After the long family meeting, they reluctantly realized that each of their own urgent errands would force them apart again, if only for a short time. Coralia, Arlim, and Agitha would begin establishing an infrastructure and trade network with the kobold village. Meanwhile Zell invited Cora along to pick up Rin and Goggles before taking care of the many liberated slaves he had brought back from Axis. Cora thanked Zell but declined, saying she had chores to do in exchange for magic lessons from the mage salamander Karakis. Zell accepted the reasoning but couldn’t help but feel like she was hiding something.

Zell had entrusted the bulk of his newly acquired fortune to his father, who knew finances and wealth management better than nearly anyone. He secured his hidden coin pouch with three hundred gold beneath his clothes and set out to pick up Rin.

The day had started out chilly but the mid morning sun was now defiantly shining in the face of the invading autumn. The market district was in a frenzy as the first cold night had reminded everyone to prepare for the coming winter. Zell had once been intimidated and overwhelmed by crowds such as this but now found himself smiling as he walked, he greeted strangers warmly and left many confused smiles in his wake.

Soon Kel’s familiar and beloved restaurant and inn was in view and Zell quickened his pace a bit, pulled by his heart strings. A tall, and gorgeous girl was waiting outside for him. Rin was barely recognizable. Her hair was up in a stylish bun and her long bangs were clipped away from her eyes for a change. She wore a light green simple dress that showed just enough to make Zell gulp but not enough to betray her girlish innocence.

Zell was glad that his sister wasn’t there to see his slack jawed and flushed face at that moment.

“My mom picked it out, does it look bad?” Rin asked shyly when he was close enough to hear.

“I’m terrible at describing things.” Zell answered. “But here.” He reached out and took her hand, pressing it against his chest so that she could feel his pounding heart. “A sprint up a mountain with an ogre on my back would never make it beat this fast.”

“Whooo!” Came another girl’s voice from the front door. Nin was grinning at the pair of them. “How smooth was that?” She added with a wink.

“Let’s go before I light her on fire.” Rin said, grabbing Zell by the elbow to lead him away.

“Oh, alright. See ya Coach!” Zell answered waving at Nin as he was led quickly away.

“Where are we headed first?” Rin asked after a few moments of walking.

“To the stables to pick up my friend Goggles.” Zell answered happily. “I’m sure he’s worried by now.”

“Goggles? At the stables?” Rin echoed with a raised eyebrow.

“Yep. Oh by the way how do you feel about spiders?” Zell asked.

“I like that they eat flies, but still find them creepy.” Rin shrugged as she answered. “Why?”

“You’ll see.” Zell said, guessing it would be easier to show than tell in this case.

They arrived at the stables shortly after, and Zell approached one of the three carriages they had purchased in Axis.

“Goggles is different but he is not at all dangerous so don’t be scared of him. Okay?” Zell said to Rin as he put his hand on the door handle.

“I trust you but that makes me a bit nervous.” Rin replied with a chuckle.

He opened the door and peeked inside. The inside of the carriage appeared empty aside from several large pillows and cushions on the benches.

“Did he get out somehow?” Rin asked curiously

“Nope.” Zell said with a growing smile. “He just taught himself a new shape is all.”

Zell invited Rin into the carriage and pointed to one of the large overstuffed cushions.

“That’s Goggles.” Zell proclaimed proudly.

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“Your new friend is... a pillow?” Rin asked with a worried look.

Zell put a hand on the cushion and it seemed to react and distort, and after a second a wolf sized furry spider was in its place.

“D-d-doppelganger spider!” Rin squeaked with wide eyes. “These are in the monster museum catalogs as an A class monster!” She took an unconscious step back but her faith in Zell gave her courage.

“He’s absolutely friendly.” Zell promised. “I’ve known him since he was this big.” Zell added holding his index finger and thumb a few inches apart. “You should pet him and see.”

Rin did indeed get the feeling that the huge arachnid was not hostile and cautiously approached with her hand out. A smile grew on her face as she stroked the surprisingly soft shimmering blue fur on his bulbous back.

The spider stirred and stretched its long legs one side at a time before crawling into Zell’s lap.

“I need to drop him off at my house before I go to the orphanage.” Zell said.

“Won’t the city guards make a huge scene if they spot him?” Rin asked.

“He’s already registered so it would be fine, but they won’t notice him either way.” Zell answered confidently.

Before Rin could ask any further questions, Zell spoke the word of magic and made the gesture that allowed him to communicate with Goggles. He sent a particular image to the spider that they had rehearsed many times.

Goggles quickly crawled onto Zell’s back and after a moment of shimmering distortion took the form of a large brown backpack.

“Incredible.” Rin said stunned by both the sophisticated relationship and the spider’s amazing camouflage magic.

They enjoyed a pleasant walk through town hand in hand back to Zell’s new home. Rin couldn’t help but keep an eye on the ‘backpack’ for most of the walk. Once at home, Zell took Goggles to his room and left several large chunks of raw mutton for him to snack on.

“I’ll set him up in the back garden when I have time.” Zell said offhandedly as he closed the door to his room behind him.

