I remained in Kala’s grasp for a few more moments before a noise interrupted us. “Ahem.” We both turned to look at Velshi who was mock coughing at us. “While it is always entertaining to witness your little lovers' spats, we do have lessons to get to.”

Kala and I separated from each other with a little bit of embarrassment. Velshi was right though; this was technically her time to teach me and while it was nice being close to Kala, there was nothing that we could really do about the situation other than carry on. We both got situated in our chairs to start the lessons.

It was more biology today, and Kala ended up being Velshi’s unwitting assistant in some of the examples. Velshi would quiz me on the location of certain organs or parts of the Trelnval body, having me point to the appropriate area on Kala where they would be. Kala for her part just stood there, looking a little awkward and sometimes fidgeting when we examined her closely. It was useful to have a physical reference for biology, and it was also entertaining to make Kala squirm.

The rest of the class went as normal, me getting smacked with a stick followed by some personal therapy. I committed a little time to think about how strange my days have become. Hanging out with my girlfriend who's a different species than myself, experimenting with divine powers, learning biology, magic, and sword fighting from my therapist, and teaching a class of fantasy monsters their math facts. I bet that if I were to send a message to someone from my world with an explanation of what was happening to me, they would probably think that a mental patient had escaped the hospital.

The normal schedule for the day had not been interrupted in any way. Kala and I had a pleasant afternoon, and my class was learning at a steady rate. We retired for the day with Kala being particularly clingy in bed, basically laying on my cot and relegating me to the position of little spoon.

I decided to ask her about it. “You okay, Kala?”

“Hmm, oh, yeah, I'm... I'm fine.”

I didn’t believe that for a second. “You’re still worried, aren’t you?”

She didn’t exactly answer that question, she just hugged me a little tighter, which was as good as a yes. “I don’t want to lose you too.” Her voice was barely louder than a whisper as she said that.

I opened my mouth to reassure her, but then I realized that there was nothing I could say that would be more than superficial comfort. Instead, I rolled over, so I was facing her, wrapping my arms around her as well. Now that we were face to face, I gave her a kiss, one slightly longer than our average.

When I disconnected from the kiss, I heard her take a deep breath and a long sigh. She snuggled up close to me and tucked her head into my chest. There were no more words that needed to be said. Whatever happened next was out of our control, things were already in motion and the momentum would not slow for anyone. We simply fell asleep, both of us feeling the weight of what tomorrow might hold.

The morning came unbidden as it always did, and for once I agreed with Kala’s feeling of not wanting to get out of bed. She woke up only just a few minutes after I did and greeted me with a weary smile as her hand rubbed across my cheek, playing with my beard. After a few moments of this, she sighed and spoke.

“I suppose we should probably get up then.”

She was definitely worried about today if she was suggesting getting out of bed. “Hmm, maybe, but then again, a few extra minutes of relaxation never killed anyone.”

She quietly laughed a little in a wispy fashion. “When did this role flip?”

“About ten seconds ago when you of all people suggested getting out of bed.”

A little chuckle escaped her once more. “You have a point, I guess this is affecting me more than I thought.” I pulled her in a little closer and rubbed over her back and shoulders while we both just stared at each other. “Did I ever tell you how pretty your eyes are?” She commented.

“Could probably stand to mention it a few more times, alongside my dashing good looks, my impressive physique, my quick wits, of course how humble I am, oh, and not to mention my...” She pinched my ear. “Ahh, okay, okay, I'll stop.” We both got a bit of a chuckle out of that one. “Though, I guess you could say that I've only ever had eyes for you.”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out other than a sigh. “That was awful.”

“Really?”

“Yes, supremely horrendous.”

“I thought it was clever.” I said with a little shrug and a sly smile.

“Oh, gods save me, now I actually want to get out of bed.” She unwound herself from me and got out of the cot with my laughter following her every step. She acted like she was disgusted with that little line, but I could see the smile tugging at her lips. I did my job.

