Sarna wakes up the next morning, swimming across a sea of blankets and pillows, unable to find a certain muscular, and hopefully naked, body.

That's weird, usually I'm the one who disappears in the middle of the night...

After crying herself dry in River's arms last night, she probably passed out from the emotional exhaustion. River must have put her to bed right after. She sits up and notices her change of clothes. It would have been really uncomfortable to sleep in her leather armor. Instead, she finds herself in sleepwear of the most supple cotton.

He put clothes on me? That's a first.That sneaky... Oh, this is last night's underwear. What a gentleman.

Not the least bit embarrassed that the much younger man had seen most of her, she still wonders where he had gone off to. She lays back in the bed, gathering the fluffy covers around her and stares up at the ceiling.

Of all the things that happened last night, ending up living here again is definitely the strangest part. Me crying is obviously a close second, but that meal... that... boy...

She remembers the stark changes in his appearance. He's taller now, of course, just under six feet but seemingly more imposing. The mop of grayish azure hair is now long and tied back in a low ponytail.

His muscles are bigger now, but not overly large. From what she could see of his arms and feel from his embrace, they're like coiled vipers ready to spring into action. At the same time she could tell in the way he moves that he is extremely flexible and dexterous, an ideal Rogue type. Her type, if anyone would ask.

A part of her wonders if he'll be back to deliver breakfast in bed and maybe something else when...

As if on cue, a gentle knock comes from the door.

"You've already seen my lady bits, you might as well come right in."

The door opens, revealing a half asleep, yet still very annoyed old man in dragon print pajamas, "You didn't sleep with my slave last night, did you?"

"Oh... Good morning, Agmus." Sarna grabs a robe hanging by the bed and slips it on as she gets out of bed. "Did I? Was I supposed to lease him out first?"

He groans, "You always did like them younger."

"Jinn was three months younger and he asked me out," she says, waving a hand dismissively in the air. "Besides, how is he still considered a slave?"

Agmus Mak is inspecting her leather armor hanging up by the door when he shoots her an incredulous look, "What's that? I paid for him, didn't I? Five platinum for a fifteen year old boy with a black star core? Outrageous price if you ask me."

Sarna laughs as she walks him out and through the grand room, "Way to downplay, River, sir. But, you paid me to acquire him and I did. It's not like I bought him from the slave pit and got a certificate. Did I give you a certificate when I handed him off three years ago?"

"So what am I supposed to call him?"

"How about 'River'? Where'd you conjure that name from anyway?"

He waves away her question, "Let me get this straight... you took him from a slave pit? You freed him from the slave pit? So he's free? He's essentially a free person?"

"I guess... if you want to put it that way, I suppose that's right."

"Then why does he do all this work for?"

Their conversation leads them all the way to the first floor breakfast nook, a new addition to the kitchen since someone cleared the area and works so well out of it. River is there, putting a freshly washed saucepan away. He gestures to the table laden with food of all kinds.

Agmus Mak asks, "Tea or juice, my dear?"

Sarna shakes her head in disbelief, "If you're a doppelganger, sir, then I must say you got the looks right but you've given the old man the wrong personality."

He laughs, scooting onto one side of a bench, "Shut up and have some breakfast, you trashy cutpurse."

She smiles and sits opposite him, "Better, but hurtful. Trashy? Really? Oh, juice please, River."

From a pitcher in his right hand he pours a blend of juices into her glass and from the kettle in his left he pours hot water into a ceramic mug for Mak. He sets them on a kitchen counter and before he can excuse himself Sarna is pulling him into the seat next to her.

"He's more of a butler, isn't he? Remember, what's his name, Coleman? That one king's guy?"

"I remember Villa telling the story of how she finished him off with her war mallet. I don't even know why it took so many of you in the first place."

"I love that story," she says wistfully while spreading red jam across some toast. River adds a scoop of fluffy scrambled eggs to Mak's plate, but when he tries to do the same for Sarna she playfully uses a fork to fend him off.

