In Arikar, the family unit was considered the base of power. Each person’s village was practically their extended family, and they could only survive and thrive by sticking together as a family. It is likely that Bloodline magic formed around this ideal, so that families could survive together as their Bloodline protected them.
Excerpt: A History of Magic – Galen Cletus
Feeding a demon is troublesome, Erin thought to herself as she led Ashe and Sammath through the bustling crowds in the port. Erin had already considered a legal loophole to feed Cab, but it was going to require revealing herself to the Count that ruled the city. To do that, Erin, Sammath, and Ashe were all going to need clothing that wouldn’t disgrace them in front of the Count, or at least clothing that wouldn’t get them thrown out of the Count’s estate immediately.
Having already mentally re-catalogued everything in her storage space, Erin already knew that she didn’t have noble clothing and it seemed like that was a preparatory mistake she would have to rectify going forward. To be fair to herself, she had not expected to be swept up in saving the life of a young boy who was to be executed after being blackmailed by a Volkarian who decided to be a slave for the life experience, find out the young boy was host to a Demon King, run into her cultivator cousin, and then need to feed the Demon King the lives of the sinful, but that was the way of the world. Erin should have still been prepared for a situation in which she needed to reveal her identity, at the very least, and the clothes to look the part would have been extremely helpful.
Instead, she was now going to have to drag a young, immature boy and a Volkarian of all people on a shopping trip. Perhaps, if it was for weapons or even for books, she’d be able to find a way for them to enjoy themselves but, for clothes, Erin knew that she was about to use every last dreg of patience and self-control available to her.
Glancing backward, Erin ensured that Sammath and Ashe were still following her, allowing herself a little smirk as she saw Ashe holding Sammath’s hand. Instead of what most would expect, though, Ashe was the one powering through the crowd as he dragged the older and bigger Sammath, who was gawking and looking around the crowds and sights of the large port city. Slowing down slightly, Erin made sure that Ashe and Sammath were keeping pace as she continued to wind her way deeper into the city, eventually moving away from the crowds and to much quieter thoroughfares. There, while the city was still lively, Erin didn’t feel like one straw of hay, packed into a bale.
Erin decided to make sure that Sammath and Ashe knew what their goal was, so they could ask stupid questions before they screwed everything up, “Alright, you two. Do either of you have any idea why we need to go shopping?”
Sammath’s head, which had been taking in the sights, snapped to her with a big, lopsided grin on his face, “Nope.”
“No.” Ashe echoed, and Erin just sighed. She’d have to explain everything to them, then.
“Okay, so because we don’t want Ashe to get arrested for murder, do either of you know any way that people can legally be killed, other than in self-defence.”
“In sanctioned life or death matches.” Sammath replied, “I think at least. I’m not very familiar with them as we didn’t have them on Volkar, but I’ve heard about them.”
“Yes, that’s a good point, Sammath. Unfortunately, I don’t think Ashe’s personality is abrasive enough that we can get someone to challenge him to one of them within a day or so. If Ashe did it himself to combat that, he’d probably come off as too eager and they’d refuse. Let alone the fact that it would reveal Cab’s presence because of how many people would watch. Is there anything else you can think of?”
“Uhhh. Maybe in war.” Ashe suggested.
“Yes, that’s one as well but, right now, we aren’t in a war with anyone. If we were, I would be on the frontlines and neither of you would have been able to get into the country. Can either of you think of any other options?”
Pursing their lips, Sammath tapped his chin and Ashe scratched his head but, in the end, they both shook their head. Erin sighed, “Alright. There are a few more ways to be able to legally kill people. The first is if you encounter a Savage. Should you come across one outside of the Savagelands, unless they are an envoy and been granted a special status and the rights that come with that, you may kill them at any time. Savages have been too destructive throughout history for many powers, including Arikar, to let them gain any sort of traction at all.
“Next, if you are a registered bounty hunter and pursuing the capture of a wanted criminal, you may kill your target if it’s allowed by the mission that you took. Adding on to that, if a criminal is wanted badly enough, the bounty can be collected by anyone. In almost every case, though, these criminals are extremely dangerous, whether that’s due to a unique power or because they are just extremely strong. Because of that, I would normally say that hunting them was a bad idea, especially with Ashe’s strength, but Cab would be able to kill them. Unfortunately, these criminals almost always remain in the Ring, unless they’re out on a job, so it would be nearly impossible to find one of them.
