"So you've come, brute," the witch spoke.

"Names first. I'm Blake, adventurer, not brute. This is Riley, my, uh... Slave."

For appearances.

"Very well. I'm Sophia, witch-druid of Pale Brook. You come here to negotiate, yes?"

"I don't like to negotiate with criminals," Blake said. "But you haven't really left me with a choice."

Blake looked down. Nash was tied to a chair below her, fast asleep, as though he was drugged or had a spell cast on him. There was a set of boxes in the corner, presumably their stuff.

"Criminal, huh. Is that how all slave-owners see it when their 'belongings' slip from their grasp?" Sophia said.

"Hey, I'm not in this situation because I wanted to be. It just kind of happened."

"I looked into you. You caused quite a ruckus in White Oasis, you know. Managed to overthrow the cartel that ran the town for the past five years and even clawed their prize slave from their hands. But you cared not to clean up any of the damage you did. Nor did you care to set the slave boy free. Despite being no demihuman. It seems greed is a powerful motivator, even for individuals."

"Oh, so you're with them."

"Hm? My associations matter not. Only that you're below me."

"I mean, physically, yeah, since you're floating. But at least I don't look down on demihumans like you seem to."

Riley nodded.

"Enough. Transfer ownership of this boy to me and I will return your rightful belongings. If not... I'll have to kill you to force the transfer. I am leaving with the boy. That is non-negotiable."

"You sure are a piece of work. Why bother taking our stuff if you're just going to kill us?"

"My, you say it like it's a foregone conclusion that you're only interested in the boy. Is he worth so much more to you than your belongings?"

"You can't put a price on human life. I don't want him to slip into the hands of crime again. Like I said, I don't like to negotiate with criminals."

"That word again... This is going nowhere. Heed this final warning. Step forward and transfer the contract of your own will now or die."

"No thanks," Blake said.

"Very well," Sophia said, descending and stepping down from her broomstick. Now that she wasn't overshadowed by the clock face, more about her was clear. She had wavy, mid-length platinum-blonde hair, and she was clearly in the same age bracket as Blake. Far, far more developed than Riley, especially in the chest.

"You'll regret your decisions soon enough, drunkard," she said.

She then span her broom in the air, morphing it into a staff, complete with green leaves growing out the end.

Riley unfurled her cloak and readied her fists in preparation

Blake drew his sword. "If you say so, witch."

"Arcane Wind!" Sophia shouted.

A spell was cast, and a whirlwind the size of a chair seat flew at Blake's head.

He ducked. It flew past, but not without pulling off some of his already-very-short hair. "Jesus Christ!" This was going to be dangerous. He had no idea what he was up against. "Riley, if I miss something, pull me out of the way!"

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"Got it!"

"I don't want to kill you, you know. You could just transfer the contract. Any time is good!" Sophia said, still casting magic at them. "Divine Wind!"

A basketball-sized driver of compressed air blasted Blake in the stomach. He coughed up blood.

"Buh...! Damn it, what the hell!"

Wait, he thought. She must be specialized in wind. That's why she can fly, she made a pad of immobile air or something. And that's why all her magic so far is just wind. What can I do about wind! Think, damn it! Think or you're going to die!

"Furious Gale!"

A wall of compressed air fell from the ceiling, almost crushing Blake into the floor. It wouldn't have killed him, but he would've been fucked. Thankfully, Riley pulled him back out of the way before it landed.

"Thanks."

"Yeah!" she said.

The whole while, everyone avoided going near Nash or putting him in the line of fire, even tactically.

Sophia clicked her tongue in disappointment. She paused to reassess her strategy.

Blake and Riley took the opportunity to charge. Not for any good reason. They couldn't let Sophia keep controlling the situation. Sophia gasped and jumped back to the other corner of the room, keeping her distance, and readied her staff again.

Ah. So that's it.

Blake whispered to Riley. "Listen. I'm going to keep charging. Go the other way."

Riley nodded and dashed left. Blake ran right. They were fast approaching.

"Binds of the Sky-Father!"

Riley's mouth swung open. "What?" she shouted.

Blake suddenly found himself with his limbs trapped in rings of immobile air. So did Riley.

"Damn it!" Blake said. He was so stupid. Of course she could do this. It was the same principle as how she must be flying! Knowing she was avoiding her own magic wasn't enough.

"Good job noticing, but not a good enough strategy. You underestimated me," she said, walking towards him.

This was bad.

She put her hand on her hip and tilted her head in a smug way.

"So, what's it going to be? I could kill you right now. You're in the palm of my hands, a worm squirming in the bird's beak. But if you give me the boy, I'll let you go."

"Why the hell do you want that boy so much that you'd kill an innocent man? You're a monster!" Riley said.

"Oh, don't call me that. I have a good reason. It just doesn't matter to a drunkard like him."

"What the hell do you take me for, anyway? I've got not idea what's going on with this world. I never wanted any this!" Blake said.

"What are you playing dumb for? You're about to die, you know?" Sophia said.

Anything Blake could say was meaningless to her. Nothing but the empty gab of a desperate beer-loving pennypincher. She'd seen it countless times before.

Riley shouted again. "You're not making any sense! We have no idea who you are! You took our stuff and just like that, you're treating us like criminals!"

Sophia turned to face Riley, shocked.

"Why are you standing up for a slave-owner like this man? What do you have to gain from it? You're not making any sense. Why slaves like you always get like this is beyond me..."

Blake steeled himself. Sophia's back was turned. It was now or never. He flexed his muscles, trying to force the solid air binds around him to break. It was hard. Really hard. Harder than any rope or handcuffs he'd ever slipped out of.

But he was going to do it. Full stop.

Bind Breaker!

Snap.

Sophia turned back, but it was too late. Blake had already lunged at her, sword headed straight for her neck.

Oh no. I'm dead, she thought.

Shlunk.

Her body was backside-down on the floor. Her staff was across the room. And Blake's sword was firmly pressed in place—right next to her neck.

"It's over," Blake said, his knee on her stomach.

"Heh..."

"What's so funny?"

"It seems neither of us want to kill. Alright. It's my loss."

Blake smacked her arm, and then came the sound of her staff falling back down onto the floor again, still across the room.

"No trickery."

She clicked her tongue. Distracting him like that wasn't going to work.

"Why would you work with those freaks if you're this good?" Blake said. "You're incredible. You could be an ace adventurer no questions asked. So why?"

"What freaks? I work for nobody. I can't stand being told what to do, least of all by people whose values I hate."

"Well, whatever your deal is, we're taking Nash back. Don't come again. Riley, grab her staff. She can't use magic without it."

"No..." Sophia said, in a terrified whimper.

Riley's bonds had long since expired. "Got it!"

"So this is it, huh," Sophia said.

Blake saw genuine depression in her face. But he wasn't interested in trying to empathize with her. Not after all of this.

He stood up and got his footing again, putting away his sword. Sophia didn't move. She just stared at the ceiling with an empty face. Okay, one way or another, he was safe.

He cut Nash's bonds. Still fast asleep.

"Riley."

"Got him," she said, slinging him over her shoulder.

Blake nodded. Now he just had to carry the boxes of their stuff back to the inn, with Riley carrying Nash in tow.

So they did.

He should've carried Nash instead. Boxes are heavy.