“It’s… good,” Olive said, as if she were surprised to find that the words leaving her mouth actually belonged to her. She tilted the sword from side to side, studying the blade in the dim light from the lantern. “Is this made from Brightsteel?”

“It is,” Arwin said. “I know it isn’t exactly the hardest weapon, but it’s light. It also has the added benefit of absorbing shock if you’re forced to block a blow, which will be invaluable for… well, you. It’s not like you can use both hands.”

And it’s the only thing I really had on me at the time.

“That’s a good point,” Olive said. She nodded to herself. “More than good enough for what I need here. It won’t hold an edge the best, but if it even gives me a little bit of an edge in combat, it doesn’t matter. Thank you, Ifrit. Is the armor…”

“Also done,” Arwin said. He held it out. Olive set her blade on the counter and took the armor from him. She slipped into it and tightened the straps, then stretched her arm over her head and twisted back and forth.

Even though Olive didn’t say anything, Arwin could make out enough of her expression in the darkness to read the delight in her eyes. The armor was definitely better than the sword – he’d had a lot more experience in recent time making it, so that wasn’t much of a surprise.

And defense is more important anyway. Better to survive a fight and fail to kill an enemy than to kill an enemy and fail to survive the fight. Not that I think the sword isn’t going to hold up, but –

“Is this really only one hundred and twenty more gold?” Olive asked, picking the sword back up from the table and holding it point-down before her. “There aren’t any hidden conditions? You don’t want anything else?”

“A glowing review would be appreciated. We live and die by our customers satisfaction.”

Olive squinted at Arwin. She slid the sword into an empty sheath at her side. A small smile tried to take form on her lips, but she crushed it ruthlessly before it could take more than an instant’s purchase. “You say we as if there’s someone else with you. Are you and the tavernkeeper working together?”

“We’re in a guild.” Arwin squinted into the kitchen in attempt to see if Lillia was lurking about anywhere. There wasn’t any sign of her – or of any other guildmembers, for that matter.

“You are?” Olive’s brow furrowed. “I wouldn’t have known. What guild?”

“We… don’t actually have a name yet.” Arwin cleared his throat, his satisfaction from a job well done abruptly replaced with the reminder that his guild technically wasn’t even official. “Soon, though. We haven’t submitted any of the paperwork.”

“Not much of a guild then, are you?” A small grin did manage to form on Olive’s lips this time around and she put a hand on the hilt of her new weapon. “But I don’t really care what you call yourself. I’ll get that money back to you as soon as possible. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“I wasn’t ever worried. Just don’t rush too much and end up getting yourself killed in the process,” Arwin warned.

“Don’t worry. Your investment will make it back to you in one piece,” Olive said. She stepped past Arwin and headed for the door. “I’ll be back within the week.”

“Hold on,” Arwin said. Olive glanced back at him, a flicker of worry and suspicion passing across her face.

“Yeah?”

“Where are you hunting? I assume you’re going to do a dungeon or clear out some monsters aboveground to sell them for parts, right?”

“Yeah, I am. Why?” Olive asked.

“Don’t go to the forest with the lizards,” Arwin advised. “It’s not safe right now. There’s a pretty good chance that there might be a Wyrm horde in the near future, and there’s an aggressive Wyrm lurking around it.”

Olive did a double take. “There’s a what? Are you serious?”

“Why would I lie?”

“I – never mind,” Olive said, blinking. “How do you know this? That’s a really serious problem. I’d say we should call the Adventurer’s Guild, but I don’t think they’d even bother sending people to Milten. Any proper guildmembers here would be just as liable to be run through by a human as a monster.”

“Seriously?” It was Arwin’s turn to blink. He was the farthest thing from a fan of the Adventurer’s Guild, but it hadn’t seemed like the sentiments in the city toward them were that bad.

“Yeah. Money doesn’t go a long way in Milten,” Olive said. “Are you new here or something? That would explain your low prices.”

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Ah. It’s not that they don’t like the guild. Milten is just full of scumbags. I suppose I should have been able to guess that. One of these days I’m going to find that guard that acted like this city was some paragon of morality and poke him between the ribs.

“Yes. I just moved in. Lovely neighborhood, wouldn’t you say?” Arwin asked.

Olive didn’t even so much as crack a smile at his joke. She just nodded seriously. “Good for keeping people away, that’s for sure. Thanks again for the equipment. It’ll go a long way.”

“No problem,” Arwin said, raising a hand in farewell as Olive turned and headed out of the tavern.

He headed to the back to poke his head into the kitchen. It was pitch black. “Lillia? You there?”

“Yeah,” Lillia’s voice called back a second later. “One second.”

She emerged from her room and Arwin stepped out of the doorway to give her some room to pass him. Lillia walked into the common room and stood beneath the light of the lantern. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Do you know where everyone is? I saw Olive sitting around with some food so I knew you were around, but I haven’t seen the others.”

