The town square of Haven was a lot more crowded that morning than it had been the day before, mostly because of the sudden influx of a hundred and fifty players over the course of the night and early morning. Players who had no clothes or gear, other than what they may have gotten in character generation or their tutorials. Even those who did have guns probably didn’t have much ammo for them at the moment. We found that we shouldn’t have too much trouble making allies, since close to sixty percent of the players had chosen Fae or other non-human characters, and most of those were Pegasus Entertainment employees or their friends or relatives. There were a couple dozen people who had been winners of ‘lightning tournaments’ for various games around Vancouver too, and they seemed to be a mix of Humans and other races.

From the talk that Pete and Grell had heard before the Deadrush, most of the professional gamers didn’t want to risk the body dysphoria, at least not on their first time playing the game. I did notice that there were some Druids, Bards, and Priest/esses among the Humans though. I figured that some of those Humans were probably Witches as well, who had the benefit of technically being Human, but being able to use magic naturally as well.

Our plan for the day was pretty simple. Lissany and Nishalle would accompany me to search for whoever was in charge of the village, while Venika informed the various Fae of the new Fae Glade outside the village and the new seat of the Autumn Court. There they could build homes in the woods surrounding the Estate with the help of other Fae. Grell, Pete, and Reiko would be informing the other non-humans of the same offer, while trying to make some friends among both the Humans and the non-human races.

It was a good thing that I hadn’t thought that my diplomacy quest would be easy, because if I had I would have surely been disappointed. I had to start by asking random NPCs who was in charge. Finally though I was directed to the Sheriff’s office to meet Sheriff Shaw, who I was assured would be able to tell me anything that I wanted to know about Haven. As we talked to the various NPCs, and then made our way to the Sheriff’s office, I was far too aware that I was the subject of a lot of conversations amongst the other players wandering the village.

When we had chosen our characters I just wanted to be able to go on quests and play with magic, but now I was stuck being a princess and everyone was noticing me, especially with the ridiculous crimson and gold dress I was wearing. Most of the Fae players that we encountered were Nyiir'dhraí (Wood Elves), though we did see at least two dozen Sprites in the village square, and it seemed that most Fae players had taken both Fae Culture and Elvish language as skills. We could tell which ones because, as soon as they got a good enough look to see my face and the Danann’syr upon my forehead, they would bow or curtsey and greet me formally in Elvish. It was a bit exasperating getting that much attention from people I didn’t know and I wished that I could pull my Nature’s Crown down to cover the markings, but the stupid tiara seemed designed to rest just above my hairline and draw attention to the royal markings rather than cover them up.

It wasn’t just Fae though, all the other players seemed interested in me, since I was the only High Elf in the game. It didn’t help much that Lissany and Nishalle were hovering over me being all protective, especially with Lissany wearing her armor, which obviously wasn’t standard issue for even the warrior class. Nishalle was getting her fair share of attention too, since there were only three people playing Tokh'dhraí in the game and she was the only one who was female. I could understand the lack of them, since they really were a double-edged sword. They might be awesome in the dark, but during daylight hours they were at a disadvantage, one that Nishalle was having issues with, even with her sunglasses.

I was beginning to think that we should have been the ones trying to make friends with all the attention we were getting. We had just finished briefly talking to yet another pair of curious players when we came into view of the Sheriff’s office. One had been a handsome Nyiir'dhraí named Andrin with brown hair and eyes, who I thought was a scout/ranger from the bow and quiver of arrows he had chosen for his primary weapon. The other was a Beastkin man called Rellik, who sported a black wolf tail and ears that matched the scruffy hair on his head and a long curved dagger at his hip.

