A billion thoughts ran through Ezra’s mind. How had she figured it out when nobody else had seen past him? What was she planning? Was she going to turn him in for the bounty?
“I would advise you to choose your next words very carefully,” Ezra said, his tone controlled and still.
“I’m not going to turn you in if that’s what you’re scared of. I know that the queen requires all Spirit Weapon holders to be under the government’s authority, but I don’t care about that.”
Ezra faced toward her and crossed his arms.
“If you’re not going to turn me in, then why bring this up?” Ezra said. “What are you hoping for?”
“Who says I need something? Perhaps I’m just curious.”
“Bullshit.”
Prise walked over to him, her head tilted. She leaned in toward Ezra’s face and scanned over his features. Ezra took a step back.
“Are you an Otherworlder?” she said. “Like from the legends? But if so, how did you evade capture by the Queen? They say she has a way of tracking when Otherworlders enter our land.”
“I’m not an Otherworlder.”
“Then how do you have a Spirit Weapon?” Prise said. “Because they don’t hand those out at the local farmer’s market, I can tell you that much.”
This damn woman.
Filamenta hummed, and her voice echoed around him, “Why hide it? Would it be so bad if she knew who you were?”
Ezra didn’t believe Prise when she said her intentions were innocent. Her mother needed a cure for her illness, remember? Wouldn’t the best way to get that money be selling Ezra out?
“Can you honestly tell me that you believe Prise would do something like that to you?” Filamenta said. “The kind girl who’s aided you at every single turn, without any hesitation?”
Even if that was true, it’s just none of her business.
Filamenta was quiet when he thought that. “That’s fair. It’s ultimately your decision how much you want to tell her. I would recommend giving her something, though, just to appease her.”
Prise continued to stare at him, her warm brown eyes next to his own.
Ezra pushed her away.
“What’s your deal with Spirit Weapons anyway?” he said
“Well,” she said. “I’ve never seen one in person, even though I’ve heard the legends, and I’m just curious.”
“Legends? What kind of legends?” Ezra said.
Prise leaned back and chuckled.
“I’ve always been a fan of old stories—I think you know that by now,” she said. “And one of my favorites is the story of the first Otherworlder. Mother used to read it to me every night. She told me how she faced mighty monsters, perilous storms, and so many other things. All that time, she had by her side a spirit in the form of a sword. Eventually, she came across the Demon Lord and slew him.”
Ezra snorted. “Fat lotta good that did.”
“Yeah…” Prise said. “I guess that death is less of a problem for monsters than they thought, huh?”
Ezra stuffed his hands in his pocket. “Anyway, I don’t have a spirit weapon.”
“Uh-huh,” Prise said. “But I think that’s all I’m going to get out of you, hm? Not to worry, I’ll figure out everything about you, given enough time. And after that… perhaps when all this is over…”
“Hm?”
“Nothing. I think I’m ready to go back to sleep.”
Ezra was exhausted. He could get behind that. They headed back to the inn and Ezra fell onto his bed when he got there. It was irritating that Prise had managed to figure out what was going on. He’d have to tread lightly around her. It would be bad if she figured out his true identity.
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“Why?” Filamenta said. “Please help me to understand. I don’t see the negative outcome that you seem to see if your allies know that you’re Ezra.”
“I just don’t want to deal with the past all over again, I guess,” Ezra said. “Besides, how would it help me if they knew? I don’t need it. It’ll just be extra weight.”
Filamenta crawled onto the bedpost.
“It’s ultimately your decision,” Filamenta said. “Though I still disagree.”
She left it at that for the night.
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The next several days were spent on the outskirts of the city, continuing to hone the skills that Ezra had picked up along with leveling up as quickly as possible. He wanted to get his Constitution up to 50 and with that, get a new skill. After that, he’d focus on Strength. At least, that was the plan.
He figured out some new ways to practice his grappling—he’d asked Dumrivil if he knew someone who understood how to wrestle, and had been directed… back to goddamn Nobinar. Ezra was starting to get irritated by how often the man seemed to show up in his training regimen, but Ezra went along with it. After all, strength was strength, right?
Nobinar wasn’t very satisfied with Ezra’s amateurish movements and started teaching him actual holds to apply to people. Ezra took to it quickly—probably because of the skill—and was able to apply it in a quick practice fight. Of course, he got destroyed. They were restricted to grappling and Nobinar had seemed to hint that he had something other than [Basic Grappling] at a high level.
