Half a dozen of the rat-man-monsters - which I later learned were called the Kalamuzi - blocked our path, newly-looted swords and spears held tightly in their small hands. Their fur was covered in stolen equipment, such that they were mostly clad in leather. These were the best-equipped Kalamuzi we had seen thus far - a result of their recent victory, no doubt. They snarled and squeaked at us, as if trying to say something, but they didn’t wait for a response. Immediately they came closer for an attack. Their black-marble eyes glinted with evil desire.

These Kalamuzi had made a terrible mistake.

With a wave of his hand, Berenguer stripped the attackers of all confidence. They had eyed our caravan with a single-minded hunger; an instant later they cowered, looked worryingly in every direction, and began striking desperately at invisible foes.

Amaia had rushed towards the action, and, seeing that the threat was nearly extinguished, I followed, but kept a wider berth. I could hear Cadoc inside the cart, yelling. “What’s going on? Are we being attacked? Untie me!”

While I wondered if I should bother helping - perhaps I could get more magic from these monsters? - Amaia retrieved a spear from where she had strapped it on the side of a cart. It was simple weapon - not much fancier than the ones a couple of the Kalamuzi held.

Berenguer’s men were approaching as well, weapons in hand, but slowly. The ratmen were still semi-dangerous, and their erratic and violent swings and thrusts could still connect with an unwary opponent.

Amaia strode forward anyway. She held out her left hand, and the sword held by one Kalamuz snapped in half like a dead branch. The rat continued to swing his broken sword until it was choking on its own blood, a spear thrust through its jugular.

Berenguer’s men made similar short work of the other Kalamuzi. I was certain that the men possessed some sort of magic - Berenguer would not likely hire “polluted,” as the magicless - and sometimes weak mages like myself - were called. But I did not see any of them use their powers. Perhaps their magic would clash with Berenguer’s. More likely, I thought, they use the same sort of magic. Students of his, maybe.

“Fools,” Berenguer said, disdain in his voice. “And now we are late. We will have to stay the night in the next town. If it still stands. Hurry up.”

I couldn’t imagine how a battle so brief could cause us to be late, but maybe the argument with Cadoc had contributed as well. Or maybe Berenguer was one of those people who liked to complain, and so made up reasons to, even though he had always been planning to stay in the next town regardless. I could see it.

As the convoy began moving again, I will admit that I ran to the new corpses, checking the dead ratmen for anything that looked valuable. I was broke, alright? Every dollar counts.

The best-dressed rat - who wore now-bloodstained scraps of clothes in addition to armor - had a silver necklace jammed into the pocket of his dirty coat. I wondered at how it had gotten there. Did the rat-thing steal it from a villager, and stash it away, rather than add it to the pile? Or did he just get this coat, and it was already in the coat pocket, and the monster didn’t even know he was carrying it around? Or, worst of all, was this rat once a human, and has held onto this necklace all along, like the last vestige of his humanity?

These fine considerations aside, it was a nice enough necklace, and I took it. I then remembered that Berenguer had called Cadoc and I “rats” a few days prior, and was suddenly much more offended than I was when he had said it.

“Find anything good?” Amaia asked, causing me to jump again. I stashed the necklace in my own pocket, and I’m sure I looked guilty.

“No,” I said, almost instinctively, and then, realizing what I had said, I corrected myself. “Yes, I mean.”

Amaia smiled. “That’s good. Come. You’re being left behind.”

Sure enough, the convoy had not waited for me. I hadn’t expected it to, but it was already nearly out of sight. I ran after it, afraid another attack would meet me before I caught up.

-

The next town was still intact, and was, in fact, completely unmolested by the Kalamuzi. I wondered aloud at how this could be, since we should be closer to the dungeon, and the Kalamuzi must have passed this way to get to the razed village.

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Cadoc answered me - he was recently freed, now that we were in town. We were sitting at a table on the outside of a restaurant, enjoying the nice weather as the sun neared sunset.

Our path had not been a straight one - only Berenguer could likely tell you why - and so we had drifted away from the outer walls, such that I had almost forgotten they were there, in the distance, like the outline of mountains.

But more recently, especially since the battle, our path had taken us closer to them again, and they loomed high over us. The air had no wind, seemingly blocked by the great walls. If it had been any warmer, it would have been stifling.

Amaia was with us, as well. Ever since she had joined up with us, she stuck around us like one of our shadows. She had paid for Cadoc and I, though, so I held my complaints. She eyed every passerby with a look of wonder - and they, mostly body-mage day-labourers, looked at her, too, with a very different look.

“Dungeons can spread in insidious ways,” Cadoc said. “These Kalamuzi - that is what they are called, friend - they need not have marched on that village directly. Dungeons, if left alive, will expand their roots, and these roots are like tunnels, like parts of the dungeon itself. These roots will then breach the surface, and monsters spill forth from these dungeon branches like a plague. Likely this is what happened.”

“Agreed,” Amaia said.

I imagined how many lives must have been lost by keeping the dungeons alive. Wait…

“Did you say the dungeon was alive?” I asked.

