"Any questions?" Pico asked.

  I am pretty sure I know where Diao is, but maybe I should make it seem like I don't. Do they even care? Shelby rolled her shoulders and bounced to shake out her nervousness, "Any idea where Diao-so-clay could be?"

  "That family lives south of here on an estate just off the main road. It shouldn't be hard to find them," Pico said matter-of-factly.

  Shelby looked towards Thimble expectantly, but he was examining a quartered apple, apparently with all of this focus. Shelby coughed into her hand, "Okay, I hope that I will find Diao-so-clay there."

  "Me too?" Pico said.

  Thimble looked up and was startled to find Shelby staring down at him. He spoke up, "I don't think you will. I saw him when I went to that farming village. He was stuck on the side of the road."

  Pico slapped her own forehead, "Right, right, he passed through here yesterday. Well, there you have it. I wonder if I should send some supplies with you then. They just suffered a terrible loss."

  Shelby nodded. They would probably be more open to my help in this new shape, too. "Maybe my boar could pull a cartful of, uh, I dunno, building materials?"

  "Oh, you have a boar? Do you already know the Clay family? They're boar keepers," Pico asked.

  "I... know of them?" Shelby lied poorly.

  "A boar drawn cart would be very helpful. I'll go see what we have to spare for the farmers. Meet me west of here at the trading station. Let's say... 5 minutes from now." Pico took a few steps towards the exit of the plaza then froze.

  She whirled on Thimble, "Make sure these wolves keep their noses clean, okay?"

  Thimble glared at her, "I'm not a baby sitter."

  "Thanks Thimble," Pico said with a smile, walking away quickly.

  "Hey! Come back here!" Thimble shouted to unresponsive ears.

  His eyes turned to Shelby and narrowed further, casting a shadow of blame on her. She smiled awkwardly, "Uh, gotta go. Sorry. Bye. Sorry."

  She hurried off before he could gather his tempestuous thoughts and started jogging towards the main road. AIDAN suggested that she make a slight detour to visit the town's Touchstone. It was a landmark that allowed to fast travel back to the town after attuning. It was a project she had started constructing hours ago. She was happy to see the finished pedestal as she walked into the open square.

  "You are required to place your hand on it and then concentrate on forming a connection for five seconds," AIDAN instructed.

  The touchstone was a flat, smooth stone propped up on a platform of curved white bricks. As Shelby touched it, a grid of light blue lines pulsed across its surface. It was surprisingly cold to the touch.

  Gotcha, Shelby thought, one for traveling and a free one for coming back here. Can you have more than one Home?

  "Yes, advancing regions may grant you the ability to register additional Touchstones as Home locations," AIDAN said.

  "Ah, so I should do my best to get advancement," Shelby mused, "Good to know."

  Now that she had, finally, registered with the Touchstone, Shelby headed south towards the trade post. Unlike the last time she had visited it, it now had a few people milling around it. The people shopping carried large wicker baskets that were stuffed with grains and other miscellanea, like clothes and tools. There were only a few vendors, including an elderly Daizi squirrel who was sitting behind a few stands stocked with a meager amount of vegetables, as well as the two traders Shelby had seen arrive with Thimble. They looked quite bored. The Toil woman was leaning against a stout tentpole, but because the tent was made for Daizi her head was halfway into the canopy. The cat-like Nerki man was sitting on a tiny stool with his elbows on his knees, watching people walk by with sleepy eyes.

  Pico hadn't arrived yet, so Shelby approached them. The Toil stretched her arms over her head, trailing her fingers over the stiff canvas of the tent, them dropped into a squat directly in front of Shelby. She smiled, revealing several gold-capped teeth, "Hello little one, interested in seeing our miraculous goods?"

  She held an arm out to the few stacked crates and a few items set out on them for display. Although they didn't have a huge amount to show, the items that were there seemed to be high quality. Shelby nodded, taking in the Toil woman. She had silky black hair that was cut with precision to give her a perfectly flat-edged blunted hairstyle. She had two fleshy horns that split her hair from her long bangs. They were piled high with golden cuffs that were linked together a half dozen fine silver chains. She had a feeling of opulence about her. Even her clothes seemed silky and ornate. She wore a red robe with billowing sleeves and a shimmering white wrap beneath.

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  Sensing Shelby's stare, she placed a hand to her chest, "I am Wealth's Grandeur. That lay about behind me is Sha Myan-ul."

  Shelby covered her own heart, "I'm Mille, um, Fueille."

  "That's an adventurer's name for your kind, isn't it?" Granduer said with a bright smile, "Perfect, that's exactly our clientele."

  Sha rose with a tired groan and stepped over a crate to squat next to Granduer. His voice was shockingly melodious, like a jazz club singer, "Hello. Don't mind this fool. I'm sure we have something that would interest you."

  "Did you carry all of this with you?" Shelby asked, knowing they had walked south from somewhere far away.

  "No, thank Grace. We were able to travel home briefly to collect these supplies. Someone was kind enough to build a Touchstone here not long after we arrived," Grandeur said.

  "We'd have liked to bring more, but the roads are in ruins. There's no way to get a cart down here," Sha added, "but our Guild is right next to the Touchstone in Nin-Mora, so we were able to lug a few big crates back."

  Grandeur frowned and dramatically slumped, "Not that it's going to sell. You know, you're the first adventurer we've seen all day. I thought we would be up to our ears in them. Or... up to our knees perhaps."

  Shelby bit her lip, I'll bet you're not seeing many, "That is unfortunate..."

  Sha's ears flicked in irritation. He was a little shorted than Grandeur, and he had round cat ears with wispy tufts inside of them. He also had one dark patch of fur covering the left side of his face, which made him look like he had a cartoonish black eye. He grumbled, "and we heard on our return that 'Mora was swarming with them just last night, but no more. It's like someone is playing with us."

