“I thought the capital would be closer,” I say looking, back along the path we’ve walked to get here. Even with Crow flying high as he can, I can’t make out the jagged mountains that we’ve left behind.

“This is a large kingdom,” Adeleya says. “Snowspring sits at the farthest edges away from civilisation.”

“Not anymore,” Lothar steps into the conversation. “That new city they built past the eastern mountains ranges, they’ve taken that post from us by a long way.”

“Is it that much further?” Adeleya asks.

“It’s over two thousand miles of near impassable mountains,” Lothar says. “That’s what they say, anyway. A passing peddler once shared a song with me about it, the locals sing about the roadbuilders like they’re living legends.”

“It’s little over six hundred miles of mountains,” Theo corrects them. “That’s distance as a crow flies, determined by the scholars. Walking the roads, you’ll be treading something closer to three thousand miles. Three to five months travel when moving fast, and you need to move fast.”

“Both longer and shorter than I thought,” Lothar whistles. “It makes this seem like an afternoon stroll.”

“The first travellers to adventure out there are still considered insane,” Theo continues. “Pass the mountains behind Snowspring and you’ll find only an ocean washing at the foot of unimaginably tall cliffs. Imagine wandering five months through freezing mountains, only to stand at the top of a cliff with waves hundreds of feet tall crashing against the sharp rocks below.”

“No wonder people thought them insane,” Adeleya says. “Even knowing that there’s land and a city on the other side, I’m not keen on ever making that crossing.”

“It’s still safer than going by ship,” Theo says. “Many ships don’t make it through the year-long journey. Half the ships who try it never return, partly for lacking a crew. According to guild reports, most of those living across the mountains stay because they’re unwilling to risk their lives on a journey back.”

Lothar clears his throat, staring at the sky.

“Expect no return, all who board this ship. Give up all that cannot fit in your bunk and say your last goodbyes. When we sail, listen close, for one misstep condemns us all. Obey your captain to your death, it is your only chance to see the next shore.

“Sever any foot that has touched the blackened lands before their curse can spread. Treat ashen stains with unsalted waters, and seer away yellow sores with the hot brand. Never let the lights die on the dark nights.

“Should the sirens sing, any man left on deck will be taken and, in his place, an equal weight of fish will lie. When the ocean runs like a river’s rapids, lower all sails and speak not a whisper, lest you be heard by the ocean’s heart.”

“It sounds… not that catchy,” Adeleya says. “Could do with some work.”

“Well, I only half remember it,” Lothar’s cheeks redden as he shrugs off her criticism. “I think a few different parts were stolen from different chants and shoved together.”

“Still, it sounds like a fairy tale, one of the horrible ones,” Adeleya shivers. “Is all of that really necessary, or?”

“The guild advises all mercenaries to obey every command given by the captain while on their ships,” Theo says. “It’s difficult to be sure how much is a true warning and how much is just a story, but I’ve read over some reports that describe similar phenomena as what Lothar mentioned.

“It’s become normal for the ships to carry male slaves on board to trade with the sirens. It’s a long journey and there are few safe ports to resupply at,” Theo says.

“Well, no boats for me,” Adeleya says, shivering even in the warm sunlight. “That’s just… ugh. No thanks. Not doing it.”

“It could be a good way to go to escape the shades if they come after us,” Lothar says, glancing down toward me. “Or, if something else comes up…”

I nod and smile. That’s what I’m planning, but it makes me feel better to know that Lothar agrees with the plan.

Anna walks along not paying any attention to the conversation, just focusing on training her magics, not that the rest of us are slacking. I’m still burning the inside of my fist with æther summoned flames, then healing it with my other magic.

“Let’s just hope that it’s not ever necessary,” Adeleya says, rubbing at her arms. “I don’t think I can survive without proper civilisation. The only reason I can live in Snowspring is because of Nyla, and the hot springs, without both I’d be finding a new home.”

The roads are busier now than they were before, but the villages we pass seem to be struggling more as we get closer to our goal. Our conversations are a little more playful, but we’re still so focused on pushing onwards, while keeping up our guard in case of an attack, that we can’t spare that much focus for anything meaningful.

“This one is the capital?” I ask. The walls are tall, but that’s not the most important detail.

A castle stands above all else, tall as a small mountain, its white towers pierce the blue sky. You could probably see most of the world from the top of the tallest tower.

