Brandt ran ahead to let Madi know where he was off to. She stuck her head out of her room to question Orrin, asking if he wanted her to tag along. She seemed conflicted between wanting to help and finishing up her spell selection. Orrin waved her back into her room.

“We won’t be gone long.”

Brandt questioned Orrin nonstop as they left the Catanzano residence and made their way into the city. He wanted to be filled in on their adventures before his rescue. Orrin could barely believe it had been only weeks before that Brandt had been a prisoner, tortured and broken. Silas hired the best from the Hospital to care for his returned guard and the man’s body had recovered. He filled out his armor well and moved with the grace of a seasoned veteran, watching every side street and eyeing threats with a gaze that would drive all but the most desperate thieves away.

Under the facade, Orrin wondered how much the man still suffered. Orrin’s ordeal hadn’t lasted nearly as long and he found himself reaching for his neck often.

“How are you doing, Brandt? Not physically but… you know,” Orrin asked when the tall blond man took a breath. “If you ever need to talk to somebody, I’m probably the worst option but I’ll listen.”

Brandt nodded directions for the next two streets, walking in silence. They approached a more rundown side of Dey near the northeastern gate. Refugees from villages near Odrana waited in bread lines. Small children with threadbare clothes kicked a half-inflated ball against the wall of a store. Orrin watched the storekeeper raise her broom threateningly at them as the kids scattered, the ball left behind.

“I appreciate the offer, Orrin. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to talk about… everything… but hearing about how you and Daniel took care of Madi while I was gone is nice. It helps to keep busy, too. One good thing about the demons attacking us is there is no shortage of tasks that need doing.” Brandt offered a dry chuckle. “If I remember correctly, the shop was down this street.”

Orrin considered a hundred different things to say. He wasn’t a psychologist. The extent of his trauma was being scared and being detained. Brandt was tortured. What could I possibly do to help?

In the end, Orrin simply nudged his shoulder against Brandt’s arm. “I’m glad you’re back.”

Brandt gave a tight-lipped smile and nodded.

The street in question was barely an alley. A few small doors near the end looked like no more than outdoor storage sheds for the local businesses. Halfway down and blocking most of the space between the two buildings that made the narrow backstreet, a man with greasy hair dug the tip of a long knife into the wooden crate he sat on. Dark circles framed the bloodshot eyes that stared at them as they approached. Two more men stood guard outside one of the doors on the left a few yards behind him.

“Nothing down this way for fancy folk like you. Turn around and find another street to bother,” the man spoke only when they were close enough to smell him.

Brandt frowned and put his hand on the hilt of his sword in a not-a-threat-but-totally-a-threat sort of way. “I’m not sure we’ve met. I was here this morning visiting a shop and decided I needed some more items. We mean no harm.”

The man leaned over and spat a wad of phlegm at their feet. “No shop here. Go away.”

The sound of something shattering echoed from further down the street.

“Brandt, is there a law against incapacitating but not harming a resident of Dey?” Orrin asked while he rubbed his neck.

“What?” the [Knight] asked in confusion without taking his eyes off the man in front of them.

“What’s impacitating mean?” the filthy man asked, butchering the word. He raised his knife and pointed it at Brandt. “Is he making fun of me? There are more of us than you. Get going before I get angry.”

Orrin dropped all three with [Decrease Strength]. He smiled at the flashing light in his blue box, not paying attention to Brandt drawing his sword.

“Yes, I will buy level two, thank you very much,” Orrin spoke aloud while selecting the ‘Yes’ prompt. The two ability points were worth having the second level of the spell. “Don’t worry, Brandt. They can’t move for five minutes. Let’s get going before greasy here gets angry.”

Orrin tossed a few copper pieces on the man’s still form as he walked by. “Take a bath, you stink.”

Brandt sheathed his blade. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in action. I might take you out with me on patrol sometime. There are a few places that clear out too quickly for even a group of guards to capture everyone.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“I’ve got [Split Spell] so I can hit a bunch of people at once. I’m not sure how many targets I can hit but I’m getting quicker at casting,” Orrin said as he put his back to the wall next to the door. He nodded at Brandt.

“What are you doing?”

Orrin looked at the door and back at the blonde knight. Brandt’s arms were crossed, no weapon drawn.

Orrin sighed in frustration “Come on. These guys are obviously shaking this store down and we are saving her from a protection racket. Kick the door down and let’s save your storekeeper friend.”

Brandt laughed and pointed at the door opposite the two crumpled bodies. “Her store is right there. This is an outhouse.”

Orrin blushed and stomped away. “You could have told me.”

Nina was a tiny woman in her late fifties, with grey hair tied in a bun, glasses that tried to escape her nose every time she let go of the frames, and an attitude that Orrin could only describe as bat-shit crazy.

In contrast, her store was immaculately organized, with prices on small cards laid out next to the random assortment of potions, herbs, wands, and household cleaning supplies on pedestals or counters. A small bench separated a section of the room into an office, bedroom, and workshop with Nina braiding long twigs together when they walked in.

