Quinn was leaning against the railing of the boat. She never expected this place to look like this. The pictures truly did not do it justice. She was in a cave so large that there was a massive city and even a port inside. Heck, there were even clouds inside the cave. Despite that, it was still a bit claustrophobic. The idea that she was underground was still something she was struggling with. To calm herself, she patted Daskka, who was around her neck. Hera had loaned her the snake, not the necklace, to protect her in case something dangerous happened. The explorer also let her borrow a tiara that was supposed to give Hera a way to know if she was ever in danger. Quinn wasn't sure how that worked since the tiara itself didn't even show in her [Observe], but she trusted Hera.
"This place never ceases to amaze me. It really is beautiful, isn't it?" a scruffy-looking sailor approached Quinn and leaned over the railing, mirroring her position.
"It really is. How long have you been here for?" Quinn asked.
"It's been just a few months, but I tend to stay here for longer before going to my home in the countryside. I figured that having a place far from the city was cheaper, and I could just stay on the ship when I'm here," the sailor sighed, "I don't have any complaints, but It's hard to find someone to get back to with things like this."
"I can imagine that. But if you are with a good crew, you shouldn't get lonely," Quinn smiled, trying to be polite. There was nothing wrong with the conversation, even if the man was sharing a bit too much right away, but for some reason, she was starting to feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was how he approached out of the blue, or how he was copying her movements or how he looked at her, but there was something rubbing her the wrong way.
"It is, it is. But then again, we have some really pretty passengers every now and then. Maybe times like this are good to get rid of that loneliness," the sailor approached Quinn, who just took a step back.
"I see. I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. I'm just passing by, and I don't have time for anything like that," if this was happening outside, she would have scoffed at the idea and argued with the man about how inappropriate this was. Not only was she a customer, but he didn't even ask for her name. However, since she was in the MAZE, she had no way of knowing how strong that man was. He said he was there for a few months, but that should already let him be at a much higher level than she was.
"C'mon, sweetheart, don't be like that. I'm sure we can work something out," the man reached out to touch Quinn's shoulder, but another hand intercepted him. With a quick motion, someone pulled his arm backward and stepped on his back, making the man fall to his knees.
"I suggest you keep your hands to yourself, or I'll be taking your arm as a souvenir," Hera's cold voice cut through Quinn's fear.
"What the fuck? Get off me, you b- ARGH!" Hera twisted the man's arm even harder, making sure not to break it but to make him feel all the pain.
"What is going on down there?" the ship's captain rushed down. Hera simply recounted what just happened while still keeping that sailor on his knees. When she was done, the captain apologized profusely and said that he would personally make a report to the guild. It wasn't the first time that particular sailor caused that type of problem, but it would surely be the last. At least on his ship.
Only after the captain promised to keep the man far away from them that Hera let him go.
The sailor quickly got up and started arguing with the captain. It took a few moments for him to be fired on the spot, and he would be in the brig until they returned to Brinnefront. While other sailors were going towards him, the man turned to Hera and ran at her, yelling, "You made me lose my job, you fucking bitch!"
Hera sighed and evaded his pitiful attempt at a punch before grabbing him by the throat and pushing him beyond the railing, the only thing keeping him still on the boat being her hand on his neck, "Listen here. You are no longer on Earth where being bigger means you are stronger. Here things are different, and I advise you to treat everyone with respect since the next person you mess with might not be as kind as I am to let you walk away."
"What? Are you going to kill me? You don't have the balls for …" before he could finish his sentence, his body froze up. People around him might think it was out of fear but, in reality, it was Hera's paralyze spell. She made sure not to mess with any of his organs with the spell to not put him in any danger.
"All I have to do is let go. This will be chalked off as an accident, and you couldn't swim. You won't be the first person I kill in the MAZE," Hera's eyes were cold, and her voice was sharp. The man could tell she wasn't kidding, and one wrong move would send him to the bottom of the ocean, "Blink once if you understand."
The man blinked, and Hera pulled him back to the ship, tossing him on the floor and turning to the captain, "Sorry. I thought it was better to use a paralyze spell so he wouldn't cause any trouble. If you want, I can let go of it."
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"I understand why you did that, but I would thank you if you dropped the spell. I'm sure he won't cause any more trouble," the captain asked.
"No problem. Again, I'm sorry for this," Hera dropped the spell, and the sailors dragged the man inside the ship. He didn't complain this time and just walked away. The captain apologized once more and offered to reimburse them for the tickets, but Hera refused before turning back to Quinn, "Are you ok?"
"I am. Thank you for the help…. Are you ok?" Quinn asked. She never expected Hera to be that ruthless.