“The final method, and the one that I’m suggesting we use, is executing a criminal. Now, Ashe isn’t qualified as a professional executioner which means that we need to convince the leader of the city to let Ashe execute any criminals that are currently waiting for their sentence to be enforced. To do that, because this is the capital city of the Trillden County, we are going to need to convince Count Trillden to let Ashe, or more specifically Cab, execute the criminals without any spectators.
“To do that, what do you think we need?”
“A gift, of course.” Sammath chimed in, “He would be far more lenient if we offer him a present beforehand.”
Ashe gave Sammath a side-eye, “Did you just say we should bribe him?”
Frowning, Sammath turned to Ashe, “What does bribe mean? Based on your tone, I’m going to go ahead and say no, though. I was suggesting we give him a gift. Something that will make a good impression when we first meet him.”
“A bribe is when you offer something to someone to incentivise them to do what you’re asking of them and is most certainly illegal and immoral.” Erin added, “In most countries, I wouldn’t be opposed to it but in Arikar, I’ll have to forbid it. With Queen Bloodletter in charge of the country and House Sarin constantly collecting information about everything that happens in the country, most of the nobles are extremely against taking bribes. Even if the count wasn’t personally opposed to taking the bribe, he wouldn’t dare risk the wrath of the Queen.”
“Then I was right. I wasn’t suggesting a bribe!” Sammath crowed.
“How subtle,” Erin remarked dryly as a few people looked over at them, “Speak up. I don’t think the Count heard you.”
“Sorry,” Sammath seemed suitably chastened, “but I was going to offer it to him regardless of whether or not he does what we ask.”
“It still won’t work.” Erin popped Sammath’s bubble, “If we offer it to him, leave, and he lets us do what we ask, it will be considered a bribe, and everyone involved will be arrested. If we give it to him, leave, and don’t receive what we were asking for, it will likely be considered an attempt at bribery, we’ll be arrested, and the Count will not be punished.”
Sammath deflated, his shoulders drooping, “I don’t know, then.” Sammath turned to look at his younger friend, “Any ideas?”
Ashe shook his head, “No.”
Erin had to resist the urge to sigh, “Take a look at yourselves.” Erin paused as both Ashe and Sammath looked themselves up and down, taking in the simple, though thankfully clean, clothes that they were wearing, “Do you think that what you’re wearing right now is acceptable to meet with the Count?”
“No.”
“Yes.” Ashe and Sammath, respectively, spoke up at the same time. Glancing at each other, Sammath took the lead, “I don’t see why I should have to get dressed up to meet with someone. What does it matter who they are or what pointless noble rank they have? Why do I, as someone who doesn’t care about the Count or what their meaningless title says they do, have to wear certain clothes to meet them? I’m clean, and that’s all that should matter.”
“What do you mean we’re acceptable right now, Sam?” Ashe’s inflection rose slightly, his already higher pitched voice become slightly shrill, “Look at what we’re wearing.”
“I am. I don’t see a problem with it. We’re wearing clothes and they’re clean, aren’t we?”
“These clothes aren’t fit to meet with a noble, Sam. Nobles are… they’re better than us. Nobles hold themselves to higher standards than us, and hold the people around them to higher standards. If we go to the Count dressed like this, he’ll either view our clothing as an insult or view us as little more than… than country bumpkins, uncultured and not worth his time. He’ll think that we’re saying he isn’t worth the time to put effort into meeting him; that he isn’t worth our respect; and deny meeting with us, or meet with us out of duty and deny our request outright when he hears what we’re asking, thinking we’re foolish and hopeful.”
“Ashe is right, Sammath. Not completely right, but what he’s saying is true. We need to dress appropriately to meet with the count. Think of it this way, what do you use to base your first judgement of someone on?”
Sammath shrugged, “I don’t really judge people.”
Erin rolled her eyes, “Yes, you do. Even if it’s just thinking ‘Oh they’re attractive’, that’s judgement. But that’s beside the point. When you first see someone, you judge them based on how they look. Blind people might do it by how they sound or smell but vision is a sense that can be used from far further away than scent or sound. Your appearance is an image of yourself that you project to the world. If you are wearing rich clothes, lavishly decorated and made of the finest materials, people will know that you’re wealthy, powerful, or both. If you wear armour, people know that you’re a warrior of some kind. If you’re covered in smoke and burn marks, people will think you just escaped a fire. Appearance matters.
“If we go to the Count and we meet him in clothing like this, clothing that many wealthy or powerful people probably wouldn’t be caught dead in even if the clothes are well-made, the Count will automatically assume that I’m not who I say I am. On the other hand, if we appeal to him while wearing finely-made clothes that are designed to do business but aren’t so formal that they belong in court, he’ll know that we are being serious and that we respect him and the Count will be more willing to agree to our request.
