Sara stared at Kaden as though he’d grown another third eye. As though she’d need to call Eve to have it healed after it was torn out. As though she’d have to explain that gaining additional eyes was not something normal and that if he found a random eyeball on the street, touching it to his head was a bad idea.

That had not happened recently, but that was how Sara stared, so Kaden offered just a tad more explanation. “If you’re on the enemy list for a group of allied businesses, you’re automatically a ‘friend.’ The enemy of my enemy is…”

“A weakened target who should be taken out for XP while they’re still weak,” Sara answered. “But there is merit in the idea. If I approach this as a negotiation rather than a tourist route?” She began to plot.

Outside, lightning struck and clouds of black ash blasted through the streets. The citizens of Omnor not only didn’t seem to mind, they were amused, standing by the doors and pointing, laughing as a street vending cart and the vendor who owned it blasted past.

“Someone’s going to help them, right?” Kaden asked.

“You want to go out in that?” A man near the door pointed as the ash winds began to remove the man’s skin. “No one goes out or the Ash gets in. No one.”

Sara’s hand on Kaden’s shoulder pulled him away. “We don’t have Eve and we have a specific mission. You might survive, but we’d be days behind when there isn’t time.”

Kaden didn’t like it. He stood at another window, watching lightning arc between swirls of ash. Then someting white and bulbous landed in the street, and another, and another. They thumped against the walls and flopped into the streets, moving feebly.

[Blightling]

Blightlings are mobile, sentient portions of the Blight. They arent’ so much armored as amorphous. There’s no such thing as a critical hit on one because there’s nothing critical. Smash their head, they ooze a new one. Where is their brain? Your guess is as good as any other. Intensely vulnerable to fire, these Blightlings picked a bad day to try and wipe out all other forms of life.

Level: 27

HP: 9,000

Mana: 0

Skills: Blight Touch

Talents: Amorphous, Dense

“Blightlings,” Sara said. “The ash clouds near the roof have damaged them, now the winds finish the job.”

Kaden found it fascinating. The Blightlings didn’t bleed as the ash-winds stripped them, they dwindled to spindly skeletal shapes that then melted away.

After another thirty minutes, trumpets shook the city, and guards unlocked the doors everywhere.

“If you’re ok with taking a minor risk, I think we should go here.” Sara pointed to a shop four streets over, every street a separate zone. “None of these are strong enough to directly threaten us. If we keep moving and stick to the crowds they’ll probably let us pass. And this place. Dekut recommended it.”

Kaden looked closer. “Trade-Right?”

“It sells cast off items. Loot from cursed individuals. Spellbooks with unreliable spells. Weapons that don’t work quite right. But the owners deal in trades. How much loot do you have?”

Kaden believed in coming prepared. Prepared to take other people’s loot, usually. “Wand of seasons. A couple of swords, some charms I got from the men who attacked us. You?”

“A Noctomancy spell book and the world’s worst dagger.” Sara showed him.

The difference, of course, between mages and everyone else was their ability to use any spell in their spellbook, where Kaden could only learn spell skills he met the requirements for. In theory a level one mage could use a Centurion class spell, though in reality they wouldn’t have the mana or the durability to survive casting.

“Can we make it there before Ashfall?”

“I’d rather not try. I’ve been around you long enough to know that whatever I plan, there will be a disaster. Let’s get dinner, shop at businesses allied with the Emporium, and show how we’re really not worth paying attention to.”

“Now that’s what I call a plan.” He let Sara choose the dinner, let her lead the way through a parade of stores and marts and bazaars, and focused instead on being aware of the crowd. On who was watching them, if anyone, and who he’d seen more than once. What could or could not be coincidence.

As they sat eating stir-fried mushroom steaks the size of a dinner plate with crisp beetles sprinkled over the top, Kaden switched to mind speech. *The woman on the right has been following us for an hour.*

*I saw her ten minutes ago. Is she a Demon?*

Kaden’s Demon Sight didn’t show any kind of glow. *Not a demon. I’d bet on Emporium Security. Should I ask?*

Sara gave a quick shake of her head. *There’s at least one [Stealthed] person as well. The Horror keeps looking back to my left, and there’s no one visible. Its hunger is not easily fooled.*

That made a ton of sense. Given how badly the direct approach had gone Kaden fully expected a change of tactics. And if all the Emporium wanted to do was protect its area, he could accept that.

After their meal, Sara chose a new tactic. She returned to the Emporium, and took them to the fifth floor, which was covered with magical cloaks, pants, leather armor, boots, gloves, and even beast-headed hoods, which Kaden loved but Sara detested.