I had us stop in the alley beside the Sheriff’s office, while I dealt with the anxiety attack that had been slowly building since we had arrived in the village earlier in the morning and had finally reached the boiling point. I steadied myself on the wall of the building with one hand as the other rose to my chest in a vain attempt to stop the whirlwind inside. Each conversation we had with people had made it progressively build as I worried about how I might mess things up or say the wrong thing, and the fact that I was a girl in a ridiculous attention-getting dress had only made those thoughts worse. I didn’t want people knowing that I was a really a guy, it was too embarrassing, but what if I wasn’t feminine enough to blend in? Did they suspect? What if I said something a real girl wouldn’t say and they found me out?

I couldn’t breathe as I thought of all those people I didn’t know who had talked to us and ran through the conversations in my mind for some clue that I might have let something slip, something that showed I wasn’t a real girl. Right now I was a real girl though, or virtually real enough that I looked and felt real to everyone in the game, including myself. That too was part of the problem, the way those two guys had been looking at me, those appreciative appraisals of my body when they thought that I wasn’t looking, that hungry look in the Beastkin’s eyes. They had made me too aware that under this feminine dress was an equally feminine body, one that right now filled me with shame, and the pressing insistence that this wasn’t me, it couldn’t be, I wasn’t a girl, this one or any other.

“… wrong with her?” Lissany’s voice scratched at my mind vying for attention that I wasn’t sure I could spare with all the scenarios running through my mind alongside the ongoing battle of my sense of self.

“Anxiety attack, she used to have them all the time when we were growing up. Taelya… Caleb… breathe,” my sister’s familiar comforting voice penetrated my warring thoughts as somewhere in the distant recesses of my mind I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me. “It’s me, Karin. Whatever you’re hyper focused on right now, you need to let it go. You’re okay, we’re in a game remember. That’s not really you, I know it feels like it, but it’s not. I know that it all probably seems overwhelming now, but you’re just having an anxiety attack and the body dysphoria is probably getting to you. I’m here for you, just like always, just like we promised.”

The promise. The promise we made the day that our Dad had left us and our Mom for another woman. I had been seven then and Karin had been five and we had vowed that day to never leave one another, to always be there for each other, no matter what. From that day onward we were as much friends as we were brother and sister. I took care of her when Mom had to work double shifts to keep a roof over our heads and she helped me when my social anxiety became too much, like it just had. Even when I had gone to high school two years ahead of her and later, when she started getting into makeup and boys, we had never abandoned one another. Not even when Mom had died of Cancer last year, no that had just brought us closer together, made us reaffirm that promise. We were too much a part of one another and we needed to be close, no matter what.

I came back to myself, sobbing and gripped tightly in my sister’s arms. “It’s okay, I’m here. I’ll always be here, no matter what,” she was whispering in my ear.

I hugged her back tightly, sniffling and getting her shoulder soaked as I tried to get the sobbing under control. “Thanks sis… *sniff* I think I’m okay now, it’s just been a bit much all at once,” I mumbled into her shoulder.

Nishalle took me by the shoulders and held me in place as she looked me over sympathetically. “Too much people, and I know from my short experience how bad the gender dysphoria can be. I’m kind of surprised it didn’t happen sooner.” She raised the hem of her shirt to wipe away my tears. “There all better, we can wait a few minutes while you recover before going in to talk to the sheriff. At least you didn’t ruin your makeup, wait are you wearing makeup?”

“Just a little berry juice on my eyelids and lips,” I admitted shyly, looking downward as I took some deep breaths and tried to get myself back under control. “It was Naerysse that did it.”

Nishalle nodded, though she seemed to be watching me carefully, probably in case I freaked out again. “Well, it looks like you didn’t mess it up, so as soon as you’re feeling ready we can go inside.”

Lissany, who had been shielding us from sight and watching for any trouble passing the alley we were in turned around and gave me a nervous smile. “Are you feeling better now? I can get why you freaked out, the dysphoria has to be pretty bad right now, and I really didn’t like the way those guys were looking at us, especially the wolf. The looks he was giving me were like, creeper alert, and he was looking at you like you were a steak dinner and he hadn’t eaten in a week. You’re probably not used to that from guys and I can get what it’s like to have social anxiety, I can totes understand the dysphoria too. I guess this is the first time I’ve seen it from the outside looking in though.”