“That is what most people believe,” Cadoc said. “How else would they grow?”

I pondered this as I ate my meal.

It was something like a deconstructed sandwich. By watching others, I found that the way to eat it was to grab a piece of the bread, use it to grab a piece of spiced meat, and dip them both into the buttery sauce it was served with. It was absolutely delicious. I washed it down with some of the cleanest-tasting water I’d ever drank.

When we were finished, we sat awhile, all of us surely enjoying the rest. I hadn’t had an afternoon so relaxing since Earth, and only rarely then.

Then it hit me.

“My debt! What day is it!?”

The look of worry on the faces of my two companions would have told me they knew what I meant, but Amaia obviously had no idea, because I hadn’t told her about my debt. So I don’t know why she looked worried exactly. I called out to RENA.

“RENA! What day is it? Am I past due? Fuck fuck fuck, please tell me I still have time.”

“Good afternoon to you too, Miles. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”

“I don’t need to do the pleasantries, RENA, You’re a ma- *ahem*” I had almost said machine. “Anyway, do I still have time?”

“I’m afraid not, Miles.”

My heart sank, but RENA continued talking. “However, I took the liberty of selling some of what you sent me. I chose the coins and jewels and gold. I hope you do not mind, Miles. I calculated that you would accept this decision, but I may have miscalculated. I would have contacted you, but you appeared to be quite busy.”

“Yes! Thank you RENA! Fuck, you about gave me a heart attack for a second there. So I’m good? They haven’t started repossession, or anything?”

“Not at all, Miles. You are in perfect standing. The government eagerly awaits your next payment.”

The words “next payment” almost put a damper on my spirits, but didn’t. I felt like I had just had a close brush with death.

“Thank you again, RENA. I’ll be in touch soon about the other stuff. I’m busy right now.”

“It is my duty to serve, Miles, and Dimen-X is grateful for the profits you are bringing in - even if slowly. Enjoy your afternoon.”

“You too,” I said.

“I will do no such thing. But thank you for the gesture, Miles.”

I was smiling. This was no small victory. One month of survival. I wonder what RENA would have said about my chances of getting this far.

It also meant one month without seeing Tom, but I threw that thought away.

My mind returned to reality, and I saw that Amaia and Cadoc were talking. Amaia had been staring at me, at first.

“Does he do this often?” Amaia asked.

“Fairly often, yes,” Cadoc answered.

“Has he ever been smited?”

Cadoc laughed. “You might think so, as rude as he is, but I’ve never seen it. He is a favorite of this RENA, clearly.”

“I can hear you, y’know,” I said.

They turned to face me. “I did not know,” Amaia said, simply.

“All is well?” Cadoc asked.

“All is very well!” I said, beaming. “I would call for a round of ale to celebrate, but…”

“Fine,” Amaia said. She called the waiter over.

We spent the rest of the afternoon carousing, Cadoc and I regaling Amaia with tales of our adventures. We’d only had a couple, sure, but they were good stories, I thought. She smiled, and drank, and gave short responses or words of encouragement, sometimes.

I had been wondering, recently, whether or not Amaia was special. She was strange, certainly, but my radar couldn’t say for sure whether that was due to a true exercise of free will, or something mundane, like daddy issues. At that moment, however, Cadoc and Amaia both seemed to have that spark. I even forgot, for one blissful moment, that I didn’t have it. I felt like I was good enough, and not just an impostor who had infiltrated their ranks.

The moment passed, but the memory of it left me with a smile on my face, all the same.

When darkness began to descend on the town, Amaia paid our tab, and we started towards the camp Berenguer had set up on the outskirts. Apparently he had had business to attend to here, and I hoped we wouldn’t run into him, that night. That would spoil the mood.

Muscular men shot glances at us as we passed them, walking down the wide road of Pareprop - the name of the town, I had learned. The last town had been called Graja. Though it didn’t need a name anymore.

“Why do they stare at me?” Amaia asked us, in a whisper. She seemed more curious than concerned.

“No women in town,” Cadoc said.

“Really?” Amaia and I both responded, at the same time.

“Truly. Body mages only enter into the first ring as workers. But only the ones who can work their muscles with magic. The other sorts of body mages are turned aside - as happened to Miles - with only rare exceptions. The women are also turned aside too, for the most part, though a good number still get in through other channels. Smuggled in. As, well, as prostitutes.”

“Oh,” Amaia said.

“A town like this may be too poor to have any,” Cadoc said. I didn’t think it looked particularly poor, but I didn’t have much of a reference. “Or, there is a shortage. Or perhaps they stare because those sorts of women only come out at night, and they are shocked to see you by daylight, even as the sun sets.”

“They think I’m a prostitute?” Amaia asked, clearly offended.

Cadoc only shrugged.

“Oi!” A voice echoed from behind us.

Three men, muscular beyond normal human limits, stood in the road behind us. I squinted at them; the sun was directly behind them, and I couldn’t make out their features.

The one in the center spoke. “I think the lady would like to come with us.”