“Keeping that in mind, what do you think your clothes would say if you went to the count right now?”
“That I don’t care about his stupid title or whatever airs he may put on in front of me. Either way, he’s human.”
Erin took a deep breath in, restraining her frustration. Sammath knew the answer, he was just being difficult, like a petulant child. I suppose that’s what I get for telling a Volkarian he needs to posture in front of someone. I am not looking forward to telling him the proper etiquette when meeting the Count is to bow. “How do you think the Count will see your attire?”
“Probably as me not caring about him or his power in any way.”
“Good, and how do you think he’ll react to that?”
“Probably not well. He’ll feel insulted and probably try and get back at us.” Sammath crossed his arms, glaring surlily at the cobbled roads, “Not that he’d be wrong. I just think it’s stupid if he cares about what other people think.”
“Well done, Sammath, so are you ready to go shopping and buy some clothes, now?”
“Yes, I’m ready. I have a couple of questions first, though.”
“Ask away.”
“Buying stuff is when you swap coins for items, right? So, what do coins do, exactly? Do you use the metal to create items?”
“That’s slightly difficult to answer but think of it like this. People have items that that others want and others want the items that they have. Those two groups, however, often don’t align so a direct trade of item for item isn’t very effective, especially if one item is a lot more valuable than the other. To get around this, we have coins. Coins effectively act as a promise that you will be able to get your desired item later so, if someone buys something that you have with coins, you can then spend those coins to get a different item.”
“So, you don’t even use the metal to make things like swords or in decoration? That’s so pointless! The system only works so long as everyone universally agrees to assign some arbitrary value to a useless piece of metal. This is why you Arikarans make no sense.” Sammath shook his head.
“What you’re saying is true, but it works well. Well enough that people want to steal those ‘useless pieces of metal’. Beyond that, I would argue that you Volkarians are the ones that don’t make sense, at least according to the rest of the world. Every other power, except the Savagelands, use some form of coinage after all. Now, let’s go.”
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In her fleeting backwards glances, Erin saw Ashe walk up to Sammath and lean in, lowering his voice as he did so. That didn’t matter as Erin’s enhanced hearing let her catch every word of Ashe’s hushed voice, “Cab says you should have sat on the floor and crossed your legs when the teacher was speaking.”
Sammath’s eyes widened and he glared at Ashe, “It was not like that.”
“Sure, Sam, but from the way she handled you, it certainly seems like it.”
Sammath gently shoved Ashe away with his elbow, “What do you know? You didn’t even go to school.”
Ashe chuckled, “Maybe not, but I have an ancient being, who’s observed more lessons than you’ve ever been taught, living in my head. I think I’ll take his word over yours, right now.” Ashe paused, “Cab says you should raise your hand next time. It’s just polite when you want to ask a question.”
“Oh, shut up.” Sammath retorted, moving ahead of Ashe. Erin allowed a small smile to slip across her face, as that was exactly where she’d been pulling her treatment of Sammath from. In many ways, Volkarians were quite childish with how isolated they were from the world. What they did have, at least for a few years when they were taught how to read and write in Volkarian and Shinian at least, was some very early schooling. Getting Sammath to slip back into those schooling habits, especially since he wouldn’t have gone to school in years and had no other schooling habits to fall back on, had been remarkably easily.
Sammath stood in front of a mirror, pulling at his collar with a finger as he wriggled his neck around. Dressed in a simple, white shirt, a smart, black vest, and black pants, Sammath was dressed as minimally as would be accepted by the Count, yet he was still complaining, “Why does it feel like my shirt is trying to choke me?”
Erin glanced over, taking in the young man. With his bald head reflecting a small amount of the light in the store, Sammath seemed slightly older than he was. Tan skin disappeared into the simple but high-quality clothing and his sleeves were rolled up just past his elbows. While he didn’t have any shoes on, that was Erin’s next planned stop – if Sammath and Ashe could stop complaining long enough for anything to get done.
“That’s because you’re not meant to button everything up. Just be lucky they had a plain shirt, and not something like long flowing robes that would have tangled and tripped you up. I would suggest you wear a stock tie, but I know you’d be against it. ‘Too restricting for my neck’ is what you’d say. Otherwise, we could choose a shirt with a flared, stiffened collar but I think you’d be against that, too.”