“Yeah I’m feeling better now, thanks Liss,” I told her. “It must be weird having those jaguar features and I can’t imagine what it’s like for you to go full animal form.”

My Guardian flushed slightly and shook her head. “That’s… umm… not what I meant Taelya. I totally get gender dysphoria, and the anxiety it can cause, because I wasn’t born Danielle, I was born Daniel. That’s part of the reason I was looking forward to this so much. Like your fiancée, I wanted to feel right in my body for a change. I mean I can present as female all I want, and being on hormone therapy has helped a bit, but I still know what’s there, and what’s not, and it eats me up inside every day.”

“I’m glad you got the chance then,” I told her honestly, “though I’m a bit surprised that you didn’t go for a normal human girl. I mean you’re just trading one type of body dysphoria for another right?”

The Beastkin girl shook her head, smiling enough that I could see her sharp canines. “I’m still mostly human, and I'm a girl, so I’m barely feeling the dysphoria compared to what I used to. I kind of have a thing for cats too, Mom’s nickname for me is ‘Kitten’ since I kind of act like one sometimes, or so she constantly tells me.”

I suddenly felt horrible about being such a crybaby about having to go through this for a few months when she and Jess had felt that way pretty much their whole lives. Once the game was over I’d be myself again, but they’d be right back on the train to Dysphoria-Ville unless they chose to keep playing, and even that would only be an escape. “I’m so sorry… I…”

Lissany wrapped her armored arms around me in a hug. “No, do not start feeling bad about the way you’ve been feeling. Dysphoria is overwhelming at times, the littlest things can set it off, and it’s not like you’ll have a choice in the matter as long as you feel at odds with your body. Mom understands that, it’s why she let me start HRT when I was thirteen and why we’re both here playing this game.”

“How’s your father feel about all of this?” I asked, wondering why she only seemed to mention her mother.

She laughed at that, so at least I knew she wasn’t offended as she replied, “If I ever happen to meet the guy I don’t plan on asking him. It’s just me and Mom, always has been. I was an unplanned pregnancy when Mom was still in college and I guess he wasn’t interested in sticking around. I kind of wish she’d date though, she shouldn’t have had to put her life on hold for me.”

I felt closer to Lissany somehow after that admission, we knew how hard it was growing up with just our mother and I knew exactly how she must feel about her mom. At least Karin and I had had each other too, she just had her Mom. I realized then why Karin had been treating her like a kid sister since I had met her and her mother, and quickly resolved to try to be there for her in the same way. So it was my turn to hug the armored Beastkin girl as Nishalle scolded her. “Hey, none of that kiddo, I don’t need you and Taelya both feeling depressed, and your mom doesn’t feel that way. You make her very happy, and she doesn’t think she needs a man in her life to give her a sense of fulfilment, she’s already got a wonderful daughter who does that. I think she’ll start dating again if she ever finds the right guy.”

I was still hugging her when I asked uncertainly, “Hey Liss... about the dysphoria, is it normal to feel like ashamed and to hate yourself? I‘ve been feeling like that, and… ummm… when we were talking with those last two guys I felt this really intense resentment and jealousy whenever I looked at that Nyiir'dhraí.”

“Yeah, that’s all pretty normal,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders within my grip. “I haven’t really felt any of it since being in the game, but before that the shame and self-loathing were almost always there, though it got a little better after I started presenting as Danielle and HRT started working. The resentment and jealousy kind of hit in bursts when I was feeling really low and saw really pretty girls, or when girls were doing things that I never thought I’d be able to experience myself. If you ever need to talk about it or anything, I won’t be too far away.”

