet and sprinted towards the feeling of 'foolish, but not THAT foolish'.

Niers sat on his pedestal and watched the commotion.

"Do you have any comments?" Teura asked him as she focused on helping maintain the scrying network that Wistram had setup.

"They obviously are hoping to catch Tulm off-guard. It's a bold move, but sometimes that sort of daring can snatch a quick win."

Their charge came to an end as Xol, the Juggernaut exploded out of a building and started laying into them - as gently as fourteen foot tall War Walker could.

Niers glanced at the Half-Elf as she winced slightly.

"What about the situation before that?"

"Oh? The girl who I assume is a Terandrian [Lady]?" He hadn't expected something like that, at least not yet. "I don't recognize her, and she seems to be a outside party."

"An outside party?"

"Yes." Niers replied. "That's why it's important to gather as much information before a conflict. However, there's always times when a high-level individual who's not allied with either side might interfere. It's always a challenge to adjust plans to accommodate unknowns like that."

"I didn't recognize that monster she summoned."

"Yes, it was unique looking, wasn't it." He brought the conversation back to what his students were doing. "Look at the leader of those students. Tefret is a [Mage Captain] and one of our graduates.

The image in the scrying orb changed to show a Drake commenting on what was happening. "T-that would be—Xol of Ingrilt. Wouldn't you say, uh, Sir Relz?"

Niers listened absentmindedly as he wondered just how his students would react to a high-level [Lady] joining the game. If they were smart, they'd adjust their plans to accommodate or utilize her just as he'd said.

Still, it was odd for there to be an outside force in Daquin that hadn't been arranged by one of his students ahead of time. His grin widened at the prospect of his students surprising him.

'You know,' Lars spoke almost-casually as he followed Pinky across the street. 'Most people use [Dangersense] to AVOID danger. You could use your Foolish-sense to avoid doing dumb things.'

"Ever stop to consider that most people are using their skill wrong?" Pinky whispered back. "Finding danger seems to be a good way to level up."

'Hah! Right.' Lars scoffed. 'It's a good way to get killed.'

"Or to get [Thrill-seeker] or [Vanguard] or any number of good classes." Pinky thought she saw movement, but small movement. More like a rat than a Tallfolk.

'Or a blood class.'

Ouch. Pinky winced. That retort struck home... so she decided to ignore it.

The alley was far more important anyways. It could be a rat... but it could also be a cat. The sadistic and murderous felines that Tallfolk kept as pets.

"This... might be the bad kind of 'foolish' after all." She pressed herself up against the side of the building. At least from here, whatever it was couldn't see her.

Lars took a deep breath in. 'I'll go take a look!' He puffed his chest out and boldly strolled into the jaws of certain death!

...Or, at least, that was probably what was going on in his head. He had always been so dramatic.

Pinky silently giggled. She liked it when he was brave - whether it was earned or not. She waited with baited breath.

'There's nothing here!' Lars yelled.

"What?" She peeked around the corner.

Her ghostly friend shrugged as he walked back. 'Like I said, nothing. Unless you think cats have started to learn [Rogue] skills.'

"Now who's being foolish?" Pinky took a step into the alley and paused. It wasn't foolish to continue on. Not in the slightest. "Huh."

'Huh?'

"It's gone." She didn't bother to explain that she meant her feeling and not whatever had caused it. Instead, she spun around and scanned the mountainous buildings. "There!" She pointed.

'Where?'

Lars followed her finger towards a chimney on the opposite roof.

Between one moment and the next, the thought of climbing up there to investigate changed. It was still kinda foolish to go up so high, but only for the normal reasons: mainly that she might be spotted by a Tallfolk. It had been a different sort of foolish just seconds ago.

The sort of foolish that was similar to walking up to a random Fraerling on the street and giving them a hug.

Not 'dangerous', but... awkward?

No, that wasn't the right term.

Inconsiderate?

Presumptuous?

Annoying?

It was something like that.

"I'm being followed." She whispered to herself.

Riley sniffed the air as she followed the City Runner. Dogs. She mentally flipped a switch and an invisible cloud of gas that eliminated odors expanded from her.

