The scent of old hardwood was strong in the windowless bedroom. The room was pitch black until Eem excitedly lit a candle on a nightstand. The light revealed furniture; there was a mostly empty bookshelf, holding a few books. There were chests and containers and a straw bed. A carpet had been placed over the hidden trapdoor.

“Is this your room?” Vivi asked quietly.

Eem shook her head. “Aann,” she said.

“Aann?” Vivi asked. “This is Aann’s room?”

“Aann-n,” Eem said, nodding.

Eem looked comfortable as she lit another candle. She treated the room like home. Vivi stood nervously, not touching anything. This Aann wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and they probably weren’t expecting visitors. Vivi glanced at the books. One of them was titled, “The Legend of Ronaleus Reynol: Poems for Children.”

“Where are we?” Vivi asked.

“We’re back on the fourth level,” Lucius said. “I think we’re still inside Zand. I can sense the dungeon nearby. I think this is the apartment district Uundref mentioned.”

“I see,” Vivi said. “Thank you, Eem.”

Vivi patted the fiend on the head, feeling the little horns beneath Eem’s hair. Eem smiled excitedly.

Do you think we’re strong enough to survive an attack from the blue cloaks now? Vivi asked in her head.

“We’d need to seriously screw up to die to nimrods,” Lucius said. “We’re far stronger than Carla now. I’d even say we could defeat a guard or two. Our next problem lies within the Stewards. Uundref is stronger than us.”

Yes… Vivi thought. We can’t forget that we’re seriously breaking rules right now. The Stewards can’t find out about our ether count.

“That means no using ether while we’re in public,” Lucius said. “I’ll hide my presence as best I can. Only use my powers if you absolutely need me.”

Vivi nodded. We will probably need a way to transfer ether without revealing you. Ether containers, perhaps?

“I saw containers being sold at the hub,” Lucius said. “But we can’t buy them without revealing my powers.”

That’s a problem. Vivi continued patting Eem in the head. The fiend seemed to really like scratches in the right spots.

Suddenly, Vivi got an idea. “Eem? Could you help us out with a purchase?”

Eem’s ears perked up. She was listening.

“Lucius will give you some ether,” Vivi said. “I need you to offer that ether to a shop vendor when I tell you to. We’re going to buy some fun stuff. Does that work with you?”

Eem looked excited. She gave three quick nods.

“What?” Lucius gushed. “You want me to give ether to her?”

Give her fifty, Vivi thought. That should be enough to buy a few containers.

Lucius was about to argue something, when Vivi continued, Eem has proved herself to be trustworthy, has she not?

“Fine,” Lucius said. He transferred fifty ether for Eem.

Vivi stood up. “I will warn you, Eem. People hunt after me. Once we show our faces in the hub, we’ll probably be watched and examined. We’ll need to shake off those who are after us. But I know you’re good at that. Can you help me escape back into the dungeon when we’re ready?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Mm, mm!” Eem said.

“Good. Get on my back. Let’s go craft some swords,” Vivi said.

Before opening the door, Vivi placed her ear on the keyhole and listened. She heard nothing, so she calmly pushed open the creaky door. Light shone in from outside.

Vivi peeked her head out, finding a long straight hallway lined with numbered doors. The room Vivi was in was marked with the number 5. To her left was a stairway up. To her right, at the end of the hall, were double doors. Vivi guessed they led outside. She walked up to them and opened the doors.

Zand’s musty air welcomed her back to the facility. A uniformed guardsman stood right outside the double doors. He was a shorter man with a tiny forehead, carrying a sheathed runesword. He gave Vivi a glance.

Then he blinked, glancing again. He raised his eyebrows. “Uh, since when did you two get in?”

“We were visiting friends,” Vivi said. “Thanks.”

Eem was frowning. The guardsman met the look. “I see. Three people now have asked me if I’ve seen someone that matches your description.”

Ah, fantastic, Vivi thought. “Blue cloaks?” she asked.

The guardsman shrugged. “I’m not getting involved in nimrod business. But I’d be careful if I was you. And get that fiend out of here. What’s she doing on your shoulders?”

