Stepping through the door, I entered what seemed to be a preparation room. It was tiled, with long tables laden with tools and knives along the wall. There were hooks hanging from the ceiling, and a visible drain set into the middle of the room. The room had two other doors in it, other than the one we had entered into, one regular wooden door on the far wall, and one large metal one on the left-hand side.

Azarus had his arms crossed as he looked around the room. He seemed like he was looking for something.

“Ahem,” I heard from behind me. “If I could…?”

Turning around, I saw that Vandimar was standing politely behind me. “Ah,” I said, realizing. I moved out of the way of the door to let him through.

Smiling at me, Vandimar said. “Thank you, my friend.” Having said that, he moved into the room before turning around and addressing Rachel who was staring at us through the door. “We won’t require your services for this, my dear. Simply call for me if you need assistance while I’m conducting my business with Lord Azarus and his associate. We’ll continue your training when I’m done.”

Over the top of him, I could see Rachel silently nod her head.

I guess she only felt like being chatty with me.

Nodding back at her, Vandimar shut the door behind him. Turning back around, he clapped his hands together. “So! On to business!” He said, smiling again. “Lord Azarus says that you need to learn Fleshcrafting? Well, I just so happen to employ a butcher of some skill!”

“Don’t see him,” Azarus grunted, off to my side.

I started, not having heard him move closer to me. I shot him a side glance, still seeing that he had his arms crossed. Turning back to Van, I started to address him before remembering what Azarus had said earlier. “Ah, ‘Master’ Vandimar,” I said, cringing internally. “You-”

Vandimar interrupted me, chuckling and waving his hand. “Oh, you can dispense with all of that. I don’t agree with the practice of modern Luminaran slavery.”

Raising both eyebrows, I turned to Azarus. Seeing me looking at him, he nodded back silently.

Turning back to Vandimar, I said to him. “Alright, so you said you employ this person? Is the butcher a dwarf? Is it going to be a problem for them to teach me the Profession?”

Vandimar shook his head. “No, I’m afraid that they too are a human slave. I very much doubt that he’ll have a problem with teaching, considering his proclivities.” He said, moving past us further into the room. “I say that I employ them, because I pay them a wage. You see, while slaves cannot legally accrue capital and pay to free themselves, nothing is stopping a supportive employer from setting aside a wage for them so they can be freed.”

I crossed my arms. “What’s stopping you from just freeing Rachel and this butcher right now? Azarus told me you’re the nephew of the Seneschal, don’t you have the money to do it now?”

Turning back to me, Vandimar had a surprised look on his face. “Is that the impression you had of me? If so, thank you for the compliment.” He said, fanning his face dramatically. “But sadly, no. While dear Uncle Orin might be the current Seneschal for Lord Magnus, my family isn’t terribly wealthy. We’re gentry, after all, not true nobles. My employees are still slaves legally owned by Lord Magnus and thus loaned to me. I set enough aside in the hope that if I present enough to him, he will release them from their servitude.”

Azarus scoffed. “Fat chance of that.”

“Well, hope springs eternal,” Vandimar said to him, smiling forlornly. “It’s all I can do. If I’m successful, perhaps I can repeat the process. Despite not being a social equal to Lord Magnus, he doesn’t dare dismiss me from his service. He relies on Uncle Orin for all things. Why, I even wonder if his household could function at all without him. He would have to assign me new slaves in order for the town’s only butcher shop to continue functioning. Speaking of!” He clapped again. “Bleddyn! Are you around?”

Off to my side, I heard noises coming behind the large metal door set on the left wall. Turning to it, I watched as someone on the other side tried to open it. It seemed to get stuck though.

“Damn thing.” I heard someone on the other side of the door mutter through the crack between the door and the frame. With a grunt of effort, the door was fully opened. Striding out of the now-open doorway was another human, a man this time. He was tall, over six feet at the very least, with thick shaggy hair, pitch black in color. Piercing blue eyes were set into a handsome, square-jawed face adorned with a closely cropped beard, as dark as his hair. He was heavily muscled, with scars visible across his mostly bared chest, only blocked by the heavily stained butcher’s apron that he was wearing.

Christ, this guy was so good-looking that if I hadn’t heard Vandimar call him ‘Bleddyn’, I would have wondered if his name was Chad. He looked like he had walked right off of the cover of a bodice-ripper novel aimed at lonely housewives.

Vandimar beamed at him. “There you are, my friend! I was wondering where you had wandered off to!”

Picking up a rag from a nearby bench, the man addressed Vandimar while letting his eyes drift over me and Azarus. “I told you that we needed to get the door to the locker replaced, Van. The damned thing is too warped to fit the frame, it’s going to cause the meat to spoil.” He said, wiping his hand clean on the rag.

Vandimar cringed slightly. “Ah,” He said nervously. “I would, but…”

Sighing, the man dropped the rag back on the bench and crossed his arms. “Just take the cost for the replacement out of my ‘pay’. Not a big deal, not at this point.”

I crossed my arms in puzzlement. There it was again, another new accent. This time, this Bleddyn guy sounded like he had a slight Irish accent. Wasn’t this supposed to be an entirely new planet? How the hell did so many people have accents that sounded like they were from Earth?

