Page 6 of Nico

“You deserve this,” he said. “And really, you’d be doing me a favour. They send me so much of this stuff.”

He tried to look annoyed, as though having one of the biggest game franchises in the world constantly send him exclusive merchandise was some terrible inconvenience.

He wasn't fooling anyone.

Michael was one of the most popular gaming streamers around, with millions of followers and sponsorships from more companies than I could keep track of.

He also had enough free merchandise to probably furnish an entire room with nothing but gaming keyboards and branded hoodies. He loved every second of it. And, honestly, so did I.

I rubbed the fabric between my fingers. It was some kind of fancy cotton blend, the sort of material I imagined you'd only find in the most expensive T-shirts.

I didn't own anything like this, but if someone had asked me what a ridiculously luxurious T-shirt was supposed to feel like, this would have been my answer.

“I really couldn’t⁠—”

“You really could.”

I glanced back at the shirt, then at Michael again. There was no point pretending I wasn't already planning to wear it.

“If you insist!”

I quickly pulled it over my head, barely remembering to duck my head through the collar. In my excitement, I nearly smacked the laptop sitting on the coffee table with my elbow.

I caught it at the last second and pulled it closer, glancing at Michael. He gave me a look that said that was close. I gave him an apologetic smile before turning my attention back to the shirt.

I straightened it reverently, smoothing the fabric down over my chest and admiring the Shadowfall logo again.

“Look at you,” Michael said.

I ignored him, but he only chuckled before reaching for something on the table and holding it out to me.

I stared at it for a moment. “No.”

“Yes,” he said, grin widening in amusement.

Before I could protest, he slipped the Shadowfall lanyard over my head. I caught it with both hands, immediately turning it over to take in all the details.

It was covered in motifs from the latest update, including several of the new monsters, but what really caught my attention was the character artwork woven throughout the design.

Ailwyn. Lord of the Elves.

My favourite character. I ran my fingers over the image, then looked at Michael, hardly able to believe what I was holding. I wanted to hug him. Or faint.

Michael chuckled. “You know, I’m surprised you aren’t at the packhouse right now.”

“Hm?” I looked up, realising I'd been staring at the lanyard again.

“I heard from Gri—” Michael stopped himself and cleared his throat. “Well. Some of the enforcers were talking.”

“Talking about what?”

“There seems to be some big meeting going on over at the house.” He gave me a pointed look.

A big meeting? At the packhouse? My mind immediately went back to everything I'd read on the Shadowfall forums over the past few months.

The new movie was supposed to be based on the latest game installment, Shadowfall: Requiem, which had been released a few years ago.

Fans had been speculating about filming locations ever since the movie was announced. The story needed wild woods, mountains, and a lake, and there had been several locations thrown around on the forums.