I threw on my shirt and followed her as she tried to escape out the door. I caught her around the waist as she gave a half-hearted wiggle to escape me. I did my best impression of a boa constrictor though and had her firmly in my grasp. Eventually she gave up and I sealed my victory with a little kiss.

After that bit of fun with the hidden goal of chasing the clouds away, we went out to acquire breakfast. The morning seemed normal. Everything was as it always has been. We ate with our little group of friends, exchanging stories and taking shots at one another in a jesting manner.

Only after breakfast was finished and everyone started going their own way did something change. A Nactren was jogging through the camp and had me firmly in sight. Kala must have noticed their approach as well because she started to squeeze my hand tighter. This Nactren definitely had business with us, or more specifically, me.

He stopped in front of us, taking a few breaths as he must have been moving for a while. “James, please report to the representative's tent, alone.” I nodded my understanding, and once the message was received, he was already off to another location.

I turned to Kala, offering her a reassuring smile. Despite my efforts, she remained silent and with a look of deathly concern etched onto her face. Her grip around my hand was like a vice. Her plan appeared to be not letting me even show up to the meeting at all, which I suppose would be effective, if only for a little bit.

“If you keep squeezing like that you might break something.” I said with a little humor in my voice.

She blinked as if coming out of a trance, lightening her death grip significantly. “Sorry.” She replied meekly.

I brought my other hand up and grabbed onto her opposing arm, giving it a little squeeze and a rub. “Hey, whichever way this goes, it’ll be alright, you’ll see.”

She gave me a very unsure smile before taking a deep breath to calm herself. “I think I'll skip practice today and wait for you outside Sert’s lab. Will you come to me as soon as you’re done?”

“If they don’t immediately tell me to do something else that’s important, then yes, I’ll head straight for you.”

She sighed and nodded her head as if to say that was good enough. I thought that would be the point where we parted ways, but she surprised me by quickly leaning in and pressing her lips against mine. I was momentarily stunned as she did not usually initiate the kisses, sure she asks for them often enough, but her mouth can’t pucker in the standard kissing motion.

After recovering from the momentary reversal of roles, I returned her affection with a kiss of my own. It lasted a little longer than normal as she kept it going by pressing into me. Just before it would have become a little awkward, she disconnected from it and nuzzled her head against mine in her people's form of showing affection.

After that second helping of intimacy, she reluctantly let me go, drifting listlessly away. I simply gave her one last smile and a nod as she returned it before pivoting and walking away. With a sigh, I too turned away and started heading in the direction of the meeting tent.

There was a weight in my chest that grew heavier with every stride towards my current destination. The apprehension about this meeting was creating all sorts of complicated feelings. On one hand, I get my opportunity to deal a blow to Alathos, on the other hand, I’m jumping right into the deep end with only a pair of floaties to keep me aloft.

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I swallowed my misgivings just as I arrived at the tent in question. With one last fortifying breath, I stepped up and pushed my way past the flap of the entrance. Everyone inside was in the middle of either talking or reading over papers that were most likely reports on the situation of the camp and the war effort. It took a moment for everyone to recognize that I had entered. The attention of the tent slowly fell on me, and Durdan was the first to address me.

“James, welcome. Please come in.” I stepped all the way in and stood before the ensemble with as much confidence as I could muster. Durdan leaned forward in his chair and had a somewhat serious look on his face. “I assume that you already have some idea of the reason you are here?”

“I can venture an educated guess.” I said with a nod.

“Well then, let's not delay this.” He leaned back in his chair before delivering the news. “After much deliberation between us, the majority of the council has agreed with your idea and will make preparations for you to infiltrate and sabotage Yol’vastume.”

I felt like I wasn’t getting enough air. There was, of course, the prominent pressure of such a monumental task being officially placed upon me. However, beneath that, inexplicably, there was a hint of excitement that I could not understand fully. Maybe some part of me was raring to get out and start doing some damage. It was a confusing mixture of emotions that I did not have ample time to sort through as Durdan kept talking.

