“Something?” Dave asked, accepting the knife. The weapon sat in his hand well and had a wooden handle featuring what looked like carved female figures of some sort.

“I didn’t bother opening the door,” Remicra shrugged. “I was hoping that the Custodix would notice it and focus the ward on it, but no such luck.”

“Right.” Dave said, slotting everything into Agility. “Kitlixes can't see the Shadow people.”

“Pffff. Don’t look so concerned. I’ll back you up,” Remicra commented with a sharp grin, picking up a hefty metal hammer with wave-like patterns on the metal. “I’ll open the door, you will jump in and distract it and then I’ll smash it. Follow.”

Remicra ascended the tight spiral staircase, her claws clicking against the worn stone steps. Dave followed close behind, the newly acquired knife gripped tightly in his hand.

Finally, they reached a weathered wooden door at the top of the stairs. Remicra paused, her scales shifting through shades of orange and red. She glanced back at Dave.

With a deep breath, the dragoness reached for the iron beam blocking the door. "Ready?" she whispered.

He gave her a reassuring nod.

The dragoness shoved the beam aside and pulled the door open.

Dave flew inside, his body accelerated several times, knife raised and ready to strike down another abominable Huntsmaw like Oraniss.

Dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight that streamed through the cracks in the old stained glass windows featuring what were probably famed magi Highborns of the Lumir age.

A foxgirl wrapped in a shawl of feathery, fluttering shadows was sitting on a fallen beam with a weary expression. She looked up at Dave with crystalline blue eyes.

Dave froze.

“Cedez,” he said, lowering his knife.

“Die!” Remicra barged into the room, swinging her hammer.

The foxgirl yelped, leaping aside. The shadow-feathers coalesced around her arm, forming a shield that deflected the brunt of Remicra's attack with a thunderous crack.

"Wait!" Dave shouted, his voice echoing in the dusty room. He stepped between the two, his hands outstretched. "Remicra, stop! This is Cedez, she's... she's my friend!”

Remicra halted as she glared at the foxgirl. "Friend? This shadow-thing has been skulking on my roof all day!"

“RRRrrrrrr,” Cedez snarled, sounding like a very angry, wild fox as the shawl of Shadowmancy danced across her figure, elongating her form. “Rrrrmmmmmmyyyy.”

Dave quickly dug into his bag and threw the foxgirl a collar with the blue gemstone. Cedez caught it in the air and pulled it over her neck. Her eyes became more focused. The Shadows wrapping her form shifted from a monstrous-looking feathery mess into a simple, fluttering dress.

“Better,” she smiled. “Thanks, darling. Hi Rrremy!”

"Oh, so you can talk," Remicra lowered the hammer ever so slightly. "Care to explain why you’re on my roof and how you know my name?”

Cedez, looking even more composed with her gem collar in place, offered the dragoness a sheepish smile. Dave pulled out the robe from his bag and handed it to Cedez. The foxgirl wrapped herself in it, the Shadow dress dissolving away.

"My, my, Remy," Cedez grinned. "If you wanted to nail me, you could've just asked. Are you always this excited to hammer new guests, or is Dave just bringing out your wild side?

Remicra's scales flushed a deep red, whether from embarrassment or anger, Dave couldn't tell. "Quit shortening my name, fox," she growled. “Answer my question.”

Cedez dramatically placed a hand over her heart. "Why, it's all Dave's fault, of course!”

“Say what?” Remicra asked.

“I tragically sacrificed myself in the Void dungeon so that our man could procure the Void Lotuses and you could remove his Felisice twins. When I reformed as a dreadful, hungry shadow the night or two after, I probably decided that this lovely roof seemed like the perfect spot for a nap in the morning.”

“So you just happened to reform on my roof? Of all the places in Shandria?" Remicra asked.

“Yepperrrrroni. I probably subconsciously realized that this was a safe place for me to… wake up as my daytime self, on the account that I knew that Dave would be coming here sooner or later. I think… that I tried to get down… but someone barr-rrred the door and it was a bit too high for me to jump from the roof.

“Why were you making animal noises?”

