Pieces of Sonder

“Alright, if anyone sees something, say something in the group chat,” Infamous Biscuit announced.

Everyone stood in groups of two. They had eight people between Freya’s group and the newcomers, allowing four pairs to search for the plexplex.

“I bet we’ll find it first! Let’s go team three!” Nightscythe shouted enthusiastically. He raised a hand for a high-five in front of K13. The berserker gave him a delicate high-five.

“Tch,” Heilong said, crossing her arms. “You’ll only find it first because of your cheat skill.”

Nightscythe stuck his tongue out at her and pulled K13 along. Fuming, Heilong set off in the opposite direction with Scrimmancer following. Infamous Biscuit and Hamra waved and headed towards the train station.

That left Freya with Sangen, the demoniclast. She was secretly happy about this turn of events. It was a good opportunity for her to talk to the demoniclast one on one. Breaking up into pairs was a little dangerous, but it would help them cover more ground. Only their weakest link, Nightscythe worried her but pairing him with K13, who had the best aggro and highest health, was a good idea.  

“Group chat…” Sangen said, still hanging onto Infamous Biscuit’s words as he watched the others leave.

“Ah, it’s a wizard enchanted thing we all have,” Freya said. That was the easier way to explain it.

“Hm.”

They silently began searching. Freya side-eyed the older man wondering how to start a conversation. His green-colored eyes and black hair reminded her of people from Kypro. The demoniclast apprentice she knew was also from Kypro, so there was a chance they knew each other. 

Gathering her courage, Freya inquired, “I hope it’s not rude of me to ask but are you a demoniclast?”

Sangen jumped and rested his hand on his sword, “How do you know that?”

Oops, Freya thought internally, how would I know except for the textbox?

“Ah, I heard demoniclasts often carry swords, and um- you look like one,” she said, cringing at her own excuse.

“Your companions said something about doing a quest for the King of Suen. Are you not citizens of Suen?”

“No, we’re not from Suen,” Freya said, unsure of why that mattered.

Sangen scrutinized her, “Demoniclasts are not allowed in the country of Suen. The previous king banned us from entering with the punishment of death.”

“Oh? That’s news to me,” Freya said earnestly. “I’m from Oyosi, and demoniclasts are quite common there. Actually, I wanted to ask: Do you know a demoniclast called Tang Sakai? He trained under my shaman master while I was an apprentice.”

The man relaxed slightly, “I know him.”

“Really? So he passed the trials,” she smiled. After they parted ways, she hadn’t heard anything from him. It was good to hear that he passed the test to become a demoniclast.

Clearing his throat, Sangen asked, “What brought you here? Oyosi is a fair distance away.”

“Oh, um, I just wandered here. I was a wandering shaman, and the king offered a good deal for completing his request.”

A bead of sweat ran down her back. Some of that was true. She continued walking and crouched to look underneath a porch. Sangen also started searching again, although he appeared still cautious.

“What brings you here if there’s such a punishment for entering the country?” Freya asked, turning the spotlight to Sangen.

“I’m looking for someone.”

She waited for a beat for him to continue but then asked, “A relative? Or a friend?”

He pursed his lips, “I don’t know them. I’m just following a rumor that someone with odd abilities died here.”

Freya paused. Standing up she repeated, “Odd abilities?”

“Seeing things no one else can see. Knowing people’s names without being introduced. Things like that. Our leader is interested in people like that, so I’m here to investigate.”

“Really?!” Freya exclaimed. She held a hand over her mouth, trying to gather her thoughts. 

So, there are actually other people that have noticed game players! She thought excitedly. Should I explain things to him? Would he believe me?

Sangen looked up and raised an eyebrow, then focused on something behind her. 

“Watch out!”

Freya tensed and spun around. She relaxed a little when she saw it was just another wolf. 

Sangen drew his sword with a loud shing!

Wanting to get this over with, Freya dashed up to the wolf. It snapped at her, but she easily dodged.

Punch!

Her heavy hit to its snout almost toppled the demon wolf. Taking advantage of its imbalance, she used her Sweeping Kick to knock the wolf over. 

She paused, expecting Sangen to finish the demon. But the demoniclast stood still behind her. Freya cocked her head to the side, wondering why he was hesitating. She heard demoniclast swords were imbued with magic that made them work well against demons. Plus, although he wasn’t a game player, Sangen’s level was listed at sixteen. To reach that, he must have plenty of experience hunting demons.

With the knockdown wearing off and Sangen still not moving, Freya delivered the finishing blows herself. 

The demon wolf poofed into smoke, leaving behind another silver coin. As she moved to pick up the coin, her skin prickled. 

She looked up in time to see a sword swinging for her head.

Lurching back, Freya dodged Sangen’s sword. 

Smash!

The sword smashed into the ground, sending dirt flying. Freya jumped back further to gain space.

“What the heck is going on?” she yelled at Sangen. 

The demoniclast looked at her contemptuously, “Give up the card demon. You cannot fool me.”