"Do you think the Minotaur is back at the docks?" She asked Luan as she followed him.

The tall, dark-skinned man looked down at her. "No, but I can't explore the city looking for him, can I?"

"Why not?" Riley thought she knew the answer, but perhaps there was a strange, magical reason?

"Because there are groups of [Soldiers] walking around that want to beat me up." He turned back to where the remains of his boat were bobbing up and down in the water.

"I could handle them for you!" She smiled as she made the offer. Some nice, non-lethal demonstrations of how magic worked would be fun.

...Not as much fun as seeing how people lived with detached heads, but that could wait until after she kept her promise.

"If you're so eager to play this 'game' or whatever's going on, why don't you go do it?" Luan lowered himself and lay down on his chest before reaching out to try and grab the largest chunk of his boat.

"'Cause I said I'd help you find the Minotaur." She could feel her smile widening. "I've never seen a real Minotaur before! Just watching how they move could give me all sorts of insights!"

Finding a wounded one would be even better. Then she could take a look at their insides while she patched them up. However, given that this all was only a game, combined with how well that healing potions worked, it seemed unlikely.

"Huh." Luan's fingers brushed against the wood, causing it to dip into the water. "I guess that's as good of reason as any." He turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Thank you. If you have any deliveries you want made to another city, I can give you a discount." He turned back and whispered under his breath. "Once I get a new boat."

"Oh?" Riley knelt down next to him. "Is that what a City Runner does? I was expecting more running from the name."

Luan turned on his side and braced himself with an elbow. "Have you never used the Runner's Guild before?"

"Nope!" Riley beamed at him.

"Huh." He turned back to the water. "I guess you really must be a [Lady] or something. Not that your dress didn't give it away, 'Bit'."

Riley giggled. The way he said 'Bit' meant that Luan had recognized that she'd been using an alias. He'd been the first to do so, but then again, she hadn't spoken to even a handful of people since arriving on this world.

"Here, I can help you with that." She reached into the pocket of her dress.

"No, no, I've... almost... got it!" Luan's hand brushed against the floating remains again, but the wet wood slipped from his fingers.

There was a 'blurble' as the Met she'd summoned underneath the surface displaced the water around it causing a small expansion of the liquid. "Help with the flotsam, don't be seen." She told it aloud, since the whole point of summoning it covertly was to keep her Mets a secret. Using her Party feature would've been more convenient, but it would also require having her under-suit flow over her head to set it up.

...Which would kinda defeat the whole 'subtle-thing' she was going for.

"What did you say?" Luan finally grabbed his boat as it floated next to him.

"Just thinking out loud." Riley smiled. "So how are we going to find this guy." She paused and tilted her head. "It is a guy, right?"

"Yeah." He replied bitterly. "He's a guy." With the main hull of his boat floating under the dock, Luan turned over on his back and looked up at the sky. "I don't know. If you weren't here, I'd be hiding right now. I'm not a fighter."

Riley crossed her legs and sat next to him. "To be fair, it does look like a pretty rough game." She thought back to other 'games' she'd played. "But it also doesn't seem un-winnable either." She shrugged. "No point in you playing if you don't have a reason to though."

"Uh-huh." He nodded. "If Venaz isn't in the Inn..."

"That lizard guy said that 'Tulm' was the 'seeker'." Riley looked at the street running into the city. It was still deserted, except for the people peering out of the windows. "I'd bet this is a big game of 'Hide and Seek', just with fighting instead of tagging."

"Hmmm..." Luan frowned. "That makes sense. The [Inn Keeper] didn't let us or Venaz inside. I bet one group is busy hiding all throughout the city, but... to what end?"

"Not to ambush the searching force." Riley closed her eyes and thought. "Those guys on horseback were fighting back, but not to win. They wanted to get somewhere."

"Out of the city?" He guessed.

Riley thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "That makes sense. Why else would they have guards at the wall, gates, and harbor." She turned to look at the distant warships that were blocking the harbor's entrance. "We're out in the open here, but those guys who tried to stop you haven't sent anyone to follow up."

"So?" Luan looked nervously at the ships, and then at the water below. "Maybe we should hide after all."