"Normally," Agmus Mak starts while watching the two duel, "River would help me with rituals and enchantments, but the ones I'm thinking about using require higher tiers of Caster. I'm afraid he won't be much use for me here."

"Great! He can take me shopping then! Is that little hamlet still the closest place?"

In her moment of distraction, River manages to slip a spoonful of eggs onto her plate. Instead of further protesting, she starts to eat the eggs too.

Agmus Mak sips his tea, "Its grown a lot since you've last seen it. Just in the past few years we've watched it grow into a fairly good sized town. Not quite a city yet, but they built an adventurers guild five years ago and a large market center just last year."

With a mouthful of toast, Sarna points an egg laden fork at River, "Last time I was there people were selling stuff from the windows of their houses. They called them sundies, or sundry stores."

She swallows, "My classmates and I would go into town with pockets full of bits and get things like dried fruit or small wooden toys. One of the older kids would have a few grins, silvers, and treat us all to pressed juice."

River stares at her with a blank expression.

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"You didn't tell him anything about this place, did you, sir?"

Mak clears his throat, "I'm sure you two will have plenty to talk about on your way to town. Well, you will anyway, Sarna. River, here's a list of things I want you to keep an eye out for. Bring the shopping wallet, but don't let her trick you into spending any of it on her. You've got your own money pouch. Use that, but remember my words."

River nods as Sarna gives the old man an accusatory glare.

"Will Master Mak be okay without me?"

His voice, like the rumbling of a rockslide, completely arrests Sarna's attention, but Mak who has grown used to it just smiles.

"Yes, my boy. I'll be fine. If anything, I'll message Cillin to help me. He's good at defensive enchantments and traps. He did keep those inept heroes from breeching his dungeon after all."

Sarna waves her fork in the air, flinging egg bits all over the table, "It only took us six months to reach him and none of us died!"

---

Floating beside River is his Mover's Disk, transporting a lounging Sarna who is reading a small, cheap book about pirates and princesses. He doesn't mind at all, guiding it with his will through the trees until they find a well worn cart path.

She's wearing her black leather armor and cloak with fur-lined hood, both freshly washed and dried by River the night she passed out after crying.

River's cloak, of his own design, is light grey, though it gradually darkens from the middle and turns black near the bottom. Too heavy to billow in breezes, it still sits well on him without revealing too much about him. There's no hood, but the cloak covers a unique set of clothes that is a culmination of his crafting knowledge.

A form fitting, matte black leather vest with silver buttons hugs against what looks to be a simple, white, long-sleeve, shirt buttoned all the way up to a forward-point collar. His matte-black leather pants and shoes have a formal look that would be more at home on a ballroom dance floor than a muddy trail. All these pieces are actually heavily enchanted and covertly reinforced for battle, giving him a set bonus.

5th Street Set Bonus

-[Set Bonus] All Stats +1

-[Set Bonus] Increase Attack Speed by 1% (max 10%) every time the wearer is attacked, even if no damage is dealt. Lasts 15 seconds, timer resets when wearer is attacked, even if no damage is dealt.

"Its very handsome and it suits you," Sarna complimented him when she first saw him in it, "But its missing... something...?"

What it was, she couldn't say. He only wore this outfit as a precaution when he went into town. The sturdier, metal plate armor or heavy leather and chainmail set he saved specifically for hunting or fighting monsters.

Having outgrown the clothes he picked out when he first came to the tower, River used them as inspiration so that he could craft the set he wears now. At level twenty nine he has access to the third tier of essences and slotted the necessary cards for Blacksmithing, Tailoring, Leatherwork, and Enchanting.

Since Agmus Mak didn't have his second through fourth tiers, he didn't bother collecting many of such cards, using, the higher ranked versions of such cards in tier five instead. But, he did have a spare Basic Enchanting I card for him.

It was a game changer for him.

When Mak would send him to places to go shopping for him, River also made personal purchases with money he earned from selling monster loot and equipment he crafted and enchanted.

This way, River also learned the high value of cards, even the lower tiered ones, as they would end up being quite the investment. Normally cards are rare, the average adventurer only ever finding about one a year. A good thing to because even a single card could represent a total shift in the average person's life.