Catching the movement, the man addressed me. “We have a problem, friend?” He said flatly.

Dropping my arms and raising my palms to face him, I said to him. “Nope. No problem. Just thought you sounded familiar, is all.”

“Hmm.” He said, noncommittedly. Turning to Azarus, he nodded at him. “Azarus. Been awhile.”

Azarus nodded back at him. “Bleddyn. Heard about Danny. Sorry to hear about that.”

The man lowered his head. “Yeah. Ain’t we all.” Raising it back up, he addressed all of us. “So, what’s this about?”

I looked at Azarus. He looked at me. We both looked at Vandimar.

Vandimar cleared his throat. “Ah, well. Lord Azarus has brought his new associate here,” He gestured to me. “Here to you. He’s expressed interest in learning Fleshcrafting.”

The man, Bleddyn, sized up Azarus. “'Associate’, huh.” He said, unimpressed. “Didn’t think you were the type.”

Azarus stared back at him unflinchingly. “S’complicated. Normally wouldn’t, but he was Unawoken when he was brought in. Magnus would have probably thrown him to the dogs. Just trying to do right by him now.”

Bleddyn relaxed slightly. “Yeah, okay. I get it.” He turned a curious eye my way. “Unawoken, huh. How’d that happen?”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

I fidgeted awkwardly. I was reminded again about how we hadn’t settled on a cover story.

Fuck it, I’ll do it myself.

I straightened up and opened my mouth to answer him, but Azarus beat me to it.

“He’s from one of those isolated villages from beyond the northern mountains.” He said bluntly. “Ventured south, and got caught up in an elven raid. Never heard of the System before in his life. Ain’t that right?” Azarus finished, turning an eye on me.

So did everyone else’s in the room.

I felt my own twitch slightly. “Yeah, sure. Sounds about right.”

“Alright,” Bleddyn said, nonplussed. “So, you want to learn Fleshcraftin’? Why?”

This, at least, I had a good reason for. Grey and I’d had a small conversation last night before bed about Fleshcrafting and its options, and I’d made up my mind to actually try and choose which specialization I received.

“Looking to learn Surgery,” I answered him. “Healing is a highly respected role in my, uh, village. I always wished I had gone for it when I was younger, but I never had the chance. There was always, uh, someone I wished I could have helped.”

Bleddyn and Vandimar exchanged a glance before looking back at me. Bleddyn raised an eyebrow. “Surgery, huh.” He said thoughtfully. “Not a bad path.”

“Are you fine with this, my friend?” Vandimar asked Bleddyn worriedly.

Azarus raised an eyebrow. “What’s to be fine with? Just asking him to teach a Profession. Not asking him to bleeding marry the man.”

Bleddyn ignored him. “We didn’t get introduced.” He said before walking over to me and stretching out a hand. “Names Bleddyn, of Clan Thunderheart.”

I took his hand and shook it. “Nathan Hart, of, uh, nowhere in particular.”

Couldn’t exactly tell him I was from Texas.

“Right,” He said, unfazed. “I’ll do it. But you have to understand a few things. First, I’m not a Butcher.”

I raised an eyebrow and glanced around the room with all the butchering equipment in it that we were standing in.

He waved a hand irritatingly. “This is just the only place that bastard Magnus-” I could see Vandimar wince slightly out of the corner of my eye. “Was willing to stick me. See, I’m actually a Barber.”

“So…you cut hair?” I asked him, confused.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Barbers where you’re from only do hair? Whatever, doesn’t matter. A proper Barber doesn’t only do hair, they care for teeth and do some surgery as well. Barbery is related to Surgery, after all. It’s an all-rounder version combination Profession of the more specialized Surgeon, Dentist, and Stylist.”

“It’s useful in more isolated towns and villages that don’t have access to big city Professions,” Azarus remarked. “Didn’t know you weren’t a Butcher. Why’d Magnus stick you here?”

“Not like you asked. Who expects a Barber to be doing Butcher’s work?” Bleddyn answered. “And like I said, this is the only place he was willing to put me. Too paranoid to let a slave Barber do any work near him. After all, a Barber does a lot of blade work close to some very important bits. Doesn’t trust a slave not to slit some throats.”

“Aye.” Azarus nodded. “That sounds like Magnus. Would ya have done it?”

Bleddyn shrugged. “Hells, I don’t know. Maybe? Can’t say I’m too happy about being a slave.” He paused. “I’d ‘ve done Magnus though. In a damn heartbeat.”

Vandimar shuddered and wiped his brow. “Can we please stop talking about the murder of the legal Lord of this town? You know how he is.”

“Alright, alright,” Bleddyn held up his hands. “But like I said, he didn’t want me practicin’ Barbery, so he stuck me in a Butcher shop. Accordin’ to him, it’s all meat in the end. Secondly.” He paused and then continued slowly. “Secondly, if I teach you this Profession, you have to understand a few things. Among my people, teaching someone a Profession isn’t as casual as it is among you low-landers. If we teach a Profession, we have a responsibility to them. You don’t always have to enter into a master-apprentice relationship, but you have to at least show them the ropes. If you’re anglin’ for Surgeon, I figure I have a few things I can show you. If you’re not willing to accept some teachin’, I can’t help you.”

