"This is such fucking bullshit,” I muttered as I furiously scrubbed myself clean.

“I did want to ask, Sir,” Hob said, “I don’t mean to sound accusatory, but you haven’t exactly been in a hurry despite Aren being captured. Is that the wisest course of action?”

I stood up from the bath and patted myself dry with a towel with a grunt. “Weirdly enough, Hob, it is. My lack of visible hurry is precisely because we are on a timer.” I looked at the door. Seems like it had a small slot at the bottom, through which a tray with fresh clothes had been passed. “If I acted like I was in a hurry, people would catch on that I didn’t have time to waste and would use it against us. The currency exchange guy would have driven a much harder bargain. If Shal had any people observing that area, he would know I can’t afford any delays, putting us at a disadvantage in the upcoming negotiations.”

I examined the clothes. They had given me a stylish black and gold button-up shirt and an elegant pair of black synthwool trousers. Not bad. I put them on, and they fit perfectly. The fabric was more luxurious than I had expected. My brown leather shoes and my leather belt with the [Rail-Revolver] holstered in it survived my scuffle with the Lava Pangolin intact, so I removed them from the pile of rags that were once my clothes and put them on as Hob hummed to himself thoughtfully.

I looked at myself in a full-length mirror next to the bathtub, and I had to admit, Zuri’s sense of style was as impeccable as ever. If not for my half-singed hair and scruffy beard, I would have looked halfway respectable. Guess it was time I got that sorted out, too.

I went to the bell and rang it, sitting in the barber’s chair. A moment later, a man who looked like he belonged in the leading role of a corny romance movie walked in. The tall man had luxurious, long blonde hair, and the way his clothes clung to him, I could tell he had a perfectly sculpted body.

“I… Am Fernando.” He said in a breathy, husky voice. Now, I don’t swing that way, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I questioned some fundamental things about myself at that moment.

I cleared my throat and nodded at him. “Razel, nice to meet you.”

He looked at me up and down with a critical eye. “You, my little songbird, are in dire need of assistance. And Fernando is nothing if not helpful.” He said, walking all around me, grabbing his chin in thought as he examined the mess that was my hair.

Suddenly, he stopped right behind me, pulled out a comb and a pair of scissors from his belt, and started cutting my hair like a madman. I closed my eyes, tried to endure, and hoped he didn’t poke an eye out. Fernando’s passionate, wild dance of hair-cutting came to a sudden stop as I heard the wooshing sound of him flourishing his long jacket.

I opened my eyes and stared for a few moments. “Damn, Fernando. You do good work.” I said, impressed. He had cut my hair short and somehow trimmed my disheveled beard into something rather fashionable. I had to admit, I looked good.

“I know I do. You are ready, little songbird. Fly free and be… Beautiful. Goodbye.” He flipped his glorious, golden hair and left the room without so much as a second glance.

What a magical man. “Goodbye, Fernando,” I whispered, swept up in the moment.

“Pardon my intrusion, sir, but what in the Rings was that?” Said Hob, looking absolutely lost.

I stared at the closed door. “I’m not sure. I am feeling funky fresh, though.” I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “Either way, no time to waste.” I got up and exited the room.

In the stone block hallway, the Butler and Zuri waited as if they had not moved a single inch the entire time I was bathing and having a haircut. Zuri looked me up and down and nodded. I noticed her gaze lingered on me a moment longer than was strictly necessary. “Good. Follow me.” She said and turned, walking away from me. The way the black dress she wore hugged her figure and her swaying hips reminded me why, in my drunken stupor, I thought tussling with the Molten Fist heiress was a good idea. And why I was potentially in a world of trouble now.

She turned back and caught me staring. It might have been a trick of the light, but I thought I saw her smirk for a moment. “You will follow.” She said crisply before starting to walk again.

I resisted the urge to stand on attention and say, “Yes, ma’am!” and followed her, leaving the butler behind.

“So…” I said, trying to break the ice. The last time we saw each other, things didn’t end on a good note. “Fortress Zuri?”

She scoffed as I caught up to her. “Father decided that I needed something of sufficient significance named after me. I don’t care much for it, but I saw little reason to turn his gift down.”

I put my hands in my pockets and shrugged. “Of all the people I’ve met in my life, you feel like the most appropriate one to have a fortress named after her.”