Once I had judged myself to be sufficiently calmed down, we made our way around the corner and into the Sheriff’s office in search of Sheriff Shaw. At first I thought that the person leaning back in the chair with her cowboy boot-clad feet propped up on the desk was asleep, until she raised her Stetson from over her eyes to give us a long look. She was absolutely nothing like I had been expecting, appearing to be a woman of average height with long black hair tied back in a braid and dark brown eyes with a slight Asian tilt to them. If I had to guess, she was in her mid-twenties, half Caucasian, and half Chinese. Other than the hat and boots, she wore a pair of tight jeans and a black t-shirt that bore a sheriff’s star and showed off a taut and toned body.

The corners of her mouth twitched upward into a faint smile as she said, “Well lookie here, ain’t you jus’ the strangest sight I ever did see. An’ here I thought that fightin’ werewolves was gonna be the most interestin’ thing in my career. Then yesterday, all you strange folk started showin’ up. I ain’t seen nothin’ like you afore though. For a minute I thought the circus was in town, but then I remembered that we ain’t exactly a town, and ain’t never had no circus come here.”

“We live in interesting times Sheriff,” I replied uncertainly.

“My ma used to say that there was an old curse somethin’ like that,” she said without moving or taking her gaze off me. “Now I don’t know who or what you are, but first we get attacked by honest to God werewolves, then refugees an’ folk like your friends there start showin’ up with weapons, an now here you come strollin’ into my office pretty as you please. Since I don’t believe in coincidences, why don’t you tell me why you’re here?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I tried to figure out what exactly to do. Finally I said, “You’re not far off about that curse. The world is getting dangerous and monsters are appearing, things even worse than those werewolves. I am Princess Taelya of the Autumn Court of the Fae, and I was sent here by my mother, Queen Amoiraishe, to negotiate an alliance which is mutually beneficial to both your village and my people. With that in mind, I came to see if you could direct me to your mayor.”

She cocked an eyebrow at me. “Well, don’t you talk jus’ about as pretty as you look. We’re simple folk here, so it might be faster if you just talk real simple-like.”

“Ummm… take me to your leader?” I tried uncertainly.

To my surprise she fell out of her chair in a fit of giggles. Once she managed to climb back to her knees and look at us again over the desk she tried to give me a serious look, but then just giggle-snorted. “Take me to your leader? Seriously?!”

“What?” I asked, more than a little confused by the situation. “It’s a classic, it has history.”

The sheriff giggle-snorted again before finally managing a somewhat straight face. “Awww, now you made me slip out of my role, I was really starting to get into it too.”

For a moment I wondered if this was Moira messing with me and making sure I was doing her little ‘quest’, but the way she carried herself was all wrong. She was way too relaxed. “You’re not an NPC are you?” I asked.

“Nope, I’m your GM for closed beta. Technically I’m a player just like you, but I’m here to manage events, work out any issues between players, and lay down the law if need be. The development team thought that the village sheriff would be appropriate for that role. I can do quests and learn skills just like you, but I have administrative powers in case of foul play and stuff, and I can’t be killed like other players. In events and stuff I’ll just have to play possum if I take what the game deems a fatal attack. You can report bugs and stuff to me too.”

The sheriff interrupted me before I could even get the words out of my mouth. “I already know about your problem Taelya, I got a message to tell you that the development team is working on fixing it before open beta, but they wouldn’t be able to make the changes without a full system shut down, and yours has been the only problem reported so far. They said that the dysphoria should all disappear once you get used to your virtual body, but they can’t be sure how long that will be because everyone’s mind works differently.”

I was a bit disappointed, but it was no more or less than I was expecting, and I certainly didn’t expect them to shut down the game and take away everyone else’s fun just because I was a bit uncomfortable. “I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and try to embrace my inner Faerie princess,” I commented drolly.

“Your outer one too, Your Highness,” Sheriff Shaw said, trying really hard not to giggle, but failing miserably. “Seriously though, it might help if you have fun with it a bit. You know, like embrace all those horrible princess tropes to mess with people a bit. Break into song once in a while, give a royal decree or two, maybe get an animal companion.”

