The hands came in the night, wanting what they always wanted. But this time… Tyla’s hand found the hilt of the dagger she’d been given, concealed underneath her pillow. She whipped it up to slash at the man who’d come. Whether it worked or not was beside the point as long as he—

“Whoa, girl!”

The hand that held the dagger was caught fast in a rock-solid grip, and Tyla came fully awake at the sound of Kelsey’s voice. Tyla stared, wide-eyed at the face in the darkness. Kelsey’s eyes glowed very faintly.

“Jumpy, are we? You might want to work on that,” Kelsey said softly. She released Tyla’s hand and changed position slightly. “You can see fine in this, right? I thought I wouldn’t bother with a light when waking you, but that might have been a mistake.”

“I… can see fine,” Tyla agreed. She spoke at the same volume Kelsey did… presumably to avoid waking the others.

“Good,” Kelsey said. “Do you… want to talk about it?”

Tyla froze, considering the notion. Numina were renowned for their wisdom, having guided the tribes in times long gone. Kelsey seemed different from the tales, but she did have knowledge to share. But…

“I don’t want to,” Tyla said.

“That’s fine,” Kelsey said. “Do you want a hug?”

“A hug?” Tyla asked, bewildered. Numina spirits were guides and taskmasters. They didn’t—

“Do elves not hug?” Kelsey asked, cocking her head to one side. Tyla just stared. Belatedly, it occurred to her that Kelsey was sharing a bed with the hero, so perhaps she did a great deal more than hug.

“Hmp,” Kelsey continued. “I have it on— actually, Mel isn’t that great an authority on elves—but she seems to think that you do hug. So do you want one?”

“I don’t know,” Tyla answered honestly. Kelsey raised an eyebrow but spread her arms wide. She stayed where she was, allowing Tyla to choose if she would rise to the occasion.

After a moment’s more thought, Tyla tentatively moved closer and was enfolded in Kelsey’s arms. She felt… cool. Not cold like a corpse, but just a bit cooler than the warmth of a human or elf.

“You survived,” Kelsey whispered in Tyla’s ear. “I won’t tell you that you’re safe here, but you’re strong enough to face whatever comes.”

I’m not strong, Tyla thought. Her arms tightened of their own accord, and she clung to Kelsey like she was a child. She held on for what seemed like a long time, but Kelsey just waited patiently for the storm of emotion to pass.

Tyla thought about the gun that Kelsey had given her. About her new class, and the core and the magic it held. I’m not strong, she thought again. But maybe I can become strong. She let go of Kelsey.

“Better?” Kelsey asked. Tyla nodded.

“Why did you wake me?” she asked.

“I wanted to see if you were up for another midnight hunt,” Kelsey said.

“I’m not a hunter any more,” Tyla pointed out, “and this city is not a forest.”

“Once a hunter, always a hunter,” Kelsey told her. “And any differences between these mean streets and a trackless forest are just cosmetic. Come on.”

----------------------------------------

“Aren’t they relying on you to keep watch?” Tyla asked after they’d eased the door shut and locked it again.

“The door has a lock,” Kelsey said, pointing to it. “If someone tries to smash their way in, everyone should wake up in time.”

“What if they pick the lock?” Tyla asked. She hadn’t known that such things were possible, but she had talked to Zaphar about what he did.

“They don’t take kindly to thieves in these here parts,” Kelsey said. She nodded to the guards, occasionally patrolling outside the buildings they were guarding. Most of the ones they saw had ducked into shadow when they saw the pair coming, watching suspiciously as they passed. “Someone trying to pick the lock of our warehouse isn’t their responsibility, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they put an arrow in them on general principles.”

“It takes a long time, to pick a lock?” Tyla asked.

“Unless you’re really good,” Kelsey said. “Zaphar isn’t great at it, which is why he prefers to use the upstairs windows.”

Tyla nodded in understanding. Her one experience of an upstairs window was that it was left open and unlocked, so it made sense.

“What are we doing tonight?” she asked.

“Two things,” Kelsey said. “First, we found out where the Fisher’s territory is, so we’re going to ask them some questions. Then, I want to rile up some priests.”

“Why?”

“It’s a long-term plan,” Kelsey said evasively. “If we can stir up unrest in the city, we can keep the officials too busy to check our non-existent or badly forged papers before we leave. Priests are an important part of keeping a city from getting restive.”

“You’re not going to kill them, are you?” Tyla asked.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“That would work,” Kelsey said, “But it might be easier to scare them off. We’ll try a few things. But right now, gangers. You don’t have level four yet, do you?”

“No,” Tyla said. “The creatures you summoned were too low a level for me to gain much. And I had to share with the others besides.”

Kelsey nodded sympathetically. “I could have summoned better monsters, but then you would have needed the gun to kill them. Even if you can keep it silent, it’s probably best not to fire that thing in the hideout.”

“It stinks,” Tyla agreed.

“Yeah. The other thing was, I had to hold some mana back for tonight.” She didn’t elaborate further. The pair travelled to the east side of town until they saw the symbol they were looking for painted on the walls. Tyla happened to see it first, a blue kingfisher.

“Good eye,” Kelsey said. “Now, if we can find a tavern that’s closing down for the night…”

It proved easy enough, they just had to follow their ears. This district seemed to be mostly commercial and taverns were the only places lit up this late at night. The first one they found had the kingfisher symbol painted over the door, which seemed promising. Kelsey pushed her way through the door. Tyla followed, her hand already on her gun.

