It was a good morning.

That was the most prevalent thought in every facet of Elijah’s mind as he lay on his side, his head propped on one hand as he beheld the goddess he’d met the night before. As she dressed, this time in normal clothes as opposed to the Wonder Woman get-up she’d worn when she had accosted him, she gave him a small smirk. “What?” she asked.

“Do you think there’s a prostitute class?” he asked.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Come again.”

“What?” he said. Then, it hit him what he’d just suggested. “No! I didn’t mean you! It’s just that I was thinking about it last night, and –”

“And you think I’m a whore? I’ll have you know that I’m a well-respected member of this community, and I do not have a prostitute class!” she shouted. Her eyes went to the spear propped against the wall.

Before she could take a step toward it, Elijah leaped to his feet, just in case he needed to defend himself. He didn’t think getting stabbed would kill him, but he didn’t want to experience it regardless. He held his hands out in surrender, “Wait. That’s not what I meant!”

She stopped, put her hands on her hips, and demanded, “Then explain it. If I don’t like your explanation, there’s always the spear. And believe me, I’ve got a good measure of your attributes, so I’m fairly sure you’re not getting away if I don’t want you to.”

“Do men run away from you often?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Not successfully.”

Elijah could believe it, too. While he had no idea what level Delilah was, she’d certainly proven that her physical attributes were up to just about any task. He’d only spent one night with her – and it was definitely a pleasurable one – but he was sore in places he didn’t even know existed. To call her strong would have been an understatement.

If he was in a bit less desperate of a situation, he might’ve wondered why she wasn’t on the power ladder, but as it was, he was far too concerned with explaining himself.

“It was just an idle thought, okay? I’m weird. We’ve established that. I sometimes lose track of things,” he said.

“Do better,” she said, taking a step toward the spear.

“Okay! Okay,” he said. “I spent a long time alone. Like, a long time. Longer than you can imagine. So, I sort of lost some of my…uh…social graces. I’m trying to get them back, but it’s a work in progress. What I meant when I asked about that…other class was that there seem to be classes for all sorts of other professions. And that’s supposed to be the oldest one, right? I’m sure that wherever the system came from had lonely people who would pay for companionship, right? It seems like there’d be just as much call for someone with that kind of class as there is for, say, a carpenter. Or an archivist. Or whatever other non-combat classes are out there.”

“Just idle curiosity, then. That’s your final answer, huh?”

“I should warn you that I am a powerful warrior, and I will defend myself if necessary,” he said. That’s when he realized that he was probably twenty pounds lighter than her, a couple of inches shorter, and as they’d established the night before, lacking more than a few points in Strength.

He was also still naked, which he only realized when Delilah’s eyes flicked down to his most private bits. But he stubbornly refused to cover up. She’d seen all there was to see, anyway. It wasn’t as if he had anything to hide after the night they’d spent together.

“You really believe that, huh?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “Scrawny thing like you.”

“Uh…I spent two years with barely enough food to survive,” he said. “I think I’m in pretty good shape, all things considered. And let’s not even talk about when I got digested by a whale. Or whale monster, I guess. I was down to skin and bones after that.”

“A whale monster? Where in the world did you encounter a whale monster?”

“In the Sea of Sorrows. Or something like that. I forget the name, if I’m honest,” he said, hopping off the bed. “My point is that you shouldn’t make light of someone who’s been through what I’ve been through. Bad form, and all that.” She narrowed her eyes again, and he added, “My other point is that, in no way, shape, or form did I mean to impugn your reputation. If I did, I apologize wholeheartedly and throw myself upon your generous mercy.”

He ended with as dramatic a bow as he could muster.

“You’re not getting laid again.”

“What?”

“You heard me. It was fun. I had a great time,” she said. “But this was always going to be a one-time thing.”

“Ugh. I feel used.”

“Because you were,” she pointed out. “Look – do you have any idea how few men my age are still around in Argos? Not many. Do you know why?”