This must be the home of a mighty and powerful person. As with nature, it is only the mighty that can stand so tall without fear of being seen.

Large stone walls hide whatever city lies at the foot of the castle, but what cannot be hidden is the sickening mass growing from the sides of these walls. Houses perhaps better described as dens sit atop one another, precarious upper floors in parallel to the tall walls as if it’s an invasion seeking to break inside.

A contingent of soldiers is smashing some of the buildings, while a group of people cry a few metres away from them. No one does anything to interfere.

A long line of wagons, merchants, and travellers stand along the main roads leading through the city gates, and countless men and women line the streets begging for food, or singing and dancing for the sake of those waiting.

The merchants ahead of us curse about taxes as we take a place in line. Adeleya pulls me close, her eyes scanning the people around us in the same way she watches the forest while we’re hunting. Anna keeps Titan right by her side while she clutches at her shield and keeps her back to me.

This city doesn’t smell of rotten eggs like Snowspring, but it still does have its own putrid flavour. A deep and consuming rot that has stained the stones beneath us, the walls around us, and even the people that are begging for coin and food. This rot is not something new, but something that has settled in through decades, and can’t be cleaned away.

I don’t like this place.

“The capital. That’s the only name people use for this place. It’s meant to have another name, but I guess it’s easier just to call it the capital,” Lothar says, as we get through the line and into the city. The guards only speak with Theo briefly before letting us in.

“There are too many people,” I say. Turning to glare at a young dirt-stained creature that’s been watching me a little too closely.

The streets inside the walls are cleaner than I expected, but only barely. The horrible odours are still here, but the rot is hidden from sight. The others don’t seem to mind, though they didn’t mind the stink of Snowspring either. The homes and buildings are all half collapsed, patched up with tarps and tents, while the people all stare down at their own feet.

It’s not a happy place.

“What do you think of it?” Nadia asks, nudging my shoulder. “Biggest city you’ve ever seen?”

“Is a bigger city better?” I ask.

“Of course it is!” Adeleya cries. “A bigger city means more people, more people means more merchants, more merchants means more stuff to buy. We have silks, cottons, wool, and more, from all around the kingdom, some of the shops here serve the nobles themselves!”

“It doesn’t make it smell any better.”

“It’s not so bad. The slums are the worst of it. At least there are proper street sweeps and watermen in this part of the city,” Lothar says.

“Watermen?”

“They take away your waste of a morning. In the slums it’s just thrown in the streets,” Lothar says, looking around at the half-collapsed buildings.

“That’s… why would someone do that?” Anna asks.

Lothar shrugs, shaking his head as he looks side to side.

“They don’t have many options, that and when everyone else is doing it, it’ll stink just as bad even if you take yours somewhere else. So why make the effort when it won’t make anything better.”

The city is not a good place. Apparently, the slums are worse.

“Where are we going?” I ask, hoping to be out of here quickly.

“We’ll go to the guild,” Theo says. “I want to see the results of our training and secure ourselves a safe place to stay. With the guild’s relationship with the shades, I don’t want to be sleeping in the barracks tonight.”

“The company branch could be safer,” Lothar suggests.

“I’ll speak with the company leader after we’re done at the guild,” Theo says. “I trust him enough to tell him a little about our situation.”

The city is strangely similar to a forest. You can walk for hours on end, but end up surrounded by the same scenes, the same trees, or buildings, no different to before. It’s just more of the same endless stroll.

The guild house is different, however. It stands tall, on stone columns that are plain and simple but natural for this sort of place. There are countless mercenaries gathered on the ground floor, drinking, eating, and discussing missions. I can’t imagine what sort of life they’d have in a city like this, but it’s not so interesting that I want to see it for myself.

Theo has a short conversation with an attendant at the desk, who leads us up to a private room with another of those fancy skillbooks.

“My light magic is coming along,” Lothar says. “I should be able to maintain a simple phantasmal lantern soon.”

“My fires are still improving,” Adeleya nods. “I’ve been experimenting with blending some light magic into my favourite spells, too. It’s… working, mostly. No ranks up, but I have a few more veins. They’ll even be visible soon!”

“No, they won’t,” Theo interrupts her. “We can’t give our enemies anything to go off of. If your æther veins become visible, then you’ll disguise them. That goes for all of us.”

“Ugh, but I have outfits that I’ve already planned to wear when my veins show!” Adeleya whines, though she’s lacking any seriousness.

