Voices. So many voices. Mina grumbled under her breath. Why were they being so loud? Didn’t they know she was trying to sleep?

Cabbages?

Why were they talking about cabbages? Her eyes were heavy and didn’t want to open, and she wasn’t too worried about actually opening them. She just wanted to keep sleeping. Sleep meant she didn’t feel the pain that was racing through her body beginning at her collarbone. Sleep meant that every breath she took wasn’t a fight. Sleep was good. She let it take over again.

This time, when she awoke, something was different. The voices were gone, and the air smelled of vanilla and lemons. She managed to crack her eyes open, and then they opened all the way. She stared up at a ceiling, not the open sky.

She slowly sat up, cringing against the pain. A small oil lamp flickered in the corner of the bare room. The walls were an off-white and the only things in it was the bed, the table the lamp sat on, and a wooden chair nestled in the corner.

The door opened and an elderly woman stepped through. Her light blue dress covered any curves she may have had, and the brown belt hung loose around her lips. The woman turned and smiled.

“Oh, you’re awake. Wonderful. My name is Catherine, and your name is Mina, correct?” the woman’s voice crackled with her age, but had a strength behind it that Mina hadn’t heard since she’d sat on the floor and listened to her grandmother’s stories.

“Uhm, yes. My name is Mina.” She started to look around, but stopped as pain lanced through her again.

“Now, now, don’t move too much. That’s a nasty break you have. Here, let me help you lay back down and we’ll get you back into tip top shape.” Catherine smiled and the slender hands that were placed on Mina’s arm were firm and strong as she was pushed gently down.

Mina’s breath caught in her throat and she pushed down the panic. Catherine wasn’t going to hurt her. Catherine was human.

She was fine.

She was fine.

She was fine.

The old woman blinked and quickly took her hands off of Mina’s arm and the panic receded immediately.

“I am so sorry, I should have asked to touch you first,” Catherine said.

Mina gave her a weak smile. “You…You didn’t know, it’s fine.” She laid back down herself. It was slow and painful, but once she was fully horizontal once more the pain ebbed.

“Okay, I will need to touch you to heal your broken bones. It’s going to hurt, a lot. I am sorry about that.” She gave Mina a tight smile. She produced a thick strip of leather from her dress and held it up to Mina’s mouth. “Bite on this.”

She stared at the leather and then opened her mouth and bit down. She’d been healed before, several times. It never got more pleasant.

White-hot, piercing pain exploded behind her eyes and the leather creaked against her teeth.

Bone snapped into place and healed almost in an instant. Mina’s breath escaped her in a rush as the pain was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.

She hated getting healed. It was far better than dealing with an injury for months, but by the gods did it hurt. It had been explained to her at one point that healing was more akin to time manipulation. It sped up the time of the injury all at once to when it would be healed.

Sweat beaded at her temples and Mina wiped them away and gave Catherine a weak smile. “Thank you,” she muttered

Catherine nodded and stood. “William wanted me to let you know that your bill is taken care of and that it was a pleasure meeting you.” She brushed her hands over her skirt. “You can stay the night if you wish, or you can leave. It’s completely up to you. I’ve healed all of your injuries.”

Mina nodded and laid her head back down on the pillow, letting her breathing settle down. The pain may be gone, but that didn’t mean that her body stopped reacting immediately.

The healer didn’t stay, and hurried out of the room. She probably had other patients that were in far more need than Mina had been. Catherine had far better places to be than spending time here.

She dozed off and when she awoke the room was awash in the red and gold light of the sunset. She’d fallen asleep for a couple of hours.

“Fuck, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she muttered to herself. She swung her legs off the bed and stood. She could sneak out so she wouldn’t need to deal with the judgment of the healer for not leaving immediately.

A glance at the window threw out that plan. It was far too small for her to crawl out of, and if the view outside the window was anything to go by, she was on the second or third floor. She really didn’t want to end up back here because she injured a leg.

Right…out the front door then. Mina’s things were set on a table next to the bed. She grabbed them and left the room.

Catherine was nowhere to be seen as Mina made her way down the single flight of stairs. The bottom floor of the building was full of empty, clean cots; each one was divided by a cloth curtain. Still no sign of the healer.

Mina shrugged and left the building.

Lynden.

She was in Lynden. Her heart squeezed in her chest. She hadn’t been here since she was a child. She, her mother, and her two sisters had come here once a year as a treat. She’d always loved it.