Elijah shook his head, though he did take a moment to find his underpants, which were hanging from a standing lamp. Classy.

“Who do you think the first ones called to defend the city were? The young, healthy men. And who do you think were the first ones to die when the Voxx started surging? Yeah. You guessed it,” she said, her expression suddenly hard. “It was almost overnight that the average age in Argos rose by fifteen years. So, when somebody new comes in and saves my little brother, well…a girl has needs.”

Elijah guessed, “But a girl doesn’t want commitment.”

“Just so. I’ve got plans,” she said. “Me and Isaak are going to travel once we both get a few more levels under our belts. We want to see the world.”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Elijah understood wanderlust better than most. He had no intention of sitting still, even after he found his family. Yet, he also didn’t want to be responsible for two strangers, even if they were reasonably capable. Isaak had proven himself, and he suspected that Delilah was nearly as strong in her own way. But Elijah was on a different level, and he didn’t want to saddle himself with that kind of responsibility.

“It’s not you,” Delilah said. “It’s me. I don’t want to have to carry anyone.”

Elijah almost laughed at that, but he remembered his manners well enough to keep that to himself. Instead, he just gave her a feigned sad smile and said, “I understand. I hope you both find exactly what you’re looking for.”

After that, Delilah finished dressing. When Elijah hesitated to do the same – aside from his hastily donned underwear – Delilah cleared her throat pointedly. That’s when he remembered that they were in her room. Clearly, she had no intention of leaving him behind, so he quickly apologized and dressed, gathering his things without much fanfare. Once that was done, they shared an awkward goodbye, then Delilah led him downstairs and past Isaak, who was pointedly ignoring everything as he sat at the table eating a piece of fruit. Elijah had no intention of extending that awkwardness, so he just gave a half-hearted wave before Delilah practically pushed him from the house.

A couple of old women sitting on the neighboring front porch sniggered at his treatment, so he just gave them a shrug before heading on his way. It wasn’t long before his path took him to the Branch, where he deposited his coins and spent a few minutes perusing the Knowledge Base as well as the Map. He bought a couple of extra guides – one on crafting and the other called Guidelines for Entering a Newly Touched World, which he surmised was intended for people traveling from other worlds to ones that had been recently touched by the World Tree. He hoped that would give him some insight in case he encountered more off-worlders.

On the Map, he found his next target, which was called Kalajma. That didn’t sound Greek, so he suspected that it had come from a completely different part of the world. Which was both exciting and daunting. Elijah hadn’t experienced a lot of different cultures in his short life, but he knew just how easy it was to say or do the wrong thing when you didn’t know the societal rules. Still, if it was half as friendly as Argos had been, then he expected he would enjoy the new town.

Once he’d copied a rough facsimile of the map into a notebook he’d bought back in Ironshore, Elijah thanked the Envoy and went on his way. Before he decided what to do, Elijah stopped by a café, where he enjoyed a cup of coffee. As he sat there, he became keenly aware that someone was watching him. So, he focused on One with Nature, and he found a familiar presence in the nearby alley.

He didn’t immediately go check it out, though. Instead, he continued to enjoy his coffee, chuckling softly when his visitor started pacing impatiently. However, Elijah didn’t want to push things too far – especially because he knew what his friend was capable of – so instead of ordering another cup, he paid his bill, leaving an extra copper ethereum as a tip, then headed into the alley.

“What?”

Predictably, his stalker didn’t answer, but that was more due to the fact that cats typically couldn’t speak, rather than any intention of rudeness. Artemis just stared at him flatly, then approached.

“I’m not taking you with me,” he said, kneeling down to pet the cat. When he did, he was reminded that her fur on her back felt like metal bristles, which sort of took the fun out of the whole thing. Still, he was careful to show her the positive attention she obviously craved as he said, “You need to stay with Isaak. Protect him. He’s strong, but he’s vulnerable. If you –”

“Are you giving my cat an explanation like she can actually understand you?” came Isaak’s voice.