“Such a shame,” Nadia rolls her eyes.

I leave them to it and focus on reading my own pages in the book.

Æther Vein Grading: B-

Common veins: 132

Magic:

Strengthening: B

Dedicated veins: 74

-Enhance muscular strength.

-Enhance the resilience of your skin.

-Temporarily harden parts of your body, a broken leg will stay straight, and fingernails will refuse to bend.

-New magics available at rank A

Healing: C+

Dedicated veins: 59

-Heal physical injuries in yourself and others.

-New magics available at rank B

Necromancy: D+

Dedicated veins: 164

-Raise the dead as servants.

-Maintain undead servants.

-Draw upon the memories of the dead you have raised.

-New magics available at rank B

Fire: D Rank

Dedicated veins: 32

-Summon flames and fire at your will.

-Control the concentration and intensity of your flames

-New magics available at Rank C

Unique Sword Style: D+ Rank

-Use a heavy weapon, light armour, and enhanced strength to rapidly move around the battlefield while striking with great force.

-Heavy charge: charge in a straight line at a foe. Ending in a slash, thrust, or downward slam.

-Pivot: swing your heavy weapon while jumping to pull yourself closer to a foe, or further away from them.

-Find a trainer, or experiment, to learn new attacks.

My strengthening has improved since the last time, and now I can control my fires a little better than before. I have more veins but it’s still not nearly enough. I need to get my healing just a little further and I’ll be able to manage something new with it.

I don’t think that it’s just repeating my training that’ll do it. I need to figure out something about the processing of the magic. I need to shape it the right way. I need to break through the walls holding me back. The others hang about for a while longer, discussing the training plans, but I don’t have anything much to add. I just quietly train in the corner.

Theo takes care of a few other things with the guild before we leave. The sun is still relatively high as we got here just shy of noon.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“We’ll split up from here,” Theo says. “I’ll visit the Falchion company headquarters and see if they don’t have some thoughts on what to do. Who wants to go meet up with Nyla’s relatives? They won’t want to send their daughter off with complete strangers.”

“Syr and I will go meet Olive,” Anna takes the lead while gripping my hand Titan guarding her other side with Crow riding on his head.

“I’ll go with you two,” Lothar says. “I have a few acquaintances out that way that could give me a feel for what the city is like nowadays.”

“I’ll go too,” Adeleya says. “Saya has quite the nice shop, and I’d like to check it out.”

“Then I’ll go with Theo,” Nadia says. “I’ll watch his back.”

“You know where to go?” Theo asks.

“Yep! Nyla gave me a map.” Adeleya says, “Also, I go shopping around that area whenever I visit the capital.”

“We’ll meet in the guild in time for dinner, and report,” Theo says. “Keep your guards up, the city isn’t safe.”

As we split up, it takes only a few moments to lose sight of each other in the busy crowds. There are too many people too close together. If I swung my sword recklessly, I could hurt a dozen people just by accident. I hold my sword tight just to make sure that I don’t hit anyone with it.

The main roads are mostly straight and easy to understand, but as soon as Adeleya takes us into the depths of shadowed streets I lose my way and we can no longer even see the giant castle that is meant to loom over us. If it weren’t for everyone else, I’d climb the rooftops just to see where I’m going.

“Over here!” Adeleya pulls us over to a tall building that I wouldn’t have guessed was a store. It’s little different from Nyla’s place.

“Saya, I’ve come again!” Adeleya cries out happily to the store owner, a short Norkit just starting to show wrinkles.

“Adeleya, you’re still shopping in this little place? How’s Nyla doing?”

“She’s doing great, everyone in town loves her, and as you can see she’s only gotten more skilled.” Adeleya gives a twirl to show off today’s dress.

“I see that she still hasn’t caught up to me yet, but I’ll keep my needle working. I don’t need my little sister showing me up.” She hisses a low sigh, showing her fangs as she shrugs. “You’re staying in the capital a while? You’ll take Olive back to Snowspring with you when you go?”

“It would be my pleasure.” Adeleya bows low with a curtsy.

“And Snowspring is a nice place? The people there, they won’t treat her badly, the lord there isn’t the sort to take notice of us norkit?”

“You don’t need to worry. It’s as Nyla has probably already told you. We may or may not be part of some duchy or another but the lords never visit and the only soldiers about are those that the town itself puts together. No lord wants to live that far from the capital.

