I came slowly awake, the drowsy fog lifting, only to see intelligent eyes of midnight blue looking back. With such depths, I could see the stars. There was concern written on her face.

"Are you ok?" she inquires in such a beautiful voice, so worried. Why is she worried? Derick, I move my hands over my body. Still clothed, I look around.

"Those men have been dealt with, and you were not harmed. Ria wants you to decide what to do with them. " The fairy spoke, and she had such a small voice. Amazing. This little fairy is just like a person, only smaller and with wings.

I sit up, feeling much better already. "Are you a healer? I was sure I had been poisoned. " I asked those keen eyes.

Ria smiles at me and says, in a voice that slides over me like smooth silk, "No, I am not. I use magic items. This earring is what allowed me to share some regeneration with you. " She indicates a pale pink crystal dangling from her ear.

I look at the crystal magically, but cannot discern anything. I look at Ria, but that intricate system of magic that I saw previously is nowhere to be found. It's not just nowhere. More than that... It's hidden. It must be another item she has. How much magic does she have?

I sit up, and look out at where the men are sprawled naked. "What happened? Why are they naked? Does your fairy have a name? " I finally let my questions start spilling out. It's been a rough day.

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My lovely Trix spoke up once more, "My name is Trixy, and I am my own. We are kind of inseparable, though. Regardless, those men are naked because this gorgeous, cunning enchantress took their strength and made a magic item. " Trix described much more than I would. She must have some sense about her.

The cat woman looked bewildered. "But why are they naked? You didn't? Have sex with them? Did you? "

I was about to speak up when Trix started explaining, so I shut my mouth. " She was quite devious. She knocked on the door, got dragged in, and stammered her objections till they disregarded you. They gagged her. While they were absorbed by her natural beauty, she weaved a spell to make them think they were in an orgy or something. She then drained their stamina and magical energy into some new magic items as she fucked them. They are now out cold. "

"That's not the important part," I tried to refocus us, "we decided that since you were their victim, you would get to decide their fate. What do you want done? "

She looks like she has no idea what to say. Conflicted. Not a heartless killer. "I thought to myself earlier that if they tried anything, I would have been able to handle them. I was wrong. They are not good men. But they do go monster hunting. With the rumors about the local kingpin or whatnot dead, these men will likely not be able to pull stuff like this off for much longer. Maybe... let them go. There is no need for blood to be shed today. "

Trix and I look at each other. I stated, "If that is what you want, then it shall be. They are handled, so unless you want to rob them, we will be on our way. "

Trix pipes up, "You can come with us if you want. It's safe...well. mostly safe. I guess it's not really safe, but it's fun! You should come with us. You're cute." Trix badly explains that she can come with us.

I started to see a fantasy of me and her in her mind. I think she will choose to come with us. I realize I don't even know her name. "I keep calling you cute cat girl in my head. I think I should probably learn your name.

Her cheeks fluffed ever so slightly. I looked a bit closer, and noticed the slightest hint of fur. It's barely noticable. She responded with a slight bow, "My name is Sophia Delphine, and I am pleased to meet you, Ria, and Trixy. I would be glad to join you. " With introductions and rescue out of the way, it is time for us to be off. We head out to the wagon. The fire is handled, presumably by the innkeeper, who is nowhere to be found. Our wagon was right where I left it.

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Sophie was following behind. She was a bit surprised when we hopped up into the driver's seat of the wagon. "Wow... you even have a wagon. This is the way to travel. You two are the best."

We are off to the cobbler. Sophie isn't wearing shoes, but her feet seem designed for that. Must have pads. We stop the wagon as close to the cobblers as possible. I ran out and came back with the shoes for Trix and I. They were soft leather boots. They weren't especially well matched with our outfits, but we wanted comfort, not style. Trix was on Sophia's shoulder chatting when I returned.

"...looked dignified, but scared. She had some kind of bearing, like a noble. I knew I was doomed, and this poor girl was stuck with me. When she laughed at the brutes. Something shifted. I knew she wasn't there by accident. When she started drawing on the power of the whole orc camp. I sensed my opportunity. I started singing a song to my home... " Trix notices me hopping up in the drivers' seat. "Oh, hey Ria, I was just telling Sophie here about the rescue from the orc camp."

"Don't let me stop you; just let's get on the road. We have an adventure to start. " I encourage Trix to get us going. The horses will listen to her. With an unintelligible word, we are off.

"You had better take the reigns, Ria. Small movements will help guide them from what they do not see. " Trix picks up and hands me the reins before Sophie plucks them out of my hands.

"I can handle this. I've driven a few horse teams back home. This should be a breeze." Sophie loosely holds the reins in her hand. She clearly knows what she is doing. "Oh... I just got a skill. Animal Driver. Gave me rank E. Fun."

"That's awesome. I have noticed that just showing some skill in something will have the system grant more knowledge about the skill. That's what I love about being here. Magic was so easy to learn." I continue to explain that I had theoretical knowledge from my world that translated to simple enchanting and turned that into rune-scripting with only a small fire.

During my story, she exclaimed, "You did WHAT? It worked? It's a wonder you're still alive. You know what could happen if you messed them up?" Sophia seemed flummoxed.

"Yea, of course I do, but those skills the system grants gave me a huge advantage. I'll try to explain sometime. For now, let's get on the open road. Adventure awaits!" We proceed out of the gates, the guards waving us on. We begin our journey to Pinely.

Within the first hour, I had sneakily examined the cat girl from head to toe. She is slightly shorter than I am at 5 ft. Those ears fit perfectly with her. She has a crop of dark red-orange hair on her head. It goes down just past her shoulders and is very bouncy and silky looking. I want to get a feel. She will start things, though. I could feel it from her. Her robes are wide-sleeved with an open front, revealing a simple set of clothes underneath. She needs an outfit upgrade. That tunic and pants could easily be better. Her robe is at least passable, with the coloring matching her fur with yellow and red highlights and a flowing orange pattern. It almost looks like fire. Her feet have pads on the bottom, and her fingers have slightly curved and pointed nails. She looks mostly like us. Sleeker, and with different ears and a very soft looking tail.

After my secretly admiring her, we got to talking about magic. "In my land, we learn magic from a young age. The magical arts are a point of pride in my family. I was born with the ability to wield fire easily. " She says, conjuring a ball of flame. I examine it magically. She seemed to have formed a fire rune with her motions, and kept a tether of mana to it. The mana seemed to be holding the intent.

I think I grasp it and explain, "I see. You appeared to have formed a symbol of fire with your motions and kept it up with a trickle of mana. I assume you could change the intent of that ball to make it go in a direction, but if you wanted it to have additional properties, like exploding, you would have had to have formed it with those properties. The changes you could make to it now would likely increase or decrease heat output. Then throw it. More mana would mean hotter, but might make the intent of throwing harder to maintain. "

I start enchanting a runic script in mid air, tethering it a specific distance from me, "Now, I form it a bit differently. This specific formation has the intent to glow if not interacted with, so it can be seen and read by anyone. It's a simple 2 rune script, but the connecting lines provide more intent behind what it is supposed to do. It is to glow and produce very little heat. It is going to get hotter as living flesh gets closer. It will explode into flames if touched. "

Sophia was looking at me strangely. " That is an enchanted rune script. It will stay without your input. Mine would not. To achieve what you just did should be impossible. You need the correct tools to make it happen. I have NEVER heard of someone enchanting without appropriate drawing, at least with their mana at their fingertips. What are you doing differently? "

I explain the localized enchanting talent. She looks totally jealous. "What the hell did you have to do for this place to award you with that?"