“Anna and Reya went out on a girl’s day. They invited me as well, but…” Lillia trailed off and looked down, sending a pointed glance at her tail. “I have some pre-existing conditions that make heading outside a little difficult.”

“Couldn’t we just hide your tail?” Arwin asked. “I could modify the armor–”

“My skin is purple, Arwin. I already tuck my tail away. That’s not the issue.”

“Ah. Right. Not particularly common, purple skin.”

“No,” Lillia agreed, a smile flitting across her face. “I don’t think it is. Besides, I need the tail for balance and fighting. I’d rather not have to hide it away. I can stick to the shadows and hide that way pretty effectively – but that’s not really a fun way to have a relaxing day.”

Arwin felt a twinge of sympathy. She was functionally trapped. Even if she could leave the city whenever she wanted, she couldn’t walk around freely. Either she had to cover herself with a long robe or walk in the shadows.

Getting around freely wasn’t truly free if she was constantly worried about being spotted. There would be no true relaxation for her. Not outside the street.

“I’m sorry,” Arwin said. “We’ll get this street to the point where it’s better than anywhere else in the city."

A smile drifted across Lillia’s face. “Thank you, Arwin. It isn’t that bad. Even if my tavern is the extent of where I can really walk around peacefully, I have nothing to complain about. Compared to what life used to be, this is heaven.”

“I can agree with that.” Arwin picked Olive’s plate up from the counter and stepped past Lillia into the kitchen. He set it down in the sink before walking back to rejoin her. “You said Reya and Anna went out together… so where is Rodrick?”

“He went out to try to see if he could pick up any useful information in regard to the Wyrms or the Iron Hounds,” Lillia replied. The candle in the lantern above her sputtered and winked out, plunging the room into darkness.

Lillia let out a curse under her breath. Arwin squinted through the dark, but he couldn’t see anything other than shifting blobs in the darkness. The lantern squeaked as Lillia fiddled with it. A moment later, fire sputtered back to life on the wick and the faint pool of orange-yellow light swam forth once more.

“Stupid thing,” Lillia said with a huff, closing the lantern again. “They’ve been going out randomly for days.”

“Is it your shadow magic getting too strong or something?”

“No. That would just swallow the light, not snuff it. Not unless I was intentionally trying to put it out, at least. I’ve got no idea what’s causing it.” A small laugh slipped out from between Arwin’s lips. Lillia raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side, prodding him in the shoulder with a finger. “What?”

“I was just thinking that maybe the street really is haunted. The ghost just likes blowing out small candles.”

“I doubt it.” Lillia glanced over her shoulder at the lantern and laughed. “Ghosts are very real, but it’s pretty easy to tell when you’re around one. The temperature around you drops sharply and pressure builds around your chest and neck. You can’t miss it.”

“I’ve fought ‘em before. You had some in your army.”

“I did? That’s news to me. Nobody likes being near them for obvious reasons. Ghosts affect everything, not just their enemies. Guess the Monster Coalition must have sent them out on their own.”

“They were nasty bastards to fight,” Arwin said. “Incredibly difficult to kill. Only way I’ve seen it done is with holy magic or magical items specialized for it.”

“You can also do it by cutting whatever ties they’ve got to the magic keeping them around in the mortal world. But forget that – do you think a ghost would count as an inhabitant for my inn?”

“I suppose you’re going to have to ask the next time it comes around. But, ghosts notwithstanding, do you have any other plans? I’m probably going to be splitting today between rebuilding my smithy and trying to figure out what to forge next. Now more than ever, I need to work on getting us more powerful.”

“I’ll just be cooking. I’ve got a lot of new material to work with thanks to you,” Lillia said to Arwin with a soft smile. “Come get dinner with me at some point tonight. Don’t work through it again.”

A strange feeling passed through Arwin’s stomach, sparks of anticipation swirling and forming into knots at its bottom. He stifled the emotion before it could reach his face and slip into his expression. “That would be nice. Thank you. I’m not sure what time I’ll finish, though.”

“Don’t worry about it. I suspect I’ll be awake regardless.”

“Well, I’ll try not to take too long,” Arwin promised. “Let me know if you need anything. You know where I’ll be.”

“Are you going to go find someone to help you make the smithy? Or did you decide to finish it yourself?”

“Definitely going to ask around for some assistance.” Arwin cleared his throat sheepishly. “I’d like it to withstand more than a light breeze. I’ll just help out where I can to make sure it ends up looking the way I want it to. Aside from that, I’ll just be working on some crafting.”

“Probably smart,” Lillia said. “The same goes for you if you get hungry before dinner. I’ll be in the kitchen testing out some new recipes.”

“I’ll keep that in mind in case I end up actually getting distracted for long enough to remember that I like eating. Otherwise, I’ll look forward to dinner. Good luck cooking.”

“And good luck to you as well,” Lillia said. She stepped back into the kitchen and Arwin walked out of the tavern. He set a course down the street and toward the town square. He wanted to get some more crafting done as soon as he could, but he needed to find someone that could help him rebuild his smithy first.