Remicra spun around, her claws at the ready, muscles tensed and poised to strike. A fierce, protective instinct surged through her veins as she shielded Dave from the sudden intruder.

"Who are you and what do you want?!" the dragoness growled, her voice a low, threatening rumble that echoed through the clearing.

Dave, who was initially startled by the unexpected visitor, tensed up. He cautiously stepped around Remy and spotted the grinning face of Cedez. The dark foxgirl was sitting on a folding stairwell leading to the oversized snail. Wizard Murdoc, with his flowing robes and beard, was holding the reins to the giant snail.

"You two caused quite a stir in town!" Cedez declared, standing up with a theatrical flourish and a wave of her dark, bushy tail. Dave noticed that a colorful, animated sketch of him in full Bakelite armor regalia was on a large poster taped to the snail's shell. Another poster was on the left, featuring Remicra.

"Wanted: the night bandit. 10,000 silver - dead or alive," the line under Dave declared. "Wanted: Slave Blacksmith Remicra 10,000 silver - alive," the line under Remicra said.

"You're… a bounty hunter?!" Remicra paled, her scales turning a sickly yellow-green hue.

"Take it easy, Remy," Dave exhaled, a slight smile playing at the corners of his lips. "She's my business partner, the one who helped me get this place."

"Cedez Astra, at your service," Cedez bowed, her silver-blue eyes twinkling with mischief as she straightened up, her hands theatrically spread out to her sides. "And don't worry, Remicra Ognemeskra, I have no intention of cashing in on those bounties."

Remicra's eyes widened in surprise, her scales momentarily flashing a bright blue hue as she stared at Cedez.

"How do you know my full name?" she demanded, her voice filled with suspicion.

Cedez chuckled. "Oh, dear Remicra, I know everyone in Shandria! It's part of my job, after all!"

Cedez seemed to revel in the surprise and confusion she had caused. She effortlessly continued, regaling them with tales of the chaos that had ensued in the town. "You should have seen Lord Burgundy's face when he discovered what you two did! It was like someone had poured scalding tea down his trousers!"

Dave squinted at Cedez. Was the dark vixen simply making a joke or was she working closely with Lord Burgundy to actually witness such a thing?

“Your job being what?” The dragoness demanded.

“My job being a cafe maid,” Cedes smiled. “And this cutie’s secretary!” She winked at Dave.

“I do not believe that for a second,” Remicra, still reeling from the revelation that Cedez knew her full name. "Just who do you represent, Miss Astra? What’s in this for you?"

Cedez regarded them both with a smile that held a hint of enigma. "I represent myself," she replied simply, her eyes dancing with unspoken secrets. “Why, this wonderfully creative move will boost Bakelite armor sales through the roof. The louder Burgundy screams about being robbed by a thief that took out five of his best hunters and his gate mage, the more people will be interested in the armor you two make!”

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Dave, who had been observing the exchange with a curious expression, finally interjected. "Why didn't you report us, Cedez? Surely twenty thousand silver is more than what you can make by helping me sell Bakelite armor.”

“In the short term, sure,” Cedez wagged her tail, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But I believe you, Dave, wield great and terrible potential which I seek to exploit for my own nefarious needs. Mwa ha ha ha."

"My potential being what?" Dave probed, his brow furrowing in curiosity as he tried to decipher Cedez's intentions.

"You can sniff dungeon cores out," Cedez pointed out nonchalantly. "That talent alone could make you quite the formidable power, don't you think?"

"I do not trust her," Remicra's eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Cedez's every move. "She's hiding something."

Cedez merely smirked, unfazed by Remicra's suspicion. She casually leaned against the snail, her dark tail tracing patterns in the air. "Oh, my lovely dragoness, everyone has secrets," she said with a knowing wink. "But rest assured, my interest in your adorable adventurer here is purely... professional."

Despite Cedez's reassurances, Remicra remained unconvinced, her scales shifting with yellowish hues of anxiety and distrust.

“So, did you come here simply to show us our own mugs?” Dave waved his hand at the wanted posters as he regarded the colorful caricatures of himself and Remicra.

“Oh no,” Cedez leapt off the step and slowly walked over to him with a graceful stride, her tail swaying behind her. “I came here to stay with you, forever.”

“What?” Remicra snapped, her scales shifting to a fiery red hue, betraying her agitation.

“What?” Dave asked at the same time, his eyes widening in surprise.

“You two are far too easy to tease,” Cedez laughed. “Relax, dragoness. I’m parking the snail here for three months because according to the contract Dave and I made, I sell everything he makes for ten percent. Plus, I co-signed the lease on the Rimzadria Estate. I wouldn’t have gotten in here without the gate key from Lord Nelvash.”

“You’re parking the snail,” Dave mulled, his brow furrowing in thought. “You’re the one who owns the Cambria Snail Cafe then, not Murdoc?”

“All right, all right,” Cedez crossed her heart, a playful smile dancing on her lips. “I confess. I’m the one employing Murdoc to drive me around to wherever I need to be. Right now, I need to be here with you.”

“Why?” Dave demanded.

“I worked at the gate because I was waiting for someone like you to show up,” Cedez explained, her voice tinged with excitement. “The Dragon God Emperor summons millions of heroes for his bidding, but only a few rare souls manage to gain an exceptional skill fast enough to allow them to escape his grasp before his machinery of war grinds them to dust. The extra-determined, summoned few who survive the death fields bring with them new ideas from other worlds, like your Bakelite. I just want to be a part of whatever chaos and wonder and change you unleash onto Shandria, Dave.”

“Fair enough,” Dave nodded, accepting her explanation. “It would still be nice to know who you are, Cedez.”

“I’m just a simple foxgirl,” Cedez insisted, her silver whiskers twitching.

Nobody present at the park believed her, not for a single moment. Dave, Remicra, and even Wizard Murdoc, who had been quietly observing from atop the snail, exchanged skeptical glances.

Dave crossed his arms as he regarded Cedez with wariness. "A 'simple foxgirl' wouldn't know as much as you do about... well, everything," he pointed out, gesturing vaguely in the air.

Remicra, still bristling and on high alert, nodded in agreement. "And you seem to have a finger in far too many pies to be just a 'simple foxgirl,'" she added.

Cedez merely chuckled in response, her laughter light and airy. "Well, you've got me there," she conceded, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I suppose you could say I have an innate penchant for... networking."

As she spoke, her tail swished lazily behind her, drawing hypnotic patterns in the air. It was clear that she was not going to divulge anything more about herself, leaving those around her to guess at her true motives and the extent of her influence.