"Kind of. I might have not mentioned a few of the bad things that happened to me, but you don't have to worry about them," Hera scratched the back of her head and took that chance to talk to the court member that was guiding her, 'Scythe, your plan worked, but I guess it was a bit much.'
'I only told you what to say when you had him by the railing. You are the one who went ballistic,' the earrings replied.
'Yeah… Armory told me what was going on but when I saw Quinn's face, I kind of freaked out,' Hera knew that she was jumpy ever since Dzviery, but she didn't expect to be this much.
"Hera? Are you ok?" Quinn asked, making the Empress snap out of her conversation.
"Yeah, sorry. I was listening to Daskka. She was telling me what happened while I was in the bathroom."
"Oh, she can tell you that? She's so smart," Quinn tried to play it cool, but Hera could still see that her friend was shaken.
"She can, and the only reason why she didn't do anything was that I told her not to. I understood that you were uncomfortable, but a while back, I told her not to attack anyone unless they attacked first. Daskka, I'm changing that. While you are with Quinn, if you ever see her getting uncomfortable like that, you can protect her," Hera said to the snake around the stylist's neck. In reality, she already told Daskka all that during the 'fight,' but making a show out of it could help Quinn calm down.
"Hera, you don't have to do that. I'm a big girl, you know," Quinn was still trying to pretend like this wasn't a big deal, but she stopped, "Actually, no. I feel like a kid here. Thanks for protecting me. It does make me feel a lot safer."
"No worries, and I promise this won't happen again. Most people inside the MAZE are smart enough not to mess with people like that. I meant what I said back there. Since we are in a place where anyone can be much stronger than you are, everyone tries to be respectful or at least not be a dick to anyone else," Hera explained.
"Wouldn't that make some people also abuse their strength?" Quinn rubbed her arms, showing some hesitation again.
"They could, but they know that there are bigger problems here than to just mess with people. Not to mention that most high-level people have silver or gold guild cards, and if you start being an ass, you lose a lot of the privileges that come with them," Hera continued trying to calm Quinn.
Even if that didn't work completely, the rest of their trip went without a hitch. Hera had already reserved a room in the Kobold Field hotel, and passing through the Carpon Caverns was much easier these days. Because of the Kobold Road, the guild invested in making the trip from there to the outside even easier. The result was a reinforced tunnel that could not be broken by any monsters in the room. Thanks to that, Quinn managed to reach their first stop without seeing a monster up close.
The second day of the trip was considerably easier. This time it was just a quick ride on the subway, and they would already arrive in Boothudurn. Quinn was feeling a bit better and saw how this place was much more similar to Earth than she expected. Aside from some obvious differences. When they arrived in the city under the mountain, Fethy was by the doorway waiting for them. Hera introduced Quinn to the Duchess of Culture but quickly shut down any hopes the dwarf had to put her friend to work right away. Fethy apologized and let them go back to their place so they could set up, but she still pushed a bit, letting the two know that they only had three days before the grand opening.
Quinn asked a bit more what she had gotten herself into. She agreed with the idea of coming here but never actually asked about the event. Hera explained that it was the opening of essentially a research and development complex. They were even calling the building Boothudurn R&D. Basically, it was a place filled with forges and laboratories. It was the first time the city would have a big construction like that in a long time, and that's why it was a big thing. After the actual opening, there would be a cocktail party in the building and later a gala back in the palace. Hera also explained that a lot of people were interested in having their hair done by Quinn. After she confirmed that she was coming here, the explorer talked with Fethy, who quickly spread the word. They would all pay Quinn's fee, whatever that may be, and there was a chance that they would even have a lottery set up for the available times, depending on how long each person would take.
Quinn knew that this was the idea, but she never imagined that there would be so many people interested in having their hair done by her. Before she could even start digesting that idea, they arrived at Hera's place, and the moment Quinn entered through the door, she saw Helena sitting on the couch watching television. The two went in for a hug right away. The mage even got teary-eyed by seeing her friend inside the MAZE. After a few moments, they sat down and started talking while Hera went to the kitchen to prepare some food and drinks for them. During that time, she sneakily summoned her court, one by one, and apologized for not being able to have them out for a while. They all understood her reasoning, and no one got mad at her.
"Hera?" Helena called from the living room.
"Yeah?"
"What is this about a spell circle in your head?" Helena was still holding Quinn's hands, but now she was looking towards the kitchen.
"Oh, you mean this?" Hera turned around, showing the pattern shaved on her head.
"Yeah… does it work?"
Hera smiled and simply pushed mana out of her body. One of the runes she engraved pulled the mana to her head and triggered the spell, creating a small sphere of light above her head, "I don't even have to think about the spell, just about pushing mana to the right spot," Hera replied with a smile and saw how the mage's eye started to shine with ideas.