“If there ever is a problem, we’ll all look out for her.”

“Okay…” Saya slowly nods her head. “Come inside, I’ll warm up some tea. We have another guest at the moment, so please be polite.”

Saya looks at me and Anna for a moment before she smiles a little deeper. “I’ve heard of you two from Nyla’s letters, please be good friends to my precious Olive. She’s upstairs right now, I’ll go and get her.”

“I’m happy to meet her,” Anna bows and I copy her a moment later, struggling with my sword. Crow is sitting on top of Titan’s head, watching everything closely.

The thin stairs creak as the woman bounces up and away, leaving us to find the loungeroom for ourselves. I carefully manoeuvre my sword so that it doesn’t knock on anything as Anna leads us to a small room with a few cushions set around a low table.

Saya’s guest is sitting there politely, with a cup of tea in her hands. Everything about her is just a bit strange.

Her hair is too red, like the dusk sky crossed with a poisonous flower, and her tall animal ears, of the same colour, flicker on her head. Her eyes are rosy pink, unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and the many freckles scattered over her cheeks seem a little too dark to be real.

“Hello, I’m Vael.” She dips her head, waving to the other cushions invitingly, smiling as she looks us over.

She feels dangerous.

The sort of dangerous that you don’t mess with, you leave it alone and hope that it doesn’t decide to hunt you down.

“I’m Anna!” My friend replies without seeing it.

“I’m Syr,” I say, setting my sword down in Titan’s hands as he is left sitting in the corner of the room. I move slowly and carefully, to make it clear that I don’t want a fight, but Vael seems more interested in Crow.

Through his dark eyes, I can feel her attention. She peers closely at him, a smirk rising to her lips as she breaths out short and sharp, something just shy of a laugh.

Lothar and Adeleya introduce themselves casually, on guard but without treating her special, either. The conversation they start up is nothing important, and I just fade out and watch her through Crow’s eyes. She keeps glancing back at and him then over us.

We have to be careful of her.

“Who is the crow?” She asks during a break in the conversation.

“He’s Crow,” I say. “He’s mine.”

“She learned to tame animals while surviving out in the wilds,” Lothar explains for me. “Don’t worry, Crow is well behaved.”

“I’m sure that he is,” she smiles over at me.

“Hello,” A young woman says, entering the room and interrupting Vael. “I’m Olive.”

She is nothing like the strange woman opposite us. She’s short, with hair and eyes slightly different shades of the same dirty brown. She does have freckles, but they aren’t as dark, and her ears are floppy, disguised by her hairstyle.

She smiles as she sees us, the expression warming her face. It is a nice smile.

“Do you two want to go to a festival?” She asks. “My other friends aren’t going.”

“A festival?” I ask.

“It’s a local event,” Vael cuts in. “The community comes together to celebrate life and peace, and everything wonderful. We dance in the streets and eat sweet food and fried things. It’s all good fun.”

“It’s like that,” Olive says, nodding. “It’s more fun when you have friends come along with you.”

“Is it safe?” Adeleya asks, adjusting her grip on her staff.

“It can be dangerous,” Vael says, nodding slowly. “I think little Olive knows where it’s safe to play, and what parts of town to stay away from.”

“I do!” Olive says, slipping onto a cushion.

Saya enters the room with a large pot of tea and some more cups, frowning at her daughter.

“Vael here looks out for us,” she says, handing out cups. “After the war, when all of our kind were freed from our chains, there were many people who sought to hurt us. Vael was sent here from the northern lands to help us get along with the local humans. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“Oh, stop it,” Vael waves off the compliments. “I just float around the city, doing this and that. Speaking of, I’ve just figured out a way to pay back a friend of mine, I really must hurry to get it done before an appointment that I have later this evening. So, I’m afraid that I can’t stay any longer. Oh, that appointment? It’s with a young countess who has come asking for favours, my favourite thing!”

“A countess? Oh, my!” Saya covers her mouth, her eyes open wide. “Be careful not to offend her.”

“Don’t you worry about me,” Vael says. “It was a pleasure meeting you all, but I really must go and prepare.”

“Thank you for coming by,” Saya says. “You’re always welcome in this home.”

“Do enjoy the festival, I know that I will be,” she smiles eagerly as she steps out into the street.