Azarus crossed his arms. “So, you’d want him to come back from time to time, huh?”

“That’s right,” Bleddyn said, not taking his eyes off of me.

I looked between the both of them. “One sec,” I told Bleddyn. Afterward, I walked over to Azarus and jerked my head in the direction of a corner away from Bleddyn and Vandimar. Azarus nodded at me and we walked over there. Leaning in, I spoke in a whisper. “Is that fine? You know, considering everything?”

“Should be,” Azarus whispered back. “It’s not uncommon for slaves to run errands for their masters. Anyone asks, we could just say you were coming down to the shop to get me some meat.”

Straightening back up, I turned back around and walked over to Bleddyn.

“Alright?” He asked curiously.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” I nodded. “I’m willing to accept those terms. I could use a little coaching.”

“Gotcha. Remember, if you want Surgery, you have to concentrate on it during the acceptance. Just keep it at the front of your mind, yeah?” Bleddyn said to me before stretching out his right hand for me. “Do you wish to learn Fleshcrafting?”

I scrunched up my face in concentration, trying to think about how much I wanted Surgery. Still concentrating, I took his right hand in my own. I looked him in the eye. “I do.”

This one’s for you, Dad.

Between our palms, I felt that small electric tingle again.

Letting go of his hand, I nodded at him. “Think it worked? I felt a small shock.” I said, playing dumb. Can’t exactly tell him I’d done this four times already.

Bleddyn smiled at me. “Aye, if you felt that, then it worked just fine. Don’t have a handy mirror on me right now to check it out-”

“Oh!” Vandimar interjected. “I do, in fact! I grabbed one once Lord Azarus told me the reason for his visit. Please, feel free to use it.” Having said that, he scurried over to my side. Looking down, I could see him digging out a small handheld mirror that he had hidden in a pocket. Once he got it out, he handed it to me.

“Thanks,” I said to him.

He beamed back at me. “You’re very welcome!”

Bringing the small mirror up to face level, I looked into it and mentally opened my Status.

You have learned Fleshcrafting! You have learned Surgery! Would you like to review your Professions? Y/N

Mentally selecting Yes, my Professions page opened up on the mirror. Sure enough, a fifth circle had been filled in at a point on the star, this time with a small scalpel symbol. The symbol in the center of the heptagram in the center of the star was still blurry, however. The only thing that had changed about it though was that the blue-white glow around it was maybe a little stronger? Maybe.

Closing my status, I looked back up at Bleddyn and smiled slightly at him. “Yeah, it worked. Managed to get Surgery, too. Glad I didn’t mess that up.”

“Good.” He said, nodding firmly. “Now we just need to get you out here every once in a while for some lessons.” Moving his head in the direction of Azarus, he spoke to him. “Have an idea when that could be?”

Azarus shoved off the wall that he had started leaning on during our conversation. “Hmm.” He murmured. “Might be a bit. Got plans for the next few weeks. I’m heading out of town soon. Taking him with me.”

“Oh! Is it time for your monthly trip to Rhoscara, my lord?” Vandimar said excitedly. “Do you mind…?”

Azarus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll get you your pipeweed, as usual.”

“Thank you, my lord. I do appreciate you indulging me on this.” Vandimar said, bowing slightly.

Bleddyn wrinkled his nose. “Disgustin’ habit. Can’t stand the smell.”

“My friend, I don’t smoke for the smell, of all things.” Vandimar smiled at him.

Azarus coughed into his fist. “Well, that’s all we needed. We’re heading out, yeah?” He said, looking over at me.

I nodded, having no particular reason to stay.

“Ah, I do have a gift for you, now that I think about it,” Vandimar said to Azarus. He hurried over to the large metal door that Bleddyn had come out of earlier and started to tug on it, ineffectually. After a few moments, he looked back over his shoulder at Bleddyn. “Perhaps a little help?”

Rolling his eyes, Bleddyn walked over and yanked the door open enough for Vandimar to enter. Vandimar hurried through the crack. We could hear some rummaging around sounds, and then he came back out carrying a package bound in a waxy cloth tied with twine.

“We recently came into a fine heifer bound for Lord Magnus’s dinner table. We kept a few choice slices for ourselves though, and I thought you might like some nice steaks, Lord Azarus.” Vandimar said, beaming. He handed the package to Azarus.

“Well, don’t mind if I do.” Azarus accepted the package happily. He nodded to him and then Bleddyn. “Time for us to head out, I think.” He said, before heading to the door we’d entered from and opening it. “’scuse me.” I heard, beyond the door.

I looked back over at Vandimar and Bleddyn. “Thanks,” I told them. “I guess I’ll see you later.” Seeing Vandimar smile at me, and Bleddyn nod I hurried out after Azarus. Entering back into the shop I could see Azarus waiting for me at the door, and Rachel looking at me curiously.

“See you later, too,” I said to her as I passed her. I saw her blink at that.

Azarus opened the door, and we both stepped through it back into town.

Two more Professions left, then.