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The next Realms update is online! As always, all constructive criticism is welcome. Enjoy!

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"You know, Crusader, for one who finds my presence so repugnant, you seem to spend an awful lot of time following me."

"Do not mistake my attentions, foul witch." Silvara responded with a hint of contempt in her voice as she, Katt and I made our way back through the gates of Akrahbar. "I seek merely to keep an eye on you."

"Oh?" I gave an evil little smirk, doing my best to make sure only my mouth was visible to Silvara beneath my hooded robe. "Are you certain I haven't been working my magics on you all this time? Perhaps even now I'm ensnaring you with my powers."

"You jest." The white hair wolf girl scoffed at that idea. "My faith shields me from your wicked magics. I simply cannot say the same of this new charge of yours, and simply wish to preserve her from your evil intentions.

"Oh, I have no intentions with this one..." I couldn't help but chuckle a little at the look of utter confusion on Katt's face. "We probably need to explain ourselves, huh?"

"Yes, you do. You two just started up that conversation out of nowhere. Did I miss something?" Katt asked as she looked back and forth between us.

"No, you didn't miss anything, except for the previous episodes of our little drama." Silvara explained as we stepped off to the side of the city street. "It's just a little role play Aerilla and I like to do sometimes. I'm the self-righteous, pious Crusader who can't decide whether she wants to save the soul of the black magic user or condemn her for all eternity for her largely imagined crimes."

"And I'm the poor mage who has to drag around said Crusader like a ball and chain everywhere, trying to convince her that just because my magic is black doesn't mean my soul is." I quickly explained to Katt how fireballs, lightning, and similar magics all fall under the umbrella of, "black" magic. "And as much as I'm annoyed by her attitude and nagging, she's too helpful for me to truly part with."

It actually started out of boredom when our healer went AWD(Away From Dream Machine) during a dungeon run. They promised they'd be back quick, but until they returned, our only options were to either continue and most likely get destroyed, quit, or wait. We chose option three. As we were waiting, the other damage dealer with us, a bow-wielding Sniper, mentioned how mismatched a pair Silvara and I were. She was essentially a walking fortress with her heavy armor and holy powers, and I was a seemingly meek looking mage who could harness some powerful dark arts. That prompted Silvy and I to throw a couple of verbal barbs at one another in good fun. It didn't proceed much beyond there at first, but slowly we started fleshing out a background story between our two characters and started making it a somewhat regular thing.

"It's also good practice for my future career plans." Silvara was just as cautious as I was about her real world identity, choosing her words carefully as she spoke to Katt. "What I do now won't last forever, so I've been experimenting with a little acting as a potential fall back option. In fact, I have an audition in a couple of weeks for a role I'm preparing for."

"You're trying out for a part in play? That does sound kind of fun." Katt's previous confusion returned as I muffled a laugh at her statement.

"Um..." Silvara flashed me a quick smile as she glanced my way briefly. The role she was trying out for was on Contest of Chairs, one of the hottest pay-per-view shows to date. It was for a minor character, but would still be quite a thing to add to her resume and a hell of a lot more than a play at your local community theater. "Something like that."

Silvara danced around Katt's questions with the same grace she showed during her performances as the two of them chatted for a while, leaving me alone to my thoughts. Of course I supported Silvy's future, but it did make my guilt at deceiving her about my true identity feel even worse. She was already a music star, and soon potentially a TV one as well. It was only because of Silvara's own need for discretion about her true identity that'd kept my secret safe, but what happens if she decides to fly me out to see a taping of her show, or insists on me coming backstage to one of her concerts? I can't imagine her reacting well to her loving girlfriend turning out to be a man, no matter how genuine my feelings were for her.

How the hell do you even break that kind of news, though? Hey, Silvy; totally didn't mean for this to happen, but I'm not actually a woman outside Realms and when we're battling monsters. Sure, we have a lot of fun, really care for each other, and work really well together, but in reality you'd have no physical attraction to me at all. So...sorry?

"Aerilla? Aerilla!" Silvy's voice shook me out of my thoughts before she slipped back into righteous Crusader mode. "What demons are you conspiring with in your mind, mage?"

"Huh? Oh, only the demons of my past that bought me to this moment here with an uptight knight." I shook my head before smiling. I did feel bad about what was happening with Silvy, but I had come on today initially to help Katt. It was probably better to take this one hurdle at a time.

"So you say. Anyway, your companion here was asking me about what that woman over there was doing." Silvara motioned over to a nearby player. The staff on her back suggested she was a mage like myself, though its crude wooden design and her simple robes also suggested she was a fairly new player. It was probably the way she had one hand pressed against the side of her head and seemed to be pressing at the air in front of her that caught Katt's attention. "I figured you'd be able to explain it in a better context than I."

"Oh, certainly. You know when you're playing Sweet Swallower on your phone, and it has all the extra information on the screen like your score, your lives, your boosts and all that?" Katt nodded as I mentioned her favorite mobile game. "That's part of what's referred to as a heads up display, or HUD. Now, try doing what that player's doing."