Sammath undid the top button, his shoulders falling slightly in relief, “That’s… better. But still not comfortable. You’d think that rich Arikarans would try to make comfortable, stylish clothes, but no. Most of the stuff in here is… gaudy. Garishly bright at best.” Sammath pulled at his collar again, sending a wave of annoyance through Erin, “Are you absolutely certain there’s nothing else I can wear?”
“Positively. Unless you want to wear a cravat, which is only just coming into fashion and which is what these plainer shirts are designed for, there is nothing we could do to change your outfit. Especially if, as you claim, you want to remain as comfortable as possible. Your current outfit is already bordering on presentable as it is. We can’t change anything.” Erin gestured to the store clerk that was standing next to Sammath, wringing her hands as he moved his neck around like a turtle, poking its head out of its shell in search for danger, “He’ll take it. Please make some measurements for his vest and pants for them to be tailored, if you offer it. We should be back to pick the clothing up, tomorrow.”
The store clerk nodded, “Of course, milady. Please, right this way, sir. Let me take some measurements and we’ll tailor the vest and pants tonight.”
Sammath shot a glare at Erin over his shoulder as he was hustled into a small, curtained room just as Ashe was being brought out. Erin turned her attention to the boy, resisting the urge to sigh. Neither Sammath nor Ashe, clearly, had been forced to dress themselves up when they were younger. While that was expected, with Sammath growing up in a Volkarian fishing village and Ashe growing up in the wilderness and being educated by a Demon King, Erin still couldn’t help but wish they’d been dressed up at some point. Neither boy had realised that, if they stopped complaining about the clothing, they’d be done with shopping much faster and their complaining about how long and boring it was to shop would be over. Unfortunately, it seemed that neither boy would wisen to that fact anytime soon, so Erin was stuck dealing with their incessant bitching.
Ashe mimicked Sammath near exactly, pulling at the neckline of his outfit. Admittedly, Ashe had a lot more reason to complain than Sammath because the store only had more traditional clothes for children, but it still wasn’t pleasant to listen to. Ashe was wearing a shirt with a stiff collar and a stock tie around his neck. Loose and billowy, the shirt flowed down Ashe’s arms, to ruffled cuffs, and sagged around Ashe’s waist, where it was tucked into a pair of loose pants that flared around the thigh and were brought into the knees by a pair of garters around knee-high black socks. Ashe’s pants were dyed a darker, forest green and the stock tie around his neck had a red band running around its edge. At that moment, Ashe was currently trying to refuse the burgundy jacket that an assistant was trying to put on him, “No thanks. I’ll stick without the jacket. I don’t care if it completes the outfit, I’m feeling like a doll already.”
Erin held out a hand to the clerk, indicating that she’d handle it and feeling a little like a mother after already dealing with Sammath, “Why aren’t you going to wear the jacket?”
“It’s ugly, uncomfortable and heavy on the shoulders. Plus, I’m just done. I’m bored and I want to go do anything else.”
Erin resisted the overpowering urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, “Remember why we’re doing this. If it comes down to it, do you want to do this my way or his way?”
Ashe paused, his lips pursing, his brows pinching, and his shoulders hunching slightly, “Are you sure about this?”
Erin looked over to the assistant and gestured for her to give them some space. Erin, wearing a new pair of simple shoes that she’d taken out from her spatial storage when nobody was looking, double-tapped her left big toe. A small enchantment in the sole of the shoe took hold and sound became muted in a small radius around Erin and Ashe.
Ashe glanced around, “How’d you do that?”
“I have a small sound suppressing enchantment on me. If you move even a quarter of a meter back or to either side, you’ll step out of it. It isn’t as good as a blocking formation, but it deadens any surrounding sound quite significantly. That’s beside the point, though. Why are you doubting what we’re doing now?”
“I-” Ashe hesitated but Erin gestured for him to continue, “It’s just-” Ashe sighed, “It’s just that it feels like we’re planning to murder someone, and I don’t like it. Sure, I’ve technically killed before but that’s always been in either self-defence or in the defence of someone else being attacked in some way. Not to mention the fact that it was always spontaneous and always Cab’s decision.” Ashe and Erin sat down on a small but well-cushioned bench for clientele to sit on if they got tired or if they were waiting for something. Ashe looked at his hands intently, turning them over as though he were examining them, “This one, though, feels like it’s my decision. It feels like I’m going condemning someone to have their soul eaten by a demon and that their blood will be on my hands. I don’t like the feeling, Erin. It feels… dirty. Couldn’t we just go and try to rescue someone from some bandits?”
