Wyll looked surprised when she saw us enter. "Are these the individuals-?" She started.

"Wyll, I am insulted you would refer to me as just an individual." Cier stated. "I understand the need for discretion, but is it really so wise to turn away those willing to lead an honest life?"

"Since you three are here with him, I would say he is thus far meeting the criteria set."

"Very well. My Lady obviously endorses our being here, else we would not be present. What is it the Kobolti is to do?"

"First we will need to hear why you have decided to assist him." Wyll replied. She looked at him. "Alone, of course."

It was night and day, seeing a part of her that until now I would have brushed off. I was getting the distinct feeling that this wasn't just because Spex was seen as a thief.

She led Cier into another room, and after a while he was brought back out, then she took Nash, and after a while, he was brought out. Then I was taken to another room, where she asked me, "Why have you decided to help the Kobolti?" She asked.

"First of all, his name is Spex." I said. "Second, because he showed more concern for me in moments than that one guy did when he was hazing me."

"How do you know his name?" She asked.

"He introduced himself in front of us." I said. "I never took you for a forgetful person."

"Have you had previous dealings with him?" She asked.

"No." I replied.

Her brow furrowed, it seemed as though she was trying to tell if I was lying.

"If you're actively using magic to determine if I'm lying, then you've clearly forgotten that I've been cursed so that everything I say seems to be a lie." I stated.

"Have you not received-?"

"Curse of Deceit, all statements made while under truth-discerning spells are considered false. Can only be removed through Hermetic magic." I echoed. "As I am not powerful enough to remove it myself, I still have it."

She nodded.

"Are you aware of a Felwight infestation within the city?" She asked.

"I did not see any missions detailing such, nor do I see why it's relevant." I replied.

"It is regarding the mission the Kobolti will be undertaking."

"Considering the 'Fel-' prefix, I am assuming this creature is some sort of Fel Beast, which does indicate some degree of danger. However, the question is still not relevant to the present circumstance of you asking me why I've decided to assist Spex." I leaned forward. "You're fishing for a reason to deny him, and I don't think it's because you see him as nothing more than a thief. I think you're racist against Kobolti."

"What does this term 'racist' mean?" She asked.

"It means you hold prejudices against a specific race, allowing your judgment to be clouded by said prejudices. You clearly hold disdain for Spex, and thus are choosing to make joining the Guild as difficult as possible for him, which would also indicate that this Felwight infestation would be something wildly above my rank, but within the capability of Cier and Nash." I blinked. "Which means that not only have you purposefully made it impossible for him to join under normal circumstances, but you've also made it unfeasible for anyone to risk dragging him along for what may well be an extremely dangerous mission."

I stood up. "If this is what it means to be an Adventurer, to deny those who wish to protect others, to allow hatred to flourish, then I'm getting the fuck away from here because I'd rather be a thief and help others that way than to be an Adventurer. Goodbye."

She was caught completely off guard by my partly feigned indignation and I left the room. I very publicly said to Cier, "It is abundantly clear to me that the people running this establishment do not actually care about protecting people, we should let Lady Wyrashe know that the Windsong Guild Hall is not at all concerned with protecting her people."

Cier's expression was neutral, but I was certain he felt I was doing something stupidly reckless. "I mean, explicitly telling me we'll be facing, what are they called, Felwights? I think she's just making something up just to scare me, since I didn't see anything about it earlier."

Cier's expression changed. "I was not made aware of this. Nash, did she tell you what we would be facing?"

Nash shook his head. He walked up to the front counter and slammed his hands against it. "Excuse me, but why is your idea of a fair test for an unproven member facing off against Felwights?!" He roared.

I heard murmuring from the dining area, several Adventurers were looking our way, most of them looking confused or concerned. Wyll came out of the room, her expression was confused, as though she hadn't anticipated my antics.

"Are you purposefully trying to get this Kobolti killed?!" He snapped. "Even after Lady Wyrashe has given her blessing for us to assist him?! Have you no shame? Have you forgotten the lessons of the Gods?!"

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"I- I'm just..." She looked on the verge of breaking down.

"Just what?!" Nash roared.

"I'm just doing what I was told." She fainted, likely from the sudden stress. Nash looked at the Canician, his tail lashing. "I want to know whose idea this was and I want to know immediately. You find out who set her up for this or I swear upon all of the Gods I will personally interrogate every single person within this building, and I will not be kind! Is this understood?!"

The Canician ran away with her tail between her legs and her ears flat against her head.

Judging from Nash's expression and body language, he wasn't pretending to be angry. Nash looked at Cier. "I have things handled, I will send for you if you are needed."

Cier nodded. "Come, Rex, Spex, I have groceries to collect and you both will be assisting me in gathering them."

We left the Guild Hall, there were several people gathered around, curious as to what was going on.

"That was easier than expected." Cier noted as we got into the carriage. "What was it that caused her to be so forward with you?"

"Probably the fact that I always seem like I'm lying." I said. "What would have happened if she revealed this to us after the fact?"

"She would not." Cier stated. "She was trying to make you flee. You feigned ignorance and created enough chaos that nobody is entirely certain what happened. Nash will take full advantage of this, though it is also his duty to ensure the Guild does indeed follow certain regulations."

He closed his eyes. "The Guild will have to work hard to save face. The idea that they have purposefully made it so failure was the only option will cause Adventurers to question whether or not they truly wish to do business with them."

"This does make my job more difficult." Spex stated. "Now under greater scrutiny, the thief I was hired to kill will be more careful."

"He will be found." Cier stated as he opened his eyes. "A full investigation such as this will require a degree of thoroughness. The thief will not have enough time to hide their ill-gotten gains, and their identity will be known. I suppose then, it would not be too great a tragedy if he took his own life out of despair."

