Early the next morning, my friends and I joined the caravan heading back to Icefall City. There were more people coming along for the return trip. Not only were there more merchants, but they also brought with them more guards.
In addition to Leroy and the five adventurers hired by Guildmaster Sinclair, we had two more Second Circle wizards coming along. That was a formidable force in this part of the empire. It was the equivalent of a decent sized army of mortals.
I doubted the Black Wolf Gang would try anything now. If they did, they would have to bring overwhelming numbers, and after what happened last time, I didn’t think they could spare the manpower. There was a limit to how many lives they could throw away.
Annabelle watched the caravan as it departed, observing it from atop one of the nearby buildings. She didn’t come down to say hi. Instead, she remained at a distance. The only reason why I noticed her at all was because of my divine sense. Even so, I could almost feel her eyes on me.
I resisted the urge to go to her. If I did, I didn’t think I’d ever go back to the Icefall Region. I did wave to her though. After a brief moment, she waved back.
Avianna stood next to Annabelle, also watching me from afar. However, her gaze was a lot more murderous than Annabelle’s. I didn’t think she was a big fan of mine.
It wasn’t long before Lieutenant Hayden and Caravan Master Jeeves got everything organized, and soon we were off. People were in a much better mood than they had been when we arrived. I certainly was.
A package from House Rosewood arrived at the hotel just before we left. It contained everything I demanded in recompense. The gauntlets, the bow, the mana cores, the mana stones, and the teeth of an Irontooth Mole. I could finally get my Fire jian, something that was long overdue.
It must have cost House Rosewood quite a bit to get all this at the last minute, but Lady Rosewood honored our agreement.
I hoped things worked out for her when it came to Lord Bertrand. I liked Lady Rosewood herself, but her treatment of Lord Bertrand left a lot to be desired. Maybe she would heed Terra’s message.
Since I was going to start teaching my disciples cultivation on the way to Icefall City, I had them go through the acceptance ceremony before we left. Corie grumbled when they had to kowtow to me three times, and grumbled even more when I gave them their cultivator names.
Lorelei became Celestial Fist, while Corie became Celestial Arrow. I also told them my own cultivator name. I told them that these names were important, but we should keep them hidden for now. We would only use them in private. Corie muttered about how stupid this all was, but perked up when I gave them the magic items as their gifts.
Lorelei got a pair of Kinetic Gauntlets, which were a common magical item for fist fighters. They stored a bit of kinetic energy from their user’s every movement, saving it up to be released later on. This energy could be released a little at a time, in order to enhance the user’s regular punches, or all at once for a single devastating blow.
Corie got a Multishot Bow, which was another common magic item. As the name implied, it allowed its user to fire up to three arrows at once with pinpoint accuracy. They could fire these shots all at the same target, or at multiple targets. When combined with Corie’s magic-enhanced arrows, she would become even more lethal on the battlefield.
Both of these items were high-rank First Circle magic items. Like with magic beasts, a magic item’s power was ranked by the Circle of magic its power corresponded to, as well as the number of threads.
My magic daggers were low-rank Second Circle magic items. I was too weak to use them to their full potential, but they were still better than anything else I had available.
My disciples were both quite happy to receive their gifts. They were also happy to receive the starting kits I had prepared for them beforehand. I did increase the number of mana stones in each kit to about a hundred each. Whether or not they would use their mana stones for wizardry or cultivation, I left up to them.
As for the mana cores and the rest of the mana stones from House Rosewood, I kept them for myself. I needed both for my own cultivation. In addition, the mana stones could be used as currency. Since I didn’t have a lot of spending money at the moment, I needed some way to pay for the Fire jian, as well as the supplies to make more talismans.
As I expected, we didn’t encounter any trouble on the way back from Rosewood City. Either the Black Wolf Gang didn’t want to attack our heavily armed caravan and decided to focus on easier targets, or they didn’t feel the need. After all, they had “stolen” the package from House Icefall.
In the mornings, my friends and I cultivated. I used my formation flags to create a privacy formation to hide what we were doing. The formation didn’t hide us from sight, I would need an obfuscation formation for that, but instead kept anyone from realizing what we were doing. While I could cultivate without being discovered, Leroy and my disciples weren’t as practiced at it.
For Lorelei and Corie, since I hadn’t had time to write down the manuals for the techniques I thought were best suited to them, I just instructed them verbally. As long as they memorized the mnemonics necessary to draw in mana and cultivate, it didn’t matter. I could write down the manuals later.