“Plans are currently being created that would give you the best chance of success. We are still in the early stages of forming them, but you will be taking on the guise of a wealthy merchant traveling with a retinue of personal slaves, which of course will be others who accept such a position. This plan will be kept relatively quiet as the recent breach in security has thrown a lot into question. We will bring in potential candidates who have proven themselves in the past for the screening process, but due to the nature of this mission and the location in question, we will only accept those who volunteer of their own will. Obviously, you are not to speak of this openly and should maintain the secrecy of this assignment. Any questions?”

I had at least a dozen, but they were mostly issues that would probably be sorted out after they pieced together the whole plan. “None that are worth asking at the moment.”

Durdan nodded. “Very good. There will also be a change in your daily schedule for the foreseeable future. You will no longer be spending any dedicated time with Sert and your other activities, other than your time with Velshi, will similarly be put on hold. In their place, we will have our spy master drill you on as much of the craft as possible.”

I would have to break the news to my class without actually telling them what was going on. Hopefully the kids will understand. “So, where will I be meeting with this spy master then?”

“We will have a guard escort you to his personal tent, please remember the path afterwards.” I nodded that I would. “Now, you do not seem to be having any second thoughts, but I will ask anyway. Are you truly willing to go on this mission despite all the dangers that you may face?”

It was an offered out, and I was sure they wouldn’t fault me for not wanting to go to a place they all saw as hell on earth. However, this plan was unique, only able to be done by me. I didn’t know if it was because it was my idea, if I felt obligated, or if I just really wanted to make Alathos bleed, but I gave a firm reply.

“I accept this mission.”

Durdan nodded solemnly. “Very well.” He looked over in the direction of a guard standing off to the side. “Escort James to the spy master's tent, he should be expecting company.” He then looked back at me. “We will send a message to Sert explaining the situation as well.”

I nodded along with the plan. The Ulgor guard stepped forth and offered a gesture out of the tent for us to continue. I turned to exit but stole one last glance back at Durdan who gave me a slight bob of the head which I returned. The exchange of gestures seemed like an appropriate conclusion to this meeting, so I stepped out into the camp once more, feeling resolute with the weight of this assignment.

The guard and I started walking through camp when I thought of Kala. I decided to ask my guide for a little leeway. “Hey, do you mind if we take a little personal detour, I promise not to make it too long.”

He looked at me with a slightly raised eyebrow before he sighed. “Fine, make it quick, I'm not planning on getting chewed out for you.”

I nodded and quickly changed directions to where Kala was waiting for me. We kept a speed walking pace so we would have enough time to do this before anyone would miss us. When we got to the area in question, I saw Kala sitting outside the entrance to Sert’s tunnel. She noticed me a second later and quickly stood before rushing over to me.

“James! What did they say? Are you... will you be...?”

I took a deep breath before giving a little nod. “Yes, they are sending me out.”

Kala deflated like the very air was sucked out of her. Her mouth hung slightly open, moving a little bit like she was trying to say something, yet it couldn’t be heard. Eventually, she walked over and hugged me. Evidently, she had no words to describe how she was feeling, but the hug transferred all of her roiling emotions to me in one simple act.

I did my best to comfort her while she seemed to be intent on burrowing into me. Just then my escort cleared his throat to get my attention. He motioned with his head off into camp again to signal that we needed to go. I just nodded and managed to pry Kala off of me just enough so I can have a conversation with her.

“Kala, I made a detour here to tell you this, they want me to start learning how to be a spy, or at the very least make sure I won’t immediately fail the whole mission because I did something stupid. I’m sorry I can’t stay with you for longer, but I will see you at Velshi’s later, Okay?”

She sighed a little before responding. “Okay, I understand, and I want you to have the best possible chance of this succeeding since you are going to do this.”

“I’ll see you later then.” She nodded and slid off me, taking a few steps backwards so she could look at me before turning and walking away. It was obvious that she didn’t like this, and I felt bad making her worry so much about me. After she had moved a little bit away from me, I turned back to my escort and nodded for us to continue.

We walked back into the camp and made our way past all the standard tents. Near the edge of the rank-and-file section there was a tent that was larger than the others though not as big as the officers had. I had already assumed that was the target destination when my guide gestured in its direction.