“Huh?” Elijah asked, forcing himself to calmly look back. “No. You must have been hearing things. I wouldn’t…you know what? Sure. I was explaining to Artemis that she can’t come with me.”

“Pretty sure she doesn’t want to go with you,” Isaak said, stepping forward. He seemed a lot more confident than he had in the woods. But that was probably because he was more comfortable in the city where everyone saw him as a hero. Or maybe it was because Argos was only home to one monster, and now that Artemis had been cured of the corruption, she wasn’t going to start attacking people.

Probably.

Cats being cats, one could never be sure, but Elijah felt reasonably confident that Artemis wouldn’t just haul off and start hunting people. Especially so long as Isaak was around.

In any case, Artemis raised her head primly and sashayed past Elijah to leap into Isaak’s arms. Considering her size, that was quite a feat, but Isaak didn’t seem to have much difficulty holding the cat. What was obvious was that Artemis didn’t have any intention of leaving her friend, which just highlighted how silly Elijah felt.

“Just one of those days,” he sighed. “What’s up, then? Need me to save you from something else?”

Isaak held his cat close as he said, “No. I just…I just wanted to thank you again. I know you didn’t have to help me. Most people wouldn’t have, especially after I hit you with that soulfire ball. But you did. And…well…thanks. If you ever need me for anything, I’ll be here.”

Elijah nodded, but he really didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Also, please stay away from my sister.”

“What? Why? I mean, she came for me!”

“Ugh. Please just…no. Just no.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Isaak just shook his head. Then, he cleared his throat before asking, “Where are you going to go?”

Elijah was more than happy to move the conversational topic to something else, and he said, “There’s a town a few hundred miles from here. It’s called Kalajma. That’s the next stop.”

“I thought you wanted to go to Seattle.”

“I do,” he said. “And how do you know that?”

Indeed, he’d never revealed his plans to Isaak. Suddenly, he was suspicious.

“Delilah told me. She said you told her about it last night.”

“We didn’t do much talking last night.”

“Gross.”

“Where did you really hear it?” Elijah asked.

“Fine. It was from Atticus. When we got back into town, someone told me that you two had gotten kind of friendly. So, I went over there today and asked about you,” Isaak said. “He told me about Seattle.”

“What else did he tell you?”

“Nothing!” Isaak said, taking a step back.

“Easy, kid. I’m not going to attack you. Jesus. People are so paranoid. Like I’d just murder a kid in the middle of town,” he muttered. “Just don’t tell anybody else, okay? I’m not exactly hiding here, but I don’t need my business all over town.”

“You might’ve made friends with the wrong person, then. Everybody knows Atticus is the town gossip,” Isaak revealed.

“Of course he is,” Elijah said, running his hand down his face in exasperation. In reality, it wasn’t really that surprising. In retrospect, it wasn’t even that frustrating. Atticus was just a friendly guy who was probably on good terms with everyone in town. Of course he’d talk. Elijah could just hope that he hadn’t revealed all of his secrets. “It’s fine. I’m leaving anyway, and I don’t know if I’ll ever come this way again.”

“Don’t you want to know where Seattle is? It’s to the southeast. Close to five-hundred miles, though. At least according to the last peddler that came through here,” Isaak explained. “He seemed pretty sure about it, though, and from what I understand, it’s not a good situation down there. But that was more than a year ago, so I’m sure things have changed.”

“Do you know anything else about it?”

Isaak shook his head. “And that’s second-hand information. For all I know, the peddler was lying. But he seemed sure that Seattle was in that direction, and I don’t see why he would lie about that part.”

“Me neither.”

After that, the conversation went on for a few more minutes, but it was clear that Isaak didn’t have any more information. So, Elijah said goodbye, patted the cat on its bristly head, then set off to the southeast. Hopefully, before too long, he would reach Seattle and find his sister.

So, it was with some degree of optimism that he left Argos behind and set off into the wilderness.