I also didn’t bother teaching them anything about body cultivation just yet. It was better if they entered the Energy Condensation stage first, so they had a better idea of what cultivation was about.
Besides, I needed time to examine their bodies to find the body cultivation techniques that best suited them. Different techniques worked with different body types. For example, Lorelei was small and somewhat petite. The Spirit Warrior body cultivation technique wasn’t suited to her at all. Her mother, Guildmaster Sinclair, was another story altogether.
And that didn’t even take into consideration any special bloodlines or physiques that my disciples might have.
For Lorelei, I taught her the Child of the Earth cultivation technique, which was a Violet-tier technique. Practitioners gained strength and nourishment from Earth itself, becoming one with it while elevating themselves at the same time. Considering her status as a Chosen of Terra, the Goddess of the Earth, I thought it was appropriate.
Her body cultivation technique would likely be a celestial body cultivation technique, since the planet was a celestial body as well and she was the Chosen of Terra.
For Corie, I taught her the Path of the Great Archer cultivation technique, which was also a Violet-tier technique. It was a technique that had no specific elemental affinity, and focused on the metaphysical and spiritual aspects of archery. A certain sun-killing archer inspired this technique, though I made sure not to mention that part. I was pretty sure this technique counted as heresy, since the dominant religion in the Solarian Empire worshiped a sun god.
As for Corie’s body cultivation technique, I hadn’t thought of that yet. She wasn’t a Chosen, so I didn’t have to take that into consideration. However, she was a descendant of House Corwin. I didn’t know if that meant they had a special bloodline, like House Sturm, but it never hurt to check.
We cultivated in the mornings, traveled for the rest of the day, and relaxed in the evenings. Lorelei and I took it easy during the first few days, since we were still recovering from our injuries. The peaceful trip did give us a chance to rest and recover.
While everyone maintained vigilance, there wasn’t the expectation that we would be attacked. It affected everyone’s attitude. They weren’t as tense as they had been during our initial trip.
I spent my evenings either carving out the rest of the formation flags, or reading the primer on alchemy that I bought in Rosewood City. While I knew a bit about alchemy back on Spirit Earth, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to check out the alchemy here on Lumina. I swiftly came to realize that unlike with magical crafting, there were many differences between the two kinds of alchemy.
Alchemy on Spirit Earth involved mixing various ingredients in a pill furnace in order to achieve the desired results. What mattered wasn’t the physical aspects of the ingredients, but the qualities of the mana they contained. The negative or less desirable aspects needed to be counteracted with other ingredients. The interactions between all these ingredients needed to be taken into account. Otherwise, something unfortunate might occur. An alchemist also needed to take into consideration the order of the ingredients were put in, the timing of it all, and how their own mana would affect the process.
On Lumina, alchemy was a bit more refined. Luminan alchemists used a variety of equipment to refine, purify, and extract the essence of each ingredient before mixing them together. Essence, in this case, referred to mana in liquid form. A plant that had medicinal qualities, but was also mildly poisonous, could be refined into a potion that only had the medicinal qualities. No other ingredients were needed to achieve this, though another ingredient could be added to increase the healing effect.
In fact, that was how the medicinal herbs I collected a while back for my guild obligations were used to create low-grade health potions.
However, from what I read, the potions created through Luminan alchemy weren’t as powerful as the pills created through Spirit Earth alchemy. Some of the potency was lost in the refinement and extraction process. Increasing the amount of ingredients just increased the amount of essence produced, it didn’t increase the potency of the potion. Adding higher quality ingredients produced more powerful potions, but that was true of Spirit Earth alchemy as well.
Huh. Weird. I thought it would be the opposite, since Luminan mystic arts were better than Spirit Earth mystic arts. Luminan alchemy used less ingredients, making it more efficient overall, but the effects of its potions were lesser as well.
I wondered if I could combine the two. That was an interesting idea. I could use Luminan alchemy to refine, purify, and extract the essence of the ingredients. After that, I could use a pill furnace to combine those essences to create the pills I wanted.
It would require a lot of experimentation, as well as a pill furnace, but it was doable. It just required combining two different schools of thought in order to get the best of both worlds. That was my plan for wizard spells and cultivation spells, once I better understood the principles behind wizardry. Despite my vast knowledge of cultivation, I was a baby when it came to wizardry.
