“Alice?” Prim asked, once they were well away from the alley “What are dark classers?”

Alice opened her mouth with the intention of telling her dragon to never mind about it. Dark classers were the horrors of children's tales. It wasn't something Prim needed to concern herself with.

However, that's what Alice had been told all her life as a General Laborer: not to worry her little head about problems that were beyond her concern. The other, higher classer would handle things.

As she had just seen with Tom and Mabel, the lower classes could get dragged into it too.

And now, Alice might just belong to one of the upper classes, which made the defense of the city her responsibility.

That terrified her.

“Later, dearest,” she murmured instead. “Let’s get away from here and find somewhere we can speak in peace.”

Alice wandered the streets at random, walking for the sake of exercise, to clear her mind and rid herself of the lingering anger. She didn't know where her previous cold attitude toward Mable had come from, and now that it had vanished, the past hour felt like it belonged to someone else.

She found herself at the border of a park with grassy hills that sloped downward. A stream cut through the base of the hill, likely emptying out into the bay beyond. Tall, wild grasses grew by the shores of the stream, and the dense trees surrounded them.

Alice had seen evidence of habitation—likely from Beggars or other Homeless. No one was around now. Were they hiding from the Workers, too?

Well, for the time being, Alice had a place where she could be alone and unseen.

She settled down under the shade of a low-limbed tree. That cover, and the babble of a nearby brook, would help keep their conversation private.

All three of her dragons gathered around her, and now stared up at her with big gleaming eyes. Their perfect trust could feel intimidating, if she focused on it for too long.

Alice's gaze went from Prim to Numi, then to Iggy. She took a deep breath. "Dark classers are... bad."

"Oooh," Numi said in near reverence.

Alice licked her lips and tried again.

"There's a balance in society. There are the ower classes—the Servants, General Laborers, Maids, and the like.”

Iggy growled low in his throat, a tongue of flame licking out beyond his nose. “Like the Workers?”

“No, no.” She shook her head. “Those men who tried to Mabel and Tom were imposters, using a tag of low classes to hide. Real low classers are hard-working folk. They serve as the backbone of society. Without them, the whole city — everything — could collapse.”

Not that the high classers acknowledged them, or the hard work they put in on their behalf…

Alice went on. “The mid-classers sort of… smooth the way. They’re the oil that allows the gears of society to function. The Merchants who bring us food and clothing, the Magicians and Wizards who bring us magic, the Law Enforcement who keeps us safe. Sometimes accomplished low classers like highly ranked Tradesmen are considered mid-class, too.”

She took a breath. “Then there are the high classers, like the Nobles and Politicians. They're the cream of the crop, the head of society. They do all the thinking for us." Speaking these beliefs out loud, beliefs she'd held since childhood, now felt unsettling.

Shaking her head, Alice continued, “Finally, there are the dark classes, the seedy underbelly. They take from others and aim to destabilize society. You usually see them as Thieves, Criminals, or even Slavers if they’re vile enough. Thankfully, within the high classers, there are the elite fighters. Those skilled in combat whose job it is to protect us from the dark classers."

"But every so often," she continued, "someone rises who stands out from the rest. When this occurs among the good classes, like a noble or fighter, society flourishes. But when a Dark Lord emerges from the dark classers... whole cities can be burned away. It's said that over a thousand years ago, our entire kingdom fell to ruin under the might of a Dark Mistress."

The dragons had been silent, hanging on every word until this point.

"Is history gonna repeat itself?" Numi asked, "Didn’t that Vendor guy say a new Dark Lord is rising?" She sounded equal parts excited and terrified.

"If there is," Iggy declared confidently, "I shall fight for you, Alice. Don't you worry."

"I'm not worried,” she said, though her stomach had been tight and anxious fear ever since speaking with the Vendor. “If the worst should happen, we'll stay together and help each other. I think we're quite an effective team.”

Iggy and Numi preened at the praise, but Alice noticed that Prim remained silent, watching her.

“Something else bothers you,” Prim said. “Please tell us?”

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Again, Alice considered lying, but if she couldn't confide in her dragons, then who could she trust? “There’s something else,” she admitted. “Traditionally, dragons have been the tools of a Dark Lord. There have been others who've used other means: undead rising from graves, poisons that kill entire lands, and other terrible things. But dragons are the most famous. I'm afraid that if someone were to see you, they might mistake you as tools of a Dark Lord.” She finished the last part quickly, hoping her dragons wouldn't be offended or worried.

“Oh, I'm good at hiding,” Numi said. “No one will see me.”

“Yes, my concealment and illusion skills are progressing,” Prim agreed.