She was giggling out of control now and I couldn’t help joining in because I had been thinking of doing those very things just to mess with my sister. I had even said as much when I had ‘conscripted’ her. “I’d take a really long nap, but I’d just end up missing most of the game,” I managed to get out as we tried to calm ourselves down, but we just looked at one another, both ready to break down in another fit of giggles, and the inevitable happened.

Once our fit of giggles had subsided, Nishalle made a show of a long suffering sigh. “Mórrígan help me, I can’t believe there’s actually two of you, I can barely handle the one.” She grinned and gave a wink though before turning to the Sheriff. “So, you said you’re the GM? Are you with the development team then? I’m Karin Sanders head of the graphic design and advertising department. What did you do to get stuck with this job? As the town sheriff you must have been pretty limited in your class and race.”

“No I’m Becky Shaw, a system admin, I’ve only been with the company a month and the invites for the game were practically gone by the time I learned about it. I really wanted to try it though, so I volunteered for the job. This way I get paid, and I get to play. My race options were limited to Human or a newly awakened Witch, so I chose Witch. All my skills had to suit the sheriff role, so pretty combat intensive, but at least I was able to take the Magus class so I can play with both magic and guns.”

“I know, right! That’s why I wanted to play too! More for the magic than the guns, but still, isn’t it awesome?!” I asked excitedly and giggled, much to my dismay. “Have you had much time to practice magic yet? Venika and I are going to try and set aside a few hours every day to work on it and try new spells, you should join us if you have the time. It’ll be a blast!”

“Really?! I’d love that! I haven’t had time to learn spells yet. As a ‘newly awakened’ Witch my first spell is supposed to be accidental, to find a familiar, and my familiar sort of acts as my spell focus, so I won’t be able to do any other magic easily until I find it. Then I’m supposed to find a player teacher if I actually want to learn any magic, so I’m not ahead of everyone else. It would be awesome not having to practice alone! Could you be my teacher?! That’d be awesome, I heard about what you did to that horde of zombies!”

I could actually teach someone to use magic while developing my own? For some reason the idea really appealed to me, especially since she seemed to be as eager to play with magic as I was. “I’d love to teach someone! I’ve been having all kinds of ideas for new spells I want to try, and Venika already knows the basics of spellcasting so I can only really teach her new spells. It’d be awesome having an apprentice to teach from scratch! I’ll start thinking up lesson plans and we’ll let you know when and where we’re going to have our practice sessions!”

“Sweet! Swing by the office here whenever you want to set up a time for that and we can work out the details,” she replied, leaning eagerly over the desk.

Nishalle was smirking, and probably trying not to laugh by this point, as she interrupted. “I hate to break up this magical bonding time between you and your new BFF Taelya, but weren’t we here on a quest?”

I turned to Nishalle, blinking in confusion for a moment before my cheeks suddenly burned in embarrassment as I remembered why we were there. “Umm… oh yeah. Sorry about that, I kinda got a little sidetracked.” I turned to Sheriff Shaw and took a deep breath to calm the remaining giggles. “So yeah, we need to talk to the mayor about a possible alliance and such, so could you…?”

“*Snerk* Take you to my leader?” she cut in suggestively before we both started giggling again.

“Jeeze you two, it’s really not that funny,” Lissany interjected from the doorway, though she was grinning as she did so.

Sheriff Shaw, or Becky as she asked us to call her, led us to the town Hall. It was a large red building that resembled a massive barn on the outside, which was used for gatherings or meetings that effected the village as a whole. Just inside there was a small office and she led us there and rapped on the door with her knuckles. A man’s voice emanated from the other side of the door, “Come on in.”

Becky turned the doorknob and pushed the door open so we could follow her inside. Behind a wooden desk was an older man with white hair and a thick beard who was dressed casually in a neon green t-shirt and jeans. “Mayor Gibson, these good people would like to talk to you. They have an offer for you, and it might be a good idea to hear them out.”

“Good people Sheriff? I’m wearin’ my glasses right? They don’t even look human,” he said, leaning forward over the desk and squinting his eyes at us.