Later on, he had the opportunity to go slay another group of Hornblowers. The fight wasn’t much to write home about (he didn’t even get to go and use his grappling since they were, you know, twice his size), but hey! At least his level went up!
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
He raised his Constitution up to 36, increasing his health to 1020.
It was a major relief, honestly. He knew full well that HP wasn’t a total guarantee of safety—after all, with his needle, he could slice people’s HP in half—but it would give him a little bit of buffer room. There was also the secondary effect of increasing his stamina. After high-intensity activity, he used to find himself on his knees, gulping for air. That rarely happened for him anymore, he felt like he could run for miles with no problem. Although, uh, he didn’t really want to test that because running was kind of boring.
Eventually, Dumrivil came to him with bad news. Once again, he’d chosen the damn bar as a meeting place, but Ezra didn’t feel like fighting the man on the issue.
“They’re moving their locations,” Dumrivil said. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find them again, but it’s a big world and it’ll take time.”
“What are our options?” Ezra said.
“Outside help.”
Ezra leaned back into his chair. “Go on.”
Dumrivil leaned in and lowered his voice.
“They’re called the Ravenwing guild. One of the foremost intelligence gathering guilds in Cortia.”
“Would they be interested in working with us?” Ezra said.
“I’ve already gotten an offer.” Dumrivil pulled out a letter. “They’ve noticed what we’re up to and want to make us an offer. I suspect that they might even be able to help us find the evidence we’ve been looking for.”
“Then it’s a no-brainer, right? We should pay up and get whatever information they can get their hands on.”
Dumrivil snorted. “With what money? Yours? Prise’s? Mine?”
Oh, yeah, they were dirt-poor. Ezra had forgotten about that.
“We can appeal to their sense of preservation,” Ezra said. “It seems like they have an idea of what’s going on, so we just tell them that it’s in their best interests to take Villscha out.”
“Is it?” Dumrivil said. “Because I’m not so sure. They’ve got operations here, but they’re headquartered in the southern kingdoms. If Cortia burns, that might not be such a bad thing. After all, once the Demon Lord is defeated, would Queen Lysandra stop there? Some people in the south think she would take the opportunity to expand her domain.”
He put the letter on the table.
“That’s pretty much what the letter says.“ Dumrvil tapped on the paper. “The guild is divided right now. They’re not sure who to back, the sender, however, has a plan. They think that if we offer something valuable, that’ll tip the scales and get the Ravenwing guild solidly on our side.”
Ezra stood to his feet. “Well? What are we waiting for? Let’s meet up with this mysterious contact.”
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They stood around at the edge of town. Cicadas chirped in the distant background as the night sky shined overhead. The sound of water trickling through the ground murmured in Ezra’s ear.
“Do we know what this person will look like?” Ezra said.
“No. I think that was on purpose so we’d be taken by surprise.”
“A power play, huh?”
Ezra pulled his jacket tighter around himself.
“I just hope he shows up soon,” Ezra muttered. “It’s cold out here.”
“He? Quite an assumption you’re making there,” a female voice said.
Ezra jumped forward and landed smoothly. He turned and Filamenta appeared in his hand.
The hooded figure’s piercing green eyes locked onto him, a smirk curled at the edges of her lips. Strands of red hair slipped out from under her hood, brushing against her pale cheeks. Beneath the cloak, her form marked her as a woman She stood tall, her posture relaxed, though her gaze made it clear she wasn’t the least bit concerned by his reaction. Subtle ridges formed at the top of her hood.
“Well, aren’t you jumpy?” she said, her voice carrying a dry, sardonic edge. “Good reflexes, though. Could come in handy—if you don’t trip over yourself first.”
Ezra didn’t respond and expanded Filamenta into her dagger-sized form.
“A Spirit Weapon? Well… what an odd coincidence,” the woman said.
Dumrivil blinked and looked back at Ezra.
“Wait, a Spirit Weapon?” he said. “Oh my gosh, this explains so much… and raises so many other questions.”
Oh great, so just everyone knows about Filamenta now.
“Who are you?” Ezra said.
“Come on, you already know that,” she said. “Why don’t you look up a little?”
Alanya - Master Rogue - Prowler - Lv. 101
“I believe that we have an appointment,” she said. “Yes?”