Being on her friends list allowed me to see the menu of options that suddenly appeared in the air before Katt. Realms did its best to keep the full fantasy vibe going as much as possible, but some concessions had to be made for the convince of players. By pressing one hand against the side of your head and tapping at the air in front of you, a blue holographic screen would come up. For here a variety of the games options and features could be accessed.

"If you really want to, you can turn on a HUD so all the numbers and stats behind the game are in plain view for you the whole time. Most players prefer to go without it, but it's there if you want it. It's also where you access a variety of things like your ability list, levels in various classes, any sub-quests you have, and perhaps most importantly, your map." Katt's swiping hand paused when she reached the map screen.

"I see what you mean. And the only things under quests is... back at The Oasis?" Katt glanced toward the tavern/inn the two of us were currently staying at. "So that's where we need to go next?"

"Yup, though I should warn you that you're going to be on your own for the next part. Don't worry; there's no combat or anything. Just a bit of story development, and you'll get your CommChain. Oh, but before your do, I should go get my referral bonus for introducing a new player."

"Good idea. I noticed a guard near the entrance of the city. I always make sure to know where the closest law enforcement official is so I can turn you in the second you cross a line. Perhaps you could turn yourself in while you're at it?" Silvara suggested with a smirk.

"You wish. If anything, I'll ask if they can refer me to a healer who can extract the stick that seems to be forever lodged up your backside." I replied as I started making my way back toward the city entrance.

I could hear Katt asking Silvara why I'd be going to a guard, and I could tell what Silvy's answer was even as I got out of earshot of their conversation. The guards in Realms were actually GM's(short for Game Masters) who worked for Other World Games. As real a world as it feels, Realms is still a game, and games have bugs. The GM's use special permissions given to them to help players out who get stuck because of a flaw in the design or some other glitch in the game system. The most common glitches involve getting stuck somewhere or falling through what should be a solid wall. They're also a source of help for any sort of game-related issues.

It didn't take too long for me to find the guard Silvy mentioned; she stuck out like a polar bear in the desert, because, well... she WAS a polar bear in the desert. Even through the blue turban of the city guard atop her head I could see a small pair of rounded white bear ears poking through the folds of her headgear. The blue shirt and brown pants were typical of the guards of Akrahbar, though the golden sword at her side was something that was exclusive to the GM's. The bright blades were like a badge that identified GM's and weren't something a normal player could make or otherwise get their hands on.

"Excuse me." I pulled my hood back and waved a little as I approached the guard. Having my hood up gives me a cool, "dark and mysterious" vibe, but I can see how it might give a bad first impression. "You're a GM, correct? Can you please help me with something?"

"Sure!" The GM's smile was almost as big as her belly as she nodded. Since body type is entirely up to the player, it's almost expected to see a lot of slim, model-like characters. Seeing one with a gut like hers, especially a GM's character to boot, was quite a rare sight. That's not a criticism; it was just such an odd sight to see a body type that was more realistic in a fantasy world filled with taut tummy's and slim waistlines. "What do you need?"

"I'm here about the Refur A Friend program. I just bought a new player in by the name of Book Katt." The guard bought up her own player, or I guess GM screen in this case as she nodded. "Do you need any other information from me, Miss...?"

"Sandy, and nope, that's it. I'll make sure the referral reward gets sent to your inbox." A polar bear named Sandy in the desert? The jokes were flying around in my brain, but I bit my tongue as Sandy continued to work on her screen. "Hmm; do you think your friend would mind I did a little something for her to commemorate the occasion? It's not Other World Games sanctioned; just a little something from me personally."

"Um, no, I don't think she'd mind." I jumped back a little as a wooden desk and stool suddenly appeared in the space in front of Sandy. A pencil appeared in her hand as she sat down on the stool and began to draw on the parchment paper on the desk. Her hand flew across the page, occasionally glancing back at the air in front of her at what I assumed what a picture of Katt's character model if the face she was drawing was any indication. I was in awe as the sketch was coming together with unnatural quickness. "Wow; that's amazing!"

"Thanks." Sandy smiled up at briefly before going back to her work. "I found that as long as you possess the skills in the real world, you can complete tasks in a fraction of the time in Realms. It won't give you skills you don't already have, but skills you already possess are enhanced greatly."

I nodded in agreement as Sandy put the final touches on Katt's portrait. Wow, she was really going to like thi... wait; what's she adding along the top there?...Uh-oh...

"Um, Silvy?" I quickly pulled Silvara up on my CommChain as Sandy did some touch ups on her drawing. "You didn't start your game in Akrahbar, right?"

"No, I went through the same opening quest line you did." Sandy smiled as she presented the finished product to me while Silvy responded to my question. "Why do you ask?...And why are there a bunch of city guardswomen heading right for Katt?..."

"Because, well..." I glanced at the big WANTED written across the top of Katt's sketch, as well as some details on the bottom about how she was wanted by the city guard for questioning, "Katt's in some trouble..."