“Are you sure this is fine?” the fury asked.

Eating in the open wasn’t something vaguely dangerous or controversial, but for someone who had spent the large part of the year in hiding, it felt like pushing her luck. It didn’t help that all the passersby were glancing in their direction. The curiosity of most was centered on Dallion—mages remained a rarity in Nerosal, even after all the turbulent events. Also, given his recent display, hiding his identity would have been a greater bother than revealing himself to the public. Archduke Lanitol wasn’t going to be particularly pleased, but Dallion didn’t give a damn.

“You’re safe,” Dallion said, finishing his snack. “The overseer’s keeping an eye on us.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

Half a dozen city guards were scattered about the area, half of them in a not at all subtle fashion. In contrast the Mirror Pool had made a point to steer clear, just as they had promised.

“Everything is fine now, right?” Diroh frowned. “When you said that, you didn’t add you’d be using my money to get a bite.”

Dallion paused for a while, then tossed her his pouch. “Buy something with that.”

The fury opened it. Her eyes widened for a few seconds, after which she quickly closed it again. The point was well made. Slightly tempted, she moved the pouch about in the air, then placed it back on the table near to him.

“So, tell me how you’ve been.” Dallion made a sign for the food stall owner to bring more food. The man, who was a low-level awakened, quickly obliged. The fact that a mage was eating at his place was certain to boost profits for months to come.

“That again? There isn’t much to tell. While you’ve been having fun, I worked my ass off. Hannah’s nice and all, but you can’t get customers on looks alone.”

Sure you could, Dallion thought, but didn’t say it. Given Di’s standards, having the inn packed was probably regarded as a poor result.

“You’re learned a few new tricks, I saw. Both you and Skye.”

We’ve been practicing, the cloud fox said flying off Diroh and onto Dallion’s head.

Ruby didn’t seem to appreciate the effort, but remained stoically still and silent.

“I had to after the mess you put me in,” the girl replied.

Normally, Dallion would expect a pout or, at the very least, a frown. Instead, he got a smile. Life with Hannah had definitely polished Diroh’s character, even if he could feel the same rebellious streak emanating from her.

“I needed to level up just in case anyone came looking.” There was a slight pause.

“What level?”

“You can’t ask that.”

“You’re right,” Dallion said, taking a piece of fruit from the bowl that was just brought to the table. “I don’t have to. I can see your level and all your traits. I just want to know how you level up that much so fast.” He bit into the fruit. It tasted like lemon melon. “Did you use awakening shrines?”

“At first. Hannah told me to boost up as quickly as possible.” A wave of guilt came from the fury, but she refused to look away. “After that, it was easier.”

“Easier?” Dallion tried not to laugh.

Clearly, she’s a faster learner, the armadil shield said. That and she started with fewer flaws. Going through a lot of the issues early in life tend to make people resistant.

That was true, only up to a point. Diroh had a taste of hunter life well before Dallion. The trauma caused by the magic gem must have made an impact, though. Of course, there was one other possibility.

“Who taught you?” He went directly to the point. The lack of immediate response told him everything he had to know. “Adzorg,” he shook his head. “Did he give you an echo?”

“What does it matter?” The fury’s tone changed. Thanks to the sound canceling air currents she was maintaining, though, no one in the street even noticed. “I got help, and it was useful! Or did you expect me to wait till you got back so I could improve?”

“Something like that.” Dallion didn’t blink an eye. “The Academy will be a better place for you, especially now.”

“Seriously?” Diroh crossed her arms. “I spent weeks convincing Hannah that you weren’t some jerk that would appear and whisk me away, and what do you do ten minutes after we meet? Way to prove my point.”

“It’ll be safer there. The countess didn’t bother with you because she had her sights on other things. Now that the conflict is over, and you’ve leveled up so much, people will start noticing.”

“And that’s a bad thing? You didn’t seem to care when you worked at the inn.”

“I was an idiot.” Dallion didn’t raise his voice one iota, but the phrase had the same effect as if he’d shouted it out to the entire city. You don’t have to go through what I did, he wanted to add.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“March helped me,” Diroh said.

It was obvious she was lying. There were several ways Dallion could get to the answers. The Academy had provided him with both the tools and the knowledge. If he resorted to that, though, he’d lose one of the things he’d come for. It was a simple choice: Diroh or Adzorg. Neither option was guaranteed, but what was certain was that he couldn’t have both.

“Is she in the city?” he asked calmly.

“I don’t know. Maybe. There’s no reason or her—”

“Go to Hannah,” he didn’t let her finish. “I have a few things to finish, then I’ll come join you.”

“You’re impossible. You think you can just take me out of the city and drop me off somewhere like last time? You care more about your gear than you care about people! Picking them up, then tossing them aside as you go on your way.”