*What are we doing here?*

Sara ignored his question as she moved through section after section, trying on outfits and never buying. *This area has one entrance and one exit. Our stealthed friend can’t teleport and they joined us a few minutes ago. Go right when I go left.*

Sara handed back the outfit, asking the Crafter for a set of fabrics that were both light and heavy, would support her bust without choking her to death, would keep her warm and yet breath, and most importantly, the pants had to come with pockets.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Deep pockets.

With every condition the Crafter grew more interested. “Check our water wear. It’s much of what you ask.”

Sara turned right to head around the floor.

Kaden turned left and began to mirror Sara’s movements.

*Stay right there. They’re in the corner.* Sara came his way, while Kaden made himself difficult to squeeze past, and focused on all the little things that would harm [Stealth]. The slightest sway of a clothing rack. A smell that was damp leather in a section of dyed cloth.

“Find anything?” He asked as Sara came from the far side and stepped into the corner section.

“I think I did.” Sara said, speakling loudly. “But I’m worried. We were being followed earlier and I don’t know where they went. If we’re attacked again, we have to be ready. How fast could Trinity murder someone if it turns out it’s not just Emporium security?”

“Three heads. One target. And her blind head isn’t fooled by stealth. Let me put it this way. What happened earlier was gentle and slow compared to what she’s capable of. Should I summon her?”

Sara glanced around, obviously looking anywhere but the corner. “Not yet. We don’t know that they’re hostile. But if they are? Make sure every death is a final one.”

“She wouldn’t have it any other way.” Kaden smiled as a set of leather armor swayed slightly near the corner. *Say when. I’ll go left, you go right.*

*I want a very specific message sent and received. If they were going to attack, it would have happened a moment ago.* Sara nodded toward the portal.

Together they headed that way, but as Sara stepped through, she dropped one of her crawling Horrors, a grub-like creature that didn’t crawl much. Or fast. The best way to get a crawling horror anywhere was to carry it there, or maybe kick it.

Kadens stepped over and out onto the ground floor. Emir Cook sat in a chair that overlooked the ground floor. Kaden waved frantically until the man grimiced. “That’s Emir Cook,” he said quietly to one of the guards. “He’s my friend. He said if I had a problem, he’d deal with it directly, and immediately.”

“I said if you were a problem,” he shouted from across the room.

“See? I knew he liked me!” Kaden spoke to Sara, but loudly enough that everyone, everywhere heard.

Once they hit the street, Sara elbowed him. “Will you stop antagonizing him? What was the point?”

“He was listening. From across the room, in a busy business, he knew what I said. He’s either got a hearing skill, or some kind of—”

“Bug.” Sara said it definitively. “There’s a type of beetle. You put one from the swarm in your ear. Anything the other beetles hear, you will, too. The whole Emporium is probably beetled for surveilance.”

Professor Treadle had never mentioned any such creature. Kaden had to know. He spun on his heel, stalking back into the emporium. “I’m looking for sweet snacks. Or salty snacks. Or maybe some sweet and some salty. You know how it is? You eat something salty—”

“There.” The Guard pointed.

Kaden walked slowly, talking to himself. “Look at me, I’m Emir Cook. He’s a bastard. He’s a complete dick. He’s a mulick-brain.”

“You!” Emir shouted. “Call me a dick, will you?”

Feigning surprise and fear was easy. “I didn’t say that.”

Cook’s glare said he didn’t buy it. And that he was enjoying the feeling of power.

Kaden was enjoying the power of knowledge. He’d been right beside a display rack filled with different knives. “Can I get someone to help here?”

After a few moments, an employee joined him, and Kaden pointed to an ornate blade covered in gems and runework. “Is it forward balanced or side balanced?”

The employee squatted to look, and Kaden joined him, not caring in the slightest about a terrible knife that probably had never gutted a demon. But the view, that he cared about. Under the midle rack, a glistening green beetle the size of Kaden’s thumb sat. Kaden casually brushed it.

You have tamed a Beast (Echo Beetle).

Kaden stood and waited until the employee pulled the knife out and tested it. Forward, backward, he couldn’t tell. “Feels heavy to the right, doesn’t it?”

“It does!” The employee wasn’t about to disagree. In matters of bad weapons choices, the customer was always right.

“Kaden, we already shopped here. We already made a purchase. I specifically said not to aggravate Emir Cook.” Sara didn’t sound like she was playing along. Or like she was acting for Emir, who was watching the argument with interest.