“Can’t talk very clearly or think very well without this trinket,” Cedez tapped the blue gemstone. “It keeps me mentally focused.”

“What in the Abyss are you?” Remicra asked.

“With this on,” Cedez petted the gemstone. “I’m a harmless cafe maid. Without it… only Nightingale knows what I am.”

“She’s Shadow magic, maybe a shard of the ghost of the princess of Shandria who died nineteen years ago. A Shadow bound to a specific personality with purified mana gems, the work of Snailmancer Murdoc who wanted himself a granddaughter,” Dave reminded the smith. "She's the first person I talked to in Shandria and she sent me your way."

“Very blunt,” Cedez rolled her eyes at Dave. “But yes. That’s right. I’m less a person and more like a magical echo that granpaw Murdoc raised.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Why'd you send Dave my way?” Remicra squinted at Cedez.

"Because I knew you could help him," Cedez explained. "And because I thought you two might hit it off." She winked at Dave.

Remicra's scales flickered between shades of orange and pink. "Hit it off? What's that supposed to mean?"

“As dense as ever, I see,” Cedez sighed.

“Don’t talk ‘bout me like you know me!” Remicra growled.

“I sor-rrt of know you,” the foxgirl shrugged.

“If you know me, then you’d realize that I’m this close to smashing your face in for being an annoying brat,” the dragoness growled, the metal handle groaning in her claws as she squeezed the hammer.

“Rrrrrr… scary drrrrrragon,” Cedez shuddered, growl-chattering as she slipped slightly behind Dave. “Rrrrremy, look… I just want to be friends. Plz no smash fox. I’m already thrrrroughly exhausted and I need the rest of my drrrress not to lose focus.”

“Shit,” Dave said. “Hang on. I totally spaced out here.”

He lifted the Voicecast bracelet to his face. “Voicecast Terri Gootali… Hey, Terri?”

“Yes, David?” Terri’s voice came from the bracelet.

“Call everyone and let them know–I found Cedez,” Dave said. “She’s at Remicra’s lighthouse smithy at the edge of town.”

“Got it,” Terri replied. “I’ll be there with everyone in a few. See you then!”

“Let's go wait for everyone… outside,” Dave offered, trying to diffuse the glares between fox and dragon.

“Fine,” Remicra said.

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

“Didn’t Dave tell you about me?” Cedez asked as she sat next to Dave on a mossy rock, looking up at Remicra.

“He did,” the dragoness replied.

“And?” the foxgirl tilted her head.

“You’re a questionable creature with even more questionable motivations,” Remicra responded with a shrug.

“Oh, yeah? Well, you're… you’re a lump of felisteel who can’t even admit her own feelings!” Cedez snapped back.

“That’s Pathosteel and you’re lucky that you’re sitting outside the ward, fox,” Remicra shot back with a deep growl.

Cedez stuck her tongue out at the dragoness.

“Can you two not get along for like five minutes?” Dave asked. “We're all on the same team here."

“She’s being extra obtuse,” Cedez grumbled. “Hey, is that your new Kitlix from Healer’s Hall? Oh wowza! She’s a chonky girl.”

Healy jumped onto the foxgirl’s lap. Cedez immediately smothered the crystalline kitten in her embrace, squishing it this way and that.

In a few minutes of silence, interrupted by Healy’s chime-purr, Dave spotted familiar figures approaching in the distance. Terri led the group, her green antlers gleaming in the sunlight, with Dumpich, Leon, and Hyrei following close behind.

"Looks like the cavalry's arrived," Dave announced, standing up from the mossy rock. Healy jumped off Cedez, rushing up his leg onto his shoulder.

With a gust of cold wind, Hyrei flashed right next to Cedez and smacked her on the head.

“Owie,” Cedez complained, dark ears drooping.

“Idiot,” the owlgirl commented, hugging Cedez tightly. “Why’d you go to a Void dungeon with this incompetent? Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

“What? I’m fine,” Cedez grumbled.

“You are not fine!” Hyrei fluttered. “How are you fine? You look half dead! Stay still!”