Erin sat on Ashe’s revelation for a moment, trying to formulate a response before she sighed, “To be honest, Ashe, I know a lot, but I can’t give you the answers here. This is something that you have to come to a decision on and isn’t something that Sammath or I can just make a choice for you. I can give you a little bit more information, though. How much do you know about Arikar’s legal system.”
“Nothing. I don’t even know much about Shinia’s.” Ashe admitted, to no surprise from Erin.
Erin nodded, “Then let me tell you that, for all of its positives, Arikar isn’t perfect. It has flaws, just like any other country or system. While I don’t think they’re nearly as pronounced as what a certain Voklarian we both know might suggest,” Ashe cracked a small grin, “they are there. One of its biggest flaws is that Arikar has always been willing to overlook the indiscretions of the strong.”
“Indiscretions?”
“Mistakes and minor crimes,” Erin filled in for Ashe, “While it isn’t as bad as the Order, Arikar has always been willing to overlook things that people do if they’re strong enough to be useful, which happens to be most people who break the law without being forced to. That means that they often get away with a slap on the wrist and some service to the country, while others would be sent to prison. The stronger you are, the more lenient the punishment has, historically, tended to be. Queen Bloodletter is trying to change that, now, but it will be a slow change. What that means is that strong people who are punished, especially with the death sentence, tend to be irredeemable, their crimes so heinous that not even the potential they have to benefit the country can outweigh the damage they’ve done. Investigations into these people often take months on end and their trials only extend the time further as evidence is gathered to justify the sentence.
“Now, I’m not saying this to shake your faith in Arikar and its ability to enforce its laws properly. The cases like this when people are sentenced to death are extremely rare, but what I am saying is that our law enforcement tends to be very thorough and thoughtful before making decisions that could affect peoples lives like death. If there is someone that is sentenced to be executed, right now, they deserve what’s coming to them.”
Ashe placed his head in his hands, “Thanks, Erin. I’ll… think on that. Now, can I get out of these clothes?”
“Are we leaving with them today?”
“What other options are there?”
“Beyond gowns, our only other option is to leave and go try on clothes in another store.”
“I’lltakethisthen.” Ashe was very quick to take his chance at escape, speaking so fast that it sounded like his words had combined.
“Good choice.” Erin commented idly as she deactivated the silencing formation, “Now we just need to find you some shoes.”
Erin nearly missed Ashe’s groan at the prospect of more shopping when Sammath came out of the changing rooms. “You have to wear THAT!” Sammath exclaimed, the only words he could get out before he doubled over in fits of laughter.
“Hey!” Ashe exclaimed, indignantly, “It’s only for a few hours. Besides, yours can’t be that much better.”
“I still can’t believe you get a plain vest, shirt, and pants while I’m stuck looking like a jester threw up on me.” Ashe grumbled under his breath.
Sammath, whose massive grin hadn’t wavered since he’d seen Ashe’s outfit, responded cheekily, “You didn’t want to wear the gown or the robes. You can only blame yourself.”
“I wasn’t going to wear a dress!” Ashe exclaimed indignantly.
Erin decided not to join in as Sammath smiled even wider, though she wasn’t sure how that was possible. “I think Erin told you they aren’t dresses. I think she said that robes tend to be loose and are often used to show someone’s station or job and that the gowns they had in that shop are similar to the robes, though more formal. Both of them are worn over other clothes and that doesn’t really sound like a dress to me.”
“I don’t care what sounds like a dress to you. A gown is something that girls wear to balls! I’m not a girl and we’re not going to a ball.”
Sammath pretended to think for a moment, stroking his chin, “So because I’m not a girl, I couldn’t wear a gown to a ball if I wanted?”
“Exactly!”
“But I don’t think there’s anything stopping me from wearing a gown to a ball, is there?” Ashe’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as Sammath continued, “In fact, I think that Erin even said many noblemen wear gowns in their everyday life, to show their station. And then I never said anything about gender or going to a ball, so,” Sammath rested his left hand on his hip as he gestured his right around, “that would mean that you associated wearing gowns with being a girl. Is that because there’s something wrong with being a girl?”
“N-no I-”
“Hey, Erin. Did you hear that? I think Ashe thinks there’s something wrong with being a girl.” Erin glared over her shoulder, having heard the entire conversation, but Sammath barrelled on without a care, “Ashe, I didn’t think you’d be so… so… what’s the word for being biased against women, Erin. I haven’t used it in a while, and it’s slipped my mind.” Silence from Erin punctuated Sammath’s sentence and the boy shrugged, a motion Erin only just caught over her shoulder, “Oh, well, I know Ashe knows the word I mean. So, Ashe, is there perhaps something you have to say for yourself.”