“Well, they’re not human Sir, and yes you’re wearing your glasses. They still seem to be good people though,” she replied.

“Well ain’t that a relief, here I thought I was seein’ things,” he replied with a relieved sigh as he stopped squinting at us. “I take it they’re with all them other odd folk that have been showin’ up since them werewolves attacked. Damned if that ain’t a sentence I never thought I’d here myself say.”

“Yessir, they represent the leadership of one of the groups I think,” Becky said.

“Well out with it, whaddaya want? Don’t keep yer mouth hangin’ waitin’ fer me to start things off, an’ speak up, not all of us have ears that big.”

I took a deep breath and started to go into my spiel. I figured that this might take a while, and that it was going to take some convincing and heavy negotiating, before he would accept what we were proposing. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mayor Gibson. I am Princess Taelya of the Autumn Court of the Fae. I’m here today to ask that you consider a mutually beneficial alliance between your village and my people, and perhaps some of the other non-human races as well.”

The old man looked at me intently for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, sitting back down in his chair and replying, “Sure, why not.”

“I assure you Mr. Mayor that we could make this arrangement beneficial to all parties and that we just want to coexist with you in... wait, what?” I sputtered out the last, uncertain whether I had heard him right.

“Sure, why not,” he repeated, leaning back in his chair. “My sheriff has said that you’re good people, are ya sayin’ she’s a liar?”

“No, I wasn’t…” I said, trying to keep my emotions in check. I had gotten dressed up in this ridiculous dress, suffered an insane amount of dysphoria while talking to half the town, and prepared for hours long negotiations for a ‘Sure, why not?’

“Was she misinformed then? She seemed right on the money with the not human thing,” he pressed.

“I can only speak for the Fae of my Court, but we’re a peaceful people, gentle folk, and keepers of the balance of nature,” I told him carefully.

The mayor nodded to himself looking very pleased. “Well that sure sounds like good people to me, ya got yerself a deal.”

“Mr. Mayor, there are details to discuss, arrangements to be made, before an alliance can be official…”

“Yup I would imagine so, an’ I reckon it’s going to be a lot of work too Yer Highness,” the white-haired man agreed. “Ya asked me to consider an alliance though, so that’s what I’m doin’. Now why don’t ya go back to tellin’ me why this would be good fer both of us so’s we can get started.”

I was beginning to think that someone was messing with me on purpose. “Okay, first though, may I ask why you’re considering this alliance?”

“Well ya came in here in that right fancy getup and ya caught my attention. I’m a sucker for a snappy dresser, show’s ya take the time to do things right,” he said with a grin. “That an’ we got hit hard by them werewolves, half the village is dead and the other half probably weren’t far off until you folk came in here an’ helped us in our time of need. That there goes a long way toward buildin’ a man’s trust.”

With that settled we began working out what the agreement would look like. The treaty would technically be between the village and the Autumn Court, but the various other races would be included conditionally as well, at my request. The Autumn Court would be ceded the unowned Lennox Estate and the forest surrounding it in return for all Fae living there instead of in town, the promise to obey all local laws while in town, and to assist the town if it came under attack by monsters again. The village folk would not enter those woods, which would be under Fae laws and jurisdiction, unless invited, and would show proper respect to both nature and the Fae when doing so.

There were a lot of minutia, but what the whole thing amounted to was a mutual trade and defense pact that would give us all some time and space to get used to one another until later, when the agreement could be revisited. Both parties would also be able to post quests for scavenging, technology, magical assistance, gathering, monster hunting, and other important needs on a quest board to be erected in the town square.

When we were finally done I was actually pretty pleased with myself, and feeling much better with that quest completed and out of the way. I got a good amount of XP and a new skill download, Diplomacy, as my reward. Maybe now I could actually do what I came into this game for and have a bit of fun. We bid the mayor farewell and, while Becky headed back to the Sheriff’s office, we looked for the rest of our party mates. It was lunch time by then, so we found them in the square with a lot of the other players who were eating a hearty stew made by one of the town NPCS for all the various refugees.

