“Then I’ll wait for the boss to come back or that coin purse of yours to loosen. Tavern man!” she shouted, quickly taking the seat that Lucas had just abandoned. “Get me something strong to drink!”

Lucas felt bad for Nick, as it seemed like some part of him had been crushed when Bonnie rejected his invitation. Well, we’re still in the same party, so we should still be sharing experience, Lucas thought, pulling out two gold coins. He wasn’t actually sure if there was a limit to how far a person could be away from another player and still earn experience, but he remembered seeing a discussion about it on forums. As best he could recall, as long as the party didn’t enter a completely new area, like a different dungeon or island, the experience would still be shared. “How about I give each of you a gold coin to go get me another level?” he asked. “I’ll give you another one if you can impress me with more than one.”

Bonnie’s eyes and mouth both went wide at the mention of gold. “Those are the words I like to hear!” She snatched the coin so fast it looked like it had vanished from Lucas’s hand. “Tavern man, put that drink on ice. I’ll be back. Now, we’re off, spell boy!” she declared proudly, ignoring both men and exiting the tavern without waiting for a reply from either.

Nick paused a moment though before joining her. “Umm . . . thanks, man,” he said and then darted after her.

He really didn’t want to have to level alone. At least I should either get a level out of this or find out the limits to the party system.

With all of his business wrapped up, Lucas headed to Dray von Maidbanger’s little hamlet. Unlike the one around Sir Kegan’s place, it was incredibly lively. Before Lucas had even reached the town, he found himself walking with plenty of other players who were also headed in the same direction. Dray himself wasn’t a popular quest or dungeon objective. Most players reached the level cap long before they had to defeat him, but his town was still a popular attraction. It had the best weapons, armors, and other knick-knacks one could get on all of noob island. It was practically a utopia of merchants selling everything from the best baked goods and foods to the finest carriages and steeds. It was also one of the few towns that, in recognition of its founder, had an assortment of negligee and lingerie merchants that could help one acquire the items and tools one might need to try some of the game’s more adult activities with other players or an NPC.