I also needed to learn more about Luminan alchemy. The primer I bought was a good start, but it was just a start. If I wanted to be a halfway decent alchemist, I needed to learn more. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to get reference books, so I could memorize the properties of various ingredients. Not to mention, I needed to buy alchemy equipment.
Ugh, getting started as an alchemist was expensive.
My collection of mana stones, which seemed so large when I received it at first, now seemed small and pitiful. Fuck. I was tempted to dip into my family’s resources, but that would be cheating. Besides, if I did that, my parents would hear about it and wonder about my sudden interest in alchemy. As Lord Gabriel, I hadn’t cared all that much for it. Instead, I focused more on the combat aspects of magic.
As soon as I had that thought, I almost smacked myself. Why did it matter? There wasn’t any point in trying to keep secrets from my parents any longer. Thanks to the message I sent back home, they would know the truth sooner rather than later. What did it matter if they wondered about my sudden increase in alchemy? I could tell them that it would be better to produce the potions that we needed rather than relying on others. That was the truth.
If I had the resources to do so, I would rather create what I needed rather than buy it. It was cheaper that way as well. The ingredients for alchemy cost far less than the final product.
Actually, I could just use mana stones to buy the equipment needed. My heart lurched at that thought, however. The whole reason why I demanded them in the first place was because I planned on using them to speed up my cultivation.
Fuck, I needed to think about this more.
Hmm, if I succeeded in combining Luminan alchemy with Spirit Earth alchemy, perhaps I could sell the pills I created. Assuming I pulled it off, the pills created would be more powerful. I could sell them for more, while spending the same amount on ingredients. I could make my money back in no time! Even better, I could sell my pills for mana stones!
When I had this thought, I let out a cackle. The others gave me concerned looks, but I ignored them. After all, they had no idea of what I would one day unleash upon the world.
Muah ha ha ha!
Ten days after we set out from Rosewood City, we made it back to Icefall City. Good thing too, since the Hidden Lamp Seal created with Ghostfire Ink was about to fade away. I needed to get my hands on the Spiritblood Ink that Guildmaster Sinclair promised me.
----------------------------------------
Guildmaster Sinclair studied me through her narrowed eye. The two of us sat in her office. Leroy, as usual, leaned against the wall.
The caravan made it back to Icefall City earlier today, at around early afternoon. After the initial tearful reunion with friends and family, Guildmaster Sinclair pulled me into her office for a debriefing.
Lorelei was with her father, while Corie waited in the mess hall of the Icefall Adventurers Guild. After I concluded my business with Guildmaster Sinclair, Corie would return to Sturm Hill Hall with us.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
We discussed it on the way back to Icefall City. In order to better train my disciples, we decided it was best if they moved into Sturm Hill Hall. The manor had plenty of room, so that wasn’t a problem. I could also teach them about cultivation away from prying eyes.
For Corie, it wasn’t a big deal. She lived by herself, renting a room from the Icefall Adventurers Guild. Her mother had been her only family. She just needed to pack up what possessions she had, and she was good to go.
Lorelei was another story. Not only did she live with her family, but her father was a priest of the Church of the Sun and her mother was the guildmaster of the Icefall Adventurers Guild. Having her move into Sturm Hill Hall would draw a lot of attention and cause all kinds of problems.
I told Lorelei that she didn’t have to make the move, the commute to Sturm Hill Hall from Icefall City wasn’t that long, but she insisted. She said that she would handle it. I had some misgivings, but I let it go in the end. She knew her family best. I wouldn’t interfere.
“On the one hand,” Guildmaster Sinclair said, interrupting my thoughts. “I’m glad that you completed your mission and brought my daughter back home safe and sound.” She narrowed her eye. Her aura filled the room and pressured me. It was domineering and oppressive. “On the other hand, I am furious that she almost died because of your neglect.”
During the debriefing, I told Guildmaster Sinclair about everything that happened during the trip to Rosewood City. Well, not everything. I didn’t tell her about Lorelei’s status as the Chosen of Terra, nor the fact that Lorelei was my disciple. I certainly didn’t tell Guildmaster Sinclair anything about Annabelle. That was none of her business.
I did tell her about the attack by the Black Wolf Gang, the events in Rosewood City, and how I killed the man who almost killed her daughter. I left nothing out, nor did I omit anything to make myself look better.
“I thought she would be safe in Rosewood City,” I said. “Lorelei is a tough girl, and I thought nothing would happen to her if I left her alone. I wasn’t her babysitter after all. However, I was wrong and I take full responsibility for what happened.”