Now though? She tried to avoid coming here. It reminded her too much of her family.

They’d just come back from a trip to Lynden a few days prior when the orcs had raided her village. She clenched her fists at the thought and shook her head. No point in thinking about that now.

She cracked her knuckles and began to walk. The first tavern she found was empty save for a fat, greasy man behind the counter cleaning glasses with a filthy cloth. A hasty exit was made there.

The second one turned out to be a fighting ring instead of a tavern.

This may be a good place to come back to if I can’t find any jobs. I’m sure I could win at least a few fights.”

The third was a brothel, and the fourth had a sickly sweet smell that emanated from it.

The next one, that one had promise. Soldiers and guards sat around round tables eating and drinking. Barmaids rushed back and forth taking and delivered orders.

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It was the first tavern that had a good amount of military presence, which meant the food and beer were either good, cheap, or both.

The inside had a very homely feel. A fire crackled merrily in the corner and fur rugs covered the floor. A man in extravagant clothing sat next to the fire singing and playing a lyre. He wasn’t the best that Mina had ever hear, but he was certainly far from the worst.

She sat down at a round table next to a group of particularly rambunctious soldiers. A barmaid immediately came over and she ordered the cheapest food and ale available.

She glanced over at the soldiers. They were young, probably freshly conscripted. They didn’t even have any scars on them, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. It was their conversation that gave them away.

“Fuck yeah! Taking down the beast wasn’t easy, but hell…we did it! Arch-devil my ass, more like arch-bitch.” The large bald one laughed as he slammed his mug down, the amber liquid sloshing out and splattering on the table.

She scowled. She’d never seen an arch-devil herself, but she knew the rumors and tales of the catastrophic destruction they could—had—caused. They were the most powerful of the [demons], and their leaders. If there had been on in Aspen, more people than these five men would have known. They didn’t even have any scars from the battle.

“Aye, they’re fucking bastards ain’t they? I got to know how you got past the damnable air blades. Last time I saw one, damn near took me head off with it,” said a man that was sitting at the table on the other side of the five men. The straw hat he wore obscured most of his face from view.

The bald man looked over at him and stood, stepping up to the table and leaned on it.

“Well, that was easy to deal with. See, I just brought up a wall of earth and it blocked the blades easy.” The soldier nodded to himself.

Mina frowned and tilted her head. Would they have air blades? Only two of the arch-devils were currently known and neither one of them had air Spirits from what she remembered.

“Oh, look, someone who isn’t an overpaid chair warmer bragging about shite they ain’t seen before.” The man in the hat kicked his feet up on the table and leaned back in his chair.

Mina blinked. She hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud.

“The fuck did you just say to me?” the bald soldier slammed his hands down on the table.

“Aye, you heard me. I didn’t stutter.” The man didn’t seem at all phased by the violence that had been inflicted upon his table. He just casually sipped at his mug.

The larger man knocked the drink out of his hand and it clattered to the floor, the amber liquid soaking into the wood.

Conversation in the tavern ceased as all the patrons turned to look towards the commotion.

Mina glanced back towards the two men and stared. Hat—she decided they needed nicknames—had a long, narrow sword pressed against Baldie’s neck. Several ethereal swords had appeared and were keeping the other four at bay.

A small bead of blood formed at the tip of the sword. “You best be paying for a new drink.”

The wooden floor of the tavern creaked and split apart as a spear of earth emerged from it and shot towards him.

“Behind you!” One of the barmaids shouted.

Another man appeared. He wore the same sort of clothing that Hat did, except he wore a red, stylized mask with huge fangs jutting from the top and bottom of the mouth. His knees were bent and his hand placed on the hilt of the sword resting at his side. Her brows furrowed when she saw through him, literally.

Her eyes darted between the new man and the spear that was racing towards him. It was going to hit him and he wasn’t going to do any sort of move to stop it. Just when she was sure that the spear would impale Hat Jr, his sword sliced through it and dust scattered across the server, and he was gone.

“Leave. Now. Before I decide to not be nice and give your mother two sons to bury.” Hat lifted his head to stare at Baldie. The steel in his voice matched the color of his eyes, and was just as cold.

The color escaped from Baldie’s face and he sputtered, he left but shouted threats until the door shut behind him and his friends.

Mina watched Hat for a moment and the ethereal swords disappeared. He took a seat and called the barmaid over to order another mead.

