Briarwash returned around Ren.
He stood at the edge of the forest where he had logged out. A friend request was waiting at the edge of his vision. Theo had apparently found him.
Ren accepted it but didn’t bother digging through the menus for a private message option. They could figure out where to meet later.
The western road had changed while he was gone. Players still streamed toward the woods, but now they carried hand-drawn maps and marked routes with strips of cloth. Someone had planted a board beside the road covered in party requests, warnings and contradictory rumors about Redjaw.
Two Gold had organized people quickly.
"Vagrant."
Ren turned. The Orchid Company player from earlier approached in his green tabard. Apparently, he’d decided that "later" meant very soon and stuck around until Ren logged back in.
"You still selling where you saw Redjaw?"
"Twelve silver."
A trade window appeared.
Trade Offer
12 Silver
Ren accepted.
He told him where Redjaw had crossed between the trees, which direction the wolf had gone, and where he had found the two earlier kills.
Another notification followed.
Friend Request Received
Halberd
[Accept] / [Decline]
"If you ever have other information, message me first," Halberd said.
Ren accepted.
"If there is a next time."
Halberd returned to his group.
Twelve silver for information Ren had gathered while completing another objective.
Mia’s argument is improving.
He headed into Aldern.
His hidden quest still waited.
The Briar Crown - Rare
Fresh Signs Located: 3/3
Return your findings to a local hunter.
The bounty clerk at the western gate sent him to Mara, a hunter who worked near the tannery.
Ren found her behind a narrow shop with hides hanging beneath the awning.
"Mara?"
She looked up from the knife she was sharpening.
"Yes."
Ren placed the Blooded Briar on the table.
Her attention went straight to the red line running through the black thorn.
"Where did you get this?"
"From an animal Redjaw killed."
Mara cut across the base of the thorn. Dark red welled from inside.
"Blood," Ren said.
She nodded and pulled out a map of Briarwash.
"Show me where you found it."
Ren marked the dead boar, the ditch where he had found the second cluster of thorns, and the place where Redjaw had crossed his path.
Mara studied the marks, then the thorn.
"He’s feeding the crown."
Ren frowned. "His crown?"
"The briars around his neck and skull. Thornbacks grow them outward as they approach an evolution. On an old enough beast, they form a ring around the head. A crown. Before that happens, the briars start drawing in more blood and mana. The veins turn red first."
Ren looked at the thorn.
"So Redjaw is evolving."
"Trying to." Mara tapped the three points on the map. "Large kills speed it up. That’s why he’s ranging farther from his usual territory."
That explained the movement. Redjaw was not wandering south. He was hunting what he needed.
A notification opened.
The Briar Crown - Stage I Complete
You discovered the reason behind Redjaw’s changing hunting route.
Rewards
+600 XP
+2 Silver
Aldern Hunters Reputation +25
A second window appeared.
Level Up. You are now Level 4.
+5 stat points available.
Level 4 - 44/1,500 XP
Ren smiled. That was more like a Rare quest.
Mara pointed north of the split creek.
"Briarheart Hollow. If he gathers enough before someone kills him, he’ll go there to complete the evolution."
The next stage appeared.
The Briar Crown - Stage II
Redjaw has begun an evolution hunt.
Before Redjaw is slain:
Locate Briarheart Hollow.
Confirm Crown Feeds: 0/2
Chain Condition: If Redjaw completes the hunt and survives to evolve, quest rank may increase.
Ren read the last line again. Rare could become something better. Hundreds of players were currently trying to make sure it did not.
"How do I find the Hollow?"
"Follow the creek north. You’ll know you’re close when the briars get dense."
"All right."
Ren left.
Before heading back out, he spent his five stat points.
Strength: 13Agility: 14 -> 16Vitality: 11 -> 13Intellect: 10Perception: 12 -> 13HP: 115 -> 125Unassigned Stat Points: 5 -> 0
Redjaw was still nine levels above him. Another point of Strength was not going to make that fight reasonable.
The western road was packed with parties carrying potions, maps and fresh supplies. Most were heading toward the areas where Redjaw had last been seen.
Ren crossed the creek and went north instead.
Player noise faded quickly.
Black briars began appearing between the trees, first in scattered patches, then in walls thick enough to cover entire trunks. He was looking for Redjaw’s kills now.
The first carcass he found had spear wounds.
Players.
The second was a Thornback Wolf with an arrow buried behind one shoulder.
Wrong again.
Ren kept moving.
Farther north, broken briars led away from the creek. A stag lay at the end of the trail. One antler had snapped against a tree. Black thorns pierced its chest and throat. Each carried a red vein.
Crown Feed Confirmed: 1/2
One more.
Ren followed the creek deeper into the briars.
The animal paths narrowed. He used the spear shaft to move branches aside rather than cutting them and leaving an obvious trail.
Large paw prints appeared in the mud near the water. Redjaw. They followed the creek north before crossing onto stone.
Ren lost them there.
Then he heard voices ahead. He moved behind the briars.
Four players came through the trees.
A guardian led them. Behind him came an archer, a swordsman and a woman carrying a short staff.
The archer held a black thorn with a red vein through it.
They’re on the same quest as me.
The woman with the staff pointed north.
"The Hollow should be farther north, beyond the next turn in the creek."
They’re ahead of me.
Ren started backing away.
The archer saw him through the briars.
"Player!"
She nocked an arrow.
Ren stepped onto the path.
The guardian looked him over.
"What are you doing up here?"
"Same thing you are."
Silence.
The archer’s fingers tightened around the bowstring.
"He knows."
The swordsman drew his blade.
Ren grabbed his spear.
The arrow came first.
He twisted aside. It cut through his sleeve and buried itself in a tree.
Open-World PvP
You have been attacked by another player.
Self-Defense status active.
You may retaliate against the attacker without gaining Criminal status.
Players who assist the attacker become valid Self-Defense targets.
Killing non-hostile players grants Criminal status.
Criminal players may be denied entry to lawful settlements, attacked by guards and receive public bounties.
Criminal status severity scales with the offense. It can be cleared by serving jail time or avoiding further crimes until pursuit ends.
The swordsman charged.
"Kill him. If he’s locked out for twenty-four hours, he’s out of the race."
Ren understood immediately.
Death here meant losing a level. It meant losing whatever durability the system took from his gear. More importantly, it meant twenty-four Earth hours outside Pantheon.
Forty-eight hours inside.
Redjaw could evolve, die or disappear before Ren was allowed back in.
Four players had decided the quest was worth killing him over.
The swordsman reached him first.
Ren drove the spear forward.