I turn back to Olive now that the strange woman is gone. She’s dressed in a casual dress, her light skin contrasting nicely with the pale blue dress. Her tail sways back and forth behind her, as she looks between Anna and I.

Is she excited? Nervous?

How soft are her ears?

How warm would it be to hug her? To hold her?

Is it normal to think like this, or am I doing something strange again?

“So, a festival?” Anna asks. “What’s it really like?”

“A festival is a festival. Food, parades, lights. That sort of thing, you know.”

“I don’t know, but I’d like to,” I say, shifting my seat to be a bit closer to her.

“Is it like a spring festival?” Anna asks.

“I suppose…” Olive’s dark brown eyes, specked with small shards of shimmering green, meet mine even though it was Anna talking to her. “This one is about the end of the war, but I guess they’re alike.”

“What war?” I ask.

“What war? The war with norkit. Ten or fifteen years ago? They burnt down the slums and surrounded the capital. They ended slavery in this kingdom? Do you guys seriously not know about it?”

I sort through my memories, but Alice only ever briefly mentioned a war, and my parents never did.

“I spent a long time living in the forest, so I don’t know everything about history.” I play with my dress, “You were a slave?”

“When I was little, I don’t remember it much, and mom doesn’t like to talk about it. You lived in a forest?”

“I lived in a small cave, near the forest. It was better than living in the mountains.” I shrug, “So when are we going to this festival?”

“Yeah, when is the festival?” Anna asks.

“It starts tomorrow night, I can show you all the safe places to go.”

“Is this really okay?” Anna asks. “Adeleya? Lothar?”

“I’ll talk to Theo, but I think it should be fine,” she says. “Lothar?”

“It’ll be a risk,” he says shaking his head. “But I guess everything here is a risk. Don’t do anything too dangerous and it should be alright. Syr, take care of Olive if anything goes wrong.”

“I will,” I nod.

“You two can both stay here with us while you’re in town. I will not let young girls like you stay in that guild barracks,” Saya says, an uncertain smile on her face.

Adeleya and Lothar quietly look between one another before glancing at me and Anna. They seem to come to a quiet agreement.

“Syr, Anna, are you okay staying here?” Adeleya asks.

“Okay,” I nod my agreement. “I’ll protect them.”

“What a good girl you are,” Saya says, smiling warmly and glancing down at her daughter. Her shoulders seem to relax, as she brings up something about her work.

For another hour they all talk together, while Olive tells Anna and I about the city. It sounds like there are a few fun things about the city, but I was right to think this place is horrible. There are violent gangs, and there are violent knights who’ll kill any norkit they see.

There are nice people here too, and everyone is safe from the monsters that will sometimes prey on the villages and towns.

And there are shops here.

“Can we go for a walk?” Olive asks, looking at her mother. The room is rather cramped with all of us in here, and Titan only makes it more so.

“Just stay safe,” Saya says.

“I’ll protect her if anything attacks us.” I stand up straighter, nodding at her mother. My sword is too big to use very well here, but I can fight with my hands if I have to. Actually, this might even be a good chance to buy a weapon or two that could serve better in tight spaces.

Anna and I change from our armour, into more casual, and colourful clothes, and head out into the street where Olive is waiting for us.

Putting back on our cloaks we leave the house.

“Be careful here in the city, the dangers aren’t like what they are out in the wild,” Adeleya tells me, her lips pressed tight together as she looks past us.

“What should we look out for?” What threats should we be looking for? In the wilds, the bears and wolves, wolven especially, are the biggest dangers, but here it’s different. What form of predator stands at the top inside these walls? Is it the undead monsters? The ones we fought off in the village near Cildr?

I have to guess that those who live in the castle palace above us are the strongest of all, but my guesses aren’t always right.

“Just, try not to be noticed by anyone and run away if things start to get dangerous. Killing people, even bad people, can cause trouble we don’t need,” Lothar says. “Try not to go out after dark, illusions and shadows are more dangerous of a night.”

“I won’t take them anywhere dangerous,” Olive pouts, “We’ll be home before dark.”

“…” Saya looks on with untrusting eyes. “Don’t do anything dangerous.”

“We won’t.”

“And don’t waste too much of your money.”

“Yes, mom.”

“And don’t take off your hood.”

“Yes, mom.”

“Just… Be careful.”

“I always am, mom.”