"That might be a good idea, but my point is that they're not moving not because they haven't seen us, but because they suspect it's a trap."

"A trap?"

"Yeah. Decoys to lure them away, so someone else can escape."

"They could just be there to keep other people out." He frowned. "That's what they tried to do to me."

"Out, in, either way they aren't budging." She tilted her head. "I'd say that they're reporting in to someone. I'm sure a group will come and try to catch us eventually. But, enough about that!" She clapped her hands. "Lets brainstorm about finding this Minotaur!"

Luan gave her an incredulous look. "I'm not going in there!"

"C'mon!" She smiled sweetly at him. "I'll protect you!"

"Thanks, but no thanks." He replied dryly. "I'm a runner. I go from A to B. I don't go through war-games or whatever this is to try and find someone who's actively hiding."

"Eh." Riley shrugged her shoulders. "He's a Minotaur. How hard can it be to find him?"

The runner frowned at that. "If he's captured already, then... how do I get paid?" He scowled. "I'm not going to let them put me in prison on the off-chance he's there. Besides..." He sighed. "No way they'd let me keep all of my stuff."

"Good points!" Riley gave him a thumbs up. "This is just a game, so it should be fine if I break him out of jail!"

"What?" He looked at her. "You're joking, right?"

"Oh, yeah, joking." Bit had never broken anyone out of prison. Bonesaw on the other hand...

Their conversation was cut short as an unholy cacophony of sound came from the city. Riley winced and covered her ears. She might have reinforced ear-drums, but that just meant she wouldn't go deaf. Not that it was loud enough to do that, it was just incredibly annoying.

A Centauress and a Lizardgirl staggered out of the hold of one of the nearby ships. They were also covering their ears (or ear-holes), and seemed to be a lot more distressed. A high-pitched shriek was also coming from them. The two women shouted at each other, but Riley couldn't make out what they were saying. The Lizardgirl pointed at the water and then jumped in. The noise lessened. The Centauress leaped after her, and the sound diminished greatly.

It now was only coming from the city itself.

"What in the name of horse shoes was that?"

"Screamer dust! We must have gotten hit by it! But I have no idea when—" The Lizardgirl's face twisted from anger to shock and then back to anger. "The plaza! Remember those [Mages] throwing something? Feshi was sneezing—oh, Nagas! We all got hit! Listen!"

Huh. Magical dust that could... vibrate to emit a scream?

Riley had the idea of making bacteria that could vibrate at the same frequency to harmonize and make sound. She could set up a simple oscillation in their membranes that would make them automatically synchronize their motions. The hard part would be to have the sound waves occur OUTSIDE the host, but she could-

She shook her head. There'd be time for Tinkering later.

"That dirty, cheating salt licking coward!" The Centauress was angrily shouting insults at... someone.

"Hold on. One's getting nearer! It's—" The Lizardgirl interrupted her companion.

Riley turned and looked towards the city. There was a doppler effect going on as one of the screams was both getting louder and changing pitch.

Then she saw him.

A Minotaur!

He was tall and bulky. His bull head had two horns that curved from its sides and up into the air. He also had hooves!

Riley smiled.

Hooves!

A Minotaur would obviously have a cow's head and need to have increased body mass to support that, but she hadn't guessed about hooves. Sure, the Minotaur Bonesaw had made had included them, but they hadn't worked out well because the cow's hooves were too small for a two-legged animal.

He almost charged over her and Luan as he leapt into the water to wash off the screaming dust.

"Underhanded. When I get my hands on that spineless—" The large figure clamored out of the water next to the Centauress and Lizardgirl. "Marian! Umina! So that's where you two have been. I should have known. You got doused as well?"

"We were hiding here! Where have you been?" The Lizardgirl, Umina, replied.

Venaz shook his head, sending a spray of water to his sides. "Never mind that. We need to move. Now. More students will be trying to get here. And the damned [Soldiers] are sure to have heard us. I passed a patrol of Forgotten Wing soldiers on the way here."

"You idiot, Venaz—" The Centauress, Marian, glared at him."