After two more passes—and three beetles—Kaden was done. He bought a tin of candy and a small child’s kazoo, which buzzed when someone hummed in it. “I was looking for another knife.”

The moment he left, Kaden began to smile. “Come on, let’s get back to our room.” *Don’t say a thing.*

He didn’t speak until he sat on the edge of the bed on the second story and dumped the candy into Inventory. With nothing but a command, he willed the three beetles he’d tamed to fly into the tin, where he clamped it shut. “There. That’ll muffle anything we say. These will be handy if we need to listen in.”

Sara muttered something under her breath that was possibly ‘Kaden Birch is a genius and I love everything he does.’ The possibility was very small but it was still there. “How do you plan to convince the dangerous man you stole them from to release those three?”

Kaden took out the kazoo and began to hum, directing the sound at the metal tin.

Warning: You do not possess any form of musical talent.

That was precisely what Kaden was hoping for as he composed what he would argue was the Greatest Tune Ever Hummed to Three Green Beetles Held Captive in a Candy Tin. There wasn’t a great deal of competition in the category and that gave Kaden confidence in his assessment.

After only seven minutes and four stunning fingernail-scraping solos, Kaden was hit by a series of notifications.

Beetle #4443821 has been evicted from the Swarm.

Beetle #4490172 has been evicted from the Swarm.

Beetle #4553699 has been evicted from the Swarm.

Form new Swarm? [Y/N]

Kaden selected yes, and put a beetle in his ear. It wiggled and positioned itself and generally made him want to fidget like a beetle was stuck in his ear. “Ok, say something and see if I can hear it.”

“Eve is right.” Sara stood up. “Of course you can hear it, you’re in the same room. What exactly was that?”

“I swear before the system, that was the Greatest Tune Ever Hummed to Three Green Beetles Held Captive in a Candy Tin.” Kaden gave a small bow.

Your oath has been heard and evaluated.

Your current ranking in category ‘Greatest Tune Ever Hummed to Three Green Beetles Held Captive in a Candy Tin’ is [3] out of [3] such performances.

Sara took the tin and walked downstairs. “Ms. Anderson, what would you say if someone—someone named Kaden Birch—provoked the head of security at the Emporium, tamed three security beetles and generally speaking made a nuisance of himself?”

“I’d say he’s looking to die,” she answered, clear as day.

“No deaths allowed. If he’s dead when Trella is resurrected, she’ll slap him so hard his chrono mana will resonate six years from now. Thank you.”

“Ashfall starts soon. If you’ve never seen it, I’m told it’s beautiful. The eruption is different every night, and so are the burning [Blightlings]. Your window should give a good view, dear. Also, the Blight sucks up energy, including heat. It’s going to get very cold after the erruption.”

A moment later, Sara thudded up the stairs, holding a tin. “Well?”

“Trella loves all my ideas,” Kaden said. “And she won’t slap me. She’ll kiss me.”

“Please, tomorrow, behave. I actually understand this city. It’s like a thousand business relationships and thousands of contracts, all reliant on each other. I could live here. I could carve out an empire here.” Sara’s voice took on a wistful tone.

“No sky. Ash storms. Constantly needing to maintain your power. Would you really?”

“I could.” Sara looked back at him. “I could. I don’t know that I want to, but I could.”

Kaden couldn’t imagine it. “I need the sun. I need the wind.”

“I need that and more. I want…” Sara’s voice trailed off bright orange light burst through the window.

Kaden tossed the beetle in the tin with its friends and joined her. The sky was lit with veins of orange as molten rock pumped up from a central mountain like blood through veins. At intervals, gouts of flame began bursting from the veins, making the sky bright like noon day sun. Blightlings burst into flame, falling like meteors, flaming, moving rain that lit the entire city.

It wasn’t blue sky or wind, but it was magnificent. Over and over, the sky arced orange. Then specks of black began to fall like snow, thicker and thicker, blocking out the glow. It hissed as it struck the window and glowed orange before fading like embers.

“Beautiful.” Sara said with awestruck wonder.

Her Horror’s pseudods whipped back and forth, drinking in the wonder and dreaming, probably, of devouring everything. The orange glow, the falling ash, the houses, stone, and earth. It was all beautifully delicious.

Kaden was not dreaming of devouring everything. He was thinking of a single person. “I’ll be back later. I’m going to go pick up a resistance or two. See you soon!”

“Please don’t.” Sara said. “That was a memory I’ll keep with me all my life. I’d rather not pair it with you stumbling in, your skin charred, bragging about how you got two levels in [Resist Ash]. Stay?”

He took her hand. “Stay.”