It was truly night when they came across Arpan Morel’s storefront, which turned out to be the only painted building in the small alleyway. From just the front, it was difficult to tell how large it was, though like many of the buildings in the outer city it was built with two stories. Around the time Lograve tried the door to find it locked, a guardsman leaving a bakery was growing very nervous.

“Are you sure this is it?” Daniel asked.

“Yes, there’s more protections on the walls than that toymaker’s. I have a feature that lets me sense settled magic,” he told Khiat, inadvertently answering the others’ confusion as well. “This is it. Stand here long enough and we’ll be noticed.”

“What if he’s enchanting? You can’t go too far from the material, or look away. Unless there are powers that improve that process?”

“There should be, although to my knowledge Arpan is still bound by that restriction. Arpan!” he shouted back to the closed front door.

“It is getting late Lograve. Shouldn’t some of us go find Thomas?” Evalyn asked. “With everyone who traveled with us to the city, the tavern might get full. What if we need to go somewhere else?”

“Then we’d be better served sticking together. Go too far from me here and I won’t be able to pick you out of the crowds to re-establish the link. This should be a short conversation.”

Short conversation or not, it took another half hour of intermittent knocking and banging on the door for an annoyed voice to come through from the other side. “Whoever is out there, I’m in the middle of a very taxing project. I’ll be open to the public at noon tomorrow. Keep bothering my neighbors and I’ll contact the guard!”

“Is that you or Dril, Arpan?” Lograve asked knowingly.

It took a few moments before the door opened slightly. “Lograve? I thought you died when your Spoke exploded!”

The Arcanist smiled. “You know I fought a dragon, Arpan. Well, that count’s up to three now. You think that would stop me?”

“Three? Star, but, hold on.” The voice had a projected quality to it. Not like telepathy, which was hearing someone talking to you just without the sound going through your ears, but more of a ‘voice after going through a long tube’ kind of thing.

“Are we ever going to hear about this first dragon of yours?” Evalyn asked while several locks were audibly undone.

“Not much of a story and not the time.” He gestured to the opening door, where a suit of armor stood. Headless. It was one meter tall, ornate, and with a bright green gem on the center of the chest. “Ah, you remade Dril.”

“You were gone for ten years Lograve, of course I did.” The voice came from where the head should be. “Who are these people?”

“My friends.”

Despite the earlier joy at recognizing Lograve, the voice turned standoffish. “I’m going to need more than that.”

“Well, one of them’s looking to sell you some heliorite. Enough to make a level 2 leather shirt, at least.”

“Heliorite!” The door fully opened. “Come on in. Wait, why that much specifically?”

“It’s already been made into the armor.”

“Gods damn it Lograve, did you let some novice Arcanist touch level 5 material? I know you’re not stupid enough to have done it yourself.”

“Would you rather all of us died? We had to fight dragons to get here, and this time we didn’t have your services.”

There was a pause before the armor commented, “I never should have told you I have Material Reclamation. You know that doubles the amount of time I have to spend to make something, right? Wait, that thing’s not coming- Did someone make a suit of armor for a monster?” The voice sounded outraged now. “Have you lost your mind Lograve?”

“Daniel, it might be best to let Hunter wait outside.”

“Maybe.” He was about to enter the store before a thought struck him. Hunter, do you want to stay outside?

It’s fine.

Ok, but are you fine with it happening everywhere we go here? No response. Tak, did Hunter ever tell you he didn’t want to go to the city?

No. Oh, but I see.

It’s fine, Hunter thought back defensively.

Do you like being here Hunter?

…no.

“Daniel?” Lograve asked.

“Hunter’s coming with us.” Daniel tried for firm and unyielding and guessed based off of Evalyn’s approving smile that he’d managed it.

Arpan, through Dril, matched him. “If that’s the ringcat then you’re mistaken. No monsters in my store.”

“Then I’ll stay outside too.”

The armor turned its non-existent head to Lograve. “Who’s this Totem Warrior and what ditch did you find him in Lograve?”

Daniel gritted his teeth as an old wound was poked, and leaned towards the armor. “If I stay outside you don’t get to know how I made this. Khare, could you show him the trident? The lightning one.”

Khare withdrew the sparkshine trident from their storage space. When using heliorite to make weapons, it automatically converted the damage type of the weapon to radiant. On a whim, Khare had asked Daniel to make one for them with just lightning damage instead, and he’d added the lightning affix which switched the damage type back to normal. “You’re the idiot that butchered my heliorite? Wait, is that armor controlling the ringcat?” With that assumption, the distaste in the voice turned to keen interest. The armor walked to the doorframe, stopped dead before leaving the store, and sighed. “Fine. But I want to know about that armor.”