"I see." Spex replied. "What do you want of me, then?"

"In the event the one my Lady hired to protect Rex has perished, we would like to hire you to take over his job. It would not be too unusual for a Kobolti to befriend someone who worked so hard to help them, and it would give a useful eye for what happens within the Adventurer's Guild."

"A spy and bodyguard to a place that tried to kill me and a person I tried to kill."

"The alternative is to kill you for knowing too much." Cier stated. "Though I suppose a simple Contract would keep you silent."

Spex sighed. "In the end, it is more advantageous for me to agree. Very well, I will play the part of spy and bodyguard."

Cier nodded as we stopped. "Now, I have things to buy, and you two are still helping me." He said...

By the time we returned from shopping, Nash was already reporting to Lissana what had happened.

"...Found that Elis was lining his pockets and swiping coin from Adventurers who were too drunk to notice and his wife was using her shop as a front for this."

Lissana nodded. "Are you certain that Wyll is capable of handling her job after this?" She asked.

"Oh, if I hear another Kobolti has been turned away because of her, she will be lucky if the guards get to her first." Nash stated.

"The situation is taken care of?" Cier asked as we walked past.

"Yes. However, in spite of what I've found, Elis is not likely to face any meaningful time in prison for his actions as he has Lord Lucen's favor, and going after him will only cause annoyance for our Lady." Nash stated.

"If I am to punish him, I will have to deal with Lord Lucen's meddling, which will mean less time spent governing the city." Lissana stated. "Cier, will you be available to deal with the Felwights?"

Cier nodded. "Yes. I have finished the most important tasks for today."

"Good. I want every single one exterminated immediately. Hire as many mages as you can, money is no issue."

Cier bowed his head. "It shall be done, my Lady."

"Rex, as soon as you have finished assisting Cier, I will need to speak with you." She said to me.

"On it." I replied.

Spex and I finished helping Cier with the groceries, and afterwards, I went with Lissana as Spex left, presumably to finish his assassination contract. Lissana led me outside, and we looked at the city.

"As far as anyone is concerned, you were simply aiding a Kobolti who was being unfairly treated." She looked at me. "Your actions simply led to an investigation, nothing more, nothing less. Officially, you will be commended for your service to the city."

"What about unofficially?" I asked.

"Unofficially, the Guildmaster of the Windsong Guild Hall will be killed by an unknown entity, after which I will send out people to hunt the assailant down. They will regrettably escape, and it will be believed that someone disgruntled by his thievery killed him, and that will be the end of that. You have, indeed, done a great service to this city, but there is something I wish to discuss with you."

"What is it?" I asked.

"How did you know how to use wind magic?" She asked. "It is not something that comes naturally to others."

"Oh, that? I just imagined a blast of wind hitting a Felwight and I swung my sword. I also shouted, 'wind scar', but I think that was just be being caught up in the moment."

"I see, so it is more a matter of you envisioning the spell and creating an incantation, and with such an ancient language as well. Granted, your ability to understand and speak any language does grant some understanding to this."

"You're saying I used some sort of magic language to cast a spell?" I asked. She nodded.

"To you, it may sound relatively mundane, but to me, it is the language of magic, the language spoken when the first spell was cast. We do not know what the Thercori called it, all we understand is that it is a rare and powerful language, and only few words of power exist that we know of."

"So, it basically means if I can envision it properly and I can think of a good enough phrase to say, I could essentially create whatever spell I want?" I asked.

"Yes. Please, show me the spell you used."

I stepped away and drew my sword. I focused and swung it, shouting, "Wind Scar!" To my surprise, it cut through a few branches of a tree further away. "Whoa, cool." I said.

"That would be about the same power of a lesser Wind Blade." She remarked. "Your previous attempts at magic have been unfocused, wild blasts of mana, yet this is the first one that I have seen that is focused."

"It only used up 100 MU." I noted. "And it's comparable to a lesser spell?"

"Yes. Try it again with your full power."

I nodded and did it again, but when I tried to pour more Mana into it, I was hit with a backlash that sent me flying.

"I believe I understand." She said, helping me to stand. "You can only pour so much into it, but you do it efficiently enough that you need less to do it. The blasts of Mana you release when you swing your blade, can you think of an incantation that would make them more feasible?"

"Yeah." I said. I readied to swing it, but the stance I used felt wrong. I held my sword over my head and felt the Mana flowing through me. "Rude Buster!" I shouted as I swung downward. A shimmering blast of force tore through the yard and struck a wall with a loud crash.

"I see." Lissana said. "And the cost?"

"The same." I replied. "I think that one is meant to be more of a concussive force, which makes sense." I sheathed my sword.

"How so?" Lissana asked.

"'Rude Buster' is an attack in a game called Deltarune, in this game, you can choose not to kill your opponents, and instead either weaken them, tire them out, or use an action that makes the enemy less willing to fight. Because it has this connotation, it shapes how the spell works out, making it a less lethal option. Let me try..."

I drew my sword again and held it out. I shook my head when it felt wrong, and held it out horizontal in front of me. I rested my middle finger against the base of the blade and said, "Shadow Blade." I ran my finger along the flat of the blade, which was surrounded in darkness that came off the blade like ink in water. I then took a swing, which briefly left a trail of shadow behind. I ended the effect and felt exhausted. "I think that one infuses my blade with the Dark element, but saps my strength when I use it."

"That is what the Dark element does." She said. "And normally, mortal creatures cannot use it, as it is closely linked with the Fel."

"What is the Fel exactly?" I asked. "All of this talk of monsters and Fiends and Fel things, and nobody's ever really taken the time to explain it to me."

"Really? Then it is best to remedy this now." She gestured for me to follow her, and I did...