"If I had my plan in place—" Venaz held up his hands, but didn't look apologetic. Though it was hard for Riley to be sure. His eyes and forehead were mostly like a Human's but there could be subtle differences in their muscular structure that changed the way Minotaurs expressed their emotions.

"You!" Luan brushed past her and stomped up to Venaz.

"Ah, perfect!" The Minotaur's face brightened. "Give me my bag."

"Give me my money!" The [Rower] retorted.

"Oh, of course." Venaz reached for his belt, but turned his head as Umina shouted.

"They're coming!" The Lizardgirl pointed down the street where a squadron of Dullahans turned the corner.

"C'mon. Plan B!" Marian grabbed Umina and placed her on her back as she galloped off.

The Minotaur frowned for a second before deciding on a course of action. He grabbed Luan and threw him over his shoulder and ran off after Marian.

Riley stood for a second and considered her options. She could fight the soldiers, or rather, Badgy could fight them. That, however, wouldn't be in the spirit of this game. It was clear that it was Hide and Seek... THEN pummel.

An interesting game.

Besides, a Lizardgirl, a Centauress, AND a Minotaur! She knew which group was full of more interesting people.

Actually, Dullahans were far more cool - biologically speaking, but there were a lot of them. She was sure she'd get the chance to examine one of them closer sooner or later. She'd seen lots of other Lizardpeople in the windows, and only a handful of Centaurs. Venaz was the only Minotaur, so staying close to him for now was the best plan.

Nodding to herself, she pulled a ribbon and bow off of her dress and tossed it down the street before running after the group of misfits. She rounded the corner just in time to watch the Minotaur thrown Laun into...

An outhouse.

Not into the wooden box that held the toilet. Instead, his destination was whatever was beneath.

Venaz then jumped in after him and Riley heard a goopy splash.

...She could always find the Minotaur later. She wasn't afraid of getting dirty when the situation called for it, but she'd rather fight a bunch of armored soldiers with detachable heads than drop into the sewers... or from the look of things, a hole full of excrement.

Her dress and hair would be fine, but everything else would probably be beyond saving. Worst, what would happen if she dropped the Met Factory in the muck?

Nope.

She looked down the street and took a step back. A chilling mist was covering the ground just ahead of a thick fog-bank. A clearly unnatural fog-bank. The near constant sounds of the watching Lizardpeople were muffled at the edges of it, and no sound came from further within.

She didn't know if that meant the fog was a Stranger effect that absorbed sound, or if the bystanders had been knocked out by it. It seemed unlikely the fog was lethal by itself. Even if it was, poisons wouldn't work on her.

Riley closed her eyes and sniffed.

To the right, the left, in front of her, behind...

There. She moved to where Badgy had to be obfuscating himself.

"Pick me up."

Her minion's Stranger effect broke as he reared up and his crab claws came in from the sides. Riley hopped into his grip, and the two claws came together to make a small Riley-sized pocket.

Her head peaked out, and she had a hard time remembering she had a body at all as Badgy hid his presence again. It was a strange sensation - like she was watching what was happening from an outside perspective.

Riley turned and glanced at the docks one more time. A human and a fur-covered humanoid - a Dogperson? - were standing on a dock further away from her. They were both soaked and were using...

Magic wands?!

The two wizards shot spells at the approaching Dullahans. They clearly had the same idea as the other contestants as how to remove the screamer dust. Unfortunately for them, they probably had farther to run and were now cornered.

"Into the city." Riley directed Badgy, and the Bloodrage Badger crawled towards the mist. As it engulfed her, Riley felt lethargic. Whatever this stuff was, it muffled sight and sound while sapping vitality. If she had her supplies, she could give herself a shot to counteract the effect.

But, since she didn't, she'd just have to power through.

Note: Some dialogue was taken directly from the Wandering Inn.

Bios:

Venaz - Minotaur, [War Strategist], and one of Niers' advanced students. Honorable, but hates to lose.

Marian Felthof - Centauress, [Strategist] & [Ranger], and one of Niers' advanced students. Umina's friend.

Umina Caxical - Lizardgirl, [Strategist], and one of Niers' advanced students. She has pink and yellow scales and a long tail. Can cast some spells. Like most Lizardfolk, she's social, cheerful, and curious.