Reiko wrapped me up in hug, as soon as he saw us. “Hey babe, how was your morning?”

“It had its ups and downs sweetie,” I admitted, hugging him back tightly and kissing him softly. “I managed to satisfy the requirements of my quest though and we met the town Sheriff. She’s sort of a player like us.”

“She’s the GM when the need arises,” Nishalle clarified. “Becky Shaw, one of the new system admins.”

“I met her last week,” Venika said with a smile, she’s fresh out of college, but she seems nice and she knows her way around a computer.”

“So how went the search for friends?” I asked before carefully adding, “Oh and we need to let all the Fae know that they’ll have to live in the Fae Glade as per the terms of our arrangement with the village.”

“We’ll have to spread the word about that this afternoon,” Venika agreed. “It shouldn’t be much of a problem though. All of the Fae I talked to were planning on going there anyway. Their loyalty is to the Autumn Court, and you of course.”

“I’m afraid that it might be a bit of a toss-up with the professional gamers,” Pete advised with a sigh. “Some hate jerks like Razor and some are afraid to cross him in case he’s as good as he thinks he is.”

I nodded sadly. “Yeah, I was thinking that might be the case.”

Grell motioned us over to where he was sitting with four people; a female Atlantean with short spiky green hair, a blond Dwarf male with a thick red beard, a slender Beastkin woman with long brown hair and a doe tail and ears, and a female Sprite with near-white hair and a blue tint to her wings. All of them were wearing their F.I.T suits still, so I had to assume that they were among the recently resurrected who hadn’t been as fortunate as us during the Deadrush.

“Your Royal Highness,” the Sprite said with a bow.

“Taelya, this is Laesa, the Dwarf is Hadrick, the Atlantean is Ashura, and the Beastkin is Denise,” Grell said, introducing each in turn. They’re all more interested in the crafting side of the game than the combat side and they’re thinking of opening up shops in the new Fae Glade, once they have homes built and some things to sell. They don’t have much for combat skills but their crafting skills are pretty good. So they might have some scavenging quests for us in the city to get materials.”

“We wouldn’t want you to go out of your way Your Highness, but if you happen to be in the city scavenging we could sort of give you a wish list,” Laesa the Sprite explained. “I would like to be able to open a clothing store for Sprites, there are like thirty of us in the game and not a lot of clothing options available for our size, unless we look in toy stores, but doll clothes aren’t really very durable or meant for practical use.”

“I hear that,” Venika agreed bitterly. “I hate wearing this stupid bathing suit all the time and it’s weird seeing the male Sprites in them, not that there are many of those around.”

It turned out that each of the four had specialized in crafting and had different specialties. Laesa of course was focusing on fashions for Fae of the smaller variety, and she had already started by scavenging badly damaged clothes that nobody would want from the clothing store where Lissany and I had gotten our disguises the day before. She could easily use the non-damaged bits and thread from the seams to get a good start on her business.

The other three would be more useful to the whole community, not that keeping Sprites from flitting around in the buff wasn’t good for the community of course. The Fae may not mind so much, but the other races have taboos about that sort of thing. Hadrick had chosen a Dwarf character just for the smithing bonuses from their racial ability, and planned to start a forge to produce melee weapons and armor. Ashura planned on developing solutions to problems facing the community through artificing and was hoping that Grell would not only be her partner, but able to help us figure out what might be useful to the pair while scavenging. As for the doe-tagged Beastkin, Denise had taken all the skills she would need to produce guns and ammunition with the right tools and materials. Apparently she thought that the irony of a deer producing firearms was hilarious.

I had to admit it would be really useful to have people with more of a production bent working on ways to keep the rest of us safe and relatively content while we were in the game. With that in mind we talked throughout lunch, trying to come up with other useful crafts. We were discussing the possibility of finding a leather worker who might be willing to open up a shop, and maybe the possibility of a clothing designer/creator for us taller Fae as well, when the world went black.