Guildmaster Sinclair studied me, and didn’t say anything for a long while. Silence filled the space between us.
“I almost wish that you tried to make some kind of excuse, Lord Gabriel,” she said, breaking the silence. “Saying how it wasn’t your fault. That way, I would have an excuse to punch you in the face.”
Since she was a Third Circle Earth wizard, she could punch very, very hard.
“I am unhappy about what happened,” Guildmaster Sinclair continued. “However, you admitted fault and killed the man responsible, so it evens out. I’ll let it go.”
I resisted the urge to sigh in relief. While I was sure I would survive a punch from Guildmaster Sinclair, I also knew that it would hurt like a son of a bitch. At the Third Circle, a wizard enhanced by Earth internal magic could punch through solid steel. That put Guildmaster Sinclair on par with a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator that also practiced a body cultivation technique.
The Third Circle was also the limit for internal magic, since the human body could only withstand so much. When it came to martial prowess, wizards were far inferior to cultivators. A Core Formation cultivator could beat a Third Circle wizard with ease, at least if both sides only relied on the strength of their bodies. If both sides also used the mystics arts, the odds evened out.
Guildmaster Sinclair opened a drawer in her desk, and pulled out three bottles filled with a dark purple liquid that emitted a faint glow. Spiritblood Ink. Finally. Now I could create a proper Hidden Lamp Seal. I wouldn’t know how effective it would be until I conducted some experiments, but I figured it would at least hide my cultivation base from anyone in the Fourth Circle.
“Here,” Guildmaster Sinclair said, tossing the bottles of Spiritblood Ink towards me. I caught them with ease. “As promised, here is your payment. I’ll also make sure to update your rank. Congratulations, Lord Gabriel, you’re now a First-Ranked Copper adventurer. Given the dangers involved with this mission, and the increase in your power, it’s safe to say you earned it. At this rate, you’ll reach Bronze in no time.”
I started to thank her, but then her words hit me and I froze.
“What do you mean, guildmaster?” I asked. “I’m still only at the first thread of the First Circle.”
Guildmaster Sinclair grinned at me and tapped her nose.
“I can’t sense your power through your aura, but I can smell it from a mile away.”
Oh fuck.
Oh fuck!
I had forgotten about her ability to smell magic. Apparently, she could also smell my cultivation base.
Fuck, this wasn’t good.
“I don’t know what kind of magic you’re practicing, Lord Gabriel,” Guildmaster Sinclair said. “It doesn’t smell like wizardry. Whatever it is, it smells potent.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“And what do you plan to do with this knowledge?” I asked.
She brought it up for a reason. Otherwise, she would have kept it to herself. My guess was that she wanted to blackmail or coerce me. She would keep silent about my “strange magic”, as long as I did what she wanted.
“Nothing,” Guildmaster Sinclair said, her grin widening.
It took me a few seconds to understand her words.
“What do you mean ‘nothing?’” I asked.
“I meant exactly what I said. If you’re worried that I’ll tell people about your little secret, don’t be. While I’m not happy about what happened, you still brought my daughter back safe and sound. Not only that, but you completed a dangerous mission and fought alongside my people. That makes you one of mine now, and I look after my own. You’re secret is safe with me.”
I studied her for several long seconds, not quite believing her.
“Then why did you even bring it up?” I asked, baffled.
“To see the look on your face,” Guildmaster Sinclair said. “It’s clear that you wanted to keep this strange magic of yours a secret, and I wanted to see your reaction when you realized that I knew.”
I just stared at her, a chagrined look on my face. This little shit. Still, I couldn’t help but smile in return.
“How did someone like you give birth to someone as sweet as Lorelei?” I asked. “Even now, I find it difficult to believe that you two are mother and daughter.”
Guildmaster Sinclair shrugged.
“It’s a mystery to me too,” she said. “The gods know that I’m no saint. I blame her father. However, when it comes to her magic and her fighting style, that’s all me.”
I looked at the axe hanging on the wall behind her desk. Guildmaster Sinclair followed my gaze.
“Oh, that’s just a trophy,” she said. “I’m a fist fighter.”
Well, that explained a few things.
“Well then,” I said, standing up. “I think it’s time I took my leave.”
Guildmaster Sinclair nodded, before waving me towards the door to her office. However, I paused just before opening the door. An idea popped into my head.