“Deal.” Daniel smiled and gestured for Hunter to go first. You should have just told me you didn’t want to come here. You’ve been thinking about it ever since we hit the desert, haven’t you?

Yes.

You should have just told me!

Hunter eyed him balefully, discomfort displayed now that he was found out. Would you not have come here?

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Well, Daniel frowned and completely missed seeing the front of Arpan’s store as he followed the queue down a back door. I’m sure there’s something here you’d like.

Small rooms. Too many people. I have to keep the armor on. Everyone thinks I am ‘controlled’. A pet.

Tak, who Daniel wasn’t actively screening out, offered his advice. You can talk now. We could let people know.

It was a good point that Daniel should have thought of first. Arpan can make his armor speak. Magic can explain anything. What do you want to do Hunter?

Hunt. There is new prey here. It is more open. I like that, but not this place.

We don’t have to stay here all the time, and I am really curious what kind of powers you’re going to get once we do get back to hunting. For a moment Daniel had thought he’d seized on the solution to the tension he’d been having with Hunter, as if realizing the problem was all he’d needed to do. Maybe one will help?

How?

How should I know? Even I think this is a little insane.

Tak butted in again. Ah, but good thought. I need to advance too. Tomorrow. Maybe intelligence, I think that has gotten too low. We should advance together!

You two can, I’m already caught up. Almost have everything to level 2 too.

“Are you talking with someone?” Khiat asked behind him. She was aware of Lograve’s Telepathy, and it wasn’t too hard to see Daniel and Tak were concentrating on something.

How long before she notices Hunter? “Yeah, sorry. It’s not important.” Finally paying attention to his surroundings, Daniel found himself in a winding tunnel leading underneath the house. The animated armor was in front, touching various places as it went and no doubt disabling traps. The corridor and, in fact, the house itself had been made with the duskers’ full size in mind so even Hunter wasn’t cramped.

The end of the tunnel led to a luxurious room filled with furniture. Couches, mostly, of different styles. Some were made for sitting, others lying down, but all had a fair amount of pillows. They were positioned to face a plinth in the center of the room, where a shimmering red rock was placed. A middle-aged man in what Daniel took for fine clothing fixed them with half a stare. “So, you’re here to sell me some heliorite?”

“Believe it or not, that’s just something that makes coming here convenient. Arpan, tell me you have the ear of someone important in the city.”

“Why?” Arpan narrowed his eyes.

“It’s bad. This region might be next.” Khiat tensed beside Daniel. She hadn’t been told exactly why they needed to speak to the Council.

“You’re talking about something like what happened in the Thormundz?”

Lograve shook his head and gripped the back of one couch dramatically. “No. Worse. The gods need to know.”

“The only ones who could think of contacting them are the Council. Ah. Damn it. Dril, why didn’t you stop me?”

“Sorry?” Lograve raised an eyebrow.

“It’s, argh.” Arpan sighed in frustration. “Lograve, swear to me this is important.”

“Well, only if you value all of everything.”

“Swear it!”

“Fine, yes. Can you get me a meeting?”

Arpan thought to himself for a moment, still keeping the rock in the center of his line of sight at all times. “Maybe. I’m assuming you want this done as soon as possible?”

Lograve smiled at that. “I’m sure that’s not a foreign concept to you.”

Arpan scoffed and sat up. “Alright, I’ll see what I can pull off. Come back tomorrow afternoon. Now, heliorite, and that armor.” Arpan pointed to Hunter, who was able to fit comfortably in the room. This basement, for lack of a better word, must have been the size of the entire floorspace of the above shop. “I’ll buy any formulae off you if I’m interested in, along with that beautiful metal you’ve made a disgrace of.” Arpan thought a moment longer and then addressed Daniel directly. “Wait, how did you get that armor on it in the first place? Did you have a Beastmaster stun it?”

“There’s no special enchantment on the armor,” Daniel replied, smiling. “Just a slight radiant damage resistance from the metal and the standard level 2 armor enchantment I used as the base.”

“Ah, shame, if Dril could take over monsters that would…” he trailed off, made a concerted effort to maintain concentration on his current enchantment, and just managed it. In a pained voice, Arpan asked, “Lograve, that monster is under control, right?”

The Arcanist gave him what might have been a wink of commiseration. “It’s complicated. You’re fine.”

“Lograve, tell me it’s under control.”

“You’re fine Arpan,” he laughed. “There is another armor enchantment you would be interested in. Daniel, Khare, if you would?”