“I’m not a misogynist!” Ashe exclaimed, and Sammath snapped his fingers.
“That’s the word!” Sammath enthused, “But do go on, Ashe. Why did you bring up the fact that, often, girls wear gowns to balls?”
Ashe’s silence was telling and, Erin had to admit, Sammath had a way with weaselling information out of people, having been on the other side of it herself. Somehow, he’d managed to twist Ashe’s words into a knot that would have a sailor jealous with envy and now, Ashe was being forced to keep silent and face Sammath’s incessant ribbing or answer the question, letting Sammath know him just a little better. A near-silent mumble came out of Ashe, so quiet that not even Erin could hear the incoherent string of words that Ashe uttered.
“What was that?” Ashe’s mumble, this time, was just on the verge of coherency and Sammath leant in towards Ashe’s mouth, “One more time, please. A little louder.”
“I said that there wasn’t much else to do.”
“That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Can I have an explanation.”
“I like to read, alright. The public libraries in Shinia were free to visit, so long as you didn’t take a book out, and it was a good way to distract myself as well as learn new words and symbols.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. What did you read, then, to have that come to mind?”
Ashe hadn’t seemed to realise that Sammath’s good-natured ribbing had turned to genuine curiosity, even if Sammath’s grin hadn’t waned, “I… uh…”
“Go on,” Sammath extended, accompanied by a quick gesture, “I promise I won’t tease you too much.”
Ashe sighed, looking at his simple shoes as they padded on the concrete, “I used to read forbidden romance novels.”
“Forbidden romance novels?” Sammath frowned, “If the books were forbidden, then why were they in the library?”
Ashe smiled slightly, “No, they’re books about a forbidden romance. For instance, a romance between a commoner and a noble.”
“Wait,” Sammath frowned, “is that actually a thing, here. Do you truly forbid marriages between people because of who they’re meant to be?” Sammath’s teasing tone had turned chilly, and he directed his ire towards Erin. Unconcerned, Erin glanced back at Sammath to see fire smouldering in his eyes.
“Redirect your anger, Sammath. I have no control over the country.”
Sammath took a deep breath, the rise and fall of his shoulders blatant as he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Erin could still see the heat in his eyes, but it was more like he’d banked the coals. “Sorry, you’re right. But I still need to know, is that a thing here?”
Erin looked around to face Sammath, “Not anymore.”
Thinking that would be enough to stoke his anger, at least for the time being, she was stopped as one of Sammath’s hands fell heavily on her shoulder. Erin’s muscles tightened in reflex, but she held herself back. That didn’t stop her from injecting some ice into her own tone, though, “Sammath. Please refrain from touching me further. At least if you want to keep your hand.” Sammath jerked his hand back and Erin took a breath, closing her eyes as she relaxed the muscles in her body.
“Woah, hold on, guys. Calm down, alright. We’re all friends here, right?” Ashe tried to interject.
Erin’s reply left her feeling a little pebble of shame and guilt after firing on Ashe, but he had put himself in her sights, “No, Ashe. We aren’t. I’ll admit, I like you, but I’m here only until I get my mission done. After that, Misfortune or whatever else Sammath wants to call us is done. You can become the terrible twosome, or whatever Sammath feels like, but I’m done. I can’t stick around. Sammath knows that and he also knows that if he gets in the way of the mission, I’ll leave you two and do it myself. So, Ashe, get out of my way. I need to go and get some shoes for you two to wear, and I’d rather do it by myself, so I don’t have to listen to unending complaints for hours at a time.”
Hurt flashed across Ashe’s face and Erin felt guilt worming its way into her gut like a parasite, but she shut it down and hardened herself. Guilt at hurting a young boy was the least of her worries at the moment and wouldn’t matter with what she may have to do in the future. Situations like this, even if they weren’t exactly the same, were something she’d trained for, after all. Infiltrating a group, gaining their trust, and then breaking every iota of faith in her that they had should just be another day for Erin.
Erin pulled some coins out of her pocket, giving them to Ashe who held his hands out instinctively, “Go find the Blue Sail Inn. It’s the type of place we’d be expected to stay in as visiting Nobles. Pay for one night, that should be enough.” Erin didn’t wait around for Ashe or Sammath to respond, instead striding away in search of a shoe store that would fit her needs.