We head out while Lothar and Adeleya finish their conversation with Saya, asking her about the town, and what’s been happening recently. Crow follows us overhead, moving from rooftop to rooftop. He’s watching out for us so that nothing will take us by surprise.

“We should save our money for the festival,” Olive says. “Is there anything you two want to do, or see?”

“A weapons shop?” I ask, reaching around for a sword that isn’t there.

“Weapons shop? I think I know of a good one.” She glances between me and Anna for some reason but doesn’t say anything about it. Was she wanting something else? I didn’t think much before answering, but the only other sort of store I can think of is a clothes store, and she lives in one.

“You two are both mercenaries, aren’t you?”

“I’m a merc, and Anna will be soon,” I say, lifting my head high. “My sword is a bit big for the city, so I want something a bit smaller.”

“That was yours?” Olive asks. “I thought it was the golems?”

“Nope, the big sword is mine,” Should I be saying something more? “Titan usually hits things with his hands, right Anna?”

“It’s hard enough to get titan to punch properly, I can’t give him a sword yet,” Anna says shaking her head. “I might carve some daggers into his fists though, sort of like claws.”

“Oh, that sounds mean,” I nod in approval.

“Yeah, it does…” Olive says, looking between us again.

The streets are growing louder, busier, and thicker with the dangerous sort of people that would be a pain to fight without my sword. The perfect place for a weapons shop.

The smiths are working away in the background, smashing metal with their hammers as they burn stacks of wood in the forges they keep out back. The door to the shop is heavy, but so long as I set my feet, it’s not too difficult to press open.

The inside is lit with dozens of bright candles. Countless weapons line the walls, reflecting the flickering light off of the shiny swords. All sorts of shimmering metal, and strange woods, make up the weapons that surround me. I still can’t tell the good from the bad, but it is easy enough to tell the difference between the weapons I can use and the weapons that I can’t.

“Do you have money?” Olive asks. Her tail moving about under her cloak.

“Yeah.” I shrug, it’s probably enough for something decent.

“You girls come to the wrong shop?” A big man running the shop asks, looking down at us.

“Could be. Depends on what sort of weapons you’ve got?” I say, walking past all the little swords on the walls. Some of them are extra shiny, and others have little marks on them with flames, snowflakes, and little lightning bolts. Markers to show what sort of magic they can work with.

The man shrugs, watching us closely.

“What are you after?”

“I use a big heavy adamant weapon but I want something that I can use in tight spaces,” I say, looking over a big hammer leaning against the wall. It could be useful, but it has the same problems as my current sword. “If I try using it here, I’ll smack the walls and other people.”

The man looks me over, passing me a short hammer. It’s smaller than the one I saw leaning against the wall, but the head of it is still a great big chunk of metal.

Crow perches on the roof, catching sight of a stranger approaching the shop. I wouldn’t normally notice, but she keeps looking up at Crow for some reason. How long has she been watching? Was she following him for some reason?

“This good for you?” The shop owner asks, returning my attention to the hammer.

Finding a clear area I swing it about a little, shifting my stance to try and figure out how to use it. It’s not quite as heavy as my sword, but it’s still big enough to throw me around. Without the length, I can’t use my normal movements, but at the same time that means that I can use it without hitting the walls.

“It’s good, but…” I try to find the right words to describe it, but I don’t even know what I’m looking for. While I’m struggling for words, and he’s rubbing at his beard coming up with his own ideas, another person joins us.

She wears weathered leather and walks like a wolven on the hunt. Her eyes trace everything around her with the calm of a person in control. The confidence that comes from knowing you are the strongest person in the room.

The same woman who was staring at Crow.

“What are you doing wasting so much time, Gunther?” She asks the man. “Get those blades from out back, you know the ones.”

“Eh… ah yes, I’ll be a moment,” he bows lowly to her before heading into the back of the shop.

“Sorry about him, he’s more a smith than a salesman.”

“Who are you?” I ask.

“Semi, I’m… well you could say that I’m an important person in this city.”

I look to Olive but she just shakes her head, apparently she doesn’t know either. I shouldn’t be dealing with strangers too much, if she’s important she could be connected to the shades and their undead warriors. I’ll try not to get too involved with her.

“Try these,” the owner of the store says, looking back over at semi occasionally as if afraid to have her at his back.

“Thank you,” I take the weapons from him.

The swords he hands me are comfortably heavy but short, only a little longer than my forearm. Unlike with the hammer, they come as a pair. They are darker than steel, but it doesn’t look like paint.