Imagine a farmer, suddenly imbued with the strength of a horse. Not only would they not need a horse to pull his plow or wagon, all the expenses that go along with one are gone as well.

The same goes with enchanted equipment, which is why Agmus Mak encouraged River to slot and practice enchanting constantly to raise his knowledge and the Xperia of the card. Even the novice grade equipment he made sold fairly well. Enchanted stuff offered people the opportunity to upgrade themselves without necessary classes. Some adventurers even took it upon themselves to do everything they could without slotting a single card. These people were called "Folds," and they relied heavily on enchanted equipment, technique, and skill.

It may be true that the terms "player" and "adventurer" are interchangeable, but not all players are adventurers just like not all adventurers are players.

River may have a growing deck, making him a player, but his main goal isn't to go on world saving adventures.

"So what do you do for fun?" Sarna asks, tossing the book to the side, not even bothering to save her place.

She turns to lay on her stomach, resting her pretty face on her arms as she flutters her feet in the air. She likes finding questions that River can't respond to in his usual way. Surely, for this one, he'll have to engage in conversation.

He shrugs, raising his hands in defeat and shakes his head.

Damn!

But now she's interested. "You don't have any leisurely activities?"

Head shake.

"What about-- I don't know-- a girlfriend?"

It's a long shot, especially out here in the middle of the forest and living in Agmus Mak's unfindable tower. To her surprise, he looks at her over his shoulder, grins, and shrugs his shoulders.

"Wha-- Don't give me that! Who is she? Where is she? Is she pretty? What level is she? Does she live in Ruminy? Is it still called that?"

He nods, not looking back at her but turning his attention past the trees.

"Yes? Yes to what? I asked you a dozen questions!"

Having heard the same noise, Sarna ends her verbal assault and sits up on the disk. They both come to the same conclusion that what they're hearing is battle, but they're both hesitant to join.

For her, not risking her life with little or nothing to gain has been a way of life for a long time. She certainly wasn't about to leap into danger without knowing all the variables.

For River, he was looking to her reaction first. Even though he's become the type of person to assist others if he's able, he wouldn't presume the life of another, especially a guest of Agmus Mak's. When she arrested the instinctual jerk toward the origin of the sounds, he raised a questioning eyebrow.

"The woods are dangerous. People should know that by now." Her reply is flat, as if she herself doesn't believe a word of it. Without a word or a gesture, he turns his attention back on the road and the disk follows behind unerringly. The clash of metal and the yells of battle ring harder through the trees.

She rolls her eyes and sighs out loud.

"Fine. We can at least go see what's going on..."

She vaults off of the disk as it vanishes into magical dust. Her strides are long and graceful, freerunning her way over, under, around, and through the verdant vegetation. To her surprise, the lower level River is keeping pace with her, always maintaining a few yards of space between them.

Whenever she catches a glimpse of him, his cloak is split open enough to reveal an odd looking set of knives in custom holsters under his arms and tincture vials across his belt.

Sarna hears his voice through the wind whistling past their ears.

"Holy warrior, do not fear the dark path ahead. Receive the blessing of might."

A golden aura surrounds her, filling her with comforting power, reassuring confidence, and renewed energy.

Bless II - +5 Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, Constitution, six minutes

Bless? Really? You're a Healer?

"Nature's life force flows through my veins. Swift wings carry us to safety."

Animal Aspect, Eagle - +20% Movement Speed, ten minutes

"Now you're just showing off. Hurry up now, I wanna use all these buffs before they time out!"

Soon enough, they find a clearing with a tall rock outcropping. A group of five is pressing a group of seven towards the wall of rocks.

Strange looking at first glance, the sight becomes stranger to Sarna when she notices the defensive line of five protecting the two behind them look exactly the same, from the armor down to the tower shields they each hold.

She stops in her tracks, briefly wondering if they stumbled on an army training exercise or something when River zips past her to join them. His battle cry sends shivers down everyone's spines.

"Fyrg!"