There it was—part of the fury he remembered. Unlike her sister, Diroh was really bad at hiding her emotions, even now. The only difference was that she did it in a slightly more polished manner.

“When you tried to spy on me, you made yourself known. Hiding at Hannah’s is no longer an option. You can try, but someone else will come to take you. The only choice you’re left with is do you want to go with me or with someone—”

There was a sudden gust of wind, after which Diroh’s seat was empty.

“—else.” Dallion finished.

You definitely haven’t lost your touch. The armadil shield sighed. Were you planning on being so bad?

“She’ll go back.” Dallion continued eating. “She knows she has no choice.” In a way, Dallion had made sure of that by returning to Nerosal. Hundreds of eyes were focused on him. One way or another, word of his actions would reach the appropriate ears.

No choice leaving the city, Vihrogon clarified. She doesn’t have to join you.

“No, she doesn’t.” Dallion finished the bowl. He was just about to leave when a small procession of clerics approached.

Dallion looked up at them, then shook his head. He didn’t expect they’d be the ones to show up. If anything, he expected the general to send one of his furies and remind Dallion of the debt he still owed. This changed his plans a little.

“The Seven be with you, Initiate,” one of the clerics greeted him. “The bishop has requested to see you.”

“The bishop?” Dallion remained seated. “Sounds important.”

On closer look, he saw that it was. Despite wearing the attire of simple temple clerics, everything, from their stance to their weathered skin, made it clear they had seen more than a few fights in the wilderness.

“Just a cordial invitation,” the woman continued. “You have his assurance that it wouldn’t take long.”

It never did.

“Alright.” Dallion stood up. “I’m long overdue on my chat with the Moons, anyway.”

The provocation was noticed, but not reacted on. To some degree, Dallion hoped that it would. That way, the local bishop would be on the defensive.

I’m being arrogant, Dallion thought.

One of the things his parents used to tell him back on earth was not to ruin everyone’s day just because he had a bad day of his own. It was easier said than done. When it came to it, Dallion had had a really crappy year. If Nil were around, he’d tell him that he had to stop pissing off people before he ran out of people to piss off. However, one of the advantages of being a mage was the ability to do so, and breaking the habit was getting difficult.

Walking along the familiar streets, the group of clerics escorted Dallion to the city’s main temple. It was bigger than he remembered, still surrounded by crowds of people. Regardless of what happened in the wide world, there would always be those who wished to obtain an awakened status or increase it.

Crowds meant nothing to Dallion, who was quietly escorted in through a side entrance. Most of the clerics remained outside, blocking the path should someone else try to squeeze in. That left Dallion with only two of the original procession.

“The Order has done quite well for itself here,” Dallion said, looking at the large statues that decorated the corridor.

“We’re only assisting with the transition until the new lord mayor takes his place.”

So, you know who it is as well, Dallion thought.

“The Seven look kindly on all those beneath them. We are only following their will.”

“And which of the three sides will you help the most?” Dallion asked. He didn’t get an answer.

Soon he arrived in a large antechamber. The rich decors were enough to make a minor noble envious. The amount of raw magic metals alone was enough to equip a squad of awakened in full sky silver armor. IF he had to guess the countess had been quite generous to the Order before her promotion.

“Please, wait here,” the cleric said. “The bishop will be with you shortly.”

Dallion nodded. It would have been nice if there was a marble bench or seat he could use. There was always the option to lean against one of the statues of the Moons, but he chose not to.

Sensing Dallion’s annoyance, Ruby flicked his wings.

“Easy, little buddy,” Dallion whispered. “We’re not here to break anything.” Gem, keep an eye on Di, he added mentally.

Yes, boss, the familiar replied.

With a yawn, Dallion made his way to the statue of Felygn. The sculptor had depicted the Moon in all its glory—a benevolent dryad surrounded by plants and animals. That tended to be the modern consensus regarding dryads and empaths. Of course, no one bothered to mention how devastating either could be.

Are you being cynical again? the armadil shield asked.

“Trying not to,” Dallion replied.

After a few more seconds, he moved to the statue of Astreza. The blue moon of awakening stood majestically in the center of the antechamber. As the Moon of Awakening, it was considered to be the center of the pantheon and first among the deities. It was also the Moon that had cursed Dallion.

“Still no chance you can tell me what I did wrong?” Dallion asked.

As expected, the statue didn’t answer. Dallion was just about to add that any hint would be appreciated when a deep blue glow appeared beneath his shirt. Considering the time and place, it was tempting to take this as a sign. However, Dallion’s experience as a mage told him it was something very different.

Quickly, he took a glowing artifact out from under his shirt. Within the blue glow was a single purple dot with three circles surrounding it. Dallion felt like laughing. He’d spent a large part of the last six months roaming the world and had barely come across anything magic related. Now, his vortex detector indicated that an active vortex had emerged beneath the very city.