“Actually,” I said. “Remember that favor you owe me, guildmaster?”
Guildmaster Sinclair raised an eyebrow at me, before nodding.
“I’m going to call it in now,” I said. “Can you set up a private meeting between me and Lord Icefall? I want to apologize to him for my behavior during the dinner party a few weeks back. I have a feeling that the both of us are going to end up very drunk.”
When I finished speaking, Guildmaster Sinclair gave me a wide smile.
“That can be arranged.”
----------------------------------------
True to her word, Guildmaster Sinclair arranged a private meeting between me and her cousin. I met Lord Icefall at one of the fancier drinking establishments in Icefall City. That wasn’t saying much, especially when compared to the clubs and venues available to House scions back in Sunheart. Many of them were quite literally gentlemens’ clubs that offered a number of services to their members.
The tavern where I met Lord Icefall, while upscale for the area, couldn’t compare.
After my meeting with Guildmaster Sinclair, I finished up with any lingering business, before heading back to Sturm Hill Hall. In my case, that meant turning in the wolf rings I looted from the Black Wolf Gang, since there was an open bounty on them. That earned me a pretty penny.
I also met with Andrew Quick, the blacksmith I talked with a while back. He was surprised to see me without my disguise, but adapted pretty well. I gave him an updated version of the Fire jian schematics that I drew up. The journey to Rosewood City had given me some new ideas, so I made tweaks to my original design. Since none of the changes were that major, all of the required materials remained the same.
The Inferno Wolf bones were back at Sturm Hill Hall, so I would drop them off later. However, I paid for the commission now. Andrew Quick told me that my Fire jian would be ready in about a month.
I also shopped around for alchemy equipment. Thankfully, Crafter’s Row had what I needed. Since it was the only street in Icefall City that focused on magical crafting, it wasn’t hard to find everything. I also bought some Mana Ink, since I planned on making more Protection Talismans to sell. As with Rosewood City, the adventurers and guards from the caravan praised the effectiveness of my talismans. Word of mouth remained the most effective form of advertisement.
My heart ached when I realized how expensive everything was. By the time I finished shopping, I only had a measly thirty mana stones left. Still, it was worth it, or so I told myself.
Corie complained about all the shopping, since I dragged her along, but when I reminded her that she would benefit from my experiments with alchemy, she shut up.
After I finished shopping, Corie, Leroy, and I headed back to Sturm Hill Hall. Despite her best efforts to remain aloof, Corie’s jaw dropped when she saw the manor and realized that she would live there for the foreseeable future. In the entire Icefall Region, it was second only to Icefall Manor.
I only stayed long enough for a quick wash up, and to pick up the Inferno Wolf bones, before I headed back out again for my meeting with Lord Icefall. I also made sure to grab a gift from the wine cellar. Mrs. Morrish, my housekeeper, looked after Corie and helped settle her in. Leroy accompanied me to the meeting.
After I dropped off the Inferno Wolf bones with Andrew Quick, I headed to the tavern Guildmaster Sinclair told me about. It was two stories tall, and sat atop a small hill. This was where she met up with Lord Icefall when they went out drinking. They even had a private room on the second floor, one set aside just for the two of them.
For furniture, the room had a round wooden table surrounded by wooden chairs. It was large enough to seat eight. The room also opened up to a balcony that overlooked a good portion of Icefall City. Given the view, I could see why Lord Icefall and Guildmaster Sinclair chose this tavern as their watering hole.
The sun was setting by the time I made it to the private room. Leroy waited in the public drinking area; close enough to arrive should something happen, but far enough away to give me and Lord Icefall some privacy. I only waited for a few minutes before Lord Icefall arrived. He opened the door to the room and froze at the threshold when he saw me.
We stared at each other for several long seconds.
“I see that my cousin insists on playing word games in order to avoid directly lying to me,” he said, his tone resigned. “She asked me to meet her here, saying that she had something important to tell me, while neglecting to mention that you would also be here, Lord Gabriel.”
“Don’t be too angry with Guildmaster Sinclair, Lord Icefall,” I said. “I’m the one who asked for this meeting.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” Lord Icefall said. “This is the second time that Charity manipulated me in order to include you in my affairs; affairs that were none of your business I might add.”
From his tone, I could tell that he was pissed about that. I could understand where he was coming from. First, his cousin inserted me into the caravan heading towards Rosewood City, maneuvering him into a meeting so he couldn’t do anything about it. Second, she tricked him into a meeting with me.
