“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” I said, remembering something that I’d read while back in prison. “I took the one less traveled by.” I paused for a moment before adding, “And I hope to hell it makes a difference.”

The distance between Moose Tow proper and the remote post was a couple miles. At one time, not that long ago, that would have seemed like a long distance to travel on foot, but times have changed. Ever since I increased my vitality, I didn’t get tired very easily anymore. And of course, I’d walked MUCH further than that inside the Labyrinth. Now, two miles seemed like it might as well just be a walk to the mailbox.

No, the distance wasn’t a problem. However, the route was. There were people chasing after me, and I wanted to make it more difficult for them to find me. That was why I’d avoided the main road back to the remote post and had taken a side route instead. Hopefully, they wouldn’t even think about this possibility.

I hurried down the path, moving at a good speed while being careful not to go so fast that I risked falling or breaking an ankle. This reminded me that I still wanted to add some points to agility once I could. That would make this kind of thing a lot easier.

When I was about halfway back to the lodge, I saw a shimmering tear in reality off to the side of the path. It was the entrance to the Labyrinth… No, it was an echo of the entrance. It was much smaller and far more unstable, likely to randomly close or move without warning.

I paused for a moment, considering this possible shortcut. If I used this to go into the Labyrinth, then there was even less chance that those people would find me. All I’d have to do was make my way back to the main entrance from the other side, and I could pop out close to the lodge.

“And deal with all those monsters by myself,” I muttered as a reminder. The very idea made me shudder. “Definitely not.”

I began to turn away from the echo so that I continue on my way when I spotted the monster. It was one of those turtle rats that kept showing up in the area. Slow but tough. My first thought was that I should just leave it, but then I remembered what had happened to that northern entrance, and how it had been absorbed by the Labyrinth.

“Probably best not to leave any monsters wandering around,” I muttered. “Not even the slow ones.”

With that, I glanced down at myself and at the faint glow that still surrounded my armor. It had already lasted quite a bit longer than a ‘Cursed Ground’, and that was after I’d already transferred a lot of its power to other targets. Now that I thought about it, I suspected that if I cursed an object but didn’t transfer any of it’s power away, then it would probably last long enough for the ability to recharge.

As it was, the power that remained in my ‘Cursed Object’ was slowly fading away, and I suspected that the last of it would vanish within the next few minutes. My eyes darted to the monster and I smiled faintly. It would be a shame to waste that last little bit.

With that, I blasted the monster with a ‘Hex’, then moved closer and kicked it. As soon as I did so, the last remains of my ‘Cursed Object’ were transferred to the monster. It gave the monster a much weaker bane than it had my previous targets, but it had given one.

“Too bad I don’t have that sword anymore,” I mused as I backed away from the monster and waited for my ‘Hex’ to recharge. Thanks to my staff, I wouldn’t have to wait as long as I would otherwise. “Maybe I should get a scepter too.”

Once the monster was dead, I felt a moment of triumph over my solo kill. Then, I silently cursed at myself for wasting this much time when I had people after me. I gave the monster’s body one last glance, then hurried down the trail, hoping that I didn’t run into any more delays.

I reached the lodge a short time later and immediately rushed inside. I was relieved to see no sign of the people who’d been after me, but I wasn’t about to lower my guard just yet. Instead, I looked around, trying to find a friendly face. Then I spotted two.

Grayson and Lenore were in the cafeteria area, apparently eating a late lunch. I immediately headed straight for their table.

“What’s up, Red?” Lenore asked as I approached.

“Oh, not much,” I answered with a sarcastic snort. “I was kidnapped by some people who apparently want my armor, and I just escaped.”

Lenore jumped to her feet. “What the fuck?”

“Exactly,” I responded.

Grayson gave me a look of surprise, then of anger. “You’re serious?”

“As a heart attack,” I assured him with a grim expression. “I was a bit rough with getting my ass out of there, so I’m afraid that they might come after me.”

“Who was it?” Lenore demanded. “Did you see who grabbed you?”

I nodded at that, feeling a surge of anger and betrayal. “Frank and Jag were there…and two other people I’ve never seen before.”

“What the hell?” Grayson snarled. “We need to tell Giles.”

Lenore shook her head. “I think he and that Riel guy were out checking on some monsters that someone saw.”

Grayson absently patted his sword, which he had strapped to his side. He wasn’t currently wearing his armor or shield, but he never went around the Labyrinth zone unarmed. Lenore just had her short sword on her.

“If there’s going to be a fight,” Grayson announced. “I need my gear.”

“Me too,” Lenore agreed.

I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that they’d both believed me and that they had my back, even outside of the Labyrinth. I wasn’t used to that kind of thing, but I could definitely get used to it.

A few minutes later, Grayson and Lenore were both fully armed and armored. Their equipment had already been cleaned and repaired, which was one of the first things that both had done after leaving the Labyrinth. They’d also replaced a few pieces of armor that had been too badly damaged.

“Now, we find Giles,” Grayson announced as he rolled his shoulder and shifted his shield.

There were a couple other people present in the lodge, but none of them spared us a second look. They were used to people walking around with weapons and armor. From what I understood, this was perfectly normal in just about any Labyrinth zone.

When we stepped outside the lodge, I saw Giles and Riel walking towards us. Giles was wearing his grey armor and had his halberd with him, while Riel wore similar armor and carried a crossbow and a mace. Both looked ready to fight, except for the fact that their body language was casual.

“Out culling monsters?” Grayson asked them.

Giles nodded. “Yes. Agent Riel and I killed a couple that slipped through one of the echoes.”

Riel chuckled at that. “You make me regret that I was never able to go in and become a player myself.”