Arpan watched Hunter out of the corner of his eye as a glowing shirt of what should have been leather armor was withdrawn from the gestalt. “Smuggling space, useful. What’s the armor do?”

“Lightning immunity,” Daniel said.

“Lightning immunity!?” Arpan leapt back up, forgetting the ringcat entirely. “I will give you three lapis if you-”

“But you explode.”

“Uhm, what?” Daniel explained the intricacies of the lightning link enchantment, and then for good measure covered the others he knew, withdrawing samples from an obliging Khare. It was faintly reminiscent of when he’d displayed them before the dragon fight except there was fair less pressure, and the promise of being paid.

“I’ll take all the heliorite you want to give me, the armor and trident enchantments, both ammunition types, and the lightning wings.”

Daniel clutched his lightning wings protectively. They were the first set he’d made, discounting the cobbled-together construction that had self-destructed on the way down. They had a solid gold appearance too, and were shaped like airplane wings. It should be said that Daniel could adjust the color of his creations to some degree, but that added a layer of difficulty. Still new to the thing his class was known for, the best he’d done was give the armor he’d made for Murdon specially colored straps. “I want to keep mine. They’re the only pair I have.”

“Why wouldn’t you? Sell them in Threst and you’d be richer than me.” Arpan shook his head. “Bring them by tomorrow and I can get the formulae without breaking them down. Hmm, do you want payment tonight? That could be inconvenient.”

Lograve spoke up. “So long as tomorrow is fine, I can cover room and board today, Daniel. This deal comes with a rider Arpan, no telling anyone about his class.”

“I’m not some gossip.” Arpan frowned. “Honestly Aughal isn’t so bad for rares unless you’re not careful. Do what Lograve says and don’t sign anything and you’ll be fine.”

Lograve, and by extension Daniel, weren’t too comforted. “I think we’d both like to avoid it even becoming a problem.”

“Fine, fine. Ten viridian for everything. Don’t spend it all in one place.”

Daniel had just learned about currency in this world today and had no idea what anything cost, or what the exchange rates were. Even the price of a banana was something he couldn’t guess at, if those existed. Still, he had a strange feeling upon hearing the offer. “That sounds a little low. Isn’t that level 4 coin for level 5 metal?”

“No! No you don’t!” Arpan said pointedly. “No bargaining powers! Ten is my final offer.”

“You have a bargaining power?” Evalyn asked on the side. “You have been working on your charisma.”

“Sorry,” Daniel said, embarrassed. “That’s the first time it’s come up since I got Bartering. I just had a feeling.”

“Look, you’re paying for my silence and my tolerance of, er, argh! Twelve. No, ten viridian. Stop that!”

“I’m not doing anything!” Daniel held out his hands innocently. “Ten is fine!”

Arpan eyed him suspiciously, then let the matter drop. “Come by tomorrow. Dril, see them out and get some parchment. We’ll need to write a letter.”

…

“This is your last chance. Take me to them, or I put you in irons.”

“Come on, you saw me pay for the rooms!”

“Who’s to say they’re even in the city anymore?”

“Where else are they going to go, Jeras? Everyone’s got a bunch of advancements to cook off anyway. Jerky?” Thomas extended a piece of dried meat towards Jeras. Food had surprisingly done wonders for the guard’s patience, and really, when you got to know the avianoid you could empathize with the stress he’d been under. The Cleric had been doing an excellent job of buying the others time, but night had entered its second hour. Both his coin and Jeras were beginning to suffer from his efforts.

Finally, it seemed Jeras had enough. “That’s it. You’re under arrest.”

“Really?” Thomas, a level 2 Cleric, could have easily resisted the arrest but knew better than to try. He threw an exaggerated put off expression to the bartender, flinched when he accidentally looked at her face, and was summarily marched out.

Ten minutes later, Daniel and the others arrived at the building with the name ‘The Painted Dusk’ on the side. “Painted Dusk? That metaphor is a little on the nose,” Evalyn complained.

“Having dusk in the name is a way to let duskers know the rooms can fit them, and that they’re properly shaded. I imagine you quickly run out of clever names.” Lograve walked up to the bar at the side of the room. “Hello, there should have been some rooms reserved for us earlier by a Thomas?”

The woman behind the bar was a dusker standing with the fullness of her height. In a sense the naming convention was unnecessary, the height of the floors made this tavern taller than the surrounding building. “We have your rooms,” she said, a conflicted tone in her voice. “But the human was arrested. Just missed them. They were looking for you. You’re not trouble, are you?”

“The rest of you, feel free to get some sleep,” Lograve said, sitting down and putting his head in both hands. “I’m going to need a drink.”