Still, regardless of her methods, Guildmaster Sinclair upheld her word to me. I had my meeting with Lord Icefall.
I held up the bottle of expensive wine that I pilfered from the Sturm Hill Hall’s wine cellar.
“A peace offering,” I said. “I want to make amends for my words the other night, Lord Icefall, and I asked Guildmaster Charity for help.”
Lord Icefall didn’t respond for a moment, before he let out a sigh.
“Very well,” he said. “Since both my wife and my cousin have been harping on me to do the same, they would skin me alive if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity. A conflict with you could lead to a conflict with House Sturm, which is something I can’t afford.”
I agreed. While nothing much had come from this little spat between us, it was best to nip these things in the bud. Small arguments had the potential to snowball into bloody feuds. Neither of us wanted to deal with that bullshit, and neither would our descendants.
Lord Icefall entered the room and sat at the table on the opposite side of me. He summoned a barmaid, who brought in cups before leaving again. I opened the bottle and poured us both a drink. Lord Icefall waited until I drank first before taking a sip himself. Somewhat insulting, but I couldn’t fault his caution.
The wine was good. It wasn’t as good as Rosewood Wine, and lacked mana, but it was still delicious. I could see why it was so expensive.
“I’m sorry for what I said the other night,” I said after we each took a sip of the wine. “My words were cruel and callous. You didn’t deserve them.”
Lord Icefall studied his cup for a few moments before answering.
“No,” he said. “I did deserve them. You were my guest, and I treated you with unwarranted hostility and suspicion. For that, I apologize.”
I grinned at him.
“Why don’t we just accept each other’s apology and move on from this, Lord Icefall?” I asked. “Start afresh?”
Lord Icefall nodded. I held up my cup for a toast.
“To starting anew,” I said.
“To starting anew,” he echoed.
We downed our drinks. I refilled our cups, and we downed them again. After that, we paced ourselves and had an actual conversation instead of just trying to snipe at each other. We didn’t talk about anything important. Rather, we took this time to get to know each other. While I doubted that we would become friends anytime soon, becoming amiable acquaintances wasn’t out of the question.
To my surprise, Lord Icefall had an interest in alchemy. I asked him plenty of questions about it, and he was happy to share.
A part of me was tempted to ask about the package I helped deliver to the Black Wolf Gang and see how that was coming along, but I refrained.
While Lord Icefall and I had buried the hatchet, that didn’t mean he would trust me with his House’s business. Guildmaster Sinclair had, but only because she needed to for her own purposes.
Speaking of Guildmaster Sinclair, she arrived after we finished off the bottle of wine. By this time, Lord Icefall and I were both feeling tipsy. Lord Icefall started complaining to his cousin about her behavior, which she accepted with good humor. She apologized for tricking him, twice, and joined us in our drinking.
Since we were out of wine, the same barmaid brought in a pitcher of ale and a cup for Guildmaster Sinclair Whenever we ran out of ale, the barmaid would come back with a fresh pitcher. From the way she acted, it was clear she was used to Lord Icefall and Guildmaster Sinclair.
It wasn’t long before all three of us ended up drunk. I held out the longest because of my cultivation, but not by as much as I expected. Both Guildmaster Sinclair and Lord Icefall had a surprisingly high tolerance for alcohol. In the end, we all drank enough that none of it mattered.
To my surprise, Lord Icefall was loud and boisterous when drunk. It was such a departure from the cool and collected man I knew, that I almost couldn’t believe it. Guildmaster Sinclair acted as I expected her to when drunk; rowdy and rambunctious. No wonder they liked drinking with each other. It was the only time they could let loose and blow off steam.
The two of them started singing some rather filthy songs, and I joined in whenever I could, which wasn’t often. I didn’t know that many bawdy songs, at least ones from Lumina. However, I knew plenty from Spirit Earth.
I started singing the one about the whore and the donkey, translated into Common Tongue, which had Guildmaster Sinclair and Lord Icefall in tears by the time I finished. They made me teach it to them, which meant I ended up singing that song several times before the night was over. Not that I minded. It was a classic back on Spirit Earth for a reason.
After that, things became a bit fuzzy. I could have cycled my cultivation base to sober up and purge the alcohol from my body, but I didn’t bother. What was the point of drinking if I didn’t get drunk?
The one thing I did remember was that Leroy had to carry me home that night.