“There are definite advantages,” Giles responded with a smile. Then he paused and looked at our faces, finally realizing that something was wrong. He immediately turned serious. “What’s wrong?”

“Apparently,” Grayson said with a grim expression, “Frank and his people just tried to kidnap Donna.”

Riel’s expression turned just as serious. “Please explain.”

I took a deep breath, then began to tell them what happened. I told them about the human sized puppets I’d seen on the street, the way Jag had used an illusion to impersonate Lenore, and how they’d tied me up in the hotel room.

“The one guy,” I explained. “Michaelangelo… He was really interested in my armor.” I gestured down at my armor, adding, “Kept talking about studying soulbound artifacts.”

“Was he green?” Grayson asked me with a faint smirk. “And did he have nunchucks?”

I gave Grayson a flat look and flipped him off. I was tempted to say something else, but I didn’t want to lose my train of thought.

“Frank and the others,” I continued. “It seemed like they were mostly just trying to keep this Michaelangelo asshole happy, but they said a few things that made me think they wanted him to make them soulbound equipment once he learned how.”

Gile’s scowl deepened. “Make them…?” He and Riel shared a look, then he looked back at us. “There are only a couple artificers who know how to make any kind of artifacts at all, and they aren’t even close to figuring out soulbound ones.”

“So, we have rogue players to deal with,” Riel said with a grim look and a shake of his head. “If anyone else around here has soulbound equipment, they could be targeted too.”

“Do you know if anyone does?” Grayson asked him.

Riel hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “Well, Skunk has something, but he went into the Labyrinth with his crew and I have no idea when they’ll be back. If anyone else around here has anything, I haven’t heard about it.”

“Agent Riel,” Giles said carefully. “We have what appears to be four or five potential rogue players. You might want to send a runner to the main office.”

“Good idea,” Riel agreed.

Just then, Lenore suddenly pointed up into the air. “What the fuck is that?”

I looked up and immediately saw what Lenore was referring to. There was some kind of white bird flying around overhead, but it looked seriously wrong. It seemed sharp and angular, not like a bird at all.

“Is that some kind of new monster?” Lenore asked.

A moment later, she conjured an arrow and shot at the flying creature. Her arrow hit it right on and tore a large hole right through the middle. However, the thing continued fluttering around for several more seconds before it abruptly stopped moving and then sort of spiraled down to the ground.

Lenore rushed to the fallen creature, then blurted, out, “What the fuck?”

I quickly joined her, though I had to pause and take a second look at what I saw. The ‘creature’ was nothing more than a sheet of intricately folded paper. It looked like it was supposed to be some kind of bird or bat, but it had a large hole right through the middle.

“Origami,” I said in recognition. I once had a cellmate who liked to kill time by playing around with origami. There were little paper figures all around our cell, at least until he got bored and moved on to something else.

“There are more of them,” Riel pointed out, gesturing up above.

The Warden was right. I saw another half dozen origami birds flying around. And as I watched, even more joined until there were at least a dozen of them.

“An animator,” Riel stated with narrowed eyes.

Giles looked to me and nodded. “Miss Donna did say that one of her kidnappers was an animator. Apparently, he animates more than wooden dolls.”

Grayson scowled and drew his sword. “And he’s obviously close by. Animators have a limited range.”

Suddenly, the entire flock of paper birds all dove down at us. Grayson raised his shield to block the attack, while Giles stood steady, not even activating his own shield ability. I held my staff more tightly, resisting the temptation to throw out a ‘Cursed Ground’. That bane was useless on anything flying more than a foot or two above it.

There was a flicker of motion from the corner of my eye. I started to snap around but Jag was already there, rushing in with both her knives drawn. Grayson reacted faster than I could and brought his shield down to block her, only to have her vanish. At the same time, Giles yelped as a blade from the real illusionist tore through his side.

“Gotcha,” Jag exclaimed as she danced back, avoiding a swipe of Grayson’s sword.

I raised my hand to hit Jag with a ‘Hex’, but she was suddenly a few feet away from where I was aiming. That made me hesitate for a couple seconds, long enough for her to get more distance.

Then I noticed the other arrivals. Three wooden puppets were approaching us, the same ones that I’d encountered earlier. However, unlike before, they were now armed. Each of the wooden puppets carried a mace and a round shield.

Maestro followed right behind them, holding his staff and gesturing towards us. And then there was Frank. She walked beside the animator, looking more annoyed than anything. And finally, Michaelangelo emerged with a determined look on his face and a scepter in his hand.

“Two Wardens,” Frank told Maestro with a grimace. “We can’t afford that escalation. We should leave.”

“Fuck that,” Jag spat out. “That bitch is gonna pay for zapping me with that fucking enchantment.”

“Jag is right,” Maestro agreed. “A measure of retaliation is due.”

Frank rolled her eyes so hard that I could see it from where I stood. “We attacked her. She had every right and expectation to try escaping. The fact that she succeeded does not mean that you have earned any right for revenge.”

“This is about more than revenge,” Maestro stated firmly. “As you would say, her armor represents an investment in our future.”

“This whole venture represents a major risk,” Frank responded grimly. “We can’t afford to draw the attention of the Wardens, or to be labeled rogues. Not yet.”

“Too late,” Michaelangelo stated. “We already have their attention.”

My eyes darted to Giles and Riel. Giles was watching them carefully, his halberd ready for use. Riel just stood there with his crossbow raised and aimed.

“You do have a point,” Frank admitted with a sigh. She shifted her axe, her expression hardening. “Then let’s get this over with.”

“And don’t kill the enchanter,” Michaelangelo added. “Her soulbound artifact is useless if she’s dead.”