“Here we are. Word of caution, he’s a bit of a strange fellow and can be kind of scary sometimes.”

“Noted, thanks.” Sounded more or less in line with what I imagined a spy master might act like. I took a quick breath before approaching the tent. I announced my presence from just outside and got a curt answer from within.

“Enter.”

I pushed my way into the tent, being met with the muted light seeping through the fabric which illuminated the very organized yet packed interior. Carefully organized stacks of paper and books adorned the surface of a table that was present within. Overflow from the table was put into boxes that took up a lot of floor space with only a clear-cut path from the entrance to the desk and bed present.

At the desk sat the smallest race of the coalition, a Nactren. It kind of made sense when I thought about it, and logically speaking they had the highest affinity for such work considering their small stature and ability to see in the dark. While a lot of Nactren have various hair styles, he chose to go bald, the only signs of hair on his body were little stubbles growing on his face. His eyes were piercing, being a dark green color and reflecting a little bit of the dim light coming from outside. His body type was lean, lending a very dexterous feel to it as he didn’t exactly have hard chiseled muscles yet still gave off an athletic vibe.

I realized that I may have been studying him and my surroundings for a little too long and moved to introduce myself. “Uhm, hi, I'm-”

“James Anderson, height 5’11, hair black, eyes green. Currently in a relationship with a Trelnval by the name of Kala, with other known associates being Sert, Velshi, Velian, Hargon, Jorn, Otar, and Ulthises. Houses a magically anomaly of unknown origin and danger potential that has given unto you healing abilities. You are here to learn about being a spy for a sabotage mission at Yol’vastume.” He said all of this like he was reading off the information from an invisible list.

I just blinked, completely dumbfounded at the sheer information dump he just spouted off about me. “Okay... I take it you’ve been looking into me?”

“Been watching you for a while now actually. You are an unknown factor in the success of this camp and its goals. I do not like unknowns, and I know most everything and everyone that goes into and out of this camp.” He is very monotone in his voice which gives me a weird feeling as I can’t detect any emotion in his words whatsoever.

While this introductory meeting was turning out to be awkward as all hell, I tried to salvage something out of it. “Well, I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage then as I don’t know anything about you. Might I have a name?”

“You may just call me Dart.”

“Dart? Is that your actual name or-”

“Alias.”

“Right, is there a story behind that name or reason for you to be called such?”

“Yes, it is my favored method of assassination. Grimspike quills make excellent ammunition and carry a natural toxin in them that will stop a Thrainian’s heart in an average of three minutes thirteen seconds with proper placement. As for why I use an alias, I do not wish for any of my associates or family to be targeted or used as leverage against me due to my line of work. You will have to adopt one as well, we will figure that out later.”

It was a little unnerving how casually he discussed the act of assassinating people, and in detail at that. I could see what my escort meant by strange and scary now, though I didn’t particularly feel that he was evil. Maybe that’s just him being good at his job. It was damn difficult to get a read on the man that was for sure.

“So, how’s this training going to work then?” I asked.

“It will mostly be teaching you the intricacies of Thrainian customs and behavior. I’ve studied them for many years now, exploiting their flaws wherever I could to achieve my goals, though always from the shadows. You’ll be taking a different approach, talking to them face to face, and it will be your job to appear as much like a merchant as you possibly can while doing your job. Besides that, I will have to drill into you the skills required to move about without notice, or at the very least quietly. I would like to have a few months to do so, but I doubt I will be receiving that much time. Best prepare yourself.”

Well, that certainly sounds ominous. This was starting to look like it was going to turn into a grind and I could already see my free time slipping away. I didn’t really gripe about it as it was a necessary sacrifice to ensure that I was as prepared as possible. Anything and everything could help me at this point and I wasn’t about to turn my nose up to this opportunity because it would eat up my day. My new instructor may have been an oddball, but he exuded an air of confidence about him that made me believe that he was extremely capable at his job.

I sat a little straighter as I took in a quick breath to ready myself. “Alright, let’s get started then.”