“I'll just fight anyone who sees me,” Iggy declared. But after receiving a stern look from Prim, he added, “Of course, with discretion.”

Alice smiled, yet deep inside, she was still anxious.

She wasn't dumb or in denial. She had a class -- one she'd never heard of -- that bolstered her strength through her dragons. Without any more context than that, it sounded fairly dark.

But the Seers couldn't have been foreseeing her. One would have to commit heinous acts to be labeled a Dark Lord. Something far worse than petty thievery from her own Noble’s kitchen, she reflected with a cringe. Or a blue-steel coin.

With a shake of her head, she decided not to dwell on in it. Besides, Iggy's comments on skills had reminded her. “How did the great rat hunt go?”

As Iggy puffed up with pride and while he detailed his epic battle against the city rats, Alice pulled up his stat sheet.

Aspect 3

“Igcendiorum”

Level: 2

Skills: 3/3

Fire Breath (Permanent skill: Locked.) : Level 3

Burning Claws: Level 2

Ultimate Armor: Level 3

He had performed very well by bringing his Ultimate Armor up to level 3 in such a short period of time.

Alice gave him a quick look-over and didn’t find a scratch on him.

“Great work,” she said. “I’d like you to bring up your Burning Claws another level. Then I think your overall level will be at 3.”

Iggy looked enthusiastic. “Then may I fight those muskrats I hear on the other side of the stream?” he asked, pointing with one stubby claw across the bank. Alice had initially thought they were tufts of grass, but upon closer inspection, they indeed appeared to be very large nests of a rat colony.

She shuddered and agreed. "Yes, as long as nobody sees you.”

Iggy immediately leaped into the air. A moment later, the tall grass rustled and angry rats squeaked.

Turning to Numi, Alice asked, "How was your day?"

“I found two more gold coins," Numi replied. “And 20 silver.”

"Goodness,” Alice mused, wondering if she should open a bank account. Was that what rich classers did?

Realizing she had been ignoring all notifications, including ones of her own stats, she first checked Numi’s.

“Oh, it looks like you have another skill to choose from!”

Aspect 2

“Numismatis”

1 New Skill Available

Available skills:

Gem Hunting

Appraiser

Wise Investor

Advanced Mathematics

Alice was tempted by Gem Hunting, but worried Numi might take that as permission to start stealing necklaces from unsuspecting Noble lady’s necks. Besides, how would Alice ever sell gems without suspicion?

“Any pickpocketing skills?” Numi asked eagerly.

“No, thankfully,” Alice quickly added, then rattled off the skill names.

"I don't see the need for Advanced Mathematics right now. I'm already good at counting coins as we go," Numi said.

The thought of her slightly bug-eyed dragon, quill in hand, scribbling down intricate formulae made Alice smile. It would almost be worth choosing the skill just for that.

“How about Appraising? It might be useful to know the value or utility of items we come across.” Alice held up the medallion she’d gotten from Mabel. “Especially this.”

Numi took along moment to think, head cocked. “I like that.”

“Appraiser it is,” she decided, and picked the skill.

Numi’s scales flashed a brighter green before returning to their usual hue.

“Practice on this,” Alice said and gave the medallion to her eager dragon.

Lastly, she turned her attention to Prim. As expected, Prim had leveled up several times recently, though she didn't have a new skill available.

Aspect 1

“Primordialis”

Level: 7

Primordialis' Skills: 4/4

Mother of All (Permanent skill. Locked.) : Level 2

Authority: 6

Concealment: 12

Illusion: 5

Prim’s Mother of All skill was by far the lowest, but the levels she had from the rest of her skills, especially her Concealment which had near constant practice since she hatched, had pushed up her overall level to 7.

Lastly, Alice looked at herself.

Alice Turner

Age: 19

Hidden Class: She of Many Dragons

Visible Class: Merchant Apprentice

Level: 5

Rank: 1

Aspects: 3/4

Three out of four aspects?

Alice quickly went back through her dismissed notifications and found something interesting.

For reaching Level 5, you have opened the ability to create sub-aspects. Going forward, you will be granted 1 sub-aspect token every odd level. A regular aspect token may be exchanged for two sub-aspects at any time.

“Sub-aspects,” Alice repeated. “What are sub-aspects?”

“They are helpers to your regular aspects. To us,” Prim clarified. “Think of us as team leaders. The sub-aspects would be our assistants.”

“So, Numi could have someone assist her with mathematics?” Alice proposed, half joking.

“Yes, or when you someday have so many dragons that I cannot manage them all, I will someday need help,” Prim stated, rather… primly.

Alice blinked, dumbfounded. “Oh. How many dragons do you think I'll end up with?”

“You are She of Many Dragons. As many as there are stars in the sky.”