  Grandeur and Sha gave each other commiserating glances, and said, "Isn't that how it always goes?" in unison.

  Sha reached out and tapped Shelby on the forehead, "But here's one now! What do you need? Weapons, armor, healing potions, deadly poisons?"

  "There are healing potions?" Shelby asked. Those would have been nice to have...

  "Are there healing potions?" Sha parroted back, "Of course! Only the finest unguents known to Nerkikind!"

  He opened a crate that was lined with padded velvet and pulled out a trio of slender tubes stoppered with cork. He handed one to Shelby and she held it up to her eye. It looked like cough syrup.

  Shelby checked her currency page and was pleasantly surprised to see that she had accumulated 96 tin coins over the course of her adventures. She popped a pile of them into her hand, "I'll take one!"

  Grandeur scooped them up with one fluid motion and grinned, "A deal has been struck, but surely you want more?"

  "Well, I only have 71 more tin coins..." Shelby admitted.

  "Ah, always on the verge of poverty, you adventuring types," Sha lamented, "but we may have some treasures we could part with."

  Shelby gazed around with interest, "Do you have cooking tools? I'm a Gourmet."

  "Cooking tools... cooking tools..." Sha said to himself as he hopped up onto a crate and peered deep into another.

  He shook his head, "Nothing you can afford, sorry. I do have a couple of recipes though, are you interested?"

  Shelby nodded, "What kind?"

  "Traditional Nerki recipes, of course!" He said with a grin as he handed her a thin booklet.

  Shelby wasn't usually a fan of seafood, but it would probably be useful to learn some fish-based meals if she was going to keep her wolf followers well fed. The only reliable source of meat she knew of was a fishing village she had visited earlier. She accepted, placing another loose stack of tin coins into Grandeur's hand. She grinned, "Thanks much, this trip has been a bit of a bust, but at least you covered our travelling expenses. And we learned a new destination, eh?"

  "How long will you be selling things for? I could come back later," Shelby asked.

  "Not too much longer, but if you ever come around Nin-Mora you should look us up. This is only a peek into the fantastical goods that we stock. As Sha mentioned, the trade guild is right next to the Touchstone," Grandeur said.

  Shelby made a mental note to go see them, then left with a wave. Pico had shown up at some point during their conversation and was ordering supplies to be loaded onto a stout-looking cart. It was a square wooden thing with four wheels and no driver's seating to speak of. Pico flagged down Shelby as she wrote down a list of materials on a small scroll. She handed Shelby the list after a quick read through, then said, "Thanks again for the help. If you could get this into the hands of their chief elder, Mogu, that would ease their suffering a lot. It isn't a village's worth or anything, but they should at least be able to build some temporary shelters."

  That would be a relief... Shelby tucked the list into her apron and retrieved her whistle. After one piercing note, Elizabeth appeared on the scene with a happy snort. Pico helped Shelby guide Elizabeth into the cart's rudimentary canvas yoke and tested it by encouraging the boar to trot forward a few steps. Pico clapped Elizabeth on the shoulder, "Seems sound. Anything else before I cut you loose?"

  "I don't think so," Shelby said, "Supplies to Mogu and then I'll get Diao."

  "That's the plan. Safe travels," Pico smiled and then walked off, heading back towards the inn.

  Shelby climbed onto Elizabeth's back and squeezed the boar between her tiny legs to urge her forward. She wasn't nearly as fast as she was without a cart to pull, but she was still faster than Shelby would be walking. Shelby scratched Elizabeth behind the ears as she pulled against the load. The boar was surprisingly soft and warm, and she oinked happily as she was pet. The ride wasn't perfectly smooth, but Elizabeth was sturdy and soft, so Shelby quickly got used to the rhythm.

  AIDAN floated out of Shelby's apron and settled down into the fluffy tufts of Elizabeth's coat, saying, "Isn't there something you are forgetting, Ms. Shelby?"

  Shelby had pulled out her cooking primer and was just about to read through it, "Hmm? Am I?"

  "You stated that you intended to contact players upon your return to the game world," AIDAN said, annoyance straining his voice.

  "Oh! Yes," Shelby placed the primer back into her inventory and opened the Community menu, then executed a Player Search.

  Just like AIDAN had said, there was no one in the Copperglade region. Including Shelby. She pointed that out to AIDAN, "Shouldn't I be listed here? Or am I hidden from my own search?"

  "You are correct that you should be listed. Even if you were excluded, the population statistic reads '0 Players Online in Region'. I will make a note of this discrepancy..." he trailed off as his dark core swam with sparks.

  Shelby tried Kin Bleak and saw the same lack of players. She didn't know any other region names, but she was able to run a global player search. Shelby scrolled through to see if her name was there.

  I should be right there. That's so weird. Shelby frowned, "I guess we should message some of them," then highlighted Mia Starbright and chose "Private Message."

  "Hello! Are you there, Mia?" Shelby asked after receiving verification that she was sending a private chat.

  No response followed. Shelby asked a few more times before moving on. She scrolled down the page and found a Tehlor Swiftspell. This player didn't respond either. Three more tries later and Shelby was left worrying her tail between two fingers. No responses... I wonder why.

  AIDAN finished whatever process he was performing and spoke again, "Ms. Shelby, are you open to constructive criticism?"

  Now there's an ominous series of words. Shelby blinked a few times, "Uh... I guess so?"

  AIDAN put on a diplomatic tone, "Have you ever considered that you may be deliberately avoiding your problems?"

  Then come join the Altoholic! discord server for discussion and more!