Their next stop was the orphanage where Zell had sent the liberated child slaves from Axis city. Zell knew the place well. Much of his early thief training had occurred there under the young elf girl named Teya, a master of stealth and larceny in spite of her young age of forty-three.

Inside the orphanage, Merissa Redwave sensed a colossal mana presence approaching and suddenly stopped speaking in the middle of her lesson in front of a score of young orphans. She was wearing a black robe embroidered with gold and tied with a gold silk sash around her slim waist. Her dark straight hair was tied in a typical ponytail and her large brown eyes were widened in sudden worry. She changed her tone as she spoke to the children then.

“Everyone stay here, and stay quiet like you were taught okay?” She said as she quickly made for the door, grasping a thin black wand hidden up her sleeve. What could she hope to do against such a beast as was approaching? It was clearly targeting the orphanage and growing closer by the second.

She threw the large front door open and brandished her wand of lightning, expecting to see no less than a greater elemental bearing down on her. She blinked several times and forced her mind to recalculate when she realized the source of the vast mana. A familiar brown haired kid with a goofy smile was walking toward her while holding hands with one of Kel Corso’s young daughters.

“Zell!?” Merissa balked with a tone of utter disbelief.

“Heya miss Pinky!” Zell called jovially with a wave.

“What the hell is going on with your mana? Did you eat a dragon?” Merissa asked, squinting her eyes against the sickness that she hadn’t been forced to endure since she had been with Agitha several months before.

“Eh?” Zell looked down at his own body as though he might see what she was talking about. “I ate a spadehead python and some thunder beetles, no dragon though. Is dragon something you can eat?” He asked with a suddenly hopeful tone.

Merissa and Rin both looked at Zell with slowly dropping jaws and widening eyes.

“Spadehead python!?” They blurted in unison.

“Don’t just say that like it’s normal!” Rin admonished while Merissa nodded with crossed arms in agreement.

“What?” Zell asked innocently. “It’s just a big snake right?”

“It’s a high class A, almost class S magical beast only found in the most dangerous places in the world!” Rin shot back shaking Zell by the shoulders.

“It uses innate high level hypnosis magic and can kill even the strongest prey in seconds just by squeezing it.” Merissa added sagely.

“If I had known you were in such a monster’s territory you would have come back to a bald girlfriend with no fingernails.” Rin finished quietly.

“It wasn’t so bad though...” Zell said. “Also it tastes amazing for the first month or so before it gets boring.”

“We’ll come back to this.” Merissa said, waving the absurd topic away physically with both hands. “What brings you here?”

“You don’t know?” Zell asked, suddenly concerned. “A group of former slave kids from Axis should have arrived here by yesterday.”

“I haven’t admitted anyone new in weeks.” Merissa answered, her own concern growing on her face.

“We never passed any sign of them on the road here either.” Zell said, centering himself and forcing calm logical thoughts. He looked at Merissa intensely. “Do you have any connections with the gate guards?”

“I have connections everywhere.” She answered confidently. “If they have been in the city I can know within the hour.”

Merissa pulled a smooth blue stone from the purse around her neck and whispered a word of magic into it. A few minutes later a familiar voice spoke from behind Zell.

“Princess.” The grubby and waifish elf girl addressed Merissa with a bow, giving Zell an appraising sidelong glance as she did.

“There are missing children that may be somewhere in the city. You know what to do. Every second counts.” Merissa said seriously. “Get the details of their number and appearance from Zell and find them immediately.”

“Yes, princess.” Teya affirmed. “Right away. Zell, Rin this way please. Explain as we go.” Teya bade as she took off down a nearby narrow alley at a jog.

Zell’s mind raced in a near panic at the thought of those poor children having hope snatched away yet again. He followed Teya closely as she navigated the complicated back alleys with absolute confidence.

“Ten kids.” Zell said as they ran. “Three lizardfolk and one dwarven girl. The rest human.” He added.

“That is good. The lizardfolk especially would not go unnoticed.” Teya answered optimistically.

Zell explained the basics of the situation to Rin as well; that he had liberated the children from slavery in Axis City and paid for their passage to Vinia. Her face was one of grave concern as well as open admiration for Zell.

A few minutes later, Teya met with her first contact. The apparent beggar sat against a street corner with a battered old hat on the ground before him with a few copper coins in it. After a brief exchange, Teya’s face lit up.

“It’s your lucky day.” Teya said with a sigh. “They were waylayed by traffickers yesterday. The caravan simply left them at the city gate with no escort.”

“Bastards.” Zell cursed. He had paid them handsomely to ensure safe passage to the orphanage, not just the city. “Do you have any idea who might have taken them?”

“Yes.” Teya answered. “What’s more, we have been waiting for a good excuse to hit them hard.”

“Slavers in my city...” Zell growled, a faint dark aura began to emanate from him as he spoke. He suddenly noticed that Teya and Rin had both taken a step back and were watching him with uneasy expressions.

“Lead me there now, please.” Zell said to Teya with no room for negotiation in his tone.