He could be useful. Having a second person traveling with her wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. She chewed on her bottom lip as she studied him. He clearly knew how to handle himself. The speed he had moved was insane. She’d only looked at the fallen mug for a second or two and he’d been up and at Baldie’s throat.

“See something you like?” Hat asked.

Mina frowned and stood, moving to his table and sitting across from him with her plate of half-eaten food. “I’m Mina.” She held her hand out to him.

He looked down at her hand and then back up at her. His eyes glanced over every inch of her body that was exposed. It didn’t feel lecherous. He was deducing if she was a threat. He flicked his eyes away after a moment.

“Dismissing that quickly?” Insulting. Perhaps he wasn’t a good pick to join her on her quest, not if he decided she wasn’t a threat to him that quickly. He hadn’t a clue what he was dealing with.

Hat turned his gaze back to her and smirked. “Caught that did you? What makes you think I dismissed you?”

“It took you five seconds and then you looked away. Mina crossed her arms.

“Aye, it took me that long to see the muscles beneath those think arms. You have callouses on your hands and fingers which tells me you’re not likely a noble. You hold yourself with a confidence that tells me that you either know how to handle yourself, or you think you do,” he said. He took her hand that she was still holding out. “Names Renault, now what do you want?”

Mina scowled. Alright, so maybe he hadn’t dismissed her. “I’m looking for a companion.”

His brows shot up. “Well, that’s rather forward of you.” This time his gaze was lecherous as he raked it over her body. “I mean, you’re not bad to look at, and who am I to turn a lass down?”

Mina’s face heated and she quickly shook her head. Why was that what he automatically went to? “No! That is not at all what I mean. I need a traveling companion!”

He started to laugh. He’d known exactly what she’d meant, hadn’t he? He was just fucking with her.

“Aye, and what would I get from it?”

“Well, company for one. I’m a decent fighter, but it’s easier to travel with someone else to watch your back.” She leaned back in her chair and took a few deep breaths to calm the heat in her cheeks.

“What makes yout hink I’m a traveler? Why would I want to leave the safety of the city walls? There be [demons] beyond, just ask them soldiers.”

Mina glanced over his attire. “Your clothes haven’t been washed in days, and the dust along the hem of your pants are dark red, which is the color of the road that runs along the Deas Fissure. There aren’t any red paths in Lynden that I’m aware of.” She crossed her arms. “The fact that you haven’t washed your clothes and the dirt is still there tells me that you got here recently. Judging by the state of your clothes, and the stench that’s coming off you, you’re either a vagrant, or you travel a lot. You have a nice sword though, so doubtful you’re a vagrant. In fact, I’d wager you’re either a sellsword a merc.”

Mercenaries and sellswords weren’t too terribly different, but there were a few key ones. Mercenaries always worked for large organizations while sellswords were more free-lance. A mercenary wouldn’t—couldn’t—take a job without first getting permission from the leader of their group. Sellswords had much more freedom in what jobs they could take.

Renault raised his hand and clapped slowly. “Observant, aren’t you? Aye, I’m a sellsword. As such, I think it’d be rather obvious that I’m not just going to go off on some half-assed adventure without even knowing anything about it or out of the kindness of me heart.”

“I’m hunting orcs,” she said simply.

He blinked and stared at her, before laughter erupted from him. “You?”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Mina demanded.

“You may be able to fight, sure. But orcs? They’d eat you for breakfast.” He doubled over and held his stomach, his entire body shaking.

She narrowed her eyes and a singular, flaming butterfly landed lightly on his hand. He jerked his hand away and swore. “The fuck? You have a fire spirit?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t keep the smug smile off of her face. Elemental Spirits weren’t rare, but they certainly weren’t common.

Renault stared at her for a long minute. “Alright, you have me attention. What will I get out of going with you? You going to pay me?”

“I can’t pay you right now,” she responded, shaking her head. She should have expected that he’d ask for payment. She would have. What did she have to offer him? Nothing. Nothing at all. She had nothing of value. A couple of thrones, but nowhere near enough to convince him to accompany her.

“Then why in the hell would I agree to this? I’m not just going to go with you out of the goodness of me heart.” Renault frowned and shook his head. “You’re wasting me time with this.”

“I tend to take jobs in each city I go to, I can give you half of whatever I make,” she offered. Was it even worth this to get Renault to come with her? She could probably find someone far more willing to accompany her.

“Oh, aye, I’m sure that will cover my usual fee. I’m quite the hot commodity, you know.” He grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes and got up “Sorry for bothering you then.”