She swatted Brandt with a bundle of tied-together sticks smelling of cinnamon three times as he entered the small room and introduced Orrin to her. She hit him another ten times when he knocked a candle off a stand on accident.

“If you break it—”

“You buy it,” Orrin finished her sentence with a smirk. He knelt and picked up the candle as it rolled his way. “We’re sorry. Brandt, maybe you should wait outside?”

Nina glared at him, which would have been scarier if her glasses hadn’t tried to jump off her nose. “If you break it, it might kill you. Some of these items are magical beyond what you can understand. Mother Nina’s Store of Curios and Magical Relics is dangerous for the uneducated and unwise.”

Brandt patted Orrin’s shoulder as he walked out. “Good luck.”

Orrin offered the clump of wax with a string as a wick back to Nina.

“Two gold pieces and this can be yours.” She tossed the cinnamon branches behind her. The sweet-smelling twitches landed on her tiny bed. “A candle to light your way. Follow its flame and you’ll never be lost.”

Orrin held the thing he was hesitant to call a candle up a little higher. “How do you follow a flame? Wouldn’t it stay on the wick?”

“Exactly!” Nina said and jumped, swiping it from Orrin and placing it back on the stand. “You can’t get lost if you never leave.”

Orrin closed his eyes and took a breath. “Brandt came in earlier and bought some spell glass orbs from you. I need more. Like, a lot more. I was hoping that—”

“I sold him all I can make today. If you come back tomorrow, we can make a deal. You look like a young man in need of love.” Nina reached out and touched Orrin’s chest gently. “I can help you. Here.”

She darted behind her counter and dragged a box of clinking glass vials on the ground with a hideous screech. Nina peered close to one vial, then the next, as she lifted them out of the box. On the fifth vial, she giggled maniacally and placed the glass into her pocket. The sixth potion she offered to Orrin.

“Two drops of this on your inner elbows before you go to sleep. In four days, unless there is a full moon next week, then make it six days, your true love will confess to you,” Nina said while holding Orrin’s hand. Her glasses magnified her clear blue eyes. She winked.

“Thank you but no,” Orrin said with a shudder and handed the vial back. “If you can’t make more spell glass, that’s fine. Can you tell me what skill or ability I need to make it myself? It’s important. It might save lives.”

“Information is what you seek then,” Nina nodded so fast her glasses sprung up to catch on her hair. She blinked around in confusion. “Where did you go?”

Orrin helped her free the edge of her noseguard from her hair and settled her glasses back on her face. “How do I make spell glass? I’ll pay you. I’m sure I can find it in a book but we only have a few days before the demons attack.”

“The demons already attacked, dearie. They came from the east and destroyed my town. Destroyed my shop.” Nina’s energy plummeted before she whispered, “Destroyed my family.”

Orrin didn’t move or make a sound. Since he’d entered the small shop, nothing had felt dangerous. The stillness of the older woman scared him in a way he couldn’t register. He listened to his instincts.

“Mother Nina moved to Dey. I’ll rebuild my shop. I’m too old to start another town. Don’t use that potion around me, I have no time to start another family with you. But no. You want information about my spell glass. You can buy that for… three silver?”

Orrin looked at the misshapen candle she’d tried to sell him for two gold. “I’ll pay you a gold piece.”

“No negotiations!” Nina screamed. “Take it or leave it or die!”

“Alright, three silver,” Orrin said, hurrying to pull the money out of his pocket. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Nina made the three coins disappear and curtsied. “You can unlock [Spell Orb] after you learn the spells, [Storage] and [Mana Shield]. Just so you know, nobody needs [Spell Orb] anymore… Nobody needs you anymore.”

“Nobody needs [Spell Orb]? I thought it was useful in small towns for—”

“Nobody needs you, Nina. Nobody needs Nina. Nina needs nobody,” Nina muttered, repeating the same thing over and over. She turned woodenly, the erratic life sucked out of her and walked away from Orrin. He watched her crawl into her too-small bed and pull a sheet over her body.

Orrin backed out of the store slowly, careful not to bump any of the stands as Nina sobbed and laughed. Brandt was talking to some guards outside. The three men that Orrin had attacked were gone.

“You get what you need?” Brandt asked after shaking hands with the guard captain. “Turns out you were partly right. These three were charging people to use the outhouse. Someone had already reported them. You made somebody’s job easier today.”

“She’s not well,” Orrin spoke softly, looking over his shoulder. “Something is wrong with Nina.”

Brandt scratched the top of his head and looked away. “I thought so too. I asked around after meeting her. Her village was burned to the ground by some thieves or the Odranan army, I don’t know. She’s a refugee but nobody knows her. Just turned up in a local storeowner’s outbuilding and he didn’t have the heart to kick her out. She’s one of thousands of refugees that have flooded into Dey. My contact only knew her because she does get her hands on some interesting items but there’s nothing anyone can do for her.”

Orrin shook his head. “No. I know someone who can do something.”