Levi wandered the gorge. He picked through the fallen men’s weapons, carefully choosing the best-maintained swords. In the end, he selected three new ones and strapped them to his hips, two on each side.

“Think you have enough?” Isa asked, looking him up and down.

“One for me, two for the Armalgam, and an extra sword in case one breaks,” Levi explained.

“You’re not dual wielding? I’m shocked. What restraint,” Isa commented.

“I’m not stupid enough to dual wield. Swords are fucking heavy. Dual wielding looks good in movies, but it’s not actually that good in real life. I mean, think about it. I’m holding a sword with one hand, you’re holding one with two. Who wins that exchange? Not mister one-hand. And let’s not even get started with how fast you get worn out with two swords,” Levi said.

Isa’s brows raised even higher. “You sound like a warrior.”

“That’s ‘cause I’m a mother-fucking warrior.”

Isa rolled her eyes.

“Two knives, now, that’s a different story. Short range. Lighter. You don’t have to worry about the leverage at the tip of a long sword when your knife is all of six inches. Plus, less blade means less room for someone else to parry you. You aren’t going to hit the one-hand-versus-two-hand issue. Just fist ‘em and go to town.” He reached into his pockets and spun two hand-sized hunting knives, then mimed punching someone a lot with them.

“I get the idea,” Isa drawled coldly.

“Also…” Flipping the knives back into his pockets, he held up a heavy sack full of coins. “Money!”

“Thank you for recovering the villagers’ belongings.” Isa snatched the money away from him.

“What? Oh, come on,” Levi complained. He pouted, but only for a moment. The money clearly belonged to the villagers. Where else would the deserters have found so much? He wasn’t petty enough to steal from a bunch of poor people. Even if Isa hadn’t taken the bag, he’d been planning to give it back.

“What about the Armalgam?” Colin asked.

Isa and Levi both stared at him. “What?”

“The Armalgam is dual wielding,” he pointed out.

Levi glanced over his shoulder. He laughed. “Yeah, the four-armed undead with no stamina that’s as buff in one bicep as I am on my thigh. Plus, it’s got four arms. If it needs to single wield, it can balance on one hand and double-one-hand single-the-other-hand dual wield.”

Colin nodded slowly. He squinted, frowning, and tilted his head.

“I didn’t understand it either,” Isa said.

Levi opened his mouth, thought better of it, then grinned. “Fuck the rules, it’s an undead.”

“Ohhh.” Colin nodded.

“That made sense to you?” Isa asked.

“Well, you know—”

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She lifted a hand. “No need. I don’t care that much.”

“Aww, are you sure?”

“Yes.”

The three of them followed the trail back to the village in relative silence. Levi hummed an upbeat tune to himself. It was nothing Colin had heard before, but nonetheless, he found himself nodding along to the catchy tune. Isa glanced over, her eyes slightly narrowed, but said nothing.

Before long, they’d returned to the sunny road. Isa vanished into the depths of her cloak, and Levi hefted his over the Armalgam. The village loomed up. With the zombies’ help, the villagers had erected a single house, and had begun work on the second one. Another deeply hooded figure helped the zombies and the villagers with the second house. As they approached, that figure jolted. It whipped around to reveal the dark-haired vampire girl from the manor. She no longer had the haughty expression from before, but now wore sheer terror on her face.

“Valere,” Isa rumbled, displeased.

Valere ran over, then dropped to the ground. She groveled. “Please forgive me! I did what I had to—”

“You betrayed me and neglected the civilians. Allowed my town to be burned to the ground. Is that what you had to do?”

Valere trembled. Words came to her lips, but she held them back.

“Speak.”

“If I didn’t, Mistress, you would have found others. People beside me to drink from. I couldn’t bear—”

“Did I imply, in any way, that you had the right to choose whom I took at night? Did I not tell you that it would be foolish to only drink from one person? That it would kill you, and endanger me? And what did you do, but seek out the ability to become a vampire on your own, without my consent, then sneak attack me in the day and bind me to my coffin? All my trust in you was let down.”

Valere cowered. She stared at the floor. Her jaw clenched and her fists knotted, but she said nothing.

Isa continued, her eyes hard. “Valere, I ban you from the manor. I have already spoken with the System. You shall no longer have access to the place you called home.”

Valere jolted. She looked up. “Mistress—”

“Instead, you will remain here, in this village, as I go on my journey. You will watch over the citizens, and ensure they thrive in safety. If I return and find all is well, I might choose to allow you into my manor… and my heart, once more. But if you abandon them, follow me, or in any way fail me again…” Isa trailed off. Her eyes burned. “I will kill you with my own hand.”

Levi yawned. He glanced over, and his eyes widened. Wandering off, he knelt and touched the soil.

“Mistress, please! Let me come with you. I’ll prove—I’ll regain your trust—”

Isa lifted her hand. “No. It is not for you to tell me how you’ll regain my trust. I have already told you the method. If you have not heard, then I suppose we can never again understand one another.”

Valere’s eyes widened. On the brink of tears, she glanced down. She shook her head, but said nothing.

Levi stood again. He jogged to Colin’s side. “Have you taken a close look at the soil?”

Colin shook his head. “No…?”

“It’s poor. This mountain is a volcano. It’s ashy and thin,” Isa stated.

“Correct! But incorrect, at the same time. It’s great for grapes,” Levi said. He patted the ground, then pointed up. “The ashy soil drains well, and it reflects the heat of the sun. This is the southern face of the mountain. It’s warmer. It’ll keep the grapes from frost in the early spring and late fall. It would take a hardy vine, but with the right grape, this is prime winemaking territory. You have a cash cow right under your feet, whether you know it or not.”

“Is that so,” Isa mused, interested.

Valere’s eyes widened. She nodded. “I’ll—I’ll make sure that happens! By the time you return, your lands will be known as the best wine-growing lands in the country.”

“To accomplish that, you’ll have to protect the citizens,” Isa reminded her firmly.

Valere nodded. She pressed a hand to her chest. “I—”

“Yeah, and you’ll need to make terraces. It’s a big investment, but—”

Isa cut Levi off. “You?” she asked, looking at Valere.

“I pledge my life. I shall keep them safe, and build the vineyard.”

“Excellent.” Isa turned away.

Levi swished an invisible glass and waggled his brows at Colin. “I do drink… vine—ow!”

Colin retracted his elbow. “Can you be serious for one second?”

“Er… no? It’s a coping mechanism!” Levi shot him a thumbs up.

“That doesn’t give you an excuse to be an asshole.”

“Ah, but that’s where I’ve got you. I don’t need an excuse to be an asshole. I can just… do it.” He leaned in. “You’ll find that this is the mindset of many an asshole across the lands. Most just aren’t as charmingly self-aware as me.”

“That’s a way to describe yourself,” Colin muttered back.

Isa glanced over her shoulder at them. “Are we going, or no?”

“We’re going! Hell yeah. Vampire acquired!”