Each has two small marks on them. A flame and a big fat hammer.

“Tuned for flames and weight magics,” Gunther explains.

I walk over to the corner of the store again and set my feet. It’s a little strange to have a sword in each hand, but as I take my first swing, I can feel why they come as a pair.

Swinging with my right hand, I move my left to balance myself out. I go through a few more different strikes, nothing I’ve ever tried before, but it’s all very simple. I thrust one while pulling the other back, then swap. Or I can thrust both at the same time with a heavy charge similar to what I do with my larger sword.

Moving instinctively, and a little clumsily, I swipe them over and under each other pinching an imaginary enemy between the two.

The swords might be short, but they’re wide and thick. Together they’re lighter than my usual sword, but still heavy enough to be comfortable. They’re not any metal I can recognise, but they’re sturdy and I don’t think I’ll have to worry about damaging them.

I want them.

“How much?” I ask the owner, while Semi focuses a smile on him.

“They’re a gift,” he smiles but it doesn’t seem like he really means it.

Strange…

Would it be more dangerous to accept, or to refuse?

It’s more dangerous to refuse. I take them, I can at least use these new weapons to defend myself. If I refuse, then I offend this person, and I’m unarmed.

“Thank you,” I say, bowing to them both. Semi turns her smile to me, and I repress a shiver.

“Let me resize the sheaths for you,” the man says and very quickly pulls out a knife to trim and staple new holes into the leather straps. The man’s hands work with a strangely confident speed, though a glance from Semi speeds him up a measure more.

I slip the sheaths around my waist, under my cloak.

“Thank you.” I bow my head to him and Semi again. “I think that I’ll be going now…” I wave to them just in case they change their minds before following Olive and Anna out. They don’t chase us, but Semi does look between me and Crow one more time.

“What strange people…” Anna says.

“Yeah…”

“I don’t know who they are.” Olive begins with a cautious tone, “But she seemed dangerous, and people don’t give anything away for free. She wants something from you. Be careful…”

“If she causes trouble, I’ll fight her off,” I say.

“It’s not always so easy…”

Olive pulls her hood lower as she rushes us away from the store.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Crow keeps watch through the night, and I stay awake just in case something comes for us. Nothing does. My new swords are still beside me, and the strange woman didn’t follow us here.

Saya’s mother didn’t seem too worried when we mentioned what happened.

‘She’s one of the decent ones’, were her words whatever that means.

Adeleya and Lothar come back in the morning just to mention that they’ve found a place to stay and are starting their search for the researchers.

“Stay away from her,” Adeleya says when I tell her about what happened. She glares at my new swords, but she doesn’t try to take them from me. “Someone like that approaches you, they have something planned.”

“She should come with us,” Lothar says. “If someone has their eyes on her already…”

“No,” I say. “I’ll be okay. Just focus on finding those researchers. I can take care of myself.”

“Syr…” Adeleya tries to say something but I cut her off.

“If something happens, it should happen to me alone,” I say, closing the door on them before they can say anything more to try and stop me. I want to go to the festival with Anna and Olive.

It’s only after Saya speaks with them that they finally agree to go, but they’re not happy about it.

I wasn’t lying about what I said to them. This is my problem. I will deal with it.

When it’s time for the festival, I dress up in my nicest dress, with my new swords strapped to my waist.

Theo and the others should be busy running about doing their own thing, they’re doing just fine without me, and even if I tried to help, I’d just get in their way. It’s better this way.

Olive, wearing a bright and beautiful dress of her own, leads us through the streets, and I try to forget all my worries. I want to relax and have fun, just for tonight.

“Remember, we are not here to deliver justice. We are here to find the truth of a better world. We are here to protect those who cannot protect themselves.” A rather strange man stands at the head of a group of robed strangers, standing to the side of the street. Others are setting up stalls or preparing instruments, so this group stands out.

Their leader’s face is horrifically misshapen. If it was an injury he’d be able to be fixed with healing magic, but if it’s just how he was born, then maybe not. Still, he seems happy enough even with a bit of a strange face. I’m not sure I’d be able to, it makes my stomach squirm a little just looking at him.

“Tonight, there will be violence and we are here to shield the innocent from the liars that are coming for us,” he says, and his followers all nod in agreement.

I tighten the belt holding my swords to my waist. I hope that they’re wrong.