“We’re closed,” the bartender called out as soon as Kelsey entered.

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Kelsey said. “This is a Fisher tavern, right?”

Tyla looked around. It did look closed, or nearly so. There were a few people at the tables, but they were either nursing a last drink or slumped over the remains of one. The bartender seemed to be locking up his drinks, in preparation for tossing out the last of the drinkers.

“What of it?” the bartender asked.

“Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but that means these guys are all Fishers, right?” Kelsey asked, gesturing at the drinkers. “And you, you’re either a Fisher, or you work for them.”

“Yeah, you’re wrong,” the bartender said. He reached under the bar for something but didn’t draw it out. “What it means is, the Fishers will put your body in the harbour if you try anything here. Anything other than turn on your heel and leave.”

“Nah, I’ve got some questions to ask about the Fishers,” Kesley said. “This seems the place to ask them.”

“That’s all the warning you get,” the bartender said, pulling out his club. More than an ordinary piece of wood, Tyla could see that nails had been driven through it.

Kelsey didn’t move, but Tyla did. “Do not!” she said firmly, sweeping the gun out of her holster and pointing it at the man’s face. He sneered.

“What do you think that is?” he asked. “A weapon? You gonna hit me with a piece of metal that isn’t even sharp?”

“Take the shot,” Kelsey advised. “We’ve got plenty of spares here to interrogate.”

“I won’t,” Tyla said grimly. “Not unless he tries something.”

The bartender snorted. “Was that supposed to be a threat, little elf? You’ve got about two seconds to try something before I knock your teeth out!”

Swinging his club, he stepped out from behind the bar, which was all the provocation that Tyla needed.

“Silent Shot.”

You didn’t have to say your Trait when you used it, but it felt good when you did. Satisfying. It made up for the lack of a roar when Tyla pulled the trigger. She’d heard the sound of a gun when Kelsey saved her, but she’d not yet heard the sound of her own weapon. For here there was just a slight whuff of flame and smoke.

The sound of the bullet hitting the bartender’s face was also muted, the man’s head exploding into gore with an eerie silence. The loudest sound came a second later, when his body hit the floor.

She became aware that everyone still conscious in the room was staring at her. The ones who had been half asleep were now fully awake. A notification popped up.

You have reached Level 4.

Please select a new Trait

Please allocate free Ability point

It was a little distracting, but she didn’t let it stop her.

“Nobody move!” Tyla said, waving the gun to cover the room. Nobody did, but they looked like they wanted to.

“Whoo!” Kelsey said into the sudden silence. “Now, how do I get you all to pay attention to me? Oh, I know! Spider!”

Tyla didn’t actually look until one of the drunks gave a high-pitched scream and tried to push himself through the wall behind him. Not everyone had looked at Kelsey when she spoke, but they did now.

There was a really big spider perched on her hand. Big enough that it was precariously perched.

“Yay! Everyone’s paying attention to me!” Kelsey crowed, “Now, does anyone want to save us some time and volunteer everything that they know about your gang’s activities?”

There was silence as the room wrestled with the question. For the moment, loyalty stood firm over terror.

“That’s too bad!” Kelsey said. One of the drunks slumped over, clearly overwhelmed by terror. “Even worse, Anton said that torture wasn’t heroic, and we shouldn’t be doing it!”

“Um, should you be telling them that?” Tyla asked.

“It’s fine,” Kelsey assured her. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat! You see, spiders have a lot of toxins. The one that causes incredible pain is good for torture, but it’s not the only one.”

All of the men were looking at her now, except for another one that had slumped over, making a soft whistling sound.

“The one I’m thinking of,” Kelsey continued, “Is a mere Tier One poison! It’s kind of useful for taking the edge off adventurer parties, but it hardly counts as disabling. They just feel really, really, good.”

“You’re saying that thing, is gonna make us feel good when it bites us?” one of the drunks said, finally speaking up.

“Noooo, don’t believe… her…” the man next to him said. Despite his words, he had a beatific smile on his face. He tried to say something else but then fell off his chair.

“Nah,” Kelsey said. “This is a flesh-rot poison one. Don’t you know the first rule of spiders? The big ones are there to distract you from the small ones.”

“Small… what? You’re… not… sleepy… won’t let…” the man said before falling to the floor.

“It looks like you’ve got this in hand?” Tyla said. “I should check the back room?”

“Get your level done first,” Kelsey replied. “No sense wasting time.”

Tyla flushed. How did she know? Well, she is a Numina.

Briefly diverting her attention, she accepted her level.

Applying Benefits for Level 4

Dexterity + 1

Perception + 2

Willpower + 1

Assign free points:

Still self-conscious of her low Agility, Tyla assigned the free point to that.

Traits available: Identify Ingredients, Cast Lesser Charm, Empower Enchantment, Empower Alchemy

She selected Cast Lesser Charm, as she’d discussed with Kelsey. Then, before checking the back room, she went over her status one more time.

Tyla Greenwalker of the Padascar Tribe (Level 4)

Overall Level: 11

Paths: Padascar Hunter (Broken)/ Doxy (Broken)/Apprentice Dungeon Witch

Strength: 11

Toughness: 7

Agility: 10

Dex: 16

Perception: 18

Will: 12

Charisma: 9

Traits

Persistent Tracking

Silent Shot

Danger Sense

Sense Magic

Cast Lesser Charm

“All good?” Kelsey asked. “Then let’s secure this building and start asking questions.”