I gave her a cheeky grin and a small smile flickered on her lips. “Don’t think you can sweet-talk me that easily, Razel. I’ve learned my lesson.” She narrowed her eyes at me playfully and then looked ahead, her tall, black ponytail bobbing up and down with every step.

“So. What have you been up to the past couple of years?” I asked as we entered a massive courtyard. Truthfully, it felt more like a city square, with two floors of shops lining the walls.

Zuri turned and started heading towards a small bakery. “Not much. The usual, training, fighting, more training.” She shrugged dispassionately. “Father said I was ‘Ready for the next step,’ whatever that means.”

We went into the bakery, and my eyebrow twitched a little. “Let me guess. Shal is going to send you on a mission to prove yourself?”

She nodded as she pointed at a pile of scrumptious-looking croissants. “Correct. A monster has broken into one of our environmental control facilities. It’s called an Ash Stag. I must hunt it down before it kills any more maintenance staff.”A friendly-looking old man handed her a small paper bag full of croissants. She smiled at him and exited the shop. To my displeasure, she headed towards a cafe.

“I see,” I said between gritted teeth as she sat at a table and opened the menu.

She turned to me and looked amused. “Is something wrong?” She popped a croissant into her mouth.

I pulled up a chair and sat down opposite to her. “No,” I said, trying to act nonchalant. “I was just hoping to talk to your father.” I took a croissant and bit into it. It was crunchy, airy, and full of flavor. I made a mental note to buy a bag full of the delicious treats before I left.

She waved her hand dismissively at me. “Father is in another meeting right now. We still have thirty minutes before he can see us,” she smirked. “Or did you think that the patriarch of the Molten Fist Clan would be at your beck and call?”

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

I sighed, giving up. “You’re right. I’ll have an i-”

“Iced coffee, all milk, two teaspoons of sweetener, I know.” she cut me off.

I blinked at her, surprised. “You remember, huh?”

The air between us got a little frostier as she stared at me. “I do.”

We held each other’s gazes for a moment before a waitress came and broke us out of our silent staring contest. We ordered our coffee and sat in silence as we were served.

“Look, I… I’m so-” I tried to say when the waitress left.

“Don’t bother. I don’t want to hear it.” She said, sipping on her coffee. “It’s all in the past. Now, please excuse me. I have something to take care of.” She waved her hand in the air, and I saw lights flash in the pupils of her eyes as she pulled up windows in her [NovaSight].

“Right,” I said and sipped on my drink.

Hob sighed. “Well, this could be going better.”

“You said it.” I thought back at him.

Twenty minutes later, Zuri nodded and got up. “My father is ready to see you.”

I stood up after her and nodded as we exited the courtyard.

We passed by an arena full of training recruits, deliberately but quickly moving in sync. A casual observer would think they were dancing, but I knew better. The Molten Fist’s combat style combined absolute synchronization with overwhelming firepower to a devastating effect. Those people in the yard were part of one of the most feared armed forces in the Outer Ring. The five-person “Hand” formation of the Molten Fist was legendary. A single Hand was enough to eradicate a middle-grade gang, either Topside or Underside and suffer no losses.

Zuri cleared her throat to catch my attention. “As you have noticed, we are ramping up our recruitment.”

I nodded. “Tensions between the Otherlords are rising. I can tell.”

Zuri nodded, looking tired for a moment. “Otherlords, the Ecclisiarchy, even the Ring itself. We can use all the help we can get.”

I smirked, raising an eyebrow. “I hope you don’t expect me to enlist. I’m here on other business.”

We stopped before a set of monstrously large doors as Zuri released an undignified snort. “Of course not, don’t be daft. You’d have to care about anything other than yourself to enlist.”

That made me wince.

Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “That was… Unkind of me. My apologies.”

I did my best to hide the sting of her words and forced out a chuckle. “No hard feelings. I earned that.” I pushed the door open and turned to her. “Good to see you, Zuri.” I closed the door behind me, but the moment before the door shut, I saw Zuri looking down with a conflicted expression.

“Well, are you going to stand there all day? Come here,” a voice boomed from behind me. I put Zuri out of my mind, cleared my head, and turned to face Shal, the Demon of the Molten Fist. Patriarch of the Molten Fist Clan and Zuri’s father.

