Dover carefully looked over the girl hidden at the edge of the clearing. Determining that she was harmless, he tossed the remains of the bag towards her hiding place. “Yours?” he questioned before returning his attention to the boar. He kneeled down next to it and began to meticulously remove the tusks and claws as the girl cautiously left the bushes to retrieve her bag.

In a timid yet polite tone she answered “Yes, good sir, thank you.”

“Sir? Hah!” He laughed as he continued his dirty work. “There aren’t any sirs here.”

Puzzled by his reply she silently watched him work, her own curiosity peaked. “What is your reason for removing the tusks?”

“Subjugation proof and supplies.”

She was having difficulty understanding him, this was not how people talked in her books. His words were barely even full sentences. She considered her next words, but he spoke first.

“Yer a sorceress right? You wanna burn it or should I?”

“What?” She almost squeaked in surprise. “I thought you said you killed it for supplies, are you not going to take the skin and meat?”

He looked more closely at her, as if appraising her abilities. “Hell no. The skin is worthless and the meat is poisonous.”

Stunned by his answer she blurted out, “then why did you kill it?” She’d been warned that many of the people she would meet in the outside world were truly evil, doing anything in their power for the pursuit of gold. Was this individual so bloodthirsty that he would kill for something as simple as its tusks? Though he was certainly violent, she doubted that was the case. He had returned her ruined bag after all.

The piercing inspection of his eyes faded to that of someone looking at a naive child. He began speaking more slowly and clearly as he answered. “It’s a Demon Boar. This creature claimed the woods as its territory and had been attacking everything that entered. After multiple caravans were forced to flee, the Merchants Association placed a bounty on it. They shut down all trade routes through these woods, and they won’t reopen until they have proof it's dead.”

Not liking how he was looking at her, she gritted her teeth and swallowed her pride. She was well aware her questions betrayed her inexperience. Determined to put up with this hired hunter for now, she intended to distance herself from him as quickly as possible.

As he began gathering wood to burn the boar, she turned her attention to the remains of her pack. Most of the contents were ruined, shredded by the beast’s blade like fur. This included her precious map. She tried to line up the pieces, but it was clear portions had fallen out of the bag while the monster ran. Her heart sank as she realized she had no clue how to get to the village.

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Fortunately this man seemed to have a mercenary mindset and she was blessed with the ability to create coins. Waiting until she was out of the hunter's line of sight she quickly formed several silver coins and placed them in her pouch. Cautiously approaching the man, she spoke, stumbling over her words as she remembered his earlier reaction to her polite speech. “Sir.... Err... Hunter, my map has been ruined. Could I hire you to escort me to Anabathmis Village?” She reached into her pouch for the freshly minted coins and offered them to the man.

Without pause, or more than a glance at her offered hand, he replied. “No. Why would you go there?”

Again, she was shocked into silence. The second law said that ‘Gold is the Mortal’s God’, but he didn’t show any interest in the money. Perhaps she hadn’t offered enough. “If this is an insufficient amount, I can certainly pay more on arrival.”

“No. And it's stupid to tell a stranger you have more money.”

She wondered if he was actually like her, perhaps from one of the minor clans. Being from the steel clan would certainly explain his fearlessness. She activated her ethersight to try and see if this was the case, but the unease she felt on looking at him quickly forced her to turn it off. Suppressing a shiver as his aura made her skin crawl, she attempted to nonchalantly study his appearance. Though his armor was pristine, his body was not. Covered in scratches and cuts, he certainly did not have enhanced or magical healing. Stumped, she simply asked "Why not?"

Incredulous, he immediately replied. “Do you live in a cave? Everyone knows that village has been gone for years. If you really want to see it, sure, I’ll take you, it's on my way anyway.”

Seeing as how he accepted, sort of, she offered him the coins once more.

“Keep ‘em.” He waved her hand off before pointing towards her bag. “Looks like you need them more than I.”

She slipped the coins back into her pouch, unsure what to do. “At least let me take care of the boar for you in thanks then.”

“By all means m’lady!” He gestured with his arm at the body while he backed away. He sighed and shook his head on realizing the sarcasm of his response was completely lost on her.

She looked to the sky, sensed the energy in the air, and directed it at the makeshift pyre. A large stream of fire flew from her hands and wrapped around the body like a snake, quickly igniting the wood. The man watched for a moment, impressed and wondering if she might not be totally helpless after all, before adding some of his flash powder to the flames to raise the heat.

“Not bad.” was all he said.

The two of them sat on a nearby log and watched the fire burn for a while. Eventually the man turned to her and broke the silence. Holding out his hand, he simply said “Dover.”

“Dover?” She was momentarily puzzled and mentally ran through the various books she read. “It is a pleasure to meet you, my Guide, I am called Cynder.” She then gingerly took his hand, it was covered in dust and gore after all, and shook.

“What’s your story?”

“My story?”

“Yeah. A Sorceress, who's barely more than a girl, traveling alone to an abandoned village is not something you see everyday... Or, ever, really.”

She wasn’t sure how to answer. The third law was to never trust an outsider, the wrong thing could get her killed. Dover saw her struggling for an answer and spoke again. “Forget it. Not my business. The fire’s dying down, let's see what we can salvage from your camp.”