Eem showed her tongue to the guard. Vivi sighed, walking off. As usual, the guardsmen were as useful as a pair of wet socks. Luckily, the guards wouldn’t chase her unless she broke rules or seriously pissed them off.

The apartment section of Zand was a dome-shaped chamber with a tall ceiling, separated from the hub with the hardstone wall. A hole in the wall connected the districts. Three apartment complexes were crammed into the chamber. The complexes reached all the way to the ceiling. There were probably around a few hundred apartments combined. Not nearly enough to house all nimrods. It was no wonder so many demons slept in the dungeon, or in the hub.

A few dozen nimrods lounged around in the apartment district. Each and everyone sent gazes toward Vivi and Eem. The gazes were hostile. Far worse than the looks Vivi had received on her first few days.

That was odd. Had something happened? Is examination day getting closer? Vivi asked.

“It is,” Lucius said. “But I don’t think it’s that. Something has happened with our reputation. Not to mention Eem is with us. Everyone hates her.”

Figures, Vivi thought. Less than a week in, and everyone hates us.

Stepping into the hub, the problem only grew worse. Conversations paused as Vivi and Eem passed. Everyone seemed to be surprised to see Vivi, as if her presence defied some rule or belief. The usual chaotic brawls and fights were ongoing—the hub was as active as ever—but squabbles and arguments took a backseat when Vivi passed. Nobody rushed to tackle or talk to her, thank the gods, but the demons were wary of her.

What is going on? Vivi thought. They react exactly like Fellwater does when the executioners pass by.

“I think our stunts have made us quite famous…” Lucius said.

Not good, Vivi thought. Let’s get this done quickly. Where did you see the shop?

“By the southern wall,” Lucius said.

Vivi turned south. The hub was crowded, but it wasn’t large. Walking from one end to the other barely took three minutes. The shop Lucius was talking about was near the exit where new nimrods were brought in. It was a sturdy stall, painted gray, with a sign that read, “storage.”

There were three clerks, all working from behind steel bars. One of them was unoccupied—a tall demon with horns that curled downward, growing nearly into her mouth. She wore spectacles and immediately looked annoyed to see a customer walking in.

“Hello,” Vivi said. “I can buy ether containers here, correct?”

The clerk’s tone was devoid of emotion. “Would you like to open an account or bring the ether with you?”

“With me, please,” Vivi said.

“Transfer the ether,” the clerk said.

“Eem, give her the ether Lucius offered, please.”

Eem seemed oddly excited as she sat on Vivi’s shoulders. Vivi guessed Eem had never dealt with shops officially. The fiend stole whatever she needed. It was hard to buy things without the ability to speak.

The ether transfer worked well. Eem sent the ether to the clerk, though it looked like Eem transferred a bit more than fifty.

The clerk asked for Vivi’s name and details, writing them down. After it was all done, she sent the ether into some device that looked like an upside-down teapot combined with an etherprint scanner.

A little orb popped out of the device. The number 53 was written on the orb. The clerk offered the orb to Vivi. “There you go. I received fifty-eight ether, five of which went to fees. As you asked to bring the ether with you, you are responsible for safekeeping that orb. I sincerely hope you get robbed.”

Vivi ignored the insult. There was something wrong with the orb. “I don’t sense any ether inside this?”

“Real containers aren’t available,” the clerk said. “Of course they aren’t. If we offered containers, nimrods could hoard as much ether they wished before collecting everything at once to grow strong. These orbs are for transactions only. Every shop will accept them, and you’ll receive change too. Stewards accept orbs during collection day. And don’t think of fabricating orbs. The scanner detects fakes immediately.”

“I see,” Vivi said. She wanted to frown. Her life just got a lot more difficult. “Thanks.”

“If you want to turn the orb back into ether, I can do that,” the clerk said. “But it’ll cost a few more fees, on top of the fees to examine your reserves to ensure you won’t grow above three hundred.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Vivi said. She placed the orb, the waste of ether, in her pocket and headed toward Axback’s smithy.