Unlike Zuri, who only came up to my chin, this man towered over me and was half as wide as he was tall. Like Thoron, this man’s bulk was all muscle, but unlike Thoron’s well-proportioned athlete’s body, Shal was built for one thing and one thing only. To swing his hammer as hard as possible, either to create or to destroy.

And that terrifying man was glowering at me, his fu manchu mustache swaying as he looked me up and down. “Well, what are you waiting for? Come here, I said.” he barked out.

I took a deep breath, preparing to be crushed, and walked up to the sitting mountain of a man.

“Patriarch Shal,” I said, nodding respectfully at him.

“Razel the Reaver,” he grunted. “Heard you died.”

I shrugged. “You heard wrong.”

He snorted a laugh before breaking out into a wide grin. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

I raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? No admonitions about the situation between Zuri and me?”

Shal leaned back into his giant throne and scratched his belly. “Don’t really see why I should say anything. You're 27, she's 25. You kids are both adults. Sort your own shit out. I love my Zuri, but I also recognize she’s a grown woman in her own right who can and will handle things how she likes without my unsolicited assistance.” He grabbed a mug the size of my head and downed half of it, letting out a deafening belch at the end. “Now I’ll ask again, what do you want?”

“Straight to business then.” I nodded. “I need your help. Two ruby tokens.”

He leaned forward at that. “Oho. I see. And what do you have to offer for two whole ruby tokens?”

I shuffled on the spot. “My… Services? Or a promise for my services? I have a job I have to do before I can repay you.”

He folded his arms before his massive chest and glowered at me. “That’s not how we do things, you know this.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to decide whether to be truthful. In the end, I decided to trust Shal’s character. “I had all my assets seized, so I can’t afford to pay immediately. A kid is in danger because of me. I have three and a half days to save him.”

Shal’s expression darkened further. “What did you do?”

“It wasn’t me!” I lifted my hands in the air. “I didn’t do anything. Well, my stuff being seized is my fault, but the kid is innocent. We worked together on a job that went south, and someone has kidnapped him to get to me.”

“Who?” he demanded, the rumble of his voice making warning sirens go off in my head.

“Some guy named Mr. Toriklas. I don’t know anything else.” I said.

Shal’s eyes widened and then narrowed as he stroked his chin. He recognized the name. Before I could ask him about it, he nodded, seemingly coming to a decision. “Alright, you say you have three days and change to save the kid. I won’t give you the tokens yet, then.” I tried to protest, but he raised his hand and stopped me. “First, you will do a task for me that should take a day at most. Once you complete this task, you will get your ruby tokens.”

I grunted. I didn’t like the delay, but I doubted I’d get a better deal anywhere. “What’s the task?”

He smiled at me mischievously and looked past me to the door. “Zuri, come in, please,” he shouted, and a feeling of dread descended upon me like a sword was hanging by a threadbare rope above me.

“Yes, father?” she said as she entered and closed the door behind her.

“Are you prepared?” He asked her simply.

“Yes, father.” She said, bowing deeply.

“Good. Razel is coming with you.” He said, nodding.

“What?” Zuri and I said at the same time.

She broke the stunned silence first. “Father, please, it's not necessary for him to-”

“Bah, spare me your pleas, daughter.” He interrupted. “It is already decided.” He waved towards me, and a window opened in my vision.

----------------------------------------

[MISSION OFFER]

[The Hunt for the Ash Stag]

Patriarch Shal of the Molten Fist Clan has offered you a mission to assist his daughter, Zuri, in tracking down and slaying the Ash Stag.

Reward: [Ruby Tokens] x2

[Accept]?

----------------------------------------

“Hob,” I thought to my companion, who remained quiet this entire time. “My mission offer screen is a little different than usual, is that you?”

He nodded at me happily as Zuri spluttered at her dad. “Yes, I am still calibrating what information to show and how. The default notifications of the [NovaSight] leave much to be desired.”

“Alright,” I sent back. “Thanks, keep up the good work.” I focused back on Zuri and Shal arguing and coughed pointedly. They both stopped talking and faced me. “Shal, you swear this will take less than a day?”

He nodded at me. “Zuri could probably complete this in a day and a half on her own. A day will be plenty of time for both of you together unless you’ve become utterly useless in the past two years or you two can’t work together like the adults you are.”

Zuri and I looked at each other, our expressions hardening. Shal was right. We had a job and had to be professionals about it. I mentally clicked on accept.

It couldn’t be that bad, right?

Right?