Dave walked over to Remicra while Hyrei helped Cedez pull on her leather dress under the large cloak.

The Healers reached them too.

“You must be Cedez,” Terri smiled, offering Cedez her boots. “I’m Healer Terri Gootali! Here, I believe these are yours.”

“Much obliged… Terri,” Cedez smiled at the Healer.

The two girls stared at each other, seemingly exchanging silent communication or maybe just evaluating each other.

Dumpich bounded up next to Terri, giving Cedez another piece of her outfit. "Oi, Ceddy! Good to see you.”

“Hey Dumpling!” Cedez smiled. “Haven’t seen you at our cafe that often."

“Yeah,” the apprentice sighed. “My bad. Healers Hall keeping me busy in my final year.”

Leon approached more cautiously, his blue eyes studying Cedez as he handed the rest of her outfit to her. "Leon Kodmii. A pleasure.”

“Cedez Astra,” the foxgirl shot back.

The Healers moved onto introducing themselves to Remicra as Cedez was outfitted fully by Hyrei. After the introductions concluded, Dave explained the fake dungeon-conquering plan to Remicra.

Remicra's scales flickered through a kaleidoscope of colors, finally settling on a deep violet with patches of orange and red.

“You want to… rent me as a dungeon delver?” She asked.

“Yes,” Dave said.

“For how long?”

“For as long as I can afford it,” Dave replied with a shrug. “You’ve been stuck long enough in this lighthouse. I think it’s about time you got out for a bit.”

"And what makes you think that Burgundy's Estate would even consider such an absurd arrangement?" The dragoness asked.

"I can be very persuasive when I need to be," Dave replied.

“Reeeeally?" The dragoness asked, eyeing his ID token. “I very much doubt that my Overseer would bother listening to a Level Six Iron with that much in the red.”

Cedez slid next to Dave, now wearing her full leather outfit.

“Don’t worry, Remy. We all are going to make Dave shine brighter than the sun,” she supplied. “This is a joint operation. You’re going to be involved in it too, don’t worry. Everyone will have their part to play. One for all, all for one!”

“Hrm,” the smith pursed her lips, flashing orange and clearly not trusting the sly-looking fox.

“Remicra, can you tell us a bit more about your past?” Dave asked. “I have the general idea for a plan, but it could use more information to be truly effective.”

“What specifically would you like to know?” The dragoness turned to the ex-programmer.

“Why don’t you have a debt token on you? How did you become a slave?” He asked.

"By resisting the incursion of the Shadow and being unlucky enough to successfully murder one of her Highborn scum," Remicra replied, red tones dancing across her body. "A few weeks after the Shadow Empire spread its wings over my mountain village… Some kind of monstrous magic suffocated anyone who had a level higher than ten. I picked up my father's arbalest," the dragoness hissed out. "And then hid amongst the bushes and waited... until I spotted a fully armored magisteel knight surrounded by his retinue. The man declared that he was here to rescue anyone still alive, to bring the survivors to Shandria to serve his noble house. I didn’t believe his words. This was a takeover, not a rescue. I guessed that one of his mages cast the suffocating spell that killed my parents. The bolt reinforced by my father’s Metallomancy found its mark, puncturing the bastard’s narrow eye-hole slit just as he promised everyone a job and temporary housing in Shandria. My moment of victory was short-lived, as I was quickly caught and shackled by the others.

“How old were you then?” Dave frowned.

“Eleven. The other surviving children were permitted to join the Shadow Empire as lowborn workers under the Einhelm Estate, but I was marked as a murderer of a Shadow Officer and then sold on a public market to the highest bidder. One of the auctioneers scanned me with an Infix and discovered my innate Metallomancy talent. Overseer Princess acquired me for Lord Burgundy and then bound me to this abandoned lighthouse. I do not regret what I’ve done, for if I had the chance I would slaughter more of the Shadow-bastards." Remicra’s fists opened and closed. "I don't have a debt token because I'm a slave for life."

“What was the man’s name?” Dave added.

“Knight Moch Einhelm,” Remicra replied.